Chapter 139: Xi Xi's Fourth Birthday and the Dao Fruit of the Immortal in the Painting

Chapter 139: Xi Xi's Fourth Birthday and the Dao Fruit of the Immortal in the Painting

The cold air hovering in the sky condensed the moisture, forming snowflakes that drifted and fell.

Golden Light City.

Luohua Lane, Workshop Courtyard.

Li Che sat cross-legged in the courtyard, his face turned upwards, allowing the snowflakes to land on his cheeks.

The scorching blood coursed rapidly beneath his skin, and the heat emitted instantly melted the snowflakes into water.

"My daughter Xi Xi is four years old."

Four years old...

Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, she was still an infant, a tiny little girl, and now she's four and has grown into a lively young lady.

Li Che's eyes narrowed slightly, and a smile couldn't help but curl up on his lips.

Watching his daughter grow up safely and gradually mature filled him with a sense of pride as an old father.

Xi Xi was born on a day when snowflakes filled the sky, and whenever snowflakes drifted down, it meant that Xi Xi's birthday was approaching.

Today was Xi Xi's fourth birthday.

On Xi Xi's fourth birthday, it also meant that the fifth Dao Fruit should have appeared.

He wasn't in a hurry and closed his eyes slightly, waiting quietly.

At the same time, he reflected on his cultivation progress so far.

Within the Niwan Inner Vision, eight Divine Foundation Charts hovered, each emitting a radiant glow, and the powerful divine nature roared like a storm, constantly surging.

All seven emotional divine natures had been forged into Divine Foundation Charts, seven in total...

The difficulty was not small, and the repulsion between them was extremely terrifying. If it weren't for his Pure Heart Divine Nature also being forged into a Divine Foundation Chart, acting as a barrier to isolate them from each other, perhaps the collision and conflict of the divine natures of the seven Divine Foundation Charts would be enough to make Li Che dizzy and unable to control them.

Once the Pure Heart Divine Nature was removed, the seven emotional divine natures would be mixed together, just like seven different-colored threads tangled together, impossible to untangle.

In other words, his current divine nature cultivation, based on the highest Divine Foundation Chart, was at the Mid-stage Divine Foundation.

He cultivated the Suspended Thought Unafraid Golden Heavenly King Divine Foundation Chart, which was at the Six Ministries level.

Based on the Suspended Thought Flowing Sword Divine Foundation Chart he originally cultivated from the Flying Thunder Xu family, it was an overlapping Divine Foundation Chart of the same nature.

This was also Li Che's next primary Divine Foundation Chart, striving for a complete cultivation to reach the level of visualizing the Divine Appearance.

Every six months, he could enter the Golden Temple to observe the Heavenly King Statue, which was the best opportunity to cultivate the Golden Heavenly King Divine Appearance.

"My talent in the path of divine nature is indeed average. Although I have many divine crystals to assist in cultivation, the speed of breaking through in divine nature cultivation is still a bit slow."

Li Che shook his head slightly, feeling a bit disappointed.

The Dragon Elephant Vajra had enhanced his lateral cultivation in martial arts, making him a martial arts genius and an unparalleled figure in lateral cultivation.

Now, martial arts had indeed lived up to this Dao Fruit, reaching the realm of the Furnace Master.

Moreover, he had mastered three Essence Arts, one of which was the self-created Dragon Elephant True Energy, capable of integrating the true essence of other Essence Arts.

The second was the Eight Serpents Turning the River, an upper-grade supreme art passed down by Li Qingshan from the Golden Light Branch Sect of the Eternal Origin Divine Sect.

The third was the lower-grade supreme art of the Thunderclap Body, obtained from the Shangguan family.

Upon reaching the Grandmaster Realm, in addition to tempering the body, one must also temper the internal organs.

By absorbing the true essence into the internal organs, making them resilient and indestructible, one can cultivate both externally and internally, striving for perfection, and then break through to the Grand Grandmaster Realm.

