Romantic Painting Album

"It really was the Jadechen Thunder-Attracting Art."

Fang Hong watched the lightning slowly disperse in the sky, then sat down cross-legged where he stood, pretending to begin studying and cultivating the art.

In truth, the body's original owner had already mastered it, though it had taken him forty-five whole days, even with a Golden Core cultivator's guidance...

If the Shangqing Sect were compared to Qingbei University from his previous life, the original owner's aptitude would have qualified him for a third-tier college at best. But he was the son of a Golden Core cultivator. So long as he was not trying to become a professor or dean at Qingbei, merely enrolling as a student posed no problem whatsoever.

After all, the Shangqing Sect had fewer than ten Golden Core cultivators.

This round of the Shangqing Sect's assessment tested the incoming disciples' comprehension, as well as their magical cultivation and ability to adapt.

In other words, comprehending this spell alone was not enough. They also had to break through the restriction on the mountain and enter Lingyun Pavilion within the allotted time.

In the square, all the cultivators fell silent, sitting down on the ground to study with focused minds.

The sun set, and the moon rose.

Time slipped by unnoticed. Beyond the island, the sound of the tides rose and fell, seabirds cried in flight, and the wind howled.

By mid Qi Refining, almost everyone carried several bottles of fasting pills. A single pill could sustain life for days without food or water.

On the morning of the second day, a graceful figure suddenly rose into the air from the square and flew straight toward the summit.

Everyone was startled and looked up, only to see a tall, slender figure receding into the distance. In the blink of an eye, she reached the mountaintop.

It was Su Yao!

The three men from the Fang Household exchanged glances, then all rose to look toward the summit.

The next moment, several muffled thunderclaps sounded from the mountain. Amid ripples of radiance, Su Yao easily pierced the restriction and flew into Lingyun Pavilion.

"My sister-in-law really does have astonishing talent."

Fang Hong withdrew his gaze. By comparison, the body of the original owner was utterly useless.

I wonder whether this world has any precious medicines for Marrow-Cleansing and Meridian-Washing that can improve the aptitude of one's spiritual meridians?

Right, if such treasures existed, Fang Jian would have found them for the original owner long ago... Perhaps the Myriad Worlds Ancient Boat has some. Transmigrators are scattered throughout the heavens, so they shouldn't lack things like these.

When I board the ancient boat a year from now, the first thing I'll do is resolve my aptitude problem!

Su Yao's talent had made him realize the gap between them, and he silently made up his mind.

The other cultivators in the square had also been greatly affected. Their faces showed all manner of expressions: envy, surprise, jealousy, disbelief, and even doubt.

After all, this was a spell created by a Golden Core realm cultivator. Even if it was only first-tier, it still contained considerable profundity and ingenuity. Most of them had only just begun to find a few clues.

What kind of monstrous aptitude did it take to comprehend and master it in a single day?

Quite a few people began gathering their wandering thoughts and devoted themselves fully to cultivation.

On the fifth day, another person sprang into the air and rode a streak of light straight toward the mountaintop.

He was a Rogue Cultivator, and his flight light was diffuse rather than condensed. Clearly, the cultivation art he practiced was quite ordinary.

Before long, more than a dozen thunderclaps rang out in succession from the summit before the man finally broke through the restriction and successfully entered Lingyun Pavilion.

Once he had made the start, people reached the summit every day thereafter.

Some failed on their first ascent, then tried again a few days later and actually succeeded.

On the eighth day, Fang Qing of the Fang Household also successfully reached the summit.

On the tenth day, Fang Hong decided it was about time. Taking advantage of the quiet morning, he too rode a streak of light to the mountaintop.

An imposing four-cornered pavilion stood atop the mountain. A plaque hung above it, bearing the three large characters for "Lingyun Pavilion" in an ancient, rugged script.

A thin layer of five-colored haze shrouded Lingyun Pavilion, exerting a repelling, isolating force outward. This was the restriction.

He approached the building, circulated his magical power, and activated the Jadechen Thunder-Attracting Art. Raising his hand, he pointed, and thunder rumbled in the empty air above him. A bolt of golden lightning as thick as an arm appeared out of nowhere and abruptly struck the five-colored haze.

