Xiao Mu's gaze swiftly landed on the newcomers.

There are five people in total: two middle-aged men being martial artists, two young men being mutants, with the last one being a monk.

All five of them possessed strength at the Mid Third Realm. The two martial artists and the monk were a bit stronger, probably at the late stage of the Mid Third Realm. Meanwhile, the remaining two mutants were slightly weaker, possibly only at the middle stage of the Mid Third Realm.

Among the two martial artists, the lead male was empty-handed but his palms carried a faint purple-gold color, demonstrating the practice of some special palm strength.

The other martial artist held a Treasure Saber, which appeared to be a mutated item.

Energy faintly radiated off of the two young mutants, hinting that they were Mutated Beings of the energy type. One of them emitted sparks of fire, while the other exuded an aura of cold; they were evidently forms of fire and ice Mutated Beings respectively.

The monk at the end was holding a shiny bowl - an item that clearly seemed to be a treasure.

Moreover, a Buddha Light could faintly be seen on the monk's body, suggesting that he practiced the Buddhist Cultivation Method.

The newcomers also discovered Xiao Mu and expressed surprise.

The bare-handed, middle-aged martial artist, who appeared to be the leader of the five, glanced at Xiao Mu, surprised, he asked, "Are you a human, friend?"

Xiao Mu replied calmly, "Can't you tell the difference between humans and ghosts, friend?"

The middle-aged martial artist quickly realized the redundancy of his question; humans and ghosts are easily discernable from one another.

He went on to ask, "Friend, what brings you here? Did you kill the Blue Blood Ghost?"

"Indeed, I did." he confirmed.

As he answered, Xiao Mu in turn asked, "And what brings you all here?"

"Preposterous!"

The fire Mutant's face abruptly darkened as he scolded Xiao Mu, "We are the ones questioning you!"

"Heh heh!"

Xiao Mu let out a scornful chuckle.

This fire Mutant was being domineering, most likely because he saw that Xiao Mu was alone and wanted to take advantage of the situation.

Xiao Mu was not one bit intimidated.

Although there were five of them with strength at the Mid Third Realm, Xiao Mu was in the Late Third Realm. Moreover, his Ghost Servant also had power akin to the Late Third Realm.

If they were to actually fight, the result could tip either way.

But considering his Yin Wind Carriage and the various treasures at his disposal, he believed that he would have the upper hand even in a two-to-five situation.

Despite the fire Mutant's aggressive attitude, Xiao Mu remained fearless.

He refrained from confrontation only because they were in the Evil Ghost Secret Realm, surrounded by threats on all sides.

The leading martial artist discerned that Xiao Mu's strength was not weak and thus, instead of getting angry at Xiao Mu's attitude, he gestured for the fire mutant to stop talking.

Turning to Xiao Mu, his tone became more amicable, "I suppose the items from the Blue Blood Ghost are all with you, friend?"

"So be it. Whoever kills it, owns it."

The middle-aged martial artist nodded, then continued, "We entered the Evil Ghost Secret Realm in search for something. What about you, friend?"

"Coincidence."

Xiao Mu responded, "I too am here in the Evil Ghost Secret Realm to find something. May I ask what you all are looking for?"

The martial artist leading the group showed a slight change in expression upon hearing this and immediately asked, "Friend, to which city do you belong? Baoyue City? Nanke City? Or some other city?"

"What about you?"

Ignoring the question, Xiao Mu asked in return.

The leading middle-aged man answered, "Us? We're from Baoyue City. You look quite unfamiliar, friend. You are not one of the powerful individuals from our region, could you possibly be from Nanke City?"

"Indeed, I come from Nanke City."

As Xiao Mu confirmed this, he couldn't help but speculate on the origins of these five individuals.

Baoyue City and Nanke City are adjacent to each other, and currently, there are no conflicts between them.

However, Qing Songzi had once mentioned to Xiao Mu that the ruler of Baoyue City, a man named Chen Yanming, also known as King Zitong, harbored massive ambition. He allegedly had plans to annex Nanke City and seize the Earth Seal and Earth Symbol from it.

Qing Songzi had warned Xiao Mu to remain extremely cautious around him.

Hearing that the group hailed from Baoyue City, Xiao Mu became wary.

Were these five people connected to Chen Yanming?

Had Chen Yanming sent these people to search for the Mutated Cannon Fragments?

According to Qing Songzi's understanding of Chen Yanming, unless he was not aware of the existence of the Mutated Cannon Fragments, there is no way he would let such an opportunity slip.

"With your strength, friend, you wouldn't be entering the Evil Ghost Secret Realm for no reason. Let's cut to the chase. You most likely entered the Evil Ghost Secret Realm for that specific item, is that correct?" the leading middle-aged man pressed on.

"What specific item are you referring to?"

Xiao Mu asked casually.

He speculated in his heart whether the item they mentioned was the Mutated Cannon Fragments that the Yue had told him about earlier.

Very likely!

Otherwise, Xiao Mu couldn't think of any other item that would warrant such cautiousness from them to the point where they would send five people specializing in the Mid Third Realm into the Evil Ghost Secret Realm all at once.

"Heh heh!"

The leading middle-aged man let out a cold laugh, "Since you're feigning ignorance, there's no point in saying more."

"In summary, we entered the Secret Realm in search of a specific item. As long as you, friend, do not contest us for this particular object, we can talk."

Having said this, he cast a meaningful glance at Xiao Mu, his words subtly tinged with a hint of threat.

"Oh!"

Xiao Mu responded noncommittally, but in his heart, he was even more certain that they were here for the Mutated Cannon Fragments.

However, when it came to not contending for it, how was that possible?

The Mutated Cannon Fragments were a truly rare find. Such extraordinary objects could not be materialized even by his own Mutation Technique. The object existed on a level too high, something that should not be appearing in the current world.

This was similar to the Stone Sword Embryo that had appeared before; it had surpassed the level of this world. Unless one stumbled upon it by coincidence, it was impossible to obtain.

The saber-wielding martial artist suddenly shot Xiao Mu a cold stare and declared, "Regardless of your goals, friend, that object belongs to us. Madman, let's go."

Saying that, he urged the bare-handed leading martial artist to leave.

The leading martial artist, who is called 'Madman', shot Xiao Mu one more glance, and with a hint of threat, he said," I hope you won't contend with us, friend, otherwise, heh heh!"

Laughing coldly, he said no more and lead the way out of the tent. The veiled threat in his words was hard to ignore.

Madman?

Xiao Mu took note of how the saber-wielding martial artist addressed the leading martial artist, causing a stir in his mind.

According to Qing Songzi, King Zitong, Chen Yanming, had a martial artist under his command known by the code name Madman Chu, who practiced the Purple Gold Buddha Palm technique. Could this be him?

Are these five individuals truly under the command of King Zitong, Chen Yanming?

If it involved any other person, it wouldn't matter.

Considering Chen Yanming's overpowering ambition and the significant threat he posed, if these individuals truly are his subordinates, Xiao Mu resolved that he would absolutely not allow them to obtain the Mutated Cannon Fragments, even if he himself could not acquire it.

Following the five individuals, Xiao Mu too headed towards the entrance of the tent.

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