Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

A brush washer, a weasel-hair brush, an agate inkstone.

The specially made paper was as thin as a cicada’s wing; ink wouldn’t bleed upon it. It even felt somewhat like Beast Hide to the touch.

Zhu Ju held the weasel-hair brush, his wrist suspended as his strokes flowed like splashed ink.

Moments later.

The graceful figure of a woman in purple leaning against a railing had materialized on the scroll.

The woman in the painting wore a purple dress, silver bracelets, and a wooden hairpin. Her face was free of powder and rouge, yet her beauty was stunning.

Only the weariness and sorrow in her beautiful eyes were enough to stir one’s pity.

The crimson cinnabar mark between her brows added an air of detached, cold severity, making one hesitant to meet her gaze.

"I never imagined, Junior Brother. Besides your extraordinary Martial Arts Talent, your painting skills are also this masterful."

Pei Jingque flickered into existence beside Zhu Ju. As she gazed at the woman in the painting, a look of amazement surfaced in her eyes.

"You’ve made me far too beautiful, Junior Brother."

Xing Suanzi’s Skin Painting Technique was a core legacy of the Celestial Capital Sect. While not of the Righteous Dao, it was nonetheless extraordinary.

Now that he had his hands on it, Zhu Ju didn’t mind cultivating it a little in his spare time.

Painting.

He hadn’t reached the level of Mastery.

But with the meticulous, Micro-level control granted by his powerful Divine Soul Power, bolstered by the experience of two lifetimes, he quickly reached the Entry Level in painting.

Moreover, the Skin Painting Technique’s method of capturing a subject’s spiritual essence gave his art a unique flavor that set it apart from others’.

A Mental Realm, perhaps.

When Shen Youx happened to see his work, he was left utterly astounded.

Even Pei Jingque had caught wind of it and made a special trip to ask him to paint a portrait of her.

"The woman in the painting doesn’t capture one ten-thousandth of your beauty, Senior Sister." Zhu Ju put away his weasel-hair brush and shook his head.

"This painting still needs some work. I’ll give it to you as a gift once it’s finished, Senior Sister."

"Mm."

Pei Jingque reluctantly tore her gaze away.

"Thank you for your trouble, Junior Brother."

"Have you been painting the broken moon recently, Junior Brother?"

"Yes," Zhu Ju nodded.

"There is a stance in the Ghost God Limit called Broken Moon Knocking. It just so happens that the moon has been a broken crescent these past few days, so I can try to model it."

"Broken Moon Knocking..." Pei Jingque mused.

"I saw one of our senior brothers use this move. As his saber struck, a phantom of a broken moon would appear, leaving a trace in the air as it ended its victim’s life."

"This stance holds the essence of an autumn cicada shedding its shell, of the moon illuminating an empty pond."

"Oh!" Zhu Ju’s eyes lit up. He felt as if some line of thinking that had previously been blocked was suddenly cleared. He couldn’t help but ask,

"Are you very familiar with the Ghost God Limit, Senior Sister?"

"Not exactly familiar, but I know a thing or two," Pei Jingque replied.

"The Ghost God Limit... a Limited Ghost God. It has Seven Great Limits in total and is a top-tier Saber Technique of the Demon Sect, possessing extraordinary power."

"First Senior Brother once said that after mastering the Seven Great Limits, one can break through even further. At that point, it would have the might of a Tier Break!"

"A pity..."

"Eh?"

Her brow furrowed slightly. She flipped her hand over, revealing a Token. Her pretty, smiling face instantly turned ice-cold.

"The audacity!"

"To dare attack a disciple of the Dragon Head Lineage near the mines!"

"Tribulation Cultivators?" Zhu Ju asked.

"Do you need my help?"

"No," Pei Jingque said, taking a deep breath.

"Your Cultivation is still too low, Junior Brother. You should focus on protecting yourself. It won’t be too late to serve the Sect once you reach the Middle-Stage Innate realm."

"I’m off!"

SWISH!

Starlight seemed to flicker in the courtyard as Pei Jingque transformed into a rainbow streak, leaping dozens of feet into the air and hundreds of feet away in a single bound.

She was silent and traceless, yet her speed was astonishing.

To the eyes of a Mortal, such a Lightweight Body Technique was nearly indistinguishable from an Immortal Family’s ability to ride the clouds and mists.

’The Celestial Spirit Technique?’

