Chapter 18: The Road Ahead

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No one knew how long they had endured the endless night. Without the protection of the life-preserving lantern, the group had to hide silently in a world teeming with painted spirits. The painted spirits possessed excellent vision at night. Even after the group used ghost blood to conceal their scent, they still had to move with extreme caution, for they could be discovered at any moment. Under such unbearable tension, there was no chance to rest. They had endured for nearly three double-hours before finally making their way through all five painting markets. By the time dawn arrived, Zhang Rui was so exhausted that he could barely keep his eyes open.

“My lord, it should be much safer during the day, shouldn’t it?” Qin Fang asked softly as he looked at Zhang Rui, who was leaning beside Murong Yunji and nearly asleep.

“Mm...” Zhang Rui nodded. “If a ghost reveals its true form during the day, it will be corroded, so it can only wear a painted skin. But once it puts on a painted skin, it loses its nighttime vision as well as its sense of smell. Its mobility and innate abilities will also be greatly reduced.”

“Then can we force the ghost blood out now?” Qin Fang asked hurriedly.

“We can, but I would not advise it...” Zhang Rui opened his weary eyes. “When the passage opens, forcing out the ghost blood will consume a great deal of vital essence and severely affect your physical condition.”

Qin Fang fell silent. There was reason in those words. The crisis had not yet passed. If he hurriedly forced out the ghost blood and entered a weakened state, any trouble that arose afterward would leave them with bitter regrets. In the end, he nodded. “Then I will force the ghost blood out for His Highness.”

“This prince has no need—”

“Your Highness?”

“Would it not be safer for everyone to remain in peak condition at a time like this?” Li Yu smiled as he gazed at Zhang Rui. “Even Lord Zhang himself has not considered forcing out his ghost blood.”

Zhang Rui’s expression twitched faintly at that. He bowed and said, “Your Highness certainly has courage. In that case, everyone should rest during the day. The painting market has short days and long nights, so I fear we may have only a few hours.”

Everyone nodded. After enduring such prolonged pressure, they were all utterly exhausted. They were not likely to sleep deeply, but even a brief nap was better than nothing.

Each person found a sheltered place to sit. They were neither too far apart nor too close, clearly having discussed the matter among themselves. They did not entirely trust one another.

“Mr. Chen, is that Zhang fellow really reliable?”

Only now did the guards have a chance to voice the doubts in their hearts. Although the minor county magistrate had led them away from the slaughter in the night market, everyone could see that he had not told them the whole truth.

“Half of what he says is true, and half is false. There are also many contradictions in his story. He claims this is his first time here, yet he is extraordinarily familiar with the place. He can even calculate where the exit will be. His words imply that even the master of this painted world knows less about it than he does. That is hardly reasonable.”

“But regardless, we have no other path to choose. And if he can lead us out of the painting market, this mysterious county magistrate may be the Crown Prince’s only hope of survival.”

The guards exchanged glances. They still felt that something was wrong, but there seemed to be no better choice. Grandmaster Tian was dead, and His Highness the Crown Prince had no time to summon further aid. To speak frankly, they were already grasping at straws in a desperate attempt to save themselves.

“What of the Third Prince?”

“Pay them no mind.” Chen Xiao spoke indifferently. “He suffered heavy losses and was also one of the pieces in someone else’s scheme. He does not yet know about His Highness the Crown Prince. Once we leave this painting market, we can simply part ways. So long as we find the culprit who released the plague, the Crown Prince’s position may be shaken, but it will not be something he can overthrow.”

Elsewhere, the Third Prince was also discussing the situation with Qin Fang.

“I imagine something terrible has happened to my elder brother, the Crown Prince.”

Li Yu held a piece of a painted ghost’s vital essence in his hand, examining it closely. This thing was probably of considerable use. It was clearly not merely meant to conceal one’s aura—the Zhang fellow handled and stored it with great care every time, which suggested that it had an important purpose.

“Why does Your Highness think so?” Qin Fang asked with a frown as he regulated his breathing.

