I, Superman, the Supreme Commander

Somewhere in the wilderness of Jiangxi.

An ancient temple stands on the top of the mountain. There is a rarely traveled path at the foot of the mountain. Occasionally, merchants or travelers from afar pass by here.

The temple is a bit dilapidated, but the main hall is well preserved and spacious. Although it is a Buddhist temple, there are no Buddha statues in the temple. Instead, the walls of the temple are covered with beautiful landscapes and a large number of beautiful ladies of various appearances, which is incompatible with the image of a temple.

In the main hall, where the Buddha statue was originally placed, only a platform remained, on which incense, candles and offerings were placed.

The temple was empty except for an old monk with white hair and beard sitting cross-legged on a cushion in front of the offering table, turning beads with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, the old monk opened his eyes and looked horrified.

There was a sound of wind outside the temple, and a figure in white clothes suddenly fell from the sky and landed at the door of the temple, then walked in without hesitation.

The old monk looked carefully and saw that the person coming was a tall and handsome young man.

He has an extraordinary bearing and eyes as sharp as lightning, like a nobleman from an extraordinary family background.

It’s just that his short hair looks a bit strange and doesn’t match his temperament as a young master.

The person who came was Zhang Hong.

"Is this the place where Yan Chixia disappeared? There is something strange indeed."

Zhang Hong glanced at the temple with a flickering gaze.

It soon became apparent that there was something wrong with the murals inside the temple.

There are powerful fluctuations of magical power hidden in it, which obviously possesses some kind of extraordinary power.

Temples, old monks, beauties on the murals... So this is the story of the painted murals in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.

Zhang Hong looked carefully at the mural and indeed found a little man who looked like Yan Chixia in an inconspicuous position. He couldn't help but marvel at it.

This painted wall seems to be no simple matter, as it can even trap a great cultivator like Yan Chixia.

Zhang Hong felt a faint demonic aura on the painted wall, and more than that, it was actually similar to the power of incense and vows from Buddhist and Taoist monks.

"Abbot, do you know where my bearded friend has gone?"

Zhang Hong looked at the old monk and asked.

This old monk is also a cultivator, but his magic power is not as strong as Yan Chixia's. I wonder how he managed to get Yan Chixia into the painting.

The old monk felt his scalp tingling when Zhang Hong stared at him.

I suddenly felt like I was being targeted by a ferocious beast, and cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

"Amitabha... You have misunderstood. Fellow Daoist Yan volunteered to enter the painting to listen to the teachings of Buddhism. This has nothing to do with me."

Zhang Hong raised his eyebrows.

"Oh. So it's none of your business?"

"Well, I'll take this mural with me."

After saying this, he waved his hand, and the temple suddenly shook violently.

The ground around the temple was torn apart, and the entire temple, along with a large piece of land underneath it, was uprooted and rose into the air.

Amid the shaking, tiles on the top of the temple kept falling off, and it looked like it would fall apart at any time.

The old monk was horrified, and he quickly stood up and shouted, "Fellow Daoist, please forgive me! Fellow Daoist, please forgive me!"

"Be merciful!"

"It's all because of my anger. I'll let him go right now!"

The temple stopped shaking and quietly floated in the air a hundred meters above the ground.

The old monk looked at Zhang Hong, who was smiling and nonchalant, and swallowed nervously, pinching his fingers and chanting the spell.

After a few breaths, there was a flash of light on the painted wall, and a figure fell off the wall and fell to the ground in a mess.

It was Yan Chixia.

Yan Chixia, who was suddenly separated from the world of the painted wall, looked confused. It took him a while to come to his senses and stand up.

When he saw the old monk, he immediately blew his beard and glared, burning with anger.

He shouted angrily: "You evil monk, you actually plotted against your grandfather Yan Chixia!"

After saying that, he drew his sword and wanted to chop someone.

"Yan Chixia, wait a minute."

Zhang Hong spoke out to stop him.

Yan Chixia then noticed that Zhang Hong was right beside him, and he quickly put away his weapons and paid his respects.

Upon asking, I learned that after Zhang Hong detected that Yan Chixia's voice suddenly disappeared in the capital, he immediately rushed to the place where he disappeared, which is where this temple is.

Yan Chixia felt ashamed.

It was really embarrassing that he, a great Jindan monk, was defeated by a painting.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, Tianzun. Actually, this painting demon can't trap me. Give me some more time, and I will be able to break the illusion in the painting and come out!"

Yan Chixia said loudly, with a hint of forced dignity.

It turned out that Yan Chixia passed by this place yesterday and sensed the fluctuation of magical power in the temple. He thought that there were Buddhist monks practicing here, so he went to visit.

Who knew that this old man in the temple had no moral principles.

After chatting for a few sentences, he insisted that Yan Chixia had a connection with Buddhism and was the reincarnation of an arhat, and asked him to convert to Buddhism.

Of course Yan Chixia refused, so the old monk suddenly activated the painting wall and rolled Yan Chixia into the painting.

"You don't know, my God. This painting is full of flirtatious women who look like fairies. They want me to be a fairy emperor in it."

"I know it's fake, so I don't want to..."

"What if it's true?"

"Uh... Tianzun, you are such a joker. I really don't want to do this. I, Yan Chixia, am just a rough person."

"Oh - how rough? Where is it rough? Please explain it clearly, so that no one will misunderstand."

"..."

No. Why are you, Lord Tianzun, teasing me again?

Zhang Hong was very interested in the world in the mural and wanted to enter the painting to see whether the fairies in it were lifelike.

But thinking about his previous inability to pass through the gate to the underworld, he was afraid that this painted wall would not be able to withstand the arrival of his true body, so he had to give up.

"Monk, do you admit your guilt?"

Zhang Hong frowned and questioned the old monk.

The old monk looked embarrassed and smiled awkwardly.

"Forgive me, my friend—"

"What fellow Taoist! Are you worthy? Call me Tianzun."

"Yes, yes... Your Excellency Tianzun, Fellow Daoist Yan Chixia, my painting wall will not actually harm anyone's life. Even if a mortal spends a hundred years in the painting, it will only be a dream after he comes out. It will only be a moment."

Yan Chixia frowned.

"Is this thing so powerful? How did it fall into the hands of an old man like you?"

"Amitabha. To be honest, I was originally just an ordinary Buddhist monk. It was by chance that I discovered this ancient temple while traveling around."

"I accidentally discovered this mural in the temple. It turned out to be a Buddhist treasure that has become a spirit. It can save all living beings through illusions. So I settled down here and used this thing to influence the world."

After listening to the old monk's explanation, Zhang Hong nodded.

This makes sense. How could the old monk, a mere Qi Refining Stage cultivator, possibly refine such a treasure?

It turned out to be a magical treasure from heaven and earth that was born naturally by chance.

Yan Chixia stroked his beard, thought for a moment and said, "I heard that among the monsters, there is a kind of painting monster, which is a spirit that has become a spirit from a painting scroll. It seems that this painting wall is one of them."

Zhang Hong has been reading a lot of books recently and has done some research on the formation mechanism of monsters. He looked at the slight smell of incense coming through the painting on the wall.

He guessed, "More than that. This painting monster has been influenced by the Buddhist teachings and the incense in the temple for many years, and has almost completely washed away the demonic aura. It has already left the ranks of monsters. It should have become the legendary fairy in the painting."

Fairy in the painting?!

Yan Chixia and the old monk were both shocked. They had no idea that this mural had such an extraordinary origin.