Beauty, One of Us

Nalan Shisan's eyes widened in realization. "You mean their goal is simply to lure all the experts into the Realm within a Realm, so they can do something else?"

"Exactly. Think carefully about the current situation at Kunlun Mountain."

Xu Mu paused and said, "First, the spectators are all running outside, leaving the front courtyard in utter chaos. Second, all the sect masters, elders, and other experts are heading to the Realm within a Realm."

"I get it!"

Nalan Shisan nodded vigorously. "With the front in chaos, others can sneak in. And with the experts entering the Realm within a Realm, there are no top-tier fighters left to guard the outskirts of the ruins."

Tong Guoguo also nodded to herself. "That makes perfect sense. Those who go to the Realm within a Realm are walking into a death trap; how could they possibly rescue anyone?"

Fu Jinyu gave Xu Mu an admiring look. "Xu Mu, your intellect is on par with mine. I just thought of that too."

[Affection +10]

Xu Mu was deeply moved. As expected of the Empress sister; those other two wretched women didn't think he was smart at all.

Although Xu Mu's cleverness was a bit like cheating. If he hadn't seen Wu Tian, he would have most likely gone into the Realm within a Realm just to watch the show.

But now, following Wu Tian was clearly the better option.

Who knows, Wu Tian might find some new fortuitous encounter, and Xu Mu would have to find a way to snatch it from him.

"Xu Mu, even though we can roughly guess the Chapel of the Abyss's motives, we only know they aren't going to the Realm within a Realm. The Kunlun Mountain ruins are so vast; we don't know where their actual target is," Nalan Shisan said from the side.

"Then we'll just have to rely on luck, and my luck has always been very good."

Xu Mu immediately followed behind Wu Tian. "Follow me, and put on a disguise."

As he spoke, he first used an illusion array to alter his own appearance, transforming into a middle-aged man.

As for the three women, they all donned black robes to conceal their faces.

Not long after they started walking, Xu Mu suddenly stopped. "Nalan Shisan, you shouldn't come any further. We might encounter experts from the Chapel of the Abyss later, and it's best if they don't spot you."

Nalan Shisan pondered for a moment before giving a slight nod. "Alright, then I'll hide nearby."

With that, she turned and left.

Nalan Shisan knew very well that she couldn't afford to offend the Chapel of the Abyss.

Given the current situation, she still had a chance to survive. Even if the people from the Chapel of the Abyss found her again, she would have an excuse.

For example, she could claim she entered the Realm within a Realm, realized she couldn't win, and barely escaped with her life.

But if she followed Xu Mu and the others and ran into the higher-ups of the Chapel of the Abyss, her cover would be blown.

Watching her leave, Xu Mu continued heading inward, keeping pace with Wu Tian.

"Wait."

Xu Mu raised a hand, signaling the two beside him to stop.

Because in his perception, Wu Tian had stopped in the distance.

Wu Tian seemed to have spotted something and began walking toward a building on the left.

Xu Mu immediately followed. As Wu Tian entered the building, Xu Mu used his perception to get a clear view of the interior.

Three corpses lay inside the building, two middle-aged men and one old man.

All of them had a fist-sized hole pierced through their necks. Judging by the bloodstains on the ground, they hadn't been dead for long.

Xu Mu frowned slightly. It seemed the people from the Chapel of the Abyss had already headed deeper inside.

"What's wrong?"

Tong Guoguo asked from the side.

Xu Mu didn't reply immediately. After a moment of thought, he said, "You two shouldn't follow me anymore. Go to the Realm within a Realm immediately and tell Jiang Cisui that I saw someone secretly sneaking into the depths of the ruins, and people have already been killed."

"If we leave, what about you?"

Fu Jinyu frowned.

"It's not like you don't know the life-saving techniques I possess."

Saying this, Xu Mu took out a teleportation token and handed it to Fu Jinyu. "Besides, we can still communicate via voice transmission."

"Let's listen to Xu Mu. Both of us have special identities. If we follow him deeper, we might even be framed."

Tong Guoguo glanced at Fu Jinyu.

Fu Jinyu finally nodded; it did make sense.

She was from the Celestial Demon Tribe, and this Tong Guoguo used to be part of the Immortality Research Institute.

