Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3612: Similar Results

Lin Mu stood amidst a growing array of suspended crystals, each one carefully isolated within layers of spatial confinement.

The chamber had long since transformed from a place of experimentation into something resembling a research repository of fundamental truths of a bloodline. Dozens upon dozens of samples floated in ordered clusters, each categorized, each representing a different Foxkin lineage that had been reduced to its most essential components.

His gaze lingered on the pinkish and bluish transitional crystals for a moment before shifting toward the darker anomalies that had come to dominate his attention.

The black crystals.

His fingers hovered slightly as he observed them, his mind already racing ahead.

"This cannot be limited to just two tribes," Lin Mu thought. "If this is truly the cause, then it must either be universal or conditional."

The distinction mattered.

If it was universal, then all foxkin should possess it.

If conditional, then something triggered its formation.

And that meant... it could potentially be prevented.

With that in mind, Lin Mu did not hesitate.

He stepped out of the chamber and sought the elders once more, his request direct and without embellishment.

"I require blood samples from all Foxkin tribes," he said. "As many as can be gathered. Both major and minor."

The elders did not question him.

In fact, several of them exchanged knowing looks.

They had anticipated this.

"We have already begun collecting them," one elder replied. "Though the scale you require may exceed what we have prepared."

Lin Mu nodded. "I will need more. The process consumes the samples."

There was no hesitation in their response.

"It will be done."

And so the next phase began.

The Foxkin clans moved with remarkable efficiency. Messengers were dispatched, teleportation arrays activated, and within days, streams of blood samples began arriving at the Heart of the Mother Forest.

Lin Mu did not wait as he returned to his chamber and resumed his work.

The process repeated itself.

Refinement.

Condensation.

Unraveling.

Each sample underwent the same meticulous treatment, reduced from a simple vial of blood into its four fundamental components.

Time lost meaning.

Days blended together as Lin Mu maintained a relentless pace. The Bloody Glaze Immortal Cauldron rarely cooled, its surface glowing faintly from constant use. The pale blue alchemical flame became a constant presence, its precise heat refining each sample with unwavering consistency.

As more results accumulated, patterns began to emerge.

The first realization came with Lin Mu’s patience.

He learned that the majority of the tribes’ blood was easier to process.

Their blood refined more smoothly, requiring less time and effort to reach the final stage. The transformations were stable, predictable, and free from complications.

Lin Mu noted this carefully.

"Less resistance... fewer anomalies," he murmured.

Then he compared them to the Flame Fur and Frost Fox samples.

The difference was stark.

Those two required significantly more time to refine. Their blood resisted transformation, their internal structure far more complex and... burdened.

Lin Mu’s eyes narrowed.

"This is not a coincidence."

The difficulty itself was a clue.

It indicated that whatever the black component represented, it was deeply embedded within those bloodlines, affecting even the refinement process.

Ten days passed before he completed the initial batch.

Then more samples arrived.

Lin Mu continued.

A week turned into two.

Two weeks into a month.

By the time a full month had passed since he had first begun this phase, Lin Mu had processed every available sample.

Sixty four tribes which not only included the native tribes but also those that came from other worlds.

Each one analyzed.

Each one broken down.

Each one understood.

He stood in the center of the chamber, surrounded by the results. And now the pattern was undeniable. Out of all the Foxkin tribes, only five produced the black crystal.

The Flame Fur Tribe.

The Frost Fox Tribe.

The White Fur Tribe.

The Golden Fox Tribe.

The Night Fox Tribe.

Lin Mu’s gaze swept across the clusters of crystals, his mind organizing the information with clarity.

"These are the strongest tribes," he concluded.

There was no need for further confirmation.

Each of these tribes had strength, were pure and held dominance in the world. These tribes stood at the pinnacle of Foxkin lineage and they were the only ones affected.

He moved closer to examine them.

The difference in size was immediately apparent.

The black crystals from the Flame Fur and Frost Fox tribes were the largest. Though still small, they were clearly defined, easily handled, and carried a distinct presence.

In contrast, the other three tribes produced crystals so small they were almost insignificant.

Barely visible.

Each one no larger than a grain of sand.

Lin Mu had to use precise control just to isolate and hold them without losing them. Yet their presence was enough. Even in such minute quantities, they existed. And that alone was concerning.

Lin Mu’s expression grew more serious.

"This is progression," he said inwardly.

The larger the crystal, the more severe the effect.

The smaller ones represented early stages.

Seeds.

Given time, they would grow.

The implication was clear; if left unchecked, the other tribes would follow the same path.

The issue of bloodline degeneration was not isolated.

It was spreading.

A slow, inevitable escalation that would eventually encompass all Foxkin.

Lin Mu exhaled slowly.

"This cannot be ignored."

He did not stop there.

Instead, he requested additional samples.

More blood.

More variations.

He needed to test beyond pureblood Foxkin.

The elders complied without hesitation, gathering samples from mixed lineages as well.

Foxkin born from two different tribes.

Foxkin born from unions between foxkin and humans.

When the samples arrived, Lin Mu repeated the process once more.

The results were... illuminating.

He examined the crystals formed from Foxkin-Human hybrids first.

The structure remained consistent.

Human component.

Beast component.

Foxkin transitional component.

But...

No black crystal.

Lin Mu’s eyes sharpened.

"Interesting."

Even when the parent belonged to the Flame Fur or Frost Fox tribes, the anomaly did not manifest.

Instead, the proportions shifted.

The human crystal grew slightly larger.

The beast crystal diminished correspondingly.

The balance adjusted.

But the black component was absent.