Xiao Mu smiled and said, "The Kuang and Kuo families were originally one family. It was only two hundred years ago, due to a treacherous minister's scheme, that one branch changed its surname to Kuo. If Old Chen hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known."

"Old Master Kuo, do you know why the Heavenly Court wants to kill the members of the Kuang family?"

Old Man Kuo seemed to have expected Xiao Mu's question and pondered, "I know almost nothing about the situation at the Old Mansion, and as for why the Heavenly Court wants to kill them, I am even less clear. Young man, if you're trying to inquire about the situation over there, I'm afraid you've asked the wrong person."

Xiao Mu was not disappointed and continued, "How much do you know about the situation of the old ancestor of the Kuang family?"

"The old ancestor?"

Old Man Kuo fell into reminiscence, and when he mentioned the old ancestor, a bit of pride crept onto his face, "In ancient times, the old ancestor was one of the three great generals under Lord of Bai's Mansion."

"It is said that during the Ancient Great War, the Heavenly Emperor descended upon the True Eastern Domain. The old ancestor once served as a personal guard to the Heavenly Emperor on the orders of the Lord."

"When the Heavenly Emperor visited Cangkuo Mountain, the old ancestor was there to accompany him."

"Also, the old ancestor once guarded the True Gods' prison."

"When the Heavenly Court rebellion occurred, there were many strong among the rebelling True Gods, and some were almost as powerful as Lord Bai."

"At that time, the Lord had built a prison near the Great Tang Ruins to imprison a particularly powerful True God, and my ancestor from the Kuang family was once ordered to guard this prison."

The Cangkuo Mountain, near the Great Tang Ruins, lies directly west of the ruins. It's just a small hill, nothing remarkable, and even with the World Mutation, this hill hasn't changed at all.

It was the first time Xiao Mu had heard that the Heavenly Emperor had visited this unremarkable small hill.

Moreover, Xiao Mu was equally surprised to learn about the prison that once suppressed mighty True Gods near the Great Tang Ruins.

"Anything else?"

Xiao Mu carefully sorted through the clues provided by Old Man Kuo, but couldn't find the key information.

"Anything else?"

Old Man Kuo thought about it, seemed hesitant and struggled for a bit, but finally said, "Below the old mansion is where the old ancestor's coffin chamber lies. This is something that no outsider knows except for the Kuang family. If you want to investigate further, you might consider visiting the old ancestor's coffin chamber."

"The coffin chamber of the Kuang family ancestor is beneath the old mansion?"

Xiao Mu was taken aback.

The clue provided by Old Man Kuo completely exceeded his expectations. Had Old Man Kuo not explicitly informed him, he could hardly have imagined that underneath the old Kuang family mansion lay the coffin of Kuang Shenfeng.

"Thank you, I will investigate personally."

Xiao Mu thanked Old Man Kuo. As he stood up, he casually tossed several Energy Fruit Vouchers he got from Du Jun onto the table.

"The Great Tang Ruins is no longer safe for the descendants of the Kuang family at the moment. Please move into the headquarters in the ruins for now; there's a hotel there dedicated to guests. These vouchers will cover a month's stay for you."

"Ah~"

Old Man Kuo seemed surprised, not expecting Xiao Mu to give him Energy Fruit Vouchers. He glanced at the vouchers on the table, then immediately called out to Xiao Mu, "Young man, wait a moment."

Xiao Mu turned around.

Old Man Kuo then took out a piece of paper and handed it to Xiao Mu, "This paper contains the explanation for the Great Array beneath the old mansion. With this, you can easily enter the array."

"Thank you, old master!"

Surprised, Xiao Mu smiled, took the Great Array explanation from Old Man Kuo, glanced at it, then returned it to him.

Afterward, he bid farewell and left Old Man Kuo's home.

The Great Array beneath the old Kuang family mansion is quite extraordinary. Its existence completely conceals all the aura from Kuang Shenfeng's coffin, rendering it undetectable to outsiders.

Without the Great Array explanation given by Old Man Kuo, Xiao Mu felt that it would be troublesome for him to dismantle the array.

