Chapter 255: So Stingy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The four of them walked together. Gu Yuan and the others took the lead. They seemed to be running away from Yuecha.

Yuecha was chasing after them, constantly preaching about Buddhism.

Buddhism urged people to be kind. It was a great opportunity that could not be found again once the opportunity was missed.

They endured it until they finally reached the four-part architecture. Gu Yuan and the others looked relieved.

Ding Xiaozhu said, “Tara Yuecha, we’ve arrived at the expert’s home. You have to remain quiet.”

Yuecha nodded, “You’re right. I’ll stop talking now but please, reconsider my offer.”

Everyone went silent.

The four of them felt emotional in front of the four-part architecture.

They each had different emotions.

Yuecha felt magical because the Buddhist Scripture was in there. She could feel it but she could not touch it. It sent a shiver down her spine.

Payne and the others all looked at each other with worry in their eyes. They had a more complex case than Yuecha.

They were here to give the expert the painting from the Lord Immortal in the Above Immortal Realm. They did not dare to open the painting scroll. However, they knew the painting must not be good. If they risked it and gave it to the expert, would the expert be offended?

Should they give the painting to the expert?

What a struggle!

Payne said, “Knock the door. We’re the ones to blame for being useless. If that wasn’t the case, we would’ve dealt with the Lord Immortal! If this displeases the expert, we shall bear the consequences!”

Gu Yuan nodded then slowly stepped forward. He respectfully knocked on the door three times.

Creak.

Dragin was the one who answered the door. She looked at everyone curiously and asked, “You are?”

They had never met Dragin before but they did not dare to ignore her. They quickly bowed and said, “Hello, we’re here to visit Mr. Li. Pardon us for the disturbance. You are…”

“Oh, I’m Dragin. Come in.” Dragin ran back into the four-part architecture. “Brother, it’s for you.”

Li Nianfan was stirring the cauldron. He heard that and nodded. “Yeah. Help me get some corn and wheat. Ask your Sister Fire Phoenix to crush them into dust.”

It must be convenient for a cultivator. They did not need a grinder or a machine to do things normal people needed help with.

Li Nianfan was envious. He looked at the door, smiled, and said, “Brother Lin and Brother Payne, welcome.”

Gu Yuan smiled and greeted, “Greetings to Mr. Li. This is our friend, Ding Xiaozhu.”

Ding Xiaozhu hurriedly said in a humble tone, “Sorry for coming without an invite. Please, forgive me, Mr. Li.”

Li Nianfan said casually, “Haha, all visitors are guests. Don’t worry about disturbing me. Take a seat anywhere. Xiao Bai, serve the guests!”

Yuecha carefully introduced herself, “Mr. Li, my name’s Yuecha.”

“Sit. Take a seat, everyone.” Li Nianfan quickly finished his task at hand.

Payne was slightly embarrassed. “Were you busy, Mr. Li?”

Li Nianfan simply said, “No, I’m just brewing some alcohol to drink.”

Ding Xiaozhu realized her Dustless Mirror was vibrating hard by the side. She hurriedly tugged on Payne and said in a quiet, trembling voice, “That cauldron…seems to be a Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.”

The Dustless Mirror was a Deluxe Spiritual Treasure, commonly known as an Immortal Item. It was incomparable to a Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.

Payne gulped and said, “I felt that, too. Stay calm. The expert’s here. Nothing’s out of the ordinary.”

Only the expert could brew alcohol with a Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.

Gu Yuan had a soda in hand. He felt embarrassed all of a sudden. He said, “Sect Master, I truly feel embarrassed. I’m here again to benefit from the expert.”

Breathing in the four-part architecture was also a blessing from the expert.

“Change your mindset,” Payne comforted. “It’s not bootlicking. We became the expert’s apprentices. We’re also known as Saint’s Apprentices! Therefore, we have to help the expert out more to repay him!”

“Nice, excellent! Sect Master, you’re indeed awesome!”

Gu Yuan was in awe. He even started to boast, “I instantly feel like I’m so much more awesome. It’s like I have a destiny.”

Li Nianfan walked toward everyone.

The four of them felt their hearts tighten. They quickly calmed down and adjusted their postures.

