Chapter 354 – Boundless Mana!

“Retreat, retreat quickly!”

“Help…”

“No!”

Luo Chen was strong, truly formidable. Flames, gales, earthquakes, thunderclaps… each of these calamities alone resembled a natural disaster. Combined, they made the scene in the arena akin to an impending apocalypse.

Moreover, these various calamities did not merely stack upon each other; they resonated and amplified one another.

“Boom…”

Their mutual resonance and amplification made the arena appear as if it had been bombarded by tens of thousands of heavy artillery pieces. In an extremely short time, the ground was stripped away by a layer.

Because these calamities were too violent—or rather, because Luo Chen was wholly focused on enhancing their destructive power, leaving no room for anything else—the gales, thunder, flames, and earthquakes… uncontrollably spread outward.

Although only the residual waves reached beyond the arena, these aftershocks still startled many southern cultivators, who desperately retreated.

As they retreated, they also gazed toward the very center of the arena, their eyes for the first time showing genuine concern.

It couldn’t be helped. The apocalyptic scene Luo Chen had created was too terrifying. Many southern cultivators doubted that even an ordinary Mortal Shedding Adept could survive at the epicenter of such cataclysmic disasters.

This immense catastrophe naturally made them worry about Mu Lin.

“Mu Lin… will he be alright?”

“He should be fine… He has over a hundred lives. No matter how terrifying Luo Chen’s attacks are, he can hold on for a long time…”

Holding on—this was the expectation some cultivators had for Mu Lin after witnessing this apocalyptic disaster.

However, ordinary cultivators lacked extraordinary vision, their view obstructed by flames and gales, so they could only speculate.

But around the arena, there were no shortage of Prodigy cultivators. These individuals possessed Eye Techniques, allowing them to see through the flames to Mu Lin at the very center. And their gazes upon the arena were filled with—astonishment.

The reason for this was that the scene Luo Chen had created was indeed overwhelmingly grand. They assessed that if they were to enter, they wouldn’t last thirty breaths.

Yet, amidst this apocalyptic scene, Mu Lin… remained standing there leisurely.

Yes, leisurely.

The flames that incinerated everything, the thunder that roared and shook the heavens, the gales that howled and tore apart the ground… No matter how immense their might, these calamities failed to breach Mu Lin’s thin layer of rosy-golden aura.

Protected within this earthy-yellow aura, Mu Lin stood like an indestructible mountain. Whether struck by thunder, assaulted by flames, or buffeted by gales, nothing could shake him in the slightest.

This imperviousness to any attack left Luo Chen utterly disheartened.

“Why? Aren’t you known for your bizarre methods? Why is your defense so strong!”

“My attacks can’t even be withstood by a Mortal Shedding Adept. How can you possibly resist them!”

Bewilderment, anger, despair, and overwhelming confusion—this was what Luo Chen felt at this moment.

He had originally believed he could ignore Mu Lin’s Substitute Death Counterattack, and that their battle would hinge on whether he could kill all of Mu Lin’s substitutes with his endless calamities first, or whether Mu Lin could curse him while struggling amidst the disasters.

That kind of fight would have aligned with his expectations.

But he never imagined that Mu Lin’s defensive capabilities would be so terrifying—far surpassing even the Substitute Death Counterattack or the Judgment of Life and Death.

“What on earth is going on? You, the Yin Eight Gates Paper Artisans, are clearly not known for defense!”

At this moment, Luo Chen simply couldn’t comprehend it.

And he was far from the only one unable to make sense of the scene before him.

“What the hell? Mu Lin is from the Paper Artisan Lineage of the Yin Eight Gates, right? I understand he has many Substitute Paper Figures—that’s the most famous Mystical Art of the Paper Artisan Lineage. The ability to judge life and death with a brush is also related to Curse Arts. Although the former is infinitely more advanced than the latter, that still somewhat makes sense. But what about this impregnable defense? I’ve never heard of the Paper Artisan Lineage being invincible in defense!”

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know either. Originally, I thought even if Mu Lin could withstand this Doomsday Calamity, it would be through Substitute Paper Figures. But to withstand it head-on… and without a scratch… that defies all logic!”

