Chapter 77 Ink Painting: "I want you to give me one more thing."...

Half an hour ago.

Lin Feiran and Wei Chang parted ways. As she pondered, she suddenly heard Ru Xian ask, "I thought you were going to take your sword and stop them one by one."

Lin Feiran snapped out of his daze and said in surprise, "Not to mention the limited spiritual energy here, even without the limitations, I still couldn't fight a hundred people by myself."

As if knowing she had more to say, Ru Xian crossed his arms and followed her step by step: "Tell me your thoughts."

Lin Feiran pondered for a moment before speaking: "At this moment, the list of names is almost frozen, which means that those on the list are all people who have committed slaughter... I don't have any grand ideas, but I can't help but wonder, is the righteous path inferior to the evil path? Why is honestly breaking through the barriers less satisfying than wielding a butcher's knife?"

I don't have any particular thoughts, just indignation and resentment.

Ru Xian looked at her with a smile: "So?"

Lin Feiran said, "Therefore, I will break through all the checkpoints in Chuncheng and let everyone see that the righteous path is far more stable and reliable than the evil path."

He paused slightly, glancing at Lin Feiran's puzzled expression, then leaned forward slightly. A barely perceptible glint of light flowed from his fingertips, shining in their eyes. He whispered in her ear.

“Those saints always seem to be eyeing you, so I won’t say much. But you know what I’ve recovered. Even though most of my spiritual veins are sealed, punishing a group of novice cultivators is hardly a difficult task. If you want, I can take action, as long as you…”

"I don't want to." Lin Feiran's expression remained unchanged, his eyes clear and upright. "I know your cultivation is profound. Although I don't know what method you used, you can break the spirit-binding array set up by the sage so easily. What difficulty would it be for you to deal with a group of cultivators in the Mind-Questioning Realm? But if that's the case, I am no different from them."

Ru Xian straightened up and looked at her meaningfully: "You refused before the conditions were even stated? It's not like it's going to kill you, it's not difficult for you."

Lin Feiran shook his head again, staring intently at him for a long time, before walking towards one of the market stalls with an ever-burning lamp.

"I just want to tell everyone that the levels are not insurmountable. If you can't do it, practice more."

Halfway there, noticing the person behind him hadn't followed, he turned around, his eyes filled with confusion: "What's wrong?"

Ru Xian merely raised an eyebrow at her, displaying a haughty air. Seeing her stop and wait, she turned back and walked to her side. Only then did her expression soften slightly. She said, "Why are you in such a hurry? I haven't finished speaking. Since you don't want me to make a move like this, then I'll take the flower token. That shouldn't go against your bottom line, right?"

As a member of the demon race, Ru Xian followed her into the Flying Flower Gathering. Although he did not have the complete list of beauties, judging from the previous situation, he was capable of breaking through the barrier. However, the flower token he obtained after breaking through the barrier could only be used by her.

If he is willing to lend a hand, that would be even better.

Lin Feiran pondered for a moment, and many questions inexplicably arose in his mind. What did he want after going through so many twists and turns?

What are your conditions?

Ru Xian looked down at her, his thin lips slightly curved, and his dark green pupils shimmered with colorful light. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I want you to give me one more thing."

Lin Feiran was very puzzled. As the ruler of a realm, he lacked nothing except for the spiritual herbs in the Pilgrimage Valley. Moreover, the old man had said that he didn't want anything when he was fishing at the altar. How come he had something now?

But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a little amused. He was too straightforward. Who asks for a gift so openly?

She composed herself, her eyes flickering slightly, and asked, "What do you want?"

Ru Xian glanced at her and said matter-of-factly, "What gift you want to give is up to you. Do you expect me to worry about it? What's the difference between that and me giving myself a gift?"

Lin Feiran couldn't help but chuckle: "I understand, but I still have a question."

Ru Xian looked at her, and since she was in a good mood, she nodded and said, "You may ask."

Lin Feiran asked, "I'm a little curious, why did you suddenly think of giving a gift?"

Ru Xian crossed her arms and remained silent, just watching her. After a moment, she turned and walked away, her voice cool as jade: "Because I'm giving you something, you have to reciprocate."

When he was fishing at the altar in Peach Blossom Spring, his mind was actually blank. He didn't have anything he wanted most. Although the spiritual herbs in Pilgrimage Valley were important, they couldn't be called "most".

He always believed in the principle that if he wanted something, he should take it with his own hands and never rely on a wine jar of unknown origin.

That was indeed what he thought, but after seeing Lin Feiran walk back from the stream, her thoughts gradually filled in, filled with her forlorn expression.

It's unclear what she saw in the altar, but her usually calm expression turned somber. She walked to the stream and sat down, soaking wet, whimpering like a stray puppy with nowhere to go.

Then a strange feeling welled up in his heart, emotions he had never experienced before, stirring, entangling, piling up, and enveloping him.

