Chapter 337 – Xue Ying Seeks Entry to the True Spirit Karma Diagram

The Four Seas Tavern was filled with many prodigies, and with numerous aristocratic families keeping a close eye on Mu Lin, the conflict between him and the prodigy from the Northern Wastelands spread throughout the region in an instant.

In response, some watched coldly from the sidelines, some nodded in satisfaction, while others turned their attention to Mu Lin’s strength, inquiring about his current cultivation realm.

However, those inquiring family heads soon learned that it was not Mu Lin who had clashed with the prodigy from the Northern Wastelands, but Yan Yunyu.

They also discovered that Yan Yunyu had thoroughly beaten up the Northern Aristocracy.

Upon first hearing this news, the heads and clan elders of the aristocratic families immediately thought: “Are you in your right mind?”

“Now is not the time for jokes.”

“That’s a good joke, but don’t say it again next time…”

Clearly, none of them believed Yan Yunyu possessed such strength.

This judgment was not simply because they looked down on her.

These individuals had intelligence to support their belief that Yan Yunyu was incapable of defeating the prodigy from the Northern Wastelands.

In fact, compared to Mu Lin, the heads and clan elders of these aristocratic families were more familiar with Yan Yunyu.

After all, Mu Lin was well aware of the source of his current treatment and the kindness shown to him by others. As a result, he spent most of his time cultivating, cultivating, and cultivating some more.

Like an ascetic, he rarely appeared in public.

In contrast, Yan Yunyu had been running around tirelessly to gather cultivation resources for Mu Lin.

Thus, people were more familiar with Yan Yunyu.

Some clan elders or family heads had even personally negotiated with her.

This constant busyness left her with little time for cultivation.

During these negotiations, the clan elders had also sensed Yan Yunyu’s strength and learned that her cultivation progress had not been particularly fast before, nor did she exhibit the demeanor of a powerful cultivator.

Under such circumstances, suddenly hearing that Yan Yunyu had defeated a prodigy from the Northern Wastelands—one who wielded forbidden power and had defeated countless southern scholars—naturally struck the clan elders of the aristocratic families as unscientific and unreasonable.

Based on this reasoning, they believed their intelligence personnel were telling jokes.

However, after repeatedly reprimanding them, the other side still insisted on this account, which made the family heads of the aristocratic families… hesitate.

“Could it be true? But how is that possible? She clearly wasn’t strong before.”

“Yan Yunyu alone certainly couldn’t have done it, but she has Mu Lin. With Mu Lin’s help, it makes perfect sense for Yan Yunyu’s strength to advance by leaps and bounds!”

When uttering the words “perfect sense,” the young prodigy delivering the message was filled with envy and jealousy, the kind that made him grit his teeth.

This feeling… the clan elders receiving the message understood it well. Learning that Yan Yunyu had merely aligned herself with the right person to gain formidable strength and a visibly bright future, even they, as established powerhouses, could not quell the complex emotions in their hearts.

“Hah, so cultivating the Dao doesn’t require arduous Qi training, enduring the agony of condensing Gang and refining Sha, or racking one’s brains to comprehend cultivation methods. One only needs to follow the right person to achieve the Dao. Hahaha… good, good, good. Cultivating the Dao is truly wonderful…”

…

Yan Yunyu’s situation was quite demoralizing. Although no one in Yuzhou City went mad on the spot, countless people were utterly shattered.

Meanwhile, after learning about Yan Yunyu’s situation, some aristocratic families also began to consider deepening their cooperation with Mu Lin.

Previously, although Mu Lin was hailed as the Future Celestial Master and received investments from many, these people were always aware of one thing: whether Mu Lin, upon becoming a powerful figure, would repay their investments was uncertain and largely depended on his own character.

Due to this lack of trust, most people merely maintained friendly relations with Mu Lin, offering casual resources without daring to place heavy bets. Only the Yan Family and the Chu Family, who had close ties with Mu Lin, were willing to invest substantial resources in him.

But now, the situation had changed.

Yan Yunyu’s rapid rise demonstrated one thing: investing in Mu Lin not only meant waiting for him to grow powerful but also offered another avenue of return—allowing Mu Lin to elevate their own descendants.

Although, without even needing to ask, these people understood that those elevated by Mu Lin would never surpass him in strength and would inevitably be constrained by him.

However, no matter how many flaws existed, one benefit was undeniable—the additional powerful individuals would belong to their families.

As members of the same clan, they would naturally lean toward their own families, provided Mu Lin’s interests were not threatened.

For instance, if Yan Yunyu and Chu Lingluo became powerful, they would undoubtedly assist the Yan Family and the Chu Family in times of trouble.

This prospect greatly excited the clan elders of these aristocratic families.

“Now, there’s only one question: Are the powerful individuals elevated by Mu Lin truly stronger than those we cultivate ourselves?”

With this thought in mind, many family heads and clan elders of the aristocratic families immediately retrieved the recorded projection videos of Yan Yunyu’s battle with Black Wolf (recorded using projection stones) and watched them repeatedly.

They aimed to compare and determine whether subordinate powerhouses like Yan Yunyu were strong enough and worth their full investment.

…

In Yuzhou City, the clan elders and family heads of numerous aristocratic families were busy.

Meanwhile, Yan Yunyu had also arrived by Mu Lin’s side and nervously recounted everything that had happened at the Four Seas Tavern.

