8mi Ch. 523
Ch. 523
"Enter the painting!"Nan Wenmo formed seals with all ten fingers, and half of Gu Yun's body was forcibly dragged into the world inside the painting.
The Rouge Sect Master let out a shrill scream and spat a mist of blood. In the painting, the frigid river immediately flared with an eerie crimson glow.
The seven Rouge Sect women suddenly undid their hair buns—black hair whipping loose, transforming into steel needles that shot down like a storm.
Lu Xiaoliu's blue robe was already torn to shreds.
But the two words on his chest—"浩然" (Vast Righteousness)—suddenly tore free from his body and enlarged in midair, absorbing every steel needle without exception.
Seizing the opening, Lu Xiaoliu surged forward. His cloth shoes stepped across the back of an ink-black swallow, and his ragged robe twisted into a soft sword that pierced straight through the throats of two demonic cultivators.
Fang Ran's figure abruptly split into nine afterimages, each one gripping a different weapon.
Wang Shenghan's inkstone suddenly cracked open, revealing a hidden golden ink ingot within.
He dipped his brush in the gold ink and wrote the character "定" (Stabilize)—and the nine afterimages froze for the span of half a breath.
Xiao Mochi's Collection of Heavenly Questions flew out, releasing four glowing words: "君子不器" (The gentleman is not a mere tool). The golden characters transformed into long spears, pinning three of the afterimages to bamboo joints.
The battle at the City Lord's Manor drew the attention of the entire city. The common folk had no idea what was happening.
Why would the City Lord be fighting those four scholars who had come to help?
Suddenly, the shadows on the ground boiled. Thirty Black Hawk disciples burst from beneath the earth and formed a sword formation.
Sword light gathered into the pattern of the Big Dipper, and the razor-sharp sword qi sliced seven gashes into Mochi's robes.
Nan Wenmo's face was deathly pale. Her spiritual power was nearly drained, yet she still summoned three ink-black qilin from the painting. Their iron hooves smashed apart more than half the sword formation.
"Your painting isn't bad," Fang Ran remarked.
His true body abruptly appeared atop the barrier, hawk claws tearing open Wang Shenghan's shield.
Xiao Mochi's Collection of Heavenly Questions flipped rapidly, finally stopping on a blank page. Using his finger as a brush, he wrote in blood:
"朝闻道" (If one learns the Way in the morning…)
Before the third character could even form, the entire Black Hawk City shook violently as if the earth itself were splitting.
Finding the right moment, Gu Yun finally broke free from the painting's restraint. Her red silk, stained with blood, surged in power.
Twelve Rouge Sect women formed a Mandala Formation. A gigantic peach blossom phantom appeared in the air.
In the cloying fragrance, the ink on Wang Shenghan's brush tip began to boil. The character "清" (Pure) twisted into the shape of a skull.
Lu Xiaoliu suddenly tore off the remainder of his robe. Bare-chested, the full text of The Great Learning surfaced across his skin.
The words detached and became a suit of blue armor. The scraps of cloth condensed into a three-foot azure blade.
With one sweep of sword light, three formation-bound demonic cultivators' heads flew into the air.
Lu Xiaoliu looked almost possessed—each kill dimmed the writing on his body by one shade.
At last, Xiao Mochi completed his blood script. Seventy-two phantoms of sages appeared at once, chanting scripture in unison.
Fang Ran's Shadow Escape technique shattered under the sonic tide, and the Black Hawk City Lord retreated violently, blood streaming from his seven orifices.
Wang Shenghan seized the chance, flinging golden ink into the sky. The full text of the "Song of Righteousness" manifested as thunderclouds—purple lightning serpents chasing down demonic cultivators and blasting them apart.
Nan Wenmo knew it—her spiritual power was about to run dry. Mochi and the others were the same.
She made her decision without hesitation.
The scroll in her hands suddenly ignited. From within the painting, an old fisherman stepped out atop the waves.
When his fishing rod lashed out, space itself warped—and Gu Yun's red silk was torn apart by force.
Half of the Rouge Sect Master's remaining red silk suddenly exploded. Poison needles flung two Confucian disciples into the air.
"It's over," Xiao Mochi said coldly.
He raised two fingers like a sword. Every page of the Collection of Heavenly Questions tore free and began spinning in the air.
Each character became a golden arrow.
Fang Ran summoned a hundred black hawks to block them, but they were reduced to ash beneath the arrowstorm.
Wang Shenghan's inkstone shattered completely. The young man dipped a finger in his own blood and wrote the character "镇" (Suppress) into the void.
A blood-red seal spread over the battlefield, and every surviving demonic cultivator froze stiff as corpses.
Lu Xiaoliu's blue armor flaked away, revealing a body covered in curse-script.
Nan Wenmo collapsed on her knees before the charred remains of her scroll. The old fisherman's rod had snapped into three broken pieces.
