"Six corpses, haha, six Divine Spirits' corpses now. As long as I find Elder Black, and use the Black Wind to sweep over them, the forging of my fourth Yama Hammer will be complete, and I'll have enough to start crafting my fifth Yama Hammer as well."

"Even Elder Zhou has only refined seven Cursed Divine Cannons so far, but look at me—I'm catching up in just one try."

Xiao Mu chuckled to himself while fleeing. This time, the rewards were immense—worthy of celebration.

And that's not even mentioning the additional six storage items he obtained from the six people alongside their corpses.

From those six storage items, even if each contained only a single treasure, that's still six treasures altogether.

"Not too shabby. If only every haul could be like this. If things keep up like this, I'll soon be just like Elder Zhou, possessing seven secret magical treasures."

Xiao Mu was ecstatic.

Bzz, bzz, bzz!

Suddenly, activity stirred within the Earth Seal Space, as the Silver Talisman given by the elder began to tremble.

"It's Qi Ping and Liu Tong—they're trying to contact me."

Xiao Mu thought for a moment before taking out the Silver Talisman.

"Heh heh! Xiao Mu, didn't expect this, huh? This old man saved your neck once."

Qi Ping's laughter resonated from the Silver Talisman.

He had taken the initiative to suggest collaboration earlier, only to be brushed off by Xiao Mu. The old man had been simmering with anger ever since.

Look down on me? Well, I'll save you just to show you! You think I've lost my edge because of my age? Let me tell you, the older ginger is always spicier.

"Ah, it's Elder Qi."

As soon as Xiao Mu heard the voice, he could sense the dissatisfaction in Qi Ping's tone.

Was he still holding a grudge over Xiao Mu's earlier remarks about them being too weak?

But, honestly, I was just stating a fact! Besides, you were the one who kept pressing me for an explanation—I didn't even plan on saying it outright.

"What's the situation, Xiao Mu? Not injured, are you? Good thing Liu Tong and I acted quickly, or can you really say you'd be standing here safe and sound right now?"

Qi Ping conveyed concern, but his words were laced with self-importance, and he couldn't help but weave a subtle hint of boasting into the dialogue.

"…"

Xiao Mu froze, at a loss for how to respond.

After a moment, he spoke with humility, "Thank you, Elder Qi and Elder Liu. You both certainly helped me out a lot this time. Honestly, if it weren't for your sneak attack, I'm not sure I could have pinpointed the Five Elements Sect disciples' exact location."

Xiao Mu's tone was gracious, giving due credit to both Qi Ping and Liu Tong for their contributions.

After all, at that time, the Five Elements Sect had employed Fate Talismans to obscure Xiao Mu's perception, rendering them virtually undetectable to him.

Qi Ping wasn't exaggerating—had he and Liu Tong not struck first, forcing the Five Elements Sect disciples to reveal themselves, Xiao Mu might have only discovered their position when they launched their own surprise attack.

Still, deep down, Xiao Mu wasn't all that impressed.

At the time, he had already prepared meticulously and could honestly say he wouldn't have been caught off guard. Worst-case scenario, it would just mean acting second, responding defensively before counterattacking.

Of course, in such a scenario, Xiao Mu wouldn't have managed to strike first against four Divine Spirits from the Five Elements Sect, killing three and driving off one.

In the end, Xiao Mu might have only killed one or two.

So as far as Xiao Mu was concerned, Qi Ping and Liu Tong had indeed earned merit and aided him by allowing him to kill three Divine Spirits from the Five Elements Sect in one shot, acquiring three corpses.

And if he factored in the two disciples killed by Qi Ping and Liu Tong themselves, Xiao Mu ended up with five corpses in total.

Of course, Xiao Mu's second attack, in which he killed another Five Elements Sect disciple, was entirely his own doing, independent of Qi Ping and Liu Tong.

"Heh heh, as long as you understand."

Qi Ping chuckled smugly. Kid, at least you know what's what and who helped you out. Still looking down on us? Bet you see our worth now, huh?

"So, Xiao Mu, what do you say about reconsidering the matter of collaboration? Don't forget, while Liu Tong and I might not be among the Divine Spirits' pinnacle experts, we certainly wouldn't drag you down."

Collaboration? Here we go again.

Xiao Mu wasn't quite sure how to reply this time.

It would be awkward to outright reject, but agreeing wasn't ideal either—truthfully, Xiao Mu didn't need their help.

Although Qi and Liu's combat strength wasn't weak, the issue of escape speed meant they wouldn't be of significant aid to Xiao Mu.

Xiao Mu's preference for independence and his superior escape speed made working solo far more advantageous than teaming up with Qi Ping and Liu Tong.

With a wry smile, he could only politely decline once more, "Elder Qi, Elder Liu, with your immense strength, I believe even without collaboration, you'd be more than capable of delivering heavy blows to the Five Elements Sect."

What did that mean?

Praising us for our strength but sidestepping collaboration entirely—so… still not willing to cooperate?

Qi Ping was furious.

This brat, after we saved him, he still doesn't think much of us?

"Heh heh!"

Liu Tong chuckled awkwardly, choosing to stay silent. With a thinner skin than Qi Ping's, Liu Tong had no intention of pressing the matter further after being rejected a second time, opting instead to leave things to Qi Ping while remaining a silent onlooker.

Qi Ping grumbled, "Xiao Mu, are you aware that earlier, Liu Tong and I successfully killed two Divine Spirits from the Five Elements Sect in a single sneak attack?"

"I'm aware."

Xiao Mu replied.

How could he not? Those two corpses were currently lying in his Earth Seal Space.

Good, as long as you know.

Qi Ping snorted, "Then let me ask you this—how many did you kill?"

Me? I killed four.

Xiao Mu instinctively counted in his mind but stopped short of saying it out loud.

What a petty old man Qi Ping is.

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