Chapter 304: The Old Man in the Painting

At the entrance to the abyss, Ban Gancuo arrived with his grand shamans and shaman kings. Of the hundreds of divine ability practitioners from the Barbarian Kingdom, fewer than a hundred remained; the rest had perished in the eerie and unpredictable Netherworld Valley Forest.

Although numerous grand shamans from the Loulan Golden Palace had previously explored this area, this large-scale expedition still resulted in heavy casualties.

For Ban Gancuo, the number of deaths was irrelevant, as long as his own life was not at stake. The lives of these soldiers, grand shamans, and even shaman kings were expendable. His purpose in bringing them was to use them as protection, to pave a path to the center of the Netherworld Valley with their corpses.

As an ancient being who had lived for ten thousand years, he had long ceased to value anyone else's life; his only concern was his own.

"We've finally arrived," Ban Gancuo murmured, gazing down into the abyss with a look of fascination. The Netherworld Valley had only captured his attention sixteen years prior, when an extraterrestrial spacecraft crashed into it, drawing the attention of three major powers.

The Loulan Golden Palace, the Demonic Cult, and the Great Thunderclap Temple all focused their attention here. At that time, the Demonic Cult had no leader, and the Tathagata of the Great Thunderclap Temple, who knew certain secrets, did not delve deep into the area.

Ban Gancuo himself was already very old then, and valuing his life, he didn't come personally. Instead, he stayed hidden in the Golden Palace, awaiting his reincarnated sacred child. However, the broken sword brought back by a Shaman King from the Loulan Golden Palace made him realize the extraordinary nature of the extraterrestrial spacecraft.

Now, having successfully reincarnated, he could finally come here. Moreover, with Khan Luandi preparing to wage war against the Yankang nation, Ban Gancuo could leverage the Khan's forces to gain access.

"Gong Mu, do you feel it?" Ban Gancuo whispered, "This place is permeated with the power of souls. The power contained within shattered souls has birthed these strange beings. This is the perfect holy land for us grand shamans to cultivate."

Beside him, the grand shamans and shaman kings felt their souls thrumming with excitement; the aura here invigorated their spirits and primordial spirits. This place was overflowing with the power of spirits and souls, to an extent that far surpassed even the Loulan Golden Palace!

Along the way, they had witnessed the peculiarity of Netherworld Valley life. While these beings were a nightmare for the Barbarian Kingdom's soldiers, for the grand shamans, they were like walking elixirs of great nourishment—though, of course, these elixirs came with some danger.

Grand shamans inherently cultivated by using the souls of other living beings!

Shaman King Gong Mu greedily inhaled the aura emanating from the abyss, where the spiritual and soul power was even stronger. He exclaimed, "If our Golden Palace could establish itself here, it would greatly enhance the power of us grand shamans, making cultivation twice as effective with half the effort! The spiritual and soul power here would tremendously boost our primordial spirits!"

The Loulan Golden Palace was already strong in soul and primordial spirit cultivation, having achieved profound mastery in these areas. Even other holy lands, like the Great Thunderclap Temple, were slightly inferior in primordial spirit cultivation.

However, their cultivation method, which involved using the souls of living beings, was often criticized. If they could occupy this place and cultivate with its spiritual and soul power, the Loulan Golden Palace would undoubtedly grow to an unimaginable extent! This holy land of the grasslands, once it rose, could certainly dominate the Central Plains and surpass the holy lands of the Central Lands in one fell swoop!

"The most important thing in the Netherworld Valley isn't this," Ban Gancuo said softly, his gaze still fixated. "What attracts me isn't how to cultivate using the spiritual and soul power here, but how to break through—to transcend the boundaries between humans and gods. This ship should contain what I desire. It came from beyond the heavens..."

He said no more, leaping down. The other grand shamans, shaman kings, and the remaining Barbarian Kingdom soldiers followed, surrounding and protecting him.

