A somewhat worn ancient painting hung on the wall.
The scene depicted in the painting was exactly the canyon world where Xu Ke and Li Fan had previously been, capturing the Rift Whale.
In this room, there were over thirty other scrolls hanging on the walls.
What surprised Li Fan was that some of the paintings seemed to be enveloped in a layer of mysterious energy, preventing outsiders from peering into them.
Even with his powers as the “Heavenly Fate Mystical Bird,” he could not discern the contents of these paintings.
A Azure luan bird flew out from one of the scrolls, gently placing Xu Ke on the ground. Afterward, it transformed into a streak of green light and disappeared into his embrace.
“Xu Ke is back!” A young cultivator who had been dozing off in the room immediately brightened up and rushed outside, shouting.
In no time, the already cramped room was flooded with a crowd of cultivators.
“It’s good that he’s back. He must have successfully found that Rift Whale, right?”
“Yeah, once Xu Ke returns, that guy Lu Ya should head back too, right?”
“That jerk, always bullying people because he has a strange beast! Too outrageous!”
“Senior Brother Liu, last time you sparred with Lu Ya, he didn’t even summon his beast, the ‘Tian Wu,’ and you still ended up begging for mercy!”
“That was a mistake! If I had another chance…”
“Shh! Lu Ya is here!”
“Ah…”
The noisy group instantly fell silent.
They even made way for him, allowing Lu Ya to walk in smoothly.
Lu Ya, with yellow hair and a cold expression, walked straight towards the sleeping Xu Ke, ignoring the varied reactions from the other cultivators around him.
He glanced at Li Fan briefly before his eyes softened when they landed on Xu Ke’s face.
With a gentle wave of his hand, he lifted Xu Ke along with Li Fan.
Striding out of the room, a beast with the body of a tiger and the face of a man appeared in an instant.
“Tian Wu…” The aura emanating from the beast made Li Fan slightly uncomfortable, causing him to instinctively shrink deeper into Xu Ke’s hair.
The tiger-bodied, human-faced beast let out a roar, and Lu Ya leaped onto its back.
The beast Tian Wu glanced around in a show of might before soaring into the sky.
“Three years of hospitality from the Divine Brush Sect, Lu Ya is deeply grateful!”
“One day, I shall repay you all handsomely. For now, I bid you farewell. There’s no need to see me off!”
Lu Ya cupped his hands towards the ground below and spoke in a loud voice.
Without waiting for a response from the Divine Brush Sect, he flew off on Tian Wu, disappearing quickly into the sky.
“Such arrogance! He’s only relying on the power of the Beast Taming Sect!”
“Hmph, Lu Ya’s cultivation is already at the late Nascent Soul stage. With that Tian Wu beast, even our Senior Brother might not be his match.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like we can compete. We can’t just ask the elders to step in, right?”
“Forget it. With our Sect Leader in his current state, our Senior Brother is better off handling things.”
…
Before leaving, Li Fan faintly overheard some of their discussions.
Lu Ya, however, paid no attention and continued flying away with Xu Ke.
The landscape below constantly shifted as they traveled, passing through plains and mountains.
After more than twenty days of travel, the surroundings finally began to look familiar.
They had returned to the territory of the Beast Taming Sect.
“Without the White fog barrier, it was much easier for those in ancient times to travel freely.”
As Li Fan thought this, he sensed that his time in the Fallen Immortal Realm was nearing its end.
Finally, after sleeping throughout the journey, Xu Ke was woken up by Lu Ya.
“Huh? Senior Brother Lu Ya?”
Xu Ke groggily rubbed his eyes and, seeing Lu Ya standing tall with his robes billowing in the wind, asked in confusion.
“Where are we?” Still thinking he was dreaming, Xu Ke glanced around.
Li Fan gave him a sharp claw strike, jolting Xu Ke awake.
“Wow! Beast Taming Sect! I’m back!” Recognizing the familiar surroundings, Xu Ke jumped in excitement.
Lu Ya smiled faintly.
He patted Xu Ke’s head and began asking about his three years of searching for the Rift Whale.
Xu Ke, of course, complained endlessly about his hardships.
After comforting and praising him, Lu Ya’s expression turned serious as he brought up an important matter.
“Next, I have a task of even greater importance for you.”
Hearing that he had to head out again right after returning, Xu Ke’s face fell.
However, seeing Lu Ya’s solemn expression, Xu Ke nodded and agreed.
“Senior Brother Lu Ya, what is it?”
“I need you to go to Nanming and deliver something for me,” Lu Ya said gravely.
“Nanming? I think I’ve heard of that place…” Xu Ke scratched his head, pondering for a moment before realizing.
“Oh! It’s the place with lots of demonic beasts, right?”
Just as Li Fan was about to listen more closely, he suddenly noticed the surrounding scenery and sounds becoming blurry.
“This…”
Despite his reluctance, he could not defy the rules of the Fallen Immortal Realm.
In the next moment, after a dizzying sensation, Li Fan returned to the Tianxuan Mirror.
“Divine Brush Sect, Nanming…”
Li Fan reflected on his experiences in the Fallen Immortal Realm. After a brief pause, he began searching within the Tianxuan Mirror.
The Divine Brush Sect was a mid-tier sect during ancient times.
They practiced a unique path, using brushes as their primary tool. It was said that both their calligraphy and paintings could communicate with the divine.
The disciples of this sect were all highly skilled in calligraphy and painting, and there were even legends of them bringing creatures to life through their art.
Unfortunately, after several great calamities in the world, very few of their works survived.
Even when Li Fan had visited the Divine Relic Museum, he didn’t find any surviving works from the sect.
In today’s cultivation world, there are few records of Divine Brush Sect cultivators. Most of those mentioned were obscure figures with little fame.
The only notable figure in history was a former Sect Leader, Chu Youhong.
Chu Youhong, at the Nascent Soul stage, took over as Sect Leader on the deathbed order of his predecessor.
Due to his low cultivation level and weak strength, he was often looked down upon by the sect’s disciples.
However, out of respect for the Sect Leader’s title, there was no open rebellion.
Chu Youhong didn’t seem to mind and treated the disciples kindly, never displaying the authority of a Sect Leader.
Despite this, he diligently fulfilled his duties as Sect Leader.
He managed all sect affairs personally, no matter how small.
Externally, he maintained good relations with many neighboring sects.
Thanks to his tireless efforts, the Divine Brush Sect gradually recovered from the leadership crisis that followed the sudden death of the previous Sect Leader.
Through these accomplishments, the disciples slowly began to recognize Chu Youhong’s leadership.
And when one of Chu Youhong’s mortal disciples surpassed him in cultivation, becoming incredibly powerful, Chu Youhong’s position as Sect Leader was finally secured.
Just as things were looking up for the Divine Brush Sect, a disaster struck.
The talented disciple, the Sect’s Senior Brother, was actually a spy sent by another sect—the “Pointillism Sect.”
His target was the Divine Brush Sect’s most prized artifact, the “Heavenly Painting Brush.”
One night, with inside help from the spy, the Pointillism Sect launched a surprise attack on the Divine Brush Sect.
The Divine Brush Sect suffered heavy casualties, nearly facing total annihilation.