248: Chapter 247 No matter how well it's drawn, it's still just a painting.

He understood Luo Ximei all too well.

This girl's pride and possessiveness were etched into her bones; her Cultivation Technique and her Origin were all built upon plunder and control.

To ask her to drop all defenses and merge into an unknown Law?

That was simply more agonizing than killing her.

Because in her subconscious, once she lost the ability to resist, it meant she might lose her Revered Master.

"Ximei."

Su Lin's voice echoed over the desolate Ink River, carrying a strange, soothing power.

He didn't walk back; instead, he slowly extended his own hand—which had already turned into ink lines—toward the shore.

"You don't need to bow your head to this river."

"Nor do you need to compromise with the Laws of this world."

Su Lin's gaze was deep and inclusive, like looking at a stubborn child who had caused trouble outside and refused to admit defeat.

"You only need to... bow your head to me."

"Look into my eyes."

"Your life, your Divine Soul, your damned pride, and those messy bits of Devilish Qi and Origin inside you..."

"Give them all to me."

"Don't think about this river, and don't think about assimilation.

Just close your eyes and walk toward me."

If these words had been spoken by anyone else, Luo Ximei would have definitely slapped them into a bloody pulp.

But the one speaking was Su Lin.

The Revered Master for whom she was willing to go mad, become a demon, and give up everything.

"Bow my head... to Revered Master..."

"Give everything to Revered Master..."

Luo Ximei's heterochromatic eyes suddenly widened.

The black and white Devilish Qi that had been rampaging due to her resistance to the Law miraculously calmed down the moment she heard those words.

The anxiety and grievance in her eyes vanished, replaced by a morbidly extreme fervor and obsession!

That's right!

Why resist?

If it's not this world stripping away my defenses, but Revered Master's command?

If I'm not compromising with the Ink River, but sacrificing everything I have to Revered Master?!

"Revered Master..."

Luo Ximei's breathing became rapid.

"You said it yourself..."

"Everything of Ximei's... now belongs to you!"

She no longer had any hesitation.

She didn't restrain her Devilish Qi; instead, she directly dispersed all her defensive barriers, even withdrawing the spiritual power that maintained her Physical Body's strength.

She closed her eyes, spread her arms, and plunged straight into the churning Ink River toward Su Lin's direction!

*Splash!*

The black river water swallowed her instantly.

But this time, there was no sound of corrosion.

A few breaths later.

A black paper figure, outlined in thick splashed ink and possessing an exquisitely curvaceous figure, emerged from beneath the water.

Even though she had turned into a 2D art style, Luo Ximei's exaggerated curves were still vividly displayed through the shading and blending of the ink.

Her heterochromatic eyes became the most eye-catching spots on the paper—one a point of Negative Space and the other a point of cinnabar red.

Like a nimble ink snake, she leapt from the water's surface and coiled directly around Su Lin's extended ink arm.

"Revered Master~"

Having become a paper figure, Luo Ximei slid all the way up Su Lin's arm and finally pressed intimately against his shoulder, her flat cheek rubbing vigorously against Su Lin's neck.

"Ximei has no defenses at all now, Revered Master can do whatever he wants with me."

"Fifth Senior Sister! Have you no shame!"

Beside them, Chu Weiwei, who had also turned into a paper figure, jumped in anger, her ink skirt fluttering, "You've turned into paper and you're still clinging to Revered Master! Careful you don't get torn to pieces!"

"Bleh, bleh, bleh, bite me then!" Luo Ximei smugly stuck out her flat tongue.

"Enough."

Su Lin looked at his group of disciples who, even after becoming 2D beings, still couldn't change their jealous natures, and smiled helplessly.

"Since everyone is across, let's keep moving forward."

...

Meanwhile.

On the opposite bank.

The group of surviving experts and Loose Cultivators witnessed the entire process of Su Lin and his disciples safely crossing the river.

"Give up resistance... follow the Law... so that's how it is!"

A sharp light flashed in the eyes of the Sword Cultivator Mo Chen.

He was someone with a Clear Sword Heart and extremely high Comprehension Ability.

After hearing Su Lin's pointers to Su Hongling and Luo Ximei, he immediately sat cross-legged. In less than half a stick of incense's time, he forcibly severed the obsession in his heart that a Sword Cultivator must never bend.

"If I turn into water, how can I be broken?"

Mo Chen stood up, dispersed his sharp Sword Qi, closed his eyes, and leapt into the Ink River.

A moment later, an ink great sword composed of sharp Dry Brush and Flying White strokes leapt out of the river, transforming in mid-air into a lean ink swordsman who landed steadily on the water's surface.

