The strike was clean, absolute, and without hesitation.

SLICK

Lin Mu’s blade pierced straight through the chest of the Patriarch of the Hidden Cave Sect, entering the heart in a single fluid motion. A fraction of a second later, he released his compressed sword intent contained with meld, into the man’s body.

It erupted like a hidden storm, tearing apart the Patriarch’s dantian, shredding the meridians within, and annihilating his nascent soul in one sweeping surge of destructive intent.

The man did not even have time to register what had happened.

His body, still frozen in the posture of cultivation, went limp as his spirit scattered in silence. There were no alarms, no flashes of defensive arrays awakening, no cry of resistance. His end came quietly, without dignity, swift and efficient.

"Done..." Lin Mu regarded the fallen Patriarch without any emotion on his face.

A part of him knew the man did not deserve such a quick release. For the countless sins the Hidden Cave Sect had accumulated, for the lives destroyed and corrupted, a punishment drawn out across decades or centuries would have been fitting.

Yet this was neither the time nor the place for vengeance to take such form. Strategy demanded swiftness. Clean execution was the only option.

Without delay, Lin Mu lifted his hand.

A ripple of spatial energy shimmered around the body. It vanished into the depths of his spatial ring, leaving not a single trace behind. Even the faintest drop of blood was not allowed to fall, and not a breath of the Patriarch’s fading life escaped into the chamber.

A Peak Immortal had been assassinated!

Lin Mo who had been watching from the depths of Lin Mu’s soul, couldn’t help but chuckle in approval.

"Very clean, I approve."

Lin Mu ignored the devilish man’s words and focused on the moment.

The room remained utterly pristine, as though nothing had occurred.

Lin Mu then extended his immortal sense, letting it entwine carefully with the vast array that nourished the chamber. He had already studied it earlier while phasing through the walls. It was a complicated net of runes that linked directly with the other formations of the Grand Hall.

While it did not contain a direct alarm, it did act as a relay.

If the Patriarch ceased cultivation abruptly or left the chamber without notice, others would eventually know. Following their protocols, elders would either come to receive instructions or confirm his status.

That could not be allowed to happen.

"Need more caution." Lin Mu’s mind sharpened as he slipped threads of his own immortal sense into the array.

He replicated the faint rhythm of the Patriarch’s presence, mimicking the ebb and flow of cultivation. To anyone observing from afar, it would seem as if the old man remained in silent seclusion, undisturbed.

Just as he sealed the final strand, Elyon emerged from the shadows of the balcony. The wolfkin’s dark fur rippled faintly with residual Darkness energy as he stepped into view, his eyes narrowed with something between admiration and surprise.

"You did it faster than I expected," Elyon said in a low voice, his words brushing through the air like whispers from the dark. "No alarms, no resistance, not even a sound."

Lin Mu gave a small nod. "He was unprepared. Focused entirely on cultivation, shielded by arrogance. He never imagined anyone would breach this place, much less strike him down."

Elyon tilted his head, observing the empty cushion where the Patriarch had once sat. "Efficient... almost too efficient. That man’s death was easier than snuffing out a candle flame."

"The true difficulty lies ahead," Lin Mu replied. His tone remained calm, but his eyes glinted. "The Patriarch is gone, but the sect is not. More than thirty elders remain in this hall, some of them powerful. We cannot allow them to notice a void too soon."

Elyon’s lips curved into a subtle smile. "Then let me weave a shadow to fill the gap."

He raised his hands, dark qi flowing like liquid smoke from his palms.

SHUA

GURGLE

It gathered in the air above the cushion, condensing into a form. Elyon closed his eyes briefly, pulling threads of memory from the surrounding darkness. The shadows remembered the Patriarch: his posture, his mannerisms, even the way he breathed during meditation.

From those lingering fragments, Elyon shaped a perfect image.

Moments later, the figure of the Patriarch appeared once again, seated cross-legged upon the cushion. His brown robes were intact, the crest of the Hidden Cave Sect visible upon his back. His eyes were closed, his aura faintly circulating as though he remained in deep cultivation.

Lin Mu studied the illusion carefully.

Even to his sharp senses, it was convincing. Yet deception of this level required more than just appearances. He pulled out a small formation stone from his ring, etched with complex runes of binding and relay.

Pressing it to the floor, he connected it directly with the surrounding array. At once, the illusion merged with the flow of energy. To the broader network of the sect, the Patriarch’s presence would continue without interruption.

"This will hold?" Elyon asked, his voice a murmur that barely rose above the hum of the array.

Lin Mu’s eyes narrowed in concentration. "It will. The formation stone stabilizes the false reading, so even if you move your shadow construct away later or it fades, the array will still report that the Patriarch is here. At least until I remove it myself."

Elyon chuckled softly, the sound echoing like a low growl. "Then we can play this game for a while longer. I almost pity the elders. They will think their Patriarch still breathes while their fate closes in."

Lin Mu straightened, his mind already turning to the next step. "We cannot act recklessly. Thirty elders remain in the floors below, with cultivations ranging from the Fifth Tribulation to the Seventh. If even one raises an alarm, it will shake the entire sect.

But if we strike them in silence, one by one, the Hidden Cave Sect will crumble without ever knowing how it happened."