Stepping into the Inner Realm

“What the hell?”

Xu Mu looked utterly baffled.

Zhao Qian smiled, pulled out his phone, and handed it to Xu Mu.

After glancing at it, Xu Mu was speechless. This Ji Qingge really knew how to keep her word.

She had posted in the outsourced cleaners' group chat: “Xu Mu, I was wrong.”

Then she changed her nickname from “Wildest in the Group” to “Xu Mu’s Concubine.”

The moment she changed it like that, the older folks in the group started chiming in.

Blossoming Fortune: “I said it before—those two are a couple. Was I wrong?”

A Long-Term Buyer of Spirit Stones: “Haha! Never thought Qingge would agree to be a concubine. I don’t buy it.”

Blessings Abound: “Me neither. With that girl’s temper, she’d definitely be brawling with the legal wife every day.”

...

Xu Mu noticed that these commenters all had very old-fashioned usernames, clearly veteran seniors.

Take Zhao Qian, standing right before him, for example.

Who would’ve thought this group was hiding so many experts?

Xu Mu immediately pulled out his own phone and replied below: “We were just messing around with a bet. Qingge lost, that’s all.”

After typing that, he @mentioned Ji Qingge: “Since you’ve kept your promise, you can change your name back now.”

“Xu Mu, why bother? I know Qingge too well. If she’s doing this, she definitely has feelings for you,”

Zhao Qian said with a chuckle. “If you marry her, the benefits would be more than you can imagine.”

“Please, senior, no jokes.”

Xu Mu waved his hand helplessly, then said, “If there’s nothing else, I’d like to go back in and fight.”

“Hold on, take a rest first. I need to report this news.”

Zhao Qian walked off in the distance, phone in hand.

As for Wang Pengyan, he just sat there staring at his phone, clearly the quiet type.

Before long, Zhao Qian returned from a distance, sat back down, and lit a cigarette.

“Xu Mu, there’s a very tough mission. Are you interested?”

Zhao Qian took a drag and looked at Xu Mu.

“What mission?” Xu Mu asked curiously.

“First off, because of the important intel you got this time, higher-ups have decided to reward you with three Grade 7 heavenly treasures.”

Zhao Qian said to Xu Mu. “But for the next mission, they’re offering a Grade 9 heavenly treasure.”

Xu Mu couldn’t care less about Grade 7 treasures.

Of course, that might have to do with him deliberately holding back. If the fight with that Realm-Breaker Stage 3 had been recorded on video, the reward would likely be Grade 8.

Xu Mu thought for a moment, then said, “Senior, please tell me about the mission first.”

If it was dangerous or time-wasting, Xu Mu would definitely pass.

He was different from others. Others might be stuck at some stage and desperately need a Grade 9 treasure to advance.

So they’d gladly spend years to get it.

But Xu Mu didn’t need that at all. To him, time was life.

The Justice Points he earned in this period were worth more than even divine elixirs.

“Higher-ups want you to go to the Inner Realm and scout the terrain and forces within about fifty kilometers,”

Zhao Qian explained.

Wang Pengyan, who had been quietly looking at his phone, frowned slightly. “Old Zhao, that’s too dangerous. The Inner Realm is nothing like the Outer Realm. Most of the Inner Realm’s entrances and exits are inside racial faction territories. Even a Realm-Breaker Stage 1 or 2 would be risking their life going in there.”

“I’m just relaying orders from above. Xu Mu can refuse,”

Zhao Qian shrugged, glancing at Wang Pengyan. “That’s how it is in this world. High risk, high reward. A Grade 9 treasure isn’t easy to come by.”

Xu Mu’s expression didn’t change. For him, a Grade 9 treasure was hardly difficult to obtain.

“Scouting the terrain and forces? What exactly do I need to do?”

“Take the belt, walk around the area, and if possible, capture some people to ask about the surroundings and force distribution,”

Zhao Qian took a few puffs and continued. “But this mission is extremely dangerous. Usually, only experts above the Realm-Breaker stage take it on.”

“Then why send me? Do they want me dead out there?” Xu Mu asked with a smile.

“How could the nation have such thoughts? If you want an explanation, it’s that the nation wants to promote you,”

Zhao Qian explained. “They need a reason to give you a Grade 9 treasure. If it were just a formality with an easy mission, others would complain. We have many experts, and fairness is the top priority.”

Xu Mu thought it over, then smiled. “Senior, I agree.”

Wang Pengyan put down his phone. “Xu Mu, think it through. Those top experts can tell you’re from Yanhuang based on your Qi emission. If you go over there, it’ll be nine chances of death and one of survival.”

“Thanks for your concern, senior. I’m pretty confident when it comes to escaping,”

Xu Mu stood up with a smile.

“Alright, since you’ve agreed, follow me. I’m the one responsible for sending you there.”

Zhao Qian stubbed out the cigarette in his hand and stood up, heading toward the ruins.

Xu Mu followed behind Zhao Qian and suddenly asked, "I have a friend. Can he come along as well?"

"Of course, but there's only one ninth-grade celestial treasure."

Zhao Qian nodded slightly.

As Xu Mu stepped into the entrance of the ruins, he began trying to send a telepathic message to Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan's voice entered Xu Mu's mind, unheard by Zhao Qian beside him.

Through telepathy, Xu Mu asked Chen Xuan if he was willing to travel to the true land of the Inner Realm.

Chen Xuan immediately agreed.

So Xu Mu told Chen Xuan to hurry over.

Before long, Chen Xuan's figure appeared on a distant mountaintop.

"Old Chen!"

Xu Mu called out from afar. "What a coincidence! I was about to look for you. I'm heading to the Inner Realm. Are you coming?"

Chen Xuan rushed toward them at a brisk pace. "Of course I am!"

Zhao Qian glanced at Chen Xuan. "Your cultivation level is even lower than Xu Mu's. I don't think you should join this dangerous mission."

Chen Xuan smiled. "Don't worry, Senior. I'm very good at surviving."

Zhao Qian wanted to say more, but seeing the look in Chen Xuan's eyes, he swallowed his words.

Led by Zhao Qian, they arrived at the junction between the Inner Realm and the Outer Realm. This time, it wasn't the cave from before. What lay before them was a vast space where the two realms intersected.

Zhao Qian took out two metal watches and belts from his pocket. "Take the watches. These are specially made by the country for the Sanitation Department. No charging needed—they'll run continuously for seven or eight years."

Xu Mu and Chen Xuan each received one and stored them in their spatial rings.

"Follow the watch time. I'll appear at noon and midnight every day. I'll only wait here for twenty minutes. If you don't show up, I'll go back."

Having said that, Zhao Qian placed the Boundary Fire at the barrier where the Inner and Outer Realms met.

Xu Mu and Chen Xuan exchanged glances, then crossed through to the Inner Realm.

They put on black robes and didn't linger, quickly moving outward.

The journey was smooth, and in a short time, they reached the area where Xu Mu had fought Guang Hai earlier.

Continuing forward, they found the formation exit to leave this place.

They looked at each other, then dashed over, pressed their hands onto the stone, and left the ruins.

Once outside, Xu Mu and Chen Xuan took in their surroundings.

From this moment on, they were truly standing on the soil of the Inner Realm.

"Who are you? Take off your black robes!"

A woman's voice came from the hillside above.