"This..."

Xiao Mu hesitated. His so-called arrangements, aside from Zhou Xuanmen's instructions, also included searching for the other half of the Yama Seal.

But he couldn't possibly tell Huang Yuan, right?

"Ahem, Old Huang, don't ask anymore."

Yan Qingxu, who had a good relationship with Huang Yuan, interrupted directly, not fearing that Huang Yuan would be upset. "Xiao Mu says he has other arrangements, then he really must have other arrangements. It's not suitable for him to act together with us."

"Forget it, the five of us can still perform meritoriously."

"Since that's the case, let's leave it at that."

Huang Yuan looked at Xiao Mu with a glance of disappointment. Without Xiao Mu, their group's strength would decrease significantly. "Once inside the array, let's look out for one another."

"Of course!"

Xiao Mu agreed.

"Xiao Mu, we need to thoroughly plan our course of action for after entering the array, so we won't be joining you."

Zhu Fuchen gave Xiao Mu a farewell wave. The others also said their goodbyes, then left one after another.

"Brother Xiao, greetings, I am Xu Lang. I've heard of Brother Xiao's reputation for quite a while, and I specifically came over to say hello. I hope Brother Xiao won't mind my presumptuousness."

After Huang Yuan, Zhu Fuchen, and the others left, Xu Lang approached Xiao Mu with a cheerful expression.

"Brother Xu, hello!" Xiao Mu responded casually, maintaining politeness.

Xu Lang smiled warmly, saying, "Brother Xiao, perhaps you already know. I am one of Elder Qi Gu's disciples. Elder Qi Gu is very close with Elder Zhou Xuanmen. Counting it all up, we could also consider ourselves part of the same side."

Is that so?

Xiao Mu chuckled lightly but didn't pick up on the thread of conversation.

Elder Qi Gu indeed did have a good relationship with Zhou Xuanmen, but to label them as being part of the same faction would be stretching it too far.

At most, compared to Elder Jin Yuan's faction, Elder Qi Gu's faction had slightly closer ties with Zhou Xuanmen's faction.

But that was all; it was nowhere near close enough to be considered as "one family."

Xu Lang didn't seem to notice Xiao Mu's indifference and continued enthusiastically, "Brother Xiao, I approached you to discuss a matter of cooperation."

Cooperation? Cooperation again?

Xiao Mu frowned at the mention of cooperation. The people sent by Headquarters seemed particularly eager to establish cooperation with him.

Just moments ago, Chen Ming had talked to him about cooperation, and now Xu Lang brought it up again.

This time, Xiao Mu refused directly. "I'm not interested in cooperation, Brother Xu. Feel free to ask someone else. Perhaps there are others who are especially in need of collaborations."

"Haha!"

Xu Lang laughed, not seeming bothered by Xiao Mu's outright rejection. "Even if all the others band together, how could they possibly compare to Brother Xiao?"

"If I can pull Brother Xiao into collaborating with me, even if the rest work with others, I, Xu Lang, wouldn't care."

Xiao Mu remained indifferent, not affected by Xu Lang's compliments, and continued to refuse. "Brother Xu has truly flattered me, but I personally lack the habit of working jointly with others. I'm afraid you might be disappointed."

Having just experienced Chen Ming's overtures, Xiao Mu held distrust towards these Headquarters personnel, fearing that he might once again be deceived. Thus, he outright rejected Xu Lang without giving him any opportunity.

"Brother Xiao seems to hold some prejudice against me."

Xu Lang smiled, still showing no sign of anger. "How about this, Brother Xiao: if you don't wish to discuss cooperation, then let's not. However, when we enter the Creation Array and encounter danger, I hope that, in consideration of us being part of the same human lineage, you will lend us a hand."

Lending a hand was not a problem. Xiao Mu did not oppose it. In fact, even if Xu Lang hadn't mentioned it, if he were to see fellow humans in danger within the Creation Array, he would step in to help.

Nodding lightly, he replied, "Under circumstances where I am capable, I will assist."

"In that case, many thanks to Brother Xiao. I sense that Brother Xiao harbors deep defensiveness toward me, so I won't linger to disturb you anymore."

Xu Lang chuckled heartily and walked away with his companions.

"Wait!"

Suddenly recalling something, Xiao Mu couldn't help but call Xu Lang back.

"Does Brother Xiao have something to instruct me? Please speak freely. As long as it's within my capacity, I, Xu Lang, will do my utmost to assist."

Xu Lang turned back with a smiling face.

"Brother Xu, I have a question out of curiosity. As you're from Headquarters, you might know: for this operation, what reward is Headquarters offering the ultimate contributors of merit?"

