Chapter 316 – Rebirth from a Drop of Blood!

“So, after shedding my mortal shell, I’ll become a juvenile Lesser Candle Dragon?”

This was possible, but Mu Lin didn’t want it. After all, he wasn’t a cultivator walking the True Dragon Path, but rather the path of an Orthodox God of the Nether Bureaucracy, the Netherworld Palace Domain.

“In Hell, the strongest are always the humanoid King Yama and the Emperor of Fengdu. The Candle Dragon isn’t mainstream. So, after shedding my mortal shell, my Mythical Dharma Body should ideally be a King Yama wearing a crown… but the Candle Dragon’s power is also formidable, and I don’t want to give it up either.”

After pondering for a while, Mu Lin gradually had an idea:

“Got it. Ancient divine beings mostly possessed extraordinary features, like having a serpent coiled around them or patterns inscribed on their bodies. Fuxi, one of the Three Sovereigns, even had a human face and serpent body.”

“I can learn from them too, treating the Candle Dragon Body as an ornament hanging from my neck or waist, or even inscribing it as totemic patterns on my body.”

“If that still doesn’t work, I’ll just transform into a dragon-headed, human-bodied King Yama… After all, no one else knows what the Netherworld’s King Yama looks like. As the founder, whatever I say the King Yama looks like is what he looks like.”

Lost in deep thought, Mu Lin gradually formed some ideas.

Of course, for now, all he had were ideas.

His Candle Dragon Body was still far from being realized.

How to transform into King Yama was also a challenge for Mu Lin.

Fortunately, his conception of his mythical manifestation wasn’t entirely baseless.

“Unless something unexpected happens, how I construct my King Yama Dharma Image should be tied to the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture and the Mindscape – Sky Burial City.”

“Once these two cultivation methods reach Master Grade, there will inevitably be a transformation. By then, I should have a clear idea of how to construct the Dharma Image.”

Checking his Attribute Panel, Mu Lin found that, having observed many mysteries of the Yin Eight Gates in the Grave Lord’s Realm, his two main cultivation techniques were not far from advancing.

Realizing this, Mu Lin devoted even more effort to observing the Grave Lord’s Realm in the following days.

And time slowly passed as Mu Lin refined the Scarlet Overlord’s consciousness and observed the mysteries of the Grave Lord Secret Art.

Soon, three days had gone by.

During these days, Mu Lin remained in Heartcage City without leaving.

At the same time, the Grave Lord’s Realm never closed.

Among the cultivators who had fled Heartcage City and others who had come to train, some had escaped the Grave Lord’s Realm due to the danger of the evil god’s revival, but some remained, continuing to challenge trials or search for treasures.

Mu Lin paid no attention to any of this.

Although he had the idea of taking control of the entire Grave Lord’s Realm, he was well aware of his own limitations.

Thus, over these days, Mu Lin simply stayed quietly in Heartcage City, refining the Scarlet Overlord’s consciousness and contemplating the principles of the Grave Lord Secret Art.

As long as others didn’t provoke him, Mu Lin ignored them entirely.

This approach allowed Mu Lin to settle into tranquility, giving him time for rigorous cultivation.

And his days of intense cultivation yielded great rewards.

First was his mastery over Heartcage City’s central formation.

With no obstacles in his way, after three days of refinement, Mu Lin could now control one-tenth of the city’s arrays.

Don’t think this is little—Heartcage City is far more than just a city.

The Yin Graves surrounding the city, the underground dark rivers, the wandering Paper Figures and aberrations in the wilderness, as well as the rooted great trees, scattered tombstones, and various sacrificial offerings—all were part of the Heartcage City’s Arrays.

Relying on the Formation Core, even if Mu Lin could only access one-tenth of its authority, it was still an immensely powerful force.

Now, even if a Mortal Shedding Adept were to arrive, Mu Lin could use the power of the Arrays to crush them.

“…Unfortunately, such great power is limited to the vicinity of Heartcage City. Once I move away, I’m still just a small Cultivator who has recently entered the Gang Condensation Realm.”

