Li Qingshan was shocked and tended to him in a hurry. He was afraid this dear friend of his had hung on just to catch one last glimpse of him and speak his last words before passing away.

  A while later, Chu Danqing finally woke up slowly. He sighed heavily. “Qingshan, you’ve screwed me over good. The good fortune you gave me was far too heavy, almost to the point where I couldn’t bear with it. It almost cost me my life.”


  “How have I both screwed you over good and given you good fortune that’s far too heavy for you to bear? Haven’t the repairs all been carried out smoothly in the past?” Li Qingshan had no idea how to respond.

  “This is the Five Absolutes Immortal’s great creation, not a simple puzzle to assemble. If it were not for my master’s many years of guidance, if I did not possess the Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black, I wouldn’t even know where to start. Do you know how I’ve lived for the past few years? The amount of blood I’ve used up can fill an entire pool. However, this is a colossal fortune too. It’s allowed me to witness the true path of painting. It’s utterly startling. I really don’t know whether I should hate you or love you.”


  Chu Danqing moved between gloominess and excitement before looking at Li Qingshan in the end in a sad manner.

  “If you have to make a choice, I’d rather you hate me!” Li Qingshan found this unbearable.

  “Take it!” Chu Danqing fished out a scroll from his hundred treasures pouch with great reluctance and handed it over to Li Qingshan with his eyes shut.

  Li Qingshan slowly unfurled the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, revealing a meter-long sword that was as black as ink. The design of the sword was simple and unsophisticated. There was nothing particularly special about it, nor did sword intent rush into his face. It was sedated and self-containing, revealing absolutely nothing about what it hid. Li Qingshan could not help but praise, “What a fine sword!”


  Chu Danqing said, “It’s called the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, but there’s still a difference among them. It uses the path of calligraphy and painting to display the path of the sword, such that even I am rather accomplished in the way of the sword now, no less than any regular sword cultivator. Even if I end up in the Sword Collection palace, I can become an inner courtyard disciple.”


  Li Qingshan sat down eagerly and began refining the Three Absolutes Calligraphy again.

  In that moment, sword qi flowed into his body, and sword intent filled his mind.

  In his sea of consciousness, the ink sword sometimes split into a thousand parts, assembling into a profound sword formation. At other times, it merged together, pointing upwards and painting the ground.

  Li Qingshan was already prepared, suppressing with the spirit turtle.

  During the several months of cultivation, he reflected on everything that happened in the dream, particularly on his life of frustration. It could not be as impressionable as a life he had actually lived, but he still comprehended something. Even the spirit turtle that was behind the ox demon and tiger demon managed to benefit, become even more tranquil and steady in aura. On the contrary, the Phoenix’s Scripture of Nirvā?a that was the weakest did not benefit much.

  There was nothing Li Qingshan could do about it. His temperament coincided with the ox demon and tiger demon the most. He also possessed much of the spirit turtle’s calmness and forbearance too. Instead, the phoenix’s heart of nobility just did not catch on with him. What five virtues, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and trustworthiness? Was there really a need to have so many restrictions in life? What never perching unless it was a wutong tree and never drinking unless it was morning dew? If he were sleepy, then even the wilderness worked. If he was thirsty, then even muddy water could do. Why did he have to be so fussy? His progress with the Phoenix’s Scripture of Nirvā?a had always been very slow, where even reaching the first and second layer took him forever. It was not merely an issue of balancing water and fire.

  The sword intent of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy was powerful, but it was still masterless after all. It could not be more powerful than the Myriad Poison Ancestor’s soul nascence. After some effort, he suppressed it all.

  As for the sword qi, that went even more without saying. After reaching the fifth layer of the ox demon, his body had become extremely tough. He drew the sword qi through his meridians before forcing it out through his acupoints.

  With a swish, a bloody cut appeared on Chu Danqing’s face, making him leap in fright and scramble away at once. Sword qi criss-crossed right behind him. Right now, he was only a Qi Practitioner. Any single strand of sword qi could take his life. He had spent many years and so much effort to finally repair the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, only to end up dying to its sword qi. Now that would be called a grievance.

