Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 321 Divine Sword Comes to Protect Me

Li Wenqing slept soundly for ten days and ten nights.

He was awakened by a rapid call from within his primordial spirit.

Li Wenqing awoke with a start, feeling a profound sense of loss... He hadn't dreamt of his mother in a long time, and even her face had become blurred in his memory.

But this time...

Not only did he seem to relive his past life, but his father also appeared in his dream this time.

His biggest regret is that his mother raised him to be successful, during which she suffered too much and shed too many tears.

He discovered that what he truly desired was not revenge against his father, but rather to make amends to his mother… However, his mother died young, or perhaps had already been reincarnated and gone, which led him to transform the pain of 'wanting to care for one's parents but finding them gone' into hatred.

Now, this ten-day dream has undoubtedly brought redemption to his tormented soul.

But this dream of redemption was interrupted by the call of the dark spring.

Li Wenqing forced himself to wake up from that blissful dream, composed himself, and then responded.

[Teacher, your disciple is here.]

Youquan asked, "Why has there been no response for so long?"

Li Wenqing hesitated for a moment, then said, "This disciple was just about to report this matter to Master."

Youquan suddenly said coldly, "Answer my question directly. You know lying to me won't work!"

Li Wenqing jumped in surprise and hurriedly replied, "Teacher, I was a little drunk and took a nap, which is why I was delayed. Please punish me!"

Youquan asked, "I remember you rarely drink, let alone get drunk."

Li Wenqing said, "This was a fine wine from the Heavenly Court that Zhao Junxin invited me to drink."

Youquan then softened her tone and said, "I see, you weren't lying... It seems you two have a good relationship?"

Li Wenqing breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "Yes, Zhao Junxin even mentioned wanting to continue working with you, teacher."

Youquan listened and pondered for a moment, then asked, "Is this not untrue?"

For some reason, I felt a sudden flutter in my heart.

Indeed, having grown accustomed to Zhao Yifu's ability to handle any task perfectly once assigned, Youquan found it truly unbearable to face that bunch of incompetent and worthless individuals again.

Li Wenqing said, "This disciple dares not deceive Master. Fu Yinzi Zhao Junxin still seems willing to serve you, but his words are no longer as respectful as before."

Youquan said nonchalantly, "That's a small matter. Did you tell him about the task I gave you?"

Li Wenqing said: "I already said so."

Youquan asked, "Did he agree to join in plotting against the Eight Immortals?"

Li Wenqing said with a conflicted expression: "He naturally agreed, but..."

Youquan said, "That's good. There are no 'buts'. We can discuss any requests he has."

Youquan appeared wealthy and powerful because he discovered that his abilities in the Three Realms were truly limitless... he could create something out of nothing!

Li Wenqing said hesitantly, "Master, he didn't actually make any demands, and I've already completed the task you gave me."

Youquan asked in surprise, "What did you say?!"

That familiar feeling is back.

Li Wenqing said, "The Eight Immortals have all fallen into demonic ways; this is something I have witnessed with my own eyes."

Youquan asked, "How did he do that?!"

No, I'm not surprised he did it so quickly, but he didn't mention any requests this time?

Li Wenqing said, "Perhaps Zhao Junxin himself is now plotting against Heaven, and he may have even gathered a group of patriots to help him... Perhaps this is why he is willing to contact and cooperate with us again."

Youquan said, "No, just ask him what he wants, and whatever he wants, just agree to it!"

Li Wenqing was stunned. He asked, "Master, what is this...?"

Youquan said, "I am vying for the rightful rule of Heaven. If I pay him, then I am hiring him; otherwise, it is his own doing. Even if the Heavenly Court is overthrown, what does the rightful rule have to do with me?"

Youquan clearly has his own unique understanding of how to do things.

Li Wenqing's expression stiffened, and he could only reply, "This disciple will go and inquire."

Youquan said, "Go quickly, this is the most important thing. Everything else can be discussed later."

Li Wenqing could only say, "Then this disciple has gone."

He ended the call, his eyes filled with confusion.

Goodness, I always feel like something out of the ordinary happens when I'm with Zhao Yifu.

However, since Venerable Youquan made such a strong request, Li Wenqing could only go up the mountain again to find Zhao Yifu with some trepidation.

His anxiety wasn't due to fear of Zhao Yifu, but rather because he didn't know how to face his father.

However, when he arrived halfway up the mountain, he saw Zhao Yifu lying on his side eating fruit by a hot spring pool, with two cats, one black and one white, serving him. He looked extremely comfortable.

Li Wenqing asked in surprise, "What are you doing here, my dear brother?"

Zhao Yifu's face darkened as he said, "It's too chaotic up above, so I came here to find some peace and quiet."

