Under One Person: My Inner Realm Connects to All Worlds!

Chapter 265 The Art of Combined Painting, A Cunning Mantis Waits for His Cry
As the crimson portal was outlined, the blank canvas was no longer ordinary; it began to emanate a hazy, water-like ripple, and a strange power that could absorb and seal everything began to spread.

At the center of the painting, it seemed to transform into a miniature, bottomless vortex entrance.

"Divine Coating - Mustard Seed Contains Mount Sumeru! Gate of Boundaries - Open!"

Wang Ai roared furiously, pouring nearly 90% of his Qi into the blood-red portal without reservation.

"Om-!"

The blank scroll trembled violently, and the blood-painted gate suddenly expanded, detaching from the scroll itself and transforming into a semi-transparent blood-red vortex portal with a diameter of over ten feet, suspended in mid-air.

Inside the portal, light and shadow flow, as if leading to a two-dimensional world of only lines and colors, radiating a powerful attraction.

This suction force is not directed at the physical body, but rather at the spirit and the essence of existence, specifically pulling at the "form" and "spirit" of living beings, trying to drag them into the cage of the painting!
Just as the earth spider was about to spew its venomous web again, its massive body suddenly stiffened, and a look of horror appeared simultaneously in its countless compound eyes.

It felt an irresistible force acting on its soul and form, pulling it wildly, trying to compress and flatten it, dragging it into that heart-palpitating blood-red vortex.

"Roar! What kind of evil magic is this?!"

The earth spider roared in alarm and anger, its eight giant claws digging deep into the ground, carving out deep furrows. Its demonic energy erupted in full force, attempting to resist the suction of the dimensional gate.

Its abdomen bulged, spewing out more filthy spiderwebs and petrifying rays, blasting towards the boundary gate and Wang Ai, attempting to interrupt Wang Ai's methods.

However, the boundary gate is an extremely profound application of the divine secret technique, involving the principle of spatial sealing. How could it be easily broken?
The spiderwebs and rays that collided with the boundary gate vortex were like mud oxen entering the sea, only causing a few ripples before being swallowed and dissolved by the two-dimensional rules.

Wang Ai's face was as pale as paper, and his body swayed slightly, clearly indicating that maintaining the boundary gate had taken a great toll on him.

But his eyes were fierce, and he still held on tightly, pressing his hands down to slowly lower the gate and cover the struggling earth spider.

"Get in...!"

The gate shone with intense crimson light, and the suction force suddenly doubled.

The earth spider's mountain-like body began to rise uncontrollably off the ground, forcibly pulled towards the center of the vortex.

Its shell emitted a teeth-grinding crunch, as if it were about to be flattened by that force. Its enormous form began to twist and deform under the power of the boundary gate, like dough being kneaded by an invisible giant hand.

"Do not--!!!"

The earth spider let out a desperate and unwilling howl, its limbs flailing wildly, but it could not stop itself from being dragged little by little into the blood-red vortex.

Finally, with a sound like tearing cloth, the massive demonic body of the Earth Spider was completely sucked into the gate. The crimson vortex rapidly contracted, transforming back into the crimson portal, imprinted on the blank scroll.

On the originally blank scroll, a lifelike and ferocious image of a spider has now appeared!
Trapped on a two-dimensional plane, it still struggles and roars, its eight eyes wide open, filled with resentment and bitterness, yet it can no longer move an inch, as if it has become a meticulously drawn monster encyclopedia.

The gate dissipated, and the blank scroll drifted down, which Wang Ai caught. He staggered and almost fell, but was quickly supported by his clansmen beside him.

Wang Ai was breathing heavily, and the blank scroll in her hand was trembling violently.

Although the earth spider in the painting is confined to a two-dimensional plane, the resentment in its eight compound eyes almost leaps through the paper, and its ferocious mouthparts open and close as if roaring silently.

The surface of the scroll constantly bulged and sunken, as if there were living creatures struggling and thrashing about inside, and fine cracks began to spread along the outline of the earth spider.

"Hmph! You wretched creature, you think you can turn the world upside down after entering my Wang family's 'Infernal Prison'?!"

Wang Aiqiang took a deep breath, his cloudy eyes flashing with a sharp light, and pressed down firmly on the painting.

But he was also worried. This earth spider demon was powerful and a thousand-year-old demon. He was afraid that the hastily unfolded world in the painting would not be able to suppress it for long.

He turned sharply and shouted at a trusted disciple beside him, "Go! Bring the 'Ink Qilin Guarding the Mountain' painting from the secret compartment of the ancestral hall! Quickly!"

The disciple dared not delay. His figure moved like lightning, and in an instant, he rushed out of the Demon-Subduing Tower. Before long, he returned with an ancient scroll in his hands.

The scroll was made of an unknown black wood, and the silk surface was dark blue. Even before it was unrolled, a powerful and imposing aura, as heavy as a mountain and as fierce as thunder, permeated the air, calming the restless Qi around it.

Wang Ai took the scroll, took a deep breath, and slowly unfurled it.

The painting depicts a majestic and unparalleled black jade unicorn!

