Chapter 2043 - I Can Wield a Brush and Drink a Thousand Cups of Wine

The creatures in the paintings all emerged to surround Su Yi.

A blue butterfly flew through the air. Every time it beat its wings, space cracked and divine light descended like saber qi. Every strike could have slain a Lesser God with ease.

A black cat leaped through the air and swung its claws. Heaven and earth swayed, and red electric light filled the air on all sides with shocking destructive power.

An unassuming blade of wild grass shot forth, its green leaf swaying and scattering sword qi.

All of them were utterly strange and terrifying, and they joined the Kun Peng, ant, and golden rooster in attacking Su Yi with all their might. They quickly surrounded him on all sides.

Kaboom!

Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and the firmament collapsed.

Su Yi fought alone, displaying his reincarnation sword intent as he clashed with six terrifying lifeforms at once. The battle was incomparably brutal, and before long, he was badly injured.

Each of the six terrifying lifeforms was stranger and scarier than the one before, and when they joined forces, they presented an almost lethal threat.

“Why aren’t you dead yet?” The delicate young man looked utterly bewildered.

Are all modern Great Realm cultivators this unreasonably powerful?

No, something isn’t right here! That kid’s gleaning enlightenment into the Dao!!

The delicate young man’s expression shifted. He noticed that despite the severity of Su Yi’s injuries, he seemed entirely unconcerned, his expression as tranquil as the waters of an ancient well. In stark contrast with his increasingly dire wounds, his aura was only growing sharper as time went on.

He was like a treasure sword undergoing repeated tempering amidst the flame!

The delicate young man almost dared not believe his eyes.

But it was then that Su Yi suddenly let out a long, pent-up breath, as if he were awakening from a dream. An indescribable, unparalleled sharpness surged from his tall, upright frame.

Boom!

Heaven and earth lost their color, and all of creation dimmed.

In that moment, the thoroughly surrounded, badly injured Su Yi suddenly straightened his spine and swung his right arm like a sword.

Everything dimmed even further as the turbid waters of the Sea of Bitterness filled the sky. The sea was boundlessly vast, and as its turbid waters churned, a mysterious power appeared, one that threatened to drag even gods and Buddhas into eternal oblivion.

Adrift in the Sea of Bitterness!

Unlike before, when Su Yi unleashed this strike, the resulting manifestation of the Sea of Bitterness seemed real. Its turbid waves rumbled like thunder, and it seemed immeasurably, endlessly vast.

And when this strike descended...

Boom!

The turbid waters instantly enveloped the entire area, trapping the six terrifying lifeforms that had emerged from the paintings inside.

The Kun Peng beat its wings, roared, and struggled to break free, only for the turbid power of oblivion to suppress it and lock it firmly in place.

The more they struggled, the deeper they sank!

The ant had the power to overturn heaven and earth, and it was quick as lightning. It skittered through the waters of the Sea of Bitterness, but no matter where it tried to flee, it couldn’t find the shore. All the while, the crashing waves slammed into it, and its injuries piled on.

The golden rooster, grass, cat, and butterfly didn’t fare any better. The waters pulled them under, dragging them into an inescapable abyss. Try as they might, they couldn’t find the shore. They were completely trapped!

Kaboom!

The surging waters of the Sea of Bitterness shifted, becoming all the more turbulent.

In the blink of an eye, all six lifeforms born of the wall paintings popped like soap bubbles, enveloped in the endless, turbid waves. Soon, they’d disappeared completely.

The Sea of Bitterness was without limit. Its depths meant eternal oblivion! Once trapped inside, not even gods could escape!

Su Yi couldn’t help but be rueful.

This is the true power of the mysteries of Oblivion. Once trapped, turning your head won’t be enough to find the shore. You’ll be completely doomed!

Soon, all of these strange phenomena faded away, and the first floor of the Tower of Ancient Evils came back into view.

Su Yi stood there, his blue robes covered in blood, with terrible wounds all over his body. In some places, all that remained was an indistinct, meaty pulp. Even his bones were visible!

But he was still perfectly upright and proud, his back as straight as a spear.

The sound of hacking coughs rang out not far away.

Su Yi wasn’t sure when it had happened, but the delicate young man’s figure suddenly felt indistinct, as if he might disappear at any moment. His thin face was visibly overcome with astonishment and bitterness.

The six terrifying lifeforms that had emerged from the paintings were, in truth, manifestations of his cultivation base. Destroying them had dealt all but irreparable damage to his cultivation base!

“I really wouldn’t have guessed that Ol’ River Lord would actually manage to find someone who’d mastered reincarnation,” sighed the delicate young man.

A moment later, he smiled in acceptance of his fate. “But to me, this means I’ve finally found true release.”

“Your Dao of Painting is truly excellent,” said Su Yi. “I did not mean to insult it; what I said earlier was simply to provoke you and see just how strong you really were.”

The delicate young man was stunned. “Really?”

Su Yi nodded. “Yes. In your work, I see the courage to defy the heavens and go against the Dao despite humble origins. If it has such breadth of spirit, even an ant may one day crush entire worlds beneath its feet. Creating such masterpieces is, in turn, proof of your spirit!”

The six terrifying lifeforms manifested from the paintings—the fish, ant, rooster, cat, butterfly, and grass—were all ordinary creatures commonplace in the mundane world.

To cultivators, humble creatures like them weren’t even worth looking at. Who’d stop to notice an ordinary blade of grass along the way?

