Chapter 195 – Mu Lin: Encirclement? No, Now I'm the One Encircling You

The black mist shrouded everything, making it impossible to see even one’s own hand before their eyes. Flickering monstrous shadows loomed faintly within the fog, and the gloomy environment alone was enough to evoke fear and unease from the depths of one’s heart.

Moreover, the black mist possessed a special corrupting ability that could amplify the fears within a person’s heart.

Ordinary people here often couldn’t last more than three minutes before their mental defenses would be shattered by fear, allowing monsters to manifest.

However, that applied to ordinary people. Qi Refiners had Calming Mantras and other Mystical Arts to protect them, so in theory, they shouldn’t be so easily gripped by fear.

Yet, despite their lack of fear toward the black mist, the current predicament of these Qi Refiners was even worse than that of ordinary people.

—There was no time for buildup. The moment Chu Hongxuan and the others entered the black mist, monsters directly manifested and launched a surprise attack on them.

Such an abnormal turn of events naturally had deeper reasons.

Mu Lin had gained control over the black mist.

Ever since the Paper Figure resonated with the Anomaly and stole its power, Mu Lin had been contemplating how to completely seize the Anomaly’s power, allowing his Paper Figure to master the Anomaly.

These experiments were not entirely successful.

The Paper Figure’s capacity for bearing power was limited, and the probability of it fully mastering an Anomaly was even lower than that of an ordinary person. After all, while ordinary people might be physically weak, human potential was boundless.

Nevertheless, after a series of experiments, although Mu Lin hadn’t found a method for complete mastery, he did achieve temporary control.

“If the Paper Figure’s bearing capacity is limited, then increase its capacity. First, try enhancing it with Jiao Dragon Blood…”

“It lasted a bit longer, but still couldn’t achieve full mastery… Then how about this? Substitute Paper Figure, you take control. Hmm, let’s add another layer of buff—Sky-Scraping Spell – City God enhancement!”

With the Substitute Paper Figure, Mu Lin’s Jiao Dragon Essence Blood, and the added Sky-Scraping Spell – City God Status, these three combined finally allowed Mu Lin’s Paper Figure to barely withstand the corrosive pollution of the black mist.

Of course, to master an Anomaly, bearing capacity alone wasn’t enough. Mu Lin also needed to find a point of compatibility with the Anomaly.

Fortunately, as a True Intent Painter, he could easily resonate with the Anomaly’s essence and, using brush and ink, imbue it onto the Paper Figure. This meant he fully met the initial conditions as well.

…

Due to the excessively high compatibility rate, once the Paper Figure entered the black mist, Mu Lin didn’t need to do anything. The black mist actively began to corrode and pollute the Paper Figure, infusing its power into the figure’s body.

Seeing this, Mu Lin naturally didn’t hold back and absorbed it with all his might.

After absorbing it, Mu Lin located the Anomaly Source of the black mist… several drops of Blackwater.

Originating from an unknown place, the Blackwater emitted eerie and ominous power. After volatilizing, it formed the Eerie Black Mist.

Upon contacting the Blackwater and sealing it within the Paper Figure’s body, Mu Lin thus gained control over the black mist.

Of course, while Mu Lin was mastering the black mist, the power of the Blackwater was continuously corroding his Paper Figure.

If anyone could see through the obscuring black mist, they would notice a distinct water stain on Mu Lin’s Paper Figure, and this stain was steadily expanding.

Whenever the water stain completely saturated the Paper Figure’s body, it would no longer be Mu Lin controlling the black mist, but rather the black mist controlling his Paper Figure.

“Only temporary mastery, but that’s enough.”

After mastering the Blackwater through resonance, Mu Lin also fully grasped the abilities of the Black Mist.

By inducing the fears within people’s hearts and manifesting monsters, this was the most core ability of the Black Mist.

What delighted Mu Lin was that the Black Mist had already killed many people, and as a result, numerous monsters remained within the vast expanse of black fog. Just moments ago, Mu Lin had driven them to actively attack Chu Hongxuan and the others.

“Boom!”

“Rip…”

The sudden assault inevitably caused panic, and this panic instilled a slight fear in the subordinates of Chu Hongxuan and his group, which in turn enhanced the power of the Black Mist monsters.

Such a positive cycle, if it could continue indefinitely, meant the Black Mist anomaly had the potential to devour everything.

Unfortunately, Chu Hongxuan and his companions were no weaklings. Relying solely on the Black Mist anomaly, it was utterly impossible to defeat them.

Just as now, Yuan Ce radiated Pure Yang Flame all over his body, evaporating large swathes of the Black Mist. The monsters within the fog could not withstand the power of the Pure Yang Flame either, being completely incinerated into nothingness—the shadow monsters were derivative spectral servants and could be slain.

The sight of Yuan Ce unleashing his might also made the Fox Spirit Bai Zhi, who had defected to their side, shine with admiration in her eyes.

