Chapter 1051: The Leading Big Brother

Ink Painting's "forces" were too large. Under his command were thirty disciples from Taixu Gate.

It seemed the prodigies of Guishui Gate, Duanjin Gate, and Vajra Gate also received his dispatch.

Fighting was definitely out of the question.

And this withered forest blood swamp was full of evil and strangeness. Running also meant not knowing where to run.

Unable to fight, and unable to escape, Feng Zichen had no other choice but to choose to join.

Along the way, Feng Zichen observed their words and expressions and discovered that the disciples of Guishui Gate, Duanjin Gate, and Vajra Gate behaved as usual, with no signs of being brainwashed by Ink Painting, this "evil demon," or becoming his puppets. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

As for why they wanted to be companions with Ink Painting, this "great enemy," Feng Zichen couldn't understand and didn't dare to ask too much.

Ink Painting was truly too terrifying.

The scenes of the Shura War were not long ago; Feng Zichen's memory was still fresh.

He controlled ink with his divine sense, painting the ground as an array. The array was like demonic magic, leading Taixu Gate to strangle the prodigies of the seven great gates to death.

He then used a strange array to self-destruct, killing the prodigies of the four great sects.

Afterward, he used some terrifying Dao method, whose nature was unknown, to chop down Shen Linshu, Wu Qianxue, and five of the strongest heavenly favored sons, even shattering their natal longevity talismans.

Five venerable Cave Void Dharma images appeared simultaneously, contending with the five grades Lun Dao Mountain great array, shaking the earth.

Despite all this, Ink Painting could still survive.

Now the situation was such that it was even more impossible to contend with Ink Painting. Feng Zichen could only bury his old grudges and prejudices deep in his heart and honestly follow behind Ink Painting.

The group continued to move forward. Afterward, they encountered the disciples of Lingxiao Gate.

Lingxiao Gate and Ink Painting didn't have a significant enmity, and they understood the principle of "he who understands the times is an outstanding hero." Seeing Ink Painting's momentum so grand, they also only "followed the good as it flowed," submitting to Ink Painting.

Next was Zixia Gate.

Zixia Gate was more troublesome.

Because within Zixia Gate, there was Lu Zhenlong, the first beauty of Zixia Gate, whose appearance could overturn cities.

Ordinary people might judge the hour and size up the situation, but women wouldn't, especially beautiful, favored women.

Ink Painting used a fireball technique to blow up her face, and Lu Zhenlong could remember it for a lifetime, unwilling to be companions with Ink Painting even if it meant death.

And the pile of disciples from Zixia Gate all acted according to Lu Zhenlong's face.

It wasn't that they were lust-blinded, blindly flattering Lu Zhenlong.

But because Lu Zhenlong was the direct daughter of the Lu family, and the Lu family was a wealthy family in Kunzhou. A wealthy family meant being rich.

The wealthy Lu family donated a large amount of spirit stones and spirit objects to Zixia Gate.

At the same time, many disciples with poor origins but superior aptitudes also received Lu Zhenlong's "support." Once they graduated and formed their core, they would go to Kunzhou to do things for the Lu family.

Genius disciples had the support of the Lu family, and the Lu family also gathered many cultivation geniuses for their own use, which could be considered mutually beneficial.

Therefore, Lu Zhenlong's status in Zixia Gate was very unusual.

Lu Zhenlong had a very good spirit root, but she was hindered by having too good an origin. Spoiled from a young age, she wasn't diligent in cultivation, so her strength was actually average.

But despite this, relying on her origin and the resources she could provide, she was still a "core" disciple of Zixia Gate, a true "stars surrounding the moon"-like existence within Zixia Gate.

At this time, upon seeing Ink Painting, Lu Zhenlong, protected by the Zixia Gate disciples, became angry, stretched out a white hand, pointed at Ink Painting, and said hatefully:

"Whoever goes and kills Ink Painting, whoever kills Ink Painting, I will let my dad spend money and effort to raise him to Featherization!"

Next to Lu Zhenlong, seventeen disciples from Zixia Gate immediately showed difficult expressions.

