Chapter 387: Truth After the Meal

"How bizarre, could there be another demonic cultivator performing rituals in Huai'an Village?" The crowd gathered around the withered old man, thoroughly baffled.

The First Elder cleared his throat covertly, transmitting his voice directly to Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye.

"I possess some intelligence regarding the matters of Huai'an Village; according to the confession of the Immortal Sect's leader, he established a slaughterhouse here in Huai'an Village of Liangzhou, disguising puppets as the villagers."

While Dai Bufan managed the Mission Hall and intelligence on his master's behalf, the actual overseer was none other than the First Elder.

Though the First Elder normally preferred spending his days constructing tombs for himself, he was not completely hands-off; he was well aware of the occurrences within the Mission Hall and the intelligence Dai Bufan possessed, which included the confession of the Immortal Sect's master.

Lu Yang: "..."

Tao Yaoye: "..."

Elder, if you knew about Huai'an Village all along, did you just watch the few of us run around in circles this entire time?

The First Elder thought to himself that he had merely been searching for the most eye-catching way to make an entrance; if they had not come to Huai'an Village, how was he supposed to find an opportunity to show up?

The First Elder had even envisioned Vice Sect Master Shi making a move on Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye, allowing him to descend at the critical juncture while reciting his poetic title to rescue the pair.

What a pity, the opportunity never arose.

At least the withered old man had given him some face.

The intelligence the First Elder possessed could not be shared with Vice Sect Master Shi; it was not information the Heavenly Court Sect should know, and it might arouse Vice Sect Master Shi's suspicions regarding their true identities.

"Very well, capturing this ancient cultivator can be considered a harvest; this trip was not entirely in vain," Lu Yang took the initiative to speak, seeing no further reason to remain in Huai'an Village.

"Sect Master Shi contributed greatly during this process, how about this person be handed over to you for disposal?"

Vice Sect Master Shi could scarcely believe his ears; it was clearly the Netherworld Heavenly King who had captured the withered old man, yet they were yielding him up so readily.

"This... would this not be somewhat inappropriate?"

Lu Yang placed his hands behind his back and laughed heartily, "What is inappropriate about it? Our two sects share a cooperative relationship; consider this a greeting gift for our alliance. Your Nine Netherworld Sect possesses far more intelligence than we do; the information gleaned from this youngster's mouth will be much more useful to you than to our Heavenly Court Sect."

Vice Sect Master Shi nodded secretly; indeed, their Nine Netherworld Sect held information regarding other ancient cultivators, and combined with the withered old man's intelligence, they could further grasp the movements of these ancient figures.

Intelligence on ancient cultivators was of paramount importance; perhaps they could even locate ancient treasuries to enrich their coffers.

The Heavenly Court Sect's indifferent attitude toward ancient cultivators only proved that they simply did not care about them at all.

Just how terrifying must the foundation of the Heavenly Court Sect be?

Was Young Sect Master Lu's gesture meant to grant a favor to the Nine Netherworld Sect, or was it a deliberate display of might?

Unable to fathom Lu Yang's true intentions, Vice Sect Master Shi felt that the youth truly deserved his title as the Young Sect Master of the Heavenly Court Sect; such profound calculations were far beyond what his peers could muster.

Having rationalized the situation, Vice Sect Master Shi cupped his hands in gratitude, "In that case, many thanks."

The First Elder stowed away the brick-like object and tossed the withered old man over to Vice Sect Master Shi.

"Detestable! To think someone would actually use this Immortal's fine pillow as a mere pillow!" The Immortal Fairy grumbled indignantly; she had seen clearly that the object in the First Elder's hand was her own Immortal Treasure, the Yellow Millet Pillow.

This was a spoil of war seized by the Asked Sect when Master Liu and Master Gao, the barbecue shop owners, had invaded; it possessed the power to force anyone into a deep slumber.

"Farewell!" Vice Sect Master Shi conjured a flying vessel, sealed the withered old man's cultivation, threw him aboard, and sailed away.

