Wielding the Thunders Across Two Worlds-Chapter 43: Killing to Silence

Gu Zhao did not go on a killing spree in Golden Wind Hall.

He had already killed the two leaders—Ren Tianhe from Changping Prefecture and the local Divine General of the Sub-temple, Hong Xin. The rest were just ordinary lackeys. Killing them would be pointless. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Although the Golden Wind Sect was a cult, the ordinary members at the bottom were not necessarily all bad people. Cultivation was about cultivating the heart; the wanton slaughter of innocents was not the way of the Taoist Family. It would also trouble his own heart and taint his Divine Soul with malevolent energy.

So he simply used a Wind and Thunder Talisman to throw Golden Wind Hall into utter chaos, then calmly leaped over the wall and left.

...

Master Lu sat comfortably in his studio, shaking his head and admiring his own work.

"What a pity for Brother Zhang." Master Lu sighed, looking at the scholar in green robes in the painting.

"A pity indeed. Whether it was Red Nether or Celestial Wind, he was doomed." Another voice suddenly spoke up in the quiet room. "A group of men and women with no artistic sensibilities."

"With Red Nether, at least his death would have been painless," Master Lu mused leisurely, then couldn’t help but shudder. "But if it was Celestial Wind..."

"Shameless! Crude!" The other voice grew agitated. As if recalling something, it said in a high-pitched, sharp tone, "Such a handsome young man, about to be defiled by that brutish lout!"

"Exactly. So unlike us. We would only capture his likeness in a painting and lock his Divine Soul within it. That way, he would remain forever graceful, never to be sullied by the mortal world," Master Lu lamented.

"This kind of transcendent, otherworldly state—those boorish men and wanton women, driven only by carnal desire, could never appreciate it!" the other voice said with contempt.

"I hope the Golden Wind Sect’s opponent this time is a formidable one. It would be best if they took out the entire sect," Master Lu said, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile.

"I’m afraid the Golden Wind Sect’s opponent this time is not weak. I heard the Golden Wind Divine King’s Incense and Candle Divine Statue was stolen, and the Black Absolute Guardian has also disappeared," the other voice said. "I wonder how many Guardians will come this time."

"What kind of Guardian is Ren Tianhe?" a voice suddenly asked.

"Ren Tianhe is the Celestial Wind Guar—" Master Lu answered subconsciously, then jolted awake and whipped his head around.

CREAK—

The studio door was pushed open, and the handsome young man who had just been led away by Hong Xin appeared in the doorway. A smile played on his lips as he curiously looked around the studio. "Who was that speaking just now? Why do I only hear a voice, but see no one?"

Master Lu’s eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at Gu Zhao. "How did you get back?"

"He escaped from Ren Tianhe!" the other voice shrieked.

This time, Gu Zhao saw it clearly. The voice was coming from a bamboo basket Master Lu had placed in the corner of the room.

A look of horror crossed Master Lu’s face as he finally reacted. With a flip of his palm, the nearby table flew into the air and shot toward Gu Zhao, blocking their line of sight.

Gu Zhao chopped down with the edge of his hand, splitting the table in two. He then saw Master Lu hold a scroll in front of him, trace a few gestures in the air with his right hand, and point at Gu Zhao. "Young Master Lan, if you please!"

The next moment, the semi-translucent figure of a man in green robes walked out of the painting.

The man looked exactly as he had in the painting—clad in green, refined and handsome. But the sorrow in his painted eyes was now replaced with a savage glare, devoid of any sanity. The paper umbrella in his hand folded into a sword, unleashing chilling gusts of Sword Qi as he lunged straight for Gu Zhao.

Gu Zhao paid him no mind, simply forming the Celestial Thunder Seal and reciting a Thunder Spell. "Thunder and lightning chase one another, heaven and earth are the eyes. The eight directions are right..."

The man’s umbrella-sword had barely come within three feet of Gu Zhao when an aura of Gang Qi, infused with the Celestial Light of the sun and moon, erupted from Gu Zhao’s body. It then transformed into a torrent, rushing toward the man in green.

BANG!

The man in green, along with his umbrella-sword, was sent flying backward by the impact, his body growing even more transparent.

Meanwhile, Gu Zhao had already aimed his flattened palm at Master Lu, who was picking up the bamboo basket.

BOOM!

Master Lu had just pulled a scroll from the bamboo basket. Before he could even open it, a blast of Palm Thunder shattered it to pieces, and a wisp of a Divine Soul within the scroll dissipated along with it.

Furthermore, the scroll did little to absorb the power of the Palm Thunder. The purple lightning spread to Master Lu’s body. The Thunderbolt entered him, striking him until smoke rose from his entire body. His meridians tore, and his Sea of Consciousness suffered heavy damage.

"Ah!"

Master Lu cried out in pain and reached for another scroll in the bamboo basket.

The next moment, a white light rose from that scroll and instantly enveloped Master Lu. His injuries began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, mending his torn meridians and damaged Sea of Consciousness.

"It’s a Grand Mage! Run!"

A voice cried out from the scroll, and Master Lu was about to flee. But a spark of fire suddenly flew from behind, landing on him. In an instant, it transformed into a net of fire, trapping him and the scroll within it.

"Ahhhh!" Master Lu and the scroll screamed in agony together.

"Mage, spare me! Mage, spare my life!" Master Lu curled up on the ground, rolling about and begging for mercy.

Waves of white light pulsed from the scroll, emitting bursts of Demon Qi as it tried to tear through the net of fire.

Gu Zhao formed a Sword Pointing with his right hand, channeling his Magical Power through the air. The Fire Shield Technique remained constant, compressing the scroll’s white light layer by layer, until it reached the edge of the scroll itself, which began to emit a wisp of smoke.

"Aiyaa... Stop burning it! Stop! I’m going to die!" the scroll shouted.

"What are you?" Gu Zhao asked curiously.

’It’s clearly a painted scroll. If a Ghost were possessing it, why would it have Demon Qi?’

"I’m a Painting Demon! I’m a Painting Demon!" the scroll shrieked. "Spare me, Mage! Stop burning me! If you burn my main Body, I’ll die too!"

"So you really are a Demon? Explain where you two came from, or I’ll burn you both to death." Gu Zhao’s Sword Pointing did not waver, and the flames of his Fire Shield Technique continued to burn.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Master Lu nodded repeatedly.

...

It turned out that the Painting Demon’s true form was a scroll painting of a man that had gained sentience. Vain about its own handsome and graceful appearance, it entered into a Harmony with Master Lu. They would then work together: Master Lu would paint, and the Painting Demon would cast a technique to lock the Divine Souls of other handsome men within the paintings.

In this way, not only could the Painting Demon’s main body absorb the graceful aura of these men, but it could also absorb the power of their Divine Souls to aid the cultivation of both man and demon. At the same time, they would refine them into Painting Souls to be used as weapons in battle.

’What the hell...’ Gu Zhao was speechless. Generally, when one spoke of bookworms or painting demons, they were thought to be cultured and refined scholars. How was this Painting Demon so twisted?

"Spare me, Mage! I can make you even more graceful, handsome, and extraordinarily dashing!" the Painting Demon pleaded, trying to tempt Gu Zhao at the same time. "With just a single look, you’ll be able to mesmerize any woman."

Gu Zhao’s eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Really!" Seeing a glimmer of hope, Master Lu also nodded repeatedly. "You’ll be able to do whatever you want!"

Gu Zhao nodded, but then his expression suddenly changed. "Are you two implying that I can’t attract women with my own face?"

"To dare insult me... the crime is punishable by death!"

"Huh?"

"No—"

BOOM!