Chapter 3813: Emperor Rock

A small smile appeared on Lin Mu’s face as he called out. "Shrubby."

A familiar connection stirred instantly and the next moment, a flash of light appeared nearby. Little Shrubby emerged from the Sleepscape. The black and red liger landed gracefully atop a large boulder as golden eyes immediately widened.

The beast looked around curiously as his ears twitched, his tail swayed and his nose sniffed repeatedly.

"We’re here?" Shrubby asked excitedly.

Lin Mu nodded. "We’re here."

"The big world sized sect?"

"Yep."

Shrubby’s eyes lit up.

The beast had heard about this mission countless times during the past year. Everyone had, even while traveling with Elder He Jian, Lin Mu had regularly updated his companions through their connection.

As such, none of the beasts were unfamiliar with the situation.

Shrubby immediately looked around again. "This place is huge."

"It is."

"Can I find ingredients?"

Lin Mu laughed. "You always ask that first."

"Because it’s important." The beast sounded completely serious.

Lin Mu simply shook his head as he knew Little Shrubby truly had simple priorities: Food and rare ingredients, then fighting and finally sleeping.

Of course like with the other beasts, he also liked to occasionally cause trouble.

All that was enough for him.

"We have work first," Lin Mu said.

Shrubby groaned dramatically. "Work."

"Yes."

"What kind?"

Lin Mu pointed toward the map projection. "We’re checking a forbidden zone."

The beast instantly perked up. "A forbidden zone?"

"Yes."

"That sounds dangerous. and probably has some unique ingredients"

"Probably."

"Now I’m interested."

Lin Mu had expected that response. He explained Emperor Rock and the information he knew about it. Little Shrubby listened attentively. At the mention of a cursed battlefield, the beast’s excitement visibly increased.

"Let’s go."

"Already?"

"Why wait?"

Lin Mu smiled. "Fair enough."

The distance itself wasn’t particularly concerning. What mattered was reaching the location without drawing attention. Little Shrubby excelled at that. Even now, his speed surpassed most immortals.

Combined with the area being basically empty and having tons of beasts, no one would care about him. Lin Mu climbed onto the beast’s back and the familiar feeling brought a hint of nostalgia.

It had been nearly a year since they had traveled together like this. Most of that time had been spent inside the Sleepscape due to the infiltration mission. Shrubby seemed equally pleased.

The beast shifted slightly as power gathered beneath his paws and the surrounding grass flattened.

Leaves rustled and the ground cracked faintly.

"Ready?" Shrubby asked.

Lin Mu nodded. "Let’s go."

WHOOSH!

The next moment, the beast vanished as a red blur shot through the darkness. Trees became streaks, mountains flashed past and the forest transformed into an indistinct sea of shadows as wind roared around them.

Moonlight fractured into silver lines and even while intentionally restraining himself, Little Shrubby moved at astonishing speed. The vast forests of the Inner Court Continent rushed beneath them.

Lakes reflected the moon as they passed overhead, cliffs vanished behind them within moments and beast roars echoed from distant valleys, but none managed to even catch a glimpse of them.

Lin Mu sat calmly atop the beast’s back while watching the landscape blur past.

His thoughts drifted toward Emperor Rock, toward the forgotten emperor, toward the curse, and perhaps most importantly... Toward the possibility that somewhere within this vast world, hidden beneath centuries of history and secrecy, lay the vault he had come all this way to find.

Tonight would merely be the first step of that search.

The journey to Emperor Rock proved far easier than Lin Mu had anticipated as Little Shrubby’s speed was simply too absurd. The Liger beast raced across the Inner Court Continent like a streak of red lightning cutting through the darkness.

Mountains, forests, rivers and valleys blurred together into indistinct shadows as they rushed past. Even though Shrubby was restraining himself significantly, his speed still surpassed what most immortals could hope to achieve.

Naturally, their passage did not go entirely unnoticed.

The forests of the Heavenly Stream Guardian World were filled with countless beasts. Many possessed territories that stretched for hundreds of kilometers, while some of the stronger beasts controlled entire mountain ranges.

The moment Shrubby entered those territories, his scent spread through the wilderness. To beasts, scent carried immense meaning, it represented strength, identity, dominance and of course challenge.

The appearance of an unfamiliar predator usually meant conflict.

More than once, Lin Mu sensed powerful beast auras stirring in the distance. Vast shadows moved among ancient forests. Massive birds took flight from mountain peaks. Predatory beasts emerged from caves and ravines after sensing the intrusion.

Yet before any of them could react properly, Shrubby had already vanished. One moment they detected him, the next moment he was gone. The beasts could do little more than release frustrated roars toward the night sky.

A few particularly prideful beasts even gave chase.

Unfortunately for them, they quickly discovered that chasing Shrubby was about as effective as chasing a bolt of lightning as within seconds the scent trail had already disappeared over the horizon.

Eventually the beasts could only give up and return to their territories.

Two hours later, the scenery around them began to change as the dense forests gradually thinned and the sounds of wildlife faded while the terrain grew increasingly barren. Lin Mu glanced at the jade slip map one final time before storing it away.

"We should be close now," he said.

Little Shrubby nodded and immediately reduced his speed. The red blur slowed as the surrounding landscape became visible once more. Soon they arrived at the location marked on the map.

Lin Mu looked down and frowned.

The scene below looked nothing like he had expected. The moon illuminated a vast stretch of empty land. The terrain appeared lifeless as there were no forests, grasslands, rivers or even beasts.

There was nothing other than barren earth stretched in all directions. And at the center stood a single stone.

The Emperor Rock.

The rock itself was rather unremarkable at first glance.

It stood perhaps ten meters tall and appeared weathered by countless years of exposure to wind and rain. There were no inscriptions upon it. No carvings. No monuments. No signs indicating that an Immortal Emperor had once perished here.

It simply stood there, alone and forgotten.

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