Though Xiao Mu posed this question casually, it was, in fact, a probe.

Headquarters had not disclosed the reward for this operation, and he remained clueless.

Yet based on Zhou Xuanmen's assurances, the rewards for this mission must be substantial.

Otherwise, why would individuals like Chen Ming, Xu Lang, Gu Mei, and others voluntarily participate in such a high-stakes Life and Death Seal battle?

Xu Lang hesitated briefly, appearing to ponder, before abruptly switching to transmission to deliver his response to Xiao Mu, "Brother Xiao, as far as I know, the grand prize for this mission will only be awarded to one person who achieves First Merit."

"Only one person will be rewarded?"

Xiao Mu was both stunned and skeptical.

If the prize were limited to just one recipient, it would mean consolidating what could have been multiple awards into a single, highly valuable cache.

By implication, the reward for the final winner would exceed the typical spoils of merit, potentially by an astonishing degree.

Using transmission, he pressed further, "Brother Xu, do you know specifically what that reward entails?"

"The specifics, I'm not entirely sure."

Xu Lang's gaze flickered subtly before he quickly composed himself and continued, "But I've heard that the grand prize this time is related to True God Rank. The winner might receive a reward granting True God Rank status."

True God Rank reward?

Xiao Mu's expression shifted drastically.

A True God Rank reward may be crucial for others, but for someone like him—who had already merged with half of the Yama Seal and held clues about the other half—it seemed somewhat underwhelming.

Unable to stop himself, Xiao Mu pursued the inquiry, "Brother Xu, are you certain? How likely is it for the final reward to involve True God Rank?"

Xu Lang responded via transmission, "Utter certainty is impossible, but I'd say it's more than ninety percent likely. I am over ninety percent confident that the grand prize for this mission is tied to True God Rank."

With that, Xu Lang smiled and said to Xiao Mu, "Brother Xiao is powerful and resourceful. For this mission, you seem destined to seize victory."

"I, Xu Lang, hereby offer my early congratulations to Brother Xiao on achieving True God Rank."

Xiao Mu gave no reply. Xu Lang's words rang hollow, not aligning with his true intentions; hence, Xiao Mu paid them no mind.

After some thought, Xiao Mu found himself unconvinced. If a True God Rank reward truly existed, why hadn't the Headquarters Elders claimed it for themselves? Instead, they were offering it as a prize?

Xu Lang's narrative seemed dubious.

Moreover, Zhou Xuanmen's prior warning left Xiao Mu inherently suspicious of anything this individual said.

Nevertheless, Xiao Mu decided to probe further in hopes of extracting valuable information from Xu Lang's replies.

He remarked, "Brother Xu, isn't this strange? If a True God Rank reward truly exists, why don't the Elders claim it themselves? From what I know, even Headquarters' Grand Elders—including Grand Elder Jin Yuan—are still merely Divine Spirits. Yet their realms are already at the Late True God Realm Peak level."

"If such a rank is available, why wouldn't they use it themselves?"

Seeing Xiao Mu's doubt, Xu Lang chuckled and replied earnestly, "Brother Xiao, you might not understand. Surely you don't think the reward the Elders are discussing is an already prepared rank, do you?"

Xiao Mu was surprised again and asked in reply, "Isn't it?"

"Of course not."

Xu Lang explained, "What the Elders refer to as a rank reward hasn't been retrieved yet. It will only be available after the Divine Phoenix Maiden completes her seclusion."

"Once the Divine Phoenix Maiden emerges, she can manipulate the Human Emperor Seal to lift portions of its restraints, allowing the Human Emperor to recover further."

"As the Human Emperor regains strength, the Elders will once again borrow his divine authority and ascend to True Gods."

"Thus, for the Elders themselves, external symbols or ranks are unnecessary. Waiting for the Divine Phoenix Maiden to emerge suffices to access the Human Emperor's authority and restore their True God status."

"As for the rank reward being mentioned, it originates from the Human Emperor's Treasury. It too requires the Human Emperor's further revival to extract."

"That's why I say, Brother Xiao, you misunderstood. Headquarters indeed possesses the authority for True God rank, but it must wait for the Human Emperor's revival before it can be presented as a prize."

Such matters?

Xiao Mu was hearing insider secrets related to Headquarters for the first time. The revelations from Xu Lang left him astonished.

Nonetheless, he refrained from fully believing Xu Lang's account.

After some thought, he couldn't resist asking, "So you're saying the reward for this mission isn't ready yet? We have to wait for the Divine Phoenix Maiden's emergence before the Elders can retrieve it? Do you happen to know when the Divine Phoenix Maiden will complete her seclusion?"

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