When Xu Mu heard this, his gaze gradually turned serious. "You said the Silent Prophet? I shouldn't have provoked him, should I?"
"No, you haven't. But your talent is extraordinary, and that's exactly the reason he's investigating you."
Youyoufan patted her rather flat chest. "I've taken on the mission this time."
"What mission?"
Xu Mu asked curiously.
"To investigate the people around you, and most importantly, to figure out the forces behind you—like your master, and this so-called 'Righteous-to-a-Fault Sect.'"
Youyoufan explained, "As long as you give me pills, I'll help you. I'll try to make you seem as unremarkable as possible, so the Silent Prophet won't take too much interest in you."
Xu Mu asked with a smile, "This Silent Prophet is from a foreign race, isn't he?"
Youyoufan pointed at her own face. "I don't know. Most likely, like me, he's a mixed-blood."
Xu Mu thought for a moment. The Abyss Chapel itself probably wasn't that powerful, but the force behind it should be extremely formidable.
Being targeted by these people was indeed dangerous.
"Youyoufan, I have a pill that can completely heal your injuries."
Xu Mu said with a smile.
"What?"
Hearing this, Youyoufan immediately stepped forward and grabbed Xu Mu's arm, but then she let go again. "Go on. What's the price?"
"I have a Heaven-grade cultivation method that allows me to form a contract with others. After you and I form a contract, I'll be able to control your Qi."
Xu Mu looked at Youyoufan. "When I don't interfere, you'll be a normal person. But once I use my power, your Qi will completely vanish."
"You want to sign a contract with me? That would make me your slave! No way!"
Youyoufan refused without hesitation.
"Then there's nothing I can do."
Xu Mu rode away on his electric scooter.
Youyoufan watched Xu Mu's retreating figure, quickened her pace, and sat directly on the back of his scooter.
"What are you doing?"
Xu Mu stopped the scooter again.
"I currently need to come to you every month for pills anyway. You're saying that after we sign the contract, I won't need to come every month?"
"That's right. Normally, I won't interfere with you either. I'll only need you when I require your help."
Xu Mu said calmly, "I can promise you this: I'll only control you for two years. After two years, I'll dissolve the contract."
Hearing this, Youyoufan's eyes suddenly lit up. "You're saying you'll dissolve it after two years? What if you're lying to me?"
"My company and my family are all here. If I go back on my word, you can send people to deal with them."
Xu Mu felt that controlling her for two years was more than enough.
Right now, he needed to plant a mole within the Abyss Chapel, so that if they ever planned to move against him in the future, he'd know in advance.
"Fine! I agree."
Youyoufan nodded heavily. What Xu Mu said made sense—if he broke his promise, they could just go all out and fight to the bitter end.
Xu Mu rode his scooter into a secluded alley.
He placed his hand on Youyoufan's shoulder, and black Qi emerged from his body.
Youyoufan squinted her eyes. For some reason, she felt this power was extremely cold—like falling into an icy hell. She couldn't tell if it was psychological, but she felt a suffocating sensation from this power.
"Alright, let me try it first."
Xu Mu activated the Soul-Devouring Sacred Gu, and Youyoufan felt her Qi vanish at an alarming speed until it was completely gone.
Youyoufan looked at Xu Mu in disbelief. What kind of existence was behind this man?
He had effortlessly taken her life into his hands.
She currently had no Qi at all—Xu Mu could kill her if he wanted to.
"Here, eat this."
Xu Mu took out a large Liuwet Dihuang pill from his body and shoved it into Youyoufan's mouth.
Youyoufan chewed it forcefully and swallowed. "Can this really heal me?"
"Once your Qi recovers, you can test it yourself."
Xu Mu rode away again.
Youyoufan looked at Xu Mu's back and said coldly, "You'd better not be lying to me."
...
Xu Mu had sent a message to Lu Xueyao earlier, telling her to wait for him at home.
He rode to the urban village and, through his perception, sensed that Lu Xueyao was indeed at home.
Arriving in front of Lu Xueyao's door, Xu Mu didn't knock—he simply sent her a message.
A moment later, Lu Xueyao, wearing a simple dress, quickly pushed open the door.
"Brother Mu."
She jogged over and smiled as she came to stand in front of him. "What do you need this time?"
[Affection +10]
"Considering that you might encounter ancient martial artists in the future, I came over this time specifically to give you two cultivation methods. Practice them well."
Xu Mu took out a Yellow-grade and a Mystic-grade cultivation method and handed them to Lu Xueyao.
"Brother Mu, what good are these cultivation methods?"
Lu Xueyao asked curiously.
"Simply put, without a cultivation method, fighting still comes down to punching and kicking. But once you master one, you can do this."
As soon as Xu Mu finished speaking, a dark red longsword flew out from his body.
The sword circled around Lu Xueyao once before disappearing.
Seeing this, Lu Xueyao widened her eyes in excitement. "Brother Mu! So this is what a cultivation method can do?"
[Affection +30]
"That's right, but what I've given you so far is a low-tier cultivation method. Master it first—the more powerful techniques can come later."
Xu Mu had no intention of hiding anything from Lu Xueyao; her filial piety value of nine was well worth it.
After saying goodbye to Lu Xueyao, Xu Mu rode his bike back home.
...
The next morning.
Xu Mu first went to the Xu family estate and stored the helicopter in his storage space.
Then he drove to pick up Chen Xuan, and the two of them headed over to Wei Jingzhi's place together.
The helicopter was already waiting there, and to everyone's surprise, Yang Lielan was there too.
"Sister Yang, you're coming too?"
Xu Mu asked with a smile. "Didn't you say yesterday that you didn't want to take the risk?"
"Brother Ji Liang upped the pay, so of course I'm going. Besides, this time I'm protecting the two of you—this mission is easy for me. You're nothing like those dead weights."
Yang Lielan let out a faint laugh.
"Be careful. This inner realm is an ancient battlefield, and usually, ancient battlefields are packed with incredible treasures."
Wei Jingzhi added from the side, "It's not just you all—foreigners and alien races will definitely be making their moves too."
"Don't worry, it's not like we're obligated to complete the mission."
Xu Mu said with a smile.
...
The Southern Frontier Desert.
Xu Mu and the others were flown by helicopter to a desolate, ancient city.
Under Yang Lielan's lead, they walked into the city.
Most of this area fell within uninhabited zones or strictly protected regions, where ordinary people couldn't set foot.
But those who could come here were far from ordinary.
At a stretch of ruined city wall, the group stepped into the ruins, which were likewise nothing but yellow sand inside.
Through his perception, Xu Mu sensed that there were already quite a few people up ahead.
Suddenly, a smile spread across Xu Mu's face.
Ye Chen was here—and not just him; Ma Henggu from the Primordial Hall was also present.
In the storyline, the only major stumble Ye Chen took in his early days was running into the Primordial Hall. Could this be that very moment?
If so, Xu Mu intended to make some moves of his own.

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!