Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 340 Enjoy the feast
Agarwood is indeed a problem, mainly because if the ancient grudge were to erupt, he would probably be the first to be affected.

Seeing Yang Jian's worried expression, Zhao Yifu thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up and he said, "Little Zhao, come here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Zhao emerged from behind him.

Two identical people stood together, but Xiao Zhao, who appeared later, clearly had a mischievous air about him.

Zhao Yifu said, "Little Zhao, after you enter the Heavenly Court from the Demon Realm and find Chenxiang, use the Heavenly Demon Secret Technique to enter his heart."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhao smiled mischievously: "Are you asking me to become a celestial demon? Should we then seduce Chenxiang into becoming a demon?"

Zhao Yifu said irritably, "What do you think? If you're so capable, you could even lure that secluded spring into something depraved."

Xiao Zhao waved his hand and said, "Boring, I'm leaving then."

As he spoke, a dark domain appeared in the sky above, and Xiao Zhao immediately plunged into it. Around that dark domain, celestial demons could be vaguely seen swirling around, their forms indescribable.

Yang Jian stared at it for a long time without saying a word, feeling a sense of déjà vu, as if he were 'associating with the Heavenly Demon'.

I have a feeling that if Youquan hadn't come, the person next to me would have been the biggest demon in the Three Realms!

He once thought of the demon as someone who would bring calamity to the people and who would have to fight to the death.

The demon he's encountered now: someone who shares his concern for the common people, worries about and cares for his family, and calls him "uncle." Then, he brazenly invites him to join him in rebelling against heaven... He can't even find a reason to refuse.

……

Upon arriving in the Demon Realm, Xiao Zhao immediately spotted Mara Bo Xun's gaze and returned a bright smile.

Mara kept his distance, as if avoiding a snake or scorpion.

Xiao Zhao, on the other hand, arrived above the Heavenly Court... Originally, there were eight righteous gods suppressing the demonic realm as a barrier, but now... he can come and go as he pleases.

Of course, there is a stepping stone to enter the Heavenly Court from the Demon Realm, and that stepping stone is desire.

He immediately noticed Qiu Yuzi of the Tian Shu Prime Minister's residence, but unfortunately, he failed to detect how much desire Qiu Yuzi possessed.

Good heavens, so he stayed behind to prepare the Heavenly Pivot God Image for Youquan, treating it as his own cultivation!

Since their own sect leader and grandmaster grand-uncle are no good, let's take a look at Chenxiang...

Hmm, agarwood...

There are no desires.

He saw it as if it were a salted fish sunbathing on the beach, without a single extra thought.

Good heavens, what's wrong with the monkey and pig? How did they raise such a useless piece of trash?

Forget it, let's look at something else...

Then Xiao Zhao saw a huge source of desire.

The source of that desire was so vast that even Xiao Zhao, who wasn't a celestial demon, was drooling.

He glanced at the demons around him and noticed that they were all lingering around, drooling but not daring to go down.

At this moment, Moro opened his eyes in the Demon Realm and said with an inscrutable meaning, "Back then, when Youquan sought cooperation with me, he specifically signed a cooperation agreement that would not harm each other."

This... is quite interesting.

Looking into Bo Xun's eyes, Xiao Zhao immediately understood what was going on.

As expected of the Demon King, this is a reminder that the Heavenly Demons cannot go up, but he can, right?
Xiao Zhao smiled broadly and said, "Let him go!"
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he was plunged into the enormous vortex of desire that Youquan belonged to.

Such intense desire is simply a great tonic!
Xiao Zhao descended silently, quietly penetrating the depths of Youquan's heart.

He wasn't originally a proper demon, so there should have been a noticeable difference in his presence.

But who can blame Youquan for having too many desires and too many loopholes?
So much so that even a 'guest demon' like Xiao Zhao could sneak in without any hindrance.

Then, Zhao Yifu himself was stunned.

Good guy!
Zhao Yifu in Baiyun Mountain had twitching eyelids. How did his little Zhao become Youquan's inner demon?

No, this is way too easy!

Zhao Yifu began to search for the rationale behind this matter.

Or rather, they were trying to find out what was going on in order to take precautions.

However, Xiao Zhao had already clumsily begun to use the Heavenly Demon Secret Technique to refine the desires of the Nether Spring!
At the same time, Youquan's inner thoughts were completely exposed to him, as if she were completely defenseless.

Zhao Yifu was completely bewildered. Wasn't Youquan a powerful being equivalent to a saint? How could this be?

Looking at these many uncontrollable desires, he slowly seemed to understand something.

What kind of world environment did the primordial deities, born at the beginning of time, face?
That was a state of new beginnings, where everything was pure and pristine.

Even under those circumstances, the Demon Realm didn't exist yet, let alone the Demon Realm.

Therefore, in that situation, one does not need to consider one's temperament when cultivating. The innate deities are also very simple and do not have any inner demons.

