Painting of the Nine Immortals
chapter-188

Inside the Painting of the Nine Immortals, the scenery was as beautiful as usual.

On top of the Mount of the Healing Soul, the Petal of Enlightenment lazily laid there, inhaling the mysterious energy from the mountain. Seeing Ling Xian’s arrival, she instantly flew over. Her delicately cute face plus the ten purple lotus petals that swirled around her made her look like an out of the world dwarf, elegant and extraordinarily refined.

"This feeling I’m getting… You’re already in the intermediate phase of the foundational level."

Watching the little dwarf before him, Ling Xian was shocked. He clearly remembered that a little more than a month ago, the purple dwarf was only in the beginning phase of the foundational level. Now, she has reached the intermediate phase of the foundational stage. If the speed of her training were made known to the public, most foundational cultivators would die of shame.

God sure favored the Elfkind. This training speed was faster than all the clans in the community, and it was absolutely unrivaled!

However, Ling Xian had no emotions of jealousy or envy. This was for two reasons. One, his training speed did not pale in comparison to the Petal of Enlightenment. Two, the purple dwarf and him have gotten very close. In the future, they will be fighting together side by side instead of being enemies.

"Hey, little one, I haven’t seen you for a month, and you have grown by so much." Ling Xian extended a finger and pressed the little dwarf’s head with a smile.

"This is all because of you. Thanks for bringing me here."

The purple dwarf's face was delicate, and her figure was tiny and supple. Every time she moved, purple light swirled around her making her look like a beautiful fairy that belonged in a dream.

After only two months, she had grown a lot. The first time they met, she stuttered every sentence, like a three-year-old child. After being on the Mount of Healing Soul for a while, her intelligence grew exponentially, and her mental age was now equal to a child of over ten years old.

Ling Xian’s lips curled up, and he said, "Little one, go hang out by yourself, I have something to discuss with the Untainted."

"Ok, elder sister is standing over there."

The purple dwarf pointed to the peak of one of the Mount of the Healing Soul with her chubby finger.

"Elder sister?"

A corner of Ling Xian's lip curved up. The Untainted was an ancient being from over 200,000 years ago. Her status in society was unimaginably high, yet this little one in front of him called her "elder sister". If this little detail got out, he wondered how many people would puke blood out of anger.

"Ok, you go have fun." Ling Xian shook his head with a bitter smile. He then did a summersault in mid air and landed on top of the peak of Mount of the Healing Soul, where the Untainted was standing on.

"You have arrived." The Keeper of Land and Sea was so beautiful that a smile from her alone could overpower a kingdom. Today, she wore all white. She stood there alone like the moon and cold like the snow.

The way she moved was stunningly graceful.

"Yes, thank you, the Keeper of Land and Sea, for helping me out when I needed it." Ling Xian made a fist with one hand and cupped it with the other. Looking at the beautiful Keeper of Land and Sea, Ling Xian couldn’t help it but exclaim.

The Untainted slowly opened her mouth and said, "If you were fighting a cultivator of the same level, I would not have meddled. However, since your opponent was someone outside of your level, I was willing to extend a helping hand."

"That doesn’t matter. I have to thank you this time." Ling Xian’s expression showed his gratefulness. This time was a very close call. He would have been swept into the terrifying space turbulence if the Untainted didn’t step in. Without her aid, he definitely would’ve fallen, and his corpse would have been ground into dust.

"It is nothing."

The Untainted turned around and asked, "The four types of soulful treasures, did you find them all?"

"I am ashamed to say that I have only acquired Water of the Resting Soul so far. However, I have leads on the whereabouts for Wood of the Warming Soul. Sadly, before I could get my hands on it, the space turbulence transported me here." Ling Xian sighed a hint of worry showed between his brows. At this point, he wasn’t even sure if he could return to Yunzhou.

"It is not a big deal. To stabilize Liao Cang Qiong’s soul, one drop of Water of the Resting Soul is enough. We can find Wood of the Warming Soul later," The Untainted barely parted her lips as she spoke.

"Ok, as long as my Master's soul does not get any worse, then I will have enough time to find it." Ling Xian nodded. He waved his sleeve, and a little jar of blue water rose to midair. The second the water ascended into the air, a dizzying amount of blue light dissipated throughout the place and emitted an overbearing wave of spiritual energy.

This was Water of the Resting Soul. Known for its miraculous effects of being able to nourish the soul.

"One drop of this will ensure Liao Cang Qiong’s soul does not fade away. It can also quicken the pace of the third immortals awakening," the Untainted brandished her jade-like-arms, and instantly, the two of them were brought to another Mount of the Healing Soul.

Ling Xian’s face froze. Thinking that the Keeper of Land and Sea sure was terrifying. Even with merely her soul left, she could still easily shrink the space below their feet.

No wonder she was able to save him from the space turbulence.

"Is this where my Master is during this deep sleep of his?"

Watching the mountain valley below, Ling Xian eyes flashed with shock. This was his first time seeing this Mount of the Healing Soul up close. The mountain was so tall that it peaked through the clouds. It appeared very sturdy and was oozing with spiritual energy.

"That’s right." The Untainted nodded softly. She then clasped her hands and formed a strange hand seal.

Immediately, nine different colors extended throughout the space, making the air foggy and murky. Water of the Resting Soul that was hanging in midair was abruptly split into two. Half of it dripped down onto the mountain below his feet. The other half poured into the Mount of the Healing Soul where Liao Cang Qiong slept.