Ban Gancuo, having lived for ten millennia, knew an immense number of secrets. Other holy lands, like the Great Thunderclap Temple and the Dao Sect, relied on their ancient texts for historical records, which could be biased. He, however, recorded history through his own memory, having experienced countless events.

Furthermore, although his lifespan wasn't as long as the history of the Great Thunderclap Temple and the Dao Sect, Ban Gancuo had once been a high-ranking member of both, and had even visited Xiaoyujing, where he learned of its secrets.

"This ship might be from that mysterious place," he thought to himself, "which is probably the only place in the world where one can achieve godhood. No matter what, I must get this ship and go there!"

Mid-descent, they were attacked by various strange creatures from the abyss. The soldiers, grand shamans, and shaman kings each took action, doing their utmost to protect Ban Gancuo. They left behind a dozen more corpses before finally reaching the bottom of the abyss.

On the treasure ship, Qin Mu watched the constantly retreating demonic energy, feeling a sense of hesitation.

There was definitely a terrifying presence within this demonic energy, whose origin, whether from Youdu or not, was unknown, but its power was immense, even surpassing that of the two white bats. The fact that it retreated merely upon Qin Mu speaking a Youdu language seemed rather peculiar.

After the demonic energy receded, the chilling screams that had pervaded the area suddenly vanished. The surroundings became incredibly quiet, and the strange creatures that had surged from the Youdu world were also nowhere to be seen.

The silence made it even more unsettling.

"The terrifying entity that exhausted those two eminent monks has likely already boarded this ship!" Qin Mu frowned. The ship was now eerily silent.

"Fatty Dragon, Yu Chun, Yu Qiu, let's go inside and take a look. If we encounter danger, we retreat immediately!" Qin Mu said solemnly, stepping forward first.

Fu Yuchun and Fu Yuqiu hurried forward, flapping their wings. The two white bats flew silently, upside down, ahead of Qin Mu, while the Dragon Qilin followed close behind him, ready for anything.

They proceeded from the left side of the treasure ship. Upon reaching its center, they encountered a beehive seal. This seal was still very tight, with only faint demonic energy seeping out through a few cracks.

Suddenly, the nearby building creaked, and a door slowly swung open, emitting a faint glow of light.

The two white bats quickly darted aside, hanging upside down on either side of the doorway, peering into the room.

This room was one of the many within the buildings on the treasure ship's deck. It measured seven *zhang* in both length and width, furnished with screens and jade tables. Surprisingly, the candlesticks on the jade tables were still lit, and an incense burner held by a bronze crane emanated wisps of smoke.

The room was empty, but judging by the lit candles and the smoking incense burner, it seemed someone had just been there.

"It's safe here!" Fu Yuchun said.

Qin Mu opened his Azure Heaven Eye and found nothing amiss. He then swept the area with his Cinnabar Heaven Eye, still detecting nothing unusual.

They entered the room and looked around. Fu Yuqiu remarked, "Strange, this door has never been open before. Why is it open today...?"

"Never been open before?" Qin Mu was slightly taken aback.

The two white bats nodded. "The doors on this ship cannot be opened. No matter how much force you use, they remain sealed. It's very peculiar."

There wasn't much in the room. A screen displayed an embroidery of green mountains and clear waters, with a small boat floating in the middle of a river, an old man fishing from its bow. A white bat approached a jade table, tried to pick up a candlestick for light, but found it impossible to lift, and gave up.

Qin Mu surveyed the room, sensing a subtle feeling of being watched, but he couldn't pinpoint the source of the gaze. He remained inwardly alert.

He scrutinized his surroundings. The feeling of being watched persisted. Qin Mu suddenly turned his head but still saw nothing.

His vital qi surged out, forming a mirror that reflected the surroundings. Suddenly, he saw the old man fishing in the screen's painting subtly turn his head and secretly observe them.

Qin Mu immediately spun around and lunged towards the screen. The fishing old man, startled, quickly dropped his fishing rod and, with incredible agility, hopped from the painting onto the wall, then scurried along the wall and through another doorway.

