Lin Mu had been wary of Dugu Shanhe since the start, but didn't expect him to become his toughest adversary so far.
His body couldn't respond and the skill that the man was using could bypass his defenses.
'I have to resist it… I can't have him see my memories…' Lin Mu thought.
"It's useless! I know it all…" Dugu Shanhe said as he 'observed' the memories that were coming from Lin Mu.
The white ribbons were all made up for Lin Mu's memories and were quite concentrated. Each ribbon had hundreds of memories contained within them and the Six Eyes were absorbing them all.
"Oh? So you've been manipulating the fights all this far… I never expected this would be possible." Dugu Shanhe learned one of the first secrets. "And your companions are all involved in it too, no wonder they managed to come so far. You've been assisting them." He said with surprise.
"ARGH!" Lin Mu could only groan in pain though, unable to resist the memory drain.
Second after second passed, as Dugu Shanhe continued to look. In this time, Lin Mu tried to resist using The Nine Divine Heart Sutra but was unable to.
'I can't speak… the sutras don't work.' Lin Mu was restricted by the limitation of the sutras.
Even when he had managed to prevent Dugu Shanhe from looking at his thoughts earlier, it was only through his sheer familiarity with the Calming Heart Sutra and the Severing Heart Sutra. Because of how much he had used them, he could replicate their effects just through his own effort.
And while Lin Mu was trying to figure out a way while suffering in pain, Dugu Shanhe was getting more and more surprised by the minute.
"Your target is Yao Changying? And you were sponsored by the Crown Prince himself!?" Dugu Shanhe had certainly not expected this. 'I thought that he was sponsored by some noble that might be high up, considering he got an easy entry into the palace grounds, but certainly not this…'
Unknowingly, Dugu Shanhe was starting to feel a bit nervous too now. But he couldn't stop looking now. The temptation was simply too irresistible for him.
"They want you to defeat Yao Changying as well as Feng Baxing? A rather tall order… oh? And you're a body cultivator too… no wonder you were able to last this long despite being at the second tribulation stage of the immortal realm." Dugu Shanhe was learning more and more.
"You… should… stop." Lin Mu warned. "It won't end well for you."
"Haha, your threats are useless." Dugu Shanhe replied. "Do you think just because you are being backed by the Crown Prince, you will be able to do anything? After I'm done with this, you'll have no memories of it at all." He mocked Lin Mu.
Lin Mu gritted his teeth and tried his best to resist. But he couldn't do much, as he didn't know where to begin from.
'If only I could use the Nine Divine Heart Sutras without chanting them verbally…' Lin Mu strongly desired it now.
He tried all the sutras one by one, right from the Calming Heart Sutra all the way to the Murdering Heart Sutra which he had restrained from using due to its dangerous implications.
In all this though, Lin Mu realized one thing.
'He's not reading my thoughts directly now… he's focused on the memories.' Lin Mu understood.
He had already thought about the sutras and more, thus if Dugu Shanhe was monitoring his thoughts, he would have already noticed it. After all, he was excitedly speaking about all that he had learned.
Just to confirm it though, Lin Mu tested something out.
'DUGU SHANHE!' Lin Mu shouted out loud in his mind but there was no response from the man. 'This is good… I might be able to make use of it.'
Lin Mu understood that Dugu Shanhe was reading his memories in reverse chronological order.
'I still have time till he reaches the critical memories that contain the biggest secrets,' Lin Mu thought.
He could manage the information about Yao Changying and Feng Baxing getting targeted getting out. Lin Mu was sure that the Crown Prince wouldn't sit still if that was being spread and would act. And seeing how Dugu Shanhe showed some nervousness upon learning that, he was sure that the man was wary of the prince still.
Minute after minute passed as Lin Mu continued to struggle, while Dugu Shanhe read through his memories with great interest.
"You're the Demon too?!" Dugu Shanhe showed shock after learning this. "My, my… you surely have some skills to do all this." The man hadn't expected such a secret.
After all, the transformation Lin Mu underwent was quite astounding.
"Since you stole the Violet Mystic Life tree, you have it right? It'll be fun to get that too." Dugu Shanhe laughed, thinking that it was already within his grasp. "Let's see what else you have hidden…" he went deeper this time.
Lin Mu could see that the man was skipping some of the memories and directly going into deeper ones. The strain on Lin Mu's mind increased as well, with the memories being pulled at a faster speed.
"Oh? What's this… woman… you call her Saintess?" Dugu Shanhe suddenly said, slowing down.
"Stop!" Lin Mu shouted, fury rising in his mind.
"Did I hit a sensitive spot? Let's see what more is there!" Dugu Shanhe started digging further.
He could see the Saintess within Lin Mu's memories as well as the conversations they'd have had. In that, he heard several names too, including the Serpent Moon Sect.
But while he was doing this, the person of interest was aware of it too.
Away in the Hundred Fruits Pavilion, the Saintess looked up at the sky.
A scowl appeared on her face under the veil as she spoke. "A fool that dares tread upon mine and my sect's karma." The Saintess spoke. "You should stop before you commit an unforgivable sin." Her voice transcending the very space itself.