They weren't afraid that Miss Lu would break her promise.

This young lady of the Lu family, although somewhat willful and spoiled, always kept her word. She said one thing and meant it; if she said she would give money, she would give money.

Some heavenly materials and earthly treasures, no matter how precious, as long as promised, she would not hesitate.

Up to now, she had already scattered an unknown amount of wealth in Zixia Gate. It was precisely because of this that she could gather hearts so effectively.

The matter of the Lu family spending money to raise someone to Featherization, although it sounded absurd.

After all, the difficulty of Featherization was as difficult as ascending to heaven. It didn't just require spirit stones; relying on taking heavenly materials and earthly treasures alone couldn't guarantee cultivation success.

But having the Lu family supply spirit stones and spirit objects also counted as getting twice the result with half the effort, reducing quite a few thresholds.

Among the crowd of Zixia Gate disciples present, no one could not be moved.

"But... killing Ink Painting..."

They glanced at Ink Painting.

To kill Ink Painting, first and foremost were the eighteen Vajra strong men forged from copper and iron.

The eighteen prodigies of Vajra Gate were just blocking in front of Ink Painting, like a copper wall and iron bastion.

And among these eighteen Vajras, there was Shi Tiangang, the senior brother of Vajra Gate.

Let alone killing Ink Painting, whether they could break through this "Vajra iron wall" and reach Ink Painting's front was a problem.

And around Ink Painting, there were also disciples from Duanjin Gate, Guishui Gate, Xiaoyao Gate, and Taixu Gate.

Even among these people, the most terrifying one was, on the contrary, Ink Painting himself...

The hearts of the Zixia Gate disciples were bitter.

The young lady could be unreasonable, but they could not.

Then someone softly advised Lu Zhenlong:

"Young lady, this child Ink Painting is too vicious. We are not opponents. It's better to retreat first and then plan carefully..."

Lu Zhenlong's face was full of anger.

But although she was willful, she wasn't truly stupid.

She also knew that these people from Zixia Gate were fundamentally not opponents of Ink Painting, this "big bastard," and they wouldn't really try to hit a stone with an egg, wanting to divide life and death with Ink Painting.

Before, it was a subconscious impulse when she saw Ink Painting.

Now that she had calmed down, Lu Zhenlong also wouldn't truly be unaware of the situation, but her heart was still very furious.

Especially towards the people from Vajra Gate, Xiaoyao Gate, Duanjin Gate, and Guishui Gate.

They had said good things about the Slaughter Ink Alliance, hadn't they?

They had said good things about eliminating "Ink" and guarding the Dao, hadn't they?

They had said good things about Ink Painting having to die, hadn't they?

How in the blink of an eye did they all become a group with Ink Painting?

Indeed, men's mouths deceive ghosts...

It was a pity that she always wanted to send spirit stones to them, sponsoring them to deal with Ink Painting.

Lu Zhenlong's pretty face was frosty. She glared at Ink Painting, then coldly snorted and said, "Let's go!"

"Wait." Ink Painting shouted to stop them.

Lu Zhenlong turned her head back and looked at Ink Painting coldly.

Ink Painting then said, "Don't blame me for not reminding you. If you leave, you may not be able to live."

Lu Zhenlong sneered, "Whether I live or die is none of your business."

Ink Painting shook his head, sighed slightly, and said, "You think too simply. You may not die so easily."

Lu Zhenlong frowned, "What do you mean?"

Ink Painting said, "Have you seen the scenes along the way?"

Lu Zhenlong's face turned white. She nodded slightly.

Ink Painting sighed and said, "Staying in this great array for a long time, people will be polluted by evil thoughts. Their divine sense will gradually be lost, their humanity will little by little be extinguished, and finally, they will kill each other, becoming greedy and bloodthirsty, becoming neither human nor ghost..."

"You are no exception."

Ink Painting's expression was regretful, but the corners of his mouth had a trace of a strange smile. "You Zixia Gate, these more than ten people, look okay now, but it won't be long before people will be successively possessed and start killing each other."

"Killing to the end, with humanity extinguished, they will become demons."

