"Zhang, wait for a moment. Have you worshipped Divine Spirits since you left the village until now?"

Xiao Mu suddenly called out to Zhang Luo with a question.

"Worship Divine Spirits? Brother, you sure have a sense of humor. We're all Mutated Beings, who would still worship Divine Spirits?"

Zhang Luo turned back with a smile, then immediately turned forward again and called out to his companions to 'wait for me,' before accelerating his pace to catch up.

They haven't worshipped Divine Spirits, so where does the incense fire above their heads come from? Could it be related to the Divine Wood at the entrance of Twilight Forest Village?

Xiao Mu thought of a possibility and suddenly felt uneasy.

"It's strange. Why did Brother Mu ask Zhang Luo whether they have worshipped Divine Spirits? Divine Spirits are indeed powerful, but like us, they are Mutated Beings. As Mutated Beings, who would foolishly weaken themselves to the point of worshipping Divine Spirits?"

Zhu Ping looked at Xiao Mu, puzzled by Xiao Mu's recent question to Zhang Luo.

"Just curious and asked casually, Brother Zhu, you're taking it too seriously," Xiao Mu laughed, skillfully hiding his inner doubts.

"I see, my bad. Brother Mu, Brother Li, let's head to Twilight Forest Village. We've contacted a friend who will meet us at the entrance of the village, so we might not need to go through any inspections."

Zhu Ping spoke and then suddenly quickened his speed towards Twilight Forest Village.

Not long after, the three of them reached the entrance to Twilight Forest Village.

The entrance to Twilight Forest Village was a broad road, but it was now completely blocked by an Array, leaving only a narrow path in the middle of the road.

On both sides of the road, at least six or seven villagers of Twilight Forest Village stood guard at the entrance.

Xiao Mu glanced at these villagers and found that they were all Mutated Beings, with the weakest being at the Peak of the Mortal Realm, while the strongest were even at the late stages of the Yin God Realm.

The strength of the Twilight Forest Village villagers made Xiao Mu inwardly exclaim; even though it was just a village, the villagers' strength could be compared to some of the Domain Master Houses.

Such a level of power, in this world of Variants, is absolutely astonishing.

What followed made Xiao Mu's heart beat fiercely, as he noticed that each of the villagers guarding the entrance had a cloud of Incense Fire floating above their heads.

"All the Mutated Beings of Twilight Forest Village worship Divine Spirits?"

Xiao Mu was surprised inside but kept his expression unchanged.

Next, Xiao Mu's gaze moved from the villagers to a gigantic red wooden plaque behind them, which resembled an enlarged door panel.

The wooden plaque was about five or six meters high and two or three meters wide, standing on both sides of the main road at the village entrance. The plaque emitted faint red divine light that was barely visible, and Divine Power sprinkled down from it, cutting off the road.

This must be the so-called Divine Wood.

Xiao Mu guessed the origin of the wooden plaque and quickly linked it to what Zhang Luo had mentioned about the Divine Wood.

"Brother Zhao, long time no see!"

"Brother Zhao, we've come to see you."

Zhu Ping and Li Gujian waved at one of the villagers, a man in his mid-thirties with a square face and a no-nonsense expression, giving off an impression of solidity and steadiness.

"Brother Zhu, Brother Li, you've finally arrived!"

The man surnamed Zhao stepped out of the village, his mastery in movement allowed him to traverse dozens of meters with a single step; thus, as soon as he started moving, he was already in front of Zhu Ping and Li Gujian.

The three of them greeted each other warmly.

Xiao Mu stood aside, taking the opportunity to take a closer look at the man surnamed Zhao; this Zhao was at the same stage as Zhu Ping, in the Mid Yin God Realm.

However, now that he was closer, Xiao Mu could see more clearly the situation with Zhao.

He saw that not only did a cloud of Incense Fire envelop Zhao's head, but also, judging by the intensity of the Incense Fire, it was evident that he had worshiped Divine Spirits for a long time.

The villagers of Twilight Forest Village, all worship Divine Spirits, and they've done so for a long time!

Why would this be the case?

It might be understandable if ordinary people worship Divine Spirits, but why would these powerful Mutated Beings also worship Divine Spirits?

Don't they know that worshiping Divine Spirits can cause harm to themselves and possibly prevent them from ever acquiring a domain?

Worshipping Divine Spirits with one's own spirituality over a long period, even if one were to acquire a domain in the future, the resulting loss of spirituality could be too great to withstand the domain's power?

Xiao Mu felt very perplexed by the behavior of the Twilight Forest Village villagers.

