Chapter 187 – Try It and Die

The Pure Yang Body failed to take effect, which left Yuan Ce somewhat panicked and perplexed.

Regarding this, Mu Lin could only say that while the Pure Yang Flame indeed suppressed most evil spirits, the Seven Po were the foundation of the human body. As a result, Nailing Seven Po became a Mystical Art related to the very essence of the human body—it was not merely a simple curse or contamination by evil energy. Thus, his Pure Yang Qi had little effect.

The inability to eradicate the Curse Art not only changed Yuan Ce’s expression but also darkened Chu Hongxuan’s face beside him.

He too realized that his robust vitality had almost no impact on Nailing Seven Po.

This stirred a sense of regret within him.

“I shouldn’t have tried it. Now it’s turned into ‘try and you’ll die’.”

…

It must be said that as scions of noble families, these individuals indeed possessed greater insight than ordinary Qi Refiners.

Although their abilities’ ineffectiveness caused them some anxiety, within an extremely short time, they still managed to understand the state of their bodies.

“This isn’t an ordinary Curse Art but a profound curse involving a person’s Three Hun and Seven Po… But how is this possible? In such a short time, how did he master this Curse Technique to such an advanced level?”

Hua Meng: “It should only be the Seven Po. If I’m not mistaken, we’ll face six more attacks. Once all Seven Po are nailed, that will be our demise.”

Hearing this, Chu Hongxuan retorted somewhat irritably, “Only you will die. We didn’t provoke Mu Lin and weren’t marked by him.”

Yuan Ce: “Right. As long as we aren’t foolish enough to accept your curse replication again, we’ll be fine.”

“Hehe…”

Upon hearing this, Hua Meng neither grew angry nor panicked. Instead, she giggled and said, “Are you sure? Remember, in the assessment, we are opponents. Do you really think Mu Lin will spare you?”

As she spoke, she even put on an aggrieved expression:

“By the way, I didn’t provoke Mu Lin either. Since he dared to curse me without reason, he naturally dares to curse you too.”

“Of course, you could also kneel and beg Mu Lin for mercy…”

“Shut up!”

Every single person present believed that the willful and capricious Hua Meng had undoubtedly provoked Mu Lin upon encountering him.

However, just as Hua Meng said, they also didn’t believe that Mu Lin would spare them during the assessment.

This was a war, a battle heavily tied to interests. Everyone understood that to achieve a higher ranking and gain the favor of their families, the academy, and certain mentors, they would exert their utmost effort.

Since they themselves were like this, they naturally assumed Mu Lin would be the same.

Under such circumstances, Mu Lin, who posed a threat to everyone, became the enemy of all.

“Let’s join forces. No matter what, we must eliminate Mu Lin first.”

“Agreed. His threat is too great.”

“Silently cursing enemies from a distance… I won’t feel at ease until that guy is dead…”

While some were prepared to ally, others harbored reservations.

For instance, Yuan Ce, who still wished to observe the Clone Cultivation True Intent Diagram from Mu Lin, did not want to conflict with him.

Thus, after hesitating for a moment, he spoke up:

“Ahem, do we really need to go this far? This assessment isn’t about killing all our enemies but accumulating points. We can coexist peacefully.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhanpeng immediately sneered coldly: “Yuan Ce, when did you become so naive? It’s true that peaceful coexistence is possible, but the likelihood of Mu Lin suddenly cursing us is far greater. Are you willing to gamble on that?”

“Anyway, I absolutely cannot allow such a dangerous enemy to lurk in the shadows, nor do I want to hand over the initiative to someone else.”

“…You’re right.”

Knowing that conflict was unavoidable, Yuan Ce said no more.

With Yuan Ce giving up and Hua Meng further stirring the pot, the group from Jade Lake Dao Academy quickly decided on a joint strategy: first, eliminate Mu Lin from the game.

Once the decision was made, Yan Zhanpeng, Chu Hongxuan, and Hua Meng immediately sprang into action.

…

At this moment, Mu Lin remained completely unaware of Jade Lake Dao Academy’s decision.

With his main body hidden underground, he moved while releasing Paper Figures to attack Evil Spirits and demonic monsters.

As for the Paper Figure Curse, Mu Lin was also employing it.

However, while Nailing Seven Po was powerful, it required his Cursed Paper Figure to have a deep enough connection with the enemy to target the Seven Po, which symbolized the physical essence.

Because of this, before each Coffin Nail could be driven in, Mu Lin needed to spend a considerable amount of time stabilizing the connection between the Paper Figure and Hua Meng.

Moreover, since Hua Meng was powerful and her presence occasionally weakened, deepening the connection between the Cursed Paper Figure and her was no easy task. This meant it took him several hours just to drive in a single Coffin Nail.

“Several hours for each nail—to fully secure her Seven Po would take at least two to three days… Indeed, attempting to remotely curse a Prodigy to death is no simple feat.”

“But it doesn’t matter. I can afford the time.”

Assigning a Substitute Paper Figure to handle the curse, Mu Lin’s main body focused its attention on slaughtering demonic monsters.

Given the overwhelming numbers of monsters outside, Mu Lin did not gather a hundred or so Yin Soldiers Paper Figures to charge head-on with the monsters. Instead, he adopted a bait-and-lure tactic.

The wealthy and powerful spectators outside could clearly see that as Mu Lin raced underground, he released numerous Paper Figures.

These Paper Figures would emerge from the coffin (Nether Spirit Coffin) and grow with the wind, transforming into vivid, lifelike humans.

The humans varied in size and age, and upon appearing, they would all scream in terror and flee in panic.

Faced with such weak, defenseless humans—like lambs to the slaughter—the Demons and Monsters naturally showed no mercy.

“Kekeke, your body is mine…”

“Flesh, fresh flesh…”

“So hungry.”

“I want you dead…”

Some Malevolent Ghosts would directly possess the fleeing humans, attempting to take over their bodies.

Others, with sinister laughter, would raise their blades and charge to kill.

Still others would even open their mouths wide, intending to devour the humans alive.

However, whether Malevolent Ghosts or demonic monsters, upon seeing such feeble humans, they would instinctively underestimate them.

Some Demons and Monsters even toyed with the pitiful humans out of a playful mindset.

And then, tragedy struck them.

Malevolent Ghosts attempting to possess the bodies would have their souls sealed directly by the Paper Figures.

Those who swallowed the Paper Figures whole would have their bellies torn open.

Careless Demons and Monsters were easily killed in retaliation.

What made it even more unbearable for them was that most Paper Figures showed no fear of life or death.

Under Mu Lin’s control, even when a Paper Figure had its arm torn off, it did not resist. Then, at the moment when the demonic monsters were most relaxed, it would suddenly thrust a blade forward.

With the lifelike appearance of the Paper Figures and their fearlessness of life and death, Mu Lin slaughtered nearly a hundred Malevolent Ghosts and demonic monsters in an extremely short time.

This scene further elevated Mu Lin’s importance in the eyes of the crowd.

This time, however, it was no longer ordinary wealthy individuals or powerful officials who valued him. Several commanders of the Demon Suppression Division, upon witnessing Mu Lin’s abilities, also had their eyes light up.

(End of Chapter)