Chapter 453 – The Corrupted Holy Maiden

The infinitely violent power of the Earthquake converged within Mu Lin’s body, giving him a sensation as if he were about to burst.

Yet, at the same time, an invincible feeling also arose in Mu Lin’s heart.

“Now, my power is limitless, capable of shattering everything!”

Without a doubt, Mu Lin did not possess the power to shatter everything. The sudden, excessive surge of strength merely gave him an illusion—a form of arrogance.

For ordinary people, such an arrogant mindset was not a good thing. It would cause them to lose sight of their true selves, leading to calamity.

But Mu Lin had the Vow-Power Heart Lamp, and the emotion he used to ignite it was precisely arrogance.

Thus, his infinitely inflated mentality caused the Vow Power Heart Flame in his Sea of Consciousness to blaze brightly.

This flame burned fiercely, greatly strengthening Mu Lin’s will and divine sense.

At this moment, Mu Lin’s invincible will was as scorching and dazzling as the sun.

Then, this ‘sun’ was hurled by Mu Lin toward Kang Yan, the Holy Maiden of the Nightmare Clan.

“Woman, taste my Overlord God Fist!”

“Boom!”

“No!!”

From a great distance, even before the ultimate fist intent struck, the overwhelming, sun-like Overlord Divine Sense made Kang Yan feel utterly powerless to resist.

“If struck by this fist, I will die on the spot.”

Understanding this, Kang Yan dared not even entertain a thought of blocking it.

She retreated frantically, trying to escape the lock and obliteration of this Dominating Will.

Unfortunately, escape was impossible.

Mu Lin’s fist came too swiftly and too fast!

Before she could flee far, the sun-like divine fist caught up to her and, with an unstoppable force, overwhelmingly crushed her Divine Soul!

“Domain·Courtyard of Sorrow!”

Realizing she could not escape, Kang Yan did not simply await death. Instead, she unleashed her strongest ability—the Courtyard of Sorrow.

That was her Domain, a illusory Secret Realm world she had created within dreams.

After pulling an enemy’s soul into the Courtyard of Sorrow, Kang Yan could influence those souls and, like a Puppet Master, manipulate the souls within the courtyard to enact tragedies.

With this ability, she had secretly killed many foes and turned the souls of numerous enemies into her Puppets.

However, no matter how exquisite such a courtyard might be, to Mu Lin, it was far too petty.

Without even a glance, the Overlord God Fist Mu Lin unleashed crushed toward the courtyard with an invincible momentum.

“Boom!”

As the Overlord God Fist swept over, the courtyard was immediately flattened and shattered by Mu Lin’s fist intent.

As for the Puppets Kang Yan controlled within the courtyard, they were like mantis arms trying to stop a chariot—crushed in passing.

Then, the relentless Overlord Divine Intent continued its advance, soon reaching Kang Yan’s soul.

“Ahh!!”

The moment the two made contact, Kang Yan let out a piercing, agonized scream.

Her Divine Soul, her true spirit—all felt as if they were bubbles exposed to the sun, on the verge of shattering.

In no time at all, her Divine Soul would completely dissipate like a bubble.

However, just as Mu Lin thought his divine intent would crush Kang Yan to death…

When her soul was severely damaged, the aura of a Spirit Tool suddenly emerged from within Kang Yan’s soul.

It was a hazy veil. Once the veil shrouded Kang Yan’s soul, Mu Lin frowned, realizing that Kang Yan’s presence… had abruptly vanished.

Moreover, his unique dual pupils allowed Mu Lin to realize with astonishment that Kang Yan’s disappearance was not merely ordinary concealment or spatial teleportation—she had vanished from the current timeline.

“???”

“What is this ability that allows her to evade through the timeline?”

Although Mu Lin reacted swiftly, clenching his fist the moment Kang Yan’s aura vanished and causing his Overlord Divine Intent to explode violently, the erupting divine power still failed to harm Kang Yan, who had retreated into the timeline.

Only after a dozen breaths did Kang Yan’s figure reappear in the far distance. Upon reappearing, her complexion was deathly pale—clearly, using that technique was not easy for her.

After narrowly dodging the attack, she lacked even the courage to face Mu Lin directly and hastily fled.

This scene drew a cold snort from Mu Lin.

“Flee? Where can you possibly escape to?”

Saying this, Mu Lin did not pursue her or throw another punch. It was not out of pity for her, but rather… crack, crack…

This body of his was already nearing its limit.

