Painting of the Nine Immortals
chapter-201

Ling Xian’s robe was as white as snow, and his hair was as black as ink. His stance was menacing, and his grandeur was threatening. As if a God had descended into the world of mortals, he looked down on his opponents the way Gods overlooked living beings on Earth.

One hit from the palm shattered the Armor of Black Scales, and one strike from the leg demolished the Aoki Shield. How overpowering was him?

In the short amount of time they engaged in battle, three living foundational cultivators turned into corpses. How ruthless was he?

Those watching were shaken to their core. The scared three youths, especially, were quivering from head to toe.

Their leaders have died, how will they survive now?

"Master… You are strong."

Yun Yan was astonished. Her eyes shone, and her cheeks flushed as she watched the divine and brave Ling Xian.

At first, she thought, with Ling Xian’s young age, even if he is a foundational cultivator, at most he was in the beginning phases of the foundational stage.

After witnessing Ling Xian cleanly slaughter three foundational powerhouses, she finally understood how stupid it was for her to think that way. An Eighth-Realm defense treasure used by a foundational cultivator couldn’t even successfully block an attack of his, how could he only be in the beginning phases of the foundational stage?

"Wow, Master, you sure are something! Killing foundational cultivators with one move, what a monster you are. How handsome."

Yun Meng’s beautiful eyes dazzled as she skipped forward, grabbed onto Ling Xian’s arm and again swung it around. Smiling, she said in a sweet voice, "Master, you are a beast. Now, you must teach me so I can kill foundational cultivators within seconds, just like the way you did!"

"Stop, no more swinging. I have nothing to teach you." Ling Xian shook his head with a wry smile. Facing this strange goblin-like girl, he was helpless.

"Little sis, let go of him. We haven’t taken care of all that needs to be taken care of."

Yun Yan suddenly parted her lips and looked in the direction of the three young men. The desire to kill flooded her brain.

Just now, she clearly heard how those three young men spoke about her and her sister. Those filthy words still echoed in her ears, enraging her to an extent she's never been before. She has never wanted to kill someone as much as she did now.

"Your sister is right, let go of me." Ling Xian escaped Yun Meng’s grasp and marched forward. Accompanying his cold words was a horrifying aura.

"Do you want me to make my moves, or do you guys want it to be quick and end this yourselves?"

As those cold words were spoken, a gush of murderous intent swept across the area, making the three young men shudder. They looked at Ling Xian with terror in their eyes.

"You, you monster! I am the son of the Chu Clan’s Clan Leader. If you dare to kill me, the Chu Clan will never forgive you!" Descendant of the Chu Clan suppressed the fear he felt by speaking in a firm tone. However, his shaky legs betrayed him.

"I have killed the strongest member of the Chu Clan, why would I care about your identity as your Clan Leader’s son?" Ling Xian shook his head with a soft chuckle. Not wanting to waste any more words, he flicked his finger, and the Flame of Purity poured out.

"Ah!"

After a scream of agony, the descendant of the Chu Clan manipulated his spiritual energy and formed a shield to try and stop the fire. However, the Flame of Purity was far too overbearing. Within seconds, he collapsed without another sound.

Seeing this, the other two young men were scared out of their wits. They kneeled down on the ground with a "thump" and begged, "Ancestor, Master, please, please let us go."

"Letting you go is a possibility."

Ling Xian softly smiled. He turned to Yun Yan and Yun Meng and said, "I give these two scumbags to you. Just treat it like it’s a practice round for the tryout. If you two lose, then we might as well return home and save the embarrassment of failing the tryout."

"I… Master. Can I not? I have never killed anyone before." Yun Meng hesitated.

"Little sister, don’t say useless things. It is the Master’s order so we must follow. After all, it is for our own benefit. If we can’t even win against these two trash, we definitely will not be able to stand out during the tryout," Yun Yan said.

"Your older sister is right. The Taoism community is a cruel one. If you live in it with a soft heart, you will be the one taken advantage of," Ling Xian patted Yun Meng’s little head and soothed, "Go on. This is something all cultivators must experience. No matter what, you have to face it courageously."

"Ok, I understand, Master," Yun Meng nodded. Repressing the anxiety she was feeling, she stood side by side with Yun Yan.

With a faint smile, Ling Xian looked at the two youths with his peripheral vision. "Did you hear what I said? I will not make a move. If you two can win against the two sisters, then you can walk out of here alive. If not, then you will have to leave behind your lives."

"F*ck it!"

The two men exchanged a heated glance and immediately made their moves. Level eight Qi poured out of them, scaring away countless birds.

Seeing this, Ling Xian pushed himself away backward and leaned against a giant ancient tree. Smiling, he said, "Yun Yan, Yun Meng, it’s all up to you now. If you can’t even pass this test, then we will have to return to the Yun Clan. I do not want to go with you and lose our faces at the Zi Yang House."

"I will not let you down."

Yun Yan’s expression was rigid. Though he knew Ling Xian was only half joking and was trying to motivate them by saying such mean things, she just did not want to disappoint him.

"Master, do not worry, I will not disappoint you either," Yun Meng chimed in. She then greeted the youth named Chen with a short blade she held in her hand, aiming right at his throat.

At the same time, Yun Yan made her move. Her white robe was floating in the wind like a fairy that was out of this world. The way she rose, her arms and legs were rhythmic and graceful.

However, the attack she delivered was ruthless and unrelenting. Striking with her forceful palms, she began her battle with the descendant of the Li Clan.

After consuming the Luxury Dan, Yun Yan has restored all the natural talent she was born with. With her qualifications, if she trains diligently, she would be at the foundational level within a few days. The reason why she did not have her breakthrough yet was because Ling Xian had recognized her talent and asked her to put a pause on advancing. Instead, he planned for her to breakthrough to the foundational level once her spiritual energy reaches the undefeatable realm of the meditation level.

