Chapter 3103: Wary Of Spatial Master And A Path Forward

Everyone stared at the key for a minute before Daoist Chu spoke.

"Can I take a look?" He asked.

"Sure." Lin Mu slid the key across the table.

Daoist Chu took it carefully in his hands, his immortal sense probing.

His brows furrowed as he traced the invisible paths of the arrays. With Lin Mu’s prior unraveling, the layers were now visible, no longer masked under the original veil. Still, his expression betrayed his respect for the craftsmanship.

"I must admit," Daoist Chu said at last, "even with the protections undone, this is beyond me. If you had handed me this in its original state, I would not even know where to begin. These are formations at a level only achievable by a cultivator who has not only studied formations for tens of thousands of years, but who also possesses an innate understanding of space itself."

Grand Elder Huo finally spoke, his voice calm and authoritative. "That is to be expected. Unless one has affinity with the Spatial Dao, they would find such work impossible to comprehend. Even seasoned formation masters would be thwarted."

His words made Meng Bai stiffen.

The young man’s hand trembled slightly against the table. He swallowed and voiced the very thought that had been gnawing at Lin Mu since the first time he examined the key.

"What if..." Meng Bai began slowly, his voice low, "they have a Spatial Cultivator in their ranks? Not just a cultivator, but one who is also a formation master. What if such a person is actively helping them?"

The room fell quiet. The faint crackle of the oil lamps filled the silence. Even Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang seemed to still, their beady eyes watching.

Lin Mu glanced at Meng Bai. He had thought the same.

The possibility was not something to be dismissed lightly. A spatial master with formation expertise was one of the rarest and most dangerous combinations in existence. Such a person could design arrays that masked entire sects, alter dimensional layers, or even distort the reality itself.

Grand Elder Huo finally broke the silence. His eyes, sharp despite his age, settled on Meng Bai. "Unlikely."

Meng Bai blinked. "Unlikely? But this key—"

"Yes, the key bears the signature of one who had mastery of space," Grand Elder Huo interrupted. "However, we know of only one such Spatial Master who was ever affiliated with the Hidden Cave Sect. This was long ago, during the era of the great war."

"Then they..." Meng Bai leaned forward, tense. "Did they die?"

The elder shook his head. "No. They are alive... or at least were back then."

The air grew heavier at those words.

Lin Mu felt the others’ nervous energy ripple through the room. If such a master still existed, and if they were aiding the sect, then the threats they faced might escalate to catastrophic proportions.

But Grand Elder Huo raised a hand, calming them before panic could set in.

"Their survival does not mean their allegiance. Understand this clearly. The records indicate that the Spatial Master was never a core member of the Hidden Cave Sect. They were... hired help.

A contractor, nothing more.

Their services were likely commissioned to construct the sect’s hidden base and its protective arrays. Once the work was complete, they departed."

Daoist Chu exhaled, visibly relieved.

Cattaleya tapped a finger against the table, her voice sharp but thoughtful. "That makes sense. Spatial Masters are notoriously difficult to bind to a sect. Their skills are too valuable. They can find better rewards anywhere in the world. Why would they tie themselves to a declining, embattled sect when sects, clans, and empires would pay fortunes for their service?"

Grand Elder Huo nodded in agreement. "Precisely. Such individuals do not pledge loyalty to weak sects. They sell their skill and move on. That was the case here. Furthermore, there were no records of this Spatial Master ever joining the war effort on the side of the Hidden Cave Sect. They played no offensive role. This strongly suggests they left once the political climate grew unstable."

The tension in the room eased slightly, though Lin Mu noted that unease still lingered in Meng Bai’s eyes. He could not fault him, after all he was the one who taught the boy to be cautious and look for the worst.

The presence of such expertise, even if only in remnants from the past, was troubling.

Lin Mu folded his arms, his mind returning to the key. "Even so, the fact remains. Someone of immense skill created this. That means their hideout is built upon layers of spatial distortion and formations we cannot underestimate. If this is merely the security on the key, then what lies beyond may be far more treacherous."

Cattaleya leaned forward, her voice low, her words cutting like a blade. "Which means when we step into their den, we must expect to be walking into the jaws of a beast already prepared for intruders."

No one disagreed.

"So what’s the plan?" Daoist Chu asked.

"There’s three paths I thought of," Lin Mu said, raising three fingers. "First, we can set up an independent teleportation Array somewhere safe, and then add the coordinates, teleporting directly to their base from afar." He stated. "Though there will be several obstacles we’ll have to tackle too."

"Hmm... What’s the second?" Grand Elder Hui asked.

"Secondly, we could use it the way it was intended to, go near their base and then use the key." Lin Mu replied. "Probably the easiest one, but they might detect us before hand." he added.

"What’s the third?" Cattaleya asked next.

"We don’t use the key or teleportation at all." Lin Mu said much to her confusion. "Instead, we go near their base, and I track down a node and rip a rift open for us to use directly. They won’t be able to stop us with arrays that way."

Hearing this, a smirk appeared on Cattaleya’s face.

"I like the sound of that." She said, flashing her canines.

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.