Lin Mu wondered what more had happened with Xiaobao and the turtle Bao in the past.
"The humans attacked you?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Yes. I don't fully remember as I was small, but I and my brothers were less than a year old when some humans came around. My father thought they were sent by his master or were the ones that his master had talked about.
He went to meet them, but met with an attack instead. The humans did not even speak and just attacked. My father resisted them, but there were more of them than he expected. Some of those reached my mother and attacked us.
She died protecting me and my siblings and by the time my father came, only I was left." Xiaobao answered.
"What? Humans, more than one?" Lin Mu asked.
So far from what Lin Mu had seen, while there had been hundreds if not thousands of humans that had managed to enter the wandering sinkhole, it was not at the same time. And even if they were, Lin Mu didn't think it would be a large number.
"There were over thirty from what my father told me, all at the Nascent Soul realm." Xiaobao replied.
Hearing this, Lin Mu was now sure that something was wrong here.
"There's no way so many Nascent soul realm cultivators can come here at the same time. I don't think there are many powers that can afford this either." Lin Mu muttered to himself.
He looked back to Xiaobao and asked, "And when did all this happen?"
To this question, Xiaobao turned his neck and looked at his body. His eyes lingered on it for a bit and then he finally spoke, "it has been over three thousand years now."
"Three thousand years… this was before Jing Wei's time… the overall strength of the cultivation world was higher back then." Lin Mu muttered while analyzing the situation.
There were many questions he had, as he reckoned this might be linked to the Northern Tribes as well. He didn't question the beast anymore and just watched as he carried him to another island.
This island was smaller than Xiaobao in size but did look similar in shape.
"We're here… this is my father's shell." Xiaobao spoke.
Lin Mu looked around and could see several structures on the shell. They were dilapidated and looked ancient. The island was barren for the most part, except for a few weeds growing here and there.
"I'll take a look then. Did your father tell you anything?" Lin Mu asked.
"He just said that if someone comes, and they are sent by Kong Hutao, I am to take them here. And if they arrive without being told, I am to just hide till they go away on their own. If they find whatever my father hid, they would either die or live.
So far all that have come, died." Xiaobao answered.
"The test… Kong Hutao's grave is on Xiaobao's shell itself…" Lin Mu understood.
Lin Mu nodded his head and flew towards the island while Little Shrubby followed behind him. The stew had long since been put into his storage belt as he did not want it to get spilled or spoiled.
~thud~ thud~
The two of them landed and Lin Mu spread his spirit sense around.
"This is certainly far more clear." Lin Mu muttered as he observed everything with his spirit sense.
He could tell that the reason why he was unable to perceive Xiaobao was certainly due to its unique ability. As for this place, Lin Mu could tell that it really was a shell, and that there used to be a beast that it belonged to.
He could feel the remnants of its aura deep within the shell.
"No… there's something more there as well." Lin Mu muttered.
He looked up at the old ruins and decided to head there first.
'Kong Hutao's grave should be here.' Lin Mu thought.
After about ten minutes of search, he finally found the right place. It was actually quite obvious as it had several skeletons piled around it. Some of them were highly deteriorated while some were still relatively intact.
"A couple of them don't look that old either." Lin Mu muttered.
~sniif~sniif~ Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
"This one is less than a hundred years old." Little Shrubby spoke.
Lin Mu approached the said skeleton and observed it more closely. The clothes that it was wearing were mostly tattered, but since they had lasted this long, Lin Mu reckoned they were probably spirit clothes.
"Hmm… looking at the style, it seems to be of some sect." Lin Mu said.
He tried to see if there were any other items that would point to its identity but didn't find them. What he did find though, were a lot of ashes.
"You will need to be careful now, there might be a rather dangerous formation here." Xukong warned.
Lin Mu nodded his head and became more alert. He entered the ruin and saw what looked like a stone coffin in the center. There were a few words written on the lid of the coffin that Lin Mu discovered.
"Here lies Kong Hutao, whose vengeance is unfulfilled." Lin Mu read.
He furrowed his brows and placed his hand on the coffin.
~SHUA~
The moment he did so, hundreds of runes started to appear around him and arranged into a formation array. Lin Mu could tell that many of them were powerful formations, but they were conditional.
They would not activate until certain conditions were fulfilled, which he guessed would depend on the test.
He then felt his vision go dark, and he appeared in a rather plain looking room.
"Is this the test?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Are you an invader?" A voice was heard from behind.
Lin Mu turned around and saw none other than Kong Hutao.
"No I am not, Kong Hutao." Lin Mu replied. "Rather, I have been ordained by the world's will." Lin Mu added.
~SHUA~
The character appeared on his forehead, showing the proof. Kong Hutao saw it and his expression visibly changed.
"Finally…" He said with relief.. "You pass, and I can pass on too…" with these few words, he faded away.