Painting of the Nine Immortals

Above the volcano, a real path was emerging.

Ling Xian was walking with his hands behind his back. His at ease stroll was as if he wasn’t walking out of the volcano that terrifies everyone, but was instead, walking inside his backyard.

The moment he saw the three young man, he immediately frowned. Then, his eyes flickered and rays of murky air engulfed his body.

No matter what, he cannot reveal his original self. Or else what awaits him would be interrogation and torture form the Shang Qing Sect.

When those people saw the human shaped creature who was engulfed in murky air, the three of them immediately became filled with awe.

Remember that this was one of the prohibited places inside the Shang Qing Sect – a place where even the Supreme Headmaster doesn’t even dare to step inside.

Yet Ling Xian was taking a stroll here and was utterly at ease. Why wouldn’t everyone here feel surprised?

As much as they were surprised, they also exploded with hope.

The now know that with their own abilities, they would not be able to enter the Volcano of Demons. Even staying above it for a while has proven to be extremely difficult. Plus, they have used up all their tricks and were nearing death.

At such a critical moment, a superpower who can overlook the terror of the Volcano of Demons appeared. Naturally these people felt hope.

Right now, the young man in gold was already speaking, “Your highness, please lend us a helping hand!”

“Your highness, you must help! I will repay you heavily in the future!” The man in purple shouted as well, his eyes full of high hopes.

The man in white was also looking expectantly. He was fully aware of the fact that his technique would not last them much longer. If the person before them doesn’t help them, they would die here.

“Lend a helping hand?”

Ling Xian softly frowned and scanned the three of them with his Qi. After discovering that the highest level of them was of the advanced stage of the foundational level, he laughed.

“How stupid of you to come and disturb the Volcano of Demons when you have so little capabilities?”

At this, the three people’s faces puffed up in redness. One reason for it was because of the high temperature, the other reason was that they were embarrassed.

They have realized just how dumb they were being. This place was truly terrifying but they thought it was no big deal. How laughable!

Therefore, despite the bad looks on their faces, they didn’t argue.

They didn’t dare to argue.

They weren’t idiots and they could tell how scary Ling Xian was. Plus, they were waiting for his help, why would they talk back?

“You guys are lucky. I am in a good mood today so let me save you.”

Laughing, Ling Xian marched forward. Every single step he took was rhythmic and graceful. That plus the murky air around him, made him look like a true God – absolutely extraordinary.

He intentionally didn’t pick up his speed and continued to walk nonchalantly. However, the clear path was directly aiming at the three of them, which helped scare away the flames around them.

This made the three guys exhilarated and they felt like they were given a second chance in life.

“Let us go.”

Ling Xian spoke softly. The moment his shoulder touched the three of theirs, a strange gravitational force erupted out and wrapped around the three of them tightly.

In the next second, he marched forward one step slowly. As if he were traveling across continents, when he landed, he landed miles away from the volcano.

The other three arrived there as well.

This once again gave them a great shock!

Since the strange force engulfed them, only one second had passed and only one step was taken. Yet they were brought to a place miles away from the volcano. Just how capable was this person?

How could they not feel astounded?

As much as they were shocked, their hearts also finally calmed down as they realized their lives have been saved. Then, their eyes shone with appreciation as they planned on thanking this terrifying powerhouse.

But, before they could say anything, Ling Xian spoke first.

“Alright, you are safe here.”

Glaring at them, he said, “Remember not to be so stupid next time. Or else you will have to pay with your lives.”

At this, the three of them became flushed with embarrassment and lightly chuckled.

At this, Ling Xian was too lazy to speak more. He then moved forward another step and immediately disappeared right where he stood.

This scene shocked everyone again. But since it’s had happened before, they quickly regained their calmness.

“That powerhouse was standing behind a wave of murky air so I couldn’t make out his face. I wonder which powerhouse he was.” The young man in gold sighed as if mourning over the fact that he couldn’t see Ling Xian’s real face.

The young man in purple had looks of awe and exclaimed, “He at least belongs to the same level as the Supreme Headmaster. Don’t forget, he walked out of the volcano.”

“Aye, such unparalleled vigor and cultivation… just when will I be of that level.” The young man in white had looks of jealousy.

“Haha, you are dreaming. That senior was far too capable. Don’t even try to compete.” The man in gold laughed, his tone was full of mockery.

The young man in purple had a similar smile. “If I’m not wrong, at first, that senior was wearing white. You are also wearing white. Sadly, though you were both wearing white, one was walking above the heavens, the other was walking on the ground.”

The young man in white ignored their mockery and continued to watch the space where Ling Xian walked on. He mumbled, “There will come a day when I will match up to you.”

…

Ling Xian didn’t know about how much the three of them exclaimed after he had left. He also didn’t think about them again.

