Lin Mu heard the introduction of the three men and found them to be quite unique.
'None of them use their surnames huh… they are either trying to stay independent of their clan name or are hiding it.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
At the very least, Lin Mu could tell that they were all from different clans. They might have been close as brothers, but weren't related by blood.
'I guess they might be worth keeping note of later…' Lin Mu felt a little interested in them.
"May we ask, where you are going through Senior?" Iron Fan Zhang questioned.
"To the Blood Strewn Plains." Lin Mu answered.
"That place?!" Spear Arm Kuji was surprised.
"You shouldn't go there right now. We heard that there's someone slaughtering everyone that gets close to that place." Axe Back Cuno added.
"What?" Lin Mu furrowed his brows. "Where did you hear that?"
"There were several cultivators who were coming from there. They were retreating and didn't even stop when we tried to talk to them. Only a single person seemed to be speaking to himself mindlessly about a killer there." Iron Fan Zhang explained.
Hearing this Lin Mu was intrigued.
'For someone to make several immortals retreat like that… they must be strong.' Lin Mu felt like taking a look.
He had confidence in his defense as well as his ability to escape.
"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for them." Lin Mu stated.
"You're still going there?" Axe Back Cuno replied in shock.
"Just single person killing doesn't mean that one should shy away from a challenge." Lin Mu said before flying up. "Though it might be best if you three retreat. You all need to train a lot more." He said before disappearing.
The three mercenaries were a bit baffled seeing Lin Mu leave just like that.
"Did he really go despite the warning?" Axe Back Cuno asked.
"Yep, he did…" Spear Arm Kuji replied.
"Though with his strength… he might just be fine." Iron Fan Zhang stated. "This is what we need to strive to reach." He added.
"Yes!" Kuji and Cuno replied together.
A few kilometer away from the three mercenaries, Lin Mu had no idea he had inspired them to train harder.
Though he was pleased that he had paused to help them, as he had not only obtained the crystal with the baleful energy but also learned that there was someone killing people at the Blood Strewn Plains.
'For them to kill everyone entering the plains means there is something really valuable there.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
Only a few things could be so valuable that the person desiring it would kill everyone else. After all, this was the Desolate Blood Battlefield, and there were people from many powers here.
Mindlessly killing so many meant that they were bound to kill someone from a strong backing. It would open them up to becoming a target and be pursued for a long time.
'Either they are really confident in their strength, or that the object they have found is really worth the price of offending so many people.' Lin Mu analyzed.
It made him wonder if the reason behind this was a Immortal Stone mine.
"It certainly would make sense for someone to act like that for an Immortal Stone mine, especially if it's a high grade one or better." Xukong chimed in.
"You really think it might be one like that?" Lin Mu asked.
"It is certainly one of the more valid options. If not that, it could be a herb or fruit that is as valuable as that." Xukong replied. "That Immortal Juo did say that the Blood Strewn Plains are rich in body cultivation resources. Considering how that person is killing everyone, we can assume that they too are one, and the technique they use might have turned them blood thirsty." He explained.
"Hmm…. I see." Lin Mu immediately started to think of potential methods that could be used to deal with a person like that.
But no amount of preparation would be good, unless he knew exactly how strong that person was.
"Guess reconnaissance it is first." Lin Mu muttered to himself.
"I'll help you too. I'll still be faster than them." Little Shrubby added.
"Mmhmm, that's an option too." Lin Mu rubbed Little Shrubby's head.
The master and beast continued their travels, and during this Lin Mu took a look at the crystal he had obtained from the strange rock creature.
He observed it for a while and confirmed that it did contain a lot of baleful energy. This was also the reason why the rock creature had become stronger than the others.
'Though it's still weak…' Lin Mu realized. 'With the amount of baleful energy that is within this crystal, even killing a third Tribulation Stage Immortal realm expert shouldn't be an issue. But that rock creature was still having a hard time fighting the three mercenaries who were only at the First Tribulation Stage.' He thought deeply.
After some time, he came to the conclusion that the rock creature might not have fully 'adapted' to the power of the crystal.
This made Lin Mu keep an eye out for any more rock creatures, though he didn't come across anymore even after a week had passed. But he did end up finding two Blood Essence Crystals in this duration.
The Blood Vein compass was always active with Lin Mu, and would point out whenever he was near some place that was rich in baleful energies. This brought the total number of Blood Essence crystals Lin Mu had to three.
Another two weeks passed, after which Lin Mu finally came across a rock creature.
"Wait, Little Shrubby." Lin Mu asked.
~SHUA~
Little Shrubby did a spin and slowed down, allowing Lin Mu to take a better look.
The rock creature in question was even bigger than the one that was attacking the three mercenaries. But that wasn't all, as the Blood Vein compass was going crazy at this time.
"The needle keeps on twitching… it's certainly strong." Lin Mu muttered to himself.
