247: Chapter 246 Once you enter the painting, you become a person within it.

The Cultivators behind them turned pale, some even began to tremble.

Iron Wall Elder was a Body Integration Late Stage powerhouse who specialized in physical defense. In terms of toughness, aside from that red-clothed Female Demon Lords, probably no one present dared to claim they were stronger.

Yet such a powerhouse, just from being splashed by a few drops of ink, ended up turning into a flat image in the painting.

This Ink River was not a river at all.

"Old... Old Man..."

Su Hongling swallowed hard and instinctively shrank back.

"This thing... it seems physical attacks are useless against it?"

Though she was reckless, her intuition was terrifyingly sharp.

The scene just now made her realize that if she jumped down, even with a Mahayana Stage Physical Body, she would probably turn into a piece of more resilient red paper.

"Revered Master, the Law contained in this water is too overbearing."

"This is no longer within the scope of spiritual power confrontation."

"Dimensional reduction strike."

Su Lin calmly uttered these four words.

"Entering the painting, one becomes the Person in the painting."

"Iron Wall Elder tried to use brute force against the rules, like trying to shatter a shadow with a fist; naturally, it was in vain."

"Then what should we do?"

Chu Weiwei was somewhat anxious. She looked at her fair, tender palms, imagined turning into a piece of paper, and couldn't help but shiver.

"Revered Master, should we... fly across?"

"Fly?"

Su Lin looked up at the grey sky that seemed to press down on their heads.

"Look there."

Everyone followed his gaze.

In mid-air, several birds made of ink were circling.

Suddenly, a Cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect in the back released a Yao Beast, attempting to fly across the river.

"Swish swish swish!"

The seemingly stagnant clouds and white strokes in the sky instantly transformed into countless sharp brush tips.

Before the Yao Beast could even fly ten feet, it was sliced into countless black lines in mid-air, then drifted into the river, becoming part of the ink.

"The Forbidden Air Domain is even stronger than the ground."

Su Lin looked back.

"Moreover, the gravity above is a thousand times that of the ground. Combined with the omnipresent Evil Qi of those brush tips, flying across means being sliced into a thousand pieces."

"This won't work, that won't work... are we supposed to swim across?"

Su Hongling scratched her head in frustration.

"Swimming across would lead to the same fate as that Old Man just now," Mu Qingxue added coldly.

"Then what on earth are we supposed to do!"

Several disciples looked at Su Lin in unison.

In their eyes, Revered Master was an omnipotent god; there was no problem Revered Master couldn't solve.

Su Lin looked at the churning Ink River, then at the solitary single-log bridge.

"The single-log bridge is a trap."

Su Lin's voice broke the dead silence as he looked back.

"That bridge is a solid stroke in the painting, the place where the painter's brush fell heaviest."

"It looks like a path, but it's actually where the rules of this painting are strongest and the repulsion is greatest."

"Iron Wall Elder tried to cross by relying on toughness, like using a stone to resist the sharp edge of a brush. The result could only be being swallowed by the ink and becoming part of the painting."

"A trap?"

Su Hongling scratched her head, looking bewildered.

"If we don't take the bridge, where do we go? Do we really have to jump into the river?"

She glanced at the pitch-black Ink River churning with the aura of death and instinctively shrank back.

"Old Man, although I have thick skin, this thing looks like it could dissolve me."

"Exactly. We must go through the river."

Su Lin's words were shocking.

"Although the Ink River is dangerous, it is an empty stroke, the place where the painting's intent flows and the white space is rendered."

"Though there is corrosion here, it is also the most inclusive."

He turned around and looked at his disciples, who had various expressions, his own expression becoming serious.

"There is only one way to cross the river."

"Give up all resistance."

"Huh?!"

Everyone was shocked.

Give up resistance? In a death trap where Laws were chaotic and a single touch meant death?

This was as crazy as telling someone to jump naked into lava.

"Revered Master... are you serious?"

Luo Ximei's heterochromatic eye flickered slightly, clearly showing some hesitation.

"Disperse your protective spiritual light, withdraw your Divine Sense defense, and treat yourself as a drop of ink, a wisp of water."

Su Lin explained.

"The rule of this painting is assimilation."

"The more you resist, the more you highlight your status as an outsider, and the stronger its erasure of you becomes."

"Conversely, if you conform to it and merge with it, you become part of this painting, and it naturally won't harm you."

Everyone understood the logic.

But actually doing it was too difficult.

