Chapter 287 – You Can Refine Sha Like This?

“He who harms me shall be repaid twofold. Such a shared injury and death substitution is indeed quite troublesome to deal with. However, Mu Lin’s current injuries are also severe, isn’t he? How does he plan to heal them?”

“Moreover, I observe that Mu Lin is using the Central Wuji Sha from the Yellow Mud Road to forge his foundation. There’s nothing wrong with that, but he is far too hasty.”

“Excess leads to deficiency. Refining Sha in such a manner will inevitably harm the body, even damaging his very foundation. Is it really wise for my cousin Lingsha to choose such a husband?”

The speaker at this moment was the Third Prince of the East Sea King. Upon witnessing Mu Lin’s ability—which could not be fought against, much less cursed—he too felt somewhat astonished and found it rather troublesome.

At the same time, he harbored no feelings of love at first sight for Ji Lingsha.

—Most scions of aristocratic families in this world have grown accustomed to countless women since childhood; there are few truly devoted souls within the entire circle of aristocratic families.

Thus, although he felt no romantic inclination toward Ji Lingsha, he placed great importance on the resources of Prince Liang’s Lineage.

For this reason, he still wished to marry Ji Lingsha.

Moreover, men generally possess a sense of possessiveness, which contributed to his rather unfavorable attitude toward Mu Lin.

Even though he knew Mu Lin was a shield Prince Liang had found for Ji Lingsha.

But he understood even more clearly that Prince Liang genuinely entertained the idea of marrying his daughter to Mu Lin; otherwise, he would not have spoken so resolutely.

Upon realizing this, he naturally sought to disparage Mu Lin.

To this, Prince Liang offered no words; he too was unsure how Mu Lin intended to respond.

Instead, the Third Prince’s guardian chuckled lightly and chimed in, “Your Highness, there is no helping it. He is a child of humble origins, unaccustomed to fine things. Upon encountering something as precious as the Central Wuji Sha, such individuals naturally become insatiably greedy.”

The Third Prince: “Even if it damages his very foundation?”

“Heh, yes, even if it damages his very foundation… Those of humble birth are often short-sighted, caring only for the present with no regard for the future. They are no heroes, and even less likely to become true powerhouses.”

Listening to their duet of disparagement, Prince Liang remained silent. He too felt that Mu Lin’s actions were somewhat overly reckless.

…

On the Yellow Mud Road, Mu Lin remained unaware of others’ opinions of him.

He merely continued refining Sha into his body. With his reckless refinement, heedless of his foundation, Mu Lin’s entire body soon turned into clay sculpture.

And beside him, several clay figures appeared as well.

Of course, Mu Lin’s injury-reflection ability was still in its early stages; thus, their clay transformation was not as severe as his.

However, even though Mu Lin’s reflection only transferred sixty to eighty percent of the damage, because his entire body had turned to clay, it still caused at least half of Huang Ru and the others’ bodies to transform into yellow mud.

This half included not just muscles and bones, but also internal organs and eyeballs.

In such a state, they could no longer speak or move their limbs, relying entirely on mana to sustain their existence.

Naturally, Mu Lin was in an even more pitiable state.

Yet, just as his body completely turned to clay, in the next moment, with a single thought from Mu Lin, within the Netherworld Law Domain, upon the ceaselessly flowing Yin Spirit Vein, a vividly lifelike paper figure inscribed with Mu Lin’s True Name and birth characters, stained with his blood, suddenly transformed into clay.

And as it changed, within the Grave Lord’s Tomb, Mu Lin’s clay-sculpted body gradually returned to its original form.

Not only did his body regain its flesh tone, but even the injuries he had just sustained healed completely, as if they had never existed.

When his body returned to its peak condition, Mu Lin didn’t even glance at Ji Lingsha or her companions, striding forward without hesitation.

This scene immediately prompted someone to instinctively call out.

“Wait…”

At these words, Mu Lin indeed stopped, not only pausing his steps but also turning to the person with a pleasant smile and saying, “Do you also want me to spare them?”

Mu Lin’s tone was gentle, his inquiry amiable.

Yet upon hearing this, the person shuddered in fright, hurriedly waving their hands and saying, “No, no, no, it has nothing to do with me. Do whatever you want!”

This made Mu Lin chuckle, after which he turned his gaze to the others.

“What about the rest of you? Does anyone think I’m in the wrong? Feel free to speak up. I’m open-minded and willing to accept any opinions or criticisms.”

‘You’re certainly willing to listen, but after hearing them out, you’d just beat everyone to death, right?’

Urging others to be magnanimous invites divine retribution. Having witnessed the miserable fate of those hypocritical do-gooders who were generous with others’ lives, no one dared to truly believe Mu Lin’s words.

Thus, under the awed gazes of the others and the fearful, regretful stares of several yellow clay statues, Mu Lin continued onward alone.

Naturally, as he traveled, Mu Lin ceaselessly absorbed the Central Wuji Sha from the Yellow Mud Road.

