Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 171 A variable caused by an error
They stayed in this shelter by the well for a month. During this time, Wu Zhong was the only one who left to buy some things. They never left the shelter again.

A month later, they heard footsteps coming from outside.

Zhao Yifu looked up and saw a group of people in Confucian robes looking around for something.

One of them looked familiar to him, and after a little recollection he remembered and said, "Brother Wensheng, we are here!"

The group of people were shocked.

Zhao Yifu was also familiar with the team leader, Mr. Cangqiu, who had been staying in Moshan for many years to teach students the art of playing the zither.

Mr. Cangqiu smiled kindly and said, "What a naughty monkey! Why are you scaring me for no reason?"

Zhao Yifu quickly emerged from the hole at the edge of the well, then bowed and said with a smile, "Greetings, Teacher Cangqiu."

Mr. Cangqiu chuckled in response, then turned to the younger generation he had brought with him and said, "Look carefully! This is the 'Boundless Universe Technique' found in our sect's grotto. It can open up an infinite space within a small area. You should practice this technique individually when you return. It will be beneficial for your future travels."

The younger generation, including Wen Sheng, immediately lost their composure.

Why are there more homework?
The way they looked at Zhao Yi Fu became very sad, as if they had seen something dirty.

The disciples who came to participate in the exchange meeting at Danqingmen this time were all from Wensheng's group, a total of eight people... eight "romantic talents" who now looked a little embarrassed.

There was another person who should be a disciple of the same generation as Master Liang Zhongzhi, but Zhao Yifu did not recognize him.

At this time, Liang Zhongzhi also emerged from the shelter. He first met Mr. Cangqiu and then took Zhao Yifu to the man and said, "This is your uncle Nie Hua. He has no courtesy name or nickname, and only uses his real name. He is a rare master of alchemy in our Danqing Sect."

"Brother Nie Hua, I didn't expect the Sect Master to let you come out?"

Although Taoist Nie Hua had a plain and handsome face, he was very serious.

After listening to this, he simply replied, "Exchange with the sect's alchemy is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so naturally, I can't miss it."

Zhao Yifu quickly bowed to greet him, but Nie Hua just nodded indifferently.

Zhao Yifu was not angry about this, because he found that Nie Hua was absent-minded the whole time, his pupils were not focused, and he was obviously in a state of "soul flying away".

He could judge that this was a sincere person who was devoted to the way of alchemy.

He said, "Everyone, let's get into the shelter quickly. You're all tired from the journey, and my servants have prepared hot soup and hot meals for you to welcome you back."

After hearing what he said, everyone seemed to be hungry. However, they stood there looking around, not knowing how to enter the space the size of a wall brick.

Zhao Yifu laughed and said, "Brothers and elders, just follow me."

As he said this, he took the lead and walked towards the wall bricks.

Seeing this, Mr. Cangqiu said with a smile, "You guys, learn from them. The spaces opened up by this 'Boundless Universe Technique' actually have entrances. You just need to walk through them normally."

Wen Sheng and other younger generations lowered their heads and were scolded.

Zhao Yifu smiled awkwardly and said, "Teacher Cangqiu, I actually twisted the entrance. You can't get in by walking normally, so I put the entrance at the mouth of the well."

"Just jump down from the well and you can enter that temporary secret realm."

Wen Sheng and others showed a smug smile, thinking that Mr. Cangqiu was sometimes wrong.

However, the old man immediately exclaimed in amazement, "Incredible! Jun Xin, you can already twist space? I'm afraid it won't be long before you can enter the second level of cultivation of the 'Boundless Universe Technique'."

Then his expression changed and he looked at everyone and said, "You are already lagging far behind. If you don't work hard to catch up, then..."

Wen Sheng and others turned pale and were lectured by Mr. Cangqiu for half an hour.

During this process, both Liang Zhongzhi and Nie Hua who came with the team showed painful and helpless expressions... Mr. Cangqiu is one generation older than Sect Leader Qiu Yuzi in terms of seniority. He is a true senior.

As for Zhao Yifu, he also felt uncomfortable, being treated as "someone else's child". He seemed to be able to feel everyone's real resentment.

He nervously tugged at Mr. Cangqiu's sleeve and said, "Mr. Cangqiu, how about we go inside and talk? It's easy to attract attention here."

