Chapter 248 – How Can We Save the World Alongside These Insect Swarms?

As Dongfang Ya had said, the situation in the Southeast Region changed dramatically the moment the assessment ended.

On the very day Mu Lin and the others emerged, the aristocratic families who had lost their children joined forces to pressure Jade Lake Dao Academy and the officials of Jade Province, demanding they issue warrants for the cult and launch a full-scale crackdown on the cultists.

The authorities agreed—they had no choice but to.

Given the severity of the incident, if the aristocratic families escalated the matter to higher authorities, countless officials would lose their positions.

Unwilling to face such consequences, they had to act with full force.

More importantly, the manipulations of the mastermind behind the scenes made many powerful families realize that the so-called Divine People looked down on them and were not as formidable as they had imagined.

At the very least, despite their all-out efforts and countless schemes to kill Mu Lin, he remained alive and unharmed.

Their strength was insufficient to intimidate everyone, and even after pledging allegiance, their status remained low.

Under such circumstances, naturally, no one was willing to follow the cultists, leading to a wave of betrayals.

—Most of those who had joined the cult were landlords, wealthy merchants, gangsters, and river pirates. Many of them hedged their bets, and as soon as they sensed the situation turning unfavorable, some secretly informed the authorities, allowing the Demon Suppression Division to launch raids.

This led to the Jade Province authorities successfully cracking down on a number of cultists. However, the retaliation from the Evil Gods and their cults soon followed.

In the days that followed, several towns and cities reported blood sacrifice incidents daily, where entire populations were sacrificed.

The slaughter of villages became even more commonplace.

These sacrifices allowed more Divine Servants, Divine Envoys, and even Godchildren to descend into the mortal realm.

The relentless blood sacrifices plunged Jade Province and several neighboring regions into utter chaos.

Mu Lin found this utterly baffling.

“Have those local aristocratic families lost their minds? They’re allowing villages and towns to be set up for sacrificial rituals and doing nothing about it!”

Mu Lin couldn’t understand it, but Yan Yunyu, who had been by his side all along, spoke with a cold expression, “Brother Mu, they’re not insane—they simply don’t see the lower classes as human.”

Yan Yunyu’s explanation suddenly made Mu Lin realize something.

Only then did he recall that, in his previous life, the fundamental principle of his world was equality for all. Even though the children of the wealthy and powerful were not truly equal to commoners, the prevailing narrative largely upheld this ideal.

Especially in the country he came from, which had long enjoyed peace, even the son of the richest man had to pay compensation if he assaulted someone.

But this world was different. Here, bloodline and social status were paramount. Under the joint propaganda of the imperial family and the aristocratic families, many of these families genuinely believed their bloodlines were superior and that ordinary commoners were beneath them.

Thus, if the Evil God cultists only intended to sacrifice commoners, the local landlords simply didn’t care.

If they could benefit from it—for instance, by sharing in the power gained from sacrificing commoners—some of them might even assist in the process.

Well, it wasn’t just this world. In his previous life, there were also those who, to acquire more land, destroyed dikes and flooded fields, leaving countless people homeless.

There were even wealthy merchants who assisted the Qing army in invading the pass, slaughtering their own people.

Such actions, in Mu Lin’s eyes, were heinous crimes and utter betrayal—yet there were indeed people who committed them.

‘How can a country thrive when it’s filled with such vermin?’

‘Cultists deserve to die, and those traitorous landlords and wealthy families deserve to die too.’

‘This world is ultimately too filthy; it must undergo a great cleansing!’

The conservative-minded Mu Lin intended to eliminate all those unworthy of being called human.

Of course, he wouldn’t speak of this matter, planning to act only after his strength had grown sufficiently.

This also made Mu Lin even more eager to enhance his power.

In fact, ever since returning from the Tower of Illusory Heavens and learning of Yuan Ce and Chu Hongxuan’s deaths, the shaken Mu Lin had been training with extreme diligence—he had no desire to be a short-lived genius.

Although his strength had been rapidly improving with the aid of numerous resources in the Tower of Time, Mu Lin still felt a sense of crisis.

