Soon, Xiao Mu had devised a plan for himself, clearly outlining how he should deal with Qu Jingyi.

"Perhaps, the investigation results concerning the Ge family father and son will prove whether Qu Jingyi has betrayed the human world or not. Let's just wait for the good news from Brother Feng."

"In the meantime, I can start with the Mutated Beings killed by the mutant Cultivators. Mutant Cultivators wouldn't kill human world's Mutated Beings without a reason. They must have a motive."

"Starting from these victims, by finding the commonalities, maybe we can uncover what the mutant Cultivators are actually planning."

"To investigate the murdered Mutated Beings, we can use Zhu Ping and Li Gujian, who have both joined the Village Protection Team. They are the ones most easily able to access the victims."

Xiao Mu nodded, very satisfied with his own plan. Then, he decided not to return to the Zhao Family immediately but to find a place to cultivate as usual.

He entered deep into the woods, sat down, and began to consume Energy Fruits to enhance his strength.

During the breaks in his strength enhancement, he checked the progress of his "Three Elements Refining Appearance Technique" and inspected the changes in Tianyuan.

As his strength grew, the Taiji Ball at the Tianyuan position had become larger day by day, with a noticeable increase in size. Just a few days ago, it had been the size of a bean, but now it was as large as a pigeon's egg, having multiplied several times in volume.

In the evening, Xiao Mu returned to the Zhao Family.

Zhao Jingyan's power had obviously increased, and he was now pondering over the materials for the Execution Stake, seemingly preparing to continue its construction.

"Brother Mu, you've finally returned."

Seeing Xiao Mu's return, Zhao Jingyan expressed his joy, grateful for how Xiao Mu's guidance had improved his strength.

"It seems Brother Zhao's strength has increased quite a bit."

Xiao Mu glanced over Zhao Jingyan, keenly noticing the changes in his strength.

The virtual position could significantly enhance Zhao Jingyan's strength in a short period of time, but this enhancement was temporary. It improved the fastest at the beginning, but then the rate of enhancement would greatly weaken, becoming slower and slower until it stopped.

To continue enhancing, one must possess a true position.

"Thanks to Brother Mu!" exclaimed Zhao Jingyan, immensely grateful to Xiao Mu. "Without Brother Mu's guidance, my strength would never have increased this quickly, nor would I have gained the power of a virtual position so soon."

"Brother Zhao is too kind. I only hope that Brother Zhao can forge the Execution Stake soon and contribute to the human world," Xiao Mu said with a humble smile on his face.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Escape Light lit up as Li Gujian used the Earth Escape Technique and landed outside the Zhao Family courtyard.

"Xiao Li is back. Where's Brother Zhu?"

As they saw Li Gujian, Xiao Mu and Zhao Jingyan simultaneously turned to look towards the doorway, with Zhao Jingyan appearing surprised as he looked behind Li Gujian.

"Brother Mu actually returned earlier than me."

Li Gujian glanced at Xiao Mu and then responded to Zhao Jingyan, "I separated from Old Zhu. After joining the Village Protection Team, we were assigned to different tasks. I was mainly responsible for external investigations, while Old Zhao was in charge of internal information sorting. Therefore, we probably won't be able to come back together anymore."

"They assigned you tasks so quickly; it seems the Village Protection Team really values you guys."

Zhao Jingyan put down the materials in his hands and laughed broadly.

"Brother Zhao, you're making fun of me now."

Li Gujian responded with a bitter smile, torn between laughter and tears, "After joining the Village Protection Team, I realized that I really wasn't much at all."

"With the strength of me and Old Zhu in the Village Protection Team, we're just so-so. As for being specially assigned tasks, the Village Protection Team treats every new member the same. It's not a special favor to me and Old Zhu. In fact, based on our strength, we don't qualify for any special treatment among the group of Mutated Beings in the Village Protection Team."

"Is that so?"

Zhao Jingyan was taken aback, suddenly feeling the awkwardness of his compliment turning into an insult.

Li Gujian shook his head in disappointment, "Brother Zhao, Brother Mu, go ahead and talk. I'll head back to my room to cultivate. Only after meeting the other members of the Village Protection Team today did I realize my shortcomings, and that I must work hard to cultivate, strengthen my skills, and bridge the gap with others through doubled effort."

