"This guy is just too hypocritical."

Zhu Ping expressed his dissatisfaction.

"Twilight Forest Village has a complicated situation. Due to different attitudes towards Divine Spirits, it's divided into several Factions. I'm not aligned with them."

Zhao Jingyan provided a simple introduction to the situation in Twilight Forest Village.

This simple explanation immediately struck a chord with Xiao Mu.

Indeed, Twilight Forest Village had Divine Spirits, and the villagers had different attitudes towards these Divine Spirits.

"Brother Zhao, what would you like us to do?"

Li Gujian had a feeling Zhao Jingyan had some plans in mind and raised the topic at just the right moment.

Zhao Jingyan thought for a moment, "With Ge Lian watching, it's impossible to enter the village without passing the test. It's about pride, not just steamed buns. Brother Zhu, Brother Li, and Brother Mu, all of you are strong beyond the Yin God Realm, so passing the test shouldn't be a problem."

"But I hope that when you pass under the Divine Wood, you use your full strength and aim to do it in the shortest time possible."

"The surname Ge doesn't respect me, does he? We must slap his face hard."

"He insists on testing your strength, so if you pass the test in the shortest time, let's see where he puts his face then."

"Haha! I'm best at this kind of thing. Don't worry, Brother Zhao. Leave the face-slapping to us," Li Gujian laughed joyfully, eager to try.

Zhu Ping, being more steady, said, "Competing for strength is meaningless. But since this man intentionally made it difficult for Brother Zhao, as friends, it is our duty to stand up for him."

Xiao Mu remained silent, smiling. His attitude was similar to Zhu Ping's—both were quite steady in their dealings. Such competitiveness seemed rather pointless to him, but when push came to shove, he would not back down.

"What's Brother Mu thinking?"

Seeing that the two friends had expressed their stance, Zhao Jingyan turned towards Xiao Mu. He felt Xiao Mu's strength was greater than that of the other two friends and was unsure about Xiao Mu's attitude, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Xiao Mu smiled and said, "The conflict with Ge Lian started because of us; how could we possibly back down? We'll do as Brother Zhao suggests."

"But I'm worried that when I pass under the Divine Wood Plaque, it might cause a big commotion. In case it leads to trouble, can Brother Zhao handle it?"

"Trouble! Haha, the bigger the trouble Brother Mu creates, the better. Don't worry; whatever happens, I can handle it."

Zhao Jingyan rejoiced at these words, thumping his chest in guarantee, then added with a hint of concern, "Brother Mu, are you really sure you can cause a big commotion under the Divine Wood Plaque?"

"No problem."

Xiao Mu made the promise confidently.

That Divine Wood Plaque always seemed peculiar to him, and if the outcome was as he suspected, then he might have to take action against the Divine Wood Plaque.

"Since that's the case, Brother Mu, feel free to go ahead. I look forward to the trouble you'll cause, haha!" exclaimed Zhao Jingyan happily.

Xiao Mu then said, "Brother Zhao, I'm quite curious about something you mentioned earlier. You talked about the village's attitude towards Divine Spirits—does Twilight Forest Village still worship Divine Spirits? As a Mutated Being, surely you're not unaware of the drawbacks of worshipping Divine Spirits?"

Zhao Jingyan was initially taken aback by the question but quickly recovered, "Brother Mu might not be aware, but our Twilight Forest Village indeed used to worship Divine Spirits, but that's a long time ago."

"Later, due to the Ruins, people became aware of the harm in worshipping Divine Spirits. Plus, some troubles in the village ensued, and hardly any Mutated Beings worshipped Divine Spirits after that."

"Oh!"

Xiao Mu suddenly understood and glanced at the Divine Wood Plaque, "Is this Divine Wood Plaque related to the previously worshipped Divine Spirits?"

Zhao Jingyan acknowledged with admiration, "Brother Mu's guess is spot-on. It's a Treasure left behind by the Divine Spirits we used to worship. After we stopped our worship, this Treasure ended up in the Ge family's possession."

A Treasure? Could it be a Divine Treasure?

Xiao Mu took another few glances at the Divine Wood Plaque. The plaque shimmered with a faint divine light and released a gentle Divine Power, exposing traits only a Divine Treasure would possess.

"Brother Zhu, Brother Li, Brother Mu, please."

Seeing that Xiao Mu had no more questions, Zhao Jingyan, thinking Xiao Mu was satisfied, signaled to the three men and took the lead towards the village entrance.

At the village entrance, Ge Lian had been looking on with a smile as Zhao Jingyan and the trio discussed, unhurried and not urging, appearing quite graceful.

"Ge Lian, I've discussed with my friends," Zhao Jingyan approached Ge Lian, calling his name with no hint of a pleasant expression.

"Brother Zhao, testing the strength of every newcomer is my duty. I ask for your understanding," Ge Lian explained apologetically.

"Heh!"

Zhao Jingyan responded with a sneer, "Village rules cannot be violated, but your Divine Wood Plaque's power is only average, it won't trouble my friends."

"Passing through the Divine Wood Plaque will be a breeze for them. Today, I'll let you witness how to get through the Divine Wood Plaque even quicker."

Ge Lian's face twitched, showing a brief sign of displeasure, but he quickly regained his composure with a faint smile.

"Brother Li, you go first," Zhao Jingyan said, turning and waving at Li Gujian.

"Received!"

Li Gujian leapt out, displaying his technique as he rushed straight towards the passageway below the Divine Wood Plaque.

Hum!

The Divine Wood Plaque immediately sensed his approach and, as it trembled, rays of Divine Power descended from it, pressing down on Li Gujian from high above.

Li Gujian felt heavy, as if a Great Mountain was on top of him, and his pace slowed instantly.

"Open!"

Feeling the heavy pressure of the Divine Power, Li Gujian bellowed suddenly, and a golden-red Brilliance erupted from him, symbolizing the Earth Power and Fire Power of the Five Elements.

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