After a long time, Ink Painting exited his state of "sudden enlightenment," feeling clear in mind and spirit. The three colors in his eyes faded, and various insights quietly settled in his heart.
There was no need to view "god" as "god." The nature of god and human nature merged as one, tempering his Dao heart. In this way, Ink Painting no longer had worries in his heart and could officially begin his plan to "eat" gods!
Powerful evil gods were not something to "eat" so easily. He would start by eating some of the "god remains" that had been preached.
Ink Painting took out another sheet of paper and began to arrange his plan. He first imagined the process in his mind:
To eat god remains, he must first find them, then snatch them, use his divine thought to suppress them, use tribulation thunder to disinfect them, "eat" the god marrow, and then through the assimilation of "god nature," temper his Dao heart.
There were two problems here: finding the god remains and snatching them.
Finding the god remains required clues. Currently, the most direct clue related to the evil god, the "god remains" preached by the Great Wilderness Lord, was that group of black-clothed human traffickers. They wore all black clothes, covering their faces, used standard spiritual tools with no obvious features, and conducted their business of trafficking cultivators in the dark. After death, they would even use demonic energy to destroy corpses to avoid revealing their identities. This group of black-clothed people was organized and disciplined, not few in number, skilled in their methods, and acted covertly, necessarily related to the "evil god." Moreover, their leader's forehead was parasitized by a strange blood-colored evil eye. This evil eye was one of the Great Wilderness Lord's "god remains."
The black-clothed leader was killed by Ink Painting, his corpse turned into black water and buried in a remote valley in the wild mountains outside Small Cloud City. But his face was remembered by Ink Painting. Ink Painting decided that when he had free time, he would start investigating the identity of this "black-clothed leader."
Besides that, the human traffickers were also a clue.
"Human traffickers..." Ink Painting frowned slightly. Ever since he came to the boundary of Qian Xue State, he had encountered quite a few human traffickers. From the beginning, trafficking Yu Er, and also wanting to incidentally traffic his own Jiang Old Big... To the later Bald Eagle, as well as a crowd of criminal cultivators wanted by the Dao Court Si. Even a crowd of demonic cultivators led by Fire Buddha, who exterminated the entire Xie family, didn't necessarily not do "trafficking" cultivators' matters...
Would these people all be related to the "evil god"? But... what kind of relationship?
The relationships here were complex and intricate, obscure and difficult to understand. He estimated he still lacked some key clues. Ink Painting scratched his head, still unable to think clearly for now. He then recorded the two clues of "human traffickers" and "black-clothed leader," thinking of "following the vine to get the melon" later, starting from these two points first.
Finding the "god remains" was temporarily settled. After that was snatching the "god remains." This was more troublesome. Ink Painting pondered for a moment...
God remains that were being preached necessarily had believers, or minions, or "god servants" parasitized by the god remains. To snatch the god remains, he must first deal with the "people" who worshipped the evil god and were willing to degenerate into its minions. Only then could he consider dealing with the "god."
Dealing with the "god" was still okay. As long as he started with small state boundaries of one or two grades adjacent to the Qian Xue State boundary, and small immortal cities, his opponents would generally also be "god remains" of one or two grades. As long as they dared to drill into his sea of consciousness, they were "meat buns" that had come and wouldn't return. With the tribulation thunder present, Ink Painting wouldn't be afraid even if there was the evil god's will within the god remains.
So, at this stage, the most troublesome aspect was the "people." These were similar to the black-clothed human traffickers, who were evil god believers or minions. Ink Painting discovered that to deal with them, his own strength was obviously not enough.
Late Foundation Building... Ink Painting thought about it and felt it was better to be conservative, below middle Foundation Building... If there were one or two evil god minions below the middle Foundation Building stage, Ink Painting could indeed handle them himself. But if there were more, relying on him alone would be very strenuous. Especially when dealing with middle Foundation Building cultivators, he estimated he would have to use all his means and still rely on catching them by surprise. He couldn't let them know his trump cards beforehand. He would have to use intentional calculations against unintentional ones, employ both arrays and forbidden techniques, plus some schemes, tricks, and layers of deception, only then could he barely win.
It was very tiring... and also very dangerous, with a very low tolerance for error. After all, with his small body, if he didn't act carefully and layout meticulously, and had a little negligence, he feared he would capsize in the ditch and lose his little life. Ink Painting had a deep experience of this when he fought against the black-clothed leader in the middle Foundation Building stage last time.
