The Judge’s Pen said, "Is it really because of him?"
After wandering the mountains far and wide for nearly the entire night, covering countless miles, Li Banfeng finally found Fu Taiyue.
The middle-aged man he had painted the day before was also finished. Today, he had painted a Huajia elder, none other than Fu Taiyue himself.
Again, he did not paint the hands.
Li Banfeng looked at Fu Taiyue’s own hands. He kept them behind his back, hidden in his sleeves. From the outside, there seemed to be no abnormalities.
Li Banfeng set up his own desk, quietly painting. After waiting for over an hour, Fu Taiyue broke the silence.
"Ten years, only to achieve the First Layer of cultivation level. The path of cultivation is indeed too arduous," he said.
Li Banfeng responded, "Isn’t it the same with all Taoist Sects?"
Fu Taiyue sighed, "But there is no end to the art of painting. I’ve just started on this path, yet this lifetime has already reached its end."
"Old Master Fu, your painting skill is already very high," Li Banfeng said.
"I’ve painted so many paintings for that Mountain God. The Mountain God told me that only by going to The Ultimate Yin Land can one comprehend the highest realm of painting art. Do you dare to go?"
Fu Taiyue began to reveal essential information.
When Li Banfeng had gone to Fu Taiyue’s house, he had indeed seen the paintings of the Mountain God. They were very impressive.
Staring at the scroll, Fu Taiyue repeated, "The Ultimate Yin Land, do you dare to go?"
Li Banfeng said, "I am still far from that realm. Old Master Fu, you have reached that realm. I think you definitely dare to go."
Fu Taiyue looked at his painting and added, "But the Mountain God also said, nine deaths and one life await those who go to The Ultimate Yin Land."
Li Banfeng went with the flow and asked, "Which Mountain God are you talking about? Where exactly is The Ultimate Yin Land?"
Fu Taiyue, again addressing his own painting, said, "What does nine deaths and one life really change? You are of such advanced age. If you don’t go now, you’ll never have the chance in this lifetime. But that place is so peculiar. Even if I want to go, I might not be able to reach it."
Li Banfeng said nothing more.
Fu Taiyue gazed at the painting and continued, "The Mountain God said the mountain is coming soon. Are you going or not?"
The portrait in the painting spoke, addressing Fu Taiyue, "The mountain’s arrival is ill-timed. Early spring, too much rain!"
Fu Taiyue shook his head. "It wasn’t raining when I was climbing the mountain."
The portrait replied, "But as soon as you reached the summit, the rain poured without end!"
Fu Taiyue said, "I could have avoided it, but I’m old now, my eyesight is blurry, and my limbs are no longer nimble."
The portrait sighed. "If only you could have descended the mountain sooner."
"I wanted to descend, but I couldn’t find the way down. After being poisoned by them, I could never find the way down again."
The portrait said, "In fact, you made it down the mountain. If only you had run two or three more miles, you could have completely broken free."
Fu Taiyue said, "I wanted to break free, but I couldn’t run anymore."
The portrait exhaled a sigh. "You should have cut off your hand at that time. Without one hand, you could at least have saved your life."
Fu Taiyue shook his head. "I cannot be without hands. That is my right hand. Without it, how am I to paint?"
A cold wind blew in, gathering the clouds suddenly.
BOOM!
A clap of thunder sounded. Fu Taiyue looked at the portrait. "I’ll add the hands to your painting. I’m almost unable to remember what you looked like. Once I can’t recall you, I’m completely finished."
The portrait did not respond. Fu Taiyue, holding a brush, drew two arms on the painting.
Li Banfeng was not sure if those were arms. He couldn’t see the hands, nor the upper or lower arms. He only saw Fu Taiyue draw two segments of flesh above the portrait’s shoulders, swollen and twisted.
The portrait said, "My hands do not look like that."
"But my hand looks like this..." Fu Taiyue’s right hand extended from his sleeve.
Fu Taiyue’s hand—if it could still be called a hand—resembled the flesh segments in the painting. It had no skin and looked like a clump of meat that had been rotting for a long time. Thick pus oozed from it, making the brush stick fast.
"With my hand like this, I can’t even hide it," Fu Taiyue said expressionlessly. "It’s over. This time it’s truly over."
RUMBLE! Thunder rolled again!
SPLASH!
It began to rain.
"I’m so thirsty! I need water!" Fu Taiyue tilted back his head, his mouth agape, greedily drinking the rainwater.
The portrait shouted, "Don’t drink it! You mustn’t!"
After drinking the rainwater, Fu Taiyue’s head swelled rapidly. His hair and beard fell out swiftly, and his eyes and ears dropped to the ground.
His body swelled along with his head. His skin cracked layer by layer, and fat and flesh oozed out from the fissures, soon covering his entire body.
In less than a minute, Fu Taiyue was unrecognizable. His body was wrapped in pus and grease. On his spherical head, only a mouth remained, shrieking at Li Banfeng.
"SHRIEK!"
The cry was shrill and piercing. Li Banfeng was afraid it might damage the Silk-pulling Earrings.
Li Banfeng’s figure vanished rapidly. He wanted to use the Passing Glance Technique to probe the other side.
Fu Taiyue stood still, not chasing Li Banfeng’s figure. It also seemed he was unharmed by the Passing Glance Technique.
"SHRIEK!"
Fu Taiyue roared again.
The Judge’s Pen suddenly shouted, "A demon! A Knife Labor Ghost!"
WOO-WOO! WOO-WOO!
Li Banfeng heard the sound of a steam whistle. It was the Portable Residence urging him to return.
PUFF!
Fu Taiyue opened his mouth and spewed a mouthful of black mist at Li Banfeng.
"Dodge!" the Judge’s Pen cried out.
Even without a reminder from the Judge’s Pen, Li Banfeng had already dodged. The black mist was undoubtedly poisonous.
"Hold your breath and go!" The Judge’s Pen took flight, carrying Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng held his breath, still contemplating how to capture this monster.
The Judge’s Pen flew for a moment. The rain grew heavier. Fu Taiyue suddenly leaped from the woods, spraying another mouthful of black mist at Li Banfeng.
The Judge’s Pen dodged with great effort, preventing the black mist from touching Li Banfeng.
No sooner had Fu Taiyue landed than he leaped again, swinging his fleshy, segmented arm at Li Banfeng.
The monster was fast, and the Judge’s Pen was not agile enough. Seeing that he couldn’t dodge, Li Banfeng let go of the Judge’s Pen and landed on the ground.
"SHRIEK!"
A Knife Labor Ghost leaped out of the grass.
"SHRIEK!"
Another one jumped down from a tree.
Li Banfeng felt the ground beneath his feet loosen and quickly moved away. A fleshy segment burst through the soil, and a Knife Labor Ghost drilled out from the mud.
"SHRIEK!" The howls resounded throughout the mountains, unceasing.
Li Banfeng remembered what the Coachman had once said: "Sheep Fork Mountain has a place called Knife Ghost Ridge. If you walk a mile on that ridgeline, not only will your cultivation level be replete, but you can also accumulate an entire day’s time."