Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 276 Sai Tianmo

Zhao Yifu clearly wanted to do good, but he had to act like a heinous criminal in order to get things done... which made it very difficult for him to keep up.

He let out a strange laugh, and suddenly a large number of souls were released from the killing knife in his left hand.

He said, "Look, these are all the things I've killed in the past three months. Their souls are temporarily left in the knife, just waiting for more to be dealt with together."

"Do you recognize any of them?"

Xuan Yin Chan Nu glanced at it quickly, then said angrily, "You've tricked me!"

There were no familiar faces among them, only some demons.

Zhao Yifu said calmly, "Oh, no, then I'm sorry, I probably didn't kill your people."

Xuan Yin Chan Nu stood there dumbfounded, asking in disbelief, "You...you went through all this trouble just to prove this?"

Zhao Yifu said, "See, now you can believe me, can't you?"

Yes, he made it clear that if he really killed Xuan Yin Chan Nu's people, he would definitely leave their souls as a hostage.

He doesn't have it now.

When he said again that he had nothing to do with the matter, his credibility more than doubled.

Xuan Yin Cha Nu still asked, "But as far as I know, the task of annihilating the Qingyu Sect was assigned to you!"

Zhao Yifu said, "Someone did mention this task to me, but I didn't think it was a small job and didn't take it."

"Speaking of which... who told you this news?"

Xuan Yin Cha Nu said calmly, "You Quan said so."

Zhao Yifu was taken aback. What did Boss Youquan mean by this?
Is this still a test?

Zhao Yifu suddenly smiled and said, "Oh...interesting..."

Suddenly, a powerful earth elemental force enveloped the entire area... This was Zhao Yifu using the divine power of the Mountain God Seal!
Before Xuan Yin Chan Nu could react, she only had time to protect herself when she felt the surrounding world fluctuate wildly, and she found herself beside an underground river.

Zhao Yifu sneered and used the Ink Painting Array to summon the Nether Spring.

"Why did you call me?"

Youquan was already very familiar with this kind of formation without blood sacrifice, and he could tell at a glance that it was Zhao Yifu calling him.

Well, when others use blood sacrifice formations to summon Him, He would have to think carefully about whether to go or not, but when Zhao Yifu summons Him directly without blood sacrifice, He has no choice but to come.

Zhao Yifu, however, opened his mouth and cursed while Xuan Yin Cha Nu was dumbfounded:
"You old scoundrel Youquan, I've worked so hard for you, and you actually turn around and slander my innocence!"

"First they made me destroy the Qingyu Sect, then they framed me for its destruction. Are they testing my intentions? Are they humiliating me?"

"Fine, I'll be frank. I am the spy sent by the Sage of Taiqing. What can you do about it?!"

Xuan Yin Cha Nu blinked, and then her scalp tingled.

Suddenly, she felt neither angry nor resentful. All she wanted to do was pull Zhao Yifu aside and tell him not to blurt out everything!
Youquan remained silent for a while, probably pondering what was going on.

His response left the Mysterious Yin Maiden speechless...

Youquan said in a stern but gentle tone, "Don't be impulsive, there's been a misunderstanding."

Xuan Yin Chan Nu was at a loss for words. This was truly a case of 'different fates for different people,' and for the first time in her life, she felt how despicable double standards were.

Zhao Yifu said, "I feel mentally exhausted, so I'll be frank with you. I am an undercover agent sent by the Sage of Taiqing. What are you going to do about it?"

Youquan said gently, "No, you couldn't be... Alright, I know I've wronged you this time, but isn't this all to find out the spies that the saints sent in?"

"I know that the Mysterious Yin Maiden can't do anything to you, so I'm just saying this to lull the other person into a false sense of security."

Zhao Yifu gave Xuan Yin Chanu, whose face was already deathly pale, a deep look, and asked, "What? Ling Ji is also a traitor? Isn't he my contact?"

He was essentially giving Youquan a way out, because everyone knew that Youquan was actually testing him.

However, Zhao Yifu was too stubborn and seemed too lazy to argue, which left Venerable Youquan at a loss.

Venerable Youquan snorted coldly and said, "This matter is not worth discussing further."

With that, the matter is considered closed.

However, at this moment, Venerable Youquan suddenly wanted to make amends, so he said, "Actually, I deliberately sent Xuan Yin Cha Nu to find you. I hope you can help me truly subdue her... After all, talented people are hard to come by."

Zhao Yifu didn't expose Youquan's awkward little thoughts, but looked at Xuan Yin Cha Nu who was about to speak and said, "Then tell me first, who exactly slaughtered Qingyu Sect?"

Youquan said, "I only let you and Lingji know about this matter on the surface, but the person who actually made the move has long been lurking near Qingyu Gate... Unfortunately, I was the one who first witnessed Qingyu Gate hastily packing up and preparing to escape."

