Painting of the Nine Immortals

Hong Yan Xin kneeled onto the ground and her eyes tightly locked onto Ling Xian. There was hope there, as well as desperation.

Since she was born until now, she had only ever kneeled in front of her parents. Not even to Gods, did she ever kneel. Now, however, there was no other way out for her. Ling Xian was the last straw of hope for her.

If this wasn’t the case, with her identity, there was no way she would ever kneel in front of anyone. Definitely not in front of a completion leveled cultivator.

This moved Ling Xian greatly. He didn’t think this woman would kneel in front of him.

With his abilities, he could tell that Hong Yan Xin was anything but ordinary. Don’t forget, he tried to seek out her cultivation level with his QI, yet it was useless like dragging a bull in deep mud. They couldn’t be moved even an inch.

This alone was enough to prove how this woman’s cultivation level far surpassed hers. Especially since he was now a completion leveled cultivator of the advanced stage, the answer to her background was clear. Other than those of the original level, who else could fool his Qi?

Yet at this moment, a powerhouse of the original level was kneeling in front of him and begging him. How could he not be moved?

“Miss Hong, there’s really no need for this.”

Ling Xian sighed deeply. From what she had said and how she knelt down, he could tell that Hong Yan Xin actually had no other solutions. Or else, this original leveled cultivator wouldn’t be begging like this!

This placed him between a rock and a hard place. If he help, he would have to take a great risk. If he didn’t, he felt somewhat bad.

It was just that Ling Xian was no longer the innocent and kind young man he was years ago. The person he is today had endured far too much and his personality had cooled down. Though nothing fundamental had changed, he was now thinking more for himself.

Using what was happening now for example, he was first thinking about whether or not his life was threatened. Then, he thought about what he could get out of agreeing to help. Finally, he thought about what others were feeling.

“I have no other options. Only someone with the Flame of Purity and the Essence of Herbalism can do this. In other words, you are the only one who can help me.”

Hong Yan Xin was completely genuine. Since she even paid her respect, she might as well do everything she can to beg, “Please, I am begging you, as long as you help me with this, I will do anything for you.”

“Honestly speaking, it’s not like it’s completely not doable,” Ling Xian said in a low voice. He believed that with the special properties of the Flame of Purity, he should be able to protect himself.

Even if it could not completely stop all the poison found in the Forest of a Thousand Poison, he should at least be able to pull away when things got bad and he wouldn’t die.

“Please, I am begging you. If you agree, you can pick any spiritual medicine you want.” Hong Yan Xin’s beautiful eyes were exuding with heavenly light. She called out silently and over a hundred different rare spiritual medicines emerged in midair.

Every single one of them was emitting a ray of soft light. All of them knitted together into a sea of light that was dream-like and dizzying.

Then, these spiritual medicines began to vibrate with spiritual energy that were extremely astonishing – similar to the spiritual medicines from inside the stone room. However, there was an exception to that. There was a tri-colored lotus. The Qi it gave off was only of the third realm.

However, it garnered Ling Xian’s attention right away.

“Lotus of the Three Released Souls!” Ling Xian’s eyes flickered. He didn’t think he would encounter this medicine that he had been longing for here.

Of course, saying that he has been longing for it was an exaggeration. It was just that he had never forgotten the name of this medicine.

A long time ago at the City of Qing, he acquired a lotus with three miraculous affects. If he could get to the Lake of the Resting Soul, he could transform the lotus into the Lotus of the Three Released Souls. This medicine had the miraculous affect of the Lake of the Resting Soul and was perfect to nourish cultivator’s souls.

Therefore, the moment he saw the Lotus of the Three Released Souls, he thought of the immortals inside the Painting of the Nine Immortals.

“This sure is a coincidence that will take no effort of mine. I cannot believe I would encounter this spiritual medicine here.”

Ling Xian silently grinned and his eyes flickered expectantly, “Now that I have the Lotus of the Three Released Souls, the four immortals will be able to wake up soon.”

As he thought about it, he seemed to have made a decision to agree to Hong Yan Xin’s request. After all, he had the ability to protect himself enough to ensure he didn’t die there. So why not try it?

“Okay, I will agree to your request.”

Ling Xian softly chuckled, “However, I cannot promise that I will definitely get the item from the Forest of a Thousand Poisons. So don’t have high hopes.”

Hearing that he had accepted, Hong Yan Xin fell into a deep excitement and nodded aggressively, “I understand, I understand. It is already extremely lucky of me to have you agree to try it. Why would I be greedy enough to ask you to succeed.”

“That’s good. The first request however, I have the confidence to promise you that as long as the spiritual medicine you mentioned is there, I can get it.” Ling Xian softly smiled. He was very confident about this.

“I trust you,” Hong Yan Xin’s smile widened and her expression was ecstatic.

To her, those items were as important as her life and they were things she must acquire. Therefore, despite the lack of guarantee, as long as Ling Xian agreed to try, it would mean there was hope.

Therefore, how could she not be ecstatic?

What Ling Xian said next, however, made her clench her teeth helplessly.

To get what you want, you must also give. Plus, what she requested was a trade after all. It was completely reasonable and expected.

“Then let us talk about the compensation,” Ling Xian grinned and pointed at the tri-colored lotus, “I want this.”

“The Lotus of the Three Released Souls?” Hong Yan Xin followed Ling Xian’s finger and looked a little startled.

