Chapter 50 – Spiritual Resonance: A Beautiful Fairytale World

In addition to enhanced endurance, reaching the Grandmaster level in Paper Folding brought Mu Lin two more benefits.

One was disguise. The lifelike quality at the Grandmaster level made Mu Lin’s Paper Figures nearly indistinguishable from himself. He could already use ordinary Paper Figures as Substitute Paper Figures for disguise (though they could only disguise him and could not transfer injuries).

The other was a boost in power.

The upper limit of the Paper Artisan Lineage lies in visualization.

The more terrifying the visualized object, the greater the power of the Paper Figures blown to life.

Currently, the upper limit of Mu Lin’s Paper Figures was the Yellow Turban Warrior, the Black-Blue Yaksha, and the growing Blackwater Profound Serpent—due to cultivating the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art and having triggered his bloodline inheritance several times, Mu Lin could now visualize the Blackwater Profound Serpent without relying on a True Intent Diagram, drawing upon the memories inherited through his bloodline.

However, visualization was one thing, reality another. Limited by materials and Mana, the Paper Figures Mu Lin breathed life into typically possessed only thirty to fifty percent of the power of the visualized Yellow Turban Warrior.

This was also a flaw of the Paper Artisan Lineage.

Fortunately, the Paper Artisan Lineage had ways to address this flaw. As the saying goes, when quality falls short, quantity makes up for it.

Because the materials were simple, Mu Lin and others could blow a large number of Paper Figures to life, engaging in righteous group beatdowns.

Moreover, the quality deficiency could also be compensated for, such as by replacing materials with better ones or enhancing them with Talismans and Arrays. However, doing so would increase the cost of the Paper Figures, making it difficult to continue with group beatdowns.

Therefore, ordinary Paper Artisans could not balance both quantity and quality.

But now, with Grandmaster-level Paper Crafting skills, Mu Lin had become an anomaly. Due to mental resonance, even without enhancement from Talismans or Arrays, his Paper Figures possessed fifty to eighty percent of the power of the visualized ones.

Even more terrifying was that the Paper Figures Mu Lin breathed life into not only had high quality but also consumed fewer resources than those of ordinary Paper Artisans.

“I feel like I can take on the Tower Challenge right now.”

“…Forget it, I’d better wait a bit longer. Going when fully prepared will allow me to reach higher floors.”

After testing the enhancements Grandmaster-level Paper Crafting brought to his Paper Figures, Mu Lin immediately resumed his cultivation.

His Main Body was cultivating the Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art and the Mindscape – Sky Burial City.

One of his two Clones was targeting Mu Lin himself, practicing the Paper Figure Curse.

The other was folding a Fairytale Manor for Chu Lingluo.

Having substitutes handle the busy work—this was the solution Mu Lin had devised.

However, because it was a split soul, the Substitute Paper Figure’s intelligence was not high. It could complete the tasks assigned by Mu Lin but could not answer others’ questions.

Moreover, having the Main Body cultivate while the Clone handled busy work seemed somewhat disrespectful to the client. If it were Yan Yunyu, she would definitely be dissatisfied, which was why Mu Lin had been hesitant and conflicted before.

Fortunately, Mu Lin was serving Chu Lingluo this time. Compared to Yan Yunyu, she was much gentler and more accommodating.

What Mu Lin didn’t expect was that Chu Lingluo not only gave him leeway in his work but could also assist him in his cultivation.

To effectively train in the Paper Figure Curse Technique, Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figure was cursing him with all its might, which inevitably led to Mu Lin getting injured.

In fact, because the Paper Figure Curse had been upgraded and its power was too strong, Mu Lin was forced to snap out of his cultivation midway due to severe injuries.

“My body can’t hold on any longer. I need to recover for a while…”

Looking at his weakened body, Mu Lin gave a bitter smile. He hadn’t expected to be unable to withstand a curse at the 2nd level of proficiency.

