Chapter 392 – The Candle Dragon Appears: The Sky Darkens!

Ji Zheng’s words were something Mu Lin had never expected.

And soon, Mu Lin grasped the deeper meaning behind the words of the man before him.

“Marrying your own daughter to me, not the East Sea King’s daughter—are you planning to betray the East Sea King?”

Ji Zheng: “Don’t use the word ‘betray.’ I am merely setting things right. By indulging his own offspring and bringing such great trouble to the East Sea King’s Manor, Ji Tianhai is no longer fit to be king.”

After rebuking the East Sea King, the old man before him addressed Mu Lin:

“Have you thought it over? This is the best choice for you. If you submit to me, not only will you not die, but you will also have a chance for revenge… Once you help me become king, I won’t mind handing Ji Yu over to you for you to exact your vengeance.”

These words made Mu Lin shrug. “What you say sounds good, but you’ve made one mistake: I was never going to die in the first place, so I don’t need to rely on anyone. Moreover, I will avenge my own grievances myself.”

At this point, Mu Lin smiled casually and said, “Now, the one who should be worried is you. Since you don’t want to be my enemy, you should leave. I don’t want to kill you.”

“Kill me? Hahahaha…”

Mu Lin’s final words made Ji Zheng laugh, a wild, unrestrained laughter.

“You dare speak of killing me? Mu Lin, you truly don’t know the immensity of heaven and earth.”

“Moreover, you’ve made the wrong choice. I will show you that an Earth Immortal cannot be defeated by someone at the Mortal Shedding stage!”

“Boom!”

With the breakdown of negotiations, an immense and majestic aura immediately surged from Ji Zheng.

And the moment this aura rose, it pressed down upon Mu Lin.

“Hum!”

Under the pressure of that aura, Mu Lin felt his entire body stiffen, as if he couldn’t move at all. At the same time, he realized that his Mana, and even his Divine Soul power, had all fallen silent.

This scene made Mu Lin narrow his eyes.

“This is… the suppression of heaven and earth? Without a Blessed Land or Fortunate Land, in my Netherworld, he can still use the power of heaven and earth to suppress me?”

The sudden suppression made Mu Lin tense up, but soon, he sensed something amiss.

“Wait, this isn’t the suppression of heaven and earth. It feels more like being targeted by a natural predator or a colossal beast… Dragon’s Might? No, no, this is the power of imperial dynasty fortune and Dragon Veins!”

In the world of the extraordinary, human will possesses power, and the earth itself holds Dragon Veins.

When the two combine, they can coalesce into imperial dynasty fortune and the Human Dao Dragon Vein.

In some worlds, imperial dynasty fortune holds the upper hand, and officials can even disperse the Spells of Daoists and Demonic Cultivators with a single command, suppressing them into ordinary people.

In this world, imperial dynasty fortune and Dragon Vein power, while not as overwhelmingly strong, are still extraordinary.

Many princes and nobles can cultivate by borrowing the power of Dragon Veins and imperial dynasty fortune, binding their noble status to the earth’s Dragon Veins. In this way, as long as the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty’s fortune does not decline and the Dragon Veins do not wither, they start as Earth Immortals.

At the same time, the Dragon Veins in this world also possess the ability to suppress external evil and unnatural forces.

And now, the one standing before Ji Zheng was one of Mu Lin’s hundreds of Clones, while on the other side was the Main Body of an Earth Immortal.

Thus, unsurprisingly, Mu Lin’s Clone was completely suppressed by Ji Zheng, unable to move.

“See? This is the power of an Earth Immortal. Kill me? Hah, you don’t even have the right to move in my presence!”

“Boom!”

After suppressing Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figure with sheer presence alone, Ji Zheng had originally intended to display his power and pressure Mu Lin into submission—the reason he didn’t decisively strike to kill was because slaying this Mu Lin would be pointless.

After all, what stood before Ji Zheng was merely a Clone.

Moreover, once the body was suppressed, Black River Water immediately surged from within the Paper Figure, contaminating it entirely, leaving Ji Zheng unable to even grasp Mu Lin’s aura.

Thus, he could only use words to pressure Mu Lin, hoping to make him give up.

However, something unexpected soon occurred. After Ji Zheng suppressed Mu Lin, this Netherworld did not vanish quickly as it had before. Instead, a ‘volcano’ erupted from beneath Melting Fire City—right beneath his feet.

“Boom!”

