Chapter 298

Chapter 298: Three Attackers Get Counter-Killed—Can’t You Play Properly?

"…Never mind. Killing him brings little benefit anyway. Let him run."

Shaking his head, Mu Lin ignored the fleeing figure and resumed studying the tomb markings around him, deciphering the Grave Lord’s techniques.

As for the demon cultivators’ siege… truth be told, Mu Lin felt no fear.

Three hundred lives granted him abundant trial opportunities.

His counter-damage substitution made physical contact with him lethal.

Moreover, Mu Lin wielded the heaven-earth longevity ability.

Whether summoning the City of Heaven’s Funeral or channeling black river water, he could transform any zone into a death trap.

Three hundred lives meant over a hundred uses of heaven-earth longevity.

This capability rendered him impervious to Qi Practitioners at the Condensing Essence stage.

Even against combining Essence and Evil opponents, a determined Mu Lin could still trade fatal blows.

"Only a High Mastery of Transformation expert could hope to kill me."

That assessment belonged to the past. Now, beyond trial opportunities, Mu Lin possessed an extraordinary self-preservation skill—teleportation.

The Ink Dragon, the River Lord’s existence allowed Mu Lin to manifest water puddles beneath his feet, enabling instant travel into the black river.

Substitution, teleportation, heaven-earth longevity… Combined, these gave Mu Lin escape chances even from High Mastery of Transformation pursuers. Naturally, he showed no concern about being hunted by combining Essence and Evil realm mages.

…

Within the Grave Lord’s tomb, Mu Lin studied the sovereign’s methods.

In the City of Heart’s Prison, six figures convened—the black fierce tiger, Wandering Bug, Spirit Void Master, descendants of evil gods—Shadow and Crimson, and the minor tyrant.

All six had crossed the combining Essence and Evil threshold, ranking among the tomb’s mightiest.

Reaching this realm meant each had mastered a Heavenly Technique to the level of mastery.

Their enhanced magic, souls, and physical forms made them tenfold stronger than Condensing Essence stage Qi Practitioners.

Against Refining the Evil Realm foes, each could battle a hundred adversaries single-handedly.

Such power fueled their divine blood ambitions and contempt for ordinary cultivators—whom they planned to sacrifice for blood refinement.

Yet while scorning lesser practitioners, they deeply distrusted each other.

Their alliance progressed through mutual wariness.

As the six advanced into the City of Heart’s Prison’s depths, schemes churned behind their masks of cooperation.

Amidst their guarded posturing, a crimson streak shot from the distance, depositing a pale, trembling demon cultivator—the escapee from Mu Lin’s vicinity.

Though far from Mu Lin now, the memory still rattled him.

Only upon seeing the minor tyrant’s group did his panicked heartbeat steady.

"Senior Wandering Bug! Disaster strikes! An obstructionist slaughtered my teammate!"

Hearing this, the six occupants of the City of Heart’s Prison furrowed their brows.

The minor tyrant frowned, "Zui Xiaoyao? Did the Jade Daoist intervene? Those hypocrites wouldn’t perform blood sacrifices themselves, but they wouldn’t stop us either. They’d gladly let us succeed before stealing our victory."

"Not Zui Xiaoyao or the Jade Daoist. Mu Lin."

"Mu Lin?"

This name deepened the confusion of Wandering Bug, Spirit Void Master, and the infiltrating Black Fiend Fierce Tiger.

"Mu Lin’s sixteen this year. He only started cultivating half a year ago and barely reached the Refining the Evil stage. How could this fledgling defeat three of you and kill two?"

Three eighth-level cultivators ambushing a seventh-level, yet losing two? This absurd outcome made Wandering Bug eye the demon cultivators with open distrust:

‘What kind of fools are you?’

—They remained unaware Mu Lin had completed Refining the Evil within one incense stick’s time, now standing at the Condensing Essence stage.

The surviving demon cultivator who’d burned his life force to escape finally shared his knowledge:

"Brother Wandering Bug, Mu Lin’s reached Condensing Essence. Worse, his cursed technique reflects all attacks back at us…"

This revelation earned mild interest from the group, nothing more. None believed a fresh Condensing Essence cultivator—one who hadn’t even begun refining the essence into the soul—could challenge them.

‘Our true enemies sit in this room.’

With this understanding, Wandering Bug’s faction stayed put—especially since Mu Lin wasn’t actively hindering their ritual. The minor tyrant and Spirit Void Master particularly saw no reason to act against someone who’d wronged neither them nor their interests.

But different calculations stirred within the Black Fiend Fierce Tiger and the two descendants of evil gods. Hearing of Mu Lin’s youth and talent, murderous glints flashed in their eyes.

After silent consultation, the descendant of evil gods—Shadow broke the stillness: "We can’t ignore this threat, even if he’s passive."

His crimson counterpart added hungrily, "Such a prodigy would make excellent material for divine blood refinement."

The minor tyrant shrugged, "Then go capture him."

Crimson shook his head, "I’m busy refining divine blood."

Wandering Bug waved a dismissive hand, "Breaking the city’s seal demands my attention."

Spirit Void Master crossed his arms, "I wouldn’t trust you lot with my back turned."

The Black Fiend Fierce Tiger’s claws flexed. This human prodigy’s existence burned its pride—an outsider surpassing their kind. Yet leaving now risked the others conspiring during its absence.

"Enough!" The beast finally growled. "Wandering wastes time he might never be found. Let the whelp come to us—we’ll crush him then."

"…Agreed."

Though dissatisfied, none dared leave their rivals unsupervised. The ritual resumed, each schemer eyeing the others while vats of divine blood simmered.

Mu Lin remained completely unaware of everything unfolding.

Meanwhile, outside, demon cultivators had joined forces with Spirit Void Master and descendants of evil gods.

Elders from demon sects, high-level cultivators from the Daoist sect, and clan elders from powerful clans burst into heated arguments.

“Bastards! Knew we couldn’t trust those demon rats! Should’ve barred them all from the start!”

“You can’t achieve anything but sure know how to ruin everything! If those evil gods break free, you’ll all die screaming!”

Daoist cultivators and red-faced clan elders hurled curses across the hall.

The demon sect fired back:

“Hypocrites! Your precious Daoists turned traitor too!”

“One rotten apple versus your whole damned basket!”

“Numbers don’t matter – a traitor’s still a traitor!”

“Truth is, your Daoist heroes Zui Xiaoyao and Jade Daoist couldn’t crush a godling if their lives depended on it! Weaklings breeding weaklings!”

Below the shouting match, Prince Liang’s knuckles whitened in the VIP booth.

“Those thrice-cursed fools!”

CRACK!

His fist smashed through the table, scattering splinters. The threat was personal – if evil gods revived in Yuzhou, the devastation would cripple his domain. Dragon veins granting him Earth Master powers might crumble, reducing him to commoner status.

“Mobilize every clan!” he roared. “If Yuzhou’s veins die, your spirit fields and mines perish too! Your ancestral legacies turn to dust!”

The warning struck home. Clan elders scrambled to summon reinforcements, though help would arrive too late. Prince Liang paced like caged tiger.

East Sea King laid a steadying hand on his shoulder. “Easy, brother. Those demons won’t let gods revive – they’d lose their precious divine blood harvest. And Grave Lord’s ancient seals still hold.”

“But what if—”

“Mu Lin!” Prince Liang’s sudden shout drew all eyes to a figure approaching City of Heart’s Prison. Hope flared briefly before dimming. “Foolish boy… Condensing Essence against six High Masters? He’s marching to his death.”