Chapter 51: The Mantis Catches the Cicada, Waiting for the Yellow Bird Behind

Having dealt with the Disciples of Tai Xu Sect, Xu Muge didn't have time to relax. His gaze was fixed on the empty west.

"You've been watching for so long, isn't it time to come out?"

There was not only no one there, but not even a single tree or blade of grass.

But after Xu Muge finished speaking, a ripple appeared in the void, and three people suddenly emerged.

The young man leading them held a folding fan in his hand, looking like a refined Young Master.

"As expected of the Disciple hailed as the most monstrous talent in Lingyue Sect's history, truly formidable."

Although Xu Muge had broken the Formation and instantly killed the eleven Tai Xu Sect Disciples using treasures given by the Supreme Elders, and had exhausted Huo Jiannan's protective Magic Treasure.

But his feat of killing two Tai Xu Sect Disciples with a single palm strike and defeating Huo Jiannan in two Moves was undeniable.

Most importantly, with so many people from Tai Xu Sect present, none of them had discovered the presence of the three, yet Xu Muge had.

Xu Muge asked, "Who are you?"

Besides Tai Xu Sect, the only ones who dared to actively seek trouble with him were the Royal Family, but among the Royal Family's group, he only remembered two or three, and had no impression of this person.

The person replied, "My name is Chu Zhengyan, the Third Prince's cousin."

Xu Muge raised an eyebrow. His understanding of the Royal Family was limited; he only knew that although the position of Crown Prince had been established, two other Princes were still eyeing the position covetously.

One was the Third Prince, who had a deep background from his mother's family, and the other was the Ninth Prince, who possessed outstanding talent.

"You've been hiding for so long, you shouldn't just be here to watch a show, right?"

Chu Zhengyan smiled.

"Of course not. To enter this Secret Realm, I owe the Third Prince a small favor, and for that, I need to do something for him."

"What is it?" Xu Muge asked.

Chu Zhengyan replied concisely, "He wants to recruit you. You can name your terms."

The Third Prince wanted to contend for the position of Crown Prince and needed help. Xu Muge's talent was strong enough.

Recruiting him would serve two purposes: first, finding a potential formidable enforcer for himself, and second, eliminating the hidden danger of Lingyue Sect growing stronger under Xu Muge's leadership.

It was killing two birds with one stone.

"What if I don't agree?" Xu Muge replied with interest.

Chu Zhengyan's expression didn't change at all.

"He only told me this: Recruit you. If you agree, we cooperate. If you don't, kill you. Now that you don't agree, you must die."

The goals of the Third Prince and the Ninth Prince in killing Xu Muge were the same: to use Xu Muge as an achievement to show to the Qi Emperor.

Father Emperor, look, a Heavenly Prodigy like this appeared in Lingyue Sect, and I've already dealt with him. Consider me.

Xu Muge asked doubtfully, "What is your trump card?"

His performance just now had been strong enough, yet he was so confident, he must have something to rely on.

"Snap!"

Chu Zhengyan closed his folding fan and slammed his right hand onto the ground.

"Boom!!"

A massive gray light barrier rose up from the ground with him as the center, enclosing Xu Muge as well.

Chu Zhengyan stood with his hands behind his back and spoke eloquently.

"The higher-ups of Lingyue Sect must have given you many treasures, but this Formation of mine is different. It can lock the void, making it impossible to open any storage Magic Treasures within this space."

"Without those things, I wonder if you still have the confidence to defeat us?"

Xu Muge was slightly taken aback.

"As expected, you came prepared."

He really hadn't considered this point. All his good things were in his storage bracelet.

Chu Zhengyan said loudly, "I'll ask you one last time, do you agree?"

Xu Muge shook his head.

"Good! Then you can die!"

After Chu Zhengyan finished speaking, he and the two people beside him attacked Xu Muge together.

For a time, various powerful techniques emerged endlessly, roars echoed, the ground trembled, and the earth was struck, creating ravines dozens of feet deep.

Some demonic beasts in the distance sensed this and retreated and fled.

