Chapter 126: Journey Together to the Yellow Springs

Although Liu Ciming did not know exactly who Wu Daoxuan was, the mere title of a Deity Transformation realm cultivator was enough to guarantee that any ink masterpiece he left behind could not possibly be simple.

In the vast State of Chu, the highest level of cultivation was merely the Golden Core realm. Above the Golden Core lay the Nascent Soul realm, and only above that was the Deity Transformation realm. Liu Ciming could not even fathom the heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power possessed by such a being.

Jin Tianya continued, "However, to this day, no one knows where the clue actually lies. Even though I have been fleeing with this scroll for so long, I have yet to discern anything unusual."

*Naturally, a tenth-layer Qi Refining cultivator wouldn't be able to fathom the secret treasure of a grandmaster,* Liu Ciming thought to himself, though his face remained plastered with a polite smile.

"Brother Jin, such a supreme treasure... might you allow me to take a look?"

An ink masterpiece was not like a cultivation technique or a secret manual. To a cultivator of lower realm or poorer insight, it was nothing more than a painting. It seemed harmless enough to take a look.

"Brother Jin, you have spent so many years in the Central Plains; you have seen more of the world than a Foundation Establishment cultivator like me. For us living in this remote borderland, such an opportunity is truly rare..."

Regardless of anything else, for cultivators at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment levels, anything left behind by a Deity Transformation expert was a treasure they would only encounter once in a lifetime.

"Once you return to the Demon Ruins, Brother Jin, this treasure will have to be handed over to the sect. I have never seen such a priceless treasure in my life."

Jin Tianya chuckled softly, though it was unclear whether he was moved by the flattery or mocking the "worldliness" Liu Ciming spoke of.

"Heh heh..."

Surprisingly, he did not refuse. His gaze was deep, and his movements were unhurried.

"Very well. But Brother Liu, you must hurry with the arrangements for my return to the Demon Ruins."

With a flick of his fingertip, a glimmer of spiritual light appeared, and he retrieved the scroll from his storage bag, handing it over to Liu Ciming.

"Good, good, good. Many thanks, Brother Jin."

A flicker of suspicion crossed Liu Ciming’s expression, but he took the scroll nonetheless. The moment his hands touched the silk, he felt a faint chill seep into his palms. His eyes narrowed.

The scroll unfurled slowly before him, revealing mottled ink stains on the dark cyan silk.

"Ah..."

The scene within the painting depicted countless hideous, ghostly shadows. Though they appeared chaotic and scribbled, they exuded an unsettling, murderous aura. The figures in the painting were twisted in strange, unique postures, no two alike. A river of blood snaked across the landscape. In the center, atop a small hill of piled white bones, stood a faint, blurred silhouette. Though its features were obscured, it possessed an aura that looked down upon all living things with supreme indifference.

The brushwork was powerful and ferocious, the shapes eerie and grotesque; merely looking at it made one's hair stand on end. It was just a painting, yet it seemed as though the wails of vengeful spirits were echoing in his ears.

The brief contact caused his spiritual consciousness to tremble, leaving him dazed and disoriented. Liu Ciming hurriedly rolled up the scroll, a cold sweat drenching his back as he realized what had happened. *The ink masterpiece of a Deity Transformation grandmaster is truly treacherous and supernatural!*

"How is it?" Jin Tianya grinned, a trace of mockery flashing in the depths of his eyes. "Do you have any insights after viewing this treasure, Brother Liu?"

Liu Ciming suppressed his inner panic and nodded, feigning composure. "It is truly worthy of being a supreme treasure of the Central Plains... What great fortune you have, Brother Jin!"

Jin Tianya sneered. "How about I gift this great fortune to you, Brother Liu?"

"Brother Jin, you jest." Liu Ciming smiled. "This belongs to you, and it belongs to our Master."

His tone suddenly shifted. "However—"

Spiritual light erupted in the room! A pitch-black dagger, swift as a viper, struck without warning, plunging deep into Jin Tianya's chest. Complex runes etched into the blade writhed like living things, and the moment it pierced his flesh, it began to devour his vital essence.

Jin Tianya’s eyes widened, his throat rattling as he struggled to speak, but Liu Ciming seized him by the throat.

"Do not blame me, Brother Jin," Liu Ciming whispered gently into his ear. "In the current Changping, the Six Sects keep a tight watch, and the Central Plains cultivators from the States of Qi and Ning are searching everywhere. A treasure of this magnitude... it is safer if I deliver it to our Master personally. Don't you agree?"

Jin Tianya’s body withered rapidly, eventually collapsing into a pile of dry bones.

"Hmph." Liu Ciming sneered, reaching to retrieve the dagger, but he froze in place.

Jin Tianya’s bloodless, skeletal fingers had clamped tightly onto his wrist!

"What?!" Liu Ciming exclaimed in shock.

A bone-chilling cold surged from his hand, his mind reeled in a trance, and the scroll slipped from his grasp. It hung behind Jin Tianya, and ink began to pour out like a tidal wave. In Jin Tianya’s hollow eye sockets, black spiritual light ignited. The ink surged into his body, and the withered corpse began to swell and regain its vitality.

"You..."

"From the very beginning, you never intended for me to return to the Demon Ruins alive, did you?" Jin Tianya slowly raised his head to look at Liu Ciming. "You were simply worried that the Tang Court would trace my path and find the secret route to the Demon Ruins. With the revival of the Demonic Path at hand, you were unwilling to take even the slightest risk. I knew this."

"Regardless of anything, I was destined to die anyway."

Feeling the surge of spiritual power emanating from Jin Tianya, Liu Ciming roared, "You madman!" *This man actually refined his own soul into the painting!?*

"Even so, you are now nothing more than a stroke of ink in this masterpiece! You cannot control it!"

"And so what?"

Finally, Jin Tianya’s body returned to its original form. He slowly lifted his gaze, staring at Liu Ciming without a trace of life in his eyes.

"I was going to die anyway. Since that is the case, then none of us shall have this Deity Transformation ink masterpiece!"

In an instant, overwhelming demonic energy surged, swallowing the entire cellar. Liu Ciming, no longer caring about anything else, unleashed his full spiritual power and blasted his way out of the cellar, soaring into the sky above the small courtyard.

The commoners around Shiguping stared blankly at the figure in the sky. Countless ink stains and ghostly shadows spilled out from the courtyard, spreading like spilled ink. The area covered by the ink grew rapidly. The villagers had initially been frozen in fear, but when the ink touched them, their flesh and blood were eroded and melted away in an instant. Without even a scream, they were reduced to piles of dry bones.

"Ah!!!"

Terrified shrieks echoed throughout the village. Unfortunately, it was too late. The ghostly shadows from the painting crawled out, clawing and devouring the surrounding villagers. Any villager who hesitated for even a second while fleeing was dissolved by the ink on the ground, becoming nothing more than a pile of bones.

Jin Tianya slowly walked out of the farmhouse. In just a few breaths, the massive expanse of ink had engulfed all of Shiguping. None of the villagers were spared; they perished on the spot.

Demonic energy and vengeful spirits began to converge from all directions in Changping. The dry bones on the ground moved without wind, gathering toward the center of the village and the feet of Jin Tianya, forming a small mountain of skeletons.

He climbed the mountain of bones step by step, ascending to the very peak. He looked exactly like the silhouette in the painting.

"Heh heh heh..." Jin Tianya laughed maniacally. "The Changping Corpse Abyss, the souls of four hundred and fifty thousand cultivators! Today... I invite you all to journey together into the Infinite Hell!"