The First Elder drew an ink-wash landscape painting from his sleeve, depicting a waterfall cascading straight down; though the painting was silent, as Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye gazed upon it, the sound of rushing water seemed to echo in their ears.

The First Elder smiled and said, "This is a dharma treasure I frequently use when traveling, the Painting of High Mountains and Flowing Water. It contains a universe within its borders, a unique grotto-heaven; I requested my Fourth Junior Brother to paint it for me."

Tao Yaoye hesitated slightly; she had never seen such a dharma treasure before and did not know how to utilize it.

"Do we leap inside?" Lu Yang recalled that he had seen the Fourth Elder's eldest disciple, Senior Brother Ji Hongwen, employ a similar technique.

"Indeed."

The First Elder leaped into the painting, and Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye followed his example, jumping in after him.

The moment they leaped through, the roaring sound of the waterfall crashed upon them, and as the two raised their eyes, they found themselves standing right beside the cascade, which tumbled down from the heavens, kicking up countless sprays of mist.

The two crouched down to examine the flora along the bank; the vegetation was a lush, dripping green, with water droplets clinging to the leaves, making it impossible to distinguish truth from illusion.

Was this merely a painting, or did a small world truly exist within the artwork?

Seeing their astonishment, the First Elder felt immensely proud but had no intention of explaining it to them; he maneuvered the scroll, flying back toward the Asked Sect.

"Oh, it is the Dao of Painting; who would have thought a contemporary practitioner of the Painting Dao could possess such capability," the Immortal Fairy remarked with slight surprise; the Confucian Dao of Saints had existed since antiquity, and there were many great cultivators who studied the Painting Dao during the ancient era.

"Are these plants, mountains, and rivers real or fake?" Lu Yang inquired.

"Fake, though they are already remarkably close to reality; if one were to infuse the souls of flora into them, they would become real. Such craftsmanship was exceedingly rare even in our time."

"Does the Fairy know the Dao of Painting?"

The Immortal Fairy waved her hand dismissively, adopting an air of nonchalance, "A trivial path, merely something used by poor, sour scholars; this Immortal never deigned to learn such things."

As if suddenly remembering something, the First Elder turned his head and asked, "Speaking of the Painting Dao, I once saw a record in an ancient text. In antiquity, there were two Immortals, one a Demon Immortal and the other a Wood Immortal. The Demon Immortal was imprisoned within a painting by the Wood Immortal, causing the two to clash fiercely; their immortal radiance erupted, shaking the universe. Had the ancestors of the Dragon and Phoenix races not intervened to mediate the battle, there is no telling how many stars would have been shattered. Several ancient texts record this event to varying degrees."

"Lu Yang, you are familiar with ancient history, have you heard of this matter?"

Lu Yang shook his head; it was his first time hearing of it.

The Demon Immortal and the Wood Immortal—could they be the Qilin Immortal and the Age Immortal?

It was time to use his cheat code.

"Fairy, have you heard of this matter?"

The Immortal Fairy pondered for a moment before a look of realization dawned upon her, "I remember now! Once, after the Age Immortal finished eating my cooking, he spoke the absolute truth under its influence and mentioned this very matter!"

"You have asked the right person; if you asked anyone else, they truly wouldn't know!"

"...Setting everything else aside, why would the Age Immortal speak the absolute truth after eating your cooking?"

The Immortal Fairy found it strange that Lu Yang would even ask such a question, replying as if it were a matter of course, "Is that not a very common occurrence? One grows drowsy after eating and drinking to their fill; the Immortal of Echoes and the Age Immortal would often become completely dazed after eating my food, slamming their heads onto the table while muttering incoherently. Whatever you ask them at that moment, they will answer, and they won't even remember what they said afterward."

"Please, do continue."

The Immortal Fairy resumed her tale, "This Immortal did not care to learn the Painting Dao, but the Age Immortal was quite interested in it and possessed a fair amount of skill; the things he painted were difficult to distinguish from reality even for me. After all, he was a Jianmu tree that attained spirituality, standing at the apex of all plant spirits; he possessed a natural affinity for paper."