Step into the Depths

"That's right."

Xianling Nan stopped in her tracks and turned back with a smile. "Do you know why I was captured? It's because I know the secrets hidden deep within this ruin that they caught me."

"What secrets does this ruin hold?"

Fu Jinyu asked in a deep voice.

"To put it simply, there are a lot of treasures. Where do you think they hide all the spirit stones they've gathered?"

Xianling Nan looked at Fu Jinyu with a smile.

"Xu Mu, let's go. Whether it's spirit stones or those rare heavenly treasures, they are incredibly hard to come by."

Fu Jinyu said, looking at Xu Mu.

Xianling Nan took all of this in. The Heavenly Demon before her was clearly much stronger than this Xu Mu.

Yet, no matter what they did, she seemed to seek his opinion.

Recalling the techniques Xu Mu used when he saved her earlier, she had to admit this young man was truly extraordinary.

Perhaps with his help, she really could kill the traitor.

"Little brother, count me in for this battle,"

Nalan Shisan said to Xu Mu. "We might even get our hands on a rank-nine heavenly treasure. Then wouldn't I have the cure to completely eradicate my Gu worm?"

"To completely cure you, we'd need at least four rank-nine treasures. What if there isn't enough to go around?"

Xu Mu glanced at Nalan Shisan. "For instance, what if there's only one rank-nine heavenly treasure?"

"Then you can refine it into a pill and split it into four portions. I agree to it, anyway."

Nalan Shisan shifted her gaze to Xianling Nan in the distance. "I just don't know if this member of the White Stone clan will agree."

"I agree. The four of us will split it equally."

Xianling Nan nodded. Among the people before her, aside from Xu Mu, the other two were quite strong.

Judging from Xu Mu's willingness to share the treasures just now, he didn't seem to be an extremely selfish person either.

Right now, she had no helpers of her own and could only rely on them.

In any case, even if this mission failed, she most likely wouldn't die. As for the three people in front of her, even if they died, it had nothing to do with her.

"Alright, then let's go back in. But, Sister Empress, check your phone first. I sent you so many messages earlier, and you didn't look at any of them."

As Xu Mu spoke, he took out his own phone and quickly sent a message to Fu Jinyu.

"My phone is with Nalan Shisan."

Fu Jinyu said as she reached out to take it.

Nalan Shisan took Fu Jinyu's phone out of her spatial ring and sighed, "All the treasures in my spatial ring were robbed; only garbage is left inside."

When she took out the phone, a pop-up message caused the screen to light up.

She also caught a glimpse of the text on it.

Xu Mu didn't mind this. Nalan Shisan's filial piety score toward him was also negative.

However, hers was only -1, which was generally still within a controllable range.

Letting her see it was no big deal. After all, she was still counting on Xu Mu to help remove her Gu worm, so she definitely wouldn't make a move against him in the short term.

After taking the phone, Fu Jinyu also saw the message.

It was a very simple sentence, telling Fu Jinyu to be wary of Xianling Nan. The woman was hiding something and harbored a great deal of malice.

Upon seeing the message, Fu Jinyu put the phone away.

Even if Xu Mu hadn't said that, Fu Jinyu wouldn't be foolish enough to blindly trust Xianling Nan.

"Alright, since everyone is willing to go, let's head out."

Xu Mu said to the people beside him.

Thus, the four of them returned to the interior of the ruins. This operation was slightly dangerous.

At the end of the day, the only person by his side he could trust was Fu Jinyu.

He could easily imagine that if they truly encountered a life-or-death crisis, Nalan Shisan and Xianling Nan would abandon him without hesitation.

All four wore black robes as they hurried deeper inside.

After reaching the depths, the surrounding vines began to intertwine, forming monsters with four heads.

Xianling Nan explained, "Don't fight them. The longer you fight, the stronger they become."

"Since you know the secrets here, I have something to ask. I've been here a few times before, and usually, there was only one monster to face. But when I was captured earlier, there were a full dozen monsters attacking me at once."

Nalan Shisan said, looking at Xianling Nan. "And they were incredibly strong right from the start."

"The reason is simple. In the deepest part of the ruin, someone is controlling the formation."

Xianling Nan explained, "I heard that this Heavenly Dao-level formation has a self-defense mode. Once activated, the monsters here will come out in full force to deal with the strongest intruders. Of course, this also consumes more spirit stones."

"Why would this mode be activated suddenly? Has a top-tier expert intruded recently?"

Nalan Shisan asked Xianling Nan.

"That, I don't know."

Xianling Nan shook her head.

"There are too many possibilities. Perhaps the people controlling the formation had a falling out. After all, this formation is a goose that lays golden eggs."

Xu Mu said with a smile.

Xianling Nan glanced at Xu Mu and revealed a faint smile. "Perhaps."

The group didn't fight these monsters. Although the monsters chased them from behind, their speed was much faster than the monsters.

Of course, Xu Mu was being pulled along by Fu Jinyu.

It wasn't long before they arrived back at the city from before.

However, Xianling Nan didn't lead them into the city; instead, they leaped over it from above.

The auction had ended, and the man on the stage was long gone, but quite a few people still chose to linger there.

These people also noticed the figures leaping high above.

Seeing this, they all chuckled.

"More people unafraid of death are heading over. Do they really think the spirit stones taken by those guys are that easy to snatch?"

"The monsters in the depths possess Realm-Breaking strength and move in packs. It's simply suicidal."

...

Listening to the discussions around him, Wu Tian looked at the two black-robed men beside him. "Do you dare to make a trip with me?"

"Although I owe you a favor, going inside is certain death. So many experts from foreign races have spent years without getting their hands on the treasures."

One of them shook his head. "I don't want to die."

"I'll go with you!"

The other middle-aged black-robed man spoke up. "But if we get the treasures, I want half."

"Deal!"

Wu Tian agreed without a second thought. His top priority right now was to recover his lost spirit stones and heavenly treasures.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to swallow this resentment.

...

Xu Mu and the others crossed the city. Behind the city was a vast desert.

However, large patches of trees still grew within the desert.

"Be careful. The monsters here are roughly at the Realm-Breaking stage, and there are many of them. I forced my way through once and almost died here."

Nalan Shisan said, looking into the distance.

"Don't worry. There's a trick to getting through here."

Xianling Nan said, stepping onto the desert sand. "You guys just follow me."

At this moment, Xu Mu used his perception to constantly observe his surroundings. It was his first time entering this place, so he definitely had to be extra careful.

Suddenly, vines in the distance began to intertwine, combining into dozens of four-headed monsters.

They all charged fiercely toward Xu Mu and the group.

Meanwhile, a black portal appeared high in the sky.

A middle-aged man clad in black battle armor with long black hair stepped out from within.

His golden eyes held neither joy nor sorrow. "Little Nan, I knew you would come back."

Upon seeing the middle-aged man above, Xianling Nan's expression drastically changed, and he immediately turned on his heel and fled.