Chapter 280: Fake Death Medicine

"Drawing the Ground as a Prison—what a fine Drawing the Ground as a Prison, impressive!"

This technique of Yan Ruyi's was like an array yet not an array; the power seemed to appear out of thin air, directly confining him within a mere foot of space.

This power was not overly strong but was extremely troublesome. It not only sealed the space, but it also seemed to contain the flow of time within it; it was profoundly mysterious and must be a Cultivation Method created specifically for trapping people.

Sixty years to sharpen a sword, sixty years to paint a picture, all for the sake of sacrificing oneself at the end to paint a prison capable of trapping this tiny space. Truly, no matter what one practices to the extreme, it possesses terrifying power!

"Yan Ruyi, looking at your appearance, you don't seem like a person who doesn't understand reason. Why be so stubborn, insisting on throwing your life away for those people..."

"My Lord is wrong again!" Shaking his head, Yan Ruyi mocked himself: "I am a person who is both greedy for wealth and lustful, and also afraid of death. Perhaps Lord Shen has forgotten, I am a corrupt official!"

"If one could judge a person's true nature by their appearance, then there would be no great villains or evil-doers in this world!"

With a light smile, Yan Ruyi felt not the slightest regret for his actions. Since he had decided to do certain things, he must have thought them through.

Subsequently, Yan Ruyi not only turned white-haired, but wrinkles began to crawl all over his face. In the span of a moment, he transformed from a spirited middle-aged man into a white-haired, elderly man of eighty or ninety.

All of his life force had been integrated into the painting in his hand; at this moment, he was like a candle flame in the wind, liable to be extinguished at any time.

However, at this moment, Yan Ruyi's eyes were increasingly spirited. Although he had practiced this move bitterly for decades, he had never used it before, and he did not know how powerful it was.

Now, although his own life was coming to an end, he was able to use his own strength to trap someone like Shen Yu, who was vaguely the number one in the world.

Just for this move alone, he was entitled to feel proud.

On the other side, Shen Yu flicked his hand lightly, and the Mountain and River Map unfolded, the ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers swallowing everything. Under the impact of the vast mountains and rivers, that painting of Yan Ruyi's was also teetering on the brink of collapse.

"A good painting!" As soon as the Mountain and River Map unfolded, Yan Ruyi sensed it. A single painting—Yan Ruyi had painted it for a full sixty-plus years.

On the surface, he was a weak scholar, but in reality, his painting technique had already entered the Dao heart, and the art of painting had long been carved into his bones.

Shen Yu's Mountain and River Map was ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, but it was also a painting—a magnificent painting covering ten thousand miles. Since it was a painting, there were naturally commonalities.

"My Lord's painting may have ten thousand mountains and rivers, sun, moon, and stars, but no matter how vast the mountains and rivers are, they cannot crush my Three-Foot Painting Prison."

"As long as I do not die, within this foot of space, I am invincible!"

As if echoing Yan Ruyi's words, the light of the prison trapped before Shen Yu flowed, attempting to constantly contend with the power of the Mountain and River Map.

This painting actually used Yan Ruyi's spirit as a medium, connecting with heaven and earth, borrowing the power of heaven and earth, with the intent to trap Shen Yu.

But this place had long been surrounded by the Mountain and River Map; were these ten thousand layers of mountains and rivers not also a heaven and earth?

The collision of the two paintings was like the collision of two worlds; spatial cracks spread everywhere, and faintly, it seemed as if one could see thunder rumbling and dark clouds gathering.

Waves of immense impact force swept in all directions. Under the crushing weight of the ten thousand layers of mountains and rivers in the Mountain and River Map, the so-called prison soon developed cracks.

Yan Ruyi felt his internal organs shaking, and fresh blood flowed continuously from his seven orifices. The power of the ten thousand mountains and rivers was pressing down on his painting, and was it not also pressing down on his body?

He had not been wrong; as long as he did not die, this Three-Foot Painting Prison was unbreakable. However, he was human, and if one is human, one will eventually be unable to hold on.

