Chapter 357 – Dharma Avatars Are Strong? True, But I Have One Too

“So powerful!”

Luo Chen, having revealed his Dharma Body, resembled a calamity conglomerate. Merely standing in mid-air, he exerted unimaginable pressure.

Even just gazing upon Luo Chen’s calamity Avatar caused the eyes of the cultivators to grow numb, their bodies aching faintly… it already possessed a certain power that made it difficult to look upon directly.

This version of Luo Chen also made everyone worry for Mu Lin.

And among them, the most worried was naturally Yan Yunyu… the powerful Luo Chen made her heart twist with anxiety.

“Please be careful, Brother Mu.”

“It’s okay even if you fail, losing to a Mortal Shedding Cultivator is no disgrace… as long as you can come back, everything will be fine.”

Yan Yunyu prayed, only wishing for Mu Lin’s safe return.

As for Xue Ying, she faced Luo Chen’s calamity Avatar without a trace of fear, only battle intent.

At the same time, she wasn’t overly worried about Mu Lin.

“You all… underestimate Mu Lin.”

…

The envy, jealousy, reverence, and admiration from ordinary cultivators, even ordinary Prodigies, did not cause the slightest change in Luo Chen’s expression.

His attention was entirely focused on Mu Lin.

For this person who had previously suppressed him and plunged him into despair, as a proud and spirited Prodigy, Luo Chen naturally wanted to suppress him in return.

And he was confident that after his advancement, he had the ability to counter-suppress.

“See, Mu Lin, this is the power of Mortal Shedding. I have already transcended humanity.”

“Weakness!”

Fused with thousands of crows, his voice became hoarse, eerie, and accompanied by a chaotic chorus of hundreds of discordant echoes.

Yet this voice also possessed the power to disturb the Divine Soul.

Using this voice to utter blasphemous curse words, the calamities and misfortunes he inflicted upon the world could inexplicably increase in power by thirty percent.

Just like now, as he pointed his sharp claws and uttered the blasphemous curse words “Weakness,” a terrifying calamitous aura immediately descended upon Mu Lin.

“Hum!”

Faced with this attack, Mu Lin’s Central Wuji Sha naturally would not remain motionless.

However, having advanced to Mortal Shedding and fused with countless calamitous auras, Luo Chen had indeed become extremely powerful. His attacks carried unimaginable might.

The radiant glow formed by Mu Lin’s Central Wuji Sha was finally no longer impregnable; it rippled and swayed, creating wave after wave of disturbances.

This scene surprised Mu Lin and also made him sigh inwardly.

‘Having only Baleful Qi is indeed insufficient. I still lack a defensive Cultivation Method or Spell… I feel like the number of techniques I need to cultivate keeps growing.’

His own defense being disturbed caused Mu Lin to raise an eyebrow.

What he didn’t know was that Luo Chen, as well as the surrounding Mortal Shedding Adepts, were even more astonished.

“Hiss, he can still withstand an attack from a Dharma Body?”

“Not only that. Luo Chen is exceptionally talented. Even though he just advanced to Mortal Shedding and condensed his Dharma Body, its level is very high. Yet, he still can’t do anything to Mu Lin… the amount of Baleful Qi Mu Lin refined is even greater than we imagined.”

“This… could Mu Lin actually withstand the Dharma Body and defeat Luo Chen?”

“If that’s true, it would be wonderful.”

“Difficult. Compared to the Gang Sha realm, the Mortal Shedding Dharma Body has advantages in every aspect. The explosive increase in Spell power aside, because it can mobilize the power of heaven and earth, the Dharma Body’s endurance is also countless times greater than Gang Sha’s… In a battle of attrition, Mu Lin definitely cannot outlast his opponent.”

Just as these Mortal Shedding Adepts had said, the Dharma Body was formidable in every aspect.

A single failed attack did not dishearten Luo Chen. Pointing his palm toward Mu Lin, he unleashed a continuous stream of calamitous incantations.

