As Xiao Mu's hair-turned-doppelganger paid respects to the Divine Spirits, Xiao Mu's true body, now a Black Shadow, slipped past the shadows of the people in front, inching closer to the Spire.

Taking advantage of the moment when the foremost worshiper walked towards the Spire to offer Incense Fire, Xiao Mu's true form leaped out of his shadow, transforming into a tiny flying insect and fluttering into the interior of the Spire.

The inside of the Spire was vast, with divine curtains on both sides of the divine likeness. Xiao Mu chose to fly to the right, and after crossing the curtain, he saw the stairway leading upward.

He climbed the stairs without hesitation, intent on delving deeper into the Spire to uncover its secrets.

The second floor housed many rooms. Xiao Mu paused to listen and heard the sounds of Cultivation from within. The strength of those Cultivators was quite low, all from the Mortal Realm.

He continued to ascend to the third floor, which similarly had many rooms, housing Mutated Beings in Cultivation. Compared to the first floor, their strength was somewhat higher.

Heading to the fourth and fifth floors, Xiao Mu heard footsteps while climbing from the fourth to the fifth floor – someone was descending from the fifth.

The insect that Xiao Mu had become hastily flew to one side, hiding in the shadows.

"When is Qin Lei going to return?"

"According to the message we got this morning, he should be back by the end of the month."

"Half a month more, very good..."

A man and a woman continued their conversation as they descended the stairs. The two had considerable strength; the man was a solidly built middle-aged individual in the later stages of the Yin God Realm, while the woman, in her early twenties and enchantingly beautiful, was only at the mid-Yin God Realm level.

The pair, like others, were all Mutated Beings from the Human world, lacking any traces of off-world mutations from head to toe.

From the aura emanating from this man and woman, Xiao Mu immediately deduced that it was unlikely they were off-world Mutated Beings.

Once they had walked further away, Xiao Mu spread his wings and continued to fly upwards.

Starting from the fifth floor, the atmosphere became dense and oppressive; the rooms also dwindled rapidly, from over a dozen on each floor to only four on the fifth.

"So from the fifth floor onwards, is this where the Divine Spirit Realm powerhouses reside?"

The fifth floor was empty, and Xiao Mu found no Mutated Beings in the rooms.

He spread his wings and flew to the sixth floor.

The aura on the sixth floor was even more concentrated and intense. There were only two rooms, and unlike the lower floors, there was a Great Array blocking the way to the seventh floor, with no staircase to ascend.

Xiao Mu looked up at the seventh floor; the oppressive atmosphere and the terrifying strength of the Great Array were palpable.

He thought for a moment, weighing the possibility of breaking through the Great Array between the sixth and seventh floors.

If his true form were present, breaking through the Array might not be difficult.

But with only his doppelganger, breaching the Array would be quite challenging.

Should there be any hidden mechanisms within the Array, his doppelganger might even face a great chance of perishing right there.

After some deliberation, Xiao Mu decided to play it safe and first explore the sixth floor.

The sixth floor was divided into two rooms, left and right. Extending his Divine Sense into the rooms, he found the left side empty, but strong fluctuations of aura came from the right room. By Xiao Mu's estimation, it was very likely that a Mutated Being in the mid-stage of the Divine Spirit Realm resided there.

A few seconds later, Xiao Mu decided to probe the condition of this mid-stage Divine Spirit Realm Mutated Being on the right.

His wings quivered, the transformed insect landed and changed back into a Black Shadow, slipping beneath the door into the room.

As soon as he infiltrated, Xiao Mu elongated his shadow, standing it up on the other side of the door, concealed within the door's crevice.

Suddenly alert, he paused his movement.

Behind the door, in the room, in the Hall, a man around fifty with a gray-white goatee started and turned his head towards the door.

This man sensed Xiao Mu's arrival.

Clearly not as strong as Xiao Mu, the man looked towards the door for quite some time, finding nothing unusual, he frowned and shifted his gaze away.

With experience, Xiao Mu's shadow stayed perfectly still, and just as he predicted, a Divine Sense stretched out from the gray-white goatee man and blanketed the door after a dozen or so seconds.

Xiao Mu cloaked his entire being with Death Force to conceal his Divine Sense, merging his shadow with the door, rendering the man's probing ineffective.

The Divine Sense swept over Xiao Mu, and disappointment flickered across the gray-white goatee man's face.