How could a weak scholar like him withstand the power of ten thousand mountains and rivers? The number of cracks in the Three-Foot Painting Prison proved how many cracks were on his own body.

It would not be long before he would vanish into smoke and dust along with this Three-Foot Painting Prison.

"Nothing more than this!" Pointing his hand forward, the Mountain and River Map surged rapidly, and the cracks in the Three-Foot Painting Prison blocking his path grew more and more numerous. Until finally, it was on the verge of collapse.

So much for being invincible within a foot of space; he had thought it would be quite strong, but he hadn't expected it to be nothing more than this.

"Pfft!" Spitting out a heavy mouthful of blood, Yan Ruyi knew very well that he was at the end of his rope and could no longer hold on.

How long had he even managed to hold on, all things considered? Was it thirty breaths? He had thought before that he might not last long, but he hadn't expected the gap to be this large.

No wonder those people feared Shen Yu so much, avoiding him like snakes and scorpions. If people of their level encountered Shen Yu, wouldn't they just be easily hacked into eight pieces?

"Can't hold on!" Fresh blood sprayed out in large mouthfuls. Yan Ruyi let out a roar, and after holding on for one last wave, he collapsed directly.

The Three-Foot Painting Prison shattered completely. Yan Ruyi was left on the verge of death, with only half a breath remaining, and not a shred of strength left.

Yet at this moment, there was no sadness on Yan Ruyi's face before his impending death; what remained was a trace of relief, and a little bit of admiration for Shen Yu.

He had originally thought that the sword he had sharpened for sixty years, even if it couldn't injure Shen Yu, would at least be able to delay him for a while. He hadn't expected that he wouldn't even be able to delay him for a moment.

Too strong, strong to the point of making one feel a bit desperate!

"You have lost!" The Mountain and River Map unfolded, shrouding them within it. Shen Yu walked step by step toward Yan Ruyi, looking down at him from above, as if looking at a loser.

Yan Ruyi wanted to trap him, yet couldn't even hold on for a moment. What on earth had he been practicing for sixty years?

Much thunder but little rain; he had wasted so much importance on this, as if he were playing house with a child.

"No, it is you, Lord Shen, who have lost!" Raising his head, Yan Ruyi lifted his head with difficulty, the corners of his mouth wanting to curl into an arc. He wanted to smile, but discovered that the muscles on his face could no longer be controlled as he wished.

However, his eyes still carried a smile, seemingly filled with an inexplicable sense of triumph.

"Does Lord Shen not feel that something is strange in the surroundings?"

"Strange?" His perception enveloped the surroundings, but Shen Yu did not detect anything different. It was just that the table and chairs before him seemed to have gathered some dust, even though there had been no dust just a moment ago!

Moreover, he kept feeling that something was different, but as to what exactly was different, he couldn't recall for a moment.

"Did my Lord not feel that time passed a bit quickly?"

"Time? That's it, time!" As if he had suddenly understood something, Shen Yu immediately understood why he had kept feeling that something was wrong just now.

It was time. Clearly, only a short while had passed, yet it felt as if the timeline had been forcibly taken away. It gave the feeling that more than a day had passed.

"Does my Lord know what is meant by Drawing the Ground as a Prison? This technique is also known as Severing Vitality!"

Struggling, he wanted to stand up, but despite trying several times, Yan Ruyi couldn't even roll over, let alone stand up.

Yet even so, he still felt no agitation, simply lying on the ground and letting his life force flow away rapidly.

"This painting of mine is different from my Lord's painting. I never thought I could truly trap my Lord; it only depended on how much I could trap you."

"There is one point my Lord perhaps did not think of, and that is that the time between this prison within the painting and the outside world is, in fact, not the same!"

"It is shameful to say, but I confidently promised them I would delay you for three months, yet I did not expect to only delay you for less than half a month!"

