Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 3812: Exploring The Peak

The more Lin Mu explored, the more freedom he discovered.

Most courtyards stood empty and many buildings contained only one or two occupants. Large portions of the mountain appeared completely abandoned. Eventually he realized something important.

Even if someone encountered him wandering around at night, they likely would not care.

The culture of the Wild Peak simply wasn’t restrictive as people came and went freely. There were no curfews, patrols or any kind of monitoring. Compared to the Administrative Division, it felt almost lawless.

And for Lin Mu? That was excellent news.

Standing atop a distant cliff hidden among giant trees, he gazed across the enormous mountain under the moonlight. This was only his first night. Yet he could already tell that infiltrating the sect had become far easier than expected.

A few hours passed as Lin Mu continued exploring the Wild Peak under the cover of night.

By now he had already gained a decent understanding of the areas where most of the disciples and elders resided. The mountain range was vast enough that even after several hours of movement he had only seen a fraction of it.

Still, he had learned enough to conclude that the Wild Peak offered a level of freedom that no sect divisions could match.

There were no patrols stopping disciples from moving around at night. No strict checkpoints. No elders questioning why someone was wandering through the forests at odd hours. The members of the Wild Peak seemed to value strength and self sufficiency above all else.

If a disciple wished to spend an entire month hunting beasts in the mountains, no one would care. If they vanished into a cave for cultivation, no one would bother them. Such an environment suited Lin Mu perfectly.

Yet after exploring the residential areas and training grounds, he realized there was little more to gain from staying within the Wild Peak itself tonight.

The real objective remained the same: The vault. Every piece of information he gathered could potentially bring him one step closer to finding it.

Lin Mu stopped atop a rocky outcropping hidden among towering trees. The moonlight filtered through the massive canopy overhead, casting long shadows across the forest floor. Making sure no one was nearby, he took out a jade slip from his storage ring.

A pulse of qi entered it and immediately, a map unfolded before him in the form of a floating projection. It depicted the Heavenly Stream Guardian World, or rather, an approximation of it. Lin Mu carefully studied the image.

The map had been one of Lady Kang’s most valuable contributions before he departed. Gathering information about a sect that controlled an entire world was no simple task. The Great Kang Clan had spent years accumulating fragments of information from merchants, travelers, retired disciples, wandering immortals, and countless other sources.

None of them possessed a complete map and even actual members of the sect lacked access to comprehensive records. Only specific divisions and high ranking elders were granted detailed maps of their own regions.

Everything else remained restricted.

As such, the map before Lin Mu resembled a puzzle assembled from thousands of scattered pieces. Still, it was invaluable and he focused on the Inner Court Continent. The image expanded as mountain ranges, cities, major divisions, forbidden zones, transport routes, large rivers, forests and numerous more locations appeared.

The Wild Peak occupied a surprisingly large section of territory near the western of the continent. Even then, it represented only a small fraction of the Inner Court. Lin Mu compared the map with the terrain he had observed during the evening.

A few corrections immediately became apparent. Several valleys were missing, certain forests extended much farther than indicated and a handful of structures had been inaccurately marked.

Lin Mu began mentally recording everything. When he returned later, he could update the map properly. After all, information itself held value. Especially information concerning a sect as powerful as the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect.

His gaze soon shifted away from the Wild Peak as several locations quickly drew his attention. Two major forbidden zones existed on the Inner Court Continent, unfortunately, both were extremely far away.

Visiting them immediately would be difficult.

Several minor forbidden zones, however, were much closer and one in particular stood out.

"Emperor Rock..." Lin Mu muttered softly.

The name sounded simple, almost mundane, yet the history attached to it was anything but ordinary.

Lin Mu recalled the information Lady Kang had gathered.

Long ago, during the expansion of the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect, many powers had resisted their advance like kingdoms, clans, sects and of course empires. Most eventually surrendered and some merged with the sect while others fled.

But a few chose annihilation over submission. And among them had been an Immortal Emperor whose name had vanished from history. Even the empire he ruled no longer existed in any record available to ordinary people.

Only fragments remained and among them was the story of his final battle. Apparently, the emperor had fought until the very end and when defeat became inevitable, he activated something.

A forbidden technique, a cursed treasure, or perhaps both. No one knew anymore, but whatever it had been, the result remained. The battlefield became contaminated by a terrifying curse and those present during the final moments perished.

The land itself transformed and as centuries passed, the cursed energy remained. Eventually the area became classified as a forbidden zone.

Lin Mu found the story interesting.

More importantly, it sounded exactly like the type of location where hidden secrets might remain buried. The vault could be anywhere. There was no reason to assume it would be located inside some administrative building or heavily guarded treasury.

In fact, a hidden inheritance was far more likely to be concealed somewhere people avoided. Forbidden zones naturally fit that description, so Lin Mu examined the map carefully.

Emperor Rock lay roughly eight hundred kilometers away.

For an ordinary disciple, that represented a significant journey and for Lin Mu under normal circumstances, it would take moments. Unfortunately, the Abyssal Horizon Veil Seal prevented him from openly using his cultivation.

Flying there himself would be problematic.

But thankfully, there were alternatives.