He then pointed to a man in the advanced stage of the Yin God Realm among the Mutated Beings. This man was wearing loose-fitting jeans, paired with a long-sleeve T-shirt, of medium build, with a stern face, not prone to laughter or jest, "This is Captain Xu Jie of the Village Protection Team, and these two are under Captain Liu, Zhang Wu and Chen Sheng."

"Captain Xu, Brother Zhang, Brother Chen, these three are my friends, Brother Zhu Ping, Xiao Li, and Brother Mu Huaqing."

Xu Jie and the others nodded and exchanged greetings with Xiao Mu and his party. Then Xu Jie seized the opportunity to recruit them, "All three of you are heroes of the human world. Twilight Forest Village has recently experienced a major murder case and desperately needs manpower. Would you be interested in joining our Village Protection Team?"

Zhao Jingyan hurriedly spoke up, "Brother Zhu, Xiao Li, Brother Mu, the benefits of joining the Village Protection Team are not low, and joining the team will definitely be advantageous."

"Aren't all three of you here in Twilight Forest Village to try your luck hunting the Life and Death Sect's Mutated Beings? Joining the Village Protection Team won't hinder your hunting of Mutated Beings from the Life and Death Sect. The personal benefits from hunting on your own will not be touched by the team, yet the gains from the Village Protection Team's hunts will be distributed as benefits to every member."

"My brothers, there are only advantages and no disadvantages to joining the Village Protection Team, and I suggest you do so."

Zhao Jingyan felt a strong sense of belonging to the Village Protection Team and was determined to persuade Xiao Mu and the others to join. Xu Jie, having made his initial recruitment pitch, said no more.

Xiao Mu, without uttering a word, had no intention of joining the Village Protection Team, even though his objective aligned with the team's—to find the true culprit behind the triple murder case.

However, he harbored too many secrets and also had other tasks to attend to; thus, joining the Village Protection Team would bring many inconveniences.

But he did not oppose Zhu Ping and Li Gujian joining, on the contrary, he was very much in favor. As he was living with Zhu Ping and Li Gujian, their joining the team could provide him with information.

Zhu Ping hesitated for a moment before finally stating, "Captain Xu, I'm very interested in joining the Village Protection Team, but I can't make a hasty decision. Please give me a day to consider, and I will give you my answer after a day."

Li Gujian followed with, "My thoughts are similar to Brother Zhu's, Captain Xu, please also give me a day to consider."

Xiao Mu's heart was set on not joining, and he expressed similar polite words.

Xu Jie glanced over the three of them before nodding, "Whenever you three have thought it through, you're welcome to visit the Village Protection Team's station anytime to find me. Just ask Old Zhao for the address."

Then he turned to Zhao Jingyan, "Old Zhao, just leave the materials there; I hope you can craft the Treasure as soon as possible."

After speaking, Xu Jie nodded separately to Xiao Mu's group and Zhao Jingyan before leaving with his two subordinates.

"Brother Zhao, what are these materials?"

Xiao Mu, not knowing much about Zhao Jingyan, pointed to the large pile of Mutated Materials on the ground beside them.

Zhao Jingyan explained, "Brother Mu may not know this, but I am an Artifact Refiner, capable of crafting various Treasures. Captain Yu Jiasheng of the Village Protection Team, considering the formidable enemies from the Life and Death Sect and fearing we might not be able to kill them, asked me to help cast some murderous Treasures, like the Guillotine, Gallows, and execution stakes."

"I see!"

Xiao Mu nodded with a smile appearing on his face. Artifact Refiners were a scarce resource in the Alliance; if he had not encountered Zhao Jingyan in the current situation, he would have even considered inviting him to the Great Tang Ruins Headquarters to craft Treasures, "It seems that Brother Zhao's Artifact Refining skills are very exquisite."

"Brother Mu is too kind. My abilities are average, I suppose, and I rely on the ancient arts passed down from my ancestors," said Zhao Jingyan, humbly rubbing his hands.

"Brother Mu, don't be fooled by Old Zhao's modesty. His ancestor might very well have been a God-level Artifact Refiner," Zhu Ping suddenly interjected, seemingly unable to let it go and betraying Zhao Jingyan's modesty.

"A God-level Artifact Refiner?"

Xiao Mu was surprised and looked at Zhao Jingyan with newfound respect. Being a descendant of a God-level Artifact Refiner or God-level Master Craftsman commanded respect throughout the entire Alliance because such supreme heritages were extremely rare, "Who was Brother Zhao's ancestor?"