"Demons will eat people."

"Your flesh will be gnawed off by your own sectmates, bite by bite..."

"Your belly will be cut open, and your intestines will flow all over the ground..."

"Your internal organs will be dug out clean..."

"Your face will also be torn down, full of bite marks, flesh and blood blurred, ugly beyond measure..."

Ink Painting's small mouth was like it had been quenched with poison. Every sentence he spoke, Lu Zhenlong's face turned a shade whiter.

Finally, Lu Zhenlong's face lost its color, and she screamed in fear, covering her ears and saying:

"Enough! Don't say anymore!"

Ink Painting still had a belly full of bloody and cruel words unsaid. Seeing Lu Zhenlong unable to bear it, he stopped speaking, somewhat unfinished, and asked her:

"Do you want to walk together?"

Lu Zhenlong's face was pale. She covered her ears and didn't speak.

Ink Painting said again, "Inside the sword field, everyone is an enemy to each other. But this is outside the sword field; the eight great gates should be of one mind."

"We are going to find a way out. If you want to come along, just bring the disciples of Zixia Gate and follow."

"If you don't want to come along, that's up to you. Anyway, the ones who die in the end are you yourself, and the people of Zixia Gate."

"It's just that the way of death might be a bit miserable. You should have a bit of preparation in your heart..."

After saying that, Ink Painting just led the crowd away.

After walking for a while, he indeed discovered that Lu Zhenlong, bringing the disciples of Zixia Gate, was slowly following.

This Lu Zhenlong, unwilling verbally, was still very honest physically.

Ink Painting nodded slightly.

Although he had a little small grudge with Lu Zhenlong, he wouldn't stand by and watch her die.

What's more, Lu Zhenlong was the direct daughter of the Lu family, a wealthy family in Kunzhou.

And the vast Earth Sect was located in Kunzhou.

The one-grade eleven-pattern Thick Earth Absolute Array was the inheritance of Earth Sect.

In Lonely Mountain Tomb, killing that grave robber called "Mr. Pi" seemed to also involve an array from Earth Sect.

That "Touch Gold Symbol" on his body was a token of Earth Sect's dark department.

And that pair of ancient visualization maps inherited for ten thousand years—"Emperor Heaven Empress Earth Map"—was also hidden in Earth Sect as Earth Sect's supreme treasure.

This visualization map, named "Emperor Heaven Empress Earth," was not tolerated by the Dao Court and had to be split into two. The "Emperor Heaven Map" was collected by the Dao Court, leaving only the other half, the "Empress Earth Map," existing in Earth Sect.

Even so, this "Empress Earth Map" was still a very important supreme treasure for Earth Sect to protect its sect, showing its extraordinary nature.

Ink Painting always felt that he and Earth Sect still had many unfinished ties.

At least this "Empress Earth Map," he really wanted to go and see it.

But in Kunzhou, he didn't know anyone.

Now, conveniently saving Lu Zhenlong once also counted as having some connection.

In the future, if he went to Kunzhou, then this young lady of the Lu family, Lu Zhenlong, would at least count as an "acquaintance."

Getting the Way brings many helpers; losing the Way brings few helpers. Having many acquaintances makes things easier to handle.

"Just don't know if this woman will be narrow-minded and always remember the old grudge..."

Ink Painting muttered in his heart.

But it was originally just a convenient thing to do, so Ink Painting didn't take this matter too much to heart.

After pulling in Lu Zhenlong from Zixia Gate and setting the rules, the team further expanded.

In this way, except for Daoluo Gate, the vast majority of prodigies from the entire eight great gates were gathered by Ink Painting.

And not long after, Ink Painting followed the karma and found the prodigies of Daoluo Gate.

The "once" first sword-controlling genius of Daoluo Gate, Ye Zhiyuan.

Ye Zhiyuan was the one Ink Painting had "harmed" the deepest.

At this time, when he saw Ink Painting, it was truly an encounter of enemies, and he was particularly red-eyed.

But he didn't act rashly. Instead, he looked at the prodigies of the other seven great gates "under" Ink Painting, feeling both shocked and furious for a moment.