Amazement filled Zhu Ju’s eyes as he slowly retracted his gaze.

This group of Tribulation Cultivators seemed particularly unusual. Even with Pei Jingque on the scene, the disturbance wasn’t quelled quickly.

By evening.

CHIRP CHIRP...

A small bird landed in the courtyard.

’Mu Tian?’

*

*

*

The few who had joined the Bright Void Sect at the same time had drifted apart over the years.

Yan Bohu had already been an Innate cultivator, but alas, he was too old. After languishing for several years in the Immortal Sect, his drive had slowly faded.

Lately, he had been searching for Acquired Methods.

’He’s probably planning to return to the Mortal World and make arrangements for his descendants.’

’He has no fate with the Immortal Dao in this life. His only hope is for his descendants to carry on his ambition while he starts enjoying what’s left of his life.’

After witnessing first Zhu Ju and then Ning Ruxue break through, the Ding Brothers stopped their bickering and began to apply themselves to their Cultivation.

Only Mu Tian...

’...it was unclear what he had been up to.’

CREAK...

The courtyard gate opened, and Mu Tian, a fawning smile on his face, led Zhu Ju inside.

"Senior Brother Zhu, you’re a man of great importance. Ever since you entered the Inner Sect, I’ve been wanting to chat, but I could never find you free."

"Now that I have the chance, I certainly wasn’t going to miss it."

"Mm." Zhu Ju stepped into the courtyard and glanced at the spread of food and wine on the table.

"Junior Brother Yan isn’t here yet?"

"He should be here soon." Mu Tian said, rubbing his hands together.

"Senior Brother, I invited you today partly to reminisce about old times, and partly... I was wondering, how is Senior Sister Ning?"

"Junior Sister Ning?" Zhu Ju began. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"She just broke through and is in seclusion up the mountain, stabilizing her Cultivation. She didn’t come down for this investigation into the traitors."

"Is that so..." Mu Tian’s eyes darted around.

"Then... is Senior Sister Ning still angry with me?"

He had once been infatuated with Ning Ruxue and resorted to some underhanded tricks to have his way with her, but he had failed.

The two had a complete falling out.

Later.

When Ning Ruxue had ’failed’ her breakthrough, Mu Tian had even paid her a special visit just to mock her.

Who would have thought that more than two years later, Ning Ruxue would successfully advance to the Innate realm and enter the Inner Sect, while he remained stuck in the Acquired realm.

With such a sudden and vast disparity in their status, it was no wonder he looked so anxious; he was likely terrified of her retaliation.

"That, I wouldn’t know."

Zhu Ju had no intention of getting involved. Back then, both sides had been in the right and the wrong, and he was just an outsider.

"If you want to know, Junior Brother, you should go ask Junior Sister Ning directly. Some things are best cleared up face-to-face."

"Well..." Mu Tian laughed drily.

"Sit!"

"Please, sit, Senior Brother."

He unsealed a wine jar, poured a cup, and said with a smile,

"I had someone bring this wine specially from Hejian Prefecture. Why don’t you have a taste of home, Senior Brother?"

"Hejian Prefecture..." Zhu Ju murmured, stroking his wine bowl. His expression shifted, and he suddenly asked,

"Did you really invite Junior Brother Yan?"

"Huh?" Mu Tian’s expression stiffened.

"What do you mean by that, Senior Brother?"

"Killing intent," Zhu Ju said slowly.

"You’ve been very clever, Junior Brother. But you couldn’t hide your killing intent when you poured the wine."

?

"Useless!"

Before Mu Tian could speak, a cold voice drifted out from inside the house.

"Getting discovered even with a Divine Concealment Talisman... Mu, you really are a useless piece of trash."

BANG!

The window shutter burst open.

A shadowy figure lunged forward.

While still in mid-air, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi suddenly converged, forming a massive, invisible hand that came crashing down.

Innate Qi Grand Capture!

This was the most common technique used by Innate Qi Refiners.

’A Two Acupoints Innate!’

However, the attacker’s True Qi was so potent and pure—likely sixty years’ worth of condensed cultivation—that even this common technique became terrifyingly powerful.

Zhu Ju drew his saber, but instead of meeting the attacker head-on, he suddenly spun around and slashed behind him.

CLANG...

Sparks flew.

A figure holding a blood-red dagger had abruptly appeared behind Zhu Ju, lunging forward under the cover of the Innate Qi Grand Capture.

