Chapter 358 – Hell Ukiyo-e

As the sovereign of command and dominion, the King Yama never stands alone.

The Civil and Military Judges are his most important subordinates.

Beneath the Civil and Military Judges are numerous Ghost Messengers.

These Ghost Messengers also exude powerful auras, numbering three thousand in total, and each holds a chain imbued with a trace of Spirit Tool essence.

Just these Ghost Messengers and the chains in their hands alone leave no doubt that they could rival a Mortal Shedding Cultivator.

However, having already witnessed three Mortal Shedding-level Dharma Images earlier, while the Ghost Messengers still astonished the onlookers, they did not seem excessively extraordinary.

What truly shocked them were the Mortal Shedding Dharma Image auras both inside and outside the hall.

Inside the hall were the chains.

—Artifacts of the Mystic Treasure category can also serve as Dharma Images.

Of course, the Mystic Treasure in Mu Lin’s hall was not of this nature; it was a Spirit Tool.

Due to the characteristic that a Spirit Tool requires a wielder to fully unleash its power, the Avici Chains in Yan Yunyu’s hands were merely a Top-Grade Artifact, but in Mu Lin’s current grasp, they possessed the might of a Mystic Treasure (Mortal Shedding).

King Yama, the Civil and Military Judges, the Avici Chains, and the numerous Netherworld Soldiers.

A rough estimate suggested that just this single King Yama’s Hall possessed nearly five Mortal Shedding-level combat forces.

And the city outside the hall was no less impressive.

“Splash…”

At the outermost edge of Lidu City flowed a moat with a deep, dark hue, where the shadow of a black jiao with Mortal Shedding aura swam freely.

To the west of the hall lay a filthy Blood Pool, teeming with scarlet demonic creatures exuding slaughterous intent, Asuras, and a nine-headed blood jiao, all wreaking havoc within.

At the very center of the Blood Pool stood a Long Saber saturated with slaughterous aura, which also radiated a Mortal Shedding presence.

To the north of the hall stretched a beautiful yet eerie Other Shore Flower Sea, where over a hundred thousand Manjusaka flowers bloomed quietly.

The convergence of power within the flower sea elevated the energy of this place to the Mortal Shedding realm as well.

And within Fengdu City, numerous Beiwei Army troops patrolled everywhere…

…

The Civil and Military Judges, the Avici Chains, Ink Jiao – Hebo, the Other Shore Flower Sea, the Blood Pool Hell, the Blade of Slaughter… In addition, there were thousands of Ghost Messengers, tens of thousands of Yin Soldiers, and numerous Asuras.

The fully unfurled True Spirit Karma Diagram presented to this world a complete panorama of a Hellish ukiyo-e scene.

And now, all these Mortal Shedding combat forces, along with the myriad Ghost Messengers and Yin Soldiers, turned their gazes simultaneously toward Luo Chen’s direction.

The convergence of countless eyes filled with battle intent and malice pressed upon Luo Chen like a mountain, causing him to involuntarily take a step back.

Yet, compared to the physical weight, the burden on his mind at this moment was even heavier.

The multitude of Mortal Shedding auras and the thousands of Netherworld Soldiers made him feel as if he were in a dream.

“Impossible!”

“How could you manifest so many Mortal Shedding Dharma Images? How could your Mana possibly sustain them!”

His worldview shattered, he was somewhat unwilling to believe all of this.

And he was far from the only one who felt as though everything before his eyes was an illusion.

“So many Mortal Shedding auras… I must be dreaming.”

“Is it because of the Other Shore Flower Sea? This flower sea can indeed create dreamlike, illusory scenes.”

Thinking this, some Cultivators enveloped by Lidu City couldn’t help but form hand seals, stirring their Mana in an attempt to break through the ‘Illusion Realm’ before them.

Naturally, this did not succeed. Everything Mu Lin had summoned was real.

This scene left everyone utterly speechless.

