Chapter 91: Convergence of the Three Spirits, Seeking the Demon in Dreams, the Dao-Transmitting Painting Obtained!

The Great Dream of Spring and Autumn is an advanced secret art for cultivating the soul. As the state religion of Great Li, this secret art possesses an extremely profound understanding of the soul's essence.

The Heavenly Soul and Earthly Soul often wander abroad; only the Life Soul dwells within the body.

The convergence of the Heavenly Soul, Earthly Soul, and Life Soul is called the "Convergence of the Three Spirits."

But the "Convergence of the Three Spirits" is very difficult to achieve. Even cultivators cannot control the convergence of the three spirits; the Heavenly Soul and Earthly Soul only occasionally resonate with the Life Soul.

To truly achieve the "Convergence of the Three Spirits" and the unity of spirit and soul, one must reach an extremely high realm.

Zhao Xing cultivated the introductory chapter of the Great Dream of Spring and Autumn. His Life Soul grew ever stronger, equivalent to cultivating the Life Soul itself.

Although the Heavenly Soul and Earthly Soul could not yet be spoken of as being "cultivated," the connection with these two was also strengthening.

After discovering his own unease, Zhao Xing immediately judged that this was the Life Soul receiving a stirring from the Earthly Soul.

After cultivating the introductory chapter, Zhao Xing closed his eyes, quickly fell asleep leaning inside the carriage, and his breathing became calm.

He soon entered a dream.

"Hum~"

Within the dream, Zhao Xing saw a carriage.

"A Purple-Horned Horse-drawn carriage—Brother Shen, you've really made it big now, to have such a mount."

"Don't tease me. This is merely a crossbreed, carrying only a trace of exotic beast bloodline."

The carriage traveled along the official road outside the city. This scene perfectly replicated Zhao Xing's memories, including yesterday's conversation with Shen Zhui, down to every last detail.

"This is the Dream Preservation Method."

"It perfectly replicates every detail and preserves it within the dream."

"From here, Shen Zhui and I leave the city and head toward Anping Town."

Zhao Xing quietly felt into it.

This was not merely viewing from a god's-eye perspective; even the feelings were identical.

For instance, the playful mood when teasing Shen Zhui, the cheerful mood while chatting with him, the sense of relaxation when petting the cat, and the inner tranquility upon arriving at Anping Town and seeing farmers working in the fields.

"Through the Dream Preservation Method, one can trace back everything in memory. Mood is only the most superficial part; even the most extreme insights can be revisited."

Zhao Xing used the Dream Preservation Method to seek the cause of his unease. If it truly was a stirring from the Earthly Soul, Zhao Xing could feel it once again.

"Brother Zhao, hurry, hurry!"

"What's the rush."

This was Zhao Xing casting a spell, controlling the East Lake Pearl to absorb the clouds and rain above Anping Town.

At this moment, through the Dream Preservation Method's reproduction, Zhao Xing even relived the sensation of casting the spell.

Then came arriving at the village head's house in Anping Town, learning of Huang Silang's matter, going to the Niu family compound, encountering Huang Silang, and then dragging him off to farm...

Throughout this process, Zhao Xing never felt anything amiss.

A peaceful night passed, then the second day.

Zhao Xing and Shen Zhui heard that Huang Silang had gone gambling again, hurried to the Niu family compound, and then Niu Gui opened the door...

"Hmm?"

Zhao Xing suddenly sensed a faint abnormality.

"It started from this moment?"

"The Niu family compound has a problem? Or is it Niu Gui?"

After entering the gate, Shen Zhui split open the gambling table.

Huang Silang awoke and tried to flee through the back door. Shen Zhui blocked him, while Zhao Xing looked toward those rice guests...

In the dream, the middle-aged man with prominent cheekbones spoke with him, while a barrel-waisted woman stood beside him.

Throughout the entire process, the sense of abnormality gradually intensified.

After going out the door, the feeling slowly weakened, until after walking far away, this sensation quickly vanished.

"Hmm?"

Within the dream, Zhao Xing relived it over and over, and finally discovered that the peak of the abnormal sensation appeared in this scene:

"This humble one is Chen Deshun, and this is my wife, née Wu, Madam Chen..."