The eruption of the volcano unleashed boundless kinetic energy, hurling Ji Zheng’s entire Soul Reflection high into the air.

At the same time, countless flames surged toward him in waves, like a tidal sea.

Initially, Ji Zheng paid little attention to these flames.

Having merged with the Dragon Vein and possessing the fortune of the imperial dynasty, he enjoyed significant immunity against many forms of attack.

Yet, he soon realized something was amiss. This fire was no ordinary flame—it was the fire of collective will, the Flame of Retribution.

“Kill, kill, kill…”

“Give me back my life!”

“Wuwuwu… you deserve to die!”

The erupting flames coalesced into thousands of heads in the air. Now, these fiery heads roared at Ji Zheng while gnawing at his Mana shield.

“It’s all because of you! You killed me, my wife, my parents, my children—they all died because of you! Wuwuwu… I’ll kill you!”

The vengeful spirits Mu Lin had gathered had all died unjustly, harboring immense Resentment and rage.

The Resentment accumulated over decades and centuries, once ignited by Mu Lin, possessed tremendous power.

What alarmed Ji Zheng even more was that the Flame of Retribution not only burned his Mana but could also directly scorch his Divine Soul through it.

“Boom!”

When the Flame of Retribution made contact with Ji Zheng’s Mana, countless scenes of humans suffering agonizing deaths flooded directly into his mind. In that moment, Ji Zheng experienced their torment as if it were his own—feeling the fire poison ravage their bodies and the flames consume their internal organs and seven orifices.

“Ah!!”

This onslaught of pain quickly contorted Ji Zheng’s expression.

In truth, Ji Zheng had endured his own share of suffering to grow into an Earth Immortal. Coupled with his profound Divine Soul, he could have withstood the pain of one, ten, or even a hundred individuals.

Unfortunately, the agony now flooding his mind numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

This relentless, ever-accumulating pain was more than most could bear.

Especially since, before Ji Zheng’s arrival, Mu Lin had not been idle.

His split soul, merged with the Vengeful Wraith, though unable to control its actions, had continuously instilled certain red ideologies into the multitude of vengeful spirits.

Ideas such as: All your suffering stems from the exploitation of feudal landlords and Aristocratic Families, from their enslavement that left you hungry, cold, and ultimately robbed of your lives…

The infusion of these thoughts made the Vengeance Flames of the Vengeful Wraith burn even more fiercely, now tormenting Ji Zheng unbearably.

“Begone!”

“You lowly commoners! Dying in service to my Prince’s Residence is an honor! You should be grateful—how dare you harbor resentment!”

“Whether it be thunderous punishment or gentle grace, all are the emperor’s favor. Even if I killed your parents, you should still be grateful to us!”

The shrieks and gnawing of hundreds of thousands of Resentful Souls made Ji Zheng sense danger. In response, he roared furiously, transforming his soul spirit into a colossal dragon that madly attacked the oncoming flaming heads.

“Rip!”

Continuous assaults tore many heads to shreds, completely obliterating the lingering echoes of those soul spirits.

Ji Zheng sought to intimidate the endless Resentful Souls with this method.

Alas, it was utterly futile. Filled with hatred and having already died once, they were now deranged and thus unafraid of death.

Therefore, even though Ji Zheng extinguished many lingering soul echoes, vast quantities of souls still served as fuel for the Vengeance Flames, relentlessly assailing Ji Zheng’s Divine Soul.

Moreover, Ji Zheng’s peril was not confined to his Divine Soul alone.

“Clatter…”

In the external world, after the volcanic eruption had hurled Ji Zheng’s Soul Reflection high into the sky, burning chains immediately snaked toward Ji Zheng’s body like crimson serpents, coiling around it with agility.

Naturally sensing such an attack, Ji Zheng let out a Dragon Roar that resonated from within Mu Lin’s Netherworld.

“Roar!”

Amidst the impassioned Dragon Roar, a Dragon Vein stretching for miles appeared behind Ji Zheng.

Subsequently, the Dragon Vein expanded, transforming into mountains, rivers, Palaces, and towers… These myriad illusions firmly blocked the Vengeful Wraith’s chains from advancing.

And in the next moment, as Ji Zheng willed it, mountains and rivers materialized from illusion into substance, bearing down upon the Vengeful Wraith to suppress it.

“Perish!”

“Gush…”

Torrential waters poured onto the Vengeful Wraith, seeking to extinguish its flames.

