The Painted Scroll

Tu Shan Jun, inside the Venerable Soul Banner, woke up from his boxing practice.

He'd been stuck in this confinement for three months, but thankfully, this guy had finally succeeded at Sensing Qi.

As for talent...

Tu Shan Jun no longer cared about talent; just being able to Sense Qi was enough.

If he had to keep being locked up inside the Venerable Soul Banner, he didn't know if he'd go crazy.

"Hahaha, finally succeeded, three months!"

Li Qing Feng jumped up from the bed, overjoyed. He had finally grasped Qi.

"Young Master, you succeeded." Five Treasures knew what his Young Master was doing.

After all, they had both discovered the Immortal.

However, Five Treasures couldn't even fully recognize characters and would get sleepy just looking at a book, so he couldn't cultivate.

Now, seeing Li Qing Feng so happy it seemed he was going mad, he immediately understood why.

Five Treasures was also genuinely happy. From now on, his Young Master would be an Immortal, and he would no longer be a Bookboy, but an Immortal Servant.

"Young Master, this is wonderful news!"

"I succeeded!"

"Five Treasures, I succeeded!"

This strand of Qi was only as thick as a hair. It darted around his body before settling in his Dantian.

Li Qing Feng stood barefoot on the ground and pushed open the door.

Ignoring the short clothes he was wearing, he ran out happily.

He looked exactly like someone who had passed the Palace Graduate examination; perhaps even a Palace Graduate wouldn't be as happy as he was now.

After three months of hard work, he had almost given up, wondering if he truly had no Spiritual Root.

He never expected it would happen today.

Today!

"Could this be like Fan Jin's Success?" Tu Shan Jun inside the Soul Banner frowned.

He was also happy that Li Qing Feng could Sense Qi, but it wouldn't be good if his joy turned to sorrow.

What if he went completely mad? Wouldn't they be back to square one?

Fortunately, Li Qing Feng ran around wildly for a few laps, and after exhausting his strength, he returned to the room, picked up the Venerable Soul Banner, and began examining it carefully.

He had obtained two spells from the Blood Fiend Great Method. One was called 'Spirit Official Dharma Eye'.

It could identify people with spiritual light, recognize Ghostly Wraiths and unusual entities, and was a basic spell.

The other was called 'Banner Control'.

This was used to command the Venerable Soul Banner.

Originally, he would need to perform Ritual Refining on his own Venerable Soul Banner, but now he had one readily available.

As Li Qing Feng picked up the Venerable Soul Banner, text also appeared on Tu Shan Jun's Crimson Panel.

[Bind New Banner Master?]

"Bind."

Having finally found a new Banner Master, there was no way he would let him go.

Regardless of the Banner Master's Talent, even if it was the most garbage Aptitude, with his Tu Shan Jun's support, they could definitely go further than ordinary people.

Fortunately, although Li Qing Feng had relatively poor Aptitude, it didn't require the backup plan he had prepared.

That backup plan would take more than just a few months to achieve.

At the very least, it would take several years, and at most, ten or even decades.

Even though Tu Shan Jun had ample patience, he didn't want to wait that long.

After Tu Shan Jun chose the Banner Master, Li Qing Feng suddenly felt many inexplicable connections with this Venerable Soul Banner.

It was as if it was originally his, and it felt very familiar.

Li Qing Feng then put down the Soul Banner.

He had just succeeded at Sensing Qi, and from now on, he would need to practice Refining Essence into Qi while also absorbing Heaven and Earth Qi to reach Qi Condensation First Layer as quickly as possible.

As for why it wasn't the other way around, it was naturally because the internal refining method of Refining Essence into Qi was faster and more efficient in the early stages of cultivation. Only later, when his Cultivation was profound, would it be reversed.

The first step in Refining Essence into Qi was to eat well.

Ideally, eat meat.

Li Qing Feng's family owned several rice, flour, and silk shops in Eight Directions City and also had large plots of land outside the city.

They were clearly wealthy landowners, so eating meat every day was not difficult.

Furthermore, Li Qing Feng's parents felt that he shouldn't harm his health from studying too hard, so they bought meat daily and sent supplements every three to five days.

This accelerated Li Qing Feng's path of Refining Essence into Qi.

In just over a month, Li Qing Feng had reached the Qi Condensation First Layer.

This truly made Tu Shan Jun sigh, lamenting the "Poor Scholars, Rich Martial Artists" phenomenon.

Li Qing Feng's aptitude wasn't good. It took him three months of sensing Qi day and night, relying on sheer perseverance, to finally develop a Qi Sense and step onto the threshold of cultivation.

He never expected that after enduring hardship, he would enter the Qi Condensation First Layer in just one month.