"Let's not talk about that. Did you sleep well, brother?"

Li Wenqing nodded and said, "It's better than ever before. It truly lives up to its reputation as a celestial brew from the Heavenly Court... This sleep was not only a wonderful dream, but it also made my primordial spirit feel full and I even have the potential to break through. It's truly miraculous."

He became much more casual when talking to Zhao Yifu, and also revealed his current state.

Zhao Yifu revealed a mysterious smile, and then said, "This Drunken Dream Immortal Brew was originally intended for immortals who wanted to comprehend the Dao in a drunken dream. It is only natural that you, brother, have gained something from it."

Upon hearing this, Li Wenqing exclaimed, "The Heavenly Court truly has some wonderful things!"

"By the way, my dear brother, my master is very pleased to know that you have successfully seduced the Eight Immortals into depravity, and he said he would reward you... but I don't know what you want?"

Zhao Yifu was stunned; he hadn't even considered asking for payment.

After all, many people around him have been urging him to weaken the Heavenly Court, and he has taken this matter as his responsibility.

However, since Venerable Youquan wants to give...

Zhao Yifu said almost without hesitation, "Please, Your Excellency, grant me your holy remains again!"

Li Wenqing was momentarily bewildered. What was this "holy remains"?

Then it suddenly occurred to him that when Zhao Yifu and Youquan broke up, Zhao Yifu cut off one of Youquan Venerable's arms and one of his kidneys... This is the Sacred Remains!
He said bitterly, "Alright, but I don't know if I can persuade my master."

He was simply surprised that Zhao Yifu could so easily make such a request; he was incredibly audacious.

Zhao Yifu, however, said nonchalantly, "Anyway, it's just a try, it's nothing."

Li Wenqing thought his master was strange, but he didn't expect Zhao Yifu to be even stranger. Caught in the middle, he felt like he was going crazy.

But he could only resign himself to his fate and say, "Alright, I'll give it a try, but I can't guarantee it will work."

Zhao Yifu said, "It's alright. It's best to have it, but it's not a loss if we don't."

Li Wenqing hesitated for a moment, then asked, "I wonder what your plans are now, my brother?" Zhao Yifu replied, "Well, as Master Zhang said, the next step is to 'split the four seas.' So I'm currently in contact with the Third Prince of the East Sea. He's a key figure. If we can make a good deal with him, then the plan to 'split the four seas' might succeed."

Li Wenqing couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency. He had witnessed Zhao Yifu's ability to execute, and since he had already brought this up, it was very likely that it would be accomplished.

Of course, this sense of urgency only lasted for a moment, and he felt that it didn't matter at all.

After all, it should be Youquan who truly feels the urgency, so what does it have to do with Li Wenqing?
Li Wenqing suddenly lost the desire to work for Youquan.

After all, Youquan hadn't accomplished any of the things he wanted, and after those ten days of dreams, his obsession had faded considerably... In other words, he wanted to give up.

Li Wenqing asked, "How is your contact going, my dear brother? Do you need any help?"

Zhao Yifu shook his head and said, "Let's make contact first. The biggest problem is probably reshaping the physical body. However, it seems a bit inconvenient to reshape a physical body that can match the strength of the Third Prince's original dragon race."

This is indeed a problem. While restoring one's physical body in the Celestial Realm is not a big deal, restoring one's dragon body is much more difficult...

Li Wenqing nodded knowingly and said, "Alright, I can talk to my teacher about this. With His help, restoring my physical body shouldn't be difficult."

Zhao Yifu nodded, agreeing that this would also work.

However, you can ask the Old Dragon King for specific details.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Li Wenqing went down the mountain, as he needed to continue reporting the situation to Youquan.

A rift opened in front of Zhao Yifu, revealing the face of the old Dragon King.

"Old Dragon King, this humble one greets you."

The old Dragon King also politely replied, "You're too kind, Heavenly King of the Prison. Just give me your orders if you need anything."

Zhao Yifu didn't waste any words and directly said that they could try to retrieve Ao Bing's true spirit.

The old Dragon King said gratefully, "Thank you very much, Heavenly King Zhenyu. If it can be accomplished, my dragon clan will forever remember this kindness."

Zhao Yifu said, "I just don't know if the Dragon Clan still has the courage to break free from its constraints?"

The old Dragon King was stunned, then sighed, "If I could reunite my three sons, I would have nothing to fear."

This is essentially saying it outright.

Zhao Yifu nodded to indicate that he understood, and then told him about Youquan.

The old Dragon King chuckled and said, "If Venerable Youquan is willing to help Bing'er restore his physical body, that would be good. If not... I, the old dragon, also have a way of dealing with the dragon clan."

Zhao Yifu understood; the Dragon Clan's long history naturally meant that they had preserved secret techniques.

