Chapter 4177: 4177 Chapter 4177: Shared Responsibility Lin Moyu kept self destructing along the way. Each rebirth removed the effects of the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor, keeping his Dao heart clear. With every new life, as he observed the shifting world and noticed subtle changes in his own Dao heart, Lin Moyu gradually uncovered a few clues. Although the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor’s abilities were strange and terrifying, they were not completely imperceptible there were traces if one looked carefully. More importantly, the influence of the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor did not take hold all at once; it developed from weak to strong. The longer the exposure, the greater the influence, until it became impossible to separate truth from illusion. At first, things might be part real and part false, but once the Dao heart and soul were clouded, everything perceived would turn false. Rebirth allowed the soul to reorganize, removing the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor’s effects. As long as Lin Moyu self destructed regularly, that power could not threaten him. He sped toward his starting point, getting closer and closer. "The Soul devourer Spirit Emperor should be unable to sit still now," Lin Moyu thought. Up until this point, he had never actually seen the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor. If the Emperor didn’t want Lin Moyu to return to the domain, he should have intervened by now. But strangely, even upon reaching the exit, the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor did not appear. Lin Moyu felt something wasn’t right but couldn’t find any evidence. After two days flying, he finally reached the entrance, one step from returning to the domain. Still no sign of the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor, making the situation feel even more bizarre. Had the Emperor given up the hunt? That seemed unlikely and didn’t match what Lin Moyu knew. Yet his intuition told him everything was normal, and after his latest rebirth, he confirmed his surroundings were real. "What is the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor really up to?" Lin Moyu wondered. He was uncertain but unwilling to face the Emperor directly just yet. He stepped into the passage and returned to the domain. The transmission ended quickly and Lin Moyu was home, feeling the familiar aura wash over him. Beneath him stood Candle Dragon’s statue, with pure filth power still surging within it. Beside the statue, Candle Dragon slowly raised his head. "You’re finally back," he said. Lin Moyu exhaled in relief: "You stayed here the whole time?" Candle Dragon responded, "I went out a few times to take care of some things." "Did you go outside the domain?" Lin Moyu probed. Candle Dragon’s gaze grew odd: "Why would I ever leave?" He’d said before he would never venture to outer domains. With Candle Dragon’s confirmation, Lin Moyu laughed, "So it was all fake." Bang! Speaking, Lin Moyu self destructed again and was reborn in violet light. Nothing around him changed, confirming he truly was home and not stuck in an illusion. Candle Dragon looked at him oddly. "Why self destruct for no reason?" Lin Moyu sighed, "I have no choice. The Soul devourer Spirit Emperor’s illusions were too real I couldn’t tell real from fake, so this is my only method." Candle Dragon’s expression changed drastically. "You ran into the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor?" "Yes," Lin Moyu said. "Wow, to meet the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor and still make it back impressive!" Candle Dragon replied. Lin Moyu gave Candle Dragon a strange look. "You seem almost afraid of the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor." Candle Dragon shook his head. "Not afraid, I just don’t like dealing with that type. But enough of that did you bring the items?" Lin Moyu produced three portions of the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor’s essence, handing them to Candle Dragon. "Here." Candle Dragon’s eyes narrowed with excitement; his body trembled, barely suppressed. After countless ages of longing about to be fulfilled, how could he not be excited? He quickly put away the three essences and bowed his head to Lin Moyu in sincere thanks. Lin Moyu pressed for details: "Tell me everything about the Soul devourer Emperor." Just as Candle Dragon began to speak, the statue quivered and the Dao Cloud above boiled. Lin Moyu looked far off, "Something’s happening at the Hengduan Mountains?" He sensed all his defensive formations had activated and were under attack. Could some of the illusions crafted by the Soul devourer Spirit Emperor actually be real? It was possible and if the Soul devourer Spirit King could harness some domain rules, the Emperor certainly could, too. Candle Dragon explained, "Yes, the wild beasts are on the move, attacking the Hengduan Mountains." "But there’s no need to worry. I’ve gathered all the Eternals and Dao Lords there, and with your formations in place, they’ll hold." Lin Moyu nodded, "What instigated all this?" Candle Dragon began to recount, "This time, both of us bear responsibility." He explained: things started with himself by refining filth power, he altered the natural formation of the filth pools and created nine special filth pools, which then gave rise to nine mutant wild beasts. He also enhanced the wild beast emperors’ intelligence, enabling them to use the mutants intelligently. However, using the mutants was extremely difficult; the wild beast emperors tried every method and succeeded with only one, and only at great cost. That was Candle Dragon’s responsibility. The other half was Lin Moyu’s doing: he created the Soulless Beast, capable of purifying wild beasts and filth pools, eradicating wild beasts at the source. But this also caused a problem after a pool was purified, the total amount of Dao sludge did not decrease. With fewer pools, more Dao filth flowed toward the remaining ones. As the remaining pools received greater concentrations of sludge, so too did the king pools and especially the nine special pools. The wild beast emperors, though frightened by Lin Moyu, refused to give up; they began manipulating the Soulless Beast to purify pools and used the resulting higher concentrations of Dao filth to control and activate more mutant wild beasts. They succeeded. After expending some cost, the nine beast emperors managed to create four mutant wild beasts. With so much Dao sludge now fueling them, many Dao wild beasts evolved into wild beast kings; there were now tens of thousands of wild beast kings, five standard beast emperors, and four mutant beast emperors collectively far stronger than before. The Soulless Beast was unaware of this; it kept purifying pools. According to Candle Dragon, if things went on, the five remaining beast emperors would soon also become mutant wild beasts, for a total of nine and when that happened, the Hengduan Mountains would be in real danger. So, that half of the responsibility fell to Lin Moyu. Lin Moyu hadn’t expected his own Soulless Beast to be turned against him it was almost absurd. Candle Dragon wrapped up: "Now that you’re back, it’s time to end the wild beasts for good. Anyway, I’m about to transcend whether they exist or not no longer matters." Lin Moyu agreed, "All right, I’ll finish off every last wild beast." Candle Dragon replied, "Then let me send you over..." Just as he spoke, both Candle Dragon and Lin Moyu changed expressions, looking off into the distance. Candle Dragon peered across limitless space, past the outer battlefield. "Not good they’re making a move on the Origin Ancestral Land! Quickly, we must get back!" 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