Li Nianfan asked, “Everyone, it’s been a while. How have you all been recently?”

Payne nodded and smiled. He replied, “All thanks to Mr. Li, we’re doing great.”

“Why are you here to visit me today?” asked Li Nianfan.

Payne and the others jumped. They went stiff and started to breathe heavily.

Li Nianfan looked at them with curiosity. Did something happen? What was going on?

“To be honest, Mr. Li. There is something.” Payne smiled awkwardly and nodded. Then, he said nervously, “Please, pardon us, Mr. Li.”

Li Nianfan arched his eyebrow and asked, “What is it?”

“Here’s what happened.”

Payne put his sentence together and said, “Somebody gave me a painting scroll. He said he wanted your comments about it.”

His heart rate was beating at maximum speed. He nearly trembled as he took out the painting scroll.

“Oh? Comments?”

Li Nianfan was stumped. Was someone trying to share their artwork?

More accurately, it seemed to be a showdown between painters.

He looked at Payne with a glint in his eyes. That guy probably took the Golden Crow painting and showed it off to everyone. Or perhaps he boasted about it and attracted some envy that caused someone to challenge him.

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Payne and the others felt their skin crawl when Li Nianfan looked at them. They went weak and almost knelt on the floor.

The expert was clearly displeased!

“If you aren’t willing, Mr. Li, I’ll send the painting back right away!” Payne quickly tried to patch things up. He sounded like he was about to cry. He was ready to put the painting scroll aside.

“Why send it back when you’re already here? Let’s take a look,” Li Nianfan said. He looked interested.

He was decent at painting. It was rare to be challenged by another. He may as well take a look.

He took the painting scroll from Payne. Then, he stood up. He placed the painting scroll on a stone table.

He suddenly chuckled and said, “Ha, who knew someone would want to battle me in painting. What a surprise.”

It was the Immortal Realm, the challenger knew Payne so he was probably an Immortal, too. Were all Immortals bored?

He did not expect to be competing with an Immortal. It was unreal.

Everyone was surprised, too.

Who knew that the Lord Immortal would ignorantly ask comments from the expert? He was like an egg against a rock. That was a nice way to put it.

They saw the expert smirk. It was obvious that he was mocking him!

Then, Li Nianfan slowly unscrolled the painting scroll.

A constrained beast-like aura came out from the painting like it had just escaped its cage. The surrounding air was frantic and wild.

Li Nianfan did not feel a thing. He continued to open the painting, revealing a painting of a huge fire!

An endless ocean of fire!

The flames were burning, taking up half of the painting. The red flames looked like they were about to jump out. It was a flat-surfaced painting but it somehow had a 3D visual effect.

There was a town at the center of the fire. The faces of the citizens were unclear. They were running for their lives.

However, the fire surrounded the town. It was high up in the sky and in the shape of a huge fiery dragon. The dragon head looked up!

It was as if the dragon was making direct eye contact with the painting’s viewer. It looked arrogant and fierce!

Boom!

Payne and the others were thunderstruck. They felt like the fire dragon was sealed into their minds. It was as if they were also citizens of that town and they were being surrounded by a sea of fire. They felt desperate and hopeless.

It was only for a moment but they were already sweating bullets. Their limbs went stiff and they could not breathe from being overwhelmed by the strong aura.

They quickly looked at Li Nianfan.

He looked normal. He looked like he was intrigued as he observed the painting thoroughly. They instantly sighed in relief.

Right, how would the expert be affected by the painting?

They endured some indirect attacks and felt exhausted. The expert was looking at the painting directly and did not feel anything. The difference was huge.

Everyone glanced at the painting again. They had to admit that the Lord Immortal was powerful.

The Power of Fire was perfectly executed in the painting. Thankfully, the expert suppressed it. Otherwise, the big fire dragon would fly out and burn everything in sight!

His art skills were amazing, too.

A Master Golden Immortal only had to fully cultivate a single power to become a Taiyi Golden Immortal. It was clear that the Lord Immortal went for the Power of Fire. Moreover, he was one step away from his breakthrough!

Powerful, incredible!

Too bad…he went on the wrong path.