“Fragility, sickness, aging, scorching, freezing, starvation…”

After transforming into the Calamity Monarch, his voice became both singular and manifold. Using this ability to utter blasphemous curses, he unleashed over a hundred curse incantations in an extremely short time.

【Rapid Chanting】

【Overlapping Chanting】

The relentless blasphemous words caused the radiant light surrounding Mu Lin to ripple incessantly. Finally, after dozens of attacks, Mu Lin’s defense—shattered.

“Pfft!”

The moment his defense broke, numerous calamities surged into Mu Lin’s body, inflicting various pains, weaknesses, weapon wounds, and even punishments like dismemberment and decapitation—the latter being one of the world’s calamities.

Witnessing this, a smile appeared on Luo Chen’s face as he looked toward Mu Lin.

“I told you, you can’t stop me…”

Luo Chen, gazing at Mu Lin, wanted to see his expression of pain, suffering, and despair—just as Mu Lin had inflicted upon him before. However, before he could finish speaking, he involuntarily stopped.

Despite having his defenses breached and his body severely wounded, even in such a wretched state, Mu Lin showed no sign of despondency. Instead, a wild smile spread across his face.

“You’re strong. That’s good.”

“Heh, dealing with you, I can finally let loose and fight with all my might.”

“Huh?”

“What nonsense are you spouting…”

Mu Lin’s arrogant laughter seemed to imply that he had never been serious before, which naturally angered Luo Chen.

Yet, just like before, before he could finish speaking, he involuntarily halted.

As Mu Lin laughed wildly, after uttering the words “let loose,” his aura began to surge, skyrocket, and explode violently.

“Boom!”

Soon, the aura around him soared to the level of Gang Sha Unity, and this was not the end. Mu Lin’s Cultivation Level and aura continued to rise relentlessly.

Such a scene was utterly astonishing.

“This… has Mu Lin also advanced to Mortal Shedding?”

  ”Impossible…”

“Hasn’t he not finished refining his Gang Qi yet?”

Mu Lin’s wildly escalating strength left everyone bewildered.

As for Mu Lin himself, he showed little emotion toward his own transformation, for he understood his situation well.

…

Naturally, Mu Lin had not fully advanced to Mortal Shedding. However, his current Cultivation Level could not be judged by conventional standards.

First, if measured by the shortest plank in the barrel theory, Mu Lin’s Cultivation Level was Gang Condensation, as his Gang Qi had not yet been refined to its limit.

But he could also claim to be at the Gang Sha Unity stage.

After all, due to his Cultivation Method realm having long been attained, the True Spirit Karma Diagram, which served as his foundation, was already filled with vast amounts of Gang and Sha Qi internally.

Thus, while Mu Lin refined his Gang Qi, his Baleful Qi continuously fused with it, endlessly generating the profound Xuanhuang Qi of Gang Sha Fusion and the convergence of Yin and Yang.

Gang Condensation and Gang Sha Unity—these two stages of cultivation, Mu Lin was undertaking simultaneously.

Moreover, due to Mu Lin’s foundation being exceptionally solid, even though his Gang Qi was not yet fully refined and his Gang Sha Unity had only just begun, both his Gang Qi and Xuanhuang Qi far surpassed those of other Cultivators.

—365 portions of Gang Sha, even if Mu Lin had only fused one-tenth of them, that would still be 36 portions.

And ordinary people? Most have one portion, three portions at most. Even the most exceptional prodigies only possess nine portions.

Thus, even if they reach the end, they cannot compare to Mu Lin’s starting point.

With thirty-six portions of Profound Yellow Qi, who could refute Mu Lin’s claim of being in the Realm of Gang Sha Unity?

No one could refute it.

But was Gang Sha Unity Mu Lin’s limit?

Naturally not. His extraordinary talent had long allowed him to construct the foundation of his Dharma Image—King Yama.

