Chapter 678: Why

Li Qi sat atop this tall building, the surroundings were actually very opulent, all the Spiritual Artifacts used were of Seventh Grade to Sixth Grade, which was quite extravagant; Li Qi's own home decorations had never been this lavish, many things in his Immortal Cave were Mortal objects, no different from what Mortals used.

For example, the two beautiful scroll paintings outside were definitely Sixth Grade Magic Treasures; those weren't living beauties, but were painted by Great Masters skilled in the art of painting, who observed the true charm of beautiful women, then drew them on paper and refined them, thus replicating their charm.

This kind of painting could even create Karma connections, and after the painting was completed, the two beautiful women who served as prototypes would also fall seriously ill, losing a portion of their cultivation, requiring time to stabilize and rest.

No other reason, their spiritual essence had been drawn into the paintings.

Painters of this technique were very hard to find; even in the world, one would have to queue.

In the world, such painters would be hired with extremely high remuneration to paint contemplation diagrams.

The Demonic Dao has a famous "Heavenly Demon Hundred Beauties Erotic Diagram", which contains Second Grade charm, depicting the Incarnations of Celestial Devils; the Celestial Devils personally served as models for the painter to copy, creating hundreds of beautiful Incarnations of Celestial Devils, observing it once, even gaining half a point of charm was extraordinarily beneficial, making it one of the Demonic Dao's supreme treasures.

Of course, a painter capable of creating such a "Heavenly Demon Hundred Beauties Erotic Diagram" would probably have to be at the level of a divine brush, beyond Li Qi's reach, but that's generally the approach.

This world has developed quite well in these branches, whether it's the sword art used by the swordsman he met before, or the painting technique here, both are quite good.

It's just that…

Civilization itself still resembles primitive society.

Yes, primitive society, not even reaching feudal society.

Feudal society still has organizational structure, but Immortal Heaven is even worse than feudal society, purely a primitive tribal system, only appearing civilized because of its powerful cultivators and advanced technology.

Li Qi shook his head, regrettably, here he couldn't easily spread the Dao; if he provoked a Fourth Grade Dao Integration, his life would be hard to preserve.

Therefore, upon arriving in the True World, it's best to focus on observation.

Observe and listen more, then seek an opportunity to find a way to leave the True World and go to the Immortal Heaven.

Thinking this, Li Qi sat up straight and asked Ling Xiao beside him: "Girl, who painted those two pictures outside?"

Hearing Li Qi's words, Ling Xiao immediately asked: "Senior, are you interested in this?"

"Somewhat interested, after all, the craftsmanship is quite good," Li Qi said.

"Senior's insight is truly remarkable, may I ask what makes it good?" Ling Xiao leaned over and asked.

Ling Xiao seemed very happy that Li Qi asked this question.

This also sufficiently proved that the other party was indeed not a maid; if she were a maid, she would absolutely not make such a gesture, this was already considered disrespectful.

Of course, Li Qi didn't care about such things, so he simply commented: "Observing the scrolls, the figures' movements and stillness, their demeanor is fully captured; the figures' adornments of pearls, jade, hairpins, and necklaces, their side and back views, the changes in their attire, their graceful turns, none lose their subtlety; a single stroke of the brush, neither red nor green, autumn melancholy and wild charm, naturally formed, indeed able to capture the spiritual essence."

This evaluation was very fair, and all words of praise, which made Ling Xiao even happier.

Actually, it wasn't without flaws, but Li Qi didn't mention them.

For Sixth Grade, being able to reach this level was already very good; there was no need to be overly demanding, Li Qi was actually a very lenient and easygoing person.

"Senior indeed has good judgment, because the two paintings outside are precisely my work," Ling Xiao said proudly.

This made Li Qi look at her more closely.

At this moment, he truly looked at her properly for the first time.

Yes, until now, Li Qi had finally looked at her squarely; before, Li Qi had simply ignored her.

Just like a rabbit, immersed in its own world, basically ignoring external matters.

Li Qi used to not space out like this, and the rabbit also learned some ways of feigning compliance from Li Qi.

This could also be considered a form of marital harmony in a sense.

Returning to Li Qi's gaze, he seriously looked at the other party.

Ling Xiao was a very pretty young girl, with exquisite features, slightly shorter than Li Qi; she exuded a sense of cleverness, not timid, but full of vitality, even when assigned to lead the way, she didn't give off the impression of a servant, but rather made one feel as if she was bringing a friend out to play.

