Chapter 289 – Cultivation Surges: Sha Refinement Perfected in One Incense Stick?

Mu Lin was unaware of the commotion outside. His reason for summoning numerous paper figures was quite simple.

“The ninth time, and the baleful qi has only fused by 9%… So slow…”

Each over-limit fusion only increased the fusion rate by 1%. To reach 100%, which meant completing Sha Refinement, would require 100 attempts—a number that was actually quite normal.

For ordinary cultivators, each fusion required three to five days of rest. One hundred attempts would amount to 300 to 500 days, roughly a year and a half.

Well, considering that most people couldn’t push themselves to the limit (completely turning into clay sculptures) and would stop refining once their bodies sustained damage to begin recuperating, their efficiency was only half or even one-third of Mu Lin’s. Under normal circumstances, it would take ordinary people three to five years to fully complete Sha Refinement—and that didn’t even account for the time spent searching for baleful qi.

Of course, this was for ordinary people. Prodigies from aristocratic families had access to various auxiliary resources, allowing them to shorten the time to about a year or a year and a half.

As for Mu Lin, with his Substitute Paper Figures, it would only take him three to five hours.

This was already incredibly fast, but Mu Lin still found it too slow. Thus, he employed the Clone cultivation method, having numerous paper figures accompany him in refining Sha.

“Hum!”

The appearance of the thirteen Substitute Paper Figures indeed greatly accelerated Mu Lin’s cultivation speed.

Absorbing the Central Wuji Sha, mixing it with mana imprints and divine soul imprints, and finally, the paper figures turning into clay sculptures, completely shattering, leaving behind only the refined Sha mana imprinted with Mu Lin’s mark.

—Since this transformed mana bore Mu Lin’s imprint, he only needed to absorb it back into his body without having to refine the Sha a second time.

In this way, Mu Lin’s cultivation speed suddenly increased more than tenfold.

9%, 10%, 11%, 13%, 15%, 17%… 24%… 33%…

With the help of the thirteen Substitute Paper Figures, Mu Lin’s aura visibly swelled rapidly. In less than the time it took to finish a cup of tea, his aura had risen from the initial stage of Sha Refinement to the mid-stage.

Moreover, judging by Mu Lin’s actions, his cultivation speed didn’t slow down even after reaching the mid-stage.

Such a scene thoroughly shocked those outside.

“In just the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, his cultivation level has advanced by a minor stage. Could it be that he’ll reach the completion of Sha Refinement in the time it takes an incense stick to burn?”

“How… how can cultivation progress so quickly…”

“This can’t be real. I don’t believe it. How can there be such a fast cultivation speed in the world!”

“Slap!”

“Ouch… that hurts! Why did you hit me?”

“I wanted to see if I was dreaming. Since you felt pain, this must be real.”

“Damn it, if you wanted to test it, you should have hit yourself…”

…

Mu Lin’s rapid progress completely stirred up the ordinary aristocratic families, sparking endless discussions.

Even Prince Liang and East Sea King, who had already held Mu Lin in high regard, couldn’t help but be affected.

East Sea King: “Seventh Brother, how long did it take our Celestial Master Zhang to refine Sha back then?”

“Three… three months… He possessed an innate Dao body, his constitution close to the heavens. When baleful qi fused with his body, it had almost no effect on him. Those three months were the time he spent accumulating mana…”

At this point, Prince Liang suddenly froze.

“Wait, mana. Mu Lin’s actions defy logic. Besides Baleful Qi, Sha Refinement also requires enhancing mana. Where does he get the mana to fuse with the Baleful Qi?”

Prince Liang noticed the anomaly and couldn’t comprehend it.

As for Mu Lin, he felt somewhat relieved.

“Thank goodness for the Divine Law Domain and the Spirit Vein. I never expected Sha Refinement to consume so much mana…”

Yes, the Divine Law Domain and the Spirit Vein.

The reason Mu Lin only summoned thirteen Paper Figures, rather than summoning most of them, was that the remaining Paper Figures were largely stationed within the Divine Law Domain, constantly supplying him with Spiritual Energy.

