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

As Ma Liang rode the venomous python closer, he saw that Xiang Zhili's actions were completely beyond his expectations.

At this moment, Xiang Zhili was lying on a recliner, with an exquisite tea set beside him. He was sipping tea from a teacup, looking relaxed, as if the matter of breaking the formation had nothing to do with him.

Ma Liang spurred the venomous python to land. As soon as it touched the ground, Xiang Zhili rocked his recliner. "Young Ma, you've finally come. It's been two years, and you only just remembered to come see me."

Ma Liang bowed deeply, his face full of confusion: "Senior, weren't you breaking the formation? How come...?"

Xiang Zhili took a sip of tea. "It's true that we're breaking the formation, but who says I have to personally take charge? Just plant the formation flags and let them operate on their own. I can intervene when the crucial moment arrives."

"So, you've been lying here for the past two years?"

"What else can they do?"

"Even though I don't have to break the formation myself, I still need to keep an eye on things."

Ma Liang glanced at the pillar of light, then looked at Xiang Zhili. "Senior, how much longer until this formation can be broken?"

With a flick of his hand, Xiang Zhili sent a ray of spiritual light into the formation. In a moment, the light returned and landed back in his palm.

He calculated for a moment with his fingers, "Soon."

"Soon?" Ma Liang's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Senior, since the formation is about to break through, and you said you brought enough resources for me to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, could you give me the spiritual herbs first?"

Xiang Zhili rocked the recliner and snorted, "Giving it to you now is useless. The array's suppression is still there. Even if you have the spiritual medicine, you won't be able to break through. What's the rush? Just leave it with me for now."

He casually waved his hand, and a stone bench appeared beside him: "Since you're here, sit down. Have a cup of tea and chat with me. I've been sitting here for the past two years, and I'm getting really bored."

Ma Liang had no choice but to sit down as instructed, picked up the teapot, poured some tea for Xiang Zhili, poured himself a cup, and took a sip.

He smacked his lips and said, "Senior, why is your tea so bitter?"

Xiang Zhili sipped his tea. "If you don't know how to appreciate tea, don't spout nonsense. What does 'bitter' mean? This is called 'rich and full-bodied,' understand?"

"I understand, I understand, it's very profound." Ma Liang chuckled awkwardly. "So, what would you like to discuss with me, senior?"

"Then let's talk about what you know about the spirit world. It'll be good for me to broaden my horizons."

Upon hearing this, Ma's heart skipped a beat. He was not a person from the spirit world at all. Although he knew a little about the things in the spirit world, they were all secrets that would happen much later.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Then this junior will tell you about the general distribution of the spirit world and the main existing forces."

Xiang Zhili immediately became interested, put down his teacup, and said, "Oh? This is good. Tell me about it."

Ma Liang organized his thoughts and described the geographical distribution of the spirit world and the network of major forces from his past life memories, bit by bit.

From the demon tribes in the wild lands to the human sects on the Fengyuan Continent, and then to those ancient, reclusive clans, along with several famous spiritual lands and secret realms, each story is told in turn.

Xiang Zhili listened with increasing focus, nodding frequently, his eyes filled with amazement: "As expected of the Spirit Realm, it has such a vast territory and complex forces..."

Ma Liang talked for most of the day, until his mouth was dry and he poured tea countless times. He only stopped when he had finished telling everything he could remember.

"Why did you stop? Keep going," Xiang Zhili asked, still eager for more.

"That's all. That's all I know."

"That's all?"

"Think again, are there any other hidden secrets?"

Ma Liang realized he'd give himself away if he kept talking, so he quickly laughed it off: "Senior is too kind. I'm just an insignificant nobody. These are just hearsay. How could I possibly have access to the core secrets of various factions?"

Seeing that Ma Liang was unwilling to say anything more, Xiang Zhili's face showed a hint of displeasure, but he did not press the matter further.

After all, he didn't know Ma Liang's true nature, so there was no need to push him too hard.

He changed the subject abruptly, "Never mind. I see your cultivation isn't very solid. Tell me about your cultivation method, and I'll give you some pointers so you don't go astray later."

Upon hearing this, Ma Liang was initially delighted, but remained cautious. He quickly cupped his hands and said, "Thank you very much, Senior! I have specially sought out a cultivation technique suitable for this world, and I was worried about having no one to guide me and encountering obstacles everywhere. Now that you have my guidance, Senior, I will definitely avoid many detours and benefit from it!"