He recalled the warning his teacher had given him several days earlier.

“Mu Lin, your current situation is perilous. Your actions in the Illusion Realm have made you a thorn in the side of the cultists. You will undoubtedly face many troubles ahead. Therefore, I hope you do not wander about during this period. Even if someone orders you, you must not leave Jade Lake Dao Academy or Anping Dao Palace…”

Mu Lin was not reckless; he would heed this advice.

However, compared to holing up in one place, Mu Lin preferred to roam freely after gaining greater strength.

Thus, Mu Lin made a decision.

“Yun Yu, go help me summon Teacher Dongfang Ya and Chu Lingluo’s mother… By the way, how is the matter regarding my grandfather progressing?”

Hearing this, Yan Yunyu, who had been attending to him nearby, immediately replied, “Don’t worry, Brother Mu. Ever since you emerged from the Tower of Illusory Heavens, I sent someone to bring your grandfather to Yuzhou City. He will be safe.”

“Thank you.”

“Hehe, Brother Mu, there’s no need to be so formal with me.”

Yan Yunyu departed, while Mu Lin summoned the Dharma Image Zhong Kui. Through its surface, he gazed at the Silent Divinity and Joy and Desire Divinity within its body.

Sensing the impending crisis, Mu Lin decided to expend these two Divinities as well.

At the same time, he planned to fuse the Silent Divinity into the Source Rune ‘Stabilize,’ as originally intended.

As for the Joy and Desire Divinity, he had no intention of leaving it idle and had already found a suitable use for it.

“Manjusaka—this is the Underworld Spider Lily possessing the four attributes of ‘Life, Death, Illusion, and Extinction.'”

“The Joy and Desire Divinity can be fused into the Other Shore Flower to enhance its illusory properties.”

“If the fusion succeeds, once an enemy is implanted with the Other Shore Flower, any intense emotional fluctuations will accelerate its growth…”

Thinking of this, Mu Lin first felt a surge of joy, followed by a wave of speechlessness.

He realized that Chu Lingluo’s luck was simply too good.

Her innate talent was already considerable, and coupled with her pure heart, her cultivation speed had been advancing rapidly.

Previously, however, her cultivation speed was merely fast among Prodigies—not monstrous, let alone earth-shattering.

But ever since dual cultivating with him, her strength had skyrocketed as if she were cheating.

On the day of their dual cultivation, Mu Lin had infused his insights into death into the Other Shore Flower and used the principles of yin and yang to balance her Emerald Dream and Underworld Shore.

This series of actions had multiplied her strength, particularly her lethality, several times over.

Previously, Chu Lingluo’s abilities were all supportive, but once the Underworld Spider Lily bloomed, it became a peril that lured people toward death—this enhancement was also the reason she could wait for Mu Lin’s arrival within the Corpse Tree.

…

With the earlier series of actions, Chu Lingluo had already gained countless benefits.

Now, the three Divinities Mu Lin had obtained—Death, Withered, and Joy and Desire—all held advantages for Chu Lingluo.

The Withered Divinity, closely related to the cycle of withering and flourishing, went without saying; Mu Lin even planned to let Chu Lingluo fuse with it.

As for the Death Divinity and Joy and Desire Divinity, although Mu Lin would use them himself, during their dual cultivation, he would also assist Chu Lingluo in adjusting her energy.

This meant that for the four characteristics of the Other Shore Flower—Life, Death, Illusion, and Extinction—Chu Lingluo only needed to comprehend the power of Life. Mu Lin would assist her cultivation by infusing the remaining powers into her.

“With the aid of three Divinities, I have a feeling her strength will increase at an exaggerated rate in the coming period… Speaking of which, could it be that Chu Lingluo might surpass Yan Yunyu and become the contemporary heir of the Chu Family?”

“Hiss…”

This thought startled Mu Lin.

But after careful consideration, he had to admit it was highly possible.

After all, in terms of strength improvement, Chu Lingluo had him, and in strategic planning, she had her mother. With both of them working together, it was truly possible to push her into the position of the aristocratic family’s heir.

