I Ruined the Long Ao Tian Script-Chapter 50

The Peril Within the Painting

Xu Shulou beamed at her junior disciples. "How did you find me?"

"Thanks to Fifth Senior Brother," Bai Roushuang glanced at Jiang Yan. "He has plenty of... experience traveling with you."

Xu Shulou dusted off the little foxes in her arms, and Bai Roushuang could only guess from this small gesture just how intense the chase inside the painting must have been.

"Are there still people guarding the outside?"

Bai Roushuang nodded. "A lot of them—more than you can imagine."

"They’ve even stationed people above, as if afraid you’d break through the roof to escape," Jiang Yan crossed his arms. "The Soaring Eagle Sect hasn’t faced such a provocation in years. They’re determined to capture you as an example."

"I figured as much," Xu Shulou sighed, soothing the fox in her arms. "By the way, I saw Third Senior Brother."

Jiang Yan paused. "Where?"

"He’s working here as a painter," Xu Shulou smiled. "I’ll take you to see him."

"A painter? That suits him," Jiang Yan chuckled, clearly familiar with his third senior brother’s ways. "How many odd jobs has he taken over the years? Did his spirit beasts eat him into poverty again?"

As they made their way to the twentieth floor, they chatted idly.

"Yes, and he’s adopted a new shuyan."

"A shuyan? Those things are practically useless. Hardly anyone keeps them."

Though the name "shuyan" sounded elegant, the creature itself was no different from a common goose—except it could fly higher and had sharper teeth. If it managed to peck a cultivator, the wound would fester for a hundred days, resisting even the finest healing elixirs.

But it was still useless because cultivators weren’t wooden dummies—they could fly and dodge, making it nearly impossible for the bird to land a hit.

"It was abandoned by someone else."

"No wonder. With a temperament like his, how did he ever consider the Path of Heartlessness? I really don’t understand," Jiang Yan sighed.

Spirit beasts that didn’t form contracts with cultivators lived freely, but many willingly bonded with them for cultivation purposes. However, there were risks—once abandoned, their spiritual energy would wither, their intelligence dulled, reducing them to ordinary animals unless another cultivator took them in.

Fortunately, few in the cultivation world discarded their spirit beasts. Even someone as unscrupulous as Wei Xuandao hadn’t abandoned his red phoenix after it gifted a tail feather to Xu Shulou, despite its slightly bare rear.

Contracts ensured loyalty, but some, like Feng Yi, kept spirit beasts without binding them. Many of his companions were free to leave, yet none chose to.

"The good news is, he’s given up on the Path of Heartlessness," Xu Shulou said, pleased for her third junior brother.

When they reached the twentieth floor, Feng Yi was still engrossed in painting a landscape, a smudge of bamboo-green pigment on his cheek. He brightened at the sight of Jiang Yan. "Fifth Junior Brother, did you get chased here too?"

"No, she’s the one being hunted. I’m just passing through."

"..."

Xu Shulou introduced Bai Roushuang. "This is our youngest junior sister, Bai Roushuang. You must have heard about her during your travels."

"Junior Sister," Feng Yi greeted warmly.

Bai Roushuang smiled politely. "Greetings, Third Senior Brother."

Feng Yi carried himself with an effortless grace, his presence immediately putting others at ease.

"I don’t have much to offer, so why not pick one of my spirit beasts as a welcome gift?"

"That’s... I couldn’t possibly take what you cherish."

Feng Yi’s expression was sincere. "Really, it’s fine. You can even take a few."

"Ah..." Bai Roushuang glanced uncertainly at her senior sister.

Xu Shulou intervened. "Let’s leave the gifts for later. Right now, we need to figure out how to evade the Soaring Eagle Sect. Do you know which painting in the Illusory Realm is the most secluded?"

"If we’re talking about the most secluded, it would have to be the one on the top floor. If you can trick the Soaring Eagle Sect into thinking you’ve entered it, they wouldn’t dare follow," Feng Yi mused.

Bai Roushuang blinked. "Why not?"

"Because that painting is lethally dangerous. Over the years, many have entered, but few have returned," Feng Yi explained. "If they believe you’ve gone in, the guards might disperse, thinking you’ll never come out."

"What makes it so special?" Xu Shulou asked. "Could I actually hide inside?"

"That painting wasn’t created by the artists here. The master of this place obtained it from somewhere unknown, and it’s extraordinarily perilous," Feng Yi warned. "Very few survive, so I advise against trying."

Xu Shulou frowned. "In that case, let’s forget it for now."

Everyone stared at her in surprise.

"What’s with the looks?" Xu Shulou asked, puzzled. "Do I seem like someone who enjoys courting death for no reason?"

Her junior disciples answered in unison: "Yes."

"..."

Bai Roushuang asked curiously, "For someone like Senior Sister who enjoys... ahem, adventures, why would anyone enter such a dangerous painting? Just for the thrill?"

