Chapter 574 - Over 50 Years Of Isolation

When Lin Mu had roamed through the Ripple Mist sect he had heard from the many people there that the sacred trials will be held soon. And the most promising of disciples would be participating in it.

Lin Mu learned that the sacred trial would be held in a sacred ground which was nothing but a Minor plane that was located parallel to the location of this place. It was of course located in the lesser void, and accessing it required specific spatial coordinates.

But since it was a sacred ground of the Ripple mist sect, it was forever anchored to this location and would not move. Thus all they needed to enter it, was an access key or token. Once someone had this, the gate would let them in.

This gate could be in various forms, but Lin Mu did not know what it was for the Ripple Mist sect. 

But after hearing that they were in the sect's Sacred Grounds, Lin Mu understood his previous illusion better.

'So what I was seeing was nothing but the sacred ground because of my spatial perception. The spatial disturbances caused by the heavenly tribulation should have weakened the barriers surrounding it, thus allowing me to peer into it.' Lin Mu thought.

But this gave rise to another question in Lin Mu's mind.

"Wait, if this is the sacred grounds of the sect, why did you never leave it?" Lin Mu asked. "Was it so that you could heal and cultivate?" He added.

"No… I've been looking for ways to exit it for a long time now. Actually, I've been looking for an exit since the very first day I ended up here. But could not find it." Jing Luo answered. "Even the entrance that should have been used by the disciples of the sect is missing for me." 

"What? How's that possible?" Lin Mu questioned.

"I don't know. I think it may have something to do with the spirit tool I detonated." Jing Luo said.

"What kind of a spirit tool was it?" Lin Mu asked, feeling curious.

"Well, if you're my Grandfather's disciples you should have known about the inheritance treasure of our clan." Jing Luo stated.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mu instantly understood what he was talking about.

"The Myriad Armament Canopy Abode…" Lin Mu spoke.

"Exactly, you truly are his disciple." Jing Luo nodded his head.

"Umm… about that…" Lin Mu interrupted him.

"What's the problem?" Jing Luo asked with confusion.

"I think you got one thing wrong… I'm not Jing Wei's disciple." Lin Mu revealed.

"What! How? You should definitely be his disciple. There is no way you would know so much about him and you would not have his short sword either. Grandfather never let me touch it and said that he will only pass it to his final disciple." Jing Luo said, feeling shocked.

"Ehmm… I bought the short sword from him… as for the rest, we just helped each other and got to talk. That's why I know this much." Lin Mu stated.

"This can't be… grandfather would never sell the Short sword, unless… something changed him." Jing Luo said, realizing something.

~Sigh~

Lin Mu sighed and remembered that the man in front of him had been isolated for over fifty years now.

"I guess I should explain everything to you from the start… how I met Jing Wei and Duan Ke." Lin Mu spoke.

Jing Luo nodded, and both of the men sat down to get comfortable. Lin Mu started from the very first day that he had encountered the old dusty shop. He recited each of his meetings and how they found out about the invader. 

Though there were some points that Lin Mu glazed over as they included his secrets as well. By the time he was done, over six hours had passed by and it was now night time. Jing Luo was both amazed and saddened by all that he had heard.

"So grandfather has sealed his cultivation base… and of course they would think I was dead the life light bead I had was destroyed when I came to this place and it does not work across different planes." Jing Luo spoke.

"It's not all bad, though. Old man Jing should recover soon and even Duan Ke should progress a lot. They had gone into seclusion when I last met them and were going to capitalize on the gains they had." Lin Mu stated.

~Sigh~

"What's gone is gone… all we can focus on is the present now." Jing Luo said in a melancholic tone.

But his state did not last long as he realized another important thing he had forgotten in the heat of the events.

"Hang on! You managed to enter this place; then you should know how to leave it too." Jing Luo said, feeling hopeful.

"Oh yeah, we should be able to leave no problem." Lin Mu replied, feeling confident.

He knew the ring could open the portal between the two worlds and even if it was hard at the start, Lin Mu's ring now had the coordinates and should be able to open a portal so that they could return as well.

"Perfect! When's the earliest we can leave?" Jing Luo said, feeling impatient.

'Hmm… plenty of time should have passed by now, and I don't think the sect's experts should be there. It should be fine to open a portal.' Lin Mu thought.

"Alright. Do you need anything? Or do you need to be in the same location you came from?" Jing Luo asked.

"Umm… I guess we should go to the same location I arrived from, just in case. Though we will need to wait for Little Shrubby to wake up." Lin Mu replied.

"Ah… I see." Jing Luo said after looking at Little Shrubby.

"Though if you want to just take a peek I can do that too." Lin Mu said, seeing his disappointed look.

Jing Luo's eyes lit up and it was evident he wanted to see the outside world after so many years. After all, even if this place was a cultivation paradise compared to the outside, it would still get boring after a while.