Although this was partly due to the Blood Fiend Great Method's ability to forcefully break through barriers, it was still quite impressive.

The Blood Fiend Qi hidden within his flesh and blood was completely sufficient.

He had finally embarked on the Path of Cultivation.

"Young Master, Young Master Liu is here again," Five Treasures hurried in.

"Brother Qing Feng, I understand your dedication to your studies, but the Provincial Examination is still two years away. There's no need to rush and wear yourself out. That wouldn't be good."

"Uncle and Aunt also asked me to invite Brother Qing Feng out more often."

"It just so happens that there's another Literary Gathering this month. Brother Qing Feng has already declined three times, so I'm shamelessly inviting you one more time."

Just as Five Treasures entered, Young Master Liu, dressed in a green robe and holding a folding fan, walked in and bowed.

Li Qing Feng thought for a moment. Cultivation didn't need to be rushed either.

He had already found the right method and needed a balance of work and rest.

Furthermore, he had already declined three times, and Liu Chuang had even brought up his parents, so it was difficult to refuse again. "Alright, alright, I'll go today, I'll go today."

He picked up a parasol and tucked the foot-long Venerable Soul Banner into his pocket.

He hung his silver pouch, brought Five Treasures, and headed out, making a beeline for the Music Bureau Tower.

The Music Bureau Tower was mostly filled with Pure Courtesans who sold their art but not their bodies. Most of them were married by the wealthy gentry and young masters of Eight Directions City and taken home as concubines.

Naturally, where there were places that didn't sell bodies, there were places that did.

The surrounding hidden doors were also countless.

Whether it was truly refined or merely pretending to be, the location for the Literary Gatherings of these Child Scholars and Cultivated Talents had always been the Music Bureau Tower, a tradition that had lasted for years.

"Everyone, look who I've invited today."

"Oh, Brother Qing Feng."

"What a rare guest. I heard Brother Qing Feng was in seclusion studying for four months. I didn't expect Brother Liu to invite you today."

"It seems Brother Qing Feng is determined to pass the Provincial Examination. I'll congratulate Brother Qing Feng in advance on becoming a Provincial Graduate."

Li Qing Feng chuckled and accepted the congratulations. He couldn't possibly tell them he was focused on Cultivating Immortality. "I've just made a little progress."

Looking at these friends now, he found it difficult to be honest and felt a strange sense of superiority.

"Then let's have a poetry competition today. I've been bothered ever since I lost to Brother Qing Feng last time."

"Hey, the theme for today was already decided long ago. We're here to appreciate the masterpiece that Brother Liu acquired for a hefty sum. How can we change it arbitrarily?"

"It's my fault, I'll punish myself with a drink."

"Brother Liu, since you've already invited everyone, shouldn't you let us admire the masterpiece?" The person who spoke had a birdcage beside him. The bird in the cage wasn't a prized breed, but a white-feathered pigeon with a red beak.

Liu Chuang was smug and beaming. "Come, bring over that unique piece I found."

A square sandalwood box was placed on the table.

Five people sat around it.

Li Qing Feng was still thinking about the Cultivation Method Incantation, somewhat distracted.

Liu Chuang couldn't wait any longer and opened the box. Inside lay a scroll.

The other three, although they expressed admiration, were only about fifty to sixty percent serious and didn't truly take it to heart.

However, Liu Chuang was usually generous, so it wasn't good to offend him.

Besides, appreciating a painting wouldn't take long, and there would be plenty of time left to listen to music.

They heard that the Music Bureau Tower had a new star courtesan, and everyone was curious.

As the scroll was unrolled, until the entire painting was displayed and hung on the blank wall beside them.

The casual air in everyone's eyes vanished, replaced by intense gazes fixed on the person in the painting.

The person in the painting was truly beautiful.

Stunningly beautiful.

A naked beauty, posing seductively.

The spring water in her eyes seemed to melt people.

Tu Shan Jun immediately sensed something was wrong. He felt a strong, stimulating smell.

It wasn't the smell of blood; it was a difficult-to-describe scent.

Moreover, the Yin energy in this painting was heavy; it didn't seem like a good thing.

Li Qing Feng also felt something was off about the painting. He thought he'd just seen the eyes of the person in the painting move.

He initially thought he was mistaken, but upon looking at the expressions and gazes of the other four figures, a sense of unease immediately washed over him. "This is evil."

Even though he was already at Qi Condensation First Layer, facing such a sinister sight still made his legs tremble.

His legs shook, and he almost turned to flee.

The surge of perverse desire that had risen in his heart was instantly extinguished.

A chill ran down his spine, the coldness shooting straight to the back of his head.