The most crucial point was that trump cards could not be exposed too often. Concealment technique, painting arrays on the ground, small meteorite forbidden technique... These methods were all relatively concealed and more effective. Once people knew about them beforehand and were on guard, their effectiveness would be greatly reduced. For example, if every enemy brought a "peep hidden" spiritual mirror, and set up shadow arrays wherever they went... Or if they didn't walk unclear paths, didn't walk night paths, didn't walk paths where arrays might be set up, and were careful at every moment, not wanting to be ambushed by arrays... Or if they were fully armored, fully armed, and even painted water armor spiritual arrays on their Dao robes to resist his close-range small meteorite technique... Even fundamentally not giving him a chance to get close...
Ink Painting felt a headache just thinking about it. He was alone, with no family background, his physical body was not strong, and his spiritual power was weak. His "hard strength" was relatively weak, and he was quite afraid of being calculated or targeted. He should expose his means as little as possible.
Ink Painting pondered silently. "I need to find people to help..." With helpers, he could follow along and mix in. Someone could tank in front, or face the enemy directly. He just needed to hide in the dark, use some spells, provide some control, and help a little. He didn't need to expose his trump cards too much. Even if he was discovered, as a "small mixer," he wouldn't attract attention.
But the problem now was that he didn't have any helpers. Originally, Senior Sister Murong, Senior Brother Feng, and the others had deep cultivation, extraordinary Dao methods, and rich experience. They could have helped him a little. But they were senior brothers and sisters, a higher grade, and had their own matters to attend to. They might not be able to play together later.
In this way, he could only find disciples of his own grade. The most suitable candidates were Cheng Mo and Situ Jian... Ink Painting smacked his lips. Although it wasn't very nice to say this, Cheng Mo and Situ Jian both had that slight "weakness"... They had just entered the sect. Although their foundations were deep, their cultivation was only at the initial Foundation Building stage. Although their Dao methods were not bad, their practical experience was insufficient. Although their talent and comprehension were good, their experience dealing with evil cultivators and demonic cultivators was almost zero, and their experience was still shallow. Although they were taller than Ink Painting and one or two years older than him. But in Ink Painting's eyes, they were all still too "tender"...
Dealing with evil gods and evil cultivators, one careless mistake could lead to losing one's life. Before, Cheng Mo and the others were chased and killed by black-clothed cultivators and almost met an inauspicious end. Later, in the abandoned refining tools shop, when besieging the black-clothed leader, their minds were lost and they were unable to move when the evil eye's blood light shone on them, and they almost died... Ink Painting sighed.
Under this situation, he, this "little senior brother," couldn't bear to take them on adventures. Relying on the Dao Court Si wouldn't work either. He couldn't possibly run and tell Uncle Gu that he wanted to "eat" an evil god and ask him to find some executives from the Dao Court Si to help him catch the evil god's believers... Uncle Gu was an "array blind" and didn't cultivate divine sense, so he definitely wouldn't believe him.
Using "catching human traffickers" as an excuse? Ink Painting thought about it and shook his head. The Dao Court Si would go and catch human traffickers themselves; they definitely wouldn't bring him along. Moreover, he was a sect disciple and needed to cultivate in Tai Xu Gate. He only had ten days of rest to go out. The time wouldn't match, and the Dao Court Si wouldn't possibly wait for him if they had any action. There might even be traitors within the Dao Court Si.
Thinking about it, he could only find Cheng Mo and the others... Everyone was from the same sect, whether it was attending classes or the ten-day rest period, their time was consistent. They still called him "little senior brother," invited him to eat chicken legs, and after experiencing the matter of the black-clothed human traffickers, everyone could barely be considered to have shared life and death and fought side by side. Although they were children of powerful families, they were young and hot-blooded and not stained with any dandy habits. On the contrary, they were quite easy to get along with...
Ink Painting sighed slightly. They were just a bit "weak"... Their cultivation wasn't enough, and their experience was shallow.
Ink Painting pondered for a moment, and his thoughts turned again: "Experience is accumulated little by little. Many things are just 'first time raw, second time cooked' matters. Cheng Mo and the others have good talent. If they experience some dangerous things, they will naturally gain experience..." "There are indeed some risks, but with me following, it should be better..." "The biggest problem, on the contrary, is cultivation and strength..."
Ink Painting wrinkled his brow, suddenly feeling a shock, and inexplicably thought of four words. "Auxiliary killing." Those words from Master Zhuang that year floated in Ink Painting's mind word by word. "Not mainly cultivate killing, but go for auxiliary killing..." "Mainly cultivating killing is competing with numerous prodigies." "Auxiliary killing is helping prodigies compete." "The stronger your auxiliary killing methods, the more they will not dare to offend you." "In this way, you have no family, but any family can become your help..." "In the utilitarian and snobbish cultivation forces, among the numerous prodigies with excellent spiritual roots, techniques, and Dao methods, you will also have a place!"
