Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 2937: Four Orders Of Peril

Lin Mu held his breath as the Saintess began to speak.

”The Hundun Imperial Order... the Taowu Imperial Order... the Qiongqi Imperial Order... and the Taotie Imperial Order,” she said, her voice like ancient scripture. ”Four pillars of chaos. Four branches of an eternal rot that grew in the shadows of creation.”

She paused before continuing, ”These four were each founded upon the essence and legacy of one of the Four Perils—Primordial evil beasts born at the dawn of time, whose very existence was anathema to balance.”

”The Four Perils...” Lin Mu whispered. ”I’ve heard of them only in scraps. They are the antithesis to the Four Guardian Beasts, aren’t they?”

The Saintess nodded solemnly. ”Yes. Where the Four Guardians brought order and protection—Azure Dragon of the East, White Tiger of the West, Vermilion Bird of the South, and Black Tortoise of the North—the Four Perils brought chaos, destruction, hunger, and madness.”

Her voice became heavier.

”Taowu represented defiance, fury, and blind rage. Qiongqi was cruelty incarnate, punishing the good and rewarding the wicked. Taotie was endless greed and hunger, devouring all without thought or remorse. And Hundun... Hundun was the origin of confusion and the collapse of meaning. A beast without orifices, that devoured logic and reason.”

Lin Mu took a step back, absorbing the weight of those words. It felt like standing at the edge of a vast abyss, its depth unknowable.

”But if they were all Imperial Orders,” he said, frowning, ”what happened to the other three? Why is only the Hundun Imperial Order still around?”

”Because,” the Saintess said, ”the others were shattered by karma and war.”

Her voice grew quiet, touched by the sorrow of lost epochs.

”The Taotie Imperial Order was consumed by its own greed—turning inwards until only madness remained. The Qiongqi Imperial Order was betrayed from within, its cruelty breeding disunity and collapse. The Taowu Imperial Order... fell in battle. Their refusal to yield to divine order led to their eventual erasure.”

She folded her hands.

”Their remnants survive only in whispers. The Taowu Order you encountered is merely a surviving bone of a long-dead beast. The Qiongqi and Taotie legacies are even fainter—little more than dust.”

Lin Mu frowned deeply.

”But... the Hundun Imperial Order remains.”

”Yes,” she replied. ”Somehow, they endured. Perhaps because their nature is deception, confusion, and the veiling of truth. They survived by ensuring they were never fully known.”

His thoughts spun.

”And the Indigo World Hegemony is tied to them...”

The Saintess nodded again. ”There are many powers under the shadow of the Hundun. Some knowingly. Some unknowingly. But they all serve a doctrine of masked domination and spiritual disarray.”

Lin Mu looked down at his hands.

”To think I’ve been walking in the shadow of so many ancient powers without realizing it...”

Then another thought struck him, and he turned to her sharply.

”But wait—how can you speak of this so freely? When I tried to speak of the Hundun Imperial Order before, I could feel the impending the backlash of karmic suppression. My voice faltered. My thoughts grew hazy.”

The Saintess tilted her head ever so slightly, as though acknowledging a hidden blade of truth.

”Because the karma tied to the Hundun Imperial Order is still active,” she said. ”They are still a living, concealed threat. Thus, reality itself suppresses the speech of those who are unprepared.”

”But the others?” Lin Mu asked.

”The karma of the Taowu, Qiongqi, and Taotie Orders has faded,” she explained. ”Time and destruction have washed away their names from the fabric of causality. The fact that we can speak of them freely is proof enough—they are no longer bound to fate’s active ledger.”

Lin Mu released a slow breath.

”So I don’t have to worry about being silenced or cursed just for speaking their names.”

”Correct,” the Saintess said. ”But don’t mistake that for safety. What remains of them can still be dangerous in its own way.”

Lin Mu nodded, his eyes gleaming with quiet resolve.

”So these Four Perils were real... and their legacy persists.”

The Saintess turned toward him fully, her tone grave.

”Yes. And you have already walked into their domain.”

Her gaze shifted back toward the Marshes of the Silent Skies.

”The tree’s roots you crushed were once fed by the sorrow of the Taowu Order. But the true source—the heartwood—still slumbers beneath that marsh.”

Lin Mu clenched his jaw.

”Then I’ll uproot it.”

The wind stirred the veil that cloaked the Saintess’s face, catching the edge of her robes and making them flutter like soft banners against the dusky sky. Lin Mu watched her quietly, a thought surfacing in his mind.

”How did you get here so suddenly?” he asked. ”I thought you were occupied elsewhere.”

The Saintess turned slightly, her gaze still drifting over the now-silent valley.

”I was,” she replied. ”I’ve been watching over the Silent Lotus Temple.”

Lin Mu blinked. ”You were?”

”Yes. The Abbot requested my presence during in these trying times,” she said, voice serene. ”The temple required a certain... vigilance. Only recently did I have the opportunity to look away. That’s when I noticed movement here.”

Lin Mu gave a thoughtful nod, then smiled faintly. ”So... has it really been two years since we last talked?”

The Saintess was quiet for a moment.

”I’ve seen you... from time to time,” she admitted. ”But not always clearly.”

Lin Mu tilted his head. ”What do you mean?”

”When you were at the Great Burden Monastery,” she said, ”something... distorted the space around you. A strange interference. I couldn’t pierce through it to observe directly. But your presence—your essence—remained intact. I knew you were safe.”

Lin Mu’s expression changed, contemplative. ”So even you couldn’t see?” Though he could tell what the reason was.

She shook her head. ”I have pierced through veils far stronger... but that monastery was built on something ancient. Whatever shields it was not crafted by mortal hands.”

At that, Lin Mu took a breath and began to speak, voice slow but deliberate.