Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3114: A Second Immortal Tribulation?!

Lin Mu remained silent, his mind reeling.

He clenched his fist slowly, feeling the flood of water essence humming in his meridians. Every movement of his body carried a faint ripple, as though he himself had become one with rivers, lakes, and seas.

”So this is what happened...” he thought grimly. ”The tribulation... it was not just testing me. It fed the core. It refined it directly. My physique absorbed the impact, my vitality nullified the Dao Insights, but the core devoured the essence itself...”

He exhaled deeply, still trying to wrap his head around the implications. If each elemental core could grow like this under their respective tribulations...

His gaze turned sharp, flashing with realization. ”Then perhaps the Omnicore Ascendancy was always meant to thrive under tribulations.”

But he did not voice this aloud. Around him, the sect’s elders were still whispering, their expressions of awe shifting into something like fear. Even the Grand Elder’s hands were clasped tightly behind his back, concealing the tremors in his fingers.

”Fourth tribulation stage...” Grand Elder Huo finally spoke, his voice low but heavy with gravity. ”And not just any stage... his foundation is monstrous.”

Daoist Chu’s lips twitched. ”No... his foundation is no longer comparable to ordinary cultivators at all. What we are seeing is a path I do not even recognize.”

The crowd below was too stunned to comprehend the weight of those words. But Lin Mu was not paying attention to them. His eyes remained half-closed, his immortal sense wrapped around his swollen water core, still feeling the waves of power it exuded.

For the first time in a long while, Lin Mu felt unsettled. Not because of weakness, but because of the possibilities his body was opening before him.

He muttered softly, ”Ninety percent complete... If the water core alone could leap like this, what will happen when the others face their tribulations?”

And for a brief moment, even Lin Mu himself felt like a storm was building within him, one that not even he could fully predict.

Lin Mu sat in stillness, his breathing steady, his aura calm on the surface, but deep within his thoughts churned restlessly.

The growth of his Water Core lingered in his mind like a seed he could not ignore. Every sign, every fluctuation of qi, every shift in resonance pointed to the same truth... It had been the Water Immortal Tribulation that forced its expansion.

And yet, Lin Mu could not bring himself to accept it so easily. His cautious nature resisted the conclusion, whispering doubts into his heart.

What if this was a one-time occurrence?

What if the heavens had only allowed it once and, upon noticing his audacity, chose to change the tribulation the next time?

What if his body, no matter how tempered, could not endure another attempt?

A hundred questions circled him like hungry wolves, gnawing at his resolve. His gaze, unfocused, rested on the vast sky above, yet he did not truly see it.

For ten long minutes he remained motionless, his silence heavy enough that none dared approach.

Every cultivator in the area assumed this was a critical recovery period. They believed disturbing an immortal who had just endured the heavens’ wrath could bring disastrous consequences.

Not one of them realized that Lin Mu was not healing, but standing at the edge of a dilemma.

The weight of uncertainty pressed down on him, pulling his thoughts in endless spirals. But then, like a blade cutting through a tangle of vines, a single mantra echoed in his heart.

The Severing Heart Sutra.

He recited it calmly, his will sharpening as stray, unnecessary doubts fell away like dust in the wind. His aura steadied, no longer wavering under the burden of endless ”what ifs.” His eyes, once clouded by hesitation, grew sharp and clear.

”There is no need to wonder,” he muttered to himself, voice low but firm, ”when I can confirm it myself.”

The corners of his mouth curled upward, and for the first time since the tribulation ended, he smiled: wide, almost fierce.

His decision had been made.

Tilting his head back, Lin Mu looked to the heavens with an expression that was both challenging and exhilarated. His voice rang out like thunder, startling every ear that heard it.

”Everyone, I am not done yet! Keep the arrays active and brace yourselves!”

Gasps of confusion rippled through the crowd.

The formation masters exchanged bewildered looks.

Had he misspoken? What could he possibly mean?

But before their doubts could form into words, the pressure came.

The familiar, suffocating weight of the heavens descended once more.

Faces paled. Hearts dropped.

”Another... another Immortal Tribulation!?” someone cried out in sheer disbelief.

The exclamations spread like wildfire. Even the Grand Elder, who had seen countless extraordinary scenes in his long life, stood frozen in shock. Lin Mu’s companions stared with wide eyes, their minds unable to process what their master had just invited upon himself.

Meng Bai’s lips parted, his face pale as he wondered aloud, ”Has Master lost his reason from the earlier tribulation?”

It was not uncommon, as some immortals could face Heart Demons from tribulations too. Meng Bai could only hope it was not like this.

And far away, perched leisurely atop the open rooftop of a tavern, Cattaleya laughed aloud, her voice like bells in a storm. She lifted her cup of wine and raised it in toast to the unfolding madness.

”This,” she said with delight, ”is the best show I have seen in thousands of years.”

Above them all, Lin Mu extended his hand toward the endless expanse of the sky. His voice, filled with both defiance and exhilaration, thundered once more.

”Heavens, I am not finished yet. Give me another tribulation!”

And in that instant, a strange aura welled up from him... one that blended the unyielding authority of domination with the boundless vastness of freedom.

It rolled outward in waves, washing over the land, as though declaring to all creation that Lin Mu would not bow, not even to the heavens themselves.

The world seemed to still at Lin Mu’s words.