The aged Qi Xie let out a hearty laugh, declaring boldly, "I've been declining for many years, a man close to death. I've long since come to terms with life and death. If, before I die, I can use this withered body to eliminate a threat for the Alliance, no matter how you look at it, I'm coming out ahead, haha!"

"There's no need to persuade me, I know exactly what I'm doing," he said.

"The First Leader has instructed me to support the South Five Regions, and with matters being urgent, I shall not keep you any longer. We will meet again later."

On the scene, the elders and leaders were filled with admiration, but they couldn't help worrying about Qi Xie's condition, so they all clasped hands and wished him to take great care and return safely.

Qi Xie laughed heartily and slowly walked out of the conference room with his cane.

It is said that on the very same evening, this elderly man set out alone to defend the South Five Regions.

Xiao Mu's retreat was not excessively long. Absorbing one thousand advanced energy fruits was much easier than absorbing a hundred thousand ordinary ones.

Even so, this retreat still took Xiao Mu over three months to barely finish.

By the time Xiao Mu ended his retreat, his cultivation had successfully broken through to the peak of the Yin God Realm.

After stepping into the peak of the Yin God Realm, he distinctly felt an increase in his strength, including his authority as a Divine Spirit.

And Xiao Mu had a feeling that as long as he had enough energy fruits, he could continue to improve, reach the peak of the Yin God Realm, and perhaps even break into the Divine Spirits Realm.

This gave him an urge, and he even started contemplating whether to contact the First Leader, Wu Jie, to exchange all his merit for energy fruits and continue breaking through.

But after careful consideration for a while, Xiao Mu discarded this idea.

Breaking from the peak of the Yin God Realm into the Divine Spirits Realm would require even more resources, and even if he exchanged all his merit for energy fruits right now, it probably would not be enough.

Moreover, there were more important things waiting for him to do at the moment.

After pondering for a moment longer, Xiao Mu realized there was still much he needed to accomplish.

First was to find clues about the Lord of Bai's Mansion.

The assault from Heavenly Court was too pressing; if he couldn't find the Lord of Bai's Mansion in time, it would certainly be detrimental to him and to the entire human world.

If he still hadn't found the Lord of Bai's Mansion before the True Gods of Heavenly Court entered the human world, the catastrophic consequences would be unbearable for all therein.

Xiao Mu recorded the plan to find the Lord of Bai's Mansion as the top priority to execute.

Second was to obtain the three Secret Manuals he needed.

From the merits he had established, the First Leader Wu Jie had agreed to three Secret Manuals, and now that he had stepped into the peak of the Yin God Realm, he could cultivate any Secret Manual available to that realm.

Xiao Mu planned to cultivate all three Secret Manuals before considering the next steps.

However, cultivating the Secret Manuals didn't require immediate urgency.

Third, he had to establish temples for the Divine Monarch Wu De.

Given the current situation, establishing temples for the Divine Monarch Wu De was also an urgent task that couldn't be delayed.

After all, the strength of the human world was too feeble, and it desperately needed the support of the powerful. With the Fu Zhuan provided by the Miaoyi Emperor, there was no longer a concern about Wu De turning against them after the worship, thus highlighting Wu De's importance immediately.

Xiao Mu once again noted down this plan, even placing it ahead of finding the Lord of Bai's Mansion.

After all, finding the Lord of Bai's Mansion wasn't something that could take effect in an instant, whereas establishing temples for the Divine Monarch Wu De could be put into action immediately.

On contemplating the fourth task, Xiao Mu sighed deeply, his brow furrowing and his face gradually filling with anger.

The fourth task was to find the Undying Evil Ancestor and kill him to avenge Thunder.

Killing the Undying Evil Ancestor had long been part of Xiao Mu's plan, but he had not acted on it previously due to his lack of strength.

Now that Xiao Mu had reached the peak of the Yin God Realm, he was more or less on the same level as the Undying Evil Ancestor, vastly increasing his chances of success.

Therefore, this plan was promptly scheduled.

Next, Xiao Mu took out his cellphone.

Looking at the contacts on his phone, his first thought was of Wu Yan, but considering that Wu Yan was likely in seclusion, it would be best not to disturb him at this time. Xiao Mu then thought of the First Leader, Wu Jie.

He contacted the First Leader, Wu Jie.

The First Leader Wu Jie truly valued Xiao Mu; shortly after, he sent a message instructing Xiao Mu to meet him at his Daoist Temple.

Xiao Mu put away his cellphone and headed to Wu Jie's Daoist Temple.

The Daoist Temple of the First Leader Wu Jie was quite different from those of the Second Leader, Zhou Pudu, and the Third Leader, Chen Fengshen.

Second Leader Zhou Pudu directly revered himself as a true Divine Spirit, while Third Leader Chen Fengshen did build a temple for himself but wished to remain an ordinary person.

The First Leader Wu Jie's approach was in between the two—he also had a temple for himself, but it was a regular one. While he enjoyed the offerings, he occasionally responded to his followers.

As a powerhouse in the True God Realm with half of the Thunder God's position, the First Leader Wu Jie was quite responsive and had already gathered many followers.

As Xiao Mu used the Escape Art to reach the peak of Solitary Straight Mountain where Wu Jie was located, even from the base of the mountain he could see the wisps of Incense Fire and smell the scent of sandalwood drifting down from the peak.

This was the worship from the mortal world directly affecting the First Leader Wu Jie's Daoist Temple, manifesting inside it.

"Xiao Mu, the First Leader has sent me to welcome you," said a voice.

A streak of Yellow Light descended from the peak of Solitary Straight Mountain and soon appeared before Xiao Mu.

Emerging from the Yellow Light, the figure was revealed to be Zhao Qian, a subordinate of the First Leader Wu Jie. He appeared to be in his forties, with a cultivation at the Mid Yin God Realm and not yet possessing his own position.

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