Chapter 275 – Darkness Shrouds the City: Mu Lin Goes All Out

“Get lost!”

The icy, utterly contemptuous words and rebuke left Ji Xing completely stunned.

Before coming over, he had naturally considered what kind of reaction ‘Lin Qiu’ might have to his arrival.

But in his predictions, ‘Lin Qiu’ might be grave, perhaps fearful, angry, try to reason with him, or urge him to leave.

He might even be so arrogant as to think he could stand against him.

And resistance—that was the greatest disrespect Ji Xing had imagined ‘Lin Qiu’ could show him.

Yet now, this cold, dismissive rebuke the moment he laid eyes on him, such utter contempt, was something he had never anticipated.

Such an unexpected turn of events left Ji Xing stunned, and it stirred a raging fury within him.

Especially when he sensed that the other demonic heirs were watching the scene, pointing and whispering because of ‘Lin Qiu’s’ words, his fury could no longer be contained.

“Fool! An ignorant ant who doesn’t know his place! I, the Holy Son, in my mercy, originally intended to grant you a peaceful death. But now, you have thoroughly enraged me.”

“You won’t die so easily. I will make you suffer day and night, regretting the words you spoke today…”

Furious to the extreme, Ji Xing’s eyes were filled with venom, and his voice was icy and sinister.

…

Because he had been seen in an embarrassing situation, Ji Xing was furious and felt others were pointing fingers at him… and indeed, that was the case.

Jiang Yingying, the Six Desires Demoness, Blood River… they were indeed watching Ji Xing’s humiliation.

Well, they were also watching ‘Lin Qiu.’

“Get lost, hahaha, what a scolding! How long has it been since Ji Xing heard such a rebuke?”

“It must have been a long time. Didn’t you see? His face turned livid with anger.”

“Serves him right. Usually putting on that aloof act, but he’s just a deadpan—who does he think he’s fooling?”

Ji Xing’s humiliation brought Blood River and the others a good deal of schadenfreude.

While mocking Ji Xing, some also brought up Mu Lin’s actions.

“Daring to mock Ji Xing to his face and insult him like that—is that Lin Qiu really that brave?”

Some thought Mu Lin’s actions were courageous, but others considered them foolish.

“Brave, my foot! He’s just ignorant and can’t grasp the gap between himself and us. Just wait, it won’t be long before that Lin Qiu regrets what he did… An enraged Ji Xing is not someone to be trifled with.”

Jiang Yingying: “I agree with Young Master Blood River. That Lin Qiu is truly too foolish.”

Six Desires Demoness Man Rong: “The rarest quality in a person is the ability to see themselves clearly. Unfortunately, that Lin Qiu has no self-awareness at all. What’s even more regrettable is that he won’t have a chance to correct it.”

Having seen through Mu Lin’s ‘true nature,’ none of them held any favorable expectations for him.

Just as Ji Xing was filled with resentment and the other Demonic Sect Saints were watching the spectacle while sentencing Mu Lin to death, Mu Lin finally raised his head.

However, his expression was extremely grim, clearly indicating that his mood was far from good.

Sudden enlightenment is most easily disrupted by disturbances, and Ji Xing’s arrival had undoubtedly interrupted his moment of insight.

For others, the opportunity for sudden enlightenment is rare and unpredictable; once interrupted, one might never encounter it again in a lifetime.

Thus, Ji Xing’s interruption, for an ordinary person, was nothing less than an act of obstructing their path—equivalent to the hatred of a father’s murder, a feud that could only end in death.

Although Mu Lin was no ordinary person, and the disruption to his enlightenment had less impact on him, this was not a reason for him to let the other off.

“You deserve to die!”

In his fury, Mu Lin no longer cared about luring the Nether Ghost Sect’s Ghost Shadow into a trap. Instead, he unleashed his spell with full force.

“Hum!”

