The old records spoke of the great purges when the orthodox sects had banded together to crush the evil forces of the world.
The Ephera Sect, though powerful, had nearly been annihilated. The Drowned Crescent Cult had fared even worse.
At their peak, they had commanded hundreds of thousands of followers across several territories, their strength spread across multiple Peak and even Transcendent Immortals. Yet now, after tens of thousands of years of decline, their vitality had withered away to less than ten percent of their forr strength.
They were shadows of their past.
Lin Mu noted carefully that their current leader, known only as the Scarred Crescent Leader, had willingly abandoned his mortal na long ago. His identity was nothing but his title, a mask worn for eternity.
The records made it clear that this leader was not particularly remarkable compared to his predecessors. He was powerful enough, standing at the peak of the Immortal Realm, but he had never stepped into the ranks of a Transcendent Immortal.
His leadership was not born of strength, but of fear and manipulation.
What struck Lin Mu as particularly telling was the desperation in the cult’s decisions. Decades ago, when the Ephera Sect had begun to show signs of recovery, they had extended a hand to the weakened Drowned Crescent Cult.
And in their weakened state, the cult had accepted. The alliance was less out of loyalty and more out of necessity. Without outside support, the Drowned Crescent would have crumbled entirely, erased by ti.
Lin Mu found missives between their leaders that showed the balance of power clearly. The Ephera Sect treated the Drowned Crescent Cult as little more than pawns. In exchange for protection and resources, the cult was expected to obey, to supply manpower, and to serve as a testing ground for whatever foul experints or sches the Ephera Sect wished to conduct.
Scrolling through the more recent reports, Lin Mu realized how tightly the cult had been bound. Their strongholds were few and far between now, re fragnts of what had once been a vast influence.
Out of the Five major bases of operation, two were already destroyed by Lin Mu himself. The main base, the most important one, had fallen when he brought down the Scarred Crescent Leader.
The other three bases, though still standing, were insignificant in strength. Each housed fewer than a hundred cultists, the most powerful of whom barely reached the Fifth Tribulation Stage of the Immortal Realm.
To Lin Mu, they were little more than minor nuisances. Without their leadership, without resources, and without the Ephera Sect propping them up, these remnants would scatter like dust in the wind. Though he did take note of them and let the Xian Sword Sect take care of them when the opportunity presented itself.
Daoist Chu often ca to check on his progress, and after each explanation Lin Mu gave, the man’s expression grew heavier.
"So they were already half-dead, clinging on only because of the Ephera Sect," Daoist Chu murmured one evening, setting down a cup of tea. "That ans if the Ephera Sect is stirring once more, the cult was nothing more than a front. A mask to keep others distracted."
Lin Mu nodded. "Exactly. And that ans their true operations are deeper than we thought."
The discovery of the cult’s decline brought so relief to the group, especially Gu Jin and Luo once they were inford. The elders had feared that the cult was far more widespread and powerful than it appeared, but learning that Lin Mu had dismantled their main base ant the imdiate danger was far less pressing.
Yet even so, the shadow of the Ephera Sect lood larger.
Cattaleya leaned back in her chair one night, tossing a missive onto the table with a grin that did not quite hide her tension. "Well, at least you’ve toppled one rotten nest. But I can’t help but wonder, Lin Mu... if they were this eager to ally themselves with the Ephera Sect, what does that tell us about the scale of the Sect’s plans? After all, weak dogs only bark when they have a strong master behind them."
Her words rang true. Lin Mu was well aware that what he had uncovered so far was only the surface. If the Ephera Sect had reached out to revive such a crippled group, it ant they were weaving sothing vast, and the cult’s obedience was rely one thread in that larger tapestry.
They already knew of the Hidden Cave Sect being part of their alliance. Who knew how many more such powers were now their pawns. There was still little that Lin Mu knew about the Hidden Cave Sect, even what he had learned from Elyon had been a bare fragnt.
But the docunts of the Cult gave him better insight into them too. From what he learned, the Hidden Cave Sect was not as active as the other Evil Sects. They were more reclusive, just as their na implied, and despite being an Evil Sect, they didn’t actually do much in the past.
But when they did act, their actions were often heinous and vile, which was why they too were eradicated. Still, it seed like their tendency to hide had allowed them to survive the purge.
The records stated, that only half of the Hidden Cave Sect had actually been eradicated, unlike what the orthodox powers thought.
’Looks like they will have to be our next target.’ Lin Mu thought.
By the end of the fourth day, Lin Mu closed the last of the records and sat in silence for a long ti, his mind piecing together the patterns. The Scarred Crescent Leader was gone, their bases crippled, their strength shattered. But the Ephera Sect was not.
No, they were moving unseen, and the cult’s fall had likely only slowed, not stopped, their progress.
When Lin Mu finally rose from his seat, his voice was firm.
"The Drowned Crescent Cult is no longer a threat. But what they revealed is far more dangerous. The Ephera Sect is building sothing in the shadows, and this was only their tool. Our real battle has yet to begin."
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