Chapter 120 – Spirit Pool Realm: Death!

As the little girl pronounced the verdict, and since the black-robed elder was truly guilty, streams of a peculiar force converged from the air, pressing down upon the black-robed elder.

Under the influence of that power, the black-robed elder felt every wicked deed he had ever committed surge up one by one from within his heart, interrogating his conscience.

Hmm… such interrogation was useless against him.

“I have done no wrong. What does killing matter? What does eating a few people matter? It was their fortune to serve me, those lowly commoners…”

However, though the interrogation was ineffective, the burden of sin altered his nature, branding him as an evildoer, a sinner—one condemned by the Human Dao.

If Mu Lin’s City God Domain could fully unfold, imposing the order of the Human Dao upon the land, then, as a sinner, the elder would be spurned by heaven and earth, and the might of the cosmos would bear down upon him, rendering him immobile.

For now, though heaven and earth had not yet rejected him, the attribute of sinner attached to him granted Mu Lin’s Yin Soldiers, Ghost Messengers, and Civil and Military Judges a special advantage against him.

It was clearly visible that whether it was the blades of the Yin Soldiers or the chains of the Ghost Messengers, as long as they touched his body, they could wound him, subjecting him to the agony of a thousand cuts and the torment of the bronze pillar and fiery hell.

And the little girl’s assault did not end there. “Hum…” As her power surged forth, the force of judgment mingled with the power of her illusions, giving rise to peculiar scenes—hundreds upon hundreds of blades materialized out of thin air, piercing toward the elder, while flames appeared from nowhere, rolling and burning toward the black-robed elder.

There were also bronze pillars and boiling oil—every manner of hellish punishment was summoned one by one by the little girl.

These attacks threw the elder into disarray, and what infuriated him even more was that, after being branded with the sinner attribute, whether it was the attacks of the Yin Soldiers, the Ghost Messengers, or the little girl, all carried the essence of punishment. Consequently, when blades struck his body, the pain he endured was seven to nine times greater than normal.

“Bastard, I will kill you!”

In a frenzy of rage, the elder fixed his gaze on the chief culprit, Mu Lin.

Then, heedless of everything, he endured countless assaults and stubbornly charged toward Mu Lin.

“Roar!”

“Bang!”

“Rip…”

“Kill!”

The Spirit Pool Realm truly lived up to its name. Even besieged by nearly a hundred Netherworld Soldiers, aided by the Civil and Military Judges, and burdened with the negative statuses of [Intermittent Dizziness] and [Continuous Bleeding], relying on the formidable strength of the Spirit Pool Realm, he still stubbornly broke through layer after layer of obstruction and arrived before Mu Lin.

“Die!”

Upon seeing Mu Lin, hatred welled up another surge of power within the black-robed elder’s body. Then, with all his might, he struck out with a claw aimed at Mu Lin’s head.

“Thud!”

He succeeded. Outmatched in martial skill, Mu Lin had his head shattered by the black-robed elder’s claw.

“I have won…”

Unfortunately, before joy could appear on the elder’s face, Mu Lin’s shattered body turned into a pile of torn paper.

At the same time, Mu Lin’s figure appeared elsewhere.

Only now, the black-robed elder no longer had the will to charge over again—he could not determine whether the Mu Lin now revealed was real or false.

In fact, even when Mu Lin first appeared, he had been uncertain whether Mu Lin was real or an illusion. But at that time, he had no other choice; he could only charge forward recklessly, regardless of the truth.

After all, facing Mu Lin who possessed Curse Arts, fleeing was nothing but a slow suicide.

Not running and fighting head-on—he had tried, but he was no match. His malevolent spirits and ghosts were easily scattered by Mu Lin’s Netherworld Soldiers, while Mu Lin’s Civil and Military Judges were not easily killed.

During the battle, the old man also saw with despair that whenever a Yin Soldier died, new Paper Figures would surge out from the cracks in the ground.

Faced with such a desperate situation, the Black-Robed Elder could only launch a fierce assault on Mu Lin, hoping to end it all in one decisive strike.

The failure of this assault plunged the old man into utter despair.

“I refuse to accept this!”

“Why are you so strong? You’re only at the Gushing Spring stage, yet your Mana is so profound!”

“How can your curses harm me!”

“And why are your Malevolent Ghosts stronger than mine!”

In his desperation, the old man voiced countless grievances.

To this, Mu Lin murmured inwardly.

“Why? Naturally, because my Cultivation Method is Heaven-Rank, and because I’ve mastered Curse Arts and Substitute Paper Figures to the Master Grade!”

“With a Heaven-Rank Technique, Master-Grade skills, and a little help from the Proficiency Panel, if I couldn’t crush you, what would be the point of cultivating the Dao and refining my qi?”

Of course, Mu Lin kept these thoughts to himself. Standing at a distance, he simply watched quietly as the Black-Robed Elder was surrounded and killed by the Netherworld Soldiers in his desperate state, witnessing his fierce struggle against the Civil and Military Judges.

“Boom…”

A cornered beast fights desperately. The dying old man, like a mad demon, attacked everything indiscriminately. Under his powerful assaults, the earth cracked in countless places, and the air erupted with sharp, explosive shrieks.

Unfortunately, unable to locate Mu Lin’s Main Body, all such attacks were futile.

