latelenovela Chapter 1020: A Man Named Lin Mu
Chapter 1020: A Man Named Lin Mu
Han Yu’s heart nearly stopped.
For the first time in many years, genuine danger surged through his mind so intensely that even his soul trembled slightly. It was not fear born from battle or pressure. Han Yu had faced Dao Treading realm cultivators before. He had stood before the Ancestors of the Blood Sect and even manipulated the entire sect from the shadows for years.
Yet none of those moments had made him feel like this.
This man had looked at him once and immediately seen through something no one else in the world should have known.
Han Yu instinctively took half a step back.
The three women immediately noticed the reaction.
Qing Luan frowned first.
"Han Yu?" she called out in confusion.
Xuan Qing also looked startled. Han Yu was always calm and calculating. Even when things became dangerous he usually remained composed. Seeing him react this way instantly alarmed her.
Madam Cold Fang narrowed her eyes sharply.
The atmosphere around the river suddenly became tense.
The lantern lights reflected softly across the flowing water while the distant sounds of the night market continued normally, completely unaware of the dangerous silence that had formed here.
Then the women finally processed the man’s earlier words.
"Interesting soul?" Qing Luan repeated slowly.
"What does that mean?" Xuan Qing asked while looking toward Han Yu.
The man however simply observed them calmly. His gaze finally swept across the entire group properly this time.
Han Yu noticed something strange immediately.
The man’s eyes seemed extraordinarily clear.
Too clear.
As though nothing in the world could truly hide from them.
Then Lin Mu spoke again casually.
"A Dao Comprehension Stage Dao Treading realm cultivator, a Peak Nascent Soul realm cultivator and two Infant Soul Stage Nascent Soul realm cultivators." He paused briefly before smiling faintly. "Quite a surprising group."
The moment those words left his mouth... All four of them became alert instantly.
Even Madam Cold Fang’s expression changed completely.
Han Yu’s eyes narrowed sharply.
No one should have been capable of identifying their cultivation bases this accurately. Qing Luan and Xuan Qing were understandable. They had only recently entered the Nascent Soul realm. A sufficiently strong cultivator could potentially sense them.
Han Yu himself was still only at the Peak Nascent Soul realm too.
But Madam Cold Fang?
That was impossible.
She was a Peak Dao Treading realm cultivator at the Dao Comprehension Stage.
If she concealed her aura willingly, even Dao Shell realm experts would struggle to perceive her properly. Yet this seemingly mortal man had identified her cultivation effortlessly. The four of them exchanged quick glances.
Every instinct they possessed screamed that something was wrong.
Madam Cold Fang spoke first.
"You..." she said slowly while stepping slightly in front of the others. "Who are you?"
Cold ice Qi quietly gathered around her fingertips already. The temperature near the river instantly dropped as thin frost began forming along the stone pathway beneath her feet.
Yet Lin Mu showed absolutely no reaction to the pressure.
Instead, he casually scratched the red cat’s chin while replying calmly.
"You can call me Lin Mu."
His tone remained completely relaxed. As though speaking with four highly dangerous cultivators was no different from having an ordinary conversation. Even the cat sitting on his shoulder remained lazy and calm.
"How did you know our cultivation?" Madam Cold Fang asked coldly.
"It’s not hard," Lin Mu answered simply.
Qing Luan’s eyes narrowed.
"You seem to be a mortal and you can tell our cultivation bases?" she asked suspiciously. "Are you joking?"
Lin Mu looked mildly amused.
"I never claimed to be mortal."
The group fell silent briefly.
They quickly realized they truly had made assumptions earlier.
From the beginning... The man himself had never actually said anything about being mortal.
It was simply what they concluded after sensing nothing from him. Madam Cold Fang’s vigilance rose sharply now. She quietly spread her spirit sense toward Lin Mu once more and Han Yu did the same.
But they sensed nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
The man’s body felt empty.
No Qi.
No dantian.
No cultivation fluctuations.
It almost felt like probing empty air itself.
Yet somehow... That very emptiness felt even more terrifying.
