Out of the peach garden, Xu Mu and the Wine Immortal Daoist immediately rushed towards Fengqing Village. They did not conceal their presence along the way. The dragon scales and the Daoist's oppressive aura scared away many great demons, so their journey was very fast. Half a day later, they had completely flown out of Xishan.
Not long after, a village slowly appeared before Xu Mu. The houses there were built quite densely.
Only Heye Village was this close to Xishan.
A smile crept onto Xu Mu's lips. He clearly remembered that it was on this hillside that Gray-White Pupils had once shot and saved Yin Shuer's life.
"Let's go in and have a look. We can have a cup of tea before we leave."
"But to avoid unnecessary trouble, it's better for us to keep a low profile."
As their bodies slowly landed, Xu Mu took out a black veil from somewhere and put it on himself. Then he handed it to the Wine Immortal Daoist. The latter took the veil and shook his head dismissively.
"My face... ten out of a hundred people might see it. There's no need to cover it, I won't be recognized."
"Then cover it too, just in case."
Xu Mu said, and walked into the village without looking back. Seeing that he could not persuade him, the Wine Immortal Daoist reluctantly put on the veil and followed him into Heye Village.
...
Heye Village was overcrowded. Seventy percent were local villagers, and the remaining thirty percent were extraordinary individuals who had come from other places seeking opportunities.
Xu Mu and the Wine Immortal Daoist, wearing black veils, did not attract anyone's attention. This was because people here were already used to it. Thus, they smoothly found a small tea shop, ordered a bowl of tea, and sat in a shadowy corner.
"See? I told you the veil was necessary. These people are all from outside, they might recognize you." Xu Mu took off his veil, took a sip of tea, and secretly glanced at the extraordinary individuals coming and going around them, chuckling in a low voice.
The Wine Immortal Daoist snorted. For the first time, he did not drink wine. He also picked up his tea bowl and drank the tea in one gulp, saying nothing.
Since he was silent, Xu Mu didn't feel like talking anymore. As they were about to part, he just wanted to rest quietly for a while and feel the wind under this sky.
"Hey, have you heard about the Dark Palace? It's causing a big stir recently!" While the two were resting quietly, a mysterious voice suddenly sounded from a wooden table not far away. Hearing this, Xu Mu couldn't help but open his eyes and glance sideways.
"You're talking about the Dark Palace where the Demon God is sealed, right!" A man who was not particularly stout sneered at the man beside him.
"Uh, I spent five taels of silver to get this news. I didn't expect you to know about it too?" The person who spoke earlier was taken aback and felt a bit embarrassed.
"Such a big event has already spread throughout the Realm of the Ghastly Night days ago. The Dark Palace seals a Demon God, and the owner of half a Heavenly Tome, Vilitan, is also there, attempting to plot the Demon God's resurrection. It's truly terrifying. Fortunately, they are all dead."
"There's such a thing? Tell us more!" The surrounding people's eyes lit up, and they immediately crowded around.
The man chuckled, pretended to pause for a moment, and then said,
"I've told this story so many times. Anyway, the general process is that the Demon Extermination Division produced a peerless genius, twenty years old, a lord at such a young age. With the cooperation of various parties, he killed both the Demon God and Vilitan, thus averting a major crisis."
"A twenty-year-old lord?!" As soon as this was said, the people around them exclaimed in unison.
"No, he's not even twenty. It's said his bone age is only nineteen." The man took a sip of water and continued, "It's just a pity that geniuses always perish prematurely. It's said that he was severely injured in the final battle and was eaten by the monsters in Xishan. Not even his bones remained. Lord Yaohuo and the other domain lords had no choice but to retreat."
"Yaohuo is a powerful figure on the world rankings, right? Even he couldn't save that person from the jaws of the monsters?" A young man at the next table exclaimed in disbelief.
He had heard of Yaohuo's reputation by chance. Compared to him, a mere ant, Yaohuo was at the pinnacle of power. His subordinates' subordinates could rule entire cities, yet such a powerful figure couldn't even save one person from that mountain?
The man was interrupted by the questioning and felt displeased. He turned around impolitely and said loudly,
"What do you know? Lord Yaohuo is naturally the most powerful in the world, but Xishan is not a place to be trifled with."