True essence can only be born from supreme arts, so in the Grandmaster Realm, most cultivators focus on mastering one supreme art. Similarly, there are stages of initiation, minor achievement, major achievement, mastery, and profound cultivation. If one supreme art is cultivated to the master level, it can give birth to true essence, and when cultivated to the profound level, the true essence can take shape.

The combination of martial arts true essence and divine appearance power is extremely formidable. This is why in Golden Light City, there are many cultivators of divine appearance.

"The path of martial arts is long and arduous..." Li Che sighed.

He had just entered the initial stage of the Grandmaster Realm and had started tempering his internal organs. It would probably take a few more years to advance to the Grand Grandmaster Realm...

As for the cultivation of supreme arts, Li Che wasn't worried. His talent was not bad, and with steady cultivation, he would eventually reach the level of true essence.

Li Che was curious and eager to see what kind of power the Dragon Elephant True Energy, when fused with various true essences, would transform into.

For this self-created supreme art that originated from the Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit, Li Che had high expectations.

A thought crossed his mind.

A radiant light appeared before his eyes.

...

The long-lost interface appeared.

...

The overall improvement was significant, and the maturity of the Namu Immortal Craft Dao Fruit had reached 88% of level 3, very close to level 4.

During this period, he had begun manufacturing five "Dragon Tooth Bodhi" bullets, engraving flow marks on them to accelerate the gathering of divine nature power.

This made the bullets more powerful in terms of penetration and the eruption of divine nature they could carry.

However, this alone was not enough to enhance the Namu Immortal Craft.

Creating ordinary divine nature wood carvings would also hardly improve the Namu Immortal Craft. Unless he entered the Enigmatic Temple, captured the divine nature of the temple deity, and carved it into the wood, creating such carvings could accelerate the improvement of the Namu Immortal Craft.

Li Che planned to finish his current tasks and then work on enhancing the Namu Immortal Craft Dao Fruit to level 4.

Li Che actually enjoyed this peaceful life.

All he needed to do every day was cultivate, carve, and nurture his divine nature, which was very comfortable.

It was quiet and beautiful.

Unfortunately, the world was never a peaceful place, and the winds of change were always blowing.

Even in Golden Light City, there were constant undercurrents and conflicts.

Factions fought openly, and there were also hidden struggles among sects and power struggles among noble families, leading to constant friction.

The Temple Administration Bureau was solely focused on the three enigmatic temples outside the city, each filled with a terrifying power that could erupt at any moment.

The City Lord's Mansion, the Temple Administration Bureau, and the Imperial Observatory were not in harmony, seemingly eyeing the Divine Sect with suspicion.

Within the Divine Sect, there were also heretics from the Corpse Deity Sect.

The Corpse Deity Sect had been corrupting the experts of various powers in Jin Guang Prefecture, like a venomous snake with its mouth wide open, ready to swallow the entire city.

The world... had never been peaceful.

Only when one's strength was powerful enough, strong enough to establish a realm of peace...

Could one truly achieve a worry-free life, watching the world's changes, and enjoying life.

Li Che opened his eyes and exhaled a turbid breath.

After such a long period of calm, it was the calm before the storm.

As the Enigmatic Chamber expanded with the tremors of the Four Divine Eight-Armed Wrathful Third Prince Enigmatic Temple, the arrival of the Heavenly Origin Orthodox Sect's experts and the initiation of the Wrathful Third Prince Enigmatic Temple's temple deity resonance detection...

The storm would no longer be containable.

During the sect entrance examination, Li Qingshan had said that the temple deity resonance detection would take place about a year after the examination. Therefore, after Xi Xi's birthday, the temple deity resonance detection would likely commence.

"The temple deity resonance detection... Li Qingshan said that this time, it's going to be a big deal, different from the past. In the past, the Heavenly Origin Sect would bring along the best spiritual infants they gathered from the four prefectures and the state city of Yunzhou for the temple deity resonance detection."

"But this time, it seems that not only Yunzhou, but also the ten branch sects under the jurisdiction of the Dao City in Lingnan Dao, and even the Dao City itself, will send powerful cultivators, bringing spiritual infants for the detection..."

"All for the inheritance of the Eight-Armed Wrathful Third Prince!"

