Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 380, First Half

Zhao Qi was pushed and staggered forward a few steps before starting to run on his own.

The crimson mist around him became even more vivid, and after he had run a dozen steps, it was so thick that it resembled fire, turning his hair a dark red, as if his whole body was on fire!
He reached out and grasped at the void, immediately drawing a thin, blood-red sword from it. He roared, "Xu... Zhao Kui! You old bastard, you're not worthy to be my master! I don't want to learn any Ranshan Talismans! I want to learn swordsmanship! Learn swordsmanship! Learn swordsmanship!"

He slashed forward with his sword, the sword radiating a red light, and like the sword energy of the Sword Sect, it slashed out more than ten steps away, arriving in front of Xu Zhen in an instant, and striking the Three Flowers on the top of his head.

But the light flashed and vanished instantly. The three radiant lights above Xu Zhen's head were not only undamaged, but became even more brilliant because of his attack. Although they also burst into flames, it was as if the anger in his heart had materialized!
"You worthless bastard! Kneel down right now! You good-for-nothing idiot!"

He now appeared as Zhao Kui, and his voice and tone were also those of Zhao Kui. This angry shout seemed to be imbued with authority and law, striking Zhao Qi's mind like an iron plate. He had just raised his hand to unleash his second sword strike when he immediately felt his body being tightly bound, instantly going limp. He stumbled forward a few steps, his legs gave way, and he knelt on the ground with a thud.

He panicked again and immediately tried to stand up by supporting himself with his hands on the ground, but it felt like his knees were rooted to the ground and he couldn't get up no matter what!
Xu Zhen, draped in a human skin cloak resembling tentacles, approached him, glaring and shouting, "Do you want to betray your master and ancestors?! You fool, you deserve to die!"

"I am the Blood God! I am the Blood God! I am not afraid of you!" Zhao Qi shouted in his heart, but when he shouted that just now, power immediately filled his body. However, shouting it again now felt like he was deceiving himself—no matter how many times a sentence is repeated, a lie is still a lie!
As soon as the thought popped into his mind, he realized that he had really changed... The blood on his body had faded, his crimson robe had faded, and he was back to wearing that pale Taoist robe. The sword in his hand... only the sword was still there, but it had also faded and become a rusty short sword!

Just then, Li Wuxiang's voice was heard behind him—

"Zhao Qi, this is called accumulated power. Do you know what accumulated power is? It's the supernatural ability of mortals, the authority of mortals, the inner demons that mortals plant in others' hearts. It disregards rules and reason; as long as accumulated power remains, you can't get rid of it. But what if you were clear-headed, understood the principles, and looked at it carefully? Where does this supernatural ability come from? Doesn't it come from delusion?! Are you afraid of him now?! What are you thinking?!"

What nonsense is he spouting?! Why aren't you helping me?!
But Zhao Qi had no time to say anything more. He saw his master stretch out the human skin cloak he was wearing and immediately wrap it around his head. Those things were tearing at his flesh, drilling into his head, trying to suck out his brains!
Bewilderment? What comes from bewilderment?! I'm not bewildered! I—

Am I afraid of him now...? Am I afraid of him now? What am I thinking?
What he was thinking about was his master's face!
That face, usually calm and unsmiling. But that face could change. Sometimes, in the flickering candlelight, the corners of his mouth would turn down, his eyes would narrow, the skin on his face would relax, and he would cast a cold glance!
Sometimes, someone who was smiling one moment can turn cold the next, remaining silent and staring at you like a sword, forcing you to think about what you did wrong!
A face in the candlelight, half a face in the darkness of the Taiyi Hall at night, a face coldly scrutinizing him from behind… These were the thoughts that came to him! Thinking of these things, he thought of his master, and he thought of the words that would slip out next. He let fear and dread fill his body and take over his mind, and then… and then…

Then he saw it—behind this monstrous being who had become an immortal, shrouded in swirling smoke, was still Zhao Kui's face, his human form, as if he had returned to the Taiyi Hall of the Ranshan Sect. His gaze drifted above the hall, where he saw a small figure kneeling before the statue of Taiyi—that was himself. And another figure, slightly larger, stood beside him—that was Zhao Kui.

Then he saw Zhao Kui speaking to him, and saw him stand up, head bowed, standing at attention, listening quietly!
But now he sees... Zhao Kui's figure is also small, even shorter than his own!
So this is what Master looks like... He's not... not as tall and imposing as I always knew him when I was little. He's so thin and small now, he's even a little hunched over, he seems...

