Chapter 409 – King Yama Calls a Name: Whoever's Called Dies! Mu Lin's Great Terror

“???”

Just as its aura was erupting and its words were half-spoken, it suddenly collapsed and ‘fell asleep’ in such a situation, leaving many unable to react.

“What is it doing?”

“Weren’t they about to fight? Why isn’t it fighting anymore?”

“Go on!”

“Demon Ape, don’t back down!”

Some shouted, eager to stir up trouble, while others looked uncertain and hesitant.

Just as everyone was puzzled, more changes occurred on the Demon Ape.

Its originally robust and explosive aura was rapidly decaying.

Visibly, the Demon Ape’s strong body was quickly withering and fading… as if an invisible entity was devouring its Qi and Blood, Mana, and Divine Soul from within.

And as everything about itself was being devoured, the Demon Ape… remained motionless, offering no resistance.

By this point, no matter how unbelievable it seemed, a chilling thought emerged in their minds.

The Demon Ape—was dead.

After being forcibly challenged by Mu Lin, it didn’t even last three seconds before being instantly killed.

“…”

“?!!”

“How is this possible!”

The exaggerated, even terrifying scene made everyone watching this battle gasp in shock.

They found it hard to accept such an outcome.

What chilled them to the bone even more was that the Demon Ape’s strength was not weak among the crowd; many admitted to themselves that they were no match for it.

And if even the Demon Ape was instantly killed by Mu Lin, they didn’t believe they stood a chance against him either.

Especially since, even after the Demon Ape died, they still hadn’t figured out how Mu Lin had killed it.

Without knowing how he attacked or even locating Mu Lin himself, how could they possibly fight him?

“Damn it, with this kind of strength, you’re telling me he’s at the Mortal Shedding stage?”

“Shit, those rumors were actually true. Mu Lin really disrupted a kingdom without any help…”

Well, many had been skeptical about the rumors surrounding Mu Lin.

It wasn’t their fault—what Mu Lin had done before was simply too exaggerated. It was like a vocational school student suddenly outshining all the students and professors of a top-tier university in academics.

Faced with such rumors, it was normal for people to doubt them without seeing it for themselves. Believing them outright would have been foolish.

And that was why so many people, despite hearing the rumors about Mu Lin, still came here… They didn’t believe he possessed such strength and assumed there must be hidden circumstances behind the events in the East Sea Kingdom.

Perhaps other forces were backing him from behind.

The arrival of the Southeast Region’s gentry and the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty only deepened their suspicions.

To be honest, drawing such conclusions based on common sense wasn’t entirely wrong. Unfortunately, Mu Lin—transcended common sense.

And then, their calamity descended.

…

Outside, everyone was shocked that Mu Lin could kill the Demon Ape with a single strike.

But within the Netherworld, Mu Lin felt his instant kill was entirely reasonable.

After all, when attacking the Demon Ape, Mu Lin had used the demonic weapon, the Blade of Slaughter, combined with Vengeance Flames, to directly pierce the enemy’s soul.

And not everyone was like the Dragon Prince Ao Yi, protected by a supreme treasure.

Without supreme treasures to protect them, nor souls as resilient as an Earth Immortal’s, it is only natural that such beings would perish when struck directly in the soul’s vital point by a Spirit Tool-level blade.

After all, when a person is killed, they die.

After stabbing the demonic ape to death and devouring everything it had, Mu Lin did not pause. Instead, he called out the name of another demonic Cultivator.

“Gu Diao, it’s your turn to fight.”

“?!”

“Whoosh!”

Hearing Mu Lin call its name, the Prodigy of the Demon Race, whose species was the Gu Diao, was stunned for a moment.

The next instant, its expression changed drastically as it spread its wings and shot out of Water Moon City like an arrow from a bowstring.

Clearly, it believed it was no match for Mu Lin.

Unfortunately, while it flew fast, Mu Lin’s blade was even faster.

“Schlick!”