Li Che's eyes flashed with excitement.

The Eight-Armed Wrathful Third Prince Enigmatic Temple outside Jin Guang Prefecture was of extremely high rank, even among the Four Divine Enigmatic Temples.

Therefore, when the Enigmatic Chamber trembled and the Third Prince's inheritance emerged, it would attract the attention of all parties.

Since the original form of the Third Prince's temple deity was a child, the temple deity resonance would naturally be highly valued by all sides.

This temple deity resonance... attracted the attention of the entire Lingnan Dao.

The Corpse Deity Sect had laid its plans in Jin Guang Prefecture early on due to the reputation of the Four Divine Eight-Armed Wrathful Third Prince Enigmatic Temple.

As Li Che pondered and summarized, completing his review of his cultivation...

Buzz—

Li Che felt the world suddenly become incredibly quiet!

Boom, boom, boom!

Within his chest, intense vibrations surged forth, as if the Fruit of Dao were undergoing some abnormal changes!

The Fruits of Dao—Immortal Craft, Dragon Elephant Vajra, Pure Heart, and Chess Sage—all four of them were throbbing violently!

It was as if they were welcoming a new companion!

Before his eyes, the scenes flowed, and a familiar image emerged, like a mirror rising from the water, slowly reflecting...

Roar—

The earth was vast and deep, as if an ancient deity were roaring. In the boundless world, a towering tree soared into the clouds.

Countless leaves trembled, flashing with ten thousand rays of light.

A seven-colored fruit, accompanied by seven-colored radiance, hung atop the tree.

Xi Xi's growth over the past year was projected like a horse racing through flowers, reflecting upon the vast world!

Li Che's hair was jet-black, and his gaze was far-reaching.

Shimmering with crystal brilliance, he was filled with curiosity and anticipation.

Xi Xi's birthday was the day Li Che would open the Dao fruit blind box...

Naturally, he was extremely excited!

After a year of protection, he finally reaped the rewards today.

Xi Xi, at four years old, obtained her fifth Dao fruit!

At last!

...

[Your daughter, at four years old, has faced setbacks but remains resilient and safe. She has obtained the Dao fruit 'Immortal in the Painting'.]



...

The tips gathered into a shimmering golden light, bright and clear.

The fifth Dao fruit!

Li Che knew that as long as his daughter was safe, his future... would bring him more and more Dao fruits.

However, he couldn't be certain about the attributes of the Dao fruits; they were unpredictable.

It was like opening a blind box, thrilling.

Just like this time, when he saw the fifth Dao fruit, Li Che felt as clueless as when he had seen the 'Chess Sage' Dao fruit.

Immortal in the Painting?

Does this mean I have to become a painter holding a wolf-hair brush?

His brows furrowed slightly.

He seemed to have figured out the different implications of the Dao fruit.

"Occupation?"

"Are these Dao fruits guiding me to become a divine being through my occupation?"

Li Che smiled with interest.

Of course, it wasn't necessarily the case, as the Pure Heart Dao fruit didn't belong to the occupational category. So, it couldn't be generalized, and there was still a degree of uncertainty.

The panel brought him an opportunity, allowing him to bind his fate with his daughter. As long as his daughter lived safely for a year, he would obtain a Dao fruit.

This Dao fruit was still in its infancy and lacked maturity, requiring him to gradually accumulate its growth.

The origin of this opportunity was profound.

As his cultivation grew, his understanding of the world deepened.

He had witnessed the temple deity and the overlapping myths of two lifetimes, so when his heart trembled, he couldn't help but wonder...

Were the Dao fruits he obtained connected to his daughter's special identity?

Could Xi Xi be the reincarnation of some powerful being?

Li Che closed his eyes, his heart trembling intensely. This thought, once born, was uncontrollable, as if a cold feeling instantly enveloped his entire body.

He dared not think deeply or delve further into it.

He slowly opened his eyes.

"Even if she's the reincarnation of a powerful being, so what?"

"The Dao fruits are with me, and I, Li Che, am Xi Xi's father!"

