Ink Stains

All beings strive outward for the Dao. Only he takes up his brush to paint the heart.

In a chaotic age, cultivators fight without end over treasures and fortuitous encounters. Painter Mo Qingyun alone roams the world, observing himself through ink and brush and tempering his heart amid the mortal world.

Strength is not measured by the level of one's cultivation, but by the clarity of one's heart. With an obsession in your heart, even the finest paper and brush are ordinary things. With no dust in your heart, even plain paper and a worn-out brush can bring peace to the realm.

The story unfolds along two parallel paths, one still and one in motion: he sits alone in the mountains, quieting his mind as he paints, while the outside world is consumed by endless slaughter and chaos.

From his first lessons in the mountains, to entering the world and witnessing every facet of life, to becoming one with heaven and earth, and finally facing an impending catastrophe, he settles the world with a single stroke.

People imitate his paintings and pursue his Dao, yet they never understand that the source of the Great Dao has always lain within one's own heart.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.