In comparison, Li Qi appeared dull, cold, and unapproachable.

Of course, Li Qi was too lazy to change, so he nodded: "I'd like to ask you to paint a picture for me, what reward do you want?"

Ling Xiao immediately smiled, her smile very beautiful: "You want me to act? That's very expensive! Are you sure?"

"Price is not an issue, just paint it," Li Qi said.

Just a Sixth Grade, Li Qi couldn't possibly not afford the price.

"Okay, then my price is—never mind, how dare I ask you for money, just tell me what you want to paint, consider it my misfortune." She enthusiastically wanted to set conditions, but after thinking about it, she finally waved her hand and shook her head, directly letting Li Qi make the request.

She seemed to want to say something witty to liven up the atmosphere and make Li Qi's deadpan face change.

But Li Qi remained unfazed, simply nodding: "Anything, just paint me."

After speaking, Li Qi sat in place, waiting for the other party to paint.

This attitude stunned Ling Xiao.

This... he really is a deadpan!

However, after all, the other party was in the Heaven-Penetrating Realm; although she acted very generous and natural, she was actually a bit nervous, facing Li Qi's attitude, Ling Xiao didn't dare to say much, she dutifully took out her painting tools, sat to the side, carefully observed Li Qi's demeanor, preparing to paint.

Before, normal interaction was fine, but now that she used the insight a painter should have, fully taking in Li Qi, who was leaning slightly, she realized...

This person possessed an indescribable, incredible temperament.

Is this the foundation of a Heaven-Penetrating Realm cultivator?

The other party seemed to be completely integrated into this world; to depict his figure, one would have to depict the entire world along with him.

The art of painting emphasizes having a clear vision in one's mind, and then the image can be formed on paper.

To paint a person, one must thoroughly understand that person before putting brush to paper.

However, it was easy to say if one merely glanced once or twice; this person looked ordinary, although one could feel the Qi of the Heaven-Penetrating Realm and the pressure of that cultivation, there was no special aura.

Like Cai Mo Jian Jun, his temperament had a sharpness; if one copied him onto paper, and the Materials were not good enough, his portrait would even tear the paper.

Generally speaking, Heaven-Penetrating Realm cultivators would display such spiritual essence; since there was none before, Ling Xiao had thought the other party truly had none.

Now, upon careful examination and observation, she realized that the person before her did not lack spiritual essence, but rather he was almost completely dissolved into the world itself, just like a stone, a gust of wind, a cloud, harmoniously and ordinarily embedded within the world.

Therefore, he appeared ordinary, but truly trying to depict him was no less difficult than painting the entire world.

Ling Xiao held her brush for three full hours, cold sweat pouring down, but in the end, she didn't make a single stroke.

She couldn't find a starting point, she simply didn't know how to do it.

Finally, Li Qi looked up: "What's wrong?"

Hearing Li Qi speak, Ling Xiao finally looked up: "Senior, I... my talent is shallow."

"Oh, then forget it." Li Qi wasn't too concerned, he just continued to look at the city below, watching the flow of people.

A large number of transport Spiritual Artifacts, some were vehicles, some were flying storage containers, and some were Spirit Beasts; in any case, they were all transporting Ore.

These Ores were all Immortal Stones, needing to be sent for processing, cut into pieces of various sizes, and finally put into various production directions.

Immortal Stones were the raw Materials for all production in the Immortal Heaven.

Many Seventh Grades, who were the laborers, were working.

Though called laborers, their lives were quite comfortable, and they even had their own servants, roughly similar to a 'middle management' position.

However, they were called laborers because it was extremely difficult to obtain cultivation resources, and they had to endure a lot of labor, such as mining and transportation, which other Eighth and Ninth Grades could not undertake.

Yes, laborers were not the lowest stratum; in the True World, there were also those Eighth and Ninth Grade cultivators.

These cultivators were initially born to these laborers; they were born in the True World, grew up here, and finally reproduced here, then became the laborers for those laborers.

Yes, for the laborers, as long as they didn't pursue cultivation, then as long as they completed their work, enjoying life was a very simple matter, after all, they had reached Seventh Grade, so being a superior was very easy.

But, just as Zhu Fengdan introduced before. (For details, see Chapter 656)

It's very easy to enjoy life, but cultivating is as difficult as ascending to the heavens; one needs to overcome countless hardships and obstacles to possibly gather cultivation resources, and during this period, one also has to face others'抢夺 (robbery), oppression from above, and finding one's own way out.