Mr. Cangqiu nodded and said, "That's fine. You are all adults now. It's not good to say more to you. Just take care of yourself."

Wen Sheng and the others all had sad faces... You said you had said it all!
Zhao Yifu tried hard to suppress his laughter and took the lead in jumping into the well.

In fact, you can feel the landing as soon as you jump.

A gentle woman dressed as a maid beside her said with a smile: "The young master is back."

Zhao Yifu was stunned on the spot. This woman was his uncle Hui in disguise. From now on, she was his maid 'Xiao Hui'.

Although I feel secretly happy, my expression must be awkward and uncomfortable.

He wanted to say something but stopped because someone was coming from behind.

So I could only reluctantly say: "Everyone is here, please prepare food, the brothers are exhausted."

Xiao Hui said with a smile, "Okay, Master. I will arrange for them with Li Nu'er."

As he spoke, he busied himself with serving tea and water to the talented scholars from the Danqing School who had traveled all the way here without any sense of incongruity.

These young masters, who were used to having someone serving them, did not notice anything wrong at all and enjoyed the service of their Master Hui with peace of mind.

Old Man Cangqiu noticed Xiaohui's extraordinaryness at first sight, and he looked at Liang Zhongzhi hesitantly.

Liang Zhongzhi secretly gave him a look to tell him to be calm.

The old man Cangqiu seemed to have realized something.

But then he looked at those 'talented men' who were acting like young masters again and showed a little bit of ferocity. These brats could actually order people around so comfortably. They were really asking for death!

"Alright, you've all rested enough, so I'll teach you the 'Boundless Universe Technique'."

The younger generation were horrified, looking as if they couldn't bear it.

"Old man, why is this..."

Old Man Cangqiu said with a sour face: "Since we are here, we are cultivators. Put away your young master's temper and follow me to cultivate well!"

The always kind old man Cangqiu started to act like a strict teacher.

Zhao Yifu didn't even have time to reminisce with Wen Sheng before they were dragged away to practice.

"Everyone, don't think this extra training is for me. If you learn it well, it's your own ability!"

"Everyone is so passive in their studies. It would be great if you could all be like Jun Xin and actively learn and apply what you have learned to other situations."

Zhao Yifu's scalp tingled. This kind of rhetoric sounded so familiar to him. It seemed as if his past life and present life had intersected at this moment...

"Master, please have some soup."

Zhao Yifu was brought back to his senses by a crisp call, and saw his junior uncle standing in front of him with a bowl of soup in her hand and a sweet smile on her face.

He felt a little panicked and said quickly: "Thank you, you should go eat something and rest."

Old Man Cangqiu was lecturing again: "Look at Zhao Junxin, he knows everything and is so humble and polite... When will you all grow up!"

Zhao Yifu shrank his neck, quickly drank a mouthful of soup, and said, "I'm going to bed."

He had to run away. He couldn't stay in this place anymore. Everyone was going to hate him to death.

Liang Zhongzhi smiled when he saw this, thinking that more young people would make things more lively.

Huigu also smiled when she saw this. She went to the place where old man Cangqiu was teaching and watched him teach carefully.

Of course, Old Man Cangqiu noticed it, but he didn't mind. Instead, he explained it repeatedly in many places.

However, the "Boundless Universe Technique" that was very easy for Zhao Yifu to master was extremely difficult for others, and they could not get the hang of it even after repeated practice.

Hui Gu tried several times and finally managed to increase the space inside the peanut shell in her hand by three points.

It was indeed a success, but a three-point increase in such a small space... the impact is minimal.

Just when she was feeling discouraged, Elder Cangqiu came to her side with a smile and said kindly, "Not bad, not bad. You have achieved this before forming a pill. You are truly worthy of being the genius that Fellow Daoist Zhenyi has spent his entire life to find."

Hui Gu was shocked when she heard this. She didn't expect that the old man Cangqiu, who was only at the Jindan level and seemed to be even lower in level than Liang Zhongzhi and his disciple, could see through her background at a glance.

She was sure that before this, Old Man Cangqiu was not among those who knew about it.

Elder Cangqiu smiled and said, "As people get older, they always become more sensitive to certain things... You are doing the right thing, and being around Junxin is indeed very suitable for hiding your identity."