He smiled and nodded, saying, "In that case, we need the old Dragon King's help."

Ao Guang asked, "What is it?"

Zhao Yifu said, "Find a way to get the Star Lord Huagai to drink this wine."

As he spoke, Zhao Yifu took out a flask of 'Drunken Dream Immortal Wine'. Through his experiments on Li Wenqing, he discovered that this immortal wine was perfectly suited to his dream abilities, a truly ideal match.

The old Dragon King replied, "Very well, I will soon go to heaven to scout out the child."

Zhao Yifu handed over the wine jug through the void rift, thus explaining everything.

He then went to see the God of Cookery and gave him another course of treatment.

He was taking this matter very seriously, after all, he discovered that if the God of Food was given some time, the memories of his past life as a god would slowly emerge from his true spirit.

In this situation, if Zhao Yifu were to take further action, the God of Cookery's condition could improve considerably.

Perhaps with long-term treatment, this God of Cookery will be able to completely return to the state he was in before he became a god.

As for the benefits of that state?

Most noticeably, after Zhao Yifu completed two courses of treatment, the "God of Cookery" began to proactively create new dishes based on different ingredients.

He no longer cooks mechanically, but finds enjoyment in cooking.

The food they made naturally became more and more delicious, especially for the demons around the Heavenly Prison, who couldn't stop eating the big pot meals.

Old Zhang, who used to come once a month, now comes almost every two or three days; he simply can't live without this flavor.

Old Zhang exclaimed, "I never thought you actually had a way to solve the mystery of the incense offerings... This is interesting. With such methods, why don't you go to the Heavenly Court and win over more gods?"

Old Zhang started to think that Zhao Yifu was too slow and lacked ambition.

Zhao Yifu said, both amused and exasperated, "The 'Splitting the World' plan is already underway, what else is there to do?"

Old Zhang said, "It's too slow. You need to speed it up."

"By the way, you have a good relationship with the Witch Clan. It just so happens that the Wind God and Rain Master are both from the Witch Clan. Try to win them over. This will greatly weaken the Thunder Department's strength."

Zhao Yifu nodded repeatedly, indicating that he had remembered this.

Actually, he could have easily delegated this task to Xing Tian.

He thought of the witch clan in his dream city; this matter should be resolved as long as he explained it to the Nine Phoenix Great Witch.

But Old Zhang didn't stop. He added, "There's also the bedside god. If you handle it well, you might be able to get Li Jing and his son to work for you."

Zhao Yifu frowned upon hearing this and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult. After all, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King is selfless and should not be coerced by this. But Nezha, that troublemaker, will probably turn against me completely."

Old Zhang said irritably, "So what if you turn your back on me? Are you afraid you can't beat that brat?"

"But it is indeed a problem."

"Anyway, now that you've smashed the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King's tower, and Nezha and Li Jing can no longer get along, the impact on the Heavenly Court's military system is already significant enough."

"Forget it, let's not bother with this. Let them take their own course."

"However, you should still try to create some commotion among the gods in Heaven. If the gods here can wake up from their obsession with incense offerings, or return to their pre-godhood consciousness, then probably not many will be willing to obey the Heavenly Court's decrees."

Zhao Yifu asked in surprise, "Why is that?"

Old Zhang said, "Do you know why there are only a few people who become gods in the physical body, while the vast majority of true gods are enshrined in the Investiture of the Gods list after death and then conferred godhood?"

Zhao Yifu seemed to be deep in thought, then suddenly realized, "The key is to die once!"

Old Zhang nodded with emotion and said, "That's right, you have to die once."

"If he hadn't turned the Investiture of the Gods into a past life experience, how could he have remained calm and peaceful after the Investiture of the Gods?"

"After being deified in this way, it is the beginning of a new life for them. All the things in their previous lives will naturally become a hazy memory. Even if they still remember, what difference does it make?"

Zhao Yifu realized, "If we can make them recall their memories of the War of the Gods and use them as their main focus... Haha, I know, they're a bunch of born traitors."

As soon as he finished speaking, a divine sword surrounded by a purple ribbon-like stream of light descended from the sky.

The sword, illuminated by the flowing light, possessed an infinitely mysterious and ever-changing power, leaving even Old Zhang stunned.

He looked up and then pointed at the divine sword that had suddenly appeared, saying, "Alright, go ahead and do it without worry. You've even received a protective weapon from a sage."

Zhao Yifu was a little confused. He asked, "This is..."

Old Zhang said, "This is the Immortal-Slaying Sword; you must have heard of it."

Zhao Yifu nodded silently, feeling a little melancholy... He wasn't implicated in the affairs of the three brothers, was he?
(End of this chapter)