As Mu Lin went all out, countless eerie, crimson, and bizarre flowers instantly sprouted at his feet, rapidly spreading outward in all directions.

“Swish!”

In no time, Mu Lin’s body was enveloped in a sea of beautiful yet sinister flowers.

With the appearance of this flower sea, an illusory and mysterious atmosphere descended upon the scene.

The emergence of the Manjusaka flower sea caused Ji Xing to raise an eyebrow.

However, at this moment, he still hadn’t realized the severity of the situation. Moreover, having observed Ping’an Ancient City beforehand, he was wary of the Manjusaka.

Thus, when Mu Lin released his spell, far from feeling fear, Ji Xing sneered and said, “Manjusaka—these flowers are quite beautiful, but in my eyes, they are mere playthings!”

“Thinking you can oppose me with such ornamental trifles is nothing but a daydream…”

He was reprimanding Mu Lin, but more than that, he was aiming to crush Mu Lin’s spirit—having lost face, he wanted Mu Lin to die in fear and regret.

However, though his plan was well-laid, before he could finish speaking, his expression changed—the number of Manjusaka flowers surrounding Mu Lin was far greater than he had anticipated.

“Not thirteen hundred, but three thousand three hundred. You held back, but it doesn’t matter…”

At this point, Ji Xing fixed his gaze on Mu Lin and spoke word by word:

“Whether it’s one thousand or three thousand, the Manjusaka is utterly helpless against me… Huh?!”

Just like before, before he could finish speaking, Ji Xing’s expression changed once again.

After the Other Shore Flower Sea spread out, a special and rhythmic fluctuation rippled from the three thousand three hundred Other Shore Flowers.

These rhythms interconnected, making the spread-out Other Shore Flower Sea seem as one.

In the next moment, the interconnected Other Shore Flower Sea swayed once before vanishing entirely without a trace.

Along with it, Ping’an Ancient Town disappeared as well.

Yes, right before the eyes of Ji Xing and the other Demonic Sect Saints, Ping’an Ancient Town vanished into thin air in plain sight.

This sight immediately startled Ji Xing.

“The ancient city has disappeared. Illusion Art—can Lin Qiu’s Illusion Art affect me?”

“How is this possible? I clearly activated the Dark Star Contemplation Method when I entered. Illusion Arts shouldn’t be able to affect me…”

By now, Ji Xing had sensed that something was amiss.

Outside, the group of Demonic Sect Prodigies who had been laughing and casually commenting were even more affected.

—At this moment, although Ping’an Ancient City had vanished from Ji Xing’s sight, in his mind, Ping’an Ancient Town was still there. What Mu Lin had affected was only his own vision and senses.

But Jiang Yingying, Blood River, and Man Rong of the Six Desires Demonic Sect did not think the same.

They were far from Mu Lin and, given their formidable strength, were unlikely to be misled by his Illusion Art.

Yet, under such circumstances, Ping’an Ancient Town still disappeared right before their eyes. This indicated that what Mu Lin had concealed with his Illusion Art was not just one person’s senses, but an entire city.

The shock of using Illusion Art to mislead one person versus concealing an entire city was naturally incomparable.

However, precisely because it was inconceivable, Mu Lin’s actions not only brought endless shock to Jiang Yingying, Blood River, and the others but also left them utterly perplexed.

“How is this possible? How could he affect an entire city!”

The Buddha Son Fa Yan remarked, “Although illusion arts excel at large-scale concealment, an entire city is simply too vast. It’s something no cultivator at the Gang Condensation level could achieve… Even Gang Sha Unity would find it difficult.”

After speaking, Buddha Son Fa Yan cast a suspicious glance at Jiang Yingying. “Are you certain Lin Qiu’s mana is at the Gang Condensation level?”

“I’m certain…”

While conversing, the group also employed various spells to observe the situation in Ping’an Ancient Town.

It must be said that these Demonic Sect Saints indeed had their methods.

