Her Master Likes Xu Mu

"Damn it! What am I afraid of!"

Ye Chen roared. Ever since he was kidnapped abroad and killed for the first time, he had never been afraid again.

But today, seeing what was before him, a sliver of fear did stir in Ye Chen's heart.

That terrifying force from earlier—if he had been in Xu Mu's position, he felt certain he would have been shattered to pieces.

He immediately grabbed Hathaway and spread his dragon wings to fly outward.

Seeing this, Xu Mu quickly opened his system, preparing to spend Destiny Power to restore his own Qi.

But Yang Lielan and An Linghui blocked Xu Mu's path.

"Don't chase after him. You're already wounded this badly—aren't you afraid of dying?"

Yang Lielan's expression showed a hint of heartache. "You really do cherish the fairer sex. You'd risk your life for a pretty woman."

"You misunderstand, sister. Earlier, inside the formation, she saved my life. And this time, she held off the attack alone for our sake. I'd feel guilty if I didn't at least try."

Xu Mu gave himself a plausible excuse.

[Affection +10]

Hearing this, Yang Lielan gave Xu Mu a thumbs-up. "People like you are rare these days."

[Affection +6]

An Linghui also nodded inwardly. Even she wouldn't have been able to withstand that terrifying force earlier.

Fleeing is human nature, but Xu Mu chose to rise to the challenge because the woman had saved him before.

Her impression of this man had changed considerably as well.

"It looks like there's nothing more to worry about. Let's hurry—the formation's collapse is only temporary."

Xu Mu said to the others.

As he walked, he took out a bottle of mineral water and washed his body.

"Brother Mu, that woman earlier said the Saint Light Clan had a divine artifact. Do you know what that is?"

Chen Xuan asked curiously from the side.

Xu Mu shook his head, then turned his gaze to An Linghui. She seemed to be acquainted with that Hathaway woman.

"Divine artifacts are forged from the remains of top-tier experts above the Immortal rank, after their death."

An Linghui explained. "When top-tier experts die, their flesh and blood sublimate into Qi, but their bones never decay. The bones continue to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and they even transform according to their environment."

"No wonder—even a strong person's bones are this formidable after death."

Chen Xuan clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Of course. Those divine artifacts carry the souls of these experts. Some died in battle, some died protecting others. There's resentment, obsession... These thoughts gather within the bones, and over time, they birth spirits, forming the prototype of a divine artifact."

An Linghui explained. "Anyway, divine artifacts are extremely mysterious. Any race that possesses one is bound to be formidable."

"Does your clan have one?"

Xu Mu suddenly asked.

"Of course we do. But... it was lost."

An Linghui shook her head slightly.

...

Meanwhile.

Sheng Qiu and the others had already made it to the outside world.

Inside the inner realm, it was still daytime, but outside, it was already the early hours of the morning.

The solar-powered lamps propped up around them kept the area brightly lit.

Hu Qingyun and Zhao Qian sat under a tent, drinking tea.

They both looked up and saw the group over there.

Hu Qingyun had intended to ask them something, but the group vanished from the spot in an instant.

After leaving the desert far behind, the cloaked man first released the pigeon, then carefully set Sheng Qiu down on the ground.

"I know Xu Mu is your idol, but you can't throw your life away for him! He's just a Yanhuang man!"

Gezi looked at Sheng Qiu, whose face was covered in blood, and pouted.

"If it weren't for him this time, I'd be the one dead."

Sheng Qiu half-closed her eyes weakly. "Besides, our master really likes him. She watches his tournament videos almost every day."

"Stop it. Lord Divine General might just be interested in his techniques."

The cloaked elder took out two pills from his robes and stuffed them into Sheng Qiu's mouth. "This place isn't safe to stay. Let's move quickly."

...

At the same time.

Ye Chen and Hathaway also rushed out.

"What's the situation inside now?"

Hu Qingyun asked.

But Ye Chen didn't answer at all. He immediately took Hathaway and left.

Those two senior cleaners had a good relationship with Xu Mu. What if they made a move against him?

His top priority right now was to get away from here.

Once out in the desert, under the cover of night, Ye Chen flew swiftly in one direction.

As he flew, he asked, "How are you feeling now?"

"I..."

Hathaway swallowed her words.

Logically speaking, a few minutes had passed by now.

Her Qi should have recovered a bit, but she realized there wasn't an ounce of power left in her body.

Thinking back to the poison Xu Mu had forced her to take earlier, it had to be the reason.

But she knew full well that the Ye Chen beside her was no pushover.

If he found out she was crippled, the divine artifact in her possession would definitely be snatched away.

Divine artifacts can't be stored in spatial rings, but once they recognize a user, they can transform into power and merge into the user's body.

However, if the user dies, or if the part of the body where the artifact is attached is severed, the artifact will drop out.

For example, the divine artifact in her hand was fused into the back of her hand.

If Ye Chen chopped off her arm, the artifact would fall out from her hand.

Although she hadn't known Xu Mu as long as she'd known Ye Chen, the fact that Xu Mu dared to rescue someone at the Profound Realm level while he was only at the Mortal Separation realm proved his character.

That was something Ye Chen would never do.

"What's wrong?"

Ye Chen noticed Hathaway's silence.

"Nothing. My strength has recovered a bit. Just take me back to that hotel from before."

Hathaway clenched her fist. She needed to take a shower first and wash off the paint Xu Mu had applied.

Ye Chen nodded. "Alright!"

...

Xu Mu and the others also made it out of the inner realm safely, arriving at the tent area.

Hu Qingyun and Zhao Qian saw them return and both stood up.

"Xu Mu, what happened to you?"

Hu Qingyun rose immediately. Although Xu Mu had already cleaned off the blood, his wounds were still visible.

"It's nothing. Just a few minor injuries."

Xu Mu waved his hand dismissively. He noticed that a strong physique wasn't just about strength and defense.

His recovery ability was equally powerful. In just the past ten or so minutes,

the wounds on his back had already stopped hurting.

Zhao Qian approached, looking at An Linghui in disbelief. "Miss An! What are you doing here?"

Only then did Hu Qingyun notice An Linghui standing there. "Linghui? I thought you never went inside?"

"I went in earlier and got trapped for a few years. Xu Mu rescued me this time."

An Linghui explained with a smile.

Xu Mu silently pondered. It seemed Ji Liang hadn't informed these senior cleaners about An Linghui being trapped.

Still, he didn't care much about Ji Liang's reasoning.

What intrigued him more right now was what Sheng Qiu had said.

She said she had a good impression of him because her master liked him.

From the information she gave, she was a slave of a Divine General from the Great Wilderness Clan. In other words, her master was a Divine General.

But he'd never had any contact with this so-called Divine General.

He planned to ask An Linghui about it later. The current plot had already fully branched off on its own path.