The pair from the Serene Glass Valley had originally thought to struggle till the end. But after seeing Lin Mu's abilities they decided against it. Instead, they chose to lose the battle honorably.
But before that, the two hoped to talk with Lin Mu a little. At the very least, they wished to get acquainted with him. After all, Lin Mu seemed to be a Second tribulation Stage immortal on the outside.
There weren't many cultivators like this that could battle a pair of Fourth Tribulation Stage immortal and a Third Tribulation Stage immortal like this and defeat them. Thus they at least wanted to get to know such a capable person.
Even if Lin Mu might have been assisted by another cultivator and a beast, it still didn't change the fact that he was the one who had blocked their combined attack.
If they couldn't fulfill their elder's wishes themselves, they could at least have a strong immortal as an acquaintance. After all, having more acquaintances was better than enemies. And their battle wasn't one to the death and neither was out of enmity. It was just a competition.
At first, they weren't even sure whether Lin Mu would talk to them or not. They also expected him to attack right away and wiped them out. It was something that was understandable and was something they might have done too.
But after thinking it over, they had decided to try talking to him. And when they did the pair were surprised to hear Lin Mu's words.
"You know about us?" the Third Tribulation Stage Immortal woman asked in surprise.
"Yes, the crest." Lin Mu pointed. "It is of the Serene Glass Valley, is it not?" he spoke.
"Daoist Mu Lin is correct." The man replied. "I am Shuijing Ju of the Serene Glass Valley." He introduced himself.
"And I'm Shuijing Mingzhu." The woman replied as well.
"I'll remember you two. Your strengths are also good. Your talismanic Formations in particular are impressive. I can see you've worked towards optimizing the efficiency of Immortal Qi consumption." Lin Mu said, much to their surprise.
"You could tell?" Shuijing Mingzhu asked about the compliment.
While there were many that complemented her ability with formations, it wasn't every day that she could hear someone compliment her characteristics about it.
'Only those that are well versed with formations would even be able to tell that. This means…' Shuijing Mingzhu looked at Lin Mu with intrigue.
"I am a formation master myself." Lin Mu replied.
"So you really are… And yet you used Qi skills and your sword for a battle against us.' Shuijing Mingzhu said in a confused tone.
"Well… My path in the formations is a bit different." Lin Mu said before letting out the aura of his Dao Embryo.
~shua~
The complex aura of the Rune Shaping brush Dao embryo was spread out, allowing both Shuijing Mingzhu and Shuijing Ju to feel it. While only Shuijing Mingzhu was a formation master among the two, it didn't mean that Shuijing Ju was not knowledgeable about them.
Having lived in the Serene Glass Valley all his life, he knew several formation masters and had learned some too.
'This aura… It's almost the same as Second Elder…' Shuijing Ju was surprised.
"Dao Traces?" Shuijing Mingzhu was stunned. "No, wait… You're taking the path of the Formations as a Dao!" she quickly recognized.
"Perhaps." Lin Mu didn't reveal anything.
But that alone was enough for Shuijing Mingzhu to get excited.
"You have to come to Serene Glass Valley!" She suddenly said before taking out an identity tablet. "Please take this!" she held it out.
"Huh?" Lin Mu was confused by her actions.
The woman's senior brother was also surprised, especially when he saw the tablet.
"Junior sister, are you sure?" Shuijing Ju asked with concern.
"Yes! I think Daoist Mu Lin can assist the elder." Shuijing Mingzhu said with confidence.
"Very well… Daoist Mu Lin would you give us the honor of being our guest?" Shuijing Ju asked.
"Umm…" Lin Mu didn't expect to be given an invitation all of a sudden like this.
"Of course, this is not immediate. You can come when the tournament is done. I assure you the Serene Glass Valley will welcome you honorably." Shuijing Mingzhu tried to convince him.
"Hmm, alright." Lin Mu decided to take it. 'Maybe I'll get to see more of their weapons and formations.' He thought.
The glass weapons that Shuijing Ju had used were made using a method that Lin Mu didn't know about. As for the talismanic formations that Shuijing Mingzhu was using, it was rather unique too.
Plus having heard that the Serene Glass Valley had made Peak Grade Immortal weapon for the Dao Wind Empire, Lin Mu also get a desire to see just what they were like.
"Thank you for accepting." The pair of man and woman said.
"I don't know when exactly I might come after the tournament, though." Lin Mu stated.
"It is fine. You can take your time." Shuijing Mingzhu replied.
"Okay then." Lin Mu said, before sensing a few presences that were getting close. "As much as I'd like to talk more, I think there are a few guests arriving soon."
"Of course.' Shuijing Ju nodded. "Our defeat is long due." The man said before taking out his token.
Shuijing Mingzhu did the same before both of them shattered it in their hands.
~CRACK~CRACK~
"I hope to see you soon," Shuijing Mingzhu said before turning into a flash of light.
Shuijing Ju disappeared as well, leaving Lin Mu alone for the time being.
"Is everything alright, Brother Mu Lin?" Ming Aolian asked through the communication Jade Slip.
"Yes… everything is fine." Lin Mu replied.
"What were you doing?" Ming Dandan questioned. "Were you talking to them?"
"Yeah… I seem to have gotten an invitation." Lin Mu gazed at the identity token in his hand.
One side of the token had the name of Shuijing Mingzhu, and the other side had the name Serene Glass Valley imprinted on it.
"You were invited?" Both Ming Aolian and Ming Dandan were surprised to hear that.
"I didn't expect it either." Lin Mu shook his head. "Though what we can expect now is several immortals coming our way." He quickly added.
Lin Mu's conventions with Shuijing Mingzhu and Shuijing Ju hadn't taken more than three minutes, and yet it was enough for a few daring immortals to come closer. They were still about five kilometers away, but Lin Mu could still sense them.
Some of the tried to hide in the topography, while some were using items or skills to do the same.
After all, these were all cultivators who had survived for over three weeks now. They hadn't done that by sheer luck. They had done it by taking caution. Even if they had strength, they could still be ambushed by overwhelming numbers.
Thus it was better for them to be careful.
But to Lin Mu, their locations were easily exposed.
'Though some can hide their cultivation bases well enough.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
"How many are coming?" Ming Aolian asked next.
"At least ten." Lin Mu furrowed his brows as he counted their numbers. "Six at the Fourth Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm, the rest at the Third Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm." He observed.
Hearing this, the eyes of the Ming Sisters went wide.
"Should we get ready for combat?" they asked.
"Yes… I think it is time to gather up now. The attack earlier was basically a beacon. Everyone should have seen it and they'll be heading to check." Lin Mu knew they would have to change up their plans of ambushing.
"Alright." But the Ming sisters were not discouraged.
After all they knew that this was something that was bound to happen. They had been prepared to fight outright from the start anyways. Lin Mu's plans had only allowed them to conserve their strength so that they could last longer.
Not just that, but he had also allowed their beasts to be healed and save their energies. Now that a true battle was approaching, there was no way they would back down. Especially after seeing Lin Mu block a great attack for them, they felt a fire within them.
They felt that they were lacking and needed to be stronger than they were. With all the help that they had been given, they felt like they had let down Lin Mu with how they had performed.
"Lu Xu, Qian Wen, get ready. It's time for the true all-out battle." Lin Mu also informed the others.
"We're already prepared!" Lu Xu said with confidence.
"Gather up. We'll give them a little surprise." Lin Mu said, before taking out a few items.
Lu Xu and Qian Wen quickly flew over to his position while the Ming sisters checked on their tamed beasts. Lin Mu on the other hand, was setting up a few formation components.
'It should help us fight better…' He thought to himself.
