Chapter 306: 306,Four Paintings

Giving a gift requires finesse and particular attention.

To offer something like Spirit Stones would be incredibly crude, wouldn’t it?

If the third master Zhuge Lai Fu were present, he would definitely express his offense.

The higher-ups of One Sword Mountain and Ten Thousand Sword Mountain gathered and discussed for a while, finally deciding to base their reparative gift on considering Lu Xun’s current situation and needs.

For a Natural Sword Embryo like him, giving something related to Sword Dao would be most suitable.

Ye Sui’an is the most familiar with Lu Xun. Considering this, Ping Shanhai and Qian Zhengyi even specially asked for his opinion.

Through Ye Sui’an’s eyes, Lu Xun possessed the spirit of “carrying on the legacy of ancient wisdom and paving the way for future Sword Cultivators”.

In his view, Lu Xun was the type of pioneer who carried forward the will of predecessors and opened new paths for future Sword Cultivators.

What he sought—maybe like the Sword Mountain Elder—was the eternal glory of Sword Dao!

Such a person would undoubtedly have his heart set on Sword Dao, with his eyes on nothing else.

He truly understood Lu Xun.

As a Sacred Land of Sword Path, we have countless treasures related to swordsmanship.

What should we give him to show our elegance and impressiveness?

After some discussion, the rich looking Qian Zhengyi finally proposed:

“How about we set a range and let him choose what he wants according to his preference? What do you all think?”

With that said, everyone unanimously nodded in agreement.

Even the higher-ups of One Sword Mountain, who usually loved to debate, did not argue this time.

Most of the time, these two Sword Sects’ meetings were argumentative in nature.

This attitude indirectly led to both Sword Sects becoming famous for producing grudging sticklers.

The gift-giving range they decided upon, though, was quite intriguing.

At that moment, Ping Shanhai said to Lu Xun: “After the Elder’s departure, he left behind many items.”

“Apart from the Divine Sword, Sword Jade, and Boundary Monument, there are four items in particular.”

“These four items are all beneficial to Sword Cultivators.”

“Young friend Lu may choose one of them to reflect upon and comprehend.”

Hearing these words, Lu Xun immediately understood what Ping Shanhai was referring to.

In his previous life, he had seen posts about them in an online forum, and after crossing over, he had heard a bit about these items too.

As the belongings of Sword Mountain Elder, their reputation and prestige were top-notch.

They were four paintings, depicting plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.

Each painting contained profound meaning and mysteries, and many Sword Cultivators experienced breakthroughs in their Sword Dao while contemplating them.

While they seemed to be four paintings, they actually represented four Sword Intents.

Legend has it that these intents were imitated and portrayed by the Elder in his twilight years, based on the battle experiences with four enemies he had encountered throughout his life, for disciples to reference and ponder.

“This ability to imitate and express another’s Sword Intent is terrifying—it’s no wonder he is also a ‘True Natural Sword Womb’,” Lu Xun mused in his heart.

Observing these paintings was a reward for disciples of One Sword Mountain and Ten Thousand Sword Mountain.

However, what each individual gained from the observation varied greatly.

Interestingly, even players could benefit from these paintings.

Yet, different players gained distinct rewards when observing the same painting.

Some extremely lucky ones even gained a point in their Swordsmanship Aptitude!

Of course, big data later revealed that for anyone with Swordsmanship Aptitude exceeding three points, they could absolutely not increase it by observing these paintings.

Regardless, the temptation was considerable!

After contemplating for a moment, Lu Xun was honest, saying: “This opportunity is indeed hard to refuse. I would be disrespectful to refuse it, but I also feel a sense of guilt receiving it.”

Hearing him say that, Ping Shanhai laughed heartily and asked, “So, which painting are you planning to choose?”

Looking at the Purple Bamboo Forest atop the Welcoming Guest Peak, and recalling the bamboo sea behind the Demon Sect as well as Gu Xiaoman in her black Daoist robe sitting quietly within the bamboo sea, he answered:

“I’ll choose the Bamboo.”

Based on big data, after the arrival of trolling players, among the four paintings… Chrysanthemum was the most popular.

Such is the temperament of these trolling players, nothing more to say.

Out of the Three Thousand Grand Dao, they chose a dry path.

Yes, yes, yes.

But Lu Xun still remembered when he was in primary school, when the chrysanthemum was still a normal flower. In composition writing, especially when describing the smile of the elderly, chrysanthemums were often used in comparison, such as: “Her smile bloomed like a chrysanthemum on her face.”

He did not know when the meaning of this phrase began to change.

A joke so old that time itself could no longer recall when it began.

Hearing that Lu Xun chose Bamboo, Ping Shanhai smiled and said: “When I was young, I also chose Bamboo.”

What a coincidence, mate!

He reminisced about his younger days and added, “It was during the observation of these paintings that I achieved the Great Perfection in the realm of Sword Heart.”

Having said that, he asked Lu Xun, “Young friend Lu, do you wish to go today, or choose another time?”

“Let’s do it now,” answered Lu Xun.

In his opinion, the sooner he finished, the sooner he could leave.

This whole sect was an eerie place filled with swords, the only area that comforted him slightly was the Welcoming Guest Peak.

He didn’t want to stay here any longer than necessary.

“Alright, please follow me,” said Ping Shanhai, brandishing the Divine Sword and flying ahead to lead the way.

Lu Xun followed behind, riding his Paper Crane.

Soon, they arrived at the forbidden area of Sword Mountain—The Sword Pavilion!

The nature of the Sword Pavilion was similar to the Transmission Tower of the Demon Sect; it housed various Cultivation Techniques and Sword techniques.

The four paintings were hung on the top floor of the Sword Pavilion, separately placed in four different chambers.

The Sword Pavilion was guarded by a powerful prohibition; without Ping Shanhai leading the way and undoing it, Lu Xun would certainly have met his end if he tried to force his way in with his current strength.

Walking up floor by floor, Lu Xun glanced at each Cultivation Technique and Skill Book placed on the shelves and longed to touch them secretly.

Unfortunately, they were also protected by the prohibition. Touching them would be pointless.

Unless the prohibition was lifted; only then, with a simple touch of his fingertip, the words “Do you wish to learn?” would pop up before his eyes.

That would be interesting.

The Sword Pavilion had a total of seven levels. Upon reaching the seventh level, Ping Shanhai pulled out a token. Under the token’s effect, the prohibition naturally lifted.

The four chambers were arranged in the order of plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, with Bamboo being the third.

After showing his gratitude to Ping Shanhai, Lu Xun entered the chamber.

It was not a large room, about the size of a small bedroom.

Inside, there were only two things:

A cushion for meditation.

And the painting that hung on the wall.

The painting did not seem like a masterpiece, just a common piece of paper.

That’s the way it is with great people; even the poem with the word “ugly” written by the teacher was also written on a common piece of paper.

Lu Xun sat down cross-legged on the cushion and began to study the painting carefully.

“It’s so ugly,” Lu Xun commented sincerely.