Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3629: Nurturing Heart Sutra Progresses

The resonance did not fade immediately.

Even after the oaths had been spoken and the presence of the Heavenly Dao had receded into something less overwhelming, Lin Mu remained standing where he was, his mind and senses still immersed in something far beyond ordinary perception.

It was not simply the aftereffect of powerful vows or the lingering aura of the Guardian Beasts. It was deeper than that. It was something that had reached into his very being and left an imprint.

He could feel it.

A connection that was not faint, not distant, but vivid and alive.

Every foxkin present was linked to him in a way that could not be described through ordinary bonds. He could feel their emotions, their reverence, their gratitude. It did not overwhelm him, but it existed there, like a steady current flowing through his consciousness.

And beyond them, he could still faintly sense echoes of life from the forest itself. The creatures, the trees, the very land seemed to have acknowledged him in that brief moment when the Heavenly Dao had responded.

Lin Mu slowly exhaled, grounding himself.

’This is... different,’ he thought.

He understood what had happened.

He had been acknowledged and recognized. But he had not been ordained.

Lin Mu had experienced ordainment once before in the Xiaofan world. That had been something far greater, a direct elevation by the will of the world itself. It had reshaped his fate, bound him to the destiny of that world in a way.

What he felt now was not that. This was something smaller in scale, though still immensely significant.

He knew the difference.

Ordainment required something on a much grander level. Saving a world. Changing the course of its existence. What he had done here, while monumental for the foxkin, was still limited in the grand scope of things.

Even so... A faint smile appeared on his face.

”This is enough.”

The feeling was good.

More than good.

It was fulfilling.

Nearby, another person was experiencing something entirely different.

Xueyan stood among the gathered foxkin, his expression filled with a mix of awe and disbelief that had not left him since the oaths had been spoken. His tail moved constantly behind him, swaying with unrestrained energy as emotions surged within him.

He had witnessed everything.

From the beginning of Lin Mu’s work to this very moment.

He had heard the whispers over the past months. Stories of Lin Mu working tirelessly, of progress being made, of hope slowly building. Xueyan had believed in him, but even then, there had been limits to his expectations.

But this was beyond anything he had imagined.

”To think he actually solved it...” Xueyan thought, his heart racing.

The fertility issue of the foxkin was something deeply rooted, something that had persisted for generations. It was not a simple problem, nor one that could be resolved through ordinary means. And yet, Lin Mu had done it.

In months.

Xueyan’s admiration grew even further.

”Ancestral uncle Lin Mu...” he murmured softly, his eyes shining.

His tail wagged even faster, betraying the excitement he could not contain.

Back at the center of the hall, Lin Mu was still immersed in his own experience when something unexpected occurred.

Within the space of his ring.

The Ethereal Altar stirred.

At first, it was subtle.

A faint tremble before it intensified before finally, the altar glowed.

SHUA

A radiant light gathered at its center, growing brighter and brighter until it erupted upward in a pillar of pure white that shot into the void of the internal space.

Lin Mu felt it instantly.

His consciousness shifted inward.

At the same time, something else emerged.

A sound.

No.

Many sounds.

The cries of beasts.

Countless.

Millions upon millions.

They echoed within him, their presence forming a vast chorus that resonated with his very soul. Their heartbeats aligned, forming a rhythm that seemed to synchronize with his own.

Then came the chants.

Strange at first.

Unfamiliar.

He could not understand them immediately.

They were not spoken in any human language.

They were in beast tongue.

Ancient and raw, yet filled with meaning.

Lin Mu focused.

He listened.

Slowly, the sounds began to take shape within his understanding. The meanings revealed themselves piece by piece, as if his mind was being guided to comprehend them.

”Open thy heart to the world...”

The words formed.

”Embrace its creations...”

The chant deepened.

”And become one with them...”

Lin Mu’s eyes widened slightly.

He understood.

At that exact moment, his body reacted.

His eyes closed on their own.

His mind entered a trance.

”This is...” he realized.

”The Nurturing Heart Sutra.”

For years, it had remained at the second stage.

External Comprehension.

He had used it, refined beast qi with it and understood it.

Yet it had never advanced further.

Until now.

He had finally fulfilled the conditions through his actions. Through connection, through truly understanding and aiding the lives bound to the world.

And finally the sutra responded.

It evolved.

The energy within him shifted deepened and refined.

After some time, the change completed.

He had reached the third stage, Internal Resonance.

Lin Mu could feel it clearly.

The sutra was no longer something he needed to actively invoke through chants. It existed within him now, functioning as a natural part of his being. His connection to beasts, to life, to the natural world had deepened to a level he had not experienced before.

He opened his eyes.

The world returned.

The hall.

The foxkin.

His companions.

Everything was as it had been.

Yet it was different.

Lin Mu did not dwell on it immediately.

”There will be time to explore this later,” he thought.

For now, the atmosphere around him had shifted.

The solemnity had lifted.

And in its place there was celebration!

The foxkin began to move.

Preparations that had already been set in motion now unfolded fully.

A grand banquet, the likes of which the Fox Scion World had never seen before, began.

And it was unlike anything Lin Mu had experienced before.