Before Xiang Zhili could reply, Ma Liang took the initiative to reveal all the water-based cultivation techniques he had practiced.

Xiang Zhili tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the recliner. "This is just a very common basic water-attribute technique. Why did you choose such a thing?"

"There's no need for major changes; the core principles are fine. I'll teach you some cultivation details, such as cultivating in places of yin water or by cold pools, which will make your progress in this technique twice as effective."

"Once you have established your foundation, you will abandon this cultivation method and seek a higher-level one."

He then pressed Ma Liang about the magic he possessed.

Ma Liang only dared to recite some basic minor spells. Xiang Zhili frowned slightly after hearing this: "They're all common stuff, nothing special."

After asking several questions, Xiang Zhili finally got to the crucial point, "What magic did you use to activate the scroll and the pen you summoned earlier?"

Ma Liang thought to himself: Why is Xiang Zhili always testing and scheming against me, unlike how devoted he is to Han Li?

Despite his inner grumbling, he dared not show it on his face, saying, "Senior, these are just minor magical arts for manipulating objects, nothing particularly sophisticated."

Left with no other choice, he had to demonstrate on the spot, pulling out a scroll from behind his back. Upon seeing this, Xiang Zhili immediately sat up straight from the recliner, his gaze fixed intently on the scroll.

The moment Ma Liang unrolled half of the scroll and summoned the divine brush, Xiang Zhili immediately extended his divine sense to scan it. However, when his divine sense touched the divine brush, he only felt a chaotic mass of energy before him and could not detect anything substantial. His doubts deepened, but he held back from asking questions and quietly watched Ma Liang's actions.

Ma Liang then used his brush to sketch the shape of a wooden stool on the scroll with just a few strokes. The next moment, the wooden stool actually appeared out of the scroll.

Ma Liang handed the wooden stool to Xiang Zhili: "Senior, why don't you try breaking this stool into pieces?"

Xiang Zhili took it as instructed, and with a forceful squeeze of his fingers, the wooden stool shattered with a "crack," the wood chips instantly transforming into specks of light.

"Senior, you see, these are merely illusions created using spiritual power; they are not some rare or extraordinary cultivation technique."

Xiang Zhili felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Young Ma, let me see that pen."

Knowing he couldn't avoid it, Ma Liang had no choice but to hand over the magic brush as instructed.

But what happened next surprised both of them.

Xiang Zhili reached out to take it, but his palm passed right through the pen, unable to touch anything solid!

He frowned and tried a few more times, but the result was still the same, and his doubts deepened.

Ma Liang quickly explained, "Senior, it's not that I'm unwilling to show it to you, but this pen is my natal weapon. Only I can touch and control it; no one else can get close to it."

"You find this spiritual technique amazing, but it's just a method that doesn't exist in this world, not some extraordinary supernatural power."

Xiang Zhili stared at the magic brush, muttering to himself, "Turning the illusory into the real, combining the real and the illusory, it can actually condense spiritual power into form. It's not an illusion, yet it can genuinely affect reality. Such a method is truly unheard of!"

After saying that, he stared intently into Ma Liang's eyes, and a powerful divine sense emanated from him, enveloping Ma Liang completely.

Ma Liang froze, and Xiang Zhili's voice rang out: "Is this technique truly from the spirit realm?"

"Reporting to Senior, this item does indeed come from the Upper Realm," Ma Liang replied, trying to remain calm.

Xiang Zhili repeatedly probed him with his divine sense, but after a long time, he could not detect the slightest trace of lying. Whether it was the fluctuation of his soul or his facial expression, he was very frank.

Finally, Xiang Zhili withdrew his divine sense and waved his hand, saying, "Never mind, I was just curious."

Seeing that the divine sense had been withdrawn, Ma Liang breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Senior, please stop testing me. I have no ill intentions towards you, and you won't gain anything from me. How about this: you break the formation here and pass on the Great Evolution Technique to me, then we'll go our separate ways, okay?"

Xiang Zhili ignored Ma Liang's words and flew straight into the air, landing in front of the pillar of light.

He reached out and touched the pillar of light, sensing it for a moment.

"It's about to begin."