In fact, Mu Lin’s Yin Soldiers and Ghost Messengers were barely killed at all—the Soul-Binding Chains were too powerful.

Countless chains filled the sky, binding his body and even his soul. Dozens of Ghost Messengers and Yin Soldiers worked together, preventing him from focusing entirely on dealing with the ghostly soldiers and netherworld messengers.

In the end, what sent the old man to his demise was the sound of Coffin Nails ringing out once more.

“Thud!”

This time, Mu Lin did not target his soul points. After successive battles, the old man’s body was already damaged, and his defenses were shattered. Under such circumstances, a direct attack had become feasible.

Thus, this Coffin Nail was driven straight into his heart by Mu Lin, piercing it through.

Already severely injured, he could not withstand this final calamity and was unable to rise again.

“Mon… ster…”

With these last words, the old man fell.

His death marked the end of the fifth floor of the Tower of Illusory Heavens.

However, although the task was over, the shock Mu Lin left on everyone continued to ferment.

“Is… is he just dead like that?”

“He was suppressed from start to finish.”

“Hey, Zong Xiu, are you sure the demonic monsters on the fifth floor of the Tower of Illusory Heavens are at the Spirit Pool Realm?”

“How could that be wrong? Never mind everything else, you saw the battle just now. Could a Gushing Spring stage cultivator withstand that demonic monster’s might?”

“No way, I couldn’t even withstand that thunderous roar… But this doesn’t make sense. The demonic monster was inferior in covert, harmful methods, and even in direct combat, it was surrounded and killed. Is Mu Lin the one at the Spirit Pool Realm, or is the demonic monster?”

Zong Xiu couldn’t answer his friend’s confusion either.

He too was stunned by Mu Lin’s strength, and in the end, he could only sigh in amazement, just like the Black-Robed Elder.

“A monster… Our Anping Dao Palace has truly produced a hidden dragon this time…”

Those around him heard his words, but no one dared to mock him. The overwhelming power Mu Lin displayed in the projection had completely subdued them.

And it wasn’t just Mu Lin’s classmates who were convinced. When Wan Yangyu and the others from Qianyang Dao Palace emerged and saw Qi Qiu, they immediately apologized.

“Sorry, Teacher, we lost.”

Hearing this, Qi Qiu wasn’t angry or disappointed. Instead, he comforted them, saying, “Don’t be too disheartened. Losing to such a monster isn’t shameful.”

As his words fell, Mu Lin also emerged in a flash of white light.

His appearance marked the complete end of this assessment.

At the same time, with a “hum,” the Hidden Dragon Rankings beside the Tower of Illusory Heavens suddenly shifted.

Then, Mu Lin’s name reappeared on the rankings and immediately began soaring rapidly.

Ninety-third, eighty-fifth, seventy-sixth, fifty-first… On the Hidden Dragon Rankings, Mu Lin’s name shot up like a flying sword, all the way to forty-third place.

Seeing that ranking, Qi Qiu’s sigh grew heavier, and he said to Wan Yangyu again, “Forty-third place. Losing to him, you have no reason to feel wronged.”

…

While the people of Qianyang Dao Palace were sighing, Dongfang Ya’s mood was entirely different. Seeing the student she valued achieve such good results filled her with a sense of accomplishment, as she loved nurturing the younger generation.

Her overflowing joy, combined with the frustration she had felt in recent days, prompted Dongfang Ya to immediately share her feelings with Qi Qiu.

“Hehe, the student I taught isn’t bad, right? Now, who do you think has the right teaching philosophy?”

“…You’re right.”

Qi Qiu’s response made Dongfang Ya even more delighted.

However, her joy soon vanished, replaced by—anger.

The reason for this was that as soon as Mu Lin emerged, Qi Qiu quickly approached him.

He hadn’t come to attack or question him but to—invite him.

“Student Mu Lin, are you interested in coming to our Qianyang Dao Palace?”

“???”

This move caught Mu Lin completely off guard.

While he was still stunned, Qi Qiu quickly added, “As long as you come, I can guarantee you’ll receive the best training and the highest respect in our Dao Palace. Whatever Anping Dao Palace offers you, we’ll give you double—no, triple the resources.”

“Moreover, our Headmaster’s daughter is also studying at the academy. If you have the ability…”

“Qi Qiu!”

Seeing him poach someone right in front of her made Dongfang Ya furious.

But Qi Qiu wasn’t afraid. He simply shrugged and said, “Teacher Dongfang, why get angry? Haven’t you always believed that students should be allowed to make their own choices? Right now, I’m just giving Mu Lin another option.”

“Besides, I’ve heard that you didn’t value Student Mu Lin at all before.”

Dongfang Ya couldn’t accept this.

“If Mu Lin hadn’t displayed such strength, would your Dao Palace have valued him with his Third-Class Spirit Root?”

“…But we value him now.”

“We value him too.”

Having said this, Dongfang Ya turned her gaze to Mu Lin. What made Mu Lin sigh with emotion was that she truly respected him. Even though there was a risk of him being poached, she did not force him to stay. Instead, she said, “You performed very well this time. Later, I will report the situation here to the Headmaster and request rewards for you.”

At this point, she pursed her lips and added, “Even if you decide to leave, I suggest you listen to the resources the Headmaster offers first.”

(End of Chapter)