"No matter what conspiracies or tricks lurk in the background, all I ask is for my daughter's safety."

Li Che's gaze gradually calmed, and the coldness within him dissipated. In his chest, it was as if a ball of heat was radiating warmth.

"As long as I become strong enough..."

"...I will fear no evil spirits!"

Strengthen!

Only by becoming stronger could he protect his daughter, his wife, and his family!

[Immortal in the Painting (Dao Fruit): Blood as Ink, Divine Nature as Spirit, Immortals in the Painting, Life in the Brush]



His heart trembled slightly.

The introduction to the new Dao fruit, 'Immortal in the Painting', appeared before him.

"Immortals in the painting, life in the brush..."

Li Che narrowed his eyes, still feeling a bit dazed by this introduction.

However, he understood that to use this Dao fruit, he would need to rely on both his blood and divine nature.

"Try it and you'll know."

【Dao Fruit (Immortal in the Painting): Lv1, 0%】

Li Che glanced at the Dao Fruit in his chest, and it trembled.

He closed his eyes to sense it, feeling as if an electric current was coursing through him, spreading from his mind and gradually helping him understand the meaning of this Immortal in the Painting Dao Fruit.

One word: "Paint"!

In the courtyard, snowflakes danced in the air.

Li Che closed his eyes for about ten breaths before suddenly opening them.

"So that's how it is..."

A hint of surprise curved his lips into a smile.

He raised his hand and touched his forehead, at the Yintang acupoint.

In an instant, within his inner vision, the eight Divine Foundation Charts trembled.

【Suspensive Thought Unafraid Golden Heavenly King Divine Foundation】 shook violently, like a grinding wheel, and divine nature was extracted from it.

His meridians roared, and the powerful Furnace Master's blood qi overflowed from his palm, merging with the divine nature to form a dense black ink in the air.

The Immortal in the Painting Dao Fruit trembled again, and a pristine white piece of paper appeared before him.

As the gentle breeze blew through the courtyard, the corners of the paper fluttered.

Li Che gazed at the paper, his eyes sparkling. This paper was formed from his Pure Heart Divine Nature.

The consumption was minuscule, almost negligible.

However, the consumption of the blood qi and divine nature merged into the ink was still noticeable.

But it wasn't significant.

"I can paint..."

Li Che hesitated as he looked at the paper and the divine ink in his hand.

Because painting... he wasn't very good at it.

This was an art form that required dedication and learning.

Although he possessed the 【Immortal Craft】 Dao Fruit, it primarily enhanced his innate talent in craftsmanship.

He could sculpt, create intricate crafts, or even make a desert eagle from scratch.

But painting... that was a different story.

Suddenly, Li Che's furrowed brows relaxed, "The key to Immortal in the Painting isn't just about painting."

"The process isn't important; the result is."

Li Che recalled the Golden Third Prince he had fought in the Golden Temple.

He splattered the thick ink from his hand.

Whoosh...

The pure paper absorbed the ink like a dragon drinking water, and gradually, a figure with a golden ring on his head, standing on a windfire wheel, his arms wrapped in golden silk, and holding a firetip spear appeared on the white paper.

Li Che blinked at the lifelike Third Prince in the painting.

The Third Prince in the painting blinked back at Li Che.

Then, the figure leaped out of the painting, its body formed entirely of black ink, becoming a Black Ink Third Prince.

The painting had come to life, and the immortal had stepped into reality!

Boom—

The Black Ink Third Prince stood on a black windfire wheel, flying around the courtyard.

Li Che clasped his hands behind his back and surveyed the scene, his eyes filled with wonder.

After sensing the situation, he smacked his lips.

"Not bad at all."

"Although the blood qi hasn't formed a furnace, it's still at the Grandmaster level. The divine nature is at the Mid-stage Divine Foundation, so by painting him with my divine nature and blood qi, his cultivation is almost on par with mine?"

Li Che snapped his fingers, and the Black Ink Third Prince exploded in mid-air, turning into countless black ink droplets that evaporated into black mist and disappeared.