"Not bad. Not bad at all. Worthy of Qi Zhengju's prized disciples—only people like you can bring my Great Dao to completion!"
Fang Ran threw his head back and laughed.
Beneath his feet, the shadows boiled like ink, and the entire City Lord's Manor began to collapse.
The Black Hawk City Lord plunged both hands into the ground and ripped out a shadow blade thirty zhang long.
"Taste this—my Devouring Shadow Domain!"
Where the blade passed, space cracked open in jagged, saw-toothed fissures. Wang Shenghan's inkstone barrier shattered instantly.
Xiao Mochi's Collection of Heavenly Questions suddenly disassembled on its own, bamboo slips circling him like meteors.
"Heaven and earth have righteous qi—vastly bestowed, it takes form in all things!"
Three hundred and sixty bamboo slips formed a complete Stellar Cycle Formation, smashing into the shadow blade with a blinding spray of sparks.
Lu Xiaoliu seized the opening and charged into the Shadow Domain. White heartfire ignited along the hem of his robe:
"Though ten thousand oppose me, I will go!"
Where the flames touched the shadows, they erupted with the crackling sound of burning fat.
Seven Black Hawk elders emerged from deep within the domain, each holding half a length of dragon bone. The moment the bones linked into a complete skeleton, monstrous demonic qi condensed into a tangible black dragon.
One swipe of its claw shattered twenty bamboo slips, and blood spilled from the corner of Xiao Mochi's mouth.
A Mencius passage flew from the Collection of Heavenly Questions:
"Power and force cannot bend him!"
Golden words became chains, wrapping around the dragon's neck.
Nan Wenmo's painting scroll unfurled to cover the entire sky. The icy river inside transformed into a boiling sea of blood.
The old fisherman's rod lashed out with ten thousand silver threads, nailing the black dragon in midair.
Wang Shenghan seized the chance, dipping his broken brush in dragon blood. On the ruined Spring and Autumn Annals scroll, he wrote:
"弑" (Regicide / Slay).
The blood character became a long halberd that pierced into the dragon's eye. The dragon screamed and crashed into the Shadow Domain.
"Good! Good! Good! If you have the ability, then kill me!"
Fang Ran suddenly fused with the Shadow Domain, transforming into a faceless giant a hundred zhang tall.
Its chest split open into a bottomless abyss-mouth, swallowing three Black Hawk elders whole.
"Feed the shadow with souls—undying through ten thousand calamities!"
Xiao Mochi's bamboo-slip formation was corroded away by darkness, and the Collection of Heavenly Questions itself cracked like a spiderweb.
Lu Xiaoliu suddenly tore apart what remained of his robe, revealing his body carved full of Confucian classics.
With every line he recited, a strip of skin peeled away. Golden characters tore free and formed a demon-slaying sword formation.
Ten thousand golden swords pierced through the Shadow Domain giant. Fang Ran roared heaven-shakingly as his shadow body crumbled again and again.
Gu Yun chose that moment to strike at Nan Wenmo. Her red silk coiled around the girl's neck—
"Good little sister… take the calamity for your elder sister!"
The old fisherman suddenly leapt from the paper, his withered hand plunging into Gu Yun's chest and ripping out a beating peach-shaped heart.
The Rouge Sect Master spat blood and dispersed into a mist of crimson. From within the blood fog, nine golden cicada gu emerged.
Wang Shenghan's right eye suddenly turned ink-black. He dipped his brush into the black blood flowing from his pupil and wrote in the air:
"诛" (Execute).
Heavenly thunder crashed down, turning the golden cicadas into charred husks.
Half of the young man's body rapidly petrified, yet he still staggered forward and wrote:
"仁者无敌" (The benevolent are invincible).
The golden words sank into Xiao Mochi's nearly shattered Collection of Heavenly Questions.
The ancient book erupted with nine-colored radiance. The seventy-two sage phantoms merged into one.
A towering Sage Dharma-Form, a hundred zhang tall, raised its hand and pressed down lightly—
And the Shadow Domain giant collapsed like a sandcastle.
Lu Xiaoliu burned the last scraps of his robe into a cage, sealing Fang Ran within.
Wang Shenghan extended his petrified finger and pointed out the character "镇" (Suppress).
Xiao Mochi let out a breath. This battle—he had already gained every advantage. All that remained was to clean up the battlefield.
But in the very next instant…
Across Black Hawk City, ordinary mortals began to explode one after another into black smoke.
"Beast!" Lu Xiaoliu roared. He never expected the enemy to activate the formation directly—if they were going to die, they would drag the common people down with them!
"Xiaoliu!"
Suddenly, Wang Shenghan shouted.
"Pff!"
Lu Xiaoliu lowered his head.
A long sword had already pierced straight through his chest.