Chapter 62 – Heavenly Induction Scripture: Azure Emperor Chapter

After killing the person, Mu Lin did not dare to delay. He immediately manipulated the remaining paper figures and arrived at the entrance of the basement.

Upon his arrival, with a “hum,” the surrounding scenery shifted, and Chu Lingluo’s figure was revealed.

This was her mystical art, Heaven-Human Synchronization.

As a Heaven Grade mid-tier cultivation method, the Scripture of Heavenly Induction – Azure Emperor Chapter possessed an extraordinary array of abilities.

First was the innate ability: Plant Control.

The Azure Emperor was the ruler of all plants and trees in the world. Named after the Azure Emperor, Chu Lingluo, who practiced this method, could also control all plants in the world.

Spring Return Art, Purification Art, Vitality Art… all derived from Plant Control.

With the Scripture of Heavenly Induction – Azure Emperor Chapter, Chu Lingluo could make plants grow rapidly, extract the life essence from their bodies, store it within herself, and use it to heal others.

As long as the extraction was moderate, it did not affect the growth of the plants, much like how trees grow taller and straighter after pruning.

Following Plant Control was Natural Sensing. Leveraging the close connection between plants and nature, Chu Lingluo could use plants as sensory extensions to detect disharmonious elements in the world.

As for Heaven-Human Synchronization, it was an advanced application of the Scripture of Heavenly Induction.

Plants were the most common entities in the world. By employing this secret art, Chu Lingluo could merge her own aura with that of the plants. In its initial stages, this concealment could only obscure her aura.

However, perhaps due to her First-Class Spirit Root, the enhancement of her pure heart, or the support of the Mind-Clearing Jade Pendant, Enlightenment Tea, and True Intent Diagram, Chu Lingluo had elevated Heaven-Human Synchronization to the third realm: Expert.

At this stage, not only was her aura concealed, but her physical form was also completely hidden through her connection with the plants.

Without careful inspection, even Mu Lin could not detect her.

Incidentally, concealing one’s form was an ability of the second realm of Heaven-Human Synchronization. The third realm involved concealing the existence of an entire area.

Below, the battle between the owner of Fu Ji and the Yellow Turban Warrior was extremely fierce. During the fight, he had called out several times for the waiter to assist him.

Yet, the waiter upstairs never responded. This was the power of the third realm of Heaven-Human Synchronization—the sounds of their battle and their urgent shouts were all concealed by Chu Lingluo using Heaven-Human Synchronization.

“Thank goodness you were here. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to lure and kill the enemies one by one.”

Hearing this, Chu Lingluo shook her head shyly and said, “It’s clearly Young Master Mu who is more impressive, using paper figures to lure and eliminate the enemies one by one… Young Master Mu, is the Paper Artisan Lineage of the Yin Eight Gates really this powerful?”

Looking at Chu Lingluo’s puzzled expression and listening to her words, Mu Lin smiled and replied, “How could that be? Although it may sound arrogant coming from me, I must say that I am special.”

This was no lie. Ordinary paper artisans did not possess Grandmaster-level paper folding skills, let alone Master-level painting abilities or Master-level calligraphy techniques.

Without innate talents like Heart Resonance, Vivid Realism, and Intent Transcending Paper, even if other paper artisans tried to mimic Mu Lin by folding paper figures to lure others, the chances of being exposed would be as high as eighty to ninety percent.

And even that was only possible when operated by a Spell Master or Adept, under the cover of night, with only a slim chance of success.

If other paper artisans were at the same cultivation level as Mu Lin, their paper figures would be as pale as paper. Even ordinary people could tell at a glance that these paper figures were not human.

“Boom!”

While the two were conversing, the battle in the basement had already been decided.

As the strongest monster on the third floor of the Tower of Illusory Heavens, even though the Fuji Proprietor had been ambushed and injured, with just a boning knife, it had still managed to hack the two Yellow Turban Warriors to pieces.

Then, in its fury, before even rushing out of the basement, it roared angrily at its subordinates.

“Bastards, where have you all gone? I called so many times, didn’t you hear… Huh?”

Before its furious roar could finish, it discovered that all of its subordinates were standing motionless behind Mu Lin.

