Chapter 372
by fanqienovelChapter 372: Deity of Mount Zhong, the Dragon of the Candle (Please subscribe, please vote)
“Roar!”
Mu Lin’s advancement started with his physical body.
The core of his physical cultivation was the Black Water Mystic Serpent’s Transformation Technique, a low-grade Earth-level cultivation method found by Mu Lin in the Taoist Palace’s Scripture Pavilion at Anping Taoist Palace.
Though originally a common method with modest power, Mu Lin’s repeated upgrades and transformations had reshaped it entirely.
The first evolution turned serpent to flood dragon. The second, through nine skin sheddings, unlocked the potential to become a true dragon.
The third shift came after obtaining the Crimson Holy Grail—by refining his blood endlessly, he gained the ability to transform into a true dragon.
It was then that Mu Lin first envisioned merging his body’s powers to ascend to the Zhu Long form.
The deity of Mount Zhong, named Zhu Yin, opens eyes for day, closes them for night, breathes out winter and inhales summer. It neither drinks, eats, nor rests—its breath becomes the wind. Its body spans a thousand miles.
These were the three evolutions of Mu Lin’s technique… until yesterday, when the fourth arrived.
Integrating the Devouring Serpent’s essence and the tail-biting serpent’s mystery reshaped his Zhu Long form—no longer draconic, but serpentine.
A man-faced serpent.
And this serpent coiled tightly, head gripping tail.
“Shedding dragonhood to be reborn as a serpent? After circling so long… I return to where I began.”
Mu Lin sighed… but felt no sorrow.
Though ordinary serpents paled beside dragons, at the peak of power, they stood equal.
Dragons had progenitors: the five-clawed golden dragon, Yinglong. Serpents boasted Nuwa, creator of life; Houtu, ruler of rebirth; and the tail-biting serpent that spawned worlds.
“By this measure, serpents outrank dragons.”
“Many dragons across realms originated from serpents anyway…”
As an artificial dragon-serpent, Mu Lin cared little about which came first.
A brief chuckle, then his focus returned to advancement.
“Hiss!”
During his Transformation advancement, Xuan Huang’s energy and all his mastered abilities fused into his flesh.
The sheer magnitude of his energy and laws merging caused explosive growth.
In his man-faced serpent form, this didn’t make him colossal—just endlessly lengthening.
Seventy meters… eighty… ninety… one hundred… three hundred… five hundred… seven hundred… a thousand…
Within moments, Mu Lin stretched eleven kilometers long.
Eleven kilometers.
Raw power flooded his coiled form.
He felt certain he could strangle mountains to dust with this body alone.
"Such immense power… this is the benefit of a solid foundation. Without three hundred sixty-five units of high-level resources, I could never have achieved my Transformation advancement and gained this eleven-kilometer-long body."
Alongside raw strength, Mu Lin’s abilities fused into his flesh, granting his body supernatural traits.
The Cycle of Life and Death’s powers—shifting light and darkness, life and death, illusion and reality—merged into Mu Lin’s eyes. This allowed him to turn day into night with a glance, kill by sight, or trap others in endless despair.
The True Spirit Domain Chart transformed into a dragon pearl, clutched in the jaws of Mu Lin’s man-faced serpent form.
Having evolved into a secret world through Xuan Huang’s energy, this dragon pearl now held a miniature realm within it. Striking enemies with it could shatter mountains and split the earth.
Other abilities, like his dominion over flame, merged into Zhu Long’s rank, marking the serpent as a natural ruler commanding countless subjects—though Mu Lin himself cared little for such titles.
His innate mastery of water manifested as swirling patterns etched into his skin. Observant individuals could glean hidden truths simply by studying these markings.
The Central Earth Evil seeped into every part of Mu Lin—bones, scales, blood—granting them an Unchanging nature and Immunity to All Methods.
Essences wove across his skin as intricate designs…
This fusion of powers brought staggering changes during Mu Lin’s evolution. His physical Transformation advancement caused his strength to skyrocket.
Yet these breakthroughs inevitably caused mutations affecting all of Yuzhou City.
