Carving a Nine-Level Formation at Home

"That's right, no matter what you do, you always have to be a bit cautious. The last incident at Wanzu Valley caused quite a stir. I'm worried the Jiuli tribe might try the same trick again."

Xia Chuan nodded slightly. "You all have exceptional strength. I'd like you to come along too. I'll give you a chance at fortune, but if I run into trouble, I hope you'll lend me a hand."

"Since you're afraid they'll screw you over, why throw yourself into the fire?"

Xu Mu shook his head gently.

"I've been stuck at the mid-stage of Transcending Mortality for years. He has the rare treasures I need to advance. High risk, high reward."

Xia Chuan clenched his fists. "Isn't that how we cultivators are? For even a slim chance at advancement, countless people are willing to bet their lives."

"Alright."

Xu Mu said with a smile. "I agree. If you're in danger, we can help you."

"I trust you won't deceive me. Wu Anning has an excellent relationship with my father, and his willingness to entrust the Phantom Sword to you speaks volumes about your character."

Xia Chuan took out the note from his pocket and handed it to Xu Mu. "He didn't specify the exact location, just told me to gather at Mount Nu in Nanzhao."

Xu Mu glanced at the address, then returned the note to Xia Chuan. "Got it. We'll see you there then."

"I'll see you off."

After seeing Xu Mu and the others off, Xia Chuan didn't go back inside right away.

He took out his phone and called Xia Sihan, intending to sound her out about her relationship with Xu Mu.

...

Xu Mu and the others returned the same way, not wasting much time this time.

Xia Chuan of the Demon Sword Sect was clearly a smart man; he hadn't intended to clash head-on with Xu Mu.

After returning to the Xu family villa, everyone got off the helicopter.

Xu Mu drove to take the women back.

Along the way, Dai Xingluo, who had grabbed the passenger seat, blinked at Xu Mu. "Big brother, what's this 'Inner Realm' thing? Can I go?"

"No way!"

Xu Mu didn't hesitate. "Xingluo, let me make this clear: you and Wanyue absolutely cannot go until you reach the Grandmaster level."

"The Inner Realm is extremely dangerous. Even people at the Transcending Mortality stage can die there."

Song Nuanyang crossed her arms and said, "Don't laugh at me if I say this. At my level, I've only been to the Inner Realm twice, and I almost died once."

Hearing this, Dai Xingluo stopped pressing the issue. "Then what kind of place is it?"

"All you need to know is that the alien races come from the Inner Realm," Xu Mu explained. "Most of the ancient battlefields are at the convergence points between the Inner Realm and the Outer Realm."

"Aren't there a lot of ancient treasures left behind there?"

Dai Xingluo asked curiously.

"Yes, but only if you can keep your life while taking them," Xu Mu replied, glancing at her.

After dropping Song Nuanyang off at her coffee shop, Xu Mu took the remaining three to their own villa complex.

Meng Wanyue took the initiative, asking Tong Guoguo to continue training her. Clearly, she had been spurred on by talk of the Inner Realm as well.

Dai Xingluo naturally followed behind.

When Xu Mu arrived in the living room, he found Liang Yi sitting on the sofa.

As soon as he walked over, Liang Yi handed him a file folder on the table.

"This was sent over by the property management just now. It's the contract and keys for the other villa."

Liang Yi said to Xu Mu.

Xu Mu nodded lightly, then smiled. "Has the higher-ups called you yet?"

"Not yet."

Liang Yi shook her head gently.

"Then come help me out for a bit. Once we're done, I'll give you a piece of the credit."

As he spoke, Xu Mu tossed Liang Yi a Qihai Pill. "Consider this your pay."

Liang Yi caught it, completely stunned. Paying with a Qihai Pill—even the top sects didn't offer such benefits.

[Affection +10]

"Xu Mu, how many Qihai Pills do you actually have?"

"Just this one, and it's yours now."

Xu Mu glanced at Liang Yi.

[Affection +15]

Liang Yi didn't stand on ceremony. She swallowed the pill in one gulp, stood up, and asked, "What do you need me to do?"

