Killing to Silence

Gu Zhao did not go on a killing spree in Golden Wind Hall.

He had already killed Ren Tianhe from Changping Prefecture and Hong Xin, the local Sub-altar Divine General—those two ringleaders. The rest were merely ordinary lackeys; killing them would serve no purpose.

Though the Golden Wind Sect was an evil cult, the common believers at the bottom were not necessarily all bad people. Cultivating the Dao meant cultivating the heart. Slaughtering innocents was not the way of the Daoists; it would also weigh upon his heart and taint his soul with Baleful Intent.

So he merely used a Wind Thunder Talisman to turn Golden Wind Hall into a complete mess, leaving it in utter chaos before calmly vaulting over the wall and departing.

Painter Lu sat peacefully in his own studio, swaying his head as he admired his work.

"What a pity about Brother Zhang." Painter Lu looked at the green-robed scholar in the painting and could not help sighing.

"It truly is a pity. Whether it is Red Nether or Heavenly Wind, he is certainly doomed." Another voice suddenly rang out in the quiet room. "A pack of men and women with no pursuit of art."

"If it is Red Nether, at least he will die without pain." Painter Lu sighed leisurely, then could not stop himself from shuddering. "But if it is Heavenly Wind..."

"Shameless! Crude!" The other voice grew somewhat agitated, as though it had recalled something. In a shrill voice, it said, "Such a handsome young man is about to be defiled by that coarse brute!"

"Exactly. Unlike us, who merely preserve his face and form within a painting, then lock his soul inside it. He will forever remain so graceful and elegant, forever untouched by the dust of the mortal world." Painter Lu said with feeling.

"That kind of transcendence beyond the mortal world is something those boorish men and wanton women, obsessed only with fleshly desire, will never understand!" the other voice said disdainfully.

"I hope the enemy the Golden Wind Sect has encountered this time is formidable enough. It would be best if they wiped out the Golden Wind Sect as well." Painter Lu's lips curled into a smile.

"The enemy the Golden Wind Sect has encountered this time is probably no weakling. I heard that the incense idol of the Golden Wind Divine King was stolen, and Protector Black Absolute has also vanished." The other voice said, "I wonder how many Protectors will come this time."

"What Protector is Ren Tianhe?" a voice suddenly asked.

"Ren Tianhe is Heavenly Wind Protec—" Painter Lu answered reflexively, then abruptly came to his senses and whirled around.

"Creak—"

The studio door was pushed open. The handsome young man whom Hong Xin had just led away appeared in the doorway, smiling as he curiously looked around the studio. "Who was the one speaking just now? Why can I hear a voice but see no one?"

Painter Lu's eyes, fixed on Gu Zhao, were filled with disbelief. "How did you come back?"

"He escaped from Ren Tianhe!" the other voice shrieked.

This time, Gu Zhao saw clearly that the voice was coming from the bamboo basket Painter Lu had placed in the corner.

Painter Lu jolted in horror and finally reacted. With a flip of his palm, the nearby table flew into the air from nowhere and hurtled toward Gu Zhao, blocking both sides' view.

Gu Zhao raised his palm and chopped down, splitting the table in two. Then he saw Painter Lu hold the scroll before him, gesture through the air with his right hand, and point at Gu Zhao. "Young Master Lan, please act!"

The next instant, the semitransparent figure of a man in green robes emerged from the painting.

This man looked exactly like he had in the painting: dressed in green, refined and handsome. But the sorrow in his eyes had turned to savage ferocity, devoid of the slightest trace of reason. The paper umbrella in his hand folded into a sword, stirring up streaks of biting Sword Qi as it stabbed straight at Gu Zhao.

Gu Zhao did not even spare him a glance. He merely formed the Heavenly Thunder Seal and made the lightning incantation. "Lightning follows lightning, heaven and earth are my eyes. The eight directions are upright..."

Just as the green-robed man's umbrella sword came within three feet of Gu Zhao, a surge of Gang Qi containing Sun Moon Heavenly Light abruptly rose from Gu Zhao's body. It then transformed into a roaring flood and crashed toward the green-robed man.

Bang!

The green-robed man and his umbrella were sent flying backward by the impact, his body becoming even more transparent.

Meanwhile, Gu Zhao had long since aimed his raised palm at Painter Lu, who had picked up the bamboo basket.

Boom!

Painter Lu had just pulled out a scroll from the bamboo basket and had not even opened it before Palm Thunder blasted him into dust. A wisp of soul within the scroll dissipated along with it.

Moreover, that scroll could not possibly withstand the power of Palm Thunder. Purple lightning spread onto Painter Lu's body, plunging into him and blasting smoke from all over his body. His meridians tore apart, and his Sea of Consciousness suffered a severe blow as well.

"Aah!"

Painter Lu screamed and reached for another scroll in the bamboo basket.

The next instant, a beam of white light rose from that scroll and instantly enveloped Painter Lu. His injuries actually healed at a visible rate, mending his torn meridians and damaged Sea of Consciousness.

"It's a Grand Mage! Run!"

A voice rang out from the scroll. Painter Lu was about to flee when a spark of fire suddenly flew in from behind, landing on him and instantly transforming into a net of flames that enveloped both him and the scroll.

"Aah! Aah! Aah!" Painter Lu and the scroll screamed together.

"Grand Mage, spare me! Grand Mage, spare me!" Painter Lu curled up on the ground, rolling constantly as he begged for mercy.

Waves of white light spread out from the scroll, carrying bursts of demonic aura as they tried to tear open the fire net.

Gu Zhao formed a Sword Finger with his right hand, sending Mana from within his body through the air. The Fire Shield Technique continued without cease, compressing the scroll's white light layer by layer. When it finally spread to the edge of the scroll, wisps of smoke rose from its corners.

"Yah, yah, yah... Stop burning, stop burning! I'm going to die!" the scroll shouted.

"What are you?" Gu Zhao asked curiously.

It was clearly a painting scroll. If a ghost had possessed it, why did it carry demonic aura?

"I'm a Painting Demon! I'm a Painting Demon!" the scroll shrieked. "Grand Mage, spare me! Stop burning me! If you burn my true body, I'll die too!"

"So you really are a demon? Explain your origins clearly, or I'll burn both of you to death." Gu Zhao's Sword Finger did not move, and the flames of the Fire Shield Technique continued unabated.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Painter Lu nodded repeatedly.

It turned out that the Painting Demon's true body was a portrait of a man that had developed spiritual intelligence. It considered itself handsome and graceful. After forming a pact with Painter Lu, they could cooperate with each other: Painter Lu painted, while the Painting Demon cast spells, locking the souls of other handsome men within paintings.

This way, not only could the Painting Demon's true body absorb the elegant temperament of those men, it could also absorb the power of their souls to aid one man and one demon in cultivation. At the same time, they refined them into Painting Souls to serve as weapons in battle.

What the hell... Gu Zhao was speechless. Painting demons were usually spoken of alongside bookworms as refined scholars and elegant gentlemen. How had this Painting Demon become so wicked?

"Grand Mage, spare me. I can make you even more graceful and handsome, incomparably dashing!" The Painting Demon begged for mercy even as it tempted Gu Zhao. "Then, with just one look from you, those women will fall utterly intoxicated."

Gu Zhao's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Really!" Seeing hope, Painter Lu nodded repeatedly as well. "Then you can do whatever you want!"

Gu Zhao nodded, then his expression suddenly changed. "So you mean that with this face of mine alone, I can't attract girls, is that it?"

"You dare insult me? Your crime deserves execution!"

"Ah?"

"N-no..."

Boom!

Thanks to fellow Daoist reader 20240708215556222 for the 100 reward.