Speaking to this point, Yan Ruyi could not help but feel some admiration: "Lord Shen, you are truly impressive. I am ashamed of my own inferiority!"

"Half a month! Half a month has already passed?" Pushing his perception to the maximum, listening to the commoners in the city speaking of today's date, it proved this point from the side, forcing Shen Yu to acknowledge the reality.

A foot away yet worlds apart, a fleeting half-month; the terror of this move made one have to marvel.

"A fine Drawing the Ground as a Prison, impressive!"

"My Lord is too kind. Actually, it is shameful to say, but this move was originally intended to deal with those old monsters who emerged after the Spirit Qi Surge. I did not expect to use it on Lord Shen; it is truly shameful!"

"You also know about the Spiritual Qi Surge?"

"The matter of the Spiritual Qi Surge has been passed down through generations in my Yan Family; it is not a secret. In fact, this Drawing the Ground as a Prison technique is a Cultivation Method that the Yan Family ancestors have practiced for generations. To this day, I am likely the only one left who can use it."

As if recalling unbearable past events, the look of resentment on Yan Ruyi's face flashed and vanished, followed by a forlorn smile, as if mocking himself.

"For so many years, our Yan Family has passed down a tradition of farming and reading for generations, while also practicing this technique from a young age."

"When I was young and studying, my grandfather once told me that the Spiritual Qi Surge was about to begin, and every member of the Yan Family must spend their whole life honing this one skill."

"The mission of the Yan Family is just this: to waste a lifetime, only for a fleeting moment of brilliance! Before the Yan Family elders die, they pass their accumulated power to the younger generation. Generation after generation, it has never been broken. The power of this move naturally grows greater and greater."

"Until the Spiritual Qi Surge, when the old monsters appear in the world and chaos rises. By then, not one in a thousand commoners will survive; there will be mountains of corpses and seas of blood, with white bones everywhere."

"At that time, the entire world will be filled with empty cities that have been devoured, and wherever the eye can see, it will be a Forbidden Land."

"According to the family's ancestral teachings, after the Spiritual Qi Surge, Yan Family descendants must not fear sacrifice and must face the catastrophe together to fight for a glimmer of survival for the world! Therefore, this technique has another name, called Severing Vitality!"

"I understand!" Seeming to have understood something, Shen Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he could not help but be shocked by the Yan Family's grand undertaking.

"After the Spiritual Qi Surge, there will be countless experts in the world who break through, but compared to those old monsters, it will still be a world of difference."

"But the talent of the geniuses of every generation is actually not bad; what they lack is only time and insufficient accumulation."

"The Yan Family descendants are going to use their own lives to drag down those old monsters. Although the eruption of 'fleeting brilliance' seems to only trap them for a moment, a long time will have passed in the outside world."

Speaking of this, Shen Yu could not help but raise his head and say with some admiration, "The Yan Family is going to use their own lives to fight for the experts of this era, to fight for that glimmer of survival!"

"A grand undertaking, a grand spirit!"

"Hahaha, but so what!" Unable to help but laugh out loud, Yan Ruyi's face was filled with sorrow; he felt no pride at all in being a member of the Yan Family.

"The Yan Family considers the people of the world, but have the people of the world ever considered the Yan Family!"

"For generations, the Yan Family has produced famous ministers and pure officials, all with unyielding backbones, but what was the result?"

"I was slandered as a corrupt official, and the families of those who starved to death wanted to eat my flesh and drink my blood; I could endure all of this. But they wrote a blood petition of ten thousand people, not only wanting to slice me into a thousand pieces but also wanting to execute the Yan Family behind me!"

"Because they starved their own families to death, they wanted our whole family to be buried with them. I know someone must have been fanning the flames, but they all believed it!"

"Those people I once exhausted my heart and blood to save have now written a blood petition of ten thousand people, wanting the lives of my entire Yan Family. Don't you find that ridiculous!"

Seeming to understand why Yan Ruyi had become like this, Shen Yu still asked with a glimmer of hope, "Is the Yan Family truly destroyed?"

