The Thunder God Position could only provide protection at the level of the Thunder God for Zhao Zhuli, but it could not completely rescue them. He deeply doubted whether he had the ability to save them if they ever encountered a Divine Monarch Guobao.

However, if it really came to that, and he couldn't save them, then so be it. Zhao Zhuli could not possibly question him afterward about why he hadn't rescued them from Divine Monarch Guobao's hands.

He still needed to figure out a way to increase his strength. The higher his Realm, the more likely he would be able to oppose the divine authority of the Heavenly Court and rescue others; otherwise, all promises were nothing but illusions.

After bidding farewell to Zhao Zhuli and Tian Zhen, they returned to their respective rooms. With Xiao Mu's promise, Zhao Zhuli and Tian Zhen both felt much more at ease, went back to rest, and thought about their next plans.

Xiao Mu was also contemplating his plan, primarily how to enhance his own strength.

Without a doubt, to increase his strength, he still needed to find the Variant Cultivation Method. Following that, he would consume the Energy Fruits to elevate his Realm and then search for the other half of the Yama Command left by the Lord of Bai's Mansion.

Xiao Mu decided to start by searching for the Variant Cultivation Method.

However, at the moment, the most important thing was to wait for Li Jiesheng's information, find the tracks of the mutated beings from the Life and Death Sect, and seize the Creation Treasure.

The Creation Treasure was not ordinary; it was a treasure on the level of Creation. Xiao Mu felt that this kind of treasure, on a certain level, could absolutely oppose the power of retribution.

Once he obtained the Creation Treasure, at the very least, he wouldn't need to worry too much about the power of retribution descending upon him.

Utilizing the Changeable Divine Technique to continue deceiving the Illusory Retribution Lamp, Xiao Mu began his cultivation, taking out one Energy Fruit after another and putting them in his mouth to cultivate.

His power was increasing bit by bit, and he was getting closer and closer to the late phase of the Divine Spirit Level.

If he continued at this pace, perhaps in about a month or so, he would be able to step into the late phase of the Divine Spirit Level.

※※※

Hu! Hu! Hu!

A block of dead silence, a land of desolation—cold, dark, and grim—where underground, faint breathing sounds could be heard.

The sound was like a giant drum, deafening, as if a ferocious beast from ancient times was lurking beneath.

Directly in front of this land of desolation, an old man, appearing to be in his seventies, rosy-cheeked, short, and plump, was sitting cross-legged.

The old man exuded the aura of a Netherlord, his two hands extended, each emitting a stream of Netherworld Power.

This Netherworld Power precisely struck a Black Stele situated in the center of that land of desolation in front of him.

Red light faintly shone through the Black Stele, and the formidable Divine Power of the True Gods diffused from it, faint yet discernible. Though weakened, it was still not inferior to the Divine Spirit Level, powerful and boundless.

This Black Stele originally suppressed the ground, but under the control of the Netherworld Power from the old man's hands, the power of the Black Stele was diminished, and its suppression of the ground loosened.

"Snap!"

"Crack!"

The sound of whips echoed as a group of Yin Spirits was driven toward this area.

These Yin Spirits' hands held hoes, iron shovels, or graspers. Whether it was a hoe or an iron shovel, they were not ordinary objects but were made from Mutated Metal.

"Hurry up! Get to work, and whoever dares to laze around gets killed on the spot!"

Behind the Yin Spirits stood supervisors. These supervisors were at least Mutated Beings from the True Realm, and their auras revealed they came from beyond the skies.

And the Yin Spirits were all ordinary people from the human world.

These ordinary people's Yin Spirits were driven by the supervisors towards the pitch-black tunnels dug out at the edge of the dead land.

Light, pale and ghostly, emanated from the tunnels, and sometimes, streaks of Spiritual Fire emerged from within.

The Spiritual Fire that soared from beneath could burn Spirituality.

A supervisor from the True Realm carelessly got his arm burned and immediately let out a painful scream, frantically severing his own arm with a sword.

The severed limb fell to the ground and burned to ashes in just a few seconds.

The short and plump old man glared at the supervisor who had lost his limb, causing the supervisor to shudder with fright.

Fortunately, the short and plump old man did not pursue the matter further. That supervisor from the Yin God Realm bandaged his wound a bit and, together with the other supervisors, drove the ordinary people's Yin Spirits towards the pitch-black tunnels.