In his confusion, he thought that if she were willing to come to his side, bury her face in his knees, and ask him for a little comfort, he would not hesitate to offer her some of the king's magnanimity.

But she simply squatted down beside the old man, without even glancing at him.

When Ru Xian saw the contents of the jar, he suddenly laughed. It wasn't out of joy or pleasure, but simply out of a sense of absurdity, because it was so bizarre that he laughed.

The gift has already been given away, so there's no point in keeping it. Naturally, it should be given back, but he doesn't intend to give it back tactfully and then say something like, "Just be happy, there's no need to reciprocate."

This is so unlike him.

If it were an ordinary person, he would simply give it away; he wasn't a stingy person. But if it was given to Lin Feiran, he would definitely reciprocate.

There was no reason, he just wanted it.

He wanted it, so he told her in advance to avoid getting so angry at her that he would collapse. He never wronged himself.

Lin Feiran then snapped out of his reverie about the "gift" and nodded, saying, "I know. If there's anything urgent, I'll let you know... You can also tell me if you need anything."

Ru Xian smiled slightly, but did not reply. She walked into the market to complete the challenge and obtain the flower token.

Lin Feiran also pulled herself out of the question of "why he gave her a gift" and walked into the flower shop in front of her.

At this moment, apart from a smiling old woman, there was no one else in the neighborhood. After the ambush just now, the killers had already hidden in the shadows to recuperate, lest someone steal the chart along with it. Few had broken through the barrier, and no one had yet reached this place.

Seeing that no one was around, Lin Feiran summoned the chart from inside the house and examined it carefully.

On the chart, five types of flowers are colored: a summer lotus she brought before the Flying Flower Gathering, a gladiolus and apricot she obtained when leaving Tianzhu, a cinnabar flower she won when she fought against Hanshan Jun, and three peach blossoms she had previously obtained.

The area where the osmanthus was originally located also had a touch of osmanthus yellow, but after being used by Ru Xian, it has completely faded away, leaving only the original ink color.

Once a flower pattern is used in the chart, it cannot be used again.

As for the rankings, the winner of this Flying Flower Gathering is the first to collect all twelve types of flower tokens. If she is not mistaken, the rankings are based on the types and quantities of the twelve flower tokens. The one with more types ranks first. If the number of types is the same, the rankings are based on the number of flower tokens.

Lin Feiran put away the scorebook, looked up and quietly observed the list of names, his gaze falling on the two characters "Chenfeng" at the top of the list.

She had already guessed that this Chenfeng was Qi Chen. Considering his relationship with Chenghua, she realized that he would never use the method of creating flowers from flesh and blood. Perhaps... he was currently hiding with Chenghua and had no intention of obtaining the flower token.

After all, orange blossoms were also chosen as one of the flower growers, and they were the Danruo flowers that everyone wanted, which could be stolen from other people's flower catalogs.

However, Qi Chen has not fallen from the top of the list so far, which means that many people on the list only differ in the number of flower orders, but the types are not much different. If she wants to be at the top, she must start with the types.

Having made up her mind, Lin Feiran turned to look at the old woman and asked, "What kind of game is this?"

The old woman smiled and unfurled the scroll in her hand. Thousands of characters flew out from it, exuding a rich fragrance of ink, but their shapes were not very well formed, only showing radicals and components.

"In the vast world, water falls as rain, stones pile up to form mountains, and rushing forth becomes fire. Within words are countless images, all contained within a tiny wild chrysanthemum."

It turns out to be the Chrysanthemum Order.

Lin Feiran recalled the chess formation that Murong Qiudi had set up, and her interest was piqued. She leaped into the world of ink and brush, grasped the mast with her hand, stepped on the tow rope with her feet, and casually pulled. The left part of the seal script character "boat" was immediately lifted up, like a sail, carrying her across the ink river, riding the wind and waves.

As she sailed through the rivers, transforming words into fish, and heading towards the rising sun, a few remaining challengers returned to this place, their faces somber and their expressions somewhat defeated.

This is their sixth time coming here to collect chrysanthemum tokens.

In the world of ink and brush, success is achieved by navigating a ship into the rising sun. But regardless of the fish and giant beasts along the way, even if one manages to defeat them and gain the upper hand, one still cannot cross to the sun.

It hangs in the air, seemingly within reach, yet every time you think you're about to arrive, it turns out to be a thousand miles away.

"What's the use of hard work? Sometimes it's better to just take action. You can get a Chrysanthemum Order right away and avoid failing and starting over again and again." Someone lamented.

His companions knew he was just complaining and didn't mean any harm, so they could only comfort him, saying, "Maybe we'll get through this time. I already have some experience dealing with underwater fish and beasts, so please watch me show you my skills!"

One person stopped him: "I know you want to unlock it, but don't do it yet. Take a look, there are other people who have broken through here!"

The group looked surprised and walked together to the old woman. They saw a woman in black setting sail on the scroll, her expression calm.

