However, at least from his expression, he didn't seem to harbor any ill intentions toward Dai Xingluo.
Dai Xingluo was an outer sect disciple of the Tianjian Sect, a young lady from a reclusive family.
She didn't possess any treasures on her worth coveting.
Perhaps Li Zizai chose to stay here simply because he was tired of all the fighting and killing.
"Where is the sect located?"
Xu Mu asked, looking at Dai Xingluo.
"In Jiangnan, but I'd recommend taking the high-speed rail or a plane; it's a journey of several hours."
Dai Xingluo's beautiful eyes gazed at Xu Mu. "I'd worry about you, brother."
"If you take the high-speed rail or a plane, the sword you're carrying won't get past security."
Xu Mu pointed to the long sword on the back seat.
"Oh, right."
Dai Xingluo only then remembered. The previous swords could be discarded or bought anytime.
But the one in her hand now was a treasure, definitely not something to lose.
"Then let's drive there."
Dai Xingluo took out her phone and sent the address to Xu Mu. "By the way, brother, I've hidden the cultivation manual you gave me."
"Mm, it would indeed be inconvenient to bring it along on this trip to the Tianjian Sect."
Xu Mu nodded, especially knowing that this manual originally belonged to the Tianjian Sect.
That made it their lifeline, his and Dai Xingluo's.
...
Jiangnan, Xing City.
By the time Xu Mu arrived, it was already past three in the afternoon.
Checking the map, he saw there were still over thirty kilometers to go, mostly mountain roads.
So, they decided to rest here first and grab something to eat with Dai Xingluo.
"What would you like to eat?"
Xu Mu parked the car by the roadside and turned to look at Dai Xingluo.
"I'll follow your lead, brother."
Dai Xingluo said with a smile.
"Then it's malatang."
Xu Mu pointed to a shop not far away.
"Okay."
Dai Xingluo nodded and got out of the car with Xu Mu.
It wasn't mealtime, so the shop wasn't crowded, with only two tables occupied.
Nevertheless, Xu Mu and Dai Xingluo attracted the attention of the other customers upon entering.
One person with straight hair and heavy makeup kept looking in their direction.
Xu Mu frowned slightly, realizing this person wasn't looking at Dai Xingluo but at him.
As a doctor, he could tell from the person's hand bones and skeletal structure that it was a man.
Xu Mu felt a bit disgusted. A grown man, wearing a skirt and black stockings, with a wig and heavy makeup.
The key was he kept staring, making Xu Mu's skin crawl.
After finishing his meal, the man put on a mask and left.
But a moment later, he returned. He tapped Xu Mu on the back and said, "Handsome, could you help me move my car out?"
Hearing that raspy, deliberately feminized voice made Xu Mu feel nauseous.
"Xingluo, you eat first."
Thinking his car might be blocking the other's, Xu Mu got up and followed him outside.
Once outside the shop,
Xu Mu saw that his car wasn't blocking anything at all.
"Handsome, my name is Ah Hong. You can call me Sister Hong. I think you're quite good-looking. Can we get to know each other?"
Sister Hong took out her phone. "We can hang out sometime. I don't charge money. Just bring a box of milk, a bottle of oil, or a watermelon as a token."
"Old brother, I have a wife!"
Xu Mu immediately turned around and went back into the shop.
Damn it, did they really think he was so desperate he'd have nothing better to do than cross swords with a man?
Sister Hong snorted coldly and left.
"Brother, what happened?"
Dai Xingluo asked with a smile.
"Nothing, just ran into a lunatic."
Xu Mu waved his hand dismissively.
After they finished eating, they left together. As Xu Mu got into the car, he saw that Sister Hong again.
This time, he was with a young man, heading into a nearby alley.
Xu Mu was stunned. Someone actually agreed to it?
...
Next were dozens of kilometers of mountain roads. After another two hours of driving, Xu Mu reached a village called He Village.
Dai Xingluo said to Xu Mu, "Brother, let's park the car here. We can take a shortcut over the mountain."
"Alright."
Xu Mu nodded and parked the car by the roadside in the village.
They both got out, and Xu Mu followed Dai Xingluo, heading towards the large mountain behind the village.
After crossing two mountain ridges, Xu Mu spotted figures in the distance.
Using his perception, he sensed a small supermarket operating over there.
"That's the entrance to the Tianjian Sect's hidden realm."
Dai Xingluo pointed at the supermarket. "The entrance is inside."
Xu Mu nodded inwardly. According to the plot, many sects, to prevent random people from entering their hidden realms,
often built structures over the entrances to block them.
As they spoke, the two entered the supermarket.
There were five people in the shop: one cashier, and the other four—two loitering outside and two inside.
"I am Dai Xingluo."
Dai Xingluo took out a small jade pendant from her person.
The cashier glanced at the pendant and nodded slightly. "Go ahead."
Dai Xingluo took Xu Mu's hand and led him to the deep storage room. Opening the door revealed a cave entrance.
They walked into the cave, winding around for several hundred meters until light appeared ahead.
Then, they stepped into the hidden realm.
Xu Mu looked to the side. A long sword was thrust into a stone, which bore the words "Tianjian Sect" in red characters.
Not far away, over a dozen guards were stationed.
They all wore black martial attire and were sitting around chatting.
Seeing someone enter, they all stood up.
"You're Junior Sister Dai Xingluo?"
A thin-faced man asked in surprise.
The others also gathered around, looking at the classically beautiful woman before them.
"So this is Dai Xingluo. I heard about her when I first joined the Tianjian Sect."
"Rumor has it she's the top-voted woman among us outer sect disciples in private polls—gentle, refined, and kind-hearted."
"Yes, seeing her today, she's truly extraordinary."
...
Xu Mu was baffled. Gentle, refined, and kind-hearted?
This woman really knew how to put on an act!
Dai Xingluo listened to their comments without saying much.
She had long grown accustomed to this back in the Tianjian Sect.
"You are Senior Brother Wang, right?"
Dai Xingluo walked towards the thin-faced man.
"It's my honor that Junior Sister Xingluo still remembers me."
Wang Shuai smiled. Dai Xingluo was the woman Zhao Gang had his eye on; an outer sect disciple like him wouldn't dare to provoke her.
"Senior Brother Wang, could you please inform the elder of Qingmu Mountain? I've come this time to apply to leave the sect."
Dai Xingluo said with a smile.
"What? Leave the sect?"
Wang Shuai was surprised.
"To be honest, senior brother, I'm already married and have children. I wish to stay at home now, supporting my husband and raising my children."
As she spoke, Dai Xingluo's eyes were as gentle as water. She glanced back at Xu Mu, her smile utterly captivating.
The surrounding guards gritted their teeth in frustration.
Dammit! Who is this man?
He actually stole our sect's flower!
Wang Shuai nodded lightly. "Please wait a moment, junior sister. I'll go report immediately."
He turned and ran towards the depths of the hidden realm.
Xu Mu and Dai Xingluo waited quietly at the entrance. After about ten minutes, a group of over a dozen people appeared in the distance.
Leading them was a bald old man in a long robe. He waved his hand grandly. "Men, seize them!"

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…

ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"

to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”