Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age

Hong Xi emitted a yellow glow and his body expanded in size. He rushed back and forth among the ghost crowd, violently hitting any ghost in his path, shattering them as if they had physical bodies.

However, numerous ghosts were clever enough to burrow into the ground or vanish into black smoke when Hong Xi lunged at them.

On the other side, Jia Zhiyi was sitting cross-legged. His clothes were in tatters, his breath weak, and he bore obvious injuries on his body.

By his side, a white monkey, half a human’s height and with six tails, guarded him. Any ghost daring to approach was swallowed up by the six-tailed white monkey.

As Jia Zhiyi did not fight back and Hong Xi’s attacks were somewhat clumsy, they fell into a tough battle against dozens of Foundation Establishment ghosts. Fortunately, Xu Mu arrived just in time.

Xu Mu made hand signs. Countless purple lightning bolts emanated from his body, obliterating most of the ghosts instantly. The remaining ghosts fled in terror from the thunderbolts.

Indeed, the thundering martial method had a strong restraining effect on these ghosts.

“Si si!”

Xu Mu wanted to get closer to Jia Zhiyi to check his injuries, but the six-tailed white monkey hissed at him, forcing Xu Mu to give up. He turned his attention to Hong Xi instead.

“Friend Hong, what happened? How did Friend Jia get injured?”

This area was the periphery of the Secret Realm, home to mostly Foundation Establishment Stage ghosts and ghoul corpses. Their combined strength at the beginning of the Golden Core Stage should have easily handled them.

“We encountered a group of Foundation Establishment Stage ghoul corpses. Just as we were about to kill them, they suddenly exploded. Friend Jia was caught off guard and got injured. He also saved a severely injured spirit beast in the process. To avoid accidents, we both decided to withdraw but then ran into this group of ghosts,” Hong Xi explained in a halting voice.

“I see! I never imagined the ghoul corpses would self-destruct!”

Xu Mu was slightly surprised.

He and Qiao Qianqian had only encountered one ghoul corpse, which he paralyzed on sight. They didn’t know ghoul corpses could explode in a suicide attack.

Just then, Qiao Qianqian returned. Seeing Jia Zhiyi’s condition, she couldn’t help but ask again.

“We’re only on the periphery, and already coping with suicidal Foundation Establishment ghoul corpses. If we go deeper and encounter a Golden Core Stage ghoul corpse that explodes…”

Worry shadowed Qiao Qianqian’s pretty face. Hong Xi kept silent, deep in thought. Xu Mu, however, seemed unperturbed.

He had confidence in his strength. Even if they encountered a suicide bombing by a late-stage Golden Core ghoul corpse, he believed he could emerge unscathed.

With my transcendent paralysis skill, they might not even get a chance to explode.

Before long, Li Youlan and Xu Lingyu also returned. From the look of sorrow on Li Youlan’s face, they likely encountered a situation similar to Jia Zhiyi’s.

“How did Friend Jia get injured?”

Upon seeing Jia Zhiyi treating his injuries, Li Youlan asked. This time, Xu Mu explained.

“We also ran into a group of ghoul corpses. Luckily, I reacted in time. Otherwise, even if we weren’t injured, we’d be in a very sorry state.”

Li Youlan sighed.

“Who would’ve thought that the periphery would already be so dangerous. If we venture further in, there’s a high chance…”

Li Youlan glanced at everyone. Her unspoken message was clear: they were risking lives.

Everyone looked at each other, realizing they were indeed in trouble. Their team simply lacked strength.

“Your Highness, what do you suggest?”

Everyone looked at Li Youlan, waiting for her to make a decision.

While everyone understood the risks of the Secret Realm, whether they wanted to take those risks was a decision Li Youlan had to make.

“We believe it’s better to advance cautiously. As for our rank, let’s not worry about that!”

Li Youlan had decided not to compete anymore.

Had it been a solo contest, she could have relied on Xu Mu to vie for the top three spots. But, now that it was a team-based operation, the power of Xu Mu alone was limited. Rather than risking the lives of her team for an undefined ranking, it was better to preserve strength.

Upon hearing Li Youlan’s words, the rest of them breathed a sigh of relief. If they had to delve deeper and fight with all they had, no one could say who would fall. The present situation, in contrast, was preferable.

Only Xu Mu was somewhat resistant.

He had come here with a purpose in mind, seeking the methods to create a top-tier zombie puppet. According to Li Youlan’s intention, they would probably only stick around the periphery, making their chances of finding the creation method nearly impossible.

“Your Highness, since you do not wish to compete for rankings, why don’t I go ahead and reconnaissance, taking the opportunity to gauge the strength of the other princes and princesses?”

Xu Mu straightforwardly proposed.

Everyone knew that they were competing against each other and gauging each other’s power. Hearing Xu Mu’s suggestion, Qiao Qianqian and the rest did not show any surprise.

“This—”

Li Youlan couldn’t help but feel some difficulty. With Xu Mu at her side, their safety was undoubtedly much higher, and the amount of monster aura they would gather would certainly be more substantial.

But, however much they gathered, they would most likely not exceed those ahead.

In that case, it was better to let Xu Mu follow and gather some information, which could yield significant returns.

“But will you be in danger if you go alone?” Li Youlan voiced her concerns.

No one knew what secrets this mysterious place held. If Xu Mu were to go alone and encounter danger, he wouldn’t even have anyone to call for help.

“Your highness, have you forgotten the skill I practice? Even if I can’t win, escaping should pose no problem!”

Listening to Xu Mu’s words, Li Youlan thought of the Virtualization Skill he practiced, which was indeed a magnificent skill for hiding and escaping.

“In that case, be careful! Try not to take any risks if you are uncertain!”

“Understood!”

Xu Mu saluted and turned into a beam of Escape Light, flying towards the center.

Li Youlan and the others waited for Jia Zhiyi to recover, then regrouped and merely hunted some low-ranking monsters in the vicinity.

Only Qiao Qianqian, looking at the departing Xu Mu, felt a bit reluctant to let him go.

On the other side, Xu Mu had not flown far before he encountered a dark cloud.

He didn’t recklessly charge through, instead, he restrained his aura and cautiously approached for a look. Inside, there were myriads of lingering spirits. Although they were a low rank, their numbers were as many as locusts, and it was somewhat frightening.

With Xu Mu’s abilities, he could probably annihilate these lingering spirits, however, this would consume a substantial amount of his Spiritual Power. It was just not worth it.

“My purpose here is not to collect their aura, but to find the Martial Method!”

Since they were working as a team now, no matter how hard he tried, he might not be able to help Li Youlan get the top spot. He might as well just give up and do his own thing.

Xu Mu stored the items on him in the God Refining Tripod. He then turned into a wisp of blue smoke and hid underground, waiting for the swarm of spirits to leave before resuming his journey.

After breaking through to the latter stage of the Golden Pill, he enhanced the God Refining Tripod further. He was now capable of utilizing the space within it, giving him an extra super storage bag that others couldn’t detect.

The existence of the God Refining Tripod also helped him overcome the huge downside that the Virtualization Skill couldn’t carry anything.

He had placed the most important items inside the God Refining Tripod. Only some dispensable items were kept inside the storage bag as a disguise.

However, the main purpose of the God Refining Tripod was not for storage, but for refining and sealing things. However, Xu Mu’s control was limited, and he was temporarily unable to fully utilize these two functions.

Because he did not get entangled with the monsters and his body was virtualized, Xu Mu travelled fast. Shortly thereafter, a small town appeared in his field of vision.

“Could it be that people still live here?”