Chapter 484: Painted Scroll

Inside an inn at Fengxue Pass.

"Excuse me, excuse me," the waiter said, deftly carrying a wooden tray laden with a large bowl of porridge, a steamer of buns, and a plate of pancakes, as he made his way toward the guests on the second floor.

Suddenly, the porridge, buns, and pancakes on his tray vanished into thin air. At the same time, a silver ingot appeared on the tray.

"Huh?" The inn's waiter's eyes widened in fright. "Where's the porridge? Where are the buns? The pancakes?" The waiter was bewildered. He cautiously picked up the silver ingot with his right hand and hurried downstairs. "Uncle, uncle, look!"

Meng Chuan remained seated at his table, before which a bowl of porridge, a steamer of buns, and a plate of pancakes had now appeared.

"Breakfast is ready," Meng Chuan said, turning his head to look beside him. The dining table was empty, and he was alone. "I need to get used to being by myself," he thought, then lowered his head and began to eat, just as he always had, heartily consuming the porridge, buns, and pancakes. Soon, everything was eaten clean.

After finishing his meal, Meng Chuan sat at the table, understanding clearly in his heart: "I must cultivate. As the human world and the demon world gradually draw closer, more and more world entrances will appear. This war hasn't been completely won yet; I must become stronger."

"Only by becoming stronger will I not need Qiyue to awaken and desperately use her Phoenix Nirvana in the face of danger. If this war is lost, it will be a catastrophe, and the efforts of countless gods and demons will have been in vain. We have already sacrificed too much; we must win. I must cultivate."

Meng Chuan walked into the courtyard, his Demon Slaying Blade hanging at his waist. He drew his blade from its sheath. Meng Chuan furrowed his brow and swung his blade again. He practiced his sword strokes repeatedly for a short while.

"My mind is affected; I can't devote myself entirely to cultivation," Meng Chuan said, frowning as he stood in the courtyard. "Without full immersion, there's no hope of improvement."

Whether it was the Cloud Mist Dragon-Snake movement technique, which he wanted to advance from late-stage Cavern Heaven Realm to 'Cavern Heaven Perfection,' or creating the ultimate unique skill 'Endless Blade,' complete dedication was the fundamental requirement.

If one's mind is affected and constantly distracted, no progress is possible.

"I can't control my mind." "What should I do?" Meng Chuan pondered.

Ordinary emotions can be easily cast aside, perhaps even forgotten quickly. But true feelings, deeply embedded in one's life, are difficult, perhaps impossible, for even peerless heroes to forget. Zhenwu King himself had been devastated by emotional setbacks, falling into a long period of decline. Did he wish to decline? No! Zhenwu King also wanted to cultivate and grow stronger, but his emotional struggles made him completely doubt the path of cultivation, preventing him from moving forward. In the end, Zhenwu King never forgot, but instead forged a new path.

"What should I do?" Meng Chuan wondered. The intense loneliness and his longing for his wife were simply impossible to suppress.

"It's better to release than to suppress," Meng Chuan thought. "I need to let the intense emotions within me erupt—a complete outpouring. After that, perhaps things will calm down considerably."

Meng Chuan made his decision: "For me, the most suitable way to express these emotions is to pour them into painting. Starting from Fengxue Pass, I will revisit all the places where Qiyue and I lived for a long time, and infuse every profound memory and intense emotion into my paintings."

And so, Meng Chuan began to paint. In the ordinary residence at Fengxue Pass, Meng Chuan painted for two days and two nights; this was where he and his wife had lived the longest.

Next, he went to Jiangzhou City, which also held many memories. He had once lived in seclusion in an ordinary residence there, teaching his children, and had also defended Jiangzhou City...

He also visited Chu'an City, Changfeng City, Duyang City, and other places. As a defending god and demon, Liu Qiyue often rotated assignments, and Meng Chuan moved with her. For the couple, no matter where they lived, as long as they were together, it was home.

Then to Gushan Prefecture.

"Gushan Prefecture is completely desolate," Meng Chuan observed upon arriving. He came to the residence where he and his wife had once lived; they had visited and tidied it six months prior. "Back then, Qiyue and I lived in seclusion in Gushan Prefecture, hunting demons and rescuing people from all directions," Meng Chuan recalled, looking at the dwelling. "It was also here that Qiyue became pregnant and gave birth to An'er and You'er."

The couple stayed in Gushan Prefecture for six years. They were young then, just beginning to show their prowess, and together, they traversed the land as a formidable pair. Meng Chuan sat on a stone stool, painting: scenes of his wife's pregnancy, of An'er and You'er in their swaddling clothes with their parents coaxing them, and of the couple working together to rescue people and slay demons...

