Chapter 3544: Accelerated Departure

The moment the light of the teleportation array faded, the pressure of the outside world vanished.

Lin Mu felt it immediately.

The crushing gravity on hostile gazes, the imposing killing intent, the strain of maintaining control over a city’s worth of water and swords, all of it was abruptly severed as if a cord had been cut.

The Spatial Channel stretched out around them like a vast, shimmering corridor of distorted light and color. Streams of silver, violet, and pale blue flowed endlessly past, bending and twisting in ways that defied intuition until finally it turned into pitch black darkness of the familiar void.

Before anyone could even comment, Lin Mu reached into his spatial ring.

With a flick of his wrist, the Mobile Courtyard unfolded.

The familiar structure expanded smoothly within the spatial channel, anchoring itself to the surrounding currents. In a breath, the stone flooring, pavilions, and spirit gathering arrays settled into place, forming a stable island amidst the flowing void.

Everyone landed almost at the same time.

For a brief moment, no one spoke.

The only sound was the faint hum of the Spatial Channel and the soft ripple of formation arrays of the courtyard adjusting themselves.

Then Lin Mu sat down.

It was not dramatic as he did not stagger or collapse. He simply lowered himself onto one of the stone benches near the center of the courtyard and let out a slow breath.

That alone was enough to alarm the others.

"Master?" Meng Bai asked quickly, stepping closer. "Are you alright?"

Daoist Chu’s brows knit together as he observed him closely. Elyon’s posture subtly shifted, his senses already scanning Lin Mu for any sign of internal injury. Even the twins, who were still buzzing with leftover battle adrenaline, quieted down.

Only Cattaleya remained relaxed, crossing her arms and leaning against a pillar with an amused expression.

Lin Mu waved a hand lightly. "I’m fine. Just... a bit tired."

The words stunned Meng Bai.

"Tired?" he repeated, disbelief clear in his voice.

He had seen Lin Mu fight countless times. Against cultivators stronger than himself. Against ancient monsters. Against entities that could devastate entire regions. Rarely had he ever seen Lin Mu show visible fatigue, especially after a battle that had lasted barely a few minutes.

"That fight was short," Meng Bai said carefully. "You didn’t even get injured."

Lin Mu nodded. "True. But what I used wasn’t simple."

He leaned back slightly, resting his shoulders against the stone railing.

"I used multiple Dao Skills in rapid succession," he continued. "And not small ones."

His gaze drifted, unfocused, as he replayed the sequence in his mind.

"Gravity on that scale alone requires extreme precision. I wasn’t just crushing a single target. I was controlling the descent, the distribution, and the aftermath. One mistake and the city would have turned into a burial ground."

Daoist Chu inhaled softly.

"And the swords," Lin Mu added. "Controlling that many swords simultaneously with Sword Intent isn’t something that can be done casually. Each blade responds to intent, but maintaining coherence over tens of thousands requires constant mental reinforcement."

Elyon nodded faintly. "And the water."

"Yes." Lin Mu smiled wryly. "Especially the water."

He glanced toward the edge of the courtyard, where faint reflections of flowing light from the Spatial Channel shimmered.

"It wasn’t the volume that drained me," he said. "Water is everywhere. That part is easy. The problem was durability."

Meng Bai tilted his head. "Durability?"

"The dome," Lin Mu explained. "I reinforced it deliberately. Not to trap them, but to ensure the armies couldn’t break through. That meant constantly feeding immortal Qi into it, maintaining cohesion against thousands of impacts and probing attacks."

He paused, then added, "That kind of sustained reinforcement drains more Qi than explosive attacks."

Meng Bai swallowed. "So... how much immortal Qi did you use?"

Lin Mu closed his eyes briefly, checking his internal state. His Dantian still felt vast and stable, the immortal Qi within it rolling calmly, but there was no denying the noticeable dip.

"About twenty percent," he said.

Silence fell over the courtyard.

Even Cattaleya straightened slightly.

"Twenty percent?" Meng Bai echoed, his voice a mix of awe and shock.

They all knew Lin Mu’s reserves were abnormal. Vast to the point of absurdity. For him to use a fifth of his immortal Qi in such a short time was not just impressive, it was terrifying.

"That just shows how intense large scale Dao Skills really are," Daoist Chu murmured.

Elyon could not help but think the same thing.

To pin down an entire city.

To immobilize over a hundred thousand active fighters.

To suppress multiple Seventh Tribulation Stage Immortals.

And to do all of that while deliberately holding back from killing.

If Lin Mu had truly intended to massacre them...

Elyon shook his head internally.

This was not just a cultivator.

This was a walking calamity.

And Lin Mu had not even used his full arsenal.

No Spatial Skills.

No tyrant body techniques.

No full release of his sword skills.

If he had chosen a path of slaughter, the fight would have ended faster and with far less Qi expenditure. Just Afternoon Pine and Ocean Raker alone could have scythed through the city like reapers, leaving nothing alive in their wake.

And that did not even account for his body cultivation.

After the recent changes to his Three Apertures Invoking Technique and the formation of the Essence Meridian Casting Stage, Lin Mu’s physical strength was no longer something that could be measured by conventional standards.

Daoist Chu broke the silence. "You will recover?"

Lin Mu nodded. "Easily. I just need time."

Cattaleya laughed lightly. "Good thing we have plenty of it now."

Her tone was casual, almost playful, as if they had not just forcibly bent three kingdoms and two major sects to their will.

Meng Bai blinked. "Plenty of time?"

"Well," Cattaleya said, shrugging. "No one is going to dare slow us down now."

That thought sent a chill through Meng Bai.

Then another realization struck him.

"Wait," he said, turning to Daoist Chu. "How long will this journey actually take?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.