Immortal and Martial Dual Cultivation

Chapter 1942 (Raw 2042): Blank Painting

The short-haired girl’s residence was built by the side of a lake among the mountains.

It was hard to imagine that there was such a huge lake in the middle of towering mountains and precipitous ridges.

The lake water was clear, and white mist spread all over its surface. Spiritual Energy pervaded the place.

An exquisite pavilion stood at the center of the lake shrouded in white mist. When one looked over, it vaguely seemed like paradise.

Mountains surrounded the place, and the lake water looked like a painting. The mountain ranges stretched up and down into the distance.

Amid the rising and falling mountains, the lake looked like jade, a perfect and flawless treasure jade inlaid in the mountains and rivers.

Birds flew in the sky, and fish swam about happily in the lake.

As one stood by the lakeside, the poetic lake looked incredibly long, stretching out between two mountain ranges.

The lake actually gave the impression of being a great sea, like it was vast and endless.

As for that pavilion at the center of the lake, when one peered through the mist at it, the dragons and phoenixes carved in jade were completely white.

The pavilion sparkled with light, which reflected on the lake surface. The water rippled gently, and the jade-green color lingered. A few birds took off into the air and tore through the thick mist, flying over the pavilion.

It was like the poetic scene instantly came to life.

“Great place. I would not tire of such a place even if I lived here until I died. If I stopped pursuing the Martial Dao one day, I would want to seek out such a beautiful scene for my retirement.”

Situ Changfeng sighed, completely immersed in the beautiful scenery.

The short-haired girl rebutted, “That’s impossible. I have stayed here for ten-odd years. I’ve already had enough of this. How could one possibly stay here forever without hating it?”

Xiao Chen countered softly, “That is because your heart is not still enough. If your heart is not still, no matter how good the scenery, you will simply think of mountains and rivers when you see it. After you look past the bustle, the glory, the humiliation, and settle down, you will see—”

The short-haired girl interrupted, “What will one see?”

Xiao Chen smiled and said, “It will still be mountains and rivers.”

“Then, it is still the same. Do you see that pavilion? Every time my elder sister comes back, she stays there,” the short-haired girl said softly as she pointed at the white-jade pavilion at the center of the lake.

Murong Yan’s eyes lit up. “Can we go over and take a look?”

The short-haired girl shook her head and said, “Of course not. No one can enter my elder sister’s room without permission.”

“That’s as good as not saying,” Murong Yan said, slightly disappointed.

“Hehe! However, we can go to the residence. Speaking of which, that pavilion is empty. There is nothing to see there.”

After the short-haired girl finished speaking, she called out to everyone to go to her residence.

Xiao Chen was the last to enter. Before he did, he glanced contemplatively at the pavilion in the center of the lake.

After entering the residence, the short-haired girl seemed to become a completely different person. She pestered the group, asking all sorts of questions.

Now, she was far from the expert she looked like at the beginning.

After some conversation, the group came to know that this short-haired girl was called Liu Ruyun, a daughter of the current leader of the White Dragon Race.

With such an identity, Liu Ruyun was a bona fide major character.

The leader of the White Dragon Race was the White Dragon King, the one who led all the White Dragon cultivators in the Divine Dragon Empire.

Ostensibly, the White Dragon Palace belonged to the Dragon’s Gate, but in reality, the White Dragon bloodline had control over it. The Palace Master and the Vice Palace Master were both appointed by the White Dragon King.

If anything major happened, the entirety of the White Dragon Palace would definitely listen to the White Dragon King when he issued the call.

Of course, all the outer palaces were managed by the Dragon’s Gate, just like the White Dragon King was.

Xiao Chen could not help thinking, What nonsense!

Wouldn’t that mean Liu Ruyue is the White Dragon King’s eldest daughter?

In that case, who died on the summit of Qingyun Peak in the Sky Dome Realm because of the Demons, sealing himself in ice as he died? Who was that to Liu Ruyue?

Liu Ruyue could not possibly have two fathers, right?

Xiao Chen thought to himself, The things that are happening here might be much more complicated than I thought.

Previously, Xiao Chen had heard from a White Dragon Palace core disciple.

Liu Ruyue possessed not only a Grade 7 bloodline but also an innate dragon soul. The power of the dragon soul was extremely pure.

Regular Dragon Race cultivators possessed only the bloodlines of dragons; their Soul Energy was only that of ordinary people. There was nothing special about their souls.

Having an innate dragon soul meant that Liu Ruyue’s Soul Energy contained the power of a dragon soul. She was completely different.

Such an existence could not only revitalize the White Dragon Race but even gain the position of Dragon Emperor.

Perhaps this was why the White Dragon Race needed to hide Liu Ruyue’s identity.

