Chapter 543: Secrets of the Painting
Lin Jin had entered a painting before, but it felt evident that this painting was much more daunting. After all, it might house a Rank 9 immortal devouring beast.
Even if it was only a fake, nothing was certain in a mysterious painting like this.
“This Shu Xiaolou gives me nothing but trouble!” Lin Jin sighed. It was pointless for him to complain now. What he needed to do was to find Shu Xiaolou and get her out of the painting, as soon as possible.
Riding on his cloud, Lin Jin surveyed the area.
What surprised him was how vast the inside of this painting was. The sky was limitless, and the mountains that dotted the landscape were covered by a dense forest.
Still, Lin Jin managed to recognize these mountains to be similar to the ones he saw in the painting.
While they seemed realistic, one would be able to detect that this was a mere facade upon taking a closer look at it.
They were just drawings after all.
To Lin Jin’s surprise, he noticed a woodsman treading along a mountain path down below, carrying an ax on his back.
Startled, Lin Jin descended with his cloud.
He stopped right in front of the woodsman but the latter merely swept him a glance before continuing forward.
This woodsman must be a character of this painting. Shu Xiaolou once mentioned that people in paintings had their spirits, but they were not painting spirits like herself.
Amateur painting spirits like these could only repeat the actions of what the painter had initially painted them to do.
For example, if the painter had painted this woodsman with the idea that they were venturing into the forest, that was what he would do. In other words, such spirits were more like a puppet than real people.
Such was the woodsman’s case. He kept on walking. Besides casting Lin Jin a glance, he did not pay him any heed.
A strange thought popped into Lin Jin’s mind, so he asked, “My good man, it’s my first time here and I wonder what this mountain is called.”
Lin Jin was just curious if the woodsman would respond to his question.
He suspected that he wouldn’t.
“This is Grassy Continent’s Red Earth Mountain, but some call it Blood Mountain too,” replied the woodsman, before he continued making his way forward.
To his surprise, the woodsman answered his question.
Lin Jin was rather shocked. Could the woodsman have developed spiritual intelligence as well?
And so, he hurried after the woodsman to ask about other things. And yet, regardless of what Lin Jin asked, the woodsman would only give him the same answer, ‘This is Grassy Continent’s Red Earth Mountain, but some call it Blood Mountain too.’
That was it.
Lin Jin figured the woodsman probably knew only this one answer. Perhaps when Daojun painted him, he was thinking that the woodsman would only answer this.
Maybe Daojun had even asked him the same questions before but the woodsman could only give this one answer.
With this, the woodsman Daojun painted only knew one sentence.
Despite being only one short sentence, it was crucial enough for Lin Jin to figure out where Daojun had fought the Rank 9 immortal devouring beast back then.
However, another question suddenly came to mind.
Why did Daojun choose this location?
Was it a coincidence, or did he do it on purpose?
Just then, Lin Jin abruptly sensed a change in his environment. He turned to see the woodsman suddenly standing behind him before he realized it. His supposedly honest countenance was replaced with a sinister grin.
“Daojun, we have no grudges against each other so why do you find the need to pursue me to this extent? Did you actually think that I, Patriarch Xue Pao, would fear a youngster like you?” The woodsman spoke in an aged and savage tone as if he had transformed into someone else.
Confusion flooded Lin Jin’s mind.
Daojun?
What part of him resembled Daojun?
Also, this woodsman had just addressed himself as ‘Patriarch Xue Pao’. Wasn’t Patriarch Xue Pao one of the five patriarchs? The infiltrator of Jade Dragon City, Yang Qingshi, had been his disciple and Lin Jin even fought Patriarch Xue Pao’s clone back then. That was the start of the grudge between them.
Lin Jin had never forgotten this, but he never imagined he would hear Patriarch Xue Pao’s name again inside this painting.
This painting didn’t seem at all related to Patriarch Xue Pao.
Countless thoughts surged through his mind but Lin Jin’s confusion remained.
Then, the woodsman added ominously, “Daojun, you’ve already reached the realm of immortals. I advise you not to take any action or death might come knocking on your door.”
Lin Jin stayed put, raising his guard.
After that, the woodsman stopped speaking and froze up. The silence that ensued made the atmosphere incredibly creepy.
The woodsman now looked like a lifeless painting.
Lin Jin’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sight of someone falling from the sky.
Lin Jin turned around and saw an elegant person with long hair and Taoist robes. He wore a mask that had the word ‘Dao’ on it.
It took less than a second for Lin Jin to recognize that person.
Daojun.
Strange. Very strange. Lin Jin had studied this painting earlier. It was filled with mountains and rivers but the main subject should have been the Rank 9 immortal devouring beast.
This woodsman and Daojun hadn’t been inside the painting.
Lin Jin couldn’t understand it. He initially thought he would encounter the immortal devouring beast immediately after entering this painting, but this hadn’t played out as he expected.
“Could the painting have changed?” Lin Jin could only resort to random guesses at this point.
This Daojun who just appeared definitely isn’t real either. He must be an image painted by Daojun from back then. Because Shu Xiaolou had the magical ability to bring life into paintings, this painting was undergoing changes.
“Right, where is Shu Xiaolou?” A million thoughts were running through his mind but Lin Jin still needed to tread carefully. Although he was certain that everything here was fake, that they were only drawings, caution must be exercised, even if he started dealing with Daojun. Despite knowing he was a fake, Lin Jin thought it was nice to witness the grandeur of a transmigrator like himself.
After Daojun descended, he first glanced at the unmoving woodsman then at Lin Jin.
“May I know where this place is?” he asked.
A brilliant thought came to mind and Lin Jin chuckled, “This is Grassy Continent’s Red Earth Mountain, but some call it Blood Mountain too.”
Lin Jin used what he had just learned from the woodsman to answer Daojun.
Daojun nodded before saying, “Patriarch Xue Pao, you can stop acting. A devil like you has committed one too many sins so today, I will slay you to uphold justice for the world.”
For a moment there, Lin Jin didn’t know how to respond.
Though, Lin Jin more or less figured out what was going on here. The woodman’s script was actually intended for Daojun’s ears, but since it had already been said to Lin Jin, the latter would convey the same message to Daojun.
Now, it seemed like Daojun had actually gone to Patriarch Xue Pao’s hiding place back then to slay monsters and demons. The moment he started using his immortal’s strength, he unintentionally lured the Rank 9 immortal devouring beast over.
This was the whole story Daojun had painted.
After that, Daojun must have been heavily wounded and he failed to destroy Patriarch Xue Pao. In the end, he died with regrets?
As Lin Jin was dazed, Daojun had begun taking action.
His attack shook the heavens and earth.
Then, Lin Jin witnessed a familiar scene. The sky was torn apart and from a large opening, a massive hand reached down from above.