Chapter 293

Chapter 293: Commanding the Black River, Dissolving All Creation

"The heavens can’t cover my eyes; the earth can’t bury my heart…"

"I reign above kings, surpass all gods; I shall command everything, rule over all…"

"Death, the unnatural, every existence shall bend to my will, move at my direction!"

"My lord, you govern death itself, shelter heroic souls, embody the Emperor of Lidu ruling the underworld…"

While staring at the corrupted Ink Dragon in the river, Mu Lin—alongside the paper figures in the City God Realm and the Other Shore Flower sea—kept chanting. Their voices fed the flames of his Heart Lamp of Will.

This ritual truly made Mu Lin’s willing heart fire erupt anew. The blaze shattered the black river’s constraints, pushing his control over the evil dragon to 21%.

Though the evil dragon still obeyed the black river’s dominion, leaving Mu Lin limited in action.

"But enough…"

With this thought, Mu Lin triggered the third aspect of his willing heart fire—the Strange Army at Night, also called the royal authority crown.

A king’s subjects empower their ruler. Thus Mu Lin could channel his followers’ strength through this trait.

He’d once borrowed Chu Lingluo’s power to summon the Tree Realm and Sumeru Colossus.

He’d tapped into Yan Yunyu’s fortune-burning abilities to find treasures.

Now he drew upon the tainted Ink Dragon’s might.

"The king bears burdens, the king commands…"

"Drip… drip…"

Since the Ink Dragon fused with the black river water, using the evil dragon’s power meant wielding the river itself. Black droplets began seeping from Mu Lin’s pores.

"Drip… drip… drip…"

The dark puddle around his feet spread across the ground.

"What’s this?!"

Yu Fa stumbled backward in alarm—a wise reaction.

Through partial control, Mu Lin grasped the black river’s true horror.

First came spatial properties: the river water held dimensional expansion. A pond’s surface concealed lake-deep spaces.

Second emerged spatial connection. The puddle beneath him linked directly to the black river. Objects thrown in would undergo teleportation.

Beyond space manipulation lay erosion, pollution, suppression, transformation, and dissolution. The first two needed no explanation—common traits among eldritch beings and higher entities.

The heavy river water was an outward sign of its suppressive nature.

Transformation meant the water had no fixed form. The black river could make the water take the shape of anything—the vengeful souls and evil ghosts within were all water’s illusions.

The black river’s depths held several true sources of strangeness—not just monsters or objects tainted by a strange aura.

Since these sources couldn’t be destroyed, the water-formed monsters came not only from the river itself but also from other strange powers mixed within, making the black river’s dangers unpredictable.

Of all these threats, melting troubled Mu Lin most.

The black river water dissolved everything. Mu Lin’s constant dripping showed his power being eroded.

His whitening, wrinkled skin revealed his Physical Strength and lifespan wasting away.

Without energy from the Substitute Paper Figures in the City God Realm, Mu Lin would’ve turned into Black Water instantly.

Even now, he struggled.

The growing river water’s melting speed would eventually outpace his energy supply.

But the black river wouldn’t succeed.

"Substitute Paper Figure, transfer damage!"

Mu Lin shifted the eroding black river water onto a paper figure.

As the transfer completed, a dragon’s roar echoed. The Substitute Paper Figure became a half-human, half-Ink Dragon hybrid.

This form could summon winds and rain, commanding waters freely.

Dragons ruled rivers inherently. Though strange, the black river water still obeyed draconic control—proving why dragons were called perfect creatures.

…

Dragon transformation slowed the erosion.

Yet Mu Lin didn’t order the Ink Dragon to block the water completely. Instead, he made it merge with the black river water.

The fused Substitute Ink Dragon started becoming river-borne strangeness itself, resisting commands.

Mu Lin’s eyes blazed with dominion fire:

"Submit!"

He wrestled control from the black river.

This time, Mu Lin won.

The black river’s true power dwarfed Mu Lin’s—its waves held world-crushing force.

But Mu Lin stood ashore.

Though the river could push power through spatial properties, the small puddle’s weak connection limited its strength.

"If I can’t beat the whole river, I’ll crush this trickle!"

With this mindset, Mu Lin channeled willing heart fire to burn and Refine the corrupted Substitute Ink Dragon.

In the end, Mu Lin succeeded. The corrupted Substitute Paper Figure, Ink Dragon fell back under his control. Using this as protection, Mu Lin gained indirect command over the black river water.

To achieve full dominion over the black river’s power, while manipulating the Ink Dragon, Mu Lin suddenly thought to use a talisman – Sky-High Technique Spell: Blank Divine Rank!

He fused this talisman core with both the Ink Dragon and black river water. The merging of these three elements triggered an extraordinary transformation.

"Hum!"

A peculiar pressure exuded from the Ink Dragon.

"Is this… divine presence? Did my paper figure become a Deity?"

