Chapter 300: Reluctance

Ink Painting was a bit surprised. He thought for a moment, then felt it wasn't that serious.

"Just asking about the difference in evil arrays, it's not like I'll actually learn it, right...?"

Bai Zi Sheng thought for a bit, but still had a firm expression. He shook his head and said,

"Others might not, but you definitely will learn it!"

Regardless of whether it's an evil array or a demon array, it inherently deviates from the Great Dao and uses shortcut array methods.

Orthodox array methods are very difficult to learn.

If you want to learn them well, you need to take it step by step, build a solid foundation, draw array methods again and again, strengthen your divine sense bit by bit, and finally after years and months, you can naturally succeed and achieve something in array methods.

Some evil and demonic cultivators, eager for quick success and instant benefits, are unwilling to put in hard work and want to make progress quickly. They then think of some side doors, left paths, and methods that harm heaven and people to forcibly elevate array method power.

Evil arrays and demon arrays are easier to learn compared to orthodox array methods.

And one is orthodox, one is evil, mutually opposite. A general array master might not be able to comprehend, but an array master with innate talent like Ink Painting will essentially understand with just a little guidance.

Although Bai Zi Sheng was unwilling to admit it in his heart, Ink Painting was the most outrageously talented in array methods he had seen among cultivators of similar age.

He learned orthodox array methods so quickly, let alone learning those evil and demonic outsider array methods.

Even if Mister Zhuang just points out a few principles, he might figure out the evil array himself.

And once he falls into evil and demonic ways, there's no turning back.

Bai Zi Sheng looked at Ink Painting and quickly warned him,

"You absolutely must not ask Mister Zhuang, otherwise you will definitely make Mister angry! Evil arrays are not presentable; it's fine not to ask about them."

"Really?" Ink Painting was a bit doubtful.

He didn't really want to learn any evil arrays; he just wanted to have a way to cope the next time he encountered one, to avoid being tied up and falling into a difficult situation.

"Really!" Bai Zi Sheng's expression was serious.

"Alright then."

Listen to people's advice and eat a full meal.

Since both Bai Zi Sheng and Bai Zi Xi said so, then he wouldn't worry about it for now and would see about it later if there was an opportunity.

"Right, you entered Hei Shan Zhai, how did you get out again?" Bai Zi Sheng asked curiously.

So Ink Painting recounted his "feat" of being led by the third boss and walking out of Hei Shan Zhai's gate upright and grandly.

Bai Zi Sheng listened, extremely shocked, and immediately said, "You're bragging!"

"Don't believe me then forget it."

Ink Painting's expression didn't seem fake. Bai Zi Sheng was a bit conflicted, then asked, "Then what happened?"

Ink Painting then simply told the subsequent events, including the matter of tricking those several evil cultivators to their deaths.

Bai Zi Sheng's expression was serious. He pondered for a long time, finally made up his mind, and said seriously,

"Based on your courage and actions, I have decided not to accept you as my little brother anymore."

"Ah?"

"You can be upgraded and be my junior brother!"

Ink Painting was not interested. He pursed his lips, "I'm not rare."

Bai Zi Sheng was shocked again, "You're not rare to be a junior brother?"

"What's there to be rare about?"

"This is my junior brother! General cultivators, even the direct descendants of the Zhao family, Li family, and Shen Tu family, want to be my junior brother, and I all disdain them."

Bai Zi Sheng vigorously persuaded Ink Painting.

Ink Painting thought for a bit and asked, "We are both nominal disciples of Mister Zhuang; we shouldn't be considered senior and junior brothers of the same sect, right?"

"A nominal disciple is also a disciple!" Bai Zi Sheng insisted.

"That's still not right. I entered first; by rights, I am the senior brother, and you are my junior brother."

Bai Zi Sheng was stunned and couldn't help but jump up immediately, "Impossible!"

If he couldn't be the "big brother," then forget it; being the "senior brother" was also acceptable, but now not only could he not be the senior brother, he might even fall to being the "junior brother"!

