Chapter 381

Chapter 381: Mu Lin: Sigh, Not Enough Killings; Others Don’t Respect Me

"Sigh, clearly I haven’t killed enough people. The intimidation I brought to those powerful clans in Tianhai City still wasn’t strong enough."

"They’d rather anger me to death than show even minor disrespect toward the East Sea King."

This bitter sigh came from Mu Lin. He wasn’t stupid enough to tolerate blatant insults without fighting back.

Through the Paper Figure Secret Techniques, Mu Lin had been using a substitute to keep watch over the East Sea King’s manor, monitoring all cultivators coming and going.

The combined power of master-level origami, painting skills, Xuan Huang’s energy, and Great Luo Merging Heaven deserved special mention.

The master-level origami provided skeletal structure for his disguises. Painting gave the paper figures lifelike faces, while the ever-changing Xuan Huang’s energy filled them with living human essence.

Unless destroyed or pushed beyond their limits, these paper figures could fool ordinary cultivators – even those at Transformation stage or Earth Immortals lacking perception skills would mistake them for real people.

Then there was Great Luo Merging Heaven.

This technique made Mu Lin’s presence nearly undetectable. Combined with his ordinary aura and low profile, people easily overlooked him.

Moreover, the memory-probing and aura-shifting Other Shore Flower further boosted his disguise skills.

…

Mu Lin spotted Jinyin Gate members leaving the East Sea King’s manor and tailed them back to their sect.

He witnessed Jinyin Gate urgently recalling all managers and core disciples while activating their defensive formation.

The message was clear: Jinyin Gate feared the East Sea King’s displeasure more than Mu Lin’s wrath.

Mu Lin wasted no time responding.

He commanded a dozen substitutes outside to mimic Jinyin Gate disciples or pets, infiltrating the sect. Simultaneously, he initiated his attack.

His weapon? The Other Shore Flower. Since arriving in East Sea Kingdom, Mu Lin had realized this flower performed poorly in sieges or elite battles.

Though containing Life and Death Illusion essence, it worked best with illusions. But illusions depend on both user’s skill and target’s mental strength – most strong cultivators like Luo Chen possessed unshakable willpower and solid heart of the Dao.

Yet against weaker foes, especially when combined with eye techniques and Substitute Paper Figure tricks, these illusions became deadly.

Disguised as familiar faces or harmless animals, Mu Lin freely made eye contact. Who would suspect nervous glances from pets or comrades during tense moments?

A single shared glance let Mu Lin plant Other Shore Flower seeds in their minds. These sinister blooms fed on victims’ Essence, Qi, and Spirit to grow.

Of course, the disappearance of vitality and weakening of the soul would normally make cultivators sense something wrong.

But Mu Lin’s Other Shore Flower had merged with divinity, allowing it to influence memories and make people subconsciously ignore these abnormalities.

The infusion of Great Luo Merging Heaven gave the Other Shore Flower an even greater boost – enveloped by this energy, the flower seeds planted in others’ hearts became hazy under a white mist.

This mist erased all traces of the Other Shore Flower’s presence.

Even when cultivators examined themselves internally, they’d instinctively overlook these anomalies.

Thus, the absorption process remained completely undetected.

Through these hidden methods, Mu Lin successfully corrupted all core disciples of Jinyin Gate.

"No wonder Aizen became Soul Society’s greatest villain and stayed hidden for centuries… This silent corruption leaves no trace. Illusion powers truly are terrifying against weaker opponents."

Mu Lin mused while comparing his own Illusion Ability to Aizen’s, continuing his corruption work.

Currently, the disciples only had Other Shore Flowers planted in their hearts and polluted minds – they weren’t dead yet and could still be saved.

If Jinyin Gate stayed out of his conflict with East Sea King, Mu Lin would consider removing the flowers from their hearts.

Unfortunately, Jinyin Gate’s leader and elders did not understand his mercy.

"Mu Lin!"

"How dare you invade Jinyin Gate!"

"Boom!"

