This time I was careless.

"Making a vow is a solemn commitment to the Lord, which must be based on righteous appeals and church rules."

Amelia shook her head slightly. "One cannot easily take an oath just because of someone else's casual questioning. Oaths must not be abused."

"Hahaha! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a salesman with how you pitch these routines one after another."

Xu Mu couldn't help but laugh.

"Insolent!"

A black-robed man behind Amelia suddenly growled in English.

"Angry from embarrassment because I exposed you?"

Xu Mu looked at Amelia. "However, I'm still willing to walk in front and clear the way for a beauty like you."

With that, he placed his hand on the formation, and his figure disappeared from the spot.

Chen Xuan and Shi Fumeng exchanged a glance and stepped into it as well.

"Lady Amelia, a mere..."

"Enough."

Amelia raised her hand. "Let's go in too. Having a formation master by our side is ultimately a good thing."

She truly didn't intend to let Xu Mu go in first just to scout the situation.

She was simply afraid of the dangers inside and wanted a formation master to accompany her.

That was why she had approached them earlier to seek out Xu Mu and the others.

If they really encountered a formation-based crisis, a formation master could help her escape.

...

The moment he stepped into the ruins, Xu Mu's hair was blown into a mess by a storm sweeping in from the distance.

He quickly turned around, only to find that the exit behind him had vanished.

Moreover, Xu Mu was the only one here; Chen Xuan and Shi Fumeng were nowhere to be seen.

He immediately spread out his perception and found that Shi Fumeng was on the other side of the island, right at the edge of his sensory range.

Thus, Xu Mu quickly hurried over.

Shi Fumeng was also looking bewildered at the moment. When she saw Xu Mu rushing over from afar, she immediately went to meet him.

"Xu Mu, what's going on?"

"Although I don't know what's going to happen next, we've definitely been tricked!"

Xu Mu looked at the spot where Shi Fumeng had appeared. "The exit isn't on your side either."

"What do you mean? How have we been tricked?"

Shi Fumeng asked in a deep voice.

"If there really was some earth-shattering treasure here, why wouldn't the three patriarchs of your Valley of Ten Thousand Races come over secretly? Why would they gather all of you elders and announce it so openly?"

Xu Mu looked at Shi Fumeng. "Even I know that many of your elders collude with outsiders. Would your patriarchs be unaware of that?"

"Are you saying that there's no treasure here at all, and their only goal was to lure us over?"

Shi Fumeng said, clenching her fists.

"That's highly likely. However, this is an open scheme played by your three patriarchs. Even if the legendary god-tier cultivation method is a trap, a huge number of people would still risk coming here."

Having said that, Xu Mu continued to observe through his perception.

The people from the Church weren't around. It seemed this formation teleported people randomly.

"Fuck! What is the goal of those three old undyings? It's one thing to screw over others, but they're even screwing over their own people!"

Shi Fumeng cursed angrily, her ponytail swaying wildly from her fury.

"Why are you being so naive? The Valley of Ten Thousand Races wasn't founded out of unity, but out of fear."

Xu Mu said calmly.

Shi Fumeng thought for a moment and secretly nodded. That was indeed the truth.

In the beginning, the purpose of the Valley of Ten Thousand Races was to defend against the Yanhuang Tribe.

The Yanhuang Tribe was too powerful; if these races didn't unite, they wouldn't be a match for them at all.

Therefore, the Valley of Ten Thousand Races was a mixed bag. As long as the benefits were great enough, it would be perfectly normal for those three patriarchs to sell out the Valley.

Just as they were chatting, two middle-aged men from the Hollow-Chest Tribe appeared in the distance.

They wore black armor with a circular opening revealed on their chests, which was completely hollow inside.

Both of them had long black hair, and their eyes were filled with extreme excitement.

"Hehehe! Fresh meat again! This woman isn't bad. I want her skin!"

One of the skinny middle-aged men instantly lunged towards Shi Fumeng.

Feeling the power radiating from them, Shi Fumeng's face turned pale. They were actually two Early Transcendent Realm experts.

"What are you spacing out for?"

Seeing this, Xu Mu immediately stepped in front of Shi Fumeng.

Boom!

A green claw mark struck Xu Mu first.

In the next moment, the skinny middle-aged man's body arrived in front of Xu Mu. Forming a claw with one hand, he swiped at Xu Mu's heart.

Xu Mu gathered his power and smashed a punch into the opponent's claw.

Bang!

A muffled sound echoed through the air. Xu Mu was forced back several steps, shattering the ground with every footstep.

Meanwhile, the skinny middle-aged man only took a single step back. He then looked at his fingers, only to find that his bones had been snapped in two.

"What's going on? Where's my skill effect?"

Just as the skinny middle-aged man spoke, a green claw mark suddenly appeared above the head of the chubby middle-aged man standing behind him.

Boom!

The chubby middle-aged man was sent flying, blood spraying from the top of his head.

"Fuck! What the hell?"

The chubby middle-aged man clutched his head and stood up, roaring in anger.

Seeing the scene before her, Shi Fumeng wasn't happy that they were injured; instead, she felt even more terrified.

One had his fingers broken but wore an unusually calm expression, while the other had a bloody, busted head but didn't let out a single cry of pain.

Were these two even human?

Xu Mu also rubbed his chin in thought. The plot had mentioned that the alien races living in the ruins were outcasts.

The truly powerful alien races were all in the Inner World.

Although they frequently fought, it didn't mean they didn't fear death. There was definitely something wrong with the two men in front of him.

"Boy! What kind of wicked skill did you just use? I'm going to slaughter you!"

The chubby middle-aged man roared and rapidly charged at Xu Mu.

Xu Mu drew his longsword and executed his Heaven-tier skill, the Heaven-Incinerating Sword Qi.

He could easily deal with Early Transcendent Realm experts right now.

Swish!

The moment the middle-aged man arrived in front of him, Xu Mu suddenly flashed behind him.

Before anyone around them could react, or even see Xu Mu swing his sword, one of the middle-aged man's legs fell to the ground.

Thud!

The man collapsed on the spot, but he still roared, preparing to get up on one leg and continue fighting.

As for the other skinny middle-aged man, seeing this scene, he turned and ran without hesitation.

From just a single move, he could tell that he was no match for this young man.

Carrying his longsword, Xu Mu walked up to the chubby middle-aged man and slashed several times in succession.

The armor the man wore shattered and fell off, exposing his chest.

Xu Mu narrowed his eyes. He noticed many small bruises on the man's arms and chest. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were all needle marks.

"Are you from the Eternal Research Institute?"

Xu Mu asked sternly.

"Boy, you know quite a lot, but you still guessed wrong. What the hell is the Immortality Research Institute? You should say that the Immortality Research Institute belongs to us!"

The middle-aged man grinned. "Let me go, and I won't kill you."

"You can't kill me anyway, so your proposal is invalid."

Xu Mu said indifferently. "No wonder you don't fear pain. So you're on drugs."

As he spoke, he raised his left hand, his palm covered in a dark golden light.

The light, like a viscous liquid, dripped from Xu Mu's palm onto the man. In the blink of an eye, the light coated his entire body.

In an instant, the man's body melted away and vanished, and the dark golden light was retracted by Xu Mu.

With the Immortality Research Institute involved, the danger here was absolutely lethal. He had definitely let his guard down this time.

However, he was also secretly relieved that he hadn't brought Meng Wanyue, Dai Xingluo, and the others along.

Shi Fumeng stared at Xu Mu, stumbling backward in terror. "Is this... Gu?"