"The Keeper of Land and Sea, if you only give my Master half of the Water of the Resting Soul, can you guarantee that my Master’s condition won’t worsen?" Ling Xian frowned.

"Don’t worry, I have my reasons," the Untainted muttered softly. Then, all 10 of her fingers began to flutter. Drips of the water soaked into the Mount of the Healing Soul and heavenly light shot through the clouds creating a rainbow.

The light emitted by the Mount of the Healing Soul expanded greatly and completely converged into one with Water of the Resting Soul. This increased the effects of the water.

After the mountain was nourished by Water of the Resting Soul, Liao Cang Qiong's fragile silhouette materialized a little. Sadly, he did not wake up and remained in the same pose.

However, his condition was now steady, and it will not worsen. If there were one more drop of Water of the Resting Soul, or even a little piece of Wood of the Warming Soul, this legendary immortal would awaken.

"We have stabilized him. You should not need to worry." The Untainted curved her lips revealing a smile that was so stunning flowers paled next to her and sunlight was dim compared to her.

Sadly, Ling Xian was fully concentrated on his Master, the Immortal of Alchemy, and did not notice this kingdom-ruling smile. The moment he heard that his Master was now safe, he sighed in relief. With a smile, he said, "Thank you the Keeper of Land and Sea."

"There’s no need to thank me. You were the one who found Water of the Resting Soul. I wasn’t much help." The Untainted retracted her smile and reverted to the cold way she normally is.

Ling Xian grinned, suddenly remembering the other half of the Water of the Resting Soul. He asked, "Wait a minute, you divided the water into two, of which half entered the other Mount of the Healing Soul. Is it for the third immortal?"

"Yes, very soon the third immortal will be awakened." the Untainted nodded. Looking at the Mount of the Healing Soul beside her, she appeared a bit shy. In the past, she colluded with the eight immortals to fight a common enemy, but in the end, they all fell and had to hide in the Painting of the Nine Immortals.

Now Liao Cang Qiong had chosen Ling Xian, and for him to have activated, the Painting of the Nine Immortals represented that the other eight immortals will gradually wake up one by one and all of them will have to put all their hope onto Ling Xian.

[I wonder if he is capable of handling such big responsibilities]

The Untainted sighed softly. Her dewy eyes stared at the youth before her carefully. There was a flash of complexity in her stare.

Ling Xian wasn’t paying much attention to her complex looks. All he could feel was anticipation for the awakening of the third immortal. Of course mixed with that was a little proudness.

Think about it! Legendary immortals have been appearing before him one by one. How unbelievable was this!

These immortals were undefeatable in their generation.

Even if it weren't Ling Xian, but some other cultivators that were even stronger than him, they would still be ecstatic and be very proud.

Based on Liao Cang Qiong and the Untainted, one could obviously see that all nine immortals have divine backgrounds and all of them have made their mark in history and are prominent enough to be known worldwide.

Ling Xian loved reading the biography of legendary cultivators. For example, the book was a book he loved it so much he never put it down and never stopped flipping through it.

One was because the story in it was very interesting, every single word made his blood boil with passion. Two was because he very much wanted to become one of those very prominent cultivators and have his name known in history.

Now, these legendary cultivators are right in front of him. How big of an honor was this? How could he not be proud?

This kind of feeling was hard to describe. But to put it simply, it felt satisfying. When a foundational cultivator was overjoyed by the praise of a completion level Master, Ling Xian was getting compliments from the nine immortals.

This kind of thing, who wouldn’t feel satisfied?

"The Untainted, give me a hint, what is the identity of the third immortal?" Ling Xian chuckled, unwilling to wait for this immortal to awaken.

"You want me to tell you?"

The Untainted coldly glanced at him. The corner of her lips turned up. She was seemingly smiling but not really smiling. "All I can say is that he is somewhat linked to you. Why don’t you take a guess?"

"Linked to me?"

Ling Xian was startled, as he could not fully comprehend what the Untainted meant. One was an immortal from many years ago. The other was a young boy 15 years of age, how could they be linked?

"That’s right. Just like Liao Cang Qiong, the immortal of alchemy, the third immortal also reached the peak of another path. That’s all I can say, you take your time guessing." The Untainted softly smiled, she seemed to be very excited to find out what Ling Xian’s expression will be when the third immortal arrives.

"I have to guess again? Why are you just like my master? Since the third immortal is going to be here soon, why don’t you just give me another hint?" Ling Xian pouted.

"If I tell you, there’s nothing to look forward to." The Untainted shook her head.

"Alright, I will wait patiently." Ling Xian smiled bitterly.

"Good, that’s how you should behave. Though I am not sure what will happen, I am certain that when the third immortal arrives, he will be a huge support to you," the Untainted whispered.

Hearing this, Ling Xian eyes flashed with heat.

The two immortals that have risen so far had already granted him with much help. He wondered what kind of change the third immortal would bring him.

"You have experienced space turbulence. Though it is not a huge deal, your injuries are not exactly mild. Why don’t you hurry back? To have an out of body experience for so long is not good for you," the Untainted said softly and turned around to leave.

Ling Xian nodded and watched as the Untainted float away. He murmured to himself, "Now that Master’s condition has stabilized, I will need to hurry up, heal, and find a way back to Yunzhou. However, before that, I have to pave my own path here in Shi Ao Island. After all, this is an unfamiliar place to me."