Chapter 250 – Hundred Ghosts Night Parade

With a slightly odd expression, the palace-attired young woman Si Ye departed.

Mu Lin then turned his gaze to Yan Yunyu and offered her some words of comfort.

“Don’t think I’m being unfair.”

“In terms of merit and contributions to the team, Yun Yu, your efforts surpass Lingluo’s, and I’ve taken note of all of them. However, most of the Divinity I’ve obtained is related to Lingluo and isn’t very compatible with you. I can only apologize.”

Upon hearing this, Yan Yunyu immediately shook her head and said, “There’s no need to apologize, Brother Mu. The gains I’ve made so far are already more than enough. Because of your strength and talent, many people have been watching me as someone attached to you. As a result, I’ve gathered a great deal of fortune and momentum. In at most three to five months, I will break through to the Spirit Sea and enter Sha Refinement.”

“Beyond strength, because I manage the Clone Cultivation True Intent Diagram, many Clan Heads from powerful and noble families treat me with respect.”

“Such strength and status are things I never dared to imagine before. I am already satisfied.”

At this point, Mu Lin thought Yan Yunyu had truly let go of the matter. However, her next words left him feeling awkward.

“This humble woman has no further desires now, only the wish to repay you, Brother Mu. Brother Mu, I also wish to serve you at night.”

“Ahem, I gave the Divinity to Lingluo not because she gave herself to me…”

Before he could finish, Mu Lin stopped himself.

He couldn’t convince even himself.

Mu Lin understood the value of Divinity and knew it was something rare and not easily obtained.

If Lingluo hadn’t become intimate with him and opened her heart and body completely to him, even if the Withered Divinity were perfectly suited to her, he wouldn’t have given it to her.

It could only be said that dual cultivation is not only the quickest path to a woman’s heart but also to a man’s.

And when the other party is pure and flawless, and has given herself only to him, the impact is multiplied.

In the end, after a moment of hesitation, Mu Lin did not refuse but nodded and said, “Alright, come to my room tonight.”

“…Mm.”

Upon receiving Mu Lin’s reply, even though Yan Yunyu was usually poised and graceful, she now felt overwhelmingly shy.

Just as Yan Yunyu was blushing and Mu Lin was feeling somewhat stirred, Dongfang Ya, standing nearby, felt extremely awkward and speechless.

“Hey, you two, have you forgotten there’s still an outsider here!”

Annoyed, Dongfang Ya’s flat chest rose and fell slightly. Then, with her hands on her hips, she said somewhat irritably, “Is there anything else? If not, I’ll be leaving first.”

Hearing this, Mu Lin immediately replied, “Yes, there is. I have a dangerous Cultivation Method to practice and need you, Teacher Dongfang, to help guard me.”

“Then practice it!”

…

After Dongfang Ya’s exasperated remark, Yan Yunyu, her face flushed with embarrassment, was the first to leave.

As for Mu Lin, his skin was thicker.

He quickly calmed his emotions and, under Teacher Dongfang Ya’s watchful gaze, summoned a group of Paper Figures and had them form an array—the Celestial Fortress Array.

“Hum!”

As the array took shape, the air around Mu Lin instantly grew still.

A faint, illusory citadel also began to flicker in and out of existence around him.

In the next moment, as Mu Lin focused his spirit and connected with a certain mysterious place, “Woo woo woo…” eerie cries echoed around him.

Ghost Money drifted down, and tainted blood began to seep through.

Mu Lin summoned the forbidden power of the Sky Burial.

Seeing this, Dongfang Ya’s previously casual expression immediately turned grave.

At the same time, she directly questioned the newly emerged Mu Lin beside her.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Recruiting a few subordinates.”

As the two conversed, at the center of the Celestial Fortress Array, the Substitute Paper Figure—Mu Lin—had already fully connected with the Land of Sky Burial.

However, unlike before, this time, Mu Lin did not resist the erosive power of the Land of Sky Burial but actively channeled it.

Moreover, this time, he did not channel all the power into his own body. Instead, he closed his eyes, focused his mind, and connected with the Weeping Anomaly, continuously channeling its power into his own form.

“Woo woo woo…”

With Mu Lin opening himself up and actively channeling the power, the eerie weeping soon echoed within the body of the Substitute Paper Figure—Mu Lin.

As the weeping sounded, the appearance of the Substitute Paper Figure—Mu Lin also began to change.

His skin turned deathly pale, his figure became slender, and a faint, mourning white cloth veiled Mu Lin’s face.

Thoroughly eroded, Mu Lin had transformed into the Weeping Anomaly.

This sight caused Dongfang Ya to raise an eyebrow, and she instinctively wanted to intervene.

However, her action was stopped by Mu Lin.

“Don’t rush, I can still handle this.”

“Seal!”

As Mu Lin spoke, the character ‘Seal’ immediately appeared on the forehead of the Substitute Paper Figure—Mu Lin.

The moment this character manifested, a force capable of sealing souls abruptly emerged and rapidly spread throughout the entire body of the Substitute Paper Figure.

“Woo woo woo…”

Yet, a single ‘Seal’ character alone was insufficient to completely suppress the Weeping Anomaly.

Amidst the sorrowful weeping, the power of the Soul Sealing Art continuously dissipated, and a pervasive atmosphere of grief filled the surroundings.

Fortunately, this place was not only occupied by the Substitute Paper Figure—Mu Lin but also by over a hundred Netherworld Soldiers.

Formed into an array, they too represented a formidable force.

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”

Under Mu Lin’s guidance, the over a hundred Netherworld Soldiers united their efforts, cooperating with the Soul Sealing Art. In the end, they managed to seal the Weeping Anomaly within the Substitute Paper Figure.

“Hum!”

