The Escaped Painting Spirit

Two years have passed since the destruction of the remaining forces of the Beast Taming Sect.

If Li Shaojun hadn't mentioned it, Zhang Xuezhou would have had a hard time recalling this school of thought.

He was already preoccupied with his own affairs and had no time to worry about the Beast Taming Sect, even though he once possessed the key to the Beast Taming Sect's secret vault.

However, the journey from Xi'an County to Huaibei is not far, and it is also on their route back to Chang'an City.

Zhang Xuezhou thought he could go and join in the fun.

He wasn't greedy for the treasures of the Beast Taming Sect. If he ran into Zhang Cigong, he would lend a hand; if not, he would at least have peace of mind.

After leaving the residence of the great Confucian scholar Yuan Gu, Zhang Xuezhou also invited Li Shaojun to join him.

"We can't just believe everything you say; we need to verify it first," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Why do you want me to do this?" Li Shaojun said, "You mean I have to go find Su Fei and then confirm it for you?"

"Or what?" Zhang Xuezhou said, "We're not very close now, and we don't trust each other much. Otherwise, I'd like to tell you some nonsense."

"Don't!"

Li Shaojun lowered his head sullenly.

Interpersonal relationships are so difficult that he even considered giving up.

But Li Shaojun happens to know no one connected to the Immortal Court.

He had no choice but to agree.

"You guys ride slower, or I'll run out of breath if I keep up for another three hundred miles!" Li Shaojun sighed.

"We can actually kill you by riding a horse? Come on, cousin, let's give it a try!"

"Hello!"

Li Shaojun hurriedly followed the two out of the city, and saw Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding spur their horses and ride away in a secluded place, which made him shout.

After a while, Li Shaojun had no choice but to pull up a white cloud and ascend into the sky, then continuously expend his Law Power to chase after it.

"This young master Li is quite skilled; look at his agility!"

Zhang Xuezhou galloped ahead on his horse, occasionally pointing and gesturing to Li Shaojun who was following behind.

The black and white horses traversed mountains and rivers as if walking on flat ground, but they were not flying magical treasures that could travel in a straight line. As Zhang Xuezhou and the others ran ahead, Li Shaojun could barely keep up.

Zhang Xuezhou pointed to the small black dot in the air, indicating to Li Shaojun the cloud-riding technique to be mastered quickly.

"Once our cultivation level is higher, we will definitely be able to levitate and fly like him," Rong Tianding said.

"This cloud-flying technique is a Daoist Technique Method, and we're really not as good at using it as they are. It's probably only those with a higher level of cultivation who can achieve such flying ability," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Even if I were to become proficient like this, I'm afraid I could only fly three to five zhang high, and the distance I could fly would be no more than a hundred li, or even just a few dozen li."

"And what happens when we reach a higher level?" Rong Tianding asked.

"The limit of cloud-flying technique cultivation is the Divine Ability Realm. Once we can step into the Sole Self Realm, our level in this flying technique will be almost indistinguishable from that of the Daoist school," Zhang Xuezhou said. "This can be considered that the difference in realm makes up for the difference in schools!"

"So far away!"

Rong Tianding thought about his cultivation level at the Meridian Circulation Realm, and then about how he was seven major realms away from the Sole Self Realm. He felt that it would be a long way to go to use the Cloud Soaring Technique effectively.

He wasn't greedy; he could only rely on the Five Qi Gathering to accumulate some foundation, hoping to quickly cultivate after obtaining the Corpse-like School's secret manual.

"It's a pity I can't use the Five Elements Gathering technique to accumulate cultivation!"

Rong Tianding's technique was not a secret to Zhang Xuezhou, but after learning the Five Qi Gathering, Zhang Xuezhou discovered that the accumulated cultivation seemed to be stored in the Yang Soul Dharma Body.

This made him less inclined to continue using the Five Elements Gathering Technique.

If possible, he would like a place with an unlimited supply of Spiritual Qi so that he can cultivate his physical body and his yang spirit in sync.

If both of them can reach the Divine Ability Realm together, or even the True Self Realm in the future, perhaps he will be able to get rid of this trouble.

