Chapter 239: Welcome Comrade Jiang Li to the Celestial Realm for Inspection

Li Er had painted a picture of himself with his wife and daughter. It was simple and modest, yet genuine.
It was hard to imagine such thoughts came from a mighty Tribulation Stage cultivator.
Xi Zhi saw sincerity in the painting.
She flipped Li Er’s painting over and saw a more “truthful” depiction.
Various beautiful women surrounded Li Er—cat demons, dog demons, fox demons, rabbit demons, dragons, phoenixes, and more, all retaining certain original features like ears and tails.
Not a single one was from the Human Race.
Xi Zhi looked at Li Er like he was absolute scum.
“…Let me explain.”
“I get it. Liking female beast demons—maybe not every man’s wish, but definitely a common one.”
“Fairy, your judgmental look really isn’t convincing.”
“Whatever. You’ve passed the test, so you can receive the Painting Immortal’s legacy.”
Li Er asked tentatively, “I’m not that interested in the Painting Immortal’s inheritance—can I exchange it for something else?”
“Exchange for what?”
Xi Zhi wasn’t surprised. She could tell Li Er was at the brink of becoming an immortal—a Tribulation Stage cultivator like him wouldn’t come here for no reason. He was clearly after something.
Jiang Li was an exception. Xi Zhi thought Jiang Li just liked running around for fun.
“I’ve heard that once you’ve mastered the Way of Painting, you can give life to a dragon with a final touch—could you draw a Ten-Thousand-Year Crystal Glazed Coral Tree for me?”
“Sure.”
Li Er was overjoyed and quickly used Divine Sense to simulate the coral tree’s form.
Xi Zhi only glanced at it, then looked away. She pulled a brush from her robes, licked its tip with her pink tongue to moisten it, and began painting in the air—a lifelike coral tree.
She opened her palm, gave it a gentle blow, and the image transformed into a real coral tree.
“This won’t last forever—only about a hundred years.”
“A hundred years is more than enough. Thank you, Fairy.”
Li Er felt he could finally enjoy a peaceful wedding anniversary.
Speaking of which, when was his anniversary again?
Xi Zhi then went to Jiang Li.
“Now this painting of yours is something else.”
Xi Zhi saw Jiang Li had painted a Stairway to Immortality paved with top-grade spirit stones, flanked by Immortal Artifacts, Immortals holding a banner that read “Welcome Comrade Jiang Li to the Celestial Realm for Inspection.”
Aside from being absolutely nothing like the real Stairway to Immortality, there was no issue. Going to the Celestial Realm was Jiang Li’s happiest dream.
“Even actual Celestial Immortals don’t get this kind of fanfare.”
“Well, I am a bit stronger than a Celestial Immortal,” Jiang Li replied modestly.
“Fine then, I’ll pass on the master’s inheritance to you.”
Jiang Li shook his head and stopped her: “Don’t think I don’t know. The Painting Immortal left you behind solely to pass on the legacy, and once you’ve passed it on a certain number of times, you’ll vanish. How many more can you give? Three? Four? Don’t waste one on me. Everything I just said was a joke—don’t take it seriously.”
“At least you’ve got a conscience.”
Xi Zhi couldn’t break the rules set by the Painting Immortal. Anyone who passed the three trials would receive the legacy—unless they clearly refused.
The Little Fox finally figured out what she truly wanted. On her blank paper, a domineering white-haired fox empress reigned over the land, with all ministers kneeling in submission. The dignified and elegant Empress Qin Luan sat beside her, awaiting favor.
The Little Fox not only wanted to reclaim the throne of the Qingqiu Kingdom—she also wanted Qin Luan.
Aguna’s thoughts, on the other hand, involved consummating a marriage with Qin Luan. Unfortunately, she couldn’t draw the process and just sketched the two of them in bed, with red curtains drawn.
Aguna also wanted Qin Luan.