Just like before, Mu Lin’s blade pierced into the Gu Diao’s skull, and he casually twisted it a couple of times.

“Kree…”

Mu Lin’s attack caused the Gu Diao to let out a shrill, mournful cry. The next moment, its body, which had been soaring with wings spread, lost all strength and plummeted downward.

Mu Lin paid no heed to whether it lived or died, nor did he even have time to devour its Qi and Blood.

After its death, Mu Lin, like King Yama, called out the name of another Demon Race Prodigy.

Oh, right—Mu Lin was King Yama now. So that was fine.

“He Luo, it’s your turn to fight.”

“No! Young Master, spare me! This humble woman never intended to kill you. I am willing to compensate and apologize…”

Like many terrified demonic Cultivators, even with two people dying right before her eyes, she had not seen how Mu Lin attacked. Under such circumstances, she naturally had no confidence in evading Mu Lin’s killing blow.

She couldn’t win in a fight, and as for fleeing… she couldn’t escape either.

The Gu Diao hadn’t escaped, and this member of the Aquatic Tribe, possessing the bloodline of the He Luo fish, was not known for speed to begin with. She naturally knew she couldn’t escape either.

With no other recourse, she could only plead pitifully for mercy, hoping Mu Lin would spare her life.

Unfortunately, while Mu Lin cherished beauty and showed tenderness, he reserved such treatment only for his own people. Toward enemies, he was fair and impartial, never caring about gender.

“Thud!”

Thus, unsurprisingly, another person had Mu Lin’s blade plunged into their head.

“Run!”

“Don’t kill me! This matter has nothing to do with me!”

“Don’t panic! Mu Lin can’t kill everyone! Attack together, search together—we can kill him… Thud!”

Mu Lin, having taken on the role of King Yama, was conducting a roll call for the Prodigies of the Yang World. Whomever he named would die immediately.

This terrifying scene thoroughly intimidated the many visiting Mortal Shedding Cultivators.

At this moment, they were like startled birds, frantically fleeing toward the outskirts of Water Moon City.

However, while they wanted to flee, Mu Lin would not allow it.

These were all prime resources. With each kill, his strength would increase by a fraction.

Thus, Mu Lin, in his guise as King Yama, continued calling out names one after another.

“Jiu Ying…”

“Xuan Gui…”

“Fei Yi…”

“Azure Finch!”

When Mu Lin called the names of the others, he only caused greater panic among the remaining demonic monsters, and no one went to rescue the named Cultivators.

However, when Mu Lin called out Azure Finch, whose race was the Azure Bird, someone stopped.

“Bastard, stop right there!”

The one who stopped was the Chongming Bird. It must be said that as a renowned supernatural bloodline in the world, the Chongming Bird possessed formidable strength.

Its eyes could actually pierce through Yin and Yang, allowing it to see Mu Lin in the Netherworld.

“Mu Lin, spare Azure Finch, and I promise I will never be your enemy.”

These words made Mu Lin laugh.

“When you came to Water Moon City, you already became my enemy, bound by karma with me. Now you want to beg for mercy? Too late.”

There was one more thing Mu Lin didn’t say—the Chongming Bird didn’t want to be his enemy, but Mu Lin very much wanted to obtain its pair of eyes.

As he spoke, Mu Lin stabbed a blade toward the soul reflection of the Azure Finch.

“Bang!”

To Mu Lin’s surprise, Azure Finch didn’t die immediately. A spiritual light shield appeared around the soul reflection of the Azure Finch, protecting it.

“Interesting…”

Mu Lin focused more attention on it.

Meanwhile, the Chongming Bird, seeing Azure Finch under attack, trembled with rage.

“Bastard!”

Only when it realized Azure Finch hadn’t died instantly did it breathe a sigh of relief.

But soon, its expression turned tense again… It knew very well that Azure Finch’s jade pendant wouldn’t hold for long.

Moreover, Azure Finch’s soul reflection was now entangled by Mu Lin’s Avici Chains, making escape impossible.