“Indeed, I was right. Lord Yuan Ce is the nemesis of all anomaly evils.”

With the Pure Yang Body’s suppression of anomalies, Yuan Ce had an extremely high probability of breaking through this Black Mist alone. And such a powerful disciple—there were a full five of them in Chu Hongxuan’s team. The remaining dozen or so were only slightly weaker than Yuan Ce. Such a formidable force was also the reason why outsiders did not favor Mu Lin.

However, upon realizing this, Mu Lin did not feel fear. Instead, a smile appeared on his face.

“Truly a powerful ability, but because of that, I can lift the restrictions. I hope you can hold on.”

While Mu Lin murmured to himself, Yuan Ce and the others did not stubbornly engage in battle with the Black Mist and the shadow monsters within. With Yuan Ce as the spearhead, following the guidance of the ‘Fox Immortal,’ they charged to a spot not far from Mu Lin’s clone.

Upon seeing Mu Lin, Yuan Ce did not immediately attack but instead advised, “Mu Lin, surrender. You are no match for us, nor can you escape our encirclement.”

Hearing this, Mu Lin laughed. “Encirclement? Escape? No, you’ve misunderstood something. It’s not you hunting me down. Right now, it is I who am surrounding and killing you!”

‘What arrogance…’

Mu Lin’s response immediately made the Fox Spirit Bai Zhi, not far from Yuan Ce, curl her lips in disdain. Clearly, she did not believe Mu Lin could turn the tables under such circumstances.

Many disciples of the Jade Lake Dao Academy also shared her disbelief.

“Surround and kill us? You’re not worthy.”

“Why bother talking so much with him? Just finish him off, and let’s see how he keeps up his tough talk.”

“Let’s attack together. He has already wasted too much of our time…”

The disciples of the Jade Lake Dao Academy wanted to strike at Mu Lin’s clone, but before they could, Mu Lin had already clasped his hands together, his eyes turning stern as he unleashed his ultimate move.

“Mount Tai Lord Ritual, begin!”

“Spirit Communication, rise!”

“Woo…”

As Mu Lin performed his ritual, an eerie and obscure fluctuation emanated from his body.

Under that peculiar fluctuation, Mu Lin’s body first turned ashen gray. A fleeting force of time, aged and decaying, flashed across his form.

Under the continuous influence of this power, a peculiar change occurred in Mu Lin’s Paper Figure. An inexplicable Blackwater began dripping incessantly from Mu Lin’s body.

“Drip, drip, drip…”

The water kept falling, and soon, a small puddle formed at Mu Lin’s feet.

Seeing this, Yuan Ce and the others felt a chill run down their spines, sensing that something was amiss.

“Not good!”

“Stop him quickly.”

“Sunlight Spear…”

Chu Hongxuan and the others reacted swiftly, but unfortunately, it was already too late.

As the puddle appeared, the Black Mist surrounding Mu Lin surged violently, as if fueled by some stimulant.

“Hum…”

The sea of mist churned and rolled forward, rapidly expanding its area—doubling, tripling, quintupling, and eventually growing tenfold…

As the Black Mist surged, Mu Lin’s figure became completely isolated from Yuan Ce and the others due to the rapidly swelling mist.

At the same time, the reflections within the mist grew increasingly numerous, larger, and more terrifying as the Black Mist churned.

Even illusory reflections dozens of meters tall appeared within the Black Mist.

“Woo…”

Although these were still merely reflections and had not fully emerged, this eerie and inexplicable transformation sent shivers down the spines of Chu Hongxuan and the others.

“Damn it.”

“What has he done? Why has the Black Mist surged so violently?”

“The situation is turning grim. Everyone, stay alert.”

Chu Hongxuan and the others within the Black Mist could not comprehend how Mu Lin had enhanced the Anomalies, and those observing from outside were equally perplexed.

Only Mu Lin wore a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

“The Black Mist alone cannot contend with you, and I am barely a match on my own. But with the combined power of the Black Mist and myself, everything changes.”

By harnessing the Black Mist, Mu Lin could not only wield its power but also utilize his own abilities.

Earlier, Mu Lin had used his Spirit Foundation of the Lord of Mount Tai to activate Spirit Channeling – Ancestral Soul.

However, unlike before, this time, Mu Lin did not summon his bloodline ancestors. Instead, he placed the Anomaly Source of the Black Mist—the Blackwater—on the Lord Altar. Using it as a foundation, he employed the Year-End Power to channel and summon more Blackwater to descend.

He succeeded.

Moreover, during the Spirit Channeling, Mu Lin glimpsed a great river through the Year-End Power.

A vast, pitch-black river, stretching endlessly into the distance.

Mist shrouded the river, blotting out the sky, while countless ghosts and endless Resentful Souls wandered vaguely within the Black River and the Black Mist.

At the bottom of the Black River lay countless ruined relics and corpses… as if an entire kingdom had been buried beneath its waters.