But the delicate young man chose these humblest of creatures as the subjects of his paintings. In his work, they devoured celestial bodies and trampled entire worlds. This courage and spirit was far from ordinary!

The young man sank into silence. After a while, he couldn’t help but sigh and clasp his fist in respect. “Thank you.”

He was perfectly solemn, and his gratitude came straight from the heart. It seemed that Su Yi’s approval made him feel that he’d found a kindred spirit.

“You needn’t be so polite. I’m simply stating the truth.” Su Yi shook his head.

The delicate young man smiled, then slipped a brush out of his sleeves and passed it to Su Yi. “This is a paintbrush I used in life. I used Undying Demon Gold to fuse it into my soul. It’s called Golden Touch, and it will come in handy once you’ve achieved divinity.”

Su Yi thought for a moment, then accepted the brush and said, “If I encounter someone of similar spirit, I’ll give this treasure to them. That way, this treasure will never be left to gather dust.”

The delicate young man seemed stunned, and his expression was suddenly complicated.

“Fellow Daoist, your spirit is superior to mine. I, Wen Qingtian, cannot help but sigh over my own inferiority!” said the delicately handsome young man.

He faced Su Yi and bowed. Then, his body blurred into a wisp of smoke and vanished without a trace.

The faint, indistinct sound of his unrestrained, valiant laughter still echoed through the air.

“Cold sword qi rises into the evening skies, and a man’s heart encompasses the sun and moon. When I recall my past glories, I can paint freely and drink a thousand cups of wine! Take care, Fellow Daoist!”

His laughter echoed through Su Yi’s ears, and his passion echoed in his chest.

Su Yi smiled, took out a jug of wine, and raised it as if offering a toast to someone far away before throwing back his head and drinking.

This Wen Qingtian is quite something!

Su Yi had no idea about it, but Evil Emperor Wen Qingtian was once the unparalleled ruling figure of his long-lost epoch civilization.

But even if he’d known, given Su Yi’s disposition, he wouldn’t have been overly impressed. Even if his position had been higher or his cultivation base loftier, so far as Su Yi was concerned, those who didn’t earn his acknowledgement were no different from random passersby!

Now, only Su Yi remained in the hall. He put away his jug of wine and examined the brush, Golden Touch. Despite himself, he was stunned. The brush was forged out of supreme-grade Undying Demon Gold. It wasn’t imbued with an Epoch Law, but it was otherwise far beyond most Epoch Treasures!

If Su Yi melted it down, he’d acquire a considerable quantity of Undying Demon Gold, but although he was tempted, he had no intention of claiming this treasure for his own. He had given his word: if he happened to meet someone who seemed a kindred spirit to Wen Qingtian, he’d simply hand over the brush to that person.

Without any further delays, he put Golden Touch away, then sat cross-legged on the ground and started tending to his injuries.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

This was only the first floor of the Tower of Ancient Evils, but he was already badly injured, and he had to make it all the way to the ninth floor to acquire the treasure the River Lord had left here.

Yet after overcoming this first battle, Su Yi had largely lost interest in that treasure. Instead, he was looking forward to his next enemy and an opportunity to further fuse with Li Fuyou’s experiences and attainments in the Dao of the Sword. At the same time, the fierce combat was deepening his understanding and mastery of the power of reincarnation!

He was already at the peak of the Great Profound Stage. Given the right opportunity, he could break into divinity whenever.

Back in the Immortal Realm, he’d developed two plans for his breakthrough. He could use either the Grand Dao of Reincarnation or the Grand Dao of Profound Ruin to become a god. Both Grand Daos were taboo, and either had the potential to transform into an Epoch Law.

But if he wanted to realize this goal, he first had to grasp these Grand Daos in their entirety and make them undergo a true transformation. Only then did he have hope of using them to prove his Dao and become a god.

Challenging the Tower of Ancient Evils was the perfect opportunity for Su Yi to temper his mastery of reincarnation! He naturally wouldn’t miss it.

Time slipped by.

A day later, Su Yi had refined a pile of divine medicine, and his wounds had fully knit back together. His cultivation was at peak strength.

His cultivation base could no longer improve, but his comprehension of the Grand Dao of the Sword and his mastery of reincarnation had noticeably improved. That, in turn, meant that his combat strength had grown considerably!

“It’s time I visited the second floor,” said Su Yi. He rose, then approached the far end of the hall. Here, he found a curved stone staircase that led to the second floor.

I just wonder how strong my opponent on the second floor will be

.

He’d only just thought this when he reached the second floor.

Boom!

Before he’d even steadied himself on his feet, a hand the size of a cattail fan struck from afar. The blood-red, eye-piercing light around it transformed into a brutal vision of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. A single palm strike was like the descent of a blood-red vision of purgatory.

Su Yi didn’t dodge. On the contrary, he clashed with it head-on, giving it all he had.

Bang!!!

The blood-red light filling the sky scattered, and the large hand’s owner was forced back.

Meanwhile, Su Yi’s blood and qi churned, and he barely managed to keep himself from flying backward. He took a step forward, and instantly arrived on the other end of the hall of the second floor.

It was then that he first saw his next opponent clearly.

He was a man with loose, disheveled hair and just one arm. His eyes were icy and cruel, and they glinted with bloodthirsty luster. His tall frame billowed with dark light, and countless bloody skulls shrouded in dark light rose and fell around him. It was a hideous, terrifying sight.

Su Yi had only just steadied himself when an icy, hoarse voice boomed throughout the hall. “Listen up! You’re about to die by the hand of the Blood-Marked Demon Lord!”