Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 309 The Descent Ritual
Zhao Yifu waited quietly for the ceremony to be completed.

However, it seemed that his Demon-Subduing Ancestor had also discovered something. Suddenly, he raised his blade to block the Demon-Subduing Guards' fighting, while the soldiers of the Prison Guards quietly retreated and reorganized their formation.

Now only the demons are still 'killing each other'.

In the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the number of demons has been reduced by half. The problem here is extremely serious.

Unfortunately, few of those demons were smart enough to realize that they had become waste.

The blood sacrifice continued, and the ground was already gushing rivers of blood, forming a vast and complex array.

Zhao Yifu immediately switched his perspective, wanting to observe the change from all angles.

Then he saw...

From the macroscopic perspective of the boundless void, he saw what the Nether Spring truly was.

That was actually just a flash of inspiration in the void; no one knows how it came to be, but it simply exists there.

In that instant, Zhao Yifu also gained a deeper understanding of the void.

That is, there is no physical matter in this dark void, and even the concept of existence should not exist.

If we use code to answer this, then the Dark Void is '0' and the Ghost Spring's flash of insight is '1', whose appearance gives existence its definition.

But at the same time, Zhao Yifu finally understood why Youquan was so eager to descend into the Three Realms.

For Him, no matter how long the time, He will always remain in this state between existence and non-existence, becoming a ghost in the dark void.

Even in essence, Zhao Yifu's avatar is an equal existence to Youquan in the dark void!
This is so interesting.

Zhao Yifu was greatly astonished.

Only by entering the material world can He possess the physical entity that can bear everything.

Zhao Yifu's eyes flickered. If that were the case, perhaps the Three Realms would be the key to further progress for Youquan.

As for why He was in such a hurry this time, it's probably because He also saw that this world was about to face a life-or-death calamity.

Just then, Zhao Yifu felt a slight indentation appear on the outer area of ​​the Three Realms, which resembled a toy model. He saw the familiar Purple Heaven Divine Lightning pulsating intensely in that indentation.

Zhao Yifu sighed, "Truly worthy of being called the Boss Youquan! He feels uncomfortable for a long time after being shocked once, but this Boss Youquan can be shocked continuously without caring."

Then, the power of blood sacrifice began to manifest.

The purple lightning was quickly tinged with blood, which made it less vigorous and intense, and its destructive power was greatly reduced.

And in that recessed area, the light of Youquan's thoughts skillfully embedded itself downwards, attempting to drill a passage through the barrier of the three realms.

Goodness, this looks like an attack and defense drill that has gone through millions of years.

Zhao Yifu roughly understood; it seemed that Youquan must have made countless attempts over the years, but all of them had failed.

So this time...

The power of the blood sacrifice seeped in from the other end, attempting to draw in the spiritual light of the Nether Spring.

Zhao Yifu's avatar in the void followed Youquan's advance with his attention, and at this moment he actually comprehended the mysteries of the Three Realms Barrier.

This was an extremely rare experience, adding another important dimension to his inner world.

As his attention followed the Nether Spring into the world's barrier, he also experienced a sense of spatial distortion. The deeper the Nether Spring penetrated, the more vast and imposing the world's barrier became. Within it, the Nether Spring's spiritual light appeared increasingly smaller and more concentrated.

This is not because the spring is weakening; on the contrary, its 'existence' is being strengthened as a result.

"Hahaha, you really have gotten weaker. You can't do anything to me this time!"

Then Zhao Yifu saw six dignified and magnificent figures appear on the other side of the sky in front of Youquan.

They were sacred and powerful, and Zhao Yifu felt a sense of awe and reverence at first glance.

They seemed to be arguing about something. One of them, an old man dressed in pure white and clean clothes, gently waved a large black banner, which made Youquan cry out in a strange "waaaa," as if it had encountered a strong obstacle.

The other two bald men joined forces, each using a Seven Treasures Tree and a Vajra Pestle to work together and suppress the advance of the Nether Spring.

The other three, the white-haired old man remained calm, seemingly with other plans.

A young man in black stood at a distance, seemingly indifferent.

The last dignified and benevolent goddess hesitated for a moment, then raised a red embroidered ball and threw it at Youquan.

Zhao Yifu secretly guessed the identities of these six people.

At the same time, the avatar remaining on Baiyun Mountain asked, "Grandmaster, do the saints have different attitudes towards the descent of the Nether Spring?"

Xuan Du's eyes flashed upon hearing this, and he asked, "How did you find out?"

However, before Zhao Yifu could answer, he said, "The two Buddhist saints are resolutely resisting because although their Buddhist sect is splendid, it is actually flawed in its foundation. They are not confident in dealing with the chaos after Youquan enters."