"Yes, not only must I die, but the whole family must be killed. If you don't pull up the roots when cutting the grass, it will grow again in the spring breeze; how could they let the Yan Family go?"

"It is a pity that the Yan Family are all scholars, possessing a unique skill, yet they can only use it once in a lifetime!"

"According to the Yan Family ancestral teachings, this technique can only be used after the Spiritual Qi Surge, against those old monsters who have emerged."

"This should be to prevent them from finding out and being on guard!" Shaking his head, Shen Yu could not help but sigh, "The ancestors of the Yan Family were truly remarkable figures!"

In order to resist these old monsters, geniuses in the world are indeed emerging one after another, with all kinds of secret techniques and methods that make one sigh in admiration.

Especially families like the Yan Family, which are even more admirable. Although they are scholars, they have been working for generations to resist the old monsters after the Spiritual Qi Surge.

Furthermore, in order for this move to remain unknown to outsiders, the Yan Family members who possess this unique skill are forbidden from using it for their entire lives. Such spirit is truly worthy of respect.

"So, that is why the Yan Family perished!" With a disdainful smile, he did not know if he was laughing at those stubborn and rigid Yan Family members, or at himself, a pitiful person.

"Once the Imperial Court's decree came down, the entire Yan Family was arrested. Even so, the Yan Family never thought of using that move."

"They still naively thought the Imperial Court would not kill them. After all, the Yan Family has produced famous ministers for generations and has high prestige in the Imperial Court."

"But in the end, they were disappointed. The Imperial Court did not want to kill us, but the commoners were different. They had long transferred their hatred onto me, thinking it was I who embezzled grain and caused their relatives to starve to death."

"Once someone instigated them, they naturally followed. A blood petition of ten thousand people—if once wasn't enough, they did it twice; if twice wasn't enough, they did it three times, determined to put my Yan Family to death."

"Added to the fact that there were people in the Imperial Court fanning the flames, my Yan Family just disappeared like that."

"I do deserve to die, but I cannot die!"

Closing his eyes and sighing heavily, Yan Ruyi said quietly, "My life cannot be lost; I still have something more important than life to do."

"At the final moment, it was they who saved me and gave me this life, so I must repay it!"

"As for the ancestral teachings, Yan Ruyi is unfilial; I fear I have disappointed the ancestors!"

"However, the deed is done, and the life is repaid; now I no longer owe them anything. Indeed, one feels light when free of debt!"

Quietly watching Yan Ruyi, who was about to die, Shen Yu did not know what to say for a moment. Logically speaking, he should definitely kill those who tried to frame him.

But for the person before him, Shen Yu felt a sense of sympathy. However, there was no need for him to take action; Yan Ruyi's life had reached its end and was about to burn out.

"It is a pity that the elders in the family were slaughtered, and their power could not be passed down. Only my grandfather sensed that something was wrong and passed a portion to me; the vast majority was wasted."

"Plus, the Spiritual Qi Surge has not yet arrived, so there is not much Spirit Qi that can be mobilized. Otherwise, I think I would have certainly been able to trap Lord Shen for three months. It is a pity, a pity, that it was ultimately just a little short..."

Yan Ruyi's voice grew smaller and smaller, until at the end, it seemed like a low murmur, barely audible.

When Shen Yu looked over again, the vitality had been completely severed; the person was already at the end of their rope, and their aura had completely vanished.

The Yan Family's unique skill of Drawing the Ground as a Prison had been passed down for so many generations, yet it was severed just like this before even waiting for the Spiritual Qi Surge; it is truly a pity!

A group of corrupt officials, for the sake of their own selfish interests, splashed dirty water on the Yan Family, causing the entire family to perish; they all deserve to die!

This Yan Ruyi did have some small cleverness; telling him his so-called story wasn't just to borrow his hand to kill those corrupt officials who had framed him.

However, if the matter of the Yan Family is true, then this trip, he is truly set on taking!