Chapter 434 – Building Hell: Strength Rises

“As long as Young Master Mu Lin is willing to come, we will welcome him as family.”

“Hmph…”

Mo Feng’s words drew a cold laugh from Zhang Hemiao.

“Welcome him as family? I think you just want to pull Mu Lin into your Black Fiend Legion.”

Having his intentions laid bare made Mo Feng somewhat awkward, but fortunately, his skin was thick enough.

Thus, he readily admitted, “I apologize for the laugh, General Hemiao. I do indeed have such thoughts, but it can’t be helped. It’s not that I’m petty—it’s just that Young Master Mu Lin’s talent is truly extraordinary.”

As he spoke, his eyes filled with endless emotion and admiration.

“Number one in the world, and by a wide margin at that. No wonder Tianwu City offered two years’ worth of resources back then.”

“Looking at it now, you all made a huge profit.”

Mo Feng wore an expression of regret, as if lamenting a missed opportunity. His candid admission also made it difficult for Zhang Hemiao to press the matter further.

Just as she was struggling with how to respond, Mu Lin’s figure materialized beside them out of thin air.

“I can help you stabilize Earth Veins, purge traitors, seal Forbidden Power, and even empower your soldiers… but joining you is out of the question.”

“One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers.”

The latter remark carried a profound meaning, and Mo Feng understood it well. He sighed and said no more about inviting Mu Lin.

However, he did not refuse Mu Lin’s offer of assistance, instead preparing to accept it in full.

Of course, this was not a decision he could make alone, so he needed to return and discuss it with the commander of the Black Fiend Legion.

As for Mu Lin, his efforts to help the Black Fiend Legion were not driven by mere naivety or a sense of righteousness.

While he didn’t mind lending a hand to other humans when he had the capacity, at this moment, what he wanted more was… faith and resources.

“The Black Fiend Legion came to our aid, but while rescuing us, they also sought to occupy a Blessed Land.”

There was nothing particularly noteworthy about this. Not only was this Blessed Land originally not under the control of the Agricultural Militia, but even if it were, the Black Fiend Legion had expended considerable effort and suffered countless casualties in their rescue mission. Under such circumstances, it was only natural for them to demand something in return.

However, if they could do so, Mu Lin naturally could as well.

“You helped us secure a Blessed Land. In return, I’ll help you resolve several major crises in exchange for some resources and faith. That’s not unreasonable, is it?”

…

“Of course it’s not unreasonable. If merely offering resources and some faith can resolve their lingering concerns, I believe the Black Fiend Legion would be absolutely thrilled.”

The responses came from Zhang Hemiao and Yan Yunyu.

How to negotiate for resources, what resources to demand, and how to establish a faith system—all of these required careful discussion. Mu Lin naturally had no intention of handling such trivial matters personally.

Thus, he relayed the details to Zhang Hemiao and Yan Yunyu.

Afterward, Zhang Hemiao would escort Yan Yunyu to the Black Mountain Range to prepare all the groundwork.

Only when they had reached an agreement would Mu Lin step in to act.

…

After delegating the trivial tasks, another Clone of Mu Lin met with the Thunderclap Legion.

After relieving their siege and deliberately showcasing his various abilities, Mu Lin quietly awaited the responses of both the Black Fiend Legion and the Thunderclap Legion.

Of course, while waiting, Mu Lin was not idle.

“Boom!”

At this moment, the Netherworld was filled with billowing dust, bustling and busy.

—In the past, Mu Lin had never occupied a complete territory, nor had he ever controlled powerful Earth Veins or Spirit Veins.

Relying solely on himself, he could not sustain the Netherworld for long. Therefore, Mu Lin’s Netherworld was mostly opened and closed at will, rarely existing for extended periods.

This also meant that Mu Lin’s construction of the Netherworld Palace was incomplete.

But now, things were different.

Tianshi City was completely under Mu Lin’s control. According to the agreement between Mu Lin and Zhang Hetian, the Spirit Veins of this region, along with everything else, would be governed and managed by Mu Lin.

In return, Mu Lin, like a king, had to protect the people of this land, ensuring they lived stable lives, and properly train the Agricultural Militia.

Such terms were entirely reasonable, and thus, Mu Lin agreed.

With a base of operations, he could now go all out.

“Fengdu City needs to be expanded, and Arrays must be constructed. For now, the moat will be filled with Black River Water…”

Beyond constructing ordinary areas, Mu Lin was more focused on building Hells.

The Blood Prison, formed by the Blade of Slaughter and the Crimson Holy Grail.

The Illusion Prison, composed of the endless Other Shore Flower Sea.

And the Scorched Earth Hell, formed by merging the Flame of Retribution with massive amounts of fire.

Black River Water was also diverted by Mu Lin, creating the Blackwater Prison that dissolves everything.

Relying on the infinite cyclical power of the Ouroboros, Mu Lin gathered numerous dangerous forces together.

Moreover, the infinite cyclical power of the Ouroboros served both to restrain the anomalous forces and to trap any enemies that entered, preventing their escape.