At this moment, many Prodigies from the Southern Aristocracy also couldn’t understand how Mu Lin had achieved this.

Of course, with so many people present, not everyone was completely in the dark.

One Cultivator spoke up in confusion, “I think I recognize Mu Lin’s defensive technique.”

As soon as he said this, many turned their gazes toward him.

“You know where Mu Lin’s technique comes from?”

“Uh…”

Being stared at by so many people made the Cultivator named Chi Chengye tense up.

Fortunately, as a Prodigy, he had seen his fair share of the world.

Thus, under everyone’s scrutiny, he didn’t panic but quickly shared everything he knew.

“I do have some clues about the radiant glow of the robe on Mu Lin, but I’m not entirely sure… If I’m not mistaken, that radiant glow should be the Central Wuji Sha. This Sha has the characteristic of immutability and unwaveringness, making its defensive power extremely strong. It’s said that the Baleful Qi Mu Lin refined is also Central Wuji Sha. With this defense… it should, somewhat, make sense.”

“How could that possibly make sense? The defense of Central Wuji Sha is indeed strong, but Luo Chen’s attack has already surpassed the Gang Sha realm and reached the level of a Mortal Shedding Adept. Forget one portion of Central Wuji Sha—even three, five, or even nine portions wouldn’t be enough to withstand it!”

This rebuttal made many nod in agreement.

However, just as everyone was dismissing Chi Chengye’s speculation, a faint, eerie voice suddenly spoke up.

“Three, five, or even nine portions might not be enough, but what if Mu Lin refined even more Central Wuji Sha?”

“Huh? More than nine portions? How is that possible?”

“It is indeed very difficult to achieve, but this is Mu Lin we’re talking about!”

The words ‘this is Mu Lin’ instantly silenced the entire area.

Given the many monstrous feats he had accomplished before, everyone found it quite easy to accept that he might achieve yet another one.

…

Just as some Southern Prodigies had speculated, the radiant robe on Mu Lin was indeed the glow of Central Wuji Sha.

Without a Cultivation Method to complement it, relying solely on the characteristics of Central Wuji Sha, even one portion, nine portions, or even thirty-six portions of Baleful Qi wouldn’t be enough to withstand the terrifying scene of the Doomsday Calamity.

After all, while Mu Lin had Baleful Qi, the horrific disaster Luo Chen had unleashed, covering a thousand-meter radius, also contained Gang Qi and Baleful Qi of the highest quality.

Moreover, Luo Chen’s Gang Sha was further amplified and harmonized by his Cultivation Method and innate talents, whereas Mu Lin only had the characteristics of Baleful Qi.

When the two canceled each other out, with equal amounts, Central Wuji Sha naturally found itself at a disadvantage.

However, three portions, nine portions, even thirty-six portions, truly could not withstand this apocalyptic catastrophe. But what about ninety-nine portions?

One must understand that quantitative change can lead to qualitative change.

Moreover, the baleful qi Mu Lin refined was not merely ninety-nine portions, but three hundred and sixty-five portions!

This was an utterly terrifying amount of baleful qi, as vast as mountains and seas. By absorbing and containing such a massive quantity of baleful qi, Mu Lin forged an unimaginably solid foundation.

So solid that merely by virtue of the characteristics of the baleful qi, he could remain unshaken and unchanged.

“Thousands of years ago, the Grave Lord used Central Wuji Sha to form an earthen path within his tomb. This yellow earthen path, as he had hoped, endured for millennia under the erosion of the Evil God’s aura.”

“Although the path was already dilapidated when we passed through, its ability to withstand the Evil God’s aura for thousands of years proved the ‘unchanging’ nature of Central Wuji Sha.”

“If it can resist even the Evil God’s aura, then these so-called gales, flames, and thunder naturally cannot harm me.”

As for why Mu Lin only mentioned gales, thunder, and flames, it was because the tremors were extinguished with a single stomp of his foot.

Indeed, the terrifying earthquake, along with the volcanic eruption triggered by the resonance of tremors and flames, were completely quelled by Mu Lin’s casual step.

With external evils unable to invade him, Mu Lin had the leisure to wait for the Book of Life and Death to deduce Luo Chen’s information.

