Chapter 115
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Chapter 115: Mu Lin: Why Should I Go Look for Him?
When the strange events in Spring Fountain City came up, Qi Qiu’s face suddenly broke into a smile.
"Speaking of Spring Fountain City, I happen to know what happened there. That evil spirit isn’t ordinary. If your disciple lacks special methods, he’s in grave danger this time."
Dongfang Ya grew concerned but knew Qi Qiu wouldn’t share details freely. She held back further questions, though her focus sharpened as she watched the projection.
As the two spoke, the paper army had already reached Spring Fountain Tavern.
Wan Yangyu nearly jumped at the sight of the pale, eerie paper figures, mistaking them for evil spirits.
But the figures straightened upon seeing Mu Lin and reported, "Bait squad has returned. Lured evil ghosts nineteen times. Thirteen sealed."
Mu Lin remained silent.
To conserve energy, he hadn’t granted the bait paper figures the divine office of ghost officials or Yin soldiers—they weren’t even Yellow Turban Might, barely stronger than ordinary farmers. By logic, they should’ve been crushed. Their success came from the spells Mu Lin carved onto them: Paper Figure Soul Sealing.
During his month of closed-door training, Mu Lin had mainly practiced the Great Yin Living Scripture to refine his magic. But limited by his meridians, he’d spent spare hours honing techniques. Though fragmented, this effort pushed Paper Figure Soul Sealing to Level 3 Mastery.
[Paper Figure Soul Sealing: Level 3 Mastery (493/6300). Traits: Soul Sealing, Spirit Calming, Spirit Driving.]
This technique matched the Paper Figure Curse in power—and wickedness.
Yes, wicked.
Other sects’ Soul Sealing Techniques were unclear to Mu Lin, but the Yin Eight Sect’s paper folders used it not to seal, but to control.
Paper figures drained magic, especially powerful ones. Others lacked Mu Lin’s Grandmaster-level folding, master-level art, or Substitute Paper Figures storing magic. Such gaps made costs unbearable.
Desperation bred innovation. Ancestors of the paper folders devised Paper Figure Soul Sealing to cut costs.
Evil ghosts were condensed negative energy. Sealing them into paper figures let folders tap the ghosts’ power instead of their own. Since ghosts retained slivers of mind, consciousness spells became unnecessary.
With this, Yin Eight Sect folders could summon armies like necromancers—hundreds, even thousands. That’s why it joined Paper Figure Curse and Substitute Paper Figure as the lineage’s core techniques.
Yet Mu Lin called it wicked. Evil ghosts were rare, dangerous to catch. Corrupted by malice, fury, frustration, most loathed all existence. Even sealed, they required constant mental suppression. Worse, prolonged exposure warped folders’ minds toward darkness.
Rather than risk subduing ghosts, most paper folders chose simpler prey: sealing living souls.
The Paper Figure Soul Sealing could extract a living person’s soul and seal it directly within a paper figure.
‘This technique explains why the paper folder lineage has such a bad reputation…’
While recalling details about Paper Figure Soul Sealing, Mu Lin examined the paper figure before him.
"Buzz…"
"Release me…"
As Mu Lin concentrated, one paper figure loosened the Paper Figure Soul Sealing spell slightly, creating an opening for the evil spirit inside to emerge.
The moment it appeared, the evil spirit thrashed wildly, snarling hatefully at Mu Lin.
"Human! Let me go! When my master comes, you’ll all die…"
"A master? So Spring Fountain City’s evil spirits do have a source… Who’s your master?"
As expected, the evil spirit refused to answer.
What made Mu Lin wary was Wan Yangyu and his group rising to their feet nearby, their eyes turning sharp.
They clearly understood this was the crucial moment.
If Mu Lin uncovered the mastermind through this evil spirit, he could rally forces to eliminate Spring Fountain City’s evil ghost source.
While beneficial for the city and Mu Lin, this outcome was exactly what Wan Yangyu’s group wanted to prevent.
Their sudden killing intent alerted Mu Lin instantly. Every paper figure in Spring Fountain Tavern snapped their heads toward Wan Yangyu’s team.
