The Elder of the Eternal Life Research Institute

Actually, one didn't even need to think about it to know that Wang Hun had intentionally exposed this location to lure Xu Mu over.

Therefore, this place would definitely be abandoned later; they wouldn't build a branch here.

Naturally, they wouldn't have used that many spirit stones when drawing up a level-eight formation.

Based on Xu Mu's earlier investigation, this formation used very few spirit stones and would only last for about three hours.

However, he definitely wouldn't just sit and wait for death. If Yang Lielan continued to release her Qi like this for three hours, it would undoubtedly take a massive toll on her.

If she died, Xu Mu and the others would be in danger.

He felt a bit helpless. If he had known Wei Jingzhi wasn't coming, he would have let Meng Wanyue and Dai Xingluo go back.

"How is it? Can this formation be resolved?" Yang Lielan looked at Xu Mu and asked.

Xu Mu thought for a moment and said, "There is no way for now. But senior, please withdraw your Qi first. Let the two people beside me deal with these vines around us."

"Them? How long can they hold out?" Yang Lielan looked at Meng Wanyue and Dai Xingluo indifferently.

"My goal is for the two of them to advance," Xu Mu smiled at Meng Wanyue and Dai Xingluo.

Meng Wanyue suddenly realized, "Brother Mu is right! A so-called battle doesn't necessarily have to be fought against people."

Dai Xingluo also gripped her longsword tightly at this moment. By pushing herself to the limit while fighting these vines and then taking an elixir, she could definitely enter the late stage of the Divine Ability realm.

Yang Lielan didn't say much more and withdrew the barrier she had set up.

Swish, swish, swish!

Dai Xingluo held her sword in one hand and continuously waved her other hand around.

Golden threads as thin as hair sliced through the surroundings, cutting all the vines to pieces.

Meng Wanyue also cooperated with her shadow to sever all the incoming vines.

Yang Lielan looked at the two of them in surprise.

Their cultivation realms were not high, but their understanding of combat was extremely deep.

Coupled with their powerful cultivation methods, it felt like the two of them could even exchange blows with Grandmaster-level experts.

Taking advantage of the two fighting, Xu Mu sat on the ground, pressed his hands against the earth, and studied it carefully.

Then, he looked into the distance and said, "Follow me."

Meng Wanyue and Dai Xingluo stayed close to Xu Mu, cutting down the vines attacking from all sides.

Countless vines, like tentacles, attacked from the front, back, left, right, and every possible direction.

This battle couldn't be called a one-on-one fight at all; it was one against many.

In a short period of time, both of their breaths began to grow heavy.

Yang Lielan and Tong Guoguo also followed beside Xu Mu. Finally, they arrived at the spot where the projection of Wang Hun had been just a moment ago.

Xu Mu pressed his hands on the ground again, then revealed a smile. "I have a way. Wanyue, Xingluo, you two fight a little longer and push yourselves to the limit."

The two nodded in agreement and continued to fight against the vines here.

Finally, when their Qi was almost exhausted, Xu Mu immediately reminded them to take the elixirs.

The two took out the elixirs Xu Mu had given them and swallowed them in one gulp.

The terrifying medicinal efficacy nourished their dried-up bodies with Qi once again.

As their bodies continuously released power outward, Meng Wanyue finally stepped into the late stage of the Divine Ability realm first.

And Dai Xingluo followed suit, entering the same realm.

Even though they had entered the late stage, the medicinal efficacy still hadn't dissipated and continued to release incessantly.

The two of them didn't stop either, continuing to attack the surrounding vines. Now, whether it was speed or strength, they were much stronger than before.

"Brother! Is this the late stage of the Divine Ability realm?"

The thin threads in Dai Xingluo's hands directly coiled around the group. The attacking vines shattered into pieces the moment they touched the threads.

[Favorability +20]

Meng Wanyue looked at the thin threads around them and stopped attacking, instead looking at Xu Mu with a face full of gratitude.

