Chapter 101: The Heaven-Reaching Record?!

"Oh, that's right, there is one more thing I hope your sect can assist with."

The Arhat of Wrath, his single eye half-closed, raised a sharp, pointed finger. A fierce light flickered out, and in an instant, demonic mist surged, manifesting into an oval-shaped mirror of light in mid-air. Within this mirror, a burst of vibrant, multicolored brilliance occupied the entire frame. Amidst the neon-like, resplendent light, a blurry silhouette of a person could be faintly discerned. It was indistinct, but one could vaguely make out the form of a young man.

"Not long ago, a blood decree arrived from the Ancestral Lands. The bloodlines of three ancient demons have gone missing in the Dianchuan region; it is likely they have met with misfortune. This soul projection is the image of the culprit. Since Dianchuan is far from our Ancestral Lands, we could only capture his outline. However, this colorful escape light is quite conspicuous. If your sect happens to come across any traces or whereabouts of this person, I hope you will notify me promptly. You shall be handsomely rewarded."

Gazing at the shadowy silhouette of the young man within the colorful radiance, the Saintess of the Mother Golden Flower Sect nodded slowly. "Understood. Once I return, I will issue orders to all our altars. Should there be any news of this person, we will notify the Arhat at the very first opportunity."

"Then it is agreed."

...

In the small pavilion of the residence, a red stove was heating tea, sending up wisps of white mist. The heavy snow had ceased, leaving piles of it accumulated in the courtyard. Qi Xiu, dressed in a long, ink-colored robe, looking as refined and clean as a scholar, held a brush and wrote silently on a sheet of silk paper. Beside him, a small figure, half a meter tall and shaped like a rag doll, stared with bean-sized eyes at the firewood in the stove, occasionally picking up a piece of wood to toss into the flames.

As the final stroke fell, his proficiency reached its peak. Qi Xiu slowly set down the brush, smoothed his robes, and sat composed on the stool.

It was done.

On his proficiency panel, the "Third Realm" of Calligraphy was gradually being replaced by the "Fourth Realm." Within his mind, clouds and mist swirled in confusion. A miraculous power stepped forward from the depths—a new Cloud Seal.

*It must be a [Dharma Sigil].*

His hands, resting on his knees, tightened involuntarily. The feeling of opening a blind box like this made Qi Xiu’s eyes reveal a trace of tension and anticipation. Martial arts and Dharma arts were the direct manifestations of his combat strength. If this Cloud Seal were a Dharma Sigil, his combat capability would see a significant leap. Among the skills he had currently mastered, aside from Dharma Sigils, only Painting remained. A fifty-percent probability was not low.

Watching the clouds and mist in his mind slowly dissipate, a new Cloud Seal appeared. Qi Xiu could not help but straighten his back; only after a long while did he exhale a long breath.

"Fate plays tricks on people."

[Painting]

The leisurely floating Cloud Seal merged into the depths of his soul. This time, as his Calligraphy reached the Fourth Realm, the insight gained was derived from the miracle of Painting. A fifty-percent chance, yet he had missed it.

Shaking his head with a faint smile, Qi Xiu leaned over and tapped the rag doll on its small head. "It’s all your fault."

The facial features formed by ink revealed a blank, innocent expression. The rag doll looked up at Qi Xiu, clutching its head, at a loss.

"What is gained is by fate; what is lost is my fortune. Obsession is too deep; it is easy to fall into a demonic trance."

Comforting himself with a few words, Qi Xiu did not dwell too much on the new Cloud Seal, instead turning his attention to experiencing the qualitative change that had occurred after his Calligraphy reached the Fourth Realm.

Closing his eyes and focusing his mind, Qi Xiu fell into a state of deep meditation. At this moment, the tea on the red stove began to boil. Glancing at the meditating Qi Xiu, the rag doll struggled to climb onto the stool, tremblingly picked up the tea stove, flipped over a cup on the table, and poured the tea.

From early morning to afternoon, and then to the evening glow, it poured out the cold tea over and over again, drawing fresh water to brew a new pot. For the entire day, the rag doll’s busy figure darted back and forth across the courtyard.

Seeing the daylight fading, the rag doll rested its chin on its hand, watching Qi Xiu, who was still in meditation. The tea on the table had already lost its steam. Without a hint of boredom, it rose again and meticulously performed the task it had repeated dozens of times.

Just as the steaming tea cup was carefully placed in front of Qi Xiu, the rag doll suddenly stumbled. The lines of its legs became blurry and faint, and its entire body began to flicker in and out of existence. Looking down at its vanishing legs, the rag doll showed a look of helplessness and sat down on the ground.

At this moment, Qi Xiu, who had been in meditation for the whole day, slowly opened his eyes. He raised his right hand, and a point of golden light emerged at his fingertip. Waving it through the void, in an instant, he conjured a talisman out of thin air.

"No brush or ink required, no carrier needed. Drawing talismans in the void is even faster than using a pen. Isn't this the 'Heaven-Reaching'..."

Before he could finish, Qi Xiu noticed the rag doll that was nearly gone and then looked at the hot tea still steaming before him. "You’ve worked hard today."

With a casual wave, the talisman suspended in mid-air transformed into a golden light and merged into the body of the fading rag doll. The blurry, dissipating figure solidified once more. The rag doll raised its hands and feet in surprise, then happily hopped and spun around the small pavilion, seemingly celebrating its return to life.

"Brush and ink are one; calligraphy and painting are not distinct. This time, as Calligraphy reached the Fourth Realm, it extended into this miracle of void-talisman creation, coupled with the newly comprehended [Talisman Painting]. I can indeed begin to consider developing a new strategy for dealing with enemies."