“Little Finch, quickly focus your consciousness deep within your soul. Mu Lin is attacking you in the Netherworld. Concentrate, and you can sense the reflection in the Netherworld.”

While roaring, sharing what it saw with Azure Finch and the other fleeing cultivators, the Chongming Bird activated its innate Eye Technique.

“Hum!”

As its eyes focused intently, Mu Lin was surprised to notice that the barrier between the Yang World and the Yin Earth was being distorted.

The Chongming Bird’s dual-pupiled eyes not only possessed clairvoyance, capable of seeing across all realms, but could also distort space through their gaze.

“Quite powerful.”

Though impressed, Mu Lin remained calm.

The Chongming Bird was strong, but the Ouroboros principle ∞ he had comprehended was no trivial matter either.

It was the supreme principle capable of creating worlds.

And indeed, Mu Lin had used it to create a Secret Realm and the Netherworld.

He could sense that if he exerted his full power to block it, he could keep the Chongming Bird out.

But after a moment’s thought, Mu Lin gave up.

He allowed the Chongming Bird to tear open a tiny gap, letting its soul reflection project into the Netherworld, within the Cycle of Despair.

“Mu Lin, I don’t want to be your enemy. Let Azure Finch leave, and I will follow.”

The Chongming Bird, now manifested in the Netherworld, didn’t immediately attack Mu Lin but tried to persuade him instead.

Unfortunately, Mu Lin didn’t comply.

“I already said, when you answered the Dragon Clan’s call and came to Water Moon City, you became my enemy. And with enemies, I never hold back.”

Chongming Bird: “It seems we can’t reach an agreement. You’ve made a wrong decision.”

As the words fell, Chongming’s eyes focused once more.

“Hum!”

Under its gaze, Mu Lin felt his body begin to twist.

The Chongming Bird was clearly trying to shred Mu Lin using its Eye Technique: Spatial Distortion.

“Truly worthy of being a supernatural being named Chongming. Your Eye Technique is indeed powerful, but you’re not the only one who possesses one!”

“…!”

With those words, Mu Lin closed his eyes.

And as his eyes shut, the sky of the Netherworld, the Cycle of Despair… turned dark.

Mu Lin used the Candle Dragon’s Eye Technique to confront the Chongming Bird’s Eye Technique.

The final outcome of this confrontation was Mu Lin’s complete victory.

At this moment, the Chongming Bird, with its eyes wide open, was not like ordinary cultivators who could not see their own hands in front of their faces, but it could no longer see Mu Lin’s figure.

And since it could not see, its spatial distortion naturally could not affect Mu Lin either.

…

Having its eyes obscured and losing sight of the enemy’s traces was a situation the Chongming Bird encountered for the first time, and this made it panic.

“How is this possible? You can actually block my vision!”

While it was astonished, Mu Lin found this perfectly normal.

Both were mythical beasts skilled in Eye Techniques, but the Candle Dragon’s rank was inherently higher than that of the Chongming Bird.

Secondly, this Netherworld was opened by Mu Lin himself, making it his home ground, which further enhanced the Candle Dragon’s Eye Technique.

Lastly, there was Mana. Hundreds of times the Gang Qi and Baleful Qi provided Mu Lin with immense Mana.

And any Spell in this world required Mana as its foundation.

The combination of these three factors allowed Mu Lin to overwhelm the Chongming Bird.

“Clatter!”

After suppressing the Chongming Bird’s strongest innate ability, Avici Chains immediately coiled toward the Chongming Bird.

This was blocked.

As a Sacred Beast no weaker than a True Dragon, the Chongming Bird was not only astonishing in its Eye Technique but also possessed formidable physical strength.

Swinging its sword-like wings, it unleashed waves of sword energy, blocking the approach of the Avici Chains.

Moreover, its entire body moved like a flying sword, darting across the Netherworld.

“Boom!”

Wherever it flew, the air emitted sharp explosions, and the ground of the Netherworld was torn apart by its passage.

