Chapter 246 – I Can't Tell Them Apart

In the distance, the newly emerged Mu Lin looked utterly at ease. He even had the leisure to watch the Black Mountain Attendants and the Dragon-Human Herdsman locked in battle while clapping his hands.

This scene plunged the Black Mountain Devotee into utter despair.

By now, it was all too clear: the Dragon-Human Herdsman fighting before him was merely a substitute.

Naturally, such a being had no fear of the Black Mountain Devotee’s threat of mutual destruction.

Equally despairing was the Pleasure Maiden Shu Rong—she couldn’t even discern whether this newly emerged Mu Lin was the main body or a clone.

‘Indistinguishable, truly indistinguishable…’

Unable to locate Mu Lin’s true form, Shu Rong naturally abandoned any thought of opposing him.

…

“Stabilize!”

The newly emerged Mu Lin had shattered the Black Mountain Devotee’s defenses, and the Dragon-Human Herdsman did not let this opening slip.

Immediately, he roared out the Source Rune “Stabilize,” imprinting it upon the Black Mountain Devotee’s divine soul and rendering it completely motionless.

The next moment, with a crackling roar of thunder, endless bolts of lightning surged into the Black Mountain Tombstone, utterly annihilating the Black Mountain Devotee’s frozen divine soul.

Thus, the majority of the Servants of the Gods who had opposed Mu Lin were eradicated.

In the end, only the Pleasure Maiden Shu Rong remained alive.

Without hesitation, after slaying the Black Mountain Devotee, Mu Lin turned his gaze toward her.

“Are you certain you wish to surrender?”

“…Yes, this humble servant is willing to obey Young Master Mu in all matters.”

“Then lower your divine soul’s defenses.”

Faced with Mu Lin’s command, the Pleasure Maiden Shu Rong hesitated briefly before agreeing.

She had little choice: she was no match for Mu Lin, and resistance would only lead to her demise.

At the same time, she believed Mu Lin would not kill her.

After all, she understood the minds of men well.

“In the struggle for wealth, territory, and power, competition among the same sex is fierce, but it is not so between the sexes. Beautiful women are often treated as trophies by men.”

In a way, this was the so-called “two tigers cannot share one mountain, unless one is male and the other female.”

Shu Rong believed that with her beauty and high status, she was an exceptional trophy, capable of satisfying Mu Lin’s desire to show off.

Moreover, her ability, Pleasure, could ignite Mu Lin’s hedonistic desires, influence his will, and make him reluctant to kill her.

Having reasoned this far, Shu Rong hesitated no longer and opened her body and mind.

Then, in the next instant, “Stabilize!”—a thunderous roar exploded within the Pleasure Maiden Shu Rong’s mind.

Having voluntarily lowered her defenses, this “Stabilize” completely froze her divine soul.

As her divine soul trembled uncontrollably, the Dharma Image Zhong Kui emerged from within Mu Lin’s body.

In the next moment, with his mouth agape, he once again demonstrated his Ghost-Devouring Ability—the Pleasure Maiden Shu Rong was swallowed whole in a single gulp.

Watching Shu Rong vanish completely, the indifferent Mu Lin murmured softly.

‘Taking you as a slave was indeed a tempting thought. However, compared to that, the divinity you possess is far more enticing.’

Mu Lin’s swift execution of the Pleasure Maiden was not solely motivated by the divinity.

Beyond that, Mu Lin was not as lustful as the Pleasure Maiden had imagined.

Moreover, even if he truly had a fondness for beautiful women, wouldn’t it be more appealing to seek out noble ladies or virtuous women from respectable families? Those aristocratic clans, in their efforts to win him over and for the sake of the Clone Cultivation True Intent Diagram, would certainly not hesitate to marry off a few of their lesser daughters, or even their legitimate ones.

As for the Pleasure Maiden, who knew how many hands she had passed through or how many beds she had climbed into? Mu Lin had no desire to go out for a meal someday and run into someone who had been with her.

Not to mention, Mu Lin also lacked the confidence to fully control her.

“You, connected to a Deity, have far too many ways to break free from my methods.”

Difficult to tame, harboring ill intentions, and no longer pure—such a woman, Mu Lin eliminated without a moment’s hesitation.

And with her death, all the Divine Servants who had opposed Mu Lin had now perished by his hand.

At the same time, Mu Lin also reaped substantial rewards.

“Withering Divinity, Divinity of Silence, Divinity of Joyful Desire… this time, I’ve struck it rich.”

“It’s just a shame that the Divinity of Wild Hunt was consumed as an offering by the Black Mountain Devotee.”

After lamenting for a while, Mu Lin still excitedly pondered the uses for his newfound Divinity.

Even though this Divinity had not yet been unsealed and its hidden dangers remained unresolved, Mu Lin was still brimming with enthusiasm.

“The Divinity of Silence is the easiest to handle. It can be directly integrated into the Source Rune – Stabilize. In doing so, the character ‘Stabilize’ will gain the ability to silence (seal) others’ Mana, Divine Soul, Mystical Arts, and even their cultivation realms.”

“If this ‘Stabilize’ character is extended to the Netherworld Soldiers, then in the future, the Ghost Officer Chains of the Netherworld Soldiers will not only inflict greater pain on ghosts; the Evil Ghosts and Wandering Souls bound by them will also be utterly unable to break free.”

The handling of Silence was straightforward, but for the Withered Divinity, Mu Lin intended to entrust it to Chu Lingluo.

Withering and flourishing are the cycle of a tree’s life. Lingluo, who possesses the Azure Emperor Scripture, is most suited to the Withered Divinity and can fully unleash its potential.

Of course, another reason Mu Lin was willing to bestow this Divinity upon her was that Lingluo belonged entirely to him.

