Chapter 281: Only the Expert Could Defeat the Expert
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The two cows sprinted toward each other as if they experienced a life-and-death separation.
They wished they could hug each other like humans.
Moo…
Moo…
Li Nianfan was touched by the sight. At the same time, he sympathized with them.
The two cows were emotional but could not speak. They could only express their emotions through sounds. So pitiful.
The two cows rubbed their heads against each other as if they were communicating and expressing affection.
‘There are too few cows in the Immortal Realm. This is probably the first time these two cows are meeting the same species. It’s unavoidable that they’re emotional. Seems like they’ll produce a lot of milk.’
The emotions of the cows would affect the taste of the milk.
Li Nianfan did not want to interfere with their bonding. He was about to leave.
Dragin jogged over with her short legs and asked excitedly, “Brother, why are you here? Do you have anything delicious for me?”
“No, I’m here to help the cow settle in.” Li Nianfan shook his head. Then, he thought about something and warned Dragin, “Don’t mess around and milk them for fun, okay?”
“Yeah, okay,” nodded Dragin.
Li Nianfan smiled. He told Nanan who was practicing nearby, “Nanan, watch over them!”
“Alright, Brother Nianfan.”
He was relieved.
The small cow waited until Li Nianfan left. It bit off a mouthful of grass and passed it to the big cow like it was a gift.
Moo, moo.
The big cow did not notice it at first. It simply swallowed it.
Then, it widened its eyes and jumped.
At that moment, it noticed its surroundings. From the air to the dirt, even the grass and the water, they were all irreplaceable treasures!
It could eat Spiritual Herbs, drink Spiritual Water, and eat unlimited Spiritual Fruits.
Never in its dreams did it imagine living in a paradise like that.
‘From now on, I don’t have to look for Spiritual Fruits around the world anymore. Everything here’s a precious treasure!’
The blessing of the expert!
If it knew, it would not have fought and resisted. It would have crawled its way here with its daughter!
It thanked the realm for not missing it out!
The big cow teared up and looked at its surroundings in a daze. It finally snapped out of it after the little cow mooed a few times.
It looked at its excited daughter seriously.
It could not allow its daughter to continue being playful. It had to discipline its daughter and teach her how to produce more delicious milk!
Since it was related to the cow mother-and-daughter business!
At the yard.
Everyone saw that Li Nianfan had returned. They quickly adjusted themselves.
Li Nianfan smiled and said, “Sorry for the long wait everyone.”
Payne hurriedly shook his head. “No worries. No worries at all. It wasn’t long at all.”
Li Nianfan was in a good mood because of the new cow. He said, “Xiao Bai, fill up their wine.”
Payne and the others were overjoyed. They hurriedly said, “Thanks, Mr. Li.”
Ye Liuyun had the painting scroll in his hand. He looked embarrassed. Xiao Bai filled his glass. He sighed softly and said, “Mr. Li, I don’t deserve this!”
“What?” Li Nianfan was slightly surprised. “Oh, yeah. You’re…”
Ye Liuyun clenched his jaw, stood up, and said, “Mr. Li, I’m the humble Ye Liuyun. I was the one who asked Cultivator Payne and the others to send you this painting.”
As he said that, he did not dare to look Li Nianfan in the eyes.
The expert obviously threw the painting in the garbage bin for him. The expert was hinting at him to admit to his mistakes.
Li Nianfan looked at Ye Liuyun and said, “I see.”
Ye Liuyun had a sincere attitude. He said in a low voice, “I offended you, Mr. Li. I’m too embarrassed to drink this wine.”
“Haha, why embarrassed?” laughed Li Nianfan. The painting fella was an honest guy.
He was competitive and aggressive at first, but it seemed like Li Nianfan had won him over with the painting. Li Nianfan felt proud of that.
He waved and said casually, “We’re all friends of art. It’s not a physical battle anyway, don’t be a stranger.”
Everyone was sweating bullets. They were frightened.
‘You demolished his entire palace. He was desperate because his butt was constantly being attacked. But it wasn’t considered a physical battle? What would happen if it was a physical battle?’
‘In conclusion, the expert…can’t be messed with!’
Li Nianfan was slightly embarrassed when Ye Liuyun reacted like that.
After all, he did crumple his painting and threw it into the garbage bin. It was rude because Ye Liuyun picked it up.
He raised his glass and smiled. “Alright. Since it’s a misunderstanding, we should toast to that and let it be bygones.”
“Oh, alright. Alright!” Ye Liuyun was thrilled. He hurriedly raised his glass and drank the wine.
Li Nianfan noticed that Ye Liuyun was still holding the painting scroll. He glanced at it from time to time. He looked slightly disturbed.
He realized.
Ye Liuyun was indeed a lover of paintings.
