Hearing it all, Daoist Chu exhaled slowly.
"So it's a loyalty test… and a risk."
Elder Jin nodded.
"Exactly. The Court Leader believes that outsiders—those not fully enshed in Immortal Court politics—are less likely to be compromised. That's why he's bringing in those he can trust personally, regardless of their official rank."
Daoist Chu had the Ergency Soul Talisman of the Western Immortal Court Head, so it made sense why he was called in. If he had that, it ant he was already trusted well enough.
Monk Hushu chuckled bitterly.
"Trust is a dangerous thing in tis like these."
"Yet it's all we have," Elder Jin said gravely. "You two—and by extension, Daoist Lin Mu—are now part of this. You wouldn't be hearing any of this otherwise."
Lin Mu glanced at the others, his mind whirring. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten caught up in this, but backing out wasn't an option anymore. Not with stakes this high.
"What's our next step?" he asked.
Elder Jin turned to him.
"For now, nothing overt. You can continue to remain at the Green Lotus Temple or go elsewhere if you wish. Keep up your training, your duties, everything as normal. But when the summons cos—and if it does—you must be ready to leave at a mont's notice."
"How will it co?" Daoist Chu asked.
"A jade scroll. Sealed with the emblem of the Western Immortal Court. It will arrive in secret, and it may not be delivered by anyone you know. So stay alert."
"And what about him?" Monk Hushu gestured to Lin Mu.
Elder Jin regarded Lin Mu for a long mont, then nodded slightly.
"If what we've heard about him from the High Elder and the Temple Head is true… he may prove more valuable than we realize."
Lin Mu stiffened. He hadn't expected to be involved in this. But at the sa ti, he didn't feel like taking a step back. He reckoned this could be a serious matter. Plus, since his friends were involved, he found it wrong not to help them when needed.
Daoist Chu folded his arms.
"This is bigger than just a mission. We're talking about power struggles between the Immortal Courts… and perhaps sothing deeper."
"Yes," Elder Jin confird. "If the Thunderfall War Emperor was forced into a tribulation… it ans either soone has discovered how to weaponize the heavens themselves, or they forced him into a state where he felt like there was no other choice but to face it."
Silence fell again, heavy with dread.
And sowhere outside the temple walls, distant thunder rumbled faintly.
Not the sound of rain.
But the low warning growl of sothing far more dangerous stirring.
The more they thought about it, the tenser they felt.
"So when do I leave?" Daoist Chu asked.
"Right away," Elder Jin replied. "I'm here to escort you. We'll be taking a teleportation array to the Western Immortal Court, and from there we'll take the Great Teleportation Array that leads to the Southern Immortal Court."
"I see… Thankfully I've got everything I'll need ready," Daoist Chu said.
"That's good. This journey will be very long," Elder Jin said, his face darkening.
"How long will it take?" Lin Mu asked.
"At least three years just in the teleportation array," Elder Jin inford.
"That long?" Lin Mu raised his brows. "Won't it be too late to properly investigate by then?"
He calculated the ti needed to reach the Southern Immortal Court and realized whoever started this sche had likely accounted for this. It gave them more than enough ti to erase their traces.
"That's why we're rushing it," Elder Jin replied. "The Southern Immortal Court knows that we are coming, but only for the investigation, frad as a personal matter of the Court Leader.
We cannot let them know the Thunderfall War Emperor is alive or that we are searching for him.
We hope the Soul Lamp might work once it's close to the world—or inside it."
"Hmm… If they've kept the Emperor alive, then it ans they still have sothing they need from him. Hopefully, they keep him alive long enough," Lin Mu muttered, knowing that the chances of the man dying in that ti were high.
It was simply so far away that their influence, no matter how great, would not be able to do much.
"Looks like I won't be seeing you for a few years," Daoist Chu smiled wryly.
"I'll co over if sothing happens. Keep inford," Lin Mu said firmly.
"Of course," Daoist Chu assured.
"The Southern Immortal Realm is a place I've always wanted to visit anyway," Lin Mu added. He didn't mind that part.
"Hopefully, it could have been under better circumstances," Monk Hushu sighed.
"We can leave if you're ready," Elder Jin stated.
"Yeah." Daoist Chu got up, and soon the two departed.
Lin Mu and Monk Hushu watched as the two grew distant and eventually disappeared into the horizon.
It was a long parting, and it was unknown when Lin Mu would et Daoist Chu again—the man he had grown to call a true friend. There weren't many people in the world he could say that about.
Of course, no one knew that the Thunderfall War Emperor was not only alive… but also currently enjoying his ti with a mortal child in the Mortal Realm.
Far from the Silent Lotus World, across the realm, there existed a world known as the Violet Eve World. There, in an inconspicuous forest, a fifteen-year-old boy and a ghostly man were sitting before a bonfire on which a bunch of at was being cooked.
ACHOO
The boy looked at the ghostly man, a look of surprise on his face.
"What?" the ghostly man asked.
"That's the first ti I've ever seen you sneeze," the boy replied.
"Get to cooking," the ghostly man said coldly. 'Is soone talking about ?' the man couldn't help but wonder.
He had not sneezed for a long ti after becoming an Immortal and wondered if it was a premonition of sorts.
"Strange..." The Ghostly Man muttered.
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