Chapter 237 – Zhong Kui Eats Ghosts! The Terrified God Servant

“Hehe, little brother, if I were you, I’d be extra careful these days.”

“Raven Lord is a deity who controls misfortune, ill omens, and death. As His servant, that old raven is most skilled in long-range curses, bestowing ill omens and misfortune upon others.”

“Once targeted by it, you’ll have to be cautious day and night, constantly on guard against misfortune befalling you.”

“Oh, wait, no—given that old raven’s cruelty, offending it won’t just bring calamities upon you. Your friends, companions, and family will also suffer countless disasters and misfortunes.”

“Hehe, if you don’t want to live in constant fear, your only choice is to take the initiative…”

While the Raven Servant was casting a venomous curse upon Mu Lin, the Pleasure Maiden on the other side wasn’t idle either. She kept recounting the horrors of the Raven Servant.

At first glance, her words seemed like a warning to Mu Lin.

But of course, that wasn’t the truth.

First, she wanted to divert trouble elsewhere—though she believed Mu Lin was no match for her, he had still slain the Corpse Tree. As someone who preferred to scheme in the shadows, the Pleasure Maiden had no desire to confront or fight Mu Lin directly.

Second, she intended to use the Raven Servant’s abilities of ill omens and misfortune to instill fear and apprehension in Mu Lin, causing him to be abandoned by all.

She held grudges deeply, and every insult Mu Lin had hurled at her earlier was etched in her mind.

To make Mu Lin show a panicked expression and vent the resentment in her heart, she even activated her own abilities, attempting to stir the dark emotions and negative desires within him.

Naturally, she did not succeed.

The Transcendence Trait kept Mu Lin’s Divine Soul elevated and detached from worldly affairs.

Just as the Pleasure Maiden frowned, preparing to intensify her abilities, Mu Lin’s voice rang out from the other side.

“What about me?”

“?!?!”

The sudden, close-at-hand voice sent the Raven Servant into a state of shock and panic, chilling him to the bone.

Yet, despite the Raven Servant’s intense emotions and the fear that shot straight to his head, all of this, though seemingly prolonged, took less than an instant in reality.

“When did he—?!”

At this moment, the Raven Servant hadn’t even processed what was happening.

And he never got the chance to react.

“Stabilize!”

“Hum!”

While the Raven Servant was still reeling in shock and fear, a lofty command suddenly erupted from the mouth of the Assistant Priest of the Lord of Desolation.

No—it could no longer be called the Assistant Priest. Unbeknownst to all, a solemn and majestic Dharma Image phantom had emerged from within the Assistant Priest’s body and let out a furious roar at the Raven Servant, who was now within arm’s reach.

The roar was immensely authoritative, but the sound and aura weren’t the key. What mattered most was that the roar emitted by the Dharma Image phantom was the Source Rune “Stabilize.”

This “Stabilize” character not only immobilized the body but also shook the soul.

Struck by this Body-Fixing Art, the Raven Servant was left rigid for several breaths, both physically and spiritually.

—In truth, the Raven Servant was not weak. Under normal circumstances, Mu Lin’s Body-Fixing Art might affect him, but at most, it would only slow his body and reactions, not completely “stabilize” him.

But who could have expected the situation to be anything but normal?

To carry out this ambush, Mu Lin had deliberately let the Assistant Priest of the Lord of Desolation escape and had placed Zhong Kui’s Dharma Image projection upon him.

Of course, the Manjusaka played a crucial role in this. If not for its illusion ability, the Assistant Priest would not have been possessed by Zhong Kui’s Dharma Image without noticing anything unusual at all.

Apart from deliberately letting the Assistant Priest go, Mu Lin also actively insulted and provoked these Servants of the Gods. This was to draw the attention of the Crow Servant, giving the Assistant Priest an opportunity to approach.

As it turned out, he did quite well.

After being subjected to his barrage of insults, both the Crow Servant and Tie Xun, the subordinate of the Wild Hunt, focused most of their attention firmly on Mu Lin.

Seizing this opportunity, the Assistant Priest moved behind the Crow Servant.

Even the sudden outburst just now was part of Mu Lin’s plan—he wanted to shock the Crow Servant.

The defense of the Divine Soul is closely tied to emotions.

The sudden sound startled the Crow Servant, and in such a state, his Divine Soul’s defenses naturally developed a flaw.

—This method is also why wraiths in the countryside would first tease and frighten humans before trying to harm them. Only when the Divine Soul experiences intense fluctuations can the wraith find an opening to exploit.

Moreover, the Source Rune “Stabilize” inherently possesses a lofty status, and its effects are exceptionally potent.

Now, with Mu Lin launching a sneak attack without any regard for martial ethics, and the Crow Servant’s mental defenses partially shattered by the shock, it is understandable that he was completely immobilized and appeared so vulnerable.

…

On the other side of the water mirror, the Assistant Priest’s sudden betrayal and sneak attack on the Crow Servant not only startled the Crow Servant but also alarmed the other Servants of the Gods.

They never expected that Mu Lin, who had been so arrogant and contemptuous from the start, could be so cunning and treacherous.

While shocked, they also grew somewhat wary of Mu Lin.

If the Crow Servant couldn’t defend against the Assistant Priest, they had no confidence in fending off Mu Lin’s sneak attacks either.

In fact, at this moment, they began to suspiciously distance themselves from the human Cultists… These Servants of the Gods couldn’t be sure whether Mu Lin was hiding among those Cultists.

However, although the Servants of the Gods were shocked by Mu Lin’s methods and somewhat wary of him, their wariness was only slight, not overwhelming fear.

