Mortal: My name is Ma Liang, and I also possess a magic brush.

The servant was startled by the cold shout and knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Immortal Master, please forgive me! Immortal Master, please forgive me! I didn't mean to!"

Ma Liang realized he had overreacted. "Never mind, it's not your fault," he said, and walked downstairs.

As we left the wine shop, night had fallen, but the market was brightly lit and showed no signs of being deserted.

He glanced around, his gaze landing on the magic artifact shop across the street. Suddenly, he remembered the scroll he had ordered from Wanbaolou, which should be ready by now.

With a thought flashing through his mind, Ma Liang mounted his weapon and flew towards Wanbaolou.

As soon as Ma Liang stepped into Wanbaolou, the sharp-eyed manager immediately greeted him with a smile, "Oh, Fellow Daoist Ma, you've finally arrived! I thought you were going to cancel your order!"

Ma Liang yawned, still slightly tipsy. "Something's held me up. Where's the scroll I ordered? Let me see it."

The shopkeeper gestured, "It's already prepared for Fellow Daoist Ma! Come with me to the private room to take a look, so you can carefully inspect the goods."

Ma Liang followed him into the private room. The shopkeeper walked to the corner and took out a large wooden box from under the shelf.

The box looked quite heavy, and he held it tightly in both hands, his steps were a little heavy, and it took him a lot of effort to move it to the table.

It slammed down with a loud thud, making the tabletop tremble slightly.

Ma Liang raised an eyebrow in surprise at the muffled sound.

"Is it that heavy?"

The shopkeeper rubbed his back and straightened up. "Fellow Daoist Ma, the item you ordered is quite heavy!"

As he spoke, he lifted the lid of the box.

Inside the box lay a large scroll, its surface a vibrant red, embroidered with a few cloud patterns, making it appear quite valuable.

Ma Liang condensed a wisp of spiritual energy and lifted the scroll.

He casually spread his hands, and the scroll quickly unfurled, revealing a pure white interior. It grew longer and longer, eventually circling the private room several times before reaching its end.

The shopkeeper proudly introduced, "Fellow Daoist Ma, this scroll is woven from the silk of a level-three Cloud-Patterned Spider. It's incredibly tough; even ordinary magical artifacts can't cut it! Moreover, it's a full 263 meters long—the materials used are absolutely solid!"

Ma Liang gazed at the scroll floating in mid-air above the private room. It unfurled like flowing clouds, its snow-white silk surface swaying under the support of spiritual energy. A red scroll flashed by, just like the rosy clouds appearing in the mist.

Ma Liang praised, "Not bad."

With a flick of his finger, the floating scroll sank slightly. Then, activating his spiritual power, the scroll rapidly rolled back, leaving only a small section lying flat in front of him.

He had already considered that future battles would be inseparable from the Divine Brush, and he couldn't keep it hidden forever.

As long as you keep those truly extraordinary methods hidden, it's fine to show some ordinary uses to others.

With a thought, the magic brush appeared out of thin air in his hand.

Without further hesitation, Ma Liang began to draw talismans on the spider silk scroll. His brushstrokes flowed with a divine ease, and he drew seven scrolls in one go before stopping.

Ma Liang did not make the talisman visible, but instead made it disappear into the scroll.

After doing all this, he withdrew his magic pen with a thought, and with a flick of his arm, the scroll rapidly retracted, eventually forming a neat cylindrical shape.

He tried to put the reel into his storage bag, but he still couldn't get it into the storage space.

Ma Liang was not surprised. He raised his hand and the scroll floated to his back, where it was slung across his back.

With its top extending past the shoulders and the bottom hanging down to the waist, it is nearly ten inches wide. The bright red curly surface with cloud patterns is truly eye-catching when carried on the body, and it exudes a cool and stylish aura when you walk.

Ma Liang paced back and forth in the private room, feeling the scroll behind him, and nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, innkeeper, how many spirit stones in total?"

The shopkeeper glanced at the large scroll on his back, finding the look odd, but couldn't help giving him a thumbs up: "Fellow Daoist Ma, your attire is truly imposing!"

Changing the subject, he added with a smile, "This scroll is made of solid materials and is finely crafted. You still owe a little more than the deposit you paid earlier."