“Could it be that I need to find some small animals to curse? But cursing small animals would inevitably slow down the rate of proficiency improvement…”

While Mu Lin was deep in thought, the kind-hearted Chu Lingluo, seeing him covered in injuries, couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master Mu, are you alright? Are you sure you don’t need me to help treat you?”

The word “treat” made Mu Lin’s eyes light up.

“Of course, if it’s not too much trouble, I’d appreciate your help.”

“Hehe, it’s no trouble at all. My Spring Return Art also needs injured people to practice on. But I’m afraid of pain and don’t have your resilience, Young Master Mu, nor do I want to harm small animals. In the past, I could only go to the city to treat people’s wounds and illnesses for free. Now, with you as my target, things will be much easier for me.”

With her clear voice, Chu Lingluo clasped her hands together in a prayer-like gesture and released the healing spell—Spring Return Art.

  ”Hum…”

As the spell’s light enveloped him, Mu Lin’s injuries began to heal at a visible rate.

Soon, Mu Lin’s body was completely restored.

But that wasn’t the end. The next moment, with her hands still clasped, Chu Lingluo released two more spells. One was similar to Purification Art; as its light enveloped him, Mu Lin’s phantom pains and mental fatigue were dispelled.

The last spell was a mystical art for restoring energy… Green light filled Mu Lin’s body, replenishing both his energy and vitality.

After the three spells were cast, Mu Lin’s condition immediately returned to a perfect state.

“?!?”

The sheer power of Chu Lingluo’s supportive abilities was something Mu Lin had never imagined, and for the first time, he looked at her with intense desire.

‘Such abilities would be a tremendous help to me, whether in combat or daily cultivation. I could invite her to be my teammate.’

‘But would she agree?’

‘The ominous Yin Eight Gates inheritance, humble origins, and a Third-Class Spirit Root—none of these are good choices for forming a team.’

After hesitating for a moment, Mu Lin ultimately decided not to extend the invitation.

He planned to wait until after the Tower Challenge, when he had achieved some results, before inviting her. That way, the likelihood of Chu Lingluo agreeing would be higher.

Nevertheless, the two continued their cultivation together.

Mu Lin practiced Mindscape – Sky Burial City, Desires Heart Lamp, Blackwater Profound Serpent Mortal Shedding Art, and Paper Figure Curse Art.

Chu Lingluo, meanwhile, cultivated her wood-element cultivation method and used the injured Mu Lin to repeatedly practice her spells.

During breaks in their cultivation, Mu Lin discussed the construction of the Fairytale Manor with Chu Lingluo.

—Grateful for Chu Lingluo’s treatment, Mu Lin spared no effort in creating the Fairytale Manor.

Drawing inspiration from the concept of the World Tree from his previous life, he crafted a massive tree city.

The tree city was centered around the World Tree, upon which numerous castle-like structures were embedded.

With his Grandmaster-level artistic sense, Mu Lin’s tree city was a perfect fusion of humanity and nature. Within the tree city, he also created countless adorable and endearing little animals.

Some of these animals were real, while others were classic fantasies from his previous life.

Like Pikachu, Sylveon, mermaids, swans, and various princesses from fairy tales…

These fantastical creations filled the World Tree with a fairy-tale atmosphere.

And the resonance of the heart made this fairy-tale ambiance of the World Tree truly magical.

While crafting, Mu Lin, fully immersed, would unconsciously recall the fairy tales from his past life. These thoughts transformed into heartfelt emotions, pouring into the animals and the inhabitants of the tree city as he worked.

This infusion gave every person in the tree city their own story.

And these stories were not mundane but timeless fairy tales passed down for hundreds or even thousands of years.

The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, The Little Match Girl, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Little Prince…

Through the wondrous resonance of the heart, even ordinary people, if they gazed at the tree city long enough, would glimpse fleeting scenes of exquisite fairy tales before their eyes.

These diverse and enchanting tales made Chu Lingluo feel as if she were swimming through an ocean of fairy-tale worlds every time she admired them.

(End of Chapter)