Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 277 Old Friends in the Snowfield
Xuandu settled down on Baiyun Mountain and would occasionally preach to Zhao Yifu.

Another benefit is that Xuandu always gets some news from who-knows-where, and shares important world events with Zhao Yifu in his spare time.

The feeling of having the world at your fingertips without leaving home is simply wonderful.

On this day, Zhao Yifu was listening to the Dao when he suddenly heard Xuandu say, "Hiss~ Something's happened."

Zhao Yifu asked, "What could it be?"

Xuan Du said, "There has been a problem with the Heavenly Prison. The Blood Ancestor's avatar has caused trouble and escaped from the Nine Heavenly Prisons. Now it is a scene of chaos and war."

Zhao Yifu asked in surprise, "Won't my ancestor Wenheng be implicated?"

He was very concerned about this, as for the Blood Ancestor's avatar escaping... to be honest, Zhao Yifu didn't care much, because in his mind it was inevitable.

When he was around, he could keep an eye on things by constantly offering blood sacrifices, but now that he's gone, who knows what kind of problems the blood pool will face.

Xuan Du said, "Wen Heng... Oh, the Demon Subduing Emperor, his Prison Suppression Army responded immediately. They must have blocked the Blood Ancestor's avatar that broke away, which bought enough time for the Thunder Department."

"The Demon Suppression Army did play a role, although it suffered heavy casualties, but it was their duty."

"But it's hard to explain that the prison warden under Baihu's command made such a big mistake. According to the heavenly rules, the person in charge of the prison warden will be stripped of his divine office and sent into reincarnation. Even Baihu, as the supervisor, will be punished. He will have to reincarnate for at least several lifetimes before he can return to his divine position."

Zhao Yifu seemed to understand the implication and asked, "So it wasn't actually done according to the Heavenly Rules?"

Xuandu nodded: "With the plea of ​​many celestial officials, the Heavenly Emperor dealt with the matter leniently, only punishing the head of the prison department but not Baihu."

Zhao Yifu sighed, "What a mess this is! Is this the privilege of the Four Divine Beasts?"

Xuandu dismissively said, "What are those Four Divine Beasts? They've only inherited the legacy of their ancestors. The true Four Divine Beasts have long since merged with the Four Symbols for the sake of the stability of this world."

"The Heavenly Court needs the fortune of the Four Symbols to assist in its operation and demonstrate its legitimacy, so it appointed their descendants as the Four Divine Lords."

Zhao Yifu immediately understood. No wonder he always felt that the White Tiger God had disappointed him; it turned out that this was one of the reasons.

He then became too lazy to think about the White Tiger God Lord anymore, and simply asked, "How is my brother Liu? Has he managed to suppress that Blood Demon?"

Xuan Du said, "Marshal Liu is a righteous god of the Thunder Department, responsible for punishment, not pursuit. This pursuit should have been the responsibility of the Demon Subduing Emperor, but the White Tiger insisted on taking over the matter for the sake of his own face... The specific outcome is still unknown."

Zhao Yifu nodded in relief and said, "That blood magic is extremely powerful. It's a good thing to let the White Tiger God's people try it. As long as my ancestor Wenheng doesn't get hurt."

Xuan Du said with amusement, "It seems you were mentally prepared for the Blood Ancestor's incarnation to escape from prison?"

Zhao Yifu nodded and said, "The problem with the Blood Demon is not actually how it is supervised, but that the 'Spirit Locking Restriction' of the Heavenly Prison has been neglected for a long time and has started to malfunction."

"It was under these circumstances that the Blood Demon was given the opportunity to quickly recover his cultivation."

"Unless someone can put in the effort to readjust the 'Spirit Locking Restriction of the Void,' the prisoners in the Heavenly Prison will eventually be able to escape."

Xuandu nodded upon hearing this and said, "I forgot that you also received the inheritance of Dongyue, which is the lineage of the Heavenly Emperor. That is indeed the problem."

"Very well, this matter has nothing to do with us, and someone will naturally handle it."

Then he started talking to Zhao Yifu about Taoism again.

Zhao Yifu didn't take it seriously.

But unexpectedly, this matter ended up falling on Zhao Yifu's head.

The Mysterious Yin Maiden arrived in haste.

Xuandu immediately disappeared without a trace.

Zhao Yifu released the illusion array to let her in, then asked, "Is there another mission?"

Xuan Yin Cha Nu nodded solemnly and said, "The Venerable One has ordered everyone to immediately hunt down the Blood Shadow Demon Lord."

Zhao Yifu was surprised and asked, "Why is that?"

Xuan Yin Cha Nu said, "I don't know the specifics, but it should be that Blood Shadow Demon Lord betrayed the Venerable One."

Zhao Yifu sighed softly, "What kind of trash surrounds the Venerable One!"

Thinking about it, the Demon Lord of the Nether Spring is quite pitiful. He is surrounded by traitors and useless people. The only one who truly follows him is probably Li Wenqing... Perhaps he knows this, which is why he took Li Wenqing as his disciple and paid more attention to protecting him.

