Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 106 Paper Transforms All Living Beings, One Hand Covers the Sky

Morning during the day.

The dining hall in the back room of the Demon Suppression Division was steaming hot.

On a square table, there were several dishes of pickled vegetables, a large bowl of thick, golden millet porridge, and a steamer of fluffy meat buns.

Gu Yan did not sit in the main seat, but casually pulled up a long bench, put one foot on the crossbar, and ate a steamed bun with relish.

The noodles are soaked in meat juices, and with one bite, the aroma is irresistible.

Opposite Gu Yan stood a man covered in dew and mud.

This man, named Wei San, was originally a well-known lone wolf in the vicinity of Changning County, skilled in earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of martial arts technique). He has now been recruited by the Demon Suppression Division and has become the head of scouts under Gu Yan.

"Sir, something is not right."

Wei San wiped the mud off his face, looking tense, and said in a low voice, "Last night, the brothers found the people from the Upper Sect outside the three counties that the Upper Sect had warned of impending disaster. Instead of entering the city, they set up array stakes on the surrounding hills."

Gu Yan swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth, picked up the bowl, took a sip of porridge, and asked casually, "What formation?"

"Spirit-Locking Array, and the Sound-Sealing Wall."

Wei San swallowed hard. "I'm familiar with this setup; I've seen it before at black market auctions. They're trying to completely seal off the inside, allowing entry but not exit. And..."

Wei San paused, then pulled out a crumpled sketch from his pocket, spread it on the table, and pointed, "They've placed a special kind of 'Sky-Gazing Bird' in each of the four directions: east, south, west, and north. Those things are magical artifacts made from living creatures; their eyes are incredibly sharp, able to transmit even the sight of a fly flying by. Whenever we brothers get within ten miles of those three counties, we feel like someone is watching us from above, making us feel extremely uneasy."

Gu Yan glanced at the sketch, picked up a piece of green vegetable, and put it in his mouth to chew.

The Flowing Cloud Sect went to such great lengths to create the Spirit Locking Array and the Sound-Sealing Wall.

The plan was to turn those three counties into a closed slaughterhouse, so that their self-directed and self-acted demon-exorcising drama would not be disturbed by the outside world, and at the same time, to prevent the so-called demonic giants from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

As for those Sky-Gazing Birds, there's no doubt they were the work of that old fox, Mo Qianji.

"Want to see a play? You'll have to buy a ticket."

Gu Yan put down his chopsticks, took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped his mouth, a playful glint in his eyes: "Since they like staring so much, then I'll let them stare to their heart's content."

Wei San was somewhat stunned: "Sir, what do you mean?"

"It's okay, go eat."

Gu Yan stood up and patted Wei San on the shoulder: "These buns are good, eat more. You'll have the energy to watch the magic show if you're full."

After saying that, Gu Yan did not leave the dining room, but turned around and walked to the desk by the window.

On the table lay the inexpensive white paper that hadn't been used up.

Outside the window, the weather was fine and sunny, and a few sparrows hopped on the branches of the old locust tree.

But in Gu Yan's heterochromatic eyes, which had already subtly changed, the world was already different.

Everything in the universe is composed of lines.

The distant mountains are like thick, wrinkled paper, the flowing clouds are like thin, light Xuan paper, and the Sky-Gazing Birds, hidden in the shadows and radiating spiritual energy, are like striking ink dots.

"The world of paper has arrived."

Gu Yan silently recited in his heart.

An invisible wave, originating from the Demon Suppression Division, spread out along a straight line for over a hundred miles.

This is a violation of the rules.

In his vision, the originally three-dimensional world began to become flat, and the boundaries of dimensions became blurred.

Gu Yan stretched out his right hand and gently grasped at the void.

There was no sound of space being torn apart, only the ripping sound unique to tearing paper.

Meanwhile, high in the sky a hundred miles away.

The cyan flying boat of the Flowing Cloud Sect was hidden in the clouds.

On the deck, Mo Qianji, the chief elder of the Punishment Hall, sat cross-legged, with the repaired Light-Tracing Mirror floating in front of him.

The mirror surface is divided into dozens of small squares, each clearly displaying real-time footage of the area surrounding Changning County.

The common people walking on the streets, the wild beasts running in the mountains and forests, and even the two dozing yamen runners at the gate of the Demon Suppression Bureau appeared without any discrepancy.

"Senior brother, this Gu Changsheng is quite honest."

The heavy-sword-wielding man standing to the side crossed his arms and sneered, "Besides eating, drinking, and relieving himself, he just deals with trivial matters in the yamen. He has no demeanor of a superior person at all. He's a disgrace to our Flowing Cloud Sect."

