Chapter 148
When Li Mo said goodbye to Li Ming, both wore complex expressions.
"By the way, junior brother."
"Yeah?"
"Next time you come looking for me, just walk right in. Don’t shout that Elder Shang Wu is here; it scared me so much today that I couldn’t even paint."
"Got it."
Li Mo politely handed over a silver note worth a thousand taels, soothing the wounded heart of his senior brother Ouyang.
"Take care, my lord! If you have any questions about the art of painting, don’t hesitate to ask me!"
With a beaming smile, Ouyang saw him off down the mountain.
.....
At Qiu Shui Pavilion.
On the stone table lay a broken statue and a smudged image of the God Vision.
After returning, Li Mo attempted to visualize the God Vision once more.
Then...
Both the Night Ghost statue and the Flesh Buddha visualization were rendered useless.
Gritting his teeth, he took out the Golden Crow Transformation Chart.
The chart was fine.
But he still didn’t gain any increase in his spiritual essence, let alone condense form and intent or break through the Xuan Dan.
"What went wrong?"
"Is it that my accumulation in the Xuan Dan realm isn’t enough?"
"Or is it because... of the Immortal Body?"
Li Mo couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander.
The first possibility seemed unlikely.
Then it must be the latter.
Even the elders couldn’t comprehend the Immortal Body; he could only feel his way through.
"Now, I can only try slowly on my own."
"The God Vision Chart is tricky; I have to get my hands dirty to reap the rewards."
Li Mo pulled out the "Miao Bi Sheng Hua Mo Xi Lu" (The Ink Wash Record of Flourishing Brushwork) and immersed himself in study.
To be honest, painting was no simple task.
Composition, form, and artistic conception needed to blend perfectly.
To create the God Vision Chart, one even had to condense their own spiritual essence at the tip of the brush, pouring it out with the ink.
This undoubtedly raised the difficulty of painting to a geometric level.
A slight misstep could ruin an entire piece.
"I guess my talent in painting is just as limited as my swordsmanship..."
Li Mo shook his head.
After struggling through the entire Ink Wash Record, he attempted to infuse his martial insights.
【Thirty years of martial insights successfully infused.】
Good news.
Martial insights could actually be applied here.
This was likely because the Ink Wash Record was aimed at creating the God Vision Chart and was categorized under martial arts.
Bad news...
【Thirty years of martial insights consumed.】
【Your "Miao Bi Sheng Hua Mo Xi Lu" has reached initial proficiency.】
Li Mo: "....."
In his mind, he could see Ouyang’s heartbroken expression, urging him not to pursue painting.
Encouraging someone to paint is like a thousand cuts.
That saying couldn’t be more accurate!
Clearly, initial proficiency only allowed for ordinary ink wash paintings; to create the God Vision Chart, one needed at least mastery.
【Thirty years of martial insights successfully infused.】
【In the first year, you recalled every scene you’ve seen in this life and practiced with all your might.】
.....
【In the thirtieth year, you felt you had done everything technique could allow, yet you still struggled to create the God Vision Chart. You believed this was the pinnacle of what you could achieve in the art of painting.】
【In art, if you can’t do it, you just can’t.】
【You haven’t even found what you truly want to paint; how can you pour your spirit into it?】
【Thirty years of martial insights consumed.】
Countless insights flooded his mind.
"Why does creating a painting feel like being mocked?"
Li Mo slammed his fist on the stone table, causing the four treasures of the study to float in the air.
Another thirty years wasted, and he wouldn’t even have a small success!
Is there no law?
Is there no justice!
"What’s wrong with you?"
A puzzled voice broke through his thoughts.
Looking up, he saw a girl standing alone under the setting sun, holding a sword, as if bathed in a layer of fluorescence.
The evening breeze was a bit boisterous.
It rustled the leaves, made the girl’s skirt flutter, and sent her long hair dancing.
Li Mo was momentarily stunned.
Having just learned to paint, he suddenly felt an urge to pick up the brush.
