Chapter 277

Chapter 277: Can He Win? Mu Lin: He Will Win.

Not only did the watching talented members of demon sects think Lin Qiu had gone mad, even the Star-Moon Sect elder controlling the falling meteor didn’t anticipate that ‘Lin Qiu’ would charge forward instead of fleeing after seeing his attack.

This first stunned the elder, then filled him with glee.

"Fool seeking death! This is your own doing!"

He poured more mana into the meteor while muttering, making it plummet faster and fiercer.

"Boom!"

The flaming meteor crashed downward as the majestic Cangshan Yumen Pass surged upward from the earth. The impending collision between sky and ground made countless observers clutch their throats in tension.

Meanwhile, many turned to Mu Lin with the same burning question: "Can he win?"

Though unheard by Mu Lin, he steeled himself with a silent vow as the clash approached: "He will win."

"Boom… roar!"

As Mu Lin’s inner declaration faded, the meteor smashed into the fortress conjured by three thousand Beiwai Army soldiers. The instant they collided, thunderous detonation shook the world.

"!!!"

The deafening roar left everyone’s ears ringing and minds blank. Alongside the ear-splitting noise came a sky-splitting shockwave and a towering mushroom cloud.

"Crash…"

Though the demon sect’s talents stood kilometers outside Ping An Ancient County, the blast’s aftermath still buffeted them. Worse hit was Ping An Ancient County itself, situated directly below the explosion.

From his central position, Mu Lin clearly felt the entire Ping An Ancient Town quake as if struck by an earthquake – cracks splitting the ground, buildings crumbling. Even the spiritual veins beneath the city trembled.

Yet none cared about the damages. All eyes remained fixed on the fading smoke at ground zero.

When the dust cleared, the mana-forged meteor had vanished. Only the battered Cangshan Yumen Pass remained standing.

"The fortress survives! Lin Qiu won!"

"Impossible! Anyone entering Ping An Ancient County must be under eighteen… Two years of cultivation? How could he rival a High Mastery of Transformation expert so young?"

Mu Lin’s defense against the Star-Moon elder’s strike – even a casual one – left the crowd dumbfounded.

His youth made this feat unimaginable.

At eighteen, having cultivated for just two years yet managing to withstand a strike from a Transformation realm expert—this defied everyone’s expectations. Ji Hongyu stood particularly shocked.

She clearly knew Mu Lin hadn’t practiced cultivation for two years, but mere months.

"Months. Transformation realm. What kind of monster is he?!"

…

While others marveled at Mu Lin’s power, even he felt some surprise.

He’d always believed victory possible, not because he fought alone—the spiritual veins of Ping An Ancient County were under his command.

With this vast energy, Mu Lin wasn’t opposing the Star-Moon Sect elder alone. That elder faced an entire city.

This localized control represented the Divine Path’s advantage over the Immortal Path.

Yet Mu Lin had expected blocking the meteor would cost him all three thousand Beiwai Army troops, with most buildings destroyed. Instead, half his soldiers survived, and only faint cracks marred the ancient county.

"Why… Cangshan Yumen Pass!"

Mu Lin soon realized the answer lay in the legendary fortress itself.

The Earth-level Sky Wall Palace Formation held the key. At basic proficiency, soldiers could link spiritual energy to share damage.

At mastery level, this energy could suppress enemies or disrupt attacks.

But true mastery allowed Mu Lin to channel soldiers’ hearts, souls, will, and bodies into manifesting legendary fortresses.

He’d often summoned the City of Heaven’s Funeral before. This forbidden city never disappointed—its projections corrupted landscapes into uninhabitable zones. Merely appearing, it eradicated enemies through sheer dread.

Mu Lin once considered it his ultimate weapon. Now he understood his mistake.

The city harmed allies and foes alike.

Cangshan Yumen Pass differed. This human stronghold represented the Beiwai Army’s final stand. Their military spirit summoned its echo naturally.

Unexpectedly, the fortress projection bore unique traits. Whether from its original defensive arrays or historical resonance, the manifested stronghold possessed one overwhelming quality—it grew stronger through endless battle.

"When Cangshan Yumen Pass appears, all troops receive boosts… but that’s trivial."

"But within the influence of Cangshan Yumen Pass, soldiers and Yin soldiers who fell in battle wouldn’t simply vanish. Instead, their energy merged with the pass itself, strengthening its protective power."

This meant the Beiwai Army’s deaths didn’t weaken their forces.

Whether one soldier, a hundred, or a thousand perished, their collective strength flowed into Yumen Pass, empowering the remaining Beiwai fighters.

This growing reinforcement made the surviving troops progressively stronger.

Thus, the longer they fought, the more formidable they became.

…

The combined might of the earth’s spiritual veins and the Yumen Pass summoned by the Beiwai Army completely neutralized the Star-Moon Sect elder’s attack.

But this defiance only fueled his rage.

"You wretched brat—you’ll pay for this!"

"Boom!"

As the elder gathered energy for a devastating strike against Mu Lin, an angry shout cut through the chaos of battle.

"Stand down! Sacrificial Star is dead. Another move from you breaks the pact. Lay one finger on him, and I’ll slaughter every disciple at your sect’s doorstep! I’ll also report this to the Demon Exorcism Division’s commander—they’ll send a Pillar-State powerhouse to hunt you like a dog!"

"……"

Sacrificial Star had indeed perished in the earlier clash’s aftermath.

Though the elder bristled at Ji Hongyu’s threat to massacre his sect’s disciples, he didn’t relent out of grief—dead prodigies held no value. What enraged him was Mu Lin’s audacity to block his attack, a personal insult demanding retribution.

Even maiming the boy would suffice.

But the mention of Pillar-State intervention froze his hand.

"Hmph! Consider this mercy," he spat before withdrawing.

…

With Sacrificial Star dead and the elder retreating, the conflict ended—but its repercussions were just beginning.

Mu Lin’s display of power drew sharper scrutiny from demon sects.

The most unsettled were the demonic prodigies themselves. Due to age restrictions, they realized with dread that Mu Lin would now target them directly.

Jiang Yingying/Fa Yan/Blood River: "We have to fight Lin Qiu? Seriously?!"

Having witnessed Mu Lin clash with a sect elder, none believed they could match him.

Fortunately, a Demon Sect elder offered counsel:

"Don’t panic. Lin Qiu’s strength comes from Ping An Ancient County’s spiritual veins. When you face him, you’re battling the land itself. But veins can’t be moved. Away from this place, he’s nothing."

This reassurance steadied the prodigies’ nerves.

Meanwhile, Mu Lin plotted ways to lure more demon cultivators into his territory.

"Maybe curse techniques could force them into the city…"

As he prepared to test this idea, Ji Hongyu arrived with urgent news.

"Stop fighting the demon prodigies. From now on, they’re not our enemies."

"???"

Her grave expression stunned Mu Lin, but realization soon dawned.

"Something’s wrong. Does the Grave Lord inheritance hide deeper secrets?"

"Worse. A catastrophe is coming."

…

In Ping An Ancient County, Ji Hongyu delivered her warning.

Meanwhile, in Yuzhou’s Demon Exorcism Division headquarters, Southeast Province Commander Chu Xuezhen confronted the Savior Organization leader.

"Have you told me everything about the Grave Lord inheritance?"

"???"

The leader frowned. "I disclosed all during my last report."

"Really?"

Chu Xuezhen’s piercing silence stretched before she asked: "Your visions of the future… did they show any gods?"

"Fleeting glimpses, unclear and contradictory—" The leader froze mid-sentence, eyes widening in horror. "You summoned me because… the Grave Lord’s legacy contains a buried god?"