Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3098: Lin Mo’s Surprising Stance

Grand Elder Huo’s single eye closed for a long moment, then opened again, filled with tempered steel. He was no naïve elder clinging to morality for its own sake. He had seen too many wars, too many compromises in the face of survival.

"The orthodox path teaches restraint, but when the enemy is this insidious, we cannot afford to cling to ceremony. If the truth lies buried within this soul, then tear it out."

He placed a heavy hand on Lin Mu’s shoulder. His grip was firm, filled with the weight of trust and burden both. "I trust you, Lin Mu. Do what you deem necessary. If this world is to be cleansed, then blades must be sharp, and hearts must be willing to cut deep."

Lin Mu inclined his head. His eyes shone with determination, but also a flicker of grimness. "Very well. I will begin the preparations tonight. The answers we need will be found."

The sealed Nascent Soul flickered in its prison, as though sensing the fate that awaited it. A faint, almost inaudible wail echoed within the talisman, but neither Lin Mu nor the Grand Elder paid it any mind.

The war against the hidden cults had just taken a darker turn.

Soon the Grand Elder departed, and Lin Mu was left alone.

The room grew still as Lin Mu placed the jade talisman upon the table, the sealed Nascent Soul of the Scarred Crescent Leader floating faintly within.

The faint flickers of soul light inside it pulsed irregularly, like a candle in the wind, yet the hatred and obsession bound into the fragment were still palpable. Even with the restrictions of the seal, faint whispers echoed, as if the dead leader’s will was clawing at the edges of reality to curse Lin Mu one last time.

Only the muffled sounds of Ash Crown City beyond the walls hinted that the world outside continued to move. Here, in this chamber, all attention rested on the sealed soul.

Lin Mu sat cross-legged, taking in a slow breath, his expression hardening. He brought his hand close, a faint black-red light swirling around his palm as the Murdering Heart Sutra began to stir. Its sinister aura seeped out like a venomous mist, coiling around the Nascent Soul.

Normally, using this Sutra meant destruction. It meant turning all things consumed into fuel for Devil Qi, feeding his body and sharpening his intent. But that would erase everything... memories, secrets, the very identity of the soul. What he needed now was not raw power, but precision.

And precision was Lin Mo’s art.

Just as Lin Mu was about to call upon the devilish persona, a familiar chuckle echoed in his mind.

"Jiejiejiejie... really, Lin Mu? Do you think I’ll take every little morsel for myself? This one is for you. Do it yourself."

Lin Mu’s brow furrowed.

His mindscape darkened, and from the shadows stepped Lin Mo, smirking with his usual devilish poise, his eyes gleaming like scarlet embers.

"You don’t want it?" Lin Mu asked, his tone low with suspicion. "This is exactly the kind of thing you revel in."

Lin Mo tilted his head, his grin stretching wider. "Of course I want it. But more than that, I want you to do it. We are the same, are we not? There is no difference between your hand and mine when wielding the Sutra. If you can only rely on me for the finer things, then what kind of heir to the Devil Path will you become?"

Lin Mu’s lips tightened. He was no heir of the Devil Path, at least not willingly. Yet he could not deny the truth in Lin Mo’s words.

Lin Mo spread his hands mockingly. "Besides, this is only a Nascent Soul. Do you know the difference between it and a True Soul? A Nascent Soul is stable, compact. Its essence does not scatter as easily. That makes it a perfect subject for you to learn. Think of it as... training wheels, before you try to tear into something greater."

For once, there was no greed in Lin Mo’s gaze, no attempt to seize control. Instead, there was something that unsettled Lin Mu more... encouragement.

Genuine, twisted, but real.

Lin Mu frowned deeper, wondering what had changed in the devilish man.

Why would he give up such a chance? Why guide him instead of devouring?

But Lin Mo simply chuckled again, his laughter echoing in the depths of Lin Mu’s heart. "Don’t think so much. Just do it. You’ll see what I see... and then you’ll understand."

With a long breath, Lin Mu let his doubts simmer into silence. His fingers formed a seal, and the Murdering Heart Sutra pulsed. Dark light surged forth, wrapping around the Nascent Soul. Instead of shredding it apart, he let the Sutra’s tendrils seep in slowly, winding into the cracks of its essence.

The soul screamed.

The chamber trembled faintly, its soundless wails reverberating directly into Lin Mu’s mind. A river of memories poured into him: fragments of battles, faces of cultists, rituals under blood moons, secret exchanges with veiled envoys of the Ephemera Sect.

Lin Mu grimaced, his face glistening with cold sweat as he struggled to hold the stream steady. Normally, he would have crushed it all into Devil Qi and moved on. But now, he had to keep the flow intact, weaving his Sutra like a needle through cloth, tugging at threads of information without tearing them.

His consciousness wavered as the Nascent Soul resisted, its remnants of will thrashing violently.

Images flashed one after another: the Scarred Crescent Leader kneeling before a black altar, signing pacts in blood with Ephemera envoys... a map half-burned, pointing to the South-eastern shores of the Silent Lotus World... a cavern veiled in illusions, guarded by arrays of mist and stone.

Lin Mu’s heart thudded as the pieces came together. He pressed harder, digging deeper, and caught glimpses of secret messengers moving between cults, carrying jade slips branded with a Cave sigil.

He even saw fragments of discussions about rebuilding something far older, a "Root Temple" buried beneath the world’s marshes.