  By the way, although many Substitute Paper Figures had been lost since entering the Grave Lord’s Tomb, the number of Substitute Paper Figures Mu Lin still possessed was around three hundred. Moreover, these lost Paper Figures were gradually being replenished over time.

Within the Netherworld Law Domain, some Substitute Paper Figures were refining Spiritual Energy to provide support for Mu Lin.

Some Paper Figures floated and sank within the Spirit Vein, being nurtured by the Yin Spirit Vein.

Another portion of the Paper Figures was busy crafting Substitute Paper Figures.

Yes, Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figures could also help him create more Substitute Paper Figures.

Although there were limitations—requiring traces of Mu Lin’s mana and Divine Soul as catalysts, as well as his essence blood—the ability to continuously produce them was still of immense help to Mu Lin.

This was also why Mu Lin claimed to have between three hundred and five hundred Substitute Paper Figures.

“Under normal circumstances, I have over three hundred Substitute Paper Figures. But as long as you can’t kill me in a short time, my Substitute Paper Figures will increase, eventually reaching over five hundred.”

“And that’s just for now. In the future, if I can achieve Spirit of Law, nurture my Divine Soul, and regenerate blood… as long as my enemy can’t kill me hundreds or thousands of times in a short period, I can substitute death indefinitely.”

While envisioning this bright future, Mu Lin continued refining the Central Wuji Sha.

Another cup of tea later, Mu Lin’s Cultivation Level had advanced from mid-stage Sha Refinement to late-stage Sha Refinement.

By this time, the number of Substitute Paper Figures he had lost had reached sixty or seventy.

“His Cultivation Level has risen again…”

“Is his Cultivation Level the important thing now? It’s his lives! He’s already lost sixty or seventy lives, and from the looks of it, he isn’t planning to stop… Damn it, how many lives does he even have?!”

“To deal with Mu Lin, you’d have to kill him at least a hundred times from the start… Who could possibly kill him?!”

“Monster…”

“Contact our descendants in the tomb. Tell them that no matter what, they must not provoke Mu Lin… That guy is simply unkillable!”

Starting with a hundred lives—such extravagance made many Aristocratic Families completely abandon any thought of opposing Mu Lin.

At the same time, having witnessed Mu Lin’s “tenacity,” an idea uncontrollably surfaced in their minds.

“Hey, do you think the Grave Lord Inheritance this time might end up with Mu Lin?”

“…”

This question left many speechless.

If someone had said this earlier, they would have been ridiculed to death.

After all, back then, Mu Lin had just entered Sha Refinement, while others were at Gang Condensation or even Gang Sha Unity. At that time, Mu Lin was completely incomparable to them.

Due to his low Cultivation Level, even Si Ye, Dongfang Ya, and Master Meng Rui didn’t think highly of him and wanted to prevent him from entering the Grave Lord’s Legacy Realm.

Yet now, witnessing Mu Lin’s steadily rising strength and contemplating his unfathomable destiny, the aristocratic families fell into silence.

After a long while, someone finally spoke: “Mu Lin indeed possesses the qualification to obtain the Grave Lord Inheritance, but it is merely a qualification.”

“I admit he is formidable, yet Mingling Zi, Drunken Wanderer, and Lingxu Zi are no weaklings either.”

“And then there’s Little Overlord, whose valor is unmatched by ten thousand men. Mu Lin merely has more lives to spare—in a real battle, he may not necessarily be a match for Drunken Wanderer and the others.”

Following this remark, another voice expressed concern: “The dangers within the Grave Lord Inheritance are not limited to humans. Evil God Scions, demons and monsters have undoubtedly infiltrated as well, and they are far from weak.”

“No, no, I believe what we should worry about most is the Grave Lord Inheritance itself… This is a burial ground for deities. I have a premonition that the Grave Lord’s trials will not be so easily overcome.”

“I share that sentiment. Even a centipede does not perish easily, let alone a deity. To obtain the Grave Lord Inheritance and glimpse the secrets of the divine is by no means a simple matter.”

(End of Chapter)