I'm becoming more and more interested in you.

Shi Fumeng looked at the stainless steel bowl in front of her. She knew one thing very clearly: drinking this poisoned wine was tantamount to declaring her own death.

On the brink of death, her brain cells became increasingly active.

She began to wonder, had she made a mistake?

Against those who harbored ill intentions toward her, she could exact revenge, cheat, and deceive.

But against someone like Xu Mu, who treated her so well and was even willing to share a Heaven-tier cultivation method, she had actually betrayed him.

Being so utterly selfish, she wouldn't have a single friend.

Just like right now, at death's door, not a single person came to help her.

Her eyes were bloodshot, and tears fell into the stainless steel bowl in front of her.

Shi Fumeng looked to her left; the person pouring the wine was already approaching.

She watched helplessly as he was three people away, then two people away...

Finally, another bald man arrived in front of her. Holding a wine jar, he poured wine into Shi Fumeng's bowl.

The liquid was pale yellow and emitted the distinct smell of alcohol.

The few people before her had all picked up their stainless steel bowls. From their trembling hands, it was obvious they didn't want to drink this stuff either.

But if they didn't drink, they would die.

Drinking it at least left a chance of survival, so they had no choice but to force the wine down.

Trembling, Shi Fumeng picked up her bowl. Finally, she tilted her head back and poured the wine into her mouth.

Just as she was about to swallow, her deep blue eyes suddenly widened into perfect circles.

Because a familiar figure had appeared in front of her.

It was none other than Xu Mu.

Pfft!

Shi Fumeng spat out the wine in her mouth. Without waiting for the two patriarchs nearby to react,

she ran over crying, fell straight to her knees in front of Xu Mu, and hugged his legs, sobbing, Xu Mu, I was wrong! If you want to do it during the day, then daytime it is! Please forgive me, boohoo...

Xu Mu looked down at Shi Fumeng, pressed a hand against her head, and pushed her away. You've got the wrong person, haven't you?

I was wrong...

Shi Fumeng was now half-lying on the ground, already sobbing too hard to speak.

In the distance, an elder of the Valley of Ten Thousand Races, who was specifically monitoring the drinking, walked over.

They had drunk the poisoned wine right from the start; how could they tolerate others refusing to drink?

Shi Fumeng, you dare refuse the wine? Do you want to die, or are you just tired of living?

A middle-aged man wearing leather armor marched over fiercely.

However, he suddenly stopped because he saw the third patriarch, Yue Wangshu.

Yue Wangshu was dressed as usual, wearing a blue-and-white porcelain patterned qipao and holding an oil-paper umbrella.

She approached with graceful, measured steps from the distance.

The two patriarchs, Lang Huo and Xiang Tian, stood up together upon seeing her approach and walked over with unfriendly expressions.

Before this, the three of them had engaged in a fierce argument.

Yue Wangshu did not agree to let the core strength of the Valley of Ten Thousand Races be controlled by the Immortality Research Institute.

But Lang Huo and Xiang Tian held the opposite opinion. The incident with Wang Hun had blown up massively this time.

Not only did those sect experts suffer casualties, but even the Sanitation Department lost quite a few cleaners.

Now, the three senior cleaners were gathered, and most importantly, Wei Jingzhi, who rarely made a move, had also appeared.

It was clear they intended to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.

If there were no array masters from the Immortality Research Institute to lead them away, the few of them would most likely die.

Relying solely on the internal arrays of the Valley of Ten Thousand Races wouldn't hold the enemy off for long.

In their eyes, their own lives were more important than all these elders combined.

Wangshu, have you figured things out?

Lang Huo revealed a smile.

That's right, I've thought it through. Only by doing this can we preserve the overall combat power of the Valley of Ten Thousand Races.

Yue Wangshu nodded gently and then asked, What stage is the array at now?

Hahaha! It's great that you've come around.

Xiang Tian explained with a smile, Currently, the array is on its final step. Mr. Zhou said that as soon as all our elders drink the wine, he will activate it immediately.

Hearing this, Yue Wangshu's expression changed slightly. She hadn't expected Zhou Guyang to be so cautious.

He wouldn't engrave the complete array until the elders had finished drinking.

If that were the case, her plan would be completely ruined.

Xu Mu also noticed Yue Wangshu's expression and took the initiative to ask, Miss Yue, where is Guoguo?

Lang Huo glanced at Xu Mu and frowned, asking, Who are you?

Chi Ting of the Jiuli Tribe is my master.

As Xu Mu spoke, he released his Holy Gu.

A dark golden power, like a viscous liquid, flowed from his palm to the ground.

Whoosh!

The golden light instantly devoured a corpse several meters away, and then returned to Xu Mu's palm.

I have met Chi Ting a few times, and I do recognize him,

Yue Wangshu chimed in from the side.

So it's Chi Ting's disciple.

A hint of wariness flashed in Lang Huo's eyes.

In a one-on-one fight, Chi Ting's strength was about the same as his.

But his true terror lay in his ability to control corpses. If at full power, he alone could easily wipe out the entire Valley of Ten Thousand Races.

As for the recent failure in the Inner Realm, he didn't dare to mock him. The original plan had been proceeding very smoothly.

But in the end, an uninvited guest appeared: Redemption.

If it weren't for Redemption, their plan would have succeeded long ago.

Senior, where is Mr. Zhou? I have some business with him.

Xu Mu asked with a smile.

He's right up there.

Saying this, Lang Huo looked at Shi Fumeng next to him. Since you won't drink the wine, I'll send you on your way.

Senior Lang Huo, let her follow me for now, I still have a use for her. As for the wine, it won't be too late to drink it later.

Yue Wangshu suddenly shot Lang Huo a meaningful look.

Lang Huo understood implicitly. He had also just seen that this woman seemed to have some sort of relationship with Chi Ting's disciple.

Indeed, for many things, one should hedge their bets; you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket.

Although Chi Ting and the Immortality Research Institute were in a cooperative relationship, Chi Ting did not belong to the Institute.

Building a good relationship with Chi Ting would do them no harm.

Alright.

Lang Huo nodded.

After speaking, Xu Mu, Yue Wangshu, and Shi Fumeng headed toward Zhou Guyang together.

In a secluded spot, Shi Fumeng hurriedly wiped her tears with her sleeve. Thank you, Patriarch.

It's no use thanking me. I only saved you for Xu Mu's sake.

Yue Wangshu's expression was indifferent.

Because Shi Fumeng in front of her was not her subordinate, but belonged to Lang Huo's faction.

[Affection +10]

Shi Fumeng bowed her head to Xu Mu again. Xu Mu, thank you. You've saved my life once again.

Xu Mu didn't look at Shi Fumeng; instead, he glanced at Yue Wangshu. Sister, you were being a bit redundant.

Hehe, perhaps.

Yue Wangshu chuckled lightly and then asked, Why are you looking for Zhou Guyang? His strength is nothing to scoff at either.

I know a thing or two about arrays. Breaking a ruin's array is very difficult for me, but if it's just missing a single step, I think there's a high probability I can complete it.

Xu Mu said, looking at Yue Wangshu.

[Affection +5]

You 'know a thing or two' about quite a lot, don't you?

Yue Wangshu looked at Xu Mu with a smile. I'm becoming more and more interested in you.

I share the same 'interest'.

Xu Mu chuckled along.