Rebellion in the painting world
**Divine Emperor City – The Painting World**
This mortal world was created in the past by Genesis Lotus Venerable Immortal.
He drew upon scenes of the mortal realm, capturing the lives of humans across eons spanning millions of years, to extract the foundations of the human path.
Genesis Lotus made immense contributions to the development of the human path, truly serving as its foundational pillar.
The Painting World was a vast realm encompassing cities, villages, mountains, lakes, and various other regions.
In this world, humans lived relatively peaceful lives, yet it also encapsulated the complexities of human existence.
In this world, the cultivation of other paths was heavily suppressed, and the gap between mortals and immortals was not vast. As a result, the human path flourished immensely.
Blacksmiths, scholars, physicians, theater actors, sergeants, ministers, and courtiers—all human professions thrived in this world, creating a vibrant festival of colors and patterns.
In one of the cities of the Painting World, ordinary people toiled hard for their livelihoods. A child, crying, stared longingly at a candy stall on the street, stubbornly pleading with their parents to buy it.
Further ahead, in the city square, a large crowd had gathered, watching a street performance.
A middle-aged beast tamer gestured to a fierce, striped tiger, commanding it to leap forward and pass through a ring of fire.
Clowns jested and told corny jokes, while a magician performed a deceptive yet mesmerizing show for the audience.
Among the crowd, some wore expensive silk garments, exuding an air of superiority. These were scholars, nobles, and wealthy merchants who held high social status.
In another corner, forming the majority of the crowd, others wore tattered, humble, or even torn clothing, clearly belonging to the lower strata of society.
Farmers, carpenters, butchers, laborers, beggars, and even a thief who pickpocketed a merchant in the bustling crowd were present.
The merchant, realizing his wealth had been stolen, cursed furiously and alerted the crowd to the thief's presence.
Guards quickly appeared, attempting to apprehend the thief, but the bold culprit was faster, slipping away by blending into the crowd.
The onlookers laughed at the scene, some pitying the merchant.
The city buzzed with lively energy, and the people lived with joy and contentment.
But at that moment, a scream and an explosion rang out, causing the crowd to turn toward the source of the noise.
There, they saw a large group of armed ruffians causing chaos, smashing carts, setting shops and houses ablaze, and mercilessly killing anyone who stood in their way.
A beggar, hidden among the crowd, added to the disorder by pulling out a rotten egg from his pocket and hurling it at the magician.
The egg splattered on the magician's face, its foul contents spreading across his face and clothes.
A clown, terrified by the commotion, tried to flee but caught the attention of a ruffian, who drew a sword and beheaded him.
The clown's head spun through the air, landing in front of a young noble and rolling a few times before coming to a stop.
The noble, witnessing this, screamed and fainted from sheer terror.
The riot continued, and the panicked crowd dispersed with screams and fear.
The once-vibrant street performance had given way to severed heads, blood, destruction, and terror.
At that moment, the city guards noticed the unrest and hurriedly mobilized to quell the riot.
However, the scale of the uprising was far greater than the city guards anticipated, and within hours, the entire city fell to the rebel forces.
Such riots were erupting across the cities and villages of the Painting World, plunging the once-peaceful realm into chaos and disorder.
---
**The Painting World – The Royal Capital**
The royal capital was the largest and most populous city in this world, truly the heart of the Painting World.
Multiple uprisings had occurred across the capital, but all were swiftly suppressed, with those involved arrested and executed.
The capital's forces were highly fortified, making it impossible for groups of beggars and ruffians to cause significant trouble.
In the Golden Lotus Palace, a meeting of ministers and courtiers was underway.
In the grand hall, Emperor Lotus sat upon his throne, his jade-green eyes fixed on the bickering courtiers, his brow furrowed.
Emperor Lotus was a middle-aged man with dark brown hair cascading over his shoulders like a mane, sharp sword-like eyebrows, a trimmed beard, and eyes as green as the purest jade.
He wore a golden imperial robe adorned with intricate lotus flower patterns and a golden crown encrusted with precious jewels.
To an outsider looking closely, it would be clear that Emperor Lotus bore a striking resemblance to Genesis Lotus Venerable Immortal.
As the highest authority in the entire Painting World, Emperor Lotus held the power to promote or demote anyone and even create new positions.
Undoubtedly, Emperor Lotus represented the pinnacle of the human path in the current era.
