Tang Bai Li

Chapter 120 The End, Setting Off for Zhongzhou!

The light of the Sacred Ladder gradually faded.

Amidst a roar, a vortex opened in the void, sucking in all the esper-users ranked outside of five thousand.

Xu Mu stood on the ground, silently watching it all. When he saw that Jiang Sheng, Qi Lan, and Qian Qian had all passed, a smile touched the corner of his lips.

"Congratulations to all of you, you have passed," Wan Yan Zhenyao said, stepping out of the void and landing beside Xu Mu.

"You too," Xu Mu nodded, then waved to Qian Qian not far away. "This way."

Qian Qian looked around, and after spotting Xu Mu, he walked over with Jiang Sheng and Qi Lan.

The group gathered together, not saying a word, all staring intently at Xu Mu. It wasn't until Xu Mu coughed awkwardly twice that Jiang Sheng broke the silence first.

"Brother, you are amazing!"

Jiang Sheng excitedly hugged Xu Mu's arm, his expression ecstatic, as if the one who climbed the Sacred Ladder at the last moment wasn't Xu Mu, but himself.

Xu Mu smiled and scratched his head, saying, "Just so-so."

"You are too humble," Wan Yan Zhenyao said with emotion, "I'm afraid the outside world has already exploded. Countless forces will now be targeting you."

"Your reputation might even spread to the Myriad Races Assembly, making you a target for those who have qualified to participate. You need to be mentally prepared."

Hearing this, Xu Mu clicked his tongue with a strange expression and asked, "It's just climbing a ladder, is it really that big of a deal?"

Wan Yan Zhenyao was rendered speechless.

Qian Qian said helplessly, "This is the Sacred Ladder. Although it's a replica, it can still stump the vast majority of cultivation geniuses. Even before today, the best record in our sector was set by the previous generation's genius from the Wang family, at eighty-four steps."

"And it took him three hours. You only took fifteen seconds."

'But I didn't feel it was that difficult...' Xu Mu thought, but he didn't say it aloud, merely smiling a bit憨厚ly.

The pressure from the Sacred Ladder was far less than that from the Eight Directions Heavenly Walls in the dark palace on Xishan.

Xu Mu looked down at his fist, a deep smile on his face. He could feel that his physical strength had improved further after fighting Ye Gong, and his comprehension of the Great Dao of Death had also progressed.

Now, he could integrate the intent of death into his vital energy and unleash it. His combat power had undoubtedly increased. If he encountered Ye Gong's sword again, perhaps he could fight it even without a blade!

"Those who remain, congratulations. You will represent Sector Sixteen and participate in the final battle against the myriad races."

"This is the qualification token for participating in the Myriad Races Assembly. Please accept it and keep it safe."

The phantom of the Wang family's ancestor spoke, waving his hand. Five thousand luminous light clusters fell from the void, landing in the hands of the people present.

Xu Mu caught a light cluster and, seeing the familiar item within, a smile appeared on his face.

He remembered that his spatial ring still contained a qualification token, which he had snatched from Ye Que. He wondered how Ye Que was doing now.

"Great!"

Jiang Sheng cried out with excitement upon receiving the qualification token. He had never imagined that with his own strength, he would actually be able to pass the three preliminary rounds.

Even after passing, before receiving the token, he felt as if it were all a dream. Only now had the dream become reality.

Others also showed varying degrees of joy upon receiving their qualifications. Only a few remained impassive, showing no emotion, such as Ye Gong.

The Wang family's ancestor silently observed all these reactions, his attention fixed on Xu Mu.

Xu Mu, sensing the elder's gaze, looked up and smiled slightly.

The Wang family's ancestor was stunned, then shook his head and chuckled. He said, "The Pure Void Realm will close soon. You should all exit now."

The crowd responded in unison, "Yes!"

Then, everyone voluntarily walked into the spatial rift. Their surroundings flickered, and when they opened their eyes again, they found themselves in the Daqing Mountains of the Peach Blossom Domain.

Before Xu Mu could react, he was surrounded by a large circle of people, all exuding powerful auras and watching him intently.