"How much difference?"

The shopkeeper held up two fingers: "We still need two hundred and thirty low-grade spirit stones."

Without hesitation, Ma Liang took out spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them over: "Alright. I'll come back to you if I need anything else."

The shopkeeper accepted the spirit stones, and upon hearing that he intended to return, his face lit up with joy: "Fellow Daoist Ma, please feel free to ask; our shop will do its best to accommodate your request!"

Ma Liang, filled with the joy of his good find, walked towards the door. Just as he reached it, he suddenly remembered, "Shopkeeper, have you had any Soul-Nourishing Pills arrive these past few days?"

Yes, yes, yes!

"Two bottles just arrived yesterday, would you like to take a look, fellow Daoist?"

Upon hearing that there was stock, Ma Liang exclaimed, "I'll take both bottles!"

He took out 1,600 low-grade spirit stones and handed them over, then took the Soul Nourishing Pill from the shopkeeper and casually replied, "All done."

"Fellow Daoist, please take care. Come visit again when you have time!"

Ma Liang waved his hand, not stopping, thinking to himself: Since Wanbaolou has the goods, perhaps other places in the market have also restocked.

So he simply wandered around the market, and this trip was quite fruitful. He also managed to find sixteen Soul Nourishing Pills from several shops.

However, along the way, many merchants looked at him with strange eyes.

They came to buy a batch of Soul Nourishing Pills just a few days ago, and now they're buying them in large quantities again. It's hard not to speculate.

One shopkeeper even bluntly said, "Fellow Daoist, it seems we'll have to wait a while for the Soul Nourishing Pill to become available again; you've bought it all up in the market!"

Looking at the remaining hundred or so low-grade spirit stones, Ma Liang said, "Even if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have any more spirit stones to buy."

He carefully put away the Soul Nourishing Pill and glanced at the deepening night at the end of the market.

"We have enough Soul Nourishing Pills for now. Next, we should prepare for the Crimson Forbidden Land."

……

"Hey, look!" A disciple from Yellow Maple Valley nudged his fellow disciple with his elbow and asked in a low voice, "Who's that? They're so conspicuous!"

Looking in the direction he pointed, one could see a cultivator standing out from the crowd, dressed in the standard attire of Yellow Maple Valley, with a large, fiery red scroll slung across his back.

Ma Liang was completely unconcerned about the various looks he was getting. "What do you know? This is called the trend."

On the other side, Han Li quietly landed on the outermost edge of the crowd on his magical artifact, and deliberately shrank back a bit, using the crowd as cover to survey his surroundings.

His gaze was immediately drawn to the figure carrying a large red scroll. "Who is this? So eye-catching."

Upon closer inspection, he recognized Ma Liang. "It's actually Senior Brother Ma? Why is he dressed like that?"

At this moment, he also heard the surrounding crowd talking about Ma Liang.

The next moment, an old man arrived on his magical artifact, landing at the very front of the crowd. His silver beard flowed freely, and he exuded a calm and composed demeanor.

Ma Liang immediately stepped forward, bowed, and asked, "Senior Brother Xiang, are you also heading to the Crimson Forbidden Land?"

Xiang Zhili stroked his silver beard. "At my age, I always want to try one last time. If I can find a few rare spiritual herbs in the Crimson Forbidden Land, I can exchange them for a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Ma Liang secretly curled his lip: "You old man, you're at the Foundation Establishment stage?"

He spoke with utmost respect, saying, "With such unwavering devotion to the Dao, Senior Brother Xiang will surely achieve his goals in this Crimson Trial!"

"By the way, what about that deal I mentioned to my senior brother? What's your decision?"

Xiang Zhili chuckled softly, took out a tightly rolled-up book from his storage bag, tapped it in his palm, waved it in front of Ma Liang, and then put it away.

"Well, I haven't thought about it yet."

This senior is truly fearless! But he could only laugh and say, "Junior brother is too hasty. Such an important matter should indeed be considered more carefully."

As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of light appeared on the high platform in front of the square, revealing a person dressed in a Taoist robe, who was none other than Li Huayuan, the leader of this blood-red trial.