“From now on, after drawing the Soul Reflections of enemies into the Netherworld, I won’t even need to deal with them personally. The dangerous forces within the Four Great Hells I’ve built will continuously attack the enemies, dissolving them until nothing remains!”

Thinking of this, Mu Lin even conducted a small test.

—Due to the sky-splitting event, the Northern Wastelands were filled with many anomalous forces.

Now, these dangerous anomalous forces were collected by Mu Lin, sorted, and thrown into the Hells.

Especially into the Blackwater Prison, where Mu Lin threw the most anomalous forces.

“You think you’re dangerous? My Hell forces are dangerous too. Let’s see who is stronger.”

“Boom!”

The entry of these anomalous forces made Mu Lin’s Netherworld Palace even more lively.

Within the Illusion Prison, countless psychic forces clashed.

In the Crimson Blood Hell, various corrupting and parasitic forces continuously emerged, while the monsters spawned by the Blade of Slaughter and the Crimson Holy Grail wielded blades, slashing at those anomalous forces, plundering everything from them.

In the Scorched Earth Hell, the Flame of Retribution, formed from endless resentment, sought to destroy and incinerate everything.

Many troublesome forces were sent by Mu Lin into this realm, where they engaged in frenzied slaughter, seeking to utterly annihilate each other.

Moreover, during the entanglement, the Flame of Retribution continuously absorbed those forces, growing even more terrifying.

The Blackwater Prison was the most dangerous, and it was also the only Hell that Mu Lin did not fully control.

The Forbidden Powers sent by Mu Lin into this prison were also the most numerous and the most dangerous.

Their struggle with the Black River was bizarre and unfathomable.

To maintain observation of the Blackwater Prison and transmit Forbidden Power, Mu Lin continuously dispatched Clones to these areas.

His method of transmitting Forbidden Power was simple: most Anomaly Evil powers possessed an instinct or tendency to parasitize human bodies.

Given this, Mu Lin had his Paper Substitutes frantically absorb these powers.

As is well known, when Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figures were formed, they contained some quantum theory principles and possessed the ability to transmit energy.

Thus, Mu Lin could have one Paper Figure stand on land contaminated by evil and anomalous power, continuously absorbing this Anomaly power.

Then, he would have another Paper Figure stand within the Four Great Hells.

By connecting the two and relying on their energy transmission ability, Mu Lin could channel an endless stream of Anomaly Evil power into the Four Great Hells.

“It’s just a pity that this method causes significant wear and tear on the Paper Figures… but it doesn’t matter. My Paper Figure production has become an assembly line workshop. Even consuming three to five hundred a day won’t affect my usage of Paper Figures.”

Through this operation, Mu Lin acted like a water pump, drawing most of the Anomaly power into the Four Great Hells.

Of course, Mu Lin did this not merely for amusement, nor even solely to cleanse the Evil Spirits’ power and restore the Blessed Land to its original state.

His primary reason for doing this was to gain control over those anomalous powers.

With the Vow-Power Heart Lamp that commands all things, Mu Lin could forcibly dominate these anomalous powers.

But relying solely on himself would not only take a long time but also consume much of Mu Lin’s mental effort.

However, by borrowing the power of the Four Great Hells, everything became different.

Those Anomaly Evil powers would fight to the death with the Four Great Hells.

When both sides were weakened, that would be Mu Lin’s moment to reap the benefits.

This strategy was implemented most thoroughly by Mu Lin in the Blackwater Prison.

All powers that were difficult to digest or eradicate, Mu Lin would place within the Blackwater Prison, allowing it to carry out Dissolution and wear them down.

Then, when the Anomaly power was worn down to a certain extent, the seed of Mu Lin’s Overlord Divine Intent would take root within those Anomaly powers, claiming them as his own.

“Submit to me!”

Caught between two fronts, few Evil Aberration powers could resist.

And thus, Mu Lin gathered a collection of rather distinctive supernatural powers.

Among these, two powers left the deepest impression on Mu Lin.

One was named by Mu Lin as the Breath-Blowing Wind.

This wind contained the great power of time. When it blew, it could cause everything in the world to enter a state of decay and aging.

Even Mu Lin’s Paper Figure body, blown by this wind, became faded and powerless.

To transmit this wind into the Black River, Mu Lin successively lost a total of one hundred and nine Paper Figures.

In the end, this wind even churned the Black River into chaos.

Fortunately, this wind was ultimately rootless—it was merely a wisp of breath that came from beyond the heavens. In the end, it was defeated by the endless Black River.

Then, at the moment of its defeat, Mu Lin’s Overlord Divine Intent captured this wisp of Breath-Blowing Wind and fused it within the Candle Dragon’s breath.

From then on, the wind blown by the Candle Dragon could not only change the seasons but also extinguish the time of all living things, causing all things to decay.

The second power that caught Mu Lin’s attention was salt—Sin Salt, or perhaps Holy Salt.

This was a very peculiar power.

