NOVEL WEB Chapter 1214: Entering the Painting
"This story is called betrayal."
The Quiet One's words were calm and indifferent, yet his eyes seemed to flash with a hint of remembrance, fleeting and almost imperceptible.
"He watched his former friends, all transformed into creatures of darkness. Those old companions, madly assaulted him…"
The Quiet One chuckled softly and said:
"It was a brutal clash—if you couldn't let go of friendship, you'd have to die."
Yun Xi said:
"So, did he kill all his friends?"
The Quiet One stood up and said:
"Let's change locations, and I'll tell you the ending of this story."
As soon as his voice fell, Yun Xi suddenly realized the surroundings had shifted—the space twisted and turned like the stars in the heavens. She was no longer in the Continent of Grey Mists or on that dark floating soil.
She found herself above a mountain forest near a small village. From here, she could see a towering peak, one so high it pierced the clouds. At the foot of the mountain lay an ever-shifting sea of mist, tangled with threads of cause and effect, and meandering streams of time flowed along the mountainside.
At the summit, only a lifeless old pine tree remained. Beneath its boughs, two young women were waiting.
"Zi Ling, Bai Qian?"
Yun Xi exclaimed in shock.
A middle-aged man clad in white robes also appeared beside Yun Xi and softly said:
"Transformation is not frightening, but betrayal born of mutual slaughter can destroy the heart."
...
At this moment.
In the Dark World founded by The End of Myriad Paths, Nan Feng, Long Zixuan, and Xinning had all been corrupted by Dark Li Fan.
Fire Spirit, Mu Qianning, Mu Wanqing, Wu Xiaokun, the Nine Tribes and Three Rebels, Elder Grandson Changqing, Primordial Sun Emperor, and Yun Chen had not escaped this doom either.
The most powerful resistance forces of the Nine Forbidden Continents had been utterly dismantled.
They became like slaves in the dark—cold, numb, and following closely behind Dark Li Fan.
"As per your and The Quiet One's plan, next, you're going to have them target my earthly self?"
Dark Li Fan spoke.
The Dark Shaman nodded and said:
"Everything he cares about is his inner demon. To force him to relinquish it, there's no other way but to make what he cherishes… betray, die, and be destroyed!"
"The betrayal of old companions… is the first guillotine!"
Dark Li Fan clicked his tongue and said:
"I knew it. The Quiet One's method to deal with my earthly self is nothing but making him relive what happened to himself back then… using it to shatter my earthly self's mental state and inner truth."
"Then again, that makes sense. Betrayed by family, losing all his beloved, ultimately drained of hope, and becoming The Quiet One… Such experiences are enough to extinguish anyone's spirit entirely."
"Let's go."
Dark Li Fan waved his hand. At this moment, the corrupted Nan Feng, Long Zixuan, and others followed him and vanished from their location.
...
At the same time.
The Quiet One, Yun Xi, and Dark Li Fan, along with the corrupted Nan Feng and others, disappeared from the Dark World.
A woman in white emerged before the steps of time.
She held the World Tree and leapt into the river of lost years.
Jiang Xue.
－－Since defeating Mo Sha, she had seemingly disappeared from the battlefield.
Now, she finally reappeared, leaping into the rivers of time as instructed by Big Black Dog.
...
"Something's not right,"
The Dark Shaman seemed to sense something, instinctively turning his head to say:
"Someone activated the river of time?"
Dark Li Fan said indifferently:
"The world is vast; a few little shrimp escaping is inevitable. But they don't matter."
"Those who've escaped aren't disciples of my earthly self, nor do they belong to his courtyard or his village; there's no great cause-and-effect between them. Not worth paying attention to."
The Dark Shaman silently operated the Path of Ignorance, allowing him to sense all the cause-and-effect in this world.
Soon, he nodded.
Dark Li Fan was right: those who leapt into the river of time indeed had no formal ties to that master, nor were they connected to the small mountain village.
At most, like Fire Spirit and Mu Qianning, there were minor entanglements, but the cause-and-effect was insignificant.
Now that they had entered the river of lost years, pursuing them further would require considerable effort. The urgent priority remained dealing with that master instead.
Thus, he decided to leave it be.
In the next moment, they appeared in a mountain forest.
In this forest, everything looked ordinary, but the entire region was already enveloped by some obscure law and the Power of the Great Dao.
Every particle of dust seemed like grains of a universe; every blade of grass felt like the soul of a cosmos.
A towering peak rose above all.
Cause and effect reached only its base, and time drowned only its slopes.
Dark Li Fan and the Shaman, along with the corrupted group of masters, began ascending the mountain.
At this moment.
At the summit.
Zi Ling and Su Baiqian were still waiting.
They guarded a scroll, awaiting their master's return.
"You don't need to wait anymore."
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind.
Zi Ling and Su Baiqian abruptly turned around.
They saw Dark Li Fan... along with their senior sisters and junior brothers, who had already turned to darkness...
"Master? Sister Nan Feng? Junior Brother Long... all of you…"
Zi Ling's large eyes, like tranquil autumn waters, revealed a look of shock.
"No… that's not Master. Master is still in the painting!"
Su Baiqian responded cautiously.
Dark Li Fan chuckled softly and said:
"He's still in the painting, but he will never return."
Zi Ling gritted her silver teeth and said:
"You won't deceive us so easily…"
She raised her brush, igniting True Phoenix Fire, which surged as a fiery stream toward Dark Li Fan.
But Dark Li Fan did not strike back; instead, he vanished from the spot.
The fire was about to engulf Nan Feng and the others.
"No!"
Zi Ling exclaimed in shock, hurriedly withdrawing the flame.
Yet Nan Feng, Lin Jiu Zheng, Wu Dade, and the others, seemingly devoid of all humanity, charged toward Zi Ling and Su Baiqian.
"Daring to attack Master's allies deserves death!"
Long Zixuan unleashed his Martial Path, extraordinarily powerful, aiming to obliterate Zi Ling!
Dugu Yuqing slashed with his hand as a sword, sending black Sword Qi surging and crushing forward.
Jiang Li's black and white chess lines appeared beneath Zi Ling and Su Baiqian's feet!
...
"They've all been corrupted?"
Su Baiqian gasped.
Zi Ling, however, stared resolutely, her large eyes gleaming with firm determination, saying:
"No matter who it is… once turned dark, they are the enemy. We cannot let them approach Master!"
"Forgive me, Sister Nan Feng, Junior Brother Lin…"
At the critical moment, her brush moved quickly over the parchment.
Her brush flowed almost unstoppably on the paper, like dragonflies skimming the water and swallows dancing lightly through the air.
And as her brush swept across, many of their corrupted companions… vanished from the scene!
Nan Feng's melody played only once before she disappeared completely.
Long Zixuan's Martial Path never reached its target; he and his power vanished entirely.
Lu Rang's grass and self disappeared.
Dugu Yuqing's Sword Qi reflected in the scroll.
Qing Chen sat silently beneath the Bodhi Tree within the painting.
Wu Dade, holding his Wolf Fang Club with the aura of malice, stood behind Qing Chen within the scroll.
Gong Ya's Great Dao Furnace, capable of refining Divine Skills, was likewise trapped in the painting.
Jiang Li's black and white chess lines spread across the entire artwork.
Even Lin Jiu Zheng, surrounded by the dark power of creation, capable of slaying a Heavenly Emperor, was similarly captured within the scroll.
...
In merely an instant, Zi Ling had drawn all her corrupted companions into her painting.
"This little girl really shows no mercy…"
The Big Black Dog, who had come with Dark Li Fan, couldn't help muttering.
...