"Ice Block."
"Yeah?"
"Can you do me a favor?"
"Anything but soaking in hot springs."
"Um..."
.....
At dinner.
The table was filled with delicious dishes.
Shang Wu curiously glanced over and saw Li Mo sitting in front of the easel, earnestly splashing ink, his brush moving like a dragon.
"What’s he doing?"
"He said he wanted me to help him practice painting."
Ying Bing turned her gaze back, feeling a bit puzzled.
Li Mo was truly focused at this moment.
There was something indescribable about the feeling of being painted with such seriousness.
"Painting?"
"You went to Ruyi Peak and got involved with that stuff?"
Shang Wu’s eyes widened, and she rolled up her sleeves, ready to rush to Ruyi Peak.
Her beautiful master was furious.
This was leading her precious disciple down the wrong path!
"Master, I want to learn this myself."
Li Mo spoke helplessly.
"That makes it even worse!"
Shang Wu walked over to him.
As she casually glanced at the drawing on the jade slip, her expression froze.
In an instant, she was no longer so loud.
"Hmm?"
Ying Bing, curious, stepped closer.
The girl’s figure leaped off the paper.
There was no facial detail.
But...
It was unmistakably her.
......
PS: Sorry for the delay. I wrote a chapter but felt it was off, so I deleted it. I can’t present subpar work to the audience. My apologies.
There’s another chapter tonight, but it might be late; you can check it out tomorrow.
---
Chapter 150: The Scenery of That Smile
"That painting is... quite good?"
Shang Wu blinked and patted Li Mo on the shoulder.
She didn’t understand much about this, but at a glance, it was indeed impressive.
"It’s not bad."
Ying Bing nodded slightly, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
The fact that it could be recognized as her without a face meant that he had grasped the essence and charm to a remarkable degree.
"It’s just a minor skill."
Li Mo shrugged.
He wasn’t being modest; he was just being realistic.
This level of skill was the result of sixty years of hard work!
However.
Seeing Ying Bing’s gaze linger on the painting for a long time, her expression somewhat dazed, Li Mo’s heart suddenly felt a little less heavy.
"Why didn’t you paint her face?"
Shang Wu pointed at the blank face in the painting.
Li Mo replied helplessly:
"It’s my first time painting a portrait, and I thought a smiling expression would be nice."
"Besides, the composition of this painting is meant to capture the brilliance of midsummer; if the figure isn’t smiling, it would ruin the overall mood."
"It’s just a smile..."
Before Shang Wu could finish her sentence, she suddenly remembered.
She realized she had never actually seen Ying Bing smile.
Li Mo couldn’t recall it either.
In his memory, he had rarely seen Ying Bing show any expression, as rare as the sun rising in the west.
Not only had he never seen her smile, but he couldn’t even imagine what Ice Block would look like when she smiled.
"Xiao Bing, why don’t you... try smiling?"
Shang Wu encouraged.
Ying Bing furrowed her brows slightly, lowering her gaze in contemplation, feeling a bit troubled.
But.
Since she owed Li Mo a favor, and had promised to model for him until the painting was complete...
She had no choice but to...
Ying Bing pulled her lips, which resembled shattered jade, slightly squinting her eyes, trying to force a smile onto her usually cold face.
"Hehe..."
Is it beautiful?
Yes.
But...
"Hiss..."
Li Mo and Shang Wu leaned back slightly, both feeling a chill run down their spines.
This was a smile, but it was clearly a cold smile!
It was as pure and merciless as the moon gazing down upon the world, silently uttering two words:
"Ants."
If he painted it like this, the artwork would definitely be rated R.
Minors who saw it would be scared out of their wits.
"What do we do now..."
Li Mo pondered for a moment, then suddenly crossed his eyes, making a silly face.
"Pfft... Hahaha, you look silly."
Shang Wu clutched her stomach, laughing uncontrollably.
"?"
Ying Bing’s brows furrowed even deeper, not understanding this bizarre behavior.
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