How many days had she been following Xu Mu? Her strength had already reached this level.

"Alright, don't waste your Qi. Let's rest for a while."

Xu Mu pressed both hands on the ground, and formation runes and characters appeared around his body.

All of this power poured into the ground.

Buzz!

A massive formation, with Xu Mu at the center, continuously expanded in all directions.

This formation expanded a full several hundred meters away.

The vines appeared again, but in the next moment, they were bound by the white light released by the formation.

In a short span of time, all the surrounding vines were completely restrained.

Tong Guoguo asked in surprise, "Xu Mu, what's going on here?"

"To put it simply, I can't resolve the level-eight formation here, but I can easily resolve the level-four projection formation carved here. I dismantled the projection formation and, on that foundation, carved a large-scale binding formation."

Xu Mu smiled and clapped his hands. "This binding formation consumes the spirit stones of this level-eight formation. The formation that originally could have lasted two or three hours probably won't even last an hour now."

Yang Lielan raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Large-scale formations all require spirit stones to operate. Your formation consumes the spirit stones of the level-eight formation and still keeps us safe. I didn't expect your mastery of formations to be so strong."

[Favorability +5]

Originally, seeing Xu Mu accompanied by three pretty girls, she didn't have much of a favorable impression of this kind of person.

She had figured he was one of those second-generation sect members who, at a young age, relied on their background to marry a bunch of wives.

Now it seemed that this man was actually quite capable.

"Thank you for the praise, senior. I only know a little about formations."

Xu Mu's eyes looked into the distance. "If nothing unexpected happens, Wang Hun should be making his move."

Boom!

Right at this moment, two figures appeared in the distance, giving Xu Mu and the others no time to rest at all.

One of them was a bald old man with a hunched back, holding a longsword in his hand.

The other person was a woman in her fifties. She had short silver hair, red eyes, and quite a few wrinkles around the corners of her mouth.

Seeing the two people before them, Tong Guoguo's face was full of solemnity. "They are elders of the Immortality Research Institute. That old man is called Qian Yishan, at the first tier of the Realm-Breaking stage. The woman is called Miao Ju, a member of the Jiuli Tribe, and she is also at the peak of the Mortal Transcendence realm."

Xu Mu nodded secretly. Elder level... He remembered that Jiang Mingzhuo from before was also at the elder level in the Immortality Research Institute.

"Oh my, isn't this the little girl from the Profound Heaven Sect, Yang Lielan?"

Qian Yishan slowly waved the longsword in his hand.

"Qian Yishan, you've been missing for decades. I didn't expect you to be hiding in the Immortality Research Institute. You truly bring shame to your sect!"

Yang Lielan touched her ring, and a red-tasseled spear appeared in her hands.

The spearhead was pure black, the body was silver, and a red tassel was tied to the shaft.

The long spear was about two meters long, significantly taller than Yang Lielan's height.

Xu Mu was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected this woman's weapon to be a long spear; this was quite rare.

Originally, Yang Lielan had a voluptuous figure, but after holding the long spear, her body actually felt a bit more slender.

"Cut the crap. Mr. Soul wants this resolved quickly. If we end up attracting Wei Jingzhi, we're done for."

Miao Ju raised her hands, and blue Gu bugs gradually appeared on her body. "I'll leave Yang Lielan to you. As for the rest, they will feed my babies!"

Swish!

The two attacked at the same time, instantly rushing towards Xu Mu and the others.

"Just the two of you, and one of you thinks you can take me on alone?"

Yang Lielan held her spear with both hands, pointing it forward.

With a deafening boom, he shot forward, tearing deep trenches into the earth in his wake.

Xu Mu looked around nervously; after all, Wang Hun had yet to appear.

However, now that he had acquired a few new cultivation techniques, he actually wanted to test his strength against Wang Hun.

He wanted to see if Wang Hun could still instantly kill him with a mere raise of his hand, just like before.