Mu Lin’s low voice carried through the room.
"Planning something?"
"…Just offering help."
Wan Yangyu stood as he spoke.
He still hoped to avoid direct conflict, aiming instead to "accidentally" ruin the paper figure and evil spirit.
‘If we can’t find an opening, we’ll claim we hate evil ghosts and execute them. Mu Lin mustn’t get any Information about the mastermind.’
‘Understood, Captain.’
‘Don’t worry – we’ll make this hard for him…’
While mentally coordinating with his teammates, Wan Yangyu began approaching Mu Lin.
He’d barely taken two steps when he paused, grinning.
‘Looks like we won’t need to act.’
When Mu Lin turned toward Wan Yangyu, the paper figure’s evil spirit underwent drastic changes.
Originally consumed by madness and hatred, the sealed evil spirit now radiated chilling authority alongside its lingering resentment.
The mastermind had clearly sensed his subordinate’s capture, projecting his spiritual thoughts into the trapped evil spirit.
The possessed spirit locked eyes with Mu Lin, its voice dripping frost.
"Paper cranes for misdirection… using children as bait. Clever tricks, human. Pity your power remains inadequate."
“Spring Fountain, such power cannot threaten me, the king.”
“I gave you a chance. If you leave now, I’ll let it go. But dare attack again, and next year today will be your death anniversary!”
“Boom!”
As the words fell, a powerful aura burst from the evil spirit—the source of Spring Fountain City’s evil ghosts clearly trying to crush Mu Lin into retreat.
In the real world, this might’ve worked.
A Spring Fountain cultivator against a Spirit Pool foe wasn’t a fair fight. Even if Mu Lin fled, his punishment would’ve been light.
But charging forward? Normal Qi Practitioners would’ve died eighty or ninety times out of a hundred.
So the mastermind’s threat made sense.
But this wasn’t reality—it was an illusion. Death here just meant expulsion. The threat became laughable.
“Kill me? I’m right here. Try it.”
Mu Lin’s fearless words made the evil spirit’s eyes gleam coldly.
“You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Human, you’ve chosen death. At midnight tonight, I’ll end you!”
“Bang!”
The evil spirit trapped by Mu Lin’s Paper Figure Soul Sealing exploded instantly.
This was just the start. “Bang! Bang! Bang…” Through some unknown method, all other captured evil ghosts burst into smoke amid screams.
“No…”
“I don’t want to die…”
“Save us! Our master is… bang!”
Within moments, every evil ghost Mu Lin captured vanished completely.
Wan Yangyu almost laughed aloud but quickly feigned sorrow. “What a shame, Brother Mu. You almost succeeded earlier.”
Mu Lin wasn’t angered by this. He glanced calmly at Wan Yangyu and said lightly,
“No ‘almost.’ I already succeeded.”
“Huh???”
The reply stunned Wan Yangyu, his fists clenching automatically.
Had anyone else claimed victory after that spectacle, Wan Yangyu would’ve called it empty boasting.
But Mu Lin’s methods were too bizarre, too unfathomable.
If Mu Lin said he’d succeeded, Wan Yangyu… couldn’t afford to disbelieve.
This realization agitated him.
“You know who the culprit is now?”
“Not yet. But I’ve memorized their aura. Finding them will be easy.”
Though this sounded arrogant, Wan Yangyu chose to believe it.
“Brother Mu’s skills amaze me! When you hunt the culprit later, let me join the battle…”
Since stopping Mu Lin from finding Spring Fountain City’s evil source was impossible, Wan Yangyu planned to sabotage things on-site.
He assumed Mu Lin wouldn’t refuse.
After all, Spring Fountain City was small. Confronting the mastermind required gathering forces—too many people to keep secrets. By then, Wan Yangyu could follow freely.
He thought Mu Lin wouldn’t bother rejecting him.
But Mu Lin’s next words shocked him beyond belief—even observers outside the Tower of Illusions gaped in disbelief.
“Hunt the culprit? Why would I do that?”
Wan Yangyu: “?”
Qi Qiu: “??”
Dongfang Ya: “???”
