The southwestern corner of Fengqing Village, within a fifty-meter radius centered on an ancient tree, was filled with high-concentration dark energy. The air was extremely viscous, and ordinary creatures inhaling it would directly mutate.
Twilight descended, and the withered leaves of the ancient tree turned tender green again in the darkness, blooming on the gnarled branches like spring flowers. It was clear that this sacred tree, once imbued with spiritual essence and worshipped by people, was also being affected by the energy and undergoing changes.
"The Yi Wu Totem has awakened by more than half. In another hour, this place will become a Tier 3 pollution source!"
Beneath the ancient tree, an old man in black, leaning on a staff, silently injected energy into the base of the tree with a cold smile.
He was Vilitan, a Tier 3 ability user. It was he who had ordered the manipulation of the Ghoul swarm to attack Fengqing Village last night.
"Feng Tianzhu, that incompetent fool! If the essence of this village were used as a catalyst, why would I need to expend so much effort!"
Anger contorted Vilitan's face, his wrinkles bunching together, making him look particularly ferocious.
The Yi Wu Totem he had buried here was a Tier 3 anomaly, the core of his sacrificial formation, requiring immense energy to activate.
According to his plan, the pollution source here should have awakened last night. Feng Tianzhu would then have massacred Fengqing Village, and with the village's essence as a catalyst, the totem would awaken. He would then use the methods from the Heavenly Scroll to connect the altars of Mudi Mountain and West Mountain.
By utilizing the properties of the Strange Night, he could then ascend to become a Tier 4 ability user.
But Feng Tianzhu's plan had failed, and Fengqing Village remained intact. Thus, Vilitan had to inject energy manually.
However, after more than an hour, the accumulated energy was still less than half of the original plan.
"How foolish."
On a gentle slope in the distance, Xu Mu looked down and uttered this pertinent evaluation.
With his pair of gray-white eyes, he could see at a glance what Vilitan was doing, and from his angry expression, he could deduce the entire sequence of events.
Xu Mu shook his head. Such a simple matter could be easily resolved with some basic chemistry, yet this man was toiling away.
Or, he could have simply massacred the village in broad daylight, without all this trouble. He truly wondered how this fellow had stolen the Heavenly Scroll from under the noses of the Totem Cult back then.
"Who's there!"
Xu Mu stared at Vilitan with undisguised scrutiny for a long time. Only then did Vilitan startle, his expression becoming wary as he withdrew his left hand. For some reason, he had a constant feeling of being watched by unseen eyes.
Rustle…
There was no reply, but Vilitan could hear footsteps slowly approaching from his side.
Then, he saw a pair of pure white eyes.
Devoid of any impurity, eerily clean.
"Long time no see."
Xu Mu grinned. He remembered that when he first met Vilitan in the Claray Cave, his opening line had been the same.
In reality, they were not acquainted. Xu Mu spoke this way only to test Vilitan's reaction.
Thus, this traitor of the Totem Cult mistook Xu Mu for an Inquisitor sent by the Cult to hunt him down.
Naturally, Vilitan was terrified, and his combat power was greatly diminished. Even though Xu Mu was only Tier 2 at the time, he was still chased by him for over two hours.
"You again!"
"Since you're not a hunter sent by the Cult, and you didn't reveal my whereabouts afterwards, why are you looking for me now!"
Vilitan exclaimed in shock and anger, taking half a step back. He would never forget those gray-white eyes in his life.
He had reached the core area of West Mountain with the guidance of the Heavenly Scroll, only to encounter Xu Mu here.
This fellow had impersonated a Cult hunter back then, scaring him so much that he didn't even realize the other party was just an ability user who hadn't yet advanced to Tier 3.
But the problem was, even after realizing Xu Mu was only Tier 2, he hadn't gained any advantage in their clashes. And since then, the two of them had always met in West Mountain. Each time, Xu Mu wouldn't utter a word of nonsense, drawing his saber and attacking, like a madman who only knew how to fight.
He had the guidance of the Heavenly Scroll and had to tread carefully in West Mountain. However, Xu Mu seemed to have no such concerns. The ferocious saber intent in his combat would often provoke Tier 4 Lord-level Great Demons!
Therefore, Vilitan was extremely afraid of this guy, a mix of shock and dread.
"Aren't you the one who came looking for me?" Xu Mu's gray-white eyes were filled with innocence. "This is my village!"
Admittedly, he really wanted a fight, but ever since he delved into quantum mechanics, his time had been scarce.
If it weren't for his desire to obtain the half-volume of the Heavenly Scroll that Vilitan had stolen, why would he have specifically sought him out for sparring?
Well… "sparring" might not be the right word. In fact, if Vilitan didn't have so many strange abilities, he would have already killed the man.
Vilitan blinked, confused by what this guy was saying.
Fengqing Village, his?
This statement could be interpreted in many ways. For instance, he could be one of the few princes in the Great Xia Dynasty who held feudal territories, or perhaps he had personally bought the land deeds for Fengqing Village…
Neither was possible, so there was only one explanation for this statement.
