Chapter 3542: Hostages
Chapter 3542: Hostages
SHUA.
The rivers that flowed through the city trembled.
Water surged upward, defying gravity as if it were nothing more than mist. The twin rivers, the lakes, canals, ponds, reservoirs, even the decorative water features in noble courtyards all responded.
GUSH.
Streams rose into the air, joining together.
In moments, a colossal dome of water formed above the city, curving downward and sealing the entire Three Union City beneath it. The dome shimmered faintly, dense with pressure and reinforced by Lin Mu’s will.
The city was sealed.
The Female High Elder of the Boundless River Sect stared at the dome in utter disbelief.
"This level of control..." she whispered. "Even I cannot do this."
Her hands trembled slightly.
The Golden Urn Sect’s High Elder felt his heart sink deeper with every breath.
Sword Heart Stage of Sword Intent.
Water manipulation rivaling, no surpassing, the highest authority of the Boundless River Sect, the Boundless River Matriarch herself.
A woman whose physical strength eclipsed the strongest king among them.
And a Dark Wolfkin whose assassination prowess could threaten even Seventh Tribulation experts.
"This is not a random cultivator," the elder realized grimly. "This is a calamity."
Across the square, princes and princesses stood pale and silent.
The arrogance that had once filled their eyes was gone, replaced by naked fear.
The core disciples of the two sects clenched their fists, their pride shattered beyond repair. They had never imagined that their status, their background, and their sects could be rendered meaningless so completely.
The city itself seemed to be holding its breath.
Finally, the King of the Olive Canopy Kingdom swallowed and spoke, his tone far more cautious than before.
"What... what do you want?" he asked carefully.
The King of the Alabaster Plains Kingdom nodded stiffly, forcing his voice to remain steady. "Name your demands."
Lin Mu lowered his hand, though the water dome remained in place, unmoving.
He thought for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"What I want is simple," Lin Mu said.
His voice was calm, but every word carried weight.
"You will all stand down."
The armies outside the city hesitated as his words echoed through the dome.
"You will cease all hostile actions against me and my companions."
Afternoon Pine and Ocean Raker pressed a fraction closer to the kings’ throats.
"And you will activate the inter world teleportation array."
The square erupted into murmurs.
The kings stiffened.
Lin Mu continued without pause.
"You will activate it properly. There will be no delays. No queues. No excuses."
He looked directly at the kings.
"You will send us to our destination."
Silence fell once more.
The King of the Alabaster Plains Kingdom clenched his jaw. "If we do that," he said slowly, "our authority will collapse."
The King of the Olive Canopy Kingdom followed. "The image of the three kingdoms will be destroyed. What face will we have left before our people?"
Lin Mu’s gaze hardened.
"You lost that face the moment your children tried to seize what was not theirs," he said.
The kings flinched.
"You speak of image," Lin Mu continued. "But what image remains when your princes and princesses act like bandits? When your sect disciples hunt beasts for greed? When you mobilize armies against travelers?"
He took a step forward.
"You want to preserve dignity?" Lin Mu said quietly. "Then accept reality."
Cattaleya cracked her knuckles.
Elyon’s claws gleamed faintly.
Daoist Chu smirked while Meng Bai gulped nervously.
Above them, the swords trembled, eager.
"Activate the array," Lin Mu said. "Or I will teach this city what true collapse looks like."
No one doubted him.
Not after what they had seen.
Not after what they felt pressing down on their souls.
The kings exchanged glances, their pride warring with fear.
For the first time in their reigns, they understood what it meant to stand before an existence that could not be bullied, negotiated with, or crushed by numbers.
And in that moment, they realized the truth.
They had already lost.
For several heartbeats after Lin Mu’s ultimatum, the square remained locked in a suffocating stillness.
The kings did not answer.
They stood frozen beneath the hovering swords, faces pale, throats tight, eyes darting between Lin Mu, Cattaleya, Elyon, and the impossible dome of water sealing the city. Their hesitation was brief, but to Lin Mu, it was enough.
He exhaled slowly.
’So they still hoped...’
Hoped that time, numbers, or desperation would somehow shift the balance back in their favor. Hoped that if they delayed long enough, something would save them.
Lin Mu’s gaze hardened.
"Very well," he said calmly. "Then I will show you."
He turned his head slightly, his eyes settling on the heart of the city.
The three great palaces.
They stood at the center of the Three Union City like symbols carved into reality itself. Vast, ornate, and heavy with history stolen from the Butterfly Kingdom, they represented conquest, authority, and pride. Even now, despite the chaos, they loomed tall and defiant, surrounded by broken stone and trembling air.
Lin Mu raised his hand.
SHUA
Beside him, space shimmered.
A translucent sphere manifested, rotating slowly, its surface etched with dense, ancient runes that bent the light around them. Each rune pulsed with terrifying weight, as if the very concept of mass had been condensed into symbols.
The Dominating Gravity Dao Embryo.
Its presence alone caused cultivators nearby to feel dizzy. Their legs grew heavy. Their breathing became labored. Some of the weaker ones collapsed to their knees, unable to withstand the oppressive pressure leaking from it.
The kings’ pupils shrank.
The sect elders’ expressions drained of all color.
"Gravity..." the Golden Urn Sect’s High Elder whispered hoarsely. "A true Gravity Dao..."
Even among Immortal Dao Embryos, gravity was feared. It was not flashy like fire, nor elegant like water. It was absolute... an absolute force of nature that affected everyone equally.
Lin Mu extended his immortal sense.
In an instant, his awareness enveloped the three palaces, their foundations, their pillars, their formation arrays, and the land beneath them. Every defensive rune, every reinforcement formation, every hidden support was laid bare before him.
Then he spoke.
"Heaven Crushing Descent."