Chapter 140 – The Terrifying Sky Burial Domain: The Puppet Master Dies of Fright

At Mu Lin’s command, a host of Paper Figures all began to advance forward.

As the Yin Soldiers marched, the Celestial Fortress Array they maintained surged forward like mountains and tidal waves, crushing everything in its path.

“No…”

The unstoppable celestial rampart terrified some, draining the color from their faces.

Soon, several Puppets were enveloped within the Celestial Fortress Array formed by the Paper Figure army.

For the Paper Figures, this Celestial Fortress Array was the ultimate barrier and rampart.

All external attacks would be blocked and intercepted by the celestial rampart.

But for other beings, the Celestial Fortress Array permeated with the aura of the Paper Figures became a prison.

Once trapped within the citadel, the overwhelming aura, carrying immense momentum and air, would press down upon those Puppets.

With dozens of Paper Figures linking their auras, combined with air, Spiritual Energy, and momentum, the Puppets caught within felt as if they were bearing the weight of mountains, unable to move at all.

While they struggled to act, Mu Lin’s Paper Figures remained unaffected. Attacking at this moment, those Puppets would be like living targets, helpless against the assaults of Mu Lin’s Paper Figures.

The celestial rampart outside blocked attacks, while the citadel inside suppressed outsiders—this was the core essence of the Celestial Fortress Array, under normal circumstances.

But it was clear that after channeling the Sky Burial Power, Mu Lin’s Celestial Fortress Array was no longer normal.

“A prison? No, this is Hell…”

Mu Lin, protected at the center of the Paper Figure army, realized with a sense of helplessness that after the Sky Burial Power descended, he no longer needed his Paper Figures to attack his enemies.

The ominous and terrifying Sky Burial Power corroded everything. In a short time, the Puppets enveloped by the Sky Burial Domain underwent bizarre transformations.

Mottled bloodstains appeared on the Puppets, imbuing them with an ominous aura.

At the same time, some Puppets began to show signs of weathering, rusting, and decay.

Among them, jade Puppets held out the longest, followed by those made of steel, while Puppets crafted primarily from Demon Beast bones mutated the fastest.

Moreover, the latter’s transformations were the most eerie and ominous—green and red hairs sprouted on the surfaces of the bone Puppets.

But the Sky Burial Domain brought more than just corrosion; it also induced strange and inexplicable changes.

“My Puppet… Be careful, my Puppet is out of control!”

“Boom!”

“Crash!”

The man’s warning came too late. His Puppet, a massive bone serpent covered in red hair, was already rampaging and attacking everything around it.

The first to suffer were the other Puppets near the serpent.

Caught off guard, several Puppets were shattered or sent flying, eliciting cries of agony from their masters.

“No, my Puppet…”

“Bastard, you owe me…”

The loss of control over the Puppets caused some Puppet Masters to glare angrily at the bone serpent’s owner.

But soon, they had no time to dwell on such matters.

“Crash…”

“Boom…”

As the Sky Burial Domain grew increasingly tangible, the Sky Burial Power’s corrosion of the area deepened.

Gradually, not only did the bone serpent lose control, but several other Puppets were also tainted by the Sky Burial Power and began attacking indiscriminately.

The remaining Puppets also grew increasingly unresponsive to their Puppet Masters’ commands.

Or, because the materials composing the Puppets were corroded, they became sluggish and unresponsive.

It can be said that once the Sky Burial Domain was summoned, even if Mu Lin stood still, the anomalies and dangers within the domain would be enough to annihilate all enemies.

The only thing that frustrated him was that although he had summoned the Sky Burial Domain into the present world, its erosion and dangers were not solely targeting the Puppet Master.

Mu Lin and his Paper Figures were also being equally eroded by the Sky Burial Power.

Standing at the center of the numerous Paper Figures, Mu Lin clearly saw that his Yin Soldiers were gradually becoming stained with mottled blood.

Aside from bloodstains and filth, inexplicable injuries also began to appear on the Paper Figures—they were gradually dying…

“No, for the Sky Burial Domain, everything within it is not moving toward death but returning to the original state of death…”

The outcome of both forms of death was the same, but the latter was more eerie and harder to resist.

At the same time, this power did not spare Mu Lin either. Bloodstains, filth, and inexplicable injuries continuously appeared on his body.

Some aberrant forces even attempted to manipulate the Paper Figures to attack Mu Lin, a living person.

Yet, all of this was actually insignificant.

Mu Lin could resist the contamination of the Sky Burial Power through Transcendence, and he could transfer the injuries on his body using Substitute Paper Figures.

What Mu Lin feared most was the weeping that had begun the moment Sky Burial City appeared—it grew increasingly eerie, increasingly ominous, and increasingly… close.

Initially, the weeping Mu Lin heard was extremely distant, but within just a minute or two, the sound seemed to be coming from behind him.

“In another three to five minutes, that sound might be right in my ear, or even echoing in my mind…”

Apart from the weeping, another point that made Mu Lin wary was that the illusory Sky Burial City was not limited to just one street.

On both sides of the street, there were houses and shops, and at that moment, knocking sounds—”bang, bang, bang”—could be heard coming from some of the houses.

