Chapter 380 – A Hundred Mortal Shedding Cultivators? The Golden God Sect Decides!

In a transcendent world where cultivators exist, the aristocratic families were psychologically prepared for assassinations by rogue transcendent individuals—having endured for so long, they had witnessed and experienced many things.

However, based on their past experiences, although transcendent assassins existed, they often caused only minor losses before being captured or killed by the aristocratic families.

As members of the transcendent realm, assassins indeed possessed numerous methods, but the aristocratic families were not idle either. Divination, tracking, aura tracing, and shadow detection—various means made it difficult for assassins to conceal their whereabouts.

At the same time, the managers and direct descendants of the major aristocratic families were equipped with various protective artifacts, guards, or guardians.

These measures ensured that most assassins found it difficult to inflict crippling damage on the aristocratic families.

A few casualties were something these large, well-established families with numerous disciples could easily bear.

But today, an unexpected event occurred.

Mu Lin, who had only recently advanced to Mortal Shedding, wiped out the core strength and young prodigies of an aristocratic family in an extremely short time.

This scene deeply alarmed the aristocratic families of the East Sea Kingdom.

Especially the Golden God Sect, the Water Moon Sect, and families like the Wei Family, who were about to come into conflict with Mu Lin.

To avoid ending up like the Xun Family, they frantically dispatched people to investigate various pieces of information, trying to understand how Mu Lin carried out such efficient killings.

While investigating, they were also filled with confusion.

“What happened to the Xun Family? I remember Mu Lin only advanced to Mortal Shedding a few days ago, and it’s highly likely that he entered the East Sea Kingdom with a clone this time. How did the Xun Family suffer such heavy casualties under these circumstances? Have years of peaceful living made them incompetent?”

It must be said that the Golden God Sect and the Water Moon Sect still possessed some capabilities.

While their sect elders were speculating wildly, the scouts they had dispatched had already uncovered some information and reported it to the higher-ups.

Upon seeing this information, the elders of the Golden God Sect and the Water Moon Sect fell silent.

For a long while, not a sound could be heard in the room.

It was no wonder they reacted this way—the intelligence reported by their subordinates was simply too shocking.

First, and most difficult for them to accept, was that according to their subordinates’ reports, they had not fully determined how many clones Mu Lin had sent this time, but the ones they had detected numbered over a hundred.

Well… the number itself wasn’t particularly significant.

Powerful Mortal Shedding cultivators could already summon nearly ten thousand subordinates—for example, Luo Chen summoned thousands of calamity crows.

What they couldn’t accept was that each of these hundred-plus paper figures possessed Mortal Shedding-level strength!

Yes, you heard correctly—over a hundred paper figures, all at Mortal Shedding.

This level of power was simply outrageous.

“How is this possible? You only advanced to Mortal Shedding recently—how can you summon over a hundred substitute paper figures?!”

“This defies all logic!”

“Everyone, do you think it’s possible… that Mu Lin isn’t acting alone, and the gentry of the Southeast Region are also participating in this retaliation under his name?”

Because the idea of over a hundred Mortal Shedding clones was too exaggerated, the incredulous elders of the Golden God Sect even speculated that aristocratic families from the Southeast Region might have joined in.

Moreover, such speculation… no one dared to refute.

It must be said that Mu Lin’s hundred-plus Mortal Shedding Paper Figures had truly frightened them.

Summoning so many peers of the same realm right after entering Mortal Shedding—they had never witnessed anything so outrageous.

However, while they found it absurd, Mu Lin considered it perfectly reasonable.

After all, the Baleful Qi he refined was not just one portion, but three hundred and sixty-five portions. This granted Mu Lin an exceptionally solid foundation and immense Mana, enabling him to truly summon so many Paper Substitutes.

Secondly, after advancing, Mu Lin was not like others at the initial stage of Mortal Shedding, but at the late stage, giving him greater confidence in achieving this.