It resembles the body of a deer, the tail of an ox, the hooves of a wolf, and a single horn, its entire body covered in scales that seem to be rendered in thick ink yet shimmer with a cold metallic luster.

The Qilin raised its head to the sky, as if roaring, with thunderous breath seemingly spewing from its mouth and nostrils. Fine silver electric snakes surrounded its body, and its four hooves trod on surging dark auspicious clouds, with specks of thunder patterns like stars adorning the clouds.

The painting is magnificent, and the Qilin is lifelike, especially its eyes, which are made of cinnabar, and are full of the majesty and domineering power of the ancient thunder beast.

It was drawn based on the form and spirit of the mount under the command of the Taoist deity, the Heavenly Venerable of Universal Transformation and Responding to the Origin of Thunder!
"Divine Coating - All Laws Unite, Qilin Subdues Demons!"

Wang Ai bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood containing primordial Qi onto the "Ink Qilin Town Mountain Painting".

At the same time, he formed a hand seal, and a colorful ball of Qi appeared. The little remaining Qi in his body surged out wildly, activating the secret painting technique passed down by the Wang family.

Suddenly, the "Ink Qilin Suppressing the Mountain" painting burst forth with dazzling lightning and deep ink-colored radiance, transforming into a solidified phantom of a Qilin. It let out a soul-shaking roar and charged fiercely towards the blank scroll that sealed the Earth Spider.

Under Wang Ai's control, the two paintings began to overlap and merge as if they were made of water and milk!
The blank canvas is rendered with the deep blue of "Ink Qilin Guarding the Mountain", and streaks of thunder patterns spread and intertwine on the canvas as if they were alive.

Finally, the powerful phantom of the black Qilin was imprinted on the blank scroll.

It stood on thunderclouds, looked down, and its vermilion-painted eyes shot out two beams of crimson lightning, locking onto the struggling earth spider image below.

The Qilin Demon-Suppressing Formation is complete!

The trembling of the scroll instantly subsided by more than half. The thunderous pressure and auspicious aura emanating from the Ink Qilin acted like invisible shackles, pressing down on the Earth Spider.

The struggle of the earth spider image slowed down, and for the first time, fear appeared in its eyes. The demonic aura around it was continuously purified and worn away by the power of thunder.

However, this is not thorough enough. This fiend has extremely strong vitality; its fundamental demonic power must be weakened to eliminate any future threat.

Wang Ai then picked up a paintbrush made from the mane of a hundred-year-old wolf demon and the core of a peach wood struck by lightning, and dipped it in a specially prepared ink mixture of cinnabar, realgar, and boy's eyebrows.

Wang Ai focused his mind and calmed himself as his brush fell, not to attack, but to... render!
He wielded his brush with remarkable skill and precision, painting the image of the earth spider with fluid, dynamic strokes.

As the pen tip passed, the dark color of the earth spider's ferocious carapace was covered by ink, rendering a grayish hue that represented "silence" and "sealing".

Its eight venomous compound eyes were gradually painted over to a dull, lifeless gray; the venomous saliva dripping from its mouthparts was depicted as dried ink.

The surging demonic energy around it was skillfully outlined and guided by the spirit ink, transforming into twisted, chain-bound runes that were firmly imprinted on its form. This was not a simple alteration, but rather a weakening and redefinition of the Earth Spider at the level of "concept" and "existence" using the secret technique of divine ink, equivalent to rewriting a two-dimensional creature with a three-dimensional one.

First, the existence of living beings is sealed within the painting, thus "degrading" them to become objects of the brush. Then, through secret methods, they are weakened or even erased. This is actually a secret technique of the secret painting school.

But now, the arts of painting and calligraphy have all fallen into the hands of the Wang family.

With each stroke of the brush, the aura of the earth spider in the painting weakens, and its struggling force diminishes.

It was as if it had been transformed from a ferocious and powerful demon into a dull, dying, trapped beast, firmly suppressed by thunder.

Finally, when Wang Ai made the last stroke at the location of its demon core, drawing a thunderous rune.

"Ow—!"

The earth spider in the painting let out a weak but unwilling cry and finally stopped struggling.

Its image is frozen on the scroll, its colors are gray and its eyes are dim. It is firmly suppressed under the feet of the black Qilin above, and its body is wrapped with lightning patterns like chains, making it unable to move.

The merged painting returned to calm, with only the faint flow of lightning from the black Qilin revealing an inviolable demon-suppressing power.

Wang Ai finally let out a long sigh of relief, his body swaying as if he had almost collapsed from exhaustion. He carefully rolled up the newly completed painting and put it away close to his body.

Inside the Demon-Slaying Tower, silence was temporarily restored.

Only the still-unquenched demonic energy on the "Demon Subduing Transformation" mural at the bottom of the tower serves as a reminder that the crisis is not yet completely over.

Wang Aiqiang took a deep breath and said hoarsely, "Quick! Check the seal and reinforce the incense! We absolutely cannot let it fail again!"

The Wang family elites dared not delay and immediately sprang into action, lighting more incense and candles and chanting the Wang family's unique calming and demon-suppressing incantation.

