Chapter 284 – Mu Lin: The Duke May Turn Coat and Surrender with Courtesy

“You are the one who should submit, weakling!”

Faced with the corruption of the Evil God’s resentment, Mu Lin’s first thought was not purification or eradication, but domination and control, viewing the Evil God’s resentment as a weakling and a failure.

Such behavior was undoubtedly an act of arrogance.

Yet this sentiment aligned perfectly with Mu Lin’s Vow Power Heart Flame. Thus, once Mu Lin took action—

“Boom!” The flames of domination on the City God Avatar suddenly blazed brightly, engaging in a direct, head-on confrontation with the Evil God’s resentment.

“…”

A mere mortal daring to dominate a god—this was something even the Evil God’s resentment had not anticipated.

The incessant, overlapping whispers in Mu Lin’s mind briefly paused as a result.

However, this pause was only momentary. In the next instant, the Evil God’s resentment, having regained its senses, assaulted him even more fiercely and urgently.

“… Mortal, how dare you disrespect a god…”

“Kneel, submit…”

“Die… all must die…”

“Lowly insect, the great **** is no failure. My master is ****, ****, ***”

“Save me… save me…”

“Wah…”

The Evil God before him had ultimately perished, leaving behind only Resentment and Baleful Qi. Thus, the nameless Evil God could not concentrate all its power against Mu Lin.

Just as its furious rebuke reached halfway, it shifted to something else.

Yet, the opponent’s level was ultimately too high.

Even without being able to exert its full strength, the madly encroaching Evil God’s resentment still caused more and more anomalies to appear within Mu Lin’s Netherworld Law Domain.

Looking around, Mu Lin noticed that the Yin Earth in his Netherworld Law Domain was gradually emitting a foul stench.

Withered hands emerged from the stench-filled soil, stretching toward the sky.

At the same time, a mist began to form within the Netherworld Law Domain, spreading rapidly.

Within that eerie mist, shadowy figures, murmuring voices, and countless resentful ghostly faces could be seen…

All of this made Mu Lin’s Netherworld Law Domain increasingly eerie.

Fortunately, Mu Lin’s Netherworld Law Domain was not without the ability to resist.

“The will to break the formation, no retreat even in death!”

“Kill!”

The first line of defense was the Beiwei Army. Gathered together, they stood like mountains and surged like tides, advancing forward to eliminate the anomalies within the Netherworld Law Domain.

Simultaneously, the Jade Gate Pass of Cangshan, projected by their collective will, acted as a barrier, safeguarding Mu Lin’s City God Dharma Image.

Once they took action, the encroaching resentment had to first breach the defense of the Jade Gate Pass of Cangshan before it could reach Mu Lin.

Yet this was no easy task. The divine essence of the Jade Gate Pass of Cangshan was not only the Beiwei Army’s unwavering will to break the formation even in death but also bolstered by human legends—many believed the Jade Gate Pass of Cangshan was impregnable and, through these tales, firmly believed that an undefeated army resided there, one that would return to fight even after death.

Such unwavering belief was an immensely powerful force, making the Jade Gate Pass of Cangshan exceedingly difficult to corrupt—even for the Evil God’s resentment.

“Kill!”

“The city stands as long as we stand.”

“We will never surrender!”

The Beiwei Army and the Jade Gate Pass of Cangshan formed the first line of defense in Mu Lin’s City God Domain, confronting the Evil God’s resentment head-on.

The second line of defense was the Other Shore Flower Sea.

Feeding on resentment, they directly decomposed and digested the Evil God’s resentment.

This approach indeed strengthened the power of the Other Shore Flower Sea—new Other Shore Flowers grew as a result.

However, it must be said that the eternal Outer Gods are truly formidable beings.

Even though He has long been dead, and what remains now is merely lingering resentment, these remnants are still incredibly difficult to deal with.

Many of the newly born Other Shore Flowers were tainted by the Evil God’s resentment, transforming into malevolent blooms.

Upon these evil flower stalks, instead of ordinary blossoms, there now appeared ghostly faces filled with resentment and hatred.

At this moment, these ghostly faces were repeatedly proclaiming the greatness and innate divinity of ****.

“Mortal, you understand nothing of a Deity’s greatness. The great **** is eternal and immortal, one who innately commands the myriad laws of existence…”

Hearing the words of the malevolent Other Shore Flowers, Mu Lin did not refute them but nodded instead, saying:

“You are right. Deities are indeed powerful. But so what? In the end, He is dead—a failure. And I will ultimately Ascend to Godhood.”

