Steward Hu picked up the Tiger Roar Painting and, imitating Li Mo, held it over the candle flame and set it alight.
A moment later, a pile of ashes lay on the desk.
Steward Hu dipped her finger into the ashes and smeared them across Faceless's face. Lifelike features unexpectedly emerged.
Li Mo was not overly surprised. His emotions gradually settled.
After all, no matter how bizarre Steward Hu's methods were, he had lived in an age of exploding information in his previous life and had been tempered by horror films.
"Li Mo, the Tiger Roar Painting clearly has quite a few defects. Do you think you can paint it flawlessly now?"
There was an obvious note of testing in Steward Hu's words.
Li Mo nodded in agreement.
Before Steward Hu could move aside, Li Mo fetched another chair and sat upright at the other end of the desk, directly across from her.
The corners of Steward Hu's lips lifted, and her interest in Li Mo grew ever deeper.
She did not disturb Li Mo, merely touched up her makeup on her own.
Li Mo's gaze became as still as an ancient well. His Divine Ability allowed him to enter a focused state quickly, revealing the marvels of the Book of Fortune.
He patiently began to grind ink.
The remaining ink stick, no larger than a fingernail, rubbed continuously against the inkstone and slowly dissolved into the clear water.
Even after grinding the ink stick down to the size of rice grains, Li Mo did not stop. He pressed it with his fingers and continued, making full use of its value.
Steward Hu's smile vanished as she watched Li Mo with a serious expression.
The sound of apprentices returning to their side rooms suddenly rose outside. Without realizing it, more than an hour had passed, and the night had grown thick and deep.
Li Mo selected an unremarkable small regular-script brush and dipped it in a little ink.
With a single stroke, the sturdy trunk of a pine tree took shape. He deftly used leaf veins to embellish the details, fully revealing the artistic conception of a lone pine atop high mountains.
Steward Hu realized that Li Mo had not chosen the Tiger Roar Painting he had practiced for so long.
Li Mo painted patches of grass.
Then he outlined the figure of an old man, perfectly integrating him with the pine tree.
Steward Hu could not help feeling puzzled. For certain reasons, what she wanted to see was the Mountain Lord beneath Li Mo's brush, not an old man in the woods.
Just as she was about to interrupt his painting, she was drawn in by the spirit within it.
Li Mo's expression was nearly crazed. His left and right hands alternated in holding the brush, all so muscle soreness would not affect the precision of his strokes.
Steward Hu immediately abandoned the thought, a trace of appreciation appearing in her eyes.
Before the old man in the painting could be refined, Li Mo drew a Beast Body beside the tree. Sure enough, it was a Mountain Lord clad in long stripes.
The Mountain Lord appeared somewhat lazy, its tail hanging low and its head deliberately lowered by a fraction.
Li Mo's movements grew faster and faster. Even though the Mountain Lord had already become lifelike, he showed no intention of stopping, his hands alternating one after another.
Even he could sense that he seemed to have fallen into a state of enlightenment and trance.
Most crucially, Li Mo possessed the Divine Ability of Eidetic Memory. As long as he could remember this state of enlightenment, he could try to reproduce it in the future.
Thus, he did not stop, allowing his body to act on instinct.
Only when the ink ran dry did Li Mo wake as if from a dream. The exhaustion of his strength made him gasp for breath.
He looked toward the painting, his expression turning somewhat helpless.
Because he had failed to stop in time, the Mountain Lord in the painting was somewhat like drawing legs on a snake, adding needless flaws. It was even inferior to the Tiger Roar Painting.
What Li Mo had copied was likewise a tiger painting by Zhang Shanzi, titled Pine Spring Calming Heart Painting.
The Pine Spring Calming Heart Painting depicted an old man and a tiger sitting in opposition. Zhang Shanzi used the Mountain Lord's ferocity to highlight the old man's calmness.
Like an immortal watching a tiger.
Yet Li Mo's Pine Spring Calming Heart Painting was different. Because there was too much brushwork and ink, the Mountain Lord's presence actually overwhelmed the old man, as though it might bite the old man's head to pieces at any moment.
Li Mo hesitantly said, "Steward Hu, this painting is somewhat..."