Leaning back in his chair and watching the lifelike rag doll, Qi Xiu’s eyes were steady and deep. Over the past month, besides practicing the "Formless Sword Scripture of Breaking the Body," he had been diligently honing his skills in Calligraphy, Pharmacy, and Painting. It seemed that because both calligraphy and painting relied on brush and ink as their source, the two complemented and supplemented each other. Relying on the high level of his Calligraphy, the growth of his Painting proficiency was significantly faster than it had been for Calligraphy.

Five days ago, Painting had officially entered the Second Realm. The scope of "turning paintings into reality" had expanded from the original size of a fist to a circle with a diameter of half a meter. The living creatures or humanoid figures he painted could not only be controlled but also possessed a certain degree of autonomous intelligence. This rag doll was an example. Although it lacked destructive power, it could perform trivial tasks like serving tea and boiling water.

"The greatest advantage of the Calligraphy miracle is that it condenses my many skills and methods into talismans. It directly eliminates the prerequisites needed for using these skills, such as medicinal herbs or brush and ink. By gathering the essence of power within the talismans, although the potency might decrease, a sufficient quantity can compensate for the gap. If the realm of Painting is high enough, does the combination of Calligraphy and Painting mean... I can create things out of nothing!"

A gleam of brilliance appeared in his eyes, and Qi Xiu’s fingertips, rubbing the Jiao Chi thumb ring, turned white. Creating things out of nothing—that was a privilege only a Creator could possess.

Yet now, there was a chance it could fall into his hands. After the turbulent waves in his heart subsided, Qi Xiu calmed his emotions. Theoretically, he did indeed have a chance to grasp the authority to create from nothing. But that would be a long, long time from now. The consumption of the Painting miracle was the highest among all his abilities. Moreover, the more complex and energy-dense an object was, the more terrifying the consumption when turning the painting into reality. A simple rag doll capable of menial labor was already quite difficult to draw; it was hard to imagine reaching the level of a true Creator. He would probably need to work hard for thousands of years to achieve that.

"Regardless, at least there is one more path..." Moving his fingertips, one talisman after another appeared out of thin air, turning into golden rays of light that circled around Qi Xiu.

[Suppression Talisman], [Martial Talisman], [Medicine Talisman].

Without the limitation of a pen, ink, or carrier, he would never again have to worry about the awkward situation of running out of prepared talismans at a critical moment. Furthermore...

His eyes flickered. Qi Xiu flicked his fingers, and more than a dozen [Suppression Talismans] circling him flew toward the eaves of the corridor with a rustle. The [Suppression Talismans] hung in the void, then slowly faded away, like an invisible wall.

"Without the limitation of physical carriers like paper, talismans can be imprinted directly into the void. In this way, one can form effects similar to 'barriers' or 'prohibitions.' Or rather, this freehand talisman drawing uses the fabric of the void as the carrier for the talismans. This certainly adds more uses and variations to the talismans."

Standing up, Qi Xiu waved his large sleeves, and countless golden lights burst from his fingertips. Talismans were formed in an instant, turning into meteor-like radiance that flew to every corner of the residence. A dense layer of [Suppression Talismans] shrouded the entire house. Behind these, there was an even denser layer of [Fish-Fragrance Soft-Muscle Talismans].

With such a vast and impenetrable talisman barrier, as long as anyone attempted to enter the residence through illegal means, they would trigger these [Suppression Talismans] and [Medicine Talismans] hidden in the void. Even if they could withstand the bombardment of this talisman barrier, the commotion would be enough to wake Qi Xiu.

Having digested the many gains from breaking through in Calligraphy, Qi Xiu patted the rag doll on the head, telling it to light the candle holders in the courtyard. With his current realm, even in the darkest night where one could not see their own hand, he could see as clearly as in broad daylight. But having everything lit up was, after all, more comfortable.

Arriving outside the residence, Qi Xiu opened a paulownia wood mailbox embedded next to the door. Inside the box was a blank sheet of white paper, completely empty, without a single word. Retrieving the paper, Qi Xiu took a ladle of clear water and poured it over the sheet; the previously blank paper instantly revealed dense lines of text.

The Listen-to-the-Wind Teahouse. Similar to the Shen Family General Store, they were professional intelligence brokers in the world of cultivation. Located in Qingliu County, a vortex reached by many forces, Qi Xiu knew well the importance of the latest, first-hand intelligence. Therefore, he had spared no expense, spending the ninety-nine Dao coins he had just acquired and giving the Shen Family General Store ten "Dao-Entering Suppression Talismans" to pay for one hundred Dao coins in advance, ordering the "Early Knowledge of Major Events" service from the Listen-to-the-Wind Teahouse.

[1. The Red Glow Sword Sect was attacked by demons on the 12th of the first month. Their mountain-protecting array was broken, and all 416 disciples of the sect were devoured. Nearly half of the civilians in the two counties under their jurisdiction were also abducted by the demons.]

[2. The righteous sect, the Shenxiao Sect, has announced the opening of their sect-entry examination. Anyone who can arrive at the Shenxiao Sect's mountain gate before June 15th of this year may participate.]

[3. The entire Lingzhu Temple has rebelled, joining forces with the sixteen roads of demons of the Raging River. The entire Qingzhou Prefecture has fallen.]

[4. Shengzhou County has been shrouded in thick fog for five days. The local sect, the Fire Spirit Sect, has dispatched four teams to investigate the cause, but all have lost contact.]

...

(End of chapter)