Li Che tried again, this time extracting the divine nature from all seven Divine Foundation Charts, merging it with his blood qi to create divine ink.

"Let's paint a self-portrait."

Li Che's eyes sparkled with anticipation.

The paper floated in the air, and he splattered the colorful ink onto it.

The ink spread, shimmering like seven-colored light, and the paper trembled, revealing a sketch of Li Che in a slightly cartoonish style.

The Li Che in the painting smiled and took a step forward, detaching himself from the paper and becoming lifelike.

Li Che felt a strange connection with the "Immortal in the Painting" Li Che before him.

The painting had consumed most of Li Che's blood qi as a Furnace Master, along with most of the divine nature from the seven Divine Foundation Charts...

The painted Li Che possessed about seventy percent of Li Che's strength.

Li Che willed the painted Li Che to attack him.

The two of them began to spar in the courtyard.

Li Che severed his control over the painted Li Che, who could now fight independently, following Li Che's combat habits.

He even had access to various hidden weapons like the Thousand Spider Silk and Bodhi Blood Tears, which he could use in battle.

Li Che had painted them along with himself.

"Bang—"

Li Che snapped his fingers.

The painted Li Che exploded into a cloud of colorful ink.

Li Che's eyes flickered with a strange light, and a flash of surprise crossed his face.

Memories of fighting himself flooded his mind.

And...

The blood qi and divine nature consumed in the painting returned to him.

"This..."

"If I use the painted clone for cultivation... the divine nature and blood qi cultivated will also return to me."

"It's like having an extra me for cultivation!"

Li Che's mood lifted. He had been worried about his weak divine nature, and with seven Divine Foundation Charts, he wasn't sure when he would be able to gather them all to form the Divine Shape Realm.

But now...

If talent is lacking, make up for it with numbers! Paint seven versions of himself, each with a different divine nature, and slowly cultivate them!

"However, according to the feedback from the Immortal in the Painting Dao Fruit, without actively interrupting or engaging in combat that consumes divine nature and blood qi, the painted clone can last for up to three days."

"Because combat consumes blood qi and divine nature, the clone cannot exist for long periods. But if it's used for cultivation, which replenishes divine nature and blood qi, it should be able to last for an additional day..."

"Still, it's only four days..."

Li Che exhaled.

"It makes sense; after all, it's a newly acquired Dao Fruit. As the Immortal in the Painting Dao Fruit matures, the painted clone's existence will lengthen, allowing it to cultivate more for me."

Li Che's spirits lifted.

"Besides the painted clone... the painting can create all things..."

"I'll try again."

Li Che gathered his divine nature and blood qi and painted a martial pill.

He popped it into his mouth and crunched it.

Hmm...

It was a bit sweet.

Useless.

Fake.

It was just an outer shell with no medicinal properties, unable to sustain itself.

Li Che's heart stirred slightly, and he drew a 'Dragon Tooth Bodhi' bullet.

Instantly, a brand new Dragon Tooth Bodhi bullet appeared in his hand, identical to the one he had personally crafted.

The only drawback was...

It was too perfect!

The only downside was the consumption of blood qi and divine nature, but was that really a flaw?

Could the slight depletion of blood qi and divine nature be considered a flaw?

A genuine Dragon Tooth Bodhi required the Dragon Tooth Bodhi tree, a spiritual wood, and Li Che's painstaking efforts.

Even with the aid of the Dao Fruit's immortal craft, it would take ten days to a month to carve a single bullet, and the entire process was delicate, with one mistake rendering the bullet useless.

The master craftsman, despite his exceptional skills, sometimes preferred to take shortcuts. Why bother with intricate carving when you could create something from nothing?

Li Che smiled widely, delighted with his new toy.

He drew this, then that...

He even drew his wife, Zhang Ya, and as she emerged from the paper, Li Che's eyes lit up with new ideas for bone tempering and muscle stretching.

Glancing at the sky, he saw dark clouds rolling in, and snowflakes swirling in the winter air.

The day was turning to night quickly.

Li Che didn't continue studying the Dao Fruit's immortal craft, mainly because his divine nature was nearly depleted.

