Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Chapter 555: Skinning and Painting (5K chapter, please subscribe and vote)

"Auntie, when did you become like this?"

"What when? Do you still eat meat? If you don't eat meat, don't block the road." The old lady's face suddenly turned gloomy, and her tone became impatient.

She began to urge Lin Yi and Zhao Yun to leave, obviously not wanting to communicate with them any more.

At the same time, the villagers nearby also noticed the abnormality of Lin Yi and Zhao Yun.

They all turned their heads, and hundreds of pairs of red eyes stared at the two of them at the same time.

Zhao Yun felt a little flustered by these fierce eyes and couldn't help but take a step back.

"Now I finally understand why the villages we passed by before are now empty. I'm afraid all the villagers in those villages have been captured by you."

"Young man, we are giving you meat out of good intentions. Since you don't want to eat it, then you can stay."

Before he finished speaking, a low roar was heard.

One of the villagers suddenly began to twist and deform, his skin was torn by muscles, his eyes were red, and he looked at the two people with malice in his eyes.

In the blink of an eye, the villagers' clothes were torn into tatters by their swollen muscles, and their flat teeth turned into sharp teeth.

He roared, his limbs fell to the ground, and rushed towards Lin Yi at an astonishing speed.

Accompanied by the whistling sound of the wind, Lin Yi kicked the villager in the head accurately.

With a crisp "crack" sound, the villager's head cracked like fragile ceramic, broke into several pieces and fell to the ground.

Blood and brain matter gushed out like a fountain, adding a touch of red to the already weird atmosphere.

Lin Yi retracted his legs and stood in the pool of blood with an expressionless face.

He knew that this was not the end, but the beginning.

The sound of the villager falling to the ground was like a horn.

After he fell to the ground, the remaining villagers stood up one after another, all eyes focused on Lin Yi and Zhao Yun.

"Sorry, let me see you off for the last time." Lin Yi took a deep breath and stared at the villagers who were about to swarm over him.

The eyes of these villagers have been filled with scarlet, losing the light of humanity.

They held worn-out farm tools in their hands, and they looked at Lin Yi not as if he were an enemy, but as if he were a delicious meal.

"Deep Shadow Starfall"

Following Lin Yi's low shout, the sky shattered.

The sword shadows in the sky are like stars falling from the sky.

These sword energies were extremely sharp. They transformed into countless messengers carrying the breath of death, wrapped in cold wind, and fell rapidly towards the ground.

The sword energy pierced through the villagers' bodies, like the god of death's scythe, ruthlessly reaping lives.

Those villagers who were originally roaring and rushing towards Lin Yi and Zhao Yun frantically could only let out desperate roars in the face of this sword energy.

Blood rain was flying in the air, accompanied by the wind created by the sword energy, and a strong smell of blood was wafting around.

Under the sword energy, all resistance seemed so insignificant.

The villagers fell to the ground like straw.

When the last sword energy dissipated into the night, only corpses and pools of blood of varying depths were left on the ground.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yun stepped forward and kicked over the iron pot that was stewing human flesh.

"Let's go. The biggest devil in this village has not yet been dealt with."

Zhao Yun nodded. He naturally knew who Lin Yi was talking about.

When he arrived at Mr. Zhou's house, Lin Yi discovered that the two guards who were originally on duty had disappeared.

The door was empty, with only a strong smell of blood filling the air.

Lin Yi gently pushed open the hidden door. In the candlelight, Butler Sun was standing quietly in the courtyard, and next to him was Mr. Zhou.

At this moment, Mr. Zhou was holding a brush, concentrating on painting with ink. His movements were very natural and graceful, as if all the troubles in the outside world had nothing to do with him.

In sharp contrast to this scene, there were more than a dozen corpses lying at Mr. Zhou's feet.

All these corpses were servants of the Zhou family, lying in a pool of blood, their lives or deaths unknown.

"Not enough! Not enough!"

There was a red light flashing in Mr. Zhou's eyes. Halfway through the painting, he found that the paper he was using still could not satisfy his inner desire.

I saw a dagger appear in Mr. Zhou's hand. He stabbed it into the back of Butler Sun and then pressed down hard.

Butler Sun seemed to have expected this. He stood there quietly, motionless, with a strange smile on his face.

It was not until Mr. Zhou skillfully peeled off a complete piece of skin from Butler Sun that Butler Sun finally fell down powerlessly and never got up again.

"Alas, the quality of this leather is really poor."

