...
Near the entrance of the Thunder Pool in the Cloud Thunder Zone.
Xu Mu, having shed his second layer of disguise, emerged from the ground, his aura completely concealed.
He was Xu Mu again.
"So you were here."
A familiar voice came from not far away. Xu Mu looked up and saw Mu Yunshu and Zhe Hao, his teammates, and further off, Li Yuan and Ning Yuanchen.
Xu Mu smiled.
"Senior brothers, senior sisters, you're back."
Mu Yunshu nodded. Zhe Hao said indifferently, "We've gathered enough. Of course, we're back. Are we supposed to live in the Thunder Pool?"
Ning Yuanchen chimed in with sarcasm, "Junior brother Xu Mu is the clever one. Judging by your appearance, you've been here for quite some time, haven't you?"
"Knowing your own strength is insufficient, you don't even bother collecting the lowest grade thunder ore, just waiting at the entrance to leave. Truly worthy of the title of genius disciple of Xianyou Peak."
"Say less," Li Yuan said, turning his head slightly to glance at Ning Yuanchen, who immediately fell silent.
He regretted mentioning Xianyou Peak with his sarcastic remark, as Li Yuan was from Xianyou Peak, regardless of anything else.
"Let's go."
Li Yuan took the lead and walked through the shimmering barrier of the Thunder Pool entrance. Xu Mu and the other three followed closely, exiting the Thunder Pool.
Outside the Thunder Pool, at the bottom of the valley.
Besides Xu Mu and his companions, many other teams who had entered the Thunder Pool were gathered around. They remained silently in this area, waiting for something.
"What's going on?" Mu Yunshu asked, stunned. Xu Mu was also a bit confused. He looked around and then saw three familiar figures at the very front.
Lan Yu, Han Qing, and Qing Si.
Behind them followed a middle-aged Taoist priest holding a dragon-headed staff, with eyes as fierce as a falcon, and two young disciples in Enforcement Hall robes.
Yao Song, the Taoist priest who had guided them, was also present. His gaze was filled with smugness and malice as he stared at Xu Mu.
"Reporting to Elder Wu Yin, all teams that entered the Thunder Pool within five days, excluding the Dao Child, are here!" an Enforcement Hall disciple said, quickly approaching the middle-aged Taoist priest.
Elder Wu Yin nodded, then looked at the crowd with a serious expression.
"I won't waste words. Some of you already know what happened in the Thunder Pool."
"Cao Guang of Biyun Peak was brutally murdered in the Thunder Pool. There are no witnesses, but I must find him now."
"I hope you will come forward and confess, and explain the reasons. Otherwise, if I find out, you will not have another chance to explain!"
Elder Wu Yin's voice was extremely cold.
The hundreds of young disciples present erupted in an uproar.
Cao Guang of Biyun Peak, while not exceptionally famous, was a genius disciple of the third stage. Furthermore, he was close to Lan Yu, so many knew him. Yet, he was now dead.
"May I ask, does even the elder in charge of this area not know who it is?" a disciple in simple Taoist robes asked, raising his hand.
Qing Si's expression turned grim upon hearing this.
"That elder said that as long as the act was not done openly and without reason, it was not within his jurisdiction. So, even if he knew, he wouldn't say."
"Since you can't find out who it is, can you let us go? I have other matters to attend to," the disciple continued, sounding somewhat displeased.
He was from Xianyou Peak, had just collected a lot of thunder ore from the Thunder Pool, and was eager to exchange it for treasures with his points. Now, he was inexplicably held back.
Qing Si looked at the disciple, seemingly recognizing him as a genius from Xianyou Peak. He pursed his lips but did not reply.
Lan Yu spoke,
"Please, everyone, remain calm."
"Actually, we already have a suspect for the killer."
The disciple interrupted impatiently,
"Then say it quickly!"
Lan Yu's voice faltered, and then he forcefully suppressed his anger, saying,
"Xu Mu of Xianyou Peak."
"Who?!" Mu Yunshu and the others were shocked. Ning Yuanchen even jumped up, a disbelieving, half-smiling expression on his face as he looked at Lan Yu.
"Are you serious?"
"Xu Mu didn't dare to linger in the Cloud Thunder Zone, how could he have killed Cao Guang?"
Li Yuan also frowned and said,
"Lan Yu, I know you want revenge, but the reason you've come up with is too preposterous."
"Xu Mu is a newly promoted inner disciple genius of Xianyou Peak. I brought him to the Thunder Pool by accident, and he does not possess the strength to kill Cao Guang."