Sighing with a touch of regret, Mu Lin turned his gaze to his second gain—an advanced Cultivation Method.

Yes, Mu Lin had another Cultivation Method advance.

What left Mu Lin somewhat speechless was that over the past three days, although he had diligently cultivated the Taiyin Life-Nurturing Scripture and the Mindscape – Sky Burial City every day, it was not these two methods that had advanced. Instead, it was—the Vow-Power Heart Lamp!

“Boom!”

Closing his eyes and turning his vision inward to his Sea of Consciousness, Mu Lin discovered that, at some unknown time, a great sun hung high in the sky, radiating dazzling divine majesty.

That great sun was the manifestation of Mu Lin’s Vow Power Heart Flame.

When igniting the Vow-Power Heart Lamp, Mu Lin had used arrogance as the fuel. And deicide—this was undoubtedly the most arrogant, most audacious act in the world. After slaying a Deity, the Arrogance Heart Flame in Mu Lin’s Sea of Consciousness grew stronger day by day without any cultivation.

By today, it had advanced once again.

This was also Mu Lin’s first Heaven-grade spell to reach the Grandmaster Level.

“Boom!”

The surging flames were as tangible as substance. At this moment, they were no longer merely burning within Mu Lin’s Sea of Consciousness.

Like a great sun, they also burned through Mu Lin’s internal organs, bones, muscles, skin, from the inside out…

However, the explosive burning of the Arrogance Heart Flame did not harm Mu Lin’s body. Instead, it caused some wondrous changes to occur within him.

After carefully perceiving for a moment, Mu Lin understood what these changes were—the unity of body, mind, and will.

It could also be called Will Refinement Into Body.

Now, Mu Lin’s will no longer existed solely in his brain. Every cell of his body contained his own resilient and immensely powerful will.

“It’s actually this ability!”

To be honest, after fully comprehending his ability, Mu Lin was shocked—so shocked that his expression twisted slightly.

It was no wonder he reacted this way, for Will Refinement Into Body held far too significant a meaning.

Thinking this, Mu Lin formed his fingers into a sword and slashed fiercely at his own arm.

“Shhhhrrrk…”

With the surge of Mana, one of Mu Lin’s arms was cleanly severed by his own hand.

As the arm was severed, some blood splattered in various places.

Previously, after being injured, Mu Lin would have needed to transfer the injury to a substitute or use the Source Rune – Stabilize to Refresh his state back to before the save point.

But now, none of that was necessary.

“Swish…”

With a mere thought from Mu Lin, the spilled blood flew back to the severed arm’s location, and the severed arm itself, its fingers rapidly crawling, scurried back to Mu Lin’s wound. Within a few breaths, the injury was completely healed.

This exaggerated regenerative ability was the benefit of the unity of body, mind, and will—refining the will into every cell.

And this was merely a side effect.

Integrating consciousness into cells brought Mu Lin the greatest benefit—Rebirth From Blood Drop.

Yes, you heard it right. Now, in addition to having a substitute for death, Mu Lin also possessed the ability of Rebirth From Blood Drop.

As he was now, much like a certain scummy boss, as long as his entire body and flesh were not completely obliterated, his consciousness could revive from a single drop of blood.

“This ability is a bit too overpowered, isn’t it!”

To be honest, upon learning about the Rebirth From Blood Drop ability, the first thing Mu Lin felt was that he had become too overpowered.

He couldn’t even imagine who could possibly kill him anymore.

Of course, Mu Lin’s pride lasted only for a moment.

Soon, he realized something.

His Grandmaster-level ability was Complete Death Substitution and Rebirth From Blood Drop.

This survival ability was indeed somewhat overpowered.

But other Heaven-grade spells, when reaching the Grandmaster Level, would not be inferior to his.

“Heart Sword Soul Severing, Undying Flame, Eternal Calamity Water… My Grandmaster-level characteristic is overpowered, and other Grandmaster-level abilities are the same. I must not let my guard down; I am not yet invincible.”

(End of Chapter)