And third, the most crucial point was… Mu Lin never relied solely on his own power.

As the City God, Mu Lin could harness the power of the Earth Veins to create Paper Figures and replenish energy.

Although in the mortal world, Mu Lin had only established one City God Domain, within the Grave Lord’s Tomb, he controlled a vast area. Drawing upon this power, Mu Lin’s Mana was as boundless as the ocean.

Incidentally, while Mu Lin could create numerous powerful Paper Figure Clones, this time, the Substitute Paper Figures he dispatched only numbered thirteen with Mortal Shedding strength.

One reason was that Mu Lin had not been at the Mortal Shedding stage for long, lacking the time to craft powerful Paper Figures. Another reason was that Mu Lin needed to keep some Paper Figures in reserve to guard against unexpected events.

As for why these thirteen Substitute Paper Figures displayed the might of a hundred Mortal Shedding cultivators, it was due to another characteristic of Grandmaster-level Substitute Paper Figures—energy transfer.

Through the connection between himself and the Paper Figures (quantum theory?), Mu Lin could nearly losslessly transmit his own power to the Paper Figures across distances.

With this innate trait, what followed was straightforward. By acting in batches, Mu Lin could leverage the energy transfer feature to allow each Substitute Paper Figure to exert Mortal Shedding-level strength.

…

A hundred-plus Mortal Shedding cultivators—such power was already terrifying and alarming.

But as they continued to observe, something even more horrifying emerged for the Elders of the Golden God Sect and the Water Moon Sect. Not only were these ‘Mu Lins’ of high cultivation, but their methods were also cruel, terrifying, and impossible to guard against.

“Presence concealment—every Mu Lin possesses this ability. If not for keen perception, even if Mu Lin approached Xun Family Cultivators head-on, they wouldn’t notice. Although a cultivator’s Sudden Premonition would still be triggered when Mu Lin acted, by then, it would already be too late.”

“I believe his strongest ability is Illusion Art. Paper Figures wearing skins allow him to transform into others. And with the Other Shore Flower, he can distort a person’s memories, making them see loved ones as mortal enemies. Many Xun Family Cultivators were killed by their own guards’ sneak attacks.”

“No, no, his strongest is Taboo Power. The Blackwater that dissolves everything, the Scarlet demonic creatures that drive people mad. Besides, he can summon the decaying Forbidden Power of the Burial Heaven Land. Some of the Xun Family’s fortresses were directly erased by Forbidden Power…”

Invisibility, Illusion Art, Forbidden Power… each of these abilities was more terrifying than the last.

When these abilities were paired with over a hundred Mortal Shedding cultivators, a qualitative change occurred.

After some contemplation, both the Golden God Sect and the Water Moon Sect fearfully realized one thing: if Mu Lin launched a full-scale attack against them, they would find it extremely difficult to withstand.

Although their sect, possessing Earth Immortals, would not face complete annihilation, the younger generation of disciples and the core managerial staff could suffer heavy casualties.

Such losses were unbearable for them.

“Ahem, I think we should reconsider our approach to dealing with Mu Lin,” said an Elder of the Water Moon Sect. Originally reluctant to get involved, they became even more unwilling after learning of the dangers of offending Mu Lin.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, another voice filled with doubt chimed in.

“I don’t want to act either, but if we don’t, it will be hard to explain to the East Sea King…”

This was indeed a dilemma. What troubled them even more was that the Water Moon Sect operated within the East Sea Kingdom. Offending the East Sea King, a prince, would make their future situation extremely precarious.

Yet, dealing with Mu Lin also carried immense risks.

This dilemma plunged the Water Moon Sect into internal strife.

Like the Water Moon Sect, the Golden God Sect… also experienced a period of chaos.

However, they had an overbearing Sect Leader.

Relying on his own prestige, he quickly quelled the unrest within the Golden God Sect.

Simultaneously, this Earth Immortal-level Sect Leader ultimately decided—to take action against Mu Lin.

