"Once Thunder Lord returns, even if all the villagers together would stand no chance against him."

"So, in Twilight Forest Village, you can provoke anyone except Thunder Lord; his traces must not even be touched."

Xiao Mu nodded. Perhaps Thunder Lord's power was formidable, but not yet formidable enough to subdue him.

To Xiao Mu, Thunder Lord did not inspire reverence deep in his heart.

He could understand Zhao Jingyan and the villagers' attitudes toward Thunder Lord; after all, though the villagers of Twilight Forest Village were not weak, they were still far from capable of contending with a force as formidable as him.

"Brother Zhao, do you know what background Thunder Lord comes from? Is he from the Human world or from Heavenly Court?"

"I...really don't know."

Zhao Jingyan was entirely ignorant about Thunder Lord's origins. "Although Thunder Lord stayed in Twilight Forest Village for some time, his power was so great that everyone feared him. Thus no one dared approach him, let alone inquire about his origins."

"Brother Mu, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed if you wish to know about Thunder Lord's origins. Even if you ask all over Twilight Forest Village, I fear no one could answer that question."

"Sorry, Brother Zhao, another question—haven't the ruins or Headquarters ever sent someone to investigate him?"

This response from Zhao Jingyan was as Xiao Mu had expected; he continued to probe about the Alliance's and Headquarters' attitudes toward Thunder Lord.

"People from the Headquarters and the ruins did ask."

Zhao Jingyan gave Xiao Mu an odd look, clearly curious why he was so intent on Thunder Lord, "But by that time, Thunder Lord had already left Twilight Forest Village, so both the Headquarters and the ruins received no useful information. Strange, Brother Mu, why are you so concerned about Thunder Lord?"

Xiao Mu was taken aback as Zhao Jingyan's question made him realize he had misspoken, clearly having asked too much, which led Zhao Jingyan to speculate about his origins.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he came up with an appropriate excuse, "Cultivation methods of Mutant Beings are unheard of in my Human world, and I couldn't help but be curious, don't mind me, Brother Zhao."

Zhao Jingyan suddenly realized, "So that's why! No wonder Brother Mu is interested in Thunder Lord. Indeed, the cultivation methods of Mutant Beings are rare in our Human world. But without obtaining a position in the business, even if asked, doesn't it lack meaning?"

It may be meaningless to you, but not to me.

Xiao Mu smiled but did not correct Zhao Jingyan's misunderstanding.

From afar, he looked at the traces left at the bottom of Thunder Pit in Thunder City and queried, "Brother Zhao, when Thunder Lord performs Divine Spirits' duty, does a Thunder City Illusion really appear?"

Zhao Jingyan nodded earnestly, "Yes, Brother Mu, when Thunder Lord performs Divine Spirits' duty, a Thunder City does indeed appear alongside it. It's said in the Alliance that not many strong ones can cultivate such an Illusion?"

The last sentence was a question; Zhao Jingyan, being just a villager from Twilight Forest Village, might have joined the Human World Alliance but likely was not officially part of any Ruins.

A wry smile appeared on Xiao Mu's face; not many in the Alliance could cultivate such illusions? Very likely, not even one.

"Brother Mu, when Thunder Lord performs his duty, what does the illusion look like? Could you describe it to me? Is it a Thunder City Illusion or has he already cultivated a Thunder City entity?"

The difference between an Illusion and an entity indicated a vast gap in power.

If the Thunder City cultivated by Thunder Lord was just an Illusion, it meant his power was only slightly stronger than other Mutant Beings of the same position and Realm.

If it was an entity, that was a different story—it meant Thunder Lord's power far exceeded that of typical Mutant Beings of the same position and Realm.

"Illusion!"

After pondering for a few seconds, Zhao Jingyan replied, "Years ago when Thunder Lord appeared, my power was low, and my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I shouldn't be mistaken; it was an Illusion."

Illusion!

Xiao Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

Since it was just an Illusion, the threat to him was not as significant unless Thunder Lord was already in the True God Realm or possessed the complete set of Thunder Lord's Treasures.

To seek the Divine Cultivation method, perhaps he needed to start with this person.

"Brother Zhao, if I wanted to look for Thunder Lord, what should I do?"

Zhao Jingyan trembled all over, suddenly panicked, "Brother Mu, Divine Spirits must not be offended; such talk must be lessened."

