Chapter 868: Kill Me! Kill Me! Kill Me!
Lightning flashed across the Putrid Corpse Land as it always had, while the heavy stench of decay still lingered in the air.
As the world lord, Lin Moyu could reach any corner of the world with a single thought.
The Putrid Corpse Land was merely an independent dimension attached to the world—not even worthy to qualify as a fragment world.
His gaze settled on the valley in the distance, and memories surfaced.
It was here that he had faced his first true life-and-death crisis.
It was also here that he had witnessed the unshakable conviction of the human race for the first time.
Even after death, the indomitable wills of those human experts had endured, untouched by the passage of time.
They had used the last remnants of their will to protect him.
From that moment onward, Lin Moyu had made a vow.
He would not only protect the human race; he would make it stronger than before.
And he had fulfilled that promise.
Now, he had returned to the Putrid Corpse Land for another purpose.
He didn't know whether it would succeed, but there was only one way to find out.
Stepping into the pitch-black valley, he immediately stirred the experts slumbering within the surrounding mountains.
One after another, formidable auras awakened as numerous dark figures burst forth, carrying with them the nauseating stench of rotting flesh.
Once, these beings had seemed impossibly powerful.
Now, they were pitifully weak.
With a mere thought, brilliant white light erupted around them.
Star-grade law art: Bone Prison.
Without triggering the law art linkage, Lin Moyu cast Bone Prison alone, trapping every Putrid Corpse in place.
With his current strength, beings that hadn't even reached God-level could remain imprisoned indefinitely.
Unless he released them himself, escape was impossible.
More dark figures charged from the mountains, stronger than the previous ones.
Everything unfolded exactly as it had during his previous visit.
No matter how many appeared, every one of them was frozen where it stood, unable to move even an inch.
Eventually, no more dark figures emerged.
No Putrid Corpse remained within the surrounding mountains.
Lin Moyu could still sense a faint trace of life within the Putrid Corpses.
Not from their bodies, but from their souls.
Their flesh had long since died, yet their souls had never completely perished.
He raised a finger, and strands of the law of undeath drifted toward the non-human Putrid Corpses.
The decaying corpses rapidly crumbled into dust.
This time, there would be no resurrection.
Their deaths were final.
Perhaps, for them, true death was the greatest mercy.
Only the human experts remained.
Among them was a single God-level expert, while the rest had yet to reach that realm.
Once more, the law of undeath descended.
This time, however, it manifested its life aspect.
The faint spark of life force buried deep within their souls was awakened, flourishing under the nourishment of the law.
New life blossomed within their souls.
That final flicker of life force became the source from which their existence began anew.
Through the law of undeath, Lin Moyu sensed another law entwined around their souls.
It was this mysterious law that had kept their souls from perishing, trapping them here while their bodies slowly rotted away, condemning them to a fate worse than death.
The forbidden spell used all those years ago was unimaginably cruel.
It denied even the peace of death.
The law of undeath surged forward.
Not only did it awaken tremendous life force, but it also dispelled the law binding their souls.
Tremendous life force flowed from soul to body.
Their damaged souls slowly mended, growing stronger with each passing moment.
Their decayed bodies began to regenerate as well.
Rotting flesh peeled away layer by layer, replaced by healthy new flesh.
The aura of life steadily intensified.
Everything seemed to be progressing perfectly.
Then, Lin Moyu suddenly frowned.
The newly regenerated flesh had already begun to rot once more.
This time, it wasn't the forbidden spell.
It was time itself.
Only then did he realize what he had overlooked—time.
These people had lived centuries ago.
Given their strength and realm, none of them should have survived until the present day.
The forbidden spell had preserved them in a twisted state of existence, but by all rights, they should have passed away long ago.
Had they remained undisturbed, their broken souls could have lingered within their decaying bodies for countless more years, slowly fading away.
But now, the forbidden spell had been dispelled, allowing both soul and body to recover.
And with that recovery came the return of time's natural order.
The centuries they had defied could no longer be ignored.
Time had come to reclaim its debt.
Lin Moyu let out a quiet sigh.
If he could control the law of time and turn back the ages, perhaps there would still be a chance to save them.
But as things stood… He was powerless.
"Wishful thinking."
Life was filled with moments of helplessness.
Lin Moyu was powerful, but he was not omnipotent. Faced with the current situation, there was nothing he could do.
Suddenly, the souls before him trembled, transmitting a clear intent.
"Kill me!"
"Kill me!"
"Kill me!"
The plea was unmistakable, carrying overwhelming desperation.
They were begging him to end their lives.
Lin Moyu understood.
After a long silence, he sighed, "I understand."
They sought liberation. They no longer wished to endure even a single second in this wretched existence.
Since he could not save them, the only mercy he could offer was release.
In an instant, the law of undeath shifted from life to death.
The decayed bodies rapidly crumbled into dust, leaving only the souls behind.
Lin Moyu raised a hand, gently drawing a soul toward him.
"Do you have any final words?"
"Thank you." The soul conveyed their final thought, overflowing with gratitude.
To them, death was not suffering. It was freedom.
The soul dissolved in his palm, disappearing completely.
One after another, the remaining souls gave him the same answer.
None wished to continue living in such a wretched state. All longed for release.
A heavy rain began to fall across the Putrid Corpse Land.
Rain had always fallen here, but this storm was different.
Every drop carried the aura of death.
As the rain spread, countless Putrid Corpses collapsed, their decayed forms finally returning to dust.
The law of undeath swept through the land, cleansing every corner, erasing the remnants of the forbidden spell, and purging the corruption that had lingered for centuries.
Lin Moyu felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
He had come hoping to save them.
In the end, all he could offer was peace through death.
Time was merciless.
Unless one attained true immortality, everyone would eventually meet their end.
Whether one's lifespan was a hundred years or a hundred thousand, death would come all the same.
Across the greater world, innumerable powerhouses pursued ever greater strength, all chasing the same elusive dream—eternal life.
Once the cleansing was complete, the law of undeath transformed once more.
Death gave way to life.
Vitality spread throughout the Putrid Corpse Land, nourishing the barren land.
For the first time in many years, sunlight pierced the perpetually overcast sky.
The valley was no longer shrouded in endless darkness.
Warm rays filtered in from beyond the realm, bringing with them a faint but unmistakable warmth.
Before Lin Moyu's eyes, a single blade of grass pushed through the soil, beginning its fragile and fleeting life.
He quietly watched it for a moment before continuing toward the center of the valley.
There stood the teleportation formation leading directly beneath the imperial palace of the imperial capital.
For generations, the Dongfang Family had guarded the Putrid Corpse Land without ever abandoning their post.
Lin Moyu had no need to use the teleportation formation.
With a single step, he vanished and appeared inside the imperial palace, directly before Dongfang Yi.
The emperor was occupied with official documents, so engrossed in his work that he failed to notice Lin Moyu's arrival.
"Emperor Dongfang." Lin Moyu's calm voice suddenly broke the silence.
The unexpected greeting startled Dongfang Yi so badly that he nearly dropped the brush in his hand.
Only after recognizing Lin Moyu did he let out an awkward laugh.
"Godly General Lin... what brings you here?"
Lin Moyu found the reaction rather amusing.
The dignified ruler of an empire should not have been so easily frightened.
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
In an instant, he saw through the disguise.
"So... it's Your Highness."
The figure before him was not Dongfang Yi. It was Dongfang Yao.
A specially crafted mask concealed her true appearance, perfectly transforming her into Dongfang Yi.
Coupled with his robes, even those who saw him every day would have struggled to notice the difference.
But deceiving Lin Moyu… that was an entirely different matter.