Bai Zi Sheng couldn't accept it!

"I'm older than you, I'm the senior brother!"

"I entered earlier than you, you have to call me senior brother!"

Bai Zi Xi was at the side, watching them argue endlessly, then picked up the book again and read elegantly and quietly.

Under the large locust tree, crisp voices were noisy, both chaotic and harmonious.

Until the sky gradually darkened, the several people each went home, and the mountain residence quieted down.

The night was quiet, moonlight sprinkled down, plating a shallow layer of silver glow on the mountain scenery and the bamboo grove of the mountain residence.

Mister Zhuang in the bamboo room slowly opened his eyes, looking at the mountain scenery draped in moonlight, silently lost in thought.

He didn't know when, Kui Lao quietly and soundlessly appeared, his voice as dry and hoarse as ever:

"Your injury has become heavier."

"It was originally this heavy." Mister Zhuang's tone was flat, without joy or anger.

Kui Lao was silent, then said indifferently,

"The injury has become heavier, then you should leave."

Mister Zhuang did not answer.

"Reluctant to part?" Kui Lao's voice was wooden.

Mister Zhuang stretched lazily, smiled perfunctorily, "Yes ah, the scenery here is good, the days are leisurely, there is food and drink. Leaving like this is really a bit reluctant."

"Are you reluctant about these?"

Mister Zhuang was still looking at the distant dark mountain scenery and did not speak.

"Don't get too deeply involved in karma." Kui Lao reminded again.

"Wait a little longer," Mister Zhuang thought for a moment and sighed, "Wait until I have taught everything that should be taught... leaving just like this, I'm not too at ease."

Kui Lao frowned, "Staying in one place for a long time, if your position is calculated out, then life and death are hard to say."

"I have a plan, there is still time." Mister Zhuang's expression was still very composed.

"It's good that you have a plan, anyway, it's your own life."

Kui Lao said faintly, and after that, said nothing more.

The bamboo room fell into a piece of silence.

The night deepened, and the moonlight also gradually became cold.

After a long time, Mister Zhuang opened his mouth and said,

"Kui Lao, you say... how long can I hide?"

The room was still silent.

Kui Lao didn't know where he went, didn't know if he wasn't here, couldn't hear, so didn't answer; or heard, but didn't know how to answer, so also didn't answer.

Mister Zhuang's gaze was profound, slightly smiling with self-mockery.

Ink Painting returned home, ate dinner, returned to his room, then lay on the small desk and began to draw the Ni Ling Zhen.

He had already learned this array method. Now practicing it again was to temper his divine sense and elevate his proficiency in order to better master this array method.

The one-grade ten-mark Ni Ling Zhen was very difficult to learn and also laborious to practice.

Ink Painting could only just barely draw it out. His brushwork was not skilled, the array marks were not clear enough, his understanding of the array hub was not deep enough, and his divine sense was only barely sufficient. So there were still many places that needed practice, and he also needed to practice many times to be considered to have completely mastered it.

Ink Painting lay on the desk, fully concentrating, his small hand holding the pen, slightly strenuously drawing the Ni Ling Zhen.

When he finished drawing one time, his divine sense was almost exhausted, and he then meditated quietly to restore his divine sense.

At the same time, evil thoughts would also emerge, constantly breeding and disturbing Ink Painting's state of mind.

Ink Painting then, according to Mister Zhuang's words, used evil thoughts to refine his heart.

Once evil thoughts were born in his heart, he didn't fear or evade them. His heart was like a bright mirror, reflecting on himself, offsetting the evil thoughts on one side, and at the same time, bit by bit, in the myriad desires, firming his original heart.

So he meditated for a while, and the evil thoughts gradually faded. Ink Painting's divine sense also gradually became full.

Ink Painting practiced the Ni Ling Zhen again, then rested for a while, and began to consider his next Foundation Establishment plan.

Before, he was just simply thinking about Foundation Establishment, but didn't know how to Foundation Establishment or what to prepare.

