Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3525: Heading Towards The Human Lands

The bear king shook his massive head. "No. Could be celebration. A wedding. A ritual. Or something worse."

He leaned closer. "But when humans move like this, it is rarely meaningless."

Lin Mu nodded slowly, committing the warning to memory.

The bear king reached behind his throne and produced a small horn, carved from dark bone and etched with simple runes. He placed it into Lin Mu’s hands.

"If you need aid," he said, "blow this."

Lin Mu examined it. "Your people will hear it?"

"Our people are everywhere," the bear king replied. "Scattered among human lands. Traders. Mercenaries. Watchers. They will come."

"And if that is not enough," he added, eyes glinting, "I will come."

Lin Mu felt a warmth in his chest that had nothing to do with the mead. He bowed deeply. "Thank you. I will not forget this."

The bear king grinned, sharp teeth flashing. "Good. Kin remembers kin."

As the gathering finally dispersed and the hall slowly emptied, Lin Mu walked away with his companions, permission secured, warnings given, and an unexpected bond forged in the depths of the rainforest.

Behind them, laughter echoed once more.

And somewhere in the shadows, unseen eyes continued to watch the world shift.

The next morning came quietly in the Dark Bear King Sect.

Mist clung low to the forest floor, weaving between the massive tree roots and the crude wooden structures of the sect. Smoke from last night’s fires drifted lazily upward, carrying with it the lingering scent of roasted meat and honeyed mead.

The beastkin were already awake, many of them training, sparring, or hauling supplies with an efficiency born from habit rather than discipline.

Lin Mu and his group did not linger.

The Bear King had been true to his word. He did not keep them for ceremonies or drawn out farewells. Kin who needed to move were allowed to move. That was their way.

Before their departure, several elders had gathered briefly, passing along what intelligence they had. Scouts had seen increased patrols from human kingdoms, caravans escorted by unusually large numbers of immortals, and sect disciples traveling far more frequently than usual. No one knew the reason, but the pattern was undeniable.

"Too many feet on the ground," one elder had said. "And too many eyes open."

Lin Mu took all of it seriously.

As the sun rose, Little Shrubby grew to his full size once more, stretching until the ground trembled beneath him. Lin Mu and the others mounted his back, and with a final glance toward the great bone and timber structure of the Main Nest, they took off.

The Bear King stood at the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, fur rippling faintly in the morning breeze. Several elders stood beside him.

"Travel safely, kin!" the Bear King called out.

WHOOSH

Lin Mu raised a hand in acknowledgment as Shrubby surged forward, turning into a streak of red light that vanished into the forest canopy.

Within minutes, the Dark Bear King Sect was nothing more than a fading presence behind them.

The forest swallowed them whole.

For the next stretch of their journey, Lin Mu was far more cautious than before. The Bear King’s warning lingered in his mind. While he had little fear of direct confrontation, delays were dangerous. The more time they spent in this world, the more variables could stack against them.

Thankfully, the hidden route the Bear King had provided proved invaluable.

They followed a narrow stream that cut through the rainforest like a silver thread. It was shallow, no more than a few meters wide in most places, but it ran steadily, winding through dense vegetation and steep ravines that concealed it from above.

The canopy here was thicker than anywhere else they had passed. Massive leaves overlapped in layers, blocking out nearly all sunlight. Vines as thick as tree trunks draped across the terrain, and the air was heavy with moisture. The forest felt older here, untouched and uninterested in outsiders.

Little Shrubby adjusted his pace, no longer sprinting blindly. Even for him, navigating such confined terrain required attention.

For days, they traveled like this, following the stream deeper and deeper into the forest’s folds.

Then, at the end of the seventh day, the terrain began to change.

The trees thinned slightly, and ahead of them rose a mountain so vast it felt like the spine of the world itself. Its slopes were steep and jagged, dark stone jutting out from beneath the greenery. Higher up, the vegetation gave way to bare rock, and at its peak, snow gleamed faintly under the sun.

"Nine thousand meters," Daoist Chu muttered, squinting upward. "At least."

Even flying over it would have been difficult. The higher one went, the heavier the pressure became, and the mountain was clearly home to powerful beasts that would not appreciate trespassers and could slow them down.

Instead, they followed the stream as it narrowed further, until it led them straight toward the mountain’s base.

There, hidden behind layers of foliage and moss covered stone, was the pass.

It was barely wide enough for two men to walk side by side. A jagged crack splitting the mountain, extending upward and inward at a sharp angle.

Little Shrubby shrank down with a grunt, reducing himself to a size that could maneuver through the narrow space. Even then, his claws scraped against stone as he moved carefully.

The pass was cold.

The warmth of the rainforest vanished abruptly, replaced by a biting chill that seeped into their bones. Frost clung to the stone walls, and thin veins of ice glittered faintly in the dim light.

They encountered a few weak immortal beasts nesting within the crevices, but the moment Lin Mu’s aura brushed against them, they fled in terror, scattering deeper into the rock.

The passage took several hours to traverse, winding and uneven, but eventually, light appeared ahead.

They emerged on the other side into a completely different world.

The rainforest fell away behind them, replaced by rolling plains that stretched as far as the eye could see.