"Not bad. You truly have talent."
Steward Hu examined the Pine Spring Calming Heart Painting and repeated herself, "You really do have talent."
With a light flick of her hand, the Pine Spring Calming Heart Painting naturally dried in the air. The old man within became gaunt and shriveled, like a skin-wrapped skeleton.
The Mountain Lord became even more terrifying. The spreading ink nearly occupied half the rice paper, as if it were riding a demonic wind toward the dying old man.
"Li Mo, starting tomorrow, you will be an official painter of the Calligraphy and Painting Hall."
"Thank you, Esteemed Steward."
Steward Hu could not conceal her fondness for the painting, but then she did something that deeply shocked Li Mo: she burned the Pine Spring Calming Heart Painting into ashes once more.
"Li Mo, remember to paint as you always have from now on. Leave no traces behind."
Steward Hu took three Bone Scrolls still carrying residual warmth from her sleeve.
Merit Transfer Jade Scroll
On the surface, Li Mo did not know what the Bone Scrolls were for. In truth, the Book of Fortune had already supplied him with the memories. Bone Scrolls were the Merit Transfer Jade Scrolls of seven thousand years ago, tools specifically used to store Spell-related information.
"Steward Hu, these are...?"
"There are three Spells inside. Though they are not Cultivation Methods that determine your life, Spells can grant you abilities that set you apart from the Mortal Realm."
"Methods are arts for survival; techniques are laws for protecting oneself."
According to the information provided by the Book of Fortune, in the Heart Beast Sect seven thousand years ago, Cultivation Methods were used to absorb the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, while mastering Spells allowed one to wield the Spiritual Qi within the Dantian.
Steward Hu pushed the Bone Scrolls toward Li Mo and continued explaining, "I cannot provide you with a Cultivation Method. You can only choose one yourself at the Medical Hall."
"Spells are taught by their respective halls. Li Mo, you may choose one."
Li Mo had heard many rumors of reality. It was said that cultivation required methods and techniques to be practiced together, neither one dispensable. It seemed that was indeed true.
"Press the Bone Scroll against your brow."
Li Mo nodded, gripping the Bone Scroll between his fingers and placing it against his brow.
"Do not spend too long absorbing the Bone Scroll. It can easily damage your soul. Just get a general look."
Li Mo had just been about to reply when a massive flood of Spell-related information surged into his mind, only to be smoothly absorbed by Eidetic Memory.
Besides the methods for cultivating the Spells, the Bone Scroll also contained supporting medicinal formulas.
However, the contents were limited to the Childhood Stage.
The Spell was called A Hui Possession Curse.
The Book of Fortune reacted. Li Mo discovered that the Heart Beast Sect of seven thousand years ago also had A Hui Possession Curse, except it was dozens of times more complicated.
Naturally, the cultivation process had also been greatly simplified, but the effects of Smelting Town's A Hui Possession Curse after completion made Li Mo's scalp crawl.
Li Mo had no time to think before his head began to ache faintly.
He set down the Bone Scroll for A Hui Possession Curse and examined the other two Spells.
The three techniques shared an inexplicable common point: they entirely used the cultivator's body to raise... no, to imitate Spirit Beasts.
A Hui Possession Curse took one of the four limbs and transformed its bones into snake bones.
Paint Green Clothes used tattoos to paint a Beast Head across the surface of the skin.
Soul Chasing Poison Stinger hollowed out the palm to hold venom, transforming the little finger into a poison stinger.
Li Mo merely skimmed through the contents once and realized that the so-called Spells Steward Hu mentioned would bring harm rather than benefit once cultivated.
For techniques with the same name, A Hui Possession Curse in the Heart Beast Sect could release a spiritual whip of snake bones. At the Qi Refining Stage (Childhood), it could split apart giant trees, but by the time it reached Smelting Town, only the crudest imitation remained.
What the hell was turning the bones of one's limbs into snake bones?
Only Eternal Life could allow such reckless nonsense. Otherwise, the body would surely collapse.
"Cultivating techniques and methods together?"
"Could the Cultivation Methods in the Medical Hall turn decay into wonder?"
Before you continue