Qin Mu immediately picked up his brush and gave chase, opening the door and rushing in. Suddenly, the door behind him slammed shut with a bang. Startled, Qin Mu quickly retreated, his Carefree Sword soaring up to form a Cloud Sword formation around him. At the same time, he reached back to push open the door behind him, saying in a low voice, "Brothers Fu, Fatty Dragon, hurry in! Brothers Fu..."

Qin Mu turned his head and paused, slightly astonished. The door he had opened did not lead back to the room he had just come from, but to a different one—this room appeared to be a woman's embroidery room!

The room he had originally entered was now gone without a trace!

The two white bats and the Dragon Qilin also hastily pushed open the door, but seeing no sign of Qin Mu, their expressions changed drastically. They quickly opened other doors but still couldn't find him.

"This isn't right!" The Dragon Qilin used his paw to push open the door behind him, peered in, and exclaimed, "It's not the room we came in from! The rooms on this ship are strange!"

The two white bats closed the door, then pushed it open again, only to find the room had changed to another. They repeated this process, and each time the door was closed and opened, it led to a different room!

"We're doomed!" Fu Yuchun's face turned ashen, and he trembled, "If we don't find him, and the poison flares up, our White Bat Divine Race will go extinct!"

"Don't panic," the Dragon Qilin said. "There must be a finite number of rooms here; they can't be infinite. As long as we keep track of the same room, we can figure out the pattern. By the way, how are your numerical arts skills, you two?"

Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat. He immediately entered the embroidery room, closed the door behind him, and looked around, thinking, "I came in through this door, but when I try to exit, it changes to a different room? This must involve spatial folding. Although this ship is large, the rooms within its buildings cannot be infinite; they must be limited. As long as the number of rooms is finite, a pattern can be found."

Calming himself, he surveyed the surroundings. The embroidery room was lit by wall lamps. Several pieces of women's embroidery hung on the walls. Below them was a low table, on which a handkerchief with a dragon playing with a phoenix was placed. On a lower writing desk, brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone were arranged, with a cushion on the floor for sitting. The ink on the paper was still wet, bearing the lines: "Dew moistens delicate yellow, wind sways emerald green. Late bloom in human realm is not without purpose, celestial grace with light makeup, bestowed by heaven's beauty. Who can compare?"

The writing abruptly ended there, suggesting the writer had encountered an urgent matter and couldn't finish. Qin Mu examined the handwriting and silently praised, "The brushwork is no less skilled than mine, though a bit more delicate."

Just then, the fishing old man suddenly slipped into the painting in front of him and winked. Qin Mu sneered, raised his brush, and drew downwards. The old man quickly leaped onto the table, then ran onto the wall, escaping through another doorway.

Qin Mu immediately picked up his brush and gave chase. The old man from the painting vanished as he entered another room, his hiding place unknown.

Qin Mu entered this room, which was a study. The books inside were very old. Qin Mu pulled one out, intending to open it, but couldn't.

Suddenly, the old man from the painting jumped out of the book he was holding and burrowed into another book.

Qin Mu quickly pulled out that book. This time, he was able to open it, and upon flipping through, he found it was a family genealogy.

"First generation, Emperor Kaihuang, given name Qin Ye, co-lord of the world..." Qin Mu paused, startled. "Emperor Kaihuang, who stained the world with blood with a single sword? This Emperor Kaihuang also has the surname Qin, just like me."

The genealogy was thick, recording the lives and marriages of various Qin-surnamed individuals in just a few words. Qin Mu quickly flipped through, searching for the old man from the painting. When he reached the last page, it read: "One hundred seventh generation, son of Han Zhen, Feng Qing." The genealogy ended there.

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Zhai Zhu (the author) is still in Shanghai. After getting off the plane last night and renting a hotel, he caught a cold and couldn't go home today. His throat is inflamed, so he's staying at the hotel and plans to go home tomorrow. It's been over ten days since he left home, and he misses his family and children. He feels a bit lightheaded. He will try his best to publish a second chapter tonight, but if he can't, he'll make up for it with extra chapters once he recovers.