CHAPTER 2443 PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS
A couple of hours passed as Lin Mu and Daoist Chu spent their time in inspecting the Imperial Azalea Courtyard and its unique arrays. It was very fun for them and Daoist Chu ended up getting inspiration for something he had been stuck on earlier and quickly left to ponder on them. He reckoned since he was so close to resolving his doubts, it was crucial for him to act on it quick.
As such, Lin Mu was now left along with Lady Kang and Min Ju, joining them at the lakeside.
There had been somethings Lady Kang had been wishing to ask Lin Mu for a while but had been waiting for the right moment to do so.
"I learned about the 'price' you had to pay for protecting us and getting everyone out of the Bridge Plane." Lady Kang spoke.
Hearing that, Lin Mu's expression became a bit serious, but he knew there wasn't much to hide from Lady Kang.
"You mean, Lin Mo." Lin Mu replied.
"Indeed… Who exactly is he? Or rather… what is he?" Lady Kang asked while Min Ju listened in silence.
"To be honest, even I don't know what he is so far." Lin Mu replied. "All I know is that he is very dangerous and unpredictable." He added.
He had memories of all that Lin Mo had done, including the threats he had passed to not only his companions but even his weapons.
Lin Mu was sure that Lin Mo would have really shattered his swords if they didn't listen to him. If he did that, it would certainly be a great loss to him.
He had also seen how he treated the others and dominated them. "His power is… Impressive though." Min Ju spoke. "It was certainly terrifying back then and the presence he exuded was at a different level than anything I've felt before. But it was that very thing that managed to save us." She said honestly, knowing that she couldn't really find fault in it.
"Hmm… It may be so, but I still wouldn't use him again if I can help it." Lin Mu stated.
"Lin Mo consumed the souls of all those he killed and transformed it into his own power." Lady Kang said after thinking. "That power… that dark purple energy was… Devil Qi wasn't it?" she asked. owns this.
"It was." Lin Mu admitted. Silence descended after that, and no one spoke for a few minutes.
~Sigh~
That was until Lady Kang let out a sigh and stood up. "Whatever he might be, I'm just grateful that he managed to save all of us." Lady Kang said with a gentle smile. "And don't doubt yourself for it or regret it. You did it to help us… You did it to save me." She added.
Lin Mu's expression eased up after hearing that and he smiled too.
"I suppose thats right too," Lin Mu responded.
Lady Kang nodded lightly before turning around.
"I'll leave you be for now. I reckon you have a lot to process as well as consolidate your cultivation." Lady Kang stated.
"Yeah, I've had some gains I need to comprehend as well as consolidate them." Lin Mu nodded.
"I'll see you later then. We don't have much that you can do right now anyways as the investigation into Yao Changying will take a while more," Lady Kang said as she took out a jade slip. "We'll update you on it, though this should also bring you up to speed on some of the matters that weren't mentioned earlier." She handed the jade slip to Lin Mu.
"Thank you, this'll help." Lin Mu said with gratitude as he saw the two women leave.
With them gone though, Lin Mu wasn't actually alone.
"Saintess." Lin Mu muttered, having sensed her presence for quite some time already.
She had disappeared sometime ago from the Imperial Court without anyone's notice. Lin Mu wasn't worried as she did this quite often and only guessed that she was out doing something or tending to her own matters.
"You certainly gave everyone quite a bit of scare these few years." The Saintess spoke, manifesting in a pavilion that was built in the middle of the lake.
~SHUA~
Lin Mu took a step and soared into the air, clouds carrying him as if he were weightless. He easily landed on the bridge connecting the pavilion to the shore and walked in.
The Saintess who saw this couldn't help but raise a brow.
"You comprehended the Cloud Dao?" The Saintess asked in surprise. "Somewhat yes." Lin Mu replied. "Though rather than Cloud Dao itself, I've mostly learned a technique." He clarified.
"What technique?" The Saintess inquired, finding Lin Mu's movement to be better than most.
"The Cloud Dragon Stride." Lin Mu answered.
"The Cloud Dragon Stride?" The Saintess muttered, trying to remember if she had heard of it before. "I don't think I've known of any technique of this name before." She said, feeling surprised too.
The Cloud Dao was one of her Dao's she was highly proficient in and being a celestial, she had learned or at least heard about many techniques and skills that utilized it. Thus, it was incredibly rare for her to not know about a technique's name.
It would be one thing if it were some new technique, but most of them would not have such a high quality application of the Cloud Dao. As such, she could tell it was a high leveled technique and almost all techniques of that level were known by her.
"The Cloud Dragon Stride is from the Qian Series of the Grand Bagua Mythic Series." Lin Mu answered.
"No wonder…" That basically solved it for the Saintess and she understood why she had never heard of the skill. "Looks like you've obtained quite a lot on the expedition." "I did yes." Lin Mu nodded his head. "I actually got another fragment of the Grand Bagua Mythic Series too." He revealed.
"Oh? That's rather good. What is it?" The Saintess was intrigued.
Even for the Celestials, the Grand Bagua Mythic Series was considered a great set of techniques and it was highly viable in the Celestial Realm too. Since it was fully based on the application of the Dao's, the techniques actually became better when Celestials used them.
"It's the Mud Rot Fist from the Dui Series of the Grand Bagua Mythic Series." Lin Mu answered. "Here, take a look." He showed the record of the technique to the woman.
Unlike the Cloud Dragon Stride that he had already learned, Lin Mu couldn't demonstrate the Mud Rot Fist to the Saintess, thus this was the only way he could explain it to her.
The Saintess quickly read through the technique and understood a part of it.
"Hmm… it is quite profound." The Saintess spoke. "If you wish to learn this though, you'll have to comprehend the Water Dao first. Though ideally you'd also have to learn about the Wood Dao and Earth Dao, which you have already comprehended and have a Dao Embryo." She stated.
"Yeah, I haven't done anything with it other than memorize it." Lin Mu replied. "Senior Xukong also suggested that I comprehend the Marsh Dao directly by immersing myself and experiencing them." He added.
"That method works too." The Saintess replied, though the thought of it to be a rather crude and messy one. "It's something I'll do in the future. For now I just want to improve on the Cloud Dragon Stride first since I've already had some progress in it." Lin Mu said before looking at Lady Kang. "And I hope that you might be able to help me with it." He requested.
"I can do that." The Saintess didn't mind. "Show me the full technique first." She asked.
"Sure." Lin Mu replied before taking it out.
The Saintess read through it and learned of the different levels. "Since you're at the beginner level, you simply need to comprehend more of the Cloud Dao to progress to the Intermediate level." The Saintess quickly understood the progression of the technique as well as had an idea about how to guide Lin Mu. "Do you want to start now?" she asked.
"I'd at least like to try it." Lin Mu didn't mind it at all and was eager too.
"Very well." The Saintess said before twirling her finger.
~SHUA~
Her little gesture caused the entire lake to be covered in a layer of clouds. Now it looked like it was a lake of clouds instead of water.
It looks rather beautiful and if one could sense it properly, they would be able to feel the Dao Traces that were suspended within them too.
The Saintess could have technically used Dao Insights for this too, but for teaching Lin Mu Dao Traces were better as he would be able to sense them.
"Go." The Saintess flicked her finger, sending him flying into the cloud lake with ease.
Lin Mu was surprised by the sudden action, but knew his training had already begun.