At this moment, the Chongming Bird exuded an unstoppable, indestructible momentum.

However, even though it could still barely hold on, the Chongming Bird’s heart sank bit by bit.

Trapped in the Netherworld, it could feel the world suppressing it. Its mind was incessantly filled with countless murmuring voices—Manjusaka.

At the same time, in its brief glimpse earlier, it had discovered that there were several great horrors lurking in this Netherworld.

Those beings possessed the power to contend with it.

“I must escape as soon as possible. If this drags on, I will definitely lose.”

Having made this decision, the Chongming Bird attempted to tear through space and escape once more.

But soon, it realized it was impossible.

The Ouroboros, with its head and tail connected, transferred and absorbed all attacks.

The Chongming Bird’s spatial distortion, concentrated on a single point, was indeed powerful, but if dispersed across the entire world, it became much easier to handle.

And the Ouroboros was most adept at energy transfer.

“Damn it, break for me!”

Unable to tear through the spatial barrier and escape, the Chongming Bird grew increasingly anxious.

Just as its mind was in turmoil, frowning in deep thought, a voice suddenly echoed in its ears from the outside.

“Submit to me, and I will help you break free.”

This voice diverted part of the Chongming Bird’s attention, and unsurprisingly, it discovered that the one inviting it was the Golden Crow’s son.

He was also a peerless prodigy.

Moreover, his ambitions were grand—he sought to rule over countless Demon Races and become the Demon Emperor.

He not only aspired to this but had also been actively working to subdue other members of the Demon Race.

Previously, the Chongming Bird had been invited by him several times, but at that time, the Chongming Bird was proud and unwilling to agree.

Now, however…

“I agree. As long as you can save me and Azure Finch, I’ll listen to you. But be careful—Mu Lin is very strong.”

Upon hearing this, the Golden Crow showed no fear, instead letting out a proud, light laugh:

“He’s the one who should be careful. He may be strong, but I have never been weak.”

“Exactly! So what if Mu Lin is the number one among the Human Race? Lord Haoyang is the number one among the Demon Race. He has even slain an Earth Immortal head-on, completely unlike Mu Lin, who only knows how to ambush from the shadows.”

The one praising Golden Crow Haoyang was a Bifang, also a divine bird and a subordinate Haoyang had subdued.

As he flattered, with a “boom,” Golden Crow Haoyang stirred up his mana.

Going all out, he connected with the sun in the sky, transforming himself into a great sun.

“Boom!!”

As soon as the majestic sun appeared, an overwhelming aura swept out in all directions.

At the same time, endless scorching heat descended upon the earth.

Haoyang, having become the sun, didn’t even need to do anything—merely existing there caused the air to steam, rivers to dry up, and the ground to crack.

It must be said that this world also had its own peerless prodigies.

The Bifang’s praise of Haoyang, claiming he had once slain an Earth Immortal head-on, was likely true.

The appearance of this great sun also allowed the demonic monsters fleeing in all directions to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Phew… A true peerless prodigy from our Demon Race has stepped in.”

“This is going to be quite a show.”

“Who do you think will win?”

Having fled outside the city and finding themselves safe, with a great battle unfolding in the distance, many prodigies stopped running and instead turned back to watch and discuss.

“I’m betting on Mu Lin. His abilities are too bizarre, too terrifying.”

“No, I’m more optimistic about Lord Haoyang. Mu Lin’s abilities are indeed terrifying, and if he launched a surprise attack, Lord Haoyang might indeed lose. But his abilities have already been seen through by Lord Chongming.”

This statement gained agreement from many.

“Indeed. With his intelligence leaked, Mu Lin is at a great disadvantage.”

“This is why even prodigies can’t keep winning forever, and why I believe Mu Lin is bound to fall… Prodigies are strong, but other prodigies aren’t weak either. As long as they fight enough, a prodigy’s abilities will be exposed, allowing others to find weaknesses and counter them.”

“Mu Lin’s current weakness has already been seen through by Lord Haoyang.”

(End of Chapter)