In the air, Luo Chen tried several methods to break through Mu Lin’s Illusion Realm, but the more spells he used, the heavier his heart grew.

In the end, he had no choice but to admit that everything before him was real.

The moment he realized the truth, Luo Chen felt a strong urge to give up completely.

‘This is impossible. Mu Lin, that bastard, is blatantly cheating. There’s no way to fight this.’

‘Who can summon Mortal Shedding Dharma Images before even completing Gang Condensation? And not just one, but a whole group of them.’

‘Can you have any shame? Is this how cultivation is supposed to work?’

Exhausted and disheartened, Luo Chen felt a sense of despair.

However, he soon remembered the expectations the Northern Wasteland Clans had placed on him and his own ideal of completely ending the calamities in the north.

His convictions reignited his determination, strengthening his Dao heart.

Thus, Luo Chen did not give up or admit defeat. Instead, he let out a resounding shout:

“Mu Lin, don’t think that numbers alone can stop me. I’ll show you that no matter how many sheep there are, they can’t stand against a pack of wolves.”

“Fire Calamity!”

“Boom!”

With his furious roar, Luo Chen transformed all his Calamity Qi into the most destructive form—the calamity of fire. This change turned the dark clouds in the sky into a sea of flames.

His hundred-meter-tall body, fueled by rage, swelled into a two-hundred-meter-tall giant of fire.

Now, this giant formed from the calamity of flames reached down and pulled a massive, magma-flowing longsword from the earth.

Swinging the giant sword, Luo Chen brought it crashing down toward Mu Lin’s Yama’s Hall.

“Boom!”

The colossal giant and the hundred-meter-long sword made Luo Chen’s strike resemble a meteor crashing down.

It must be said that advancing to Mortal Shedding had indeed greatly enhanced Luo Chen’s power. Now, even a casual strike from him was equivalent to his full strength during the Gang Sha stage.

Unfortunately, such an attack did not succeed.

“Audacious fool! How dare you offend the King Yama and disrupt the order of the Netherworld! You deserve to be cut into a thousand pieces and pierced by ten thousand arrows!”

Upon seeing someone challenge the authority of the King Yama, the first to roar in anger was naturally Civil Judge Cui Yu. Holding the Book of Life and Death, he shouted, and countless blades and weapons materialized out of thin air, slicing Luo Chen’s body into pieces. However:

“Useless! I am calamity itself. Ordinary attacks can never harm me. Moreover, the calamity of blades and weapons is also calamity—refine it for me!”

With Luo Chen’s furious roar, his severed fiery body immediately began to merge back together.

Many of the countless blades and weapons also transformed into Calamity Qi, which Luo Chen absorbed.

Witnessing this, Mu Lin, who had taken on the form of the King Yama, couldn’t help but praise:

“As expected, you’re not so easy to deal with.”

After all, Luo Chen was the most outstanding Prodigy among the hundreds of millions in the Northern Wastelands, the savior favored by the Heavenly Dao, the chosen one of destiny.

The Calamity Monarch Dharma Image he had condensed was also among the finest.

In a one-on-one fight, neither Civil Judge Cui Yu nor Military Judge Zhong Kui, as summoned by Mu Lin, would necessarily be able to defeat Luo Chen—after all, Mu Lin’s Civil and Military Judges were not the real Cui Yu and Zhong Kui but merely manifestations he had condensed, lacking the power of their mythical counterparts.

However, while a one-on-one fight might not work, what awaited Luo Chen now was an utterly shameless gang-up.

While Judge Cui Yu was cutting Luo Chen’s body into pieces, Zhong Kui was not idle either. The gourd at his waist directly merged with his main body.

“Boom!”

The fusion caused Zhong Kui’s size to instantly skyrocket. In the blink of an eye, he transformed from an ordinary human size into a towering, burly giant a hundred meters tall.

With his massive, imposing stature, he directly began inhaling the scattered calamity flames.

“Inhale…”

“Exhale!”

