Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 2885: Restraining One Foe

Lin Mu reached toward the last one, who had barely begun to chant—

”Severing Heart Sutra.”

Lin Muʼs voice echoed softly in the cave, as a ripple of aura expanded from his lips.

The cultist froze mid-chant, his eyes glazing over as his mind was dragged into a daze. His Qi faltered, the self-destruct art stalling.

Lin Mu moved quickly, placing a suppressive formation seal on the manʼs dantian and locking his meridians with a flick of his Metal Elemental immortal qi, filling the nodes with it so that they would stay blocked.

The moment the manʼs body collapsed to the ground unconscious, Lin Mu let out a slow breath.

”Four lost, but one still remains.”

He looked down at the last cultist—young, barely more than thirty, with a face that hadnʼt yet twisted completely from the corrupted techniques. There was still a fragment of clarity in his mind... perhaps.

Lin Mu waved his hand, summoning a Qi Force Sealing talisman and pressing it onto the manʼs chest. Runes flared and wrapped around his form, sealing his movements and aura.

Then he turned to examine the pools of blood left behind by the others. The residue was foul—rife with blood-based contracts, suicide arrays, and something darker. The stench was so intense, even the spiritual energy around the cavern seemed sluggish.

”These arenʼt just puppets,” Lin Mu murmured. ”Theyʼre bound with blood vows and branded souls. Someoneʼs refining people into weapons.”

He destroyed the remnants with a burst of golden flame from the combination of his Calming Heart Sutraʼs Aura and his own Flame elemental qi, cleansing the cavern as best he could . This was one of the methods of application he had learned in these years.

He finished doing this before collecting a few scraps—broken talismans, a half-melted dagger, and a twisted jade slip that seemed partially protected from destruction.

Then, carrying the unconscious cultist over his shoulder, he exited the cavern.

Above, the night had fallen. The forest was quiet.

Lin Mu rose into the sky and flew back toward the Hawk Eye Sword Sect, the wind brushing past him as he considered his next move.

Back at the sect, Elder Dugu was waiting outside the guest courtyard, sensing Lin Muʼs return even before he landed.

”You were swift,” the elder remarked. Then he frowned. ”You brought someone.”

”One of the cultists,” Lin Mu confirmed. ”I used a restriction to keep him from destroying himself. The others... werenʼt so fortunate.”

”Iʼll prepare the confinement chamber,” Dugu said grimly. ”Weʼll need to use memory extraction techniques.”

Lin Mu nodded and followed the elder inside.

Behind him, the moon hung high—its cold light gleaming faintly off the token of thorns and eyes now clenched in his hand.

The game was no longer hidden.

And Lin Mu had made his first move.

The chamber deep beneath the Hawk Eye Sword Sect was shrouded in layered formations, its walls marked with runes of suppression and soul-binding. The air was cold—unnaturally so—as if the room itself had been hollowed from a dying mountain.

The prisoner sat slumped in the heavy stone chair at the center, bound by thick chains glowing with red and blue suppression light. His eyes were closed, but his breath was steady—too steady for someone unconscious. He was playing dead.

Elder Dugu stood beside the sealed door, laying out a series of tools on a slab of polished obsidian: soul incense, spirit piercers, echo mirrors—arts meant to reach the imprisoned soul and pull out secrets buried deep.

Lin Mu stood still across from the prisoner, arms folded and expression unreadable.

”Let me try first,” Elder Dugu said, lighting a series of pale blue sticks. ”Perhaps I can loosen whatever bindings have been placed on his mind.”

”You know such skills too?” Lin Mu rasied his brows.

This sect was a sword sect and he had thought some other elder would be assisting with it.

”I dabble a bit. Iʼve learned quite a bit in my travels before I joined the sect.” Dugu Ciu replied.

”Oh youʼre not from the sect orignally?” Lin Mu was surprised.

”I was but just a wandering cultivator before I encountered some trouble and the Sect Patriarch saved me. I joined the sect to repay the life debt.” The man stated.

”A worthy payment.”

Lin Mu gave a curt nod, watching.

The incense smoke slithered through the air, curling into the prisonerʼs nostrils. Moments later, Elder Dugu chanted softly, tapping a jade talisman to the prisonerʼs brow. The talisman glowed gold for a moment—then sizzled black and cracked in half.

CRACK

The prisoner opened his eyes and chuckled.

”A good effort,” he rasped, eyes flashing with dark amusement. ”But you wonʼt reach me.”

Elder Dugu frowned and pressed his palm to a secondary formation. Golden light laced the chains and penetrated the prisonerʼs body.

He screamed, spasming violently—but it was not pain from the Mind pierce. Instead, inky marks began to surface across his skin: twisting, vine-like lines with tiny thorns.

They pulsed.

Then the formation shattered.

”Impossible…” Elder Dugu stepped back. ”His Mind is sealed beyond standard comprehension. This is not just a brand. Itʼs a curse that devours even intent.”

”Heʼll die before we can reach the truth,” Lin Mu said coldly.

”Thereʼs nothing more I can do.” The elder exhaled. ”His soul will disintegrate if we press further.”

”Then leave,” Lin Mu said suddenly.

Elder Dugu blinked. ”What?”

”Leave,” Lin Mu repeated, his voice calm but commanding. ”Seal the chamber. Iʼll handle the rest.”

”…Daoist Lin, I—”

”Iʼm not asking,” Lin Mu said, turning his gaze toward the elder. ”What Iʼm about to do… shouldnʼt be seen.”

There was something final in his tone—cold and absolute.

Dugu Ciu had felt such aura from only a few indivudals before, none of which he would dare to question. He could tell that the random man he had met in the passing might be someone far greater than he first thought.

While he had heard that Lin Mu had come from the Green Lotus Temple, he certainly didnʼt think he was a monk. There was something more to him.