Xiao Mu's shadow took the chance to move incrementally, positioning himself in a spot conducive to monitoring the gray-white goatee man.

This gray-white goatee man was indeed the mid-stage Divine Spirit Realm being he had surmised, potentially slightly stronger than a typical mid-stage practitioner, but not by much.

Moreover, just like the other Mutated Beings he had encountered, the aura exuded by this individual was unmistakably that of a Mutated Being from the Human world.

Knock, knock, knock!

Knocking and footsteps sounded simultaneously.

"Who is there?"

The gray-bearded man straightened his posture and looked authoritatively toward the door.

"Mr. Qu, it's me, Old Ge."

A healthy yet slightly aged voice came from outside, sounding like a man in his forties.

But Mutated Beings differ from ordinary people; external appearance cannot determine their exact age.

"Come in!"

Mr. Qu used a tone of command, apparently lacking respect for 'Old Ge' outside, treating him like a subordinate.

Creak, the door was pushed open, and a man whose appearance was slightly older than his voice entered the room.

As soon as the man entered the room, he bowed to Mr. Qu, "Greetings, Mr. Qu, I apologize for the intrusion once more."

Xiao Mu took the opportunity to study the man and found his appearance somewhat similar to Ge Lian, yet his Realm was at the Early Divine Spirit Realm, slightly lower than Mr. Qu's cultivation.

"You'd better have important matters."

Impatience flickered across Mr. Qu's face.

"Far be it from me to disturb Mr. Qu without cause, there is something urgent, Mr. Qu, please take a look!"

Old Ge bowed slightly out of reverence toward Mr. Qu. He then reached into his Storage Space and pulled out an Object, quickly walked over to Mr. Qu's table, and placed it down.

"Divine Wood Plaque!"

Upon seeing the item on the table, Mr. Qu exclaimed in shock, "How did it break?"

Wasn't this the Divine Wood Plaque erected at the entrance of the village when I arrived?

With one glance at the item on the table, Xiao Mu's heart stirred, recognizing at first sight the origin of the item.

How did this thing end up in 'Old Ge's' possession? And who is this Old Ge, what is his relationship with Ge Lian?

"A few days ago, someone entered the village, a very powerful individual. My son, Ge Lian, attempted to summon the hidden power within the Divine Wood Plaque, only for it to shatter."

Old Ge explained apprehensively, his head bowed as he recounted the events surrounding Xiao Mu's arrival in the village.

Xiao Mu listened attentively, noticing that the tale had been embellished, primarily to shift the blame onto himself and absolve his son, Ge Lian, making no mention of Ge Lian's deliberate targeting of Zhao Jingyan.

"Very powerful? How powerful? Tell me about this person, where are they staying now?"

Mr. Qu's expression grew stern, his tone weighted with gravity.

"This person goes by the name Mu Huaqing, the specific level of his strength is unknown, and he is currently residing in the home of the village's Artifact Refiner, Zhao Jingyan."

Old Ge's words sent a jolt through Xiao Mu, but he quickly composed himself.

Twilight Forest Village was small, and it wouldn't have been difficult for the Ge father and son to track down his whereabouts.

"I understand, I will personally investigate this individual, you may go now."

Mr. Qu waved Old Ge off dismissively.

"Yes, Mr. Qu."

Old Ge did not inquire about Mr. Qu's specific plans and bowed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"Mu Huaqing, Mu Huaqing, I've never heard of this person before—who is he?" Mr. Qu muttered to himself, "Never mind, I'll find an opportunity to test his strength later."

Should I take the chance to test your strength now?

Xiao Mu eyed Mr. Qu, eager to try, convinced that Mr. Qu would be no match for him with his strength laid bare.

However, moments later, he dismissed the thought.

Firstly, Mr. Qu was not a Mutated Being from beyond the skies; it was unclear whether he was a friend or foe and rashly treating him as an enemy was unwise.

Secondly, before understanding Mr. Qu's reason for staying in Twilight Forest Village, Xiao Mu did not wish to act rashly.

"Your luck holds for now, I'll return first to investigate your background. Ah—what's this? Absorbing Incense Fire!"

Xiao Mu noticed a wisp of the Power of Incense Fire suddenly emerging from the base of the spire, and with an open mouth, Mr. Qu absorbed it.

Mr. Qu then commenced cultivation, drawing upon the power of Incense Fire.

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