Ink Painting suddenly enlightened, and suddenly thought of another sentence: Water benefits all things and does not contend, hence no one under heaven can contend with it.
Auxiliary killing could enhance Cheng Mo and the others' strength, allowing them to have enough ability to help him "work," investigate evil god believers, and hunt evil gods. At the same time, even without relying on the title of "little senior brother," the path of auxiliary killing could also help him truly establish himself within the same sect and prevent others from underestimating him. Because by assisting others in killing, he wouldn't stand out and wouldn't incur the hatred of some prodigies, nor would he become an eyesore to some big families. Perhaps they would even, conversely, try to pull him in.
The most crucial point was that he could hide in the background. Ink Painting still remembered another passage Master said when teaching him auxiliary killing: "The stake that sticks out gets rotten first." "You cannot stand out, and there's no need to stand out." "Learn to hide in the dark, learn to borrow power, like a fish in water among the various forces, adapting to circumstances. Only in this way can you truly go far, advance your cultivation step by step, comprehend arrays, and seek the true Great Dao..."
Auxiliary killing, avoiding others' sharpness, hiding in the dark, learning to borrow power. Ink Painting didn't understand these words much at first, but now in the Qian Xue State boundary, he felt them deeply. The Qian Xue State boundary was calm on the surface, but undercurrents surged behind the scenes. Criminal cultivators, evil cultivators, and demonic cultivators were mixed together. Human traffickers were even like "cockroaches." He originally thought there weren't any, but a slight carelessness would result in a whole nest popping out. There were also evil gods lurking, evil desires breeding, and evil karma spreading... He indeed needed to keep a low profile to avoid being targeted.
Ink Painting gradually understood. The wood that shows in the forest is destroyed by the wind. Since that was the case, he, this small sapling, should honestly hide in the forest and not stand out to avoid being destroyed by strong winds. Tai Xu Gate was the forest. The fellow disciples were all trees. The more excellent and powerful they were, the better he could hide. Then he could borrow a large piece of forest and the dense trees within it to cover himself, thereby absorbing nutrients, silently growing, and ultimately, inadvertently, becoming a towering tree!
Ink Painting's eyes brightened slightly, and at the same time, he sighed in his heart. Master was truly formidable! Everything that happened so long ago was all planned by Master.
"Auxiliary killing!" Ink Painting determined his goal, and his ideas in his heart also gradually became clear: With his ability, he would auxiliary kill and enhance the strength of Cheng Mo and the others. Then, with the help of Cheng Mo and the others, he would investigate human traffickers, hunt god remains, and devour god marrow. He would hide in the dark and try not to stand out. At the same time, he would also think of ways to make his trump cards more concealed. After that, he would just rely on his "auxiliary" ability to get by in the sect!
Ink Painting nodded silently. However, there were still many details to consider for this kind of matter. Especially hunting evil gods, after all, was very dangerous. Calling on Cheng Mo and the others now might be a bit early. But the matter of auxiliary killing could be prioritized.
Exactly how to auxiliary kill? What methods, what limits, how to use them in fighting and killing? These all needed time to research.
In the following days, whenever Ink Painting had free time after class or during rest, he would ponder this problem.
One noon, Ink Painting was eating in the disciple residence, gnawing on a chicken leg while pondering arrays. Cheng Mo suddenly sat next to Ink Painting, pretending, and sighed repeatedly. But he sighed for half a day, and Ink Painting didn't pay attention to him. Cheng Mo secretly "offered" a "chicken leg" to Ink Painting, then looked at him eagerly. Ink Painting took the chicken leg, nodded, and said, "What's the matter? Just say it." Cheng Mo was then greatly happy and sighed, "Ink Painting, merit points are too hard to earn."
"Um." Ink Painting bit into the chicken leg.
"This whole month, I've only earned fifty points of merit."
"Oh." Ink Painting's cheeks bulged.
"Doing ordinary tasks fundamentally doesn't earn much merit..."
"Painting arrays is still okay..." Ink Painting said.
Cheng Mo's expression was complex. He was envious in his heart, and also a little jealous. Although Ink Painting didn't have many spiritual stones, when it came to merit, he was a genuine "little tycoon," much richer than them.
"My merit is almost spent..." Cheng Mo said helplessly.
"Oh..." Ink Painting ate the chicken leg without reaction, then suddenly froze and looked at Cheng Mo alertly. "You're not looking to borrow merit, are you? I won't lend you any..." He had many arrays to learn, and his own merit wasn't enough.
"No..." Cheng Mo said awkwardly.
"Then what do you want?" Ink Painting was puzzled.
