Chapter 1168: The Phantom Image of Master Kong

"You..." At the rebuke, Zhang Jiuxiao's body shook, nearly spitting blood.

He had just made someone grind ink, and in the blink of an eye, the task fell back on himself... This face-slapping was too fast!

His face flushed red, durian fruits falling all over the ground. Just as Zhang Jiuxiao was about to rage, he heard the other's voice continue.

"What? Disagree? I want to resolve the seal, and everyone here surely wants to see it too... For such an important matter, you should feel duty-bound..."

His face darkening, Zhang Jiuxiao's words were all choked in his chest, unable to come out.

It seemed... these were the exact words he had just spoken to the other, not a single character different...

Just now he was high-spirited, pointing at the world, and now... with a change of roles, his face was swollen.

"Self-inflicted suffering is beyond redemption..."

Full of frustration, yet knowing that since he had just rebuked the other, the other's retort was justified, he was about to explode with anger but still came forward and began to grind ink.

"Mm!"

Seeing that he said no more, Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

To be honest, he was not a vengeful person, because he always took revenge on the spot.

He had seen the other's hostility at first glance, and since that was the case, there was no need to play the good guy...

Moreover, this fellow's family wanted to marry Luo Ruoxi...

Back then, Feng Xun was beaten into a pig's head just for confessing his feelings, nearly dying. Although he didn't know where this fellow's family was and wasn't qualified to cause trouble for now... it didn't hurt to collect some interest first.

Seeing that the other had finished grinding ink, Zhang Xuan was about to dip his brush and break the painting's artistic conception to enter with his mind, when suddenly his heart stirred. He looked up at President Meng Chong not far away.

"President Meng, do you happen to have any calligraphy and painting books with you? Those of the sixth and seventh realms, the more the better. To find the most suitable point and activate the spirituality, so that neither side is harmed... I want to see if there are similar books I can learn from!"

"Books of the sixth and seventh realms?"

Not expecting that at this critical moment, the man wanted to read, President Meng shook his head: "I don't have many on me, but the Calligraphers and Painters Guild is not far from here. I can go and fetch some."

"Then I'll trouble you..."

Zhang Xuan cupped his fists.

"No need to be polite!" Responding, President Meng Chong turned and left the room. Before long, he returned, and with a flick of his wrist, a pile of books appeared before them, densely packed, tens of thousands in number.

As the guild president, fetching some books would not invite criticism.

Zhang Xuan approached, quickly scanned them, then picked up a book, pretending to read carefully, while his consciousness entered the Library of Heaven's Path.

"Heaven's Path Calligraphy and Painting, Sixth and Seventh Realms..."

Smiling lightly, he opened the newly formed book of the sixth realm.

He had only studied the fifth realm. Although he could create paintings that surpassed mortal wisdom thanks to the miraculous Heaven's Path techniques, he had never actually learned the sixth realm's method.

Half an hour later, the sixth realm was fully mastered.

Another half an hour later, the seventh realm was also fully mastered.

Zhang Xuan then exhaled, put down the book, and his eyes shone.

At this moment, his understanding of calligraphy and painting had reached the peak of the seventh star, even comparable to an eighth-star grandmaster.

"Master Zhang... can we begin?"

Seeing the man pick up an unremarkable book and sit for an hour, the Bronze Mask was full of anxiety.

"We can."

Nodding, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath, stepped to the painting, and his Eye of Insight stirred as he looked again.

If earlier he couldn't understand the painting at all and relied solely on the flaws given by the Library, now he could see exactly what was going on. Many parts he understood intuitively, without needing instruction.

"I'll begin..."

Saying no more, Zhang Xuan lightly touched the inkstone with his brush, soaked it well, found the right spot, and gently brought the brush down.

Whir, whir, whir, whir!

In the blink of an eye, a picture appeared before them, floating quietly in midair without falling.

"Such superb void calligraphy!"

Seeing him paint, President Meng Chong's pupils contracted.

Laymen watch the excitement, experts watch the craft.

The same void calligraphy: Zhang Jiuxiao's was mere skin-deep, while this man's contained a beautiful artistic conception, having reached an extremely profound level.

"Superb? How do you compare?" President Mu looked over from the side.

"To be honest... I am far inferior. His void calligraphy, every stroke, carries its own charm, giving a sense of reality and illusion, as if it might detach and become something real... It is infinitely close to the eighth realm of calligraphy and painting. I am far behind..."

Meng Chong smiled bitterly.

Though reluctant to admit it, he knew the other far surpassed him.

No wonder he could spot the problem in this painting at a glance. With such skill in calligraphy and painting, no one in the Qingyuan Empire could match him.

"This..."

Seeing this, Zhang Jiuxiao's mouth twitched, feeling he was about to go mad.