Xi Zhi affirmed both their paintings as true desires.
However, since both had failed the test once before, they weren’t considered to have passed.
Qin Luan, meanwhile, still hadn’t made a move. She hadn’t figured out what she truly wanted.
Xi Zhi could do nothing about it. She didn’t know Buddhist Mind-Reading, and even that might not uncover the deepest corners of someone’s heart.
Qin Luan would have to reflect on it slowly after leaving the secret realm.
The three trials ended, and only Song Ying received the Painting Immortal’s legacy.
Xi Zhi was quite pleased with this clever girl and gave her a brush.
Song Ying drew a butterfly gracefully fluttering about. The butterfly flapped its wings, flew for a bit, then faded away.
“This is the Way of Painting? How magical.”
Xi Zhi was quietly amazed. To reach this level right after receiving the legacy—Song Ying’s talent in the Way of Painting was probably second only to Yu Yin.
Back then, Yu Yin had drawn Jiang Li with a face full of pimples right after inheriting the legacy, then beat the crap out of him.
After leaving the secret realm, some sects came asking if anyone had obtained the Painting Immortal’s legacy—they wanted to accept that person as the personal disciple of a Fusion Stage ancestor.
Naturally, Song Ying wouldn’t admit it. Never mind whether those sects were sincere—she already belonged to a sect. Joining another would be a betrayal.
And if she did, she wouldn’t be able to stay by Qin Luan’s side.
With her heart clear, Song Ying felt a strong sense of urgency.
No one spoke up about receiving the legacy, and those sects didn’t press it. After all, the last person to get the legacy was five hundred years ago.
[Claim reward?]
“Claim.”
A Mind Control Gu appeared before Jiang Li.
The Gu Clan’s Mind Control Gu had been seized by Daoist Nun Xuan’ai and then destroyed by Jiang Li’s Heart Sword. There were no more left in the Nine Provinces, meaning this one came from another world.
Just in case, Jiang Li kept the Mind Control Gu. Who knew—it might come in handy.
A Dual Cultivation technique with a suggestive male-female cover appeared in Jiang Li’s hand. He flipped through it casually. This Yin-Yang Hehuan Gong had nothing novel—same old positions, same old yin-yang theory.
“A proper but boring dual cultivation manual. Marshal Ma and his wife wrote much more interesting stuff than this.” Jiang Li tossed it into his storage ring to collect dust.
Few knew that the raunchy books sold by Marshal Ma and his wife contained cultivation techniques that could actually be practiced. If anyone found that out, they’d get a carefully written Fusion-Stage-level dual cultivation manual.
Marshal Ma and his wife insisted this was called ‘opportunity.’
Jiang Li hoped if the Great Zhou ever caught them, they’d stick to that excuse.
The system’s reward also included a tub of medicinal bath to assist awakening the Heavenly Spiritual Root.
According to the system, as long as one consumed the Boundary-Breaking Grass and soaked in the bath, one could awaken the Heavenly Spiritual Root in the late Golden Core Stage.
Jiang Li wasn’t skilled in medicine, so he took the tub to Su Wei.
After studying it, Su Wei nodded lightly. “It truly can help someone at the late Golden Core Stage awaken the Heavenly Spiritual Root early—but it’s only effective at that stage. Mid-Stage Golden Core cultivators won’t benefit at all.”
“And the ingredients in this are incredibly rare and expensive—not something an average sect or noble family could afford. Your Majesty Jiang, forgive my bluntness, but this method for awakening the Heavenly Spiritual Root early is unlikely to be viable for widespread use across the Nine Provinces.”
Su Wei had worked with Jiang Li many times before. Once she realized what the bath was for, she guessed his intent.
If they could find more Heavenly Spiritual Roots, it would undoubtedly boost the strength of the Nine Provinces—maybe even produce another Mahayana Stage powerhouse. A pity.
Jiang Li had no choice but to give up on the idea.