However, as the number of living beings increased, so did the dark side of all things, which led to the existence of the Demon Realm and the increase of desires in the world.

At this point, cultivators will face even greater tests of their Dao heart.

As the world develops, the tests of one's moral character become increasingly numerous.

At this point, it can be said that the Demon Realm was at its most prosperous, and the strength of the Dao heart required for cultivators to achieve enlightenment far exceeded that of any previous period.

So it's not that we favor the past over the present; it's just that the cultivation world is getting worse with each generation—that's the natural law of the world.

So how would Youquan, an existence equivalent to a newly born innate deity, react to the end times when desires are at their peak?

He, like ordinary cultivators, also had to face his own chaotic Daoist mind... No, he disdained the teachings of Daoism and Buddhism. What Daoist mind or Buddhist mind was there in him?
Perhaps given some time, He could gather His inner desires and enter a state of 'heart of emptiness' or something similar to adjust His mindset, but unfortunately, He doesn't have that time...

He was busy vying for the Heavenly Court, and now he is about to face the eruption of an ancient grudge.

Zhao Yifu figured out the logic behind it, but what about his own son, Xiao Zhao?

Xiao Zhao is becoming more and more proficient in using the Heavenly Demon Secret Technique!
As expected of an evil corpse, it's twice as effective at carrying out the deeds of the Heavenly Demon.

and many more……

Zhao Yifu suddenly discovered a key point.

The ultimate goal of the Heavenly Demon is to replace the host's original consciousness with the inner demon that is the host.
So, can his little Zhao usurp the throne?

"Sigh~"

Zhao Yifu couldn't help but gasp.

He felt that his idea was a bit too bold.

But if it really happens...

Zhao Yifu decisively announced his seclusion.

His true form and primordial spirit are about to accomplish something big.

It's not just about helping Xiao Zhao swallow the consciousness of the Nether Spring; it's also about setting aside a portion in the dark void to help the Dao-seeking avatar comprehend the void.

The amount of consciousness he can devour from the Nether Spring is closely related to how much of the Dark Void he can comprehend.

Of course, he also devotes some energy to paying attention to the situation in the mortal realm.

At that moment, he felt that he was extremely busy, to the point of being overwhelmed.

Xiao Zhao is busy!

Busy refining the desires of the Nether Spring.

This Nether Spring truly lives up to its reputation as a powerful being at the level of an Ancestral God; its boundless and magnificent consciousness brings with it equally boundless spiritual power.

He only realized that he and his original self had been overthinking things when he began to refine these powerful desires using the Heavenly Demon Technique.

Why would Youquan be afraid of the Heavenly Demon?
Such a terrifyingly vast consciousness is beyond the influence of a mere celestial demon. Even an ordinary celestial demon would be annihilated into dust under such immense and extreme fluctuations of desire!

It was only because Xiao Zhao himself was the embodiment of the thoughts of a Great Luo Golden Immortal that he had enough strength to withstand it.

This boundless spiritual power, once refined, was enough to overwhelm any celestial demon, and even Moro was powerless to help.

Fortunately, Zhao Yifu has an entire dream world to rely on.

These refined spiritual energies, transmitted into the Dream Realm by Xiao Zhao, immediately became a more solid foundation for the Dream Realm, making its operation smoother and more stable.

The Dream Realm, which had begun to shrink due to the mass death of living beings in the world, stopped its decline and began to expand rapidly.

Zhao Yifu realized this and secretly thought how close he had come to disaster.

He had previously overlooked the fact that the decline of all living beings in the Three Realms would shrink the Dream Realm.

If it weren't for the unexpected 'support' from the powerful Youquan, he would probably have had to rely on his own primordial spirit to maintain the operation of the dream world in the later stages.

Thinking about it this way, he recalled that when he met the Primordial Celestial Venerable before, he was given a Yellow Plum that could stabilize the Great Luo Realm and nourish the primordial spirit... It seems that this big shot had already anticipated that situation and was giving him a heads-up!

Of course, if that really happens, the three saints of the Taoist sect will definitely do their best for him.

But he can't put all his hopes on others, can he?

Now it's all good; Youquan truly is his great benefactor!
Xiao Zhao continuously refined the spiritual energy of Youquan, and also absorbed Youquan's understanding of the void.

This is also a very important thing for Zhao Yifu. If he can gain Youquan's understanding, he doesn't know how much hard work he can save.

But he soon felt the pressure.

Because the desires of the secluded spring are subsiding.

Previously, He was communicating with the Heavenly Dao, and the expectation of countless years was about to be realized, so His desires were naturally churning endlessly.

But now it is clearly nearing its end, and with the blessing of Heaven, these desires have all returned to calm.

Xiao Zhao thought he would soon be expelled by the Heavenly Dao, and couldn't help but feel quite regretful.