Mr. Zhou glanced at the skin peeled off from Butler Sun and threw it aside with disdain.

He looked up at Lin Yi and Zhao Yun standing at the door, with a strange smile on his face, "Since you two are back, could you generously lend me your skin?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an irresistible invisible force suddenly restrained the two of them.

Zhao Yun and Lin Yi seemed like puppets being controlled, and they walked slowly towards Mr. Zhou involuntarily.

Seeing this scene, the cruel smile on Mr. Zhou's face became more and more obvious.

In his opinion, the fair and delicate skin of Lin Yi and Zhao Yun was the best canvas, most suitable for his artistic creation.

Just when the two were ten steps away from Mr. Zhou, the light of purification suddenly appeared on Lin Yi and Zhao Yun's bodies.

Then, Zhao Yun, holding the Dragon Gall Spear, soared into the air like a dragon and stabbed towards Zhou Yuanwai fiercely.

Mr. Zhou had never expected that the two men could break free from his control. Caught off guard, he had to withstand Zhao Yun's attack.

But Mr. Zhou was no match for Zhao Yun in close combat and was knocked away with one move.

Zhao Yun held the Longdan Spear in his hand, exuding a strong murderous aura.

Looking at Mr. Zhou in mid-air, Zhao Yun swung his Longdan Spear down heavily, and Mr. Zhou was knocked to the ground by Zhao Yun's spear.

The next second, Zhao Yun rushed forward and put the tip of his gun against Zhou Yuanwai's throat.

Mr. Zhou was lying on the ground. He glanced coldly at Lin Yi and Zhao Yun, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. "Don't think you have won. Now, the game has just begun."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly slammed his head into the tip of Zhao Yun's spear, and blood instantly dyed the spear tip red.

"No, he's not dead."

Zhao Yun stared at Zhou Yuanwai's body, then shook it hard, shaking the corpse off the Longdan spear.

Surprisingly, not a drop of blood came out of Mr. Zhou's body.

His body was like an inflated balloon, and after being punctured by Zhao Yun, it made a leaking sound.

Soon, Mr. Zhou's body turned into a pile of wrinkled skin, looking just like the dehydrated Trisolarans in The Three-Body Problem.

Countless painted skins flew out from the mansion, gathered in mid-air, and gradually formed the face of Mr. Zhou.

"Why are you two so stubborn? Wouldn't it be better if you join us?"

Mr. Zhou's voice came from the floating giant face, with a bit of weirdness and temptation.

Lin Yi didn't say anything, and Yin Wu Lei appeared around Lin Yi.

Once those painted skins floating in the sky touch the Yin Wu Lei, a big hole will be pierced through them in an instant, and they will be damaged beyond recognition.

"Damn it, since you don't want to drink the toast, don't blame me for being rude."

Seeing that Lin Yi destroyed more than a dozen of his precious painted skins, Mr. Zhou roared angrily.

In an instant, the overwhelming painted skins surged towards the sky like a tide. Even the bright moonlight was completely blocked by these densely packed painted skins.

[Comparing the intelligence attributes of both parties..., comparison completed, our intelligence is 1.0 times that of the opponent, and we have obtained 90% of the opponent's information (detection eye increased by 20%). ]

Name: Mr. Zhou
Race: Ascetic/???

Health: 100%
Mana: 16800/16800
Power: 36
Agility: 38
Physical strength: 81 (real attribute)
Intelligence: 80 (true attribute)
Charisma: 11
Skill 1: Phantom (passive skill LV.30): When the Painted Skin Ghost moves, there is a 10% chance that he will leave behind a phantom. The phantom will imitate the Painted Skin Ghost's attack, causing an additional 30% damage to the enemy for 3 seconds. Skill 2: Soul Power Drain (active skill LV.32): Consumes 150 points of soul power. The Painted Skin Ghost recovers its own health by absorbing the soul power of surrounding enemies, recovering 2% of its health per second, and causing 40 points of shadow damage per second to surrounding enemies for 8 seconds.

技能3：幽冥咆哮（主动技能LV.32）：消耗500点魂力值，对周围所有敌人造成900点+每秒50点的暗影伤害，并降低其20%的攻击力，持续10秒。

Skill 4: Painted Skin Transformation (Passive Skill LV.40): When the Painted Skin Ghost's health is below 30%, it will automatically transform, gain 50% health recovery, and increase all skill levels by 1 level, lasting for 60 seconds.