"Get down, all of you get down, tonight, the person who does the least work dies!"

The common Yin Spirits, holding various spirituality tools, panicked and one by one they eagerly jumped into the pitch-black tunnel.

Strangely enough, the Netherworld Spiritual Fire that could burn True Realm overseers didn't harm these common Yin Spirits in the slightest.

The common Yin Spirits, one after another, went down into the pitch-black tunnel and started to get busy. Soon, baskets filled with mud were hoisted from underground to the surface and were then cleared to the side by other common Yin Spirits.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

Suddenly, the sound of an Escape Art came from the southeast direction, a white Escape Light was speeding toward this area.

"Reporting, paying respects to the Respected Envoy!"

The white light stopped near the short and fat elder, and a robust middle-aged man appeared, kneeling on one knee to salute the short and fat elder.

"What's the hurry?"

The short and fat elder spoke while his hands continued to emit the Light of Netherworld Power to stabilize the Black Stele.

At the same time, the short and fat elder turned his head to glimpse at the robust man, his eyes shooting a ghostly glow as the aura of the Netherlord suddenly spread.

The robust man shivered and quickly lowered his head, "Reporting to the Envoy, someone has broken the Array left by the great leader and saved a Yin Soul named Zhang Jianxing."

"Someone who can break the great leader's Array, who did it?"

The short and fat elder was incredibly surprised, "This person must be quite powerful, I've never heard of such a strong individual in Twilight Forest Village."

The robust man replied with his head lowered, "Subordinate has conducted an investigation; it's said to be the doing of a Taoist priest named Yan Ping."

"Yan Ping? A Taoist priest?"

The short and fat elder murmured Xiao Mu's false name in a low voice, but had no recollection of such a name, "I've never heard of him before, who is this man?"

The robust man hastily said, "Reporting to the Envoy, Yan Ping's movements are secretive, and we are still investigating his identity."

"Investigate quickly!" commanded the short and fat elder.

"Yes!"

The robust man dared not delay and carefully began to speak again, "Envoy, since this man can decipher the great leader's Array, his strength cannot be underestimated. Do you think we should perhaps modify our plans slightly?"

The short and fat elder suddenly glared viciously at the robust man, causing him to tremble all over in fear and quickly prostrate on the ground.

The short and fat elder coldly said, "The plan proceeds as scheduled. A mere Taoist priest is not enough to make me change the plan. Hmph!"

After a cold snort, the short and fat elder wore a face of disdain, "It is only because I need to fully control the Array; otherwise, it wouldn't even require the great leader's personal intervention, even if I were to do it myself, killing that Yan Ping would be no more than lifting a finger."

"Go now. Once I am free, I will personally kill that Yan Ping. In the meantime, do not just sit idly by; if someone dares to disrupt our plans, we should still establish our authority."

"You said you haven't discovered Yan Ping's origins yet? There's no need to investigate; he must belong to the Human realm lineage."

"If you can't find him, take it out on the people of Twilight Forest Village."

"Convey my command, dispatch Yu Xuan and Jiao Meng to the village to spread the authority of Reincarnation, and send some Mutated Beings through Reincarnation. Remember, mainly target the Mutated Beings from the Village Protection Team."

"These people have been leisurely for too long. Because I haven't had the chance to deal with them, they've grown arrogant, thinking we don't have the power to clean them up, how laughable!"

"Go, let Yu Xuan and Jiao Meng spread the authority of Reincarnation in Twilight Forest Village, mainly targeting the Village Protection Team. I don't believe Yan Ping won't show up."

"Yes, Respected Envoy!"

The robust man bowed his head and prostrated, saluting the short and fat elder before carefully walking away.

※※※

In the following two days, Xiao Mu stayed within the Zhao Family and did not go out, cultivating while patiently waiting for news from Li Jiesheng.

Zhao Jingyan, Zhu Ping, and Li Gujian, however, could not sit still and each sought their own sources, hoping to obtain valuable information to exchange with Xiao Mu for a Position or a method to enhance their authority.

Ever since the Retribution entered the Human world, this world had become increasingly dangerous. Retribution watched over everything constantly, and anyone could die at any moment; nobody dared to slack in their cultivation anymore.

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.