Chapter 273 – I Am Mu Lin—When You See This Letter…

Though they were pursued demonic cultivators, once these Qi Refiners reached the stage of Holy Son, they were never alone again.

Seeking refuge and attaching oneself to the strong—this is something people do everywhere.

And after attaching themselves, these cultivators would not only obey the commands of the Demonic Sect Saint but also offer suggestions.

As at this moment, someone inquired of the Buddha Son of the Celestial Buddha Sect: “Master, are we really going to deal with Lin Qiu of Ping’an Ancient City for some fame and profit? It feels like a loss…”

The dependent was still speaking, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by the Buddha Son of the Celestial Buddha Sect, Fa Yan.

“Fame is important. With fame, I can make others fear and respect me. Isn’t it because of my fame that all of you have gathered around me?”

“Huh?”

These words left Fa Yan’s dependents stunned and somewhat unable to refute.

Fame indeed attracts benefits—in the previous life, whether fame was positive or negative, it could be monetized, which is a manifestation of fame transforming into profit, and that was just superficial reputation.

In this world, a person’s fame is earned through deeds and can be exchanged for even more.

If Mu Lin were here, he would realize that fame in this world is similar to reputation in the feudal era of his previous life.

Scholars who cultivated their reputation could directly become officials.

There were even those who spent decades building their reputation, only to enter the court and immediately become prime ministers.

Given its importance, it’s no wonder even the Demonic Sect Saint could not avoid the temptation and sought to compete for it.

Of course, Fa Yan’s dependent was not Mu Lin, and he didn’t think that deeply.

At this moment, although he acknowledged the importance of fame, he was more eager to demonstrate his loyalty to Fa Yan.

…

Here, Fa Yan gave his answer, while the other Demonic Sect Saints had their own responses.

“Fame—it not only attracts benefits and resources. If one’s reputation is great enough, we can even gain the favor of both Heaven and Humanity, making every endeavor and cultivation smooth.”

The one speaking now was Ghost Shadow of the Nether Ghost Sect. Though originally an assassin, he did not act discreetly. Instead, after killing, he would deliberately leave something behind to flaunt his reputation.

He had even gone so far as to send a prophetic letter in advance, informing his enemies that he would surely kill them.

Such actions made him quite famous among assassins.

To be honest, this approach wasn’t wise, but Ghost Shadow’s strength truly grew rapidly because of it.

One of his abilities even advanced to the level of Master as a result.

Now, he had set his sights on Mu Lin.

‘When Heaven bestows something, refusing it brings calamity. I shall take everything you have!’

…

Given the importance of fame and profit, it’s not surprising that many demonic sons sought to gain them by defeating Mu Lin.

This was merely the struggle for ordinary fame and profit. As for the title of the top Prodigy or the number one under Heaven—reputations that would undoubtedly gain the favor of the Human Dao—every time such titles were contested, countless bloody incidents would occur.

Of course, that was too far removed from Mu Lin and not something he could consider at this stage.

At the same time, what ordinary people didn’t know was that aside from fame and profit, there was another reason the Demonic Sect Saints were determined to confront Mu Lin in a decisive battle—they believed Mu Lin posed no threat.

This wasn’t baseless speculation but a judgment they made after witnessing the situation in Ping’an Ancient City.

“Forbidden City, City of Death, with such grand reputations, I thought there would be something truly dangerous inside. Turns out it’s just some Other Shore Flowers… That Lin Qiu, could he have used the illusion art of the Other Shore Flowers to wipe out nearly a thousand demonic cultivators in one fell swoop?”

After careful consideration, many demonic sect saints believed this to be the truth.

They clearly understood that for a group of ragtag individuals, illusion art was an absolute weapon of mass destruction, capable of making enemies turn on each other.

However, these individuals also knew that while illusion art was highly effective against cannon fodder, it was somewhat lacking when dealing with true powerhouses.

After all, for illusion art to take effect, the enemy’s will had to be wavering or their divine soul weakened.

Ordinary cultivators, with their unstable wills, could easily be affected.

