Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 129 - The Scene in the Painting (2)

The figure in the painting was incredibly beautiful.

In the dim light of the thatched cottage, the presence of the portrait added an almost ethereal glow to the room. The woman had delicate brows and almond-shaped eyes, her red lips curved in a smile, and her long black hair cascading over her shoulders, exuding natural elegance. She stood beneath a Biyi Blossom tree, holding a fallen flower, her gaze lively and expressive, making one hold their breath just by looking at her.

The painting alone was so captivating that if this woman were real, she would likely outshine all beauties in the three realms.

Zanxing felt a stirring in her heart. This woman bore a striking resemblance to the white-clad woman who appeared in her spiritual visions whenever she practiced the Qing’e Flower-Picking Staff Technique. Could it be…

In the lower right corner of the painting, there was a line of poetry: “Radiant in the Qinghua Forest, the spiritual breeze stirs the jade branches.” The handwriting was identical to that on the tag around the chicken’s neck, indicating it was also written by the owner of the thatched cottage.

Zanxing looked at Gu Baiying and cautiously asked, “Senior Uncle, could this be… Fairy Qinghua?”

Gu Baiying didn’t respond, lost in thought as he stared at the beautiful woman in the painting.

Zanxing looked up again. The woman in the painting was gazing down at the Biyi Blossom between her fingers. As Zanxing continued to watch, she felt something was amiss… Wait, where was the Biyi Blossom?

She suddenly realized that the flower the woman had been holding was no longer there. The woman’s hand was now empty.

“Senior Uncle…” Zanxing was about to inform Gu Baiying of her discovery when she lowered her head and saw a fresh flower lying neatly on her palm.

The flower from the painting had somehow made its way out and was now resting in her hand.

She looked up in astonishment, feeling a powerful force pulling her into the painting. Zanxing only had time to shout, “Senior Uncle!” before being dragged into the painting by the unfamiliar force.

Plop—

Everything plunged into chaotic darkness. Zanxing rubbed her eyes but couldn’t see anything. She wanted to take out a lighting charm to see where she was, but when she reached for her waist, she realized her Qiankun Bag was missing. Her heart sank.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind her. As the footsteps approached, the surroundings gradually brightened. It was like dipping black ink into a spot of white, with the white spreading more and more, transitioning from night to dawn. However, the light remained hazy, as if covered by a layer of fog, or like the primordial chaos of the universe.

The footsteps stopped behind her. Zanxing turned around.

Zanxing had never seen someone so beautiful.

The woman wore a white dress like snow, her long hair flowing like a waterfall. She had the kind of face that could only appear in dreams. She looked exactly like the woman in the portrait but was even more stunning and captivating in person. The woman in the painting had smiled gently while holding a flower, but this goddess, radiant as the moon, looked at Zanxing coldly, her expression frosty.

After a long moment, Zanxing looked at this beautiful woman and said, “Excuse me, can you tell me where this is?”

She was pulled into the painting, but it was different from the Xumi Mustard Seed Diagram she experienced during the trial at Gufeng Mountain. In the painting, a beautiful woman stood beneath a flower tree with picturesque mountains and waters in the distance, but here, there was only emptiness.

“The Sea of Consciousness,” the woman’s voice was as ethereal as it had been in Zanxing’s consciousness, still cold: “Your consciousness has been drawn into the painting.”

Now Zanxing understood. It seemed that her physical body was still outside the painting, but her consciousness had entered it. She looked at the woman in front of her, silent for a moment before asking, “Are you Fairy Qinghua?”

The woman nodded gently.

Zanxing’s eyes lit up. Fairy Qinghua had disappeared shortly after giving birth to Gu Baiying, and her whereabouts had become a mystery. Many in the Taiyan Sect believed that Fairy Qinghua had likely perished. Now, to encounter her in this secret realm was unexpected. Zanxing said, “You’re alive! Senior Uncle and the others have been searching for you. Gu Baiying is outside the painting with me. You two…” She trailed off.

Fairy Qinghua’s gaze remained as calm as ever, almost empty, showing no reaction to hearing “Gu Baiying.” She spoke coldly, as if completing a task: “Since you have arrived here, it means you are the destined one to find the Qing’e Flower-Picking Staff technique.”

Zanxing furrowed her brows. The words sounded somewhat familiar…

“If you pass the test, I will pass on the entire technique to you,” Fairy Qinghua said.

“Inheritance?” Zanxing was taken aback.

“Yes. In every secret realm, there are unknown opportunities. Since you have found your way here, destiny has decreed that you should have this opportunity. Techniques, scriptures, elixirs, spiritual treasures—do you want them?”

The offer was tempting, but Zanxing took a step back. “Thank you, but I’m not interested.”

For the first time, a look of ‘surprise’ appeared on the fairy’s face. She asked, “Why?”

