Chapter 283 – The Grave Lord's Inheritance Emerges

As his realm ascended, Mu Lin felt a surge of joy in his heart. While he was enhancing his strength, time continued to flow steadily.

Soon, the day arrived when the Grave Lord Inheritance was set to begin.

“Hum…”

The Grave Lord Inheritance did not open during the day but at the stroke of midnight.

Moreover, the location of its opening was not elsewhere but within Ping’an Ancient County.

Mu Lin could be considered among the first to detect the arrival of the Grave Lord Inheritance.

“Boom!”

Although Mu Lin’s strength was not particularly outstanding—he was neither an Adept nor a True Person—as the City God of Ping’an Ancient County, he controlled the Spirit Veins of this land. This status allowed him to uncover some secrets of the Grave Lord Inheritance ahead of others.

Then, he discovered that the so-called Grave Lord’s Tomb was not a mere burial ground but a Secret Realm, or rather, an interstitial world.

As the City God, Mu Lin could clearly sense that, as a certain moment approached, a vast, magnificent, yet eerie and terrifying “world” was rapidly rising from an unknowable, obscure place toward the real world.

This ascent startled Mu Lin. The immense Grave Lord’s Tomb stretched as far as the eye could see.

If it were to fully rise and overlap with the present world, then Ping’an Ancient County—no, the entire Jade Province—would descend into utter chaos.

And that was just the disruption of the Earth Veins.

If the two overlapped, everything within the Grave Lord’s Tomb would also erode reality, turning Jade Province into a Forbidden Land, a place of no return.

Fortunately, this scenario did not come to pass.

As the Grave Lord’s Tomb rose, a force of resistance emanated from the world itself.

This resistance ensured that the Grave Lord’s Tomb remained at a certain distance from the present world.

In the end, only a small area of the Grave Lord’s Tomb overlapped with reality.

And that area served as the entrance to the Grave Lord’s Tomb.

“Let’s go!”

The overlap between the Grave Lord’s Tomb and the present world caused a certain area of Ping’an Ancient County to become hazy and indistinct, with strange phenomena, like mirages, reflecting onto Ping’an Ancient Street.

Upon detecting the anomaly, some people approached with caution, while others charged forward boldly.

As for Mu Lin… he was in no hurry to enter.

It wasn’t out of fear but because he had discovered something that left him conflicted and hesitant.

—Regardless of how the heavens and earth judged it, Mu Lin found that once the Grave Lord’s Tomb overlapped with the present world, it also became part of Ping’an Ancient County.

Consequently, his position as City God actually held sway over the Grave Lord’s Tomb.

This meant that if his City God Avatar entered the Grave Lord’s Tomb, it could potentially control a portion of the area.

For Mu Lin, this had its advantages.

Ping’an Ancient County could only elevate him to the rank of County City God, still a step away from Prefecture City God.

To advance, Mu Lin would need to endure for a while—and even that was only possible because Ping’an Ancient County’s Spirit Veins were exceptional. Otherwise, he would have to wait for decades or even centuries.

But now, a shortcut had appeared before him.

If he could control the Grave Lord’s Tomb, Mu Lin wouldn’t just become a Prefecture City God—he could even achieve the status of Province City God or even Capital City God.

He might even ascend directly to the position of King Yama.

However, nothing in this world comes without a price.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

The position of City God is not something one can simply ascend or control at will.

Take Mu Lin’s current County City God Status as an example. First, Mu Lin created a Cultivation Path, which gained the favor of the Human Dao will and rewarded him with an empty shell (a blank Divinity). This was the beginning of everything.

Subsequently, Mu Lin infused a large amount of Human Dao Fortune into it, which allowed the County City God Status to fully coalesce and manifest in reality.

At the same time, it was also due to Mu Lin’s powerful Divine Soul and relatively profound Mana that he was able to avoid being overwhelmed after becoming the City God.

Hmm… and then there were the Yin Eight Gates of Ping’an Ancient Street.

Yes, they also contributed. If they hadn’t gathered and tamed the Yin Veins in this area, Mu Lin would never have been able to manipulate the Spirit Veins so effortlessly.

