Chapter 238: Recognize Your True Heart

The second trial wasn’t about whether a cultivator had a gift for treasure-hunting, nor was it about vast knowledge, and it definitely wasn’t about how powerful one’s divine sense was at the Tribulation or Ascension stage.

What Xi Zhi truly valued was exactly the kind of natural intuition that Song Ying possessed.

Painting requires inspiration, intuition, and the ability to see through the surface to the truth underneath. Without that, it’s all just copying—no innovation, no transcendence.

“You’re not bad. I’m quite pleased with you.”
Xi Zhi gave Song Ying a once-over, unable to hide her joy.

If her impression in the first trial had merely been of a female cultivator with decent technique, now in the second trial, she already saw her as a half-step inheritor of the Painting Immortal’s legacy. As long as her performance in the third trial wasn’t abysmal, she would almost certainly receive the inheritance.

“Fairy Xi Zhi, it’s been five hundred years,” Jiang Li greeted her.

Xi Zhi was indeed a beautiful celestial being—delicate features, a trace of aloofness between her brows, adding to her charm. No wonder many cultivators pined for her after just one encounter.

“Never met you. Don’t know you. Who are you?” Xi Zhi flatly refused to acknowledge him.

Jiang Li’s painting five hundred years ago had scarred her eyes so badly it took her centuries to recover.
Unbelievable that someone’s art could be that bad.
Among all the paintings she’d ever seen, Jiang Li’s was hands-down the worst.

“This is Jiang Li, the Human Sovereign,” Qin Luan introduced him.

“You actually became the Human Sovereign? I thought Yuyin would get it.”
Xi Zhi still held a grudge that Yuyin hadn’t become the Sovereign.

Back then, both Jiang Li and Yuyin were only at the Golden Core stage, not even candidates yet, but Xi Zhi had already seen the potential in both. She had favored Yuyin more.

“Just got lucky,” Jiang Li said modestly.

“I heard that ever since you reached the Grand Ascension stage, the Outer Realm demons plaguing Jiuzhou have been on the decline. Nicely done.”

She had asked the last two groups who passed through the secret realm for news about Jiang Li and learned that after leaving the Cloudwater Secret Realm, he’d been making waves across Jiuzhou.

“Fairy Xi Zhi, do you know much about the Outer Realm demons?” Jiang Li asked.

“No. I’m only a sliver of the Painting Immortal’s divine will. I didn’t inherit all her memories. As for the Immortal Realm, I know far less than Elder Changcun—he’s quite knowledgeable.”

“Then what brings you here?” she asked.

“Seeing if I can sneak my way into the Painting Immortal’s inheritance,” Jiang Li replied cheekily.

Xi Zhi rolled her eyes. If Jiang Li managed to inherit the Painting Immortal’s legacy, she’d drink a whole pool of ink.

Then she left for the world of the third trial to wait.

Aguna, with her usual luck, plucked a real fruit without even trying.

“The third trial begins now.”

As Xi Zhi’s voice faded, the group was transported to a new small world.

After the second trial, the number of participants was drastically reduced. Only Jiang Li, Li Er, and Qin Luan’s little entourage remained.

All familiar faces.

“Excuse me, I have a question,” Jiang Li politely interrupted.

“Speak.”

“Could you stop the rain? I prefer sunshine.”

Drizzle fell steadily in the third world. Xi Zhi stood before them holding a red oil-paper umbrella, serene and ethereal, like something out of a painting.

She liked red umbrellas, thought they were beautiful. But holding one under a clear sky felt off, so she’d always use her authority to create light rain whenever she appeared.

In Jiang Li’s words, it was lucky Xi Zhi was a celestial remnant, or she’d have arthritis by now.

Mr. Jiang’s request to stop the rain—was it symbolic? Rain as hardship, sun as hope… Though hardship pours endlessly, as long as we hold onto hope, the clouds will eventually part, and we’ll see the sun again…

Qin Luan analyzed Jiang Li’s words deeply and felt enlightened.

As expected of Mr. Jiang—everything he says has layers of meaning.

Xi Zhi gave him a side-eye, but stopped the rain and put away her red umbrella.

“Third realm of painting: Seeing mountains as mountains again, seeing water as water again.
For your final trial, paint the happiest moment in your heart.
It can be a memory, a future you hope for, or even just a dream. No restrictions.”

Everyone froze.
This… was tough.

Jiang Li pondered.
The happiest moment… In other words, the scene he most longed for.
But what was it?

He had honestly never thought about it.

Li Er also fell into deep thought.
Was marrying Cheng’er the happiest moment?
Or when his daughter was born?
Or when she got married—no, definitely not that one.

Qin Luan thought hard too.
What did he truly want?
Recognition from Jiang Li? Becoming the Human Sovereign? Becoming a peerless expert who reaches the end of the immortal path?

The little fox raised its paw. It painted itself returning to the Fusion stage and ruling Qingqiu once more.

“Little fox, are you sure this is your true desire?”
Xi Zhi looked at it with a half-smile. The fox squirmed a little under her gaze but nodded firmly. This was its life goal.

Xi Zhi wasn’t omniscient—she couldn’t see the fox’s past or future, or even its truest desires.
But painting is a reflection of one’s soul.
She could tell from the artwork if the scene truly came from someone’s heart.

And in the little fox’s painting, she saw hesitation, concealment.

“This isn’t really your happiest moment. Think again.”

Leaving those words behind, Xi Zhi floated away.

The little fox scratched its head with its paw, visibly frustrated.

Aguna painted a scene of traveling across Jiuzhou with Qin Luan and the others. Leaving the Gu clan and adventuring together—that was happiness to her.

But Xi Zhi saw the same hesitation.

“That alone satisfies you?” Xi Zhi smiled faintly and moved on.

Song Ying painted a wedding with Qin Luan—though he stood surrounded by other beautiful women.

“Marrying Qin Luan, and you don’t mind him being with other women?” Xi Zhi found Song Ying intriguing. Not just for the scene itself, but for what she saw in the painting: fulfillment.

This was truly her dream of happiness.

Song Ying didn’t hesitate. “I don’t mind. My gut tells me Qin Luan will meet many beautiful female cultivators in the future. It’s unavoidable.
What I can do… is make sure I hold the most important place in his heart.”

Xi Zhi said nothing and moved on.

Qin Luan’s painting showed him seated in the Human Sovereign Hall, exuding authority.

“You want to take Commander Liu’s place?” Xi Zhi asked, seeing someone presiding over the hall.

“I want to be the Human Sovereign!” Qin Luan corrected her.

But Xi Zhi saw confusion and doubt in the painting.

“Being the Human Sovereign isn’t truly what you desire. Think again.”

She sighed.
To be an excellent artist, you must first understand your true heart.
That’s what the third trial truly tested.

So far, only Song Ying had done so—truly recognizing what she wanted, and thus passing the trial.