At that moment, Prime Minister Hong Yi was reading a new report to the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, rebellions have erupted across the empire, primarily led by beggar sects, ruffian gangs, smuggling groups, bandits, and the like.
Even as we speak, several cities and provinces have fallen to the rebels.
According to our intelligence, the Green Mountain Bandits are leading this rebellion."
After reading the report, the Lotus Court fell silent for a moment, and the courtiers dared not speak loudly.
Seeing the Emperor's silence, Prime Minister Hong Yi fell into deep thought.
In truth, he was not native to this world but hailed from the Central Continent of the Five Regions. However, since the Refinement Path Convention and the Fate War, he and his close friend Ye Fan had been trapped in the Painting World.
This wasn't entirely negative, as they achieved great success in the human path after living in this world. Recognizing their talent, Genesis Lotus Venerable Immortal arranged for them to be under Emperor Lotus's protection.
Hong Yi began as an ordinary court scholar and climbed the ranks step by step, eventually becoming the Prime Minister of the imperial court.
Meanwhile, his friend Ye Fan took a different but parallel path, starting as a soldier and rising through the military hierarchy to become the Grand General, commanding the entire imperial army.
Hong Yi continued his report, mentioning Ye Fan's status.
"Currently, Grand General Ye Fan has personally mobilized the imperial army to suppress the rebellion and requested that I inform Your Majesty."
Emperor Lotus remained silent, his thoughts unclear, but before he could respond, a court eunuch stepped forward to condemn Ye Fan.
"Grand General Ye Fan grows bolder by the day! This time, he dared to mobilize the imperial army without orders from Your Majesty or the Lotus Court.
He clearly disregards Your Majesty's authority!"
Hong Yi frowned, naturally displeased that someone would slander his sworn brother and friend.
"Such accusations are baseless. I suggest you retract your words. The situation is critical, and Grand General Ye Fan mobilized the army without orders for this very reason."
"Indeed, Grand General Ye Fan is renowned throughout the Qin Dynasty for his loyalty and sense of justice. Such slander is utterly unfounded," added a minister supporting Hong Yi.
The courtiers were divided into two factions: Hong Yi represented the scholars and commoners in the royal court, while the conservative ministers and royal eunuchs formed the opposing side.
The Grand Eunuch, one of Hong Yi's greatest political rivals, merely laughed in response.
"The Green Mountain Bandits are nothing but a ragtag group of thieves and bandits hiding in their lairs like rats. What threat could they pose to His Majesty Emperor Lotus's eternal rule and the Qin Dynasty, which has been invincible for thousands of years?
In fact, Grand General Ye Fan made a grave mistake by mobilizing the army, forcing us to bear the immense costs of feeding soldiers and supplying weapons and resources."
The debate between Hong Yi and the Grand Eunuch intensified, with both sides presenting numerous arguments to prove the other wrong.
Finally, Emperor Lotus could no longer tolerate the bickering and spoke for the first time during the session.
"Silence!"
His voice radiated immense power and authority, leaving none of the courtiers, including Hong Yi, daring to speak.
As the court fell silent, Emperor Lotus continued, "This world faces an unprecedented crisis, unlike anything in the past. Powerful external enemies are attacking our world, and in this critical moment, we must use all our strength to suppress internal rebellions."
As the ruler of this world, Emperor Lotus had a profound understanding of the current state of the Painting World and Divine Emperor City. He knew that at any moment, the will left by his original body could falter, and the entire Divine Emperor City could fall to the enemy.
Turning to Prime Minister Hong Yi and the other courtiers, Emperor Lotus issued an unequivocal command: "From this moment, we will enter an unprecedented state of war. Strengthen all military forces and provide full support, including food and weapons, to Grand General Ye Fan and the army!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Emperor's command was absolute, and no one dared defy it.
---
The Painting World was a rank-nine killing move of the painting path, created by Genesis Lotus Venerable Immortal.
Not only did it suppress other paths and allow the human path to flourish, but it also mimicked many other paths—such as the five main elements, light, soul, space, and time—to maintain its stable existence.
Due to the effects of the time path, the Painting World already had a significant time differential compared to the outside world. However, Fang Yuan, in the outside world, used a killing move to temporarily accelerate the flow of time in the Painting World to speed up his refinement of Divine Emperor City.
As a result, time in the Painting World progressed at an exaggerated rate. While barely five minutes had passed in the outside world, a week had elapsed in the Painting World since the rebellion began.