Mo Qianji stroked his beard, his eyes sinister, and said in a deep voice, "Great wisdom appears as foolishness, and great treachery appears as loyalty. This boy was able to survive Luo Lie's entire army being wiped out; he is definitely not simple on the surface. Moreover..."

His gaze was fixed on the center of the mirror, which showed the scene in the backyard of the Demon Suppression Division.

The place was shrouded in a layer of mist, so that even the Sky-Gazing Birds could not see through it at all.

"Since that demon has shown itself here, it will inevitably slip up. As soon as this demonic calamity begins, it will be attracted by the blood energy. At that time, our inescapable trap..."

Mo Qianji stopped abruptly, his brows furrowing suddenly.

"Um?"

The image in the mirror in front of him flickered.

This shaking was strange; it didn't seem like ripples caused by spiritual interference, but rather like someone shaking a painting with their hand.

"What's going on?" The man with the heavy sword also sensed that something was wrong.

Then, a scene that they would never forget happened.

The once vibrant scene in the mirror began to fade.

The verdant mountains and forests have been transformed into ink-wash-like blocks of color, the flowing river has frozen into dry lines, and even the people walking in the picture have become stiff and awkward in their movements, as if they have turned into paper-cut figures.

"Is this an illusion?!"

Mo Qianji was shocked and his hands flew into a series of hand seals, trying to stabilize the image in the mirror. He shouted sternly, "What kind of demon dares to interfere with the magic weapon of my Flowing Cloud Sect!"

However, no matter how much spiritual power he poured into it, the image was still irreversibly turning into paper.

This change is not merely visual.

In those surveillance videos, the once incredibly agile sky-gazing birds were now emitting screams of agony.

Their feathers lost their luster, turning into rough scraps of paper, and their flesh and blood gradually withered, turning into thin sheets of paper.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

A series of soft sounds.

Those expensive sky-gazing birds spontaneously combusted in mid-air, turning into clumps of grayish-white ash that drifted and scattered.

As the Sky-Gazing Sparrow was destroyed, the images on the Light-Tracing Mirror went out one by one, turning into a pale white screen.

"My Sky-Gazing Sparrow!"

Mo Qianji trembled with heartache; this was a treasure of his punishment hall.

"Senior brother! Look over there!"

The man with the heavy sword suddenly pointed to the last remaining image, his voice trembling.

That was the last image transmitted by a hawk that was located directly above Changning County.

In the image, the clouds above the sky part.

A gigantic, deathly white hand, devoid of fingerprints or palm prints, displaying only the texture of paper, slowly emerged from the crack.

The hand was enormous, so large it blotted out the sky, and its fingertips gently pinched the eagle that peered at the sky.

It was like pinching a tiny, insignificant insect.

Through his magical artifact, Mo Qianji could sense the terrifying aura emanating from that giant hand.

It was neither spiritual power nor malevolent energy, but a strange Dao that returned all things in heaven and earth to nothingness, to a flat plane, to a blank sheet of paper.

"roll."

A single, indifferent word was directly applied to Mo Qianji's soul.

"Bang!"

The screen shattered.

The Mirror of Light in front of Mo Qianji shattered again, this time without any possibility of repair, turning directly into dust.

"Pfft!"

Mo Qianji coughed up a mouthful of blood, collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with terror.

"The Great Dao... can never be wrong! This is the rule of the Great Dao!"

His hair was disheveled, and he gripped the heavy-sword-wielding man's arm like a madman, his tone devoid of any doubt: "Not a Golden Core cultivator! Absolutely not a Golden Core cultivator! Anyone capable of wielding this kind of power of rules must be at least a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator! A powerful being who has touched the very essence of heaven and earth!"

"He's spotted us! He's warning us!"

The man wielding the heavy sword was also pale, and his hand holding the sword was trembling slightly.

The large paper hand he had just seen had been incredibly oppressive.

Like a dimensional crushing force, they are people within the painting, while the other is a god painting outside the canvas.

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

Mo Qianji roared, his voice maniacal: "Send the order to withdraw all surveillance measures! Retreat three hundred miles! No, a thousand miles! We absolutely cannot anger that senior!"

"Then... what's the plan for this demonic calamity..."

"What do we care about demonic tribulations!"

Mo Qianji slammed his hand on the railing, gritting his teeth: "The plan remains the same, but we absolutely cannot interfere! Let the Blood River Sect cause trouble! What if that senior intervenes and the Blood River Sect is completely wiped out?! If the senior doesn't intervene, then we'll make other plans!"

The arrogance of the Liuyun Sect, which was originally high and mighty, shattered when faced with that paper hand that blotted out the sky.

……

Changning County, Zhenmo Division Dining Hall.

Gu Yan withdrew his hand from the void and gently rubbed his fingertips together.

