Chapter 498

Chapter 498: Some People Are Alive, Yet Already Dead

“Your Excellency, why have you come to our clan’s territory? Whatever you require, the Dongfang clan shall fulfill.”

Though ordinary folk couldn’t perceive Mu Lin’s cultivation level, the Dongfang Ancestor—a half-Heavenly Master—instantly recognized his true nature.

When she realized Mu Lin was a True God, her demeanor became deeply reverent.

This was only proper. Both True Gods and True Lords were Eternal Immortals, beings who stood above entire races.

Humans needed their protection, not the other way around.

With endless lifespans, unmatched power, and authority akin to the laws of heaven and earth, such beings existed at the world’s apex, worshipped by all.

The Dongfang Ancestor naturally feared to offend him.

Yet her clan had already crossed Mu Lin grievously.

“Commands? Don’t mock me. You’ve already tried to kill me once.”

Now that his divine status was exposed and their cowardice laid bare, Mu Lin saw no reason to linger.

After one final icy glare at the Dongfang cultivators, he soared into the sky.

He didn’t slaughter them—they were Dongfang Ya’s kin, after all. But in his view, letting them live with their shame would cut deeper than any blade.

Many clan members already teetered on madness from the revelation.

“A… True God? Mu Lin? Impossible!”

“He’s barely trained a decade!”

“Lies! No mortal becomes divine so young!”

Their denial shattered when Seventh Ancestor Dongfang Fanmeng released her aura.

BOOM.

Though her current vessel held scant spiritual power, the weight of heaven itself crushed down. Cultivators collapsed or jolted awake under this pressure.

“Explain,” Fanmeng demanded, voice like cracking stone. “How did you provoke a True God?”

When nervous glances flickered among the crowd, she added, “Speak plainly. If he strikes, our clan ends here. I’ll beg a True Lord’s mercy, but lies will doom us all.”

Trembling under dual threats, the clan leader confessed everything.

Fanmeng’s eyes widened as she learned the truth: this True God had been mentored by their own Dongfang Ya. That for her sake, he’d faced forbidden horrors and lifted their ancestral curse.

But in the end, they looked down on Mu Lin and did not choose this decision. Instead, they sacrificed his master, the only direct descendant of the Dongfang family connected to him, as a Vessel to summon their own presence.

"You… you all… pfft…"

Learning the full story, Dongfang Fanmeng became so furious that her eyes darkened. She suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing a Heavenly Master angered to the point of vomiting blood and staggering showed exactly how much "surprise" the Dongfang clan’s descendants had given her.

"Good job… all of you!"

"Disdaining a True God… sacrificing the master who protected him since childhood… cough… truly excellent work!"

With a bitter laugh, she finally collapsed unconscious.

The blow proved too heavy.

With a True Lord’s backing, the Dongfang clan could have not only broken their curse but also reemerged in glory.

They might have even expanded their power after recovering past glories.

She herself might have gained a second life.

This thousand-year extraordinary opportunity had now vanished – lost forever due to her clan’s foolishness.

How could Dongfang Fanmeng not rage?

Discovering her current body belonged to Dongfang Ya deepened her shame, making resistance pointless – she’d rather see and feel nothing.

The missed opportunity left Dongfang Fanmeng seething.

Other clan members stood frozen, drowning in regret.

They weren’t fools – they knew a True God’s power and the prosperity divine protection could bring.

Now all those attainable treasures had slipped through their fingers.

Truthfully, never having the chance would hurt less than losing what they’d almost grasped.

Humans always struggle with loss.

Some babbled endlessly like Xianglin’s wife, unable to stop:

"How… Mu Lin becoming deity? He’s too young…"

"Can’t be true… won’t believe…"

"Hah! We rejected a protecting True God and angered him… hahaha…"

"Bastard! I said pick another Vessel! Your fault we’re ruined!"

"Fool! You agreed when we voted for Dongfang Ya!"

Facing cruel reality, clan members either drowned in regret or turned on each other.

As Mu Lin said – sometimes living brings worse punishment than death.

The Dongfang clan would now writhe in endless remorse, poisonous regret gnawing their souls daily.

Mu Lin’s growing power and his followers’ benefits would only sharpen their anguish.

He knew this well, and did nothing to stop it – in fact, he enjoyed their suffering.

Days later, he threw fresh fuel on their misery.

When news from Southeast Province swept the land, causing widespread excitement, the Dongfang valleys echoed with another thud as someone collapsed, vomiting blood from sheer fury.