"Beihe Pass."

Meng Chuan arrived at Beihe Pass, which was also desolate. He went to the residence where he and his wife had once lived. After descending from Yuanchu Mountain, the couple came to Beihe Pass, where they fought battles, and it was also here that they married and became husband and wife. Meng Chuan stood in the familiar, abandoned manor, faintly envisioning the wedding scene from years ago: amidst the onlookers of numerous friends and relatives, including Zhang Yunhu, Fan Cheng, Shi Xiu, Yu Chiyan, Yang Xingwu, Mu Qing, and Dean Ge Yu, Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue paid respects to Heaven and Earth, officially becoming husband and wife.

Of those friends and relatives from back then, more than half had already passed away, some on their sickbeds, others in battles against demons.

"Yuanchu Mountain."

After painting for two days at Beihe Pass, Meng Chuan arrived at Yuanchu Mountain. He didn't visit the Venerables but returned to his own cave dwelling. "King Dongning," the new steward of the cave dwelling, a woman named He, greeted him. The former steward, Liu, had passed away years ago due to old age. "I'll be staying here for a few days," Meng Chuan said. "Yes, Your Majesty," the female steward replied, immediately arranging for servants to prepare the place. Looking at the cave dwelling, Meng Chuan remembered the days he and his wife spent cultivating on the mountain. It was here that they pledged to walk through life together, to fight side by side on the battlefield, risking life and death, slaying demons, and to be together in life and death. They shared eleven years of wonderful memories here.

Meng Chuan painted scene after scene, occasionally smiling as he did so. All his emotions for his wife flowed into his brush, depicting each memory.

After painting for two days and one night, as evening approached, Meng Chuan left his cave dwelling and went to Chixue Cliff. "Buzz." Countless images of gods and demons appeared on Chixue Cliff.

Meng Chuan watched, and among the countless images of gods and demons descending the mountain, he immediately spotted himself and Qiyue. Back then, he wore a dark green robe, combat boots, and the Demon Slaying Blade, his robe fluttering in the wind. Liu Qiyue wore a vibrant blue-red robe, carrying a divine bow and a quiver. They looked at each other, their smiles brilliant.

"How did the Chixue Cliff images appear?" Chixue Cliff was on the main peak, and disciples often came there. They naturally noticed the myriad images of gods and demons manifesting and immediately rushed over, curious. From a distance, they could see a white-haired man standing on Chixue Cliff, gazing at the countless divine and demonic images in mid-air. "What's happening?" "Only an elder can activate the Chixue Cliff images. Who triggered them?" Some disciples hurried closer, but by the time they arrived, the images had vanished, and Meng Chuan had also departed.

Meng Chuan returned to Dongning City, to the Meng Residence by Mirror Lake, the very place where they had first met.

Although a few servants maintained the Meng Residence by Mirror Lake, no one dared to move in without permission. This was, after all, the ancestral home of King Dongning and King Ningyue.

Walking through his extremely familiar old home, the layout was just as it had always been. When he was eight years old, his father's sworn brother, 'Liu Yebai,' led a slightly timid little girl to the Meng Residence by Mirror Lake. It was then that Meng Chuan, who had become somewhat reclusive due to intense cultivation after believing his mother had died, met this little girl. And so, they cultivated together and grew up together.

Meng Chuan sat in the training ground, beneath a large tree where he used to practice drawing his blade, and began painting scenes from his youth. This painting session lasted a full three days.

From Fengxue Pass, Jiangzhou City, Chu'an City, Changfeng City, Duyang City, Gushan Prefecture, Beihe Pass, Yuanchu Mountain cave dwelling, to the Meng Residence by Mirror Lake in Dongning City... Meng Chuan painted from the present back to his childhood, all compiled into an exceptionally long scroll. This was a very long scroll—fifteen zhang and three chi. It was the longest scroll Meng Chuan had ever painted.

Starting from the right, it depicted the two children's first meeting, their growth during youth, the battle at Xianshi Garden, Liu Qiyue's bloodline awakening during the demon invasion, Meng Chuan rushing to her rescue... Scene after scene, all the way until both of them had white hair, with white-haired Meng Chuan painting and white-haired Liu Qiyue smiling beside him. That was the scene Meng Chuan painted for his wife before she went into slumber on Yuanchu Mountain.

"Boom!" The exceptionally long scroll was partly rolled, partly floating. Meng Chuan stood in the training ground, beneath the large tree, feeling somewhat dazed as he gazed at the completed scroll. He picked up his brush and, on the far right, inscribed a few words: "Holding your hand, growing old together."