Painting of the Nine Immortals
chapter-92

The sun was high in the sky, emitting an endless amount of light.

The Immortal Boat glided through the air and was headed straight towards the north.

The boat wasn’t very big, but it wasn’t very small either. There were three separate rooms in the cabin, and Ling Xian was inside one of them, pondering in silence.

Just now, Si Tu Nan has informed Ling Xian of what he needed to know about the Hidden Sword Peak. Ling Xian returned to his room afterward and waited for the Immortal Boat to arrive.

“Hidden Sword Peak…” Ling Xian frowned. According to Si Tu Nan, this peak was the only neutral party out of all 12 peaks. It didn’t belong to any cliques and simply wandered outside of the many factions inside the Wan Jian House.

Because there were very little people in the Hidden Sword Peak, the Peak Leader was not available most of the time. He made it hard for people to see him on a regular basis and due to his lifestyle and his disinterest in power, there were no rivalries nor fighting inside this particular peak. It was very suitable for Ling Xian, a quiet guy who was only interested in pursuing immortality.

Ling Xian was considering very carefully as to whether or not he should join the Hidden Sword Peak. He had a gut feeling that the situation was not that simple. When there were people, there were gangs, and when there were gangs, there were conflicts. For that reason, he did not allow himself to believe everything Si Tu Nan said.

“Whatever. Thinking about this now is a bit unnecessary. I should wait until I arrive at the House of Wan Jian.” Ling Xian shook his head and closed his eyes. He indulged himself in his thoughts and started cultivating again like an old monk.

Rays of pure spiritual energy appeared in mid-air and entered his body. They crashed and washed through his organs and cleansed his veins.

By now, he’s almost had enough training to surpass the meditation level, and he was only half a step away from reaching the foundation level. This half a step, however, usually takes a long time to get to.

Of course, if Ling Xian was willing to consume a Foundational Dan, then he could arrive at the foundational level within a day. But of course, he refused to use a Dan to fasten his training, unless it was a tenth ranked Dan that had no traces of poison. If the Dan were not that superior in quality, then he would much rather use his own strength and efforts to cultivate and improve.

The reason that he was willing to spend more time training rather than consuming a Foundational Dan was that no Foundational Dan had been brewed to be tenth ranked. If it’s not tenth ranked, then it will contain traces of poison, which will invade the cultivator’s physical composition. Most geniuses would not choose this method to quicken training due to the unpredictability of what this poison will do to their body.

Ling Xian was the same. He was willing to take normal spiritual Dans. However, for important issues like this, he would not allow a single drop of poison to get into his body.

Time was slipping by quickly.

The sun set, the moon rose, then the moon set and the sun rose. Within the blink of an eye, two days had passed.

The Immortal Boat sped up as days went by. It flew by mountain after mountain, passed by river after river. Within another day of traveling, it would arrive at the Wan Jian House.

“Phew….”

Ling Xian suddenly opened his eyes. He slowly stood up, and his long black robe fell to his sides.

Tightening both of his fists, Ling Xian could feel the increase of mana in his body. He frowned and muttered to himself, “I trained for two days without sleeping, yet my mana only increased by a sliver. At this speed, I will only reach the foundation level after half a year.”

If others heard what he had said, they would spit blood out of anger. How dare he not be satisfied with his speed of training? Ling Xian sure was someone who didn’t know how blessed he was.

Half a year!

To not consume any spiritual Dans and to breakthrough to the foundational level in half a year was very fast. To any cultivator, this amount of time seemed like a snap of the fingers.

For most cultivators, to organically achieve the foundational level took decades of training.

“Good thing Gong Suo Xin gifted me an Exquisite Emerald Tree. With that, I should be able to shrink the time to four months.” Ling Xian’s lips curved up. He took out the Exquisite Emerald Tree from his storage pouch.

Instantly, emerald light began to shine brightly but softly, lighting up the entire room.

