Chapter 497

Chapter 497: Mu Lin: You Made the Wrong Choice

Powerful clans often possessed hidden legacies—these could be mighty spiritual weapons or ancestors kept under seal.

For the sealed ancestors, there were two methods depending on their state. The first was simple: break the seal and let the ancestor drag their ruined body to perish alongside enemies.

The second method was the resurrection ceremony.

Through secret techniques, clans could use a young member’s body as a Vessel, allowing their ancestor’s soul to seize it.

The Dongfang clan had chosen this resurrection ceremony.

Now Mu Lin finally understood. His teacher had remarkable talent and noble lineage, yet her cultivation remained stuck at Condensing Essence and Refining the Evil.

She’d known her fate all along. She hadn’t cultivated properly.

Today was both the ceremony’s commencement and the day Dongfang Ya’s soul would vanish.

Luckily, Mu Lin arrived just as the ritual began. He stormed in without hiding.

“Who’s there?”

His abrupt entrance drew shouts from the Dongfang clan. Blades and spiritual weapons were leveled at him.

Mu Lin merely glanced their way. Those holding weapons crumpled to the ground.

Wielder of the powers of life, he understood death intimately.

A single look could kill now.

This enraged the Dongfang cultivators.

“Insolent wretch! You dare disrupt the Dongfang clan? Die!”

“You think the Dongfang clan is weak?”

“Hmph! Our long seclusion has made vermin bold enough to invade—”

Mu Lin’s youth deceived them. They saw only humiliation, not danger.

Blinded by rage, many attacked without hesitation, seeking his death.

They died instantly.

A glance severed their lives. True Spirits scattered like smoke.

Mu Lin walked forward, slaughtering without lifting a finger. Eyes alone cleared his path.

Only then did the clan grasp their peril.

On the altar, Dongfang Ya and the clan elders finally noticed the disturbance.

Shouts erupted from the platform.

“Stop!”

“Cease fighting at once!”

The voices belonged to the Dongfang family’s leader and Dongfang Ya.

Mu Lin ignored the former. For the latter, he paused.

Mu Lin stopped his killing, but he kept walking straight toward the altar.

To his surprise, the Dongfang clan leader didn’t block him, instead wearing a conflicted expression.

“Mu Lin… you came.”

Hearing his name spoken, Mu Lin hesitated briefly before his face hardened.

“You know me? Then why use my teacher as sacrifices?”

“Heh. You’ve insulted me.”

His icy tone enraged the Dongfang cultivators.

“Respect you? Who do you think you are?”

“We’re one of the West Wilderness’s Eight Great Families! Even weakened, we’re beyond your judgment!”

“Without the forbidden zone’s curse, you’d never set foot here!”

Their shouts didn’t anger Mu Lin—he felt puzzled instead.

How could they dare speak this way? Even if his godhood inheritance wasn’t public yet, his reversal of North Wilderness’s fate was legendary across the human race…

“Wait. That victory was recent. With this era’s poor communication, southern regions might not know.”

Powerful clans had their information networks—most southern cultivators learned of his triumph immediately. But the Dongfang clan? Isolated by their rituals, their ignorance made sense.

“No wonder they disregard me. Losers stay losers.”

Losing interest in them, Mu Lin focused on Dongfang Ya atop the altar.

Through the Goddess of Life’s rank, he saw the truth—her stunted growth wasn’t from curses, but clan suppression. They kept her childlike form to better host their female ancestral spirit.

Her cultivation wasn’t neglected either. All her power nurtured her body, not advancing her realm.

Frowning deeper, he demanded, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“This is my choice. Dongfang business isn’t yours.”

Her cold reply masked the secret Whisper she sent the clan leader—intercepted by Mu Lin:

‘Father, let him leave. If you attack him when the spirit comes… I’ll fight you.’

Hearing her anxious Whisper, Mu Lin understood—she still thought him a mere Transformation or Earth Immortal cultivator. Her icy act aimed to protect him.

A bitter smile touched his lips.

“Master… can’t you trust me?”

“Trust? You think you alone can challenge the Dongfang clan?”

“And even if you could solve our problems, could you help us deal with the curses in our bodies and the enemies from the forbidden zone?”

The speaker now wasn’t Dongfang Ya, but the clearly distraught Dongfang Clan Leader.

As for why he’d become so unhinged… Mu Lin knew well.

