The Senior... Might Be an Immortal of the Upper Realm...

Ling An'an was no fool. Her Master had suddenly changed his attitude; it had to be because of this painting.

After staring blankly for a moment, Ling An'an slightly furrowed her delicate brows and said:

"The Senior said his name was Jing Pu, but I suppose that should be an alias. Master, what exactly is inside this painting?"

Ling Tiannan was terrified beyond measure. Just now, he had only unrolled one-tenth of the painting. Upon seeing a single stretch of blank space within it, he seemed to behold thousands upon thousands of Flying Swords weaving and shifting across the firmament, unfathomably profound and endlessly mysterious.

The ethereal intent within made Ling Tiannan's Dao Heart tremble. He had remained at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage for over three hundred years, with less than a century left of his lifespan.

Ling Tiannan had thought that the peak of the Nascent Soul stage would be the end of the road for him, that he would never advance any further in this life.

But in the instant he opened that painting, Ling Tiannan felt...

If he properly comprehended this painting... he could break through once more!!

If... if this painting belonged to him... as long as Ling Tiannan grasped the Dao Intent within it, he could immediately advance to the Spirit Emergence Stage, becoming a peerless Spirit Emergence Stage expert just like the current Sect Master!

However... this thing belonged to Ling An'an. Honestly, if it had not belonged to Ling An'an, he, Ling Tiannan, would have snatched it without a shred of shame, face or backside be damned.

But unfortunately, it belonged to his niece. Moreover, Ling An'an had just said that some Senior had specifically given it to her. If he forcibly took it from Ling An'an, he would surely anger that Senior.

When that time came... that Senior definitely would not spare him...

Still... since that Senior had come to the Divine Sword Sect...

After rapidly pondering for a while, Ling Tiannan immediately rolled up the painting and returned it to Ling An'an. With a grave expression, he said:

"Keep this painting for yourself. Never show it to anyone, and do not tell anyone about it. Since that Senior gave it to you, those who know will certainly not dare to seize it. But there will always be those who do not know, along with people willing to risk everything."

Seeing her Master speak so seriously, Ling An'an nodded blankly. Her curiosity about the painting was impossible to suppress. What kind of painting was it, for her Master to be so utterly shocked after opening it only a tiny bit?

Ling An'an wanted to open it and take a look, but Ling Tiannan, who was somewhat agitated, immediately stopped her.

"Put that away properly. Aren't you about to break through to the Golden Core Stage? Look at it after you reach the Golden Core Stage. Right now, take me to find that Senior immediately."

Ling An'an nodded blankly. Just as she put away the painting and prepared to take Ling Tiannan to find Jing Pu—

Two people suddenly hurried into the hall and said, "Old Ling, I heard from Pingping that she met a Tribulation Crossing Stage mighty expert on the road. Is that true?"

The two who entered were one old and one young. The elder was Di Chen, another elder of the Divine Sword Sect and also Chen Pingping's Master.

The other was Chen Pingping. Presumably, she had already told her Master about what had happened earlier.

However, Chen Pingping had not spoken much with Jing Pu during the journey, and what she said had been vague and unclear. Di Chen had been left in a fog, so he came to ask about it.

Seeing that Di Chen had come as well, Ling Tiannan's expression had yet to recover from his earlier shock. After taking several shallow breaths, Ling Tiannan looked at Di Chen and said with a slight tremor:

"...Maybe... not the Tribulation Crossing Stage..."

Hearing Ling Tiannan's words, Di Chen stared blankly for a moment before curling his lip.

"I knew it was impossible. Some Tribulation Crossing Stage mighty expert, some Defying Heaven to Change Fate, and he still wanted to come to the Divine Sword Sect as an Outer Disciple? Pingping, what did I tell you? It was fake. You were deceived!"

Chen Pingping grew somewhat anxious and hurriedly wanted to explain.