Upon hearing this, Hui Gu hinted, "Indeed, that young master is a true genius. His brilliance is enough to overshadow those around him."

Elder Cangqiu said, "It's not that exaggerated. That child actually doesn't have much talent. When he was little, I was worried that he might not be able to make it in Danqing Sect in the future."

"Ha ha……"

Huigu also laughed at herself.

She now truly understood why Zhao Yifu had the nickname 'Ghost-Seeing Fear'. The younger generation of Danqing Sect didn't want to see him at all; standing next to him would make them look worthless.

The elders were also afraid to see him. After all, it would be fine if he couldn't compare to his peers, but it would be embarrassing if he couldn't even compare to his elders...

……

Zhao Yifu extended an independent space for himself and then really prepared to lie down for a while.

However, the moment he lay down, Liang Zhongzhi next to him was surprised.

He found that Zhao Yifu closed his eyes and fell asleep...

He thought about it for a while, and found that the "Underworld Messenger Order" and "Killing Knife" on Zhao Yifu disappeared in a faint light, and he understood something.

……

The underworld is a dark place without sunlight.

After Zhao Yifu came to his senses, he came here wearing the ghost catcher's leather armor.

In front of him was a pitch-black hall, surrounded only by a faint green light that seemed to be shining through the gaps between the floor tiles, making it look extremely dark and obscure.

"Brother Zhao, you're here."

When Zhao Yifu heard the voice, he turned his head and saw Bai Wuchang standing there in snow-white, who was actually very eye-catching.

He quickly clasped his fists and bowed, saying, "Greetings to Lord Bai Wuchang."

Bai Wuchang waved his hand and said, "No need to be polite, just follow me."

Zhao Yifu asked curiously, "Excuse me, why did the Lord God summon me here?"

Bai Wuchang asked in surprise: "You don't know it yourself?"

Zhao Yifu said sincerely, "I don't know."

Bai Wuchang was helpless. He said, "Don't you know? Ghost messengers like me speak with performance, and our performance is the number of ghosts we send to the underworld."

"Ghosts with grievances don't count. They're a burden even if they come. We can only let them wander the Yellow Springs Road until they forget all their joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness. Only then can they enter Fengdu."

"Only those ghosts without grievances or hatred can directly enter Fengdu and become the top ghost messengers."

"And you, a while ago, sent over seven or eight hundred of these ghosts in one go. Especially since five hundred of them had no grudges but were deeply sinful. This is an exceptional achievement."

"Look, the judge has personally approved your promotion order, and is preparing to promote you to the position of Fengdu Ghost General."

Zhao Yifu was quite surprised when he heard this, because he was the one who killed those 500+ ghosts who had no grudges but were deeply sinful. Could he also "earn merit" in this way?
He found it unbelievable. This kind of thing must be against the rules, right?

It's not that he honestly doesn't want to take advantage, but he feels that this kind of advantage is not so easy to take.

So he said, "Your Majesty, you must have made a mistake. I killed all those people. How can this be considered an achievement?"

Bai Wuchang looked at Zhao Yifu in confusion, as if saying: Can't you be less honest?
Zhao Yifu felt something was amiss. He looked around and said, "Lord God, I'm worried that I'll suffer retribution for lying. After all, this is the underworld, right?"

Bai Wuchang sighed helplessly and said, "Alright, I'll explain it to you clearly... You don't have to worry about any side effects, because you are still a living person."

"For the living, punishing evildoers is a meritorious deed. It's just that the resentful and hateful souls of the wicked after they die are difficult to deal with. But that's ultimately our problem in the underworld and has nothing to do with the living."

"But you're a ghost messenger, killing people and sending them directly here, and you even 'cleaned' them... That's the merit of the underworld."

"So you understand, right?"

Zhao Yifu understood.

In other words, as a living person, he was naturally doing a good thing by killing the evil Liao Guobing.

At the same time, the souls of Liao Guobing were sent down by him with his killing knife after absorbing their resentment and hatred, and became the most popular "blank slate guilty ghosts" in the underworld, which was considered his achievement.

This is a good thing for him to kill two birds with one stone.

But why would such a good thing happen?
Because he has a killing knife.

