The silence stretched on. Aunt Lu and the elder sisters hadn’t spoken, so Qin Mu had no choice but to play the mute.
Lu Qian crossed her arms over her chest, which only made those big white mounds look even more majestic.
“Mu’er.”
Hearing Aunt Lu’s call, Qin Mu snapped to attention in an instant.
“I’m here, Aunt Lu!”
“Where did you go with this young lady?”
Lu Qian had no objection to Mu’er going out to play with other girls, but not reporting it to her and lying about being in closed-door cultivation—that made her deeply displeased.
“I went to the Sacred Mountain with Lu Shuanger.”
As he spoke, Qin Mu pointed behind him.
Lu Qian’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. With her Tribulation Stage cultivation, she could tell that something did indeed exist in the direction Mu’er was pointing at.
“The Sacred Mountain?!”
This time it was Chu Jiujiu’s turn to be astonished.
She looked at her disciple beside her, who wore a guilty expression, but chose not to reprimand her here. She would have a proper talk with Shuanger once they returned to their room tonight.
“What did you go there for?”
“She said that by taking the Body-Tempering Milk and then refining the Gu Insect, there was a chance to restore my cultivation.”
Hearing Mu’er’s words, Lu Qian looked toward Chu Jiujiu.
Chu Jiujiu pondered Qin Mu’s words for a moment, then said, “What Young Master Qin said does have some possibility. However, Young Master Qin is not a member of my Gu Tribe after all. The chance of successfully taming a Gu Insect is exceedingly slim.”
After listening, Lu Qian fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a gentle tone.
“Mu’er, Aunt Lu knows that with your cultivation dropping, it’s inevitable that your mindset has changed somewhat.”
‘Not at all, Aunt Lu. I still eat when I should eat and sleep when I should sleep. My mindset is perfectly fine.’
After all, although Qin Mu had grown up in this world, his way of thinking still came from his previous life. His craving for immortality and power existed, but it wasn’t that insane.
Lu Qian beckoned, signaling Mu’er to come closer.
Qin Mu obediently walked up to Aunt Lu.
“Mu’er, I will find a way to deal with your cultivation problem. There’s no need to worry for now. Besides, even if it comes down to the worst case, Aunt Lu has no problem supporting Mu’er for the rest of your life.”
As the Head of the Seven Stars Sect, Lu Qian controlled the sect’s treasure vault, and there was no shortage of longevity-extending treasures inside. Even if Mu’er’s talent were terrible, his cultivation would slowly rise with time.
“Aunt Lu, I understand.”
Qin Mu answered obediently.
***
Early morning. The mist had yet to fully disperse, but figures were already coming and going on the streets. Shops were beginning to open their doors to welcome customers, and the guards changing shifts pushed open the city gates that had remained shut all night.
At that moment, an old woman holding a walking stick ambled over slowly. The guards immediately grew vigilant.
In just a few steps, the old woman had gone from the distance to the city gate.
“Senior…”
Seeing this, the guard hurried forward to inquire, but the old woman slowly raised her hunched body, her murky eyes fixed on the guard before her. In that instant, the guard felt as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss.
“Hehe, this old woman has merely come to see that little girl once.”
As she spoke, a token materialized in front of the old woman. The moment the guard saw it, he immediately became filled with reverence.
“So it’s Senior, gracing us with your presence! Please, come in!”
The guard immediately stepped aside to make way for the old woman.
And so, the old woman slowly walked into the city.
The younger guard beside him asked, unable to hold back, “Captain, who is that old lady?”
“A… old senior. Liu Popo of Ghost Elephant Mountain.”
The moment those words fell, the guards around them widened their eyes.
The Hidden Ancestor of Ghost Elephant Mountain! Liu Popo!
At present, Ghost Elephant Mountain only had one Ancestor on the surface, but in the shadows, there was also an Ancestor who had been hidden from the world for a long time. She had been a Unity Realm Expert long ago. Whether her strength had broken through to the Tribulation Stage by now, no one knew.