Not scary at all! As long as I am no longer the same person I was in the Taiyi Hall, as long as I am no longer a disciple of Ranshan, my master is not scary at all!
Zhao Qi suddenly raised his hands and grabbed the shawls wrapped around his head!
He felt the immense power of the shawl. Tense, like strips of hard iron! Yet, as he gazed directly at his master amidst the fireworks, he felt the more he looked, the clearer his figure became. Behind the fireworks, behind the accumulated power, behind the countless fragments built up over the years, there was only one mortal! An ordinary Qi Refining cultivator!

The shawl instantly softened, becoming as soft as a light, floating cloth bag!

"Zhao Kui! What kind of thing are you?!" Zhao Qi stood up, his legs trembling, clutching the shawls. He wrapped them around his wrists like strips of cloth, slowly approaching Zhao Kui and pulling him closer. The shawls drew blood from his arms, and the blood turned into mist; the more it flowed, the thicker the mist became, as if fire was erupting from his hands!
He pulled the shawl, he pulled the smoke, and Zhao Kui, hidden beneath it, glared, but Zhao Qi felt that it was not anger, but shock!
"I see you now, you old bastard! Come out here!"

He shouted again and pulled downwards hard!
The cloak and fireworks that swirled around Zhao Kui's body were like a loose layer of skin, which he ripped off and threw hard to the ground!
Zhao Kui finally let out a scream and leaped back a step. He now looked very much like a mortal, and a very pitiful one at that—the things that had been torn off were like his skin, and he was left with only a layer of red light, because of the three flowers on his head... no, only two flowers remained. It seemed that because the cloak and the smoke that concealed his true face had been torn off, only two flowers remained of the three! The two flowers were still burning fiercely, glowing red, but this red light made him look as if he had been skinned alive, reminding Zhao Qi of himself in the Chen family compound that day!

"You rebellious disciple!" Zhao Kui raised his hand and grabbed at the front of him, instantly conjuring a talisman in the air. He then dipped his hand into the three flowers on the top of his head, using the red light to write the two crimson characters "Exterminate Evil" on the talisman. "You are trying to betray your master and ancestors! You have already fallen into the evil path! Suppress them!"

Just as Zhao Qi was about to take a step forward, he immediately felt the power of the runes. It was as if the entire world was being pulled apart, and he was frozen solid, unable to break free!

But then he heard Li Wuxiang's words again—

“Zhao Qi, this is what you call rules. Do you know what rules are? They are also the supernatural powers of mortals! Where do these supernatural powers come from? They are also gathered from the incense and vows of mortals! If you believe, you give it incense, and it can control you! The incense comes from mortals, and these supernatural powers are also borrowed from mortals! So think about it, are these supernatural powers yours or his!? Do you still want to believe!? Let's see!”

Should we believe it? Should we believe what? Should we keep watching? Should we keep watching what…?

He saw the red light on Zhao Kui's body, like the light of blood! He saw himself in the Chen family compound in Jinshui Town—skinned alive, covered in sand, rolling and writhing on the ground like an animal, howling in agony!
...Deceiving one's master and betraying one's ancestors!?

What kind of master are you... No... Before Jinshui, you were still considered a master! You picked me up, raised me, and gave me a second life! Zhao Yu was also picked up by you, as were the other fellow disciples, but what nourished us wasn't picked up by you, but passed down from your master, and what we earned for you... Master, you are raising us, and we are also supporting you... We should respect our teachers, but...!

You skinned me alive and killed my people in Jinshui! You broke the master-disciple relationship first! Not me! It was you! What kind of master are you?! You've ruined it, and now it's all over!
"Gone! Gone!!" Zhao Qi roared, raising his arms to grab at the void ahead. "Get out of my way! Zhao Kui! You dare talk to me about betraying your master and ancestors?! Our master-disciple relationship was severed long ago! I've already died once!!" The entire sky seemed like a solidified piece of glass, exploding with a loud bang. Cracks appeared in the void, then dissipated with a whoosh. Zhao Qi took another step forward, his hands separating, and the talisman hanging in front of Zhao Kui crumbled—one of the two flowers above his head, like a flame stripped of its fuel, shot upwards and quickly dimmed… That flower was gone too, leaving only one!

Zhao Kui staggered back three steps, his eyes widening even further. First anger, then shock, and now shock and anger combined!
Only then did he raise his hands to look at them, an expression of disbelief on his face. He looked at his hands, then at Zhao Qi, his mouth agape: "You! You...you traitor! No...what...what happened to me..."