Xu Mu spoke hesitantly, "Senior Gongsun, what is this..."

"Don't speak, hurry onto the Jiang family's artifact airship," Gongsun Jingming said with a grave expression, extending his domain to envelop Xu Mu.

"Many people are targeting you. We are protecting your safety."

"Alright." Xu Mu didn't say much else. Seeing that Little Qiongqi was already waiting for him on the airship, he walked directly towards it.

As this happened, other family geniuses were also being teleported out. However, when they emerged, wanting to celebrate or complain, they found that no one was paying attention to them.

All eyes were on Xu Mu, who was being tightly protected by the crowd, especially by the members of the four great families.

They stared intently, their breathing quickened. Their aged faces were filled with shock. Those of lower seniority were even more uninhibited, their jaws agape in astonishment.

Jiang Liyun of the Jiang family looked at Xu Mu, feeling as if his heart were about to leap out of his chest.

Jiang Li was the first to recover. He glanced at everyone's reactions, silently swallowed, and then said proudly, "I told you, young friend Mu Xu would definitely make it."

After saying this, he mumbled to himself, "But for him to climb eighty-four steps in fifteen seconds, isn't that a bit frightening?"

"More than frightening, it's unheard of!" someone exclaimed beside Jiang Li. This person was an elder who had somehow appeared among the collateral relatives.

Upon seeing the elder, Jiang Li quickly bowed. The elder waved him off, "No need."

"You have rendered great service to our Jiang family this time. If you need anything in the future, feel free to ask me."

Jiang Tiao's expression was complex as he gazed at Xu Mu through the crowd. When he first met Xu Mu, he had even suspected that Xu Mu was just a ruse by the younger generation to trick him.

Even after Xu Mu defeated Jiang Zhao with a single wave, he hadn't paid much attention to Xu Mu. He never expected him to perform such a shocking feat this time.

In the final fifteen seconds, Xu Mu had climbed eighty-four steps. If not for the anomaly of Ye Gong, who pushed the original record of eighty-three steps to ninety, Xu Mu would have broken the Sacred Ladder's record today in just fifteen seconds.

What did this mean? A comparison with Jiang Zheye, who was also at the eighty-fourth step, would suffice. The latter had to fight for his life for two and a half hours to reach this point and finally stopped progressing, taking many times longer than Xu Mu.

Even Ye Gong had taken a comparable amount of time, yet Xu Mu only took fifteen seconds, and he seemed to do so with ease.

This led one to wonder, if given another fifteen seconds, or even more time, would Xu Mu ascend to the very top of the Sacred Ladder, just like that person did in the past?

"Young friend Mu Xu is right. Your Ye family has won." The Jiang family ancestor, suppressing his excitement, smiled slightly and said to Ye Geng with a hint of mockery, "It is your Ye family that has won."

Previously, everyone had mocked Xu Mu and compared him to Ye Gong, saying he was too injured to climb the Sacred Ladder. But what was the result now? Xu Mu had climbed eighty-four steps in fifteen seconds!

Although Ye Gong had reached the ninetieth step, no one would consider him the winner!

Therefore, the Jiang family ancestor said this to annoy the Ye family.

"Perhaps he overexerted himself and forced his way up," Ye Geng snorted, though even he didn't believe this excuse.

The Jiang family ancestor laughed loudly and, without further ado, personally welcomed Xu Mu back, not forgetting the other members of the Jiang family.

"You are all geniuses of my Jiang family. Upon our return, I will reward you handsomely."

"Thank you, Ancestor."

Qian Qian, Jiang Sheng, Jiang Taixu, and Jiang Zheye all knelt and bowed. Xu Mu, a beat slower, then cupped his hands.

The Jiang family ancestor paid no mind to this and directly escorted them into the airship cabin, using formations to block all external prying eyes.

With Xu Mu gone from the immediate vicinity, everyone naturally regained their senses and began to think about other important matters.

First was the Qi family.

