Chapter 516: Violent Negotiation

Lin Mu gazed at the man and his mannerisms. He had expected him to react a bit differently than this, but reckoned that this was the persona that man had adapted. 

"Well, you see… I have certain tasks I need to do that can be considered risky. And thus I want your help with them." Lin Mu stated.

"What kind of tasks do you mean, brother? Is it hunting for beasts?" Jiao Fang asked.

"Not exactly… what I need is… for you to distract the guards while I get close to the vaults." Lin Mu revealed with a straight face.

Jiao Fang's face stiffened for a moment before he broke out in laughter.

"Ahahaha! Brother Wu Lian surely knows how to joke. You got, now do tell me what is it that you truly need." Jiao Fang replied.

"I already stated what I wanted." Lin Mu said.

Jiao Fang's smile now went away as he assumed a more calm expression.

"Brother Wu Lian must know that certain words should not be uttered in the sect, and these are the very words. Doing so would result in some harsh punishments by the sect. I'm sure you do not want that, do you?" Jiao Fang replied.

"No, this is exactly what I want. And I want you to help with this." Lin Mu spoke in a straight tone.

The corner of Jiao Fang's mouth twitched, but he did not falter. 

"Say, I do consider this… but what reason should I have to accept something that clearly goes against the rules of the sect and would invite the ire of the disciplinary department?" Jiao Fang questioned.

"Because, a certain someone knocked out the guards, broke into the third Treasure pavilion and stole the page of a certain book by the name of Yulong's Mnemonics." Lin Mu answered, much to the shock of Jiao Fang.

"Ahahah! Brother Wu Lian's jokes are getting much better. Why would I do something so vile as this?" Jiao Fang asked while secretly clenching his fist.

Lin Mu did not respond straight away but instead pulled out a diary from his spatial storage ring, before holding it out on display. 

"I'd guess to find the next clue to the inheritance of Yulong." Lin Mu replied.

The moment Lin Mu finished his sentence, he sensed a wave of spirit Qi emanating from Jiao Fang's body. This was his spirit sense, and it moved around in a circular manner.

'Oh? His spirit sense is rather long for a Qi refining realm cultivator… no wait, it's not…' Lin Mu thought as he then saw the man's aura rising.

Fang Jiao's expression turned cold as he suddenly shot towards Lin Mu, his fist stretched out at the front.

"So you really were hiding your cultivation base," Lin Mu said as he felt Jiao Fang's spirit Qi fluctuations which clearly put him at the peak stage of the core condensation realm.

The man in front of him was already eligible to become an elder, yet had been hiding his cultivation base. 

"DIE!" Jiao Fang said in a fierce tone.

Lin Mu though, did not flinch at his attack and merely tilted his head, easily dodging the punch. Then in one swift motion, he sent out a palm to Jiao Fang's side.

~shua~

The wind generated from the palm strike made Jiao Fang's robes flutter and the man barely managed to retreat at the last movement. Flipping in the air, he moved back a few meters before stopping to take a look at the man in front of him.

There were no spirit Qi fluctuations coming from him and even that palm strike that he had used was made with just his physical strength. But even then Jiao Fang could tell that if it hit him, his ribs would be shattered.

His decades of experience had honed his instincts well enough that he could estimate the danger of an enemy. Over the years he had gone through one perilous situation after the other and had become used to them.

But the man in front of him was still feeling like an enigma to him. 

"Who are you?" Jiao Fang asked, now realizing that the man in front of him was probably not who he was presenting himself to be.

"It's not really of your concern now. As long as you listen to my conditions, we may be able to work this out without violence." Lin Mu said, putting his hands behind his back casually.

~humph~

"Then just die. No one can live after finding out my secrets!" Jiao Fang said as his eyes turned bloodshot.

He flipped his palm and a long halberd appeared in his hand. Just from its appearance and the craftsmanship, Lin Mu could tell that it was no normal weapon and was probably a high grade spirit tool.

~Sigh~

"Then so be it… I'll just beat some sense into you," Lin Mu said, much to the anger of Jiao Fang.

"HAAA!" Jiao Fang yelled as he lunged towards Lin Mu, his halberd haled up high.

The halberd tore through the air as its sharp blade descended upon Lin Mu. 

~whoosh~

The sheer amount of spirit Qi being channeled through the halberd was sending out gales of wind which made ripples on the surface of the lake.

But then…

~clang~

The sound of metal hitting something hard could be heard as Jiao Fang's eyes went wide. His high grade halberd, which was probably one of the strongest weapons in the sect, had been stopped.

Lin Mu calmly watched the man as he stopped the blade of the halberd mid-strike. But the thing that had shocked Jiao Fang was not it getting blocked, but rather how it had been blocked.

Lin Mu's bare hand was clasped around the blade of the halberd, not letting it move even a centimeter. If one looked closely, a faint brown glow could be seen on his hand with the patterns of scales on it.

~shing~

The sound of metal grinding could be heard as Lin Mu deflected the halberd, knocking it out of Jiao Fang's hand.

"You…."