Chapter 3957: Zhenyu’s Complaint

Lin Mu raised his brows.

"The jaded and battle hardened man who eventually led the hardliner faction," Xukong continued, "or the starry eyed youth who was still seeking knowledge and simply wanted to find a master worthy of following?"

Lin Mu became quiet as that distinction answered his question.

People changed, especially cultivators who lived for hundreds of thousands of years.

Someone could begin their journey with admiration for knowledge and eventually become a ruthless hardliner after witnessing enough wars and betrayals. Their later beliefs did not necessarily erase the people they once respected.

"So the Virtuous Calamity Daoist might have learned from him before becoming the person history remembers," Lin Mu muttered.

"That is possible," Xukong replied.

Lin Mu’s mind immediately moved to the next question. "If he really learned spatial techniques from the Mad Demon, then there is a chance he obtained some of his treasures too."

His eyes brightened. "And if he did, then the vault might have been constructed using something related to the Mad Demon’s spatial techniques."

He glanced around the white compressed space. "Perhaps it is hidden within a spatial pocket."

His expression became increasingly thoughtful. "Maybe one created through the Dual Dimensional Vacuum Compression Art."

Xukong considered the possibility. "That is a reasonable direction to investigate. You have at least gained a reference point now. Even if the vault does not use that exact technique, you have learned what kind of spatial principles the Virtuous Calamity Daoist may have inherited."

Lin Mu nodded as that alone was a tremendous breakthrough.

Before entering the Mad Demon Depths, he had been searching blindly. He knew that the Virtuous Calamity Daoist had left behind something valuable, but he had very few clues regarding how the man stored it.

Now he had learned that the Daoist had a connection to one of the greatest spatial geniuses known to Xukong and that changed everything.

The recording continued and now Zhenyu seemed to have moved on from the most important revelations and began speaking about more mundane matters. He talked about his life in the Wild Peak.

He mentioned several elders who had lived during his era, all of whom Lin Mu had never heard of. He described old conflicts, training sessions, missions and events that had long since disappeared from the records of the current Wild Peak.

He talked about how the peak had changed and he mentioned disciples who had eventually become elders. He spoke about battles against other powers and some of the wars in which the Wild Peak had participated.

Lin Mu listened to everything.

Some of the information seemed irrelevant at first, yet Lin Mu knew better than to ignore history. A casual statement from someone who had lived thousands of years ago could easily reveal something that modern records had completely forgotten.

Zhenyu even spoke about small traditions that had disappeared from the Wild Peak, ancient halls that no longer existed and old cultivation methods that had eventually been replaced. For Lin Mu, it was like listening to a living history book, so he continued paying attention.

Then, during one of his recollections, Zhenyu suddenly frowned. "I never should have listened to those upstarts."

Lin Mu’s attention immediately returned to the recording as Zhenyu’s expression had changed.

There was genuine irritation in his eyes. "The Hopeful Star Pavilion’s people are nothing but treacherous. I should have known that a faction like that would only cause trouble for our sect."

Lin Mu’s brows rose. "Hopeful Star Pavilion?"

He had not heard of the name before but it sounded rather nice. Or at least pretended to be. Before he made his judgement though, Lin Mu decided to listen to what else the junior elder had to complain about.

The elder’s expression remained displeased. "I should have realized what they were doing from the beginning. They approached us with their smiles and their promises, pretending they wanted cooperation. They spoke about mutual benefits and claimed that their interests aligned with ours."

Zhenyu scoffed. "I was foolish enough to believe some of it."

Lin Mu’s expression became thoughtful as this was different from the previous history.

Zhenyu had suddenly brought up a specific faction, and judging from the resentment in his voice, something involving the Hopeful Star Pavilion had clearly happened before his arrival in the Mad Demon Depths.

Lin Mu leaned closer to the recording as the elder continued speaking.

"They called themselves friends of the Wild Peak. They claimed they had information that could help us. They said that if we cooperated, our peak would gain something valuable."

Zhenyu shook his head. "Instead, they caused trouble."

Lin Mu’s eyes sharpened and he had no idea yet what the Hopeful Star Pavilion had done, or what role they had played in Zhenyu’s decision to enter the Mad Demon Depths. However, the name had now been added to the list of things he needed to remember.

The recording continued.

"I should have listened to the other elders." Zhenyu’s voice became quieter. "They warned me. They warned me that not everyone is as good as they seem even if they belong to the righteous faction. Everyone always has their own interests hidden behind their words."

He closed his eyes. "I thought they were being overly cautious, and I thought I was clever enough to see through the tricks." A bitter smile appeared on the old man’s face. "Perhaps if I had listened, I would never have come here."

Lin Mu’s expression became solemn and the words seemed to carry more weight than Zhenyu probably realized.

For the first time, Lin Mu felt that the trail was becoming far more complicated than he had expected. He looked at the ancient elder’s recording and quietly waited for the next words.

Whatever had happened between the Wild Peak and the Hopeful Star Pavilion had clearly been important enough for Junior Elder Zhenyu to remember it after thousands of years. And Lin Mu had a feeling that this seemingly casual complaint might be hiding another piece of the history he had been searching for.