To him, what happened was a small interlude that happened in his life and it didn’t require him to waste the energy to try and remember it. After he left the volcano, he found an isolated cave.

By the time he left the cave, his original self was inside the Painting of the Nine Immortals and he was once again operating with the clone.

Then, Ling Xian returned to his residence.

Since he started his isolation, 10 years had passed. Of course, he had to visit the residence and find out what kind of things have happened during the 10 years.

“Time sure flies. I did not even feel time travelling by, but a decade is gone.”

Exclaiming, Ling Xian pushed open the door to his residence and straight away saw the feminine yet manly Xiang Ru Gu, sitting on his bed in a lotus position.

The person had his eyes tightly shut and smoke was coming up from his head. He appeared to be in isolation. However, his delicate face was full of agony. Especially after Ling Xian had entered, the agony on his face looked even more intense.

The aura he emitted was also troublesome.

“Hmm?”

Ling Xian frowned. He scanned with his Qi and found out why Xiang Ru Gu was reacting this way.

The inner demon.

Identical to what happened during his breakthrough, this both feminine and manly Xiang Ru Gu, also had an inner demon!

Plus, though this person knew he had an inner demon, he still forged with his breakthrough and chose to not suppress his inner demon. To others, this may be stupid, but to Ling Xian, who also had the same struggle, this was unregrettable determination.

As for why he was so determined, nobody knew.

“It seems like he is a man with stories.”

Sighing, Ling Xian was silent and then decided to help.

Though he had no relationship with Xiang Ru Gu, no matter what, they were roommates. How could he just sit and do nothing?

Plus, he saw himself in Xiang Ru Gu, which wavered him.

At that, Ling Xian’s expression turned serious and he said in a low voice, “Have your breakthrough, I will deal with your inner demon.”

Just then, Xiang Ru Gu’s body quivered, but he didn’t speak. However, he continued his breakthrough, which confirmed his attitude.

“Very good. Concentrate, do not think about other things.”

Smiling, Ling Xian began to recite the incantation. Immediately, a calming and strange power began to descend.

A buddha like silhouette materialized behind him. It appeared proper and calming.

Instantly, Xiang Ru Gu’s body no longer quivered. The agony on his face also lessened a whole lot.

“The Incantation of a Calm Heart sure is useful. It is so good at keeping the inner demon at bay.” Ling Xian complimented and continued to recite the powerful incantation from the Lei Yin Temple.

Just like that, Xiang Ru Gu’s condition continued to improve. Color was starting to show on his face.

After some time, his breathing finally became calm and steady again.

It was obvious that Ling Xian had taken control of his inner demon.

After all, Xiang Ru Gu’s cultivation level was still considered low. The inner demon inside him wouldn’t be powerful either as a result. Therefore, in the face of the Incantation of a Calm Heart, it wouldn’t have any abilities to resist.

“I have contained your inner demon. Everything else is up to you now.”

Ling Xian smiled kindly and no longer paid attention to Xiang Ru Gu. He returned to his own bed instead.

Then, he couldn’t help but laugh. Because there was not a speck of dust on his bed, all because Xiang Ru Gu was always cleaning.

“Not bad, I didn’t save you in vain.”

Nodding with satisfaction, Ling Xian leaned on his pillow and closed his eyes. He waited for Xiang Ru Gu’s successful breakthrough and planned out his next steps.

He had two intentions in coming to the Shang Qing Sect. For one, he wanted to obtain the highest quality inheritance, for two, he wanted to acquire that great fortune.

He will not change these two goals no matter what. However, neither of them could be achieved in a short period of time.

Therefore, Ling Xian decided to earn some contribution points as he cultivates until he is at the peak of the completion level. If he does so, then he can converge his original self with his clone and perhaps straight away land in the original level.

After all, he was determined to be undefeatable, which meant he had to be the best at every stage of cultivation. Therefore, he cannot bear with the thought of breaking through to the original level without having been in the undefeatable realm of the completion level.

As he pondered, powerful spiritual energy suddenly erupted and the entire room trembled.

Xiang Ru Gu had his breakthrough.

From the beginning stage of the foundational level to the intermediate stage.

When he slowly opened his eyes and saw the man in white sitting across from him, his gaze was complex.

There was shock, confusion, and appreciation.

Shock was because he didn’t think Ling Xian would be able to stop his inner demon. Appreciation was because Ling Xian stepped up and helped him contain his inner demon.

Xiang Ru Gu knew very well that if Ling Xian didn’t help out, what awaited him was death. Thus, how could he not be thankful?

Therefore, he slowly walked towards Ling Xian and stated whole-heartedly, “Xian Ling, thank you for reacting so quickly and helping me suppress my inner demon.”