Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3379: Calming The Others

Xukong chuckled hearing Lin Mu’s concern. ”If you had asked me a few months ago, I might have warned against it. But after your breakthroughs, your cores, and your strengthened physique, you can handle it.

Still, do not be reckless. The blob will remain in your Dantian for a long while before fully merging with your Qi. You must refine it gradually. It is far more potent than any pill or elixir you will find in the immortal realm.”

Lin Mu let out a relieved breath. ”Thank you.”

”There is no need to thank me,” Xukong replied coolly. ”The beast attacked you. This is your rightful compensation. Plus I haven’t rewarded you for your progress so far.”

Lin Mu smiled faintly and tucked the shimmering essence away into his spatial ring for now. He needed to calm his companions before absorbing it.

Meng Bai was still staring at his hand as if it contained doomsday. Cattaleya wiped cold sweat from her forehead. Daoist Chu breathed deeply, trying to recover his composure. Little Shrubby sat frozen, tail stiff.

Lin Mu turned to them. ”It is fine. My master left me a reserve talisman. I used it.”

This explanation was simple. It would not raise suspicion. And it did not reveal Xukong’s identity.

Cattaleya’s eyes immediately softened. ”That explains everything. Your master must be unfathomable if he can leave behind charms like that.”

”....” Elyon.

Lin Mu nodded. ”Yes. He rarely interferes. Only when things become dangerous.”

Daoist Chu accepted that explanation easily. ”It seems your master is truly beyond what we can imagine.”

Meng Bai swallowed and forced a smile. ”Master Lin Mu’s master is amazing. That was the strongest thing I have ever seen.”

Little Shrubby simply stared at the ring. He had met Xukong in the Sleepscape. He knew the truth. He knew that had not been a talisman. That had been the real Xukong acting directly. But he played along and kept quiet.

Lin Mu reassured them briefly.

Then Meng Bai pointed at the shimmering blob. ”So... what exactly is that thing? It looks like it is alive.”

Lin Mu repeated what Xukong had told him. ”It is the refined essence of the Void Loach. Everything it ever ate is condensed into this blob. It contains spatial energy and more.”

Cattaleya gaped. ”That is what it was? When I killed a Void Loach, nothing like that appeared.”

Lin Mu nodded. ”It disperses unless someone actively stabilizes it with spatial techniques.”

Cattaleya let out a low whistle. ”I see. That explains it. My skills are not even close to that level.”

Daoist Chu observed it carefully. ”It is a strange treasure. Perhaps one only possible in the void.”

Lin Mu nodded and tucked it away again.

Then Little Shrubby suddenly perked up. ”Master... do you think it would have tasted good?”

There was silence but Lin Mu translated what Shrubby said.

Daoist Chu choked on his breath hearing that. Cattaleya stared in disbelief. Meng Bai slowly looked at the cat with an expression of pure horror.

Lin Mu blinked once. Then twice.

Xukong answered before he could speak. His tone was dry and merciless.

”No. The flesh of most void beasts is not edible. Eating them is like swallowing razor blades. The spatial forces within their flesh will tear open your insides.”

Little Shrubby pouted. ”Not even with some seasoning?”

”No,” Lin Mu said quickly. ”Not even with seasoning.”

The cat’s disappointment filled the air like a cloud.

Cattaleya snorted a laugh. ”Trust you to be thinking about food at a time like this.”

Little Shrubby proudly raised his chin. ”A good chef must consider all possibilities.”

Meng Bai sighed and rubbed his face. ”We barely survived a threat that could destroy the entire channel and you are thinking about lunch.”

Little Shrubby flicked his tail. ”It could have been a good lunch.”

Lin Mu finally let out a small chuckle. The tension evaporated from the group.

Daoist Chu looked around. ”At least now we know one thing. Traveling between courts is as dangerous as the elders say.”

Cattaleya nodded. ”And this was just one loach. There are worse things out there.”

Meng Bai shuddered. ”Let us not meet them.”

Lin Mu quietly tightened his grip around the shimmering blob in his storage.

He knew this was only the beginning.

And for now, he had a priceless treasure to refine.

After a few minutes, Lin Mu and his companions eventually calmed down. And what did it was a brief meal that Little Shrubby insisted on cooking to ”restore balance after emotional damage”.

With their bellies full everyone returned to their respective rooms in the Mobile Courtyard.

Meng Bai collapsed into meditation, trying to take his mind off the terrifying aura he had sensed. Daoist Chu reviewed books and scrolls about teleportation physics, hoping to better understand what had just happened. Cattaleya sharpened her weapons and muttered to herself about the incident, still trying to fight off the cold sweat that lingered along her spine.

Little Shrubby fell asleep on a rug, curled into a fuzzy ball, tail lightly twitching.

Meanwhile, Lin Mu sat in his room, legs crossed, palms resting on his knees. He took a slow breath and brought forth the Refined Essence of the Void Loach. The blob pulsed faintly in his hand again, shifting shape, flickering with strange colors.

”Time to see what you can really do,” Lin Mu murmured.

He placed the shimmering blob against his lips and swallowed it.

Except he didn’t.

The essence passed through his mouth, tongue, and throat without touching any part of his physical anatomy. It was as if it were not truly a substance. It was like swallowing a ghost. Like consuming a piece of pure force wearing a thin disguise.

The blob slipped directly into his body, bypassing his stomach entirely.

Lin Mu stiffened. ”That felt strange.”

But before he could even fully process the sensation, a deeper surprise hit him.

The instant the blob arrived near his Dantian, his immortal Qi sea trembled violently.