Hearing this, Yan Baizhi was rendered speechless.
She had originally suspected that Xu Mu was the mastermind behind this, but thinking it over carefully, he was actually the least likely candidate.
The woman before her, Tong Guoguo, was here to kill him.
If Xu Mu was really the one playing tricks, why would he go out of his way to come here and throw his life away?
He should have stayed comfortably at home, waiting for Tong Guoguo to ruin her.
But Xu Mu came. What good did that do him?
Could it be... it really was Wu Tian?
"Xu Mu, stop your nonsense. I won't believe a single word out of your mouth. I'll only say this once: you die, and she lives."
Tong Guoguo sneered. Recalling the humiliation Xu Mu had subjected her to earlier, she gritted her teeth in hatred.
Today, she could finally have her revenge.
"Guoguo, if she dies, I'll run,"
Xu Mu said flatly. "Let her go, and I will stay right here."
"Xu Mu! We are not that close. If you call me by my first name again, I'll chop off one of her hands first!"
Tong Guoguo pointed at Xu Mu and shouted coldly.
Yan Baizhi's mind was still racing. She truly couldn't understand why Xu Mu had traveled all this way to save her.
"Your target is me, and I'm already here. The fact that you still won't let her go shows that, despite being a dignified Mid-Transcendence expert, you have no confidence at all."
Xu Mu grinned. "Or is it that you think you can't take me down in a one-on-one fight?"
"I won't fall for your taunts! I'm definitely using this hostage today!"
Tong Guoguo had fought Xu Mu before. She knew very well that he had too many bizarre and unpredictable tricks up his sleeve.
Only by using formations inside the ruins was she able to trap him.
Out here in the open, the moment Yan Baizhi—the hostage—escaped, Xu Mu would definitely run away too.
"Guoguo, let me tell you my motive for coming."
Xu Mu suddenly spread his hands. "I don't want others to die because of me, so I had to come and save her. But if I fail to save her, I'll have a clear conscience, knowing that I at least tried."
Hearing this, Tong Guoguo began to ponder.
If Yan Baizhi really died, she would no longer be a threat to Xu Mu.
Xu Mu's words made sense. Expecting him to trade his own life for someone else's was not something an ordinary person could do.
Thinking of this, Tong Guoguo pulled out a vial of potion from her clothes.
She grabbed Yan Baizhi by the chin, pried her mouth open, and poured the potion down her throat.
At the moment, Yan Baizhi couldn't muster an ounce of strength in her body, so naturally, she couldn't resist.
After swallowing it, she began to cough violently. "What... what did you just make me drink?"
"Toxins extracted from rare earthly treasures. You just drank half a bottle. In half an hour, you'll be dead."
Saying this, Tong Guoguo put the potion away and looked at Xu Mu. "The antidote is on me. Xu Mu, come and get it if you have the skills."
"Guoguo, you're not very old, but your heart is so filthy. Mr. Soul has been a bad influence on you."
Xu Mu said with an indifferent expression.
Hearing Mr. Soul, Yan Baizhi was secretly shocked. She had heard her father mention this title before.
This person was the boss of the Immortality Research Institute. So this woman was from the Immortality Research Institute; no wonder she was so powerful.
"Xu Mu, if you're afraid, you can just leave her to die."
Tong Guoguo pointed at Yan Baizhi next to her.
"Hand over the antidote!"
Xu Mu growled.
"As long as you defeat me, you can take the antidote from me."
As soon as Tong Guoguo finished speaking, she turned into a streak of light and lunged toward Xu Mu.
Boom!
She threw a punch, and Xu Mu quickly brought his arms up to block it.
However, the terrifying force still sent Xu Mu flying backward.
Whoosh!
Xu Mu's body crashed through two walls in succession.
Tong Guoguo didn't stop, continuing her assault on Xu Mu.
Yan Baizhi took a deep breath. At this moment, she couldn't be sure if Wu Tian was the mastermind behind this.
