Chapter 265

Chapter 265: The Expanding City God Realm

A group from Ping An Ancient Street shifted their revenge plans to the incoming monsters and evil spirits, hoping to overthrow "Lin Qiu" by using other powerful outsiders.

Thus, they lay low afterward, silently awaiting the arrival of other disciples from the demon sects.

Mu Lin welcomed this development.

Having absorbed so many magical treasures and spiritual veins, he needed time to organize and adapt.

His City God Realm also required expansion and reconstruction.

…

“Boom… roar…”

Anyone entering Mu Lin’s City God Realm would find its Yin soil now spanned a hundred acres.

At the realm’s core stood the lord’s altar.

Towering at nine zhang and nine chi, it exuded a sacred and majestic aura.

But the altar was no longer visible—a grand hall now enveloped it, housing Mu Lin’s city god’s manifestation on a high seat.

Besides the city god’s temple, Mu Lin constructed a massive prison using soul-nourishing wood and grave soil "donated" by Ping An Ancient Street.

(Of course, Young Master Bai Qi and others viewed "Lin Qiu" as a thief who’d plundered treasures they’d cultivated in their spiritual veins. This theft only deepened their hatred.)

Mu Lin couldn’t care less.

After discovering that many "treasures" were actually vengeful spirits and evil ghosts deliberately bred by the Yin Eight Sect, he felt zero guilt about clashing with Ping An Ancient Street’s residents.

“Those monsters deserve worse than death.”

…

Instead of destroying all the evil ghosts, Mu Lin used his City God authority to convert some into ghost soldiers and prison guards, putting them to work in the City God Realm.

Thousands of vengeful spirits and ghosts now roamed the realm, adding a grim liveliness.

Yet the true terror lay in the Beiwai Army.

Empowered by human legends and battle formations, their strength grew with each new recruit.

Mu Lin now commanded 2,400 Beiwai soldiers—a number still rising.

Even his city god’s true form and the Zhong Kui manifestation couldn’t match this army’s combined might.

“More soldiers mean more energy drained. Without Ping An Ancient Town’s superior spiritual veins, sustaining this force would be impossible.”

The Beiwai Army solidified Mu Lin’s control over the town.

Beyond the army, the City God Realm’s landscape had transformed.

Once just gray skies, barren Yin soil, and solemn black-gray structures, now a river—manifesting the spiritual veins—cut through the land.

Along its banks bloomed vivid red Manjusaka flowers, finally plantable after the realm’s expansion.

The flowers of the other shore served as both decoration and a defensive barrier for Mu Lin’s protection of the City God Realm.

Any intruder entering the Yin Court would be lured by the sea of Manjusaka blossoms.

Those with weak wills would fall into eternal illusions, their magic power, flesh, and souls devoured by the Manjusaka to nourish its growth.

"Prisons, jailers, the Yin River, and endless Manjusaka fields – this truly resembles hell now."

Mu Lin surveyed his thriving City God Realm with deep satisfaction.

While he remained occupied, unrest gradually spread through Ping An Ancient Town.

This chaos wasn’t caused by Young Master Bai Qi and his followers – consumed by hatred, they waited patiently for a single decisive strike against Mu Lin.

The disturbance came instead from ordinary demon sect disciples, free cultivators, and arriving monsters from the Yin Eight Sect.

As the Grave Lord inheritance’s awakening approached, more seekers flooded in.

Though none expected to claim the Grave Lord’s core inheritance, even scattered fragments of his power promised great rewards.

The vast gap between the Grave Lord’s might and their own meant any remnant could elevate them significantly.

Ping An Ancient Town swelled with arrivals.

With Qi Practitioners gathering – mostly made up of those infamous for wickedness from demon sects, free cultivators, and the Yin Eight Sect – chaos became inevitable.

While not every demon sect member was evil, executing nine out of ten would still leave countless villains untouched…

"Please! Take me instead! My baby’s innocent!"

In a commoner’s home, five family members lay dead. The householder’s lifeless eyes burned with eternal hatred. Two children’s bodies lay nearby.

A black-robed man stared hungrily at the last surviving six-month-old infant, as if beholding rare treasure.

"Hahaha! My five ghost infants ritual completes at last! This fire-attuned babe is perfect!"

The man reveled in his coming power boost, indifferent to the slaughtered family and weeping mother. These mortals couldn’t disturb his focus.

His mercy toward the woman wasn’t compassion. A raspy voice commented:

"Old ghost, kill that wailing shrew or I’ll grind her bones to dust!"

"Not yet," another voice countered. "Her hatred needs deepening. Slay her last child first…"

"You monsters! I’ll haunt you through eternity!"

The mother’s curse drew delighted laughter from the demon sect members:

"Perfect! Such potent hatred! Exactly what we need!"

"As for becoming a ghost to haunt us, hehe… even as a ghost, you’d never escape our clutches…"

Such tragedies weren’t limited to this mansion – similar horrors occurred throughout Ping An Ancient Town.

Families got slaughtered, girls violated, children’s livers ripped from living bodies, even infants tossed into alchemy cauldrons.

This was the true nature of demon sects.

Most of these so-called "free-spirited" demon sects were just beasts unworthy of being called human.

Their presence turned Ping An Ancient Town into living hell.

Amid the chaos, some sect members felt uneasy.

"Should we really act this boldly? The Demon Exorcism Division’s commander here is notoriously ruthless. What if he strikes back?"

These whispers made a few cautious, but most sneered:

"What’s the Demon Exorcism Division to us? Our numbers and strength surpass theirs now!"

"If they dare move against us, those seeking black list fame will slaughter them first."

"True enough…"

The black list – meant as wanted posters for demonic cultivators – became twisted into status symbols.

Though intended to deter, most targets proved too cunning to kill. Demon sects relished seeing the imperial forces humiliated, making black-listed killers celebrated heroes.

Fame and fortune being universal desires, many actively sought black list status through atrocities. Destroying a Demon Exorcism Division branch became the surest path to infamy.

…

With the Grave Lord inheritance approaching, more demonic cultivators flooded Ping An Ancient Town daily. Many believed their growing forces now overpowered the Demon Exorcism Division.

"Let the imperial dogs fear us!" they boasted.

Even cautious members took risks, betting on safety in numbers.

"Jijiji! Hide our limbs and nobody’ll know I harvested souls!"

"Third Brother’s right! No evidence means no arrest!"

This lawless logic deepened the town’s chaos.

But these demonic cultivators forgot one truth:

Laws only bind those who obey them.

Since demon sects ignored all rules, they slaughtered ordinary people freely.

Unfortunately for them, Mu Lin didn’t follow rules either.