Just as Ling Xian was getting ready to use the tree and start training again, he felt his world spinning upside down.

Bang!

An earth shattering loud bang caused the Immortal Boat to shake uncontrollably. Like a bird that just broke one of its wings, it was crumbling down, and he was sure it might fall any second.

“Hahaha, Si Tu Nan, I finally caught you alone.”

Excitement filled laughter came from the other end of the cloud. Ling Xian frowned and quickly ran to the deck. Up in the sky, two people’s silhouettes were facing each other. The atmosphere was horrifying.

One of the two silhouettes was Si Tu Nan. His expression was dark as he floated in mid-air. Staring at the one across from him, he was seeping with an aggressive demeanor.

The other one was also an Elder. He had gray hair yet his complexion was youthful. He wore a bright red robe, and his presence was emitting evil vibes. Anyone could tell that he was one who followed the demonic path.

“Red Robed Freak, you sure do not go away.” Si Tu Nan was filled with determination to kill.

“Haha, Si Tu Nan, it has been hard waiting for you. I was sure that you were going to hide in the Wan Jian House your entire life. I did not expect that you would personally run an errand for the House. The Gods sure gave me an amazing opportunity.” the Red Robed Elder laughed in a strange tone. He too seemed to want to destroy the person facing him.

He has hated Si Tu Nan for a very long time and has been wanting to kill him all his life. However, Si Tu Nan was the Elder of Law Enforcement in the Wan Jian House with powerful status, background, and supporters while the Red Robed Freak was a mere cultivator without a backbone. Therefore, he never found the chance to kill him.

Recently, he happened to hear the news that Si Tu Nan was leaving the House. Upon hearing this, he chased down Si Tu Nan and finally caught up with him in this wilderness.

“I have given you so many opportunities about what happened several years ago. Sadly, you do not realize your wrongs, and you keep on making mistakes. Now that we are finally facing each other today, I might as well end your traitorous life with my own hands!” the coldness in Si Tu Nan’s eyes deepened as he looked at the Red Robed Freak.

Hearing that he brought up the event from several years ago, the Red Robed Elder became enraged and snickered, “You dare to bring up what happened that year? The House was unjust. I had every right to leave it.”

“Our standpoints were different, so our perspectives were different. It is pointless to talk too much, let’s start fighting.” Si Tu Nan shook his head and decided that he didn’t want to waste any more words on him.

“You’re right. It is no use to keep talking. About what happened that year, it doesn’t matter who was right or wrong. What’s important is that I am alive and well. I am also very free. You, on the other hand, are about to die.” The Red Robed Elder’s gaze turned cold as well as his spiritual energy floated out of him.

“After 20 years of not seeing you, I am eager to get to know your skills. We’ve never had an actual match, how can you so confidently believe that I will die and you will continue to live arrogantly?”

Si Tu Nan waved his sleeve, and the wind began to blow mightily.

Waves of chill pervaded the air, and soon the air solidified into a hundred feet long ice gun. Just like a rainbow, it divided the sky in two!

“After 20 years, your ice mana sure improved a lot.” The Red Robed Elder steadied his gaze. There was no fear on his face as he clasped his palms together. Abruptly, dark clouds gathered, thunder rumbled and lightning danced!

Thunderous waves and electric light bursts twirled into the shape of a dragon. It glided on top of his head. When the ice gun swept right before his eyes, another thick thunder roared!

Boom boom boom!

As lightning and thunder descended from the clouds and dispersed, the ice gun, like it, was mere smoke.

The Red Robed Elder stepped forward one step. As if there was only a one-meter distance between him and Si Tu Nan, he stood before him after only one stride. His right arm, sheathed with thunderbolts, blatantly blasted forward!

“Si Tu Nan, after 20 years, you are not the only person who has improved. As a gift to you, accept my Thunder Fist!”

The punch forced the air around them to whistle. Like earthworms, thunderbolts slithered downward through the cloud. The air itself smelled charred and burned.