But she could be certain that Xu Mu was definitely innocent.
Tong Guoguo was using lethal moves, aiming to kill, which proved that these two were not putting on an act.
Yan Baizhi shook her head slightly. These things were no longer important.
Her phone had been taken, so she couldn't notify anyone else.
She had no strength in her body and couldn't escape on her own. On top of that, she had been poisoned.
Judging from the current state of the battle, Xu Mu was simply no match for Tong Guoguo. Getting the antidote was absolutely impossible.
However...
[Affection +8]
Affection appeared above Yan Baizhi's head. There was one aspect where Xu Mu was indeed better than Wu Tian.
Wu Tian had only taken one strike from Tong Guoguo before being knocked into the river. Given his cultivation realm, he definitely wouldn't have passed out.
Yet he never reappeared, evidently having hidden himself or run away.
But the Xu Mu before her was different. He had already taken several attacks, his body constantly being sent flying.
Yet he didn't run away; instead, he persevered.
Yan Baizhi muttered in her heart, "Could it be that Xu Mu likes me?"
As Xu Mu fended off Tong Guoguo's offensive, he was also pondering how to inject the Holy Gu into Yan Baizhi's body.
Boom!
Xu Mu's body shuddered violently again, flying backward into the open space outside the fertilizer plant.
Watching Tong Guoguo charge at him once more, Xu Mu suddenly drew a black longsword.
Seeing this, Tong Guoguo immediately executed a Heaven-tier defensive technique. Clearly, she was afraid that Xu Mu's longsword was coated with Spring Night Grass again.
Xu Mu looked at the incoming Tong Guoguo and swung his sword.
Crack!
He unleashed a God-tier technique once again. Facing her absolute defense, the only thing Xu Mu could do at the moment was to break it using a spiritual attack.
"This move again. Xu Mu, I won't believe you!"
Tong Guoguo first checked her own condition. After confirming she was fine, she continued her attack on Xu Mu.
Xu Mu didn't activate it immediately. Tong Guoguo's spiritual power was very low; even if she knew it was fake, she would still fall for it.
He needed to think of a method.
Facing Tong Guoguo's renewed assault, Xu Mu suddenly deployed an Illusion Array, altering the environment around his body.
The blood-red flames that covered his entire body in the dark night suddenly turned black.
Tong Guoguo, who was just about to attack, immediately stopped when she saw this.
Xu Mu possessed too many bizarre tricks. Unsure of what this move was, she didn't dare to attack rashly.
"What kind of technique is this?"
Tong Guoguo asked.
"This is the technique I asked my master for, specifically to deal with you!"
Xu Mu leaped forward and charged at Tong Guoguo.
"Hmph! The gap in our cultivation levels cannot be bridged!"
Although Tong Guoguo said this, she still met his attack with caution.
Crack!
Suddenly, Xu Mu's longsword struck Tong Guoguo's defense.
Tong Guoguo quickly dodged. She checked her shoulder and found that her defense wasn't damaged at all.
"It seems your master isn't that great after all."
Tong Guoguo sneered sarcastically.
"What do you know? Are you feeling a little out of breath right now?"
Xu Mu suddenly smiled.
Hearing this, Tong Guoguo immediately felt her breathing become obstructed.
"My technique can solidify Qi. In other words, under my influence, that Heaven-tier technique wrapping your entire body will turn into an airtight wall. If that happens, you will suffocate to death."
Xu Mu said with a smile, "Is your breathing starting to feel blocked right now?"
He was completely bluffing; he had no such technique at all.
The reason Tong Guoguo was gasping for air was that he had unleashed the power of his Divine-tier technique.
Since her spiritual strength was rather low, the aftereffects of the Shattered Mirror strike would afflict her for a very long time.
What he needed to do now was dismantle her Heaven-tier technique; only then would he be able to force the Gu bug down her throat.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