After the middle-aged man finished this sentence, the abnormal sensation reached its peak, and then slowly weakened.

Although the overall feeling was very vague and difficult to discern, Zhao Xing's Life Soul at this moment made contact with the Earthly Soul drifting outside.

Upon careful comparison, he perceived it.

After reliving it several times, Zhao Xing discovered that the Earthly Soul's abnormal stirring had actually begun upon arriving at Anping Town.

"If the Earthly Soul's abnormal stirring from leaving the city to Anping Town is the normal value, set at one."

"On the first day, encountering Huang Silang outside the Niu family compound, that would be one point one."

"On the second day, entering the Niu family compound and seeing Niu Gui, it reached one point five."

"And speaking with that rice guest, it was two."

Zhao Xing made the comparison.

He waved his hand.

"Hum~"

The scene within the dream shifted, rewinding to the moment just before entering the Niu family compound.

This time, Zhao Xing immersed himself within it, reliving it from a first-person perspective.

He activated the "Dream Deduction" of the Dream Preservation Method.

"Niu Gui, will you invite us in or not?" Zhao Xing asked. "Right now we're just coming in for a casual look. If we have to wait for an invitation before entering, the matter won't be settled so easily."

"Very well, my lords, please come in."

After Zhao Xing entered the gate, without waiting for Shen Zhui to act, he looked at once toward the group of rice guests squatting outside the hall.

At the same time, he locked onto that middle-aged couple.

"Lei Ting Noose!"

Zhao Xing acted without a word. Lightning flashed in his palm, swiftly weaving into a Lei Ting Noose that bound toward the couple.

"Brother Zhao, what are you doing?" Shen Zhui was startled.

And that middle-aged couple, who looked plain and honest, wore blank confusion after being bound.

"Lei Ting Giant Palm!"

Zhao Xing cast another thunder technique and struck out.

"Kill!" The seemingly plain and simple middle-aged couple suddenly turned savage-faced. Then a blood-colored figure burst from their bodies, crawling with countless twisted arms and heads, as if many fleshly bodies had been fused together. It exploded outward and lunged fiercely at Zhao Xing.

"Boom!"

The entire Niu family compound was shrouded in that blood-light, swallowing everything whole.

"Ah!"

The dream suddenly shattered. Zhao Xing's life soul felt a jolt, and he awoke from the dream.

"Meow!" Sensing its master's fright, the mountain cat arched its body sharply, every hair on end as if facing a life-or-death crisis.

"Brother Zhao, what's wrong?" Shen Zhui was startled, because Zhao Xing's face was terrifyingly pale, drained of color, and his aura had dropped considerably.

"Had a nightmare." Zhao Xing smiled and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. "Probably just too tired these past two days."

"Nightmare?" Shen Zhui was somewhat puzzled. What nightmare could cause such a reaction?

"I dreamed that my father's health was failing." Zhao Xing said, "Brother Shen, I'm worried about home. Let's leave Huang Silang for now—just give the village head a word of caution. Let's head back to the city first."

"Alright." Though somewhat puzzled, Shen Zhui asked no more. Ending the trip to Anping Town early over a dream was understandable, since Zhao Xing had mentioned his family.

"Giddyap~" The carriage turned around and headed toward Gucheng.

At the Niu family compound, the Sanwan Hall hall master—using the alias Chen Deshun—and the vice hall master were heading out to the Niu family's fields with the rice workers to begin the afternoon's labor.

Suddenly—

A flash of red light passed through Chen Deshun's eyes, and a jolt struck his heart.

"Hm?"

Chen Deshun's face changed slightly, his eyes filled with doubt.

The woman beside him stopped walking as well. The two exchanged a glance, immediately made an excuse to leave, and came to a shady pagoda tree.

"Did you sense it?" Chen Deshun looked at the woman.

"Mm." The woman nodded heavily. "What's going on? Why would the Venerable issue a warning?"

"Could it be that the divine spirit of the Gucheng temple was patrolling, triggering the warning?"

"I don't know." Chen Deshun's face looked grave. "We need to go back and ask the Dharma Protector. You and I should strengthen the protection first."