"Qi Lan, you colluded with the enemy and nearly caused Qi Ye's demise. Have you thought about what punishment you deserve!" The current patriarch of the Qi family glared at Qi Lan, who was kneeling on the ground.

Qi Lan cupped his hands and replied calmly, "I endured humiliation and did not hesitate to form an alliance with the enemy to ultimately obtain qualification for the Myriad Races Assembly. Everything I did was for the family. I do not know what wrong I have committed."

"As for my elder brother Qi Ye, the fate he met today can only be blamed on his inferior skills."

"You!" The Qi family patriarch, furious, pointed at Qi Lan and was about to unleash a torrent of abuse, but was stopped by two elderly coughs.

"Let it be," the Qi family ancestor said.

"Father, but he..."

"Let it be!" the Qi family ancestor said sternly. "Qi Lan is right. Your useless son voluntarily applied to participate in the preliminaries. He failed to kill the Jiang family members and instead ruined himself. This can only be called his own doing, and it has nothing to do with Qi Lan!"

"By my decree, no one in the entire clan is to target Qi Lan. Although his talent is not particularly high, he has at least salvaged some face for our Qi family in the preliminaries!"

The Qi family patriarch knelt on the ground, his face pale, and replied, "I obey your ancestor's command."

"Thank you, Ancestor." Qi Lan also knelt in gratitude. At the same time, he smiled and looked towards the direction of the Jiang family airship. He knew that Xu Mu must be watching him from afar.

"Thank you," Qi Lan said with his lips, expressing his sincere gratitude. Without Xu Mu, he might never have had the chance to replace Qi Ye.

Now, the first step had been achieved. The next most important thing was to improve his strength. Although the hope was still slim, there was at least some possibility. And all the credit for this belonged to Xu Mu.

Inside the airship, Xu Mu saw Qi Lan's lips move and smiled slightly, responding, "You're welcome."

"Who are you talking to?" Gongsun Jingming walked over, looking at Xu Mu in surprise.

"No one." Xu Mu's smile faded as he turned to the elder and asked, "Senior, is there something you need?"

Gongsun Jingming nodded, sighed, "Of course, but before that, let me introduce you to someone."

"This is my junior brother, Gongsun Lianjue. He is the Grand Elder of the Medicine Hall at Medicine King Valley."

"Greetings, Senior." Xu Mu looked at the emaciated Taoist and cupped his hands.

"No need for formalities." The emaciated Taoist stared at Xu Mu, his eyes full of surprise.

He had witnessed Xu Mu's performance, but he still harbored some doubts about Gongsun Jingming's earlier claims regarding Xu Mu's talent in alchemy.

Gongsun Jingming said solemnly, "Mu Xu, we wish to invite you to join Medicine King Valley. Furthermore, after my junior brother, we would like you to be the next Grand Elder of the Medicine Hall. What are your thoughts?"

"The next Grand Elder of the Medicine Hall?" Xu Mu's eyes widened, and he clicked his tongue in surprise.

"Senior, aren't you being too hasty? I'm still just a child!"

"Yes, Senior Brother. The position of Grand Elder of the Medicine Hall is decided through competition and selection within the entire valley. How can you make promises arbitrarily!" the emaciated Taoist said urgently.

"Shut up. Having you become an Elder of the Medicine Hall would be your honor!" Gongsun Jingming said unpleasantly. Then, he smiled at Xu Mu. "It's not hasty at all. This decision was made after much deliberation."

"You see, with your alchemy skills, you naturally cannot be an ordinary disciple in our Medicine King Valley. And apart from those few ancestors who are on the brink of death, no one else can likely be your master. Therefore, becoming an Elder of the Medicine Hall, in charge of the spirit herb department, and passing on all your alchemy techniques, is perfectly suitable."

"Also, don't rush to refuse. Think carefully. You have not only offended the Ye family but also rogue cultivators and the Fengtian Domain Lord. Currently, the Jiang family can protect you for a while, but what about after the Myriad Races Assembly concludes? They will no longer be concerned about you."

