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

The two monks reacted very differently upon seeing the venomous python.

The female cultivator knelt down with a thud, pleading, "Fellow Daoist, spare my life! I had no intention of offending you earlier, please show mercy!"

The male cultivator snorted coldly, drew his longsword, and said, "Enough with the nonsense, let's fight him!"

Although Xiang Zhili was focused on practicing the formation, his divine sense was always surrounding him.

Upon seeing that Ma Liang had summoned a level-two demonic beast, his cheek twitched almost imperceptibly.

The venomous python ignored the unusual activity around it and continued its charge.

When it was only a few feet away from the two of them, it suddenly opened its huge mouth and spewed out a cloud of dark green poisonous mist.

Upon seeing this, the male and female cultivators leaped into the air on their flying swords to dodge, quickly activating their spiritual light shields to protect themselves. The poisonous mist sizzled as it struck the shields.

The male cultivator took the initiative, casting three fireballs with his left hand and then waving his right hand, sending four flying swords flashing and piercing the venomous python's vital spot.

The female cultivator flicked her fingertips, sending several wind blades slicing through the air, while simultaneously unleashing a bundle of silver spider silk magic artifacts that coiled around the venomous python.

The venomous python's massive tail swept across, causing a fireball to explode. Flying swords clanged and clattered as they struck the snake's scales, only to be shattered by the snake's powerful tremor. Spider silk, barely wrapped around the snake's body, was instantly broken into pieces by the tremor.

With a flick of its head, the snake spat out several venomous arrows from its mouth, shooting straight at the two people in mid-air.

The two hurriedly dodged on their swords, and the male cultivator took the opportunity to infuse his flying sword with spiritual power, unleashing the Fiery Sword Technique. The sword turned crimson red like a branding iron and slashed towards the head of the venomous python.

The female cultivator then formed hand seals and released a rain of ice spikes in an attempt to block the venomous python's movements.

The venomous python twisted its body, withstanding the fierce sword light head-on. The ice spike smashed into dust on its scales, and then it lashed out with its long tail, dashing to the two of them like a bolt of lightning.

Before the two could unleash their magic again, the thick python's body coiled around them like an iron hoop, binding them and their flying sword tightly.

The protective barrier shattered with a crack, and the two screamed as they tried to break free by channeling their spiritual power. However, the venomous python tightened its grip, and with two muffled thuds, blood mist exploded, and the two bodies were crushed to pieces.

As Ma Liang watched the venomous python completely strangle the two men, his tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Phew... It's finally over. I almost died here."

He calmed himself down, sat cross-legged, took out a recovery pill, put it in his mouth, and circulated his internal energy to refine the medicinal power.

The level-two venomous python had developed some intelligence. Seeing that the battle was over, it turned around and quickly swam towards Ma Liang.

They also made sure to bring back the magical artifacts and storage bags left behind by the two cultivators.

The snake was tossed to a spot not far in front of Ma Liang with a clattering sound, its head lowered, almost as if it were asking for credit.

Ma Liang grinned and stood up, supporting himself on his knees.

Before he could take a step, the venomous python's head came closer, its cool scales brushing against his palm, its tongue flicking in a somewhat ingratiating manner.

Ma Liang patted its head. "Alright, you've done a good job this time. This is your reward."

As soon as he finished speaking, he moved his fingers slightly, and a wisp of his divine consciousness entered the body of the venomous python.

The venomous python trembled, a hint of human-like pleasure flashing in its eyes. Then it raised its head and let out a low hiss, soaring into the air, circling once, before plunging straight down and plunging into the scroll in front of Ma Liang.

Ma Liang raised his hand and waved it, and the scroll retracted on its own, which he then carried on his back.

Only then did he turn his gaze to the mess on the ground.

The storage bags of the two cultivators he had killed earlier had already been blown to pieces, with various magical artifacts and spirit stones scattered everywhere.