The painting probably became his grudge. If that was the case, Li Nianfan would be the bad guy.
He could form a good friendship with the bigshot through painting.
Li Nianfan groaned for a moment and asked, “Cultivator Liuyun, what do you think about the painting?”
Ye Liuyun answered genuinely, “Mr. Li, your art is wonderful. You easily painted such a lively scenery. I lost. I’m such an amateur.”
“That’s too humble of you, Cultivator Liuyun. Your painting skills are already hard to come by.” Li Nianfan laughed. Then, he asked, “I’m asking you if the painting can be improved?”
Improved?
Everyone was taken aback.
They all looked at the painting at the same time.
The fire was weak, the stormy rain poured, and the people were busy. The painting was extremely perfect. In their opinions, another stroke of paint would be extra and one less stroke of paint would be insufficient.
How could it be improved? Where?
Even Daji and the Fire Phoenix frowned. They fell into deep thought.
Cultivators would cultivate for their state of mind. Their goal was to break through and seek opportunities. That was a moment of cultivation for them.
They were all great cultivators so they could tell the expert was testing them.
Ye Liuyun stared dead at the painting and teared up.
Finally, he sighed and said in a helpless voice, “Mr. Li, I’m stupid. I can’t see it.”
“It’s in the details. It’s normal that you all can’t see it.” Li Nianfan smiled. “Daji, get me a brush.”
Daji stood up, smiled, and said, “Yes, sir.”
‘Here it comes!’
Everyone was flushed. Their breathing was heavy as their hearts raced. They were nervous and excited.
The expert was going to show them how in real life!
It was a huge honor to be able to witness the expert paint!
Ye Liuyun was trembling all over. Every cell in his body was active and his hair stood on end.
He hurriedly opened his painting scroll without a second thought, carefully flattening it with his hands. He did not dare to be too forceful. He would slap himself to death if he accidentally damaged anything.
Soon, Daji walked over.
“Here’s the brush.”
Li Nianfan nodded and held the brush. He stared at the painting with mysterious eyes.
The others widened their eyes at their maximum capacities. They wished they could burn the following sight into their minds.
The painting was made by Ye Liuyun to instigate Li Nianfan. Li Nianfan countered his challenge by degrading the fire in the painting.
It made Ye Liuyun rethink his life.
It was time to paint.
Li Nianfan smiled and lifted his hand. He slowly painted on the painting.
The brush stroke landed between the water and the fire. It was a heavy stroke. Then, it became calmer and softer…
Next, the second stroke.
The third stroke…
Every stroke seemed the same, but they were painted on different areas.
Li Nianfan was fast. Soon, marks were left in several areas of the painting. They were slightly transparent but they were there.
Bam!
Everyone was mind blown. Their skins crawled and they had goosebumps all over.
They were breathing heavily. They felt as if electricity was flowing through them. They felt slightly numb.
That was…
Smoke and mist!
Of course. It was a huge fire. How could smoke not be there?
Everyone stared at the painting without looking away.
It was only a few strokes but it changed the painting completely.
Smoke was everywhere because of the huge fire. It covered the edges and it had no weaknesses despite the pouring rain. The flames did not go out. It even turned the rain into steam. It became a misty scene!
The Fire Dragon was once again wild and aggressive with the help of the smoke. It was as if the dragon would fly up and challenge the sky!
Everyone was silent.
Their minds were buzzing. They were more shocked now compared to when Li Nianfan painted the storm.
Legendary touch. That was a legendary touch in a painting!
All of a sudden, the painting was no longer about water diminishing fire. The fire was fighting back, too. The two sides were balanced. No one was at a disadvantage.
The aura of the entire painting was instantly different, too. It contained more tension and competition as if it was a heated battle. The conflict between water and fire was perfectly captured. It was visually impactful.
Everyone held their breaths and looked at each other. They could see the admiration in each other’s eyes.
As expected, only the expert could defeat the expert.
Ye Liuyun was stumped. He was inspired. He felt like there was a thin layer of mist in front of him. He should have been able to easily fade it away but he could not touch it.
Li Nianfan put his brush aside. He smiled and asked, “How is it?”
Payne was trembling and mesmerized. He said, “Beautiful… Too beautiful. Mr. Li, your talent’s incomparable!”
Gu Yuan also exclaimed, “This painting perfectly captures the scene of conflict. The power of water and fire was brought out nicely. So amazing.”
In their eyes, it was not about water and fire. The painting contained Insights. It was a battle between the Power of Water and the Power of Fire. Tragically majestic!
“It isn’t a good choice to paint just one thing. Sometimes, contrast brings out the essence of an object.”
Li Nianfan paused before he continued, “Water and fire seemingly don’t get along with each other, but at the same time, they do. Fire can melt ice to form water. Water can turn into oxygen and gases that help fire ignite. The two exist together, inseparable. As the saying goes, lone Yin doesn’t last long, lone Yang doesn’t grow.”
