Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3971: Return Of Junior Elder Zhenyu

Lin Mu closed his eyes and began adjusting his aura. The change was minute at first as his immense vitality adjusted and his physical presence became slightly restrained like an old hermit would be. Next, his posture changed, his shoulders relaxed before his breathing slowed.

Even his expression gradually changed.

The young and calm gaze Lin Mu normally possessed slowly became sharper than usual. He allowed some of Zhenyu’s mannerisms to emerge, particularly the slight arrogance and impatience that had appeared in the elder’s later years.

He opened his eyes.

Ashy immediately spoke. "Master?"

"What?"

"You look old." Ashy said seeing Lin Mu in a memory shared through their link.

Lin Mu frowned. "I haven’t changed my appearance yet."

"I know. Your face is the same."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Your eyes."

Lin Mu went silent and he understood what she meant.

It was the atmosphere.

Zhenyu had lived for an extraordinarily long time. His memories carried the weight of thousands of years spent alone, thousands of years of studying the Mad Demon’s remnants and countless years of watching the world outside move farther and farther away.

Lin Mu could imitate the man’s habits, he could imitate his voice and he could reproduce his techniques. Yet the most convincing part would have to come from the temperament. Fortunately, Lin Mu had listened to Zhenyu speak for hours.

He knew exactly how the elder sounded when he was irritated. He knew how he spoke when reminiscing. He knew how he complained. And he knew how he reacted when discussing the sect.

Lin Mu smiled. "I think I can pull this off."

Xukong laughed softly. "You have always been good at adapting."

Lin Mu looked down at the jade token once more. There was another thought that made this plan even more attractive. He did not have to return immediately. He could first investigate the sect from a distance.

He could use one of the spatial exits Zhenyu had recorded and emerge somewhere less conspicuous. From there, he could gather information about the current state of the sect, learn about the present elders and determine which ancient records still existed.

Then, when the time was right, Junior Elder Zhenyu could make his grand return. Lin Mu could already imagine the scene. The Wild Peak would probably be the most interesting. An ancient elder who had vanished before most current elders were even born suddenly returning would certainly cause an uproar.

High Elder Shatter Peak would probably be suspicious. The current elders would demand explanations. The records department would probably search through old documents. Then the Law Division would become involved.

And somewhere among all that chaos, Lin Mu would quietly investigate the Hopeful Star Pavilion and the identity of Deng Siqi.

He could also investigate the history of the Virtuous Calamity Daoist. Perhaps the sect still possessed records concerning the ancient man. Perhaps someone knew where his belongings had gone. Perhaps the Hopeful Star Pavilion had survived under another name.

There were too many possibilities but that only made Lin Mu’s smile wider.

"This identity really is useful." He stored the jade token carefully.

"Senior, begin the changes." Lin Mu requested.

"I have already begun." Xukong replied. "You should also start changing your appearance." He added.

"Yes." Lin Mu nodded and activated the Absolute Body Control Art.

A while later, his body became exactly like the three meter tall elder with bulging rock hard muscles. Xukong had also finished altering the seal in this time and everything was now prepared.

"Looks good." Lin Mu checked his appearance and state before nodding.

Then he looked toward one of the eleven spatial portals as his preparations were almost complete.

Lin Mu stepped toward the spatial portal but before entering, he paused. "Little Bull should probably remain missing for a while."

Ashy immediately laughed. "Poor Little Bull."

Lin Mu smiled and joked. "He’ll survive."

Then his expression slowly changed into the calm, slightly arrogant expression of an ancient elder.

"Junior Elder Zhenyu has been gone for a very long time." He stepped into the portal. "Perhaps it is time for him to come home."

For a brief moment, his vision was filled with a strange mixture of darkness and distorted light. The sensation of passing through the spatial channel was considerably different from the Sixfold Horizon Transit Die.

This route felt older and much more deeply integrated with the surrounding space. There was no violent turbulence and no sensation of being dragged along by an external force. Instead, the space around him seemed to fold naturally, carrying him forward before releasing him at the other end.

A few seconds later, his feet touched solid ground and Lin Mu immediately looked around.

He was standing in the depths of a vast forest and towering trees surrounded him on every side, their trunks thick enough that several people would have needed to join hands to circle them. Their branches stretched high overhead, forming a dense canopy that filtered the faint light coming from above.

Moss covered much of the bark, and several varieties of vines hung from the branches like enormous ropes. The air carried a strong scent of damp earth and vegetation, while the occasional chirping of insects could be heard somewhere in the distance.

The portal had opened in a small empty patch between two trees. There was barely enough room for a few people to stand there, and once Lin Mu took a couple of steps forward, the spatial distortion behind him rapidly faded.

Within a few breaths, the portal had vanished.

Lin Mu turned around and carefully examined the location where it had been. "Almost no spatial fluctuations left?"

He narrowed his eyes as there was only the faintest trace of spatial energy lingering in the air. Even his spatial perception needed to focus slightly before he could identify it.

"It really was made as a secret route." That realization made Lin Mu even more impressed with Zhenyu.

The elder had spent thousands of years inside the Mad Demon Depths and had eventually uncovered routes that even the current sect probably knew little about. The spatial exit had clearly been designed to leave behind as little evidence as possible.

Someone passing through it would have almost no chance of discovering where the portal had been after it closed.