Chapter 315

Chapter 315: Spiritual Weapon, Crimson Holy Grail

East Sea King’s dealings with the strange god remained unknown to Mu Lin. He continued using the Cycle of Life and Death formation to grind away at Crimson Ruler’s consciousness.

Though the divine consciousness within the grail hadn’t been fully erased yet, Mu Lin succeeded in destroying the Crimson Child’s consciousness within the dark golden holy grail first. This granted him his first spiritual weapon – or rather, holy artifact – the Crimson Holy Grail.

In terms of rank, this formidable object could match an Earth Master’s power, surpassing even the unreached High Mastery of Transformation stage Mu Lin hadn’t yet achieved. Like most artifacts, it had limitations – its powers would gradually unlock with the wielder’s strength, unable to unleash full Earth Master-level might independently.

The Crimson Holy Grail exemplified this flaw. Though immensely powerful, the previous Crimson Child had failed to wield it properly, exhausting all stored blood reserves. Crimson Ruler’s weakened state without blood or energy prevented activating the grail, enabling Mu Lin’s god-slaying triumph.

"For life-aligned cultivators, this grail serves as an ultimate crucible," Mu Lin realized after initial refinement. Its overwhelming capabilities centered entirely on blood manipulation and lineage enhancement.

"First comes purification – refining blood quality. With this, my dragon blood’s evolution to true dragon blood no longer requires tedious accumulation through water rituals."

"Second is fusion – blending vital blood from different demonic beasts to create new species."

"Third is adaptive evolution… Life adapts miraculously to environments. Penguins grow plump in Antarctic cold, while forests breed sparrows and mountains shape eagles…"

Though natural evolution required millennia even with spiritual energy, the grail accelerated this process. But costs accompanied these powers: massive blood energy consumption limited full usage to Earth Masters, while fusion and evolution attempts risked genetic disorders or outright failure.

An additional flaw troubled Mu Lin – crimson-tainted blood bred vicious, bloodthirsty creatures bearing crimson traits. Yet their enhanced power offset this drawback.

"Appearance matters little," Mu Lin concluded. "A fiercer true dragon form suits me. The willing heart fire’s invincible belief can curb brutality."

Satisfied the grail’s influence remained manageable, Mu Lin dripped his blood into the artifact, commencing purification. His goal: transform dragon blood into true dragon essence, forging the ultimate Body of a Dragon.

Mu Lin was not satisfied with merely possessing the Body of a Dragon. He poured Yin energy, the forbidden power from City of Heaven’s Funeral, and refined yin-yang energies into the Crimson Holy Grail.

"Ordinary dragon breeds are strong, but not invincible. Golden-winged Dapengs even hunt true dragons."

"Since I seek invincibility, I’ll cultivate the ultimate dragon breed."

Legendary dragon breeds like Yinglong and five-clawed golden dragons existed. Had Mu Lin been royalty, he’d have pursued the five-clawed golden dragon path to connect with Dragon veins and embody the Will of Humanity. With wind-water cultivation methods, he’d choose Yinglong or Thunder Lake Dragon God to rule skies and seas.

But Mu Lin walked the Underworld deity path through Yin energy cultivation. Thus he chose Zhu Long.

The deity of Mount Zhong, Zhu Yin, controlled day/night cycles by opening/closing eyes, winter/summer through breath – needing neither sustenance nor rest. This dragon breed representing celestial cycles was supremely powerful.

Crucially, it aligned with Mu Lin’s cultivation. Zhu Long’s day-night mastery mirrored Mu Lin’s Cycle of Life and Death formation that altered reality’s hues. Seasonal control symbolized time – which Mu Lin touched through Communicating with Spirits.

In essence, Mu Lin’s Ink Dragon form and mystical arts made him a simpler version of Zhu Long. The Crimson Holy Grail could elevate this faint possibility into certainty.

"Blood purification continues – the dragon body is foundational. But fusion experiments must persist too. I’ll merge Yin energy, Cycle of Life and Death, forbidden power, even black river water into my form to create the ultimate Zhu Long."

Mu Lin acted immediately, his way being swift decisiveness.

Drip…

Blood entered the Grail, beginning purification. Yet experiments revealed problems. Not energy shortage – using city god’s manifestation to tap earth veins, he surpassed most High Mastery cultivators in Grail usage, conducting dozens trials rapidly.

Issues arose: Yin energy turned blood into lifeless zombie ichor. Forbidden power’s high rank corrupted blood into uncontrollable tainted sludge. Black river water dissolved blood before adaptation. Encoding Cycle of Life and Death into genes as innate talent also baffled him.

Stuck, Mu Lin realized success required either miraculous luck through billions attempts, or Nobel-surpassing expertise in genetics, bloodlines, formations.

"Better gamble on luck… No, billions tries might take millennia!"

Bloodline ascension’s difficulty explained Zhu Long’s mythical status. But Mu Lin couldn’t wait.

"Any way to accelerate progress?"

Solution came – fortune burning. Unlike his past world, here humans could enhance luck. Yan family held such secrets, accessible via royal authority crown.

"Accumulate enough fortune, burn it for strong fortune state, then attempt fusion. Might boost microscopic success chance."

This seemed viable. Given Mu Lin’s existing fame and fortune, he believed advancing to High Mastery might directly evolve his Body of a Dragon into Zhu Long form.