"Thank you for the guidance, Senior!" Mo Chen bowed deeply toward the distant Su Lin.

"This old woman will try as well!"

Heavenly Calculation Granny put away her compass, took a deep breath, and jumped into the water right after him.

She was proficient in Formations and divination principles, so she naturally understood the logic of going with the flow. Soon, she also transformed into a paper crone leaning on a cane and floated to the surface.

The success of two people in a row was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a boiling pot of oil.

The group of Cultivators on the shore went completely wild.

"It's actually that simple! Just don't circulate spiritual power!"

"Quick! Opportunity waits for no one! Charge!"

"Everyone get out of my way! I'm going down first!"

Greed blinded their eyes once again.

Hundreds of high-level Cultivators scrambled to rush toward the Ink River, jumping in like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

However.

They only heard Su Lin say to give up resistance, but they ignored a most fatal weakness of human nature.

For these slick veterans of the cultivation world who were used to the Law of the jungle and mutual deception, being completely defenseless went against their biological instincts.

On the shore, they could suggest to themselves to relax.

But when they actually jumped into that river filled with the aura of death as black as ink, when the feeling of suffocation and the fear of being assimilated by an unknown power hit them...

Instinct triumphed over reason.

"Ah! It's so dark! My spiritual power..."

A Body Integration Stage old monster who had jumped into the water suddenly felt a surge of panic the moment his body began to ink-ify. He subconsciously tried to struggle, and his subconscious mind mobilized a sliver of protective True Qi.

It was this single sliver of True Qi that triggered the Law's death sentence.

*Sizzle!!!*

The old monster's body was instantly backlashed by the Ink River's rules, and the 2D scroll he was transforming into was directly torn apart.

He let out a shrill scream in the water, and his entire being was like someone who had fallen into a pool of strong acid, instantly corroded into a puddle of foul-smelling black water.

Panic is contagious.

In this crowded section of the river, one person's loss of control and scream instantly ignited the defensive instincts of everyone around them.

"No! It's a trap! That Su Lin is lying to us!"

"Help! My legs are melting!"

"Get away! Don't grab me!"

The Cultivators who originally wanted to follow the rules were all horrified upon hearing their companions' screams. They one after another took out their Magic Treasures and propped up their protective Protective Aura.

But this became their death warrant.

The Ink River boiled.

The violent Law of Dimensional Reduction crushed down mercilessly.

"Aaaaaaaah!!!"

Shrill screams merged into one.

The entire edge of the Ink River turned into a tragic Asura Field.

Countless Cultivators struggled frantically in the water, but their Magic Treasures and spiritual power were useless under the rules of the scroll. Their bodies were forcibly twisted, torn, and dissolved.

Some turned into monsters that were half-paper and half-flesh, swallowed by the river water amidst their wails;

Others were held tight by out-of-control companions and sank to the bottom while biting each other in despair.

Multiple Body Integration Stage experts were completely wiped out in less than ten breaths!

A faint bloody hue even churned within the thick ink; it was a true river of death.

On the shore.

Those Cultivators who hadn't jumped in time because they were slow were now all slumped on the ground.

If they had followed and jumped just now...

"Utterly foolish."

On the water's surface in the distance.

Su Lin, who had already turned into an ink art style, didn't even look back, merely shaking his head coldly.

"With such heavy greed and wishful thinking, unable to even overcome their own instincts, they still dare to hope for immortal opportunities?"

He led his five disciples across the calm ink water surface, drifting toward the towering ink Main Peak at the deepest part of the scroll.

And behind him, those Female Demon Lords who were usually so awe-inspiring were now having the time of their lives.

"Revered Master, look at me floating like this. Don't I look like a pendant on your clothes?"

Luo Ximei was the one who adapted the fastest.

She completely let go of her human form and turned into a wisp of enchanting ink line, tightly winding around Su Lin's ink-painted arm, occasionally rubbing against Su Lin's cheek with ink marks, leaving faint stains.

"Fifth Senior Sister! Get down this instant! Don't dirty Revered Master's clothes!"

Chu Weiwei was stomping her feet in the back, but she wasn't much better herself.

She had turned into a puddle of light purple watercolor, following at Su Lin's feet like a slime, trying to crawl up his pant leg.

"Can you two have some dignity?"

Cold Moon maintained her Empress's poise. Although she was also a paper figure, she worked hard to maintain her dignified lines while walking beside Su Lin.