Even her greatest competitor, Chu Hongxuan, had died within the Secret Realm…

“Wait, Chu Hongxuan isn’t dead. The Heaven-Rank Technique, the Azure Emperor Scripture, still has its prestige—it allows deceased members of the Chu Family to revive within the divine tree they contracted.”

“However, after such an ordeal, Chu Hongxuan would lose a significant amount of time and suffer severe damage to his vitality. With one rising and the other falling, he would have no chance to compete with Chu Lingluo.”

Thinking this far, Mu Lin realized with some bemusement that the chosen one was actually by his side.

While Mu Lin was lost in these thoughts, Yan Yunyu quickly called Dongfang Ya and Chu Lingluo’s mother over.

However, before the two arrived, an unremarkable figure approached him first.

When Mu Lin first saw this person, he didn’t pay much attention—to maximize his cultivation efficiency, he had been staying outside the Tower of Time. This wasn’t his exclusive territory, so it was normal for someone to come by.

It wasn’t until the person walked straight toward him that he grew wary.

“Who are you?”

Seeing Mu Lin’s alert gaze, the person quickly raised both hands and said, “Don’t misunderstand, I’m not an enemy. I’m from the Savior Organization.”

Hearing this, the vigilance in Mu Lin’s eyes didn’t fade but instead intensified.

“The Savior Organization? You dare show yourselves before me!”

Looking at them, Mu Lin’s eyes gleamed with a hint of ferocity.

Over the past few days, the Aristocratic Families had not only been eradicating Cultists of the Evil God but had also investigated the mastermind behind Mu Lin and the others’ transfer.

Mu Lin then learned that the ones manipulating everything were precisely the Savior Organization, which had once invited him to join.

Once this was uncovered, the powerful nobles who had lost their children naturally wouldn’t let them off, issuing bounties for them just as they had for the Cultists.

As for Mu Lin, he held no goodwill toward the mastermind who had nearly cost him his life.

Sensing Mu Lin’s hostility, the man opposite him showed no fear nor any trace of guilt. Instead, he spoke with unwavering determination: “It’s true we’ve been branded as wanted, but don’t you think what we’re doing is for the greater good? If we hadn’t exposed everything, the cultists would have spread like a virus, infecting every corner. By then, it would have been too late.”

“We are the true Saviors.”

Mu Lin didn’t know how to refute this.

If he were still in his previous life, he would have naturally believed that saving the world at the cost of others’ lives was not something a righteous organization should do.

But this was a world where everything was rotten.

Although the Savior Organization was far from perfect, compared to the selfish local elites who allowed cultists to thrive in their territories for the sake of resources, the Savior Organization was nothing short of a beacon of righteousness.

Of course, this incident had ultimately affected him, so Mu Lin held no goodwill toward them.

“So, what exactly are you here for? Don’t tell me you still want to recruit me.”

“That was indeed part of the plan. After all, we didn’t handle things well before, but you didn’t really suffer any losses, did you?”

It was true. The reason Mu Lin was even willing to have a peaceful conversation with the Savior Organization was that he had lost nothing—everything he had experienced before was merely thrilling, nothing more.

If it had been otherwise, he would have long since regarded the Savior Organization as no different from cultists and human traitors, to be eradicated together.

As he pondered, Mu Lin replied calmly, “Don’t joke around. Just tell me what you’re really here for.”

“I came to apologize and invite you to join the organization. It seems the second goal has failed.”

Mu Lin: “A verbal apology? Do you think that settles everything?”

“Of course not. To ease your resentment toward the organization, our leader asked me to pass on a message. On November 27th, which is a month and a half from now, the Grave Lord Inheritance of your Yin Eight Gates lineage will open in Ping’an Ancient County.”

“There, you will find the supreme secret texts of your Yin Eight Gates lineage, the lost arcane arts, perfectly compatible resources, and the secrets to controlling Sky Burial City.”

“If you don’t want to be swept away by the coming crisis, go there. There, you will find everything you desire!”

(End of Chapter)