Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 285 The Ineffable One

Zhao Yifu and Yang Jian's relationship improved significantly, and their first goal was naturally to steal the immortal wine.

The Immortal Brew Garden is vast, with 360 enormous water buckets placed to correspond to the positions of the stars in the heavens, and then using the power of the stars to condense spiritual liquid.

These elixirs are already incredible medicines for mortals; not to mention healing the dead and restoring flesh to bones, they can also strengthen the body and prolong life.

The defenses of the Immortal Brew Garden were not particularly tight. After all, the Heavenly Court had so many important places, and this place, which was only for satisfying the appetites of the immortals, was naturally not taken too seriously.

The two used their invisibility spells to easily avoid the guards' sight and entered.

Zhao Yifu was then awestruck by the 'Starry Water Buckets' in the Immortal Wine Garden used to collect spiritual liquid.

Wow, so much spiritual liquid! This amount of spiritual liquid is a huge fortune in itself.

Zhao Yifu was a little tempted, and then pointed to the spiritual liquid and said, "Some of these spiritual liquids can also be used. After a little refining, they can be given to Chenxiang for daily consumption to enhance his essence."

Without saying a word, Yang Jian cast a spell, took out a jade bottle, and began collecting the spiritual liquid.

This jade bottle clearly also has a similar storage function, easily holding dozens of tons of spiritual liquid.

Zhao Yifu looked at the liquid levels in those star-shaped water basins and saw that they had dropped by more than half. He thought to himself, "This Uncle Yang is really ruthless."

He quickly said, "That's enough, Master. Any more and we'll be easily discovered."

Yang Jian stopped collecting the items and said, "What, are you trying to fool me?"

Zhao Yifu nodded, and then used his magic on the water buckets.

The level of the spiritual liquid here continued to rise until it was exactly the same as before.

Yang Jian was surprised to see this, because even he hadn't figured out how Zhao Yifu had used illusion magic this time.

He quickly opened his third eye, and his eyes flashed again before he understood the reason... Good heavens, Zhao Yifu used his water control ability to convert a small portion of the spiritual liquid into a gaseous state, and then the gaseous spiritual liquid pushed up the level of the spiritual liquid.

If they hadn't used the spiritual liquid in such large quantities, no one would have even noticed that they had stolen more than half of the reserves.

Therefore, this is not an illusion at all, but Zhao Yifu's magical technique.

Seeing this, Yang Jian praised, "You're really cunning; who knows who will fall into this trap?"

Zhao Yifu said with a grin, "Anyway, it has nothing to do with us anymore, so who cares?"

"It would be even better if no one discovered it for five hundred years."

We don't even know if the Heavenly Court will still exist in 500 years, so naturally no one will investigate this messy account.

Yang Jian had also become at ease, and he nodded and smiled, "Let's go and get some more fine wine."

"Giving such divine wine to that monkey is truly a waste, and it will also be a waste if it is destroyed in the great calamity five hundred years later. Why don't we all take some to show respect to our teachers and elders, or to let our relatives and friends have a taste? Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Zhao Yifu nodded repeatedly and said, "What my senior master says makes sense. I should take more."

As they spoke, they entered the inner room and saw three large wine pools.

There is some wine in each of the wine pools, more or less.

Yang Jian arrived at the largest wine pool and said, "This is the Jade Elixir, with an extremely mellow taste. This wine is used at banquets in the Heavenly Court."

Zhao Yifu replied, "Alright, we'll take some."

Then Yang Jian came to another, slightly smaller wine pool and said, "This is Drunken Dream Immortal Dew. All the wine connoisseurs in Heaven love this wine. Drinking it can enter a fantastic dream world and experience a transcendent and endless world."

Zhao Yifu seemed to be thinking about this, and thought that the wine was indeed excellent.

Yang Jian then went to the smallest wine pool and said, "This is the Nine Heavens Drunkenness, which contains endless magical power and has the intensity of thunder from the Nine Heavens. It is the love of the Heavenly Emperor."

"I have had the privilege of tasting it; it can strengthen both body and mind, and is very precious."

Jade Elixir, Drunken Dream Immortal Rain, and Nine Heavens Intoxication—these three immortal wines each have their own unique merits.

Zhao Yifu first collected most of the jade liquor and then restored it to its original form according to the law.

Then he took a small portion of the Drunken Dream Immortal Dew and said, "If this wine is handled properly, it might be used to help Chenxiang cultivate his Dao heart."

