Chapter 224
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Chapter 224: Life, Death, Illusion, and Reality
“Buzz…”
The instant Mu Lin placed his hand on the Manjusaka, his insights about death surged into the flower.
“Rustle…”
The immense amount of death insights and massive soul power caused the Manjusaka to rapidly grow, sprout, and bloom into beautiful crimson flowers brimming with temptation.
The swaying Other Shore Flower soon developed affection for Mu Lin, its cultivator.
Mu Lin also felt satisfied with the Manjusaka.
While transmitting death energy and soul power to nourish the flower, its awakened bloodline traits first flowed through the Qingdi Scripture’s contract to Chu Lingluo, then reached Mu Lin himself via their Dual Cultivation connection.
These inherited traits granted Mu Lin fresh comprehension of heaven and earth’s laws.
Crucially, the Other Shore Flower naturally embodied four fundamental principles: Life, Death, Illusion, and Reality – precisely what Mu Lin needed most.
"The Chu family made wise preparations."
After this muttered praise, Mu Lin focused on deciphering the flower’s transmitted principles while continuously feeding it his death insights and soul energy.
Empowered by Mu Lin, the Other Shore Flower kept developing in an unusual manner.
Instead of growing vertically like giant trees, it multiplied through division – one becoming two, then four, then eight… Soon Mu Lin stood amidst an expanding field of Manjusaka.
The clustered flowers intensified the essence of Death in This Place.
Visible decay spread through the surroundings: plants withered, animals stiffened, even the soil cracked into lifelessness. Mu Lin himself momentarily sensed death’s seductive promise of eternal rest.
This was truly the blossom that lured mortals to willingly embrace oblivion.
Mu Lin’s dominion flame swiftly burned away these dangerous thoughts.
"I shall surpass life and death itself!"
While resisting the flower’s death allure through willpower, Mu Lin analyzed and reworked the transmitted Life-Death-Illusion energies into his cultivation methods.
To his mild exasperation, the first upgraded technique emerged as the Paper Figure Curse.
Originally limited to killing, maiming, or sealing Seven Spirits, the cursed paper figures could now implant Other Shore Flowers into victims.
These parasitic blossoms absorbed death as nourishment while draining vitality and soul power from hosts – for death and life are intertwined.
More terrifyingly, the flowers carried Illusion energies. Unless possessing exceptional perception, victims remained unaware of their condition, fading into bewildered demise through gradual weakness.
The matured flowers would then return to the Manjusaka field after each death, strengthening the scarlet sea’s power.
“Using others’ lives and deaths as nourishment, it truly deserved to be called the Underworld’s flower. Its beauty was entirely rooted upon countless skeletons.”
After this sigh, Mu Lin stopped caring. He wasn’t purely righteous, but neither was he utterly wicked.
He couldn’t bring himself to use ordinary civilians to nurture the Other Shore Flower. But when it came to enemies, monsters, and evil spirits, he had no qualms, even relishing it.
…
By merging the Other Shore Flower with the Paper Figure Curse, Mu Lin gained a peculiar cursing method.
He also discovered the pure Other Shore Flower sea itself held formidable power – particularly its ability to suppress immortality.
Massive monsters and evil spirits proved hard to eliminate, possessing various resurrection methods and contingency plans, much like those Mu Lin encountered during the Bloody Moon.
Yet the Other Shore Flower countered such immortality perfectly.
Rather than simply killing foes, it rooted itself within them, endlessly absorbing their life and death energies to propagate.
No recovery ability could withstand this perpetual draining. Even immortal deities would be subdued if the Other Shore Flower sea flourished.
After all, whatever they regenerated, the Manjusaka absorbed. No being could endure this endless cycle.
"This isn’t slaughter… but an ultimate seal."
Understanding this trait, Mu Lin murmured:
"Truly the flower from the Other Shore. It brings eternal stillness even to gods. Were I to forge an Underworld, I’d adorn it with these blossoms."
As he worked, the Manjusaka soon surpassed a hundred in number. Now Mu Lin comprehended another power – memory manipulation.
