Chapter 475

Chapter 475: The Battle for Divine Rank Begins!

The gates of the City of Heaven’s Funeral had opened above the Heavenly Techniques of Darkness. Every force and evil spirit that entered fell straight into the Hell of No Escape.

Then… nothing remained.

The terrifying Heavenly Techniques of Darkness devoured all powers completely.

Yet this death stirred a hornet’s nest, plunging the entire City of Heaven’s Funeral into chaos.

"What is that?"

Mu Lin had simply opened a portal.

But from the Heaven’s Funeral Ruins, it appeared as a lightless deep void that suddenly emerged, frantically devouring everything.

Strange powers from the Heaven’s Funeral Ruins poured endlessly into the deep void.

At first, this sight filled the residents with pure rage.

This was their forbidden territory. As taboo beings, they never bothered others—outsiders should consider themselves lucky. Yet someone dared steal their sacred power? This was clearly seeking their own doom!

Driven by this thought, many intelligent forbidden entities in the Heaven’s Funeral Ruins sent their spiritual awareness to probe the deep void. Others lured strange beings into it, hoping to unleash slaughter on the other side.

Then their spiritual awareness vanished. The strange beings disappeared without a trace.

Even light couldn’t escape—how could their spiritual awareness and mental strength?

Witnessing this, most beings remained furious. A crowned skeleton boldly probed the deep void…

Only to vanish completely.

Now the residents finally sensed something wrong.

Yet even then, fear didn’t touch them. Mockery ruled their voices.

"Jijiji! Epic failure! Old ghost, you’ve lost all face!"

"Ha! I’d dig my own grave if I were you…"

"Pathetic…"

While jeering, they watched the void swallow everything. They hoped to provoke the skeleton into acting again.

But no amount of insults moved the old ghost.

Some forbidden entities sighed, thinking the skeleton had grown wiser. Others sensed deeper trouble.

"Wait… The aura from the skeleton’s grave weakens… That void doesn’t just kill avatars—it erases our origins!"

All monsters and evil spirits surviving here possessed resurrection methods.

The skeleton evil ghost was no exception. Its consciousness couldn’t perish unless its formation-protected skull in the grave was destroyed.

This very ability made it first to investigate.

But Mu Lin wielded the Predetermined Death. Those he killed stayed dead—permanently.

It was clear that the resurrection of the skeleton old ghost couldn’t withstand Mu Lin’s Predetermined Death.

Its demise also made the beings in Heaven’s Funeral Ruins notice the deep void for the first time.

Then… they chose to watch from the sidelines.

This decision seemed odd yet made sense.

The City of Heaven’s Funeral was merely a corner of the land of Heaven’s Funeral, and even this corner now had no ruler.

All remaining strange beings in the City of Heaven’s Funeral were hostile.

They fought against each other and also opposed the City of Heaven’s Funeral itself.

The city sought to destroy them, while they resisted and dreamed of ruling it.

In such circumstances, these beings acted selfishly—they refused to waste effort working for others’ gain.

The skeleton old ghost had only attacked because Mu Lin’s Heavenly Techniques of Darkness appeared right outside its territory.

It had no choice but to act.

After its defeat, the other intelligent beings wouldn’t provoke Mu Lin unless his void directly threatened them.

They waited for the City of Heaven’s Funeral to strike first, hoping it would weaken. Then they thought:

"My chance arrives! I’ll rise from being the city’s prisoner to its lord!"

"Fight! Fight harder! Your conflict creates my opportunity…"

These cunning evil spirits hoped Mu Lin and the city would cripple each other, letting them seize power.

Yet they never considered one thing—the struggle between Mu Lin and the city wouldn’t weaken both sides. Instead, the Heavenly Techniques of Darkness would completely devour the City of Heaven’s Funeral, dooming all within.

Perhaps they did consider this, but these evil spirits believed the city that had confined them for thousands of years remained stronger than some sudden dark void.

"That fool challenging the City of Heaven’s Funeral doesn’t understand This Place… where even the heavens were once buried…"

…

Mu Lin knew nothing of these whispers in the City of Heaven’s Funeral.

He focused on manipulating the Heavenly Techniques of Darkness to consume the city’s power, unafraid of retaliation.

Here, within the world, Mu Lin had powerful backing.

If attacked, he could simply pray to the heavens for reinforcements.

Having such support brought him peace.

Still, he felt slight disappointment when the city didn’t launch an all-out attack.

After discovering the devouring nature of his Heavenly Techniques of Darkness, the city used decaying energy to weaken it while testing with strange powers.

These minor clashes required no intervention from Mu Lin as the Lord of Mount Tai.

He chose to ignore them entirely.

When it came to endurance and growth, Mu Lin feared no rival.

"Wait a bit longer… soon I’ll become a Celestial Master."

As he murmured this, Mu Lin sensed his moment had come.

In the Spirit Flower Garden, after days of waiting, the remaining competitors for the divine seat finally arrived.

Once all were present, the contest officially commenced.

"Lord Mu Lin, the Mother Goddess summons you."

"Let’s proceed."

Following Yue Ling, Mu Lin headed toward the great plaza of Spirit Flower Garden.

Along the way, he encountered other talented contenders.

As expected, the other competitors showed open hostility and malice toward him.

Mu Lin paid them no heed.

Walking past them as if they were air, he soon reached the main plaza where the Celestial Spirit tribe’s Goddess of Life stood.

She appeared as a maternal figure, gentle and fair, yet her current state looked dire.

Parts of her form had fused with the Tree of Life.

More disturbing still, while portions of her merged body remained vibrant green, other sections appeared rotten and putrid, reeking of decay.

Noticing stares directed at her corrupted flesh, the goddess calmly reassured, "Fear not. When you inherit this seat, I shall sever all tainted parts… leaving only the pure divinity… *cough*…"

Though divine, she interrupted herself with wet coughs betraying her frailty. She quickly regained composure and explained the trial:

"Not all can inherit a divine seat, nor wield its full power. Beyond spirit, will, and body, you must grasp fundamental concepts."

"My seat governs the powers of life. To claim it, you must demonstrate your own comprehension of life itself."

"Deeper understanding yields greater divine manifestation."

"Yet expecting mortals to grasp godly power proves unreasonable."

"Thus I shall grant blessings – temporary divine perspectives to help you perceive life’s true meaning. The one who integrates this power fastest and demonstrates deepest mastery shall inherit my seat."

The benevolent goddess smiled. "Any questions?"

Storm Giant Tian Yu’s thunderous voice boomed: "How will ‘best mastery’ be judged?"

Her smile widened, though her answer carried unexpected edge:

"Judgment comes through… combat."

"After merging with my power, your combat power will reveal your grasp of life’s authority."

The declaration froze the air. Mu Lin realized the Celestial Spirit tribe’s long void-wandering hadn’t bred pacifism – these beings understood bloodshed.

Hearing this, Storm Giant Tian Yu, Dragon King Ao Chang, Ember Flame Qian, and Mu Lin himself all grinned.

A battle for divinity?

This suited them perfectly.