"And don't even mention them not caring. Even if they did, it would be difficult for the Jiang family to stop Fengtian alone. But our Medicine King Valley can. We can absolutely guarantee your safety." Gongsun Jingming said earnestly.

"This..." Xu Mu was at a loss for words and could only scratch his head awkwardly.

He was currently stretched thin. He was with the Jiang family, and in the future, he needed to go to the Nangong family and the White Cloud Daoist Temple. Adding Medicine King Valley would make things too complicated.

"I can serve as a guest elder of Medicine King Valley, but the position of Grand Elder, I must decline."

Xu Mu cupped his hands, politely refusing Gongsun Jingming's offer.

Gongsun Jingming said seriously, "Are you sure you won't reconsider? This is a rare opportunity."

"I appreciate your kindness, Senior." Xu Mu cupped his hands again and said, "If there is an opportunity in the future and I formally dedicate myself to the study of alchemy, perhaps I will formally pay respects to Medicine King Valley!"

"Alright, what a shame." Gongsun Jingming nodded, then continued, "Our Medicine King Valley's doors are always open to you."

"However, since you haven't joined Medicine King Valley, we probably cannot provide you with backup. You will have to deal with Fengtian yourself."

Xu Mu nodded solemnly, "Please rest assured, Senior. I am aware of the situation."

"If that's the case, I won't linger. Junior brother, let's go," Gongsun Jingming said with a sigh, and then slowly left with the emaciated Taoist.

The latter glanced at Xu Mu, then at Gongsun Jingming, his face full of confusion.

"Senior... Senior Brother, didn't you say he was a genius comparable to Ji Chang? Are we just leaving like this?"

Gongsun Jingming turned back and said helplessly, "He's unwilling, what can I do?"

"Besides, he is currently at the peak of public attention. He lacks no forces trying to recruit him, and the Jiang family will do their best to protect him. Therefore, he doesn't lack our help."

"What we need to do now is constantly monitor his movements. When he is in trouble, we will step forward. Only then will he willingly join Medicine King Valley!"

The emaciated Taoist nodded thoughtfully, and then the two of them departed.

As soon as they left, Little Qiongqi secretly sneaked in and quickly leaped into Xu Mu's embrace.

"Long time no see," Xu Mu rubbed its plump cheek and said with a smile.

"It's only been as long as a nap for me," Qiongqi yawned, not feeling as if it had been separated from Xu Mu for a long time.

"Young friend Mu Xu, do you have any other matters to attend to? If not, let's depart." A male voice sounded from outside the door, and then Jiang Liyun and Jiang Li entered together.

"Uncle Li, I have nothing else. You can leave," Xu Mu said with a smile.

Jiang Li nodded, then looked at Jiang Liyun.

"The departure we mentioned is not from these mountains back to the city, but to the actual venue of the Myriad Races Assembly competition," Jiang Liyun said after a moment of silence.

"The Myriad Races Assembly, so soon?" Xu Mu asked in surprise. He remembered that the Myriad Races Assembly was still a full month away.

"The reason is entirely for your safety," Jiang Liyun said, looking a bit embarrassed. "According to reliable intelligence, Fengtian is already returning from the far north and is heading directly for our Jiang family."

"His strength is too great. If he insists on taking you, our Jiang family may not be able to protect you. Therefore, we can only send you away first. By the time the Myriad Races Assembly begins, you will naturally be safe."

"I understand. You want me to go out and lay low for a while, right?" Xu Mu said directly. "No problem, you can make the arrangements."

"This... you can't call it laying low, it's just a temporary avoidance of the storm," Jiang Liyun said somewhat awkwardly. Their Jiang family was a prominent clan among the hundred races, and now, because of one person, they were forced to send their family genius away to avoid trouble, which was quite embarrassing.

However, their Jiang family could actually protect Xu Mu, but the price would be too high. Fighting a top-tier domain lord for an outsider was not worth it.

Jiang Liyun led his men away from Xu Mu's room.

As the door closed, the artifact ascended into the sky.

Xu Mu closed his eyes in his room.

Not long from now, he believed he would meet that old fellow, the Wine Immortal, again!