Creating art required divine nature, and while his blood qi was still abundant due to his Furnace Master physique's rapid self-regeneration, his divine nature was not.

Before leaving the workshop courtyard, Li Che drew seven immortal craft clones, each imbued with a different divine nature and colored with corresponding ink, their faces displaying distinct emotions.

Anger, fear, suspense, wrath, joy, surprise, and worry...

Seven divine natures, seven divine foundations.

He had them sit in the room, cultivating and nurturing their divine nature, and thoughtfully provided each clone with a Nine Star Divine Crystal.

With this, he had exhausted the Nine Star Divine Crystals he obtained from Zhao Zhengheng.

He still had plenty of Ten Cities Divine Crystals left, but having experienced the rapid effects of the Nine Star crystals, he found the Ten Cities crystals lacking.

Clapping his hands, he surveyed the room filled with seven diligently cultivating clones.

Li Che was very satisfied.

His divine nature talent was indeed weak, but... he had many clones!

In battle, if his divine nature was depleted, he could quickly replenish it by detonating a clone.

Although Li Che rarely encountered battles that exhausted his divine nature, it was still a valuable trump card.

Satisfied, he locked the door and left the workshop courtyard, heading deeper into Luohua Lane towards the Fly Pub.

The pub's lazy dog glanced at Li Che, yawned, and continued sleeping by the fire.

Li Che had come to collect the birthday meal he had ordered for Xi Xi, prepared by the pub's excellent chef, whose sugar-glazed ribs were Xi Xi's favorite.

Li Che collected the entire birthday meal, stored it in his Heaven and Earth Space, and bid farewell.

The dog grunted as it watched Li Che leave.

Snow-covered flowers and trees adorned the mountainside, and icicles hung from the green branches.

Li Che exited the alley, his ink robe fluttering in the wind.

Snowflakes landed on his shoulders, only to be twisted and evaporated by his invisible blood qi.

The street was blanketed in white, and the long street was deserted.

Li Che didn't return directly to the Divine Sect's Thunder Peak; instead, he headed to a secluded courtyard in an alley.

In the courtyard, a lone lamp burned quietly in the snow-covered evening.

Today was Xi Xi's fourth birthday, and Old Chen was an essential part of the celebration.

This courtyard was where Old Chen had moved after leaving his previous residence in Listening Flower Lane.

Xi Xi was supposed to visit Old Chen every six months, but Old Chen seemed to have realized he had a problem.

So, he had refused Li Che's requests to bring Xi Xi to see him for the past six months.

At that time, Li Che had wanted to help Old Chen resolve the Corpse Curse Seal within him, but Old Chen, upon discovering the curse, seemed to have his own plans, and Li Che had halted his actions.

Now, Li Che understood Old Chen's intentions.

In the lamplight, Old Chen sat alone under the eaves, warming a pot of wine.

He held the wine cup, his face occasionally lighting up with a smile as he reminisced about his bickering with Little Stinker Xi.

Sighing, Old Chen shook his head.

"Little Stinker Xi, you're four years old today."

"Grandpa Chen wishes you a happy birthday one last time."

Old Chen raised his wine cup.

"I, Grandpa Chen, will drink to your health. You do as you please."

Old Chen smiled and drained the warm wine.

"Drinking alone? Why not call me over?"

Li Che appeared in the courtyard with a smile.

Old Chen was startled.

His face changed slightly, "Ah Che, don't come near me!"

"I've been infected with the Corpse Deity Sect's corpse energy..."

But in the blink of an eye, Li Che appeared before Old Chen, his palm gently tapping on Old Chen's shoulder, releasing the Furnace Master's blood qi to evaporate the corpse energy within Old Chen.

"See, no more corpse energy."

Li Che said gently, "Let's go, how can we celebrate Xi Xi's birthday without you, Grandpa Chen?"

Old Chen, feeling the corpse energy within him disappear under Li Che's domineering power, was stunned.

Then, he was shocked to the point of numbness.

"You... you've reached the Furnace Master level?"

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(End of Chapter)

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