Chapter 4042: The Experts From The Grand Hall

The overwhelming pressure descending from the direction of the Grand Hall continued to spread across the Law Division, suppressing the crimson sea of vitality that had erupted from the members of the Wild Peak.

The arrays embedded throughout the surrounding buildings hummed under the combined might of so many powerful cultivators, while disciples from the Law Division retreated farther away. Even several elders unconsciously straightened themselves as they sensed the approaching figures.

But Lin Mu remained exactly where he was. His enormous fist was still clenched before him, the simple gesture carrying an entirely different meaning now that the Wild Peak had entered its Closed Fist state.

Behind him stood High Elder Shatter Peak, High Elder Palm Saber, and the other members of the Wild Peak. Their auras had been forced down by the pressure descending upon them, though their expressions remained defiant.

Lin Mu narrowed his eyes as three figures finally appeared in the distance.

They did not arrive through a teleportation array. They simply flew through the sky, yet their speed made it seem as though distance itself had shortened for them. One moment they were little more than specks above the horizon, and a few breaths later they were already approaching the Law Division.

Lin Mu recognized two of them immediately.

The first was a tall man wearing white robes embroidered with countless tiny swords along their edges. His long black hair was tied behind his head with a silver ornament shaped like a sword hilt, while an actual sword rested upon his back.

The weapon remained inside its sheath, yet Lin Mu could already feel the terrifying sharpness contained within it. More importantly, he could feel the man’s Sword Intent.

’Transcendent Immortal.’ Lin Mu immediately determined.

The pressure emanating from the man was powerful enough to distort the Immortal Qi around him. Yet the thing that drew Lin Mu’s attention was the Sword Intent mixed into that pressure. It was refined, focused, and carried a degree of spirituality that ordinary Sword Intent could never possess.

Lin Mu had experienced something similar before.

’Sword Heart.’ Lin Mu thought.

His eyes narrowed slightly as memories of another powerful swordsman surfaced within his mind.

Grand Elder Huo Jianyang of the Xian Sword Sect.

Lin Mu had fought the man before, and that battle had been one of the most destructive clashes he had experienced against another cultivator. Grand Elder Huo had pushed him far enough that their battle had permanently transformed the landscape around Ash Crown City.

Comparing the two came naturally.

’He’s close.’ Lin Mu assessed. ’But Grand Elder Huo is still better.’

The difference was difficult to describe through cultivation alone. Both men were Transcendent Immortals, and both possessed tremendous accomplishments in the Sword Dao. Yet Grand Elder Huo had carried something else within his swordsmanship.

Experience.

The old swordsman’s Sword Intent had been tempered through countless battles and an extraordinary amount of time. His movements had possessed the confidence of someone who had spent an entire lifetime pursuing the sword.

The Sword Peak Head before Lin Mu was perhaps only a small level below him. But that still made the man terrifyingly powerful. The second person Lin Mu recognized was considerably different.

She appeared to be a woman in her late twenties, with smooth black hair flowing freely behind her and features that seemed untouched by age. Her robes were pale blue and white, and there were almost no ornaments upon her body besides a simple translucent hairpin.

At first glance, someone might have mistaken her for a young elder.

Lin Mu knew better. ’Clarity Peak Head.’

The woman’s aura was almost unnaturally pure. Immortal Qi surrounded her without the slightest trace of impurity, flowing around her like a perfectly clear river. Even Lin Mu found the quality impressive.

Clarity Peak specialized heavily in orthodox Immortal Qi cultivation, refinement of foundations, meditation, and purification. Their cultivators were famous for possessing exceptionally stable cultivation bases, and their Peak Head clearly represented the pinnacle of that philosophy.

Yet neither of those two drew most of Lin Mu’s attention as that distinction belonged to the third person.

The man looked ancient. His body was thin without appearing frail, and his long silver hair reached almost to his waist. His face contained countless wrinkles, while his eyebrows were so long that they extended past the corners of his eyes.

He wore plain grey robes without any elaborate decorations, and there was no visible weapon upon him. Yet Lin Mu’s instincts immediately warned him. The old man’s aura was heavy.

It carried a sense of age that seemed completely different from ordinary cultivation pressure. Standing before him felt strangely similar to standing before an ancient mountain that had existed long before the surrounding landscape.

The Wild Peak elders reacted even more strongly.

"The Grand Elder?" High Elder Palm Saber uttered in surprise.

Even High Elder Shatter Peak’s expression changed. "The Grand Elder actually came personally?"

Lin Mu’s eyes sharpened. ’So that’s him.’

He had never seen the man personally, yet Lady Kang’s intelligence concerning the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect had mentioned him.

The Grand Elder was among the highest ranking members of the entire Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect. His generation preceded even the current Patriarch, and his lineage had existed within the sect for an astonishing amount of time.

His clan had been tied to the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect since its earliest eras. More importantly, his own great-grandfather had supposedly been a disciple of the Heavenly Stream Immortal.

That connection alone made Lin Mu considerably more cautious. ’This one might actually know things the others don’t.’

There was another issue too.

The Grand Elder was old enough that some of the information Lin Mu had gathered from the archives might have been personally passed down to him rather than learned through records.

Fooling Daoist Bone Ruler had required confidence, strength, and enough obscure historical knowledge to make his story convincing. But the Grand Elder could prove significantly harder.

Still, Lin Mu did not allow even the slightest hint of concern to appear upon his face. After all, he was Mengli Zhenyu right now.

The Earth Sea Tyrant had supposedly survived more than a hundred thousand years beneath the Mad Demon Depths. Someone like that would hardly become nervous merely because several juniors had arrived.