"I have always loved calligraphy and paintings. Might you have any other works for me to admire, young master?"
Shen Tianhua asked cautiously.
He feared that this request would displease Ye Qingyun.
After all, he had come uninvited and was now asking to see his host's calligraphy and paintings.
That was rather discourteous.
Ye Qingyun, however, did not mind at all.
"Sure. I happened to paint something last night. Let me show you, sir."
As he spoke, Ye Qingyun walked over to the desk to one side and picked up a painting.
"Have a look, sir."
Ye Qingyun unfurled the painting in his hands.
A painting of a lotus pond in full bloom appeared before Shen Tianhua and Xiao Shi.
Shen Tianhua looked profoundly shaken.
Xiao Shi's face was full of astonishment.
This painting!!!
It was so beautiful!
It was as though a real pond of blooming lotuses lay before their eyes.
The lotus leaves were emerald green.
The lotus blossoms glowed red.
It truly was magnificent.
More beauty than the eye could take in!
Xiao Shi's reaction was less intense. She could only tell that the painting was exceptionally beautiful, its artistry among the finest in the world.
But Shen Tianhua was different.
Within this painting, he faintly sensed a unique resonance.
Moreover, it even seemed to benefit Shen Tianhua's cultivation.
After just a few glances, his cultivation, which had stagnated for years without the slightest progress, actually showed signs of a breakthrough.
This shocked Shen Tianhua greatly.
Could it be?
After most of my life has passed, with little lifespan remaining, could I, Shen Tianhua, still have a chance to break through again?
And that opportunity lies within this very painting!
"This painting is simply a peerless masterpiece!"
Shen Tianhua could think of no other words to describe it.
He could only call it a peerless masterpiece to express the admiration in his heart.
"Is it really that impressive?"
Ye Qingyun was rather speechless.
He could not see what was so good about the painting. In any case, Ye Qingyun himself thought it was quite ordinary.
"Master, there are two lines of poetry here too!"
Just then, Xiao Shi pointed to the blank space in a corner of the painting.
Shen Tianhua had been so focused on the painting that he had overlooked the poem in the blank space.
At Xiao Shi's reminder, he immediately looked over.
"Rising from the mud unstained?"
"Bathed in clear ripples, yet not coquettish?"
Upon seeing these two lines, Shen Tianhua froze completely.
He sat in his chair, staring blankly, as though his soul had left his body.
His lips kept repeating those two lines of poetry.
Beside him, Xiao Shi grew worried, fearing that her master had suffered Qi deviation.
Ye Qingyun, too, watched Shen Tianhua with a strange expression.
This old man doesn't have dementia, does he?
The next instant.
A gleam of golden light suddenly emerged between Shen Tianhua's brows.
Then abundant vitality spread around his entire body.
Hummm!!!
A sound that only Shen Tianhua could hear rang out within his body.
It was the sound of his blood brimming with renewed vitality and flowing faster.
This meant that Shen Tianhua had broken through!
His vitality was renewed!
He had gained a long lifespan once more!
"I've broken through!"
"I've broken through!"
Shen Tianhua trembled all over with excitement.
Even his appearance looked much younger than before.
Shen Tianhua's heart brimmed with boundless excitement and joy.
After cultivating for hundreds of years, he had arduously climbed to the mid-stage Heaven Reaching Realm, already making him a powerhouse who dominated his own region.
Across the Seven Kingdoms of the Southern Wilderness, those who could rival him could be counted on one hand.
Yet Shen Tianhua's cultivation had not improved for many years.
Shen Tianhua himself knew that he was too old and had reached the end of his cultivation path.
To break through again, he would need an extraordinary opportunity.
Otherwise, it was utterly unrealistic.
But he had never expected this.
The chance to break through that Shen Tianhua had sought so desperately had actually come at this very moment.
As naturally as water flowing into a channel.
There had been no warning whatsoever.
He had simply broken through without the slightest difficulty.
The pleasant surprise had come so suddenly.
Shen Tianhua immediately rose and bowed deeply to Ye Qingyun.
His manner was extremely solemn.
It also carried profound respect.
He was like a junior seeking guidance from a senior.
This left Ye Qingyun rather at a loss.
"What are you doing, sir?"
He helped Shen Tianhua up.
Shen Tianhua was nearly streaming with tears.
"Young Master Ye, seeing such a peerless painting filled me with more excitement than I could contain. I simply couldn't help myself."
Ye Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's all right, then. If you really like this painting, sir, you can have it."
Shen Tianhua shuddered.
"Do you mean that, young master?"
"Of course."
"You truly wish to give this painting to me?"
"Yes."
Ye Qingyun blinked, showing neither hesitation nor the slightest reluctance.
He had merely painted it casually.
Ye Qingyun could paint dozens like it in a day.
He felt no pang at all over giving it away.
In his eyes, these paintings were worthless anyway.
"Thank you, young master! Thank you!"
Shen Tianhua, however, was so excited that his hands shook uncontrollably.
"It's nothing, really. If you like them, sir, I wouldn't mind giving you a few more."
Ye Qingyun was very generous.
But he gave Shen Tianhua quite a fright.
He waved his hands repeatedly.
"One is enough. One is enough."
What a joke!
This painting alone was enough for Shen Tianhua to contemplate for a long time.
If he took a few more, he feared he would bite off more than he could chew and end up harming himself instead.
Shen Tianhua felt around in his storage pouch.
He took out a crystal.
"Young Master Ye, I obtained this several years ago. Though it is not as precious as your painting, it is the most valuable thing I possess."
"Since you are giving me this painting, I naturally must repay you. Please accept this!"
Ye Qingyun took the crystal curiously.
The crystal was blue all over and slightly larger than a fist, with a faint warmth to the touch.
Other than that, Ye Qingyun could see nothing special about it.
It did look quite pretty, though.
"Hmm, this is a nice stone."
Ye Qingyun nodded and casually set it on the table.
Xiao Shi was somewhat displeased.
Her master had given it to him, so it had to be an exceedingly rare treasure.
Yet he treated it so casually.
Shen Tianhua, however, did not mind in the slightest.
On the contrary, he thought it only natural.
Though ancient mystic stone is precious, in the eyes of such an expert, it probably amounts to nothing more than an ordinary object.
Trading ancient mystic stone for such a precious painting, I'm the one who got an incredible bargain.
Shen Tianhua said inwardly.
If other martial artists learned of this, their jaws would surely drop.
Ancient mystic stone!
It was a material said to be capable of forging divine weapons.
There probably was not a second piece of ancient mystic stone in all the Seven Kingdoms of the Southern Wilderness.
Yet now, Shen Tianhua had traded this piece of ancient mystic stone for a painting.
And Shen Tianhua even thought he had come out ahead.
"By the way, why don't we have a meal together?"
Ye Qingyun invited them warmly.
Eating alone was far too dull.
Having more people would liven things up.
Shen Tianhua was naturally delighted.
Though he had long since abstained from food for many years, how could he refuse an invitation from such an expert?
It was his honor.