The fact that he used the Killing Sword without any side effects was thanks to Mara driving his mind out of the Inner Demon Realm...

It's another day to be thankful to Mara.

Now Zhao Yifu is really finding that the fact that Mo Luo drove him out of his demon kingdom seems to have become a bug in this world...

Normally speaking, what kind of person can leave this devilish kingdom of the soul?
He is an enlightened being who has clearly seen his own heart and achieved success in spiritual practice!
What is an awakened person?
Buddha is an enlightened being, Daluo Xiaoyaoxian is also an enlightened being, and Confucian sages are also enlightened beings.

Of course, Zhao Yifu is not an enlightened being. He does not have that level of understanding. He is just a mistake...

Then he followed Bai Wuchang to complete his promotion.

However, he did not see the judge, but came to a hall where a strange stone was enshrined and stood there for a while.

A stream of refined Yin energy was sent into his ghost mask, causing the ghost mask to rapidly elevate its realm to a higher level.

Zhao Yifu then felt the ghost mask absorbing various spiritual essences from the underworld, and quickly formed a simple iron armor full of underworld style for him.

Only the chest, waist, fists and feet are covered with armor, while the other parts are still leather armor.

Bai Wuchang smiled and said, "Congratulations, you have been promoted to a low-rank ghost general in Fengdu."

Zhao Yifu was in a Yin-Shen state at the time. When he heard Bai Wuchang mention this grade, he immediately understood what he meant and received all the information from somewhere.

There are nine grades of Fengdu ghost officials.

Zhao Yifu had previously been automatically promoted from a low-grade ghost messenger to a high-grade ghost messenger on the battlefield.

Originally, the transition from a ghost messenger to a ghost general would be a qualitative leap, requiring more achievements to achieve.

However, Zhao Yifu easily achieved his goal by slaughtering a group of Liao Guobing.

Bai Wuchang must be quite puzzled by this, but there is nothing they can do. Even though they know that Zhao Yifu is stuck in a bug, they can only accept it.

As for the lower-grade ghost generals, they are middle-level cadres in the ghost team and can be responsible for some important tasks such as capturing evil ghosts.

After the top-grade ghost general comes the ghost commander, who is also divided into three grades.

This ghost commander is a senior member of the ghost team, and can even be said to be the best among the Fengdu ghost army.

But even if he becomes a top-grade ghost general, he is still a ghost, just a higher-level ghost, and still cannot be compared with the Black and White Impermanence.

Because Heibai Wuchang are Yinshuai, ghosts and gods holding official positions.

Of course, these grades do not actually represent strength, they are just titles.

As for the benefits of becoming a ghost general...

To be honest, as a living person, Zhao Yifu really didn't feel it.

"Lord God, when will we launch another war against the surrounding ghost nations?"

Bai Wuchang was puzzled. Is war really that good?
However, He felt that Zhao Yifu might be different, so he said: "This kind of thing may not happen for a while, but as a ghost general, you can capture evil spirits in the world of the living."

"This is both your duty and the source of your merit."

Zhao Yifu nodded, but then thought of the enemy he might have to face...

He asked another question: "Then can the spirits that stay in the world of the living be captured?"

Bai Wuchang was more cautious. He asked, "What exactly do you mean?"

Zhao Yifu thought about it and said, "For example, the spirit of shamanism."

Bai Wuchang nodded and said, "Of course there's no problem. To be honest, shamanistic spirits are forced to stay in the mortal world by using the power of incense and vows, which is against the laws of heaven."

"What's more, their operation is actually no different from creating a god. If you see it, please send it down."

"Sending down this sinful spirit that has been worshipped with incense can bear more of the eternal resentment and can greatly alleviate the pressure on the underworld."

When Zhao Yifu heard this, he understood some things.

Why does the underworld like those 'blank slate guilty souls'? Because the underworld wants the guilty souls to share the eternal grudge through the torture in hell.

To eliminate the eternal resentment by erasing a certain degree of spirituality.

'Whiteboard Guilty Soul' is the best consumable.

Even better than that is the 'blank slate, incense, and guilty soul'!
Zhao Yifu understood, and he was eager to use his butcher knife, but the most urgent thing was to find some evil spirits to dissipate the resentment on his knife.

We killed too many people before, and the accumulated resentment is too much.

(End of this chapter)