Lin Mu kept on walking and following his connection with the Brown Shrubby forest cat. Fifteen minutes had passed, after which he finally discovered a pattern. He realized that while the location of the Brown Shrubby forest cat changed, his own actually stayed the same.
He tried marking the ground where he walked and discovered this. He thought that the Brown Shrubby forest cat was actually moving around that much, but after a few more tests he realized that it wasn't true either.
'Hmm, I need to start over…' Lin Mu thought to himself as he walked straight ignoring the change and returned to the starting place.
Now Lin Mu had another idea which he wanted to try out. Lin Mu entered the formation array but did not take another step forward. Instead, he turned back and started walking. It seemed as if he was leaving the formation array, but the opposite happened.
The scenery that was in front of him was supposed to move closer as he walked towards it, but what happened was that the more he walked the farther it got.
Still, Lin Mu did not panic as he knew that his idea seemed to be the correct one. His connection with the Brown Shrubby forest cat told him that it was in front of him and was not changing locations anymore.
Lin Mu kept on walking, and five minutes later appeared in a new area. The scene in front of him suddenly changed from that of the starting area and new trees appeared there. He looked back and saw that the starting area was now behind him, in the distance.
"Yes! I crossed it." Lin Mu exclaimed.
"Good, you figured it out. You found the right method to cross the formation array without even breaking it." Xukong praised.
"Thank you, senior." Lin Mu said in a grateful tone before continuing, "but Senior, what do you mean by breaking it?"
"Well, the most common method used by cultivators who are not proficient in formations is to break them with brute force. This involves overwhelming the limits of the formation with spirit qi and destabilizing it. Though this method comes with its risks and can be dangerous. Some formation masters even lay traps that take advantage of this method and harm the cultivators that try to break the formation with brute force." Xukong explained.
Lin Mu thought over Senior Xukong's explanation and wondered if he would have been able to attempt this.
"Can I do this senior? I mean, if the situation so arises," Lin Mu asked.
"You've already done it before, actually. When you opened the portal to the Myriad armament Canopy abode, that was actually a type of brute force method as you overwhelmed its limitations and opened the gate. Though the formation was able to recover due to being a pseudo immortal tool." Xukong answered.
Lin Mu nodded in understanding and started looking around the area. The surroundings were pretty much similar to the previous area, except that the concentration of the spirit qi in the area was slightly higher.
'Hmm, this is strange? Is this due to the formation array, or something else?' Lin Mu wondered.
Lin Mu sensed his connection with the Brown Shrubby Forest Cat and walked towards that direction. He could sense that it was coming from behind a patch of densely packed trees. This patch was blocked by overgrown shrubs and vines that interwove with the trees, creating a natural blockade that made it impossible for Lin Mu to proceed.
"This is even more strange. Why are there so many plants grown together here?" Lin Mu said as he then gestured with his hand.
The short sword that was on his back flew out and slashed at the trees and the shrubs, butting them apart and making way for him. When the blockade was cleared, Lin Mu finally saw what was behind it.
He appeared in a small clearing that had a few trees growing in the center. And among these trees, the Brown Shrubby Forest Cat stood. Lin Mu walked towards it and saw the thing he came for here.
"The Dual Circle Ascension Vine!" Lin Mu exclaimed.
On one of the trees, the Dual Circle Ascension Vine was growing. It grew from the ground in a pair of vines and wrapped around the trunk as it grew upwards. It had reached the middle part of the trunk and had many large leaves growing from its vines.
Lin Mu could also feel the faint waves of spirit qi arising from the vine.
"Indeed, this is the Dual Circle Ascension Vine," Xukong confirmed.
Lin Mu kneeled and stroked the head of the Brown Shrubby Forest Cat.
"Thank you" He expressed through the connection.
~Nyaa~
The Brown Shrubby Forest Cat purred in pleasure as it enjoyed the act.
Lin Mu stood up and went to inspect the Dual Circle Ascension Vine. He extended his spirit sense and scanned it with it. Upon doing so, his eyes lit up as he found his goal.
"There are some fruits!" Lin Mu said with joy as he lifted the large leaves of the vine.
He saw the small fruits of the Dual Circle Ascension Vine that looked more like berries. There were about eleven of them growing on the vine and they were hidden because of the leaves of the Dual Circle Ascension Vine.
The fruits were orange colored and were oval shaped. Thin veins were visible on its surface that spread all around the fruit.
"This is unusual…" Xukong suddenly spoke.
"Huh? What do you mean, Senior?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Hmm… there are far too many fruits growing on the vine considering the environment of this area. The spirit qi in this area is simply not enough for it to be able to grow so many fruits. Another thing is that… if there were so many fruits growing on it, why did the Brown Shrubby Forest Cat or any other beast eat them yet?" Xukong replied.
After hearing Senior Xukong's concerns, Lin Mu too wondered why it was like this. He extended his hand towards the fruits and was just about to touch them when he suddenly heard the Brown Shrubby Forest Cat in his mind.
"Danger"
