Longevity starts from having a daughter in old age

Xu Mu was a little confused. As a mere late-stage Golden Core, what did this massive event have to do with him?

“Remember what happened in the Heavenly Prison last time?”

Li Youlan spoke as she led Xu Mu along.

“Of course, I remember!”

Xu Mu nodded.

How could anybody forget such a major incident that led to the death of a Nascent Soul Stage elder? Not just him as a participant, even the common people of the imperial capital could remember it for a lifetime.

“Didn’t you hand in a pill?”

“A pill? Could it be the Qi-merging Pill?”

Xu Mu recalled that Prince Jade once gave them a tier ten Qi-merging Pill to replenish their spiritual power.

He had pretended to devour it then, while in reality, he had used the Empty Nether Pearl to replenish his spiritual power. After the event concluded, he had turned in that Qi-merging Pill.

“Exactly! The Palm Immortal Office traced several hidden caves through that pill. Those caves were possibly left behind by my Seventh Imperial Uncle. The existence of these caves might have given my cousin enough resources to aid Seventh Imperial Uncle in escaping from the Heavenly Prison and regaining his peak strength!”

Thinking of his gifted cousin who brought disaster on himself and involved her as well, Li Youlan couldn’t help but sigh.

Xu Mu was a bit speechless.

He had turned in the pill merely to divert the imperial family’s attention from him, but he had not expected them to actually make a discovery by tracing it.

Speaking of which, would the escaped Seventh Prince hold a grudge against him?

A sense of uneasiness inexplicably arose in Xu Mu’s heart.

“Even if a hidden cave is found, what does it have to do with the battle? Aren’t all battles one-on-one?” Xu Mu asked in confusion.

“There wouldn’t be any connection usually, but my escaped Seventh Imperial Uncle might seek revenge in the future. In addition, the imminent demonic disaster in the Eastern Region suggests that the Da Yuan Dynasty might get involved soon. The elders felt it necessary for us to gain experience in advance, hence the change in rules of battle, turning it into a trial. The discovered hidden cave will serve as the battlefield, and all princes and princesses who have reached the Golden Core Stage will have to lead teams there,” Li Youlan explained.

This came as an unexpected chain of events.

“Do you know the specific situation inside the cave?”

“Not much, only that it’s filled with numerous corpses and wraiths!”

“Corpses?”

Upon hearing the word ‘corpses’, a gleam flashed in Xu Mu’s eyes.

The Seventh Prince was a master in manufacturing puppets. As his cave was guarded by corpses, Xu Mu might find a jade manual on crafting puppets there.

His white fox puppet was similar to a corpse puppet. He had always wanted to find the inheritance of corpse puppetry to see whether he could modify or enhance the white fox puppet. Perhaps, this was his chance.

Wait a second, since the Imperial family has discovered the cave, they must have sent a master to inspect it. The remaining things probably wouldn’t hold much value.

However, he could take this opportunity to take a look around without losing anything.

“Would it be dangerous?” Xu Mu asked.

“Some masters from the imperial family have carefully scanned the place using their Divine Intent. There are no Nascent Soul Stage monsters inside. As long as we’re careful, there should be no major issues. Though, I can’t say there won’t be any danger at all, as it’s still just an area that’s been scanned with Divine Intent. Moreover, it’s a trial, so it’s unlikely that it would come without any danger,”

“Wasn’t a Nascent Soul Stage expert sent to check?” Xu Mu asked, a bit surprised.

“That ancient secret realm has been left unattended for a long time, resulting in its space becoming unstable. Nascent Soul Stage cultivators might cause it to collapse if they enter, so there is a significant risk for regular Golden Core Stage cultivators as well. Because of this, no one has been sent yet! We are also exploring the space this time! Because the area is unstable, the time has been advanced a lot to avoid an early collapse,”

“I see!”

Xu Mu finally understood and his heart couldn’t help rejoicing.

Initially, he thought he’d be going to dig up the remnants of others’ meals. Surprisingly, they were allowing him to take the first bite.

Xu Mu suddenly felt a little impatient.

As his cultivation had progressed, it was the perfect time to practice inside the cave. Perhaps, he could even find some treasures.

“When does it start?”

“In five days!”

At this point, Li Youlan couldn’t help but show a bitter smile.

“If you did not come out, I wouldn’t even have enough team members. When the time comes, there would be a possibility of getting laughed at.”

“Not enough team members? How many people do we need?”

Apart from him, the Prince’s Mansion had six Golden Core Stage cultivators. While their strength was inferior to his, they should be sufficient to pad up numbers.

“Five Golden Core Stage cultivators in addition to the leading prince or princess!”

“Five seems a bit many, but…”

“I know what you’re trying to say! Lu Kui, who sparred with you last time, had his lifebound magic weapon destroyed. His injuries still haven’t healed, and he also has to stay behind to manage the mansion! As for Wang Yongan, he had left my command and joined my third sister, not long ago! As for Elder Jin, as you know, he clearly cannot participate.”

“…”

Xu Mu was speechless.

These two indeed knew how to kick someone when they were down.

However, judging from Li Youlan’s reaction while speaking, she probably never held any hope for these two.

Excluding these two, if he couldn’t participate as well, Li Youlan having only four early-stage Golden Core cultivators would indeed be a bit pitiful.

“Your Highness, don’t worry. I have broken through to the late-stage Golden Core and improved my strength a lot. Even if we can’t emerge victorious, it won’t be too humiliating,” Xu Mu reassured.

Xu Mu had a lot of confidence in his own strength. If the matches were one-on-one, revealing a part of his cards and coming first wouldn’t be a problem.

However, in a team battle, he was less sure whether unexpected things could happen.

“If you say so, I’m relieved,” Li Youlan laughed.

Surprisingly, she didn’t pick up on his modesty.

“Your Highness, while there’s still time, could you help me find some tier nine skills?”

“Right now?”

Li Youlan was a little perplexed.

The competition would begin in a few days. Even if he found a skill, he wouldn’t have enough time to practice.

“Yes!”

Xu Mu nodded. With the system by his side, he could advance a tier nine skill to the Transcendent Stage within a few days.

“Alright, let’s see. Although, tier nine skills are quite valuable, so we might not find many in such a short time.”

Even though she felt that Xu Mu was a bit of a last-minute crammer, Li Youlan still agreed.

Li Youlan had strong execution skills. After just a day, she sent him a catalog of tier nine skills.

“Tornado Skill, Storm Skill, Shadow Slash, Crystal Wall Skill, Paralysis Skill, Blood Transformation Skill, Starfall Skill, Soul Exit Curse, Ten-thousand Wood Skill…”

The catalog recorded several unusual skills, noting that they might not be readily available.

These skills weren’t Li Youlan’s collection. They needed to be secured by using Spirit Stones and contacts, and likely exchanged with her.

Some of these were treasures of the Imperial family, requiring contribution points for exchange.

Xu Mu scanned the catalog, and set his sights on the Paralysis Skill.

The three Immobilize Talismans that Mu Yunwan had used had left a deep impression on him.

If he could master this skill, it would be as if he carried countless Immobilize Talismans with him, which would certainly play a surprising role.

Such as imitating the Monkey King in freezing the seven immortals and then plucking their peaches!

Heh-heh!