As he inhaled with all his might, countless flames were drawn into Zhong Kui’s body like swallows returning to their nest.

“Daring to swallow my calamity flames? You’re seeking your own death.”

When the flames were first swallowed, Luo Chen didn’t mind; in fact, he felt a secret delight.

Flames born from calamity are not so easy to devour. These calamity flames can ignite most things.

However, Luo Chen’s confidence lasted only a few breaths before it was extinguished.

“How is this possible? How can you digest my calamity flames!”

Luo Chen couldn’t understand, but Mu Lin had full confidence in Zhong Kui’s devouring ability.

Consider the Heaven Grade Array, the Twilight Illusion Life-Death Array. Consider the Primordial Chaos Yuan Gang that dissolves all things.

With a treasure gourd fused with numerous abilities, not only could it devour and digest calamity flames, but even if Luo Chen entered it, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

Moreover, due to the immense amount of Central Wuji Sha, Zhong Kui’s crimson treasure gourd also possessed an immovable and unchanging nature. The defense of its gourd shell was virtually impregnable.

With such formidable defensive capabilities, combined with the Twilight Illusion Life-Death Array and the Primordial Chaos Yuan Gang, not even the current Luo Chen—even if his strength were multiplied tenfold—could escape. This was Zhong Kui’s ultimate ability—Ghost Devouring.

Of course, once swallowed, Luo Chen truly couldn’t escape. However, due to the lack of a matching Cultivation Method, it was still difficult for Zhong Kui to swallow him.

Just like now, sensing the dire situation, with a single thought from Luo Chen, the thousands of flames that had been sliced apart by Cui Yu all transformed into calamity-fire crows, flying chaotically in all directions to evade Zhong Kui’s devouring.

And then… they ran headlong into the surging waves of Ink Jiao – Hebo.

As the True Spirit Karma Diagram fully unfolded, Ink Jiao – Hebo’s abilities were unleashed to their fullest. As a result, it now measured a full three hundred and sixty meters in length. With a single charge of its massive body, countless calamity-fire crows were extinguished.

And Luo Chen’s predicament didn’t end there.

“Clatter, clatter…”

As Mu Lin chanted, the Avici Chains suddenly multiplied into thousands, weaving together in the air to form a gigantic bird’s nest.

Then, this nest inverted and descended, aiming to trap Luo Chen within and silence his abilities.

This sight startled Luo Chen. Immediately, he roared, “Wind!”

With his roar, a massive swarm of calamity-fire crows suddenly transformed into thousands of gray-black streams of wind, rushing frantically outward.

However, halfway through their charge, one-third of the black wind calamity turned back and re-entered the Heavenlock Domain, where it was completely silenced.

Another third of the black wind calamity flew into Zhong Kui’s gaping maw and into the body of Ink Jiao – Hebo.

This change didn’t occur because Luo Chen suddenly became foolish, but due to the influence of the Other Shore Flower Sea.

Though it lacked overwhelming spectacle, its powerful Illusion Art had silently and imperceptibly affected Luo Chen.

Thus, in the blink of an eye, the body of Luo Chen, who was hailed as invincible, had shrunk by a full two-thirds.

When the numerous wind calamities gathered once more, Luo Chen’s Dharma Image measured only thirty-three meters in size.

“…”

This scene left many speechless. Some of the cultivators watching the battle even felt that Luo Chen at this moment was utterly pitiful.

“So tragic.”

“I can hardly bear to watch. How is he supposed to fight with just his head?”

“Exactly. He’s alone, while Mu Lin has several Mortal Shedding-level combatants on his side. And not one of these Mortal Shedding combatants is ordinary—their abilities and traits are each more exaggerated than the last… the Avici Chains that silence everything, the burly Dharma Protector (Zhong Kui) that devours everything, the Ink Dragon that commands forbidden waters, the Other Shore Flower Sea that affects the Divine Soul and memories… Luo Chen, just surrender. Facing such a monster, losing is no disgrace.”

(End of Chapter)