Chapter 4031: Casual Bluffing

For the Law Division members standing nearby, the sight was deeply unsettling.

Several formation masters among them looked especially horrified. They understood better than anyone else what should have happened. The formations were designed for all kinds of things including being able to detect spatial fluctuations.

They were designed to prevent teleportation. They were designed to detect unauthorized entry. They were designed to respond to breaches. Yet Zhenyu had simply appeared inside. High Elder Palm Saber stared from outside the barrier.

Then his shoulders began trembling. He was trying very hard not to laugh. The other Wild Peak elders were doing a little better. Zhenyu looked around casually before turning back toward Daoist Bone Ruler.

"Hmm." He tapped his chin as though he had merely noticed something mildly interesting. "Looks like the Law Division’s formation masters still haven’t updated the original Array Encryption."

Several formation masters stiffened.

Zhenyu shook his head. "The old back doors still work."

There was silence upon the reception of those words... Utter silence.

Even Daoist Bone Ruler didn’t immediately know what to say.

’Array Encryption?’

’Old back doors?’

Several Law Division formation masters looked at one another in alarm.

One elderly formation master immediately began searching through his memories. He had studied these formations for thousands of years. He knew their construction, their activation methods, their weaknesses and the modifications performed by previous generations.

He had never heard of an old back door.

Another formation master looked equally disturbed. "Could it be from the original formation framework?"

"But that was established hundreds of thousands of years ago."

"Have the original control sequences survived?"

"Impossible. They’ve been modified repeatedly."

Their confusion only deepened while Lin Mu almost laughed. After all, every word was nonsense and there was no ancient back door. There was no forgotten Array Encryption method that Zhenyu Mengli had remembered from his original era.

Lin Mu had simply used Fade. His Spatial Skill allowed him to enter the parallel dimension and simply moved there before reappearing to pass through the barrier without needing to break it, and the Law Division’s formations hadn’t been capable of stopping him.

The others didn’t need to know that.

In fact, Lin Mu preferred that they didn’t. He wanted them to be thinking exactly what they were thinking now. The barrier was useless against Zhenyu Mengli. They could activate ten more formations and Lin Mu would simply walk through those as well if Fade allowed it.

This little display hadn’t been performed purely for amusement either. It established their positions before the conversation even began and Daoist Bone Ruler understood that perfectly.

He looked at Zhenyu standing casually inside the defensive perimeter, then glanced at the barriers that his division had hurriedly activated in preparation for the man’s arrival. Their greatest defenses had just been rendered meaningless without a single attack.

The message couldn’t have been clearer.

Zhenyu hadn’t spoken the words aloud, yet Daoist Bone Ruler could practically hear them.

’You prepared all of this to defend against me, and I simply ignored it. What exactly do you intend to do now?’

For several seconds, Daoist Bone Ruler remained silent.

Then he let out a slow breath. "Deactivate the barriers."

Several Law Division elders turned toward him in surprise. "Division Head?"

"You heard me." Daoist Bone Ruler looked directly at Zhenyu. "Deactivate them."

The formation masters hesitated only briefly before obeying as one layer after the other faded. Within moments, the elaborate defensive network that had surrounded the entrance was lowered.

High Elder Palm Saber and the Wild Peak elders flew forward, crossing into the Law Division without resistance.

Zhenyu smiled. "Good."

Daoist Bone Ruler’s expression became serious. "Senior Mengli, I assume you haven’t come here merely to inspect our formations."

"Of course not." Zhenyu turned his gaze toward the deeper regions of the Law Division.

Far beyond the administrative halls and disciplinary courts, he could sense the formations surrounding another area: The prison.

"I’ve come for someone." Zhenyu stated.

Daoist Bone Ruler’s eyes narrowed as he already knew.

Zhenyu looked back at him. "Take me to High Elder Shatter Peak."

Daoist Bone Ruler took a slow breath before finally nodding. He had already expected this request from the moment Zhenyu Mengli had appeared outside the Law Division, and after the display at the defensive barriers, he knew there was little benefit in trying to delay the matter.

"Very well. I’ll take you to High Elder Shatter Peak, Senior," Daoist Bone Ruler spoke.

He turned around and began walking deeper into the Law Division, while Zhenyu calmly followed behind him.

High Elder Palm Saber and the other Wild Peak elders remained near the entrance, surprising several members of the Law Division who had expected the entire group to follow. Some had already imagined a procession of Wild Peak cultivators marching through their prison and causing trouble the moment they saw High Elder Shatter Peak’s condition.

The fact that they stayed behind brought visible relief to many of them. Of course, that decision hadn’t come from High Elder Palm Saber.

Only moments earlier, while Daoist Bone Ruler had been lowering the barriers, Zhenyu had discreetly contacted the Wild Peak elders through a jade communication slip. His instructions had been simple.

’Stay outside and watch everyone.’

Lin Mu had been thinking about Taegong’s actions ever since discovering the truth surrounding them, and one thing continued bothering him. Taegong’s schemes had gone on for far too long and involved too many moving pieces for him to have managed everything without assistance.

Even if Taegong himself had possessed considerable influence, manipulating the affairs of a sect as enormous as the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect required information. And information flowed through the Law Division constantly.

Investigations, punishments, internal disputes, disciplinary hearings, missions, prisoner records and countless other sensitive matters passed through its hands. If the people supporting Taegong had placed even a handful of agents within the Law Division, their plans would have become significantly easier.

Lin Mu had no proof yet and that was precisely why he wanted the Wild Peak elders watching.

High Elder Palm Saber understood the request immediately and now stood with his arms folded, apparently waiting patiently for Zhenyu’s return. The other elders behaved similarly, though their Immortal Senses were quietly observing the Law Division members around them.

Most showed relief, some showed curiosity while others looked annoyed that Zhenyu had so casually humiliated their defensive formations. And among them, a few appeared noticeably more nervous than the situation warranted.