They detected his intrusion and roared furiously.

An overwhelming pressure crashed down on Mu Lin like falling mountains.

"Crack! Crack!"

His paper figure body began fracturing under the immense force, as if crushed beneath towering peaks or trapped in Deep Sea’s crushing depths.

The shattered Mu Lin found himself immobilized like an insect in amber.

This complete rejection and confinement by the world made his pupils contract sharply.

"This pressure… A fully unleashed Earth Immortal domain… No wonder they’re unbeatable within their own territories."

Earth Immortals weren’t just powerful beings – their advancement truly connected them to the earth itself.

Cultivation begins with refining essence into Qi, then absorbing vibrant energy – both stages use forces of nature to strengthen oneself.

Cultivators essentially steal power from heaven and earth.

This thievery continues through awakening, combining Essence and Evil realm practice, even during Earth Immortal advancement.

But Earth Immortals don’t steal mere spiritual energy – they replace heaven’s will with their own, seizing control over entire regions.

To advance from Transformation to Earth Immortal, one must merge with special locations:

Spiritual grounds, blessed lands, secret realms… or forbidden places.

Because the heavens and earth they merged with differed, Earth Immortals possessed varying levels of power. The Great Spirit Dynasty thus categorized them into two titles. Earth Masters merged with ordinary spiritual grounds and couldn’t fully wield their power outside those territories. Earth Immortals merged with potent blessed lands and secret realms… Since secret realm entrances could be relocated, these Earth Immortals could unleash full strength anywhere.

Both Earth Masters and Earth Immortals could advance further. Upon fully comprehending the heavenly rules reflected in their hearts, they’d ascend to Celestial Masters, entering a new realm of existence.

Of course, this was far beyond Mu Lin’s current concerns. He did not dwell on such matters.

……

When the master of Jinyin Gate unleashed his Earth Immortal domain, Mu Lin instantly understood—this master’s power stemmed from spiritual grounds and blessed lands. His strength would diminish if he strayed too far from Jinyin Gate.

But here, within Jinyin Gate’s walls, the master’s power peaked. Distance-induced weakness didn’t apply.

The domain’s expansion immediately overwhelmed Mu Lin’s Substitute Paper Figure at the combining Essence and Evil realm. The gap between two major realms was insurmountable. Merely the Oppressive Aura made the paper figure crack relentlessly.

Mu Lin didn’t care about the substitute’s damage. Struggling to turn his head, he saw furious figures storming into the hall.

“Traitor! Invading Jinyin Gate—we knew you schemed evil!”

“You thought we’re like the Xun family? Our master won’t tolerate your insolence!”

“Hah! We wondered how to catch you, yet you delivered yourself! This credit belongs to Jinyin Gate!”

Seeing their disciples unharmed and Mu Lin immobilized by the Oppressive Aura, the elders laughed in relief.

Mu Lin stayed calm, addressing the master who loomed like a celestial avatar:

“Aiding East Sea King against me? Reconsider. Choose wrongly, and Jinyin Gate falls. Your disciples, families, children—all will die.”

“Don’t regret this.”

“Enough bluster!” snapped an elder holding a Soul Binding Stone. “You’re the one regretting! Our people stay safe. You’re finished. Hiding won’t save you forever. One trace of your aura, and we’ll obliterate your soul from miles away.”

“We’ve caught you now!”

The Jinyin Gate master, worthy of his Earth Immortal title, sensed something amiss despite the Other Shore Flowers being mere illusions in hearts. Yet the divinity rank of Great Luo Merging Heaven obscured specifics. Confident in suppressing any retaliation, he let the elder approach Mu Lin.

Mu Lin sighed. “A fatal mistake. Remember—your disciples die by your hand.”

“More empty threats!” the East Sea King-aligned elder retorted. “Our disciples are protecte—”

A voice choked with despair interrupted—his beloved grandson, once proud and affectionate, now spectral:

“Grandfather… you promised protection! Why… why didn’t you save us? We’re already dead!”

“?!!”