Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3094: Checking The Records From The Cult

Lin Mu didn’t mind waiting in the city for the arrival of the Xian Sword Sect Elders as he himself had other matters to attend to before their arrived.

The first was the mass of documents, missives, and records he had seized from the cult’s vault. Shelves worth of writings were now stored inside his ring. He intended to sort through them, categorize what was relevant to the sect, and perhaps keep aside information that pertained to the greater picture of the Ephemera Sect’s plans.

The second matter was the Nascent Soul of the cult leader.

Sealed within a jade talisman, the embodiment of the man’s soul still writhed, but could do nothing under Lin Mu’s suppression.

To most cultivators, prying through such a soul would be impossible or extremely dangerous. To Lin Mu, it was simply a task of patience. With the Murdering Heart Sutra he could extract its memories with ease and this would no doubt reveal the deeper secrets of the cult.

And finally, there was the matter of Lame Yu.

The once proud cultist had become a shell of his former self. His will had been utterly crushed, and his body trembled at the mere thought of Lin Mu’s presence. Yet, instead of resisting or trying to escape, the man had done the unthinkable.

When presented to the Merchant Union’s guards, he had walked into the prison cell himself. He picked up the heavy shackles meant to bind him and locked them around his wrists. He even swallowed down the vile Qi-sealing poison without being asked, forcing the suppression of his own cultivation.

The guards, who had seen all kinds of criminals, stood there dumbfounded.

One of them whispered, "Did... did that prisoner just chain himself?"

Another muttered, "And he drank the poison willingly? What in the heavens did you people do to him?" He took another look at the lame man and saw that other than a few surface level injuries, he wasn’t that bad.

It certainly did not look like he was tortured.

Cattaleya had only laughed at their stunned expressions, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "Oh, nothing much. He just caught a glimpse of what doom looks like, and decided he preferred chains over freedom."

Even Daoist Chu gave a small, weary smile, though his eyes remained sharp. He knew fear like this did not come from cruelty, but from witnessing something that defied reason. Lin Mu’s methods, his strength, and his control over lava itself had left a mark too deep for a man like Lame Yu to resist.

For the Smoldering Rock Merchant Union, it was almost amusing, though they treated the prisoner with the same care they did anyone else. They strengthened the prison formations, not because they thought he would escape, but out of principle.

A man who shackled himself could be even more dangerous than one who resisted. Though all this was just their caution as Lame Yu would never even think of trying to run. How could he run from someone who could flatten an entire city with a mere gesture?

With these matters settled, the group finally allowed themselves a brief rest.

Meng Bai sat quietly in one of the villa’s courtyards, replaying everything he had seen. His master’s overwhelming power, his strange techniques, and his calmness in battle all burned into his memory.

Cattaleya, meanwhile, wandered the villa with a foxlike grin, occasionally poking through the treasures Lin Mu had taken, though she did not overstep the boundaries he had set. Lin Mu had taken out most of the treasure he had obtained and let Cattaleya look through it and note down the things she wished to take as her bonus.

Daoist Chu remained vigilant, meditating nearby but with his senses constantly spread. He was waiting for the arrival of the Grand Elder, but also ready for trouble. With the Drowned Crescent Cult being wiped out, there was no doubt the Ephemera Sect would take some action.

And Lin Mu, seated in a quiet chamber, let the documents spill out in stacks around him. His fingers and immortal Sense traced the parchments and jade slips, his mind already sifting through them, searching for the threads that tied the Drowned Crescent Cult to the greater storm brewing in the territory of Darkhan Dynasty; in the Marshes of the Silent Skies.

The villa was calm for now, but it was the calm before the next wave. The Grand Elders of the Xian Sword Sect were on their way, and when they arrived, the quiet villa in Ash Crown City would turn into the focal point of decisions that could shake the entire region.

For the next four days, the villa owned by the Smoldering Rock Merchant Union became a hive of quiet but relentless work.

While the two high elders, Gu Jin and Luo, were recovering under the care of the best healers the Union could provide, Lin Mu secluded himself with the mountain of documents, missives, records, and ledgers that he had seized from the Drowned Crescent Cult’s hidden vault.

Cattaleya, Daoist Chu, and even Elyon would often sit nearby, helping to organize and categorize the piles, but the heavy reading and deep interpretation of the records ultimately fell to Lin Mu.

His memory and comprehension were unmatched, and his mind absorbed each page like a sponge.

What unfolded before him was not simply the inner workings of a single cult, but the tangled web of a much older, more sinister network.

At first, Lin Mu’s impression of the Drowned Crescent Cult had been that of a dangerous, but relatively isolated group. Yet the records revealed something far more extensive.

In millennia past, the cult had operated almost independently, sometimes even clashing with the Ephemera Sect. The two forces had fought over mines, immortal springs, and ancient ruins across the Silent Lotus World. There had been no love lost between them, and many times their disciples had shed blood in small-scale battles.

But history had taken a drastic turn.