"You do it, or shall I?" the woman asked.

"I'll do it." Chen Deshun said, "My cultivation is higher than yours. I can bear it."

"Alright."

Chen Deshun faced the pagoda tree, secretly loosened his collar, then sliced open his chest with a fingertip, revealing scarlet blood.

The blood flowed out but did not fall—instead it moved across his belly, forming a pattern.

His gaze went vacant, his pupils lost focus. As the pattern slowly condensed into a ghost-head, his eyes turned completely blood-red.

On his belly, a twisted blood-colored human face had actually appeared.

The woman immediately crouched down, placed both hands on Chen Deshun's waist, and pressed her mouth to his belly to suck the blood.

After a moment, the blood vanished completely, and Chen Deshun returned to normal.

"Cough, cough… why did it take so much this time?" Chen Deshun's face was pale.

"I think we should leave Anping Town first." The woman rose and said, "This place is not safe to stay long."

"Alright, I'll go say something to the Niu family."

"Clop-clop-clop~"

After the carriage entered the city, Zhao Xing in the cabin let out a long breath.

When he had used the Dream Storage technique in Anping Town, his life soul received a resonance from the earth soul, sending a jolt that made his heart pound, as if something were watching him.

But it then vanished, so Zhao Xing dared not say a word more, nor dared return to the Niu family to investigate—he rushed back to the city at top speed.

"This feeling—could it be a Xuantian Sect evil god avatar?" Zhao Xing recalled the Xuantian Sect's methods. Whenever the Xuantian Sect caused trouble in the Great Zhou, they always carried an evil god image, with a Yin god avatar hidden inside.

Just like when he went to find the river-dredgers and ran into Meng Yun carrying the East Lake Earl's avatar.

In his previous life, Zhao Xing had joined the Xuantian Sect's camp and knew these tricks well. To evade detection and surveillance, one had to have this thing paired with the Xuantian Sect's concealment methods.

He hadn't expected, though, that by using the Dream Storage technique to sense the earth soul, he would actually discover some clues.

"The Great Dream of Spring and Autumn truly is a top-tier technique. I've only just begun learning it, yet I could already detect anomalies through the karma soul."

"That middle-aged couple definitely has a problem!"

"And they're no ordinary believers! At least hall master level!"

Believers, having only been brainwashed, had not practiced the Xuantian Sect's evil arts, nor could they have a Yin god possessing them.

If a Yin god is possessing someone, they must be a hall master on a mission.

What to do when running into something like this?

Of course he couldn't go himself.

After returning to the city, Zhao Xing reported to Old Chen at the first opportunity.

Chen Shijie, seeing Zhao Xing rush back in such a hurry, was immediately puzzled: "What's going on? Why does your face look so bad?"

"I suspect I've discovered traces of the Xuantian Sect."

Chen Shijie's expression turned solemn and heavy: "What's the situation? Tell me in detail."

Zhao Xing said, "I went to Anping Town to encourage farming, and visited a courtyard there. I didn't feel anything at the time, but after coming out, I developed an inexplicable palpitation."

Chen Shijie asked, "Did the Evil-Avoiding Almanac give any warning?"

"No." Zhao Xing shook his head. "That's why I said I discovered traces of the Xuantian Sect, not believers."

Chen Shijie nodded. Normally it would be impossible to detect; if one encountered someone at the Hall Master level, the Evil-Avoiding Almanac couldn't give warning either.

Otherwise they'd have been caught long ago — would they still be seen as a nuisance by the government office?

"Perhaps it was because I received too much spiritual grace on the mountain. Both Little Mountain Cat and I sensed the palpitation. As soon as we came out, it told me there were two bad people in that courtyard." Zhao Xing attributed the reason for the discovery to the mountain cat.

"Meow~" Little Mountain Cat raised its head — is that praising me?

"Based on my memory, I drew out the appearances of those two people…" Zhao Xing handed over the finished portrait.

Chen Shijie took the portrait, glanced at it, then put it away.

"You don't need to worry about this matter. I'll find someone to investigate these two people."