“Moreover, I will become a God above Gods, mastering all Hells and death itself, becoming one of the world’s supreme powers.”

“If you and your master are wise, you should lay down your arms and surrender with respect. In doing so, you may still retain positions of nobility… No, if you submit to me and aid me in achieving my path, I would not mind, after Ascending to Godhood, pulling your master back to serve as a Deity of the underworld.”

Mu Lin’s words were not merely spoken for the sake of argument.

Becoming a God above Gods was the future he had envisioned for himself, and he had the confidence to reach it, steadily working toward that goal step by step.

Even the notion of commanding Deities was no empty boast; he genuinely believed he could bring dead Deities back, for Hell itself is the Avatar of death.

Because he sincerely believed he would become a God above Gods, capable of ruling even Deities, this conviction caused his Dominion Heart Flame to surge once more.

Naturally, the Evil God’s resentment did not accept Mu Lin’s ideas and felt deeply insulted.

“Silence, ignorant child… To demand the submission of a great Deity—mortal, you blaspheme the great ****. You shall suffer the punishment of ten thousand insects devouring your flesh, and your soul shall burn for eons under black flames. You… you understand nothing of a Deity’s greatness. My master is eternal and immortal, one who innately commands the myriad laws of existence…”

“…Mortal, kneel and submit…”

What stood before him was not the true form of the Evil God, nor even His followers, but the lingering resentment after death.

Thus, the ghostly face’s words were forever disjointed and endlessly repetitive.

Seeing this, Mu Lin lost all desire to debate further and instead directed his Heart Flame to burn the ghostly faces upon the Other Shore Flowers.

“Those who are dead should sink into Hell. I shall claim everything of yours.”

“Hiss!”

“No… I am a follower of ***. My master is eternal…”

The Heart Flame burning the ghostly faces of the Other Shore Flowers represented a clash of wills between Mu Lin and the Evil God’s resentment.

According to Mu Lin’s expectations, this struggle would be prolonged.

But soon, something unexpected occurred.

In just a few dozen breaths, the ghostly faces on the Other Shore Flowers were completely dominated by Mu Lin’s Heart Flame.

“Ignoring the Ghost-Faced Flower’s prayer, Mu Lin was currently astonished by his own success.

Moreover, such an easy success also made Mu Lin hesitate.

‘Could there be some conspiracy behind this…’

After carefully sensing his surroundings, Mu Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

‘So that’s it. The Grave Lord’s Seals are still in effect. Most of this Evil God’s resentment is suppressed by the Grave Lord. What’s leaking out are just some faint traces.’

…

Thinking this far, Mu Lin also recalled something… Although the Evil God’s resentment kept murmuring incessantly in his ear, ultimately, its name was never revealed to Mu Lin.

Clearly, this Evil God’s True Name was sealed away by the Grave Lord.

After all, True Names hold power in this world. Knowing its True Name would give it a chance to resurrect.

…

Knowing that most of the Evil God’s resentment was sealed by the Grave Lord, Mu Lin immediately grew bolder in his actions.

‘Whoosh…’

Under his guidance, a vast surge of resentment was drawn into the Netherworld Law Domain. Then, this resentment was first slaughtered by the Beiwei Army, then decomposed and digested by the Other Shore Flowers.

Finally, Mu Lin’s heart-fire would burn this Evil God’s resentment, dominating and controlling the mutated Other Shore Flowers.

Such actions not only allowed Mu Lin’s Other Shore Flower Sea to grow rapidly but also counted as an alternative method of balancing yin and yang.

As a righteous City God, if Mu Lin wished to advance, he needed to do only two things.

One was to protect human peace and gather Incense Offerings and fortune.

The other was to smooth out the Earth Veins and resolve the land’s Resentment.

This was the duty of a City God, and also their path to accumulating Incense Merit and advancing themselves.

Now, as the Evil God’s resentment was dominated and resolved, undoubtedly, Mu Lin had fulfilled his duty.

Consequently, Incense Merit manifested upon the City God Avatar.

‘If I continue refining like this, my City God Dharma Image will surely become a Prefecture City God.’

…

Inside the Netherworld Law Domain, Mu Lin’s City God Avatar diligently continued his Divine Path cultivation.

Outside, Mu Lin’s Main Body, after most others had entered, gritted his teeth and stepped into the Grave Lord’s Legacy Realm.

‘Buzz!’

The moment he entered, Mu Lin felt his vision blur, and then, the world before his eyes was completely transformed.

