Chapter 33: The Painting
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
It was a landscape painted in the cla.s.sical style of Chinese ink painting on a long scroll of rice paper.
On the scroll, there was a lonesome mountain’s peak covered in dark greenish-colored rocks with a few ferocious fissures twined around the rocks like raging dragons, arrogantly transmitting the perseverance that belonged only to the horizons.
Leyang Wen from Painting Town only took a short moment to paint Zhanyan Peak onto the paper. He managed to capture the stern outline of the peak with a few brushstrokes and he was even capable of portraying the dark and brooding character of this lonely peak!
As the painting fluttered in the wind, the gold-shrouded Zhanyan Peak suddenly began to come to life like a creature slowly waking from hibernation. The mountain’s natural instincts seemed to have been awoken by the painting scroll and it started to s.h.i.+ft around uneasily. A powerful innate momentum started to slowly seep out of the mountain’s many fissures and strived to shake off the imprisoning golden light.
Leyang Wen’s expression was ferocious as he raised his paintbrush up into the air and continued to doodle unceasingly. His two small eyes glowed with an exuberance that was almost palpable as he stared intensely at the painting scroll that had been tossed into the air before roaring loudly, “Split!”
The painting scroll shook fiercely and erupted into a cloud of black smoke with a bang. It burned up in the blink of an eye, leaving a few pieces of gray ashes which fluttered down like b.u.t.terflies. On the other hand, Zhanyan Peak appeared to be thoroughly enraged and the ferocious mountain’s will refused to submit any further and a burst of suffocating innate momentum erupted from it and tightly bound up the Buddha’s Golden Light!
The rogue cultivators felt lighter now as they started to regain their vision which had been sealed by the divine monk Hope Aware’s Heaven’s Omniscient Eye spell. Even though the golden light has yet to dissipate completely, the denseness of the light has become greatly subdued and their sight and telegnosis abilities were both fully recovered.
Wen Leyang watched in awe from behind the mountain rock. The battle had started initially with the monk using his knowledge from the twenty-eight sets of Buddhist scripture from the G.o.d Emperor’s All-Seeing Eye to cast the spell that sealed the vision and telegnosis abilities of the rogue cultivators. This was followed by the short man’s expertise in waking the innate power of Zhanyan Peak using a painting on a scroll. This method successfully broke the blinding golden light spell and this form of battle tactic was entirely at a different level when compared to simply throwing one’s magic weapon like a hand grenade, it also far exceeded his knowledge of the self-cultivators’ method of fighting in large groups.
As soon as the rogue cultivators regained their vision, the first thing they did was to conduct their magic weapons, which had been hovering by their sides, to smash onto the monks from the Ten Modes Monastery with a loud cras.h.i.+ng and clattering noise.
There was once a thief who walked past a commercial area, he saw that there were plenty of money in the blind beggar’s broken bowl so he walked on tiptoes towards the bowl in an effort to steal the money. He could see that he had almost reached the money when the blind d beggar suddenly leaped up and slammed a brick into his head. Too late he saw the beggar’s sighted eyes glinting brightly behind the dark sungla.s.ses.
The monks were in the same situation now. They had no intention to kill initially, nor had they released their own magic weapons. They had only formed a mudra with their fingers and hid under the golden light’s protection. They struck upon the blinded rogue cultivators elatedly, yet suddenly the blind persons had all suddenly regained their sight…
The rogue cultivators could not care less about how the monks were merciful to them earlier. The top of every person’s feet was so red and swollen, it looked as if their shoes were stuffed full of steamed buns. They were filled with pent up anger and when the vision in front of their eyes suddenly regained clarity, they conducted their magic weapons and sliced at the baldies. The sound of heart-wrenching cries came incessantly as the disciples of the Ten Modes Monastery were all targeted. Their blood splashed against the dark mountain rocks, the scene appeared particularly savage as it glinted under the remnants of the golden light.
After the initial confusion, almost half of the Ten Modes Monastery disciples were killed or severely wounded, while the remainder who were still alive were monks of a higher level of Buddhist practice. However, these Buddhist monks were no longer merciful. They loudly shouted their Buddhist hymns, which were filled with a murderous aura now and revealed their magic weapons one by one in response. But Hope Aware from the seat of honor at the Ten Modes Monastery did not make any action at all, he was not roaring with rage nor did he cast any other spells.
The surviving monks’ skills were obviously of a higher level than most of the rogue cultivators. Upon recovering from their surprise, the monks struck back at the rogue cultivators until they were forced to retreat repeatedly. If it weren’t for the few master pract.i.tioners such as Red Grandaunt, Giant Bull, and old man Gongye who held the line, it seemed that the rogue cultivators would soon be beaten to a pulp by the monks.
The short man rested for a quick moment, then stood up and brought along his three fighters and pounced onto the monks.
