You made all the streamers on the internet kneel before you when you were asked to make a game.

The paper was very light, and the fingers holding the lancet suddenly tightened.

The darkness beneath my feet is no longer an abyss that devours everything, but a blank space that has been forcibly erased.

The old Taoist priest, who was still roaring, suddenly stopped speaking.

He lowered his head and looked at his body.

The huge fleshy mass connecting to his waist had disappeared, and the clean cut was now just a mess of messy black lines.

That's ink.

"ink?"

The experienced driver sniffed.

The strong stench of corpses and blood was rapidly fading, replaced by a musty, stale ink smell.

"Look below."

Professor Chen pointed to the ground.

What should have been a bottomless stomach has now become a huge, flat sheet of white paper.

Those jagged rock walls, chains covered with corpses, and even the heart that had just been crushed, all turned into dry brushstrokes on a blank sheet of paper.

This is a painting.

They were always in a painting.

That "madman" left behind more than just a piece of paper.

He drew the entire Dixian Temple, and even the entire Yinshan Mountain, onto a single sheet of paper.

Now, someone has crumpled this piece of paper.

"run!"

Brother Long roared and reached out to grab Liu Yedao's arm.

But the edges of the white paper had already begun to curl and burn.

A white flame silently devoured everything in the scene.

The old Taoist priest screamed as his legs were set ablaze by white flames. There was no smell of burning, only the soft sound of paper turning to ash.

【No……】

I am an immortal... I am an earth immortal...

The old Taoist priest frantically scratched at the ground, trying to crawl out of the soon-to-be-burnt scroll.

His fingers dug into the white paper, leaving black scratches.

"Help me..."

The old Taoist priest raised his head, his eyes, burning with green flames, fixed intently on the willow-leaf knife.

No.

He was staring at the note in the lancet's hand.

That was the only "physical object".

That note with its sarcastic words was the key to the outside world of the picture frame.

"Give me……"

The old Taoist priest stretched out his hand, which was now just a skeleton.

Brother Long stepped forward and kicked the old Taoist priest in the face.

"roll."

There was no resistance.

The old Taoist priest's head broke off from his neck and flew off.

In mid-air, the head scattered, turning into a cloud of flying ashes.

"That's... all?"

Brother Long pulled his foot back and looked at the sole of his shoe.

The soles of the shoes were not stained with blood, only with a little bit of black ash.

The BOSS who tormented them to the point of near death, the furnace guardian who had refined pills for hundreds of years, was essentially just a pile of waste paper.

"We have to go too."

Lancet turned the note over.

On the back of the note was a drawing of a door.

The door is very simple, with only a few lines drawn on it.

But the moment Lancet saw the door, the flying ashes in the air in front of him began to condense.

Black ash swirled in the air, outlining a rectangular shape.

Door frame, door panel, door handle—a black wooden door appeared out of thin air in mid-air.

A tattered sign hung on the door, with two crookedly written characters: Exit.

"Walk!"

Professor Chen carried the still-bleeding old driver on his back and was the first to rush towards that door.

The scalpel followed closely behind, and Brother Long glanced back.

The giant fleshy monster had completely disappeared, leaving only a thick pool of ink flowing in the white void.

The ghost bride stood behind Brother Long, stretched out her pale hand, and gently pushed him.

The group rushed through the black wooden door.

Behind him, white flames engulfed the entire painting.

All the sins, greed, and dreams of immortality turned to ashes and scattered in the endless darkness.

……

[Announcement: Congratulations on clearing the large-scale regional dungeon "Reincarnation: Yinshan" and achieving the hidden true ending - "Fairy in the Painting".]

[Server-wide announcement: The Yinshan map has been permanently closed, and related story clues have been archived.]

Inside the white settlement space, four figures fell to the ground in a disheveled state.

"We survived..."

Brother Long raised his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding white light overhead.

His palms were still wrapped in thick bandages, injuries sustained at the Dixian Temple.

The pain felt very real and didn't disappear after returning to the settlement area.

"This game... is fucking hardcore."

Brother Long cursed, but a smile crept across his face.

Liu Yedao sat on the ground, still clutching the note in his hand.

The note began to deteriorate the moment it left the copy.

A few seconds later, all that was left in her hand was a pinch of white powder.

That "madman" left them no souvenirs except for this nightmarish experience.

"The settlement panel is out," Professor Chen said.