After speaking, without waiting for Zhao Jingyan and Xiao Mu to respond, he walked past them and returned to his room.

"Brother Zhao, you are busy, so I must also return to cultivate," Xiao Mu said as he gave Zhao Jingyan a bow, then chased after Li Gujian.

He caught up with Li Gujian in a few steps, "Brother Li, wait up, let's go upstairs together."

"Brother Mu, you returned early today, earlier than Old Zhu and me, as usual. Did you go out to explore again today? How was your harvest?"

Li Gujian forced his spirits up, chatting with Xiao Mu as they ascended the stairs.

"My harvest today was quite good."

Changing the subject, Xiao Mu said, "Brother Li, did you just mention that you are responsible for the external task investigation of the Village Protection Team?"

"Yes."

Li Gujian nodded, wondering, "Brother Mu, why the sudden interest in the work of the Village Protection Team, do you also want to join?"

"If I ever decide to join the Village Protection Team, I'll tell Brother Li first."

Xiao Mu tactfully expressed that he had no intention of joining but was curious about what exactly the external task investigation entailed.

"The specific task content?"

Li Gujian hesitated, although suspecting why Xiao Mu was inquiring about his specific duties, he still answered, "It's about investigating Death Cases, the reasons for the deaths, who killed the victims, and the situation with the Life and Death Sect."

"Our tasks are not absolute. Take Old Zhu, for instance, though he is responsible for internal document organization, he also participates in external tasks, just less frequently than me."

Xiao Mu did not dwell on the latter part of Li Gujian's explanation on their and Zhu Ping's work, and said seriously, "Brother Li, I remember when we entered the village, a Mutated Being was killed. Do you know where this person lived? What identity or background did they have? Could you share that with me?"

Li Gujian was puzzled and asked, "Strange, why Brother Mu do you want to dig into the victim's information?"

Xiao Mu smiled, "Just like Brother Li, I want to investigate the cause of this person's death and based on that find the traces of Mutated Beings from the Life and Death Sect."

"Does Brother Mu also wish to earn Merit for the Alliance by exchanging it for cultivation Resources?" Li Gujian looked knowingly at Xiao Mu, guessing his intentions.

"Brother Li, your guess is spot on. If you have information on that deceased Mutated Being, please let me know."

Xiao Mu did not elaborate further, taking Li Gujian's guess as understanding his intention.

Li Gujian hesitated momentarily, unsure, "Brother Mu, I haven't reviewed the information on the deceased yet. Please allow me to check the data and I'll inform you later. However, I've just joined the Village Protection Team, and my access to information is limited, so I might not be able to provide much detail. I should let you know this beforehand."

"Having some information is better than none, thank you, Brother Li," Xiao Mu expressed his gratitude, and with a spontaneous promise, he clasped fists with Li Gujian.

They had reached Xiao Mu's room, bade farewell to Li Gujian, and he returned to his room.

Li Gujian went upstairs alone, still pondering Xiao Mu's earlier words, debating whether to provide him with the information, what benefits he might gain from it, and how much information he could provide.

"I don't know much about Brother Mu, Old Zhao has had more contact with him than I have. I will ask Old Zhao about the situation tomorrow before deciding whether to provide him with the information."

With that thought, Li Gujian let go of his concerns and continued upstairs.

After returning to his room, Xiao Mu continued his cultivation, consuming one Energy Fruit after another. With the Absorption of power from the Energy Fruits, his strength continued to grow.

As dawn broke the next day, he came downstairs, ready to continue his exploration.

In the courtyard, Zhao Jingyan was making final touches to a cylindrical object with a dim, simple surface but a faint glow of treasure inside.

"Congratulations Brother Zhao, on successfully crafting the Execution Stake," Xiao Mu guessed the name of the cylinder and was the first to congratulate Zhao Jingyan.

A hint of gratified smile crossed Zhao Jingyan's face, revealing fatigue that couldn't suppress his joy, and he gratefully said to Xiao Mu, "Thanks to Brother Mu's guidance, otherwise, how could I have crafted the Execution Stake?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.