Abyss Chapel

"Don't overthink it. My standards are very high. It's not that easy to become my wife."

Xu Mu knew Tantai Quan was joking. He bid her farewell, "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave. Once the pills are refined, I'll let you know."

With that, he walked toward the exit.

After Xu Mu's figure disappeared, an elderly man in a suit, his face covered in age spots, approached from a distance.

"Princess."

The old man gave a slight nod.

"Do you think this Xu Mu can be trusted?"

Tantai Quan looked at the old man beside her.

"I don't know his character well enough, so I can't say for sure. But there is one thing I am certain of: he will definitely become a powerhouse."

The old man said softly, "From the first time we met him until now, how much time has actually passed? Do you know what his cultivation realm is? Peak Grandmaster."

"What?"

Tantai Quan's expression abruptly changed. "I couldn't sense his realm and assumed he had just acquired some technique to conceal it. I never expected him to already be a Peak Grandmaster!"

"I was observing closely from a short distance away just now. The Qi he leaked when injecting energy into his spatial ring gave it away. There's absolutely no mistake."

The old man glanced at Tantai Quan. "Princess, this man is very dangerous. Before deepening our ties with him, we must see his true colors."

"I understand."

Tantai Quan replied softly.

Xu Mu's terrifying cultivation speed had already exceeded Tantai Quan's imagination.

If he was ruthless, cruel, and selfish, then cooperating with someone like Xu Mu would be like asking a tiger for its skin.

In the future, they would inevitably suffer from his backlash.

But if Xu Mu was a man of honor, it would mean she had a genius under her wing.

He would definitely bring her powerful support in the future.

"It seems I need to thoroughly investigate this Xu Mu, especially the master backing him."

Tantai Quan took out some shredded tobacco, stuffed it into her jade pipe, and elegantly struck a match.

...

After leaving Lumang Mountain, Xu Mu rushed non-stop to where Nalan Shisan was located.

Once he delivered the spirit stones to her this time, the matter would pretty much be settled.

Arriving at the Demon Sect where the Demon Queen resided, Xu Mu walked in wearing a black robe.

Seeing him from afar, the guards approached.

"Who are you?"

"My surname is Xu, and I'm here to deliver some treasures to the Demon Queen. Just pass my words on to her, and she will let me in."

Xu Mu told the guards.

"Hehe, so it's Mr. Xu. The Demon Queen specifically instructed that if someone with the surname Xu came by, we were to treat him with the same respect as the Demon Queen herself."

Upon hearing Xu Mu's identity, the leading middle-aged man's expression immediately turned respectful.

"Then can I go in now?"

Xu Mu asked with a smile.

"Of course. However, the Demon Queen has a guest today. She specifically ordered that no one is to disturb her."

The guard reminded him with a smile.

Xu Mu said, "Don't worry, I won't disturb her. I'll just wait outside."

"Alright, thank you for your understanding. Please follow me, sir."

The guard nodded and led the way.

The two went deep into the ruins and stopped in front of a palace.

Xu Mu sat on a nearby rock. At this distance, his perception could easily cover the area.

He spread out his perception, and Nalan Shisan's figure appeared in his mind's eye.

Besides Nalan Shisan, standing opposite her was a Caucasian man.

He had brown hair and a full beard, looking to be around fifty years old.

His deep blue eyes showed neither joy nor sorrow, much like an emotionless machine.

"Nalan Shisan, the mission has been issued. I am returning now."

The middle-aged man pulled his cloak's hood back up, speaking in slightly accented Dragon Country language.

"What do you take me for? You want me to do such dangerous things for you without any benefits?"

Nalan Shisan's eyes gradually grew fierce.

"The Abyss Chapel saved your life, and it can take it back."

After speaking, the middle-aged man turned around and walked toward the exit.

"How many things have I done for you over the years? Is it still not enough to repay the favor of saving me?"

Nalan Shisan clenched her fists and asked loudly.

"It is not enough. The Abyss Chapel saved you, and it requires your lifelong devotion."

The middle-aged man didn't look back. "I will return in half a month. If you haven't completed the mission, I will take your life."

With that, he left the palace.

Swish!

A black shadow flew over Xu Mu's head. Clearly, the middle-aged man from just now had already stepped into the Realm-Breaking stage.

"The Abyss Chapel?"

Xu Mu muttered to himself. There was no record of this in the previous plotlines.

"Mr. Xu, let's head over."

The guard beside him said.

Xu Mu nodded gently and followed the man to the front of the palace.

Hearing the guard's words, a few female guards outside the door walked into the palace.

Not long after, Nalan Shisan personally came out of the palace to greet him. "Xu Mu, you're here?"

"Yeah."

Xu Mu gave a slight nod.

"Come in."

Nalan Shisan opened the main doors herself.

"I'm here to deliver the spirit stones to you this time. However, Sister Demon Queen, your connections are truly vast. I just saw a Realm-Breaking expert fly away from your place."

Xu Mu stepped into the palace, deliberately steering the topic in this direction.

He had arrived a bit late and hadn't heard much.

He only learned from their conversation that Nalan Shisan had once been saved by people from the Abyss Chapel.

And she had been working for this organization ever since.

This time, they obviously wanted Nalan Shisan to execute another mission, and planned to kill her if she refused to help.

"He is not a connection."

Nalan Shisan's expression turned incredibly gloomy when speaking of this person, but then she put on a smile again. "Come with me first."

Xu Mu nodded slightly.

She led Xu Mu all the way to the grassy formation in the deepest part. "What do you see here?"

Xu Mu checked with his perception and then asked, "Where did everyone here go?"

"I let them go. I even gave them a lot of compensation. I didn't even make things difficult for those scumbags who were captured. From now on, I want to be a good person, for you."

Nalan Shisan smiled at Xu Mu.

"Fu Jinyu isn't here, so don't be so cheesy. I'm here to deliver the spirit stones to you this time, three tons in total."

Xu Mu pointed at the ground. "I'll unload them here for you."

"I don't want them anymore."

Nalan Shisan shook her head. Her hands gripped the hem of her clothes, her eyes looking off into the distance. "I hardly ever go out. Having these things is useless to me."

"You can use these spirit stones to exchange for heavenly treasures to improve your cultivation realm, or save them up so I can deal with the Gu worms in your body."

As Xu Mu spoke, he had already placed all the spirit stones down.

Nalan Shisan looked at the man in front of her and revealed a smile. "It's just a pity you're too young. If only I could have met you earlier."

[Affection +20]

Looking at the sudden increase in affection from her, Xu Mu looked somewhat surprised.

What was going on with this woman?

He checked Nalan Shisan's filial piety value toward him and was surprised to find that it was actually a positive 2.

This meant they were at the level of a lower-tier father and daughter, proving she had already accepted him as a father figure.

Could it be...

Xu Mu roughly guessed why her state of mind had changed.