Yang Jian nodded repeatedly, and the two finally stopped before the Nine Heavens Drunkenness.

Zhao Yifu asked, "This wine..."

His true intention was not to take it, after all, it was the Emperor's favorite, and if he took it, it would be easy to be discovered.

Yang Jian lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then simply took out the jade bottle to collect it.

Zhao Yifu asked in surprise, "Uncle-Master, why is that?"

Yang Jian said, "Let's collect some, it'll be good to test the waters."

"Don't worry, if the Heavenly Emperor investigates this matter, I will take full responsibility."

As he spoke, he drank the entire 'Nine Heavens Intoxication' wine pool dry in one gulp...

Is this a small amount being collected?
Zhao Yifu was dumbfounded, then realized what was happening and used all his strength to cast an illusion spell on the wine pool that represented the pinnacle of his skill.

Now, it appears that Jiuxiaozui's wine pool is still full, untouched.

Yang Jian activated his Heavenly Eye and took a look, then exclaimed in amazement, "Even with my Heavenly Eye, I can't see it clearly anymore."

"Nephew's illusion magic is extraordinary. If he had been born a few years earlier, he would have been a fierce general in the Investiture of the Gods."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yifu quickly said modestly, "I can't compare to my senior uncle who fought his way through countless trials and tribulations."

Yang Jian then said nothing, but tossed the bottle of Jiuxiao Zui to Zhao Yifu and said, "This wine is for you. I'll just use some fine liquor to entertain my brothers."

Zhao Yifu nodded. He had brought the Nine Heavens Drunkenness as a gift to his elders, so there was no need to say more.

Yang Jian only took about 30% of the nectar and left the rest to Zhao Yifu.

This already demonstrates the level of trust in Zhao Yifu; he believes that Zhao Yifu can allocate these things well.

Honestly, if we consider 'cultivating agarwood' as a project, Zhao Yifu would be the 'financial director' of that project, as all income and expenses would be handled through him.

Zhao Yifu said, "Shall we leave now?"

Yang Jian hesitated for a moment and said, "We should prepare magical weapons for Chenxiang..."

Zhao Yifu said, "Isn't there a rush? Stealing from the Heavenly Treasury would be too obvious, and he's still young, so there's no need to rush."

Yang Jian nodded reluctantly and said, "Alright, where do we go now?"

Zhao Yifu said, "Of course we'll go to the God of Food's residence."

"Little Chenxiang arrived at Mount Hua starving and freezing. Are we going to let him eat peaches and bananas with Brother Monkey?"

Yang Jian paused for a moment, then suddenly felt a little uneasy, sensing that Zhao Yifu was subtly implying something about the monkey.

But how to say it?

That's insightful!

Yang Jian immediately said, "Let's go to the God of Food's residence."

They then concealed themselves and returned to the God of Food's side.

The place is filled with delicious aromas all day long, as if someone is cooking up a feast.

Inside a huge kitchen, illuminated by the stove fire, a figure was constantly tossing a wok.

In the courtyard of the God of Food's residence, there was a large table laden with various dishes.

Zhao Yifu couldn't help but swallow hard when he saw the delicious-looking dishes, and then asked, "Uncle-Master, is there another banquet in Heaven?"

Yang Jian frowned, then shook his head and said, "If there's a banquet, it'll be too late to prepare. The God of Food has his own supernatural powers to keep the dishes fresh."

"If you cook it now, it will still look like it's fresh out of the pot when you serve it at a banquet."

Seeing this, Zhao Yifu laughed and said, "That's great, it's okay if we remove some, right?"

Yang Jian said, "It should be fine."

Zhao Yifu immediately picked up a plate of food and stuffed it into his sleeve.

However, at that moment, the chef inside suddenly shouted, "You little thief outside, that dish is for a banquet, it's not tasty!"

Zhao Yifu froze, and even Yang Jian froze.

They looked at each other in disbelief, never expecting that the God of Food would discover them.

The God of Food replied, "The dishes outside are preserved using my secret methods. I could sense it the moment you moved."

"Listen to me, those are made with tributes that have been stored for hundreds of years. They won't make you sick, but they're not that delicious either."

Zhao Yifu felt that as a petty thief, the most basic principle was to put the items back if they were discovered.

He put the dishes back one by one, then said sheepishly, "I'm ashamed, I was just curious about the God of Cookery's skills..."

As soon as the God of Cookery stopped cooking, a plate of food was thrown out of the kitchen.

