After Lin Mu went to get the supplies for the journey, which mostly consisted of maps and some records, since actual resources were not really needed for him, Elder Pigu and Hua Langya let out a breath.
~huu~
They started breathing heavily, and it seemed like they had just been through a tough situation. Only after five minutes did they manage to catch their breaths.
"Supreme elder… that—" Elder Pigu wanted to say something but was interrupted.
"STOP! Hold your tongue! Do… Not… Speak a word!" Hua Langya said in a strict tone.
Elder Pigu quickly held his mouth and stopped.
"There are some things that are best not said. Don't ever talk about that and it's best if you forget it." Hua Langya stated. "It is not something we are qualified to even know about." He added.
"I… understand Supreme elder." Elder Pigu said with his head lowered.
***
Unaware that something had even happened, Lin Mu met with a couple of disciples that handed him the needed records.
"This should be enough for you, senior Lin Mu. And if you need anything more, please don't hesitate to ask." The female disciple said with a smile.
"Sure." Lin Mu replied before the disciple left.
With her gone, Lin Mu closed his eyes and spoke, "did you do something senior?"
"I may have… nothing happened though, it was just a little joke." Xukong replied.
Lin Mu furrowed his brows, but didn't know what to say at first.
"Alright… if they're fine, then it should be okay." Lin Mu said at the end.
To him, if senior Xukong had done something, there must have been some reason behind it; even if he said that it was just a joke.
Lin Mu focused on the records instead and read up on the information about the area that he was gonna head to. He also checked the maps and got the sense of the location.
'The distance is reasonable, but it is the obstacles in between that will delay us. Hopefully, I can just avoid them.' Lin Mu thought.
On the map, Lin Mu could see several areas that were marked as being dangerous. While they weren't forbidden areas, they were still areas of concern due to being nests of some beasts or having dangerous topography.
Most of these weren't really problems for cultivators, depending on their cultivation bases. For example, for a Qi refining realm cultivator, a mountain might be a problem, but the same for a core condensation realm cultivator would be easy to cross since they would be able to fly over it.
The same could be said with the beasts. If one had a strong cultivation base, the beasts were just some leeks on a chopping block.
Still, Lin Mu didn't underestimate them and ensure that he knew as much about them beforehand and even cross-reference it with the other records he had. By the time he was done with all this, Hua Yi finally arrived.
"Senior Lin Mu," Hua Yi greeted with cupped hands.
Lin Mu turned around and looked at the man. Hua Yi was middle aged and was far older than Lin Mu or even Jing Luo. Lin Mu checked the man with his spirit sense and realized that his cultivation base had been elevated slightly.
"Oh? Seems like you have had some gains in the Kong Plane." Lin Mu spoke.
"Indeed, senior. It's all thanks to you." Hua Yi replied.
"You had to have worked hard to gain this. No need to be humble." Lin Mu replied, to which Hua Yi nodded his head.
"So, supreme elder informed me that we are heading to the second border?" Hua Yi asked.
"Indeed. We are going to get some spirit herbs." Lin Mu spoke.
"I see. I've been there before. Most recently, to gather some spirit herbs for supreme elder's condition, so I can definitely take you there." Hua Yi said with confidence.
"Very well. We shall head there then. But first, I need to get something." Lin Mu replied.
"Oh? What are we waiting for?" Hua Yi asked.
"Something that will help us get there in less than a day." Lin Mu replied, prompting Hua Yi to feel surprised.
"What is it?" Hua Yi asked, feeling curious.
Lin Mu didn't speak, but just stood there with a smile. A few seconds later, a figure could be seen approaching from the distance.
"You should have said it earlier. I had it ready for the most part, but just needed to add some final touches." Jing Luo said upon landing.
"I knew you could handle it on short notice." Lin Mu said with a chuckle.
"Still… I wanted to add a few more things. Guess we can do that later." Jing Luo replied.
"Just the basics are enough for now." Lin Mu said, making Hua Yi even more curious.
"Go on now, call him." Jing Luo prompted.
Hua Yi looked on in confusion, until he saw a red blur appear next to Lin Mu. He took a step back, but then understood that it was just Little Shrubby.
"What did you get?" Little Shrubby asked, though the others only heard a growl.
"Give it," Lin Mu said to Jing Luo.
The man nodded and took out an object from his spatial storage treasure. Little Shrubby saw it and felt pleased.
"A harness?" Hua Yi realized.
"Indeed." Jing Luo nodded his head. "The old one wasn't really something that can take more than a single person. Plus, it was getting weak due to being strained all the time." He added.
~grrr~
Little Shrubby withdrew the old harness which appeared on his body. Lin Mu swiftly took it off and put on the new one. The latest harness was more appropriate for Little Shrubby's larger body.
After all, compared to when Lin Mu got the first harness, Little Shrubby's size had increased by over twice. Even with the adjustable straps, it was already reaching the limits of what the harness could handle.
If Little Shrubby increased his speed by a little more, the harness might just snap from the force. Plus, with the new one, another person could also sit on the back if needed; which earlier was not possible since Little Shrubby was smaller too.
