Paintings and Books

An Jin sensed a firm resolve in Qiu Yan's calm words, indicating that he would not be swayed by others' opinions. Suppressing her doubts, she placed the scroll in her hand on the low table in front of her and slowly unfurled it.

As the scroll was unfurled, the ink marks were revealed, revealing a landscape and figure painting!

"Um?"

Not only was An Jin stunned, but Yang Ying and Han Wei'er also showed slight changes in expression, their eyes falling on the painting and revealing surprise.

The scroll is short and has an antique feel.

High mountains and dense forests, ancient trees reaching the sky, grass, trees and rocks, old and vigorous, the vast mountain range stretches endlessly, and at the foot of the mountain, there are shadowy figures, like ink paintings, in a thousand different poses.

For a fleeting moment, the three people who saw the painting were momentarily stunned. Yang Ying quickly recovered, remaining outwardly calm, but a look of surprise flashed in her eyes, and a thoughtful expression appeared deep within them, as if she had gained something.

"This painting seems to depict a scene from High Antiquity times."

An Jin then came to his senses, looked at the entire painting, formed a general impression, made some deductions, and finally praised, "This is a rare masterpiece!"

Beside her, Han Wei'er narrowed her eyes slightly. After calming herself down, she noticed that the ink on the scroll was freshly dried and smelled a faint fragrance of ink. She then said, "Brother Qiu, this painting must have been completed not long ago."

Qiu Yan nodded without going into details. In fact, this painting was created after the departure of the Void-Driving Dao Lord. He gathered his feelings and combined them with the painting skills he learned from Book Mine. He painted it in one go with great effort, and then dried it with his True Qi. It was somewhat rushed.

"This law opened Yang's eyes."

Yang Ying stared intently at the painting for a while, then took a deep breath, stood up, and bowed to Qiu Yan. This left An Jin and Han Wei'er somewhat puzzled.

Unbeknownst to them, Yang Ying possessed cultivation and keen perception. Even with just her eyes, she had gleaned a glimpse of Life Cultivation techniques from the lines of the painting, finding them valuable for her own cultivation and potentially even helping her advance further. Of course, they should express their gratitude.

"If it can help even one person, it shows that what I've done has meaning and puts my learning into practice." Qiu Yan waved his hand and turned to An Jin, saying, "Please take this painting back and present it to the gentlemen. My painting skills are not refined, and the painting was completed in haste, so many things are not expressed. Please explain this to the gentlemen. In the next few days, I will slowly refine my painting skills. You can send one person to pick up the painting each day."

"Refining painting skills? Picking up paintings daily?"

Hearing what Qiu Yan said, An Jin became confused and was about to ask for details, but then he remembered that he was only there on orders and it was not appropriate to get too involved. So he held back, but finally left with the words, "We came here to ask Young Master Qiu to go back. Since you are unwilling, we cannot force you. However, it will inevitably displease the gentlemen, and they may even send someone over."

Qiu Yan nodded and said, "Thank you for the reminder. The gentlemen do not wish to see me; there is another reason. Simply send this painting over."

Having said all that, An Jin couldn't be tactless, so the three of them got up to leave.

At this moment, Qiu Yan seemed to suddenly remember something and called out to Yang Ying, "Please tell Prince Yan that I am but a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations, and it is inconvenient for me to associate with a prince. In order to protect the prince's reputation, I would rather not bother him. If he is so inclined, he might as well do more good deeds and his conscience will be at peace."

"Okay, I will definitely tell him." Yang Ying replied with a smile, then took her leave without hesitation.

Qiu Yan cupped his hands and said, "I have matters to attend to and cannot personally see you all off. I can only ask Dai Guo to do so on your behalf."

An Jin was puzzled by this scene. He knew that Yang Ying had come to deliver a message on behalf of Prince Yan, but she hadn't said a word after arriving. Instead, Qiu Yan seemed to have foreseen this and gave an order.

As they were thinking, the three of them came out of the room, but several people were walking towards them.

Where did these people come from?

A thought struck her, and remembering Qiu Yan's words, An Jin sized up the group of people approaching. She noticed that each of them possessed an indescribable aura, their eyes slightly chaotic, yet their expressions remarkably calm, subtly revealing a sense of destruction followed by rebirth.

This group also noticed Han Wei'er and her companions, but remained silent and did not greet them; the two sides passed each other by.

After walking a few steps, An Jin looked back and saw that the group of people had already entered the house.

What exactly are your plans?

After entering, the group from Void-Driving Dao did not intend to sit down. Tong Shou, as the senior brother and the oldest among them, stepped forward to negotiate with Qiu Yan.

It's clear that everyone is suppressing their emotions.

No wonder, when the Void-Driving Dao Lord came knocking, they thought being rescued was a sure thing, and even guessed that Qiu Yan might be captured instead. But the result was unexpected, Qiu Yan actually forced the Void-Driving Dao Lord to leave!

This outcome was hard for the group of people who were used to the Dao Lord's domineering style to believe.

On the other hand, at the last moment, the Void-Driving Dao Lord did not deliberately hide the fact that he wanted to take them with him; one could sense it with a little attention.

The situation of neither killing nor releasing them made the members of the Void-Driving Dao sect restless, and they decided to confront Qiu Yan.