"Your ancestor, the Sage Taiqing, agreed to invite Youquan into the heavens. After all, no matter what kind of chaos it might bring, its inclusion would always be good for the great calamity to come."

Zhao Yifu nodded. He could understand his master's line of thinking, since he himself shared the same idea.

Then Xuandu added, "But the Jade Purity Saint is different. He doesn't like to see variables. Therefore, although he agrees to introduce the Nether Spring, he hopes it will be introduced under his own design, rather than in the current state where it is completely out of his control."

Zhao Yifu immediately understood.

Before today, the Jade Purity Saint and the Supreme Purity Saint should have been on the same side, but now, with this unexpected turn of events, their positions have changed. The Jade Purity Saint has instead sided with the two Buddhist saints.

Xuandu added, "The Sage of Shangqing no longer wishes to concern himself with the affairs of the Three Realms, while the Sage of Nuwa dislikes conflict."

Zhao Yifu thought for a moment and instantly understood.

Leaving aside the sages of Shangqing, the Holy Mother of the Human Race, Nuwa, probably sides with whichever side is in the lead.

He couldn't help but mutter, "It seems the patriarch is somewhat isolated and alone."

Xuandu looked up at a certain point in the sky, seemingly witnessing the power struggle among the saints, then shook his head and said, "How could that be? My teacher was simply letting things take their natural course."

"If Youquan can break through the Four Saints' blockade, that would be good, but if he can't... I suppose he will be even less likely to give up."

Zhao Yifu understood, and he said thoughtfully, "But in any case, wouldn't it be better to come in now?"

Xuandu said, "Yes, Master Yuanshi feels that he is not prepared and it is not safe to let Youquan in now. But Master thinks that it is safer to let Youquan in as soon as possible."

Zhao Yifu nodded, and his perspective shifted back to the dark void, watching this struggle in which he had no room to intervene.

As expected, neither the Taiqing Sage nor the Shangqing Sage offered any assistance, and the combined strength of the four sages was actually insufficient to withstand the invasion of the Nether Spring.

Clearly, the accumulation of countless years has given Youquan's spiritual inspiration an extremely terrifying power.

At this moment, the pure white-robed Sage Yuqing said something.

The Supreme Sage slowly shook his head, remaining motionless and silent.

The Jade Purity Sage then turned to the Upper Purity Sage and said something...

The Sage of Shangqing hesitated for a moment before joining the resistance against Youquan.

Zhao Yifu was very curious about what He had heard, but he figured it was something that this sage cared about.

Regardless of the circumstances, Zhao Yifu would definitely stand on his ancestor's side in this situation. He saw that Youquan seemed to be at his limit, unable to go any further...

Zhao Yifu's dream avatar, who had been watching from afar, "kindly" rushed up and kicked Youquan, who was on the verge of collapse, with all its might...

Well, let's just say it's the action of kicking.

This gave Youquan, who had been exhausted, a sudden boost, allowing it to break through the last line of defense of the world barrier and plunge into the Three Realms!

The six saints all showed surprise, and instead of looking at the Nether Spring that had fallen into the Three Realms, they all looked up at Zhao Yifu... In that instant, Zhao Yifu could clearly see the surprise and solemnity on their faces.

Zhao Yifu felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing this and quickly retreated.

Then he saw that the six saints seemed to still be staring in the direction where he had been standing, and did not move for a long time.

Zhao Yifu retreated into the void, savoring the wonderful feeling of that kick he had just taken.

He discovered that his definition of strength and weakness was entirely different in the void.

His dream avatar is definitely considered 'weak' in the Three Realms, and the things it can influence are extremely limited.

But now it seems that this embodiment of his will is actually a 'strong' force in the dark void.

Why does this happen?

Zhao Yifu made a guess based on the texture of the kick he had just received.

That is, nothing should exist in the dark void, and the dark source power here is essentially meaningless.

However, when a consciousness appears in this place, the originally void dark energy can collapse in the direction of 'existence'.

This collapse process generates extremely terrifying forces.

Zhao Yifu's will and actions were the key to catalyzing and bringing about this change.

In other words, if his avatar remains in the dark void merely to observe, it will accomplish nothing. Exerting effort into an empty void is also meaningless.

However, if one harbors ambitions towards the existing Three Realms, then one's thinking ability will cause the collapse of the Dark Source Power, forming an incomparably vast Dark Source Power tide.

Zhao Yifu understood; he grasped some of the underlying logic of the Dark Void.

As he gained this insight, the inner world within his spiritual aperture also began to fill. However, this time, it was the outermost celestial region of that inner world that was being filled, which was now covered with a faint layer of darkness symbolizing the void.

For Zhao Yifu at this moment, everything he saw, thought, and gained would be transformed into his accumulated knowledge and experience.

