Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3876: Suspicion And Attack

Lin Mu looked at the new area.

The stone gate remained open, and beyond it stretched a long corridor carved directly through the mountain. Formation lamps illuminated the passage with a gentle golden light and the deeper Lin Mu walked, the more powerful the surrounding arrays became.

Several scanned him continuously while others seemed capable of suppressing movement if necessary.

Lin Mu quietly memorized all of them.

Eventually the corridor widened and he emerged into an enormous underground cavern. The space had been carefully modified into a massive storage complex. Stone pathways divided different sections and every area possessed its own independent protective barrier.

Some barriers shimmered with golden light while others remained almost invisible until approached.

Each section bore large stone plaques describing its contents: Immortal Herbs, Medicinal Pills, Immortal Weapons, Body Cultivation Techniques, Formation Materials, Rare Metals and Beast Resources.

The largest area by far contained countless stacks of Immortal Stones.

The sheer amount would bankrupt most merchant organizations. But Lin Mu merely glanced at them. Compared to the fortune resting inside his ring, this amount barely attracted his attention.

His gaze swept across everything else instead.

’So that’s how they designed it.’ The entrance barrier merely verified identity.

Each individual storage section possessed its own restrictions. Little Bull could freely enter several outer sections. Whenever Lin Mu attempted to pick something up, another layer of formations quietly activated.

The items remained completely immovable.

’Permission to browse and permission denied for removal.’ Lin Mu noted the functions of the array.

It was a rather practical arrangement. Disciples could familiarize themselves with available resources while remaining unable to steal anything. Lin Mu slowly walked through one section after another.

His attention focused upon anything remotely connected to ancient inheritances like old manuals, broken artifacts, unknown relics and some ancient maps. He carefully inspected every shelf.

Most contained ordinary sect resources. They were excellent by normal standards, but entirely unrelated to the Virtuous Calamity Daoist. Not finding what he wanted, Lin Mu gradually moved deeper into the treasury.

The barriers became increasingly sophisticated and the stored treasures also became rarer, which only made Lin Mu’s interest grow.

’Perhaps there really might be something useful hidden here.’ Lin Mu thought.

Then, just as he stepped toward another corridor leading farther into the vault, an icy voice echoed through the cavern.

"Who’s there?" Lin Mu instantly stopped walking.

Little Bull slowly turned around.

Standing at the far end of the corridor was a tall figure dressed in dark blue robes. The man’s sharp eyes remained fixed upon him with unmistakable suspicion.

Lin Mu’s eyes settled upon the newcomer and his first thought was that the man looked rather ordinary. He appeared to be somewhere in his thirties, at least judging by his physical appearance.

His features were neither particularly handsome nor ugly. His build was lean for a body cultivator, though Lin Mu could still tell from the dense vitality within the man’s body that he possessed frightening physical strength.

The one feature that immediately stood out was the man’s hair. Or more accurately, the lack of it.

A long bald strip curved across the top of his scalp like the path of a winding river. It did not resemble age related balding at all. The rest of his hair was thick, black and tied into a long ponytail that reached his waist.

The contrast made the strange bald strip even more noticeable.

’Interesting hairstyle.’ Lin Mu thought.

Xukong chuckled. ’Or perhaps an unfortunate accident.’

Lin Mu barely had enough time to observe the man before the latter spoke.

"Who are you!" His voice echoed throughout the cavern. "How did you get here!?"

Little Bull blinked while Lin Mu maintained the innocent expression that had become second nature over the past several days. "I’m Little Bull."

The man frowned. "Little Bull?"

"I joined recently."

The suspicion in the man’s eyes remained.

"I climbed a tree."

The man continued staring.

"There was a big tree." Little Bull pointed vaguely behind himself. "I climbed it."

The man’s expression became even stranger.

"Then I came here." Lin Mu continued speaking honestly. "I saw a barrier and I remembered my disciple token worked for other barriers. So I touched it and it opened."

"So I came in." Little Bull scratched his head. "I was just looking around."

Lin Mu expected confusion, perhaps disbelief or maybe even a lecture. That was how every other member of the Wild Peak had reacted whenever Little Bull did something unexpected. The disciples laughed, the Elders sighed and Peak Head Mountain Roar patiently explained things.

And High Elder Shatter Peak found almost everything amusing while even High Elder Palm Saber rarely became truly angry. Lin Mu had subconsciously begun expecting everyone from the Wild Peak to react similarly.

But he was completely wrong this time as the man’s expression did not soften. Instead, it became even colder. His eyes narrowed sharply and his body tensed.

Lin Mu immediately sensed the change. ’That’s...’

The man took a step forward.

"There is no record of your credentials!" His voice carried unmistakable hostility. "You are intruding!"

"Wait." Little Bull raised both hands. "I’m not here for..."

Lin Mu wanted to explain. He wanted to mention the barrier, he wanted to show his disciple token again and he wanted the man to inspect the entrance. Any of those would likely solve the misunderstanding.

But the opportunity never came.

CRACK

The man’s foot slammed against the ground and the stone beneath him exploded. In the next moment, he appeared before Little Bull almost instantly and a palm strike shot forward.

Lin Mu’s pupils contracted. ’Fast!’

He instinctively leaned backward.

WHOOSH!

The palm missed his chest by barely a few centimeters but its force continued onward.

BOOM!

The palm struck the cavern wall and the impact echoed through the enormous underground chamber. Yet the wall itself remained completely intact as golden runes flashed across the stone.

The protective formations absorbed the attack without allowing even the slightest vibration to spread. Lin Mu barely had time to appreciate the strength of the vault’s arrays.

"Please wait!" He quickly raised both hands. "I’m not..."

WHOOSH