Birds rushed toward birds, and an ink shadow swept beneath the starry sky.
Yan Pi could see it clearly—under Jiang Ke’er’s brush, the bird’s feather patterns were exquisitely detailed, its skin smooth and glossy, reflecting a faint sheen of moonlight.
Not only did it resemble the real thing in form, it looked unexpectedly full of vitality, so real it could have been an actual bird!
At the same time, an Ink Crow also flew in from the west, just as it happened to meet the bird Jiang Ke’er had drawn.
“Hmm?” The Qingyang Painting Immortal frowned. “How did it run into a real crow? Could it be my painted crow is so lifelike the other came to court it?”
Qingyang Painting Immortal couldn’t help but feel proud—clearly, his painting skills had improved once again.
However, as he stared in utter disbelief, the crow flying from the Yanjia Courtyard didn’t dodge in the slightest and crashed directly into his Ink Crow!
With a wet splat, his Ink Crow was shattered as if made of flimsy paper, bursting apart and splattering ink everywhere!
“This… this…” Qingyang Painting Immortal was stunned, but even now he couldn’t tell whether the culprit crow was real or painted—he could only think, “Is this crow out of its mind?”
Yet Yan Pi, who witnessed everything, could no longer keep calm.
He could clearly see the difference in quality between the two crows!
Both were painted crows, both made by Cultivators not beyond the Three Talents Realm, but one broke apart at a single collision, while the other remained completely undamaged after the impact, even hopping around and mocking with a sign… The difference was obvious!
What was more, this was just one of the four painted creatures Jiang Ke’er had produced en masse!
And yet these four casually produced painted creatures easily smashed apart the four carefully prepared—bird, snake, leopard, monkey—of the Human Clan Painting Cultivators!
On the other side, the four Human Clan Painting Cultivators whose painted creatures had been shattered were all dumbfounded.
“My painted creature was suddenly smashed apart by some deranged crow that just rushed out,” Qingyang Painting Immortal transmitted angrily. “How about you guys?”
“Strange, my snake was also crushed by another snake!”
“Unbelievable! My tiger too! Just how many bizarre creatures does the Yan Family keep?”
“Exactly, since when do they keep leopards? Is the Yan Family running a zoo now?”
After exchanging news, the four were stunned.
“What color were the things you all encountered?” Qingyang Painting Immortal asked in a low voice.
“Black.” “Black.” “Me too.”
A black crow and a black snake were nothing special, but black leopards and tigers were definitely rare.
Painting Cultivators? No, impossible.
No matter how skilled, a Painting Cultivator couldn’t paint such perfectly completed creatures that looked absolutely real—not in such a short time, at least…
Besides, they were all at most Three Talents Realm Cultivators; the difference in the hardness of their creations couldn’t possibly be this absurd.
“Seems it must be a Beast Tamer, a Summoner Cultivator,” Qingyang Painting Immortal declared firmly. “There is no other explanation.”
The other Cultivators all agreed.
“Who would have thought the Yan Family actually had a Beast Tamer as a guard, and now our tracks have been exposed,” Qingyang Painting Immortal said with clear displeasure.
“If that’s so, we absolutely can’t leave. We must kill every last member of the Yan Family, and eliminate this Beast Tamer—otherwise, our reputation will suffer.”
“Fortunately, the number of beasts a Beast Tamer can control is limited,” Qingyang Painting Immortal sneered.
“And now, the types of beasts he’s using are already revealed—their weakness is completely exposed… With a little targeting, or by bypassing the beasts and attacking the summoner directly, we can take his life on the spot!”
“They’ve mistaken you for a Beast Tamer,” Yan Pi said with a laugh.
By now, Yan Pi’s opinion of Jiang Ke’er had changed dramatically.
An expert recognizes skill—being a fellow Painting Cultivator, he could tell at a glance how profound Jiang Ke’er’s mastery was within just a few strokes…
Even with both talent and hard work, one couldn’t possibly reach this level.
Her understanding of the painting path had surely surpassed most people, perhaps even transcended the times! Only thus could she reach such an unfathomable height.
She called the Qingyang Painting Immortal a rotten fish and spoiled shrimp—not out of arrogance, but because she genuinely had the qualifications…
Even if she pointed at Yan Pi’s nose and called him the same, Yan Pi wouldn’t dare object!
“Beast Tamer, is it,” Jiang Ke’er wore a sly, mischievous grin.
Her arm swept out, and with a swift brushstroke, a gust of wind was whipped up!
The tip of the brush lightly touched the surface, and a giant creature slowly took shape! Inch by inch, it broke free from the canvas, its massive, hundred-zhang-long form rising up into the sky!
As she painted, Jiang Ke’er muttered under her breath, then deliberately recited aloud:
“Chongshan Deity, named Zhuyin! When its eyes are open, it’s day; when closed, it’s night. Its breath brings winter; its call brings summer. It does not drink, does not eat, does not rest, and when it rests, it is the wind…”
All four Painting Cultivators heard Jiang Ke’er’s words, and the more they listened, the more something felt wrong, a sense of panic welling up inside.
Fortunately, they soon finished drawing Beast Traps, Bow and Arrow, and other implements to deal with beasts or directly kill their master.
Just as they completed their preparations, Jiang Ke’er also finished her painting.
“When its eyes are closed, it is darkness; when they are open, it is light… This is the Candle Dragon, Zhuyin!”
With a flick of her brush tip, the giant beast soared into the sky!
Jiang Ke’er declared solemnly, “Appear! Protector of the Underworld!”
“You, are you my Maester?” The giant beast lowered its head, its eyes glowing with a strange, fiery light like candle flames as it looked at Jiang Ke’er.
“That’s right… Candle Dragon.”
Plop—
The four Human Clan Painting Cultivators stared dumbly at the colossal being towering above the clouds, clutching their freshly drawn Bow and Arrow and Beast Traps.
Brushes slipped quietly to the ground.
Pants were suddenly soaked through.
They finally remembered what that thing was.
Legend had it, there was a god called Zhuyin, known as the Candle Dragon. When it opened its eyes, it was day; when it closed them, it was night. Its breath brought winter, its call brought summer…
And now, someone had actually summoned it?!
A headache struck.
How could they possibly fight this?
The four old men were already advanced in age; three of them immediately suffered heart attacks on the spot and died, their souls flying to the Western Paradise.
Only the Danyang Painting Immortal remained, trembling as he tried to flee, but under the pressure of that divine might, his legs were so weak they wouldn’t obey.
He scrambled away, falling off the rooftop, landing right before those four black animals.
The Crow looked at him mockingly, a glowing thumbs-up appearing above its head.
The Black Snake coiled around him, hissing, baring its fangs and staring menacingly at his nose.
The Black Tiger and Black Leopard blocked his way, one in front and one behind.
The Candle Dragon bent down, giving him the look one would give a foolish younger brother.
“……” Qingyang Painting Immortal thought perhaps it would be better to just die from a heart attack too—at least he would suffer less.
But suddenly, all the black beasts exploded!
“Splish! Splish!—”
Qingyang Painting Immortal figured this was it for him, but to think the other side would have their summoned creatures self-destruct just to kill him—at least that meant he was important enough, and dying this way wasn’t a loss.
Yet after a few seconds, other than having his face plastered with wet, sticky stuff, he didn’t feel the slightest harm.
He wiped his face, and by the moonlight, looked at what was in his hand.
“Ink?!”
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