Zhang Xuezhou indulged in his fantasies for a while, even mocking himself, which made him hear the sound of head shaking and swaying in his ears.

You're not pretty, but you certainly have a lot of beautiful dreams!

"Who?"

A familiar voice came from inside, which made Zhang Xuezhou shudder. He then quickly looked at his cuff.

This nearly caused him to run into a face.

"Don't kiss me on the lips, it's very impolite!"

How did you manage to keep up with us?

Zhang Xuezhou quickly reined in his white horse and looked at the painting demon he had seen in the Taiyi Palace.

He couldn't immediately figure out how the other person had gotten out and how they had gotten into his sleeve pocket.

Two days passed, and Zhang Xuezhou had not discovered the other party's whereabouts unless the other party took the initiative to speak.

"Taiyi Palace is so boring, and Nezha really doesn't like me. I live in constant fear," the painting demon said. "I can't usually come out, but I'm lucky to have run into you guys this time, so I definitely need your help to escape!"

"But we didn't intend to help you get out!"

"This isn't a question of whether you want to or not. As long as I believe you've helped me, then you've helped me!"

The painting demon shook its head and swayed, darting in and out of Zhang Xuezhou's sleeve pocket.

"And you even found a painting, which I really love," the painting demon said happily. "I was feeling down because I had nowhere to live, and you brought me this painting. Young man, you've done a wonderful job. Consider this my reward for helping you exorcise the evil spell from the Western Sect at the Eight Treasures Merit Pool!"

"A painting that calms the soul and wards off evil curses!"

Zhang Xuezhou had a bad feeling about him.

When he took out the painting he had exchanged with Yuan Gu, there was no longer any Sage Kong in the painting; only a painting demon was writhing on the canvas.

As soon as he uttered the command, he felt that the Yuan Gu Sect's Treasure Control Technique had no effect whatsoever. He had completely lost control of the painting, let alone the ability to activate the magical treasure to display its power and help.

"It's over!"

If we disregard past gains like the Cloud Soaring Technique, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he and Rong Tianding had risked their lives and put in a lot of effort, yet received no reward whatsoever.

Rong Tianding's dragon blood was drained, leaving him with a chronic hunger problem, and the Five Qi Gathering Technique he had acquired was not effective and was currently of no use.

Zhang Xuezhou was almost killed as well. Aside from advancing the Mental Strengthening Chapter during the rescue, he gave the 'Longevity Golden Pill' he obtained to Yuan Gu, while the sage painting that Yuan Gu gave back was used as a den by the painting demon.

After all that back and forth, Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding were practically empty-handed.

After obtaining the treasure Zhang Xuezhou pondered and calculated, always keeping his guard up against Li Shaojun, never imagining that there was a traitor among his own people.

"Unlucky!"

He couldn't help but complain inwardly, feeling that this kind of ordinary life was terrible, like entering a treasure mountain and leaving empty-handed.

Even with the translated version of the Cloud Soaring Technique, they didn't get the lion's share. At least, Li Shaojun from the Daoist school used it more skillfully than they did. Even though Zhang Xuezhou had experience in flying, his current flying skill was not as good as Li Shaojun's. As for Rong Tianding's few flapping movements, let's not even mention them.

As for the connection to the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, that was something Zhang Xuezhou was unaware of. How could he know what role the painting demon played in it, or whether this guy had actually helped at all? But the fact that the painting demon destroyed one of his scrolls that stabilized his soul was very real.

"I wonder if His Majesty misses me, or if he needs me to take up an official post?"

"I wonder if Zhang Qian has found his senior brother Wu Chao yet, and whether he will be able to become a high-ranking official and, if so, lend me a hand!"

"I wonder if Master Dong's illness has improved, or if his luck has finally turned around? And whether he has the ability to return to Chang'an City?"

Zhang Xuezhou thought about his path to national advancement and fame, relying on powerful figures for recommendations, and then he remembered Yao Yuanguang's warning. This made him somewhat dejected, feeling that his path was becoming increasingly difficult.