“Mu Lin is just one person, while the East Sea King has long been established in the East Sea region. Whether now or in the future, aligning with the East Sea King is more beneficial for our Golden God Sect.”

“As for Mu Lin’s attacks… rest assured, he won’t last long. Once we use the Five Directions Divine Inquiry, we can locate all his Clones in Skysea City.”

“And once we capture his aura, the East Sea King can employ special means to eliminate his Main Body.”

“Moreover, we can first recall our core disciples and managerial staff to the mountain sect before taking action.”

“The Sect Leader is wise.”

Having made their decision, the Golden God Sect swiftly issued orders to their disciples outside, instructing them to return to the mountain sect.

At the same time, the Golden God Sect’s mountain-protecting formation was kept in a state ready for activation at any moment.

The Elders within the sect were also on high alert, fully prepared for battle.

Thus, with a series of orders issued, the disciples of the Golden God Sect soon returned to the mountain sect one after another.

Once all the core disciples and key managerial staff had returned, the Golden God Sect’s mountain-protecting formation was immediately activated.

Simultaneously, in the Sect Leader’s hall, the imposing Earth Immortal personally initiated the Five Directions Divine Inquiry.

“Hum!”

“Spirits of the Five Directions, tell me, where is Mu Lin?”

The Golden God Sect’s Five Directions Divine Inquiry was quite remarkable. They could use this Spell to connect with five special spirits and inquire about various information.

This information could include the location of enemies, the whereabouts of treasures, or even insights into their own breakthrough opportunities.

However, while the Five Directions Divine Inquiry was powerful, it required the consumption of extremely rare and special resources.

Additionally, after making an inquiry, they had to offer special sacrifices to the Spirits of the Five Directions.

These various restrictions meant the Golden God Sect rarely used this secret technique.

Currently, it was only because the East Sea King’s Manor had provided substantial compensation that they resolved to employ it.

Yet, what troubled the Golden God Sect’s Sect Leader was that the resources consumed to inquire about Mu Lin’s whereabouts exceeded his expectations.

“To think it would consume so many resources… That Mu Lin is indeed formidable, but he shouldn’t have provoked the East Sea King. The depth of a Prince’s Residence is simply beyond his imagination.”

Saying this, the Sect Leader of the Golden God Sect invested even more resources, continuing to seek information about Mu Lin.

As expected, the Five Directions Divine Inquiry truly projected Mu Lin’s information.

Moreover, the constantly displayed projection not only revealed Mu Lin’s information but also clearly indicated his strength levels.

Consequently, the Sect Leader of the Golden God Sect was delighted to discover that although Mu Lin had many Clones in Skysea City, not all of them had reached Mortal Shedding—only about ten or so possessed such power, while the majority were Paper Figures at the Gang Sha Sorcerer level.

This made the Sect Leader of the Golden God Sect smile:

“Just as I thought. Mu Lin, who has only recently entered Mortal Shedding, couldn’t possibly send out over a hundred Mortal Shedding Paper Figures. He isn’t as strong as we imagined.”

“Phew, that’s a relief…”

“Playing some petty tricks, huh? Mu Lin does have some wits, but not much…”

“The Sect Leader is truly wise. Resorting to deceit shows that Mu Lin is no match for the East Sea King at all. Our decision to follow the East Sea King was correct.”

“Hahaha, of course… Hmm?”

The Sect Leader’s discovery allowed the Elders of the sect to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

However, before they could fully exhale, both the Elders and the Sect Leader of the Golden God Sect suddenly froze, their expressions turning grave.

They were horrified to realize something—while there might not be over a hundred Mortal Shedding Paper Figures in Skysea City, there were indeed traces of Mu Lin within their own Golden God Sect, which had activated its mountain-protecting formation.

And not just one—thirteen Paper Figures were positioned in various locations throughout the Golden God Sect.

All of those locations were precisely where their elite disciples were stationed.

“Disaster!”

(End of Chapter)