Chapter 299 – Becoming a Province City God in One Move?

Prince Liang did not believe Mu Lin could handle six Prodigies at the Realm of Gang Sha Unity, and others… felt the same.

“If there were only one, Mu Lin, who has created miracles several times before, might succeed by risking his life. But there are six enemies.”

“Moreover, among these six, two possess Divinity, one has the Ethereal Void physique, one possesses the indomitable and supremely strong Tyrant Body, and Black Fiend Fierce Tiger’s physique is at the Sacred Beast level, no less formidable than that of a dragon’s offspring. As for the last one, Mingling Zi, although he lacks a special physique, he fought his way out from among thousands of Demonic Cultivators.”

“Mu Lin’s talent is outstanding, but these six are also peerless Prodigies, no less remarkable than him. How could he possibly take on six alone?”

This view was shared by many.

“Mu Lin’s weaknesses don’t end there. After all, his time cultivating the Dao has been too short, and his Cultivation Level is also a tier below theirs… What a pity.”

“Those scoundrels, aren’t they afraid of letting things spiral out of control? This is an Evil God we’re talking about!”

“Ahem, Elder Ge, you’re too anxious. The Evil God is dead, and the Grave Lord’s seal remains intact. It won’t be so easy for Him to break free. At most, this will only slightly loosen the seal around His heart.”

“Hmph! It’s precisely because of people like you, who cling to such wishful thinking, that those from the Demonic Sect dare to act so boldly!”

…

Some worried about the evil god’s revival, while others believed things wouldn’t go that far.

While others argued, Master Meng Rui, Si Ye, and Dongfang Ya grew anxious as they saw Mu Lin approaching Heartcage City.

Dongfang Ya, the most hot-tempered of them, had already planted her hands on her hips and started cursing.

“You fool, what are you trying to prove? Even if the Evil God revives, there are taller people to shoulder the burden. What can you do with your meager Cultivation Level?”

Si Ye: “Wouldn’t it be fine to linger on the outskirts? Why come to Heartcage City?”

Master Meng Rui: “Is there any way to send a message to Mu Lin? It’s far too dangerous for him here.”

Si Ye: “I wish, but it’s difficult to get through…”

…

Unaware of the concern outside, Mu Lin had not come near Heartcage City to stop the Evil God Scion’s actions—his character wasn’t that noble.

What brought Mu Lin here was the Grave Lord’s method.

Having cultivated the Big Dipper Seven Stars Purple Tenuity Array, the Twilight Illusion Life-Death Array, and the Celestial Fortress Array to Master Grade, Mu Lin possessed some foundational knowledge of Arrays.

This foundation allowed him to detect traces of array formations.

While observing the Grave Lord’s method, Mu Lin discovered that the grave mounds densely scattered throughout the Secret Realm were not isolated entities.

Looking around and surveying his surroundings, he noticed that around the grave mounds, there were Paper Figures, Ghost Money, tombstones, as well as bowls, rice, and incense candles.

Combined with the grave mounds, these elements formed small ritualistic secret paths and, moreover, tiny array formations.

Originally, Mu Lin’s observations ended there. But at a certain moment, a discovery by Ink Jiao – Hebo shook him to the core.

“What did you say? There’s an underground river beneath the Secret Realm world, and that river is composed of Blackwater?”

Having caught a clue, Mu Lin immediately connected himself with Ink Jiao – Hebo, using its vision to observe the world.

Then, he discovered that this Secret Realm world, filled with graves, indeed had an underground river.

The tributaries of the dark river spread out in all directions, forming a network of waterways that connected the entire secret realm.

With his solid knowledge of arrays and what he saw before him, Mu Lin realized that the dark river network corresponded to the graves on the surface of the secret realm.

Together, they formed a grand and magnificent super formation.

“Countless graves serve as the formation nodes, the dark river network as the formation runes, supplemented by paper figures, tombstones, incense, candles, food offerings… and, as expected, the anomalous corpses buried beneath the graves are both the sealed entities and nodes of the formation.”

“The Grave Lord truly has immense ambition—this entire world is a single formation.”

“But it makes sense. Only such a vast formation could truly seal an eternal and indestructible Evil God, preventing His name and His immortal essence from leaking out.”

“Speaking of which, is the formation laid by the Grave Lord the Ten Thousand Yin Heaven-Severing Formation, the Dutian Coiling Dragon Formation, the Hundred Thousand Soul Burial—Soul Interment Formation, or perhaps some other formation?”

Having recognized the Grave Lord’s grand design, Mu Lin naturally followed the formation’s pathways.

As he observed and pondered, his cultivation method progress soared.

—When constructing this formation, the Grave Lord must have poured all his heart, soul, and everything he had learned into it.

Thus, this unnamed, magnificent, and forbidden formation was the culmination of all the Grave Lord’s cultivation insights.

Observing such a formation, which gathered countless knowledge and insights, would be impossible for an ordinary person—well, formations are similar to mathematics; to learn advanced formations, one needs some foundation. Only an Expert-level Formation Master could barely discern the formation pathways left by the Grave Lord and gain some insights.