"Huh?"

To have such a stealthy strike blocked, the attacker couldn’t help but let out a cry of disbelief. The dagger immediately trembled.

In an instant, the blood-red dagger dissolved into a sky full of afterimages. Zhu Ju’s vision was filled with brilliant flashes as sharp streams of Qi collided in the air, creating a piercing shriek. The force of the blows sent his robes fluttering wildly behind him.

Fast!

Impossibly fast!

With no time to think, Zhu Ju’s body reacted instinctively. In an instant, a thousand saber-flashes bloomed from his blade.

Ghost God Limit!

CLANG CLANG CLANG...

In a flash.

Saber and dagger clashed over a hundred times. The shadowy figure felt his wrist go numb and was forced to retreat.

The sky full of saber-flashes suddenly converged into a single slash that twisted and fell.

Before the saber even arrived, the very air seemed to split apart before its Sword Intent. The massive, incoming hand of Innate Qi was cleaved in two.

The figures landed.

The courtyard fell silent.

The two Two Acupoints Innate cultivators stood before and behind him, trapping Zhu Ju between them. An invisible killing intent roiled through the air.

"A One Acupoint Innate!"

"And a Divine Saber Technique!"

Amazement filled the white-haired old man’s eyes.

"As expected of the one Senior Sister Pei praised. Senior Brother Zhu, your Talent is truly extraordinary. We are far from your match."

"You are..." Zhu Ju narrowed his eyes.

"Sunx Jiuzhi!"

This man was also an Innate cultivator who had ascended from the Mortal World, and he seemed to have some connection to Mu Tian’s elders.

The two had met a few times right after joining the Bright Void Sect.

"The very same," Sunx Jiuzhi nodded.

"I’m surprised you still remember this old man’s name, Senior Brother. It’s a true honor."

"And him?" Zhu Ju asked, glancing at the masked man behind him and sensing a strange aura about him.

"A disciple of the Five Poison Sect?"

"That’s right," the masked man said, his voice shrill.

"Zhu! Surely you haven’t forgotten what you did over a year ago?"

"Over a year ago?" A flicker of understanding crossed Zhu Ju’s face.

"Weii Fei?"

"So it was you!" the masked man’s voice rose.

"Our senior sister was right. You were the one who did it."

"Trying to trick me?" Zhu Ju raised an eyebrow, his expression unchanging. His gaze fell upon the deathly pale Mu Tian.

"So it was you, Junior Brother, who was colluding with outsiders."

"Enough talk," Sunx Jiuzhi barked.

"So what if you’ve opened One Acupoint and have a Divine Saber Technique? My decades of experience in the Martial World weren’t gained for nothing!"

"Attack together!"

"Make it quick!"

He roared and charged forward, his figure blurring through the air, leaving a trail of afterimages.

The masked man from the Five Poison Sect also let out a low snarl and attacked.

"Hah..."

Zhu Ju scoffed lightly, his wrist twitching.

SWISH!

Several fine points of light shot out like lightning.

The Five-Pointed Flying Saber!

CLINK...

The saber-lights merely twisted. With a sudden surge of the Five Elements Sword Control Technique, the masked man from the Five Poison Sect was diced into several pieces.

Innate Gang Force was useless before a Magical Artifact.

"A Flying Sword!"

Sunx Jiuzhi’s eyes went wide with horror. He twisted his body in mid-air and, without a second thought, fled toward the courtyard exit.

’How could a One Acupoint Innate possibly have a Flying Sword?’

’How could he possibly control a Flying Sword?’

"Too late!"

Facing the fleeing Sunx Jiuzhi, Zhu Ju’s expression was like ice. The Five-Pointed Flying Saber’s speed increased again.

SWISH!

SWISH! SWISH!

SQUELCH!

Sunx Jiuzhi’s body went rigid and tumbled from the sky. A splash of crimson bloomed at his throat, his life force utterly extinguished.

The five points of light spun once in the air, then slowly descended to hover around Mu Tian.

THUMP!

His knees gave out, and Mu Tian collapsed to the ground.

"Spare me!"

"Senior Brother, spare my life!"

"It was... It was Cao Xiong! Cao Xiong made me do it! I... I never wanted to move against you, Senior Brother!"

"Cao Xiong?" Zhu Ju nodded.

"So it was him."

"Where is Cao Xiong now?"