At this moment, when he looked up at the sky from within the Heavenly Prison, he could see an incredibly massive consciousness descending from the sky, bringing with it a golden light.

This consciousness was so vast that it appeared as if a great sun was rising in the sky to all beings in the Three Realms.

At this point, it was merely the consciousness of Youquan, existing between existence and non-existence.

However, after entering the realm of the Three Realms, it began to collapse rapidly, forming its original form of existence: the soul.

Youquan's soul still seemed incredibly powerful. The appearance of his soul entity within the fallen 'star' brought Youquan an unprecedented sense of comfort.

This is a change from 'nothing' to 'something,' which for Youquan represents a huge leap in its form of existence.

Then, the miracles belonging to Youquan began to unfold.

The countless demon corpses on the ground, which had long since become sacrifices, were summoned by some kind of force, and then swept away by a gray-black storm of power, all of them were reduced to the most basic particles and decomposed.

These particles were rolled up and then gathered on the soul entity of Youquan. Then, filled with dark source power, they actually formed an incredibly huge body.

A magnificent and colossal body, standing tall between heaven and earth.

Zhao Yifu arrived at the top of the Heavenly Prison, where Erna Youquan's body was actually a little taller than the Heavenly Prison itself.

"Father God?!"

A startled voice came from beside him from the Great Witch Xingtian. Clearly, Xingtian hadn't mistaken him for someone else; he meant that the body of this Nether Spring resembled the long-extinct creator god.

This deity was entirely black, with a delicate and handsome face, but his obsidian-like eyes held a disregard for all living beings, yet also possessed the curiosity of a newborn infant about the world.

Then, those eyes moved over and saw Zhao Yifu standing at the top of the Heavenly Prison.

The enormous body then turned around, and it opened its mouth to speak: "You're here too, my most capable assistant."

Zhao Yifu dared not be distracted at this moment. He flashed a bright smile and said, "Hello, Venerable Youquan, it's been a long time."

Youquan's face showed little joy. He looked at Zhao Yifu standing on the Heavenly Prison and said with some complicated feelings, "It seems you've moved ahead again."

Yes, before He descended upon the Heavenly Prison, His next step was to overthrow the Heavenly Prison and rescue the high-quality demons within, who would then become His next core group.

That personnel reshuffle was a truly masterful move.

Clearly, Youquan knew that relying on those low-intelligence, trashy demons wouldn't work, so he simply made the most of them, using them to perform a massive blood sacrifice, thus giving himself the possibility of descending into this world.

Even so, He almost failed, if it weren't for an unknown force giving Him a push from behind at the crucial moment...

He was actually filled with doubt at this moment. Could there be other beings in the void besides Him?

Clearly, He was unaware that Zhao Yifu had left an avatar in the dark void. And aside from being detected by Youquan the first time Zhao Yifu entered the void, He never noticed Zhao Yifu again.

Even if He hadn't forcefully entered the Three Realms this time, Zhao Yifu wouldn't have been able to discover the existence of Youquan.

Clearly, due to the nature of the void, their two consciousnesses were unable to perceive each other.

Youquan looked towards the sky with a hint of nostalgia, but it quickly turned into determination.

He said to Zhao Yifu, "It seems you have accomplished what I asked you to do. Now, I want you to release all the prisoners in this Heavenly Prison!"

As soon as Youquan arrived, he gave Zhao Yifu a big task.

This seems to be a test?
Zhao Yifu had no doubts about this demand, which was actually quite excessive, and said to Xing Tian, ​​"Now, I can release you."

As he spoke, he released all the prisoners from their confinement in the Heavenly Prison.

In an instant, countless demons flew out of the Heavenly Prison, and even the shackles on Xing Tian's body were removed.

Zhao Yifu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Venerable One, there is still a Blood Demon here that is quite troublesome. Should we release it?"

Youquan's huge, obsidian-like eyes flickered, and he said, "I will personally deliver the punishment."

It was for this that the Blood Demon Lord betrayed Youquan back then.

Zhao Yifu immediately released the bound blood demon.

A single drop of scarlet blood splattered out and immediately flew away into the distance.

But before it had gone far, its entire body was covered in black ash, which quickly turned into many tiny specks of smoke and dust.

This has been directly decomposed!

Without any apparent means, Youquan directly eradicated the Blood Demon from the very foundation of its existence!

At this moment, Zhao Yifu was also somewhat at a loss as to what to do.

He now understood why the Jade Purity Saint opposed the Nether Spring entering this world now; it was because there were truly no contingency plans in place.

Of course, he felt it was none of his business. If the sky were to fall, there would be tall people to hold it up. Surely the saints wouldn't just watch Youquan do whatever he wanted?
(End of this chapter)