After all, the difference between regular foundational cultivator and a Heaven’s Favorite foundational cultivator is gigantic. This was proven by how regular foundational cultivators could not even stop one attack from Ling Xian.

"Hmm, not bad. With their levels of training, it won’t be hard to kill those two. Their only weakness is their lack of experience in killing. That will need some honing and perfecting."

Watching the battle, Ling Xian nodded in satisfaction. The two sisters had plenty of advantages and will eventually win, that was for sure. Ling Xian grew confident and decided that they should be able to pass the tryout the Zi Yang House was holding.

In reality, with Yun Yan and Yun Meng’s young age and their training, passing the tryout should be easy. However, Ling Xian wasn’t too sure about the difficulty of the tryout, so he judged their abilities based on Yunzhou’s controlling forces’ standards.

In Yunzhou, the standards set by the most powerful houses were as follows. One, the trainee cannot be older than 16. Two, the trainee must have a Qi level of eight. Three, the trainee must not lose a battle against two equally ranked beasts or cultivators.

The third standard was the hardest to achieve. Usually, a normal cultivator cannot fulfill it.

These harsh rules are the reason why cultivators who pass tryouts are normally geniuses with natural talents.

These harsh rules are also the reason why powerful Houses become more glorious every year.

However, these were the standards set by the top Houses in Yunzhou. In general, the 36 Islands are not as concentrated in power as the nine continents. The standards they set for people to join their forces are, as a result, a lot lower.

Ling Xian was not aware of this. The reason why he forced the two sisters to fight against the young men was to train these two, in case they cannot pass Zi Yang House’s tryout.

"Hmm, the winner of the battle will soon be determined."

Watching Yun Yan, who was getting more aggressive with every move, Ling Xian smirked in satisfaction. "Yun Yan has some talent. She will go far in her journey."

However, when he looked at Yun Meng, he frowned, "This girl… her training is one level above the opponent, yet she has the lower hand. It seems like all of her talents is on alchemy."

As soon as he spoke those words, the power distribution of the battle then intensified.

Yun Yan was calm and ruthless. After dodging a fatal attack coming from the descendant of the Li Clan, she slapped forward with the might of wind and her overpowering spiritual energy.

Boom!

The young man’s chest broke into pieces and he no longer made a sound.

Yun Yan raised an eyebrow as she felt a wave of disgust wash over her. This was her first time killing. To have done so this cleanly was a good achievement.

"Is this what it feels like to kill someone?"

Whispering, Yun Yan swallowed the discomfort she felt. She peeked at the battle her sister was in, and her expression changed.

Compared to Yun Yan’s clean and fast movements, Yun Meng was having a lot more difficulties. Though her level of training was higher, she has been repressed by the opponent since the beginning. All she could do was to hold on and try her best not to lose.

If this continues, she will lose sooner or later.

"Little sister, hold on, I will help you." Yun Yan marched forward.

Just then, a shadow appeared before her. Ling Xian, being the faster one, stopped her from walking any further.

"Master, you…" Yun Yan frowned.

"You can help her once, but can you help her, her whole life?" Ling Xian spoke softly. Staring at the fatigued and losing Yun Meng, disappointment filled his eyes.

"Based on how the fight is looking, my sister can’t hold on much longer. I cannot just watch her die," Yun Yan was getting impatient.

"If she can’t even pass the test I give her right now, how will she pass Zi Yang House’s test? Don’t worry, I won’t let her die. When the situation becomes critical, I will step in." Ling Xian waved his hand, gesturing Yun Yan to stay put and watch quietly.

"Ay, alright, I sure hope my little sister can overcome this." Yun Yan took a long exhaled. She knew everything Ling Xian said made sense, and she had no reason to argue with him. She could only observe the battle from afar and be ready to jump in the moment Yun Meng’s life is about to be lost.

Just then, the power distribution of the battles changed again.

The descendant of the Chen Clan attacked with his long spear and sent Yun Meng’s sword flying. Then, he aimed for her throat.

Whoosh!

The spear emitted a dizzying amount of light!

Yun Meng’s facial expression changed. In the moment between life and death, she suddenly remembered the cauldron she uses when she practices alchemy. Summoning it, a black cauldron appeared in mid-air and blocked the fatal attack from the long spear.

Dong!

The descendant of the Chen Clan froze in shock. He did not think that in a million years, the object that blocked his attack was a cauldron.

Yun Meng, seeing the success of her strange fighting method, held onto the leg of the cauldron and smashed toward Chen’s head!

A cauldron is an object all alchemists must possess. It is also categorized to be a treasure. However, they have very low attack abilities. Therefore, few cultivators have considered using them as an offensive weapon.

However, this cauldron, conservatively speaking, weighs 100 to 200 pounds. When she stroke down, the sound it created was jolting.

Dong!

Unable to defend, the young man began to vomit blood. Just as he was about counterattack with his spear, the shape of a cauldron appeared before his eyes yet again. Both speed and strength were more severe than the last attack.

Dong!

Yun Meng was unforgiving, holding onto the cauldron’s legs with both hands, she smashed the young man’s skull again.

Then, an eerie event happened.

Yun Meng, puffing and huffing, continued to smack down the cauldron again and again. The youth had no time nor space to make a move. All he could do was to kneel on the ground and form a shield with his spiritual energy to protect himself.

Seeing this, Yun Yan and Ling Xian became speechless.

"Is that even allowed?" Yun Yan muttered.

Ling Xian, unsure what he should do, said helplessly, "It seems like all her talent is really focused on alchemy. Even during battles, she uses a cauldron. What a bizarre sight."