But now that he knew the Great Array explanation, entering the array posed no further obstacle.

Xiao Mu couldn't help but feel glad that he was kind enough to give Old Man Kuo some energy fruits before leaving.

Otherwise, he might not have obtained the Great Array explanation from Old Man Kuo.

Xiao Mu made a detour around Luo City, wandering around to conceal his whereabouts, and only returned to his rented place as night was falling.

The landlady, Xiao Ling, and Sister Qi were in the living room. Sister Qi was on the phone. From the conversation, it seemed she was borrowing energy fruits from friends.

From the looks of it, Sister Qi required quite a bit of resources to secure a place in the True Realm.

"Xiao Qin, can you lend me three hundred energy fruits..."

"Sister Lu, it's Xiaoqi. Could you lend me a thousand energy fruits, please? Hello! Hello!"

"Hello, Rongrong... Hello! Hello!"

Clearly, Sister Qi's friends weren't very reliable. Despite making call after call, she hardly borrowed any energy fruits, and those willing to lend her some offered few, rarely more than a hundred.

"Sister Qi, I've contacted a friend. He said he could lend you ten thousand, but he'll need an IOU, repaying nine yields thirteen, borrowed for half a year, with a 7% monthly interest rate."

After making a call, Xiao Ling suddenly turned to Sister Qi.

"Nine yields thirteen? What's that mean?" Sister Qi put down the phone, looking somewhat confused at Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling patiently explained, "It means you borrow ten thousand but can only receive nine thousand. When you repay, it's considered as repaying thirteen thousand, with interest calculated separately."

When Sister Qi heard this, her expression became grim, "What is the total repayment?"

"To repay..."

Xiao Ling pondered, using her cellphone as a calculator, and finally arrived at a number, "You need to repay... nineteen thousand five hundred and ten."

"Nineteen thousand, that's... more than doubled. It's too high, too high..."

Sister Qi was scared by the hefty number, her expression turning even graver, she instinctively shook her head.

Xiao Ling also felt it was unwise, "Or maybe, borrow from someone else? Oh, I forgot to mention, my friend's friend replied. He said if you give him a thousand energy fruits, he'll help you make a connection with the Affairs Division manager."

"A thousand energy fruits?" Sister Qi gritted her teeth, "Give it to him!"

"But, Sister Qi, if you give it to him, will you have any energy fruits left? Will it be enough to secure a position elsewhere?" Xiao Ling looked worried, troubled for Sister Qi.

"I'll think of something." Sister Qi gritted her teeth and called out deeply.

Xiao Mu opened the door and walked in.

"Hey, you're back?"

Xiao Ling greeted Xiao Mu with a friendly smile.

"Good!" Xiao Mu returned the smile.

Sister Qi was in low spirits and didn't feel like talking to Xiao Mu.

Xiao Mu smiled as he walked past the couch, then suddenly stopped, looked at Sister Qi, and reminded, "If the qualification obtained by bribing an official is discovered afterwards by the headquarters, at worst the qualification will be revoked, or worse, your cultivation could be abolished."

"Becoming a True Realm through bribing is not the right path. Relying on yourself is better, and if necessary, taking a risk and participating in the True Strength Seed Mission might give you more hope."

"Easy for you to say!"

Sister Qi, already in a bad mood, replied unkindly, "Do you think participating in the True Strength Seed Mission is that straightforward? Do you know how high the mortality rate for those missions is? Out of ten, how many can come out alive?"

"Is it very high?"

Xiao Mu thought for a moment and couldn't help but ask.

He had participated in the True Strength Seed Mission before, and at that time, the mortality rate was indeed high.

But that was then, and this is now.

The current mortality rate has already decreased significantly compared to the past because with the World Mutation expanding resources, the True Strength Seed is no longer the only path to the True Realm, and its importance has diminished.

Consequently, the mortality rate has decreased.

Originally, the mortality rate was such that fewer than one out of ten people could exit alive. Now, it's much lower, and for those Variants who desperately wish to enter the True Realm, it's definitely worth taking the risk.

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