After all, being a Mutated Being, not to mention there's no necessity to worship Divine Spirits, the harm that worshiping Divine Spirits inflicts upon oneself is enough to make the vast majority of Mutated Beings naturally resist such behavior.

"Old Zhao, let me introduce you, this is Brother Mu Huaqing, a friend we met on the road. Brother Mu, this is Zhao Jingyan, a friend of me and Xiao Li's, and an Artifact Refiner."

After greeting Zhao Jingyan, Zhu Ping proceeded to introduce Zhao Jingyan and Xiao Mu to each other.

"Brother Zhao, nice to meet you, it's really rare to see an Artifact Refiner!"

Xiao Mu couldn't help but take a few more glances at Zhao Jingyan upon hearing that he was an Artifact Refiner.

A Mid Yin God Realm Mutated Being wasn't much to talk about, but if one was also an Artifact Refiner, that was a different story.

An Artifact Refiner in the Mid Yin God Realm definitely held a status within the Alliance no less than a Mutated Being at the Early Divine Spirit Realm.

"Brother Mu is too kind. Since you are friends of Old Zhu and Little Brother Li, you are my friends too. A pleasure to meet!"

Zhao Jingyan reached out his hand and actively shook hands with Xiao Mu. Being newly acquainted, there wasn't much enthusiasm, but basic courtesy was still there.

"Old Zhao, I heard that everyone entering the village needs to test their strength, surely the three of us don't need to go through the test, right?"

Zhu Ping glanced at the Divine Wood at the entrance of the village and half-jokingly looked at Zhao Jingyan.

Zhao Jingyan slapped his chest, "You are my friends, here specially to see me, you don't need to test like others. Come on, I'll take you into the village."

Saying that, he led the way towards the village entrance.

"Old Zhao, righteous!"

Zhu Ping gave a thumbs-up to Zhao Jingyan and then gestured for Xiao Mu and Li Gujian to follow.

"Let us in."

Reaching the village entrance, Zhao Jingyan waved his hand at the people below the Divine Wood.

The strongest Mutated Being among the villagers, a Mid Yin God Realm advanced stage Mutated Being, was a young man who looked barely in his twenties, very young, wearing light blue jeans and a loose black T-shirt, with a pair of Dr. Martens boots on his feet.

Xiao Mu's gaze stayed on the young man for several seconds before moving on to others.

Above the young man's head was also a clump of Incense Cloud, but what was different was that a thin red line composed of Divine Power shimmered within the Incense Cloud, its end resting on the young man's head.

The young man seemed to notice Xiao Mu's gaze and suddenly turned his head to look at Xiao Mu, who inconspicuously shifted his focus away.

"Old Zhao, who are these three?"

The young man's gaze moved from Xiao Mu and fixed on Zhao Jingyan.

Zhao Jingyan said, "Xiao Ge, these three are all my friends, they've come specifically to see me, let us through."

The young man Xiao Ge took a step forward, sweeping his gaze across Xiao Mu, Zhu Ping, and Li Gujian, "So you're Old Zhao's friends, welcome to Twilight Forest Village. Friends, please test your strength."

"There's no need for that!"

Zhao Jingyan stepped in front of Xiao Mu and the others to stop Xiao Ge's words, disdainfully said, "My three friends here all possess strength above the Yin God Realm, they would one hundred percent pass the Divine Wood Plaque, so there's really no need to test, right?"

Xiao Ge's face showed a smile, "Since it is one hundred percent certain they'll pass the test, what's the harm in testing? During extraordinary times, I hope everyone can be understanding."

"Xiao Ge, is this really necessary? Don't I, Zhao Jingyan, have even this little influence in front of you?"

Zhao Jingyan was getting displeased.

Xiao Ge chuckled, "Old Zhao, please don't make things difficult for me. Testing strength is for the safety of your friends; no one is exempt."

"Really not giving me face?"

Zhao Jingyan's face darkened, and he suddenly became angry.

Xiao Ge's smile also gradually faded, and he said seriously, "Old Zhao, it's the rule, please abide by it!"

Zhao Jingyan glared at Xiao Ge, who stood his ground, facing Zhao Jingyan calmly.

This standoff lasted for half a minute, and after half a minute, Zhao Jingyan suddenly cursed and angrily chose to back down.

"Old Zhao, since it's the rule, let's just follow it. It's no big deal for us to take the test. I think Xiao Ge is just following the rules, he seems like a decent guy, no need to have a conflict with him."

Zhu Ping used a transmitting message to comfort Zhao Jingyan.

"Bullshit, this guy's deliberately targeting me, he's actually very hypocritical. Yesterday, his friend and his friend's friend entered the village without testing," Zhao Jingyan was still angry, sounding frustrated.

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