The Lord of the Laws of Heaven

Chapter 209 Fang Xiandao

It is now the 58th year since the founding of the Daqian Kingdom.

At this time, Xiao Jun was already sixteen years old and still had two years to go before he could take the imperial examination.

It is now the end of the 58th year of the Daqian reign, and snow has already fallen.

Speaking of which, Xiao Jun is now two years older than Hong Yi, the protagonist of the Yangshen world. Xiao Jun's birth was not very good.

In fact, the imperial examination itself is a screening mechanism. It is not only a screening of talents, but more importantly, it is a screening of family background and relationships.

Reading is not just about reading the so-called Four Books and Five Classics. When it comes to passing the imperial examination, not only do you have to have an understanding of various schools of thought, but you also have to meet strict requirements on calligraphy. Any work that does not conform to the rules will be rejected immediately.

There were also numerous annotations by great scholars, the titles of which the average scholar had never even heard of, let alone read. Without these annotations, your essay would be instantly recognized by the examiners and immediately rejected. To master the annotated texts of these great scholars required not only talent but also connections and wealth.

You also need to know the chief examiner of the imperial examination and understand his preferences in order to answer the questions. Wanting to know the chief examiner's preferences is bound to be an information gap, which is also a threshold.

After several thresholds were set, only one in ten people could directly become a juren from a humble family. And only one in ten people who were born in a humble family could become a jinshi.

Xiao Jun relied on his photographic memory and his uncle's studies in Yujing City to acquire a large amount of knowledge as his own resources. However, Xiao Jun still needed to think carefully before he could become a juren.

Of course, Xiao Jun's study and passing the imperial examination was just a side job. His main purpose was to understand the principles and pave the way for his own practice.

Relying on the sincerity in the unknown, you can verify the truth of reading, cultivate your own integrity, and prove your own truth.

More importantly, becoming a juren will allow you to obtain resources. Only with sufficient food and supplements can you practice martial arts. Otherwise, you will only ruin yourself and become deformed.

……

In Yulong Mountain outside Yujing City.

But he saw a Taoist priest with a golden and purple complexion, who was sitting cross-legged.

Next to the Taoist priest, in the main hall of the courtyard, was a huge statue of the Taoist Patriarch. The statue was lifelike, with feathered robes and a star-shaped crown. Above its head, a clear aura appeared, giving rise to the sun, moon, and thunder...

The Daozu image contains an incomparably strange true meaning, similar to the creation of the world and the evolution of all things.

At this moment, a Taoist priest came over with a scroll in his hand.

"Master, this is a painting I just got, take a look!"

It turned out that the Taoist priest who was sitting cross-legged was the leader of Fangxiandao.

"What paintings? For us, apart from those few visualization diagrams in legends, ordinary paintings are of no use to us." The leader of the Fangxian Dao slowly opened his eyes. "Generally, handed-down calligraphy and paintings have the effect of replenishing qi and nourishing the spirit. For cultivators practicing immortal arts, they can improve their cultivation. But they are useless to me."

But he still stretched out his hand, and the Taoist in front of him held the painting and flew it directly into the hands of the leader of the Fangxian Dao.

Slowly opening the scroll, a blank space revealed a snowy scene, with a majestic deer raising its head and making a deer cry. The Fang Xiandao Sect Leader's eyes suddenly lit up, a gleam of brilliance flashing in them.

"Excellent, excellent! This is a truly breathtakingly vivid painting. At first glance, I felt as if I had entered a world of ice and snow, as if I could actually see a deer at work, and even hear its cry." The Fang Xian Dao Sect Master spoke directly and without reservation, "This kind of painting technique, this vividness, could it be the new work of Qian Daozi?"

"I've inquired about it. This wasn't painted by Qian Daozi, but by an unknown scholar. It was hung somewhere at the time, and it was only selling for five taels of silver. I spent ten taels to buy it."

"Indeed, this painting is quite useful." After saying this, the Fangxian Daoist leader began to ponder, continuing to comprehend the profound meaning within. Finally, he said, "In our Daoist school, the deer represents abundant vital essence. This painting perfectly captures this true meaning."