Why would he did pick this one out of the hundreds of spiritual medicine? This one did not have the highest value; on the contrary, it was the cheapest one. Therefore, she couldn’t figure out why Ling Xian would pick this spiritual medicine that was of the third realm.

“That’s right,” Ling Xian nodded with a smile. He didn’t know Hong Yan Xin would never take such a big risk for him.

Therefore, compensation was a must. He was not a saint who gave without taking.

“I have already promised that, if you accept, you can take any spiritual medicine you want.”

Hong Yan Xin hesitated, thinking that Ling Xian was merely picking one at random for purposes of just going through the process. Therefore, she beamed more widely, “I have a relatively strong bank account and you do not need to save on my behalf.”

Ling Xian laughed at this, knowing that Hong Yan Xin had misunderstood. The Lotus of the Three Released Souls was not the most expensive medicine here, but it was the one he needed the most.

However, he was far too lazy to explain. Since Hong Yan Xin already offered, if he didn’t pick a few more, then he would be wasting her good intentions.

Chuckling, Ling Xian summoned his Qi and his Essence of Herbalism. He started to scan over all the spiritual medicines. Then, his eyes brightened at his new discovery.

It was a spiritual medicine with jagged edges and was completely black in color. It gave off a mysterious vibe.

The Grass of the Resting Soul.

A spiritual medicine of the first realm that could be used to heal all wounds related to the Qi. It could complement the effect of the Lotus of the Three Released Souls.

“That’s right. With this, the time it takes for the four immortals to awaken will greatly reduce.” Ling Xian silently smiled and continued to search through the medicines with his Qi.

Slowly, he had another discovery. It was a miraculous medicine that was extremely rare.

The Flower Stem of the Waking Soul.

It was one of the miraculous medicines that could awaken the souls who sustained major trauma and were in comas. In other words, this miraculous medicine was the most suitable for the immortals inside the Painting of the Nine Immortals, who were still deeply asleep!

Therefore, the moment Ling Xian caught a glimpse of it, his gaze became heated.

“The Flower Stem of the Waking Soul. If I got that miraculous medicine, I could even awaken the fifth immortals alongside the four others.” Ling Xian’s gaze revealed how happy he was. As happy as he was, he also exclaimed how coincidences could work in this world.

If he didn’t by chance came to the City of Dan, and by chance was attracted by this strange shop, would he have found such suitable spiritual medicines for the immortals inside the Painting of the Nine Immortals?

“The Flower Stem of the Waking Soul, the Grass of the Resting Soul, and the Lotus of the Three Released Souls. I will have them all,” Ling Xian softly chuckled. Then, he retracted his soul and stopped his investigation.

He was not a greedy person. This, with the two other spiritual medicines before, was enough shocking gains for him. Plus, out of all spiritual medicines of the same realm, those that could heal the soul were the most valuable. Its value far surpassed the spiritual medicines of the same realm.

Using the Flower Stem of the Waking Soul, for example, its value would equal to the value of two other miraculous medicines. Therefore, if he continued to try and take more, it would be a little unreasonable.

“All three medicines are related to the soul.”

Hong Yan Xin frowned slightly but quickly relaxed. In order to get Ling Xian to do his utter best, she was willing to give all of these spiritual medicines to him.

“Not a problem. If you have other wants, please speak of them.”

Ling Xian brandished his hand and grinned, “It is enough. Please tell me the name of the spiritual medicine you are looking for.”

“The Flower of Three Lives on Opposite Shores.”

Hong Yan Xin’s expression was serious as she said in a low voice, “Please find this flower and get it to me.”

“It is no wonder you went as far as kneeling in front of me. You wanted this strange flower.”

Ling Xian gawked at Hong Yan Xin. The prominent and well-known name of that flower was something he was aware of. However, he was too lazy to look into it, “Alright, when will the gathering of the alchemists begin?”

“In two months. When it begins, you can sign up as a nomad and enter the Realm of Alchemy.” Yan Hong Xin fixated on Ling Xian with hope in her stare.

“In two months… I cannot believe I get to attend the meeting again.”

Ling Xian mumbled and exclaimed, “You and I are both very lucky. The gathering of the alchemists happens once every 10 years. Yet I appeared in front of you at this very moment.”

“Yes, it is God giving me the last ray of hope. This is why I firmly believe that you will not disappoint me.” Hong Yan Xin smiled and was extremely confident about Ling Xian.

“Nobody can promise that. The Flower of Three Lives on Opposite Shores is something I can get for you though. I am just not certain about the Forest of a Thousand Poison.” Ling Xian shook his head softly, “Okay, please find me a place to stay. I will live here until the gathering.”

“Okay, Xiao Cui, lead him downstairs to rest,” Hong Yan Xin said softly.

Just then, Xiao Cui and her sturdy silhouette appeared before the door. She extended her right hand and said, “Please, this way.”

Ling Xian nodded before he marched forward and followed.

However, by the time he reached the stone room’s entrance, he slowed down his footsteps. After a moment of silence, he said something that completely astounded Hong Yan Xin.

“There are miracles happening every day and unbelievable people are born every day. However, I do not believe that those who are dead can be brought back.”

Then, Ling Xian moved on and very quickly disappeared from the hallway.

“Those who are dead really cannot be brought back?”

Hong Yan Xin mumbled to herself, with two streams of tears rolling down her cheeks.