“This painting market has existed for so long. Why would it choose today to break its rules?” Li Yu sneered. “It must have reached the moment when the harvest is due. Cui Yan was so arrogant as to proclaim that the Li family would be overturned. Surely he does not mean that my Great Jin will collapse merely because he schemed against me?”

“That bastard hidden in the capital can only seize his opportunity if my elder brother dies. If my elder brother does not die, no one else will have such an opportunity.”

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“After we get out, should we go and aid the Crown Prince?”

“Aid the Crown Prince?” Li Yu looked at him with amusement. “Why should I aid the Crown Prince?”

Qin Fang: “...”

“If the Crown Prince dies, that bastard will have his chance. But would I not have a chance as well?”

Qin Fang immediately fell silent. He had known for a long time that this child of the Noble Consort was not an honest one. He was ambitious. Yet ambition did not equal ability, and Qin Fang was not truly concerned with what became of the child. He only hoped that the boy would not implicate Her Ladyship the Noble Consort.

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“Are you certain the exit will appear here?”

Beside Zhang Rui, Murong Yunji, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke.

“Not entirely...” Zhang Rui himself was uncertain, but he had no choice except to try. The master of that painted world had already begun cleansing it of the living. The painted spirits accumulated here over who knew how many years were likely enough to terrify anyone. If they remained, there was absolutely no hope of survival. If they could not escape today, they might never escape at all.

“If that is so, why are you still waiting to use the ghost blood in your hand?” Murong Yunji asked curiously. “Once you leave, it will be useless.”

At her words, Zhang Rui looked down at the jade box in his hand. With Murong Yunji slaughtering painted spirits on a grand scale, he had not only obtained a considerable amount of human vital essence but also collected even more of the painted spirits’ essence. As she had said, once he left this painted world, he probably would not return. Under such circumstances, if he did not use it now, he would most likely never have another chance.

The crucial question was: how was he supposed to use it?

Even now, Zhang Rui still did not know what path he should take in the future.

In this strange world, filled everywhere with malevolent entities, a mere official position was truly not enough to protect his family. If he wanted to live with greater security, he would have to become one of the transcendent beings and possess at least enough strength to protect himself.

At first, he had wanted to take the path of the martial artist. In the unfinished manuscript he had written, the mainstream cultivation path of humanity was that of the qi practitioner. But according to Murong’s account, even in her era it had already been the Age of Declining Dharma, when spiritual energy had withered to a frightening degree. More than a thousand years had passed since then. There was probably no longer any room in the world for qi practitioners. Otherwise, there would have been no need for sorcerers who relied on malevolent entities to perform supernatural arts.

Zhang Rui largely agreed with that assessment, which was why he had considered trying the path of the martial artist.

But that path seemed impossible as well. According to Murong, his body had already finished developing. Injecting vital essence could strengthen his internal organs, extend his lifespan, and preserve his youth, but it could not make up for the foundation he had lacked since childhood. The golden period of human growth was from the age of ten to sixteen, and those years were also the crucial period during which a martial artist’s body took shape. If one could not transform the sinews and temper the bones during that time, one would remain forever an outsider. No matter how diligently one trained afterward, one could become no more than a master of external techniques.

Only after transforming the sinews and tempering the bones could the body’s capacity for vital essence increase substantially. Only with strong bones and meridians could one practice internal techniques and circulate vital essence to continually strengthen the body. If the bones and meridians were not strong enough, it was impossible to reach the stage of refining blood. Refining blood into qi was the crucial step by which a martial artist advanced from the acquired realm to the innate realm.

Without a foundation, there could be no future. As for whether someone his age could still transform his sinews and temper his bones, Murong Yunji had given him a simple example.

“After a man turns sixteen, even if he eats the most potent tonics in the world, that thing down there cannot grow any larger, can it?”

Zhang Rui had been rendered speechless. He abandoned the martial path completely.

But if neither qi practitioners nor martial artists were possible, was he supposed to become a sorcerer?

The thing he understood least in this world was sorcery. Moreover, judging from the information Chen Xiao had revealed, a sorcerer’s supernatural arts came from malevolent entities. Zhang Rui was deeply resistant to this profession, which harnessed such entities to wield supernatural power. The side effects were certainly no small matter. Unless absolutely necessary, he truly did not want to choose that path.