  With a plop, he leapt into the lake.

  Li Qingshan refined the Three Absolutes Calligraphy and arrived on the shore. He saw the drenched Chu Danqing and smiled. “What’re you being so afraid for? Do you really think I’d still harm you?”


  “I’m afraid you don’t have any control when you’re refining the calligraphy.” Chu Danqing climbed up awkwardly, but he suddenly remembered something, and his face changed.

  With a gentle breeze, all of the grass and weeds around the huts scattered. Soon afterwards, the huts were ripped to pieces.

  “Li Qingshan! You better compensate me!”


  ……


  “How is it? Doesn’t it resemble how it was before? I haven’t done any work for so many years, but I haven’t gotten rusty!” Li Qingshan brushed off his hands and looked at the newly-built hut by the shore of the lake in satisfaction.

  “It doesn’t bear any resemblance at all!” Chu Danqing almost howled out. The hut personally constructed by the King of Savages was up to standard, but the picturesque landscape had been completely demolished. On top of that, the items in the hut were not exactly precious, but they were all Chu Shidao’s possessions and Chu Danqing’s childhood memories, all annihilated by the whistling sword qi.

  “It’s taken me quite the effort, alright? In that time frame, I would have butchered a few Golden Core cultivators already. Just give me a nod at least, alright? Alright, alright, I apologise to you. But as people, we have to keep looking forward. Let me take a look at your wounds!”


  Li Qingshan both channelled spiritual qi into him and fed him tree sap, using up various pills and medicines generously and giving him a complete supplement for everything before finally stabilising Chu Danqing’s wounds. However, if he wanted to recover his original cultivation, he would still have to recuperate slowly, and it would be very difficult to make up for the lifespan he had lost.

  “Danqing, I’ve really caused you trouble for the past few years. A toast to you!”


  Under the brilliant moon in front of the hut, Li Qingshan raised his cup with a smile. The power of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy was even more powerful than he had imagined. Sure enough, the handiwork of the Five Absolutes Immortal was extraordinary. In terms of destructive power alone, it was probably the most powerful arcane treasure he had witnessed so far in his life, and it came with a complete path of the sword on top of that, even more powerful than the path of the sword within the Soaring Dragon sword.

  “I’ve benefited tremendously too, so I should be thanking you instead. I’ve even made you use up so many pills!”


  Chu Danqing’s appearance had mostly recovered, except his hair had already greyed, which made him seem much more sombre. He had calmed down from the sadness and anger over the destruction of the hut and found that Li Qingshan had a point. They were memories, but they were only objects at the end of the day. Compared to that, Li Qingshan had used up so many precious pills to heal him, which made him rather embarrassed.

  The two of them drank heartily until the moon reached its zenith. He mentioned the matter of the Painting Tomb again, but Chu Danqing only said there was no need to be in such a hurry. It would not be opening up any time soon.

  “Once the Painting Tomb opens up, your dream will definitely come true!”


  Li Qingshan was a little tipsy, but he had a feeling that this matter probably would not be that simple. When Chu Shidao asked him to help out Chu Danqing, it probably was not only for dealing with his senior brothers and sisters.

  The Painting Tomb was a secret, but it was extremely influential. Chu Shidao’s cultivation had not been particularly high, so he did not seem too qualified to have a secret like that all to himself. Across the world, who knew how many members of the school of Painting were more powerful than him and who didn’t want to take a look in the Painting Tomb? That would be a great blessing waiting for them all.

  Chu Shidao knew this secret, and his disciples that betrayed him were also aware that he knew this secret, yet he was actually still able to pass away from old age, which in itself explained many things.

  After experiencing many more things in life, or in other words, after gaining a greater cultivation, Li Qingshan could see much further now. If it were just a group of people from the school of Painting, then so be it, except there was another issue, which was the Dragon King of Ink Sea. He seemed to be closely connected to the Five Absolutes Immortal.

  However, he stopped worrying after some consideration. It was not like the Painting Tomb had not opened before. If the Dragon King of Ink Sea wanted to take action, he would have done so long ago.