This was gambling with one's life. Gambling that Su Lin's judgment was correct, gambling that this eerie Ink River would truly spare its own kind.

Especially for high-level Cultivators, instinctive defense mechanisms were etched into their bones. To completely open one's body and mind in the face of a fatal threat required immense courage and absolute trust in their guide.

"I'll go first."

Su Lin didn't explain further.

He knew that talking was useless; someone had to set an example.

He slowly walked to the riverbank.

Below were churning black waves, and in every wave, there seemed to be a distorted human face screaming.

Su Lin took a deep breath.

The light of the Starlight Dharma Robe on him dimmed, and the spiritual power fluctuations within his body instantly ceased.

The golden light of the [Immovable Wisdom King Body] dissipated.

At this moment, he was like a Mortal without any cultivation.

"Revered Master!!"

Mu Qingxue instinctively wanted to reach out and pull him back, but she was stopped by a look from Su Lin.

Su Lin lifted his foot.

Without any hesitation, he stepped out onto the black water surface.

A slight sound could be heard.

Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats.

As soon as Su Lin's foot touched the water, the black ink acted like a living thing, rapidly spreading up from the sole of his shoe.

Wherever the ink covered, it instantly became flat and pitch black, losing its three-dimensional texture, as if it had become a stroke of thick ink on painting paper.

"Revered Master has been assimilated?!"

"This really works??" someone in the crowd behind exclaimed.

Su Lin's expression remained as calm as water.

He did not sink.

Although the ink changed his form, it seemed to become the medium that carried him.

He stood on the water as steadily as if he were standing on level ground.

With this step, half of him had already turned into an ink-wash painting style; his hem became elegant ink lines, and his body became freehand white space.

Su Hongling's eyes widened. "As long as I don't think of myself as a person, I can cross?"

"Come over."

Su Lin, who had already walked several yards away, did not look back, but his voice came through clearly.

"Clear your mind; do not have any stray thoughts."

"Trust me."

Just those two words.

Trust me.

"I trust you!"

Cold Moon was the first to move.

She was an emperor and understood decisiveness best.

Since she had committed to Su Lin, she would dare to brave even mountains of blades or seas of fire.

She dispersed her Imperial Dao Dragon Qi, shed all her defenses, closed her eyes, and leaped down from the bank.

The moment her body touched the water, it was rapidly stained with ink.

Her originally magnificent purple robe turned into elegant splashed ink, and she stood lightly behind Su Lin.

"It feels... wonderful."

Cold Moon opened her eyes and looked at her palms, which had turned into ink-wash lines, her eyes full of novelty.

"I'm coming too!"

Ye You followed closely.

She was a Yao and was naturally closer to the Laws of nature.

She dispersed her Demonic Qi and jumped into the river, instantly transforming into a swaying ink-wash vine that wrapped around Su Lin's feet before slowly changing back into human form.

"Heehee, Revered Master, do I look like a goblin in a painting now?"

"I'm going too!"

Chu Weiwei put away her poisons and cautiously extended her foot.

"Frozen... release."

Mu Qingxue took a deep breath, dispersed the cold ice around her, and walked on the waves, transforming into a blooming Ink Lotus.

Finally, only Su Hongling and Luo Ximei were left.

"This... this is a bit difficult."

Su Hongling scratched her head with a constipated expression.

"With my muscles and all this muscle memory... it's too hard to relax!"

Body Cultivators emphasized physical sanctification; defense was an instinct.

Asking her to completely give up defense was harder than asking her not to eat.

Luo Ximei looked at her with disdain.

"Watch how this venerable one does it."

She walked gracefully to the riverbank, took a deep breath, and began trying to disperse her Devilish Qi.

However, the moment her toe touched the water surface.

A puff of black smoke rose.

Her foot felt as if it had been splashed with acid, and a sharp pain instantly struck.

"Ah!"

Luo Ximei screamed and jerked her foot back, the Devilish Qi in her body instinctively erupting to protect her.

"What's going on?!"

She looked at the churning Ink River in horror.

"Why can they do it, but I can't?!"

"Because your heart is not still."

Su Lin's voice came from afar.

He stopped, turned around, and looked at the two on the bank.

"Ximei, your obsession is too deep, and your desire for possession is too strong."

"Your Devilish Qi has merged with your Divine Soul; subconsciously, you are resisting being assimilated, resisting losing yourself."

"This river water can sense your resistance, so it is attacking you."

Luo Ximei bit her lip, her face turning pale.

