Chapter 140
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Chapter 140: The Dreadful Domain of Heaven’s Funeral, Cowardly Puppet Masters (Seeking Subscriptions)
At Mu Lin’s command, the paper figures marched forward as one.
As the Yin soldiers advanced, the Heavenly Wall Palace they maintained rolled onward like crashing mountains and tidal waves, crushing everything beneath it.
"No…"
The unstoppable wall terrified some cultivators, draining color from their faces.
Soon, several puppets became trapped within the Sky Wall Palace Formation created by the paper army.
For the paper figures, this Heavenly Wall Palace served as perfect protection – all outside attacks were blocked by the impenetrable barrier.
But for enemies caught inside, the formation saturated with paper figures’ spiritual energy became an inescapable prison.
Upon entering the palace domain, overwhelming spiritual energy combined with crushing air pressure instantly immobilized the puppets.
Dozens of paper figures synchronized their power, layering spiritual energy and momentum until the trapped puppets bore mountain-like weight, frozen in place.
While the puppets struggled helplessly, Mu Lin’s paper figures moved freely. The immobilized puppets became perfect targets for ruthless attacks.
Normally, the Heavenly Wall Palace Formation’s essence was external defense and internal suppression. But after absorbing the power of Heaven’s Funeral, Mu Lin’s version had twisted into something far more sinister.
"A prison? No… this is pure hell…"
Sheltered at the formation’s core, Mu Lin observed grimly. The corrupting power of Heaven’s Funeral made direct attacks unnecessary.
Ominous energy permeated the domain. Within moments, trapped puppets began mutating – blood stains blossomed across their surfaces, radiating malice.
Some puppets showed weathering and decay. Jade constructs lasted longest, steel puppets deteriorated faster, while demon beast bone puppets mutated most rapidly and horribly. Red and green mold spread across skeletal remains.
The domain’s corruption bred more than decay – it spawned chaotic transformations.
"My puppet! It’s- it’s gone wild!"
BOOM!
CRASH!
Too late. A crimson-furred bone serpent puppet already rampaged, smashing neighboring constructs. Unprepared owners wailed as their puppets shattered.
"No! My life’s work!"
"You bastard! You’ll pay for this!"
Furious Puppet Masters turned on the serpent’s owner, but soon found greater concerns.
“Boom…”
“Bang…”
As the domain of Heaven’s Funeral grew more tangible, the power of Heaven’s Funeral deepened its corruption across the region.
Not only did the skeletal giant snake lose control, but several puppets also fell under the influence of this power, lashing out blindly.
The remaining puppets grew disobedient to their Puppet Masters—whether because the materials composing them were eroded or their movements grew sluggish.
Simply summoning the domain of Heaven’s Funeral allowed Mu Lin to annihilate his enemies effortlessly; its horrors did the work even as he stood motionless.
Yet one problem remained: though Mu Lin had brought the domain into the mortal world, its corruption did not target the Puppet Masters alone.
The power of Heaven’s Funeral spared no one, affecting Mu Lin and his paper figures alike.
Surrounded by his paper figures, Mu Lin watched as blotches of blood spread across his Yin soldiers. Mysterious wounds marred the paper figures, their vitality draining away…
“No—within this domain, all things don’t *approach* death. They *revert* to death’s true form…”
The result was the same, but the latter process proved far more sinister and harder to resist.
The same decay gripped Mu Lin. Bloodstains and grime bloomed on his skin, wounds materializing without cause. Foreign forces even stirred his paper figures to attack him, the sole living presence.
These threats meant little. Mu Lin’s transcendent will resisted the corruption, while Substitute Paper Figures absorbed his injuries.
What chilled him were the weeping sounds that had haunted him since the City of Heaven’s Funeral appeared—growing louder, stranger, and dangerously closer.
At first distant, the weeping now seemed to emanate from just behind him.
“Will it echo in my ears… or my mind… in minutes?”
Another fear gnawed at him: the spectral City of Heaven’s Funeral wasn’t merely a lone street. Buildings flanked the road, and now, pounding fists rattled their doors.
*Thud. Thud. Thud.*
As if prisoners clamored to escape.
Then voices spilled from the houses:
“Is anyone there?”
“Save me…”
“Please… let me out…”
Elderly pleas, children’s whimpers, a young woman’s honeyed cries—and one voice struck Mu Lin as eerily familiar. After a heartbeat, he realized: it sounded exactly like Chu Lingluo.
He stayed rooted. Chu Lingluo couldn’t possibly be here.
“No—not just her. Those houses were empty. I’m certain of it.”
However, Mu Lin was certain no one was inside, yet the knocking from the houses grew increasingly violent. The doors and walls began to shake violently under the assault. Realizing those doors must never open – for unimaginable horrors would surely follow – Mu Lin acted decisively.
"Retreat!"
His command thundered across the battlefield as he compelled the Yin soldiers to sever ties with the City of Heaven’s Funeral. This proved difficult, for the city’s power wasn’t easily commanded or dismissed. Though the city’s corrupting influence spread relentlessly, Mu Lin countered with formidable methods.
The Yin soldiers themselves formed the summoning ritual’s foundation – legitimate underworld enforcers bearing official Yin Court appointments, naturally resistant to corrupting forces. Moreover, Mu Lin had branded each soldier’s soul with the dominion flames of the Heart Lamp of Will. This dual safeguard granted him ironclad control.
Despite resistance, the Yin soldiers abandoned their formations under his orders. Bereft of these anchors, the resentful City of Heaven’s Funeral gradually withdrew from the mortal realm. Mu Lin’s summoning lasted merely three minutes.
Yet those three minutes within the domain of Heaven’s Funeral changed everything.
The disciples of Master Meng Rui suffered most. Though Mu Lin halted the Yin soldiers’ assault upon realizing his Heavenly Wall Palace had become hell itself, the lingering power of Heaven’s Funeral continued ravaging their forces.
One-third of puppets rebelled uncontrollably. Another third lay shattered. The remainder bore grievous wounds. The Puppet Masters fared no better – weakened bodies leaking vitality, clothes stained with cursed blood, skin marred by sudden injuries.
"Worse than expected," Mu Lin muttered, though upon reflection, the outcome made sense. Puppet Masters’ fatal flaw lay in overreliance on external tools. Their puppets’ vulnerability to corruption and their own physical frailty became fatal weaknesses when facing the domain’s overwhelming corruption.
The second factor sealed their defeat: none possessed defenses against the domain’s terrifying erosion. Even Mu Lin felt shaken.
"Never fully summoned before… I’d estimated maintaining it seven to fifteen minutes," he mused. "Foolish. Who knew the domain’s dangers extended beyond corruption? Those strange phenomena… those approaching weeping sounds… The longer it remains, the deadlier it becomes."
Yet this lethality offered possibilities. "A final gambit against unbeatable foes. Unleash the domain fully for mutual destruction. And even then…" His fingers brushed the Substitute Paper Figure hidden in his sleeve. "…I might still cheat death."
His gaze swept across the trembling Puppet Masters. Some leaped from the platform screaming before he even moved:
"Don’t kill us!"
"Stay back!"
The domain’s brief manifestation had shattered their courage. But the terrorized spectators proved the aftermath reached far beyond the battlefield.