"This group of traitors!"

One by one, they had shouted slogans shaking the earth, saying they swore to kill Ink Painting. The result was that in the blink of an eye, they were all mixing with Ink Painting.

Truly ridiculous to the extreme.

It was a pity they still claimed to be Qianxue prodigies.

Ye Zhiyuan despised them in his heart.

But when Ink Painting asked him, "Is it to die here, or follow me out?" Ye Zhiyuan was silent.

He struggled internally between heaven and man for a long time, finally painfully making a decision:

A man can bend and stretch.

It's better to break than to bend; that's not a true hero.

Being able to bend under the side of an evil tiger, then that counts as a true hero.

First, preserve life, borrow Ink Painting's power to leave the danger, and when his strength is powerful later, then find Ink Painting to wash away the previous shame.

"It's not Ink Painting oppressing me, making me obey his commands, but I am utilizing Ink Painting to achieve my own purpose!"

Ye Zhiyuan's thoughts became as wide as heaven and earth, and he immediately joined Ink Painting.

Up to now, Ink Painting could be considered to have thoroughly "unified" the eight great gates.

And after the eight great gates, then came the four great sects.

Ink Painting led the disciples of the eight great gates to rampage fearlessly within the evil path great array, constantly absorbing scattered disciples from each sect. At the same time, he would save some people who were not deeply possessed and could still be saved.

Because their Dao heart was not firm, external evil had invaded, and they had thoroughly fallen. They simply couldn't be saved, and he could only endure the pain of killing them off.

Along the way, Ink Painting also gathered some scattered disciples from the twelve streams.

With the eight great gates gathered, the twelve streams naturally also understood the wind direction. Being able to mix with Ink Painting was something they couldn't ask for.

In this way, Ink Painting gathered more and more prodigies.

And when they met the disciples of the four great sects, Ink Painting's side already had fully more than two hundred people, vast and mighty, a black mass.

Among the four great sects, Xiao Ruohan, Ao Zheng, Shen Cangfeng, and several others felt their scalps numb just looking.

Ever since falling into the evil array, they had also detected something was wrong. They then also started gathering people, merging the disciples of the four great sects into one place.

But the disciples who could enter the four great sects were all exceptionally talented, with unruly dispositions.

Shen Cangfeng and several others were not the kind of top prodigies like Shen Linshu who possessed bloodline power. Although their strength was very strong, it wasn't strong enough to "stand out from the crowd" to the degree of truly convincing the masses.

Therefore, up to now, they had only gathered a total of more than fifty prodigies from the four great sects.

Even if these more than fifty prodigies were strong, compared to Ink Painting's more than two hundred people, they seemed somewhat "insignificant."

Not to mention, there was Ink Painting on the opposite side.

In the Shura Lunjian, their more than fifty prodigies from the four great sects were all exploded by Ink Painting in one go.

Just Ink Painting alone was enough to make them dread.

Not to mention, now Ink Painting was surrounded by fully two hundred people.

Shen Cangfeng and the crowd all had faces as sunken as water, their hearts were cold, and their expressions were tense as they looked at Ink Painting.

"Ink Painting, do you want to make a move?" Ao Zheng's gaze was stern.

Ink Painting shook his head, "Not fighting."

Hearing Ink Painting say so, this group of prodigies from the four great sects actually all felt as if a burden had been lifted, deeply relaxing.

The pressure Ink Painting gave them was truly too great.

Xiao Ruohan said indifferently, "Since that's the case, then we'll each go our own way, like well water not offending river water."

Who knew Ink Painting would still shake his head, "Not okay."

Xiao Ruohan and several others' hearts were slightly alert, "Then what do you mean?"

Ink Painting said directly, "We can join hands."

Xiao Ruohan and several others were startled. Then Ao Zheng sneered, "What join hands? You just want us to listen to you and let you dispatch, right..."

Ink Painting nodded, "If you think so, that's also fine."

Ao Zheng was greatly angry, "Wishful thinking!"