If the two of them followed Xu Mu and ended up being targeted, it would drag him down with them.

It was better to find the people from Kunlun Mountain first. Sticking with them would help clear any suspicion.

"Alright, we'll leave right now."

Fu Jinyu spread her wings, grabbed Tong Guoguo, and flew toward the entrance of the Realm within a Realm in the distance.

As for Xu Mu, he continued to trail behind Wu Tian.

After coming out of the building, Wu Tian headed toward the depths of the Kunlun Mountain ruins.

Xu Mu kept following. After walking for a solid twenty minutes, he noticed Wu Tian stopping in front of a massive mountain peak.

This area was already at the rear of the ruins.

Wu Tian looked up toward the heights and hurried up the mountain.

Xu Mu arrived at the spot as well. It looked like Wu Tian had discovered something.

To be precise, it was probably the old grandpa spirit with him who had discovered it.

At the peak of the mountain stood a resplendent and magnificent palace.

When Wu Tian arrived, he found the perimeter of the palace completely deserted, with no guards in sight.

However, he did notice quite a few bloodstains on a patch of grass.

Wu Tian looked toward the interior of the palace and walked in.

The moment he stepped inside, the world before his eyes changed.

It was a rather primitive mountain forest, and the overall terrain and landscape were completely different from the outside.

It should be noted that outside, the sky was just brightening, and many stars were still visible.

But the sky here was the color of dusk.

"Old man, is this an array?"

Wu Tian asked as he looked around.

"It doesn't look like it. This is more like an inner realm. Rumor has it that Kunlun Mountain controls an inner realm, and this should be it."

Li Poshan explained.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a bizarre energy radiated from the distant sky.

Wu Tian immediately rushed deeper inside. After moving for about two minutes, Li Poshan's voice suddenly rang out, "Run! You've been discovered!"

"What?"

Wu Tian's expression changed, and he turned around to flee.

But the power coming from the depths was immensely vast. In an instant, a dark shadow appeared in the sky above Wu Tian.

Swish, swish, swish!

The black-robed figure high above raised a hand, and dozens of spikes formed from tree branches rained down on Wu Tian in a massive swarm.

Wu Tian looked up at the incoming attack and immediately unleashed his Demonic Evil Art.

Hum!

Black energy coiled around his body. The spikes aimed at Wu Tian all plunged into the black mist, failing to harm him at all.

"Huh?"

The black-robed figure above sounded somewhat surprised, speaking with a female voice.

She suddenly landed on the ground and took a step forward. Vines immediately sprouted from the earth all around Wu Tian.

The vines intertwined, eventually forming a birdcage that trapped Wu Tian inside.

Wu Tian immediately attacked the vines, but he couldn't leave a single scratch on them.

"Stop struggling for now. This isn't a killing move; she's probably interested in your cultivation art."

Li Poshan's voice echoed. "Once things stabilize, I'll take control of your body and help you escape."

Wu Tian nodded inwardly, immediately raising his hands and shouting, "Senior, spare my life! I'm not from Kunlun Mountain!"

The black-robed figure walked toward Wu Tian, but suddenly, her body stiffened. "There's another one."

As she spoke, she flew off toward the interior.

...

As soon as Xu Mu stepped into this area, his senses picked up Wu Tian fleeing in this direction.

He immediately took a detour and ventured deeper, unexpectedly discovering the Boundary Fire.

He had originally thought the environment here differed from the outside due to a powerful array, but now it seemed this was actually the Inner Realm.

As he approached the area, a black-robed figure appeared behind him.

When Xu Mu arrived at the Boundary Fire, an old man in a Daoist robe was standing there.

Using his Eye of God, he examined the man and realized he was Zhang Shanhu, the current Second Elder of Kunlun Mountain.

However, Zhang Shanhu's eyes were dull and glassy, staring blankly ahead. It seemed he was under someone's control.

No wonder they had made it here so smoothly without causing a commotion—they had the Second Elder holding the fort.

With the Supreme Elder in the Realm within a Realm, and the Sect Master and First Elder tied up in the tournament's array, didn't that make the Second Elder the absolute authority here?

"Beauty, don't kill me. I'm on your side."

Xu Mu raised his hand, a dark golden light flowing from his palm. "I am from the Jiuli Tribe. Mr. Soul sent me here to help."