Could there be no new path at all?

In the end, after closing his eyes and thinking for nearly half an hour, Zhang Rui still took out the jade box containing the vital essence and gathered the remaining essence together.

The daylight might not last even two double-hours. There was little time left for deliberation. Taking his current circumstances into account, Zhang Rui finally arrived at a rough decision.

“What is that?” Murong Yunji asked curiously.

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What Zhang Rui had drawn looked like a huge black box, somewhat resembling a case for carrying a zither. It was so large that it seemed oversized even when carried on one’s back.

“The Thousand Mechanisms Box...” Zhang Rui replied without concealing the truth.

“The Thousand Mechanisms Box?” Murong Yunji was startled. Then she looked at Zhang Rui with profound meaning in her eyes. “You truly are someone from our era.”

Zhang Rui did not answer. He merely concentrated on his drawing.

Murong Yunji, meanwhile, recalled what she knew of the Thousand Mechanisms Box. Before the Age of Declining Dharma, it had been the supreme treasure of the Thousand Mechanisms Sect, one of the ten great sects. It had been meticulously forged by numerous master artifact craftsmen and could transform in countless ways, creating all manner of mechanical implements required by its user.

When the great calamity descended, it was said that the Thousand Mechanisms Sect’s master had used the box to create a mechanical dragon. With dragon flame, it evaporated thousands of miles of seawater and forcibly held back a million malevolent entities from the Eastern Sea, shocking the entire cultivation world.

She had heard the story from her own grandmaster. By the time she had made her name, the Thousand Mechanisms Sect had already been destroyed, and its supreme treasure, the Thousand Mechanisms Box, had vanished. She had never imagined that after so many years, this young man would still know of such an ancient artifact. More importantly, he could actually draw what it looked like.

“With so little ink, you cannot draw the complete Thousand Mechanisms Box, can you?” Murong Yunji asked curiously.

“Of course I cannot...” Zhang Rui shook his head. “But if I can reproduce even one percent of its functions, that will still be immensely useful.”

Artifact craftsmen were different from qi practitioners. They did not require much spiritual energy. What they needed more were high-quality materials with which to create their mechanical devices, and the finest materials were malevolent entities.

In that respect, they somewhat resembled sorcerers who harnessed the power of malevolent entities to command supernatural arts. But one used that power in machinery, while the other used it within the body. Relatively speaking, the former seemed considerably safer.

Moreover, Zhang Rui felt that the sorcerers of this world might have a great deal to do with the artifact craftsmen of ancient times. They were quite possibly an altered form of the same profession. By beginning with artifact craftsmanship, he might have a chance to uncover the true origin of sorcery.

No one knew how much time passed. At last, Zhang Rui finished a rough drawing of the Thousand Mechanisms Box. He was just about to give it a name when Murong Yunji said quietly, “Night is falling.”

Zhang Rui’s heart jolted. He looked up and saw that the sky was indeed beginning to darken.

Yet at the predetermined location in the distance, there was still no sign of any flames appearing.

“As I recall, the flames of the painting market usually appear half a double-hour before nightfall. Did you calculate the wrong location?” Murong Yunji asked with a frown.

Cold sweat instantly broke out across Zhang Rui’s forehead.

Could it be... that the rules of this painting market were based entirely on what had actually appeared in his unfinished manuscript? Did the settings that had already taken shape in his mind—but had never been written into the manuscript—not count at all?

If that was the case...

This time, they were probably in serious trouble.

Soon, everyone except Murong Yunji noticed it as well. The sky was gradually darkening, yet the bonfire showed no sign of appearing. Although none of them had ever visited a painting market, they could reason that the bonfire could not possibly appear only after night had fallen. Otherwise, there would not be enough time for the market to form.

Everyone turned toward Zhang Rui with puzzled looks. At the very center, cold sweat poured down his back.

There was no other way.

With a sigh, Zhang Rui turned toward the hovering fountain pen beside him and reached out his hand.

Murong Yunji, standing nearby, immediately saw her pupils contract.

That feeling again.

She had known it. It truly had not been an illusion!

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