After asking Mister Zhuang, his understanding became a bit clearer.

Simply put, before Foundation Establishment, temper your divine sense as strong as possible. This way, after Foundation Establishment, your divine sense will multiply, building the foundation for you to prove Dao with divine sense in the future.

The first thing to do is still to cultivate, always cultivating to the ninth layer of Qi Refining.

Before, Ink Painting was thinking about quickly Foundation Establishment, so his mindset was a bit impatient. Now that he wanted to polish his realm and consolidate his divine sense, he wasn't so urgent.

Maintain a normal heart, cultivate diligently every day, and wait until it happens naturally. There's no need to rush for success.

Besides cultivation, the most important thing is divine sense.

He was now at the seventh layer of Qi Refining. He still had two small realm breakthroughs, and each breakthrough should enhance his divine sense somewhat.

Learning the Ni Ling Zhen and practicing with the help of the Dao Stele will cause his divine sense to grow steadily.

After mastering the Ni Ling Zhen, Mister Zhuang said he would teach him other things.

If Ink Painting's guess was not wrong, it should be how to utilize the Ni Ling Zhen to make the array method collapse.

Ink Painting remembered Mister Zhuang saying:

"When the array method collapses, the spiritual energy within the array method framework and array marks will form reverse chaos, conflict, constantly being born and destroyed, which will produce extremely strong spiritual energy fluctuations, possessing ultimate and unfathomable power..."

Ink Painting was extremely shocked and also extremely curious about how strong the power of array method collapse exactly was, strong enough to make even Mister Zhuang feel unfathomable.

Then, after finishing these, Mister Zhuang should still find some other array methods of Heavenly Dao anomalies and let him comprehend them.

Ink Painting really wanted to know what the power and effects of other Heavenly Dao anomalies' array methods were, and whether they also deviated from the ability scope of normal cultivators.

What were the differences between learning these array methods, the Ni Ling Zhen, and other ordinary one-grade array methods?

Finally, there was still the visualization diagram.

If the evil being's divine thought in the visualization diagram was not strong, couldn't he really rely on "eating the diagram" to enhance his divine sense?

Eating the diagram to refine divine sense, and evil thoughts to refine the heart.

With the Dao Stele suppressing it, the risk should not be as great as imagined.

But the matter of eating the diagram can only be a backup. Firstly, visualization diagrams are rare, and Ink Painting couldn't find them and didn't know where to find them.

Secondly, he couldn't see through the true form. Ink Painting also didn't know if the diagram's divine thought was evil or ghostly, strong or weak, so it was not good to act rashly.

"Let's talk about the visualization diagram later..."

Even if he didn't rely on the visualization diagram, if he completed the above matters, Ink Painting would also temper his divine sense further during Foundation Establishment, making it even stronger.

With powerful divine sense, learning two-grade array methods will be easy, and becoming a two-grade array master will be just around the corner.

How powerful are two-grade array methods, and what effects can they have?

If he learned two-grade array methods, would he be considered the youngest two-grade array master?

The cultivation world is vast, and there are numerous geniuses. Among two-grade array masters, even if he wasn't the youngest, he should at least be among the youngest batch.

Ink Painting felt a bit of longing in his heart and involuntarily felt grateful to Mister Zhuang.

Without Mister Zhuang's guidance, it would be impossible for his array methods to be learned so well and so quickly, let alone become a one-grade array master or even learn array methods above one-grade.

Thinking of this, Ink Painting unconsciously frowned again.

Mister Zhuang's recent appearance seemed a bit off.

Mister seemed to be more fond of sleeping, and compared to before, he was also easier to feel tired. He didn't know if there was some problem with his cultivation...

Although on the surface, he was still as lazy, as composed and free.

But Ink Painting's heart was meticulous, and having been with Mister Zhuang for so long, he could still detect some of Mister Zhuang's abnormalities.

"Mister... he's alright, right..."

Ink Painting was a bit worried.