Why? Zanxing glanced down at her palm. Naturally, it was because she wasn’t supposed to be the protagonist of this storyline. In “At the Summit of the Nine Heavens,” Mu Cengxiao did find an opportunity in this secret realm, although it had nothing to do with Fairy Qinghua. However, the pattern of ‘passing the test to win the inheritance’ was clearly reserved for the protagonist. Her presence here was already a deviation from the original script, and if she further disrupted things by taking undeserved blessings, the original plot might set even more traps for her, traps she couldn’t solve.

She didn’t want to stir up trouble.

“Fairy, I just happened to pass by this place and accidentally got pulled into this painting. The path of cultivation is arduous, and I don’t seek blessings or fortune. I only hope to ascend the immortal path through my own efforts,” she tried to sound as sincere as possible. “Could you please let me leave?”

After a long silence, Fairy Qinghua said, “In that case, I won’t insist.”

Zanxing breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the white expanse around her before asking the fairy in front of her, “Excuse me, Fairy, how can I leave the painting?”

“Defeat me,” Fairy Qinghua replied.

Zanxing: “…”

Fairy Qinghua continued calmly, “If you cannot defeat me and pass my trial, you will be stuck in the painting indefinitely, unable to leave.”

“You can’t be serious,” Zanxing frowned. “A person’s consciousness can’t stay separated from their body for too long, or they’ll die.”

“That’s correct,” Fairy Qinghua said calmly. “So you must defeat me and pass the trial in the shortest time possible.”

Zanxing finally couldn’t bear it anymore and said, “Isn’t this just coercion?”

The beautiful fairy’s cold expression told her that, indeed, this was nothing but coercion.

Zanxing slumped to the ground.

She tried to prove to Fairy Qinghua that this was an impossible task: “Fairy, you’re on the verge of ascending, while I’m just a small cultivator who formed my core a few days ago. Even if I were a genius, there’s no way I could defeat you, right?”

“You have found your way here, and destiny has its own plans,” came the cold response.

“I think destiny wants to kill me,” Zanxing muttered, then tried to appeal to the fairy emotionally, “Fairy, Gu Baiying is outside. You and your son haven’t seen each other for many years, and he has always missed you. Speaking of which, Gu Baiying should be the one to receive your inheritance. I’m just an outsider, and my talent isn’t outstanding. Giving me your technique would be a waste…”

The voice of Fairy Qinghua came from the darkness: “The one chosen by the Biyi Blossom is the one with destiny.”

Zanxing: “…”

She felt a headache coming on. This woman was probably just a strand of consciousness sealed by Fairy Qinghua in the painting, lacking the full consciousness of Fairy Qinghua herself, only knowing to execute the command to ‘pass the test and receive the inheritance’. No matter how much she said, she wouldn’t listen. Gu Baiying had a bad temper, and although his mother wasn’t as arrogant as him, judging by the temperament of this consciousness, she was also too proud to listen to others.

Even if she didn’t want to accept the inheritance, she had no choice but to defeat Fairy Qinghua to leave this place. However, wasn’t this just another pitfall set by “destiny”? And even if she wanted to jump into this pit, she might not be able to. Defeating Fairy Qinghua was impossible; she was the direct disciple of the Sage Yushan, on the brink of ascending to immortality!

After Fairy Qinghua finished speaking, she ignored Zanxing, standing silently in the void, beautiful yet cold, like a statue.

Zanxing attempted to activate the Xiao Yuan Pearl in her chest, but there was no response. Her physical body was outside the painting, so naturally, her Qiankun Bag was outside as well. She couldn’t use any external tools from outside the scene, except for the Panhua staff hanging from her waist — probably a virtualized spiritual tool created for her in the test.

This time, she could only rely on her own strength.

However… Zanxing looked at the Panhua staff at her waist, feeling the immense gap in strength, like the difference between heaven and earth.

She slowly stood up, drew the green stick from her waist, facing Fairy Qinghua. Fairy Qinghua calmly remarked, “It seems you’ve made up your mind.”

“If I have to defeat you to leave the painting, then sooner or later, it’s the only way. I just don’t want to waste time,” Zanxing replied, gazing at her. “Come on then!”

The Panhua staff straight towards Fairy Qinghua!

*

In the thatched cottage, Gu Baiying carried Zanxing to the bed.

Mimi squatted by Zanxing’s side, not chasing after Bai Qie Ji at the moment, but rather, she called out anxiously a couple of times. Meanwhile, the bald-tailed roasted chicken stretched its neck arrogantly, pacing back and forth on the table, causing the paper with poetry to rustle as it stepped on it.

Zanxing had just been looking at the portrait of the beautiful woman when she suddenly fainted. No matter how they called her, she wouldn’t wake up. Gu Baiying reached out and touched her forehead, then quickly withdrew his hand, his expression subtly changing. “It’s her consciousness.”