This difficulty is far greater than undergoing Heavenly Tribulation in the Lower Realm.

Everyone who can Breakthrough to Sixth Grade in the Immortal Heaven’s True World must possess an extraordinary perseverance, persistence, wisdom, and courage that ordinary people cannot match.

Originally, Seventh Grade cultivators who ascended were already the cream of the crop, one in a hundred million, and now they had to continue to be screened in this way, which would filter out who knows how many more people.

Truly...

The world continuously encourages cultivators to Breakthrough and pursue the Dao.

But the Immortal Heaven suppresses and screens cultivators; attitudes in all aspects show that if your talent, Heart-Nature, or even luck is insufficient, you are not worthy of reaching a high position in the Immortal Heaven.

While Li Qi was thinking about these things, Ling Xiao, who was beside him, thought long and hard, and then suddenly said to Li Qi: "Senior, I can actually still paint, it's just... give me some time, I want to follow you, observe your actions, watch and listen more, and capture your charm... What do you think?"

Li Qi was completely indifferent to this, so he nodded: "Do as you please, anyway, your original task was to guide me, feel free to observe."

After speaking, Li Qi continued to focus on the crowd below; he was deducing the operation process of the entire city, thereby trying to understand the Dao of operation followed by the cities in the Immortal Heaven’s True World.

This was very important, it could help Li Qi find the ultimate destination of these Immortal Stones, after all, Li Qi's goal was to find a way to enter the highest level of the Immortal Heaven in the True World.

But Li Qi's attitude made Ling Xiao a little disheartened.

This Senior is truly... completely uncaring.

This was no longer just indifference, but complete disregard, because he had more important things to do.

For the next fifteen days, Li Qi and Ling Xiao wandered around the city.

Li Qi was conducting a social survey, gathering information for himself to understand the social operation Dao of the entire Immortal Heaven’s True World, while Ling Xiao fully observed the figure of this Heaven-Penetrating Realm Great Master.

She wanted to understand his posture, carefully draw his appearance, and imprint his appearance in her mind, reaching the Realm of having a clear vision.

Just looking similar wasn't enough; she had to capture the charm, making people feel as if they were seeing him in person when they saw the painting.

This required long-term observation and careful contemplation to achieve; Ling Xiao had high demands on herself, otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to advance to Sixth Grade with painting as her foundation.

As a painter, she meticulously observed Li Qi's every move.

Thus, fifteen days passed, and she had already vaguely captured Li Qi's movements and expressions, but... she always felt a sense of awkwardness.

She thought carefully and felt that perhaps it was due to not understanding enough.

She observed Li Qi's movements and expressions but didn't know why he made such expressions, nor did she know what he was thinking; thus, the demeanor she contemplated only had its form, without its essence.

Therefore, fifteen days later, in the city's mine, as Li Qi was conducting geological surveys and observing the progress of the laborers' mining, Ling Xiao gathered her courage to speak; it was the first time in fifteen days she stepped forward: "Senior..."

"Hm?" Li Qi stopped his observation and looked up: "Is something wrong?"

"What is Senior thinking about? Why do you have your current expression?" Ling Xiao asked.

She wanted to know what Li Qi was thinking through questioning, and then understand the relationship between his expression and his inner world, using this method to grasp his charm.

Li Qi glanced at Ling Xiao.

Then, he didn't hide anything, but said: "Ling Xiao, have you ever thought about why the Immortal Heaven is like this?"

"Why is it like this?" This question stumped Ling Xiao.

Why is the world like this?

Does this question have meaning? The world has always been like this.

"No, you misunderstood, I'm not talking about the world, but the Immortal Heaven, which is your current situation; have you ever thought about why these Seventh Grades... people in the Laborer Realm have to mine, while you people in the Immortal Fortune Realm don't have to mine?"

"Why do Heaven-Penetrating Realm cultivators ponder Dao Integration, and where have the experts in the Dao Integration Realm gone?"

"Why do Immortal Stones become raw Materials for production, and why are cultivation resources controlled so precisely? Where do the relationships between people, and the connections and current competition among cultivators, come from?" Li Qi asked.

This series of questions caught Ling Xiao off guard.

Yes, why?

No, do Heaven-Penetrating Realm cultivators usually think about this?