Xu Muge fought against three and was evenly matched with them.

This greatly surprised Chu Zhengyan.

"Your talent is indeed high enough. I am a Congenital Spirit Body, and the two of them are False Core Cultivators. You can actually fight us to a draw."

After a Naling Realm Cultivator forms an Inner Core in their Dantian, they break through to the Xuan Dan Realm, their strength advances by leaps and bounds, and all aspects experience a qualitative improvement.

If a Xuan Dan Realm Cultivator loses their Inner Core, their strength will be greatly reduced, but they are still much stronger than a Naling Realm Cultivator.

False Core Cultivators can enter the Azure Dragon Secret Realm; this is a secret known only to the Great Qi Imperial Family.

Chu Zhengyan brought two False Core Cultivators, which was why he was so confident.

He just didn't expect that Xu Muge's strength exceeded his understanding. Despite being a Naling Realm Cultivator, he was comparable to a Xuan Dan Realm Cultivator.

Not only was his magical power profound, but he also used various Martial Skills and movement techniques with perfect mastery, and his combat experience was extremely rich.

How could there be such a monstrous talent?!

Xu Muge chuckled.

"If Huo Jiannan and the others hadn't consumed some of my true essence, you wouldn't be qualified to fight me to a draw."

Chu Zhengyan was momentarily speechless, his face looking somewhat unpleasant.

Since childhood, he had always been praised by those around him for how great his talent was, but he didn't expect to be completely defeated by a peer today, which made him extremely uncomfortable.

The most uncomfortable thing was that he was now in a bit of a dilemma.

He couldn't defeat Xu Muge, and leaving would be too embarrassing.

Just as he was at a loss, someone else arrived in the distance. It was still a lone figure, or rather, not entirely alone, as he had a lion with horns beside him.

They walked over slowly, as if they were on a tour.

And when the person and the beast approached, Chu Zhengyan recognized him. This person was Xu Luo, who had caused a sensation in the selection competition.

This was also the only person who had made Chu Zhengyan feel danger before.

But at this moment, Xu Luo was like a ray of hope, shining into Chu Zhengyan's world.

He quickly shouted, "Xu Luo, if you help me deal with him, I can give you a hundred thousand Spirit Stones!"

Xu Luo looked at Xu Muge.

"What do you think of this deal?"

Xu Muge suppressed his smile.

"I don't think much of it. After all, if we deal with them, everything they have will belong to us brothers."

Xu Luo nodded, "That makes sense."

Brother… brothers??

Chu Zhengyan: "…"

He felt like an idiot at this moment, asking someone for help, only to find the opponent's brother.

Surprise, embarrassment, panic, and fear appeared on Chu Zhengyan's face in succession.

Seeing Xu Luo approaching step by step, Chu Zhengyan was a little panicked. He couldn't even deal with one Xu Muge, and with the addition of Xu Luo, he had no chance of winning at all.

"I can't run, so do I have to beg for mercy?"

It seemed that this Formation that locked the void had also locked off his escape route.

Chu Zhengyan's heart was still struggling. As the son of a Prince, his status was noble in both the Great Chu Dynasty and the Great Qi Dynasty. To beg for mercy from two peers was something he could not accept.

While he was hesitating, Xu Luo had already made his Move. The two False Core Cultivators were no match for him at all.

Now only Chu Zhengyan was left. He had to face two monstrous talents who could kill Xuan Dan Realm Cultivators alone. He was completely panicked.

Chu Zhengyan quickly said, "I am the son of Prince Zhennan of the Great Chu Dynasty, the Third Prince of Great Qi is my cousin, the Chu Emperor is my uncle, and the Qi Emperor is my uncle by marriage. If you let me go, I can give you everything you want."

Xu Muge and Xu Luo were instantly stunned.

The Great Chu Dynasty and the Great Qi Dynasty were neighbors. In the past, the two countries were on good terms, and the Qi Emperor married the Chu Emperor's sister, giving birth to the Third Prince.

This Chu Zhengyan's identity was indeed noble enough.