Painting 109: Revive Her, and the Crimson Cloud Painting Realm Is Yours

Sang Sang withdrew her gaze and calmly looked at Sen Luo, accepting his salute without evasion. A foot behind her, where there had been nothing, the figure of the Heavenly Emperor appeared, as if he had been standing there all along. His golden eyes were colder than ice and snow, and without looking at Sang Sang, he directly commanded Sen Luo, “Lead the way.”

Disobedience meant death.

Sen Luo, already accustomed to the cold of the snowy mountains, suddenly felt as if his blood was about to freeze—an extreme danger akin to the peril one faces when angering their master, where a single misstep could mean annihilation.

He bowed his head, took three steps back, and turned to lead the way.

Sang Sang followed quietly, her shoes leaving imprints of snow lotuses on the icy surface, spreading forward. The Heavenly Emperor trailed closely behind; his presence was so imposing that even the drifting snowflakes seemed to freeze in place. His gaze was unblinking, fixed ahead like a loyal knight guarding his lord.

The three figures disappeared deep within the palace gates, leaving behind a crowd that buzzed like a disturbed hornet’s nest, all surrounding Dean Qinghe.

“Oh my, Sang Hongye... What exactly is her identity that commands such respect from the Sacred Palace?”

“And her bodyguard dares to issue orders to the lords of the Sacred Palace?”

“Even the royal family wouldn’t be this arrogant!”

The Sacred Palace emissaries pricked up their ears.

Dean Qinghe smiled wryly. “I don’t know either. When Sang... the princess first came to our Painting Institute, she used a royal identity jade disc. Besides its full affinity for spiritual energy, her talent test showed the highest-level Danxia illusions. I feel that wasn’t even her limit.”

This answer satisfied no one, and no matter how they questioned Dean Qinghe, he just shook his head in ignorance. Suddenly, a Sacred Palace emissary asked, “Was there anything strange?”

Dean Qinghe thought for a moment. “If anything was strange, it was that Princess Sang’s painting skills were highly advanced when she arrived, but she didn’t understand creation; she only took basic courses. In the library, she mostly read theoretical books, rarely flipping through records of practical examples. Then she practiced creating everyday items in her dormitory, followed by researching brush-making. If it weren’t for the upcoming Painting Contest, she would have even studied papermaking and pigment production.”

“An outsider from beyond the heavens,” the Sacred Palace emissary murmured under his breath, audible only to himself. To make the master say “please,” her otherworldly status must be significant.

---

Deep within the Sacred Palace, atop the snowy peak, there was a lake shimmering with hues of red, orange, yellow, and purple, as if the clouds of the sky had fallen into the water. Above the Danxia formations, a small island was connected to the shores by a bridge shaped like a brush.

The ageless Danxia Lord stood in the center of the bridge, smiling gently at Sang Sang. On the island behind him, Cain, dressed in his chief knight’s formal attire, held a cup of tea and watched.

Luo Sen, who had guided them here, had already bowed and quietly retreated.

Seeing Cain, the Heavenly Emperor straightened his back, relaxed slightly, and waved brightly, “Hey, old man, we’re here for tea.”

That cheeky expression vividly portrayed a fearless boldness.

“Your Majesty, the name ‘Heavenly Emperor’ certainly carries formidable weight. I hope you will possess the strength worthy of such a title,” the Danxia Lord said, half threatening, half blessing. He had only regarded the Heavenly Emperor as a peer to the apprentice saintess at first, but seeing Cain’s growing respect for the Heavenly Emperor beyond even the apprentice saintess, he realized the Heavenly Emperor might be no ordinary figure. Yet, his greatest concern remained the apprentice saintess with her astonishing learning ability.

“Greetings, Your Majesty,” Sang Sang performed the sacred servant’s salute.

The Danxia Lord returned a half-bow. “I am surprised you have come to me so early. Originally, I expected you five years from now. Such an unexpected arrival brings me great joy. I hope in the days ahead, you will keep my surprise alive until the very end.”

Sang Sang lifted her chin slightly, smiling, “I will not disappoint Your Majesty.”

“Excellent. You surpass your predecessors; I admire your attitude.” The Danxia Lord smiled even more broadly, gesturing to the island behind him. “There lies the true core of the creation source. I grant you free access. Even if you were to consume the entire source, as long as you can revive one person, I will become your contract worshiper, and the Danxia painting realm shall become your domain of faith.”

Sang Sang had not expected the Danxia Lord’s resolve to be so great—perhaps he was desperate enough to grasp at any straw to revive that person, willing to bow to someone of her junior rank. She hesitated briefly before saying, “I will do my utmost. Your Majesty need not promise worshipers and domains.”

The Danxia Lord shook his head. “I said the same to your predecessors. Those who refuse me are sent away, but those who agree, then betray me after gaining the creation laws—even the saintess with powerful guardians—I will not spare. In the Danxia painting realm, I am the Way of Heaven, the will of the world. No one can defy me.”

Sang Sang was not easily frightened. “I look forward to having a follower of the Way of Heaven. However, after the Danxia painting realm becomes my domain of faith, it will be open to the outside world and will require many reforms.”

The Danxia Lord was not angry. “As long as you fulfill my request, you may reform as you wish.”

---

Sang Sang nodded, about to say she would begin to comprehend the source of creation, but suddenly a warning flared in her heart—a mysterious spiritual sense cautioning her that it was dangerous to meditate on the source at this moment.

She looked up at the Danxia Lord. Though he smiled, his eyes were calm and indifferent, revealing no emotion, like the dead silence of a starless sky after a supernova—concealing countless dangers.

This was a lunatic whose mind had warped, using an entire world as a laboratory to cultivate resurrection techniques. Would he really be deterred by Uncle Cain’s intimidation?

Teacher Boya said that rivers, mountains, flowers, birds, and all things in the world are creation, so why never mention the source? Clearly, comprehending the source is the fastest way to obtain the laws of creation. The temple elders are not necessarily all ungrateful and unscrupulous; why have so few returned to the temple with creation laws after comprehending the source?

There must be something wrong here.

In a flash, her words changed from what she intended to say to: “Before I meditate on the source, I want to examine the degree of soul damage of the person to be revived.”

The Danxia Lord led Sang Sang onto the island, passing through layers of forbidden seals and formation arrays. Here was the source of creation itself. Water and air mingled, thick mist enveloping the place, and the aura of creation was extraordinarily dense. Each breath seemed to complete a small piece of the puzzle of creation laws in her mind.

In the gestation pool at the island’s center lay a skull. The glow in its eye sockets had dimmed, leaving only a tiny flickering light the size of a soybean deep within the brain cavity. At the bottom of the pool was a painting in vibrant colors—“Watching the Tide of the Sea.”

“I cannot paint her likeness. No one has been able to create a body capable of drawing her soul for tens of thousands of years. She can only reside within my skeleton,” the Danxia Lord said quietly, gazing at the skull that once belonged to her. His tone was flat but filled with profound despair.

“The curse is too powerful. Even if lifted, her soul is gradually deteriorating. Nothing can stop it. Time once slowed the decay, but years ago, the time laws ceased to work. The temple only has a fixed spacetime source, and within these ten thousand years, few have even reached the fifth realm through inheritance. Although you are only at the fourth realm, you are already not weaker than an ordinary fifth realm. I hope it will be effective.”

ps: Please make this your top pick. Sisters, don’t forget to vote after reading. The third update ends here; tomorrow will return to double updates~~ (To be continued.)