"Wait, this Ink Dragon isn’t just a paper figure anymore. Its existence now draws power from both me and the black river itself. As long as the black river’s water doesn’t run out, it won’t perish easily. So now… could this be considered a Black River Dragon King?"

"Hmm… True Dragon Kings must fully control entire great rivers. This Ink Dragon only holds a sliver of the black river’s weak power without gaining the whole river’s acknowledgment. At best, it’s a River Lord."

This evolution from Substitute Paper Figure to Black River Lord counted as an upgrade.

The upgrade came with pros and cons.

The advantage was Mu Lin’s Ink Dragon River God could now wield the all-dissolving black river water in battle.

The drawback? While immensely powerful, the black river’s chaotic nature meant the Ink Dragon faced constant risk of corruption.

Mu Lin prepared countermeasures.

First came the Root Word ‘Fix’ carved on the Ink Dragon’s forehead, boosting its resistance.

Next, he reforged the River Lord’s body using Central Earth Evil-infused energy.

Lastly, distance control.

By limiting time spent in the black river, controlling water contact based on strength, and avoiding deeper connections, Mu Lin’s Ink Dragon River God wouldn’t corrupt easily.

With this plan, Mu Lin sent the Ink Dragon River God into the black river. He had no choice – he still needed to cross.

Wary of mutations, he needed to test the River God’s resistance.

"If this fails, I’ll just lose a Substitute Paper Figure. As long as the black river exists and my powers hold, I can keep making River Lords."

"But if I don’t test it and enter the river myself, any accident could be fatal."

Acceptable risks made Mu Lin bold.

The results pleased him.

His Ink Dragon River God didn’t corrupt instantly upon entering. Instead, its rank let it command portions of river water and even submerged spirits.

This didn’t mean the black river was weak – rather… it lacked intelligence.

Whether from natural disposition, the cost of suppressing true sources of strangeness, or a deceased master, the mighty black river held no unified consciousness despite its immense power and universal malice.

It operated purely on instinct.

"True. If this river had real intelligence, none of those Wandering Bugs would’ve crossed earlier."

An intelligent black river could simply summon towering waves or whirlpools to sink any boat instantly.

But in the end, the Wandering Bugs encountered some obstacles yet passed through easily – this showed the black river’s mindless nature, a manifestation of its lack of intelligence and reliance on instinct.

Now Mu Lin’s Ink Dragon, the River Lord took advantage of this very weakness.

Had the black river possessed wisdom or an owner, it would’ve immediately reclaimed control from the Ink Dragon invading its power without discussion, using all its might.

It might even have corrupted Mu Lin himself.

Against the black river’s immense power, Mu Lin couldn’t possibly resist – his only option would be cutting losses to survive.

But without intelligence, the black river reacted sluggishly.

When the Ink Dragon entered the water, their shared origin caused delayed detection by the black river water.

Only after three to five breaths did it sense something wrong and start eroding Mu Lin to seize control of the Ink Dragon, the River Lord.

Still lacking intelligence, its attack wasn’t full-force.

Only nearby power was sent to attack Mu Lin.

Since the Ink Dragon, the River Lord itself held high rank within the black river’s hierarchy, this limited assault couldn’t quickly overpower it – unless Mu Lin foolishly let the Ink Dragon sink to the riverbed.

Surprisingly, Mu Lin could command both the black river water and its transformed ghosts and evil spirits.

"Scatter!"

At the Ink Dragon’s authoritative command, some evil spirits actually withdrew, though more kept swarming.

This disorder again revealed the black river’s instinct-driven nature.

Yet Mu Lin noticed growing turbulence as the Ink Dragon, the River Lord stayed longer in the water.

Even this mindless black river wasn’t easily handled.

"The Ink Dragon, the River Lord can enter but can’t linger. The river’s instinct strengthens its erosion against obstacles… Stay too long, and not just me – even a High Mastery of Transformation cultivator or Earth Immortal might fall here."

Realizing this actually reassured Mu Lin.

The available time sufficed for crossing.

Yet he didn’t depart immediately, instead glancing at Yu Fa who’d helped him.

"I can cross now. You may follow behind, but I warn you – my method’s risky and I can’t guarantee your safety."

Mu Lin didn’t mind helping those who aided him.

But Yu Fa didn’t answer immediately, staring thunderstruck as the Ink Dragon, the River Lord walked ashore from the waves.

"You… you actually control the black river!"

Astonishment spread beyond Yu Fa.

Others watched helplessly by the river, fearing the dissolving water’s touch, while Mu Lin not only feared nothing but commanded the black river itself – how could they not marvel?

Outside observers had already witnessed Mu Lin complete Refining the Evil in one incense stick’s time and reach Condensing Essence instantly.

They’d maximized their estimates of his talent.

Yet seeing him command the black river water left powerful clan elders dumbstruck.

"This… is this still human?"

"They say worlds in crisis lower restrictions to spawn geniuses and open relics… But this talent exceeds all reason!"