Once the sealing was fully completed, Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figure, which had been activated into an adult form by being inflated, reverted back into a thin sheet of Paper Folding.

Moreover, the appearance of this Paper Folding was no longer that of Mu Lin but rather the Weeping Anomaly, its face veiled by the mourning white cloth.

Seeing this, Mu Lin immediately waved his hand, summoning the Paper Folding that sealed the Weeping Anomaly, and carefully examined it.

However, after merely gazing at it for a short while, faint weeping sounds began to echo in Mu Lin’s mind. Clearly, the Soul Sealing Art alone was insufficient to completely seal the Weeping Anomaly.

Even though the Weeping Anomaly that descended into the mortal realm was merely a projection with limited power.

Fortunately, while the Soul Sealing Art fell short, Mu Lin still possessed the Source Rune ‘Stabilize.’

As Mu Lin inscribed the character ‘Stabilize’ onto the Paper Folding, instantly, the supernatural essence of the Weeping Anomaly was completely locked within this thin sheet of paper.

By this point, Mu Lin’s intentions were already evident.

Feeling his own strength inadequate, he had set his sights on harnessing the power of the various Anomalies within the Land of Sky Burial.

“Although the Netherworld Soldiers possess decent abilities, and the Yaksha Zhong Kui is powerful, their capabilities are ultimately too orthodox.”

“If there’s no other way, using orthodox methods to counter the unorthodox isn’t a bad approach. With the Paper Figure Soul Seal, I can create an entire army of anomalies and unleash the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade!”

…

On the surface, as the City God of the underworld, he would command Ghost Messengers and Yin Soldiers.

In the shadows, as an avatar of a ghost king, he would manipulate the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade. By controlling both the dark and the light, this was the future Mu Lin had envisioned for himself.

And since he desired the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade, merely having the Weeping Ghost would naturally not satisfy him.

Under his will, soon another Substitute Paper Figure arrived at the center of the Celestial Fortress Array, drawing upon the forbidden power of the anomalies in Sky Burial City.

This time, what Mu Lin summoned was the Sickness Ghost…

And so, summoning and sealing again and again, the thin stack of paper figures in Mu Lin’s hands quickly grew into a thick pile.

“It’s a pity they haven’t submitted yet, so I can’t use them… No, wait, I can use them. As long as I break the seals and release these anomalies, they’ll indiscriminately attack all living beings.”

“That would be quite effective for causing chaos.”

“However, such usage is the crudest method. If I could use the Dominion Flame of the Vow-Power Heart Lamp to subdue and control these anomalies, then this army of anomalies would truly obey my commands.”

With Yin Soldiers on the orthodox side and the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade on the unorthodox, Mu Lin grew increasingly excited about the Grave Lord assessment a month later.

…

While Mu Lin was busy subduing his subordinates, Dongfang Ya stood watch nearby—after all, the Land of Sky Burial was a forbidden place, filled with countless dangers. Mu Lin also worried that while subduing his followers, he might attract some truly terrifying entities.

Unwilling to capsize in a small ditch, Mu Lin had brought Dongfang Ya along to guard his flank.

As he busied himself, on the other side, the Savior Organization was also holding a gathering.

At their meeting, they first discussed how to deal with the Jade Province authorities’ wanted notices, then how to recruit prodigies to join them, and finally, how to eradicate Evil God cultists and anomalies.

In the end, their solution was—to file reports.

“We are not entirely hostile to the imperial court and the authorities. If you discover traces of Evil Gods or anomalies, there’s no need for you to take action. Simply secretly pass the information to the authorities and let them handle it.”

After settling on the strategy of filing reports, they moved on to discussing the opening of secret realms.

—The Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao, sensing the impending crisis, were also taking measures to save themselves.

As a result, during this period, secret realms would open one after another to enhance humanity’s strength.

Most secret realms carried both risks and opportunities.

With their foresight abilities, they now discussed which risks should be avoided and left for the authorities to handle, and which secret realms offered greater opportunities for them to handle themselves.

Among these, the Grave Lord Inheritance, set to open in a month and a half, was brought up and emphasized as a key point.

“This inheritance is among the most elite and is closely tied to the Land of Sky Burial. It must not be lost, at the very least, it cannot fall into the hands of cultists.”

“Zuo Li, in the coming period, invite more righteous disciples of the Yin Eight Gates and inform them of this matter.”

“Yes, leader!”

Hearing this, Zuo Li immediately agreed.

However, he also had doubts.

“Leader, didn’t we already inform Mu Lin about the Grave Lord Inheritance? With him involved, shouldn’t the inheritance be secure?”

Zuo Li had also been present during the secret realm battle.

Having been in close contact with Mu Lin, he had genuinely felt Mu Lin’s terror, and because of this, he held a sense of awe and reverence toward him.

Thus, he believed that with Mu Lin present, there was no need to notify so many people.

However, the leader of the Savior Organization held a different view.

“Mu Lin is not enough. His talent is indeed outstanding, but he has yet to fully mature.”

“Moreover, for this Grave Lord Inheritance, anyone under the age of eighteen is eligible to enter. Among them are not only Mu Lin’s peers but also those two or three years older than him.”

“Furthermore, due to the significance of the Grave Lord Inheritance, the participants this time are not limited to the children of nobles and wealthy families. Some major sects of the Demonic Sect have also sent representatives.”

“Flowing dynasties, millennia-old noble families, and sects that have endured for ten thousand years—they are the true rulers of this world. Mu Lin simply cannot compete with them.”

“In addition to the major sects, the Cultists will also send their Godchild, who is another great enemy of humanity.”

“Relying solely on Mu Lin, he may gain some benefits, but he will never be able to seize the most crucial inheritance of Sky Burial City.”

(End of Chapter)