Chapter 389

Chapter 389: Mu Lin: I Am the Earth Immortal

As a High Mastery of Transformation cultivator, Ji Lie was no ordinary man. The moment Mu Lin targeted him, he sensed something amiss and leapt to his feet with a roar.

“Who’s there?”

He frantically scanned the area, unleashing his spiritual awareness in all directions. But he detected nothing.

Not being an Earth Immortal, he’d never imagined Mu Lin could create Yin Soil and the Cycle of Life and Death through yin and yang’s opposition. All his detection skills worked only in the mortal realm. It would’ve been a miracle for him to detect Mu Lin across separate dimensions.

“Clan Elder Ji Lie, what’s happening?”

The Ronghuo City officials in the meeting scanned the area too, but found nothing. Yet Ji Lie’s panic chilled their hearts.

“Has Mu Lin come?”

Fear tinged their voices. Mu Lin’s fearsome reputation had grown over days—none wanted to face him.

But wishes couldn’t stop reality. Ji Lie shattered their hopes moments later.

“Someone’s watching—probably that bastard Mu Lin! Activate the formations! Battle positions—argh!!!”

He’d barely started speaking when a bloodcurdling scream tore from his throat. Mu Lin had struck.

Mu Lin’s flaming chain whipped out, smashing into Ji Lie before the Infinite Chains constricted his soul reflections like serpents. The strike alone made Ji Lie howl in agony.

His shriek pierced ears as his face contorted grotesquely. One glance showed Ji Lie suffering unimaginable torment. The pain overwhelmed even a High Mastery cultivator—Ji Lie clawed at his own skull, drawing bloody furrows.

This wasn’t weakness. Mu Lin’s chains carried the flame of revenge forged from thousands’ frustration. Each strike burned victims from within while forcing them to relive countless souls’ agonies. No mortal could withstand this—and Mu Lin’s soul-targeting strike multiplied the pain tenfold.

“Crack!”

“Snap!”

Because the attack struck directly at the soul—Ji Lie’s weakly protected soul—Mu Lin shattered his spirit with a single blow.

At that moment, Ji Lie sensed danger. Agonizing pain forced his consciousness to shift from the world of the living into the Yin Soil, merging with his soul reflection there.

Normally, he would’ve retaliated immediately.

But this was no ordinary situation. He got no chance to fight back.

Mu Lin’s strike had already cracked his soul. Worse, the blazing Infinite Chains now coiled around his soul reflection.

The chains carried powers like silencing, sealing, and binding. Trapped by them, Ji Lie lost access to most abilities and couldn’t break free.

Meanwhile, the Flames of Revenge burned fiercely along the chains, scorching his soul with unending torment. Unable to focus, he could only writhe and scream mindlessly.

“Capturing the leader… Attacking in the Yin Soil is too easy.”

With this thought, Mu Lin summoned a dozen more fiery chains from his body. They shot toward the soul reflections of Ronghuo City’s other leaders.

Outside, Ji Lie’s screams alerted the rest. Some scanned their surroundings for hidden foes. Others raised defensive barriers. A few bolted, desperate to flee.

All efforts failed. The searchers found nothing. Defenses couldn’t shield soul reflections in the Yin Soil. Fleeing ones couldn’t escape chains that teleported beside them.

The Yin Soil and Cycle of Life and Death abilities were simply overpowered. By exploiting yin-yang duality, Mu Lin created soul reflections in the Yin Soil. Harming these reflections injured the real targets. Paired with Infinite Chains, this combo crushed same-level opponents instantly. Lower-level cultivators stood no chance.

Even Mu Lin had marveled at this power when first unleashing the Cycle of Life and Death.

“But it makes sense. During the high-level resource stage, I absorbed hundreds of vibrant energy batches, mastered countless skill essences, and fused with divinity… With such foundations, my awakened talents should outclass ordinary High Mastery of Transformation techniques. Being unstoppable is only natural.”

While musing, Mu Lin effortlessly bound the remaining leaders’ souls to the Yin Soil with chains. He didn’t kill them. Instead, Flames of Revenge scorched their souls, forcing endless screams.

