Chapter 331 – The Capable Yan Yunyu: Spirit Tool Void Concealment Chains

“Our southern region’s peerless prodigy… you mean Mu Lin?”

“Exactly. In terms of innate talent, he is undoubtedly the number one prodigy in the south. While it’s impossible for him to completely reverse the situation if he takes action—after all, his cultivation time is too short, and he hasn’t yet undergone Mortal Shedding—he can dominate those under eighteen. With such a record, he could barely hold back the northern youths’ offensive.”

“Not just under eighteen. I even think he can fight above his level. That way, with a few more battles, we would only be slightly weaker compared to the north, rather than suffering a crushing defeat.”

Speaking of Mu Lin, the southern leaders in the hall relaxed considerably. Clearly, they had great confidence in him.

However, their demeanor left the Earth Immortal who had sighed first stunned.

“Wait, dominating those under eighteen—are you sure? Those northern madmen all possess Forbidden Power and are extremely difficult to deal with. Does our southern region truly have such a prodigy? And if he has the strength, why hasn’t he taken action? Is he afraid of fighting?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the Ge Family Head shook his head and said:

“Mu Lin cannot be afraid of fighting. Master You, you’ve been in seclusion for years and don’t know about Mu Lin’s situation. That kid dares to face an Evil God head-on. In this competition, any southern youth might back down, but Mu Lin is the only one who wouldn’t.”

After speaking, the Ge Family Head turned his gaze toward the Chu Family Head. With a hint of envy and curiosity, he asked directly: “Chu Tianxiong, what’s going on with Mu Lin? Why hasn’t he joined the fight? Don’t tell me you, the lucky one, don’t know?”

“Hahaha…”

The Ge Family Head’s jealousy made Chu Tianxiong laugh heartily, but he didn’t laugh for long. Soon, he spoke up: “Of course I know about my son-in-law’s situation. He’s currently in seclusion, seeking a breakthrough, and has no time for the competition.”

You Guang: “Can’t he come out of seclusion early?”

“It’s difficult. He says he’s at a critical point in his cultivation…”

Chu Tianxiong was covering for Mu Lin, but before he could finish, a clan head beside him sneered and said: “Hmph, his seclusion isn’t just about cultivation, is it? That kid isn’t from a noble family and isn’t truly aligned with us in the south.”

With these words, everyone understood why Mu Lin was in seclusion.

They didn’t figure out Mu Lin’s intentions immediately or because his cover was too flimsy. Rather, they realized that Mu Lin wasn’t the only southern prodigy who felt they deserved more resources.

Many commoners wanted to fight for a future and earn merit through battle.

And if they wanted to earn merit through combat, the north undoubtedly offered the most hope.

Thus, they wanted to squeeze more resources out of the noble families—after all, the court’s taxes on Spiritual Energy were levied on the wealthy aristocratic families and had nothing to do with commoners, who had no assets, no Spirit Fields, and no Spirit Mines.

As a result, these people didn’t mind the noble families contributing more resources.

In fact, during this north-south conflict, many southern prodigies had directly joined the north, turning against the south.

…

Upon discerning Mu Lin’s intentions, several people in the hall frowned.

Among them, Prince Liang, Chu Tianxiong, and the Yan Family Patriarch were closely connected to Mu Lin and couldn’t say much.

But others were deeply dissatisfied with Mu Lin’s actions.

You Guang: “Foolishness, it’s not that we don’t want to give, but the imperial court has been levying taxes year after year, and we can no longer afford it. In my opinion, we should temporarily abandon some regions in the north and concentrate our forces on defense. This way, we can reduce resource consumption and preserve our vitality!”

Abandoning some regions, concentrating forces on defense, and preserving vitality—this was the stance of some aristocratic families in the south.

However, the northern aristocracy naturally opposed such ideas.

Their refusal was not entirely for the sake of the people in the northern regions; the aristocratic families of this world were not that noble.

The main reason they could not withdraw was that the assets of these families were largely tied to the land—spirit fields, spirit veins, secret realms, fortunate lands, along with some special waterways and spirit mines, were all located in the northern territories. Abandoning the north would mean discarding the majority of these families’ assets.

Without these assets, the northern aristocracy would completely decline.

This was not a situation the northern aristocracy was willing to accept.

Thus, no matter what, they refused to abandon the north, which was also why they had come south to challenge the southern families.

Not all southern aristocratic families advocated abandoning some northern regions, and at this moment, someone spoke up to refute.

“Hmph, abandoning is easy, but reclaiming will be difficult. Moreover, if those lands fall into the hands of foreign races or Outer Domain Evil Gods, it will only strengthen their power…”

“I didn’t mean to abandon them completely, only temporarily. Besides, with so many foreign races and Outer Domain Evil Gods, we could incite conflict among them, using barbarians to control barbarians…”

As the hall was on the verge of erupting into arguments, Prince Liang quickly stepped forward and said, “Enough, now is not the time for this. We should discuss how to make Mu Lin take action and restore some of our dignity.”