Zhao Yifu frowned. He knew why Youquan suspected him... but this was something he had expected, and he wasn't afraid to face it.

He sneered and said, "I bet it's that monk Lingji who will come to destroy the Qingyu Sect!"

Xuan Yin Chan Nu's eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing this.

The phantom of Youquan suddenly turned to Xuanyin Chanu and said calmly, "That's right, it's him, and I also know that he is another traitor."

“Once you serve me with your blood, everything will be under my control, and you will not be able to escape.”

Xuan Yin Cha Nu staggered back two steps, her body covered in cold sweat.

She knew she had been driven to a dead end... and that her original forbearance and sacrifice had been a joke from the very beginning.

Zhao Yifu smiled lightly and said, "Don't be sad. This is actually a means for your family's behind-the-scenes people to help you completely gain the Venerable's trust."

"Do you think those big shots don't know about the blood sacrifice issue? They do know, and they deliberately made you suffer all of this so that you would wholeheartedly follow the Venerable One!"

Xuan Yin Cha Nu said coldly, "Ridiculous! It was clearly You Quan who harmed my teachers and relatives. How could I possibly work for Him?"

Zhao Yifu said, "It's very simple. If the Venerable One descends to this world and has the ability to reverse life and death, pull all the dead out of the underworld and then revive them, what then?"

Xuan Yin Chan Nu's pupils dilated violently; she had to admit that her resolve had been shaken.

If it's for the sake of resurrecting someone she cares about, then she might really fall into despair just for that.

Upon hearing this, Youquan said smugly, "That's right, reversing life and death is nothing more than a trivial matter for me."

He then asked Zhao Yifu, "But you say this was done intentionally by the person behind it. I don't understand. Is there any way to make her betray me again?"

Zhao Yifu countered, "What if that being, who also possesses great power, has already resurrected all those people in advance, and then informs them at the appropriate time, or simply appears before this woman?"

Youquan praised, "Wonderful! That way she will definitely betray me."

Xuan Yin Cha Nu's heart trembled once again.

However, this time, besides a glimmer of hope, she felt mostly humiliated... She felt like a toy, being manipulated by various powerful figures, and even her mind was being completely controlled, a strong sense of suffocation washing over her.

She was truly exhausted. If it weren't for the many people she cared about who she couldn't let go of, she really wouldn't want to endure this anymore.

Zhao Yifu suddenly smiled brightly and said, "I'm sorry, but it seems that the Venerable One's power is probably not enough to revive your relatives and friends."

"But the Venerable One's power can still give you some breathing room, don't you think?"

Xuan Yin Chan Nu was deeply shocked at this moment, because Zhao Yifu's words directly struck a chord with her. She did feel suffering and exhaustion, but if she continued to work for You Quan, even if the people behind her wanted her to betray them, they would only be asking for her help. In that case, she would have a card to play in front of the big shots... and she would no longer be someone who could be manipulated at will.

Ambitions grew rapidly in her heart, making her vaguely understand what she had to do...

Youquan laughed strangely: "That's right, that's exactly it, that's the ambition... Haha, it's good that you have ambition, now I can let you do things with peace of mind. Fu Yinzi, well done, your words are even more terrifying than the temptation of the Heavenly Demon."

Zhao Yifu humbly bowed his head and said, "Your Excellency is too kind. I only wanted to make Senior Sister Xuan Yin a little selfish."

Youquan asked, "You call her Senior Sister?"

Zhao Yifu replied, "I come from Taiqing, and she comes from Yuqing. I entered the sect later, so she must be my senior sister."

Xuan Yin Chan Nu found it somewhat surreal, but still calmly said, "I dare not..."

Zhao Yifu asked, "Senior Sister, have you figured out what to do now?"

Xuan Yin Chan Nu was taken aback again, then gritted her teeth and said, "I understand. I will do my best for Venerable Youquan from now on. The more I do for the Venerable, the more bargaining power I will have in the future."

The illusory figure of Youquan nodded and said, "Then I can rest assured."

"I'm leaving now. From now on, Xuan Yin Cha Nu will work with you. Ling Ji also needs some more tidying up..."

As He spoke, His voice faded again, becoming the gurgling sound of an underground river.

Xuan Yin Chan Nu looked at Zhao Yifu in silence for a moment, then asked, "What is your purpose in doing this?"

Zhao Yifu smiled and said, "I have tried my best to satisfy all parties. Is there any problem?"

Xuan Yin Cha Nu rubbed her forehead and smoothed it out, then said, "You helped me regain You Quan's trust, allowing our sect's mission to continue. You also fulfilled You Quan's request, allowing me to wholeheartedly serve under Him... What else?"

Zhao Yifu said, "Furthermore, the three religions are one family. If my master asks, I can confidently say: I did not stand by and watch someone die."

Xuan Yin Cha Nu said incredulously, "Could you really be an undercover agent?"