“The origin of this Black River Water is terrifying… Ugh…”

As Mu Lin gazed upon the Black River, his presence attracted the attention of some ghosts and Evil Spirits.

Merely meeting the gaze of those monsters caused Mu Lin’s Divine Soul to tremble.

Fortunately, Mu Lin was too insignificant to be noticed by the Black River itself, only drawing the attention of the ghosts above it.

Moreover, his glimpse of the Black River lasted only a fleeting moment.

Yet, even in that brief instant, Mu Lin’s Paper Figure’s Divine Soul and body suffered severe damage.

“Splash…”

It was evident that water stains rapidly spread across the entire body of Mu Lin’s Paper Figure.

The entire Paper Figure appeared as pale and wrinkled as a water-soaked corpse.

Fortunately, the enhancement from the Jiao Dragon Essence Blood granted Mu Lin some resistance to water, so his Paper Figure only became slightly wrinkled rather than turning into pulp.

However, the water stains covering its entire body meant that Mu Lin’s Paper Figure had been taken over by the Black Mist instead.

Mu Lin didn’t mind this. When he used Spirit Communication to summon more Blackwater, he had already anticipated it.

“More anomalous power is something I simply cannot bear, nor can I easily control. If my Main Body were here, I would never do this—it’s essentially a death wish.”

“But now, what remains here is just my Paper Figure Clone, so it doesn’t matter. As long as this anomalous power can wipe out Chu Hongxuan and the others, losing this Clone is a small price to pay.”

Trading one Clone for the complete defeat of Chu Hongxuan and his group was a bargain no matter how you looked at it.

And soon, Mu Lin discovered there was an added surprise.

“This is… the City God Status…”

After some connection, Mu Lin was astonished to find that his Paper Figure body couldn’t withstand the erosion of the Blackwater’s power and was now completely out of control.

However, his City God Status was exceptionally high. Although the Black River was terrifying, the Spirit Communication channel Mu Lin had opened was very small. As a result, the City God incantation he retained, relying on its extraordinary status, managed to leave a faint mark on the forehead of the Paper Figure.

This trace of spiritual light couldn’t allow him to control the anomalies, but he could still go with the flow.

For example, now that someone had entered the Black Mist and triggered its killing rules, Mu Lin couldn’t stop it and could only watch them die.

But he could still make the Black Mist reflections strike hard at Chu Hongxuan and the others who had triggered the killing rules.

Thus, Yuan Ce and the others met a tragic fate.

“Woo…”

The Eerie Black Mist surged and grew, and the terrifying reflections multiplied endlessly. Yuan Ce and the others sensed this.

Inevitably, they began to panic.

“Everyone, stay calm! As long as we don’t feel fear, these reflections won’t attack us… Ah!”

“Damn it, this has nothing to do with fear! There are demonic monsters wandering in the Black Mist, hunting everything.”

“Be careful…”

“Stay calm, you must stay calm!”

Although someone kept shouting for everyone to stay calm and continuously cast Stabilize mind incantations, it was still useless.

The Eerie Black Mist was a supernatural force that could invade the human body, inducing and amplifying the fear within.

This special erosion meant that Qi Refiners facing the Black Mist couldn’t resist it simply by having strong willpower—they also needed a powerful Divine Soul.

But cultivating the Divine Soul was difficult. At the very least, most of the Qi Refiners who had entered the Black Mist weren’t qualified.

As a result, the fear in their hearts was induced. Devouring this fear, new reflection monsters manifested in the world.

“No!”

“Don’t come any closer, stay away!”

“Spider, get away from me!”

“Impossible, how could you die? It can’t be…”

Whether it was oversized spiders, hundred-eyed crows, human-faced snakes—monsters that sent chills down the spine just by looking at them—or their tragically deceased family members, or even Malevolent Ghosts… the types of monsters born from the fears of the Qi Refiners were varied and numerous.

Moreover, these monsters were born from devouring the fear within Qi Refiners, which is why they possess a special advantage against them—the approach and attacks of these monsters further ignite the fear in the hearts of Qi Refiners. This strengthens the monsters’ power, worsening the situation for the Qi Refiners.

“No…”

Amidst the chaotic and intense battle, some Qi Refiners were even accidentally killed by the monsters.

The death of their companions further fueled the fear of the survivors, making the shadow monsters even more powerful.

“Damn it, calm down!”

“I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid of you, ah!!”

Uncontrollable fear caused the favorable situation that Yuan Ce and the others had built up in such a short time to nearly collapse.

This sudden turn of events left Chu Hongxuan and the others stunned, no longer able to maintain their composed demeanor.

Outside, the observing cultivators were also left dumbfounded and incredulous by the scene before them.

“This… this…”

“Could Mu Lin actually turn things around?”

“How is that possible?”

“I must be dreaming…”

“If he wins while fighting alone against the Prodigies of Jade Lake Dao Academy… gasp…”

(End of Chapter)