He went from Ping’an Ancient Street with human dwellings into the Grave Lord’s Realm.

And the first thing Mu Lin had to marvel at upon entering this realm was that the name ‘Grave Lord’ was truly fitting.

—Upon first entering the legacy realm, Mu Lin discovered that what greeted his eyes were graves, large and small, but endless graves filled his vision.

Even in his perception, aside from graves, there was almost nothing else in this world.

‘There are so many graves! And what’s buried inside them?’

After pondering for a while, Mu Lin still refrained from recklessly trying to peer into the contents of the graves. At the same time, he also didn’t have time to gaze around aimlessly.

Outside the Grave Lord’s Realm, the dead Evil God’s resentment was already eroding the sky and earth.

Inside the Grave Lord’s Realm, the erosion here was even more terrifying.”

Standing still for just a moment, Mu Lin realized that the whispers of countless resentful thoughts had already begun murmuring incessantly in his ears.

The voices carried a demonic quality, easily luring people into madness and frenzy.

Though Mu Lin was unafraid, he also knew he could only suppress them temporarily, unable to hold out indefinitely.

Yet within the Grave Lord Inheritance, these voices were intensifying almost endlessly.

If the whispers multiplied from thousands to tens of thousands, or even billions, such a tidal wave of corruption might be something even Mu Lin couldn’t withstand.

Apart from the voices, Mu Lin also noticed that the soil beneath his feet felt soft—so soft that after standing still for just a short while, his feet had already sunk into the mud.

It was foreseeable that if he remained motionless for too long, he would be completely swallowed by the soil, and something unpredictable would surely happen to him.

“I can’t delay any longer. I need to find a slightly safer place.”

With this thought, Mu Lin attempted to release his Mana to levitate.

By ascending to a higher vantage point, he could scout for an escape route and avoid being buried in the mud.

However, as soon as he released his Mana, Mu Lin narrowed his eyes—he hadn’t risen into the air.

“Such a heavy sensation… this place restricts magic!”

After testing it out, Mu Lin discovered that while this wasn’t a completely magic-free zone, about eighty to ninety percent of the power of externally released Mana was sealed and suppressed.

Even some weaker Spells had no effect at all.

Upon realizing this, Mu Lin no longer dared to be careless and felt a trace of wariness toward the Grave Lord’s Tomb.

“This place is indeed far too dangerous.”

As he spoke, Mu Lin scanned his surroundings, searching for a path forward.

Fortunately, although magic was restricted here, Mu Lin had the Yin Vein of Ping’an Ancient County supplying him with Mana, so he wasn’t overly fearful.

“Huff…”

“Swish, swish, swish…”

After continuously blowing air and releasing Paper Cranes for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and after expending over a hundred Paper Cranes, Mu Lin finally discovered a way out.

In this world filled with graves, there was a dusty yellow path leading to an unknown destination.

The path wasn’t wide and appeared somewhat worn, resembling a rural Yellow Mud Road.

But by now, many people had already found this path and were advancing along it toward an unknown place.

Seeing this, Mu Lin immediately made his way toward the path.

Another half-cup of tea’s time later, Mu Lin arrived at the path.

As soon as he stepped onto it, he immediately sensed something different about this place.

A thick, slightly immutable power emanated from the dusty yellow path, blocking most of the Evil God’s resentful thoughts and endless whispers, allowing Mu Lin’s tense body and mind to finally relax.

“No wonder the Grave Lord’s Tomb is called a Secret Realm of inheritance, rather than forbidden lands or a death trap. This path must be the trial left behind by the Grave Lord.”

Thinking this, Mu Lin originally intended to follow the others and simply walk forward.

But after taking just two steps, his expression changed.

“Wait, why does this dirt road feel so familiar? I remember someone telling me about it not too long ago…”

He didn’t ponder for long before a term suddenly flashed into his mind.

Profound Yellow Sha.

This earthen-yellow path was unmistakably composed of Profound Yellow Sha.

“Profound Yellow Sha, if I recall correctly, this is a Heavenly Grade Baleful Qi, isn’t it? For the Grave Lord to use such Baleful Qi to pave a path!”

Finding Baleful Qi so effortlessly was something Mu Lin had never anticipated before entering, let alone that the Grave Lord would be so extravagant.

Yet upon careful consideration, it made perfect sense—without such high-quality Baleful Qi, this path of inheritance could never have been preserved under the relentless assault of the Deity’s lingering resentment.

(End of Chapter)