The strength of the four of them far exceeded the rest of the monks and the rogue cultivators. In the next moment, they had turned the tide of the battle.
The Buddha’s Golden Light illuminated every corner of the land. The lone black peak stood high as a group of rogue cultivators and a group of monks engaged in a group fight.
Wen Xiaoyi watched as magic weapons flew all over the sky; her left eye shone with terror while her right eye shone with excitement, “Wen Leyang, shall we help them?”
Wen Leyang ignored the little girl, his eyes were shut and his head was bowed down as if he was in a daze. One of his hands still held firmly onto Mumu’s delicate hand.
Mumu couldn’t tell whether this fellow was really deep in thought or if he was taking the opportunity to hold her hand. She extended her free hand and poked him in the side, “Why are you still in a daze? What are you thinking about with your eyes closed?!”
Wen Leyang suddenly jerked awake. He paid no attention to the two girls as he jumped towards the rock cliff not far from behind them and looked downwards. He then picked up a piece of rock and tossed it down the cliff, after that he frowned and closed his eyes again.
Wen Xiaoyi and Mumu couldn’t tell what he was up to but before they could begin to ask questions, Wen Leyang’s silhouette abruptly shrank and disappeared from two pairs of intense gazes.
The two girls slumped to the ground in shock, realizing that Wen Leyang had just jumped off the cliff! Just as they were about to react, the young fellow had somersaulted back up the cliff with a laugh and said, “We will definitely enter the ancient cave!”
Wen Xiaoyi patted her chest as she exhaled a long breath of relief. She looked towards the two groups of people who were all muddled up in the battle and asked, “How do we continue to go up? The entire pathway has been blocked by them!” Zhanyan Peak was dangerously steep, there was almost no pathway to ascend the mountain and the place where the two groups of people were engaged in a fierce battle was the only slightly leveled ground for temporary lodging halfway up the mountain. It was also the one place on the peak that was easy to guard against attacks, as even a flying bird could be easily shot down by the magic weapons flying around the sky.
Though the monks were being pushed back, they were not ready to concede defeat. The Great Mercy Temple had gone all in this time as all of the five supreme monasteries had gathered on the mountain, it was only a matter of time before more reinforcements would arrive.
“I think there’s another way.” Wen Leyang put Wen Xiaoyi on his back and looked towards Mumu and the undead toddler with a slightly embarra.s.sed face, “Can you carry Ah Dan?” Mumu did not fully understand the situation but nodded her head. Ah Dan seemed to sense its master’s intention and immediately extended both of its plump hands as he looked towards her with antic.i.p.ation.
Mumu mocked Ah Dan, “As if I don’t carry you often enough!” She bent over and picked up the baby corpse, cradling it in her arms. She was about to speak but cried out in alarm instead as Wen Leyang’s strong arm firmly wrapped itself around her delicate and slim waist. He then arched his back and took two quick strides towards the cliff not far from where they were. The three people and the baby corpse were all holding on to each other together as he took a step over the edge of the cliff!
“You…” Mumu was shocked and indignant as her body fell down the cliff at a high speed. She wanted to brandish the Spirit Needles but she was unable to even gather an ounce of energy to do so. She wasn’t sure whether this was due to the rugged, manly scent that rose from Wen Leyang’s chest or the state of weightlessness from the free fall. Just as she worked up enough energy to struggle, her body abruptly stopped and both her feet came into contact with a hard surface. Throughout all this Wen Leyang continued to hold on to her waist.
Mumu’s little face was flushed scarlet as she scolded in rage, “Why aren’t you letting go of me!” As she said that, she took a quick look around and had another shock. Her body turned weak once again and her free hand held tightly on to Wen Leyang instead.
There was absolutely nothing at all below their feet, the four of them were tightly huddled together and stood on thin air. Once in a while, a bird would fly past under their feet and curiously raise its head to look at them. Once the bird had determined that these fellows were not food, it then flew away, its curiosity satisfied.
Hope Aware from the seat of honor at the Ten Modes Monastery had drawn the magical power from within the Buddha’s Golden Light. When he sealed the vision and telegnosis abilities of the rogue cultivators, Wen Leyang had shut his eyes and the pores on his entire body constricted and relaxed intensely, after which his body gradually detached from its surroundings. His pores had swiftly relayed the information of his surroundings directly to his mind. The extra sense radiated out in a circle with his standing body at the center. He could clearly see everything that was tens of meters away from him and the biggest miracle was that his vision was no longer restricted to a linear form; he could see behind him, under him, above him and everything to the left and right from his body.
When every matter was slowly materializing before him, Wen Leyang had discovered something particularly strange. Not too far away from the rock cliff behind him. There was a thin black band which was winding up the mountainside like a pathway made out of black smoke. Judging by its direction it looked like it would go all the way towards the top of the mountain peak. However, Wen Leyang could only sense the direction that was within tens of meters away, where the pathway eventually lead to was completely unknown to him.