Feng Yi shook his head. "Not exactly. People come here for fun, not to die."

Even those who sought excitement preferred the exhilaration of surviving danger, not the kind that ended in death.

"Then why?"

Feng Yi sighed. "If you emerge successfully, the master of the Illusory Realm rewards you with 100,000 top-grade spirit stones. Where there’s great reward, there are always bold souls willing to try."

"100,000?" Xu Shulou’s eyes gleamed. "That could last a long time—enough to buy my beloved third junior brother’s freedom from the Illusory Realm and even let him adopt a hundred more spirit beasts."

The beloved third junior brother said, moved, "Senior Sister, I’m working as a painter here, not selling myself."

Bai Roushuang asked, "How many have claimed those 100,000 stones?"

"In the past century, only three," Feng Yi said. "But over time, even the number of willing participants dwindled. After all, those stones are worthless if you’re dead. Besides, not everyone is permitted to enter."

"What’s the requirement? Cultivation level?"

"Not cultivation. The master once hired a cultivator nearing the Tribulation Transcendence stage, confident that nothing in the mortal realm could trap him. He never returned," Feng Yi said. "A fierce beast guards the painting’s entrance. If it smiles at you, you may enter. If not, you’re barred."

"Such a strange rule?" Xu Shulou pondered, then asked, "If it’s so deadly, why does the master lure people in with such a reward?"

"Rumor has it his dearest friend is lost inside. He’s searching for someone who can bring them out."

"Rescuing people?" Xu Shulou grew more serious. "What exactly is the deal with this painting? Where does the danger lie?"

"This painting has no name. According to those who came out, it tests one's state of mind."

"State of mind?" Xu Shulou brightened. "That’s something I’m familiar with."

After all, she had once treated the Heart-Demon Mirror as a way to visit her late parents, entering it as casually as stepping into her childhood home.

"Senior Sister," Feng Yi said gravely, "they say this painting can read your memories. It quickly identifies your weaknesses and sets the most perilous trap based on them. Have you heard of the Desireless Hermit, Shen Qiulian, or Li Qu, the Great Benevolent One who attained enlightenment through kindness? Even people like them were lost inside."

"What happens to those who get lost?"

"They remain trapped in the painting, never to return. No one knows if they’re alive or dead," Feng Yi replied. "But the owner of this place seems convinced they’re still alive and believes someone with an unshakable will can bring them out."

Jiang ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‍Yan interjected, "Didn’t some people make it out? Has he tried offering them riches to go back in and search?"

"Of course," Feng Yi shook his head. "But they all refused outright. They said it held their worst nightmares and they’d never dare face it again."

Bai Roushuang frowned. "Then why does the Soaring Eagle Sect station a beast at the entrance? Wouldn’t the owner want as many people as possible to enter?"

"It’s a filter," Feng Yi explained. "He doesn’t want to watch people march to their deaths. The beast can see into one’s past. If someone’s history is too shadowed, it bars them from entering—since they’d only perish anyway. The more innocent, untouched-by-the-world types seem to pass more easily, though such people are rare."

"At least there’s some principle to it," Xu Shulou mused. "I’ll go take a look. If I can help, I will. If not, I’ll stop him from luring others in."

"This is too dangerous, Senior Sister. Your past has too much it could exploit..." Seeing Xu Shulou’s expression, Feng Yi sighed. "I’m wasting my breath, aren’t I?"

"Don’t worry. If it’s about state of mind, I have some confidence," Xu Shulou patted his shoulder. "I won’t walk into certain death. I’m still too fond of this world."

"..."

Bai Roushuang and the others followed their senior sister to the top floor, dodging a patrol from the Soaring Eagle Sect along the way. They even paused briefly to eye a certain risqué painting with curiosity. The top floor was indeed deserted, save for the guardian beast at the entrance.

Nearby stood a sign warning of the painting’s dangers. Beside it, a desk and chair were thoughtfully provided, complete with ink, brush, and paper—for last words, Feng Yi explained.

"..."

From a distance, the painting behind the beast looked unremarkable, even plain compared to the other artworks in the realm. Its image was static, depicting gold and jewels, fine wine and delicacies, official robes and jade seals, rare herbs and immortal pills, famed swords and magical treasures...

Everything mortals and cultivators could desire seemed represented in that frame.

It didn’t look frightening—if anything, it was enticing.

Xu Shulou motioned for her juniors to stay back, handed them the fox, and stepped forward into the beast’s line of sight.

The creature was hideous, horned and pitch-black, its yellow eyes like copper bells widening as it fixed on Xu Shulou.

After one glance, it didn’t smile. If anything, it grew sterner.

A clear denial.

Seeing the beast’s stony expression, Bai Roushuang finally exhaled in relief. Good, good...

Before her relief could settle, Xu Shulou strode forward, reached up, and tugged at the beast’s mouth. "Smile for me, little darling!"

"..."