Chapter 374 – The King Yama Avatar Is Born: Mortal Shedding Complete

Mu Lin’s second Dharma Image, or rather his primary Dharma Image, was naturally King Yama.

King Yama, clad in dark black imperial robes and wearing a crown with twelve tassels.

Moreover, when the Dharma Image of King Yama appeared, the characteristics of the Dragon Holding the Candle did not completely vanish. Instead, they were engraved like patterns on King Yama’s imperial robes.

Similarly, the patterns on the robes included the vibrant red Other Shore Flowers, Blood River, Black River…

This attire and appearance endowed the Dharma Image of King Yama with an undeniable imperial aura, as if he could control everything and dominate the world.

And indeed, King Yama was the ruler of the Netherworld Palace, overseeing the cycle of life and death and judging good and evil.

His emergence sent a chill through the hearts of everyone in Yuzhou City, whether Cultivators or ordinary mortals, as if their lives and deaths were no longer within their own control.

Before they could shake off this feeling, in the next moment, many found their minds in a daze. In an instant, they realized they were no longer in their homes but had arrived in a gray, misty world, standing on a narrow Yellow Mud Road.

This world seemed devoid of any warmth, perpetually evoking feelings of gloom, cold, silence, and solemnity.

In such a world, their dazed consciousness instinctively kept them silent, and they obediently walked along the Yellow Mud Road.

As they advanced, more terrifying scenes unfolded around them.

First, endless graves filled both sides of the Yellow Mud Road, followed by a deep, dark Black River blocking their path.

This Black River held no signs of life, and only by boarding a boat could they cross it and continue forward.

After crossing the river, they stepped onto the same Yellow Mud Road. This time, however, the horrors along the roadside grew increasingly numerous—first, boundless graves, then eerie and enchanting flowers.

The beautiful, otherworldly flowers exuded a peculiar allure, making them feel a sense of familiarity, as if seeing family.

This drew many Divine Souls instinctively toward the flowers.

Fortunately, the Yellow Mud Road possessed a Stabilizing effect on the mind, preventing them from straying.

Continuing onward, what awaited the wandering souls was a battlefield of slaughter—an endless Blood River.

Within the Blood River, various demonic creatures and Asuras fought and killed each other in a frenzy.

Every moment, Scarlet demonic creatures and Asuras fell, yet in the next moment, new ones would emerge from the Blood River.

Walking and witnessing along the way, the travelers felt as if they were in Hell, surrounded by terror at every turn.

Fortunately, the Yellow Mud Road eventually reached its end. At the conclusion, the wandering souls discovered that the road terminated at a solemn and imposing black fortress.

The fortress stood like a mountain or a colossal beast upon the earth, inspiring awe and fear.

Above the city gate were the characters “Fengdu,” and atop the walls, an army of Yin soldiers with ghostly masks patrolled majestically.

Within the city, it seemed as if there were a hundred thousand Wraiths.

By this point, the Divine Sense of the wandering souls began to clear, as if they were about to break free from this world.

With Mu Lin not hindering them, they indeed broke free.

—Their Divine Senses soared upward, and as they flew toward the sky, the last sight to enter their eyes was a majestic hall within the great fortress.

Through that great hall, the crowd seemed to see a majestic king, holding a Book of Life and Death in hand, judging all living beings.

The moment they saw this king, they instantly knew his True Name—King Yama, the ruler of life, death, and reincarnation, the judge of good and evil among all beings.

At the same time, as they gazed upon the Book of Life and Death, they subconsciously understood that everything from their past lives was laid bare within its pages.

Faced with such a powerful existence who could grant life or death with a single word, many wandering souls instinctively felt fear and reverence.

“Huff…”

Having completely emerged from the Netherworld, many residents of Yuzhou City were startled awake from their sleep, gasping for breath.

“A nightmare? How terrifying…”

Ordinary people, lacking deeper insight, treated the earlier journey through the Netherworld as nothing more than a nightmare.

Even so, a sense of reverence lingered in their hearts, making them hesitant to commit further misdeeds.

As for the true Cultivators, their expressions turned grave.

They knew that everything they had just experienced was illusory, yet it could also be real.

That meticulously constructed Hell was the Dharma Domain of an individual.

At the same time, their stronger Divine Souls, compared to ordinary mortals, allowed them to glean more information. One such revelation was that the Dharma Image of King Yama sought to establish a covenant with all living beings: upon death, everything from their lives would be judged by King Yama. In return, the Dharma Image of King Yama would grant them one chance for reincarnation and a fresh start.

Many also understood that, upon death, they could secure a position within the Netherworld.

“Seeking to establish a covenant with all living beings, judging their good and evil deeds in life… What an audacious ambition…”

Regarding Mu Lin’s ambition, the many Cultivators were at a loss for words.

As for Mu Lin… he paid no heed to their thoughts, nor did he consider placing the King Yama Domain within Yuzhou City.

…

Mu Lin’s Dharma Image of King Yama was entirely different from the Candle Dragon Dharma Image. The Candle Dragon was a mythical creature of transcendent physical form. When manifesting as the Candle Dragon, all of Mu Lin’s Dharmas were inscribed upon its body, allowing the Candle Dragon to influence the world and alter celestial phenomena through its own physical form and Mana.

In contrast, King Yama focused more on spirit and Dharma Domain, the utilization of rules, and the cultivation of subordinates.