Ma Liang rubbed his hands together. "Hehe, hopefully I can recover some losses, but I can't afford to lose any more."

As he spoke, he began to clean up the battlefield.

Just as he touched a flying sword, Xiang Zhili, who was not far away, suddenly opened his eyes and changed the hand seal he was making.

The small flag floating in front of him instantly turned from red to green, emitting a wood-attribute spiritual light.

When Ma Liang saw this, he just pursed his lips and didn't pay much attention.

Who knew that this formation would need to be practiced several more times? He just hoped it would end soon.

Ma Liang was engrossed in his search when his divine sense suddenly detected something.

He immediately became interested and quickly walked over, following his senses. In the pile of rocks, a palm-sized animal hide was stuck between the rocks, fluttering back and forth in the mountain wind, with dried bloodstains on the edges.

He used his spiritual power to roll it up. It was rough to the touch, covered with winding patterns that looked like some kind of writing. He stared at it for a long time but couldn't recognize a single character.

"What is this thing? It doesn't look like a magic artifact, nor is it a talisman..." He frowned and examined it from all angles, muttering to himself.

At this moment, the divine brush in the sea of ​​consciousness suddenly trembled.

The next moment, a record flooded into Ma Liang's mind, making him shudder.

Although he still couldn't understand the patterns, he understood everything that they contained.

This is actually a fragment of a cultivation technique!

The introductory text on the animal hide clearly states that this technique is called "Canglan Gathering Yuan Technique," and it consists of five levels, each corresponding to one of the five major realms of cultivation in the mortal world.

What made his heart race even more was that the core of the technique was the ability to gather a massive amount of spiritual energy, far surpassing the rudimentary methods he was currently practicing.

Ma Liang's fingers trembled as he gripped the animal hide, and an incredulous light flashed in his eyes.

"Holy crap... Did I just step in dog poop? I actually found an ancient cultivation technique?"

The smile on Ma Liang's lips hadn't faded when his gaze swept over the end of the animal hide, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"What a pity... Only the first three levels are recorded here. The fourth level is just a few words left. It was obviously torn apart."

He weighed the tattered scroll in his hand, feeling a little regretful, but quickly came to terms with it.

"Something is better than nothing."

As he spoke, he folded the animal hide neatly and stuffed it into his storage bag, intending to study it slowly in a safe place later.

"It just so happens that I'm almost at the Foundation Establishment stage. Maybe I can directly switch to this cultivation method, which is much better than my current broken cultivation method."

With the unexpected joy of the "Canglan Gathering Yuan Technique", Ma Liang searched even more carefully, not even letting go of the fragments in the cracks of the rocks, for fear of missing some real treasure.

But even after turning the entire area upside down, they couldn't find another decent item.

"What are you thinking? Finding an ancient cultivation technique is already incredibly lucky. You can't expect to find treasures every day."

Ma Liang patted his storage bag, calculating his gains, when he suddenly heard a buzzing sound coming from not far away.

Looking up, a dazzling green light suddenly burst forth from the direction where Xiang Zhili was, followed by four beams of light of different colors, which then disappeared without a trace in a short moment.

"It's done!"

Ma Liang no longer had time to count his spoils. He unleashed a surge of spiritual energy beneath his feet, soared into the air, and flew swiftly toward Xiang Zhili.

Ma Liang flew over and saw that Xiang Zhili had already stood up, holding four small flags in his palm. The flags shimmered with light, and the four colors changed alternately.

Xiang Zhili glanced at Ma Liang, paused briefly on the scroll behind him without leaving a trace, but ultimately didn't ask any further questions.

He knew in his heart that even if he asked, Ma Liang would only give some high-sounding reasons to evade him, so he simply saved himself the trouble of testing him.

With a flick of his finger, Xiang Zhili sent two small flags flying from his palm and hovering in front of Ma Liang.

"Place these two small flags on the other two key nodes of the formation."

"Once you've settled things properly, I will break the formation myself."