"It's said that after leaving the Dark Palace, as many as a thousand great demons at the domain lord level surrounded it. It was already an impossible feat for Lord Yaohuo to lead the majority of humans to break through and retreat successfully. It's normal to have casualties during that process!"
"A thousand great demons at the domain lord level!" The man was completely stunned on the spot. This number was too shocking for him, a lone cultivator who had just entered the second stage.
"You're exaggerating too much. Where did a thousand come from?"
Xu Mu shook his head, listening to the conversation from the next table with astonishment. In just a few days, the events in Xishan had become common knowledge.
"That's right, nephew. You've become famous." The Wine Immortal Daoist perked up, took a sip of wine from his gourd, and said with some amusement.
Xu Mu spread his hands, feeling a bit helpless.
"I have no interest in such things. People fear fame, just as pigs fear getting fat. And this rumor is too ridiculous. I just stayed with Qiongqi for a few days, and they claim I was utterly annihilated?"
With that, Xu Mu lost all interest in resting there. He stood up, ready to continue his journey back to Fengqing Village.
But at this moment, the man at the next table spoke again, and the content of their conversation made Xu Mu's expression change drastically.
"Speaking of which, that Xu Mu seems to be the night watchman of Fengqing Village."
"Yes, with someone like him emerging, the entire Fengqing Village benefits. I wonder how many forces want to bring Fengqing Village under their control!"
"That's not necessarily true. When the candle dies, the person is gone. Even after thousands or tens of thousands of years, Fengqing Village might not produce another Xu Mu. And because he became famous, I heard Fengqing Village has encountered some significant trouble recently, and even the imperial court can't manage it!"
"The village of heroes from the Demon Extermination Division is still being troubled?"
"I don't know about that. Perhaps even the people of Fengqing Village don't know where the problem lies, and we don't have the exact information..."
The man shook his head and took a sip of cool tea. Before he could finish, he suddenly froze. Standing before him was a young man in plain clothes, his face covered by a black veil. The terrifying aura emanating from him made him, a mere second-stage extraordinary being, swallow involuntarily. The man cautiously said,
"Sir, what can I do for you?"
"You just said something happened to Fengqing Village?" Xu Mu asked in a deep voice.
"This... Sir, I don't know either. I just heard that a large group of people suddenly arrived at Fengqing Village some time ago, saying they wanted to buy land at a high price. Many people signed contracts, but later something went wrong. The people of Fengqing Village not only didn't get their money but also lost their homes. Now they are homeless and can only work to repay the debt to those people." The man said nervously.
Xu Mu's face under the black veil gradually darkened, his palms unconsciously clenched tighter, and the oppressive aura on his body grew even stronger, making everyone in the tea shop tremble involuntarily.
"Thank you. The tea money is on me."
Xu Mu left a silver ingot and then rose into the sky with a surge of energy. The veil was instantly blown away, revealing his handsome face.
"What a young and powerful individual. And he's carrying a burning stick on his back?" As Xu Mu gradually disappeared into the horizon, someone suddenly murmured.
"Young and powerful, a burning stick..." The man who had been speaking with Xu Mu suddenly seemed to recall something, a look of horror gradually appearing on his face, and he exclaimed, "He is Xu Mu! He's not dead!"
The man's exclamation instantly caused a commotion in the entire tea shop, and even the whole of Heye Village. But Xu Mu clearly didn't have time to pay attention to them. His brows furrowed, and he flew through the sky at almost full speed.
The Wine Immortal Daoist easily caught up to him and said calmly,
"This matter is probably not that simple."
"Eighty percent of it is directed at me." Xu Mu gritted his teeth, his expression grim. "My grievances should be settled between me and others. They've broken the rules!"
"You talk about righteousness with others, but they won't listen." The Wine Immortal Daoist's expression was calm. "The best way is to let your fists do the talking."
Hearing this, Xu Mu's heart was filled with gloom. He didn't speak further. All he wanted now was to return to Fengqing Village as quickly as possible and understand what had happened.
Thus, under such rapid flight, in less than half an hour, the faint outline of a mountain village appeared blurry before Xu Mu's eyes.
...