A semi-transparent system light screen popped up in front of the four people simultaneously.

[Instance Name: Reincarnation - Yinshan]

[Exploration Level: 100% (Perfect)]

[Core Puzzle Solved: S-Rank]

Survival Rating: S

Overall Rating: SSS

[Plot Summary: Three hundred years ago, an unnamed sorcerer entered Yin Mountain and, seeing the suffering of all beings, drew a circle on the ground to imprison them. He used nine mountains as locks and a paper core as a seal, sealing an evil spirit that wanted to devour the world within the painting. However, human greed is insatiable. Later generations of tomb guardians attempted to steal the power of the seal to seek immortality, ultimately causing the painting to collapse and the evil spirit to resurrect. Fortunately, four travelers entered the painting, retrieved the paper core, destroyed the painting, and ended this absurd farce that had lasted for three hundred years.]

"I see." Professor Chen looked at the briefing and sighed.

"That old Taoist priest was just a drop of ink left behind by that sorcerer from back then."

"The ink gained sentience, but forgot its origins and tried to become the person holding the pen."

"Ridiculous, pathetic."

Brother Long had no interest in listening to these flowery sentiments; he stared intently at the rewards section below.

This is the first time I've cleared the game at SSS rank since the server launched.

[Rewards being processed...]

[Congratulations to player "Willow Leaf Blade" for obtaining the unique item: The Immortal's Scalpel (Fragmented).]

[Item Description: A scalpel stained with the blood of a paper heart. It can cut flesh, and it can cut souls. Under certain conditions, it can even cut through "rules."]

Liu Yedao looked down at his waist.

The scalpel, which was originally ordinary, now had a dark red handle and a faint golden sheen flowing across its blade.

[Congratulations to player "Rampaging Dragon Bro" for obtaining the special skill book: Paper Crafting (Beginner).]

[Item Description: Although you can only fold the simplest paper ingots and cranes, these are the foundation of a long-lost forbidden art. Combined with specific yin energy, they might produce unexpected effects.]

"Paper offerings?" Brother Long scratched his head. "What can these things do? Can you make me a paper heart too?"

The ghost bride, who had been silent all along, suddenly emerged from Brother Long's shadow.

She stretched out her finger and gently touched Brother Long's forehead, and a cool sensation entered Brother Long's mind.

Brother Long was startled, then overjoyed.

"Can you repair the wedding dress?"

"Holy crap, that skill is amazing!"

[Congratulations to player "Professor Chen" for obtaining the special title: Guardian of Secrets.]

[Title Effect: When you are in historical sites or ancient buildings, your perception and defense against paranormal phenomena increase by 30%. You are also more likely to gain the trust of NPCs.]

[Congratulations to player "Veteran Driver" for acquiring the passive skill: Yin-Yang Ears (Advanced).]

[Skill Description: Your hearing has transcended the boundaries of life and death. Now, you can hear not only the voices of ghosts, but also the voices of "all things," including lies.]

The experienced driver touched his ear.

The two lines of bloody tears had disappeared, but his hearing had become even more acute.

"There's something else."

The scalpel suddenly spoke.

In front of her, besides her personal reward settlement, there was a golden treasure chest floating in the air.

This is an extra reward for the team's first clear of SSS level.

"Who's driving?" Brother Long rubbed his hands together.

"Professor Chen, please come in." Lancet stood up. "The reason we were able to break this deadlock is because of your knowledge."

Professor Chen did not refuse.

He walked up to the treasure chest, straightened his collar, and then solemnly opened the lid.

There was only one thing in the box: a black, worn-out porcelain bowl.

There was a noticeable chip at the rim of the bowl, and a layer of dried soup residue settled at the bottom.

"This is……"

Professor Chen reached out and took out the porcelain bowl, and the system displayed the item information.

【Name: Meng Po's Soup-Testing Bowl (Replica)】

[Quality: Special/Story Item]

[Description: This isn't the legendary bowl that can truly make one forget the past, but it once held that pot of soup. Even if only once, it has absorbed the essence of that place.]

[Function: A token to unlock a new map.]

[Hint: Take this bowl and find the ferry crossing in the mist. When the clock strikes twelve, a boat with a white lantern will take you to your next destination.]

The four looked at each other, puzzled. "The next map?"

Brother Long looked at the broken bowl and swallowed hard.

"Wasn't the Earth Immortal Temple enough? This time, are they sending us straight to hell?"

(End of the book)