Zhao Yifu said nonchalantly, "What does it matter? He gives me benefits for doing things, and we're both satisfied."

Xuan Yin Cha Nu shook her head and said, "Right now, I just want to get the mission done as soon as possible."

Zhao Yifu shook his head and said, "It's a pity. I just returned from a mission, so we probably won't be sent out for the time being."

The two had already returned outside. Xuan Yin Chan Nu grunted and said, "Since that's the case, let's talk about the mission later."

With that, she turned and left.

Zhao Yifu had originally intended to prepare a place for her to stay on the mountain, but now it seemed she wouldn't appreciate it.

But it's fine this way, otherwise he would feel uncomfortable having an extra person for no reason.

Zhao Yifu didn't think much of it, only considering it a minor incident.

As for reporting to higher-ups?

Stop joking around. This isn't something that involves the Taiqing lineage. What's there to report?

He put the matter out of his mind and immediately began to immerse himself in his spiritual practice and enlightenment.

It's alright to put the matter of the civil and military affairs aside for now. The cultivation of celestial beings is to supplement the emptiness of the inner world with the wonders of the outer world. This is a long process of enlightenment and cultivation.

Therefore, the deeper one's spiritual practice, the more likely one is to engage in seclusion for several years or even hundreds of years.

However, Zhao Yifu's comprehension speed was extremely fast. On the one hand, there was the lubrication of Yang and spiritual energy, and on the other hand, after he did a 'great good deed,' the world would also actively respond.

At the same time, he also realized something: if Youquan really crossed space and entered the Three Realms, then He really had an excellent and risk-free way to become the orthodox ruler of heaven and earth: that is, to continuously inject dark source power into heaven and earth!
However, Venerable Youquan had no reason not to think of such a simple principle, so Zhao Yifu didn't say anything more.

While comprehending the power, he also continued to experiment with the dark source force.

Two more years passed in this way without anyone realizing it.

True spiritual practice knows no time.

He felt extremely happy to have been able to cultivate undisturbed for two years.

However, the appearance of this point naturally means that he will be disturbed next.

First, a black crane emerged from the clouds and landed before Zhao Yifu, transforming into a string of characters: 【Junxin, your master is going to the Tushita Palace to listen to your grandmaster's sermon. This is an immense opportunity, but I fear I will be unable to be your assistant for the time being.】

Zhao Yifu remarked with emotion, "A master is a master indeed."

With a flick of his hand and a splash of ink, a string of characters was formed: "[Congratulations, Master! But may we continue communication with the Ancestral Master? If so, that would be wonderful.]"

The words transformed into an ink cat, which then leaped into the pool beside it, creating ripples in the water.

Water Release—it was actually a combination of these extremely skillful Water Release techniques to facilitate the communication between the Ink Cat and the Water Release technique.

In fact, the ink crane that Liang Zhongzhi sent was also a water escape technique, it just escaped directly from the clouds and mist.

The master and apprentice honed their skills together, and indeed, they developed what was originally just an interesting spell to a whole new level.

Moreover, this spell can send not only text, but also images and pictures.

It's actually safer than sending messages using spirit paper.

Because spiritual paper messages are actually very easy for powerful individuals to detect spiritual energy fluctuations and intercept the information without the sender realizing it.

However, using stealth techniques in conjunction with communication offers both secrecy and complete control.

Once the escape technique is intercepted, this blob of ink will just be a blob of ink.

A moment later, the black crane flew out of the clouds again, landing beside Zhao Yifu and bowing its head to write: 【Good idea. If you encounter anything you don't understand in the future, just tell your master, and I will definitely find a way to answer it for you.】

Zhao Yifu smiled happily and warmly.

He and his master continued to exchange messages several times, and then Grand Master Xuandu arrived.

Grand Master Xuandu looked depressed, as if he had encountered something very unpleasant.

Zhao Yifu quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Grandmaster, what's wrong?"

Xuan Du said dejectedly, "My teacher disliked my snoring, so he sent me here to properly develop the Taiqing lineage."

"Ah~"

Zhao Yifu thought to himself, "No wonder I've been so quiet these past two years; it turns out this guy has been sleeping soundly the whole time."

Suddenly he thought of something: his master had been summoned to the Tushita Palace to study with the Patriarch, while his grandmaster had been expelled and sent to him... Good heavens, the Patriarch has a plan, he and his disciple are each taking on their own grand-disciples.

Of course, with his master going to the Tushita Palace, Zhao Yifu could feel much more at ease, at least he had one less weakness.

Although, from a conspiracy theory perspective, wouldn't doing this be considered taking hostages?

But Zhao Yifu would never simply and superficially try to understand a sage from this perspective.

If one lacks the strength, it is best to view the words and actions of a sage from the perspective of the greatest goodwill; otherwise, one will only bring trouble upon oneself.

(End of this chapter)