At the Above Immortal Realm, the Liuyun Palace.

The Lord Immortal felt it.

He immediately turned around and walked to a room. He sat cross-legged and mumbled, “Has it started? Let me see what you’re made of!”

“It’s indeed a good painting,” Li Nianfan nodded and genuinely complimented. He reviewed, “The painting presents the view of fire perfectly. The painter captures the essence of the flames and it’s almost as if the fire’s alive. It’s not easy to achieve that.”

However… The hint of an instigation was too obvious.

Even normal people who did not understand painting could tell the painting was aggressive. The painting was rude, loud, bossy, and arrogant like the flames.

Moreover, the painting had a few empty spaces, meaning that it was incomplete. It seemed to be left there on purpose for the expert to fill the gap.

Combined with what Payne described, the painter did not have a friendly intention.

It was just a painting battle, right? Did it have to be so annoying?

How arrogant.

Li Nianfan frowned and felt uncomfortable.

He was trash at cultivation and battles. However, when it came to painting, he was not afraid to take on a challenge.

‘You dare boast in front of me? How dare you!’

Li Nianfan asked, “Brother Payne, is the painter your friend?”

Payne and the others almost jumped hearing that. Their hair stood on ends.

They immediately shook their heads hard. “No, of course not!”

“This person is arrogant and ignorant. How could we be his friends?”

“Don’t be mistaken, Mr. Li. We aren’t familiar with this person.”

“I see,” nodded Li Nianfan. Of course, the painter was arrogant. Gu Yuan and the others were so friendly. It was unlikely that they were friends. They were probably just the messengers of the painting.

Since they were not friends, he did not have to show mercy.

Li Nianfan smirked, shook his head, and said, “This painting’s alright but it could be much better. The painter seems a little stingy. I should complete it for him.”

“Daji, bring me a brush.”

Soon, Daji brought him a brush. “Here you go, Mr. Li.”

“Alright!”

Li Nianfan stared at the painting and thought about it for a moment. Then, he smirked and started to paint!

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The brush moved and slithered on the painting scroll without stopping.

When Li Nianfan started to paint, the Lord Immortal groaned. He felt like he had a mountain on his shoulder. The weight of it made it hard for him to breathe.

His eyes were slightly red and he suddenly had a bad feeling.

Li Nianfan did not paint on the flames. Instead, he painted around it!

He painted thick clouds above the flames. The painting seemed to be rumbling with thunder.

The dark clouds gradually grew thicker. All of a sudden, the wild flames were no longer the main star of the painting. The dark clouds were more prominent.

Li Nianfan started to paint a bolt of lightning. Maybe it was a delusion but when Li Nianfan painted the lightning, the painting flashed for a moment. Then, it started raining cats and dogs!

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Rumble!

The painting had changed completely. The fire dragon was extremely weak.

Everyone did not dare to breathe.

As Li Nianfan held the brush, he was surrounded by the Power of Law. It was as if he was one with the realm. They could not move at all.

Scary, too scary!

They looked at the dark clouds and the heavy rain.

It instantly sent a shiver down their spines.

It was as if they had become a small boat in a vast ocean. The wind blew and the rain was heavy. They could drown at any moment.

Did the expert use the Power of Water to exterminate the Lord Immortal’s Power of Fire?

However… Li Nianfan was not done yet.

He started to paint on the citizens.

It was just a few strokes.

The citizens instantly increased in numbers.

They had wooden buckets in their hands that were filled with water. Their blurry faces became clearer. They looked determined. They went from being frantic, scared citizens who were fleeing to citizens who were fighting the fire together.

Their clothes were blowing in the wind and rain. They fearlessly faced the fire head-on.

The entire painting was changed again. The focus of the painting changed from the heavy storm to the insignificant characters!

The scene was entirely transformed. The fire dragon was instantly weakened. Now, it seemed small and scared.

Buzz!

Everyone widened their eyes. They felt their blood rush to their heads. They went blank and were extremely horrified.

It was not a battle of Power anymore. He turned the whole painting around!

What was the Power of Fire at that point? It was not a dragon. It was not even a snake. It became an insect!

They remembered what the expert said. “Stingy, so stingy!”