Chapter 301 – The Idea of Creating the Eighteen Levels of Hell

The refinement of the Divine Blood heart was nearing completion, and the Evil God Scions and the Prodigies of the Demonic Sect were frequently signaling each other, exchanging constant voice transmissions.

Among them, Mingling Zi, the one transmitting the Dharma Voice of the Celestial Buddha Sect, was Ghost Shadow.

“Have you contacted Drunken Wanderer and Jade Daoist from the Daoist Sect?”

“They’ve been found. I can bring them in for a surprise attack at any time.”

“Good. Tell them that whoever obtains the Divine Blood must seal it immediately, and under no circumstances should they refine it…”

“No need for you to say that.”

The one speaking with some irritation was Drunken Wanderer. Through Ghost Shadow as the intermediary, his voice carried a hint of annoyance:

“In my opinion, this Divine Blood shouldn’t have been refined at all. When those bastards came to you, you should have notified us so we could surround and kill those Evil God Scions.”

Mingling Zi ignored this remark outright: “It’s the same now. Besides, do you think tracking them down is an easy task?”

“They are extremely cautious and possess some mysterious secret techniques. If I hadn’t signed the contract and agreed to refine the Divine Blood, they wouldn’t have appeared before me.”

“Compared to letting them scheme in the shadows, it’s better for me to keep an eye on the situation.”

At this point, he spoke with full confidence:

“And don’t worry, with the two of us working together, we have a significant advantage. Nothing will go wrong… With me watching, they absolutely won’t obtain the Divine Blood. And after seizing it, as long as we don’t refine it on the spot, even if they have backup plans, they won’t be able to do anything to us.”

This argument barely convinced Drunken Wanderer and Jade Daoist.

But for the sake of caution, the latter still spoke up: “If we act only after the Divine Blood is refined, there might be unexpected complications… We should strike when it’s close to completion.”

“…Agreed. However, due to the contract’s restrictions, I cannot act before the Divine Blood is refined. If you want to strike, you’ll have to do it yourselves.”

Drunken Wanderer: “As long as you don’t hinder us.”

On this side, Mingling Zi, Little Overlord, and the others had reached an agreement with the Prodigies of the Daoist Sect.

On the other side, Black Fiend Tiger was also transmitting messages to the Evil God Scions.

“The Daoist and Demonic Sects definitely have ill intentions. You are no match for them. As agreed, I will help you, but the first drop of Divine Blood must be handed over to me…”

Before he could finish, Evil God Spawn – Scarlet spoke up: “Rest assured, we will give you the first drop of Divine Blood.”

Then, fearing that Black Fiend Tiger might worry, Evil God Spawn Scarlet added: “Don’t worry about us going back on our word. For us, who possess the Ritual, Divine Blood can be produced in abundance. So, our priority is ensuring the successful refinement of the Divine Blood.”

“Once it succeeds, not just one drop, but ten, a hundred drops—we can afford to give them.”

“Then it’s settled.”

Though he agreed verbally, a cold sneer appeared on Black Fiend Tiger’s face.

‘Ten drops, a hundred drops—who are you trying to fool? Humans aren’t fools. They must have realized by now. If I’m not mistaken, a large number of Prodigies are heading this way as we speak.’

‘Although their strength is inferior to mine, even an elephant can be brought down by enough ants. If I linger too long, I too risk falling.’

‘But it doesn’t matter. Once I obtain the Divine Blood, I’ll leave immediately and watch you and the humans tear each other apart…’

On the human side, the Demonic Sect believed they had the advantage with their numbers and strength.

Black Fiend Tiger, on the other hand, planned to seize a drop of Divine Blood and flee immediately.

As for the Evil God Scions, they too believed they held the upper hand and were certain of victory.

All three believed they had a bright future ahead.

Just as they were brimming with confidence, on the other side, Mu Lin’s eyes also lit up.

After a series of explorations and the loss of seventy-seven Substitute Paper Figures, he had finally found a path from the underground dark river leading to the Formation Core of Heartcage City.

“Success!”

With a flash of joy in his eyes, Mu Lin immediately summoned Ink Jiao – Hebo.

“Splash!”

As a puddle formed and the teleportation activated, in an instant, Mu Lin traveled from outside Heartcage City to the Formation Core.

It was a grand and vast Underground Palace. Inside, there was a circular river formed from Black River Water, which originally served as Formation Runes, a protective barrier, and a link to the outside world. But now, Mu Lin had exploited it as a weakness to break through.

Apart from the river composed of Black River Water, this vast Underground Palace also featured numerous tomb-like rockeries, along with a large number of Clay Sculptures and Paper Figures.

On the ceiling of the Underground Palace, cold, eerie candlelight flickered.

All of these were part of the palace’s defenses.

However, these defenses seemed to guard only against external threats, not internal ones. Having entered the Underground Palace, Mu Lin was not attacked.

After cautiously scanning his surroundings and finding nothing unusual, Mu Lin set aside his apprehension and turned his gaze toward the very center of the Underground Palace.

There stood a pillar.

A thick, cylindrical column, one hundred and thirty-three meters tall, inscribed with countless blood-red forbidden runes.

And this was only the visible part. How long or thick the column extended below remained unknown to Mu Lin, and he could not investigate further.

—The chamber housing the Formation Core was heavily protected, making it impervious to Divine Sense probing.

Although he could not see the complete shape of the column, based on the knowledge of the Paper Artisan Lineage and his own understanding of Arrays, Mu Lin realized that the massive column before him was less of a pillar and more of a Wedge—a Wedge driven into the key node of the Secret Realm and the heart of the Evil God.

“Thump!”

