Chapter 338

Chapter 338: Blood Cherry: Wind Spirit Shadow Moon, Activate!

Under Mu Lin’s gaze, Blood Cherry slowly told her story.

"The Blood Cherry in my hand isn’t a spiritual weapon inherited from the Ge family like the rumors claim. I obtained it by accident…"

This was a classic tale – a discarded branch family member stumbling upon a precious artifact through chance, one that could upgrade through slaughter. Change the genders and make the family more villainous, and it’d read like a standard fantasy novel.

Though Blood Cherry was a magical blade that strengthened through killing, it also slowly corrupted its wielder into madness. This dual nature made the story both compelling and legendary.

Still, mere corruption wouldn’t necessarily drive Blood Cherry to seek Mu Lin’s help. The key lay in how she fused with the blade.

When she obtained the magical blade, Blood Cherry hadn’t been alone. Her elder sister had touched it first. The sister partially succeeded – while her body perished, her soul merged with the blade through the Ge family’s simpler cultivation methods, becoming a hidden spirit within the weapon. This bond allowed Blood Cherry to control the blade.

Incidentally, the sister’s true name was Ying. The girl before Mu Lin was actually called Ling. She adopted her sister’s name to prevent Ying from being forgotten after the sacrifice.

After mastering the blade, the Ge family rediscovered Blood Cherry and devoted resources to train her. Ying and Ling jointly wielded the magical blade – an arrangement that might’ve worked if not for the corruption.

With the Ge family’s support, Blood Cherry barely resisted the blade’s influence. But Ying’s soul, fully merged with the high-rank weapon and lacking physical form, couldn’t withstand the corruption. Now only fragments of her consciousness remained.

This desperate situation drove Blood Cherry to Mu Lin. She needed rapid growth to fully control the blade before her sister vanished completely.

Mu Lin welcomed her recruitment. Unlike Yan Yunyu who needed carrying, this true prodigy could actually advance his True Spirit Domain Chart while bringing along a magical blade. His only hesitation concerned the Ge family’s stance.

"The blade’s incredibly valuable. Will your family really permit this?"

"The future celestial master still fears trouble?" Blood Cherry laughed. "They’ve been urging me to approach you since Ping An Ancient County. This arrangement suits them perfectly."

"Then welcome aboard." Mu Lin extended his hand. "I’ll help you master that blade."

“Thank you.”

……

With Blood Cherry’s active cooperation as the blade’s master, merging her and the magical blade into the True Spirit Domain Chart became straightforward.

Of course, the Ge family’s seal also contributed greatly.

That seal stopped the murderous blade from corrupting Blood Cherry and prevented it from resisting Mu Lin’s True Spirit Domain Chart.

As Mu Lin had anticipated, once the magical blade Blood Cherry joined the chart, his Asura gained the ability to upgrade through slaughter.

Since the True Spirit Domain Chart functioned as a single entity, Mu Lin’s Yin soldiers, ghost officials, and civil and military judges all inherited this killing-based enhancement.

What troubled Mu Lin was how this "upgrade through slaughter" essentially meant seizing everything from the defeated to fuel one’s own growth.

Because of this, only by slaying real creatures could his Yin soldiers, ghost officials, and Asura grow stronger—destroying illusions yielded nothing.

Another concern was that power gained through slaughter remained unstable.

Previously, after each kill, Blood Cherry had to pause to refine this foreign energy. Without doing so, even if her body didn’t rupture from conflicting forces, her magic would become tainted.

“It’s far from a flawless slaughter system, but it’s still potent for rapid growth… Besides, the second flaw barely affects me now.”

Mu Lin then examined his second Refined essence—Chaos Origin Essence.

This terrifying essence could assimilate most foreign energies.

During its refinement, several divine positions in his True Spirit Domain Chart had been completely overtaken.

Surprisingly, despite its dangers, refining it hadn’t been difficult.

He’d merged black river water with Chaos Origin Essence.

One dissolved foreign forces, the other devoured all—similar abilities destined to clash violently.

Their battle created an opening.

Mu Lin balanced them like adjusting dough, adding more black river water to offset excess Chaos Origin Essence and vice versa.

Once equilibrium was achieved, he used willing heart fire to subjugate both weakened forces.

“Still a genius.”

This method worked solely for Mu Lin.

Chaos Origin Essence and black river water were catastrophic when unbalanced, constantly vying for dominance.

Mu Lin’s immense reserves let him endure their clashes, but others lacking his True Spirit Domain Chart and hundredfold foundational strength would’ve been destroyed instantly.

“A solid foundation truly pays off…”

……

Controlling both Chaos Origin Essence and black river water benefited Mu Lin greatly.

Even better, Chaos Origin Essence’s assimilative power perfectly synergized with slaughter-fueled growth.

The two worked together, one killing and one merging, truly hinting at the possibility of upgrading through slaughter.

"My Zhong Kui originally had ghost-devouring abilities by keeping the bright red wine gourd inside his body," Mu Lin mused. "Combined with Blood Cherry’s plundering through slaughter and Chaos Origin Essence, he can now grow stronger by consuming ghosts… Is this some mythical revival?"

……

The Yin soldiers, ghost officials, and civil-military judges extended Mu Lin’s influence. Their ability to strengthen through killing meant one thing—sending these forces into battle would make them increasingly powerful.

Their growth directly reflected in the True Spirit Domain Chart, ultimately enhancing Mu Lin himself.

"So all I need now is to keep dispatching my Yin soldiers, ghost officials, and judges to hunt ghosts while I reap the benefits?"

Mu Lin’s heartbeat quickened as he considered this.

"Instead of training alone, countless ghostly subordinates work for me. Expanding the True Spirit Domain Chart to 480 million positions actually seems achievable now."

"Though 480 million’s excessive. First target: 129,600 divine positions."

Mu Lin felt he’d glimpsed his future path, excitement surging through him.

Beside him, Blood Cherry mirrored his exhilaration.

She’d originally joined Mu Lin merely to control the magical blade and preserve her sister’s soul. But after entering the True Spirit Domain Chart, she realized how modest her ambitions had been.

Her first gain came through blade mastery. Mu Lin’s high rank, abundant energy, solid foundation, and powerful willing heart fire pushed her control of the magical blade to the fourth stage—Transformation Realm. All permissions flowed to Blood Cherry, granting her instant Transformation Realm mastery.

This proved merely the foundation.

Next came absorption of high-level resources. The True Spirit Domain Chart granted her traces of Chaos Origin Essence’s properties, easing foreign energy refinement during slaughter. Mu Lin’s fused essences multiplied her benefits—Central Earth Evil’s Unchanging nature boosted her magic and physique, while Great Luo Merging Heaven made her blade nearly undetectable, perfect for assassination.

Most crucially, Aurora Essence’s purification strengthened both her soul and her sister’s while cleansing corruption.

"Thank you… thank you…" Blood Cherry trembled with gratitude, her wildest hopes surpassed.

Mu Lin remained composed. "Repay me through loyal service and diligent training."

"I’ll become your sharpest blade!"

……

With her sister stabilized, Blood Cherry focused on growth—all cultivators crave strength. Deeper inspection of her enhancements left her staring at Mu Lin in awe.

The first two upgrades seemed incredible enough, but the Slaughtering Blade’s synergy with Crimson Holy Grail redefined power beyond her imagination.

"Such power exists?"

"This breaks all rules!"

Understanding the connection between magical blade Blood Cherry and Crimson Holy Grail left her reeling. Yet this rule-shattering power now belonged to her.