Walker Of The Worlds

Chapter 2656  An Attempted Escape

A hundred thoughts raced through the boy's mind as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

This was supposed to be a routine theft, something he had executed flawlessly hundreds of times before. He prided himself on picking the right targets, and with the skills he had honed from years of living on the streets, his instincts were razor-sharp.

Those very instincts had kept him alive, warning him of dangers before they struck. And yet, for the first time, they had failed him.

Lin Mu, who had been listening to the boy's mutterings, found himself intrigued as well.

"Spatial Return Formation?" Lin Mu echoed. "Where did you hear about that?"

Even for him, it was a rather high-level formation, something he had yet to master. More importantly, knowledge about it was scarce, reserved for only the most learned cultivators. He might have expected an Immortal to mention it, but certainly not a mere Core Condensation realm cultivator—especially one who was clearly of low status.

It simply didn't make sense.

STEP.

Lin Mu took a step closer, and the boy's instincts screamed at him in alarm.

His pupils dilated as his body responded automatically.

SHUA!

In the blink of an eye, his legs blurred into motion, carrying him away like the wind.

"Oh?" Lin Mu mused, his gaze following the boy's retreat. "An escape art?"

For a Core Condensation realm cultivator, that was an impressive skill. High-ranked techniques like this weren't easy to come by, let alone master, and yet this teenager—who couldn't have been older than fifteen—executed it with near perfection.

Lin Mu observed the boy's qi flow, noting its efficiency. There was almost no wasted energy, a rarity for cultivators at this level.

SHUA! SHUA! SHUA!

The boy dashed forward in a series of rapid steps, each one carrying him tens of meters away. Seeing that Lin Mu had yet to pursue, he exhaled in relief and pushed himself to move even faster.

'Can I get away?' he wondered.

He turned sharply into another alley, hoping to lose Lin Mu in the maze of narrow passages.

"You're quite fast," Lin Mu's voice suddenly echoed beside him.

"What?!"

The boy's breath hitched as he turned his head—Lin Mu was right there, walking beside him as if he had been there the entire time.

Impossible.

He had already put over two hundred meters between them in mere moments. And yet, Lin Mu had closed the distance effortlessly, as though space itself bent to his will.

SHUA! SHUA!

The boy gritted his teeth and poured even more energy into his escape, pushing his speed to its very limits. But no matter how fast he moved, no matter how many sharp turns he took, Lin Mu always appeared beside him, unhurried and composed.

It made no sense. He sensed no qi fluctuations from Lin Mu—no aura, no telltale signs of movement. Even though the boy couldn't sense Immortal qi, he should have at least been able to feel residual spirit energy in the air. But there was nothing.

After half a minute of futile effort, desperation took hold. His hand shot into his pocket, pulling out a paper slip.

"Damn it!" he cursed before throwing it behind him.

Lin Mu's eyes flicked to the slip, observing the intricate yet crude runes etched onto its surface.

"A talisman?" he noted. "A bit rough."

POOF!

The slip activated just as it reached Lin Mu, erupting into a thick cloud of gray smoke that rapidly filled the alley. The air shimmered as tiny particles within the smoke scattered in all directions.

When Lin Mu attempted to extend his Immortal Sense, he noticed it being misdirected.

"Oh? A Qi-Obscuring Formation inscribed onto a talisman?" A hint of appreciation entered his voice.

That was an uncommon addition. Most talismans lacked the structural stability to support such formations. Only an Immortal Formation Master could successfully craft one, and even then, it would require refined skills and rare materials.

Yet the one before him was crudely made, its runes uneven and somewhat sloppy.

Lin Mu's curiosity piqued. 'Where did he get this?'

Meanwhile, the boy's heart ached.

That talisman was worth an entire month's earnings! He had saved it for an emergency, and now it was gone.

Hopefully, that was enough to lose him, he thought, ducking into a small alcove.

Clink.

With practiced efficiency, he lifted a metal cover from the ground and slipped inside.

THUD.

He landed lightly, then exhaled, pressing his back against the wall.

"Huuu… He shouldn't be able to find me here with the isolation array."

But the moment he took a breath, he gagged.

"This place still stinks like hell," he groaned, pinching his nose.

He stood on the edge of a vast underground tunnel, its walls constructed from old stone bricks. In the center, a sluggish stream of murky gray water flowed, carrying with it all manner of waste. The odor was beyond foul—so pungent that an ordinary person would have emptied their stomach on the spot.

The boy had chosen to hide in the city's sewers.

But this was no ordinary sewer. It spanned beneath all of Ram Orchard City, fortified with Isolation Arrays that prevented foul qi and noxious fumes from leaking to the surface. These same formations also shielded it from detection, ensuring that most cultivators remained blissfully unaware of its presence.

Additionally, nearly all sewer entrances were heavily secured, accessible only to authorized personnel. However, a handful of forgotten access points still remained unprotected—secrets known to only a few, including the boy.

He took another breath, suppressing his nausea.

For now, he was safe.

...Or so he thought.

For just a couple seconds later, a voice echoed through the vast unending tunnels of the sewer.

"That was smart, to make use of the Isolating Arrays to hide your presence." The voice spoke appreciatively.

To the boy though, they felt more like the words of a demon rather than of a person complimenting him. He held his breath, trying to figure out what to do next or how to escape.