Refining it relentlessly soon caused his fully restored body to take on a clay-like hue.

With every step, his color changed. After a hundred paces or so, Mu Lin’s body had once again transformed into a clay sculpture.

However, after fully becoming a clay sculpture, with just a brief pause, his body returned to its original state.

  Then, Mu Lin resumed absorbing the Central Wuji Sha.

As he walked along the Yellow Mud Road, Mu Lin repeatedly shifted between clay sculpture and flesh, and after several cycles, his aura had significantly intensified.

This spectacle left many onlookers utterly stunned.

…

“Tsk, to refine Sha in such a manner!”

“This ability is far too convenient.”

“Exactly! When I refined Sha back then, I suffered immensely and wasted nearly a year. With his method, won’t he complete the refinement in a single day?”

Mu Lin’s method of Sha Refinement filled countless people with envy and admiration.

In the area of the Aristocratic Families, upon seeing Mu Lin’s situation, someone even congratulated Si Ye of the Chu Family.

“I recall Mu Lin is in a relationship with your Lingluo, right? With such abilities, you’ve found yourself an excellent son-in-law.”

Indeed, Si Ye had arrived, and not just her—Dongfang Ya and Meng Rui had come as well.

Upon learning that the Grave Lord’s Tomb contained the body of a Deity, all three had tried to dissuade Mu Lin, hoping he wouldn’t involve himself in this muddy affair.

“Mu Lin, the Grave Lord Inheritance is far too dangerous. It’s not a place for someone at your current level to compete.”

Dongfang Ya: “Your progress is already rapid. Even without the Grave Lord Inheritance, your talent alone can make you a formidable expert. There’s no need for you to take such risks.”

Their reasoning was sound, yet Mu Lin believed that with his Grandmaster-level Substitute Paper Figure, the danger was minimal. Thus, he didn’t heed their advice and insisted on coming.

If it were an ordinary person, after being advised and ignored, neither Master Meng Rui nor Si Ye would have intervened further.

But Mu Lin was different. He was Master Meng Rui’s hope for a breakthrough, and the man her daughter had decided to spend her life with.

Helpless, all three of them had come, prepared to find a way to help Mu Lin if he encountered danger.

However, the three who arrived never expected that instead of witnessing Mu Lin in peril, they would find themselves envied by the crowd because of his abilities.

“…”

The unexpected situation left Si Ye stunned for a moment.

But soon, facing everyone’s congratulations, she modestly said, “Mu Lin is indeed very good, but I don’t ask for him to display great power—I only wish for his safety… Ah, I hope that after absorbing the Central Wuji Sha, he knows when to stop.”

There was nothing wrong with such words, but someone nearby, driven by envy and jealousy, spoke sarcastically.

“I heard your relationship with Mu Lin was very poor, so you still don’t think he’ll achieve anything this time?”

This made Si Ye narrow her eyes, but she didn’t get angry. Instead, she calmly replied, “I was indeed wrong before. Mu Lin is strong and highly talented. As long as he cultivates diligently, he can become a powerful figure. Therefore, I simply feel he doesn’t need to take risks.”

At this point, Si Ye’s tone shifted, laced with sarcasm:

“As for you, do you really want your son-in-law to show off so much that you don’t mind him risking his life?”

“That’s not what I meant at all!”

The clash between the two drew laughter from many.

However, while laughing, they also understood Si Ye’s meaning.

She truly didn’t believe Mu Lin would achieve anything, and this… was also what many in the Aristocratic Families thought.

It wasn’t that they considered Mu Lin weak, but rather that his limited years of cultivation held him back.

‘Mu Lin has excellent talent. As Si Ye said, as long as he cultivates steadily, his chances of becoming a powerful figure are high.’

‘However, he is still too young after all, completely incomparable to the Daoist Sect’s Drunken Wanderer, Lingxu Zi, or the Demonic Sect’s Mingling Zi.’

‘Indeed, for cultivators, mana and realm are the foundation of everything. Currently, Mingling Zi, Lingxu Zi, and Drunken Wanderer have all reached Gang Condensation, or even the Realm of Gang Sha Unity. Mu Lin hasn’t even completed Sha Refinement—how could he possibly compete with them?’

When they saw that Mingling Zi and Drunken Wanderer had already advanced far ahead, while Mu Lin was still slowly walking in the starting area, their inclinations became even clearer.

‘With some unique and powerful abilities, Mu Lin might achieve something, but he absolutely cannot compete with Mingling Zi and the others.’

In fact, many even believed Mu Lin wouldn’t be able to complete Sha Refinement at all.

Among those who held this view was the third son of the East Sea King.

“Using Substitute Paper Figures to transfer the damage of Sha Refinement—his ability is indeed impressive. But as far as I know, the Paper Artisan Lineage’s Substitute Paper Figures are limited. How many times can he transfer?”

“Three to five times is fine, seven to nine times he might manage, but beyond nine times? Could he possibly transfer more!”

(End of Chapter)