But powerhouses, whether righteous or demonic—having grown through countless battles—none had weak wills.

Only those who could steadfastly walk their own path could become powerhouses, and such individuals were difficult to be misled by illusion art. This made the attacking demonic sect saints believe that ‘Lin Qiu’s’ illusion art could not affect them.

Beyond willpower, many demonic sect saints also felt their own abilities were highly resistant to illusion art.

For instance, the Buddha Son Fa Yan believed his Clairvoyance could easily see through illusions.

Ghost Shadow of the Nether Ghost Sect possessed a locking ability and did not believe he could be misled.

As for Jiang Yingying of the Yin-Yang Joyous Union Sect, who was already an expert in illusion arts, upon discovering that Mu Lin was using Manjusaka to cast illusions, she directly entered Ping’an Ancient City.

“When it comes to illusion arts, our Yin-Yang Joyous Union Sect is the true master. You are merely picking up scraps.”

“Trying to affect me with illusion art? The Great Void Illusion Realm of the Clear Void Sect might barely manage it. As for Manjusaka, it’s lucky if it isn’t affected by me!”

Jiang Yingying of the Yin-Yang Joyous Union Sect was just that confident.

This was also why she said Mu Lin’s situation was dangerous and that he could not affect her.

Objectively speaking, what Jiang Yingying said… was not entirely wrong.

Without the Underworld Hell or the River of Forgetfulness, the Other Shore Flowers in this world were merely Earth Grade Supreme spiritual flowers, truly incapable of affecting Jiang Yingying or the other demonic sect saints.

After all, while Earth Grade Supreme might seem high to ordinary people, true major sect demonic cultivators all practiced Heaven Grade cultivation methods.

The gap between Heaven Grade and Earth Grade was beyond measure. Under such circumstances, Jiang Yingying’s disdain for the Other Shore Flowers was entirely reasonable.

However, Jiang Yingying would not know that the Other Shore Flowers Mu Lin had placed in Ping’an Ancient County were only one-third of what he held in his hands.

Nor would she know that Mu Lin’s Other Shore Flowers had once fused with Joy and Desire Divinity, transforming into Divine Flowers.

Finally, Manjusaka was never the entirety of Mu Lin’s strength.

The Twilight Illusion Life-Death Array, the City God Domain… combined, these formed the complete manifestation of Manjusaka, a calamity capable of enveloping an entire city.

Beyond this, Mu Lin still had trump cards.

‘If I leave the city, due to the gap in cultivation years and insufficient mana, I might not be a match for those demonic sect saints. But within Ping’an Ancient Town, within my City God Domain, I fear no challenge from the younger generation.’

It was with this confidence that Mu Lin had come to Ping’an Ancient Town in advance to set up his plans.

While pondering this in his heart, Mu Lin calmly said to Jiang Yingying, “Not afraid of the Other Shore Flowers? I hold the opposite view. You cannot escape my sea of flowers.”

As he spoke, Mu Lin had indeed considered keeping Jiang Yingying here.

But in the end, after some thought, Mu Lin decided against it.

He sensed no killing intent from Jiang Yingying, and moreover, he felt it would be a waste to activate the Twilight Illusion Life-Death Array just to trap one person.

After all, while Mu Lin was indeed powerful now, his strength was built upon the Netherworld Law Domain.

If enemies witnessed his full power and then fled far from Ping’an Ancient Town, Mu Lin would be unable to do anything about them.

Thus, if possible, he wanted to suppress and kill a few more people to make things easier for the upcoming struggle over the Grave Lord Inheritance.

On this side, Mu Lin abandoned the idea of taking action, while Jiang Yingying remained completely unaware that she had narrowly escaped disaster.

Hearing Mu Lin’s words, she shook her head in disappointment. “I overestimated you after all. I thought you were a remarkable talent, but it turns out you’re just an ignorant fool with a limited perspective. What a pity—I had hoped you could become my seventh husband.”

As she spoke, she quietly rose to her feet.