The colossal mountain, carrying the power to suppress all things, aimed to crush the Vengeful Wraith beneath its peak.

What made Mu Lin narrow his eyes was that these mountains and rivers were no ordinary landscapes; they contained Ji Zheng’s Mana and, more importantly, the national fortune of the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty. The lofty mountains, grand peaks, Palaces, and towers derived from the Dragon Vein behind Ji Zheng were not empty; within them appeared the illusions of countless soldiers and nobles.

Now, these elegantly attired gentry and commoners, following Ji Zheng’s will, exerted their strength in unison, amplifying the power of the mountains and peaks.

If the Vengeful Wraith were truly pinned down, under the suppression of the Dragon Vein and national fortune, it could indeed be crushed to death.

What of the people’s grievances? The Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty had endured for millennia, with countless unjust deaths and numerous rebellions, yet ultimately, the dynasty remained, and its national fortune persisted.

By employing the Dragon Vein in battle, Ji Zheng truly had a chance of victory.

Fortunately, Ji Zheng was not the emperor of the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty, nor even a king of a vassal state. The Dragon Vein power he could mobilize was ultimately limited, and this allowed Mu Lin’s Vengeful Wraith a possibility of resistance.

“Clatter…”

Driven by Mu Lin, the Avici Chains shot forth, and in the next instant, a sky full of chains bound the mountain.

“Roar!”

“Get lost!”

With the combined effort of hundreds of thousands of Resentful Souls, the mountain was actually hurled away by the Vengeful Wraith using the chains.

While one hand wielded chains to fling away mountains, the Vengeful Wraith’s other palm rapidly swelled and enlarged, transforming into a kilometer-long flaming giant hand that reached out to seize Ji Zheng.

In response, Ji Zheng chose to use the Dragon Vein to evolve a great city, suppressing with the power of the city and the formation.

“Die!”

“Boom!”

Thus, the flame-wreathed Vengeful Wraith and Ji Zheng began a brutal battle within Mu Lin’s Netherworld and Cycle of Despair.

On one side, the Vengeful Wraith had a foundation of a million malevolent spirits and the support of the Fire Crystal vein. Filled with killing intent, the flame-wreathed wraith attacked without fear of life or death, each strike shaking heaven and earth like a volcanic eruption—terrifying and horrifying.

Ji Zheng was also formidable. With the Dragon Vein protecting his body, he could even use it to evolve towering mountains, massive fortress-cities, and the blessings of the myriad people (the gentry and commoners).

This Ji Zheng was no longer like a mere person; he was more akin to the Avatar of mountains, rivers, great cities, and the gentry.

His attacks were equally overwhelming.

The rumbling, ceaselessly crashing mountains, the continuously evolving great cities, and the shouts of the myriad people forced the Vengeful Wraith to brace itself seriously.

At this moment, the battle between the two was a contest of attrition—the typical way Earth Immortals fought. With the support of their Blessed Lands and Fortunate Lands, their Mana was virtually limitless. Each confrontation was grand in scale and lasted a long time.

Now, the outcome of the battle between Ji Zheng and the Vengeful Wraith depended on whether the Vengeful Wraith’s million Resentful Souls could endure longer or whether Ji Zheng’s national fortune and Dragon Vein could provide him with more spiritual power.

Whoever could endure longer would achieve final victory.

Of course, this was the normal outcome of battle, the typical scenario when Earth Immortals dueled one-on-one.

Unfortunately, neither Ji Zheng nor the Vengeful Wraith was alone.

Behind Ji Zheng was the army of the East Sea King.

Although, due to his pride, Ji Zheng always charged ahead, not waiting for the Mortal Shedding cultivators behind him, he did not wait—but the soldiers behind had been pursuing him all along. Now, they too had chased into the territory of Melting Fire City and, through the method of Soul Reflection, entered the Netherworld.

The addition of dozens of Mortal Shedding cultivators and nearly ten thousand elite armored soldiers greatly boosted Ji Zheng’s side’s momentum.

And then, their nightmare arrived.

Ji Zheng had reinforcements, and so did Mu Lin. To ensure the enemy’s death, Mu Lin’s Main Body had long since focused its attention on this place.

Even his Candle Dragon Body had been manifested here.

“Hum!”

When the Candle Dragon appeared, Mu Lin’s eyes immediately closed. And as he made this move, the sky of the Netherworld, the Cycle of Despair… darkened.

(End of Chapter)