"Brother Mu, don't be misled by Brother Zhu's exaggerations. The God-level Artifact Refiner is just speculation; in truth, I have no idea who my ancestors were. After tens of thousands of years, how could I possibly know the specifics? However, my heritage does come from my bloodline," Zhao Jingyan hurriedly explained to Xiao Mu and elaborated why Zhu Ping referred to him as a descendant of a God-level Artifact Refiner.

Xiao Mu suddenly said, "No wonder Brother Zhu thinks Brother Zhao might be a God-level Artifact Refiner's descendant. The chances are high with bloodline inheritance."

"To my knowledge, there are records within the Alliance of a God-level Artifact Refiner named Zhao Yuanlong. Perhaps Brother Zhao is one of his descendants. When you have time, I suggest Brother Zhao should visit the Great Tang Ruins Headquarters for identification."

"If you really are a descendant of the great Master Zhao, not only will the Alliance provide protection for Brother Zhao, but they will also heavily invest in your cultivation," Xiao Mu explained.

Zhao Jingyan shook his head gently, apparently not fully convinced by Xiao Mu's words, "What Brother Mu mentioned, I've heard of too. However, well, when I have time, I will make a trip to the Great Tang Ruins Headquarters."

This was clearly a polite deferral. Listening to this, Xiao Mu knew that unless something unexpected happened, Zhao Jingyan would likely never go to the Great Tang Ruins Headquarters to verify his bloodline.

Zhao Jingyan must have had his reasons for doing that.

Xiao Mu had no interest in prying into others' privacy, and with a smile, he spoke no further.

"Old Zhao, you're busy, so I'll be heading to the temple."

At this moment, Tian Zhen, Zhao's wife, walked out from the house. She passed by Xiao Mu and the others, nodding warmly in greeting.

"The sister-in-law's work seems really tough!"

"Sister-in-law, please take care!"

"Go ahead!"

※※※

As Tian Zhen passed by, Xiao Mu took the opportunity to glance at her head and saw that the incense qi above her was surging, but compared to yesterday, it was significantly weaker.

It seemed like when they met yesterday, Tian Zhen had just recently offered worship to the Divine Spirits, and after a day, the incense qi had weakened.

At the door, Tian Zhen got into a small car and drove off westward.

Zhao Jingyan began organizing the Mutated Material, starting preparations for the crafting of various Strange Treasures. Zhu Ping and Li Gujian went out in search of opportunities, trying their luck. Before leaving, they asked Xiao Mu if he wanted to join them but were kindly declined by Xiao Mu.

Today, Xiao Mu planned to contact the Mutated Beings of the Great Tang Ruins in Twilight Forest Village, namely Xu Qianwu and Fang Ying, to understand how their progress was coming along.

After leaving the Zhao Family, he headed east for a while. Once he was a certain distance from the Zhao residence, Xiao Mu deployed his Earth Escape Technique and then turned south.

Five or six minutes later, he entered a patch of woods, a desolate place void of human presence. Xiao Mu used his Changeable Divine Technique to alter his appearance, then employed the Wood Escape Technique, turning into a green light that fled eastward.

Gradually, he entered a rugged hilly terrain, an aura of death approaching.

"Who goes there!"

Several Mutated Beings suddenly peered out from above the hills, as many as a dozen or so, with the weakest among them being in the Mid Yin God Realm, and the strongest at the Peak of the Yin God Realm.

"People of the ruins, we have urgent business to attend to in the temple area." Xiao Mu pulled out an Identity Badge and causally waved it toward the hilltop.

"Toss it up here!"

One of the leaders, a Mutated Being at the Peak of the Yin God Realm, stepped forward.

Xiao Mu tossed the Identity Badge up high. The Mutated Being caught it and closely inspected it for a few moments before tossing it back to Xiao Mu, motioning with a hand, "Please!"

Crack! Squeak!

The sound of power fluctuations rang out, and a huge cover, at least spanning tens of square kilometers and resembling a transparent lid, appeared in front of Xiao Mu and in the sky.

Following that, a portal just large enough for a person to pass through opened up in front of Xiao Mu.

"Thanks!"

Xiao Mu thanked them with a cupped fist salute and advanced using his Earth Escape Technique into the Great Array.

After entering the Great Array, he continued forward and reached a temple area in just two or three minutes.

Xiao Mu checked the data on the location of the temple, chose a direction, and eventually stopped in front of a green-colored temple.

Entering the temple, he bowed his hands in front of the altar table, where Xu Qianwu's God Image was situated.

"Xiao Xiao, do you have something for me?"

A second or two later, the eyes of Xu Qianwu's God Image opened.

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