Chapter 620: Drawing the Ground as a Prison

"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, its power seeming to appear out of thin air, directly confining him within a mere foot of space.

This power was not overly strong but was extremely difficult to deal with; it not only sealed the space but seemed to contain the flow of time within it, profound and extraordinary, clearly a Cultivation Method created specifically for trapping people.

Sixty years to hone a sword, sixty years to paint a picture, all just to sacrifice oneself in the end to paint a Jail capable of trapping this tiny space; truly, no matter what one practices to the extreme, it possesses terrifying power!

"Yan Ruyi, looking at you, 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 some things, he must have thought them through.

Following this, Yan Ruyi not only became 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, octogenarian elder.

All of his life force had been fused into the painting in his hands; 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 becoming increasingly spirited. Although he had bitterly practiced this move 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 feat, he was entitled to feel proud.

On the other side, Shen Yu waved 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, which Yan Ruyi had painted for over sixty years.

On the surface, he was a weak scholar, but in reality, his painting skills had 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, it naturally had commonalities.

"My Lord's painting may have thousands of 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 Jail trapped in front of 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 intention of trapping Shen Yu.

But this place had long been surrounded by the Mountain and River Map, and 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 were everywhere, and faintly, one could see flashes of thunder and dense dark clouds.

Waves of immense impact force scoured the surroundings; under the crushing force of the ten thousand layers of mountains and rivers in the Mountain and River Map, the so-called Jail soon developed cracks.

Yan Ruyi only felt his internal organs shaking, and blood was constantly flowing out 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 was not wrong; as long as he did not die, this Three-Foot Painting Prison was impregnable. However, he was human, and if one is human, one will eventually be unable to hold on.

How could the power of ten thousand mountains and rivers be something a weak scholar could withstand? 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 lasted, all things considered? Was it thirty breaths? He had thought before that he might not last too 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 chopped into eight pieces?

"Can't hold on!" Blood sprayed out in large mouthfuls, Yan Ruyi roared, and after holding on for one last wave, he collapsed directly.

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

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

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

Too strong, strong enough to make one feel a sense of despair!

"You lost!" The Mountain and River Map unfolded, enveloping 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 last a moment; what on earth had he been practicing for sixty years?

All thunder and no 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 lost!" Raising his head, Yan Ruyi lifted his head with difficulty, the corners of his mouth trying 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, there was still a smile in his eyes, as if he were inexplicably smug.

"Does Lord Shen not feel that something is strange here?"

"Strange?" With his perception covering the surroundings, 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.

"Does the Lord not feel that time has 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 the Lord know what Drawing the Ground as a Prison is? This technique is also known as Severing Vitality!"

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

However, 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 the Lord's painting, and I never thought I could truly trap the Lord; it only depended on how much I could trap you for."

"There is one point that Lord Shen might not have thought of, and that is that the time between this Jail in the painting and the outside world is actually not the same!"

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

Speaking of this, Yan Ruyi couldn't help but feel some admiration: "Lord Shen, truly impressive, I am ashamed of my inferiority!"

"Half a month! Half a month has passed already?" Pushing his perception to the maximum, listening to the commoners in the city talking about the date today, it confirmed this point from the side, forcing Shen Yu to admit the reality.

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

"What a Drawing the Ground as a Prison, impressive!"

"Lord Shen is too kind; actually, it is shameful to say, this move was originally meant to deal with those old monsters who emerged after the Spiritual Qi Surge, I never expected 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 no secret. In fact, this Cultivation Method of Drawing the Ground as a Prison is one that the ancestors of the Yan Family have practiced for generations. To this day, I am likely the only one left who can use it."

As if recalling unbearable memories from the past, a flash of resentment appeared on Yan Ruyi's face, followed by a desolate smile, as if mocking himself.

"For so many years, our Yan Family has passed down the tradition of farming and reading through the 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 entire life honing this one skill."

"The mission of the Yan Family is just this: to waste a lifetime, all for a fleeting moment of brilliance! Before the elders of the Yan Family die, they pass their accumulated power to the younger generation. Generation after generation, it has never been broken. The power of this move, naturally, has also grown 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 clean; wherever the eye can see, it will be a Forbidden Land."

"According to the family ancestral teachings, after the Spiritual Qi Surge, the descendants of the Yan Family must not fear sacrifice, but 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 descendants of the Yan Family are using their own lives to drag down those old monsters. Although the eruption of that fleeting brilliance seems to trap them for only a moment, a long time has already passed in the outside world."

Speaking of this, Shen Yu could not help but look up and say with some admiration, "The Yan Family is using their own lives to fight for the experts of this era, to fight for that one glimmer of survival!"

"A grand undertaking, a grand spirit!"

"Hahaha, but so what!" Unable to stop himself from laughing 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!"

"The Yan Family has produced famous officials and upright scholars for generations, all of them with iron-willed integrity, 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 ten-thousand-people blood petition, not only wanting to slice me into a thousand pieces but also to execute the entire Yan Family behind me!"

"Because their family members starved 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 ten-thousand-people blood petition to take the lives of my entire Yan Family. Don't you think that is 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 everyone in the Yan Family are scholars; they possess a unique skill, yet they can only use it once in their lives!"

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

"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 people!"

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

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

Furthermore, to ensure this move remains 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 was destroyed!" With a disdainful smile, it was unclear whether he was laughing at the stubborn and rigid Yan Family members or at himself, a pitiful person.

"Once the Imperial Court's decree came down, everyone in the 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 officials 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 shifted their hatred onto me, thinking it was I who embezzled grain and caused their loved ones to starve to death."

"Once someone instigated them, they naturally followed. A ten-thousand-people blood petition—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 ended like this."

"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 one thing to do that is more important than my life."

"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 my ancestors!"

"However, the deed is done, and the life has been 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 wanted 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 surely been able to trap Master Shen for three months. It is a pity, a pity indeed, that it was ultimately just a little short..."

Yan Ruyi's voice grew smaller and smaller, until at the end, it sounded 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 breath 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 cut off just like that before even waiting for the Spiritual Qi Surge; it is truly a pity!

A group of corrupt officials, for 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 petty cleverness; telling him his so-called story wasn't just to borrow his hand to kill those corrupt officials who had once framed him.

However, if the matter of the Yan Family is true, then he will truly have to make this trip!