It was true.

Letting her completely lower her guard and give up her self was more painful than killing her.

"Then what should we do?"

Su Hongling was also anxious. "Old Man, I can't do it either! As soon as I get near this water, my skin automatically tightens; I can't control it at all!"

One had too heavy a Heart Demon.

The other had a Physical Body that was too strong.

These two, who were usually the best fighters, had now become the ones struggling to cross the river.

Su Lin looked at the two anxious women and shook his head.

"Then what should we do?!"

"If worst comes to worst, I'll just fill this river up!"

Saying that, she moved to pick up a nearby rockery.

"Don't be reckless."

Su Lin sighed, raised his hand, and beckoned to the two of them.

The inky river water flowed slowly beneath his feet, not wetting his hem, but instead supporting him like a feather.

"Hong Ling, you first."

Su Lin's gaze fell on his Second Disciple, who was scratching her head in anxiety.

"Your problem is that your Physical Body is too strong, and your instinctive defense mechanism has locked down your Qi."

"You're like a piece of red-hot iron that water cannot penetrate."

"To become water, you must first forget that you are iron."

Su Hongling had a bitter face: "Forget? How do I forget? I've trained this body for hundreds of years; it has a mind of its own! It automatically tightens when it encounters danger; I can't control it either!"

"If you can't control it, then don't control it."

Su Lin's voice became gentle, carrying a strange rhythm, as if a painter were blending ink colors.

"Hong Ling, look at me."

Su Hongling instinctively looked at Su Lin.

At this time, under the rendering of the ink wash, Su Lin had a few more hints of elegant and ethereal Immortal Qi.

"Do you remember when you were a child, the first time you practiced the sword and collapsed in the snow from exhaustion?"

Su Lin asked softly.

Su Hongling was stunned.

The gates of memory were quietly pushed open.

Heavy snow fell as she brandished a wooden sword taller than herself until her last bit of strength was exhausted, and she fell straight into a snowdrift.

The feeling at that time...

"Tired... so tired..."

Su Hongling murmured to herself, her eyes gradually becoming dazed.

"It felt like all the bones in my body had melted... I couldn't even move a finger..."

"Yes, that's the feeling."

Su Lin guided her patiently.

"That feeling of complete relaxation, of completely giving yourself to the earth."

"At that time, who carried you back?"

"It was... it was Revered Master."

A silly smile appeared on Su Hongling's lips.

"Revered Master's back was very warm... his gait was very steady... I just fell asleep like that..."

"Then sleep once more."

Su Lin reached out and made a pressing motion toward her from a distance.

"Now, I am catching you."

"No need for defense, no need to be tense."

"Fall down."

She let out a long breath and closed her eyes.

Her body leaned forward; this time, she did not circulate any spiritual power, nor did she strike any defensive pose.

She fell straight toward the Ink River.

"Splash."

Water splashed up.

Su Hongling fell into the water.

The black river water gently enveloped her.

A few breaths later.

A red-clothed young girl, outlined in bold ink, poked her head out of the water.

She still looked the same, but her body had turned into a flat art style, yet it exuded a different kind of boldness and vividness.

"Wow!"

Su Hongling, now a paper person, looked down at her painted hands and shouted excitedly.

"Old Man! I've changed! I've become so light!"

She hopped on the water surface, light as a red leaf.

"And this water... it's not cold at all; it's actually quite comfortable!"

Seeing Su Hongling bouncing on the water like a little red paper person, Luo Ximei's face on the bank became even more unsightly.

Now, she was the only one left.

"Dammit..."

She bit her lip, her platinum heterochromatic eye full of anxiety.

If it were a competition of cultivation or methods, she believed she wouldn't lose to any of her fellow disciples present.

But this damned "state of mind" was her Achilles' heel.

She was a demonic Cultivator; she cultivated the path of supremacy, of plunder and possession.

To let her let go of herself and merge into this world?

"Sizzle!"

She tentatively extended a toe again out of frustration.

As soon as it touched the water, that heart-piercing corrosive sensation returned, making her brow furrow in pain.

The True Immortal Origin and Devilish Qi in her body instantly reacted, turning into a shield that violently repelled the ink intent.

Luo Ximei trembled with rage, her Devilish Qi surging, yet she had nowhere to vent it.

"Revered Master..."

Luo Ximei's voice took on a hint of trembling and grievance.

"I... I can't do it."

"My Origin, my Devilish Qi... they won't listen."

"They don't want to disappear..."