This served dual purposes—venting Mu Lin’s rage and appeasing the evil spirits inside his body. The resentment from hundreds of thousands of wrongful deaths was overwhelming. Even Mu Lin couldn’t constantly suppress their hunger for vengeance. Torturing Ronghuo City’s leaders slightly eased their fury.

*Buzz.*

Mu Lin shuddered. Nearly a hundred fiery sparks blended with his power rained onto the earth. The returned souls weren’t human anymore—they’d become hellspawn, jailers of the inferno.

Crafted from fragments of countless dead souls and city god energy, these creatures resembled Yin soldiers and ghost officials. But unlike typical underworld enforcers, they specialized in delivering endless suffering through Flames of Revenge.

Therefore, they weren’t suited for capturing souls but better fit for tormenting wicked spirits in hell.

"It’s a shame. These few leaders alone can’t ease the overwhelming frustration within me. I need more deaths…"

"Kill, kill, kill…"

"They all deserve death…"

"Pain… they struck me… kill them…"

As Mu Lin reflected, the vengeful spirits inside him stirred violently again, pushing him to slaughter all three thousand armored soldiers and tens of thousands of mine slaves in the cruelest ways.

This wasn’t Mu Lin’s wish.

Many armored soldiers were accomplices deserving death, but countless innocent miners lived among the slaves. He refused senseless slaughter.

Yet while Mu Lin resisted, the seething hatred within him kept screaming for total destruction.

Fortunately, his soul remained unyielding, and the Infinite Chains held firm.

Binding himself with chains, Mu Lin temporarily sealed both his body and murderous impulses.

Meanwhile, the ghost soldiers he’d crafted from pure soul energy continued acting under his orders.

Wielding Soul Binding Chains, they charged at the armored soldiers and wicked mine slaves.

Identifying villains relied on the judgment authority of a city god – viewing souls to discern good from evil being a core ability of the Yin Court’s righteous deities.

"Hiss!"

"Agony!"

"Face me properly, coward! Ah—!"

In Mu Lin’s Yin Soil domain, Earth Immortals sensed disturbances through their bond with the land, perceiving overlapping realms. Those with High Mastery of Transformation might project consciousness into their soul reflections when attacked.

But weaker beings could only rage helplessly in the living world while their Yin Soil counterparts suffered.

The three thousand armored soldiers met this fate.

Though battle-hardened elites versed in military formations, their resistance proved futile across dimensions. They watched helplessly as comrades fell.

Despair soon broke them.

"Evil ghosts!"

"We can’t fight this! Flee!"

"Mercy! Spare me!"

"Move, bastards! I’m the Captain!"

Panicked soldiers scattered like insects, but none escaped the ghost soldiers.

Their captured souls were dragged before Mu Lin.

These accomplices and monstrous sinners then faced the Flames of Revenge…

"Wait. As a Yin Court deity, I’m administering lawful punishment for their crimes, not mere torture."

With this self-justification, Mu Lin kept using the wicked to soothe the vengeful spirits within him.

Each cleansed soul fragment merged with his power, spawning infernal imps in the Yin Soil.

Two thousand soldier-accomplices and numerous villainous slaves died screaming. Their suffering purified thousands of soul fragments, birthing eight hundred infernal imps – requiring multiple fragments and Mu Lin’s power per creature.

…

When the slaughter ended, Ronghuo City’s Yin Soil stood empty. Innocents had fled, leaving only deserted streets.

The evil spirits within Mu Lin shrieked for new targets.

But Mu Lin resisted.

"Patience. Our foes will come. Wait and we’ll reap more vengeance."

Soothing the spirits, he seeped his power into Ronghuo’s city-wide formation.

Control of the formation granted dominion over local spiritual veins – a city god’s rightful privilege.

"BOOM!"

Command over the fire Spirit Crystal mines amplified his vengeful evil spirit. The flaming entity now towered three hundred meters, its aura brushing against Earth Immortal-level might.

"Correction – this makes it half an Earth Immortal already."

"True Earth Immortals require spiritual ground… Should East Sea Kingdom’s Earth Immortals come here, they’d lose their terrain advantage. With this mine’s endless energy… I wonder if I can repel them?"