Zhu Feng led the way, continuing forward until he turned left at the crossroads, heading east. After a few hundred meters, they arrived in front of a house.

The small, solitary house stood beside the road, lacking a courtyard.

According to Zhu Feng's introduction, Yang Muzhen was a bachelor with no kin or friends; his residence had been abandoned after his death.

Xiao Mu purposefully surveyed the house.

Three brick and tile rooms, they looked quite refined. Each room was separate: one was a bedroom, one a storage room, and another a kitchen.

There was no doubt, the house had been built before the world experienced mutations.

Under Xiao Mu's spiritual vision, the house appeared unremarkable.

"Yang Muzhen is said to have been murdered in his bedroom," said Zhu Feng as he pushed open the middle door, releasing a musty smell.

The bedroom was neither too big nor too small, with a bed against the wall, a row of soft sofas opposite, and on the wall across from the sofas hung a lavish 120-inch digital LCD TV.

Xiao Mu carefully examined the room; it didn't much resemble a mutated being's dwelling, but rather that of an ordinary single man.

In the room, the wardrobe against the wall showed signs of being rummaged through. Xiao Mu intentionally used his divine sense to explore the floor and found it to be an ordinary floor, devoid of any hidden arrays.

"Let's check the other rooms."

Xiao Mu nodded to Zhu Feng and Tian Ling, heading towards the storage room to the right. Pressing himself against the wall, he seamlessly merged in and, using the Changeable Divine Technique, passed through the wall into the storage room.

Zhu Feng and Tian Ling exchanged uneasy glances upon witnessing this scene. The strength Xiao Mu casually displayed was extraordinary and beyond anything they had encountered.

But upon entering the storage room, Xiao Mu couldn't help but freeze, his gaze dropping to the floor.

There on the floor was a hole more than a meter deep.

The opening had been forcefully punched through by a powerful blow, the residual impact shattering the surrounding soil and revealing the mechanism beneath.

This hole had clearly been protected by an array, and from Xiao Mu's experience studying arrays, there was no doubt that the one below was a Concealment Array designed to hide and protect something.

The soil still clung to moisture, indicating that whatever had been hidden below the array had been recently removed, a theft occurring no longer than ten minutes ago.

Creak!

Zhu Feng and Tian Ling entered through the door in succession. The sight on the floor elicited simultaneous gasps of alarm, and they stopped in their tracks.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

A streak of Escape Light flashed by. Xiao Mu rushed past the two, and in the blink of an eye, he was outside the house, feet stamping on the ground as his figure shot hundreds of feet up into the air.

Xiao Mu stood high in the sky, looking around for tracks of any mutated beings, but soon, he descended, disappointed.

"Brother Mu, did someone take something from the house?" asked Zhu Feng in surprise as he and Tian Ling stepped outside.

Xiao Mu nodded, "We're a step too late. Someone got to the Zhu Family ahead of us and took something from there. Judging by the fresh traces in the soil, they haven't gone long, no more than ten minutes."

"Ten minutes!"

Zhu Feng fell silent.

Though only ten minutes had passed, a mutated being could traverse great distances in that time; they didn't even know which direction to pursue.

"The Twilight Forest Village murder case—I've heard a bit about it too. It seems that the murderer actually had a purpose?" interjected Tian Ling, speaking to both Xiao Mu and Zhu Feng.

"Not just a purpose; I even suspect that all these victims were killed by the same person, and they were murdered because they stumbled upon this person's secret," Xiao Mu conjectured.

"That's terrifying!" Tian Ling shivered and said in alarm, "The murderer of Twilight Forest Village is said to employ methods beyond even those of the Divine Spirits realm. How powerful must that person be? If I were to encounter them... wouldn't I... wouldn't I..."

"Miss Tian, I suggest that you better not go out. However, you don't need to worry too much, given the situation at Yang Muzhen's home, the killer is purposeful and doesn't kill indiscriminately."

"Unless you have seen the killer's secret, they won't come after you actively, as every murder would reveal their tracks."

Xiao Mu's explanation made Tian Ling feel slightly relieved.

"Today, we all saw their secret, could it be that..." Tian Ling turned her head to glance at the storage room, suddenly becoming anxious.

"Haha, no need to worry, even if the killer wants to silence us, they would come after me first. Silencing me would be pointless, and doing so to you would be even more meaningless."