This father had personally turned his daughter into a Vessel, yet here was Mu Lin – an outsider – saving her instead.

The upside-down situation made this still-somewhat-human man seethe with powerless rage.

Mu Lin sensed the man’s boiling anger and frustration, but didn’t care.

To the question, Mu Lin answered flatly:

“Your Dongfang clan is just a bunch of failures. Crushing you would take less effort than flipping my hand.”

“As for your forbidden zone troubles – I could’ve helped before, but that time’s passed…”

With that, Mu Lin ignored him to focus on Dongfang Ya.

“You chose to become this Vessel?”

“Yes. This body was born and raised by the Dongfang clan. Since they need it, I’ll return it.”

“…”

To Dongfang Ya’s surprise, Mu Lin didn’t argue.

“You’re right. This body should be returned to the Dongfang clan.”

“Huh…?”

Dongfang Ya blinked in confusion.

As she marveled at his unexpected compliance, Mu Lin struck.

“Hmm!”

His powers of life flared. A drop of vital blood flew from Dongfang Ya’s body.

A wisp of her True Spirit’s essence followed.

Clutching both, Mu Lin descended the altar. Before leaving, he coldly told the clan:

“You could’ve had a better fate. Pity you chose wrong.”

“…”

Mu Lin’s absolute confidence froze their protests – briefly. Then the outcry came:

“Bastard! You don’t decide the Dongfang clan’s future!”

“We’re one of the West Wilderness’ Eight Great Families!”

Though furious, the clan members stayed rooted – cowed by Mu Lin’s aura and their leader’s silence. They could only watch Mu Lin step aside.

The Dongfang Clan Leader and elders rushed to check Dongfang Ya. Finding her essence intact, they hurried to resume the resurrection ceremony.

Meanwhile, Mu Lin channeled divine energy. Flesh reknit… forming a new body for Dongfang Ya – that of a young girl barely seven winters old.

Controlling the powers of life was nearly effortless for Mu Lin.

He could create adult bodies too.

But he hadn’t forgotten Dongfang Ya’s earlier distrust, and this child-like form served as his petty revenge.

After completing the body, Mu Lin inserted Dongfang Ya’s wisp of True Spirit into the new vessel… He also pulled her consciousness over using the Substitute Paper Figure technique.

Thus, the dying Dongfang Ya was Revived.

When her consciousness stirred, a laughing voice echoed in her ears:

"Teacher Dongfang, you repaid your birth family by becoming their Vessel. What will you give me for granting you this second assessment?"

Mu Lin’s words made Dongfang Ya roll her eyes.

The childish gesture looked oddly charming from her youthful form.

As Mu Lin watched his teacher’s reaction, her resigned voice spoke:

"You were already stronger than me before. Now that you can perform such miracles, I’ve become useless to you."

Mu Lin chuckled:

"Not at all, teacher. I still need your guidance."

While they talked beside the altar, the Dongfang clan conducted their resurrection ceremony above it. They felt relieved when Mu Lin’s blood-taking didn’t disrupt the ritual – their ancestors’ spirits were successfully possessing Dongfang Ya’s body.

"The Seventh Ancestor lives! Our Dongfang family is saved!"

"That dreadful curse will finally lift…"

"We’ll reclaim our lands and resources!"

The revived ancestor held the Heavenly Master realm. Though currently weak in Dongfang Ya’s fragile body, even a wounded Heavenly Master could restore their clan’s power after recovery.

This development boosted the Dongfang clan’s morale and rising value. Some members now glared at Mu Lin. Earlier, they’d feared the man who could kill with a glance, but their ancestor’s revival emboldened them.

Grieving clansmen knelt before the ancestor, demanding justice:

"Seventh Ancestor! We suffered terrible humiliations while you slept. Even our children were slain!"

The ancestor turned toward Mu Lin. The weeping clansmen rejoiced as she approached him, anticipating vengeance:

"You dare insult our clan and kill my son? Die, Mu Lin!"

"Heavenly Masters tolerate no disrespect! You’re finished!"

The crowd buzzed with excitement, some hoping Mu Lin would suffer slowly. The Dongfang Clan Leader frowned while Dongfang Ya’s small body tried intervening, but Mu Lin easily restrained her.

Smiling, Mu Lin waited for the ancestor’s attack. What happened next shocked everyone:

The revered ancestor clasped her hands and bowed deeply to Mu Lin.

"???"