The Painter of the Living: A Cinnabar Brush Subdues Souls, Music Slays a Hundred Ghosts

My name is Chen Mo. I'm thirty years old, the owner of Mo's Painting Studio in Nancheng, and known as the “Painter of the Living.” I wield a cinnabar brush in my left hand and the Record of Netherworld Drawings in my right. I take on jobs from the dead: painting talismans to subdue ghosts, drawing formations to trap souls, and sketching blades to slay demons.

Beneath the ground lies the century-old Jiangtou Altar, connected to the Earthhearing Vein. Every lunar eclipse, evil spirits awaken. I use paintings to trap their bodies and sound to destroy their souls, paying the price in blood and life.

The soul-corroding mark on my left shoulder eats away at me every day. If I don't break the curse, the next lunar eclipse will consume me. The way to lift it is hidden in the altar's core, and requires the sacrifice of three “kindred souls” bound to me by karma.

I don't care about staying alive. I only want to break this deadlock. But when the truth emerged, I realized that the so-called sacrifice was only the beginning of awakening a protective power.

I kill decisively and never show mercy. With a single stroke, I slay ghosts and gods alike.