"Not only is the divine will contained within it of great benefit to cultivators who have reached the Manifestation Realm in their cultivation of immortal arts, it is also of great benefit to martial arts practice. Contemplating this 'Deer Singing Picture' can activate the vital essence within the human body. Contemplating it daily can invigorate one's energy and replenish one's Qi and blood, providing a significant boost to martial arts practice!"

"The rich spiritual realm within it is already a top-notch visualization painting, and it can be considered a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation." The Fang Xiandao Sect Master praised it highly, and then he said, "To those who don't understand the art, this painting is only worth a dozen or so taels, but to those who practice immortal arts or martial arts, it is worth a thousand gold!"

Such praise made the Taoist priest who came to deliver the painting feel honored.

"You said this wasn't painted by Daoist Qian? Is there anyone else who has such amazing skills and is so lifelike? I, Xiao Anran, have never heard of it." The leader of Fang Xiandao carefully rolled up the painting, placed it horizontally on his knees as he sat cross-legged, and asked the Taoist priest.

"It was the nephew of a bookstore owner. It's said that the nephew painted it in his spare time. The nephew was a scholar with a photographic memory, and he painted in his spare time. This "Deer Singing" painting is one of his paintings."

Xiao Anran closed his eyes first. As a ghost immortal, he had a powerful soul and extremely agile thinking ability. He carefully visualized the full-blooded male deer in the "Deer Singing Picture" in his mind, and sensed the rising yang and warm energy in his body.

Although this picture can only be of slight help to him in practicing immortal arts, it has a different use in practicing martial arts and is of great benefit to shaping his own way to cross the world!
He carefully contemplated the finest strokes of his brush, each trace of ink scattering in the air as a sign of intense contemplation and reflection. Relying on the powerful mental abilities bestowed by his Ghostly Immortal state, he even meticulously contemplated the deer's fur and the delicate snow surrounding it.

He felt the Qi and blood in his body begin to surge gently. Normally, this would be a good time to practice breathing exercises to refine his internal organs, but now he was not practicing breathing exercises. Instead, he was making careful calculations.

Relying on the powerful thinking ability of the ghost fairy, it is not a complicated situation to make inferences. The style of the painting can be inferred from the extremely fine details of the painting.

He had also seen Qian Daozi's paintings before. With the subtle differences, Xiao Anran could easily distinguish the differences between them.

Qian Daozi's paintings are vivid, but the style is unconstrained, appearing very unrestrained, blending artistic conception into the unrestrainedness. Each of Qian Daozi's paintings is integrated with artistic conception, and can be used as a visualization picture for practitioners of immortal arts, so he is respected as the Saint of Painting!
But in this painting, Xiao Anran felt only precision, unparalleled precision. Even the seemingly minute branches of a brush were meticulously arranged, leaving no detail unnoticed. The subtleties were immeasurably precise, the artistic conception permeating every detail from the subtle to the macro.

This is a completely different style of painting, but the strong artistic conception is expressed with incomparable precision. The vividness will never be misunderstood. The true meaning is like an arrow that shoots straight into the heart. It is a divine painting that goes straight to the heart.

Qian Daozi's paintings may require people with a certain level of Taoist cultivation to fully appreciate, but this painting, whether it is a master of Taoist magic or even an ordinary person, can move the inner artistic conception and gain benefits as long as they see it.

"Masterful! This is a masterful skill. It's not Daoist Qian's, but it's better than him!" Xiao Anran sighed as he opened his eyes. Then, he suddenly glanced at the Taoist priest in front of him: "You did a great job! You did a great job! I originally refined a brain-tonifying and calming pill, which is just the right reward for you. But you have to invite the owner of this painting over."

"Thank you, Sect Master!" The Taoist's eyes showed joy.

Xiao Anran was also quite delighted. This person was most likely a not-yet-famous painting master, newly minted and unrecognizable. Now was the perfect time to make friends with him. If they could become a good friend and create visualization diagrams that would be of great help to ghosts and immortals, then this would be a very profitable business!

　Thank you readers for your support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)