However, her ink-drawn eyes would always glance at Su Lin intentionally or otherwise, clearly driven mad with envy by Luo Ximei's zero-distance contact.

As for Mu Qingxue, she was the most straightforward.

She had turned into a patch of Negative Space.

Everywhere she passed, the ink weeds and birds that wanted to approach were directly erased by this patch of Negative Space.

She used this domineering method to follow closely behind Su Lin.

The group of figures within the painting landed at the end of the Ink River.

Following them ashore were the two clever people who had understood the rules through their own ability: the Sword Cultivator Mo Chen and Heavenly Calculation Granny.

After these two landed, they bowed deeply to Su Lin's back and then very perceptively slowed their pace, following from a distance, never approaching within a hundred zhang of these baleful stars.

Ahead.

Was a splashed ink Main Peak that reached into the clouds.

The mountain was steep and the brushstrokes were wild, as if the person who painted it had been half-drunk and splashed the ink in one go.

"This is the place."

Su Lin stopped and looked up at this Ink Mountain.

"The Formation eye of this Ancient Landscape Painting is at the summit."

"Let's go up and meet the Gatekeeper left by this Painter."

...

Climbing this Ink Mountain was much faster than imagined.

As long as your Intent was light enough, one step could take you straight into the clouds.

In less than half a stick of incense's time, the group reached the summit.

The summit was a flat area of Negative Space.

In the very center of this Negative Space floated a drop of dense, pitch-black ink.

This drop of ink was boiling frantically, emitting a terrifying and suffocating pressure.

"That's..."

Luo Ximei slid down from Su Lin's arm and transformed back into human form.

"Such violent will! This isn't a lifeless object at all; it's living resentment!"

"It's the Painting Soul of this painting."

Su Lin's eyes narrowed slightly.

"That ancient expert sealed this world into the painting, causing countless beings to die tragically. Their resentment and unwillingness eventually gathered into this drop of ink."

Before his voice had even faded.

The thick ink churned and instantly transformed in mid-air into a thousand-zhang-long Nine-Clawed Ink Dragon!

This Ink Dragon had no Physical Body; it was entirely composed of coarse brushstrokes and Flying White.

It circled above the summit, its two massive dragon eyes staring fixedly at Su Lin and his group.

Cold Moon's lines sank heavily, "Revered Master, this thing is the absolute Dominator within the scroll world! It can modify the rules here at will!"

"Modify rules? Then let's see if its brush is tougher, or my fist is tougher!"

Su Hongling had been holding back for a long time.

She gave a great shout, and the ink great sword [no edge] in her hand swung forward fiercely.

"Disperse for me!"

This time, she followed Su Lin's teachings. She didn't use brute force, but instead poured all of her indomitable, all-shattering Martial Dao Will into this single strike.

*Swish!*

A sharp sword-shaped Negative Space, like an eraser, sliced hard toward the Nine-Clawed Ink Dragon's neck.

The Ink Dragon let out a roar. It actually didn't dodge, reaching out a massive ink claw to meet Su Hongling's Sword Intent.

Su Hongling's Sword Intent was indeed powerful, actually managing to slice off more than half of that ink claw.

But in the next second.

The severed ink churned in the air and instantly fused back together, as good as new!

"What?!" Su Hongling was stunned.

"It's useless!"

Chu Weiwei transformed into a patch of purple poison cloud and drifted up, "In this world, ink cannot be killed! Watch me!"

The purple poison cloud instantly enveloped the Ink Dragon.

However, those toxins that were enough to rot a Mahayana Stage Physical Body were actually directly assimilated by the ink on the dragon's body the moment they touched it!

The originally black Ink Dragon now had a hint of purple on its body. Not only did it not die, but its aura became even more violent.

"Roar!!!"

The Ink Dragon opened its large mouth, and a black breath composed of pure destructive Concept crashed toward Chu Weiwei like a waterfall.

"Ice seal!"

Mu Qingxue acted instantly.

Extreme cold transformed into a large area of Negative Space, forcibly freezing that black breath in mid-air.

But this Ink Dragon's power was endless, and the boundaries of the Negative Space were being rapidly eroded by the ink marks.

"Revered Master, this fellow is invincible in the painting!"

Luo Ximei shouted anxiously. Her Devilish Qi was suppressed to the limit here, making it impossible to cause any substantial damage to such a pure Concept-based creature.

"It can regenerate infinitely, and our will will be slowly drained dry by it!"

"It's certainly not invincible."

Su Lin stood at the back, looking at the rampaging Ink Dragon. "No matter how well-painted, it is still just a painting.""}],