Zhao Qi strode towards him, short sword in hand. With each step, his robes billowed and a mist of blood rose. The rust on the short sword in his hand faded, and it gleamed, turning a blood-red color!
"What's wrong with you?! You idiot! Because I'm not afraid of you anymore! You're just Zhao Kui, a Qi Refining cultivator from Ranshan. You fell into someone's trap. In pursuit of some kind of immortality, you abandoned all your disciples, absconded with the sect's wealth, and even kidnapped so many children from the common people, hiding in other people's kitchens in an attempt to become an immortal!"

Zhao Qi grew angrier and angrier as he spoke, his voice rising louder and louder: "I've figured it out today! I've seen it clearly today! What kind of sect leader are you?! What kind of master are you?! You old beast, you're the real evil heretic!"

"You call me stupid?! You're the stupid one! Are you that smart?! You didn't do your job as sect leader properly, and instead you turned yourself into a monster, a short-lived ghost!"

"Am I stupid?! I took in a good disciple, and now he's become the Blood God! Aren't you angry?! Being angry won't do you any good! You think you've really become an immortal?! It's all fake! It's all fake! You just ripped me down! What makes you think you, with only Qi Refining cultivation, can fight me?!"

Zhao Qi thrust out his sword, but Zhao Kui only turned around when the sword was right in front of him. He immediately dodged and instinctively raised his hand to snatch the sword.

When Zhao Qi thrust his sword, he was filled with rage and no longer cared about technique. But Zhao Kui's instincts were even more exquisite than his swordsmanship—he dodged, moved forward, struck the sword with one palm, and chopped Zhao Qi's hand holding the hilt with the other.

Just then, they heard Li Wuxiang drink again—

"Because you've forgotten who you are! Because you've become so lost in delusion that you've even lost your true self! You've even forgotten your supernatural powers!"

Zhao Kui was stunned by these words, his body stiffening. At that moment, Zhao Qi immediately turned his sword, the blood-red blade swirling in the air in a sword flower, and then immediately a second flower bloomed—a flower of blood gushing from Zhao Kui's severed wrist!
But Zhao Kui seemed to be delirious from the pain, standing there, ignoring his broken wrist, his lips trembling as he muttered to himself, "I forgot? I forgot my true self? I... then who am I? Who is my true self!?"

"You're a damn old beast!" Zhao Qi plunged his sword into Zhao Kui's chest, the blade emerging from his back and disappearing all the way to the hilt! He grabbed Zhao Kui's shoulder with one hand and held the sword with the other, pushing him back several steps. "You're already dead, yet you're still causing trouble! Today I'm going to send you back!"

Zhao Kui, gripping Zhao Qi's sword-wielding hand, staggered backward from Zhao Qi's force, but didn't push him away. His eyes were vacant, and he muttered to himself, "Who am I? Who am I?! No, I'm not Zhao Kui... I'm not your master! I'm not some mortal being—"

Zhao Qi withdrew and drew his sword again, stabbing him more than a dozen times in an instant—blood gushed out of the wounds. Zhao Kui no longer had the strength to mutter to himself and could no longer stand. He seemed to be hanging on Zhao Qi's sword, and his torso was torn open by the blade, leaving huge wounds that almost exposed his internal organs!
The last remaining flower on his head quickly dimmed, his entire body became emaciated, and he emitted a foul stench. Then his face seemed to melt, his skin sagged, his clothes rotted, and after Zhao Qi drew his sword again, he collapsed limply to the ground.

Then his appearance changed. As if his melted face had reformed, Zhao Kui's face became Xu Zhen's face again—only this Xu Zhen was also lying on the ground, with more than a dozen bloody holes in his chest and abdomen, the blood flowing from them slowly turning from bright red to pale gold.

His previously dim eyes suddenly lit up, and he abruptly raised his head: "I am Xu Zhen!"

The golden blood in the wounds stopped immediately, but the wounds remained open like a baby's mouth and did not disappear!
Zhao Qi stood in front of him with his sword drawn, about to strike again, when he felt a hand grab his shoulder and pull him backward.

Li Wuxiang walked up to him: "Alright. You've finished the first half. Zhao Qi, you played very well. Now it's my turn."

Zhao Qi, panting heavily, stared at Xu Zhen on the ground, seemingly still unsatisfied. But he still slung the sword over his shoulder and said, "Then you can have it! Li Wuxiang—"

Li Wuxiang turned his head slightly to the side: "Hmm?"

"Thank you so much for helping me earlier! And for what you said to me!"

Li Wuxiang was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "I was just watching. I didn't say anything. Maybe you were just talking to yourself."

(End of this chapter)