Chapter 132: Yuan Shen Second Layer

Secret Technique: Three Autumn Leaves - Episode 1

Meng Chuan began by drawing a young man clad in black armor, gripping a long spear. The youth's eyes blazed with a sharp intensity, as if nothing in the world could stand in his way. Though the image depicted him in his somewhat raw youth, he was indeed a brilliant figure in the human race over the past eight hundred years. He was still very young when he first descended the mountain, yet for over three centuries of his life, he steadfastly resisted the demon race, earning him the revered title of King Yan Shui. He was the long-standing guardian of the grand fortress, Yan Shui Pass.

The demon race had launched numerous all-out assaults on Yan Shui Pass, only to be repelled time and again. The number of demon kings who perished beneath King Yan Shui's spear was beyond counting.

However, the most devastating battle was yet to come.

Without warning, the world entrance at Yan Shui Pass suddenly expanded. The demon race immediately seized the opportunity, deploying three Fifth-level demon kings along with a massive horde of Fourth-level demon kings to invade. King Yan Shui fought with his spear, turning the battle into utter chaos. He astonishingly slew all three Fifth-level demon kings and over twenty Fourth-level demon kings, striking such fear into the demon forces that their offensive ground to a halt.

But soon, nine more Fifth-level demon kings arrived, leading an even larger demon army.

King Yan Shui fought with a berserk fury.

That battle was cataclysmic, tearing the heavens and rending the earth. The landscape for a thousand miles around was reshaped, and the hundred-mile-long Yan Shui Lake was directly breached, connecting it to the East Sea.

In that battle, King Yan Shui fell. Yet, even in his final moments, he slew six more Fifth-level demon kings. After his death, his body was so revered that even the demon race refused to defile it; instead, they transported it directly back to the Demon World, where it remains preserved by them to this day.

By the time Venerable Fortune arrived from Yuanchu Mountain, thousands of miles away, the area was already a complete ruin, and King Yan Shui's body could not be retrieved. The human race had no choice but to rebuild an even grander fortress on the ruins to guard that colossal world entrance. This new structure became Luotang Pass, now the foremost of the Great Zhou Dynasty's seven major fortresses, personally guarded by a Venerable.

King Yan Shui, through that single battle, profoundly shocked both the human and demon races. The human race confirmed that nine Fifth-level demon kings and over a hundred Fourth-level demon kings (nearly half of whom he slew during his long tenure guarding Yan Shui Pass) had fallen by his spear. King Yan Shui was widely acknowledged as the strongest King-level Godfiend of his era.

"King Yan Shui," Meng Chuan murmured as he meticulously drew the figure. Though King Yan Shui had been a white-haired elder when he died in battle, Meng Chuan had only ever seen images of him from his youth, captured when he first descended the mountain.

He depicted that youthful figure, still somewhat raw, yet brimming with a fierce fighting spirit.

A sudden rumble resonated.

Meng Chuan felt his Primal Spirit undergo a profound transformation.

His Primal Spirit, which had long accumulated to its peak, now fully advanced to the second level. Its domain expanded to twenty zhang, and his sensing range extended to two li.

Yet, Meng Chuan’s mind was so completely absorbed in his painting that he paid no heed to his Primal Spirit's transformation. He continued to draw, meticulously completing King Yan Shui’s youthful likeness.

Next, he turned his attention to another figure: Marquis Wuyang.

Marquis Wuyang was also a hero of his generation, achieving the rank of Marquis Godfiend at a remarkably young age. His exceptional talent earned him immense admiration and praise from Yuanchu Mountain. While guarding Wuyang Pass, he married and had children. His son and daughter also became Godfiends, both cultivating to the Great Solar Godfiend realm in their thirties, and joined their father in defending Wuyang Pass.

However, a human traitor, Wang Ziru, the Vice Head of the Heavenly Demon Gate, infiltrated the pass and severely wounded Marquis Wuyang in an assassination attempt. Wang Ziru then colluded with the demon army, launching a coordinated attack that utterly annihilated Wuyang Pass.

In that battle, Marquis Wuyang and both his children perished. Wang Ziru, though severely wounded, managed to escape, and is now one of only two Fifth-level Heavenly Demons remaining in the Heavenly Demon Gate.

"Marquis Wuyang possessed extraordinary talent, and his children were equally gifted," Meng Chuan recalled from the records he had read, feeling a profound sense of regret. "Had they lived another ten or twenty years, Marquis Wuyang would surely have ascended to King-level, and his children would have had the potential to become Marquis-level Godfiends." However, Wang Ziru, who orchestrated the ambush, was exceptionally formidable, as evidenced by his subsequent rise to become a Fifth-level Heavenly Demon.

The deaths of Marquis Wuyang and his children left countless people filled with sorrow.

Meng Chuan drew with meticulous care, still portraying them as they appeared when they first descended the mountain.

Marquis Wuyang stood in the center, flanked by his son and daughter, creating an image of a father leading his children into battle.

Meng Chuan continued to draw, and with each figure he depicted, he recalled their story, pouring his emotions into every brushstroke. Unconsciously, tears welled up in his eyes.