“The Dragon-Snake Conjugation Method, this Dual Cultivation Secret Canon, is not an evil art of exploiting yin to supplement yang, but it is still somewhat unorthodox.”

“The dragon represents yang, the snake represents yin. Although this dual cultivation method involves the union of yin and yang, the dragon and the snake are not equal.”

“For me and Lingluo in our current state, as the ‘snake,’ she is completely dependent on me…”

This dependence meant Chu Lingluo could not leave Mu Lin, nor could she resist him. Everything about her was laid bare to Mu Lin.

This was a drawback, but because of it, Mu Lin trusted her completely.

Her improvements, Mu Lin could fully share, and thus, when there were benefits, he would think of her first.

‘This is almost like an emperor with three thousand concubines achieving ascension in broad daylight. If I gather enough ‘snakes,’ I might even attain the Dao this way.’

When Mu Lin said this… he was not joking. This was not even some far-fetched fantasy.

After all, dual cultivation, belonging to the realm of yin and yang, has always been a path to the heavens.

…

The Divinity of Silence and Withered Divinity were quickly allocated by Mu Lin.

But as for Joyful Desire, Mu Lin was unsure how to assign it.

“Give it to Yun Yu to show fairness? But Yan Yunyu is not walking that path.”

On the surface, the versatile and socially adept Yan Yunyu seemed well-suited for the Divinity of Joyful Desire, but in reality, that was not the case. Her path was one of accumulating wealth and consolidating fortune. Wealth can move deities; fortune and wealth—these types of Divinity are what Yan Yunyu truly needed.

“My cultivation method, the only one remotely related to joy and desire, is the Vow-Power Heart Lamp. It’s a method that uses emotions as fuel to ignite the heart’s flame.”

“However, the fuel I use to ignite the Vow-Power Heart Lamp is arrogance (confidence), which has absolutely nothing to do with joy and desire.”

“Hmm, the Dragon-Snake Conjugation Method could indeed merge with joy and desire, allowing me to experience immense pleasure during dual cultivation and even draw power from it. But I have no intention of switching to the path of dual cultivation and engaging with hundreds of people…”

After some contemplation, Mu Lin realized that aside from the Vow-Power Heart Lamp and the Dragon-Snake Conjugation Method, another mystical art of his suitable for Joy and Desire Divinity was actually the Paper Figure Curse.

“Emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are closely linked to the Three Hun and Seven Po. By merging with Joy and Desire Divinity, when I nail someone’s Seven Po, I can also nail their corresponding emotions.”

This direction seemed promising, but Mu Lin still felt somewhat unsatisfied. He had a feeling that Divinity: Joy and Desire had more uses.

…

And so, in the following days, while waiting for rescue from the Jade Lake Dao Academy, Mu Lin pondered how to utilize Joy and Desire Divinity.

At the same time, as he contemplated, he also assumed he could wait safely and undisturbed in the coming days.

However, just as he thought this, an unexpected event occurred—he had ultimately underestimated the cultists.

“Hum…”

With a violent fluctuation, Mu Lin sensed that someone else had entered this secret realm.

“Huh, someone’s here!”

“Is it everyone from the academy coming to get us?”

The speaker was Chu Lingluo. Innocent and pure, she didn’t much like the oppressive atmosphere of the secret realm.

Mu Lin also turned his gaze to observe the distance.

But soon, his expression changed.

Judging by the rising aura, Mu Lin’s eyes narrowed as he realized that those who had entered were still cultists.

“Why is it still them!”

In his surprise, Mu Lin immediately released a sky full of paper cranes to scout the enemy’s information.

A few minutes later, Mu Lin’s heart sank as he confirmed that his sensing was correct—it was indeed cultists who had entered. Moreover, this time, they were particularly numerous and strong.

“Damn it, what’s going on with the Jade Lake Dao Academy?”

The sheer number of cultists gave Mu Lin a headache.

Though he possessed an invincible heart, he hadn’t fully grown yet!

As for Yan Yunyu, she was also somewhat panicked.

However, she found it normal that the cultists had arrived first.

“Brother Mu, after all, this area is under the control of the cult. They’re very familiar with it. In contrast, the Jade Lake Dao Academy has no idea where this place is and can only search slowly. Under such circumstances, it’s natural for the cultists to react first and provide support sooner.”

Mu Lin: “I know it’s normal, but our troubles are here.”

Indeed, their troubles were significant.

As soon as they entered, the numerous cultists spread out like a net, killing their way toward the disciples of the Jade Lake Dao Academy.

“Kill! Leave none alive!”

“Find Mu Lin! He dared to insult our divine people—he must die!”

“Yes, High Priest.”

“Help…”

“Bastards, what the hell is the Jade Lake Dao Academy doing? Why haven’t they found us yet?”

Curses, anger—the attacked disciples of the Jade Lake Dao Academy fled like stray dogs, constantly on the run.

This time, Mu Lin couldn’t save the others either. The cultists had sent too many people, and they were too strong.

Beyond the Assistant Priests and Divine Servants, the High Priest and the Guard Captain had also arrived.

They were powerhouses of the Realm of Gang Sha Unity.

The immense disparity in strength left Mu Lin utterly helpless against them.

What made Mu Lin narrow his eyes even further was that many of these powerhouses, upon entering, immediately charged straight toward his direction.

Clearly, these individuals had no intention of letting Mu Lin, who had slain numerous Divine Servants, escape.

“Mortal, you will not die so easily.”

“Hum!”

Amidst an enraged roar, a tombstone as massive as a mountain was hurled toward Mu Lin from a great distance, crashing down with tremendous force.

“Boom!”

(End of Chapter)