However, his relaxed demeanor drove Luo Chen into utter madness.

“I will not lose, and I cannot lose!”

“Ah!”

With a furious roar, he channeled all his mana, unleashing his spells and innate talents.

In his all-out effort, blood even flowed from his seven orifices.

Yet, no matter how hard he struggled, Mu Lin’s layer of radiant clothing stood like an insurmountable chasm, blocking all calamities and disturbances.

This scene not only filled Luo Chen with despair but also made some cultivators outside completely abandon any thoughts of opposing Mu Lin.

“It is said that Mu Lin has been gathering gang qi all this time—not just one or two portions, but hundreds of them. It seems now he intends to refine all of them.”

“Hundreds of portions? Wouldn’t that make him invincible? With such immense power and such a solid foundation, if he truly refines hundreds of portions of gang sha, he wouldn’t even need to use spells. Just his mana alone would be enough to crush us.”

These words prompted a laugh from someone—a laugh tinged with sighing and sorrow.

“You’re right. Invincibility among peers belongs to him now. Look ahead, look at Luo Chen. Just as you said, he has been utterly defeated by Mu Lin relying solely on mana.”

People in this world highly value foundation, and so-called foundation refers to mana cultivation.

The refinement of gang sha is closely related to mana cultivation. Having refined hundreds of portions of gang sha, Mu Lin’s mana is now boundless compared to his peers.

With such an overwhelmingly solid foundation, when facing opponents of the same level, Mu Lin truly needs nothing else. Simply pressing forward with his boundless mana is enough to crush his enemies.

Even Mortal Shedding Adepts, who are one level higher, might not necessarily possess mana as vast as Mu Lin’s.

It can be said that when Mu Lin fully unleashes his mana, merely standing there gives off an aura of invincibility.

Faced with such a Mu Lin, some would despair, while others would retreat.

But Luo Chen could not retreat.

Just as Qing from the Northern Wastelands had said, the Northern Wastelands could not afford to lose, nor could they bear the consequences of defeat.

Thus, even though Mu Lin possessed boundless Mana, Luo Chen did not retreat. Instead, he poured everything he had into unleashing a final, desperate strike.

“Falling Star Calamity!”

With blood streaming from all seven orifices, Luo Chen, giving his all, pulled down a small, rapidly descending Meteor.

“Boom!”

The swiftly falling Meteor represented the ultimate combination of speed and force.

Descending from the sky, it carried an immense accumulation of kinetic energy.

In a previous era, a Meteor’s impact had even wiped out an entire age, causing dinosaurs to vanish from the earth.

Now, the Meteor Luo Chen pulled down was not as large as that one, nor did it possess such devastating power.

But this Meteor could easily destroy a city with ease.

Facing this Meteor, Mu Lin… neither dodged nor evaded. He simply raised his head calmly and gazed at the sky.

And so, with Mu Lin making no attempt to avoid it, the Meteor struck directly on top of his head.

“…”

When it landed on Mu Lin’s head, the world seemed to freeze.

Then, a moment later, with a deafening “Boom!”, a blinding explosion and light erupted before everyone.

“!!!”

The terrifying explosion unleashed an immense wave of light and heat, accompanied by a shockwave that swept through the surroundings with unstoppable, destructive force.

“No!”

This sight left many spectators pale with fear.

“Hum!!”

Fortunately, there were powerful Cultivators around the Arena. They joined forces and managed to block the shockwave.

Even so, the Cultivators watching from the sidelines remained shaken.

However, no one had the mind to calm their emotions at that moment. All eyes were fixed on the center of the Arena.

They wanted to know whether this Meteor strike could break through Mu Lin’s seemingly invincible defense.

Unfortunately, at first, they could see nothing clearly.

The Meteor’s impact not only brought immense light and heat, along with a shockwave that swept everything in its path.

Dust, combined with the intense heat, formed a mushroom cloud that rose hundreds of meters into the air above the Arena.

This dust and glare obstructed everyone’s view.

It took more than ten breaths before the dust finally settled.

Then, a faint, shadowy figure appeared in everyone’s line of sight.

And when they saw the state of that figure, everyone fell silent.

(End of Chapter)