Great Zhou Martial Immortal

Chapter 93 "The Hundred Ghosts of the Azure Netherworld"

The goddess did not speak, but simply looked at her calmly.

"...and then she stopped talking."

The minor auspicious star among the twelve earthly branches, namely the Goat, looked at the goddess and sighed, saying, "Do you feel you have nothing to say to me, or do you disdain to say anything? Didn't your master teach you what manners are?"

The goddess said softly, "Those who respect others will always be respected; those who insult others will always be insulted."

"I've actually learned quite a bit."

Wei Yang chuckled leisurely, "You've only been revived for about ten days, but your master has truly taught you well. Your spirit core is also extraordinary... It really makes me jealous..."

Her tone was strange, and she suddenly lost interest in talking. She turned around and led everyone back to Xuanlian Peak.

Yuan Qingshuang quickly looked at Chi Mei.

Chi Mei nodded, pressing her wound.

Yuan Qingshuang recovered and followed Wei Yang back to the bottom of the Pearl Curtain Waterfall.

Wei Yang raised his hand, and Shan Cha handed him the iron chain. Wei Yang led Shen Hou down the secret passage of the thatched cottage and arrived in front of the giant mural in the cave.

She looked up at the mural and calmly said, "Use your precious eyes to see what secrets this painting holds. If you cooperate obediently, I'll spare your master's life; otherwise... I'll make sure he dies a gruesome death!!"

"..."

The goddess glanced at her face, then turned to look at the mural: "I'm sorry to disappoint you. The [Returning Treasure Eye] can only see the light of treasures, find and identify them, and distinguish the 47,600 kinds of alchemy and weapon-refining materials in this world... I can only tell that they are magical artifacts, but I can't see any secrets behind them..."

"hehe."

Wei Yang sneered twice: "That's right. In this respect, Gui Cang is not as good as Hui Yan. If your master were here, he would definitely be able to see through you at a glance. This is called 'Qingming Hundred Ghosts Painting', which is also the test he set up in the 'Dan Ding Scroll'."

Who this "he" is is self-evident.

Along the way, the Empress had already learned about the temperament and thoughts of this "Fifth Sister," so it was not surprising that she referred to her in this way.

Wei Yang said calmly, "The four arts of the gentleman are qin (a stringed instrument), chess, calligraphy, and painting, which are also the means of Confucianism passed down from the pre-Qin period to the present day. When qin is played to its highest level, one can produce awe-inspiring sounds and use the sound of the qin to control the primordial energy of heaven and earth; when chess is played to its highest level, one can arrange pieces in formation, place them in the nine palaces, and travel to the eight directions and traverse the ten directions; the way of calligraphy has been transformed from cloud seal script into the runes of this world; and finally, there is painting, also known as danqing (a type of Chinese painting)!"

Yuan Qingshuang and Chimei maintained their blank expressions, listening intently.

The goddess subtly moved her wrists, waiting for an opportunity to unlock the handcuffs.

Wei Yang, in high spirits, spoke eloquently: "The art of painting is different from the previous three. It is more difficult to learn and more terrifying. The strange art derived from this art is called 'Spirit Painting'. In ancient times, there was Jiang Ziya who 'drew a circle on the ground as a prison', and before that, there was Zhang Sengyao who painted the eyes of a dragon. The art they practiced was 'Spirit Painting' - to comprehend the spirit of the subject being painted, preserve one's own intention, and put it on paper to create 'painting intent'. Once the painting intent is sufficient, one can open up a 'painting world', or even a 'world within a world', just like this painting, 'The Hundred Ghosts of the Azure Netherworld'."

The world of art!

Is it a world within a painting?
Yuan Qingshuang was secretly alarmed, while Chi Mei remained expressionless, though cold sweat seeped from her palms.

Last night, when I saw her fly out of the painting, I thought it was just a barrier. I never expected that there was actually a world hidden in the painting!
In the past, Zhang Sengyao of the Southern Liang Dynasty painted dragons and dotted their eyes, which was once regarded as a miracle. Gu Yunsheng was proficient in the three religions and hundreds of schools of thought, and it is indeed possible that he could reach the level of a grandmaster of painting. He could paint shadows to bind enemies and dot their eyes to transform them into forms, thereby refining magical weapons and setting up tests.

But what's the deal with this "Sheep" (未羊)?

Shouldn't she be like the Empress, a cultivation assistant prepared by Gu Yunsheng for those with a destined connection?

How did it become an ownerless thing, free to move about, and even harbor resentment towards its creator!

"Azure sky refers to the heavens; all ghosts refer to demons and monsters."

Looking at the beautiful scenery of Mount Song in the painting, and the demons and monsters beneath the mountains and rivers, Wei Yang sneered: "Look at this painting. On the surface, it is a magnificent landscape, but inside it hides a hundred ghosts walking at night... How ironic! Just like Gu Yunsheng, on the surface he is a transcendent immortal, but in reality he is more cunning than anyone else!"

Her voice gradually rose: "They say 'the mechanical puppets are sentient beings,' yet they treat us as tools! They say they 'help those with affinity to cultivate,' yet they've set up countless deadly traps in this painting!"

She turned sharply to look at the Queen: "Tell me! Isn't he a hypocrite?!"

The goddess was silent for a moment, then said softly, "The creator has his reasons..."

"Considerations?"

Wei Yang suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, "How profound is Gu Yunsheng's artistic conception? These ghosts are practically alive in the art world! If I were to remain asleep forever, that would be fine, out of sight, out of mind. But fifty years ago, some good-for-nothing entered this painting, went through countless hardships, finally obtained the 'key,' and awakened me, only to die at the hands of the ghosts... The 'key' is gone, the way out is gone... Guess what will happen next?"

The goddess remained silent.

