Similarities and Differences Between Painting Arrays and Formations

Evan Yang took out two daggers, one in each hand, and drove them deep into the wall.

"I can't do it, I can't get them to stick." Evan Yang carefully pressed the daggers into the wall, climbing up step by step like a true wall-climbing expert. Outside, the Immortal Painter chuckled, "His weapons really are sharp."

"Who are you, and what about those two rusty daggers?" Clara Snow asked curiously.

"Yes, those daggers. My walls are specially made—ordinary weapons can't pierce them, and earth attributes won't work either," the Immortal Painter said with a smile.

Clara Snow understood, then kept her eyes fixed on Evan Yang inside. He knew the third trial couldn't be that simple—the Immortal Painter must have set something up. The Immortal Painter, meanwhile, watched with an odd, knowing smile.

Just as Evan Yang was climbing smoothly, a stone suddenly fell from above. This time, however, it slid down close to the wall. Evan was startled and quickly leapt across to the other side, but the gravity pulled him down a ways before he managed to stab his daggers into the wall again.

"That was close," Evan Yang muttered, annoyed. Even after all that effort, he hadn’t moved forward at all—still stuck in the same spot.

"This won’t work either," Evan Yang realized. If he kept going like this, it wouldn’t solve anything, so he had to think of another way.

Evan Yang thought it over, looking up at the tunnel above. He knew that to get up, he’d have to break the stones before they fell. That wasn’t easy, so he decided to use his qi. He controlled several daggers to hover just above his head—whenever a stone appeared, he’d slice it apart.

So Evan Yang split his divine sense, holding two daggers in his hands while several more flew overhead. As he climbed upward, more stones appeared. Evan didn’t hesitate—he sliced them all into small pieces with his daggers, then scattered them with his qi so the stones stayed well away from him.

Seeing that this method worked, Evan Yang was overjoyed and kept climbing upward.

Outside, Clara Snow laughed, "Who would've thought a few rusty daggers could be so useful?" "They're not rusty daggers—these really get the job done," the Immortal Painter muttered.

"Well? Impressed yet?" Clara Snow grinned. "Don’t get too excited—there are still two more stages to go," the Immortal Painter warned.

Evan Yang quickly reached the top by combining his split divine sense with his daggers. He then entered the fourth stage: a strange swamp appeared before him.

The swamp looked bizarre, with strange gases drifting above its surface. Evan Yang had barely taken a breath when he felt something change inside him. "So this gas is poisonous? Good thing my Heaven-Cold Qi shields me," he thought, feeling a surge of relief.

Outside, Clara Snow had no idea what was happening. The Immortal Painter frowned, "Strange, how is he not affected?"

"The gas in the fourth stage is extremely poisonous. Normally, he should be detoxifying and resisting the poison right now," the Immortal Painter said, watching Evan Yang with a strange look. "Are you serious? Maybe your poison isn’t working," Clara Snow joked.

"You wouldn’t understand," the Immortal Painter said.

Evan Yang had no idea what was happening outside. All he knew was that he needed to be careful—flying was impossible here. He could only crawl across the swamp, dragging himself forward. The black, murky swamp felt ominous, as if a savage beast might burst out at any moment.

So Evan Yang moved carefully, just as he expected. Suddenly, water erupted as snake-like but not quite snake creatures lunged at him, jaws agape to devour him. Evan reacted instantly, slashing them down with his daggers.

Staring at the corpses, Evan Yang muttered, "Why are these weaker than the serpent from the second stage? Is it actually getting easier as I go?"

Little did he know, the real danger in this stage was the gas. Since Evan Yang wasn’t affected by it, nothing could really harm him here. So he passed the stage easily, only occasionally killing beasts that jumped out; nothing else could disturb him.

Evan Yang quickly reached the other side.

He entered the fifth stage almost immediately.

"Great, he’s reached the fifth stage!" Clara Snow laughed. "Not bad, not bad—he actually cleared four stages in a row. That’s impressive," the Immortal Painter said with a smile. "If he clears the fifth stage, he wins. Then he’ll be your disciple," Clara Snow teased.

"The fifth stage isn’t that easy," the Immortal Painter replied.

"You're right. The fifth stage—just seeing that damned thing makes my skin crawl," Clara Snow said, shuddering.

Evan Yang had no idea what the fifth stage was. When he entered, it was pitch black—no light at all. He activated his night vision, and as soon as he did, the area around him was empty, except for a beast standing at the exit, staring right at him. The beast looked something like a lion, but was covered in black fur, had two horns, blood-red eyes, exposed fangs, and drool that seemed like it could burn through the ground.

"What is that?" Evan Yang wondered, suspicious.

As Evan Yang wondered aloud, the beast suddenly charged at him. He dodged to the side, and the beast, enraged that Evan could evade so easily, sped up and lunged again—Evan slipped away once more.