Zhao Yifu asked, "Has the Venerable One's control over the Blood Shadow Demon Lord failed?"

He had barely asked the question when he smiled and said, "That's true. They specialize in playing with blood, so they must have some means to avoid any negative impact."

Xuan Yin Cha Nu paused, then added, "The Venerable One is very angry about this."

Zhao Yifu chuckled upon hearing this: "It seems the Venerable One was quite tricked... I always thought that if He hadn't met me, He would probably have remained in seclusion for thousands or even tens of thousands of years."

These words were quite disrespectful, but surprisingly, Xuan Yin Cha Nu did not perceive them as nonsense.

Indeed, Zhao Yifu has made a huge contribution to Lao You's career during this period.

Xuan Yin Cha Nu said, "There's no time to lose. Is there anything else you need to prepare?"

With a wave of his hand, Zhao Yifu once again gathered all the living creatures on the hilltop into his sleeve, then nodded and said, "Alright, let's go."

Xuan Yin Chan Nu was speechless as she watched him take everything away, and asked, "Don't you find it cumbersome to carry so much stuff?"

Zhao Yifu said, "How could that be? They're very well-behaved. Besides, what if they're left on the mountain and someone catches them and uses them to blackmail me?"

Xuan Yin Cha Nu instantly imagined a scene where someone held a knife to a cat's neck to threaten Zhao Yifu... It just felt so comical!
However, considering that he himself had failed to properly settle things at home, which led to his current predicament, he felt that he had no right to say anything to Zhao Yifu.

She said, "Let's go to the Blood Shadow Demon Lord's cave first; perhaps we can find some clues there."

Zhao Yifu shook his head and said, "What's the point of going there? Everyone else can think of what you can think of. There's no need to squeeze in there and compete with others. We might as well go straight to our destination."

Xuan Yin Cha Nu asked in surprise, "Do you know where the Blood Shadow Demon Lord is going?"

Zhao Yifu chuckled and said, "What a coincidence. A couple of days ago, the Blood Demon, who was the incarnation of the Blood Ancestor, escaped from the Heavenly Prison, but he is currently being chased by the Heavenly Soldiers."

"I guess the Blood Shadow Demon Lord must have defected because of this... After all, I remember him saying something about what his purpose was in joining the Eight Demon Lords?"

Xuan Yin Cha Nu took a deep breath and said, "Then that makes sense. I didn't expect you to have such a wide range of sources."

Zhao Yifu said, "Come with me to the Western Heaven Realm, we can just wait for them to come to us."

Xuan Yin Chan Nu nodded with some conviction, at this moment she was just marveling at how many sources of information Zhao Yifu had.

But then she suddenly saw Zhao Yifu wave his hand and splash ink to form a string of characters, which then turned into several kittens that disappeared into the pool.

She asked, "This is..."

Zhao Yifu casually said, "Send a message to acquaintances and tell them I'm going to the Western Heaven Realm to find the Blood Shadow Demon Lord, and ask them to help keep an eye out for me."

Xuan Yin Cha Nu asked in surprise, "Don't they all know that you have fallen into demonic possession?"

Zhao Yifu said, "They...should know, right?"

Xuan Yin Cha Nu asked again, "Do they think you're an undercover agent?"

Zhao Yifu shook his head: "I never said any of that to them."

Xuan Yin Chan Nu was puzzled and asked, "Then why are you still..."

Zhao Yifu said, "I think, given their level of understanding, they probably wouldn't associate a real demon with a mentally unstable person who has gone mad from practicing qi cultivation." Xuan Yin Chan Nu seemed to understand, but she felt that Zhao Yifu was still too optimistic.

In her view, once someone becomes a demon, they become a demon, which means they are out of step with the mainstream of this world, and the way people look at them will definitely change accordingly.

However, she didn't say anything, intending to let reality give Zhao Yifu a good slap in the face.

The two remained silent as they traveled together using water magic to reach the Western Heaven Realm.

This time, the journey unexpectedly turned into a competition between the two.

The Water Escape Technique of the Mysterious Yin Maiden is a very profound technique for utilizing water elements, allowing one to merge oneself into the water elements of heaven and earth for escape.

However, she was clearly not skilled enough in cultivation and had not fully integrated into the water element, so she left behind an icy blue trail when she fled... which was her transformation into a rainbow.

Zhao Yifu was also impressed; the Yuqing lineage was indeed powerful, pointing directly to the origin of heaven and earth. However, this also meant that cultivation was fraught with difficulties, and only those with talent, luck, and good fortune could achieve success.

In comparison, Zhao Yifu's escape technique seemed less sophisticated, as he was still unable to break free from the limitations of tangible water.

He now relies on the oscillation of water droplets to locate and move forward.

On the road ahead, his figure would flash briefly at every ripple in the water, and then reappear at another ripple in the distance.

They traveled for three days and three nights in one breath before finally arriving at the western part of the Western Heaven Realm, the cold wasteland where the Heavenly Prison was located.

This place is already covered with snow.