The reason for this was that, in the eyes of these Servants of the Gods, the outcome of the duel between Mu Lin and the Crow Servant was still uncertain.

“This sneak attack was indeed clever, but at our level, who doesn’t have a few life-saving tricks? With just this despicable sneak attack, you can’t kill him!”

“Hmph, sneak attacks are ultimately just petty tricks. To truly kill the Crow Servant, you’ll have to face him head-on. An enraged Crow Servant won’t be easy to deal with…”

It wasn’t just the Servants of the Gods who thought the outcome was uncertain; even Qin Yuan, Zuo Li, and the others were somewhat worried.

Outside, Dongfang Ya clenched her fists tightly, her face pale.

Chu Lingluo’s mother, Si Ye, kept cursing angrily.

“Idiot, fool! Since you’re safe and have found Lingluo, you should just hide properly. Why show off like this?”

“If the sky falls, let the tall ones hold it up. You just need to ensure your own safety. Those demons and monsters should be left to the Demon Suppression Division to handle—that’s their duty!”

Some sneered, while others worried.

But no matter who it was, they all believed that in those few short moments, Mu Lin couldn’t possibly kill the Raven Servant. Next, he would surely face the Raven Servant’s furious counterattack.

However, just as they were thinking this, what happened next surpassed everyone’s imagination and sent chills down the spines of all the Servants of the Gods, freezing their hearts with dread.

Even Mu Lin’s fellow Disciples, as well as Qin Yuan, Zuo Li, and others who hoped for his victory, were stunned by the scene before them, unable to stop themselves from gasping in shock.

“Hiss…”

“How is this possible!”

“Slap! That hurts—so I’m not going mad after all!”

“To be capable of such a thing… Damn it, is the Raven Servant the evil creature, or is Mu Lin the evil one?”

Shaken and overwhelmed, such exclamations kept pouring from the mouths of Zuo Li, Qin Yuan, and the others.

It was no wonder they were so horrified. What Mu Lin did on the other side of the water mirror was simply too outrageous.

After immobilizing the Raven Servant with the Body-Fixing Art, Mu Lin wasted no time. The Dharma Image Zhong Kui under his control opened its massive mouth and swallowed the Raven Servant whole.

Yes, Mu Lin—was devouring a ghost!

Of course, this was only the surface appearance. The truth was that Mu Lin had used the Crimson Wine Gourd to capture the Raven Servant.

As for why he chose to swallow it rather than use the Wine Gourd directly, it was because, in order to enhance the power of the Zhong Kui Dharma Image and completely Stabilize the Raven Servant, Mu Lin had previously placed the Crimson Wine Gourd inside the Dharma Image, merging it with Zhong Kui.

Now, separating the Crimson Wine Gourd from the fusion and retrieving it would inevitably take some time.

But the Raven Servant could break free from the Body-Fixing Art at any moment, and the Crimson Wine Gourd couldn’t forcibly capture beings—it could only absorb unresisting ghosts and monsters.

Under these circumstances, Mu Lin naturally saw no need for extra steps. Instead, he had Zhong Kui swallow the Raven Servant whole, allowing the Wine Gourd inside its belly to capture it.

To Mu Lin, all of this made perfect sense.

But the others didn’t know that.

To them, what Mu Lin was doing was devouring a Malevolent Ghost alive.

And as everyone knew, Demons and Monsters were associated with brutality, cruelty, power, and terror—precisely why they inspired fear.

Yet now, such a terrifying Malevolent Ghost had been swallowed alive by Mu Lin’s Dharma Image.

In such a scenario, the more cruel and savage the Demons and Monsters were, the more terrifying Mu Lin, who devoured Malevolent Ghosts alive, appeared to others.

“Hiss, I can’t help but feel like he’s the true King of Malevolent Ghosts.”

“Misfortune? No, provoking such a ruthless Mu Lin is the greatest misfortune for these Servants of the Gods.”

“I almost pity these Servants of the Gods… To Mu Lin, these monsters are nothing but food!”

“If he can even swallow Malevolent Ghosts, wouldn’t he be able to devour hundreds of people in one bite? With such power and terror, we must never, ever provoke him!”

Devouring Malevolent Ghosts alive left humans shocked, horrified, and fearful of Mu Lin.

But since Mu Lin was ultimately human, and there were no tales of him eating people—only witnessing him subduing Malevolent Ghosts—humans still regarded him with admiration and gratitude, mixed with a sense of awe.

The Cultists and Servants of the Gods, however, felt differently.

The former had completely shattered mentally, genuinely believing that pledging allegiance to the Evil God was the worst decision they had ever made.

The latter was also unacceptable.

These so-called Servants of the Gods regarded themselves as the Divine People, blessed by the Deity, while those like Mu Lin, who lacked faith, were mere commoners.

Such beliefs had always led them to look down upon Mu Lin and his kind.

Yet now, Mu Lin’s actions had completely trampled their pride underfoot, grinding it into the dust.

‘Divine People? Noble blood, lofty status? No, to me, you are nothing but sweet sustenance.’

‘You are the weak ones, the prey to be hunted.’

To fall from a position of superiority to that of lowly sustenance—such a shift in their place in the natural order was something they could not and would not accept.

“This is impossible!”

“The Crow Servant would never die so pathetically. Yes, it’s not dead yet—it will surely emerge!”

“How dare you swallow a demonic monster into your belly? You are courting death!”

Unwilling to accept the truth and driven by fear, these Servants of the Gods clung to hope, even praying, that the Crow Servant would tear its way out of Mu Lin’s stomach.

(End of Chapter)