Chapter 235: The Cow Eats Grass

The Cloudwater Secret Realm was nested with layers of small worlds—one had to pass each trial to move on to the next.

“Cultivators of the Nine Provinces, welcome to the Painter Immortal’s secret realm. I am Xi Zhi, the divine sense left behind by the Painter Immortal,”

A pleasant voice rang in their ears. From the sound alone, it was clear the owner had to be a stunning woman. Everyone looked around, but couldn’t see Xi Zhi’s figure.

Xi Zhi chuckled playfully, “Stop looking. The Painter Immortal divided the art of painting into three realms. The Cloudwater Secret Realm also has three corresponding trials. I’m in the world of the second trial. If you want to see me, then please pass the first one.”

Jiang Li recalled that the system’s mission was to 【acquire the Boundary-Breaking Grass in the Cloudwater Secret Realm】, so he opened the system shop: “Buy Boundary-Breaking Grass.”

The Boundary-Breaking Grass appeared out of thin air in his hand.

After all, the mission said to get it in the secret realm, not specifically through the trial of the secret realm.

【…Congratulations, host, on completing the mission】

The system hesitated for a moment before acknowledging completion.

【Would you like to claim the mission reward?】

“No.” Jiang Li wasn’t in a rush. The reward wasn’t going anywhere anyway.

Since he was here, he might as well greet Xi Zhi. Who knows—after a few centuries, maybe his drawing skills had improved enough to catch her eye and earn him a Painter Immortal inheritance.

Jiang Li felt he was definitely better than Qin Luan at drawing.

Back then he was only at the Golden Core Stage, couldn’t control his body well, and his drawings came out looking somewhere between an elephant and Yu Yin—it was understandable.

Now he was in the Mahayana Stage, with perfect bodily control. What he drew wasn’t just a circle—it was a perfect circle based on 3.1415926…

“The First Realm of Painting: seeing a mountain as a mountain, seeing water as water. Please take the cows of this world as reference and create a piece titled Cow Eating Grass. No restriction on artistic style.”

Xi Zhi’s tone was originally calm, but suddenly shifted at the end, as she practically gritted her teeth: “But abstract art is strictly forbidden!”

Everyone was confused. Still, anyone who made it here probably didn’t draw that badly, right?

“They changed the trial format, huh.” Jiang Li remembered that five hundred years ago, his trial in the Cloudwater Secret Realm also involved the three realms of painting—all that “seeing mountain not as mountain” philosophical stuff.

Back then, Xi Zhi tested one’s understanding of those realms. She figured if someone truly understood them, they might be worthy of the Painter Immortal’s legacy.

Xi Zhi was mysterious, but Jiang Li was even better at acting mysterious. He bluffed his way through all three trials and nearly got the inheritance.

To this day, Xi Zhi still had lingering fear. Luckily, she’d tested his actual drawing skills at the last moment and didn’t give him the inheritance.

Otherwise, the Painter Immortal’s reputation would’ve been destroyed.

Now Xi Zhi had learned her lesson. No more vague philosophy. Straight-up drawing contest—much safer.

The ink-painting people in the small city brought out writing desks, inkstones, brushes, charcoal pencils, fruits, and snacks, placing them before the participants. Since all styles were allowed, of course they didn’t limit it to just brush painting.

“Time limit: two hours. Begin now.”

Jiang Li unfolded a sheet of rice paper and fell into thought.

Song Ying was the first to get inspired and began grinding ink.

Li Er thought for a moment, then started drawing too.

After some contemplation, the rest of the group gradually began working.

The subject seemed simple—Cow Eating Grass—but it was deceptively deep.

Upon entering the Cloudwater Secret Realm, everyone had seen the oxen plowing the fields. Few, however, noticed the oxen that went off to the side to graze afterward.

The oxen, eating grass after laboring, were slightly joyful—their tails lightly swaying.

This was the key to the first realm: seeing mountain as mountain, seeing water as water. It tested a painter’s observation skills. Whoever depicted the ox’s tail wagging while grazing would pass the first trial.

Art was drawn from life, but also elevated beyond it. Still, it began with observation—a belief the Painter Immortal always upheld, and which Xi Zhi, as her divine sense, continued to embody.

Naturally, the oxen were now resting and no longer grazing.

If they were still eating grass in plain sight, how would that count as a trial?

“I’m done!” Qin Luan was the first to finish and raised his hand.

“Let me see… is the tail wagging… where’s the cow’s tail?” Xi Zhi’s surprised voice rang in his ear.

Qin Luan had only drawn a cow head eating grass. Everything below the neck was missing. The piece was extremely abstract—it wasn’t even clear it was a cow, though you could sort of tell it was some horned creature.

“You need a tail to eat grass?” Qin Luan was even more surprised than Xi Zhi. “You mean cows here don’t eat with their mouths, but with their tails?”

Suddenly, Qin Luan felt this ink-painting world was terrifying, and the Painter Immortal must’ve been a twisted soul.

“…Fine, you pass.” Xi Zhi felt it was her own vague wording that caused this—she didn’t blame Qin Luan.

“I’m done too.” Aguna was second to raise her hand. She didn’t use a brush but drew with a charcoal pencil.

“Is this cow wagging its tail?” Xi Zhi asked uncertainly.

It was Aguna’s first time drawing, so she drew and erased repeatedly. The tail area was redrawn over a dozen times, leaving faint overlapping shadows. The combination of tail and residual lines looked just like a wagging tail.

“Fine, you pass.” Compared to Qin Luan, Aguna’s was actually decent. Xi Zhi grudgingly accepted it.

“I’m done too.” Li Er was the third to raise his hand. He was very confident, believing he had real talent in art.

“That’s… a cow?” Xi Zhi was speechless when she saw Li Er’s drawing.

It showed a horned woman sitting at a table, eating grass from a bowl—with no tail at all.

Setting aside the content, the execution was impressively lifelike. Clearly, Li Er had keenly observed humanoid demon beasts.

“Look at those horns—how is it not a cow?” Li Er pointed at the woman’s horns, totally confident.

He could’ve just revealed his identity, and Xi Zhi probably would’ve let him pass. But Li Er had pride—he felt it was only right to impress her first. At the very least, he wanted to pass two of the three trials on his own.

“Why did you draw a transformed cow?” Xi Zhi couldn’t understand his thinking.

Now it was Li Er’s turn to be confused. “Didn’t you say: take the cows of this world as the prototype and draw Cow Eating Grass?”

“I did.” Xi Zhi didn’t see the issue. Wasn’t she just asking them to draw how cows here eat grass?

“Well, if it’s the prototype, that means these cows can transform. Isn’t my transformed cow totally valid?”

“…I said prototype, not original form.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Forget it—you pass.” Xi Zhi facepalmed in the second trial world.

“I’m done too,” Jiang Li said as the fourth person.

Upon seeing Jiang Li’s drawing, Xi Zhi nearly started swearing.

There was nothing on the paper!

“Where’s the grass?”

“The cow ate it.”

“And the cow?”

“It left after eating.”

Xi Zhi felt like she’d seen every kind of freak in this first trial.