At the same time, a faint voice escaped her lips. “Cherish this time—it will be your last moments… Hmm!”

Before she could finish, Jiang Yingying’s brows furrowed as something unusual occurred in the world around them.

A large number of blood-red letters were scattered from the sky, landing before Mu Lin and the other Qi Refiners.

On those letters was written a death notice for Mu Lin.

[I am Lin Qiu. By the time you read this letter, I will already be dead…]

“How pointless.”

At first glance, Mu Lin scoffed at the letter.

But soon, his brows knitted together.

Relying on his understanding of Curse Arts, Mu Lin was shocked to discover that the moment he read the letter, a “causality” of inevitable death had connected itself to him.

Now, that “outcome” was steadily approaching him.

Unless something extraordinary happened, once the causality curse triggered three days later, Mu Lin would undoubtedly die.

“This is actually a real ‘prophetic’ letter!”

How could such a sight not shock Mu Lin? It even piqued his interest.

“Interesting. So Ghost Shadow of the Nether Ghost Sect isn’t a stealthy assassin who hides and strikes—he uses rituals to curse and kill others.”

“His death notices aren’t just for flaunting his reputation; they’re part of the ritual itself.”

“And I have a feeling that every time he kills someone this way, the power of this ritual curse grows stronger…”

To be honest, this was something Mu Lin hadn’t anticipated, and it made him lose all underestimation of Demonic Sect cultivators.

Their abilities were truly bizarre and unfathomable.

However, while shedding his underestimation, thinking about the Nether Ghost Sect’s ritual curse-killing technique filled Mu Lin’s heart with boundless joy.

“This spell can complement my Cursed Paper Figure.”

…

Faced with the sudden death notice, Mu Lin felt excitement.

But Jiang Yingying looked at him with pity in her eyes.

Especially when she noticed Mu Lin’s excited expression, she shook her head and said, “You truly understand nothing…”

Clearly, underestimating Mu Lin, she believed he failed to see the hidden dangers.

And with that thought, she also began to harbor killing intent toward him.

Just as Mu Lin sensed, Jiang Yingying was well aware that Ghost Shadow of the Nether Ghost Sect could accumulate momentum through successive killings with his death curse.

If left unchecked, allowing Ghost Shadow to build up his power continuously, even prodigies like them from the Demonic Sect could fall victim to his curse.

Thus, Jiang Yingying considered killing Mu Lin in advance to disrupt Ghost Shadow’s momentum buildup.

However, after some deliberation, she ultimately chose not to do so.

Although they all belonged to the Demonic Sect, their cultivation philosophies differed, leading to distinct approaches.

The Nether Ghost Sect followed the path of manipulating myriad ghosts, believing everything could be slain. Hence, upon discerning Mu Lin’s “true nature,” Ghost Shadow harbored no intention of cooperation and immediately resorted to cursing him.

The Seven Killings Demonic Sect reveled in slaughter, enjoying the act of killing. Their greatest pleasure lay in confronting other prodigies head-on, undergoing transformation through intense life-and-death struggles.

As for the Yin-Yang Joyous Union Sect, they pursued the path of harmonizing yin and yang.

Although they had deviated from this path, shifting from harmony to the more convenient and expedient practice of absorbing yin to supplement yang, the sect’s philosophy and culture still inclined them toward compromise and avoiding the spotlight. After all, the way of yin and yang was also the way of balance.

Upon learning of Mu Lin’s talent, they did not seek to eliminate him but instead considered cooperation—a manifestation of this balanced, compromising approach.

Whether both parties would benefit from the cooperation or Mu Lin would be ensnared and destroyed depended on their respective capabilities.

Similarly, upon realizing that Ghost Shadow could enhance his power through momentum buildup, Jiang Yingying’s first thought was not to confront him directly.

Instead, she considered letting others take action while she positioned herself in the middle to mediate and balance the situation.

‘Confronting Ghost Shadow directly would be unwise. Others won’t sit idly by as he builds momentum. Once others intervene and the situation becomes chaotic, I’ll step in to mediate.’

(End of Chapter)