Xiao Mu followed Zhang Shunming into the hall, with Yang Jun closely behind.

Indeed, there were quite a few people in the hall, at least seven or eight. The crowd was too large, and a quick glance by Xiao Mu was not enough to remember who was who.

These individuals were primarily Mutated Beings, among them the highest in Realm were two Divine Spirits. One was a man in his early fifties at the Mid Early Divine Spirit Realm, his demeanor serious and he seldom smiled.

This man came from the Alliance Headquarters and was named Zhao Yaogu.

The other Divine Spirit level power was at the Early Divine Spirit Realm, an elder from the Great Xia Realm named Cen Xian who looked to be in his thirties, short and chubby, always wearing a smile that made him seem approachable and easy to get along with.

However, Xiao Mu's gaze ultimately fell on an ordinary man next to Zhao Yaogu, his face involuntarily showing surprise.

This ordinary man clearly recognized Xiao Mu and took the initiative to wave and greet him, "Mr. Xiao, hello."

"It turns out to be Mr. Yuan, hello," Xiao Mu nodded to him, secretly pondering the reason for Yuan Lin's presence here.

"It turns out Brother Xiao knows Mr. Yuan," Zhang Shunming stepped forward and took the opportunity to introduce, "Mr. Yuan came with Brother Zhao Yaogu from the headquarters and Brother Liu Xu from the Ruins Headquarters."

"Hello, Brother Xiao."

At this moment, a man from the adjacent Yin God Realm came forward beside Zhao Yaogu and Yuan Lin, clasped his hands towards Xiao Mu, smiling as he spoke, "I am Liu Xu from Task Group Two. I've heard so much about Brother Xiao that my ears are practically calloused, but unfortunately, there hasn't been a chance to meet you before."

"Today, I finally get my wish fulfilled to meet Brother Xiao here in the Putuo Domain."

"Brother Liu is too kind, a pleasure to meet!"

Xiao Mu clasped his hands back toward Liu Xu, giving a slight nod and curiously asked, "How come Brother Liu is together with Mr. Yuan?"

Liu Xu explained, "It was because elder Mr. Yuan went missing that Mr. Yuan sought help from the Alliance, and the Alliance sent Brother Zhao Yaogu to assist in locating elder Mr. Yuan, and thus they found me."

"Coincidentally, I heard that there were cases of ordinary mortals disappearing in the Ban Ruo Domain, so I specifically brought Brother Zhao and Mr. Yuan here to see if we could find any clues regarding elder Mr. Yuan's disappearance."

Xiao Mu cast a surprised glance at Yuan Lin, not expecting that Yuan Lin could connect with the headquarters of the Alliance. Impressive indeed.

"Brother Xiao, this is Brother Zhao Yaogu from the Alliance, Brother Zhao, this is Brother Xiao Mu from the Great Tang Ruins," Liu Xu took the opportunity to introduce Xiao Mu and Zhao Yaogu to each other.

"I have long heard of the great name of Xiao Mu," Zhao Yaogu said with a booming voice, his face still stern, creating an impression of a no-nonsense personality.

"Hello, Brother Zhao," Xiao Mu greeted Zhao Yaogu politely, "Among the people at the headquarters, I have met Senior Divine Phoenix, Senior Huang Yuan, and Envoy Zhu Bingshen. I wonder, Brother Zhao, if you know them?"

"These people, I do know of them."

Zhao Yaogu's face flushed red; the three people Xiao Mu mentioned were all higher-ups at the headquarters. Although he was of Mid Early Divine Spirit Realm, he was relatively insignificant at the headquarters. The people Xiao Mu mentioned belonged to the type who knew him, but he didn't know them back.

Recognizing the sensitivity of the topic, Xiao Mu quickly changed the subject, his gaze sweeping past Yuan Lin as he curiously observed, "I also know some details about the disappearance of Mr. Yuan Lao, but I didn't expect Mr. Yuan could actually get Zhao to help."

This statement was more of a probe, in fact, asking about the relationship between Zhao Yaogu and Yuan Lin.

Realizing Xiao Mu's implication, Zhao Yaogu hurriedly explained, "I do not have a personal acquaintance with Mr. Yuan; he sought help from the headquarters, and the higher-ups assigned me here. Why the headquarters decided to send assistance to Mr. Yuan, I'm not sure, but it's said that Mr. Yuan's family might be descendants of some ancient Divine Craftsmen."

Zhao Yaogu spoke the latter part through a transmitted message, clearly not wanting Yuan Lin to overhear.

Descendants of Divine Craftsmen?

Xiao Mu found this peculiar. Craftsmen?

He knew of Craftsmen, and those referred to in the words of Mutated Beings were not just ordinary craftsmen but were individuals with special skills after a World Mutation.

Divine Craftsmen, as compared to regular craftsmen, were clearly a cut above.

"Descendants of Divine Craftsmen?" Xiao Mu also switched to transmitted speech, looking at Yuan Lin with surprise.

He recalled the first time he met Yuan Lin, who mentioned that his family clan's inherited Sculpted Image skills were extraordinary, yet he had not anticipated them possibly being descendants of Divine Craftsmen.

If they indeed were so-called descendants of Divine Craftsmen, then this family was far from ordinary.

"Brother Zhao, do you know which Divine Craftsman is the ancestor of the Yuan family?"

"This... I'm not sure."

Zhao Yaogu hesitated for a moment, and Xiao Mu felt disappointed by the response though Zhao quickly added, "Regarding the Yuan family, Group Leader Yan Qingxu from the headquarters mentioned to me once; it seems the Yuan bloodline might be related to an ancient surname Niu Divine Craftsman, likely a collateral bloodline of this Niu Divine Craftsman. And this Niu Divine Craftsman, it is said, once crafted images for powers akin to Heavenly Gods."

Crafting images for powers akin to Heavenly Gods?

Zhao Yaogu's words once again astounded Xiao Mu.

He had limited understanding of the levels of Craftsmen, not even clear about the various levels among them.

However, that did not mean he had no knowledge of Craftsmen at all. At least in terms of Sculpted Image, Xiao Mu knew quite a lot.

He was well aware that ordinary Craftsmen could succeed in typical Sculpted Image, but crafting images for beings at the True God Level, ordinary craftsmen would struggle, with a very low success rate, unless it was one of those highly skilled grand craftsmen who had a high success rate.

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