Strands of paper ash fell through his fingers.

His face was pale, his expression was dazed, and his dantian was almost empty.

"What a wonderful way to transform the world into paper."

Gu Yan let out a long sigh and circulated his spiritual energy to restore his spiritual power.

In that attack, he attached his divine sense to the rules of the paper-making technique, forcibly reducing all the Sky-Gazing Sparrows within a hundred miles to paper effigies, and then burning them to ashes.

This ability to control the rules and manipulate reality at will is incredibly powerful, but unfortunately, the threshold for using it is too high. Even with the support of the Divine Demon Dao Foundation and the power of incense offerings, Gu Yan's current Foundation Establishment cultivation level is insufficient to withstand such consumption.

Otherwise, why would there be any need for this act? They could simply storm into the Flowing Cloud Sect, punch the elders, and kick the sect leader—that would be more than enough.

Although this attack only destroyed some valuable magical artifacts and did not harm Mo Qianji's core, its sheer power was enough to keep those cowards in line for a while.

"My lord? My lord?"

Wei San saw Gu Yan standing by the window in a daze and couldn't help but call out twice.

Gu Yan snapped out of his daze, turned to look at Wei San, and the coldness on his face melted away, transforming him back into the refined and gentle commander of the Demon Suppression Division.

"It's nothing, I just chased away a few flies."

Gu Yan walked to the table, picked up Wei San's sketch, looked at it, and then drew three circles on it.

"Wei San, relay my orders."

"This means the brothers don't need to keep an eye on the Flowing Cloud Sect anymore."

"Send all your men to these three circles."

Gu Yan's fingertips emphasized the locations of the three counties that were about to be affected by the disaster.

"Tell the brothers that if they encounter demonic cultivators, they should not fight them head-on. They should remember their location, number of people, and techniques, and then report back as quickly as possible."

"I want to weave a net on this map that no one can escape."

When Wei San looked into Gu Yan's dark, inky eyes, a surge of heat rushed to his head.

Although he didn't know what had just happened, he had a hunch that his master must have done something earth-shattering.

"Yes, sir! Don't worry! Even if our legs break, we won't miss a single devil cub!"

Wei San grabbed the remaining two buns, stuffed them into his pocket, clasped his hands in a salute, and strode away.

The dining room fell silent again.

Gu Yan sat down again; the bowl of millet porridge had cooled down a bit.

He picked up the bowl, drank it all in one gulp, and then let out a satisfied burp.

"The stage is set up, and the audience should take their places now."

Gu Yan looked out the window at the vast blue sky, as blue as the sea, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.

"Next, it's my clone's turn to take the stage."

"Blood Swordsman, don't disappoint me."

……

Three days later.

The sky was overcast and threatening rain.

It is located at the junction of Pingyang County, Anyuan County, and Qinghe County, which border Changning County.

This area is low-lying and often foggy. It is a major transportation route connecting several county towns and an essential passage for ordinary people and merchants.

At this moment, the once bustling official road was deserted, with only a few withered leaves being swept up by the wind and swirling forlornly.

A strong, pungent smell of blood drifted on the wind from the distant valley.

"Boom!"

A clap of thunder shattered the silence.

From the depths of the valley, a crimson pillar of light, as if cast in blood, shot into the sky, piercing through the clouds and turning half the sky into an eerie dark red.

After the pillar of light appeared, countless mournful wails and howls of ghosts and wolves rang out.

"Hehehehe..."

A chilling, eerie laugh echoed between heaven and earth.

Hundreds of cultivators, dressed in blood-red robes and wearing various masks, emerged from the valley like demons crawling out of hell, stepping on blood-red clouds.

The leader stood on a river of blood, wearing a bronze demon mask and carrying a long sword that was still dripping blood on his back.

Like a god of death, with each step he took, the void beneath his feet would ripple with layers of blood-red light.

"My lords!"

The Blood Swordsman's voice, amplified by the mask, was hoarse and mad, echoing across the land.

"Those hypocrites who believe in the righteous path don't care about the lives of ordinary people, but we will!"

"Rob it! That's robbing the rich to help the poor!"

"Burn it! It's to purify the impurities!"

"Except for human lives, which you are not allowed to take indiscriminately, everything else must be taken back to the sect!"

"Today, my Blood River Sect will commit these demonic acts in broad daylight!"

"kill--!!!"

At the Blood Swordsman's command, hundreds of demonic cultivators swarmed like locusts, howling as they rushed toward the three undefended county towns.

Inside the Changning County government office, a thousand miles away.

Gu Yan, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

In his left eye, a sinister aura lurked; in his right eye, a divine light shone brightly.

He slowly rose, took the official hat from the wall, put it on his head, straightened it, and said loudly:

"The court is now in session."

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