Strange colors churned and surged within the haze. After swallowing the golden lightning, it grew calm again.

He formed a hand seal and continued casting. Bolts of golden lightning wound downward like dragons and serpents, striking the five-colored haze one after another.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Amid the crashing thunder, the haze roiled and parted, revealing an opening large enough for one person to pass through.

Seizing the opportunity, Fang Hong darted through the restriction.

The original owner had cultivated the Fang Household's clan-guarding Azure Sea Mysterious Art. Mastered to its fullest extent, this art could take a cultivator to early Golden Core, and the quality of its magical power naturally surpassed that of Rogue Cultivators by more than a little. It had taken only four bolts of lightning to break through the restriction.

He entered Lingyun Pavilion and saw Gao Yi, the Shangqing Sect's True Disciple, leisurely sipping tea in the first-floor hall. Seeing him enter, Gao Yi smiled. "How should I address you, junior brother?"

Fang Hong cupped his hands. "I am Fang Hong of Yunchuan Island. Greetings, Senior Brother Gao."

"Oh, so you're a worthy younger brother from the Fang Clan of Yunchuan. A pleasure, a pleasure!" Gao Yi's eyes lit up at this, and he asked with a cheerful smile, "Might your esteemed father be Senior Fang Jian?"

Fang Hong nodded. "Indeed, he is my father."

Gao Yi laughed heartily, rose, and patted Fang Hong on the shoulder, his manner growing even warmer. "Go upstairs and find a room to rest in, junior brother. Once the assessment ends, I'll take you all to Tianyu Island."

Fang Hong replied with a smile, "Please carry on, senior brother. Your humble junior brother won't disturb you further."

"All right, head upstairs. We'll talk another day." Gao Yi waved a hand and returned to his seat.

There were many elegant rooms upstairs, a dozen or so of which were already occupied. Fang Hong chose one at random and settled in. Before long, someone came to pay him a visit.

It was Fang Qing, who had reached Lingyun Pavilion two days earlier.

"Young Master Hong, congratulations, congratulations!" Beaming, Fang Qing stuck out his large belly and raised his cupped hands before him, lightly bobbing them twice.

Fang Hong also cupped his hands. "Thank you, younger clansman. Congratulations to us both!"

As he spoke, he invited Fang Qing inside and said with a smile, "From today onward, we're both entry-level disciples of the Shangqing Sect. We should address each other as senior and junior brothers. You mustn't call me Young Master Hong anymore."

Fang Qing nodded repeatedly, stroking his round belly. After sitting down, he took a carved wooden box from his storage pouch and offered it. "You're right, senior brother. Today, we both joined the sect. This little trinket is hardly enough to show my regards, but please accept it."

Fang Hong waved his hand in refusal. "Oh, there's no need for such formality between us!"

Fang Qing wore a mysterious expression. "Just a little something to congratulate you, senior brother. You'll understand once you see it."

Seeing how seriously he spoke, Fang Hong grew somewhat curious. He reached out to accept it and gently opened the box.

Spiritual light swirled within the wooden box. One glance was enough to make it hard for him to look away.

The gift Fang Qing had brought was an exquisite Romantic Painting Album!

On the cover was a graceful, mature beauty. Wearing a translucent shark-silk gauze robe, she sat before a Pill Furnace, a jade hairpin tucked at an angle into her cloudlike coiffure. The furnace fire shone through her plain robe, revealing glimpses of the voluptuous, proud curves of her mature body beneath.

The painting was superbly rendered, so lifelike that it seemed to bring the woman in it to life. Beside her was a piece of doggerel-

Furnace flames refine spirit medicine; shark-silk veils jade peaks.

The pill forms, its fragrance steeping the bones; through how many layers does spring's beauty show?

Beneath the poem was another line of small text: Issue Twenty-Seven · Frost Month, Year of Guiwei.

Fang Hong opened the album. The opening words alone left him utterly stunned-

"Search the azure heavens above and the Yellow Springs below; the Great Dao was amid skirts and hairpins all along..."