Mu Yunshu added,
"Yes, yes. If he could kill Cao Guang, why would Cao Guang have extorted him back then? It was I who helped him escape!"
"Extorted? What's that about?" A Taoist from another team nearby eagerly stepped forward to inquire.
Mu Yunshu's expression turned serious as she recounted in full detail how Cao Guang had pursued Xu Mu and then extorted their blue-green thunder ore.
After listening, everyone seemed to understand.
"If that's the case, Xu Mu could not possibly have killed Cao Guang," another young genius from Luosha Peak said impatiently. "If you can't find the person, then hurry up and get out of the way. Don't waste our time!"
Lan Yu's face darkened, and he said,
"I didn't say Xu Mu killed him."
"Don't you find it strange? Cao Guang died right after he had a falling out with Xu Mu."
"And three days later, the three of us encountered a strange person!" Lan Yu said, a trace of fear clearly flickering in his eyes.
"A strange person?" everyone asked, confused.
Lan Yu continued, "That strange person was tempering his body with heavenly lightning, his strength was terrifyingly powerful. Wherever we collected thunder ore, he followed. Finally, we had a conflict with him."
"I suspect he came specifically to cause trouble. Cao Guang was perhaps killed by him, and all of this was because Xu Mu bribed that strange person to come and kill us!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Ning Yuanchen and the others looked at Xu Mu with drastically changed expressions.
Zhe Hao's face turned pale, and his heart pounded.
Could it be that Xu Mu truly had an extraordinary background, and had befriended a prodigy of that level in Tianshi Mountain, thus hunting Lan Yu and the others?
If he could kill Cao Guang and Lan Yu, could he not kill him? Wasn't his previous targeting and mockery of Xu Mu digging his own grave!
Elder Wu Yin walked over, his sharp gaze fixed on Xu Mu, and said,
"Tell me, who was that person?"
Xu Mu looked at the middle-aged Taoist priest before him and calmly replied, "I don't know. This has nothing to do with me."
Elder Wu Yin stared at Xu Mu, the pressure of his fourth-stage cultivation slowly bearing down, and asked coldly,
"I'll ask you again!"
"Does this matter have anything to do with you? Did you hire someone to kill Cao Guang!"
Xu Mu feigned distress, shrinking into a corner and stammering,
"No... no."
"It wasn't me!"
"Enough!"
Li Yuan stepped forward, absorbing the oppressive aura for Xu Mu. He looked at Elder Wu Yin with a solemn expression and said, "If you have no evidence, please step aside."
"If you intend to force a confession and harm my Xianyou Peak disciple, I won't hesitate to find our Peak Master and ask him to speak with you personally."
Elder Wu Yin's eyes glinted with killing intent upon hearing this.
Li Yuan remained calm, unfazed.
"Detaining someone without evidence is indeed inappropriate."
"If you don't move, I'll call reinforcements."
"My father will be here soon. He was supposed to escort me down the mountain. Can you afford the consequences if you delay something important!"
One by one, voices rose, challenging Elder Wu Yin. Clearly, these young disciples of Tianshi Mountain all had significant backgrounds, and did not place much importance on this fourth-stage elder.
Seeing this, Elder Wu Yin shot a grim look at Lan Yu and was forced to withdraw his aura.
"This matter will absolutely not end here!"
Lan Yu and the others also moved aside.
The crowd filed out.
Xu Mu, supported by Li Yuan, walked past Lan Yu, mumbling incoherently, "It wasn't me... I didn't."
His act was convincing.
Ning Yuanchen and Zhe Hao were fooled. Both breathed a sigh of relief internally.
Fortunately, it wasn't him.
"I knew it, how could this kid have done it!"
Ning Yuanchen, relieved, was about to say something to ease the tense atmosphere when suddenly, an incomparably majestic voice echoed through the space.
"Xu Mu."
"Come to the Enforcement Hall."
Everyone froze, stunned by the familiar yet unfamiliar authoritative voice.
"That's the voice of Daoist Taiwu!"
A disciple recognized it and exclaimed in shock.
"Daoist Taiwu... what does he want with Xu Mu?" Ning Yuanchen asked, his face a mask of bewilderment.
"Daoist Taiwu is the Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall," Lan Yu also paused, then burst into delighted laughter, pointing at Xu Mu and shouting, "Kid, I knew this had something to do with you!"
"Even Daoist Taiwu is personally investigating this matter. Let's see how you explain yourself now!"