Fang Yuan had no foundation in the painting path, so to quickly refine Divine Emperor City and the Painting World, he had to rely on alternative methods, such as manipulating time.
Such a radical refinement method consumed vast amounts of his immortal essence reserves, but with the rank-nine heavenly essence lotus immortal gu, Fang Yuan had no concerns about immortal essence.
Fang Yuan's first Chaostic Calamities was approaching, and to destroy the qi harvest fruit core, and gain more methods in the human path—effective against chaos—he intensified his efforts
---
Several kilometers from the royal capital, two armies clashed.
On one side stood the 100,000-strong army of the Qin Dynasty, led by Grand General Ye Fan.
Comprising regular soldiers, sergeants, commanders, infantry, cavalry, standard-bearers, archers, and vanguards, the forces under Ye Fan's command were highly disciplined, equipped with gleaming metal armor and weapons crafted by the empire's finest artisans and blacksmiths.
This was the most elite army in the empire, rigorously trained and impeccably coordinated under Ye Fan's leadership.
On the opposing side were the rebel forces, consisting of Green Mountain Bandits, thieves, ruffians, and common criminals.
The rebel army barely numbered 30,000 and was undeniably of inferior quality.
They had scarcely 1,000 cavalry, their weapons were of poor quality, and 90% of the army lacked armor or shields.
Their coordination was abysmal, and their morale plummeted upon seeing the numerical and equipment disparity, even before the battle began.
Compared to the imperial army, the rebel forces resembled a disorganized band of thieves and bandits—which, in truth, they were.
The rebel leader, Fang Di Chang, stood at the forefront of his army.
In the past, he had been surrounded by Genesis Lotus Venerable Immortal's will and ten human path children, forcing him to detonate his body and soul to escape. Since then, only his will remained.
With the help of Shen Shang, who was also trapped in the Painting World at the time, Fang Di Chang's will managed to evade Genesis Lotus's will. Using the beggar gu, he created a physical body and established the Beggar Sect.
Years had passed, and Fang Di Chang was no longer the weak beggar of old. He had become the "Bandit Leader," commanding the Green Mountain Bandits.
This rise was not easy. Fang Di Chang used the Beggar Sect to gain influence in the Painting World, gradually forming a gang of ruffians. Over time, he engaged in illegal trade, smuggling, kidnapping, theft, and murder.
His influence even reached some courtiers, as the growth of the Green Mountain Bandits to such a scale would have been impossible without their support.
Unfortunately, with the outbreak of the rebellion and an attack from his main body in the outside world, Fang Di Chang's identity was exposed. All courtiers who had dealt with him were arrested and executed for treason without exception.
Fang Di Chang stared at his old acquaintance and the opposing army's leader, Ye Fan.
He and Ye Fan were old acquaintances. Their main bodies' Lucks had once been linked, and even now, Ye Fan's luck remained tied to Fang Di Chang's main body. However, Ye Fan was merely a "secondary luck," unable to benefit from the main body's luck . Most of his own luck had been absorbed by the coocking luck pot, used to the main body's advantage.
While Fang Di Chang calmly assessed the situation, Ye Fan harbored deep enmity toward him.
In the past, Fang Di Chang had controlled divine bean soldiers in the Painting World, causing a catastrophic massacre.
Even now, he had learned no lessons from his past crimes and had instigated a massive rebellion against Emperor Lotus, killing countless people and seizing or burning numerous cities and villages along the way.
Ye Fan's enmity with Fang Di Chang ran even deeper, tied to his main body.
In the past, Fang Yuan had spent considerable time in Shang Clan's inner city, interacting with Shang Xin Ci, whom Ye Fan loved, leaving a profound impact on her.
Even now, Shang Xin Ci couldn't stop thinking of her "brother" Hei Tu, which infuriated and frustrated Ye Fan.
Unfortunately, Ye Fan was powerless against Fang Yuan's main body. When he once tried to investigate Fang Yuan, he nearly died at the hands of Bai Ning Bing, surviving only by sheer luck.
The same could not be said for Fang Di Chang.
Even in the past, when Fang Di Chang was a rank-seven Gu immortal , he was defeated by Ye Fan, Hong Yi, and ten human path children.
Now, Fang Di Chang was dead, and according to his master, Genesis Lotus Venerable Immortal, only his will remained, having used the "Bandit Leader" gu to form a physical body.
