Redemption of a Born Demon

Chapter 322 - 243: The True Realm Within the Painting, a True Immortal Mountain in the Void (Part 2)

"A Spirit Painting?"

Yi Beidou murmured, looking at the enormous cave mural before him.

He had fought the Spiritual Painter Huang Tianhu before and experienced the wonders of Spirit Paintings firsthand. They were merely paintings, yet they seemed to possess the miraculous ability of Transforming Illusion into Reality, blurring the line between the false and the real.

However, this Immortal Mountain Spirit Painting was on an entirely different scale. It was massive, standing at least twenty meters tall, making him feel minuscule by comparison. Furthermore, its unique aura hadn’t faded after countless eons. It was hard to imagine the difficulty involved in creating such a Spirit Painting.

Clearly, this Immortal Mountain Spirit Painting was one of the Immortal Mountain’s greatest secrets.

Perhaps the mirage they had seen in the sky when they first entered the inner ring wasn’t controlled by the Alchemists. Instead, it was likely related to this mural, serving as one of Penglai Immortal Mountain’s self-defense mechanisms.

Even if people or ships were lucky enough to get past the obstacles of the first two rings, they would still be unable to break through the concealment barrier around the Immortal Mountain in this inner region. They would only see the dreamlike illusion in the sky, likely mistaking it for reality—visible, yet unattainable—and thus giving birth to even more legends.

’This Spirit Painting is perfectly preserved. The Alchemists didn’t take it with them. Perhaps its unique properties mean it can’t be disturbed, or the whole thing would stop working.’

Yi Beidou carefully studied the massive mural before him. He felt an increasingly magical influence emanating from it. Even staring at a single corner gave him the feeling that the images were coming to life.

The clouds and mist stirred, the radiant light flowed, almost leaping off the wall. It felt as if he could step into another world just by taking a single pace forward.

This was a level that Huang Tianhu’s Spirit Paintings could never hope to match.

’I wonder what kind of pigments were used to create this Immortal Mountain Spirit Painting.’

Yi Beidou’s nose twitched. An exotic fragrance wafted from the painting.

He recalled that Huang Tianhu’s Spirit Paintings were mixed with the Blood of the Saint Realm, which was what gave them their Divine Power. But even the power from the Blood of the Saint Realm would dissipate after a while; it couldn’t possibly have lasted for so long.

This inevitably made Yi Beidou think of what Cheng Zhihong had said about Earth Immortals.

’Could this Spirit Painting contain the blood of an Earth Immortal?’

’But I’ve heard that even a single Earth Immortal Cell is an incredibly precious item. If a mural this enormous was really made with the blood of an Earth Immortal, it’s unlikely it would have survived to this day.’

’Over the past millennium, the Alchemists would have probably licked this painting clean if they had to.’

’It’s most likely some special material related to Earth Immortals.’

Yi Beidou put aside his thoughts and began to examine the rest of the cave.

He had been so captivated by the massive Spirit Painting that he hadn’t noticed anything else in the cave.

On the floor were several circular areas, which looked like they were once meant for placing things like meditation cushions.

’Sit here and view the Spirit Painting?’

After a moment’s thought, Yi Beidou found the centermost spot and sat down cross-legged.

He stared intently at the Immortal Mountain Spirit Painting before him.

As he continued to gaze, everything in the Immortal Mountain Spirit Painting seemed to reawaken, growing more and more vivid.

Everything around him seemed to fade away. Yi Beidou’s eyes were fixed on the Immortal Mountain, which grew more lifelike with each passing moment.

At the same time, he faintly felt a pull on his spirit, as if the mural was trying to draw him in.

Yi Beidou thought for a moment. Instead of resisting the Magnetic Field Power, he chose to yield to it, to accept it.

All at once, the sound of howling wind roared in his ears, and he found himself surrounded by a dense mist.

’No, this isn’t mist. These are actual clouds!!’

Somehow, Yi Beidou was no longer in the cave, but high among the clouds of the Sky.

A powerful force assailed him, pulling him ever onward through the Sky.

After passing through layer after layer of clouds, Yi Beidou beheld a breathtaking sight.

High above the clouds, an Immortal Mountain stood tall in the Void. It was majestic and grand, veiled in radiant light and exceptionally wondrous.

This was the very same Immortal Mountain from the illusion they had seen before.

Only this time, the Immortal Mountain high in the sky was no longer untouchable. A force was dragging Yi Beidou toward it.

Finally, within this dreamlike vista, Yi Beidou set foot on the Immortal Mountain, his feet touching solid ground.

The scenery here was vastly different from that of the real Immortal Mountain. Heavenly music resounded through the Sky, and the ground was carpeted with immortal flowers. It was as if he had arrived in an Immortal Realm.

However, he couldn’t see the Immortal Mountain in its entirety. The radiant light and mist formed a wall, restricting his view to its outer edges.

"This is..."

Even though Yi Beidou practiced the Free Heart Technique and had experienced countless illusions in his Cultivation, the scene before him was still staggering.

He twitched his nose—he had a sense of smell. He reached out to touch the ground—he had a sense of touch. He even lightly cut his skin. Pain flared and blood flowed. His sense of pain was perfectly intact as well.

All of this was created by that single Immortal Mountain Spirit Painting. It was as if it had transported him to another world entirely.

This Spirit Painting could be considered a colossal magnetic field, akin to that of the "Deities." This field constructed a nearly-perfectly real Illusion Realm. As soon as an individual gazes at the Spirit Painting, their own Life Magnetic Field connects with the painting’s, and they are dragged inside.

’In the modern era, this would be called "virtual reality." It’s just that current human technology, with its reliance on physical devices, is still incapable of achieving something like this.’