Zhao Yifu hurriedly took the plate of seemingly ordinary stir-fried meat slices... and smelled it, finding the aroma incredibly tempting.

The God of Cookery said, "This dish is delicious."

Zhao Yifu didn't stand on ceremony at all. He grabbed a piece and tasted it, then his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "It's delicious!"

As he spoke, he handed it to Yang Jian so that he could try it too.

Yang Jian shook his head and politely declined.

Zhao Yifu stopped worrying about it and continued eating the vegetables.

The God of Cookery then said, "You didn't even bring a pair of chopsticks, so here are some for you."

After he finished speaking, another pair of chopsticks was handed to him.

Zhao Yifu thanked him and kept eating with his chopsticks, while saying somewhat vaguely, "Senior Food God, could you cook some more to fill my stomach? Oh, something suitable for a child's growth would be best."

The God of Cookery asked, "What's wrong? Do you have a son to raise at home?"

Zhao Yifu said with a smile, "Yes, young boys can eat the most. They'll be working hard on their training soon, so they definitely need to eat well."

The God of Cookery said, "Alright, just a moment, I'll start the stoves right away. I'll light all five stoves at once, and it'll be ready in half an hour!"

Zhao Yifu listened and respectfully thanked him, saying, "Thank you very much, senior. I will certainly not disappoint you."

The God of Cookery said dismissively, "As long as you can finish the dishes I make, you won't disappoint me."

Zhao Yifu immediately agreed, and then the pleasant sound of stir-frying came from the God of Cookery's kitchen again.

I don’t know if it was just my imagination, but the sound of the spatula clashing together was much more intense and cheerful than before.

Yang Jian remained silent for a while, then closed his Heavenly Eye and whispered, "This God of Food has already passed the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man, what a pity."

Zhao Yifu paused slightly, then said, "This senior is a very nice person. He just likes to see people eat his food and praise how delicious it is... but I can sense that he is not happy."

Yang Jian tilted his head slightly and said, "It's probably because no one ever really tastes the dishes he makes at the Heavenly Court's banquets."

Zhao Yifu nodded without speaking, and the two of them waited patiently in the courtyard for the God of Cookery to prepare the dishes.

Half an hour later, a string of fragrant dishes flew out of the kitchen.

Zhao Yifu caught them one by one, and then noticed the differences.

These dishes were far less refined than those displayed in the courtyard; they were just ordinary home-cooked meals from a typical farmhouse.

But...

Zhao Yifu felt that the dishes were full of life, completely different from the lifeless objects on the table. Moreover, the dishes came one after another, none of them repeating, and there was enough to fill a banquet.

He quickly said, "That's enough, that's enough, it's already too much."

The God of Cookery said, "Very well, I was just worried that there wouldn't be enough for you to eat, sigh..."

Zhao Yifu suddenly realized that the God of Cookery was just worried that after they left, no one would come back to ask him for food.

He said, "Senior, this is really enough. Could we come again next time?"

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the God of Cookery's voice immediately became much clearer: "Okay, okay, then come again next time..."

"By the way, when is the next time?"

Zhao Yifu smiled and said, "If it's not too much trouble for you, senior, then let's do it tomorrow."

The God of Cookery exclaimed happily, "Good tomorrow, good tomorrow!"

He was overjoyed.

Zhao Yifu clasped his hands in thanks again, then took his leave, saying, "In that case, I'll take my leave now."

The God of Cookery said, "Go ahead, go ahead, remember to tell me how good the food was next time you come."

Zhao Yifu replied, "Definitely."

With that, he left with Yang Jian.

On the way, they had no interest in wandering around, and headed straight for Nantianmen.

Once they were alone, Yang Jian remarked with emotion, "My dear nephew is a kind-hearted man. The God of Food was originally gloomy and listless, but by the time he said goodbye, a glimmer of light had appeared in him."

Zhao Yifu said, "I genuinely think that the God of Cookery's skills are excellent, and Chenxiang also needs someone to cook for him, doesn't he?"

Yang Jian smiled and said, "Indeed."

"I'm heading back to Guanjiang Estuary now. Just let me know if you need anything."

Zhao Yifu said, "Uncle-Master, rest assured, I will take good care of Chenxiang's daily life."

After saying their goodbyes, the two went their separate ways.

Zhao Yifu fled all the way to Baiyun Mountain.

Before even entering the door, they could hear two people talking inside.

