Chapter 3064: Use Is Not Over
The elder lay limp nowânot dead, but defeated in soul.
Daoist Chu looked over. "Do you want me to finish him?"
Lin Mu shook his head. "No."
He turned his back on the man.
"Let him carry the weight of what he now knows and bear all his knowledge to us."
The pressure in the air faded slightly, though it never vanished. Even with the battle over, Lin Muâs presence remainedâlike an invisible mountain hovering just above them all.
Elyon could only watch silently.
"He didnât kill them for answers," the wolfkin realized. "He gave them achanceâand they still shattered."
He looked at Lin Muâs solemn figure and clenched his claws tighter.
There was no need for exaggeration.
The man standing before them was not just strong.
He was a storm in human form.
And the world would never be the same once it truly noticed
The battlefield still reeked of blood and crushed bone, the echo of Lin Muâs gravity-powered strike lingering in the air like the hum of a mourning bell.
The few survivorsâbarely clinging to consciousnessâwere strewn about like broken dolls. The remnants of the Hidden Cave Sect forces, once hidden deep in the underground fortress, had been reduced to a handful of whimpering figures.
Their limbs twisted, their bodies flattened in parts, and their eyes filled with terror.
Elyon glanced at them with mild pity, but even more so with disbelief. He hadnât expected Lin Mu to unleash such a devastating display of force. Heâd seen powerful immortals before, even fought against them in skirmishes, but what Lin Mu had done was something else entirely.
Killing a few immortals was one thing. Crushing hundreds under sheer gravitational pressure? That bordered on the divine.
Still, Lin Mu remained calm.
Lin Mu turned to the remaining survivorsâperhaps a dozen, barely alive.
Elyon took a step forward. "They wonât live long. Even with pills, theyâll bleed out or die from internal damage. If you want answersâ"
"Itâs fine," Lin Mu interrupted. "Iâll fix them."
"Fix them?" Elyon echoed, confused.
Lin Mu raised one hand and began to chant softly.
It was not in any tongue Elyon recognized, but the moment the words reached his ears, something deep in his blood stirred. A warm windâimpossible in the cold, dark cavesâswept around them. Then, green motes of light began to form, like fireflies drifting out of Lin Muâs skin.
The aura changed.
Gone was the terrifying pressure of his gravity Dao. Gone was the steely sharpness of the Sword Dao. In its place was something profoundly differentâpure, clean, holy.
Natural.
Elyonâs breath caught in his throat.
It wasnât just healing... it waslife.
Raw, unfiltered, nurturing life.
His Wolfkin bloodline quivered, almost as if it were awakening. For the first time in centuries, it felt joy. A deep-rooted joy like a wolf returning to its home after a long journey, to a forest that recognized and accepted it.
âNo,â Elyon realized. âNot joy. Companionship.â
Lin Mu...wasthe forest.
Green streams of energy flowed into the wounded cultists, wrapping around their broken forms.
Bones shifted.
Organs mended. Blood slowed and stopped.
Their pain began to dull, and their eyes grew clearer. But Lin Mu didnât heal them fullyâhe left their limbs broken, their bodies unable to move. Only their lives were stabilized, just enough to speak, to think, tosuffer.
Plants sprouted all around Lin Muâferns, moss, and vines, growing out of the rocky cave floor as if time had been sped up. They curled toward him lovingly, wrapping around his legs and arms like children clinging to their father.
In that moment, he was no longer a force of devastation.
He was a nurturer.
A protector.
A god of the forest.
Elyon stared, unable to tear his eyes away.
The duality stunned him. Just minutes ago, this man had wielded gravity like a guillotine, wiping out hundreds with a thought. Now he was cradling life in his hands, healing what was brokenâchoosing to preserve it not out of kindness, but because he willed it.
A man who commanded the sword, warped space, defied elements, and bent gravity...
And now... could breathe life into the dying.
Elyon felt a chill run down his spine, not from fear, but from awe.
âJust who are you, Lin Mu?â he wondered.
âAnd how much more is there yet to see?â
The green glow faded gently, its warmth lingering on the bodies of the dying cultists like a motherâs parting embrace.
Life had returned to themâbut only just.
Lin Mu stood in the center of the now-lush cavern, vines curling at his feet, moss spreading beneath him like a carpet of reverence. His hand fell to his side, his chant complete.
But he wasnât done.
With a flick of his fingers, threads of vibrant-red energy surged from his body.
Vitalityâraw and overpoweringâpoured forth in thin tendrils, stabbing into the hearts of the unconscious survivors. The force of it was like thunder wrapped in honey: warm, yet impossible to resist.
One by one, the remaining cultists spasmed and coughed awake. Their eyes snapped open in panic, the lingering warmth of Lin Muâs Nature aura clashing violently with the fear still lodged deep in their bones.
They saw him.
And trembled.
Two of them screamed outright, their minds breaking under the weight of it all, and passed out again. One even began muttering prayers to long-forgotten gods.
Only the old elderâthe same one Lin Mu had interrogated earlierâremained somewhat calm. He breathed slowly through clenched teeth, his mangled body now stabilized enough to sit up.
He looked up at Lin Mu, eyes clouded with both awe and dread.
"...Why?" the elder asked hoarsely. "Why heal us? After what you did, why not finish it?"
Lin Muâs eyes held no malice, but neither did they show mercy. His voice was calm, quiet evenâbut there was no mistaking the weight behind his words.
"Your use is not over yet."
The elderâs breath caught.
He understood immediately.
There was no room for silence now. He knew better than to resist, and with a weary sigh, he began to speak.