Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 216 Polished. (First update!)

The world in the painting.

Amidst the roaring torrential rain, the "Geng"-shaped carriage struggled to move forward, with Zheng Que pressed tightly against the bottom of the carriage, one hand still gripping the soul-summoning banner tightly.

Amidst the hazy smoke, countless streams of ink flowed from both sides of the path, accumulating into a dark pool on the ground.

As Zheng Que intently observed his surroundings, he pondered that time flowed very slowly in this world within the painting, and a long time must have passed in the outside world.

I wonder where the ghost bride has gone?
Just then, the carriage suddenly stopped abruptly. Zheng Li looked ahead and saw that the corpse puppet pulling the carriage had gone limp, its broken body collapsing into the ink. In the blink of an eye, it went limp and melted, completely turning into a pool of thick ink.

Seeing this scene, Zheng Que's expression changed drastically. The corpse puppets had already been soaked by the rain. He wondered how long the carriage that sealed the tax could hold out.
He currently has the imperial edict as his trump card, but the problem is that the edict requires a ghost as its target.

And now, he doesn't even know where his target is!
“Yuan Zhi experienced this ‘strange’ event.”

How did Yuan Zhi survive back then?

"If this continues, unless one has the cultivation level of Foundation Establishment, death is inevitable!"

"Even if a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining came, it wouldn't make a difference!"

"This means... either the heavy rain will stop, or something unexpected will happen!"

"Wait a little longer!"

"If we can stall until a turning point occurs, or the ghost bride arrives, then we'll have a chance!"

Zheng Que was thinking rapidly.

This gathering is the "strange" aspect of "Scissors Prison".

The abilities of the underworld messengers are no match for the methods within this "strange" place!
However, in addition to ordinary edicts, he now has a higher-level edict that can confer titles of officials in the underworld that are one level higher than those in the underworld.

He had originally saved this for his next tribulation, but if no change in circumstances occurred, he would have no choice but to use this decree on Niannu...

Just as I was thinking this, the carriage, which had come to a complete stop, was suddenly propelled forward again by the strong wind behind it.

After traveling only a short distance, the carriage entered a downhill section. The wheels creaked and groaned as they sped up, soon spinning like the wind and almost whistling as they slid down the slope.

Zheng Que's heart skipped a beat; was this the turning point?
The carriage stumbled forward along the mountain path, the carriage shaking violently from time to time, causing the undercarriage to bounce like waves.

Zheng Que and "Linghu Yuniang" clung tightly to the bottom of the carriage, not daring to reveal even a glimpse of themselves.

The torrential rain outside continued unabated, and the scenery on both sides was completely obscured, a hazy gray-white expanse, like ink stains that had been repeatedly soaked and dragged.

Amidst the rumbling of the wheels, the carriage continued to accelerate, sliding downwards.

As the wheels rolled over the uneven ground, splashes of ink would occasionally fly up. Zheng Que and "Linghu Yuniang" dared not be careless, their muscles tense, constantly on guard to dodge the ink's sudden attacks.

After a while, the carriage suddenly jolted and shuddered, as if it had overcome a hurdle and crashed into something.

The next moment, the surrounding rainwater vanished completely.

After that...

boom! ! !
The carriage seemed to have hit something; the entire carriage lurched backward slightly before coming to an abrupt stop.

Just as Zheng Que was about to observe his surroundings, everything suddenly went black, and he instantly lost consciousness.

※※※

In the main hall of the temple, the curtains were rolled up high, and the shrine was empty. Candles were lit on both sides of the offering table, illuminating the hall brightly.

While unconscious, Diao Jingsong felt the stimulation of light and woke up without realizing it.

He opened his eyes, looked around, and found himself in the main hall of a simply furnished temple. There was no one around, except him, who was lying alone on the bare offering table.

After a slight pause, Diao Jingsong gradually came to his senses and immediately realized that this place should be the temple that Yuan Zhi had mentioned.

The rain suddenly started, and they all crawled under the car to take shelter.

The corpse puppet pulling the cart was melted by the rain, but it happened to be going down a slope, and after a bumpy ride, it crashed into something...

He remembered clearly that when the carriage stopped, the rain had stopped.

This place must now be the temple where they can take shelter from the rain.

But where did Yuan Zhi go?

And what about the others?
The situation was urgent, and he didn't have time to ask many questions in detail. Now he only knows that although this temple can provide shelter from the rain, it is not safe either.

However, neither Yuan Zhi nor the fat, dark-skinned cultivator surnamed Song told him the specific dangers involved...

In the blink of an eye, a cold, ethereal voice suddenly rang out from above his head: "Those who have arrived here are qualified to participate in this gathering."

Upon hearing this, Diao Jingsong immediately looked up and saw a figure in a yellow dress sitting behind the previously empty altar. The figure had lowered her head slightly, her face hidden in the darkness and could not be clearly seen.

The voice just now came from the figure in the ivory-yellow dress.

Diao Jingsong looked solemn. Was he qualified to participate in the gathering?
Does this mean he can leave the painting and enter the gathering?

Thinking of this, Diao Jingsong immediately clasped his hands in a respectful bow and said, "I am Diao Jingsong. May I ask, senior, if you would like me to enter the gathering?"

The figure in the ivory-yellow dress replied calmly, "Not bad."

"Since you have caught my eye, you are qualified to enter this gathering."

"However, your current appearance is too ordinary and lacks grandeur."

“If you participate in a literary gathering like this, you will inevitably be outshone by those who are qualified.”

"Therefore, I, the immortal, will polish it a bit for you..."

Not grand enough?

Diao Jingsong frowned slightly. He had been running for his life, and his current appearance did indeed make him look somewhat disheveled.

As for comparing oneself with others at the gathering?
Right now, all he cares about is getting out of this world in the painting; he doesn't care about anything else.

Just as Diao Jingsong was about to speak again, he saw the figure in the ivory-yellow dress suddenly take out a brush dipped in ink and draw a few strokes on his chest.

Diao Jingsong was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that two mouths had grown in an interlocking pattern on his chest. These two mouths were long and scarlet, and when they moved, they revealed fine, sharp teeth. Inside, there were several thin, black tongues that slowly opened and closed.

His expression changed drastically in an instant, and he immediately understood what the so-called "polishing" meant!
Diao Jingsong immediately tried to escape, but as soon as he moved, he found that his body could only move left and right, and he could not move forward or backward!
He tried to raise his hand to stop the figure in the ivory-yellow dress from writing again, but found that he could only see one side of his arm...

Diao Jingsong's expression suddenly turned utterly terrified.

Right now, I'm on a piece of paper!
(End of this chapter)