Cheng Mo quietly said, "Ink Painting, don't you have any quick ways to earn merit?"
"Arrays..."
"Arrays don't count." Cheng Mo said definitively. Asking him, this array idiot, to paint arrays and earn merit was like asking a pig butcher to embroider flowers – purely making things difficult... Cheng Mo looked at Ink Painting somewhat resentfully.
Ink Painting sighed, "Then I have no other way..."
Cheng Mo shook his head and said confidently, "You definitely have a way."
Ink Painting was doubtful, "How are you so sure?"
Cheng Mo said in a low voice, "You're so smart, you have Old Mister Xun as your background, you have a Dian Si from the Dao Court Si as your uncle, and you've killed people... No, your methods for 'punishing evil and promoting good' are so skilled, you definitely know special ways."
Ink Painting corrected him, "Old Mister Xun is not my background."
Cheng Mo had a look of disbelief.
Ink Painting was a little helpless and asked, "What kind of ways do you want?"
Cheng Mo hesitated for a moment and said like a thief, "There are still human traffickers to catch..."
Ink Painting was a little surprised, but still shook his head and said, "Human traffickers aren't rats, you can't just catch them whenever you want..."
"Catching them once a month is fine too, three hundred merit points!" Cheng Mo said with a bitter face. He only had fifty a month now.
Ink Painting ate his chicken leg and didn't speak.
"Other criminal cultivators are fine too..." Cheng Mo sighed when he saw the situation, "There are too many disciples doing tasks now, and the good tasks are snatched up early. The ones we can snatch mostly have few merit points." "Some tasks with rich merit values, our reward experience is shallow, our task resume is not enough, and others won't let us take them..."
"We?" Ink Painting raised his eyebrows slightly. "Who else..."
"Who else could it be, just Situ Jian and the others..." Cheng Mo sighed again, "At this rate, when will I be able to save enough merit to exchange for spiritual objects to temper my body..."
Cheng Mo started to complain in front of Ink Painting. Ink Painting listened with a thoughtful expression. He hadn't originally planned to bring Cheng Mo and the others into this so quickly. Directly targeting the evil god was indeed a big risk. It was still too early to talk about it with Cheng Mo and the others. But now they couldn't earn merit... Ink Painting's heart moved slightly.
Or should he first bring Cheng Mo and the others along to play and practice? Start with simple things, first catch some criminal cultivators, exercise a bit simply, then progress from easy to difficult, and then go trouble that group of evil god minions, the black-clothed human traffickers?
Cheng Mo saw Ink Painting's eyes blinking, not knowing what he was thinking, but he seemed to have a clear turnaround, and his eyes immediately brightened. He immediately passed over another chicken leg and said solemnly, "Little senior brother, I'm relying on you..."
Ink Painting took the chicken leg, thought for a while, sighed, and said pretending to be reluctant, "I'll consider it first. If I have any clues, I'll tell you all."
Cheng Mo was greatly happy and hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you very much, little senior brother! You're my *qin ge* from now on!" Ink Painting had already been Cheng Mo's *qin ge* many times and was a little tired of it.
But bringing Cheng Mo and the others along to earn some merit first seemed to be okay. Auxiliary killing wasn't as simple as it sounded either. How exactly to do it, he could also use them as "little white mice" and test it out first.
Ink Painting nodded slightly, gradually making up his mind.
During the ten-day rest period, Ink Painting went to the Gu family again. He wanted to go to the Gu family to find Uncle Gu and ask if he could pull some strings and issue tasks through Uncle Gu in the Dao Court Si, then he would take the tasks himself, catch criminal cultivators, and earn merit. If Uncle Gu agreed, then he would have a connection between the Dao Court Si and Tai Xu Gate, completing an "industry chain" for earning merit. After the "industry chain" was formed, he could later find tasks himself, issue tasks himself, take tasks himself, and complete tasks himself, saving time and effort in earning merit. Although he wasn't too lacking in merit now, that was only for now. Later, there would be many places where he needed merit, and no amount of merit would be too much. Of course, the premise was that Uncle Gu agreed. Ink Painting wasn't sure before, but after the matter of Fire Buddha, relying on his current "friendship" with Uncle Gu, Ink Painting felt that Uncle Gu might nod and agree. Even if he didn't agree, he still had to try.
Just as he arrived at the Gu family and entered the gate, Ink Painting unexpectedly encountered a cultivator. His body was sturdy, his face majestic, his gaze firm, his skin was slightly dark, his muscles were like iron blocks, his blood energy was condensed, and his cultivation was deep. This person was exactly the three-grade Gold Core realm refining tools master from the Lonely Mountain Refining Tools City of the Gu family, Master Gu.
(End of this chapter)
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