Occasionally, in the rushing river below the boat, ink-like shapes leap out of the water. Upon closer inspection, one can discover that these ink-like shapes are actually fish-like beasts drawn in a tangled mess. They resemble fish but are not fish, and are quite large with sharp teeth and mouths. In one bite, they can bite off half of the ink mark from the "boat," and it will sink to the bottom in no time.

Emerging from the water alongside the fish were many slender, dark figures; these were not fish or beasts, but rather radicals or components that leaped up together.

If it were them, they would have taken the "sharp knife" that leaped out and used it as a blade to cut down the fish-beast. But the female cultivator did not do the same. Instead, she turned around and took a few radicals, simply spelled out the character "door", and placed it on both sides of the ship's side. Then the fish-beast leaped into the door and disappeared without a trace.

Upon seeing this, one of the cultivators gasped, "They can even spell words like that?"

The other person said knowingly, "Of course, of course! We were in such a hurry before that the words we spelled out were complicated and difficult to use, such as 'eliminate,' 'slay,' and 'annihilate,' and we even forgot about the shape of 'door.' We don't need to slay, we just need to move it. It's wonderful!"

"But how can we catch up with the sun? We built large ships and had the east wind blowing, but we still couldn't catch up. How will she do it?"

Several people curiously peeked out, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Having relieved the threat of the fish and beasts, the female cultivator seemed to ponder for a moment before walking to the side of the boat. She scooped up several "dots" and "strokes" from the leaping radicals, slowly connecting the "strokes" to form three long ropes. She then hastily wove the bottom of the ropes into a small net, turned around, and scooped up all the "dots" into it before throwing them into the riverbed.

In calligraphy practice, the dot, though the shortest and simplest stroke, is the most difficult to write. When putting pen to paper, one should feel as if a thousand pounds are being lifted, yet only a single point remains. This character happens to possess this very essence.

When such a heavy object falls into the river, it is like a boat dropping anchor. In just a moment, the boat will come to a quiet stop on the river surface, no longer moving forward even an inch.

The group looked puzzled, exchanged glances, and then looked back at the scroll. They saw a dark sun hanging above the small boat that had just come to rest.

Someone suddenly had a flash of insight and exclaimed, "We all forgot that this is within a scroll. The sun and the ship are only slightly offset vertically. So the ship moves while the sun moves. The faster our ship was blown by the wind, the faster the sun moved. If we chased the sun with the ship, we would probably die before we could catch up!"

After his explanation, the others suddenly understood, their eyes shining with admiration: "Who is this fellow Daoist? He truly has a brilliant mind!"

Amidst everyone's sighs, Lin Feiran had already spelled out the words to form a bird, which took flight and suddenly broke through the immovable ink sun, escaping the scroll.

Lin Feiran landed on the ground and estimated in his mind that it took less than fifteen minutes to break through the barrier, which was exactly as expected.

She turned around and looked at the group of people, knowing they were those who had broken through the barrier. She nodded slightly, greeted them, accepted the Chrysanthemum Order, and hurried to the next location.

Like the wind, it comes; like the wind, it goes.

"I'll try her method too; maybe we can both succeed today!"

"Yes, if we calculate it that way, all of us can win the Flower Token, which is five in total. It's much more worthwhile than killing someone!"

"Watch your words! You haven't actually been thinking about it, have you?"

Some people remarked, "I wonder who this friend is. If we could follow her, maybe we'd have a chance this time!"

Unbeknownst to them, in the next half hour, many more people would share the same sentiment.

From then on, the name "Wenran" began to appear frequently on the list of famous people.

Aside from a few scattered individuals, almost no one in the city knew who Wen Ran was, but her name was deeply etched into the eyes of every cultivator that night, and into the hearts of everyone who witnessed her breakthrough.

Some people have even followed her and broken through the barrier together. Before anyone knew it, "Wenran" had become the leader of those who broke through the barrier.

Looking at the list of names, someone couldn't sit still any longer and stood up, saying, "At this rate, Wen Ran might actually reach the top within four hours!"

Just as Lin Feiran had predicted, after several nights of fighting and battles, the cultivators in the city had already formed several small alliances, and at this point she was too conspicuous, which had already caused displeasure among them.

Especially those killers who choose to ambush.

Some of them didn't even believe that "Wenran" was honestly breaking through the barriers, but thought that this person had discovered some shortcut to obtaining flowers. Otherwise, how could an ordinary person break through several barriers in such a short period of time?

Lin Feiran glanced at the crowd following behind her and walked along the street. Suddenly, a peach charm came flying at her. She immediately turned around to avoid it and looked up.

It was the same group of people who had tried to ambush her at the inn earlier.

Ding Ming smiled, the lotus shadows beneath his feet dissipating, his face beaming with joy: "We've been following you for a long time, Fellow Daoist Wen. Why not give us the flower tokens you've painstakingly collected? That way, we might spare your life!"