Xiao Mu laughed heartily, trying his best to reassure Zhu Feng and Tian Ling. With a fist folded in front of him, he said, "Brother Zhu, Miss Tian, I am grateful for your help in bringing me to the Yangs to investigate; otherwise, I wouldn't have discovered this crucial clue."

"I have other things to attend to, so let us part ways here. Oh, Miss Tian..."

Saying this, Xiao Mu suddenly looked at Tian Ling.

"Ah~"

Tian Ling suddenly let out a startled cry, feeling a heavy pressure deep within her soul. While Zhu Feng was worried, Xiao Mu had already deployed his Escape Art, fleeing towards the distance.

From far away, Xiao Mu used his Divine Sense to transmit his voice, sending a whisper into Zhu Feng's and Tian Ling's ears, "Miss Tian, your realm has advanced too quickly, and your aura is unstable. Even with a Breaking Reality Pill, you cannot break into the True Realm. Just now, I used the authority of Divine Spirits to suppress it for you, steadying your aura, so you can safely take the Breaking Reality Pill and break into the True Realm."

"Ah~"

Tian Ling's surprise turned to joy, and she quickly thanked Xiao Mu, "Brother Mu, thank you!"

"Thank you, Brother Mu!"

Zhu Feng thanked Xiao Mu, then looked incredulously at Tian Ling, "Tian Ling, is your aura really stable now?"

Tian Ling promptly sensed her own state, and after only a few seconds, she excitedly responded, "It's stable, truly stable."

"Brother Mu is really formidable. He said he used the authority of a Spirit Tablet to stabilize your aura, and yet I haven't even seen his Divine Form. Has he cultivated to the point where he can suppress others with his authority without manifesting his Divine Form? What kind of power is that!"

Zhu Feng gazed in the direction Xiao Mu had left, both shocked and in awe.

"Brother Mu really is a good person; I am so grateful for his help. With his aid, my aura has stabilized. Once I go back and take the Breaking Reality Pill, it won't take half a month for me to step into the True Realm. Hehe! Du Lan'er is always boasting about her speedy ascent into the True Realm; let's see how she can boast this time."

Tian Ling looked slightly smug, her eyes brimming with joy.

"Speaking of Du Lan'er, her realm has been advancing so quickly! Three months ago, she was still in the Mortal Realm, and now she's already stepped into the True Realm," Zhu Feng suddenly said, filled with emotion.

"Pfft! That's only because she has a good master. Otherwise, how could she dream of breaking into the True Realm?" Tian Ling scoffed, showing strong disdain for Du Lan'er.

"Having a good master is also a form of strength!" Zhu Feng disagreed.

"Hey! Who exactly are you, Du Lan'er's blood brother or mine?" Tian Ling glared at Zhu Feng with strong discontent in her voice.

"I was wrong, I'm your brother. Let's go, your godfather is still waiting for you at home."

Zhu Feng quickly apologized, softening his tone.

Amidst their bickering, the two headed towards the main road and accelerated westward, turning several corners before finally arriving in front of a courtyard.

This was Zhu Feng's home.

As Zhu Feng and Tian Ling entered the Zhu Family home, the air behind them twisted suddenly, and Xiao Mu's figure gradually emerged, eventually transforming into a single strand of hair that fell to the ground.

This hair turned to ash within seconds, completely losing its spirituality.

Elsewhere, at the gate of the Zhao Family home, a magpie descended from a tree, transformed into Xiao Mu's form, and muttered to himself, "Thankfully, no one followed Zhu Feng and Tian Ling. No, I should regret that no one followed them; otherwise, I could've traced the vine to find the puppet master behind the curtain."

"Tian Ling came to Twilight Forest Village and chose not to stay at her uncle's but at her godfather's house... cough cough, that's their family matter, none of my business. What am I thinking about?"

"I wonder if Zhu Ping and Li Gujian have returned. The information I asked Li Gujian to gather for me, has he managed to find it?"

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Xiao Mu headed towards the gate of the Zhao Family home.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Escape Light shone from a distance, closing in in the blink of an eye, and Li Gujian's figure appeared.

Seeing Xiao Mu, Li Gujian showed a pleasing smile, "Brother Mu, the information you wanted, I've found it for you."

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