Inner Demons

Chapter 33: Great Accomplishment, Supreme, Holy, Profound, Marvelous, Spiritual Treasure Crown Prince

So passed two uneventful days. Life was so peaceful that Li Yunxin sighed—how long had it been since he'd felt so relaxed and at ease?

These two days, Old Daoist Liu truly treated Li Yunxin as his "master," serving him good tea and water, and fawning over him carefully, not even leaving the door.

So Li Yunxin taught him "Water Cloud Strength."

Water Cloud Strength, according to his parents, was an introductory part of a complete cultivation method, also belonging to the "Celestial Heart Orthodox Law." Deeper methods hadn't been taught to him yet. But this skill was already considered profound and extensive—it tempered both the body and spiritual energy. For an Artificer, it was an extremely useful method.

And for "Artificers" in the mundane world, this was simply an "ultimate divine skill."

So Old Daoist Liu went to the side room to ponder the incantations Li Yunxin taught him, while Li Yunxin reopened the "Lucid Jade Slip." At the moment, he could only see some general, "commonplace" things within this jade slip. But even "commonplace" items were the commonplace items of a previous Painting Saint, an enemy of the world.

From it, he found a way to unlock the seal on the Snow Mountain Qi Sea. This took him some effort. A Painting Saint was like a university professor; a professor's scientific notes would never say "from the Pythagorean theorem, we can deduce..."—they preferred phrases like "easily proven."

Thus, many things casually overlooked by that Painting Saint required Li Yunxin to painstakingly ponder and figure out on his own. He estimated that Old Daoist Liu, in the adjacent side room, was in a similar situation.

For instance, the Painting Saint's attitude towards the sealed Snow Mountain Qi Sea was "just unseal it."

Li Yunxin spent a day and a half, his thumb aching from writing, before he barely understood that the restrictive power sealing the Qi Sea could be counteracted by another kind of power. For example, demonic power.He had naturally thought before whether great demons like Young Master Nine and Bai Yunxin could easily break the seal. But unless one was insane, who would let such beings come into contact with their Qi Sea? One must know that once the Snow Mountain Qi Sea is crippled, there's no hope of cultivating for life.

The little Cat Demon had demonic power... but even when her entire spiritual body possessed him that day, it was useless, indicating that her meager demonic power was ineffective.

But there was another kind of power—votive power. Demons could absorb votive power and convert it into cultivation, so perhaps votive power was feasible.

Li Yunxin set his sights on the Dragon King Temple in front.

Thus, at noon that day, as the two sat by the stone table in the bamboo grove, after answering several of Old Daoist Liu's questions, Li Yunxin said, "I want to replace the Dragon King statue in front."

Old Daoist Liu: "Yes, yes... huh?"

"The paint on that statue is peeling, and the design isn't beautiful. You and I are both artists, can you tolerate that?"

Old Daoist Liu had gotten used to Li Yunxin's way of speaking these past two days, knowing that he was dissatisfied with the Dragon King statue. But he still chuckled, "Well, Brother Xin, that statue is certainly not beautiful. But it's a true divine position... that's why it's never been moved. Unlike some temples where the statues are magnificent, but they're just clay figures."

"It is said that over a hundred years ago, one year the Wei River Dragon King was moving clouds and bringing rain, and on the way, he grew tired and stopped at this temple to rest. For some unknown reason, he took a liking to this statue and left some spiritual energy on it. Since then, people who come here to pray for rain often find their prayers answered. This humble Daoist's cultivation is not proficient, so I don't know if this is truly the case. But it is said that a master from the School once came and said that there is indeed spiritual energy on this statue..."

"Then are there any other temples in this city?" Li Yunxin asked him, "Your temple doesn't have much incense, and few people come. There must be other large temples elsewhere, right?"

"...There's a temple outside the city at Three Rivers' Mouth. It also enshrines the Wei River Dragon King. Hmph, that temple, built only a few decades ago, is magnificent and beautiful." Old Daoist Liu was indignant, "That's why it snatched away the incense. When my master was alive, before..."

"Does that temple also have a true divine position?"

"Uh... yes, it does..."

"That's fine then. Anyway, there's still one available. So it's settled. This afternoon, find someone to dismantle the statue, and I'll put something else up. I tell you, your location isn't good, and your 'products' aren't updated, so where will the incense money come from? That's also a Dragon King Temple, and you're still just a Dragon King Temple here, so of course people won't come to worship here."

If it were anyone else, Old Daoist Liu would have completely ignored him. But Li Yunxin had taught him Water Cloud Strength, and now he was casually talking about dismantling a true divine position. Old Daoist Liu only felt that this was the style of a Grotto-heaven School master—it was clear that he had seen such things so often that he didn't care at all.

He gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, sighed repeatedly, and then said, "Alright, alright. I'll listen to Brother Xin. It's just that this temple originally had some income every month. If it's really dismantled..."

Li Yunxin smiled: "Who said it wouldn't be a temple if it's dismantled? I'll put something else up."

Fortunately, Yu Meng had left a hundred taels of silver earlier, and Old Daoist Liu had pocketed two taels himself. So he used the money to hire people, and the statue was dismantled that afternoon.

Then, Li Yunxin asked him to come and dot the eyes.

Old Daoist Liu entered what used to be his own room and saw an eight-foot scroll, already framed, on the table. It was made of Cloud-Following Paper, treasured by secular Artificers, impervious to smoke and fire. On the paper were two figures.

In the center was a man, clad in golden helmet and armor, holding a menacingly shaped long spear. His face, Old Daoist Liu felt, somewhat resembled Li Yunxin, but it could also be a misconception. Beside the golden-armored man stood a woman in red helmet and armor, though her complexion was a bit dim.

The brushwork was, of course, beyond reproach—lifelike, vivid, as if they would leap from the paper at any moment.

However, Old Daoist Liu had no idea who these two esteemed figures in the painting were.

Li Yunxin handed him the brush and chuckled, "This man, surnamed Jia, given name Wen, is the Great Accomplishment, Supreme, Holy, Profound, Marvelous, Spiritual Treasure Crown Prince of the divine kingdom established by the Celestial Being. And this woman is called Xiwana. She was once rescued by the Crown Prince, and thereafter wholeheartedly pursued the Dao, cultivating into a true Dragon Lady."

"This Crown Prince Jiawen can protect your home and bring peace. When the escort agency sets up its flag, or when building a house or digging a pit, you can come and worship him. Look at his golden helmet and armor, his wealth is also flourishing, so it's not wrong to pray for wealth. As for Dragon Lady Xi, needless to say, she can summon wind and rain. Just dot a stroke here, and this Painting Spirit will be complete."

Old Daoist Liu, hearing of these two venerable deities for the first time, dared not breathe heavily. He simply took the brush, concentrated his mind, held his breath, and used his meager spiritual energy to dot a stroke on the long spear of the Great Accomplishment, Supreme, Holy, Profound, Marvelous, Spiritual Treasure Crown Prince Jiawen.

He immediately felt the painting subtly vibrate, and a stream of profoundly mysterious spiritual energy flowed, extending to an unknown distance.

Old Daoist Liu was startled. First, he had thought Li Yunxin was just using this painting as a placeholder, with another purpose in mind. Who would have thought that after dotting the eyes, he would discover a real spiritual energy flow on the painting—connecting with some entity. And it was so tightly and firmly connected... if these two venerable deities truly resided in the Ninth Heaven, what immense divine power they must possess! Li Yunxin had truly managed to invite them!

Second was... he could actually feel everything that had just astonished him!