After all, it was merely a cheap Substitute Paper Figure. Even with Mu Lin’s various enhancements and the transfer of the damage it bore, the powerful recoil from throwing two punches had shattered the paper figure.

Even if the body had remained intact, Mu Lin likely would not have pursued her anyway.

“My Overlord Divine Intent is not so easily endured… Can you truly withstand it?”

“Crack…”

After murmuring this in his heart, Mu Lin’s Paper Substitute completely shattered, turning into a cloud of dust that scattered into the air.

However, even though Mu Lin’s “body” had shattered, no one believed he was truly dead.

At the same time, his dominance and overbearingness were deeply imprinted in the minds of many demons and monsters, filling them with awe.

As a result, even after Mu Lin departed, none dared to move against his soldiers.

In fact, over the next two or three days, facing the Three Great Legions sweeping through with Mu Lin’s authority, the various demonic monsters and alien races dared not resist them at all.

Fearing that Mu Lin might reappear, they often fled at the mere sight of approaching humans.

Such fear made Mu Lin and his forces’ actions proceed even more smoothly.

In just two or three days, they reclaimed most of the territory. Now, within the domains of the Three Great Legions, only Nightmare Heaven, shrouded in boundless darkness, remained.

At this point, however, Mu Lin and his allies grew even more cautious.

The reason for this was that Mu Lin’s actions had sparked collective fear among the evil spirits of the Northern Region—not just those within the territories of the Three Great Legions, but demons and monsters from other areas also feared Mu Lin.

The demonic fiends capable of occupying territories were, to humans, cruel and malevolent but not foolish.

Mu Lin’s earth-shattering punch from days earlier had left everyone wary.

When they learned of Mu Lin’s age and the duration of his cultivation, that wariness deepened into profound fear.

“At such a young age, with only two or three years of cultivation, he already possesses such strength. If he continues to cultivate… gasp… No, we absolutely cannot allow Mu Lin to survive…”

Driven by extreme fear, they dreaded the prospect of Mu Lin continuing to grow stronger—these alien realm evil spirits clearly understood that after eliminating the threat of Nightmare Heaven, Mu Lin would not stop.

Moreover, their strength was already only on par with human legions from other regions.

Under this balanced situation, if Mu Lin were to join, it would inevitably break the current equilibrium, allowing humanity to completely gain the upper hand.

At that point, all of them would either become slaves or vassals, or they could only die!

Unwilling to face such a fate, driven by the crisis of life and death, these demons and evil spirits have united.

Many powerful beings have infiltrated Night Demon Heaven, awaiting the attack from Mu Lin and his companions.

Aware of this, Mu Lin naturally would not act rashly.

As for why Mu Lin is so well-informed about this, it is because… he has an insider, and one of extremely high status at that.

Nightmare Heaven, the Realm of Illusory Dreams—this is the dwelling place of the Nightmare Clan.

The Nightmare Clan, which feeds on nightmares and various negative emotions, also has a fondness for darkness, which is why they have allied with the Night Demon Clan for many years.

At this moment, in an exquisite room within the Realm of Illusory Dreams, the Holy Maiden of the Nightmare Clan, Kang Yan, is recuperating from her injuries.

—Although she escaped, her Divine Soul was ultimately grazed by Mu Lin’s fist intent, leaving her severely injured and in need of rest. On the surface, this seemed unremarkable.

However, if anyone were to enter Kang Yan’s room, they would discover that her condition is far from well.

Curled up on the bed, she has already entered an illusory dream.

Dreams should, in theory, be Kang Yan’s domain. As someone who enters dreams to recuperate, she should appear relaxed and at ease.

Yet at this moment, her expression is filled with pain.

Soft murmurs continuously escape her lips.

“Leave my Divine Soul courtyard, I will never yield!”

—In the illusory dream of her mind, the lingering fist intent of Mu Lin is like a radiant sun, illuminating everything.

The illumination of this sun does not harm Kang Yan, but as an Expert in Divine Soul, she feels with horror that her Divine Soul… is being tainted by Mu Lin’s domineering divine will.

Her soul spirit, her thoughts, are gradually taking on the shape of Mu Lin’s.

She is about to become Mu Lin’s slave, his dependent.

“I will never become someone else’s slave, never!”

Thinking of a future where she could only kneel at Mu Lin’s feet, subjected to his arbitrary humiliation and manipulation, Kang Yan feels a shudder of fear.

As the Holy Maiden, she has witnessed the miserable conditions of many slaves.

For this reason, she absolutely refuses to become one.

(End of Chapter)