While Mu Lin was deep in thought, a dull thud suddenly echoed from within his chest.

—His heart had exploded.

  This was something Mu Lin had done himself.

The Formation Core was a Wedge driven into the heart of the Evil God. As a result, by approaching the Formation Core, Mu Lin had also drawn near to the Evil God’s heart.

Previously, this had not been an issue, as the Evil God’s heart was completely sealed, with not a trace of energy able to leak out.

However, due to the damage inflicted by the Evil God Scion and the Demonic Sect Cultivators, the seal had developed a tiny crack, allowing a sliver of the Evil God’s power to seep through.

Even from a great distance away from Heartcage City, one could hear the beating of a heart—a manifestation of the Evil God’s heart power leaking out.

Undoubtedly, the closer one got to the sealed heart, the stronger the power the Evil God radiated.

And the Formation Core was the closest point to the Evil God’s heart. Arriving here, Mu Lin was inevitably affected.

His Source Rune ‘Stabilize’ was utterly incapable of Fixating his own heart rate.

Without protection, Mu Lin’s heart was naturally assimilated by the Evil God’s power.

Unwilling to be influenced, Mu Lin chose to actively detonate his own heart.

“Fortunately, shattering my heart is only a minor injury.”

As Mu Lin sighed in relief, within the Netherworld Law Domain of Ping’an Ancient County, another Paper Figure burned to ashes.

Due to massive losses in a short period, there are now only around two hundred and forty Paper Figures left here… well, now it’s over two hundred and fifty.

Just as one Paper Figure burned to ashes, several more were crafted by other Paper Figures.

This endless succession of substitutes is the life-preserving ability of the Paper Artisan Lineage.

Of course, Mu Lin had transferred his consciousness here not merely to sigh. He focused his consciousness onto the City God Dharma Image and, with the help of Ink Jiao – Hebo, brought the City God Dharma Image to the Formation Core.

—By the way, Mu Lin’s Netherworld Law Domain had undergone some changes.

First, continuous Yin Graves had appeared within Mu Lin’s Netherworld Law Domain, a manifestation of the Grave Lord’s Tomb’s power.

While Mu Lin absorbed the Yin energy from the Grave Lord’s Realm, the power of the Grave Lord’s Tomb was also eroding his Netherworld Law Domain.

Second, a terrifying and forbidden prison had emerged in one corner of the Netherworld Law Domain.

This was created by Mu Lin absorbing Evil God Resentment and incorporating the Taboo Power of some Anomaly Evil.

—Evil God Resentment was difficult to refine. Even Mu Lin could only forcibly command and control it using Vow Power Heart Flame, unable to eradicate its danger.

Fortunately, Mu Lin soon realized that being unable to eradicate it and having endless resentment wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“The Netherworld Hell is no place of kindness. What it’s most famous for isn’t ordinary Orthodox Gods of Nether Bureaucracy, but the dreaded Eighteen Levels of Hell.”

“I was originally pondering how to establish the Eighteen Levels of Hell to instill fear in evildoers, even evil Deities.”

“However, ordinary punishments can hardly intimidate the powerful, nor can they erase their Immortality.”

“But Evil God Resentment and Taboo Power are different. Their difficulty to eradicate and extreme danger make them the perfect source of punitive power. With them, I can create an Eighteen Levels of Hell that will make even Deities fall eternally into Avici!”

Creating the Eighteen Levels of Hell with Evil God Resentment and Taboo Power was Mu Lin’s idea.

The prison within his Netherworld Law Domain was his pilot project.

At this moment, he could only say that his future enemies were in for a treat—they would get to experience Torture Devices forged from Evil God Resentment and Taboo Power.

…

The numerous Yin Graves were the first change in the Netherworld Law Domain, and the prison forged from Forbidden Power was the second.

Besides these two, the river that ran through the entire Dharma Domain had also undergone some changes.

Mu Lin had mixed some Black River Water into it, granting this river, manifested from the Yin Spirit Vein, the power to dissolve all things.

At the same time, this Nether River could now be used for teleportation.

Henceforth, if Mu Lin left Black River Water in ponds or rivers in the mortal world, his Beiwei Army would be able to teleport via the Nether River to strike his enemies anywhere in the world.

“The Forbidden Prison and the Nether River—both abilities are quite good… The Yin Graves could also be developed further.”

Although the Grave Lord’s Tomb contained various powers, its core was undoubtedly the tomb itself—this was the Grave Lord’s path.

Through observation and comprehension along the way, Mu Lin had also grasped some functions of the tomb.

First was sealing—burying the undying.

The Yin Earth, crafted through special methods, could bury all anomalies.

Even immortal Deities and the eternal, indestructible Forbidden Power of Anomalies, once completely buried by Grave Soil and without external aid, cannot escape.

Life and death have always been two sides of the same coin. Apart from burying the undying, the Grave Lord’s Tomb, after undergoing certain special treatments, will possess the effect of Soul Nourishment.

“This aspect can be utilized. If successfully crafted, in the future, the Yin Soldiers and Ghost Soldiers in my Netherworld Law Domain will also have their own homes.”

“They can go into battle when needed, and during idle times, let them slumber in the tombs. This will nourish their soul spirits, enhance their strength, and also reduce my consumption.”

The more Mu Lin thought about it, the more he felt that using the Grave Lord’s Tomb as housing for ghosts was an excellent choice.

He looked forward to the day when his Netherworld Law Domain would contain a million grave mounds.

“From here, I go to the Spring Terrace to summon old comrades, with banners numbering a hundred thousand to slay Yama!”

“For me, this will no longer be a dream… Wait, I seem to be Yama?”

…

(End of Chapter)