Chapter 730: The Hundred-Layer Painting Realm
Shu Xiaolou and Lin Jin had this tacit understanding of each other.
Without having to say anything, they would know what the other was thinking with just a glance.
It was the same this time. The instant Shu Xiaolou saw Lin Jin, she leaned over and asked, “What’s the good news?”
Whether it was good or bad news, she could deduce it from Lin Jin’s expression.
Lin Jin grinned. “Great news. Try sensing it and tell me what you feel.”
Shu Xiaolou grinned too. Her fair finger pointed at the door opened by the Cosmos Ink and said, “I’m not blind.”
Lin Jin shook his head. “I’m not asking you to look, but feel it.”
Shu Xiaolou closed her eyes and sensed it. Stunned, her eyes then shot open with surprise and she asked, “Where did you get this painting realm from?”
“Don’t ask. Let’s go in and take a look.” With that, Lin Jin dragged Shu Xiaolou into the Unending Nature Landscape.
The instant they were inside, a wave of magnificent aura rushed over them, lifting Shu Xiaolou’s spirits. Just as Lin Jin suspected, Shu Xiaolou understood the painting realm best, and the Unending Nature Landscape was one of the best painting realms in existence. It was like a connoisseur had come across a piece of art of her expertise.
Shu Xiaolou was instantly delighted. She looked around, mumbling as she went, saying things along the lines of ‘incredible’, ‘perfect’, or other similar praises.
Lin Jin didn’t disturb her.
Bringing Shu Xiaolou to the Unending Nature Landscape was something he had planned to do long ago. Especially now when he was confident he knew enough about the painting. However, he didn’t plan on telling Shu Xiaolou how to control the Unending Nature Landscape just yet. He wanted to see if she had methods of her own.
“Lin Jin, who crafted this painting realm?” Shu Xiaolou finally asked after looking around. Lin Jin didn’t hide anything and told her about the Beast Tamer Sect’s origin, an immortal sect.
Shu Xiaolou shook her head. “The person who crafted this painting realm had too profound a cultivation level that I can’t fully grasp it. Also, I can sense there are a hundred layers in this painting realm. The deeper layers are being restricted by a certain force so I can’t detect what’s inside.”
Now, Lin Jin didn’t know that.
He knew about painting realms being divided into layers but had only experienced it in Shu Xiaolou’s painting realm. The latter had only about seven or eight layers in hers.
So a hundred layers sounded very impressive.
Lin Jin voiced out his plan, saying, “I was thinking of having you control this Unending Nature Landscape. That way, there is so much more we can do. This painting realm has tons of magic treasures and one of them is a spell called ‘Divine Cloud Pa.s.sage’ that can be linked to the outside world. I plan on bringing a friend in here and then have him oversee Daluo Temple…”
Lin Jin briefly told Shu Xiaolou about Inferno Monk and Shu Xiaolou nodded. She had to admit, his idea was brilliant.
They would just have to link the Divine Cloud Pa.s.sage to a mural inside Daluo Temple, and then place that mural in a large hall so Inferno Monk could convey Buddhism teachings through it. He could also take care of some of the matters over there.
More importantly, with a profound immortal like Inferno Monk to look after them, Lin Jin wouldn’t have to worry about Daluo Temple anymore. In fact, Daluo Temple might even improve as a result.
After all, Inferno Monk was a legitimate profound immortal from a Buddhist sect. He might even be the only Buddhism expert still alive now.
Shu Xiaolou pushed her palm forward. As if she could feel the painting’s core with this, she said, “You’re right, Lin Jin. This Unending Nature Landscape truly is mysterious. It’s even more complex than my painting realm. There are also many sceneries, halls, and treasures transported here from the outside world.”
In other words, everything in here was real. They weren’t produced by the painting realm and could be taken outside to use.
Also, Lin Jin had learned that the Beast Tamer Sect previously moved their entire sect in here during the great immortal tragedy. They had brought along many treasures and even some cultivation methods.
This included the Divine Blade Scroll that promoted Clear Wind Sword’s level, the highest grade of the Beastmaster Scrolls, and even Carrier Cloud. Lin Jin had learned them all from here.
Treasures were everywhere in this Unending Nature Landscape.
Lin Jin told Shu Xiaolou the method he had researched to control this painting. To put it simply, she had to become the Unending Nature Landscape’s painting spirit.
It was like obtaining administration rights over this painting so they could later do whatever they wanted with it.
Shu Xiaolou nodded.
This was indeed the only way. Lin Jin also shared with her a few spells specifically used for this takeover. With this, Shu Xiaolou now had a chance at becoming the Unending Nature Landscape’s painting spirit.
“To become the painting’s spirit, I’ll have to enter the lowest layer of the painting realm and do it in the core.” It looked like Shu Xiaolou was interested.
She never told Lin Jin how severe the headless zombie’s death aura had damaged her painting realm. The effects were irreversible and she could only forcibly maintain it.
If she could seize control over this Unending Nature Landscape, she would have so many other options to suppress the death aura. And then, her cultivation and abilities would improve too.
“How do we enter the painting realm’s core?” Lin Jin didn’t know much about this topic.
Right now, they had to cooperate. Only with this could they enter the painting’s core for Shu Xiaolou to become the painting’s spirit and seize control over it.
“It’s quite simple. We just have to find the corresponding entrance, something like stairs in a pavilion. I haven’t mastered control over the Unending Nature Landscape yet so I can’t transfer us down there directly. We can only find it level by level,” Shu Xiaolou said, so Lin Jin could be mentally prepared because things were about to get tedious.
“Don’t worry, even if it means spending a decade searching, I’d do it,” Lin Jin replied easily, and he meant it. If need be, he would a.s.sist in the search no matter how long it took.
Shu Xiaolou nodded with a smile. And so, the two worked together to find the entrance to the next layer.
As Shu Xiaolou was a painting spirit herself, she easily found the pa.s.sage to the second layer.
“That was easy,” Lin Jin commented.
Shu Xiaolou shook her head. “This is only the first layer, of course it’s easy. It will only get harder from now on.”
Indeed. This Unending Nature Landscape painting realm had a hundred layers. It was surely easy at the beginning but would only get harder to advance later on. As the creator of the painting was a powerful immortal, he couldn’t have left no defensive mechanisms.
Perhaps Lin Jin and Shu Xiaolou might even come across some unimaginable troubles later on.
After they successfully entered the second layer, they found it to be rather similar to the first layer and Shu Xiaolou easily found the entrance to the third layer.
Lin Jin asked if there was a shortcut they could try to get to the hundredth layer. Shu Xiaolou had answered him easily.
No.
Unless they already control the Unending Nature Landscape, they could only travel downward layer by layer.
After half a day, Lin Jin and Shu Xiaolou finally made it to layer forty-three.