When it appeared, the waiters even looked at it with an eerie gaze.

By now, the proprietor understood all too well that its subordinates had been taken control of by the enemy.

Not daring to delay, upon realizing the situation was dire, its first instinct was to retreat back into the basement.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Without even needing Mu Lin to act, Chu Lingluo waved her hand, and vines surged from the soil, sealing the basement entrance tightly.

At the same time, with a glance from Mu Lin, the paper figures he had folded fearlessly charged toward the enemy.

“Roar!”

With no retreat possible, a fierce battle unfolded at the entrance to the basement.

What made Mu Lin frown slightly was that the Fuji Proprietor was exceptionally fierce and brave. Despite the numerous paper figures, they couldn’t subdue it immediately.

Fortunately, Mu Lin wasn’t limited to just paper figures.

“Hoo…”

As Mu Lin blew on a folded paper sword, a longsword radiating an immortal aura once again manifested within the Tower of Illusory Heavens.

Using the paper figures to distract the enemy, Mu Lin focused his will, and the ominous paper sword sliced into the Fuji Proprietor’s body from a peculiar angle.

Once, twice, thrice, four times… Each strike that landed didn’t inflict much direct damage on the proprietor.

But the ominous bloodstains attached to the sword caused it immense suffering.

The clinging, ominous power corroded its body, steadily draining its strength.

This also made its battle with the paper figures increasingly perilous.

During the fight, it wasn’t without the idea of capturing the leader first, wanting to chop Mu Lin down initially.

However, Mu Lin’s paper figures were all fearless.

With the crowd of paper figures blocking its way, it couldn’t even get close to Mu Lin, let alone harm him.

Thus, by surrounding it with paper figures and launching sneak attacks from behind, Mu Lin easily cornered and killed it.

After its death, what raised Mu Lin’s eyebrows was that the trial of the third floor of the Tower of Illusory Heavens hadn’t ended.

Instead, a faint, seductive voice echoed in his heart.

“Believe in my Lord, offer sacrifices to my Lord. The great Lord Gluttony will grant you everything…”

This strange speech didn’t come from a single source but from countless voices overlapping.

Such a myriad of chants made the murmuring voice eerily bizarre, yet it carried a hint of sacredness.

Thousands of voices speaking simultaneously in his ears nearly ensnared Mu Lin.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, the Arrogance Heart Lamp in Mu Lin’s Sea of Consciousness blazed with light.

This radiance stirred Mu Lin’s arrogance, dispelling the seductive whispers.

“My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens!”

“No one can make me offer my faith!”

Here, relying on his arrogance, Mu Lin drove away the enemy’s temptation.

Beside him, Chu Lingluo had a clear, ringing sound emanating from her body. This crisp, musical chime refreshed one’s mind, and naturally, she too was not tempted.

“Hah…”

As Mu Lin and the others resisted this wave of temptation, before he could make any further moves, the third floor of the Tower of Illusory Heavens blurred.

Consequently, Mu Lin and his companions were expelled.

“To think we passed just like that… Indeed, that pig-headed vendor was clearly an Anomaly, not a demonic monster. It only had rule-based abilities, lacking much intelligence. As long as the rules weren’t broken, it wouldn’t actively attack people.”

“Normally, after resisting the temptation and realizing something was wrong, we would immediately report the situation here to the Demon Subduing Division. Then, stronger individuals would come to handle it, and our mission would naturally conclude.”

“Hum…”

After a flash of white light, Mu Lin and the others reappeared in the outside world.

Having eaten a meal, the time they spent this time was quite long.

What made Mu Lin raise an eyebrow was that after the white light flashed, not only did they emerge, but Jing Yeming, who had entered with them, also came out.

However, compared to Mu Lin and his group, who showed no abnormalities, Jing Yeming’s team was in a rather pitiful state.

Jing Yeming, at the forefront, had a deathly pale face, while the others were also visibly shaken.

Upon gazing at the tower body of the Tower of Illusory Heavens, Mu Lin further noticed that their names were not inscribed on the third floor.

This meant that they—had failed the trial.

“???”

(End of Chapter)