Skill 5: Soul Shield (Active Skill LV.28): Consumes 400 soul points. The Painted Skin Ghost stimulates soul power to form a shield with a defense value of 2500 points, greatly improving its own defense and causing 15% rebound damage to ranged attacks.

Skill 6: Ghost Raid (Active Skill LV.30): Consumes 180 soul points. The Painted Skin Ghost extends a ghost hand from the shadows, causing 700 points + 30 points of shadow damage per second to the enemy. Enemies with soul strength below 12 points can be caused a fear effect, causing them to temporarily lose control.

Skill 7: Painted Skin Illusion (Passive Skill LV.35): Enhances the Painted Skin Ghost's illusion ability, making all its skills carry a 20% chance of confusion, and the attack power of confused targets is reduced by 15% for 5 seconds.

技能8：幽冥领域（主动技能LV.37）：消耗600点魂力值，画皮鬼创造一个幽冥领域，领域内的所有敌人每秒受到75点灵魂伤害，且其移动速度和攻击速度降低40%，持续15秒。领域内的画皮鬼则获得20%的伤害加成和10%的移动速度加成。

Skill 9: ???: ???
Skill 10: ???: ???
Mr. Zhou opened his mouth wide, and Lin Yi and Zhao Yun heard a shrill howl in their ears.

[The hunter is hit by 'Netherworld Roar', and his attack power is reduced by 20%. 】

[The hunter enters the 'Netherworld', taking 75 points of soul damage per second, and his movement and attack speeds are reduced by 40%. ]

Before Lin Yi could gain a firm foothold, he suddenly felt the shadow behind him move strangely.

You should know that Lin Yi is extremely sensitive to the fluctuations of shadow power. Almost in an instant, Lin Yi dragged Zhao Yun away from where the two were standing.

The next second, two huge ghost hands suddenly stretched out from the shadows.

If Lin Yi had not reacted quickly, the two of them would have been firmly grasped by these two ghost hands.

"Be careful."

Lin Yi released a purification spell, and under the effect of the purification spell, Zhao Yun felt that the symptoms of dizziness were significantly alleviated.

"Thank you." Zhao Yun said gratefully.

Seeing that they failed to capture the two, a dozen painted skin ghosts separated from Mr. Zhou's big face and pounced on Lin Yi and Zhao Yun, howling.

Zhao Yun thrust his spear forward, the tip of the spear piercing the sky and splitting a Painted Skin Ghost that pounced on him into two.

As a brave general who single-handedly rescued his lord among millions of Cao's troops, Zhao Yun's skills are naturally needless to say.

In a matter of seconds, he chopped Lin Yi and the Painted Skin Ghost beside him into two pieces.

But this was just a drop in the bucket. Mr. Zhou was controlling thousands of Painted Skin Ghosts who were still lurking around, waiting for the next opportunity to attack.

Faced with such a huge enemy, Zhao Yun felt helpless for a moment.

Lin Yi took a step forward, and Yin Wu Lei climbed onto the black and white rose.

For a moment, the sword in Lin Yi's hand seemed like a blade of lightning, illuminating the darkness around the two of them.

"Abyssal Shadow: Thunder Falls from the Sky."

In an instant, countless sword energies descended from the sky like an upside-down river in the sky, carrying destructive power, pointing directly at the rampaging group of painted-skin ghosts.

This move was something Lin Yi came up with in a flash of inspiration.

He integrated the power of Yin Wu Lei into the sword energy, so that every wisp of sword energy contained a trace of the power of Yin Wu Lei.

Although Yin Wu Lei is guided by Yin Qi, it is still a thunder method in essence.

For these ghostly creatures, Yin Wu Lei is undoubtedly their natural nemesis.

The sword energy intertwined in the air, forming a huge sword net that tightly enveloped many painted skin ghosts.

Wherever the sword energy passed, the Painted Skin Ghost's body was pierced, making a creepy tearing sound.

What’s even more terrifying is that these sword energies also contain the power of Yin Wu Lei.

Yin Wu Lei is undoubtedly a deadly nemesis for the Painted Skin Ghost.

When the sword energy met the thunder and lightning, it instantly triggered an unprecedented energy frenzy.

The thunder and lightning were like an out-of-control angry dragon, dancing wildly under the guidance of the sword energy.

Under the dual destruction of sword energy and lightning, thousands of painted skin ghosts were like being thrown into a raging fire, and their bodies began to burn.