The Underworld contains not just the Other Shore, but also the River of Forgetting. While cleansing sins, this river strips evil spirits of memories, leaving empty shells.
This resembled Meng Po’s soup effects – indeed, Meng Po embodies the river itself, dwelling by Naihe Bridge above those waters.
Since Other Shore Flowers grow near both the Other Shore and the River of Forgetting, they inherited memory-erasing properties from the river’s essence.
The Life and Death Illusion aspects of Manjusaka specifically evolved from this trait.
"Currently I can only erase memories, not control them – yet this proves terrifying enough. Imagine cursing someone with this power."
Victims noticing abnormalities? Forgotten.
Seeking help? Forgotten.
Attempting escape? Still forgotten.
"Through total oblivion, the cursed perceive everything as normal. They’ll walk willingly to their doom, completely unaware."
The flower’s illusionary ability already chilled the blood in its initial stage. At intermediate growth, not just the cursed individual – even those around them would forget the victim’s existence through the flower’s influence.
In its ultimate form? Unrivaled dominion.
Mu Lin realized countless Other Shore Flowers forming an endless sea could harvest death memories to forge an illusory realm.
Any entering this sea – human, evil spirit, or weakened deity – would drown in delusions. Their very essence would then nourish the blooming Manjusaka.
Mu Lin pondered this and felt wary.
Luckily, he soon relaxed.
"The Other Shore Flower is fearsome indeed, but it’s not masterless. It coexists with Chu Lingluo, meaning I control it indirectly."
"Moreover, this flower has another weakness – its powers focus on support and temptation. Its actual attacks aren’t strong and defenses are weak."
"Hard to defeat when unnoticed. But if I resist its forgetting power and illusions to find its true form, destroying it becomes easy."
He felt confident about resisting the forgetting power. Both his Trait of Transcendence and high City God status made him resistant.
As for the flower’s future potential:
"What if it’s an Underworld flower? You might have underworld fame, but I’ll become Emperor of Lidu ruling the afterlife. In terms of future potential, I Mu Lin fear none."
…
After learning the Other Shore Flower’s traits through Life and Death Illusion and growing over a hundred blooms, Mu Lin stopped.
Not from fear – his soul power ran low.
Upon waking, Mu Lin didn’t leave Chu Lingluo’s Emerald Dream immediately.
The numerous Other Shore Flowers had corrupted her Emerald Dream, turning it desolate towards destruction.
Mu Lin had a solution.
Using yin and yang balance principles: life as yang, death as yin; reality as yang, illusion as yin…
Finally, Chu Lingluo’s Emerald Dream changed slightly.
A small lake appeared around its edges.
Her dwelling became a Small Island in this lake.
Chu Lingluo’s life-filled dream remained on the island – birds singing, flowers blooming with vitality.
The Other Shore Flowers reflected like moonlight beneath the lake’s surface, spreading deathly silence.
Since the Emerald Dream couldn’t fully balance the yin flowers, Mu Lin transplanted some Other Shore Flowers to his own town.
He could alter her Mind Image because they were in Dual Cultivation, and she’d completely lowered her mental defenses.
"Too trusting. With defenses down, I could do anything to you now. You couldn’t resist."
Thinking this, Mu Lin did nothing – though he could’ve marked her forehead with dominion fire to control her completely.
…
Glancing at sleeping Chu Lingluo, Mu Lin’s consciousness returned to his Mind Image world.
After arranging the Other Shore Flowers, he didn’t rest but returned to reality.
Though satisfied physically, his day’s work continued.
He needed to consume Teacher Dongfang Ya’s treasures to evolve his Spiritual Roots.
…
While Mu Lin alternated between leisure and work, others labored outside.
Yan Yunyu negotiated terms with Demon Exorcism Division during Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo’s intimate time.
Meanwhile in the alien district, plotters whispered:
"Can you truly succeed? The Tower of Illusions is a national treasure…"
"…This is just one branch tower among many. Its consciousness won’t watch here constantly…"
