In the largest encampment upstream from the Earth Spirit Spring.
Thanks to Qian Qian, no one dared to stop them anymore. The guard who had previously pointed his spear tip at Bai Lan even apologized to him, and the others were all amiable and full of smiles.
"Six esteemed guests, please have some tea."
In the largest military tent, Xu Mu and his five companions sat in a row. Someone was specifically arranging tea for them on the table in front of them.
Three people sat opposite the tea table.
In the center was a "middle-aged man" with a beard and a weathered expression. His aura was powerful, and he exuded a trace of wildness all over.
"Allow me to introduce you. This is the captain of our team, Wanyan Zhenyao, and beside him is his younger brother, Wanyan Zhenze."
"We have heard of your reputation," Xu Mu and the other five rose and raised their glasses in a toast, led by Xu Jingchu.
Wanyan Zhenyao and his brother also rose and returned the toast with solemn expressions.
Seeing this, Qian Qian immediately walked between the two sides and pointed to Xu Mu and Jiang Sheng, saying to Wanyan Zhenyao, "Brother Zhenyao, these two are my brothers from the Jiang family. One is named Jiang Sheng, and the other is named Mu Xu. Both are very strong, especially the latter, who is much stronger than me."
The people in the tent heard this and their gazes towards Xu Mu immediately filled with surprise.
They knew the strength of Qian Qian, his agility, and his ruthless, fatal moves. Therefore, even those stronger than him were unwilling to provoke him.
After all, he was a ruthless man who even dared to scheme against the Ghost King, and because of this, he had gained Wanyan Zhenyao's favor.
"Since they are brothers of Brother Qian Qian, they are naturally brothers of Wanyan Zhenyao," the surprise in Wanyan Zhenyao's eyes disappeared. He then smiled at Xu Mu and drank another cup of strong liquor. "We have offended you before, and we hope you can forgive us."
"It's a minor matter," Xu Mu smiled slightly, and also drank a cup with him. Then, both parties took their seats in turn, their eyes meeting.
The atmosphere froze.
After an unknown amount of time, Qian Qian was the first to break the silence, taking the initiative to speak, "Well... we are all on the same side, so you can speak directly if you have anything to say."
"Brother Mu Xu, you've brought people here late at night. Is there something important?"
"There's nothing particularly important, just an alliance," Xu Mu said with a smile.
"An alliance..." Qian Qian glanced at Wanyan Zhenyao's expression. The latter's gaze remained as calm as still water, as if he had heard nothing.
Qian Qian knew that he was starting to get annoyed.
"Brother Mu Xu, forming an alliance is not a small matter. And I'm curious, why do you want to form an alliance with us?" Qian Qian looked at Xu Jingchu and the others, then asked curiously.
He actually had another question he hadn't asked: why was Xu Mu with this group, and why didn't he seem to be the leader?
How could a downstream team of the Earth Spirit Spring recruit Xu Mu?
"It's related to Wen Boye, who came to find you today. He offended us, so I need to find an opportunity to eliminate him. And his backer is Wei Daoxuan."
Xu Mu drank his tea calmly and continued:
"I've just arrived at the Spirit Gathering Holy Land, and I have many things I want to do. I don't have time to recruit a team to deal with him, so I can only seek allies."
"I understand. You mean you want to use our team's strength to deal with Wei Daoxuan, and do nothing yourself," Wanyan Zhenze, Wanyan Zhenyao's younger brother, sneered and said. The others in the tent also changed their expressions upon hearing this.
They were all aware of Wei Daoxuan's power. He occupied the spring eye alone, and his territory bordered theirs, leading to frequent friction.
"I have considered uniting to fight Wei Daoxuan before, but finding someone to ally with is a big problem." Wanyan Zhenyao swirled his wine glass, then looked at Xu Mu and asked calmly, "As a downstream team, why do you think you can form an alliance with us upstream?"
"There is no distinction between upstream and downstream, and it's only because I just arrived here today that I'm downstream," Xu Mu replied directly without any hesitation.
"And you should know, dealing with Wei Daoxuan alone is not enough. The other two Ghost Kings of Shou Ding Mountain, as well as Ye Gong of Tian Qiong Peak, must also be considered. Otherwise, any action will be in vain."
"And in the entire upstream region, no single force can ally with you to deal with the Ye clan, so none of them are qualified to form an alliance with you."
"You mean you have someone?" Wanyan Zhenyao said, leaning forward in his chair as if trying to see Xu Mu more clearly.
An invisible pressure then enveloped Xu Mu's side. Bai Lan, standing behind him, could not resist and let out a muffled groan with a pale face, quickly stepping back a few paces.
The others also frowned, silently activating their special abilities to resist, while also marveling at Wanyan Zhenyao's strength.
"Naturally. My target is Ye Gong. Wei Daoxuan will only be a stepping stone beneath my feet."
As Xu Mu spoke, the pressure in the space was broken, dissipating like smoke. Bai Lan immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Wanyan Zhenyao's eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of surprise flashing in them. The physical pressure he had created was broken by the other party's words.
"Qian Qian was right, you are indeed very strong," Wanyan Zhenyao smiled and drank a glass of wine heartily.
"However, you are from the Jiang family. You should be aware of what has been happening in your family recently." Wanyan Zhenyao said, his tone tinged with emotion. "Alas, even a powerful expert like Jiang Taixu almost fell, let alone you and me."
"Let's not discuss whether you can deal with Ye Gong and his three Ghost Kings. Even if you are truly strong, as strong as Jiang Taixu, the people we have to deal with also include the Qi family."
