Lin Mu reached toward the last one, who had barely begun to chant—
"Severing Heart Sutra."
Lin Mu's voice echoed softly in the cave, as a ripple of aura expanded from his lips.
The cultist froze mid-chant, his eyes glazing over as his mind was dragged into a daze. His Qi faltered, the self-destruct art stalling.
Lin Mu moved quickly, placing a suppressive formation seal on the man's dantian and locking his ridians with a flick of his tal Elental immortal qi, filling the nodes with it so that they would stay blocked.
The mont the man's body collapsed to the ground unconscious, Lin Mu let out a slow breath.
"Four lost, but one still remains."
He looked down at the last cultist—young, barely more than thirty, with a face that hadn't yet twisted completely from the corrupted techniques. There was still a fragnt of clarity in his mind... perhaps.
Lin Mu waved his hand, summoning a Qi Force Sealing talisman and pressing it onto the man's chest. Runes flared and wrapped around his form, sealing his movents and aura.
Then he turned to examine the pools of blood left behind by the others. The residue was foul—rife with blood-based contracts, suicide arrays, and sothing darker. The stench was so intense, even the spiritual energy around the cavern seed sluggish.
"These aren't just puppets," Lin Mu murmured. "They're bound with blood vows and branded souls. Soone's refining people into weapons."
He destroyed the remnants with a burst of golden fla from the combination of his Calming Heart Sutra's Aura and his own Fla elental qi, cleansing the cavern as best he could . This was one of the thods of application he had learned in these years.
He finished doing this before collecting a few scraps—broken talismans, a half-lted dagger, and a twisted jade slip that seed partially protected from destruction.
Then, carrying the unconscious cultist over his shoulder, he exited the cavern.
Above, the night had fallen. The forest was quiet.
Lin Mu rose into the sky and flew back toward the Hawk Eye Sword Sect, the wind brushing past him as he considered his next move.
Back at the sect, Elder Dugu was waiting outside the guest courtyard, sensing Lin Mu's return even before he landed.
"You were swift," the elder remarked. Then he frowned. "You brought soone."
"One of the cultists," Lin Mu confird. "I used a restriction to keep him from destroying himself. The others... weren't so fortunate."
"I'll prepare the confinent chamber," Dugu said grimly. "We'll need to use mory extraction techniques."
Lin Mu nodded and followed the elder inside.
Behind him, the moon hung high—its cold light gleaming faintly off the token of thorns and eyes now clenched in his hand.
The ga was no longer hidden.
And Lin Mu had made his first move.
The chamber deep beneath the Hawk Eye Sword Sect was shrouded in layered formations, its walls marked with runes of suppression and soul-binding. The air was cold—unnaturally so—as if the room itself had been hollowed from a dying mountain.
The prisoner sat slumped in the heavy stone chair at the center, bound by thick chains glowing with red and blue suppression light. His eyes were closed, but his breath was steady—too steady for soone unconscious. He was playing dead.
Elder Dugu stood beside the sealed door, laying out a series of tools on a slab of polished obsidian: soul incense, spirit piercers, echo mirrors—arts ant to reach the imprisoned soul and pull out secrets buried deep.
Lin Mu stood still across from the prisoner, arms folded and expression unreadable.
"Let try first," Elder Dugu said, lighting a series of pale blue sticks. "Perhaps I can loosen whatever bindings have been placed on his mind."
"You know such skills too?" Lin Mu rasied his brows.
This sect was a sword sect and he had thought so other elder would be assisting with it.
"I dabble a bit. I've learned quite a bit in my travels before I joined the sect." Dugu Ciu replied.
"Oh you're not from the sect orignally?" Lin Mu was surprised.
"I was but just a wandering cultivator before I encountered so trouble and the Sect Patriarch saved . I joined the sect to repay the life debt." The man stated.
"A worthy paynt."
Lin Mu gave a curt nod, watching.
The incense smoke slithered through the air, curling into the prisoner's nostrils. Monts later, Elder Dugu chanted softly, tapping a jade talisman to the prisoner's brow. The talisman glowed gold for a mont—then sizzled black and cracked in half.
CRACK
The prisoner opened his eyes and chuckled.
"A good effort," he rasped, eyes flashing with dark amusent. "But you won't reach ."
Elder Dugu frowned and pressed his palm to a secondary formation. Golden light laced the chains and penetrated the prisoner's body.
He scread, spasming violently—but it was not pain from the Mind pierce. Instead, inky marks began to surface across his skin: twisting, vine-like lines with tiny thorns.
They pulsed.
Then the formation shattered.
"Impossible…" Elder Dugu stepped back. "His Mind is sealed beyond standard comprehension. This is not just a brand. It's a curse that devours even intent."
"He'll die before we can reach the truth," Lin Mu said coldly.
"There's nothing more I can do." The elder exhaled. "His soul will disintegrate if we press further."
"Then leave," Lin Mu said suddenly.
Elder Dugu blinked. "What?"
"Leave," Lin Mu repeated, his voice calm but commanding. "Seal the chamber. I'll handle the rest."
"…Daoist Lin, I—"
"I'm not asking," Lin Mu said, turning his gaze toward the elder. "What I'm about to do… shouldn't be seen."
There was sothing final in his tone—cold and absolute.
Dugu Ciu had felt such aura from only a few indivudals before, none of which he would dare to question. He could tell that the random man he had t in the passing might be soone far greater than he first thought.
While he had heard that Lin Mu had co from the Green Lotus Temple, he certainly didn't think he was a monk. There was sothing more to him.
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