Painting of the Nine Immortals - Chapter 149

Chapter 149
The Sunset City covered five thousand square miles of breathtaking landscapes . The land was renowned for its fertility and was home to an abundance of spiritual stones . It was considered a medium-sized city in the Zhou Dynasty .


The city’s beauty was most renowned at dusk during sunset, hence the origin of its name .
In this instant, the sun was setting above the city, turning the clouds blood red .
Inside a packed wine house…
A youth dressed in white was sitting close to a window, drinking unaccompanied and observing the magnificent sunset with a half-emptied glass of wine .
He was Ling Xian .
He had intended to go straight to the House of Wan Jian . But he realized the moment he landed at the transporting location of the Vast Mountains that he had no clue which way the House of Wan Jian was situated . So he chose randomly and ended up here .
It took Ling Xian an enormous amount of effort to find out which establishment the Sunset City belonged to and how far the city was located from Wan Jian .
What he discovered made him laugh with tears .
The House of Wan Jian was located in the furthest region to the north, also known as the Sword of the North . The Zhou Dynasty, on the other hand, was located near the southern border, known as the Great Zhou of the South . He had chosen the worst option .
Ling Xian had planned to arrive quickly at Wan Jian . Now, he was farther than ever . If relying on his foundational level traveling speed, it would take more than one lifetime to reach his destination . He could only rely on transport travel through space .


But the only transportation station inside the Zhou Dynasty was located in its capital city . Ling Xian needed to get on a horse at once and head for the Zhou capital .
"Well, I may as well rest here overnight before heading over . We’ll call it a leisure stop . " Ling Xian took another sip of his wine as he continued watching the sun setting over the city . The beauty of this phenomenal sunset was unparalleled .
But he failed to notice a slender man eyeing him from a near distance with a seemingly malicious intent .
This man was a member of a local gang which specialized in theft and robbery . He had been observing Ling Xian for a while now and identified him as a foreigner of limited skills .
With his own limited skills, he had evidently misidentified his target . He was young and foolish and equated Ling Xian as someone of his own caliber .
A foreigner, of limited skills, in other words, he was a fat sheep awaiting slaughter .
His specialty was such a target .
"Hehe, not bad . Looks like I’m in luck encountering a fat sheep while drinking . " The skinny man sneered . He downed the rest of his wine in one giant gulp and walked up to Ling Xian .
"Brother, lend me something, alright?"
Ling Xian frowned irritably, threw him an agitated glance and demanded, "Lend you what?"


"What you have attached to your waist . " The man pointed to his pouch, his eyes beamed with greed .

"If you want to rob me, just say so . Why beat around the bush?" Ling Xian eyed the man with a look of amusement . This was the first time anyone dared to rob him .
"If you insist, now quietly hand me your purse, or I’ll make sure you die an agonizing death," The slim man persisted .
Having arrived here by mistake, Ling Xian was already in a moody state and dying to lash out . Confronted with such a pitiful threat, Ling Xian raised an eyebrow and said, calmly .
"F*ck off . "
The slender man’s expression darkened as a wave of ninth-level Qi rose into his chest . This malicious energy spooked the entire house and its guests . Eyes began shifting in the direction of the commotion, followed by whispers, some of pity, some of gloat .
"Ah, this little fellow is in for a rude awakening . He just offended the gang’s second-in-command, He Ying . He’s a cultivator of the ninth level, one of the best in the entire city . "
"Hehe, He Ying specializes at targeting foreigners of limited skills . He’s found himself a fat sheep this time around . "
"Looks like He Ying had been pissed off . This young fellow is in for a world of trouble . Perhaps he’d die here . "
Hearing the chatters around him, He Ying’s confidence shot through the roof . He continued, "Little fellow, I give you one more chance, hand over your pouch, or I’ll stain the walls here with your blood . "
"A mere cultivator of the ninth level dares to display such levels of arrogance . Seems like the Sunset City lacks proper security . " Ling Xian narrowed his gaze, his anger intensifying . Not only did this man choose his target poorly, but he was also relentlessly irritating .
He needed to lash out, immediately!
"Dumb*ss, looks like you won’t hand that over . If you insist, then hand over your life instead . " He Ying sneered coldly and unleashed his bony hand straight towards Ling Xian’s throat .
Shuaaaaaa!
His hand morphed into the shape of dragon’s claw and dash across the air with lightning speed . The force of this incoming attack was enormous .
This blow was perhaps deadly for an ordinary cultivator . But how could it hurt Ling Xian?
For Ling Xian, this blow was too soft to scratch an itch .
"Hmmm!"
Ling Xian let out an air of anger from his nostril . He neither countered the attack nor summoned his energy . The release of this tiny bit of air alone was enough to transform into a giant, invisible hammer and pound down on the soul of the attacking enemy .
"Ah…ah…ah…!"
The slim man cried out in agony . He squatted down onto the floor as blood poured out of his eyes, nose, and ears . His cries were heart-wrenchingly terrifying . No one could imagine the pain he was experiencing .
Even the spectators not in the direct path of the crashing hammer felt their breaths shortened . If Ling Xian directed the weapon directly at them, perhaps everyone inside the wine house would be down on the ground, screaming in pain .
The magnificent power of the Soul Splitting Attack .
The Taoism Community revolves around three paths of cultivation: Body, Qi, and Soul .
If one targets the soul of the opponent instead of the body, the attacker could easily kill the opponent’s soul given that the attacker’s Qi was stronger than the opponent’s soul . Even if the soul were not killed completely, the pain and damage would still be irreversible .
During a battle, even if the opponent splits his focus for even an instant, the outcome of the battle could alter in favor of the attacker .
Unfortunately, the powers of the soul could only be utilized in battle if the cultivator had broken through to the eighth level . The paths of the body and the path of the soul have been largely neglected for generations by average cultivator . The physical body was difficult to enhance due to the lack of natural supplements that remained available in the wild . The previous generations of cultivators had made sure of that . The Soul was neglected due to the abundance of magical weapons that achieved similar results, and it was therefore often unnecessary for a cultivator to train down such a path . As a result, the vast majority of cultivators today focused solely on the path of Qi .
Only a few alchemists who were required to nurture the soul to maturity enjoy the complementary skill of maneuvering both the Qi and the soul together .
Of course, Ling Xian was one of such cultivators . The power of his soul had already breached the eighth level . It was his forgetfulness that allowed him to conceal this powerful advantage from the public eye .
Today, confronted with such a sleazy crook, Ling Xian couldn’t bother to lift a finger and unleashed him soul power out of laziness . The result was just as he had hoped for .
With a single strike, the slim man fell to the ground in agony with blood gushing out of his pores .