Surrounded by flames, the Painted Skin Ghosts twisted and struggled in pain, trying to escape, but all was in vain.

Their mouths turned to ashes in the flames, and a sickening burnt smell began to fill the air.

"You two guys, how dare you destroy my treasured treasures? That's unforgivable! In that case, you all go to hell!" Mr. Zhou roared angrily when he saw the painted skin burning beside him.

He had gone through untold hardships and finally created so many Painted Skin Ghosts, but more than half of them were lost in Lin Yi's attack.

Lin Yi ignored Mr. Zhou's roar. He took out [Soul Tearing] from his personal space and aimed it at the sky.

[Soul Tear] has an effect that is very applicable here now.

'Soul of Certainty (Active): Within a 100-meter range, the arrows fired after locking onto the target will hit the target, ignoring the target's dodge and defense. This skill has no cooldown time, but each use consumes 10 points of soul energy.'

Lin Yi locked onto Mr. Zhou's aura and fired three arrows in succession.

The moment the arrows flew out, three arrows flew towards the right hand side of the two people.

Accompanied by a sound of leather being pierced, Mr. Zhou's face in mid-air began to distort.

The Painted Skin Ghosts around also seemed to be affected by something and began to become restless.

Three blood holes appeared on a painted skin that looked three-quarters like Mr. Zhou, and black blood was constantly oozing out of it.

Under the lock of [Soul Tear], Mr. Zhou's true body was found.

"Zi Long."

"Leave it to me." Zhao Yun responded.

After confirming Mr. Zhou's true identity, Zhao Yun tightly grasped the Longdan Spear in his hand. The spear body began to emit a faint white light, and there seemed to be a dragon's roar echoing in it.

"Longdan Pojun!"

Zhao Yun shouted loudly, and the Dragon Gallbladder Spear in his hand turned into a beam of white light.

The gun shadows swept around like a storm, and dust, flying sand and rocks were rolled up, forming a fierce offensive.

The Painted Skin Ghost's attack landed on Zhao Yun, but could not shake him at all.

Zhao Yun has now activated his unparalleled skill and is in the dominant stage. Ordinary attacks cannot stop Zhao Yun from moving forward.

Zhao Yun rushed into the camp of the Painted Skin Ghosts and harvested the souls of each and every Painted Skin Ghost.

He rushed to Zhou Yuanwai's body and stabbed him through with a gun.

As Mr. Zhou's body was seriously injured, the Painted Skin Ghosts in the surrounding sky lost control and fell from the sky one after another.

"Hehe, you will all die, you all have to die." Although Mr. Zhou was dying, he still uttered a very vicious curse.

"Are you still conscious?"

Lin Yi noticed that although Mr. Zhou had been possessed by a demon, he still seemed to retain a trace of consciousness, which was different from the soldiers in the barracks who had completely lost themselves.

"Of course." Mr. Zhou spoke with difficulty, his voice full of resentment, "When I found something was wrong, I used a secret method to seal a trace of my soul. Although the evil spirit entered my body, I was still able to retain my true self."

"Not only here, the whole world is slowly falling. The heavens are dead, and there is no hope for the world anymore."

"Is the sky dead?"

Hearing these words, Lin Yi and Zhao Yun thought of the same person at the same time, that is Zhang Jue, who started the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Their slogan is "The blue sky is dead, the yellow sky should be established; the year is Jiazi, and the world is blessed."

Could it be that the person in front of me knows something?
"What do you mean by the Heaven is dead?"

Zhao Yun frowned and walked up to Mr. Zhou and asked.

"Hehe, you ordinary mortals naturally cannot be compared with us as cultivators." A smug smile appeared on Mr. Zhou's twisted face, as if he had finally found something worthy of his pride.

"How can you mortals perceive the subtle changes in the will of heaven? For us ascetics, every breath of heaven and earth is clearly perceptible."

"More than thirty years ago, an unknown existence quietly descended upon this world. On that day, one-third of the people in the cultivation world went insane. Zhang Jue sensed the changes in the world, so he started the Yellow Turban Rebellion, hoping to save the people. Unfortunately, he still failed."

"After Zhang Jue's defeat, I knew the situation was hopeless. So, I used a secret technique to seal a trace of my soul. When the power of the secret technique gradually dissipated after I was possessed by the devil, that trace of my true self would wake up, allowing me to maintain control of my mind even after I was possessed by the devil."

(End of this chapter)