Zhu Ping nodded in agreement, adding, "Brother Zhao's warning is sensible. Brother Mu, indeed, one should not offend such a strong being like Thunder Lord."

"Brother Mu didn't know how dangerous it was just now. If Qing Jie, the Thunder God, hadn't already left Twilight Forest Village, just based on what Brother Mu said earlier, I'm afraid thunder would have struck by now."

Xiao Mu nodded, pretending to agree with Zhu Ping and Zhao Jingyan's words, but he didn't take it to heart.

He found Zhao Jingyan's and Zhu Ping's overreaction excessive, yet he could understand it, it seemed that Qing Jie, the Thunder God, had long established his authority in Twilight Forest Village and had completely subdued them.

Changing this perception would have to be done slowly. Gathering information about Qing Jie, the Thunder God, would also require subtlety.

The four of them left the Thunder Pit, employed their Escape Art, and only after covering two to three miles did they escape the influence of the Thunder Pit.

By then, they had entered into the village area of Twilight Forest Village.

"Brother Mu, did you come to Twilight Forest Village to visit friends, or for other reasons..."

After walking a bit further and gradually seeing houses with signs of villagers living there, Zhao Jingyan resumed his inquiry about Xiao Mu's intentions in coming to Twilight Forest Village, "If it's inconvenient to say, Brother Mu, you don't have to mention it."

"There's nothing inconvenient about it."

Xiao Mu smiled, "My purpose in coming to Twilight Forest Village is similar to Brother Zhu and Brother Li. I came because I heard about the situation here, knowing that there are activities of Mutated Beings from the Life and Death Sect. I specially came to try my luck."

"As the saying goes, the greater the danger, the bigger the opportunities. I hope to kill Mutated Beings from the Life and Death Sect to achieve merit for the Alliance, or perhaps find Secret Manuals or Divine Treasures."

"Haha! Brother Mu is truly forthright!"

Zhao Jingyan laughed heartily. Xiao Mu's response pleased him greatly, as recently, many invaded beings appeared in Twilight Forest Village with motives similar to Xiao Mu's. To him, Xiao Mu's response seemed very reasonable.

"However, Twilight Forest Village is a very dangerous place, where Mutated Beings frequently die, not only now but also in the past. Aren't you afraid of dying, Brother Mu?"

Xiao Mu smiled and replied, "One must seek wealth amidst danger; if you fear death, how can you gain anything?"

Zhao Jingyan gave Xiao Mu a thumbs up, approvingly said, "Brother Mu, you are quite a character. You really suit my temperament. Have you found a place to stay yet?"

"Not yet." Xiao Mu quickly asked, "Brother Zhao, do you know of any hotels or inns around here?"

"Do you think our small village looks like it would have hotels or inns?"

Zhao Jingyan smiled, then extended an invitation to Xiao Mu, "Brother Mu, if you don't mind, how about staying at my place temporarily, what do you think?"

"Would that trouble you, Brother Zhao?"

Xiao Mu hesitated for a moment. He appreciated Zhao Jingyan's invitation, but he was reluctant to impose on others.

"Since we are friends, why mention trouble at all, unless Brother Mu doesn't consider me a friend."

Zhao Jingyan was very generous, bursting into laughter upon hearing Xiao Mu's words.

"If that's the case, I'll impose on Brother Zhao's hospitality then, thank you, Brother Zhao!"

Since Xiao Mu needed a place to stay, he readily agreed, feeling grateful to Zhao Jingyan.

"Brother Mu, you are too polite!"

Suddenly, five or six figures appeared on the road ahead.

These figures were all strong, each employing their Escape Art, and were at least in the Early Stage of the Yin God Realm.

These Mutant Beings all wore green uniforms resembling that of law enforcers, appeared from the left side of the road, and hurriedly darted across to the right side.

"It's the Village Protection Team; there's been another incident."

When Zhao Jingyan saw these people, his expression changed, "Brother Mu, Old Zhu, Xiao Li, wait here a moment, I'll go ask what's happened."

He hadn't finished speaking before he hurriedly rushed out, chasing after the Village Protection Team.

Xiao Mu and the other two didn't know what had happened, exchanged puzzled glances, and stopped to wait for Zhao Jingyan to return.

"Last night, another Mutant Being was killed!"

Not long after, Zhao Jingyan returned, his expression gloomy.

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