But this place was not peaceful; a large contingent of heavenly soldiers and generals surrounded the area from the sky and on the ground, making it impossible to pass through.

In a nearby cold pool, Zhao Yifu's figure appeared amidst the ripples.

The series of escapes had left him somewhat exhausted, but seeing the familiar scenery here put him in a good mood.

After standing still for a while, a cloud of icy mist appeared not far from him, and then Xuan Yin Cha Nu revealed her figure, slightly out of breath.

The deep blue veins on her body became even more prominent at this moment, looking extremely eerie.

Zhao Yifu said, "You have drawn evil energy into your body to form a demonic form, but this has also greatly hindered your cultivation... I advise you to study how to solve this problem."

Xuan Yin Cha Nu was about to say something.

Zhao Yifu added, "After all, you no longer need to use this image to hide your identity."

She suddenly couldn't say anything... That makes so much sense.

"Let's go, let's walk a little further in. An elder of mine has already arranged for someone to receive us."

Xuan Yin Cha Nu was surprised. Could it be that someone really didn't care that Zhao Yifu had fallen into demonic ways?
Then they walked towards the encirclement in the snowfield... Before long, a bright red figure stood in the snowfield, becoming the most eye-catching color in the white snowfield.

As Zhao Yifu looked at that splash of red, a flicker of fire gradually appeared in his eyes.

This scene seems to have appeared in his paintings before?
"You know her?"

Xuan Yin Cha Nu inquired.

Zhao Yifu nodded, then shook his head: "I just don't know if it's an old friend returning."

As he spoke, he strode forward.

That splash of red in the snowfield was none other than a goddess general wielding a gun.

When she saw Zhao Yifu appear, she frowned slightly, but still waited quietly.

Zhao Yifu approached her, paused for a moment, and then asked, "How should I address you now?"

The goddess said calmly, "I am Hong Zhao, and I have been ordered to come and meet you."

He paused, then added, "And I warn you, do not think that just because you are my mortal husband, you can treat me lightly."

Zhao Yifu: ? ? ?

He asked curiously, "Did we get married in the mortal realm?"

The goddess turned to look at him without saying a word, but her eyes seemed to be looking at trash... oh, at a scumbag.

Suddenly another gaze turned towards him. Zhao Yifu turned his head and saw that Xuan Yin Cha Nu was also looking at him with the same look she had given him when he was a scumbag.

This caused Zhao Yifu's memory to waver for a moment. Did he really marry Zhou Qingzhao back then?

no?
It seems that they lived together as Daoist partners for a period of time before she took her leave to travel.

He was somewhat confused about what was going on.

However, there is one good thing: compared to our last meeting at the Divine General's Mansion, she was noticeably more lively this time, and she also exuded a powerful and sharp aura.

It seems like she's awakened to something?
There might have been a slight oversight, leading to a misremembered memory.

Thinking this through, Zhao Yifu didn't bring up the matter again, but simply asked, "Has the Blood Demon made any move?"

Although General Hong Zhao, who had a cold face towards Zhao Yifu, seemed aloof, she did not refuse to answer his questions.

She said, "The commotion is huge. The White Tiger Guards have lost 30% of their strength, but we still can't capture them."

"I heard that the White Tiger God has personally taken action twice, but the Blood Demon escaped each time. Now the White Tiger God is furious."

Zhao Yifu pondered and said, "Things don't happen more than three times. This White Tiger God only has one last chance left. If He fails again, it will be the Ancestral Master's turn to take action... Be careful then, don't be foolish and rush forward."

He gave me his concerned instructions.

General Hong Zhao's expression stiffened, and he said, "I am a general under the command of the Demon-Subduing Emperor, and naturally I obey the Emperor's orders."

Zhao Yifu scratched his head, then without thinking, splashed ink and created an ink cat, which then leaped into the snow and disappeared.

He then said, "Alright, I've already spoken to the patriarch. You've only just become a divine general and don't have much experience, so I'll let you manage logistics for now."

Hong Zhao immediately turned to look at Zhao Yifu, with an expression that suggested he wanted to hit him.

Zhao Yifu laughed and said, "Alright, alright, it's no big deal. Now that you've become a divine general, you'll have plenty of opportunities to slay demons and monsters... Why don't you come with me for a walk now?"

The Goddess Hong Zhao became surprisingly calm.

Meanwhile, Xuan Yin Cha Nu beside her was filled with doubt and surprise: Had she already appeased him?

Sometimes she had to admire Zhao Yifu's silver tongue; it was truly remarkable...

However, she didn't expect that Zhao Yifu also had a weakness, and this was it.

The divine general Hong Zhao led Zhao Yifu to the summit of a snow-capped mountain. Looking into the distance, a vast expanse of snow stretched out before them.

A majestic general, dressed in a green robe over a black armor, stood atop the mountain, wielding a crescent-shaped blade with a blue dragon pattern.

Zhao Yifu quickly took two steps forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Patriarch Wenheng."

The Demon-Subduing Emperor stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Junxin, it's been a long time."

(End of this chapter)