After glancing at the group, Qiu Yan understood their thoughts and said, "No need to rush. I have my reasons for keeping you here."

"Intentions?" The boy-like Cang Xin sneered. "Is he perhaps planning to torture and humiliate us?"

"Killing someone is just a matter of a head falling to the ground. It's not like I've never killed anyone before," Qiu Yan glanced at him. "Did I go to all this trouble just to humiliate you? Don't be impatient. When you fought me, you showed no mercy. My imprisonment of you is simply settling scores. Do you think the Void-Driving Dao Lord can just release you with a word?"

Liu Tian, the leader of the Seven Sons of the Void-Driving Dao the opportunity and said, "Since that's not the case, please draw a clear line and explain things clearly. If we are left to study and farm without any explanation, no one will feel at ease. Most of us have had our skills ruined, and even if we are strong, our bodies are not much different from ordinary people. Living in fear every day will inevitably leave us with health problems."

After glancing at the group, Qiu Yan nodded and said, "I originally wanted to let you calm State of Mind down and get rid of your restlessness, but the arrival of the Void-Driving Dao Lord has stirred up the wickedness in your hearts, which is difficult to quell. Since that's the case, I might as well let you know my purpose."

As he spoke, he took a booklet from the bookshelf and placed it in front of the group.

The book drew everyone's attention, their gazes fixed on the pages.

This is an ordinary book, looking no different from other books, except for the binding thread, which is as black as ink and exudes an air of mystery.

"What does this mean?" After staring at it for a while, Tong Shou glanced at Qiu Yan.

"This book contains some simple principles that I, Qiu, have summarized," Qiu Yan said, pointing to the book. "Didn't you ask me why I kept you here? Actually, my purpose lies in this book. Take it back and study it carefully."

After saying this, Qiu Yan said no more and instructed Hu Qi to see the group out.

"What is Qiu Yan up to? I always feel that he is different from ordinary cultivators, and also different from those scholars and Confucianists."

As they stepped out of the house, the members of the Void-Driving Dao remained silent at first. Then, some of them began to communicate telepathically, prompting the others to chime in. The fact that the Void-Driving Dao Lord had been forced to retreat had stirred up their increasingly calm State of Mind, putting them under pressure and forcing them to take the matter seriously.

Throughout their mental exchange, one person remained silent— Wang Yifu, the only son of the Void-Driving Dao Lord.

At that moment, he was holding a book, lost in thought, seemingly deep in contemplation.

This was the very book Qiu Yan had taken out. As Wang Yifu walked, he sensed the argument among the group, then took a deep breath and opened the book.

Immediately, two words on the title page caught my eye—

Knowledge and Action.

The two characters were written with flowing, powerful strokes that seemed to possess a strange force that gave one the illusion of being drawn into them, causing Wang Yifu's heart to skip a beat!

Then, the sealed acupoints on his body vibrated, connecting him with the Spiritual Qi of the outside world!

A wisp of Spiritual Qi entered his body, Wang Yifu's flesh and blood, like parched land receiving sweet rain, greedily devoured this wisp of Spiritual Qi, transforming it into a bit of primordial energy to strengthen his flesh and bones!

"Um?"

Wang Yifu was taken aback, and an overwhelming joy welled up in his heart!

On the other side, Han Wei'er and the others, led by Dai Guo, were walking on that abandoned path.

This road is flatter than the one we came by, and thanks to the efforts of Hu Qi and Dai Guo, there are no wild animals to be seen, making it much safer.

Before long, as they were about to leave the woods, Dai Guo took his leave first.

"Gentlemen, you have extended an invitation, yet Qiu Yan has declined. I wonder what his plans are. However, his painting is quite good. When viewing it, one can sense a certain artistic conception, as if it can guide Literary Dao, but it is not clear, as if it is obscured by many miscellaneous objects."

After Dai Guo left, An Jin looked at the scroll in her hand and said something.

"Of course! The article Qiu Yan wrote in the Literary Pavilion is even more extraordinary than this painting!" Han Wei'er replied with a smile. "That calligraphy piece combines the Heavenly Timing, Earthly Advantage, and Human Harmony, and people. Even Qiu Yan himself would find it difficult to write the same style again within a few years. This painting can't compare either. It's a pity that Huang Yan took that calligraphy piece away. A pearl wasted on a chrysanthemum!"

As Han Wei'er spoke, her brows furrowed, clearly bothered by her mishap. However, as soon as she finished speaking, Yang Ying smiled and shook his head, saying, "Miss, you are mistaken. Since that calligraphy was written by Brother Qiu, what difficulty would it be for him to write another one? What does it have to do with timing or location? Even this painting is probably not as simple as it appears. Our perspectives are limited; we must wait for Grand Confucian to judge."

Seeing that Han Wei'er seemed unconvinced and wanted to retort, Yang Ying waved his hand. "Don't rush to refute. I don't have much knowledge of Literary Dao, but I've compared it with cultivation. Cultivation and studying actually have many similarities. Besides, I'm very curious about that calligraphy. I'll definitely find Huang Yan when I have the chance to get it and study it. I've heard that it not only contains the essence of Literary Dao but also the essence of Life Cultivation. It's a real pity that I haven't been able to see it."

"You're going to find Huang Yan?" Han Wei'er's eyes darted around. "What's so difficult about that? I'll guide you." (To be continued...)