Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age

Both of them were clever people, not needing to spell everything out clearly.

By probing the jade slip with his Divine Intent, Xu Mu quickly absorbed all the information within and the jade slip turned into powder soon after.

This was just an ordinary skill jade slip, usable only once.

“So this useful skill is practised by very few people because it’s so weak!”

Only after reading the jade slip did Xu Mu understand why no one seemed to use the Paralysis Skill.

According to the introduction in the jade slip, this tier nine Paralysis Skill, even when perfected, could barely restrict a cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment Stage.

Only when cultivated to the stage of Perfection could it be effective against those in the early Golden Core Stage, but it could only hold them for a single breath. Those in the middle stage of the Golden Core could only be held for one-tenth of a breath, and those in the late Golden Core Stage for only a hundredth of a breath.

Perfecting a tier nine skill was no easy task, and considering the end result was just to overpower weaker ones, it was not worth the effort.

“Luckily, I have the system. As long as I upgrade it to the Transcendent level, it should be effective in battles!”

This was one of the benefits of the system. Many skills that seemed mediocre could deliver unexpected results when upgraded to the Transcendent level, such as the tier seven Virtualization Skill.

After spending three days, Xu Mu upgraded the Paralysis Skill to Transcendent. He could execute it at will, although he wasn’t sure of the specific effects yet.

“As long as it can hold for half a breath, that will be enough to determine victory or defeat!”

Xu Mu’s requirements were not too high.

At that moment, Li Youlan sent a message, notifying him it was time to depart.

A total of six people were participating in this journey. Apart from Li Youlan, who was obliged to lead the team, and Xu Mu, the other four were Qiao Qianqian, Hong Xi, Jia Zhiyi, and Xu Lingyu.

Other than Xu Lingyu, whose strength he was somewhat familiar with, he was unclear about the strength of the other three. From Li Youlan’s introduction, he learned that Qiao Qianqian was a Spirit Plant cultivator, Hong Xi was a Body Cultivator, and Jia Zhiyi was a Beastmaster.

According to Xu Mu’s guess, their abilities should be stronger than those at the early Golden Core Stage, but the margin wouldn’t be too wide.

Once everyone had gathered, under Li Youlan’s guidance, they arrived at the imperial palace to use the Transmission Array. After a series of transfers, they ended up in a barren wilderness.

The surroundings were covered only by low shrubs and several insignificant mounds, with sparse Spiritual Energy.

There were a few small Spirit Veins and clans at the Nascent Soul Stage in the farther distance.

Xu Mu released his Divine Intent to scout the area and quickly noticed the location of a Formation hidden in the space in front of him.

Soon after, a dominant Nascent Soul Stage Divine Intent swept over them, and shortly after, a portal appeared in the void in front of them.

Li Youlan, without any hesitation, flew into it, followed closely by the others.

After passing through the Formation’s obstructions, the six appeared above the Black Stone Forest.

The Spiritual Energy here was much denser than outside, but carried a coldness, unlike the typical nature’s spiritual energy.

The group didn’t have the luxury to care about the Spiritual Energy. As soon as they entered, they detected a large number of Golden Core Stage cultivators.

Within the Black Stone Forest, many Golden Core cultivators had gathered. As they entered, these cultivators’ Divine Intents flooded towards them, albeit only to scan, showing no signs of hostility.

These people were clearly all here to partake in the adventure. Among them were a few familiar faces—those who had refilled the alchemy pills in the Sky Prison last time.

Besides, there were three Nascent Soul cultivators with formidable auras, sticking together separately.

“You finally came, little sister! I thought you would be even later!”

A refined-looking man in a silk robe with a double-dragon jade pendant by his waist flew over to greet them with a smile.

Behind the man were Xu Mu’s acquaintances, Wu Chun and Xie Chu.

“Brother!”

A faint smile appeared on Li Youlan’s face.

The only person she would greet in such a warm manner was her biological brother.

“Greetings to the Fifth Prince.”

Xu Mu and the others stepped forward to pay their respects.

“So, you’re Xu Mu! I’ve heard about you from Wu Chun. You really do stand out!”

The Fifth Prince looked at Xu Mu and praised him with a smile.

“Your Highness is too kind!”

After exchanging a few words, they followed the Fifth Prince and landed on the ground.

Apart from the Fifth Prince, no one else seemed interested in getting acquainted with Li Youlan.

Everyone had their eyes set on the throne. Save for siblings from the same mother like the Fifth Prince and Li Youlan, it was difficult for others to form alliances. You never knew who would end up being your enemy.

Even if they pretended to be friendly, there might be a knife waiting in the back.

Moreover, if there was a genuine friendship, keeping it a secret would be more beneficial.

Instead of warm interactions, she received quite a few hostile glances. One haughty young girl even seemed like she wanted to kill him.

Xu Mu looked around, realizing the girl was indeed staring at him.

What the hell?

He didn’t even know her.

Xu Mu sent a message to Wu Chun: “Do you know that girl, Wu? Why is she looking at me with such a loathing expression?”

Wu Chun glanced back, but quickly averted his gaze when he saw the girl.

“That’s the Seventh Princess, as for why she hates you—”

Wu Chun gave a bitter smile: “Do you remember the mission last time? Both of the people she trusted ended up dying in it!”

“Of course I remember! But how does that relate to me? It’s not like I killed them!” Xu Mu was puzzled.

“You know the temperament of the princess. It doesn’t matter whether you did it or not, what’s important is you have had a conflict with her subordinates. Once she feels you are related, that’s enough! Not just you, anyone who is alive is seen as an enemy by her, but you might need to receive special attention!” Wu Chun explained.

“…”

Xu Mu was speechless.

What the heck was wrong with this woman?

No wonder everyone in the imperial capital murmurs about this princess being capricious, unreasonable, and willful.

Just as he was complaining inwardly, a foreign Divine Intent transmitted to him.

“After entering the secret realm, come to me obediently for Soul Search, or I will make your life worse than death!”

Looking up, Xu Mu saw the Seventh Princess threatening him with a killing gesture.

“…”

Damn it!

This woman is seriously messed up in the head!

At that moment, another ominous gaze was cast his way.

It was a young man dressed in golden robes, holding an iron fan, and wearing a wicked smile on his face.

Seeing Xu Mu looking at him, the young man closed his fan and saluted him. Xu Mu returned the salute instinctively.

“That’s my second brother. You better be careful!”

This time it was Li Youlan who gave him a warning via message transmission.

“What do you mean?”

Xu Mu was puzzled.

“During the last prison incident, two of his followers died there. He’s been wanting to perform Soul Search on the survivors, but my Master and others saw no need for it!”

“…”

Xu Mu was speechless.

What the heck were these people?

Just because of misplaced anger, they were making his life hell.

Xu Mu was starting to regret coming to the imperial capital to help Li Youlan.

This round of secret realm trials would definitely not be peaceful.

As half a day passed and all the eligible princes and princesses had arrived, the Secret Realm Trial officially began.