Outside, Clara Snow said suspiciously, "Strange, how can he dodge so precisely?"

"It’s pitch black in there, and he isn’t using fire or anything. He’s a strange guy," the Immortal Painter muttered, watching Evan move unaffected by the darkness. "Yeah, in a place this dark, it’d be hard for me to judge the beast’s speed right away," Clara Snow said, curious.

"Keep watching. This kid really isn’t simple," the Immortal Painter said.

Right now, Evan Yang was locked in a fierce battle with the raging beast. After several exchanges, it was clear the beast had no hope of winning—it was as if Evan could see its every move, which only made the creature more furious. It attacked again, even more frantically.

Evan Yang knew he had to kill the beast to leave this place, so he began attacking head-on. Seeing Evan attack directly, the beast was delighted and charged at him for a head-on collision.

Evan’s dagger struck one of the beast’s horns, which was incredibly tough. The dagger got stuck—he didn’t have enough force to cut through, and it wouldn’t budge.

Realizing its horn was caught, the beast roared in anger, opened its mouth wide, and tried to bite Evan Yang.

Evan Yang smirked. "Want to bite me? Try eating some dirt first." With a flick of his will, he sent a mass of condensed earth straight into the beast’s mouth.

Blood splattered across Evan Yang as the beast collapsed, its dying cries fading to silence. Evan strode over, and after a hard tug, finally wrenched his dagger free from the beast’s horn.

After gathering his daggers, Evan Yang gazed at the beast and murmured quietly, "Sorry, but I have to go." With that, he headed for the exit. In a flash, Evan appeared before Clara Snow and the Immortal Painter.

Evan Yang looked battered and bloodstained, but didn’t bother with a careful inspection. He simply wiped himself off, straightened his clothes a bit, and grinned, "Hope I didn’t scare you."

After retrieving all his daggers, Evan Yang looked at the beast and sighed softly, "Sorry about this. Time for me to go." With that, he headed for the exit. In a blink, Evan appeared before Clara Snow and the Immortal Painter.

Evan Yang was covered in blood and looked a mess, but he didn’t bother to check himself. He just brushed himself off, tidied up a bit, and smiled, "Sorry for the spectacle."

"Not at all. I never imagined you’d clear all five stages," Clara Snow said with a smile.

"Thank you. Senior, what do you think?" Evan Yang asked, smiling as he saw the Immortal Painter’s curious look.

"Excellent, excellent. I’ll take you as my disciple," the Immortal Painter said with a smile.

"Thank you, Master," Evan Yang replied with a smile.

"No need to be so formal. Come with me, I’ll teach you. As for you, girl, wait outside," the Immortal Painter said with a smile.

"How long will it take?" Clara Snow asked, knowing the Immortal Painter was about to teach Evan Yang something important.

"Half a month, maybe a month—it depends on how quickly he learns," the Immortal Painter said with a smile.

"Alright, but make sure he’s out within a month—I need his help with something," Clara Snow said. "Got it," the Immortal Painter nodded, then led Evan Yang into a secret room. Left alone again, Clara Snow sighed helplessly. "Alone again... how frustrating."

Evan Yang just followed the Immortal Painter. Inside the secret room, neither spoke at first, until Evan politely asked, "Senior, what’s next?"

"Don’t rush. I’m preparing something," the Immortal Painter said.

"Alright," Evan Yang nodded.

After a while, the Immortal Painter had Evan sit down in a certain spot. He sat across from Evan and asked, "How much do you know about the Painting Array?" "Not much," Evan Yang shook his head.

"That’s fine. Let me tell you a bit about the history of the Painting Array—it might help you," the Immortal Painter said.

"Please, Master," Evan Yang said.

"The Painting Array has been around since ancient times. Formations and Painting Arrays once belonged to the same lineage, but somewhere along the way, they split apart. Formations became their own system, and Painting Arrays became another. Painting Arrays are notoriously difficult to master—few ever truly grasp them. Including myself, there are probably no more than ten people in the world who can wield Painting Arrays, unless you count some hidden old monsters, but that's a different story," the Immortal Painter explained, his tone both proud and a little melancholy.

"I see. Can formations and the Painting Array be combined?" Evan Yang asked curiously.

"They can be combined, but it's extremely difficult—at least, I can't do it. Formations possess real offensive and defensive power, except for illusion arrays, which only mislead people. In Painting Arrays, objects are real, but their attacks are only half as strong as in reality. Still, they're much better than illusion arrays, and you can shape anything you want—if you can simulate it, you can use its power. If someone could truly fuse formations and Painting Arrays, imagine how terrifying that would be. Formations could compensate for the attacks Painting Arrays lack, while Painting Arrays could provide the flexibility that formations lack," the Immortal Painter said, smiling with a hint of longing.