Unaware of the conversation between the elders and Patriarch Hua, Lin Mu appeared in the space of the ring. Appearing in the dark yet 'starry' space was always a surreal experience.
The silvery streaks of spatial energy continued to move around, fading in and out of existence, while the Ethereal altar's glow could be seen in the distance. The glow was like a long pillar of light that was gently radiating out of the light.
Lin Mu flew towards the altar, knowing that Senior Xukong was waiting for him there. Upon reaching there, Lin Mu saw the strange phenomenon that was taking place there. Or more like he was forced to see it.
The strange aura coming from the altar was hard to miss. Especially the pitch black runes that kept on materializing and turning into thin needles that shot up and disappeared.
"What is going on, senior?" Lin Mu asked.
"I have no idea… but seeing as the altar is possibly doing this and your state before, its likely to be another part of the Nine Divine Heart Sutras." Xukong replied.
Lin Mu furrowed his brows and approached the altar. He was the only one who could actually get close to it, and even Xukong was unable to break through the barrier. It was on an entirely different level and he had no confidence to do it even if he used his main body.
Approaching the barrier, Lin Mu tried to go past, but was unable to.
~thud~
"Huh? Why is it stopping me?" Lin Mu was lost.
The barrier had always existed, but Lin Mu could pass through it with ease. But now he was unable to.
"Is it not ready?" Lin Mu wondered.
He stayed there watching the altar, trying to communicate with it. But even after five minutes of trying, he got no response. The ring too was silent and didn't show any signs of response either.
It only made Lin Mu more confused. He had always been able to get the ring to respond at least on certain level, but this was like ignoring him entirely.
"Seems like it might be preparing something. It's hard to tell what exactly though. It could be both a new skill or the next part of the Nine divine sutras. Since it's not responding to you at all, it might be something not permitted to you right now." Xukong said after analyzing.
"Hmm… it does seem like that." Lin Mu nodded his head.
This was a new aspect of the ring that he was seeing for the first time. The ring had always been mysterious and even Xukong couldn't tell its origins or how it was made. Even with the great power his main body had, he could barely influence it.
At most, Xukong was only able to restrain the spatial fluctuation that always came out of the ring passively.
Lin Mu watched the pitch black runes forming and shooting into the sky for a few more minutes before shaking his head.
'I'll have to wait for when it's ready. But if what I had done earlier is linked to this, then… it might not be something that is easy to use.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
With the power that came with the nine divine sutras, there was also a great cost. The calming heart sutra, the severing heart sutra and the nurturing heart sutras were perhaps the milder of the sutras.
The Burning heart sutra was the perfect example of how terrifying its power could get. Another thing Lin Mu had noticed was that the ring only gave him sutras when it reckoned he could bear it.
For example, Lin Mu guessed that the burning heart sutra was only given to him because he already had the calming heart sutra to balance and control it. He didn't even know what would happen if there was no calming heart sutra.
Lin Mu reckoned that there was a great chance he would end up killing himself if he didn't have it.
'If that pattern stays true… then either I lack the way to counteract this new part, or it is far stronger than what my body can simply bear on its own.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
With this done, Lin Mu had his thoughts on line and decided to take a leave. He took a glance at the grey egg that was calmly resting on a pillow near the barrier and saw that the aura coming from it had increased as well.
"Just wait a bit more little guy, I'll find a way to hatch you…" Lin Mu muttered to himself before leaving the ring.
He had already reached the limits of how long he could stay in the ring, anyway. The more his cultivation base grew and his senses got better, the more Lin Mu understood how inhospitable the environment of the ring was.
The shredded Dao Embryos of the Dao Treading realm Gu Legion members he had sent here had already been eradicated by the spatial energy here.
'Now that I remember it, putting the Dao Embryo's here forcefully was also rather exhausting. It used up quite a bit of my spirit Qi… almost twenty percent.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
This was a massive amount of spirit Qi since he barely needed any for most things. If he was forcing someone into the ring, they would resist and Lin Mu would need to use more spirit Qi.
And since the Dao Embryo was still part of a living person, that too a very strong Dao Treading realm expert, the cost would be equally high. Lin Mu remembered the first time he had to forcefully put a servant in the ring. It had almost drained all of his spirit Qi.
Compared to then it was certainly and improvement.
'Though I now have a way to deal with Dao Treading realm experts too… as long as they reveal their Dao Embryos, I can seal them off here and disable the experts.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