After a pause, Chen Shijie added, "For now this is only a suspicion. Don't mention it to others — first, I'm afraid the news might leak; second, I don't want you to invite any unnecessary trouble."

"I understand." Zhao Xing nodded. He only said this because he trusted Old Chen; if it were someone else, he might not even bother to come up with that excuse.

Otherwise, what if someone thought the mountain cat was extraordinary and wanted to borrow it for their own use?

So Zhao Xing didn't speak in absolutes either, using words like "suspected" and "possibly."

Old Chen's attitude was decent too — he knew to consider Zhao Xing's interests.

Setting aside the matter of credit, he trusted that Old Chen would certainly extract him from this affair.

As for whether Old Chen believed it, and how he used this intelligence once he did, Zhao Xing didn't think about it further.

His own slight frame was too green; big matters still had to rely on Old Chen to charge ahead.

The day after returning to Huicheng, which was also the last day of September, Zong Zong Shichang sent someone with good news: there was a lead on the Dao-Transmission paintings.

Zhao Xing hurried to the Zong residence and met Zong Zong Shichang and Steward Tang.

"Young Master Zong, the Dao-Transmission paintings are settled?"

Zong Zong Shichang waved his hand and said, "If it can be solved with money, how could I not handle it? They've already arrived! Uncle Tang."

Steward Tang carried over several long boxes.

Zong Zong Shichang patted the boxes and said, "Four Dao-Transmission paintings in total."

"One of them is the one I agreed on with you — you don't need to pay extra."

"Another two were found for you by Lu Qian, and they've already been paid for."

"Only this last one requires you to pay."

Zhao Xing didn't waste words: "How much?"

Zong Zong Shichang said, "This fourth-grade superior painting from the Dili Sect — I acquired it from the Cao family. It's untouched, with four remaining chances for comprehension. I'm not profiting off you; the original price is three thousand two hundred taels, so just give me three thousand two hundred taels."

"Deal." Zhao Xing felt the price was steep but worth it. After selling off those treasures, he had nearly four thousand taels in liquid funds, so he paid on the spot.

As for the other three paintings, those were obtained by selling battle compositions and battle verses — no extra cost needed.

Steward Tang accepted the banknotes, cupped his hands in salute, and took his leave, leaving Zong Zong Shichang and Zhao Xing to chat privately.

"Lu Qian asked me to pass on a message. She says these two paintings aren't enough to repay your favor, and she'll find you a fourth-grade painting later. Brother Zhao, teach me — how did you coax that fiery girl into being so compliant?"

"When she talked to me, the way her eyes went when your name came up — utterly tender as melting water, heh heh heh."

Zong Zong Shichang was now full of admiration for Zhao Xing. To have even Lu Qian wrapped around his finger — simply a divine man!

"Don't speculate wildly." Zhao Xing said, "High mountains and flowing waters seek a kindred spirit — she's paying for art!"

"I see. Looks like I'll have to learn some proper art from now on." Zong Zong Shichang said thoughtfully.

"Alright, let's not talk about that for now. Let me borrow your fine place to comprehend the paintings."

"Sure, pick any room in the Listening Water Pavilion." Zong Zong Shichang pointed at the mountain cat and said, "Let me borrow this little cat for a cuddle?"

"Sure, just give it something to eat."

"Easy. I've prepared plenty of large yellow croakers — guaranteed to be enough!"

Zhao Xing rolled up the boxes, found a secluded room in the Zong residence, and set the boxes down.

"Fourth-grade Dao-Transmission paintings — I saw one before at my teacher's place, a copy of 'The Myriad Things Grow.' With just one chance, I comprehended 【Wild Growth】 and 【Earth Vein Comprehensive Origin】."

"At the time, all my spells were still very rudimentary. Now, most are at nine revolutions, and some are maxed out." A hint of anticipation flickered in Zhao Xing's eyes.

Dao-Transmission paintings yield different comprehensions depending on when you view them.

The less you've accumulated, the less you gain from them.

The more you've accumulated, the greater the harvest!

"I hope I can make some breakthroughs this time."

Zhao Xing took a deep breath, opened the first box, and drew the painting out from its scroll case.