“What is there to discuss? Just issue a direct order…”

Before these words could be finished, someone laughed mockingly.

Chu Tianxiong: “Fool, are you worried the north isn’t strong enough and want to send them another prodigy?”

After Chu Tianxiong, the Yan Family Patriarch also spoke up: “Mu Lin belongs to the monstrous prodigy tier. Such prodigies can only be coaxed, not driven away. In my opinion, we should use resources as an incentive. I propose that our families pool together to provide a spirit tool and a few heavenly treasures to Mu Lin, encouraging him to take action…”

“Hey, old ghost Yan, you’re being too biased. He’s your son-in-law, not ours!”

Though born into a humble family, because of Chu Lingluo and Yan Yunyu, Mu Lin was not entirely without backing. In this hall meeting, Chu Tianxiong and the Yan Family Patriarch had consistently spoken up for Mu Lin, trying to secure some benefits for him.

Unfortunately, the other families did not agree.

Finally, after much deliberation, the leader of the Jade Purity Sect, Celestial Master Wanfa, spoke.

“Enough, let’s stop arguing. For Mu Lin, there’s no need for coercion or persuasion. With just a little guidance, the northern youths will naturally challenge him… Young people, full of vigor, will not easily submit to others.”

“As for Mu Lin, though he may be blinded by a single leaf and unable to see the greater situation, if he wins, he will have contributed to the south and must be rewarded.”

“…If he manages to halt the northern momentum, we can grant him one Heaven-Rank Technique and a few Heaven-Grade Resources.”

“Yes, Celestial Master.”

Everyone accepted Celestial Master Wanfa’s decision, feeling it was just right.

After all, while cultivation methods are precious—in some ways even more important than spirit tools—they can ultimately be replicated.

Spirit tools, on the other hand, are different. Giving one to Mu Lin means one less in their possession, so they were willing to offer cultivation methods instead.

…

Once everything was settled, Celestial Master Wanfa’s figure vanished with a soft “pop,” dissipating like a bubble without a trace—the Celestial Master had many matters to attend to, and the one present at this meeting was merely his avatar.

With his departure, the atmosphere in the grand hall relaxed noticeably.

Even though these individuals were heads and leaders of various aristocratic families, being in the presence of the Celestial Master still carried a certain pressure.

“The Celestial Master, with a lifespan of thirteen hundred years… these are the true players of the game…”

Amidst sighs of admiration, the attendees, having finalized the matters, dispersed in small groups.

This time, Prince Liang, Chu Tianxiong, the head of the Yan Family, and the head of the Ge Family left together.

As they walked, Prince Liang curiously asked Chu Tianxiong:

“Is Mu Lin in seclusion because of Gang Sha Unity? Has that bottleneck trapped him?”

Chu Tianxiong: “No, it’s Gang Condensation. He’s currently searching for Gang Qi…”

“Huh??? Wait…”

Hearing about Gang Qi, Prince Liang grew restless.

“Didn’t I already give him Gang Qi?”

“It wasn’t enough.”

“Not enough?!” These words startled Prince Liang. “Impossible! I gave him three portions of Aurora Gang Qi. Because of its exceptionally high quality, one portion can be used as three, making it nine portions in total… Don’t tell me even nine portions aren’t enough for him to absorb?”

Seeing Prince Liang’s astonished expression, Chu Tianxiong, head of the Chu Family, sighed with a mix of emotion. “It truly wasn’t enough. What Mu Lin needs isn’t nine portions, but ninety-nine or even more.”

“???”

This statement left not only Prince Liang but also the head of the Ge Family utterly stunned.

“Ninety-nine portions, and even more? That’s absurd! How could any human possibly contain that much Gang Qi?”

Prince Liang: “Exactly! Even if one were to forge their divine soul entirely from Gang Qi, it wouldn’t require ninety-nine portions, would it?”

Facing the skeptical gazes of Prince Liang and the Ge Family Head, Chu Tianxiong shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I don’t possess Mu Lin’s talent, nor do I know how he does it. However, he wouldn’t joke with me about needing ninety-nine or more portions of Gang Qi. Moreover, the types of Gang Qi he requires aren’t limited—he can even accept Da Luo Vast Heaven Qi and Primordial Chaos Yuan Gang, which aren’t exactly marketable…”

Shaking his head, Chu Tianxiong said no more. In contrast, both the Ge Family Head and Prince Liang fell into a contemplative silence.

For the first time, the Ge Family Head also began to entertain the idea of marrying his own legitimate daughter to Mu Lin.

As for Prince Liang, he had already abandoned the notion of having Mu Lin marry into his family.

“Given Mu Lin’s capabilities, it’s impossible for him to marry into Prince Liang’s Manor. Could it really be that Lingsha will have to marry him instead…”

…

The shock over Mu Lin’s absorption of Gang Qi extended far beyond the Ge Family Head and Prince Liang.