Wanyan Zhenyao looked at Xu Mu and sighed, "Even Jiang Taixu almost fell at the hands of Qi Ye. How can you think you can withstand the pressure of both families and ascend Tian Qiong Peak?"
"I haven't met Jiang Taixu, but I am definitely stronger than him. What he couldn't do, I can do. That's my confidence," Xu Mu said seriously.
"Arrogant. Do you know my brother once fought with Jiang Taixu and only lasted seventy-six rounds? Even my brother couldn't do it, and you dare to say you are stronger than Jiang Taixu?" Wanyan Zhenze said disdainfully, looking at Xu Mu.
"I believe in Brother Mu Xu," Qian Qian suddenly spoke. He looked at Wanyan Zhenyao with a serious expression. "I told you, Brother Mu Xu is stronger than me, and much stronger. If he says he can defeat Jiang Taixu and Ye Gong, I believe he can."
"And if it doesn't work out, you can fight him."
Wanyan Zhenyao looked at Qian Qian's determined gaze, then back at Xu Mu. After a long silence between the two, Wanyan Zhenyao shook his head helplessly.
"There's no need to fight. We haven't even met the enemy yet, and it would be a waste of energy."
"Since Qian Qian has vouched for you, I'll trust you for now, but this doesn't mean I agree to an alliance."
Wanyan Zhenyao said, his expression solemn as he continued, "This matter needs to be discussed with the brothers under my command. As captain, I must be responsible for their safety and interests."
"Furthermore, after the discussion, we will also calculate the gains and losses ourselves, as this is not a trivial matter."
Xu Jingchu and the others were surprised by this, not expecting that the outwardly rugged Wanyan Zhenyao was actually such a meticulous and thorough person.
"I hope you won't take too long. If there's no reply before sunset tomorrow, we'll have to proceed on our own."
Xu Mu said, then looked at Qi Lan. "Miss Jingchu is here, so you can discuss with Brother Wanyan. I believe in your eloquence."
Qi Lan nodded, not refusing.
"Qian Qian, can you show me around?" Xu Mu said, then looked at Qian Qian, who nodded without hesitation and agreed, "Then let's go. I guess there's nothing else for me here."
"Brother Zhenyao, you guys discuss first. I'll take Brother Mu Xu for a walk."
"Yes, go ahead. Just be mindful of the rules," Wanyan Zhenyao nodded, then summoned some elite ability users from his team and began discussing the alliance with Qi Lan and Xu Jingchu.
Qian Qian, like the host, introduced Xu Mu to the specific details of their camp one by one: where the sentries were, where the hidden sentries were, when the guards changed, and the patrol times. He explained everything in meticulous detail.
After listening, Xu Mu could only admire the perfect management plan. He couldn't think of anything better.
"This Wanyan Zhenyao is indeed a rare talent for leadership. It's a pity there's no war now, otherwise, he would achieve great things," Xu Mu said casually.
"As the saying goes, 'a fierce tiger in the heart, smelling the rose.' He is not only meticulous and thorough in his arrangements but also very strong," Qian Qian sighed, then continued with admiration, "The matter Wanyan Zhenze mentioned earlier about him losing after fighting Jiang Taixu for dozens of rounds actually has a hidden reason."
"The two of them met in the first round of the competition. In the end, Wanyan Zhenyao voluntarily conceded because he didn't want to waste too much energy."
"If he had fought seriously with all his might, even if Jiang Taixu could win, it wouldn't have been easy," Qian Qian sighed.
"Tsk, interesting, very interesting. I can somewhat understand Ye Gong and Jiang Taixu, but what is Wanyan Zhenyao participating in the preliminary rounds for?" Xu Mu smiled, then asked with some confusion, "With his strength and talent, he could have qualified for the Ten Thousand Races Assembly in advance, couldn't he?"
"It seems because his father voluntarily gave up their qualification for the two brothers to the descendants of veterans who had experienced the war together, so the two of them came to participate in the preliminary rounds." Qian Qian answered earnestly.
"So that's how it is," Xu Mu nodded. Wanyan Zhenyao's image in his mind improved considerably.
"He's a friend worth making. We should get along well in the future, but now we have important business to attend to." Xu Mu patted Qian Qian's shoulder, then said with a smile, "We've seen all the places we need to see in this camp, why don't you take me out for a walk?"
"You want to go to the spring eye?" Qian Qian, being very clever, understood Xu Mu's intention immediately from his tone.
"But it's just the two of us. If we get entangled by Wei Daoxuan, it will be very difficult to escape," Qian Qian said to Xu Mu with a serious expression. "Brother Mu Xu, I know you are powerful, but please listen to my advice. That Wei Daoxuan is really not to be trifled with."
"When I first entered the Spirit Gathering Holy Land, I tried to rob and ambush Wei Daoxuan, who was traveling alone. The outcome, as you can imagine, was that I was no match for him." Qian Qian said, clicking his tongue with lingering fear. "If it weren't for a powerful demonic beast passing by at that time, and if I hadn't prepared several escape routes in advance, I would have failed that time."
"Is that so? How scary," Xu Mu responded earnestly, causing Qian Qian's face to darken.
"Alright, I knew you wouldn't listen. But Brother Mu Xu, remember, you must stay behind me later. Don't wander off. If we are discovered, it will be really troublesome. Wei Daoxuan's team has over two hundred people!" Qian Qian warned again seriously.
"Mhm, mhm, okay, okay. Then let's go," Xu Mu said, a thick smile on his face.
"Sigh, all my words were wasted again." Qian Qian put a hand on his forehead, then gritted his teeth and walked towards a patch of bushes to the east.
"Let's go, I'll lead the way!"