Condensing a Wind-attribute soul core was proving to be anything but smooth. Lin Mu had attempted the process several times, but each effort ended in failure. Whenever he tried to stabilize the Wind-attribute core, his existing Fire and Lightning soul cores would erupt in violent opposition.
Previously, Lin Mu could forcibly suppress the two cores through sheer willpower. However, adding a third was clearly pushing his current capacity to its breaking point.
After a month of meticulous exploration, he finally identified the bottleneck. While his soul power reserves were close to the absolute Limit Douluo, nearly sufficient for a third core, his spiritual power was slightly lacking.
To successfully condense a third soul core, he needed to elevate his mental state. The most effective way to do so was to absorb a top-tier mental-type soul Bone. Aside from the legendary Skydream Ice Silkworm, the Evil Emperor possessed the most formidable spiritual strength in the world.
With his target decided, Lin Mu set off for the Sun Moon Continent.
Since he lacked a specific navigational route, he was forced to wander aimlessly across the vast, trackless ocean, occasionally hunting deep-sea soul beasts just to sustain himself. After several days and nights of continuous flight, a new landmass finally appeared on the horizon.
"Finally... I've found it."
Gazing down at a city whose architectural style was starkly different from those of the Heaven Dou Empire, Lin Mu let out a long, weary sigh. The flight had been exhausting. He hadn't expected the distance between the two continents to be so immense; by ship, the journey would have taken several months, provided the crew even knew the way.
Because he was flying blind, Lin Mu had actually crossed different sections of the ocean three times before locating the continent. Had he been on a vessel, he likely would have been swallowed by a storm or forced to turn back long ago.
His arrival did not go unnoticed. Citizens in the streets below stopped in their tracks, their eyes widening as they stared at his radiant gold armor. Bathed in the high altitude sunlight, his figure appeared like a descending deity, burned into their retinas as an unforgettable image.
Seeing the crowd beginning to swell, Lin Mu's figure blurred. He transformed into a streak of golden light and vanished into the clouds. However, his brief appearance only fueled the fervor of the masses.
"A divine manifestation!" someone cried out. A wave of people knelt in the streets, offering prayers to the empty sky. Although the technology of the Sun Moon Continent far surpassed that of the Heaven Dou or Star Luo empires, reverence for the divine remained deeply ingrained in their culture.
Lin Mu eventually landed in a different city. This time, he was more discreet. He deactivated his armor and entered the gates appearing as an ordinary traveler. Despite his attempt to blend in, his striking looks and foreign attire still drew curious glances from passersby, though no one dared to cause trouble.
Navigating the language barrier with difficulty, Lin Mu located a map shop and purchased a rough chart of the continent. Although the local currency differed, his high-purity Gold Soul Coins were universally valued. He didn't care if his wealth caused a stir; his only goal was the Evil Demon Forest.
"This coin is masterfully crafted... pure gold without any base metals," the shop owner mused, squinting at the unfamiliar soul coin after Lin Mu had left. "Where could it have come from?"
Meanwhile, Tang San had been in Slaughter City for over a month. In that short time, he had already slain over a thousand Fallen Ones. To him, these inherently brutal beings deserved nothing less than death.
'Just as Master said, this place is a paradise for the wicked, but it's actually a specialized prison designed to contain them,' Tang San thought, watching a skirmish between two criminals through a window.
He knew Spirit Hall tolerated the existence of Slaughter City because it kept the world's most dangerous deviants concentrated in one place, even providing them with basic sustenance. However, Tang San disagreed with that mercy. Depraved individuals capable of such evil should be eradicated, not warehoused. Even if they fought to the death in the Slaughter Arena, the survivors were still monsters.
"These dregs must be purged," Tang San muttered.
His gaze sharpened. He aimed at several combatants outside and flicked his wrist. Multiple Hidden Weapons whistled through the air, ending their lives cleanly and decisively. He then closed the window and sat cross-legged to cultivate.
While traditional cultivation was suppressed here, every victory in the arena allowed him to absorb a portion of his opponents' soul power. As he meditated, his thoughts drifted. 'I wonder how Master and Mother are faring.' In this city of sin, the memories of Lin Mu and Ah Yin were his anchors, preventing him from succumbing to the bloodlust of the abyss.
Following his map, Lin Mu quickly located the Evil Demon Forest. To lure out his true quarry, he hunted down a 100,000-year-old Evil Eye Tyrant and struck before it could even react.
He killed it with a single, casual strike. To his luck, it dropped a skull soul bone. Although it was a standard 100,000-year piece, it was a solid start. He hoped the Evil Emperor would drop an external soul bone as well. Unlike most beasts, this species almost exclusively dropped head or external bones, which was exactly why Lin Mu had traveled thousands of miles to find them.
Just as Lin Mu tucked the skull bone into his storage tool, a mournful, piercing shriek erupted, not in the air, but directly inside his mind.
"HUMAN! YOU DARED SLAY MY DESCENDANT? KNEEL!"
Even with his armor neutralizing the brunt of the mental assault, Lin Mu felt a sharp, tearing sensation in his mind. It was a testament to the power of the strongest mental-type beast on land. He endured the pain and soared into the sky.
In the distance, a scarlet rift tore open in the heavens. A titanic eye, over three hundred meters in diameter, slowly blinked open. Its sclera was a deathly, murky gray, and its pupil was a swirling vortex of blood. Eighty-one barbed tentacles lashed out around it, each one entwined with the twisted, wailing spirits of the dead.
This was the Evil Emperor, ranked second only to Di Tian among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts in the future.
"A disgusting eyeball dares to demand my submission? Laughable!"
Lin Mu ascended to the same height as the beast and summoned the Thunder Sword of Heaven and Earth. Infuriated by the insult, the Evil Emperor's killing intent surged to a fever pitch.
Before the beast could unleash its ultimate move, Lin Mu activated his weapon's upgrade. Four elemental keys detached from the sword, manifesting as elemental spirits before merging into a triangular, star-shaped panel on the hilt. The blade extended and thrummed with ancient power.
The Lightning Thunder Sword was ready.
A massive pillar of lightning cascaded from the sky, striking the tip of the sword and generating a terrifying energy field.
"Atlas Thunder Strike!"
Lin Mu gave the beast no room to breathe. He swung the glowing blade in a wide arc, sending a thousand-meter-long crescent of electricity slashing toward the Evil Emperor. Simultaneously, the giant eye unleashed a dark red beam of light, a hundred feet wide, of pure destructive energy.
The electric sword, appearing to cleave heaven from earth, collided with the crimson beam. With a thunderous roar, the lightning tore through the darkness, cleaving the colossal body of the Evil Emperor in two.