King Yama, who judges all living beings and controls life and death.

Although, due to Mu Lin’s grand ambitions, his King Yama Dharma Image remained incomplete.

But as the saying goes, with such a solid foundation, even incomplete, Mu Lin’s King Yama Dharma Image was still stronger than ordinary Dharma Images.

…

With a Dharma Image representing his cultivation realm and the Profound Yellow Qi of Gang Sha Fusion, Mu Lin could now unleash power at the Mortal Shedding Realm. Naturally, this allowed him to call himself a Mortal Shedding Adept.

One body, spanning three realms—Mu Lin could truly be called unprecedented and unmatched.

While marveling at this, Mu Lin fully stirred his mana, allowing the King Yama Dharma Image to descend upon the world.

“Hum!”

Unlike his opponent, Mu Lin’s King Yama Dharma Image still retained a human form, but it was adorned with a black, majestic Jiao Dragon royal robe and a crown with seven tassels—this was also a sign of the Dharma Image’s incompleteness. If it were the true King Yama, it would wear a True Dragon imperial robe and a crown with twelve tassels.

Moreover, Mu Lin’s King Yama Dharma Image was only the size of an ordinary person.

Yet, despite its small stature, all who laid eyes upon King Yama dared not show the slightest contempt. Instead, they felt boundless awe and reverence.

—Anyone who gazed upon the King Yama Dharma Image would feel as if their life and death were entirely under King Yama’s control.

With life and death held in another’s hands, such majesty could not be taken lightly.

And the appearance of Mu Lin’s King Yama Dharma Image brought more than just this change.

After its manifestation, a grand hall and an entire city materialized out of thin air within the arena.

No, not within the arena—the city was so vast that it enveloped the arena itself.

Even the surrounding spectator stands were incorporated into the city, influenced by King Yama’s Dharma Domain.

And this was not even the limit of Mu Lin’s King Yama Dharma Image—his Gang Qi had not yet been fully refined, Gang Sha had not completely fused, and the King Yama Dharma Image remained flawed.

Otherwise, Mu Lin’s King Yama Dharma Image could have enveloped an entire city.

For one person to suppress an entire city was terrifying, something not even an ordinary Mortal Shedding Cultivator could achieve.

But for Mu Lin, it was entirely reasonable. His 365 portions of Gang Sha were not cultivated in vain.

If, after refining so much Gang Qi and Baleful Qi, he were still like an ordinary Mortal Shedding Adept, only able to influence an area of a dozen miles with his Dharma Image, then what would be the point of cultivating the Dao or practicing the arts? He might as well find a piece of wood and end his life.

…

The majestic hall and the vast city enveloped everything, meaning everyone had entered the King Yama Domain and could be affected by its rules.

But this was not the most terrifying aspect of the King Yama Dharma Image.

What was truly horrifying was that this majestic hall and grand city were not empty inside.

Within the grand hall, the Dharma Image of King Yama sat high upon the throne. To his left stood a scholar holding the Book of Life and Death.

Though this scholar appeared frail and bookish, every cultivator who laid eyes on him was startled.

“Mortal Shedding—this is also a Mortal Shedding Dharma Image!”

“Hiss… Could it be that Mu Lin possesses two Dharma Images?”

Before their shock could subside, they soon noticed another figure to the right of King Yama.

Unlike the frail scholar, this figure was tall and imposing, carrying a Longsword on his back and a crimson Wine Gourd at his waist. And this figure… was also at the Mortal Shedding level.

King Yama, the Civil and Military Judges—within the grand hall alone, there were a full three Mortal Shedding Dharma Images.

But soon, their worldview shattered as they realized that three Mortal Shedding Dharma Images were still not the full extent of Mu Lin’s display.

Whether inside or outside the grand hall, fluctuations of Mortal Shedding-level aura were present.

This utterly shattered the cultivators’ Dao hearts.

“…”

“What… what is this?!”

(End of Chapter)