Chapter 26: Painting and Acquaintances (Please Add to Your Collection)

At the start of the great battle, Li Guanzhen was nearly strangled to death by the demoness’s two massive white pythons. Fortunately, he was a veteran of countless battles; in an instant, he whipped out his old wolf-hair brush, intending to paint his way through the crisis.

The old wolf-hair brush was fierce and powerful, bursting with endless ingenuity as it danced across the paper, the strokes twisting and turning like dragons and serpents. When the ink was spent, the new xuan paper thought the painting was done, only for the old wolf-hair to dip into a bit of wine and begin a furious, wild rampage, nearly piercing straight through the sheet.

Not even halfway through, the demoness could no longer keep up her bravado and descended into incoherent babbling.

“Spare me, please.”

“Husband, I was wrong, I’ll never dare defy you again.”

“Go look for Sister Rongxin, she must still be awake…”

“You—you’re still going? You really are insufferable, wuu wuu wuu…”

Li Guanzhen toyed with a ball of water in his palm, a hint of softness slipping through his fingers. He paid her pleas no heed, silently activating the Art of Soaring Dragon and Dancing Phoenix within himself.

It had to be said—Wen Rongxin’s voice was soft and gentle, while Qin Jiyue’s had a magnetic timbre that could soar into piercing highs, which only inspired the wolf-hair brush to paint even faster.

One painting lasted the whole night.

The sun was high when it was over; all the ink the wolf-hair brush had accumulated over days was spent. The demoness lay silent on the couch, already deep in slumber.

Li Guanzhen, however, felt surging immortal energy erupting from the dark space within him, transforming into spiritual power that nourished his body, while part of its vitality merged quietly into his being.

Fortunately, these energies passed unnoticed by others, or Li Guanzhen would have worried that Qin Jiyue might sense something amiss.

“It’s time to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refinement…”

He drew a deep breath; he’d been at the fourth level for two, nearly three years now, approaching four. Now, after cultivating in dual harmony with Qin Jiyue, immortal energy gushed forth without end, the yin and yang meridians on the verge of opening.

Li Guanzhen closed his eyes in meditation. Within the dark space, the Velvet Blossom Spirit Tree burst into dazzling light, its blossoms swaying in celebration of his triumph over the demoness.

Not only that, he vaguely glimpsed the characters for “Pill” and “Puppet,” along with a golden spiritual root growing ever larger.

“Alchemy, puppet arts, golden spiritual root?”

He was stunned—after dual cultivation with Qin Jiyue, three rewards? That was one more than he’d received with Wen Rongxin.

“Puppet arts—that is, the crafting of puppets. I’ll need to find time to study this. In the future, if I need to kill, I can simply dispatch puppets armed with talismans—no need to do everything myself.”

These thoughts circled in his mind as he began refining the immortal energy.

As he finished refining most of the energy, knowledge of alchemical techniques and puppet crafting surfaced in his mind, etched deep and impossible to forget.

Soon, the yin and yang meridians were fully opened, and Li Guanzhen’s cultivation broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refinement.

“If I keep up this pace for a while, perhaps I can push through to the sixth level!”

Beaming, he dressed and stepped outside.

Wen Rongxin, seeing her husband emerge alone, snuck a glance toward the side room and whispered, “Did she… pass out?”

“What else?” Li Guanzhen grinned. “One alone is no match for me—it’ll take at least two.”

“Scoundrel.” Wen Rongxin blushed and spat, quickly changing the subject. She spoke gently, “Lunch is ready, husband—eat first. When Jiyue wakes, I’ll make something fresh for her. I’ve even stewed some soup.”

She knew all too well how terrifying Li Guanzhen’s prowess was. She’d thought that even someone at the seventh level of Qi Refinement like Jiyue might withstand him, but even she had passed out.

“All right, let’s eat together.” Li Guanzhen wrapped an arm around Wen Rongxin’s slender waist as they walked over; she dodged shyly, afraid lunch would turn into something else, which made him laugh heartily.

After lunch, Li Guanzhen set out. He needed to buy materials for alchemy and puppet making, then see if he could put his new skills to use.

As for the night… well, those who understood would understand.

Just as he arrived at the marketplace, he spotted two familiar figures.

Bi Zhou and Shu Yao.

Those shameless lovers still dared show themselves in Qing’an City—they truly feared nothing. Li Guanzhen averted his gaze.

Luckily, he always came to the market in disguise, or he’d risk being recognized.

A master of counter-surveillance, Li Guanzhen was also adept at tailing others. Taking advantage of the crowds, he edged closer, noting Bi Zhou was at fourth-level Qi Refinement, Shu Yao at the first.

He unobtrusively marked them both, then turned away, heading directly into the Pavilion of Myriad Wonders.

Since he’d reached the fifth level of Qi Refinement, it was time to find someone to test his sword.

“Bi Zhou is an alchemist, and though he’s steeped in evil, he likely has many cultivators willing to help him. If I’m to kill him, it must be in a single instant—no loose ends…”

Li Guanzhen quietly laid out a plan in his heart.

He had not expected, however, that just as he entered the Pavilion, Bi Zhou and Shu Yao would follow right behind.

Shu Yao’s attention was wholly absorbed by the dazzling array of magical tools and jewelry, oblivious to Li Guanzhen’s presence. Bi Zhou, too, took no notice.

They dared return to Qing’an City and enter the Pavilion only because they’d come into a windfall some months ago and were here to shop. Moreover, Qing’an City was now truly under the control of Falling Moon Valley, not Joyous Mountain. As a mid-tier first-rank alchemist, Bi Zhou naturally had many friends among the valley’s disciples.

Li Guanzhen paid them no heed, striding up to the top floor to find Zheng Huangjin.

Producing most of his talismans, he said, “Prepare for me some low-grade first-rank materials for alchemy and puppet making. I want to study these arts for a while and begin practicing both.”

Hearing this, Zheng Huangjin grew anxious. “Why give up talisman painting for such things?”

“I’ll keep painting talismans, but with my cultivation only at the fifth level, there’s no way I can become a second-rank talisman master yet. Why worry?” Li Guanzhen sighed. “I can already paint high-grade first-rank talismans… and I’ve been selling you plenty. It’s not as if I’ll stop, I just want to learn a few more trades.”

“Don’t worry—my output won’t change. Talisman painting is my livelihood.”

Zheng Huangjin finally relaxed. “I thought you’d lost your mind.”

He quickly gathered everything Li Guanzhen needed, tallied the price, and advised, “You don’t really need to learn puppet arts—they’re a drain on mind and time, and not that useful. Alchemy and talisman painting are far more lucrative. Focus more on the Dao of pills.”

“Thank you for the advice, brother.” Li Guanzhen smiled, poured himself a cup of spirit tea, and let his gaze fall on a floating mirror.

That mirror was monitoring every move in the hall below—Bi Zhou and Shu Yao were among those reflected within.