Lin Mu’s expression was serious upon hearing Senior Xukong’s reply. He did not know how they would face this or how they would even find the invader. For all he could imagine, the invader could be hiding anywhere in this world.
Senior Xukong had explained to him before that as long as one has the access to a spatial dimension in this world they would be able to enter it as long as it was not anchored to a specific location. There were also certain restrictions such as that it could be entered from any place but could only be exited from a certain location.
There were far too many possibilities, and Lin Mu did not know which one it could be.
’All I can do right now is to obtain more information, investigate and explore. I should eventually be able to find some kind of clue.’ Lin Mu thought to himself.
Lin Mu’s mind then returned to the current situation, and he started to think of the next question.
"What did you do after that?" Lin Mu questioned.
"After I eliminated the invader’s traces, I returned to the town and stayed here for the rest of the time. At least until you arrived and brought the Mutant beast. I refined the mutant beast’s corpse into a bloodline tracking bead and used it to trace the location of the Invader.
This eventually led me to the northern forest, where I found more beasts that had been infected by the invader. Most of them were fierce beasts, while some were spirit beasts. I refined them into bloodline tracking beads as well and was able to find the source of the mutation.
The source of the mutation was a pond underneath which a bigger avatar of the invader was hiding. But unlike the one that escaped from the corpses, this one was unresponsive and looked like a mass of black sludge, not having any of its characteristics like before.
I brought it to show to grandfather before destroying it as well. At that moment, I thought these were the only traces that I had missed. I wanted to search for more, but the bloodline tracking beads were all fully consumed. Still, I didn’t get any more reactions from the last remanding bloodline tracking bead, thus I thought that those were the last of them.
This is the third time I’m hearing about these invaders." Duan Ke answered.
Lin Mu thought over her words for a moment before withdrawing two items from his Ring. These items were the vial containing the beast inciting powder, and the wooden plate with a unique triangular pattern which was the beast storage treasure.
The last time Lin Mu had met the Hei Corps, he had taken the beast storage treasure with him. They were fine with it and since it was damaged already, they didn’t mind it either. Hei Wan and Hei Bao were also quite trustful of him now.
Lin Mu first handed the vial to Duan Ke, who took it from his hands and looked at it with a questioning look.
"Can you tell me what this is?" Lin Mu questioned, to which Duan Ke nodded.
She then waved her hand and a small transparent sphere appeared in front of her. The sphere was big enough for Duan Ke to keep her hands inside it with no problem. She put both of her hands inside the sphere and then opened the small vial inside it.
She then closed her eyes for a minute after which they twitched and it seemed as if she was shocked. Another minute passed before she opened them. Upon opening them, the sphere glowed for a moment and she quickly closed the vial. The sphere disappeared and then she looked at Lin Mu with a slightly unsure expression.
"My analysis tells me that this is a vial of beast inciting powder, but I’m not fully sure. There is something wrong with it, but I can’t tell what." Duan Ke answered.
Lin Mu nodded at her answer and was a little amazed at her display of techniques. He wondered what she had done with that transparent sphere.
"That’s an analytical technique. It is one of the auxiliary qi techniques that are useful for situations such as this. The sphere isolates the contents of the vial and ensures that they don’t spread. This makes it easier for the person to check them." Xukong explained to Lin Mu, who simply nodded in understanding.
Meanwhile, Jing Wei had raised his brows upon hearing Duan Ke’s answer. He did not think that his granddaughter would fail at something that she specialized in, investigation. While she was no expert at alchemical pills and compounds, he knew that she was more than knowledgeable about them.
Wanting to know what it was that made her granddaughter confused, Jing Wei extend his hand to her. Duan Ke understood this gesture and gave him the vial. Unlike Duan Ke though, Jing Wei did not do what she did. In fact, he did not even open the cap of the vial. He simply sensed its contents with his spirit sense and then opened his eyes.
"This is indeed beast inciting powder, but a certain change has been made in its formula. I can estimate that its effects must have changed as well and are probably stronger than before." Jing Wei surmised.
Lin Mu nodded his head as he spoke, "You are right, this is indeed beast inciting powder. Now can you also tell me what this is?" He said and passed the wooden plate to Jing Wei directly.
Jing Wei looked at the pattern on it and raised his eyes in surprise.
"A beast storage treasure? That too with the marking of the ancients?" Jing Wei spoke.
Lin Mu was not surprised that Jing Wei was able to recognize it, as he had expected him to know this because of his background. But what made him interested was the term that Jing Wei had just said.
"Yes, it is a beast storage treasure. But what is this marking of the ancients you are talking about?" Lin Mu questioned.