The “King” in King Yama already signified his identity.

This was a monarch, with territory, numerous subordinates, and the authority to decree laws as if they were heavenly mandates.

  Conversely, Mu Lin’s King Yama also required territory and numerous subordinates to fully unleash his power.

“If fully expanded, the King Yama empowered by collective strength would undoubtedly be stronger. However, my King Yama Domain has not yet been fully deployed.”

Although Mu Lin now possessed a small Secret Realm world as a foundation, this was merely a base, far from sufficient to fully manifest the might of King Yama.

To completely unleash King Yama’s abilities, Mu Lin needed to find a super-large city to establish his Dharma Domain.

Following that, he would require dozens of smaller cities to appoint City Gods.

In this way, Mu Lin could establish a small Netherworld for departed souls.

The foundation of this Netherworld would consist of dozens of County City Gods, several Province City Gods, and one Prefecture City God.

Each County City God could raise an army of three thousand, relying on the power of Earth Veins and the faith of the masses. With dozens of County City Gods, an army of one hundred thousand could be maintained.

With such forces, along with the Province City God, Prefecture City God, and King Yama himself, Mu Lin could raise three to five hundred thousand Yin Soldiers.

This was already an extremely powerful force—one that, when formed into a military formation, could contend with an Earth Immortal.

More crucially, as the ruler who commands and dominates all, whether it be the power of the City Gods or the strength of the Yin Soldiers, Mu Lin’s King Yama could uniformly mobilize and utilize them.

“Individually, Yin Soldiers and City Gods are not strong, but if three to five hundred thousand Yin Soldiers and numerous City Gods join forces, combined with the City Gods’ control over the Earth Veins… a fully deployed King Yama could not only rival an Earth Immortal but even kill one.”

Within his own Dharma Domain, transcending tiers to kill enemies—such was the might of Mu Lin’s King Yama Dharma Image.

At the same time, the fully deployed King Yama Dharma Image not only enhanced Mu Lin’s combat power but also accelerated his cultivation speed.

With the establishment of City Gods and the judgment of all living beings, Mu Lin could also bring departed souls into the Netherworld, bolstering the foundation of the Netherworld Secret Realm.

As the saying goes, a single departed soul is indeed weak, but what about a hundred thousand or a million?

The multitude of departed souls, along with their emotions, memories, and Divine Soul power after death, would propel Mu Lin’s rank ever higher.

“If this continues, I will eventually become the Emperor of the Underworld, the Great Emperor of Lidu.”

“And since life and death are closely intertwined, if I can comprehend the mysteries of life from death, I will become the Lord of Mount Tai, master of life and death.”

The consolidation of the King Yama Dharma Image made Mu Lin’s future prospects exceptionally bright.

However, all of this hinged on Mu Lin fully deploying the King Yama Domain.

And in the south, this was nearly impossible.

The Earth Veins here had long been controlled by the Aristocratic Families. If Mu Lin established the City God Domain, he would inevitably clash and fight with them—just as he had done in Ping’an Ancient Town.

However, the Yin Eight Gates cultivators in Ping’an Ancient Town were merely a scattered group of unorthodox practitioners and fallen outsiders. Thus, Mu Lin could act arrogantly under the guise of the Demon Suppression Division.

But elsewhere, the forces controlling the Earth Veins were not insignificant individuals.

They were local magnates, powerful gentry, and were closely connected to the major Aristocratic Families that dominated the Southeast Region.

In conflicts with these Aristocratic Families, Mu Lin would not only be unable to leverage external support but might even face collective opposition.

Moreover, life in the south was stable. While the common people were content, cultivators would absolutely refuse to have their life and death controlled by Mu Lin.

Therefore, establishing towns in the south posed numerous obstacles for Mu Lin.

“Indeed, peaceful and stable regions are a boon for ordinary people, but for those with ambitious aspirations, they are far less friendly.”

“Even a figure like Cao Cao, a cunning hero, could not raise a great army in times of peace, and Liu Bei could only make a living by selling straw sandals…”

What left Mu Lin at a loss for words was that the world was not uniformly stable and peaceful everywhere.

In the Southeast Region, establishing the King Yama Domain indeed came with many restrictions.

But in the north, everything was different.

Disasters were rampant there, and both cultivators and ordinary people lived with a sense of insecurity.

In such regions, Mu Lin’s City God Domain would receive much welcome and support—they urgently needed strength.

Furthermore, there was abundant land there, providing ample space for Mu Lin to develop.

“…No wonder many ambitious individuals hope for, or quietly await, great chaos in the world. Only through turmoil can numerous constraints be broken, allowing people to rise and soar rapidly.”

At this moment, Mu Lin had already decided to develop in the Northern Region.

Of course, the prerequisite for all this was to settle his vendetta first.

As mentioned earlier, the arrogant Mu Lin was unwilling to flee in disgrace.

“When I was weak before, I endured everything. Now that I’ve grown strong, if I still endure everything and cannot act according to my will, then all my training would have been for nothing!”

Moreover, even for the sake of development, Mu Lin had to settle his vendetta before leaving.

The North only offered more opportunities, not a complete absence of competition.

If he fled there in disgrace, Mu Lin would be seen as someone under protection, which would naturally make others look down on him.

“What I want is to go to the North as a Savior, not as a refugee.”

“This way, I can earn the respect of others. My rights and interests will also be safeguarded.”

(End of Chapter)