Buddha Son Fa Yan, with his Clairvoyance, and Blood River, with his Hundred-Eyed Blood Eyes, managed to peer through the illusions and catch a hazy glimpse of Ping’an Ancient Town.

Yet, before they could fully discern everything, a strange transformation once again occurred in Ping’an Ancient Town with a resonant hum.

Darkness descended.

【Gloom】

It was a pitch-black darkness, so profound that not even Buddha Son Fa Yan’s Clairvoyance nor Blood River’s Hundred-Eyed Blood Eyes could penetrate it.

They could no longer see through the darkness to observe the situation within Ping’an Ancient County.

Such darkness also stirred a sense of foreboding in their hearts.

“Ji Xing… is in danger.”

Someone, recalling something, turned to look at Jiang Yingying and remarked with a peculiar expression, “Effortlessly enveloping an entire city in illusion and shrouding everything in darkness—is this what you meant by Lin Qiu posing no threat and offering no resistance?”

This remark made Blood River realize as well. He clicked his tongue while looking at Jiang Yingying. “When it comes to ruthlessness, you truly take the prize.”

Buddha Son Fa Yan added, “I’ve always heard that the Yin-Yang Joyous Union Sect excels at deception, preferring to kill with a soft blade. I never believed it before, but today I’ve witnessed it firsthand… What a pity for Ji Xing.”

The group’s peculiar gazes and misunderstandings left Jiang Yingying feeling quite helpless and even somewhat fearful.

The scene before her was something even she could not achieve. Thus, she knew all too well that if she had harbored murderous intent when testing ‘Lin Qiu,’ she might very well have been the one left in the city.

While feeling this fear, she also spoke up to defend herself. “Dear brothers, I truly did not deceive you. I never imagined Lin Qiu would be this powerful.”

“Hmph.”

No one believed her excuses.

…

Setting aside the shock outside, within Ping’an Ancient Town, when his vision plunged into pitch darkness that could not be dispelled no matter what, Ji Xing also sensed that something was amiss.

“Damn it, that bitch set me up!”

Like Blood River and the Buddha Son of the Celestial Buddha Sect, Ji Xing believed that falling into this trap was partly due to Jiang Yingying’s ‘contribution.’

Yet, even as resentment filled him, he did not give up on himself. Instead, he quickly began to save himself.

“Star Ascension!”

“Hum!”

With his explosive shout, a dim, dark star swiftly rose from within his Divine Soul.

Ji Xing’s primary consciousness settled upon the star, ascending together with it.

This was a secret technique of the Star Moon Sect.

The so-called “star and moon” did not refer to actual stars or the moon but symbolized being lofty and detached from the mundane world.

The cultivation of this sect emphasized gazing at the starry sky, elevating oneself to reside high above in the heavens.

This path and philosophy share some similarities with the invincible path, which is why this sect can obtain secret techniques akin to Transcendence Traits.

At this moment, Ji Xing, whose consciousness had undergone Star Ascension, sought to use his third-dimensional perspective to evade Mu Lin’s influence and dispel the darkness before him.

Unfortunately, he failed to do so.

The darkness brought by the Twilight Illusion Life-Death Array was not a mirage-like illusion but a genuine transformation of an area from daylight to night.

Star Ascension only allowed Ji Xing to resist the effects of Illusion Art on him; it did not grant him the ability to see through everything.

When he surveyed his surroundings with his third-dimensional vision and found everything shrouded in darkness, as if enveloped in the fog of war, the foreboding in Ji Xing’s heart grew increasingly intense.

Not daring to delay, he immediately leaped upward, soaring into the sky.

His intention was to escape Mu Lin’s Spell by leaving Ping’an Ancient County.

This response was not entirely wrong. Unfortunately, having entered Ping’an Ancient City and disturbed Mu Lin during his enlightenment, there was no way Mu Lin would let him leave so easily.

[Illusion’s End]

“Boom!”

(End of Chapter)