Lying in front of Lin Mu was none other than Ye Zi Jin, the daughter of peak master Yi Deng. Lin Mu didn't know what to make of it at first, but then a few seconds later, he was able to connect the dots.

"Ye ZI Jin said something back then at the vault… so this is what she meant by gaining power…

" Lin Mu muttered to himself.

Lin Mu could understand the anxiety of Ye Zi Jin and the peak master, but he had not thought that she would go to this extent. Another thing that bothered him was that Gu Yao should have had control over Ye Zi Jin as well.

'Was this his doing, perhaps? No… it wouldn't make sense. Why would he lose a potential Nascent soul realm cultivator like that?' Lin Mu wondered.

"Seems like when Gu Yao has not given any command to his servants actively, they will act in their own capacity. I don't think peak master Yi Deng was behind this either.

" Xukong suggested.

"That does seem likes now, senior. But still… this is quite bad.

" Lin Mu said, remembering that Ye Zi Jin was the wife of Wu Teng and sister-in-law of Wu Hei.

Wu Hei was someone Lin Mu considered to be his friend now and he didn't know how he would react to this.

~Sigh~

"This is a mess…

" Lin Mu muttered to himself.

He chanted the calming heart sutra to normalize his state of mind before taking another look at Ye Zi Jin. Now that he thought of it, he had not recognized her to be a woman back at the residence of Bilao.

Even now he could not see her figure, that should have been of a woman. He pulled the outer robes apart and saw the bandages that had been appeared around her body to hide her bosom.

"No wonder…

" Lin Mu said.

"Though wait, how did she get into the residence and what about the other guards?

" Lin Mu wondered.

"I think the answer to this should be what she got from that vault. Whatever spirit tool it was, it should be something that helps hide one's spirit Qi fluctuation or something along the lines of that.

" Xukong replied.

Lin Mu checked her body, but could not find anything. She did not even have any spatial storage treasure with her. But then he spotted something that he had missed at the very start.

"The mask!

" Lin Mu exclaimed.

He picked up the broken mask from the side and checked it. The mask was quite plain and had some common features of a man. But the one thing that was different was the small stone that was embedded at the forehead of the mask.

Lin Mu probed this stone with his spirit sense and realized that it was like a quicksand, pulling his spirit sense in.

"What is this?

" Lin Mu wondered as he looked at the stone closely.

He also checked the rest of the mask, but it was made out of normal wood. Even the paint on it was normal.

"I think I know what that stone is. It should be a Seventh Veil Mirror stone.

" Xukong spoke.

"A Seventh Veil Mirror stone?

" Lin Mu asked.

"The stone in itself is a natural treasure and has the properties of absorbing spirit Qi along with spirit sense. If someone has it on their body, it would passively absorb their spirit Qi fluctuations which will make them better at hiding.

And if someone tries to probe them with spirit sense, the spirit sense would be absorbed by the stone as well. Making it seem as if there is nothing there.

" Xukong explained.

"Won't that make it too powerful then? Shouldn't this be enough to make it qualified for the top level vault?

" Lin Mu questioned.

"No… the Seventh Veil Mirror stone has its own limitations. It cannot work continuously and can only absorb a certain amount before it will stop working. After that, it needs to dissipate the spirit Qi to start working again.

The time limit for it is usually short, around ten-fifteen minutes. But… if it is inscribed with formations its powers can be amplified and more features can be added to it. This mask should be a spirit tool that was made with it and the formations laid on it.

But your grip broke it…

" Xukong answered with a chuckle.

Lin Mu felt a bit embarrassed as he had just destroyed a high grade spirit tool just like that. It was actually something that could have come in handy to him as well.

"No use crying over spilled milk. Though I need to think of what to do with Ye Zi Jing now.

" Lin Mu stated.

Lin Mu sat in silence for a while before deciding that it was best if he kept hit to himself for the time being. He would have to assess the situation in the sect first and see how the reactions of the others were.

If Ye Zi Jin had acted like this, it was likely that there was someone assisting her. It was probably some other elder, or the disciples near the area should not have disappeared.

'The truth should come out in a bit. I'm sure they didn't expect Ye Zi Jin to disappear after the assassination attempt. They will just think the attempt failed and Ye Zi Jin went into hiding or something like that. So I shouldn't have much trouble from the side of Ye Zi Jin's allies.' Lin Mu analyzed.

Having thought of that, Lin Mu went outside the residence and did an assessment of the situation. And just as he had expected, there was an alarm currently in the sect. Though it was about the disappearance of the disciples who were guarding Alchemist Bilao.

After taking a round in the sect, Lin Mu returned to the residence.

'Should finish up the practice…' Lin Mu thought to himself as he ignited the Qi flame in his hand once again.