To her relief, Mu Lin did not blame her. Instead, he nodded in satisfaction. “You did well. As you said, I sympathize with the plight of the Northern Region and don’t mind standing aside, but my mercy is never limitless.”

Mu Lin was no saint. When his interests were not involved, he didn’t mind performing good deeds that cost him little.

However, he was unwilling to sacrifice significant benefits to help others.

Moreover, those he had helped not only showed no gratitude but instead cursed and insulted him, which further diminished his desire to assist.

He was not a Buddha who would cut his own flesh to feed an eagle, nor was he a high monk who would “endure when others slander, deceive, insult, mock, belittle, despise, hate, or cheat me; simply tolerate, yield, allow, avoid, endure, respect, and ignore them, and wait a few years to see what happens.”

Repaying kindness with kindness and resentment with resentment, ensuring that those who harm him suffer sevenfold in return—this was Mu Lin’s philosophy.

Thus, regarding Yan Yunyu’s actions and her defense of him, Mu Lin naturally felt no anger or desire to punish her. Instead, he intended to reward her.

Soon, Mu Lin thought of a way to reward her.

“You’ve also reached the Sha Refinement stage. Have you found suitable Baleful Qi?”

“I have, Brother Mu. This humble one plans to fuse with the Five Virtues Coin Fiend.”

The name of this baleful qi made Mu Lin raise an eyebrow. He had heard of the so-called Five Virtues Coin Fiend before—it was an acquired baleful qi that required gathering the wealth and fortune of five great dynasties and refining them slowly to obtain.

This fiend did not require a lengthy search, but it consumed vast amounts of money and spirit stones.

The characteristic of the Five Virtues Coin Fiend was to increase fortune and luck. However, as far as Mu Lin knew, being an acquired baleful qi, its grade could only reach the upper Earth Grade at most.

“Why choose this? I remember there’s the Blessing Longevity Prosperity Fiend among the luck-based baleful qi, which is better than the Five Virtues Coin Fiend, isn’t it?”

After all, the so-called Five Virtues Coin was merely wealth, using money to alter fate.

But Blessing, Longevity, and Prosperity involved a person’s lifespan and fortune. No matter how you looked at it, the latter was far superior to the former.

“Is it because you can’t find it?”

“That’s not it. The Yan Family values me quite a bit… Even if it couldn’t be bought originally, after today, the Yan Family would find it for me.”

At this point, Yan Yunyu said with a bitter smile, “But Brother Mu, not everyone has your extraordinary talent like you. The Blessing Longevity Prosperity Fiend is indeed better, but the requirements for refining it are extremely high. It demands the cultivator to have an excellent and precious destiny. If one’s destiny is insufficient and they force themselves to refine it, it will instead deplete their own fortune.”

Clearly, Yan Yunyu was well aware of her own limits and did not pursue the best baleful qi.

This steady temperament made Mu Lin nod in approval, but soon, he spoke up, “Switch to the Three Immortals Fiend.”

Without waiting for Yan Yunyu to respond, Mu Lin continued, “I’ll assist you in refining the fiend.”

“Thank you, Brother Mu.”

Mu Lin’s words made Yan Yunyu leap for joy.

Overwhelmed with delight, she even hugged Mu Lin tightly, her eyes brimming with affection.

Mu Lin, too, felt somewhat stirred.

However, considering the conflict he had with the Northern Wastelands and the likelihood of continuous battles in the coming days, the time left for him to prepare was already limited.

Thinking this, Mu Lin ultimately restrained his desires, deciding to devote all his remaining time to cultivation.

“Go ask the Yan Family for the baleful qi. The sooner you refine it, the sooner you can break through in Sha Refinement.”

“Mhm, Brother Mu, I’ll listen to you.”

After receiving the instruction, Yan Yunyu skipped happily toward the Yan Family.

Meanwhile, Mu Lin turned his gaze toward the area where the Northern Wastelands disciples resided.

“I hope you’ll make a wise decision.”

…

Mu Lin did not immediately receive a decision from the Northern Wastelands disciples.

But he did encounter someone who surprised him somewhat.

“Xue Ying, why are you here?”

“I have something to discuss… Can you enhance the strength of your followers?”

Hearing this, Mu Lin nodded, but soon, he raised an eyebrow and said, “I can indeed do that, but you should know it’s not without cost. Accepting the bestowal of my power means you’ll join my ranks, never able to defy my commands, and you won’t be able to surpass me in strength… Surely you can’t tolerate that, can you?”

“Moreover, with the Demon Blade, your path ahead is smooth. You don’t need to rely on me, do you?”

Not everyone coveted Mu Lin’s True Spirit Karma Diagram. Just like the Investiture of the Gods in his previous life, ordinary cultivators and those with mediocre talent indeed craved it, but true prodigies and powerful individuals mostly disdained entering the list.

In fact, they even regarded entering the Investiture of the Gods as severing their cultivation path.

In Mu Lin’s view, Xue Ying, who possessed the Demon Blade, should not have considered entering the diagram under any circumstances.

But something unexpected to Mu Lin happened right then.

“I want to enter the diagram.”

“Why?”

This time, Mu Lin was genuinely curious.

“I want to improve my strength as quickly as possible… to save someone.”

(End of Chapter)