Intentionally Caught

The gaunt middle-aged man before him narrowed all four of his eyes into slits, instantly lunging towards Xu Mu to attack.

Xu Mu immediately dodged to the left, then activated Veil Concealment.

Whoosh!

The middle-aged man transformed into a streak of light, pursuing him to the left.

Seizing this gap, Xu Mu dashed back inside the palace.

He now spread out his perception and finally located the dungeon.

It was in a cavern beneath the palace.

Through his perception, he discovered a great many captives down there, not just the cleaners.

Just as he was looking for an opportunity to go down, his perception alerted him that the middle-aged man had reappeared behind him.

Xu Mu immediately turned around to find the man staring fixedly at him.

Watching the other's four eyes, Xu Mu took a few steps to the left, then a few steps to the right.

He noticed the man's eyeballs continuously tracking his movements.

It was crucial to remember that Xu Mu was still under the effect of Veil Concealment, proving the other could see him.

Since he was discovered, Xu Mu dispelled the technique.

However, he did not dispel the illusion array; he still maintained the appearance of a fat man.

"You should dispel your technique as well. I've seen through it; you don't actually look like this," the middle-aged man before him stated impassively.

Xu Mu's eyes were filled with gravity. Veil Concealment was an Earth-grade technique, and the Illusion Array was a seventh-grade formation.

Could this person before him see through both?

He immediately used Divine Eye to check this person's information.

Name: Li Mopan

Identity: Branch Clan Leader of the Four-Eyed Tribe

Favorability: -10

Fate Level: 4 (Max 10)

Seeing this information, Xu Mu was somewhat surprised inwardly. It seemed he was only the boss within this ruin.

The true Four-Eyed Tribe was not here.

"How did you know where I was?"

Xu Mu reverted to his original appearance, looking at Li Mopan curiously.

In the original plot, the Four-Eyed Tribe was only mentioned in passing, described as man-eaters, extremely savage.

As for their abilities, Xu Mu was unclear.

Li Mopan pointed to the eyes above his eyebrows. "For us of the Four-Eyed Tribe, once we reach the late stage of Divine Ability realm and fully open the meridians in these upper eyes, we can see changes in temperature."

"Temperature? Similar to snakes?"

Xu Mu asked in surprise.

"You are clever. Indeed, the perception of our upper pair of eyes is the same as that of snakes," Li Mopan nodded slightly.

Only then did Xu Mu have a sudden realization. It wasn't due to higher cultivation that he was discovered, but because of a pair of eyes capable of thermal imaging.

Xu Mu's Veil Concealment could manipulate light to make him invisible.

But the temperature his body emitted remained. A thirty-six-degree body, as long as its temperature differed from the surroundings, would reveal its outline to those eyes.

The array worked on the same principle. The array made him look fat, but the human-shaped thermal outline emitting heat wasn't that fat.

Naturally, Li Mopan could guess he was using another technique as well.

Xu Mu shook his head slightly. This race's ability was almost the natural counter to these two techniques.

Fortunately, he himself didn't rely solely on these two techniques to get by.

"I am very interested in your invisibility technique. Hand it over, and I will let you leave," Li Mopan said. His reason for explaining so much was precisely because he coveted this technique.

Invisibility was useless against experts of their own race, but it would be very troublesome when dealing with other races.

If he could learn it, his combat power would surely increase by several levels.

"Senior, I think you should understand that when I go out to gain experience, I can't possibly carry technique manuals with me, right?"

Xu Mu shrugged. "How about you let me leave now, and I'll go home to fetch it for you?"

"Hmph! I'll capture you first. I believe you'll have your family deliver it!" Li Mopan snorted coldly and charged at Xu Mu again.

Xu Mu had already opened his storage space, ready to retrieve the Teleportation Token.

After all, the mission was complete. Through his perception, he knew those cleaners in the dungeon below were indeed alive.

However, since the other intended to capture him, Xu Mu decided to venture deep into the dungeon to see if he could rescue those people.

He had already scanned the internal layout below with his perception.

There was only one door leading from here to the prison cells below.

As long as this door was opened, a passage would connect the cells to where he had buried his array.

For the Teleportation Array, as long as there was a passage connecting the two arrays, it could be successfully activated.

Even if the gaps in the cell bars were too small for him to slip through, he could still escape via the array.

Thinking this, Xu Mu decided to get captured on purpose, because besides the cleaners, there seemed to be another very powerful presence down there.

Facing the incoming attack, Xu Mu dodged, but deliberately slowed by half a beat, allowing himself to be hit.

Boom!

Xu Mu's body was sent flying backward, smashing into a stone pillar behind him.

The pillar even cracked.

"Ah!"

Xu Mu intentionally let out a low groan. The feeling was like being given a foot massage by an old master technician using their full strength.

It was slightly, just a tiny bit, painful, but only at the moment of impact.

A moment later, he was fine, without even a lingering sensation.

Xu Mu himself didn't know just how strong his current defense was.

"Hmph! Trash!"

Seeing Xu Mu lying on the ground, Li Mopan curled his lip in disdain.

However, he was aware of his own strength. That strike just now would have broken a few of Xu Mu's ribs as easily as child's play.

He stepped forward, grabbed Xu Mu by the shoulder, lifted him up, and walked towards the interior of the palace.

At a corner of the palace, there was a staircase leading downward.

He followed it all the way down to where a stone door stood.

In front of the stone door stood two guards from the Four-Eyed Tribe.

Xu Mu had already sensed it earlier; from top to bottom, there was only this one stone door.

Once the stone door opened, Xu Mu could teleport out.

"Clan Leader!"

The two guards saluted in unison, then pushed open the stone door.

Li Mopan, carrying Xu Mu, walked inside.

The area here was vast, as if the interior of the mountain had been hollowed out.

The ground inside was level. In the distance were prison cells made of wood.

Xu Mu recognized at a glance that this wood was a sixth-grade natural treasure: Drowning Wood.

This type of wood was very peculiar. If soaked in water for about a day, its branches would become soft enough to break by hand.

But once deprived of water, its defense became astonishing, difficult even for a Master-level expert to destroy.

In the plot, it was often used to make prison cells—soaked to bend and shape it, then left to dry before confining prisoners.

After all, prisoners inside wouldn't have access to large amounts of water.

Even if a prisoner was at the Transcendent realm and could condense water, the guards outside weren't just for show.

"Clan Leader!"

The many Four-Eyed Tribe members here, upon seeing Li Mopan, all bowed their heads in respect.

Li Mopan looked around and finally pointed at a cell. "Open this one."

"Yes!"

A middle-aged man took out a key, which was also made of Drowning Wood.

Xu Mu now looked into the cell. Inside was only a woman.

She was strikingly beautiful. Earlier, when using his perception, Xu Mu had spotted her at first glance.

Moreover, this woman was also from a different race, though not the Four-Eyed Tribe.

However, her eyes were also exceptionally formidable.