Chapter 103
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Chapter 103: The Blessing of Human Path Power, Ghost Officials, and Yin Soldiers!
This transformation of the Vitality of the Living merely shifted from Level 2 to Level 3—not the major leap from Level 3 to Level 4 Master.
Under normal circumstances, Mu Lin’s transformation would have stopped here.
But an unexpected event occurred.
This anomaly stemmed from Mu Lin’s spiritual energy.
It was widely known that Mu Lin’s energy wasn’t ordinary Vitality of the Living—the Sui Mu paper held special force, his Substitute Paper Figures could cultivate independently, and under Master Meng Rui’s instruction, he had stored these figures within the Sui Mu paper.
The combination of these unique circumstances imbued Mu Lin’s vitality with an additional surge of Sui Mu’s power.
This force was both mysterious and profound, far beyond what someone at Mu Lin’s current level should be able to study.
Normally, Mu Lin couldn’t grasp anything about it.
But now, he wasn’t normal. In his enlightened state, Mu Lin’s thoughts became a hundredfold more active, with inspirations flooding his mind. At this moment, his spiritual perception and comprehension rivaled that of a mage above A-level cultivators, granting him a sliver of insight into the power of Sui Mu.
Yet even with this qualification, true mastery remained immensely challenging.
Fortunately, Mu Lin possessed deeper foundations.
The Vitality of the Living from the Paper Folding Secret Manual shared roots with another cultivation method: Mind Image · City of Heaven’s Funeral.
Both originated from the same source and were intrinsically linked.
Mu Lin had already elevated Mind Image · City of Heaven’s Funeral to Level 3 Mastery.
Moreover, he had completed half the cultivation required within Level 3 Mastery itself.
Drawing from his past life’s experiences and imaginative concepts, Mu Lin’s Mind Image world differed starkly from that of ordinary paper folders.
Anyone entering his Mind Image world would find everything cloaked in gray, radiating an oppressive, sinister atmosphere.
Yet beneath this eerie facade lay an undercurrent of… solemn authority.
This shift emerged from Mu Lin’s cultivation progress. His Mind Image world had undergone drastic changes.
First, as his Mind Image · City of Heaven’s Funeral cultivation passed the halfway mark, his Mind Image world expanded slightly.
What was once a single courtyard now stretched into an entire street.
Second, the core of his Mind Image world had transformed.
Through visualization, the main building had morphed from a simple residence into a grim, imposing structure—the Yin City God Temple, an underworld sanctuary!
Mu Lin long harbored ambitions to reshape Mind Image · City of Heaven’s Funeral into Mind Image · Fengdu City.
Though his current cultivation level prevented full transformation, he could lay groundwork early.
Building the City God Temple within his Mind Image world marked his first step.
The City God straddled divinity and ghosthood. To Mu Lin, this entity didn’t serve the celestial court but rather acted as the underworld’s envoy to the mortal realm.
After all, most City Gods were deceased humans—and all dead ultimately belong to the underworld.
The City God’s duties revealed this alignment: managing registers of the living and dead, maintaining regional peace, recording citizens’ virtues and sins, commanding Yin Soldiers to guide souls, and subduing evil ghosts and spirits.
These responsibilities—save land protection, which fell to earth deities—mirrored the underworld’s functions.
To convert City of Heaven’s Funeral into Fengdu, Mu Lin began by reworking the City God’s role.
Naturally, Mu Lin’s reconstruction was merely a façade.
A true City God possessed numerous authorities – the Judge’s Eye to see through hearts, an auxiliary ledger recording citizens’ virtues and sins, along with innate perception of terrain and spiritual energy shifts within their guarded territory.
Yet Mu Lin lacked all these abilities, leaving his Yin City God Temple without its core deity.
Moreover, a proper City God commanded day and night wandering spirits, civil and military judges, plus legions of ghost officials and Yin soldiers. Though Mu Lin deployed Yellow Turban Might troops to the temple and appointed Yaksha as commander, these remained hollow imitations.
True Yin officials wielded Soul Binding Chains to subdue evil ghosts, while Mu Lin’s Yellow Turban Might remained ordinary soldiers without special functions. Hence, Mu Lin openly admitted his temple was but an empty shell.
Aware yet helpless, Mu Lin’s original plan involved gradually acquiring cultivation knowledge to build proper underworld functions. But before implementation, unexpected developments occurred.
During the Great Yin Living Scripture’s advancement, the power of Sui Mu within Mu Lin’s Vitality of the Living unexpectedly resonated with the City God concept. This connection revealed fragments of Sui Mu’s essence, which Mu Lin’s heightened comprehension grasped through sudden enlightenment.
"…Ruins, tombs, centuries-old remains…"
"…Sui Mu paper’s essence isn’t Yin energy, but recorded history…"
"…Tombs represent life cycles – birth, age, illness, death…"
"…Not just commoners’ graves, but dynastic monuments marking civilization’s falls…"
"…Sui Mu power embodies humanity’s departed history and civilizational legacy…"
"…The heavenly, earthly, and human paths – civilization’s chronicle forms the human path’s power…"
Mu Lin’s insights expanded Sui Mu’s grave-born power into concepts of human civilization and historical legacy. He realized life-death cycles formed natural law’s essential component within the human path.
"Death enables rebirth and societal evolution. Stagnant immortality breeds rigidity…"
This understanding clarified why Master Meng Rui called paper folders ominous yet perpetual – death’s inevitability in human affairs made death-related crafts like the Yin Eight Sect enduring aspects of the human path.
"Yet nothing’s eternal. As civilizations evolve through death and rebirth, death’s manifestations change. The Yin Eight Sect must adapt or fade – though that’s beyond my current concerns…"
Though comprehending Sui Mu’s essence as historical human path power seemed abstract, Mu Lin connected it to humanity’s collective endeavors – survival efforts, reforms, and explorations all contributing to this force that reciprocally protects mankind.
While the human path favors natural champions and region-saving heroes, Mu Lin accessed it through extraordinary insight and Sui Mu’s mediation – essentially "backdoor access". To gain its notice, he needed remarkable contributions.
Fatefully, Mu Lin possessed exactly what humanity needed – plans for City Gods and Fengdu’s underworld. These institutions specifically counter the evil spirits threatening mankind’s survival, making them ideal recipients for human path blessings.
Though lacking implementation capabilities, the human path itself provided power. The mere concept of restoring balance between yin and yang realms through underworld governance attracted intense favor.
Mu Lin’s hundredfold-enhanced comprehension surged further under this blessing. Tsunamis of knowledge flooded his mind:
"…Human path power, destiny, dynasties, Yin officials…"
Simultaneously, his sea of consciousness’ Mind Image world transformed. The Yin City God Temple gained imposing majesty, while Yellow Turban Might soldiers morphed from yellow-clad warriors into black-uniformed officials bearing chains, "OFFICIAL" emblazoned on their chests and "GHOST" on their backs.