He meticulously depicted eighteen fallen Godfiend heroes, drawing each one with immense care. Following these, he briefly sketched numerous other heroes. Though rendered with just a few strokes—some even just silhouettes—for each one, Meng Chuan held a corresponding hero in his mind. These figures were considerably weaker in strength, mostly Great Solar or Indestructible Godfiends when they met their demise.

Nevertheless, Meng Chuan drew them all. For every individual recorded in the library cave, he captured their essence with a few strokes, infusing his emotions to give each figure a distinct spirit.

Meng Chuan found himself unable to stop painting this masterpiece.

He neither ate nor drank, painting from night into day, yet remained completely immersed in his work.

The eighteen central heroes were meticulously detailed, while one hundred twenty-seven others were depicted further in the background, appearing smaller and with fewer, more simplified strokes, as if standing on the distant edge of Yuanchu Mountain. Yet, each figure felt remarkably vivid.

Following this, Meng Chuan began to meticulously draw the living.

There was Xue Feng, the peerless swordsman; the gentle and kind Xiao Yunyue; Qian Yu, looking into the distance with a hint of sorrow; the dazzling Marquis Tianxing; the mild and refined Marquis Nanyun; and the renowned King Donghe, among others. These were all King-level and Marquis-level Godfiends Meng Chuan had personally seen, figures of great merit in the current era.

He also meticulously drew eighteen living Godfiends. Then, he briefly sketched the Godfiend disciples he had encountered; most of the nearly two hundred disciples Meng Chuan had seen when he ascended the mountain had already descended! Meng Chuan included one hundred twenty-seven of them, each depicted with a few simplified strokes. Every Godfiend was young, appearing just as Meng Chuan had seen them when he bade them farewell at Scarlet Blood Cliff before their descent.

"Countless heroes fight across all directions," Meng Chuan murmured as he gazed at the painting. In a trance, he envisioned one epic battle after another, the countless struggles of these Godfiends.

No one was truly immortal.

No one was truly invincible.

Even a powerhouse like King Yan Shui could fall in battle.

The tens of thousands of Godfiend figures on Scarlet Blood Cliff bore witness to this truth, and every disciple who descended understood that they too might perish on the battlefield.

Yet, this war for human survival persisted, and not a single soul retreated.

"We will win this war," Meng Chuan whispered softly. "Even if I don't live to see it, people will witness the ultimate victory after I'm gone." He then inscribed five characters in the upper right corner of the scroll: Heroes Fight in All Directions!

Whether they were the Godfiends who had fallen in battle or those who had already descended the mountain to guard various fortresses, they were all heroes.

After completing the painting,

Meng Chuan carefully observed each individual figure. At a glance, the painting clearly depicted Godfiends descending the mountain to fight across the land, and the powerful urge to create it had kept Meng Chuan's brush moving relentlessly.

"It's finished," Meng Chuan said, "and now it's my turn to descend the mountain." After setting down his brush, he pushed open the study door.

Outside, thick snow blanketed the ground.

Meng Chuan stepped into the courtyard, walking through the snow, and breathed in the scent of nature. His heart felt exceptionally calm.

After a long while,

Liu Qiyue returned from outside their cave dwelling and, upon seeing Meng Chuan, exclaimed with delight, "A-Chuan, you've finally finished! You've been painting for nearly two days and two nights straight!"

"I wanted to paint, and I didn't want to stop," Meng Chuan said with a smile. "But yes, it's finally complete."

Liu Qiyue couldn't resist entering the study, and her gaze immediately fell upon the long scroll painting laid flat on the drawing table. She was instantly captivated. She could recognize at least the Godfiends Meng Chuan had depicted in close-up. Of the more than two hundred Godfiends sketched with just a few strokes, she could mostly identify the living ones, but she could barely recognize those who had fallen in battle. Yet, she could feel how incredibly vivid each Godfiend appeared.

As she continued to gaze at the painting, tears welled up in Liu Qiyue’s eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Meng Chuan asked, entering the study and coming to her side when he saw her tears.

"Seeing how young they all are, heading one by one to the battlefield," Liu Qiyue replied, "and knowing that so many of them have already fallen in battle, I just can't help but cry."

Liu Qiyue looked at the title in the upper right corner of the scroll and whispered, "Heroes Fight in All Directions? A-Chuan, this painting must be preserved carefully. If this war is truly won in the future, even if we are no longer here, this painting can show future generations what was endured."

"Yes, we'll preserve it well," Meng Chuan said, smiling and nodding.

"Oh, you haven't eaten or drunk for two days and two nights!" Liu Qiyue exclaimed, rushing out of the room. "I'll have someone prepare some food for you!"

"Don't rush!" Meng Chuan called out with a chuckle. "We're Godfiends; we can certainly endure this."

"Alright, alright!" Liu Qiyue waved a hand dismissively behind her as she continued to run, already having gone quite a distance.

Meng Chuan, meanwhile, picked up his demon-slaying saber and headed towards the training grounds.

With his Primal Spirit having undergone a qualitative change, he now needed to assess the impact of its second level on his overall strength.