Madam Cold Fang finally acted directly. Her spirit sense condensed sharply and pierced toward Lin Mu’s body, intending to inspect his dantian personally. She was a Dao Comprehension Stage, Dao Treading Realm expert.
Very few people in the Blood Continent could resist such probing openly.
Yet the moment her spirit sense touched beneath Lin Mu’s skin...
BOOM!
Madam Cold Fang’s eyes widened instantly.
Her spiritual probe rebounded violently as though it had struck an endless ocean. The recoil surged straight back through her consciousness. She staggered backward half a step while the ice Qi around her momentarily destabilized.
Her breathing even became slightly uneven.
"This..." she muttered in shock.
Han Yu’s expression turned grave instantly.
’If even Madam Cold Fang was affected this way...’ He was scared.
This man was far more dangerous than he originally thought.
Lin Mu however merely glanced at Madam Cold Fang casually.
"You should not probe others so forcefully," he said calmly. "It’s somewhat rude."
Madam Cold Fang remained silent.
For the first time in many years... She genuinely did not know what to do.
This strange man standing before them completely defied common sense. Then Lin Mu suddenly turned toward Han Yu again.
His eyes rested on him thoughtfully.
"Your soul and body don’t seem fully aligned," Lin Mu said casually.
Han Yu’s entire body stiffened.
The others immediately looked toward him too.
"What?" Qing Luan asked in confusion.
Lin Mu continued speaking calmly.
"Did your original body perish and your Nascent Soul take over another body afterward?" he asked curiously.
Han Yu felt genuine shock explode inside him.
The details were slightly inaccurate.
But the core truth...
Was terrifyingly close.
He truly had crossed over into another body. Only it had been through his True Soul and Undying Destiny Severance instead of ordinary Nascent Soul possession. The problem was no one knew this.
No one.
Not even Qing Luan or Meng Jueyan knew the full details.
Yet this mysterious man named Lin Mu had seen through it after only a few moments.
Han Yu forced himself to remain calm externally.
"What makes you think that?" he asked carefully.
Lin Mu tilted his head slightly.
"The soul and body have small inconsistencies," he explained casually. "Very minor. Ordinary people would never notice them."
Ordinary people.
Han Yu noticed the wording immediately.
It sounded almost absurdly arrogant.
Yet somehow...
Coming from this man...
It did not feel boastful.
It simply sounded factual.
Lin Mu continued calmly.
"Your soul itself is very strange too."
Han Yu’s eyes narrowed further.
"How so?"
Lin Mu smiled faintly.
"It’s strong."
The answer sounded simple.
Yet Han Yu felt cold sweat form internally.
Lin Mu slowly added another sentence afterward.
"Far too strong for your cultivation realm."
Silence fell completely afterward. Even the sounds of the night market suddenly felt distant. Madam Cold Fang quietly moved closer toward Han Yu now. Her instincts were screaming danger.
Qing Luan and Xuan Qing also became wary.
Only Lin Mu remained completely relaxed.
The red cat lazily yawned on his shoulder.
Then suddenly...
Lin Mu chuckled softly.
"You don’t need to look so nervous," he said while waving his hand lightly. "If I wanted to harm you, you would already be dead."
The terrifying part was that none of them doubted those words.
Not even slightly.
Han Yu slowly exhaled.
His mind raced frantically, trying to understand who exactly this man was. No cultivator from the Blood Continent should possess this kind of ability. No one should be able to casually identify soul abnormalities this precisely.
Then Han Yu suddenly remembered something.
The crimson light from the Blood Sect.
The strange beam that pierced the heavens.
And the fact that the Blood Sect was trying to contact immortals.
A horrifying thought appeared in his mind.
Han Yu stared directly at Lin Mu.
"...You’re not from the Violet Eve World, are you?" he asked quietly.
The moment those words were spoken... The atmosphere froze completely.
Lin Mu’s brows finally lifted slightly in surprise.
For the first time since meeting them, the mysterious man actually looked mildly interested.
"Oh?" he said softly.
Then a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
"You’re smarter than I expected."