Hearing Lin Mu's determined words, Elder Weimin didn't know what to say.
"We would greatly like that too, but the current situation is not really conducive to that. There are top sects here already and they have their best formation masters here trying to unlock the formation that is blocking the entrance.
They were evidently targeting anyone that manages to enter first. We are still not done making the alliance with the Long Cloud sect, so we will probably be targeted. All the other sects that are here are either under the Zither Wind Alliance or the Long Cloud alliance.
The top three sects have nothing to fear and can't be targeted. As for the weaker sects, they are unable to enter before us, so they are not considered. But the people in the alliances will band together against us." Elder Weimin explained.
"Elder is right. Even if we have to ability to open the formations, we would have to go to the area where everyone else is doing the same. We are bound to get noticed when there are people standing just a few meters away from us." Hu Yun chimed in.
Lin Mu narrowed his eyes and looked towards the distance. He closed his eyes for a second and opened them again. This time they flickered lightly and a strange pressure exuded from his body.
The pressure was felt by everyone around him and even Elder Weimin who was at the Dao Shell realm, was not exempt from it.
~gulp~
Elder Weimin tried to resist it but found that he could not.
"Just what is this…" Elder Weimin was confused as he did not find it to be due to spirit Qi.
He was a Dao Shell realm cultivator and should not have been influenced by another Dao Shell realm cultivator. Unfortunately for him, Lin Mu was no average cultivator and had a lot more in his arsenal than most people knew.
~shua~
"Where did he go?!" The disciples were stunned.
Lin Mu had just disappeared suddenly in front of their eyes. It was almost unbelievable for them and they wondered how it happened.
"Just how fast is he?" The disciple wearing the gauntlets wondered.
"That… was no speed." Hu Yun said as he wiped the sweat off his brow.
Unlike the others, he was at the Nascent soul realm and could tell that Lin Mu had not run or anything. He had simply disappeared.
"What?" the disciples were confused.
"Space… he used spatial spirit Qi?" Elder Weimin realized as his eyes went wide.
Even though the elders of the Noon Grass sect knew that Lin Mu had made the Kong plane his own and had made a teleportation formation from it with the help of Jing Luo, they thought that this was just because he was proficient with formations.
They never thought that Lin Mu was proficient with Spatial spirit Qi instead. This was out of their normal thinking and no sane person would think of it directly. Even the Elder only thought of it, since he could sense it very clearly at his level.
The disciples were taken aback and didn't know what to make of this. While they had learned of the space element, they also knew that it was something beyond the use of most cultivators.
One had to be at the Nascent soul realm to even be able to touch upon the very basics of it and needed to have a strong spirit sense to feel it.
Jing Luo who had seen the same string of events a few times before, simply rolled his eyes and spoke, "he'll be back. We just wait."
"Will it be fine? He didn't even change into the sect's uniform?" Elder Weimin asked.
"Yes. If he wants to hide, no one will be able to find him easily. Don't worry. As for the sect uniform… can I get some robes too? It'll be better if I disguise as well." Jing Luo replied. holds © this.
"Of course! Disciple Yun, bring junior Jing Luo to the tent and give him a sect of our robes. Also, keep some robes for junior Lin Mu ready." Elder Weimin ordered.
"Yes, Elder!" Hu Yun replied and took Jing Luo to the test.
While Jing Luo changed into the robes, Lin Mu was checking out the ruins. He was currency underground and was using his spirit sense to observe it in detail.
"Hmm… it extends rather deep. There is an entire area dugout two kilometer below the surface." Lin Mu discovered.
"That should be the place where the ruins usually recede to when inactive," Xukong spoke.
"Hmm… but that doesn't tell us how Elder Liqiang disappeared. Was it really a different plane?" Lin Mu asked.
"What did you sense with your spatial perception?" Xukong asked in repose.
"There are some spatial disturbances here, but they could also be due to the many people interfering with the formations here. The disturbance they are causing is muddling my perception here as well." Lin Mu replied.
"One option would be for you to directly descend to the depths, but your phase cannot do that at this moment. And even if you enter, the others will have to wait outside." Xukong stated.
"Hmm… Phase might just be enough to reach it, I think… but I don't want to take that risk. And unraveling the formations from the front is not an option either." Lin Mu replied.
Hearing this, Xukong went silent and Lin Mu continued to observe the area around the ruins. He had gained a little idea that there might truly be the entrance to a minor plane inside it as the spatial fluctuations got stronger when he got closer.
It was at this time that Xukong spoke again.
"There is another option that might work. Why don't you… just break in from the back. There is no one there and you don't really need to care about the formation arrays here, do you? The others won't see it either, so you can enter with the Noon Grass sect quickly." Xukong suggested.
Hearing this, Lin Mu smiled.
"That might just work…"