But then Ling Tiannan spoke in a trembling voice:

"Perhaps... this Senior... is... is at the Mahayana Stage... or perhaps he is simply an immortal of the Upper Realm who has already ascended..."

With merely one painting, merely one glimpse of a blank space, Ling Tiannan's peak Nascent Soul cultivation—which had not budged for hundreds of years—had actually loosened by the faintest trace. And according to Ling An'an, this painting had been created by that Senior long ago.

This... this was absolutely not the work of someone at the Tribulation Crossing Stage... At the very least, it was someone at the Mahayana Stage. Or perhaps even... an ascended... immortal of the Upper Realm...

Di Chen, who had been about to say something else to Chen Pingping, now looked as though he had seen a ghost. He stared at Ling Tiannan in disbelief.

"...You... you're serious?? You've seen that person??"

Ling Tiannan, meanwhile, waved his hand broadly.

"Go, we'll go now. Wait... wait a moment... Should we bathe and change clothes first? Wouldn't it be too discourteous to meet the Senior like this?"

After taking only a few steps, Ling Tiannan suddenly noticed that his clothes were somewhat wrinkled.

Ling An'an hurriedly said from beside him:

"Master, this is fine. The Senior came here concealing his identity. If you make too much of a fuss and expose the Senior's identity, wouldn't it be even worse if you angered him?"

After hearing this, Ling Tiannan nodded repeatedly.

"That's true. Go, go, go."

With that, Ling Tiannan strode outside in a great rush.

Ling Tiannan was frantic, and naturally so. That Senior was so generous, sparing no effort in guiding a junior. If the Senior casually offered him a bit of guidance as well, would he not be able to advance to the Spirit Emergence Stage very soon?!

Di Chen, however, raised his brows behind them and muttered:

"Is it really true... You haven't even met him..."

Before long, the group arrived at the Outer Disciple examination grounds.

However... after arriving, they swept their eyes across the training field, yet Jing Pu was nowhere to be seen. Where was he?

Still, Ling Tiannan's group arriving here left the Outer Disciple examiners trembling with fear as they hurried over, repeatedly bowing in greeting.

Ling Tiannan did not exchange pleasantries with those who came over. He immediately frowned and demanded anxiously:

"Where is Senior Jing Pu?!!"

Senior??

Jing Pu???

The few white-haired elders were somewhat baffled. But seeing Ling An'an beside them, equally anxious, they instantly understood. One white-haired elder hurriedly said:

"He left. The test could not detect any spirituality in him, and he could not even pass the first round of the Outer Disciple examination, so I..."

But before the elder could finish, Ling An'an immediately gritted her teeth and said:

"Left?!! Which direction did he go?!"

The elder froze, then hurriedly pointed toward the sect gate down the mountain.

"He went down from here..."

Upon hearing this, Ling An'an immediately chased after him.

After coming back to his senses, Ling Tiannan slapped his thigh and loudly berated the two bewildered elders before him:

"Damn it, if Senior Jing Pu can't be brought back, I'll be the first to get rid of you lot!!"

The next instant, Ling Tiannan also hurriedly chased out.

As for Di Chen, after raising his brows where he stood, he looked at the few elders still standing there in a daze and said:

"Come, come, don't panic yet. Tell me what happened just now."

Jing Pu was currently heading down the mountain, miserable beyond words!

Originally, Jing Pu had still held onto a sliver of hope. He hoped that the random things he had cultivated over those three years might have condensed even a trace of spirituality within him.

After all, he was a transmigrator. He had also painstakingly cultivated in Void Space for three years, working his heart out. Surely he could not truly be made into useless trash, could he?

But the test just now had found nothing. Not even the tiniest speck!!

Jing Pu was a genuine, undeniable mortal, without a single fancy trick to his name!

Jing Pu felt like crying but had no tears. Damn it, had those three years in the void really been spent for nothing!!

Just as Jing Pu planned to return to Qinghe Town first, an urgent voice rang out from behind him:

"Senior! Senior! Don't go!!"