It was as if someone was trapped inside, trying to get out.

Just as Mu Lin was thinking this, cries for help truly began to emerge from those houses.

“Is anyone there?”

“Save me…”

“Please, let me out…”

The voices pleading for help included those of the elderly, children, and even some seductive young women.

In fact, Mu Lin even felt that one voice sounded extremely familiar. After careful thought, he was shocked to realize that the voice belonged to Chu Lingluo.

Hearing such a voice, Mu Lin naturally had no intention of opening the door.

He knew very well that Chu Lingluo would never appear here.

“No, not just Chu Lingluo. I remember clearly—there was no one in those houses.”

However, even though Mu Lin was certain no one was there, the knocking on the doors grew increasingly violent and intense.

In the end, the doors and walls began to tremble.

Seeing this, Mu Lin immediately understood: those doors must never be opened, or something terrifying and ominous would occur.

He thought this, and he acted accordingly.

“Disperse!”

With a furious shout, Mu Lin forcefully commanded his Yin Soldiers to sever their connection with Sky Burial City.

This… was not easy.

The power of Sky Burial City was not something Mu Lin could borrow and return at will.

Fortunately, while the erosion of Sky Burial City was strong, Mu Lin’s methods were no less formidable.

First, the foundation for summoning Sky Burial City—the Yin Soldiers—are formal underworld personnel appointed by the City God and recognized by the Human Dao, possessing extraordinary resistance to the erosion of anomalous powers.

Second, within the Divine Souls of all Yin Soldiers, Mu Lin has implanted the dominating flame of the Vow-Power Heart Lamp.

The combination of these two factors grants Mu Lin exceptionally strong control over his Yin Soldiers.

Under his forceful command, despite some resistance, he ultimately made the Yin Soldiers disperse their Arrays and sever their connection to Sky Burial City.

Without the Yin Soldiers serving as anchors, the power of Sky Burial City, though unwilling, gradually receded.

Thus, Mu Lin only managed to summon Sky Burial City into the mortal realm for three minutes.

But these three minutes within the Sky Burial Domain changed many things.

The most affected were the disciples of Master Meng Rui, Mu Lin’s opponent.

Although Mu Lin halted the Yin Soldiers’ assault upon realizing that his Celestial Rampart Citadel was not a prison but a Hell, the erosion of Sky Burial Power did not cease. Currently, one-third of the puppets have rebelled and gone out of control, another third were shattered in the chaotic battle, and the final third are riddled with injuries.

It can be said that after being baptized by Sky Burial Power, these Puppet Masters’ puppets are effectively ruined.

Beyond the destruction of their puppets, the Puppet Masters themselves are in poor condition.

The erosion of Sky Burial Power has left many physically weakened, with severe loss of vitality.

Some have ominous bloodstains and curses on their clothes and bodies, along with many sudden, unexplained injuries.

“This got out of hand, it’s a bit tragic…”

Mu Lin hadn’t anticipated the Puppet Masters ending up in such a state, but upon reflection, it makes sense.

It’s important to understand clearly: while Puppet Masters are not a minor path, they are not a grand, righteous Dao either—placing all their abilities and foundations on external objects inevitably leaves them with weaknesses.

Whether it’s dedicating most of their mental energy to puppets, leaving their Main Bodies frail, or the risk of their puppets—as external objects—being seized, corrupted, or restricted, these are inherent flaws of Puppet Masters.

And by chance, Mu Lin’s Sky Burial Domain targeted precisely these two points, inflicting heavy losses on the Puppet Masters.

Additionally, the second reason for their defeat was the Sky Burial Domain’s excessively strong and terrifying erosive power, for which they had no prepared countermeasures, leading to their downfall.

In fact, even Mu Lin was startled by this summoning of the Sky Burial Domain.

“I’ve never fully summoned the Sky Burial Domain before, so I could only speculate about its dangers.”

“At the time, I thought I could maintain the Sky Burial Domain for seven to fifteen minutes…”

“Looking back now, that would have been completely suicidal.”

“Who would have thought the dangers of the Sky Burial Domain aren’t limited to erosion? The inexplicably appearing Anomalies and the gradually approaching cries are also sources of peril… It feels like the longer the Sky Burial Domain is maintained, the greater the danger.”

“However, alongside the danger, this can also serve as a trump card.”

“If I truly encounter a terrifying, unstoppable enemy, I can fully unleash the Sky Burial Domain for a mutual destruction move.”

“Moreover, after such a desperate counterattack, I might not necessarily die—the Substitute Paper Figure can completely transfer the curses and injuries from my body…”

While contemplating the uses of the Sky Burial Domain, Mu Lin turned his gaze toward the opposing Puppet Masters.

As his gaze swept over them, all the Puppet Masters trembled in fear.

Some of the more timid ones were even frightened by Mu Lin’s gaze into leaping off the Arena.

“Don’t kill me!”

“Stay away from me!”

The descent of the Sky Burial Domain had utterly shattered their courage.

And the scene just moments before had been too perilous and shocking—those frightened by Mu Lin were far from limited to the Puppet Masters on the Arena.

(End of Chapter)