Fang Yuan found himself standing atop a cloud. Most of his gu worms could not work as he had become one with the painting, his fingers and hands had become paint strokes much like during the time he had entered the painting with Guo Lian and Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable.
Behind him, a figure materialized out of the scenery.
"What is this place, Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable?" Fang Yuan asked.
"This is a collection of human moments and thoughts. Each painting captures not only the scene which it depicts, but the human experience behind it as well."
Fang Yuan glanced over at this painted version of Shang Clan City. He hadn't thought that he had filled in nearly enough paintings to make an entire recreation of the place. Shang Clan City was enormous, after all.
"You must have heard the phrase that a picture is worth more than the sum of its parts," Genesis Lotus explained. "So, to follow your thoughts, only a few sceneries here and there of the city needed to be taken. Together, they can knit into a much greater whole."
As Fang Yuan took a closer look at the city, he noticed several discrepancies between it and the actual Shang Clan City. The layout was ever so slightly different. The street plan, likewise, seemed as if someone had tried to recreate the city from an imperfect memory.
'Come to think of it,' Fang Yuan thought to himself. Several of the paintings contained images which were not from Shang Clan City, but rather from Gu Yue Village. It would make sense then that the final result was not Shang Clan City in its entirety.
"Why don't you go ahead and take a look around this city before we begin?" Genesis Lotus said. "I also think Paradise Earth is down there. He would probably like to have a word with you."
Fang Yuan found that he could move the cloud with his mind, and that Genesis Lotus had disappeared behind him, leaving him alone to steer it like a vehicle.
As he hovered over the city, this painted version of Shang Clan City, he realized, was about a third the size of the original, as many areas had simply been removed from it.
The people down below were undergoing various activities, walking down the street, talking to each other, or exchanging pleasantries.
However, this only seemed to be in the context of a "loop." They would do these actions, then return to their former place, and then do them again. These loops lasted for about three or four minutes.
Their speech was also very rudimentary, saying things like:
"Hello, how are you?"
"I'm fine, it's a wonderful day."
"And how is your son doing?"
"He is fine and very lively."
Then there were two people jogging around a shop.
"Are you going to pay for lunch today?"
"Ha, ha, no, it's your turn now."
And that was it. They would repeat those lines over and over, running around the shop with no destination in mind.
"I think that funny-looking cloud is following us."
"Ha, don't be ridiculous!"
Most conversations were extraordinarily basic, lasting just a few lines or so. There also was a distinct lack of emotion in many people's voices. Their facial expressions did not line up with what they were saying either.
Another interesting thing was that there were paintings within this painting as well - or at least square areas where it looked like one of Genesis Lotus's paintings would have fit. However, they were not filled with anything. Instead, they were windows. Beyond which, Fang Yuan could see snippets of what looked to be the actual Shang Clan City.
No one from outside however, seemed to be able to see into the painting.
'This world exists in a painting, but it also seems to exist within the city,' Fang Yuan thought to himself. 'And it is dynamic as well, outside, I can see the people of Shang Clan City milling about.'
The Painting Path truly was mysterious, Fang Yuan mused.
There was a fountain of dark black ink in a city square. In his aperture, the Ink Dragon Gu seemed to be one of the few gu worms that was animated and lively even while within this painting, perhaps simply because it did not conflict Painting Path. It leapt into the fountain of ink and came back looking refreshed and energized. Several other people surrounding them were shocked at its appearance and began running away.
However, there was a set distance to which they could move. If they tried to move too far away from their original positions, they would simply start out where they were once again.
As such, these people would see the dragon, become scared, and run away about 200 paces before reappearing at the same spot they had started. Their memories then seemed to be reset. They would see the Ink Dragon again, and then once again turn around and flee.
Fang Yuan used the Ink Dragon Gu to kill one of them, only for them to spawn once the 'loop' had reset itself.
Fang Yuan went up to a bookstore, wanting to see what the people were reading inside of it. He saw people staring at blank pages intently, who demanded Fang Yuan leave if he disturbed them.
There was a man enjoying a nice lunch and was acting out as if he was eating - even though the plate in front of him was empty.
There were a man pulling a rickshaw around with no passenger in it. Fang Yuan tried to get in.
"Where would you like to go?" the man pulling it asked.
"Hmm... let us go to the bookstore."
"Sorry I can't go there."
"What about that house over there with a red roof?"
"Sorry I can't go there."
"What about the park?"
"Sorry I can't go there."
"How about that restaurant?"
"Sorry I can't go there."
"..."
"...Where can you take me then?"
"Where would you like to go?"
Fang Yuan got off the rickshaw after that.
There was a woman washing plates endlessly near a street corner.
"Hello, traveler, where are you from?" someone asked Fang Yuan. Before he could respond, the man said, "Ah, the strong and silent type!" and walked away.
A man offered to sell him a baked bun, though when Fang Yuan agreed to this he was handed nothing. The man did not actually take any money either.
The inside of most houses simply did not exist, as if they were just large blocks with few exceptions where one could actually go inside a building.
Most of the windows did not show anything other than his own reflection when he paused by them.
A dog returned a toy to its owner for the toy to be throw again. The dog then brought it back and this continued indefinitely - this was one aspect that might've actually played out in real life.
Fang Yuan explored the city for an hour more before he found Paradise Earth meditating under the shade of a tree.
Paradise Earth looked towards him. This was a painted version of Paradise Earth; however, it seemed to be more lively than the other creations around the city.
"Fang Yuan," Paradise Earth said.
"Genesis Lotus said you had something you wanted to say to me."
"Indeed, I do, when you undergo your immortal ascension," Paradise Earth said, pausing for a moment. "Well, there are several things that you will discover only after ascending. However, I am sure that you already know that during the process, if one has extra qi, one can use it to refine gu worms, potentially creating new Immortal Gu."
Fang Yuan nodded.
"You have Integration Gu within your aperture. It is only Rank 5 right now. However, once you get the chance, you must try to advance it to Rank 6. In this painting, which is filled with human experiences and human qi, advancing a Human Path Gu worm is nearly guaranteed."
Fang Yuan thought about it. There were several candidates for which gu worm he could advance, with his current favorite choice being the Spring Autumn Cicada to Rank 7.
"An interesting thought process regarding the Spring Autumn Cicada," Paradise Earth said. Could both Genesis Lotus and Paradise Earth see into his thoughts? "However, you will find Rank 6 Integration Gu to be quite useful."
Paradise Earth, it seemed, could still use his gu worms even within this painting, as several of them flew out, creating a formation within the sky. When it came to the Formation Path, Paradise Earth had the greatest knowledge and experience compared to any of the other Venerables.
"This formation is incomplete," Paradise Earth said. "It is only lacking one key ingredient: Rank 6 Integration Gu. I'm sure you already know the story of Ren Zu and how he and his children went into Derivation Gu in order to create the world's people. We, on the other hand, are attempting to take the experiences of people - tiny fractions, which we build upon to bring about something greater than the whole. Never forget, Fang Yuan, that true strength lies in the unity of people. Their ability to come together and accomplish things beyond what a single person could."
Fang Yuan snorted coldly within his heart. That may have been true within the real world, but within this one, a world where the strength of a single man could rival those of ten million, one did not need to rely upon others. If this was Paradise Earth's attempt at trying to convert him towards the righteous path, it was probably the sorriest attempt yet.
"With that said, let me sweeten the deal for you," Paradise Earth said. "If you refine Integration Gu, I will gift this formation in its entirety to you."