He wondered: Had his master summoned a friend again?
But there was clearly some kind of conversation going on inside, and Zhao Yifu could hear it all, yet he couldn't make out any content...

He came to the door and said softly, "Grandmaster, your disciple has returned."

The conversation inside suddenly stopped, and then the voice of the grandmaster came: "Come in, a good friend has come to visit. Bring up all the dishes you brought from the God of Cookery."

Zhao Yifu pushed open the door and entered, and saw that Grandmaster Xuandu was sitting opposite a wealthy middle-aged man dressed in expensive brocade.

Without any hesitation, he took out a lot of dishes from his sleeve, including large amounts of fish and meat.

But he left some more, saying, "Grandmaster, there are still some disciples who want to send these to Brother Monkey and Chenxiang. That child hasn't eaten properly for several days."

Suddenly, the wealthy middle-aged man next to him asked, "What did you bring him?"

Zhao Yifu hesitated for a moment, then said, "I have prepared some meat soup and rice porridge for Chenxiang, and some wine, vegetarian dishes, and fruits for the Victorious Fighting Buddha."

He didn't know the man's identity, but he still told him the truth.

The man nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's reasonable enough."

At that moment, Zhao Yifu's mind was suddenly filled with a tsunami of thoughts.

It wasn't that this person had done anything to him, but rather that the Forbidden Book of the Great Void had suddenly become violent and was difficult to control.

Zhao Yifu sensed Lu Yang's sudden, manic outburst and was caught off guard.

But how can one lose composure in front of elders?
He instantly entered a demonic state, using his anger to suppress Mu Lu Yang's madness.

However, he made no outward movement, and the demonic intent in his eyes was only slightly rippled at the center.

Xuan Du nodded silently, and said meaningfully, "Quickly, bring out the Nine Heavens Wine you brought. It's a rare find, how can we not try such a divine brew?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yifu was shocked. He understood what was happening and looked incredulously at the portly middle-aged man next to his master.

The middle-aged man laughed and said, "My surname is Zhang. You can just call me Old Zhang."

Zhao Yifu immediately clasped his hands and said, "This humble one greets Master Zhang."

Old Zhang pointed at Zhao Yifu and said, "You little rascal, you don't hold back at all when you're stealing, but you're all polite in front of others."

Zhao Yifu looked at the smiling face of his grandmaster Xuandu and completely understood what was going on.

He feigned embarrassment and said, "Well, since it's going to be wasted in five hundred years anyway, it's better to use it to take care of agarwood... and it's also better to give it to our elders."

As he spoke, he quickly took out the jade bottle containing the Nine Heavens Intoxication, and filled the wine cup for Old Zhang first, and then poured one for his own master.

Old Zhang smiled and said, "Don't be shy, pour yourself a glass and have a drink with me."

Zhao Yifu bowed silently, then poured himself a glass and sat down next to the two big shots to drink and eat.

Old Zhang suddenly said, "That damn old man, what kind of things does he usually make for me? Why is he so thoughtful when he makes things for you?"

Zhao Yifu hesitated for a moment.

In fact, the God of Food was already past his prime, so there was no need for him to say anything more on his behalf; it wasn't worth it.

But he still said frankly, "Because the God of Food knows that no one will eat the dishes he cooks at the Heavenly Court's banquet."

Old Zhang was taken aback, not expecting Zhao Yifu to actually refute him.

However, Zhao Yifu immediately stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "I apologize for my presumption."

He was very polite, and his back was bent.

But if one truly has reverence, how could one say such a thing?
Old Zhang said irritably, "I think you're just being arrogant and fearless."

Zhao Yifu bowed slightly, then straightened up again.

He sensed it for a moment, then said, "Chenxiang should be waking up soon. I need to go and deliver some things to them."

Old Zhang waved his hand helplessly, indicating that he could go by himself.

Zhao Yifu stepped back without making a sound, and then suddenly took a step forward. A hole appeared in front of him, and he walked directly into it... The next moment, his figure appeared at the foot of Mount Hua in the mortal world.

Transcend boundaries in one step!
And what he used was the 'Mayfly Universe' that the monkey had passed down.

After getting used to it, he was quite adept at using this move.

Grandmaster Xuandu was right; he probably does indeed have a special talent in spatial manipulation.

This talent may not even have come from this life; it may simply be the real benefit of being reborn with memories intact.

Of course, he was actually just trying to escape that room, which is why he performed beyond his usual level.

