Chapter 266

Chapter 266: Justice in Action

"Boom… roar…"

Thundering hooves shook the earth.

Mu Lin’s Beiwai Army marched forth.

As the newly appointed City God, Mu Lin had detected the demon cultivators’ attacks in Ping An Ancient County.

Yet ordinary people stood no chance against Qi Practitioners. Even with his awareness, Mu Lin couldn’t save them all.

When his Yin soldiers and ghost officials reached the mansion where the five ghost infants had been cultivated, they found no survivors – only bloodstains marking the tragedy.

Within the City God Realm, Mu Lin’s face twisted with anger. Nearby, whispers rose among onlookers.

"This frustration… did they breed a red-robed vengeful spirit here? Lucky bastards."

"Ghost infants too! Damn, I should’ve found this place first…"

Envious murmurs spread as some examined the Yin soldiers.

"These aren’t regular spirits. Where’s their resentment?"

"Strange. Powerful too. That Demon Exorcism Division leader means business."

"So what if he’s tough? We didn’t break any laws. What can they do?"

"Right! We’re just spectators."

"More like rubberneckers."

"Aren’t you?"

Snickers erupted.

The free demon cultivators swaggered openly, jeering at the ghost officials. Confident in their legal immunity, they mocked freely.

A gap-toothed old Daoist grinned widest – the very cultivator who’d murdered infants for his five ghost infants. Driven by arrogance and spite, he’d returned to gloat over the Demon Exorcism Division’s failure.

"Come with us."

The sudden command froze the crowd.

"By what right?" a cultivator spat.

"We didn’t kill anyone here!" another shouted.

"Hehe, this Daoist just arrived here…"

Some sneered in refusal while others argued vehemently.

Mu Lin’s Yin soldiers and ghost officials paid no heed. They declared harshly, "Guilt isn’t yours to decide—it’s the Demon Exorcism Division’s duty."

"Now we suspect crimes. You’ll come with us."

"Resist, and we’ll know your guilt. Killing you becomes justified!"

The Beiwai Army Captain gestured sharply. Yin officials instantly drew Soul Binding Chains, lashing toward the demon cultivators.

Resistance flared immediately.

Mu Lin’s cold voice echoed through the Beiwai Army Captain: "Choose wisely. Cooperate now for questioning—innocence means freedom. Resist, and we’ll pin every corpse in that room on you. All guilty."

Demon cultivators seethed.

"Bastard! That room held four dead—we’re over a dozen here! Your lies can’t even add up!"

"Ten of us? Not enough bodies to split even three ways!"

"Lawless arrests! Where’s justice?"

Mu Lin chuckled.

"My words are justice now. Complain at the Demon Exorcism Division later—I’ll listen… patiently."

"You—!" The toothless old Daoist trembled with rage.

They’d expected reason from an official. Instead, Mu Lin mirrored their lawlessness—detaining without proof.

"Demon Exorcism scum! You’re no better than us!"

"The difference?" Mu Lin smirked. "Your killings are crimes. Mine? Righteous duty."

Boom… roar!

Three hundred more Beiwai soldiers marched in. Their evil ghost masks hid faces, but not the chilling Spirit Pool and Spirit Sea Realm cultivations. United spiritual energy fused them into an unstoppable mountain.

Fighting spirit crumbled.

"Retreat!"

"Five Ghosts Transport!"

"Swish!"

As their fighting spirit faded, the demon cultivators scrambled to flee.

They had no choice.

Most had dark pasts.

Even if they hadn’t committed killings in Ping An Ancient Town, they’d done so elsewhere. Facing judgment from the Demon Exorcism Division was unthinkable.

But escaping wasn’t an option.

Mu Lin’s Yin soldiers and ghost officials weren’t mere decorations.

The legendary Beiwai Army alone could hold their own against demon cultivators in single combat.

With hundreds now arrayed in formation, they were practically unstoppable.

To the cultivators’ despair, their own techniques relied on controlling evil ghosts, spirits, and zombies—precisely the entities Mu Lin’s forces countered.

"Crack!"

"Screeeech!!!"

A single strike from a ghost official’s Soul Binding Chains destabilized even the most vengeful spirits.

When fully bound, these entities crumpled like tigers stripped of claws and teeth.

Between the ghost officials’ spectral suppression and the Beiwai Army’s might,

Mu Lin swiftly eliminated or captured every demon cultivator.

Death would’ve been mercy.

His City God Realm currently lacked the Eighteen Layers of Hell’s torments,

but the Manjusaka flower sea sufficed.

Left among those crimson blooms, captives fell under the flowers’ illusionary ability within moments,

their memories laid bare. Those who’d only targeted powerful clans or Qi Practitioners might receive lighter punishments or even freedom.

Such cases proved vanishingly rare—Mu Lin hadn’t found a single one.

The rest faced grimmer fates.

Knowing their crimes, Mu Lin denied them quick deaths.

For villains with monstrous sins, he weaponized the Manjusaka’s Illusion Ability.

Some lived as terrified livestock, slaughtered after years of drudgery.

Others endured endless betrayals—cuckolded, backstabbed, abused by kin.

Every illusion maximized suffering.

No redemption, only unrelenting misery.

The gap-toothed Daoist who’d cultivated five ghost infants learned this through decades of phantom torment.

In the end, tormented beyond endurance, he even wept and begged Mu Lin to end his life.

"Kill me, please kill me…"

"I was wrong, I’ll do anything if you’ll just kill me!"

"Please, I’m begging you, kill me now!"

…

Through this illusionary technique, the demon cultivators became trapped in endless cycles of agony. This was Mu Lin’s punishment for them.

Unexpectedly, during this punishment, the overwhelming negative emotions radiating from these demon cultivators—the torment of suffering, bitterness of betrayal, hatred, rage over slaughtered kin—all served as nourishment for the Manjusaka’s growth.

"What’s happening here?"

"Is this Manjusaka’s original ability, or a new power born from fused divinity?"

After consideration, Mu Lin leaned toward the latter explanation. This world lacked both the Other Shore’s hellscape and the River of Forgetting’s waters. Without such foundational elements, Manjusaka’s power paled compared to its might in his previous life. The Chu family’s evaluation of Manjusaka as merely an Earth-level supreme flower demonstrated this limitation.

While respectable, this ranking wasn’t extraordinary. But after merging with the divinity of delight, Manjusaka had evolved into a divine bloom with transformed capabilities.

"Current Manjusaka must be Heaven-grade now!"

Its newfound ability to feed on negative emotions greatly eased cultivation restrictions. Previously rootless yet confined to consuming souls and flesh, Manjusaka had been difficult to sustain. Now devouring spirits, flesh, and dark emotions simultaneously, its propagation accelerated dramatically.

"Originally limited to spiritual veins, at this rate my entire City God Realm might become carpeted with these flowers."

The rapid growth stemmed not only from divine fusion, but from abundant demon cultivators. Their ceaselessly harvested souls, flesh, magic, and emotions became premium fertilizer in the City God Realm.

"Wait—could Manjusaka achieve combining Essence and Evil before reaching the Transformation stage?"

After reflection, Mu Lin acknowledged the possibility without certainty. Beyond Manjusaka, his City God entity grew astonishingly fast too. Particularly after judging multiple demon cultivators, the City God had stockpiled divine power and merit, growing as fast as a rocket.