Vilitan swallowed with difficulty, his aged face trembling slightly. No, this lunatic, he lives here!
"Brother Wei, you're burying anomalies beneath this ancient tree. Are you trying to turn my village into a pollution source?"
Xu Mu approached Vilitan, asking curiously. The latter retreated repeatedly.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier that you lived here!"
Vilitan's expression was grim. He had finally managed to escape the pursuit of this saber-wielder, enjoying a year of peace, only to have him show up on his doorstep today.
Now, after a year, this white-eyed swordsman's strength must have improved, possibly reaching Tier 3, on par with him. It was no wonder Feng Tianzhu had failed last night.
"Why should I tell you where I live, just like you didn't tell me the contents of the Heavenly Scroll."
Xu Mu said with a serious expression. He had once asked Vilitan for the Heavenly Scroll after a battle, but was refused.
"How can that be the same!" Vilitan grumbled, clutching his head. In his life, he had never bowed to anyone, not even the Pope of the Totem Cult, whom he disdained, not believing the Pope's methods were particularly brilliant, otherwise, why hadn't he been found yet?
But Xu Mu was an exception. When he was only Tier 2, this guy could make him run around seeking his mother with his saber, and his way of speaking was so… unique.
To him, Vilitan was completely impressed and decided to leave this place as soon as possible.
"You can't leave! The totem isn't absorbing enough energy, this will affect your plan!"
Xu Mu was excited. This was a great opportunity for practice, and he had a wealth of theoretical knowledge. Most importantly, if Vilitan left too early, he wouldn't be able to glean any information.
"Actually, you can use mercury to block the top of the totem, then adjust the proportions of quicklime powder and iron filings, burn it with a strong fire, and then add thousand-note grass and water lily. This will maximize the totem's activity."
"If you do that, the pollution here, as well as at Mudi Mountain and West Mountain, will be far greater than the current scale. You might even be able to enter Tier 4 ahead of schedule with the formation, without waiting for the Strange Night to descend tonight."
A smile played on Xu Mu's lips, as if he had seen through Vilitan's entire plan.
"How do you know these things? Have you also read the Heavenly Scroll?"
Vilitan was shocked. He stared at Xu Mu with a horrified expression, as if he had seen the most terrifying thing in the world.
He knew the purpose of his plan, the specific time and place of execution, all too clearly.
And his background, what he had done before, he knew it all after that encounter. Yet he had only just learned that this guy lived in Fengqing Village!
"I guessed."
Xu Mu shrugged. He didn't know what was written in the Heavenly Scroll, or how many pages Vilitan had flipped through.
His guesses about the plan were merely simple deductions because he could tell Vilitan was on the verge of a breakthrough. Who knew this guy would be so easily hooked.
"Are you going to help those people destroy my formation and altars? Even if you know, so what? West Mountain is so vast, I don't believe you can find them!"
Vilitan pointed at Xu Mu angrily. He knew the strength of the young man opposite him, so further entanglement was meaningless. But if Xu Mu were to report these matters to the Demon Extermination Division, his plan might undergo significant changes.
"Don't worry, I won't interfere." Xu Mu said with a serious expression. "At most, I'll go to West Mountain tonight and kill some ghouls. You should proceed with your breakthrough, I won't interfere."
"I don't believe you!"
Vilitan left these words behind and then fled Fengqing Village as if flying.
The longer he stayed with Xu Mu, the stronger his sense of crisis became. Under the gaze of those gray-white eyes, he simply couldn't muster the courage to linger.
As for the pollution source here, let it trigger if it triggered. Vilitan gritted his teeth. Fengqing Village was merely a bonus to his plan; it was dispensable, but better to have it. So, he decided to send his clueless subordinates to carry out the task that had failed last night.
— Village massacre.
…
Xu Mu's gray-white pupils flickered. He subtly reached for the scabbard of his saber, then slowly let his hand fall.
In truth, he really wanted to pin Vilitan's aged body beneath him, ravage him fiercely, and then kill him. This would thoroughly hone his saber techniques.
Moreover, he needed Vilitan's Heavenly Scroll.
The Heavenly Scroll, a supreme treasure left in the mortal world by the Pope, one of the Eight Holy Relics.
Its upper half recorded all the exquisite arts in the world, including alchemy, talismans, formations, and ancient abilities.
Its lower half detailed the major forbidden lands and polluted areas of the world, along with the methods to obtain other Holy Relics.
And by gathering all eight Holy Relics, one could find the lost continent of Tiss, which contained the secrets of the Apocalypse.
He needed to know everything about the Apocalypse, so he had to obtain this half-volume of the Heavenly Scroll.
And the prerequisite for all of this was that Vilitan had to survive, and his plan had to proceed smoothly.
Therefore, he hoped that the fellow practicing archery in the Heavenly Palace would have an unsuccessful plan.
"Drip!"
This was the sound of water droplets. Xu Mu, with his white eyes, skillfully took down the AW rifle from his back.
…