Walker Of The Worlds Chapter 2981– Leaving The Path

Chapter 2981: Leaving The Path

A faint shimmer marked Lin Mu's return to the immortal world.

One moment, he stood within the formless void that had become the crucible of his ascension. The next, he found himself standing at the heart of the ancient sword-carved chamber nestled deep within Mount Sky Sever.

His boots touched solid ground again, but the silence was thick—almost suffocating.

There was no thunderous welcome.

No blinding radiance or ceremonial chant.

No elders waiting with eager smiles.

No Daoist Chu, no Meng Bai.

No beast companions sniffing the air.

Just... stone and stillness.

Lin Mu furrowed his brows. He turned, scanning the vast chamber. Sword marks still lined the stone walls, still brimming with the weight of the ancient intent that had once shaped them. The lingering edge in the air was familiar, like the whisper of a memory.

And yet, everything else felt... off.

He raised his hand to check his jade slip—to reach out to someone, anyone—when a sharp gasp broke the silence.

Startled, Lin Mu turned around in a blink.

A figure emerged from behind the massive archway leading into the chamber. It was none other than High Elder Yan Dao, and his eyes looked as though he had seen a ghost. The man froze in place, his lips parted in disbelief, then rushed forward, robes fluttering in his wake.

"L-Lin Mu?" Yan Dao's voice cracked slightly as he neared, hands trembling. "You... are you... Is it really you?"

Lin Mu blinked. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Yan Dao didn't answer immediately. Instead, his hands glowed with a soft golden qi as he placed them over Lin Mu's shoulders and heart, scanning him thoroughly. He checked pulse, spiritual qi flow, soul presence, meridian stability, and cultivation realm.

Everything was intact.

Better than intact—perfectly stable.

Not only had Lin Mu returned with his cultivation untouched, his aura had grown even more refined. It no longer radiated like a surging storm. Now, it was focused—calm like a lake so deep one could never see the bottom.

Yan Dao pulled back, stunned, confusion battling with a cautious joy on his face.

"Why are you acting like you've seen a ghost?" Lin Mu finally asked, voice calm.

Yan Dao exhaled slowly. "Because we all feared... we feared something had gone terribly wrong."

"...What do you mean?"

Yan Dao looked him straight in the eyes. "Lin Mu, do you know how long you were in the Path of the Sealed Swords?"

Lin Mu frowned, looking to the chamber's high ceilings and ancient walls as if they might reveal the answer. "No," he admitted. "Time didn't seem to flow properly in there. At one point I wasn't sure if it was hours or days. But... it couldn't have been that long, right?"𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The elder let out a shaky breath, rubbing his temples.

"It's been three years, Lin Mu."

Lin Mu went still.

Even with all he had seen and experienced, those words struck with the weight of a mountain.

"Three years?" he repeated, slowly. "That's... not possible."

"It is," Yan Dao confirmed. "To the rest of us, you entered the path and vanished into the void. For three whole years the door remained sealed, the Path remained active, and nothing happened. No signal. No sign of failure or success."

His voice trembled slightly as he added, "You're the first person in the sect's history to stay within the path that long. The longest on record before you... was one year. That person emerged half-mad and lost the ability to use a sword ever again."

Lin Mu lowered his gaze.

"Even when I entered, I was just there for two months." High Elder Yan Dao revealed. "The average time one spends there isn't more than a six months. Even the Grand Elder spent just eight months in there. Longer than most, but not as long as yours." He added.

Three years.

He thought back to the trials—the emotional torments, the philosophical debates, the endless emptiness of the final trial. And now it made more sense. That final space... that silence... it hadn't just tested his swordsmanship or his will.

It had tested time itself.

It had forged him across years of stagnation and stillness, until the very essence of his path had been stripped bare and reforged anew.

Yan Dao continued, voice solemn, "We almost thought you had perished. If not for the fact that the Path of the Sealed Swords has its own will... if not for the constant hum of its activity... we would have assumed you'd died in there."

He gestured to the walls. "You see, when someone falls within the path, the formations around it shutdown. It's the only safeguard built into the place. But yours never did. It just remained... awake. Dormant, yes—but alert. As if... waiting."

Lin Mu took in a breath and finally asked, "How did the sect respond?"

"At first," Yan Dao said, "we waited. Then we prayed. Grand Elder Huo personally came every week to check the formations. Many believed you had encountered a realm within the path that suspended time. A few feared your soul was trapped. But none of us dared to force open the chamber. To do so would be to damage the path's spirit."

"I see." Lin Mu placed a hand on his chest, where the Sword Heart now slumbered like a blade at rest. "And now that I've returned?"

The old man finally smiled—softly, but with immense relief.

"Now?" he said. "Now the sect will rejoice. You... Lin Mu... have done the impossible. You endured three years within the heart of the sword's silence. And judging by your aura... you emerged not just unscathed, but transcendent."

The weight of those words did not stir Lin Mu's pride, but it deepened his understanding.

He had not simply survived the Path of the Sealed Swords.

He had become a part of it.

Forever etched into its legacy.

He looked around the chamber one last time.

There was still silence—but it no longer felt empty.

It felt like home.

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