When they first met, he was still smugly offering to give guidance, but now he realized that the other was far superior to him in both artifact appraisal and painting and calligraphy...

Showing off in front of an expert... what a disgrace...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Amid everyone's shock, Zhang Xuan's brush did not stop, and a pattern resembling a door appeared before their eyes.

"A door?"

"Why paint a door?"

"You wouldn't know this, but this landscape painting, to us, seems like it's reflected outside a window. Although it looks close, it's actually at a certain distance... If you want your consciousness to approach, there's only one way: open a door and come to the front. Otherwise, you'll never succeed!"

...

Seeing clearly what he had drawn, the crowd was first shocked, then suddenly enlightened.

Those present were the most prominent figures in Qingyuan City. Although they couldn't see how to resolve the seal, they could still understand this method.

The landscape painting had reached a realm between reality and illusion. It looked close but was actually extremely far. To awaken its spirit, one had to come before it, so naturally a door was needed...

Whoosh!

The door completed, Zhang Xuan put down his brush, raised his eyebrows, and pressed his palm downward.

Splash!

The ink suspended in the air immediately fell onto the scroll.

Boom!

With a roar, the mountains that had been far away now appeared before everyone's eyes. It seemed that the door he had painted opened a passage, allowing anyone to step directly into the painting.

"Alright, I'm about to begin..."

Having done this, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Master Wu, and said, "Master Wu, please guard me!"

Although no one was likely to attack, he still needed to be cautious.

"Alright!"

Master Wu came to his side.

Only then did Zhang Xuan sit cross-legged on the ground. With a stir of his spirit, a thought traveled along the door he had just painted and entered.

Entering the door, he immediately felt a moist humidity rushing toward him. Zhang Xuan's thought advanced quickly and soon reached the mountainside.

The peak shrouded in white clouds was pitch black, with nothing visible. Entering it felt like stepping into night. Zhang Xuan knew this was because the spirit had not been ignited. Without pausing, he activated the method of awakening the spirit and pointed his finger sharply.

Whoosh!

Beams of light shone forth. More than twenty flames were lit, illuminating the surroundings, but it was still a bit short of fully activating the spirit.

Even so, the light dispelled the darkness under the clouds, revealing the entire mountain peak clearly.

It was a dense forest, looking no different from anywhere else. However, on the mountain, as sunlight cast down, a faint shadow slowly emerged, giving one a feeling of wanting to worship.

"This..."

Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted.

He had seen this shadow before.

Master Kong!

At this moment, Master Kong was serene and indifferent, giving a sense of peace and calm, yet also a feeling of traversing time, as if about to disappear at any moment.

"This is... the scene that Elder Wubei saw!"

He clenched his fists.

This painting was done by Elder Wubei, so the shadow of Master Kong was naturally fake. But... the shadow before him was full of spirit, inspiring a desire to prostrate oneself. It could not have been imagined out of thin air.

That is to say...

This Elder Wubei had once witnessed this scene with his own eyes. The memory was so profound that he painted it.

"Master Wu said that this Elder Wubei was very ordinary when young. After turning one hundred and eighty, he suddenly had an epiphany. Not only did his cultivation advance by leaps and bounds, but his painting and calligraphy seemed divinely inspired... Could it be that seeing Master Kong's shadow caused his sudden enlightenment?"

Master Wu had told him about this Elder Wubei, whose experience was nothing short of miraculous.

If there had been no great opportunity, no one would believe it.

Perhaps... it was because he saw Master Kong's shadow that he had an epiphany and became an eight-star painter and calligrapher. Later, when his strength reached a certain level, out of gratitude, he left his feelings on paper.

"However, matters concerning Master Kong are too significant. After finishing the painting, knowing that once the news leaked, there would be endless trouble... Perhaps the trouble had already come, so he used white clouds to cover it. Yet in the end, he still met with misfortune. Just after doing this, he disappeared..."

Zhang Xuan speculated.

After four recognitions as a master teacher, his thinking was clear and logical. Although many things seemed without clues, after some thought, he could still deduce a few things.

Why did Master Kong's shadow appear on this mountain? Where exactly did it appear? These were all questions. If discovered by someone with ill intent, it would surely cause great upheaval.

As an eight-star painter and calligrapher, a master of the Out-of-Body realm, Elder Wubei could not have been unaware of this.

Unfortunately, he couldn't bear to abandon his own work. He agonized over it for thirty years... In the end, he still couldn't escape fate.

"Master Kong's appearance here means that, like Qiuwu Palace, there must be ruins left here... Let me first see where the shadow appears!"

Having figured this out, Zhang Xuan quickly looked up at the place where Master Kong's shadow had appeared.

"There..."

Soon finding the exact location, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up, and he swiftly flew over.