Though Mu Lin tried to hide it:
His eleven-kilometer frame would’ve overwhelmed Yuhu Academy. He coiled tightly, head-to-tail, but still loomed like a hill.
His day-night power—eyes open for daylight, closed for darkness—now acted reflexively. Still unaccustomed to his new abilities, Mu Lin blinked repeatedly, making Yuzhou’s sky flicker between noon and midnight.
“Why’s the sun up again?”
“Dark… light… some senior’s amusing themselves?”
Most citizens stayed calm. With countless powerful beings gathered for the North-South conflict, many assumed it was mere playfulness from a bored expert.
Then the skies shifted again.
Torrents of black rain fell, dissolving whatever they touched. Gale-force winds carrying glacial cold swept from Yuhu Academy—not battering bodies, but tearing at souls.
People staggered as their spirits strained against mortal shells.
“Splash…”
“Hiss…”
Terror spread as cultivators realized: this was no ordinary storm.
That was an eerie wind capable of scattering souls—the chill felt by the cultivators wasn’t physical, but an ice cold piercing their very spirits.
“Hss…”
“Senior, stop! This will kill people!”
【Breath of the Wind】
Mu Lin wasn’t the Zhongshan Dragon after all. While some of his abilities mirrored the dragon’s, others were uniquely his own.
The soul-scattering gale and the corrosive black rain, for example, were Mu Lin’s innate gifts.
His ability to create cycles through the Ouroboros Sword and birth pearls also distinguished him from Zhu Long.
…
The shifting black-and-white skies, along with the black rain and eerie wind, caused widespread turmoil.
Luckily, Mu Lin resided in Yuhu Academy—a place sparsely populated by powerful beings who endured the initial onslaught.
More crucially, both Yuhu Academy and Yuzhou City were shielded by a city-wide formation.
When the danger became apparent, the formation activated instantly.
“Hum!”
The massive formation effortlessly neutralized the celestial phenomena. Meanwhile, a figure stepped forward and shouted skyward:
“Senior, cease this mischief! Things will spiral out of control!”
The speaker was Ji Hongyu, deputy commander of the Demon Exorcism Division, tasked with maintaining order.
The erratic day-night cycle, torrential rain, and soul-threatening wind had thrown Yuzhou City into chaos. She now warned the prankster ‘senior’ to stop.
Of course, Mu Lin couldn’t halt—his entire focus was on his advancement.
His utter disregard infuriated Ji Hongyu further.
“Hmph! Since you reject polite requests, you’ll face consequences!”
Within Yuzhou City, Ji Hongyu’s authority was absolute. Even Ji Yu, the East Sea King’s third heir, fled after attempting to assassinate Mu Lin.
Though the Demon Suppression Army wouldn’t risk war with the East Sea King for Mu Lin’s sake, they’d gladly imprison Ji Yu for decades if he stayed—solidifying Mu Lin’s loyalty.
But once Ji Yu retreated to the East Sea Kingdom, the Army’s hands were tied.
…
The current chaos reminded Ji Hongyu of Yuzhou City’s recent strife. The human race’s internal conflicts during crises deepened her frustration.
Determined, she resolved to apprehend the troublemaking ‘senior’ and make him pay—preferably in Spirit Stones.
While plotting, she traced the disturbances’ origin.
Mu Lin’s advancing aura made this easy. Within moments, she pinpointed Yuhu Academy—specifically, Mu Lin’s quarters.
She’d visited his residence days earlier during an assassination attempt, though the Ouroboros Sword had rendered her assistance unnecessary.
Now, detecting the anomalies from his home, panic surged.
“Another attack on Mu Lin? How brazen! East Sea King, do you scorn the Southeast Province and Demon Exorcism Division?”
Burning vitality, she hurtled toward Mu Lin’s location.
She never considered Mu Lin himself as the cause. The scale—affecting a city a hundred times larger than Ping An Ancient Town—required unimaginable power.
To her, Mu Lin remained a prodigy, not a true powerhouse. Since the anomalies emanated from him, she assumed assassins had struck again.