Now that Little Shrubby's case was cleared with Lin Mu, all he had to do was wait and watch as his bloodline matured on its own.

"How long do you think it would take senior?" Lin Mu questioned.

"Hmm… that is hard to answer. It can be anytime, to be honest. It can happen today itself or a hundred years from now. There are far too many possibilities that can affect it and the circumstance may change as well." Xukong answered.

"I see…" Lin Mu responded while nodding his head.

Lin Mu now wondered what his next course of action should be. He had awakened and even increased his cultivation by a great extent. Not only that, but even Little Shrubby was much stronger than before.

Lin Mu went over his goals and knew that killing Gu Yao was one that he needed to do definitely. But that also needed preparation as he couldn't just rush in blindly without any information.

Even if Lin Mu was at the peak stage of the core condensation realm, he dared not underestimate the man. Back then Gu Yao was at the pseudo Dao shell realm, who knows what level he was at today.

Lin Mu was still not clear about how much time had passed and asking Little Shrubby that was not a viable action. The beast had no proper sense of time either, as it had spent a while sleeping too while it was having a bloodline awakening. 

"Looks like you will have to ask a human." Xukong said.

"Mmm, yeah." Lin Mu responded before looking at little shrubby. "Did you see any humans here while I was asleep?" Lin Mu asked.

Little Shrubby nodded its head and said, "yes, a few humans appeared in the forest sometime after you fell asleep. I only saw them from far and didn't catch their attention. After that a few more humans came, but they didn't stay in the area for long." 

"Oh? Where did the second batch of humans go?" Lin Mu asked.

"They went there," Little Shrubby pointed in the southern direction.

"To the south? Wait! Where did they come from?" Lin Mu asked again, this time feeling that something was wrong.

"They came from the opposite direction. I saw them flying over the mountain there." Little Shrubby answered.

A serious expression appeared on Lin Mu's face as he thought of the most dangerous possibility.

"What kind of clothes were they wearing? Were they similar to what I'm wearing or the ones from the town?" Lin Mu asked in detail, knowing that the beast may not have a clear idea of clothes.

"Umm… they wore clothes that looked like the fur of other beasts. They were big clothes, and they looked small in it." Little Shrubby answered.

Lin Mu instantly realized who the humans were.

"The Northern Tribes… only they would wear clothes like that and come from the northern mountains." Lin Mu said, "looks like Gu Yao made his move. Seeing as they are allies of his." Lin Mu added.

"Seems like we need to get more intel on it," Xukong said.

"Indeed, we need to go to a nearby settlement. But going to the northern town would be risky who knows if they will be looking for me." Lin Mu stated, knowing that Gu Yao would have likely controlled everyone by now.

"Well, you shouldn't have much of a problem sneaking in with your skills. Besides, I doubt many people will even recognize you now." Xukong replied.

Lin Mu's gaze wandered into the water puddle in which he saw his reflection. He then realized that he looked vastly different from before and not only that, but his voice was different now too.

"It would be good if that happens. Still… I better be cautious." Lin Mu said.

"Speaking of cautious, I think it is time I finally give you the technique I was telling you about before," Xukong said.

"Technique? You mean the technique for Five treasures realm?" Lin Mu asked with excitement.

"Well… not exactly. While the technique can contribute to the progression of the Five Treasures realm too, it is not specifically made for it. It's more of a defensive technique you see." Xukong answered.

"Oh? That seems interesting. What's the technique called?" Lin Mu asked.

"The Technique is called as the Mortal Strengthening Scripture. This is a rather common body cultivation technique that can be found across multiple worlds. Its advantage is that nearly anyone can use it, but the disadvantage is that the resources needed to practice it increases exponentially as you go through its stages." Xukong replied.

"What does the technique exactly do?" Lin Mu asked further.

"The technique is actually an earth attribute technique. Like the earthen Qi pills, it increases your defense. But unlike the earthen Qi pills which create a temporary armor, this technique will directly toughen your skin instead. Theoretically, it has five stages, but the highest anyone has reached is the fourth stage. The resources needed for the fifth stage are so many that people would rather buy a better technique instead, rather than practice it further." Xukong explained.

"But senior if it's an earth attribute technique, won't I need to use earth attribute spirit Qi? We don't know if I have compatibility with it." Lin Mu said with apprehension.

"Actually, your natural affinity has always been with the earth element," Xukong stated.

"What? Why did you never tell me?" Lin Mu asked.

"I was unsure of it too. Because of the ring, your physique has changed beyond what should have normally been possible. I didn't know if it was influencing your affinity with the elements and if we tried to check it then, the results would have likely been inconsistent.

But when you used those Earthen Qi pills, it was confirmed that you had a proper affinity with the earth element. If it were not so, the armor would not have been able to bear the attack of Gu Yao so well back then.

Thus for now you have the affinity with two elements; the spatial element bestowed upon you by the ring and your natural affinity with earth." Xukong explained.

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