Fortunately, Mu Lin was qualified. Having mastered several Heaven Grade formations to the level of a Master, his cultivation in formations could be considered profound, allowing him to clearly comprehend the Grave Lord’s experiences.

This ability, combined with the principle of Heavenly Dao rewarding diligence, enabled Mu Lin to walk and observe simultaneously, with his various cultivation methods progressing steadily.

  Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture +11, +32, +18, +17…

“This ritual secret anomaly can be applied to my Mindscape—Sky Burial City. In this way, my mindscape will always be enveloped by formations, suppressing any external entities that enter…”

Mindscape—Sky Burial City +137, +198, +316…

“The interplay of yin and yang, the balance of life and death—the Twilight Illusion Life-Death Array also holds such secrets… Indeed, all paths share the same origin. At the profound stages of cultivation, various abilities subtly interconnect…”

Twilight Illusion Life-Death Array +91, +73, +86…

“Using tombs as soldiers to guard a great city—this seems applicable to the Celestial Fortress Array…”

Celestial Fortress Array +32, +35, +43…

The Grave Lord’s cultivation shared the same origin as Mu Lin’s, and he had walked much farther along this path.

This direct glimpse of the road ahead naturally caused Mu Lin’s cultivation method progress to skyrocket.

As Mu Lin observed and explored, he followed the formation pathways from the periphery to one of the Grave Lord’s formation’s core nodes—namely, near Heartcage City.

“This should be a core node of the Grave Lord’s array. If I can master this core, with my knowledge of arrays, I’ll be able to barely mobilize the power left by the Grave Lord… Huh? This is Heartcage City—how did I end up here…”

Before he could finish speaking, Mu Lin realized.

“Right, the main purpose of the array left by the Grave Lord is to seal the Evil God’s Divine Form.”

“Undoubtedly, the seal at the core node is the strongest. But because of this, the Grave Lord would have split the Evil God’s Divine Form and sealed it at the core, using this strongest seal to suppress it.”

“Following the array’s pathways, I was bound to end up near Heartcage City. Even if not Heartcage, it would be something like ‘Handcage’ or ‘Footcage’…”

Thinking this far, Mu Lin originally intended to leave. Although observing at the array’s core would allow him to gain insights and rapidly advance his cultivation method’s progress, too many powerful individuals had gathered here, making it the most intense conflict zone.

In such a place, even if Mu Lin claimed he was here to learn and broaden his horizons, not seeking Divine Blood, no one else would believe him.

Unwilling to get involved, Mu Lin naturally wanted to leave.

However, though he took a step and turned halfway, Mu Lin ultimately didn’t leave.

He made a strange discovery… the core seal here was unclaimed. If he took control of it, he could command this entire region.

To put it in simpler terms, this place was like an Earth-grade city, and one extremely unfriendly to outsiders.

Previously, Mu Lin was an outsider. Whether moving around or fighting here, he would face countless hostilities from the “residents” and the surrounding environment.

But if he took control of the core and mastered the core node, the situation would change entirely.

At that point, Mu Lin would transform from an outsider into the mayor of this Earth-grade city.

Thus, the vicious residents and hostile environment would no longer be obstacles but his subordinates and assets.

“If I can take control and utilize the power left by the Grave Lord, it seems I could effortlessly deal with those troublemakers?”

Normally, mastering an array node would be the extent of Mu Lin’s gains here.

But Mu Lin wasn’t normal. Don’t forget, besides his immortal path cultivation, he also possessed the City God Dharma Image.

The latter was a Deity, specifically a territorial deity, requiring territory to fully unleash its power.

“Previously, my City God Dharma Image wanted to enter the Grave Lord’s Tomb, but as an outsider—and an invading one at that—it faced immense suppression.”

“Due to the Grave Lord’s Realm’s targeting, even now, my City God Dharma Image only dares to secretly absorb the Yin energy emanating from the Grave Lord’s Tomb from the outside, not daring to enter for fear of corruption.”

“But if I become the master of this core node and lift all restrictions, then my City God Dharma Image could also seize this core node in one move and, through the node, control a large area of the Grave Lord’s Tomb.”

“With this foundation, my City God Dharma Image would undoubtedly advance from County City God to Province City God in one leap, evolving from ‘Manifest Blessing Earl’ to ‘Majestic Spirit Marquis’.” (Note: Earlier I made a mistake—prefecture is above province, so Province City God is the second-lowest rank.)

It’s important to note that in Divine Path cultivation, County City God, Manifest Blessing Earl corresponds to a Spell Master at the Realm of Gang Sha Unity.

Province City God, Majestic Spirit Marquis corresponds to a Mortal Shedding Adept.

Although as a City God, Mu Lin’s abilities could only be exerted within the area under his control—once he left, it would be like a dragon trapped in shallow waters or a tiger stranded on flat plains, his strength unable to unfold.

However, he possessed a Grandmaster-level Substitute Paper Figure, which could transmit a portion of his power outward.

This allowed Mu Lin to still exhibit some characteristics of a Province City God, even though his City God Dharma Image was confined within the Grave Lord’s Tomb.

Having thought this through, Mu Lin immediately made a decision.

“I must absolutely secure this Array node!”

(End of Chapter)