‘Lone Yin doesn’t last long, lone Yang doesn’t grow.’
Everyone knew that the expert was talking about ultimate wisdom. Although they did not understand the phrases, the last sentence still hit them hard like a hammer.
He concluded the Theory of Existence in a few simple words!
“Lone Yin doesn’t last long, lone Yang doesn’t grow.” Ye Liuyun was affected the most. He instantly replayed the phrase in his mind like it was his morning alarm. He was mesmerized and could not help himself.
The mist in front of him slowly faded away, revealing everything.
He teared up and cried.
5,000 years!
It had been 5,000 years!
He thought he understood the Power of Fire perfectly. He did not improve because he could not see any breakthroughs.
His problem was right in front of him but he could not reach it. The feeling almost drove him insane.
However, at that moment, he had truly solved his problem and found renewed hope. How could he not cry from being emotional?
Of course, he used to chase after being the best at the Power of Fire. He only wanted to be good at using the Power of Fire. However… How would the lone Yang grow?
He understood it!
He was flushed and trembling from excitement.
He tried his best to control himself but he still could not help it. He bowed at Li Nianfan and said from the bottom of his heart, “Mr. Li, thanks for your guidance.”
He would kneel and worship the expert but he knew the rules.
Previously, he challenged the expert out of recklessness. The expert only punished him lightly. Not only did he bless him with opportunity, but he also gave him advice.
‘I’m just a puny Golden Immortal, why would the expert treat me so nicely?’
He was emotional, touched, guilty, embarrassed, fearful, and in admiration… He almost drowned in all sorts of emotions.
How could he repay such generosity?!
“No, no,” Li Nianfan hurriedly said. “It’s just a painting. I don’t deserve such politeness.”
Ye Liuyun said, “Mr. Li, not only do I want to thank you, but I also want to apologize for my previous behavior.”
Li Nianfan casually said, “It’s a small incident, you don’t have to.”
Ye Liuyun teared up again. He almost wept.
He was not a sentimental man. However, he was truly feeling touched by the actions of the expert.
Maybe that was the attractive personality of a bigshot.
He sneakily wiped his tears and said, “Mr. Li. I’ve disturbed you long enough today. I learned a lot. I should go now.”
Payne and the others also said, “Mr. Li, we’re about to leave, too.”
Li Nianfan smiled and saluted, “Safe journey, everyone.”
They walked out from the four-part architecture. Ye Liuyun suddenly stopped and bowed at Payne and the others. “Thank you, cultivators, for introducing me. I regret all my previous insults and offenses. If you ever need me, please, feel free to look for me.”
Payne smiled and said, “You’re too courteous, Liuyun Palace Master. From now on, we all work for the expert. We’re like colleagues now.”
“Haha, that’s right! I sure do hope that I can help the expert.” Ye Liuyun was already excited.
Payne continued to ask, “Liuyun Palace Master, are you about to breakthrough?”
Ye Liuyun nodded and said in a respectful voice, “The expert showed me the way.”
The four of them chatted and walked to the bottom of the mountain.
Suddenly, the trees rustled. A boar and a bear appeared. “Immortals, please, wait.”
The four of them immediately stopped and questioned them, “You two are?”
The Wild Boar Demon replied, “We work for Lord Daji. We need a favor from you.”
Ye Liuyun and the others were instantly attentive. All their judgments faded away as they said in a friendly tone, “Please, tell us, Cultivator Boar and Cultivator Bear. We’ll do our best to complete Goddess Daji’s task.”
The Wild Boar Demon said, “Lord Daji has requested for you to check the source of the Xuan Water Bracelet. Previously, somebody schemed against the expert and they were using the Xuan Water Bracelet.”
“Really?”
Ye Liuyun and the others did not look happy at all. They said in a cold voice, “That person hasn’t experienced death before! Please, inform Goddess Daji that we’ll investigate the matter!”
At the same time, they were secretly happy. They were worried that they could not help the expert until the next time they received a mission. They must not disappoint the expert!
The person was sacrificing himself to offer them an opportunity!
They all rubbed their hands. They were ready to fight.
“Sorry for the trouble, Immortals.” The Wild Boar Demon and Black Bear Demon nodded and were ready to leave.
“Please, wait.”
Ye Liuyun was holding a jar of medicine pills. He passed it to them. He smiled and said, “This jar of medicine pills will be helpful for you two. Please, accept it.”
The demons were inferior but they worked for Goddess Daji. Goddess Daji was close to the expert. Even if he was the Lord Immortal, he had to please them, too.
The Wild Boar Demon and the Black Bear Demon were instantly happy. “Thanks, Immortal.”
It was indeed nice to work for the expert. Even Immortals would please you.