"Painting is the bone, calligraphy is the sinew."

"The images of gods and Buddhas linger, and all vital energy condenses into true essence."

"A glimmer of light shines into the Purple Palace, a thousand forms suppress the demon's heart. Painting the skin, painting the bones, painting the soul, locking your form and spirit deep into the ink..."

As the chanting of prayers and incantations filled the air, the smoke from incense rose and billowed, and the thousands of portraits inside the pagoda simultaneously shone with brilliance.

Golden rays shot from the eyes of those gods and Buddhas, like tangible chains, weaving into a vast net that pressed down on the demons in the mural.

The streams of aspiration flowed like streams into the sea, surging towards the murals at the base of the pagoda. Under the cleansing power of pure aspiration, the restless demonic energy finally began to subside, and the Buddha's light in the painting returned to stability and peace.

Looking at the gradually stabilizing seal, Wang Ai breathed a long sigh of relief, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly.

Although this time a lot of the Wang family's resources were used, fortunately it was not all for naught. With this great demon earth spider, as long as it is properly processed in the future, and with the means of binding spirits and commanding generals, the Wang family will have another great demon spirit that is as obedient as a dog.

Even though it is not as powerful as the five great immortal families of Northeast China, the Earth Spider is born from the evil energy of the earth's veins. Its true supernatural power lies in its manipulation of the earth's veins. It can even weave the earth's veins into a web and control the feng shui energy.

It can transform a region into a land of auspicious geomancy, or it can turn it into a desolate wasteland. Given time, if used properly, the fortune of the Wang family's ancestral land will surely rise to a higher level.

Thinking of this, Wang Ai felt much better.

Afterwards, Wang Ai watched as several disciples who were seriously injured and weak were helped away, and then looked around at the clansmen who had fought fiercely, were all injured, and had severely depleted their Qi. He couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his heart.

These were all key members of the Wang family, and this battle has dealt them a severe blow.

He forced himself to stay alert and, in a hoarse voice, instructed, "You've all worked hard. Those who are injured, go to the pharmacy immediately for treatment. Use the best medicine available, no matter the cost!"

"The rest of you, take turns on duty and make sure to keep a close watch on the Demon-Slaying Tower. We absolutely cannot allow any more mistakes to happen!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed signs of exhaustion.

With Wang Ai's consent, most of the clansmen bowed and left the Demon-Subduing Tower, leaving only a dozen or so people to stay in key positions inside the tower, guarding the incense and monitoring the murals.

The tower fell silent again, with only the faint crackling of burning incense and the occasional suppressed groans of the wounded.

However, neither Wang Ai nor any of the Wang family members noticed that at the highest point of the Demon-Slaying Tower, in that shadowy corner woven from the gazes of countless images of gods and Buddhas.

A pair of cold, cunning, and sinister eyes were taking in everything that was happening inside the tower, including Wang Ai's laxity and his arrangements.

The owner of these eyes was completely blended into the darkness, his aura perfectly integrated with the incense and prayers accumulated within the tower, as well as the demonic energy faintly emanating from the murals. Unless seen with one's own eyes, it would be almost impossible to perceive his existence.

He is one of the seven gods who came with Tsuchigumo, and his true form is the famous monster in Japanese legends—Nue!

According to classic texts such as The Tale of the Heike, the Nue was a strange-looking monster with a voice like a tiger owl. It had the head of an ape, the body of a raccoon dog, the feet of a tiger, and the tail of a snake, and it was believed to bring disaster.

The Nue, now hidden here, appears even more bizarre. It retains a roughly human shape, but its skin has a dark, grayish-purple hue.

Facial features were blurred, as if shrouded in a constantly flowing mist; only the eyes flickered, revealing an ominous meaning.

His fingers were slender and pale, with sharp, curved nails that faintly glowed. He was surrounded by a very faint aura of distorted light, making him easy to overlook even if he stood right in front of you.

"Heh, it was definitely the right decision to let that idiot Tsuchigumo, who's all brute force and no substance, lead the charge."

“If it hadn’t attracted all of the Wang family’s attention, how could I have so easily infiltrated this core area?” A hint of sarcasm flashed in Nue’s eyes.

"However, the Wang family truly lives up to its reputation as a thousand-year-old family in China. This Demon-Subduing Tower, this portrait of ten thousand gods, and that miraculous 'Divine Painting' technique—their foundation is indeed astonishingly profound. It's just a pity that there's an old saying in China: 'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!'"

He gazed at the mural depicting the demon-slaying transformation with a slightly fascinated expression, muttering, "The Demon King is mine!"

The real hunter has only just revealed himself.

Like the most patient predator, the ye lies dormant in the shadows, concealing all its presence, as if it has become part of the tower.

Time passed slowly, and the night deepened.

The Wang family members who remained inside the tower, after the intense tension and fierce battle, were now suffering from exhaustion and injuries. Despite their best efforts, their eyelids began to droop involuntarily.

At this moment, the nue gently blew out a wisp of ethereal mist.

(End of this chapter)