Wei Yang burst into laughter, laughing so hard he almost fell over, his voice hoarse: "I've been spinning in this painting for fifty years! Fifty! Ten!! years!!!"

The power of a peak fifth realm cultivator erupted, causing the entire cavern to tremble violently.

She suddenly stretched out her five fingers and inserted them into the mural, actually pulling out a wisp of dark, ghostly energy from the painting.

The stalactites on the rock top broke off and fell, but strangely hovered in mid-air about three zhang away from her.

The surface of those pebbles was quickly covered with dark patterns, and in an instant, they were assimilated into the scenery of the painting.

"did you see it?"

The sheep's long hair moved without wind, each strand transforming into a flowing ink line. "This is the 'gift' he left me!"

She suddenly opened her arms, and a huge scroll phantom appeared behind her, which was the reflection of "The Hundred Ghosts of the Azure Netherworld".

In the painting, all the ghosts opened their eyes, countless scarlet pupils lighting up in the void. Yuan Qingshuang suddenly groaned, covering her right eye, blood seeping from between her fingers. She was horrified to discover that her shadow was twisting and deforming on the ground, about to detach from her body and plunge into the painting.

Chi Mei was in even worse shape; she collapsed to her knees as if struck by lightning, with fine beads of blood seeping from her seven orifices.

The light inside the cave began to distort, and all the shadows seemed to writhe like living things.

The moss on the stone wall grows wildly, but it fades instantly when it touches the ink-colored area, turning into black and white ink. The hanging stalactites are as if they are outlined by an invisible paintbrush, gradually revealing a hideous ghost face.

Wei Yang sneered, grabbed Yuan Qing Shuang by the neck, and said in a sinister tone, "You're quite the actor! Last night's hand seals weren't for mutual destruction, were they? You must have tampered with those four people I asked you to capture. No wonder you were so slow just now. You really are worthy of being the head maid of the princess's residence!"

"Ho ho..."

Blood trickled from the corner of Yuan Qingshuang's mouth, but she dropped the pretense and smiled, saying, "You flatter me. Everyone in the Princess's residence knows that I, Yuan Qingshuang, am terrible at acting. It's only because you were fooled by me that you have such a talent..."

Insulting without using vulgar language.

"court death!"

Wei Yang clenched his fist tightly, about to snap her neck completely.

"stop."

The goddess coldly replied, "If you kill someone, I will absolutely not help you!"

Wei Yang turned around and sneered, "I'm not begging you! I said, if you dare disobey, I'll—"

The goddess said, "I will die with him. I know how to die."

"..."

The sheep stared intently at the goddess.

The goddess queen, not to be outdone, met her gaze.

"Tsk."

Wei Yang turned to Yuan Qing Shuang impatiently and sneered, "Give my dear sister some face—go inside and keep her company!"

She flung Yuan Qingshuang into the painting, and then countless ink lines surged from the mural, capturing the red plum blossoms and the three signs of the Awakening of Insects as well.

The goddess roared, "You..."

"Don't worry, they're not dead."

Wei Yang laughed and said, "This painting has realms within realms. I just threw them into the first realm. They're just little devils; it'll be hard for them to die!"

She took the chain that bound the goddess and walked towards the mural: "Let's go. There's something else in this painting, the key to the 'Dan Ding Scroll.' If it weren't for it, I would have filled this hole long ago! Although Gui Cang isn't as discerning as Hui Yan, you should still be able to see some clues. Your master will come sooner or later. Before that, let's try one more time!"

The two stepped into the painting, disappearing as if ink had been poured into water.

……

Lu Chenyuan and his group retreated several miles in one go, until they reached the foot of Shaoshi Mountain.

The Day Sha and Hour Sha heal the two ghosts, while the Year Sha and Month Sha are on alert for their surroundings.

Lu Chenyuan immediately took out the bamboo tube containing the message and checked the information on it.

After reading carefully, he finally learned the identity of the person behind the scenes—one of the Twelve Yuan Chen, Wei Yang, Xiao Ji Yuan Chen, with the peak of the Fifth Realm cultivation, possessing a variety of pills and talismans, and having unparalleled poison skills. He had no master and could move freely, which seemed to have another reason. The cave under the thatched cottage was actually a poison cave!
Unlike the Empress, she harbored deep hatred for Gu Yunsheng!

She had two purposes in capturing the god.

First, she lured Lu Chenyuan here, but her purpose remained unclear until the time of the message; second, it was for her own benefit. She coveted the Gui Cang Bao Tong and the Divine Empress's "Tian Gong Juan" inheritance, and attempted to use Lu Chenyuan as leverage to force the Divine Empress to do something for her...

"Poisonous skills... Xiao Ji..."

Lu Chenyuan thought to himself that the poison cave was probably prepared for him. If he were to be provoked by Jingyin and come to check it out, he would be courting death!
Once captured by the Goat, not only will they be forced to accomplish a certain task, but the Queen of the Gods will also walk right into their trap.

Afterwards, Wei Yang was able to calmly withdraw...

Since he didn't come, Yuan Qingshuang and the Twenty-Fourth Division became the scapegoats.

"That's a clever plan, what a pity..."

Lu Chenyuan channeled his energy into his palm, shredding the letter, and looked at Xuanlian Peak: "I can't beat you, but you can't take my Divine Empress away either..."

He reached into his robes and took out a jade pendant, which was shaped like a white carp and resembled the yang fish in the Tai Chi diagram.

The jade is as white as frost and snow, with fish-eye patterns inlaid with black crystals. Under light, swirling patterns appear, and eight seal characters are engraved below.

Yin and Yang complement each other, shifting forms and changing shadows!

It was none other than the Yang Jade of the [Shadow Shifting Jade]!

(End of this chapter)