Neither side had any intention of negotiating with their former acquaintance, and without hesitation, a massive battle erupted upon their encounter.
The disparity between the two armies quickly became apparent.
The imperial army began crushing the rebel forces with overwhelming superiority.
In a short time, the rebel army crumbled like a sandcastle, and many bandits and rebels, losing their courage, began to flee.
"Fang Di Chang, you vile demon, surrender! You have no path to victory!"
As the leaders of the two armies clashed fiercely, Ye Fan, witnessing the collapse of the rebel army, shouted triumphantly.
"Is that so?"
Though in a dire situation, Fang Di Chang showed no fear or panic.
Indeed, with his current army, he had no chance of victory. But who said he was relying on his army to win?
---
In Heavenly Court, much of Divine Emperor City had been tainted with various colors and had fallen under Fang Yuan's control.
Noticing his clone's critical situation, Fang Yuan took control of the parts of Divine Emperor City under his command to aid Fang Di Chang.
---
In the battlefield, the rebel army was suffering a crushing defeat. Suddenly, the sky changed color, shifting from clear blue to dark, ominous clouds.
Amid the battle, no one noticed the clouded sky until it began to rain.
Hailstones the size of fists began falling from the sky, specifically targeting the imperial army.
A hailstone crashed down with unstoppable force, striking a soldier's head.
*Crack!*
The soldier's skull split like a watermelon, blood, brain fluid, and white fragments splattering everywhere.
*Crack! Crack!*
The unfortunate soldier was not alone in his fate, as countless hailstones rained down, inflicting massive casualties on the imperial army in a short time.
"Damn it, what's happened to the sky? Fang Di Chang, you demon, what have you done?"
The hailstones particularly targeted Ye Fan, forcing him to dodge endlessly while still fighting Fang Di Chang, sustaining severe injuries in the process.
As Ye Fan was wounded, Fang Di Chang seized the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow. His sword arced through the air, aiming for Ye Fan's neck.
*Swish!*
But at the critical moment, a fierce wind began to blow, dispersing some of the dark clouds. The gust surrounded Ye Fan, swiftly pushing him back and saving him from Fang Di Chang's deadly strike.
At that crucial moment, Genesis Lotus's will intervened, using its control over the Painting World and Divine Emperor City to save Ye Fan's life and transport him to the Lotus Capital.
Unlike Ye Fan, the rest of the imperial army was not so fortunate. Genesis Lotus's will had limited power and could only save Ye Fan from certain death.
Seconds later, the fierce wind vanished, and the dark clouds filled the sky once more, unleashing a blizzard of hailstones upon the imperial army.
In a short time, the entire imperial army was wiped out, and Fang Di Chang reorganized his rebel forces, marching toward the royal capital.
As long as the royal capital fell, Fang Di Chang could kill Emperor Lotus and become the new emperor, gaining complete control over the Painting World. Divine Emperor City would then officially belong to Fang Yuan.
Upon reaching within one kilometer of the royal capital, Fang Di Chang noticed that all the city gates were sealed, and the remaining forces were fully mobilized to protect the heart of the Painting World.
The city walls, sturdy and towering at least ten meters high, were equipped with various siege weapons for defense.
Undoubtedly, capturing the Royal Capital, even with aid from his main body, would not be easy.
In a typical battle, the best strategy might have been to besiege the capital and engage in a war of attrition. However, Fang Di Chang knew that a prolonged siege was not the strength of a band of bandits. More importantly, he had no time to waste and needed to capture the royal capital as quickly as possible to aid his main body.
In reality, the situation was even worse than Fang Di Chang had anticipated. He might not even have the opportunity to capture the royal capital.
---
In the Heavenly Court, Star Constellation Immortal Venerable sighed as she observed the dire state of Divine Emperor City and activated her killer move.
*Immortal killer Move – Star Heart Convergence Explosion!*
In an instant, the star path and wisdom path dao marks accumulated on Spectral Soul Demon Venerable's body detonated.
The explosion from the dao marks was terrifying, obliterating the right head of Spectral Soul Demon Venerable and inflicting severe wounds on his massive body, destroying nearly half of his thousands of arms.
The thousands of arms of Spectral Soul Demon Venerable crashed to the ground, causing an earthquake akin to the fall of a mountain range.
Spectral Soul Demon Venerable let out a deafening scream from the injuries,
wounding the souls of the Heavenly Court's
Gu immortal .Those closer to him had their souls directly shattered