Mu Lin referred to it as Sin Salt, or rather Holy Salt, because this power was actually related to sin—specifically, the purification of sin.

Yes, you heard that right—purifying sin.

When facing evildoers, the more wicked deeds they had committed and the heavier the sin clinging to them, the greater the power of this salt.

It could easily turn certain sinners into pillars of salt.

Moreover, this salt could even purify many anomalies or forbidden powers, restoring all things to their original state.

Such characteristics seemed unproblematic and could hardly be considered a forbidden power.

However, when Mu Lin discovered it, he found that its most significant threat was the erosion of blessed lands.

The area originally controlled by the Agricultural Militia, spanning a thousand miles, had already been eroded by the power of Sin Salt, turning many blessed lands into saline-alkali wastelands.

Furthermore, any creature that set foot in this area or came into contact with the salt grains would be eroded by the power of Sin Salt, eventually turning into a pile of salt grains.

The reason for this situation was a flaw in Sin Salt’s judgment.

It was unclear what had caused it, but in the eyes of Sin Salt, all humans were sinners… no, to be precise, all living creatures were guilty.

As long as living beings existed, they had to eat to replenish energy. And whether they consumed plants or meat, in Sin Salt’s judgment, this was considered a sin.

Eating consistently over the years meant that a person was steeped in sin, beyond redemption.

(Vegetarians: “??? Isn’t that a bit too extreme?”)

As for the judgment of sin power, it was equally terrifying.

Spiritual energy was also deemed an evil force by Sin Salt’s power, requiring purification.

Thus, the area where Sin Salt existed was a land devoid of spiritual energy.

“This is somewhat terrifying. If it expands rapidly enough, it could even bring about the end of the world, turning everything into salt.”

Fortunately, this world was not ordinary. It possessed its own restraining force, which prevented Sin Salt’s expansion from being limitless.

Moreover, Mu Lin’s intervention dealt a heavy blow to Sin Salt.

In other places, Mu Lin used Substitute Paper Figures to gradually channel the power of anomaly evil into Hell.

When facing Sin Salt, Mu Lin directly transformed a Substitute Paper Figure into Ink Jiao – Hebo. Then, he summoned a massive amount of Black River Water to flush the saline-alkali land.

During this conflict, Mu Lin witnessed for the first time Black River Water being thwarted.

Initially, some of the Blackwater that entered the saline-alkali land was purified by the power of Sin Salt, turning into ordinary, powerless clear water.

“…”

“This salt indeed has its tricks.”

“But now, it belongs to me.”

While Black River Water was indeed thwarted, the collision with Blackwater also significantly weakened a large portion of Sin Salt.

Mu Lin, who had been observing the conflict, immediately used Vow Power Heart Flame to dominate and control some special salt grains.

Subsequently, he summoned even more Black River Water to flush the saline-alkali land while continuously dominating Sin Salt.

As his control over the power grew, within the Netherworld and the Cycle of Despair, Mu Lin’s Hell gained another addition.

Undoubtedly, it was the Salt Hell.

…

The acquisition of these two supernatural powers further enhanced Mu Lin’s strength.

At the same time, Mu Lin also discovered something.

The time required for him to advance to Earth Immortal had shortened from three months to—one month.

Such a situation was easily understood by Mu Lin.

“The Deities of the Underworld Pantheon are not merely faith gods. In my conception, they are a link in the cycle of the Three Realms. Their primary functions, aside from capturing souls and ghosts and judging the sins of the living, also include cooperating with earth deities to regulate the Earth Veins and maintaining the balance between the Yin-Yang Realms.”

“When external evils appear in the world, the Netherworld also serves as a place to eliminate these evils and digest their energies.”

Preventing the accumulation of Baleful Qi or other abnormalities in the world—this is the function of the Netherworld.

Undoubtedly, Mu Lin’s continuous cleansing of various accumulated evil and strange energies across the Northern Wastelands in recent days was akin to constantly healing the world and maintaining its equilibrium.

And the Heavenly Dao is supremely just; the more Mu Lin did, the more he naturally received in return.

Moreover, when he had previously proposed the City God theory, he had been marked by both the heavenly and earthly paths, making him a kind of unconventional Child of Destiny.

Thus, when Mu Lin achieved results, he was also more easily rewarded by the Heavenly Dao.

In recent days, Mu Lin had noticed that he was growing increasingly attuned to heaven and earth, and comprehending various laws during cultivation had become easier and easier.

He had even encountered situations where rare treasures came to him.

Continuously regulating the Earth Veins and cleansing the world’s abnormalities, Mu Lin actually discovered a hidden Secret Realm in one area.

And within this Secret Realm, there were actually valuable treasures.

…

While Mu Lin was regulating the Earth Veins and receiving the favor of the Heavenly Dao, the various deeds he had performed with the Agricultural Militia in Tianshi City, relayed back to the Black Fiend Legion and Thunderclap Legion by Mo Feng and Cai Tiancheng, also sparked a series of shockwaves and discussions.

(End of Chapter)