Ever since Mu Lin was mentioned during this meeting, many aristocratic families, upon returning, dispatched people to investigate his situation.

Because Mu Lin required an excessive amount of Gang Qi, Yan Yunyu and Si Ye, who were collecting it for him, couldn’t keep it hidden for long. Soon, Mu Lin’s extensive gathering of Gang Qi became widely known.

Upon learning that he aimed to collect ninety-nine or even more portions of Gang Qi, most people initially refused to believe it.

As Prince Liang had said, even if one were to forge a Divine Soul using only Gang Qi, ninety-nine portions would be far too much.

Some even suspected that Mu Lin was using the pretext of refining Gang Qi to amass wealth.

However, it soon became clear that Mu Lin was not limiting the types of Gang Qi he collected. He was even gathering Gang Qi that no one dared to cultivate, such as the Great Luo Mighty Heaven and Calamity Qi. This left everyone utterly dumbfounded.

“Is he really planning to cultivate ninety-nine types of Gang Qi?”

“Not just that—it might even be more…”

“Is that guy even human?”

“Something feels off about this. Ninety-nine types of Gang Qi is just too much…”

“Forget it, let’s not overthink it. According to Celestial Master Wanfa, Mu Lin is bound to clash with the youths from the north. Whether he’s a donkey or a horse, we’ll find out when the time comes…”

…

Mu Lin remained completely unaware of the scrutiny directed at him or the predictions that he would inevitably clash with the Northern Aristocracy.

At that moment, he set aside his Gang Qi refinement for the first time and looked in astonishment at Yan Yunyu and the object she held in her hand.

“A Spirit Tool? You actually managed to get something like this from your family? Were they willing to give it to you?”

After all, a Spirit Tool was on par with an Earth Immortal in terms of rank. Although, because a Spirit Tool required someone to wield it, it couldn’t be directly equated to an Earth Immortal.

However, if a suitable wielder was found, great families like the Yan Family and the Chu Family could easily nurture experts at the Earth Immortal level.

More importantly, Spirit Tools were imperishable for millennia, meaning such families could continuously produce Earth Immortal-level experts.

Thus, these extraordinary Spirit Tools were like farmland in feudal times—treasured heirlooms and the foundation of a family’s legacy.

Aristocratic Families would never allow a Spirit Tool to leave their possession unless absolutely necessary.

Mu Lin had always known Yan Yunyu was capable, but he never imagined she was capable enough to obtain a Spirit Tool from her family.

Mu Lin’s amazement and admiration delighted Yan Yunyu, but she quickly composed herself and replied respectfully, “Brother Mu, this isn’t my achievement—it’s yours. If not for your exceptional talent, I wouldn’t have been able to bring out this Spirit Tool. In fact, even if I spent my entire life within the family, I wouldn’t have had the right to touch it.”

After expressing her gratitude, she continued, “Also, this Spirit Tool isn’t a family heirloom. It was discovered in a Secret Realm, and when it was found, it was somewhat damaged and incomplete.”

“At the same time, my family made an agreement with me: this Spirit Tool will truly belong to me only if I achieve Mortal Shedding within three to five years.”

“That’s reasonable.”

It was natural for the Yan Family to have expectations in exchange for providing a Spirit Tool, and Mu Lin had no issue fulfilling their demands—mutual give-and-take was the foundation of cooperation.

As he spoke, Mu Lin took the Spirit Tool from Yan Yunyu’s hand and examined it closely.

It was a series of silver chains. While Mu Lin inspected it, Yan Yunyu explained from the side.

“Brother Mu, these are the Void Concealment Chains. They were crafted using Silver Void Stone, Void Concealment Water, Life-Nurturing Golden Thread, Gilded Meteorite… and other materials. Numerous Arrays and Seals are inscribed on them.”

“According to the clan’s tests, this Void Concealment Chain possesses the properties of replication and extension, capable of stretching up to eighty thousand meters, though this requires immense Mana. Additionally, it can split into over a hundred chains, but the combined length of all chains must not exceed eighty thousand meters.”

“Beyond that, it also has spatial properties, allowing it to traverse and pierce through space at will.”

“As for its damaged aspects, in terms of sealing and length, the clan speculates that the chain’s original length should have been one hundred and eight thousand meters. Enemies bound by it would also have some of their power sealed, but now, these properties have been worn away.”

Yan Yunyu’s explanation allowed Mu Lin to understand the chain’s properties and the reason it had come into his possession.

Even though it was slightly damaged, this still brought Mu Lin great joy.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you repair it.”

At this moment, Mu Lin was already looking forward to what changes the chain would bring to the True Spirit Karma Diagram once it was integrated, and what abilities he would gain as a result.

“Putting aside everything else, the Soul-Reaping Chains’ properties are definitely going to receive a significant upgrade!”

(End of Chapter)