“Your Thunder Fist has gotten strong. Even with thunder, however, you are still no opponent of mine,” Si Tu Nan coldly sneered. Extending both arms, he drew out a symbol the same design as the Yin Yang sign. Immediately, a black hole was created in the air and ruthlessly sucked in everything in sight!

Void Absorbance!

One of the greatest techniques from the Wan Jian House!

Powerful forces of attraction extended into the sky. Looking at his fist that was almost eaten by the black hole Si Tu Nan created, the Red Robed Elder’s expression changed as he shouted in anger!

“ROAR!!”

The long roar was loud enough to shake up the land that was half a mile away. It rattled all the distance between the Heaven and the Earth. Invisible sound waves stretched out, and everything within the radius of one mile flew up, shredded into particles by this horrifying growl!

Buddha’s Lion Roar!

The secret technique of the Lei Yin Temple!

Si Tu Nan’s expression changed. With one stride, he backed away for half a mile and stared at the Red Robed Elder. “I didn’t expect you to secretly learn Lei Yin Temple’s Buddha’s Lion Roar technique.”

“You aren’t bad yourself. Despite being the Hidden Sword Peak’s descendant, you are also fluent with techniques from the Godly Sword Peak. I guess you’ve been doing well in the House.” The Red Robed Elder grinned darkly. A black sword then appeared out of the air and moved into his left hand. He slowly drew out a flower with the blade. He arrogantly glared at Si Tu Nan and asked playfully, “Do you still remember this sword?”

Si Tu Nan’s face darkened right away as he gritted teeth. “One of the seven swords from the Hidden Sword Peak, Sword of Punishment.”

“Hahaha, you are right. This is the sword I stole that year. 20 years have passed in the blink of an eye. You did not think that you would ever see it again did you,” The Red Robed Elder bellowed with both his hands on his waist and his head up. As he laughed, tears rolled down his cheeks. Nobody knew if it was happiness, or that he remembered those rough years and was pained by the memories.

“Showing off this sword… Are you planning to humiliate me?” Si Tu Nan’s cheeks became flushed. Gawking at the Red Robed Elder, who was still laughing, he was truly feeling the anger.

What happened that year left him with a kind of pain that does not heal with time. Because of that, when he saw the Sword of Punishment, one of the seven swords from the Hidden Sword Peak, he became so furious that hair stood up on his arms. He was ready to pounce and kill the man before him.

“That’s right. I cannot wait to see the expression on your face when this blade pierces your heart.” The Red Robed Elder paused his guffaw and pointed the sword at Si Tu Nan, locking in his determination to destroy the man before him.

“The Sword of Punishment is a righteous sword. To be held by you is to strip away its innocence.” Si Tu Nan’s face was cold. An earth shattering demeanor was pouring out of him, enough to chase away the clouds around him.

“Righteous? There is righteousness in this world?” The Red Robed Elder was full of sarcasm. His shadow flickered, and within half a second, he walked before Si Tu Nan. He swung his sword, and everything around them shook!

“Righteous sword or an immoral sword does not matter. Now that it is in my hand, it is simply a sword that will end your life!”

The Sword of Punishment drew out an eternal godly light that tore up the sky. Just like an immortal sword, its sharpness was unmatchable and unstoppable!

Si Tu Nan’s pupil shrunk in size and an emerald shield with the thickness of a mountain appeared before him, blocking the radiant sword!

The Sword of Punishment was one of the strongest swords from the Hidden Sword Peak after all. Though it was the first contact with the shield, the shield, a sixth-ranked treasure, cracked after impact!

“Haha, you shield is nice. Sadly, it’s impossible to defend the sharpness of my blade.” The Red Robed Elder laughed. He moved all his spiritual energy into his arm and like an ax, he smashed down the sword!

As if the mountains were collapsing and the meteorites were crashing, the Sword of Punishment sliced through the sky.

Unstoppable!