Xiao Man glanced at Yue Ran and said coolly, "What if I told you I wanted to become a Nascent Soul stage mighty being? Could you help me achieve it?"
"I will do my utmost, offering pills, martial skills, and an endless supply..."
"Stop, I was joking."
"Second Brother, then what is your true wish?" Yue Ran leaned closer to Xiao Man, asking expectantly.
"To find my mother and reunite with my family," Xiao Man said slowly. "I miss home."
Yue Ran's eyes dimmed slightly, then he smiled, "I will definitely help you find Mother."
"Alright, thank you." Xiao Man enjoyed ruffling Yue Ran's hair, and Yue Ran was happy to let her. "What is A'Ran's birthday wish?"
"I wish to see Second Brother's sister on my birthday!" Yue Ran said excitedly.
"This wish of yours is destined to be in vain."
"That's not necessarily true," Yue Ran said confidently. "Perhaps on that day, Second Brother's celestial sister will descend from the heavens?"
"You haven't been resting well lately, have you?" Xiao Man gave him a sidelong glance. "You're starting to hallucinate."
No matter how Xiao Man tried to discourage him, Yue Ran just kept smiling, unaffected, as if he was already certain that Xiao Man had a celestial sister who would descend on his birthday to celebrate with him.
"Second Brother, I've rested enough. Shall we continue to the next level?"
"Okay." Xiao Man took Yue Ran's outstretched hand, used his strength to stand up, patted away nonexistent dust from her clothes, and together they headed towards the fourteenth floor.
The guardian of the fourteenth floor was not a spirit beast, but a person. This floor was also different from the others. The walls of this floor were covered with paintings, and the guardian sat calmly at a table, painting. He was drawing birds and beasts, but after finishing one, he seemed dissatisfied and immediately tore it up, threw it on the ground, and then spread new Xuan paper to start again.
"It's actually a person." Yue Ran looked at the person sitting at the table, feeling curious. "Are you a transformed ferocious beast?"
The man did not respond to Yue Ran's question. He continued to paint as if nothing could disturb him.
Yue Ran leaned closer to see what the man was painting. The more he looked, the stranger it seemed, and the more it felt as if the paintings were alive. The insects and beasts within them seemed to be alive. "Second Brother, look at his painting, it seems alive... Second Brother, Second Brother, where are you?"
Yue Ran's heart sank. He had only glanced at the painting, and suddenly everything around him had changed. Even Xiao Man had disappeared.
"Second Brother, stop joking. Where are you?"
Yue Ran looked around the completely unfamiliar place. He had just been in the Purgatory Tower, and in an instant, he understood. He had fallen into the opponent's trap!
The moment Yue Ran disappeared, Xiao Man retreated several steps, creating distance between herself and the guardian. The man raised his eyebrows, glanced at Xiao Man, and a smile played on his lips.
"You are quite clever?"
"Where did you send him?"
"He has naturally gone to where he wants to go. Do you have a place you wish to go?" The man's voice was deep and magnetic, pleasant to hear, but Xiao Man knew that before understanding the opponent's full capabilities, she had to be wary of both his voice and his eyes.
"There is something wrong with your painting!" Xiao Man quickly figured it out. Yue Ran had been looking at the man's painting at the time and had said it looked alive. Before he could finish speaking, he had vanished.
"Without him, you are no match for me," the man said without looking up. "You may descend."
"I never surrender before trying. That is not my style." Xiao Man assumed a ready stance and said, "Xiao Qin, here to challenge. I request your guidance."
The man raised his eyebrows, dipped his brush in the inkstone, and flicked it. A string of water droplets flew towards Xiao Man. Although it seemed like a normal attack, Xiao Man was extremely wary and dodged swiftly, her eyes fixed on the ground, afraid to look at the paintings on the wall. If the painting the man was currently working on was problematic, then the completed paintings must also be problematic.
Unexpectedly, the water droplets did not attack Xiao Man, but landed on the paintings behind her. The fierce tiger in the painting instantly leaped out and attacked Xiao Man.
Xiao Man's expression became grave. There were at least a hundred paintings here, each containing one or even several fierce beasts. If this man were to release all the beasts from the paintings, she would be exhausted to death!
Xiao Man drew her sword and fought the fierce tiger, simultaneously searching for its weakness. Although this fierce tiger had come from a painting, its cultivation was no less than that of a high-level demonic beast. She could handle one, but if there were a hundred, she would have no choice but to surrender!
At this moment, a small, emerald green snake stealthily approached the man's feet. It raised its head and flicked its forked tongue. Just as it was about to bite, a hand reached out and grabbed the snake by its seven inches, lifting it up.
"This little snake is quite good. I'll take it." With that, he threw Zhu Qing into a painting, and Zhu Qing disappeared.
Xiao Man's brow furrowed even deeper. The opponent could not only put people into paintings but also spirit beasts. Did these paintings contain real spirit beasts, or were they merely his creations?
"Some of the beasts in the paintings are my creations, and some I have captured. It is not easy to pass my challenge."
The man picked up his brush and wrote something on a painting. Soon, a "Double Serpents Battling for a Pearl" was completed, and one of the snakes was Zhu Qing.
A glint flashed in Xiao Man's eyes. Suddenly, she charged towards the man with her sword. The man glanced at Xiao Man, waved his brush, and a Flattening Bear emerged from a painting beside him, swinging its massive paws towards Xiao Man.
Xiao Man leaped into the air, evading the Flattening Bear's attack, and her sword pierced the painting that sealed Zhu Qing. However, even though the painting was pierced, it remained undamaged. The two snakes within were still lifelike and unharmed by the attack.
"If the painting is destroyed, the spirit beast sealed within will also die. You must be careful when you strike," the man said calmly. "Furthermore, your companion is also in one of the paintings. If you recklessly destroy the paintings like this, you will kill your companion."
Xiao Man was being chased by a tiger and a bear, darting everywhere. The man, displeased with the mess Xiao Man was making of his room, summoned several more beasts from other paintings to attack her, intending to subdue Xiao Man in the shortest possible time. He did not want to face the combined attack of two people if Yue Ran found a way out.
"It's not too late to surrender now."
Xiao Man's expression was solemn, but she showed no intention of surrendering. The man saw this, put down his brush. Xiao Man's cultivation was currently equivalent to Yue Ran's, both at the late Golden Core stage. However, there was a faint aura emanating from Xiao Man that made him feel uncomfortable.