Inner Demons

Chapter 25: A Dream of Red Mansions

Now Li Yunxin understood why this "jade slip" was called a "Lucid Jade Slip."

Because at this moment, it was indeed completely luminous.

After he came to this world, many things had profoundly shocked him—for example, paper turning into salt, demons, flying swords, and people believing that one could truly cultivate to become an immortal.

But all those things combined couldn't compare to this moment—the moment he saw that line of text. Emotion, both excited and chaotic, instantly filled his chest. Even with his experience of two lives, he couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at the jade slip for a long while, utterly stunned.

This thing... had opened.

In fact, after his initial shock and surprise, another question came to mind.

After obtaining this jade slip from where his parents had hidden it, he had tried countless methods to open it, hoping this treasure would give him some miraculous power to escape his previous predicament. But this thing was like a lifeless piece of glass, completely unresponsive no matter what—even when he poured in the little spiritual energy he had cultivated with "Water Cloud Strength," it was still like a clay ox entering the sea, with no effect.

But now, in the depths of this night, this thing "opened."

Li Yunxin held it, spending two minutes in astonishment and another three minutes trying to think of any possible reason.

Ultimately, he concluded that the most likely reason was... those two demons.He had tried many methods before. Soaking in water, burning with fire, sun exposure, infusing spiritual energy. If there was anything out of the ordinary in recent days...

It was encountering great demons.

First Young Master Nine, then Bai Yunxin, and her little maid.

Perhaps... it was the demonic power of the great demons that affected this object.

But why would a Lucid Jade Slip left by the Painting Saint two thousand years ago be opened by demonic power?!

And who was that Painting Saint?!

A strange yet familiar feeling flowed through Li Yunxin's chest, along with a familiar warmth he thought he would never experience again.

It turned out that in this world...

He wasn't alone.

At least, he hadn't been alone once.

He took a deep breath, ignoring the noisy little Cat Demon beside him, and with slightly trembling fingers, tapped nine times on the line below the characters.

But the jade slip had no reaction.

He pondered for a moment, then tapped eighteen times again.

This time, a soft, ethereal immortal melody rang out. The two lines of text on the surface of the treasure vanished, and the entire surface of the jade slip glowed. Then Li Yunxin saw densely packed characters on the jade slip.

Li Yunxin did not first concern himself with the content expressed by the text, but rather with the text itself. He looked at the wording, the tone, the grammar. Then he closed his eyes, let out a long breath, looked at the upper right corner of the jade slip, and tried tapping its surface three or four times with his finger.

Thus, this treasure of the Dao of Painting once again became a transparent "glass."

He felt he probably knew how to open this thing.

Although he had only read a small part of the text within, he already realized why this thing was called a "Dao of Painting treasure."

Cultivators undergoing Transcending Tribulation always need to undergo Undergoing Tribulation. They need to comprehend all things in heaven and earth, and experience various emotions. But a person might live a life of poverty and struggle, or a life of constant satisfaction. Those who rise from poverty to achieve great success can be said to have lived an exciting life. If one has deeply experienced three or four of life's bitter, sweet, sour, hot, sorrowful, and joyful tastes, they can already be called having lived a "legendary life."

Life is short, and cultivators race against time, with no leisure to savor the myriad flavors of life. Thus, they must rely on external aids. From this perspective, the artworks of Artificers bear a striking similarity to elixirs and medicines. However, Artificers are, after all, human, with equally limited experiences. Furthermore, ancient Artificers were also Painting Daoists, disciples of the Xuanmen, one of the three great sects of the world, leading even more privileged lives. How could they have had so many experiences of hardship and struggle?

However, the heart demons and karmic obstructions of life often arise from greed, ignorance, and anger. And the vast majority of this greed, ignorance, and anger originates from hardship and struggle.

Therefore, masterpieces of this kind were exceedingly rare.

The most famous painting passed down through history was undoubtedly "A Dream of Red Mansions" by Master Xueqin of ancient times.

That Master Xueqin was born into a cultivation family in a Grotto-heaven, both his parents were masters of their era. In his youth, he enjoyed unparalleled reverence and all the human splendor. But in his youth, he encountered the decline of the Dao of Painting, and experienced the coldness of worldly affairs and human relationships. Thus, after secluding himself, he spent ten years creating "A Dream of Red Mansions." This True Realm master poured his life's cultivation into the painting, infusing all his experiences of joy and sorrow into it, finally leaving behind this generational treasure before exhausting his energy and dying.

Although later due to wars, the "A Dream of Red Mansions" suffered damage to its last seven feet, it is still revered as a treasure of the Dao of Painting by the Grotto-heaven School—second only to the "Eight Treasures Ancient Scroll" left by the Painting Saint of that era.

It is said that if cultivators comprehend this painting with their hearts, they can experience endless sorrow and desolation, tempering their Dao heart. If a mortal sees this painting, ordinary people might be fine, but if someone possesses Dao bones but has not cultivated, once they grasp the true meaning within the painting, they will die of heartache.

And now, in this Lucid Jade Slip...

There are things even more precious than those.

Li Yunxin realized that once he found a way to continuously supply this jade slip with demonic energy, and then slowly learned and assimilated the contents within... he could potentially become like the legendary Painting Saint from two thousand years ago—

All seven emotions and six desires perfectly perceived, the joys and sorrows of heaven and earth controlled at will. In intricate detail, he could paint roses and fierce tigers, with a stroke of his brush, he could depict a thousand miles of rivers and mountains!

But first, he had to solve the immediate problem.

That demon Bai Yunxin wanted to cling to him. Of course, he couldn't just obediently take the sword she gave him to Weicheng—that sword was definitely a token, and the demon could use it to find him.

So he had to go somewhere else.

And he had to bring this little Cat Demon with him. It was a demon after all, and it still had some demonic power.

He also needed to sort out the matter of his parents' seclusion and his own pursuit.

The three School Taoist priests were already dead, all at the hands of demons. Let those who coveted the Lucid Jade Slip investigate and trouble the demons!

He had to find a place to carefully study this object in his hand, uncover the secrets of that "Painting Saint," and then...

Then he would make his plans!

Therefore, he took a deep breath to calm himself, and put the jade slip back into his embrace: "Let's go. If you like this body, just keep possessing it and come with me. When I find a better place for you to possess, then let this girl rest in peace."

The Cat Demon was very happy. Even if it was "temporary" for her to use this body. She saw Li Yunxin leave immediately, so she quickly wrapped her tattered clothes around her belly and stumbled after him.

Li Yunxin and the Cat Demon carefully traversed the forest. Fifteen minutes later, they finally saw the meadow outside the woods—the direction they had been escorted into the forest from.

He stopped behind a tree, vigilantly peeking out.

But the Cat Demon suddenly let out a soft "huh." Then, excited and happy, she subtly bent down, extended both hands, secretly glancing at Li Yunxin, and pursed her lips, as if she really wanted to do something but was afraid of being scolded.

Finally, instinct triumphed over the small worry in her mind. She narrowed her eyes and swiftly patted something protruding from Li Yunxin's waist, giggling: "Huh? Hmm, ha, it's back. Hmm... haha, fun, huh?"

Li Yunxin frowned: "What are you doin—"

But he only glanced at his waist and froze.

The sword Bai Yunxin had given him, which he had deeply plunged into the earth, had hung itself back at his waist.