It's not out of fear, it's just that I don't want to act anymore.

That person was undoubtedly of immeasurable importance, but Zhao Yifu had to be extremely careful and humble around him, which made him feel very stifled.

Of course, since I'm currently receiving their 'sponsorship,' I can't show any disrespect. So, I can only find an excuse to slip away.

He approached the monkey, who immediately exclaimed with delight, "Brother, you've also descended to the mortal realm in your physical body?"

"Haha, as expected of someone I, Old Sun, have my eye on. How could he possibly be bound by those rules and regulations?"

Zhao Yifu was both amused and exasperated, unaware that the source of those 'rules and regulations' was right above his head, which was precisely why he dared to use this method of movement so recklessly.

This can be considered a kind of test.

Including the incident of stealing wine from the Heavenly Court, Zhao Yifu was certain that Old Zhang didn't care about their actions at all... or rather, as long as they weren't caught, there was nothing to worry about.

Zhao Yifu had vaguely realized that this big shot was not heartless, but there were some things he himself was helpless to do.

He smiled and took out fine wine and food from his sleeve, which immediately made the monkey scratch its ears and cheeks with delight.

Zhao Yifu understood immediately. It seemed that his habits from his journey to the West and his monkey nature made him prefer spiritual fruits and vegetarian food.

Then he took out the meat soup and rice porridge he had prepared for Chenxiang and said, "Brother Monkey, these are for the child. He's still growing, so he can't eat vegetarian food like you."

The monkey replied nonchalantly, "Okay, I know. With you taking care of him, he won't go hungry."

Good heavens, that's an incredibly smooth way of shifting the blame!

Zhao Yifu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

The monkey rolled his eyes slightly and said, "Don't worry, it's dangerous for you to bring so many things from Heaven... Here's what we'll do: if we're discovered, just blame it on me, and I'll be fine."

Zhao Yifu has already done it, and of course, Monkey must have known this would happen long ago. He just wants to say it now to avoid embarrassment for everyone later.

Zhao Yifu smiled and said he dared not, but in his heart he was already thinking about how to get away with it.

It's very simple, just keep it a secret from the entire Heavenly Court's surveillance system!

As for the Heavenly Emperor...

Didn't you see that person whose favorite wine was stolen, and had to run to the thief's house in a pitiful state to beg for more wine?

The more Zhao Yifu pondered, the more he felt that this seemingly noble and powerful Heavenly Emperor was probably struggling and trying to break free from something behind the scenes.

Just then, the eyes under Chenxiang's eyelids began to move, as if he was about to wake up.

The monkey immediately said, "Brother, go back quickly. I can handle things here. Don't worry."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yifu had no choice but to give up, and then flew up into the sky to observe from afar.

He had intended to talk to Yang Jian's avatar, but found nothing.

That's right, he probably had a premonition.

So he stopped worrying about it, turned around and left the mortal world, returning to Baiyun Mountain.

This trip has finally calmed him down.

When I got home earlier, I found the 'owner' sitting in my house. To be honest, the fact that his voice didn't tremble was already a sign of his composure.

By this time, he had figured some things out and was naturally able to face them calmly.

But when he returned home, he found his master sitting alone, drinking a small cup of wine.

Zhao Yifu asked, "Grandmaster, where is that one?"

Xuandu said, "I was just afraid you'd feel uncomfortable, so I left."

Zhao Yifu was a little embarrassed when he heard this. He said, "I was just a little scared at first, but now I understand some things. If Master Zhang wants to come, he can come here anytime... After all, I can eat the delicacies carefully cooked by the God of Cookery here."

Xuan Du shook his head and chuckled. He said, "It seems you've really figured something out? Then tell me."

Zhao Yifu pondered for a moment, then said, "That Mr. Zhang, he had no choice in the matter, did he?"

Xuandu nodded and said, "As the agent of the Heavenly Dao, He often has no choice but to watch helplessly, and even seems pathetic."

Zhao Yifu asked, "I have one question: Is there a difference between Master Zhang and those who sit in high positions in Heaven?"

Xuandu said, "Of course there is a difference. Old Zhang has experienced thousands of tribulations in the mortal world and possesses great perseverance and wisdom. He is also a pitiful father and a heartbroken brother. As for that Heavenly Emperor, he is a clay sculpture erected in the Heavenly Court by the Heavenly Dao, proclaiming rules and boundaries to the Three Realms."

(End of this chapter)