"Manual labor. Dig holes for me."

Xu Mu planned to spend the day finishing his nine-grade illusion array.

He had only a bit of spiritual stone left for emergencies; the rest was all going into this formation.

With spiritual stones reinforcing it, the array would be much stronger and last longer.

For the entire day, Xu Mu worked on carving the array.

The array he had drawn was something he was completely proficient in. Carving it was like muscle memory; he didn't even have to think.

He also used a focus boost, increasing his carving speed by ten percent.

But even so, it took until dawn to finish carving the entire array. That alone showed how complex this nine-grade array was.

If the area were any larger, it would have taken even longer.

"It's done."

Xu Mu wiped the sweat from his forehead. The nine-grade illusion array, the Dreamweaver Soul-Binding Array, connecting all three villas, was finally successfully carved.

Because he had been busy the whole time, Ye Tong and the others hadn't gone to sleep either.

Xu Mu handed the array keys to everyone present.

He happened to have an eighth-grade rare material, Black Emperor Stone, earlier. Otherwise, ordinary materials wouldn't have been able to withstand this array.

Ye Tong, Feng Yue, Meng Wanyue, Dai Xingluo, Tong Guoguo, and even Liang Yi received keys.

This overwhelmed Liang Yi, and her affection began to rise again.

"In the future, if any enemies come, as long as you step into any of these three villas, take out the key, and channel Qi into it, the array will activate."

Xu Mu said to Ye Tong. "Honey, you go first."

"Alright!"

Ye Tong channeled Qi into the key, and it immediately glowed with the light of the array.

Buzz!

In the next moment, everyone around found themselves in a pure white world.

"Honey, the four of us are now inside this illusion array. But you control it. You can take one person's dream and project it outside."

Xu Mu explained to Ye Tong. "Generally, you'd use the strongest person's dream. You can give it a try."

"Project a dream outward? I'd better not."

Feng Yue immediately stepped back.

Meng Wanyue also cautiously retreated.

"I'll do it!"

Dai Xingluo volunteered, reaching out her hand.

"Alright."

Ye Tong used the array to effect on Dai Xingluo.

The white world around them suddenly gained color. It looked like an ancient boudoir.

Then, another Xu Mu appeared here.

His appearance was exactly like Xu Mu, and he was beckoning to Dai Xingluo. "Wife, you're back. Come on, let's go to bed. I can't wait any longer!"

Seeing this scene, Xu Mu was incredibly embarrassed. What on earth was Dai Xingluo thinking about all day?

Ye Tong, however, was a bit excited. This definitely couldn't be faked; it proved Dai Xingluo was sincere about Xu Mu.

The other villa was currently empty, so she planned to have Dai Xingluo and Meng Wanyue stay there, making it more convenient for her and Xu Mu to meet in private.

"Ahem!"

Xu Mu coughed a few times and continued, "Honey, you can freely weave the dream based on this one."

"Brother Mu, can't we hide ourselves? If we encounter a master, Sister Ye will be standing right here, which is still risky."

Meng Wanyue asked from the side.

"Of course, you can. All of you, take out your tokens, channel Qi into them, and take a look around."

Xu Mu said to the group.

Everyone complied and noticed irregular black specks scattered across the ground around them.

“If you step on any of these black specks, you will leave this illusion array,” Xu Mu explained.

Those present tried it out one after another and realized the array was indeed very powerful. With it in place, even if they encountered skilled opponents, they could still protect themselves.

...

“Dragon King, this seems to be a spatial ring.”

In the dark mountain night, several bodies with silver hair and red eyes lay on the ground. They were clearly all from the Jiuli tribe.

Huang Qu held out a ring and handed it to Ye Chen, who was wearing a trench coat.

Ye Chen took the ring, infused his Qi into it, and retrieved a phone.

He waved his hand, and one of the Jiuli tribe members’ palms was severed cleanly.

“Dragon’s Grasp!”

Ye Chen snatched the severed hand, quickly pressed each finger against the phone’s screen to unlock it. He scanned through the data on the phone, then broke into a smile. “To Nanzhao!”