Shen Cangfeng also sneered, "Ink Painting, your array attainment is indeed extraordinary, and your methods are truly profound and unfathomable. But relying on just this, you want to make the disciples of my four great sects obey your orders? Too whimsical."

Xiao Ruohan similarly had sharp light in his eyes, "You are the eight great gates, we are the four great sects. You want to govern the affairs of our four great sects, isn't that managing too broadly?"

Ink Painting sighed slightly, shook his head, and said, "I also don't want to manage you, but this is an evil path great array. Everyone is trapped here, becoming grasshoppers on a rope."

"If I don't manage you now, afterwards you will become possessed, go mad, enter demon, and will threaten me. I will still have to kill you."

"Moreover, not only will I kill you, you will also kill yourselves..."

Ink Painting looked at the bloodstains on the Dao robes of Shen Cangfeng and several others and said indifferently, "You should have already experienced the taste of sectmates killing each other."

As soon as these words came out, Shen Cangfeng and several others all looked sad and indignant, their gazes unable to hide their pain.

Not long ago, in this strange Yanluo Mountain, they personally saw their own sectmates suddenly go mad, walking fire and entering demon.

After a fierce battle, although they were unwilling in their hearts, they still had to endure the pain of chopping down these sectmates who had entered demon.

Ink Painting had an expectation in his heart.

The disciples of the four great sects had a more superior origin, better talent, and a heavier heart for fame and fortune. Their Dao heart, on the contrary, would be weaker.

Usually, it was fine, but in this great array filled with evil thoughts, once the Dao heart was weak, it was very easy to be taken advantage of by evil desires, and then step by step, walk fire and enter demon.

Even, the current state of Shen Cangfeng, Ao Zheng, and Xiao Ruohan was also not quite right.

If they were truly left to themselves, it wouldn't be long before they might also thoroughly fall and go mad, becoming minions or sacrifices of the evil god.

But the higher the prodigy, the stronger their self-esteem.

Even knowing that following Ink Painting might be the best choice, their strong self-esteem still made Ao Zheng and others unwilling to be companions with Ink Painting.

"Whether we live or die is our business. No need for you to worry. If you want us to obey you, it's absolutely impossible."

Ao Zheng said coldly.

"Good," Ink Painting nodded and asked them, "Are your bodies planted with natal longevity talismans?"

Ao Zheng and others frowned, "What do you mean?"

"If your bodies are planted with longevity talismans, it's still good. If they are not planted..." Ink Painting's gaze was ice-cold, "I fear that as soon as I make a move, you will all have to die."

"Longevity talismans, along with your lives, will eventually have to shatter together."

These words were cold and calm, but extremely overbearing.

Ao Zheng and several others were unbearably angry in their hearts, but as soon as they met Ink Painting's gaze, boundless fear surged up in their hearts.

Because Ink Painting indeed had this strength.

Even, not long ago, he had just shattered five natal longevity talismans, and the ones he shattered were the longevity talismans of the five strongest prodigies from their four great sects and Daoluo Gate.

Fear makes people calm.

Ao Zheng and several others also successively calmed down.

They realized that Ink Painting was not joking with them. If they did not follow his meaning, these people might truly be wiped out by him.

Shen Cangfeng sighed and asked Ink Painting:

"Can you really... bring us out?"

Ink Painting's face was indifferent:

"Don't forget, I am the chief of the array Dao. Relying on my array attainment, let alone you several people, even if Shen Linshu and Xiao Wuchen came, they would all have to do as I say."

Chief of the array Dao...

In the previous Lunjian, he was just this chief of the array Dao, directly exploded.

He was even exploded twice...

Shen Cangfeng's expression was grave. He nodded and said, "Good, I'll listen to you."

Shen Cangfeng opened his mouth, and the others no longer struggled.

Xiao Ruohan and Ao Zheng also all nodded in agreement, their faces filled with dread.

Ink Painting nodded with satisfaction.

Up to now, the Qianxue four great sects, eight great gates, and some scattered twelve streams had all been "unified" by him.

He was now the true "leading big brother" of the four sects, eight gates, and twelve streams.

(End of this chapter)