This was the oldest expert among the forces around the Wildlands. Whoever saw her had to show a measure of respect.
“Go, notify the elders within the tribe—Liu Popo is here!”
“At once!”
A guard hurried off to report. However, the guards didn’t notice that after the old woman left, a spatial fluctuation sealed off the area.
***
Inside the courtyard, a young man arrived, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
“Hm?”
Before Qin Mu’s eyes, an old grandmother was sitting by the stone table, her hand resting on a walking stick, her eyes narrowed.
‘Why is there an old grandmother here?!’
Just as Qin Mu was observing this sudden old grandmother, Liu Popo opened her eyes.
“Hehe, young man, why do you keep staring at this old woman?”
Qin Mu was startled by the old grandmother’s voice.
“Grandmother, may I ask who you are…”
“This old woman is here to find that Chu girl. I sensed her aura here, so I waited.”
‘Chu girl… surname Chu…’
‘Could it be Senior Chu?!’
‘If that’s really the case, then this old grandmother is also an extraordinary figure.’
“May I ask, Grandmother, are you looking for Senior Chu Jiujiu?”
“Hehe, it’s been so long, but this old woman remembers that girl did have that name. Young man, if you know the Chu girl, could you have her come out to meet this old woman?”
“Oh, oh, sure. Wait a moment, Grandmother.”
With that, Qin Mu got up and headed to Senior Chu’s residence.
He knocked on the door and called out, “Senior Chu, there’s an old grandmother in the courtyard looking for you!”
A moment passed. There was no response from inside.
???
‘How strange.’
Qin Mu knocked again. Still no response.
He then decided to push the door open and go in—there was no one inside.
‘Did she go out?’
Qin Mu thought about going back to report to the old grandmother, but on second thought, went to check Aunt Lu’s place.
He knocked on the door. Still no response.
He pushed it open and went in—no one there either.
!!!
Qin Mu hurriedly ran over to Sister Ruoshuang’s and Sister Mengyu’s places. It was the same situation.
‘This is bad!’
An ominous premonition rose in Qin Mu’s heart.
“Divine Dragon Senior! Moshi moshi! Divine Dragon Senior!”
No matter how Qin Mu called out, he received no response from the Divine Dragon Senior.
In an instant, cold sweat burst out all over Qin Mu. What was going on? Could it be because of that old grandmother?!
After thinking it over, that was the only possibility. No wonder when he woke up, whether it was Aunt Lu or Sisters Ruoshuang and Mengyu, there wasn’t a single figure of anyone.
But to cut off all of his connections—such a method was not something a simple character could accomplish, and right under Aunt Lu’s nose at that.
Liu Popo waited for a long while, and finally the young man’s figure appeared in her field of vision.
“Hehe, young man, how is it? Is the Chu girl there?”
Qin Mu shook his head.
Seeing this, Liu Popo chuckled a few more times and said, “The others are gone too, aren’t they.”
Qin Mu: “!!!”
The next moment, Qin Mu instantly retreated to put distance between them.
“Did you do all this?”
Facing Qin Mu’s accusation, Liu Popo remained in her aged, stooped appearance, speaking slowly.
“It was indeed this old woman’s doing.”
“Senior, this young one remembers never having seen you before. Why have you come after me?”
Qin Mu wanted to cry but had no tears. Why did these big shots keep coming after a little noob like him at the slightest whim?!
‘I have no strength to speak of, no resources to speak of. All I have is this one life.’
‘Wait… could it be that this old grandmother is after my…’
‘No way! I’m still just a child! A girlfriend celebrating her sixtieth birthday or whatever—absolutely impossible!’
“This old woman didn’t want to, but young man, people, you see… sometimes when you’ve seen things you shouldn’t have seen and heard news you shouldn’t have heard, you have to pay the price.”
With that, the previously kind and amiable old grandmother instantly erupted with shocking Blood Fiend Qi.