A cover story of Liu Ruyue being the White Dragon King’s daughter would be the most convincing. Who would dare to doubt the White Dragon King?

Now, it looked like the cover story was rather successful. While Xiao Chen was in the Divine Dragon Empire, he had not heard of anyone doubting Liu Ruyue’s identity.

To Xiao Chen, all this did not matter. The main question was whether Liu Ruyue herself knew about it.

If you lot hurt Ruyue for your own benefits, I absolutely will never forgive you!

Xiao Chen had seen too many cases where people went overboard when benefits were involved.

He could not help dwelling on this a little more.

“Are you going to Desolate God Valley?” the short-haired girl asked as she looked at the group curiously.

Wei Hongfei nodded. “Yes. We were planning to invite Zhong Li to go with us. Now, we can only go with just the four of us.”

Liu Ruyun, the short-haired girl, said seriously, “I’ll accompany you, then. My strength is not lower than Zhong Li’s. They did not stop you, but I could.” Confidence flashed in her eyes.

Liu Ruyun was truly not weak. In fact, she was stronger than Zhong Li.

As the White Dragon King’s daughter, Liu Ruyun’s bloodline and talent would not be weak. The Cultivation Techniques and Martial Techniques she used would definitely be the best.

On the surface, it looked like Liu Ruyun was even stronger than the four here.

However, if they truly fought a life-and-death battle, the short-haired girl would not be a match for any of them.

When the short-haired girl said that she wanted to accompany them, not even the brainless Murong Yan responded to her.

Situ Changfeng said, “It is already dark. Let’s rest first.”

The short-haired girl said helplessly, “Alright, then. Uncle Mei, bring them in to rest.”

--

When the bright moon hung high in the sky late in the night, Xiao Chen left his room. He swept his Spiritual Sense through the place. When he verified that there was no one around, he gently pushed off with his feet. Then, he carefully avoided the many restrictions and landed on the surface of the lake.

He turned into a cool breeze that blew close to the lake surface, silently flying to the pavilion at the center of the lake.

However, when Xiao Chen neared the center of the lake, he was shocked to find that there was nothing there.

Ripples spread out on the water, and the cool breeze lingered. However, there was no pavilion.

“Is it an illusion?”

Xiao Chen did not rush. He opened his Heavenly Eye and noticed something strange. It was no simple illusion before him.

If he took another step forward, he would be trapped by an illusion formation.

If he tried to barge in, the consequences would be dire.

“This is not too difficult for me.”

Xiao Chen put on the Death God Mask and activated Void Shadow, one of the three Secret Techniques it contained.

His figure slowly immaterialized, becoming something in-between reality and illusion. This lasted for only a short time, just one second.

However, this one second was sufficient for Xiao Chen to pass that troublesome illusion formation and enter the pavilion.

I succeeded.

Xiao Chen took the mask off and walked up the steps of the white-jade pavilion. He did not hesitate to push the door open.

“This is where Ruyue lived.”

He looked around but did not discover anything special. It was a typical girl’s room.

It was like Liu Ruyun said, empty. Clearly, Liu Ruyue had not been back for a long time.

Even if Liu Ruyue returned, she would not remain for long.

As Xiao Chen casually walked around the pavilion, he did not think about much. He simply looked at the place where Liu Ruyue once lived.

“This is…”

Xiao Chen stopped walking, having discovered a painting in the pavilion’s study.

He slowly spread the painting. It depicted a blurry figure. There was an outline but no face. It was not complete. Nothing much could be made out from it.

“Who is this painting of?”

Xiao Chen closed the painting, wondering curiously whether Liu Ruyue painted it.

Only Liu Ruyue and Liu Ruyun had lived here. Liu Ruyun was still young and did not seem like someone who painted.

After thinking about it, this might possibly have been drawn by Liu Ruyue.

Xiao Chen thought about it, then rolled the painting up and put it inside his Universe Ring.

“Hahaha! Little thief!”

Just at this moment, a voice rang out. Liu Ruyun suddenly appeared outside.

Unsurprised, Xiao Chen looked up and gave this girl a strange look. He took out the painting, opened it up once more, and asked, “Did you paint this?”

Since Xiao Chen was unflustered, not appearing shocked or embarrassed at all, the short-haired girl found the situation boring.

It looked like he had guessed that Liu Ruyun’s residence was connected to this pavilion. She could feel every movement within the pavilion.

“How could I possibly have drawn that? I borrowed it. There are many more, all like that. There is only an outline without a face. Hey, I just noticed, this outline is very similar to you.”

Liu Ruyun seemed to have discovered something extremely interesting. When she got close, she looked at Xiao Chen and said, “You really look very similar.”