All of the above were Mu Lin’s advantages as a City God. However, once he entered the Grave Lord’s Tomb, most of these advantages would turn into disadvantages.

There were indeed many Spirit Veins there, and the master was already dead, so no one would restrict Mu Lin.

Refining them all would allow Mu Lin to ascend to the heavens in a single step.

But refining the Spirit Veins within the Grave Lord’s Tomb was no easy task.

As the burial ground of a Deity, it was filled with countless resentful thoughts of demonic gods. The land had also been eroded by this resentment, turning it into a complete wasteland, a Forbidden Land.

Just standing outside, without even entering, that terrifying, anomalous power had already eroded the earth and sky of the present world, sending chills down the spines of the Qi Refiners who had come here.

It was worth noting that none of the Qi Refiners who could still stand here now were weak.

Under such circumstances, the fact that the Grave Lord’s Tomb could still affect Mu Lin and the others was enough to prove the horror of this tomb.

“I can’t help but feel that if my City God Avatar enters, it won’t be about controlling the Spirit Veins, but rather being corrupted by them instead, turning into an evil City God…”

This was not impossible. Regional Deities were essentially bound to a specific location. If an area was tainted by Baleful Qi and Resentment, even righteous gods could turn into anomalous City Gods.

This concern was also why Mu Lin hadn’t entered immediately.

However, after struggling for a while, he ultimately gritted his teeth and decided to take a gamble.

“The greater the storm, the greater the reward. I’ll risk it!”

Saying this, Mu Lin’s City God Avatar did not directly enter… He only wanted to take a chance, not recklessly throw his life away.

“Whoosh…”

Under Mu Lin’s will, the City God Avatar outside no longer resisted the Forbidden Power within the Grave Lord’s Tomb. Instead, it actively lured these forces, allowing them to erode reality, as well as Ping’an Ancient County and Mu Lin’s City God Domain.

“Hiss…”

As the anomalous power spread, Mu Lin clearly felt the land of Ping’an Ancient County… gradually dying.

In reality, this manifested as the land gradually drying up and cracking.

The once flat ground turned into a muddy pit emitting foul, stinking air…

Even the most important Spirit Vein of Ping’an Ancient County was tainted by this aura, becoming shockingly filled with Baleful Qi.

If left unchecked, this area would undoubtedly become a barren, filthy land in the future.

By then, merely having humans or livestock pass through would cause them to be tainted by the filth of this area, turning into evil or anomalous beings.

“No, not in the future. Right now, anomalous events are already occurring.”

Under Mu Lin’s gaze, he noticed that the tainted, foul soil, corrupted by the Evil God’s resentment, suddenly bulged, as if something underground was struggling to crawl out.

However, when Mu Lin sensed it, he found that there was nothing there again.

“Anomalies…”

Such a scene sent chills down one’s spine, but soon, Mu Lin realized he could no longer afford to dwell on it.

As the City God, Ping’an Ancient County was Mu Lin’s body. Now, the sinister forces from the Grave Lord’s Tomb were corrupting reality, and in turn, corrupting Mu Lin’s own body.

This was particularly evident within the Netherworld Law Domain.

Filth had already begun to taint Mu Lin’s Netherworld Law Domain. Even his golden City God Avatar was now entwined with dark energy.

“Die, die, die…”

“Submit to me, kneel before me… chant my name, my name is ***…”

“…Submit to me, submit to the great ****…”

The encroachment of dark energy also flooded Mu Lin’s City God Avatar with countless malevolent thoughts.

These thoughts were like countless wicked women whispering incessantly in Mu Lin’s mind, seeking to drive him mad, make him submit, and turn him into a slave corrupted by resentment.

Naturally, Mu Lin could not tolerate such a situation. Thus, with a “boom,” raging flames erupted from his City God Dharma Image.

The flames, born from the Vow-Power Heart Lamp, were resplendent beyond compare. Yet, their purpose was not to purify those malevolent thoughts—it was to dominate and control!

“Make me submit? You’re not worthy!”

“In my eyes, you are nothing but a failure, a weakling who was sliced into a thousand pieces and drained of all essence.”

“A feeble existence like you is only fit to be dominated by me. To think you could dominate me instead? You’re daydreaming!”

(End of Chapter)