Zhao Yifu was also disappointed, but felt that he had already gained enough benefits from Youquan.

He was content.

But at that moment, his expression changed.

The changes in the world followed.

"boom!"

A loud bang came from somewhere, as if something had broken.

The most obvious sensation was felt by Zhao Yifu, the benevolent corpse in the underworld. At that moment, the underworld shook violently, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

The expression on the face of the benevolent corpse, Lady Pingxin, changed slightly as she said, "The ancient grudge has been broken."

The benevolent corpse looked distressed and said, "All living beings are suffering."

Seeing this, Lady Pingxin smiled and said, "Your benevolent corpse has quite the appearance of a Buddha. After the great calamity, you could go to the Buddhist sect and take a place there. I'm sure they would welcome you."

This is a common occurrence. Great masters from the Buddhist sect will be appointed to positions in the Heavenly Court, and cultivators from the Taoist sect can also establish avatars in the Buddhist sect. Over the years, everyone has become intertwined with each other.

But Zhao Yifu's benevolent corpse laughed and said, "No, after the great calamity is over and I have finished what I need to do here, I will return to my original body to explore new realms."

Empress Pingxin asked in surprise, "Is this enough to achieve the Three Corpses Returning to One?"

The benevolent corpse smiled bitterly, "I suppose that once this tribulation is over, I should be able to attain the Primordial Chaos Realm."

"And after that..."

He looked up...and there was only the pitch-black sky of the underworld.

He then shook his head and said, "Let's talk about the rest later."

……

The broken seals of Heaven and the Underworld did not affect the Underworld first; instead, the boundless, ancient resentment poured down from the sky!

The outlet was directly above the Heavenly Court, as if a hole had appeared in the sky. Thick, ancient resentment washed down like murky water, enveloping the entire Heavenly Court in terrible resentment.

The Heavenly Court is about to be defiled.

However, at this moment, he became the 'big guy' who carried the entire Heavenly Court on his shoulders.

That's the Hidden Spring!
Youquan wasn't stupid; in fact, he had already anticipated this scene after entering the Three Realms and seizing the Heavenly Court.

But He did it anyway, partly because this was the only time He had the opportunity, and partly because He had absolute confidence in Him.

The ancient resentment, like sewage, washed over Youquan, making his entire body reek of stench.

At first, Youquan didn't care... What ancient grudge? Compared to Him, the mere 'eternity' of the Three Realms was meaningless.

But He soon realized something was wrong.

He originally didn't care about the ancient grudges because He had no idea what 'grudges' were. In the void, time was meaningless to Him, and the evolution of the Three Realms was just a matter of taking a nap for Him.

He is indeed far more ancient than the Three Realms, and even exists in a higher dimension than the Three Realms.

His birth from the void this time was more like a celestial being descending to the mortal realm to reincarnate and undergo tribulations.

The Nether Spring, which was originally in the void, knew nothing of resentment and would not be affected by the ancient resentment at all.

But He descended to the mortal realm...

In the mortal world, since He could 'learn' desire, He could naturally 'learn' resentment as well.

At that moment, the situation slipped out of Youquan's control...

[I am the ancestral god of all, yet even my thoughts are blocked from entering my own world! How hateful!]

[What saints, what Heavenly Way, why should they be on equal footing with me?]

Everything in this world was born because of me; if it cannot be used by me, then it shall perish on my behalf…

Various crazy ideas kept swirling and growing in Youquan's consciousness.

His spiritual wounds were thus widened.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhao seized the opportunity to continue refining and absorbing this portion of spiritual power, while also taking the opportunity to witness Youquan's ambitions.

Or rather, it's the way Youquan envisions herself as she should be...

The footage from Xiao Zhao's side reached Zhao Yifu, and it greatly inspired him.

Could Youquan's ambitions truly come true?

Moreover, the Nether Spring is now like a giant sieve, filtering out the vast majority of ancient grievances and diluting them to itself, thus diluting much of the ancient grievances that leaked into the Three Realms.

It may cause harm to the Three Realms, but it is certainly much better now.

So, this can be considered a good thing.

As for whether Youquan will become completely corrupted after absorbing so much ancient resentment?

Anyway, the saints will eventually take action, so he doesn't care about the outcome at all.

Let's just let Xiao Zhao do whatever he wants there, and take advantage of the fact that Youquan is tainted by the ancient resentment to continue to feast.

Of course, there are considerable risks involved in doing so, since Xiao Zhao is in Youquan's heart and may very well be tainted by an ancient grudge...

But thankfully, Youquan is sturdy enough to withstand the strain.

Even if he were to be contaminated with a small amount, Zhao Yifu could find a way to transfer it into the forbidden book of the Great Void.

In this way, Youquan's experience, thoughts, and background were rapidly becoming Zhao Yifu's everything, without him even realizing it... or rather, he never expected that such a little thing would parasitize his mind.

(End of this chapter)