Chapter 247: Flood Dragon Wood Carving

Life is like a bowl of clear water, plain and simple, yet possessing a faint, elusive sweetness. For Wang Lin, this life devoid of slaughter brought a sense of cleansing to his soul.

In this moment, he forgot his identity as a practitioner of the Dao, forgot the four hundred years of slaughter, and truly integrated into the world of Mortals, experiencing the bitterness and sweetness of a Mortal's life.

Every morning, Wang Lin would wake up early, open the shop doors, and sit quietly in the shop, holding a piece of wood and carving. His shop was already densely packed with countless carvings.

The neighbors of the surrounding shops gradually learned that the shop had changed owners, and they all had a favorable impression of Wang Lin, this youth who revealed a hint of elegance amidst his quiet demeanor.

As time passed, Wang Lin's shop gradually began to have customers. Although these people could not see the Spiritual Qi on the wood carvings, they could see the exquisite craftsmanship. Over time, Wang Lin's shop gained a small reputation in the area.

In the blink of an eye, a year passed. During this year, that mysterious old man never appeared again. Although Wang Lin would occasionally think of this person, he slowly stopped paying attention to it.

He was completely immersed in wood carving, searching for the long-lost pleasure.

In Wang Lin's shop, the most numerous items on display were lifelike Yao Beast wood carvings. The vast majority of these Yao Beasts on the carvings were things Mortals had never seen before.

In fact, let alone them, even if a Cultivator were to come here, few would be able to recognize them. After all, this place was too far from the Cultivation Devil Sea. The world was vast, and there were many types of Yao Beasts; it was impossible for anyone to recognize them all.

At this moment, Wang Lin held a piece of wood in his hand. The wood was square, and as Wang Lin carved it stroke by stroke, the prototype of a turtle-like Yao Beast gradually took shape.

Looking at the wood carving in his hand, Wang Lin put down his carving knife and picked up the celadon wine pot beside him. Just as he was about to take a drink, he was dumbfounded to discover that there was no wine left in the pot.

Usually at this time, Da Niu would run over to watch him make wood carvings, and every time he came, he would always bring a pot of fruit wine.

Sure enough, not long after, Da Niu, who had grown a head taller, pushed open the shop door and walked in. Da Niu was that youth; although he was only twelve years old, he had grown quite tall.

His body was also much sturdier than it had been a year ago.

After entering the shop, Da Niu complained and came to sit beside Wang Lin, saying, "Uncle Wang, when will you go to my house and talk to my dad? He always wants me to learn how to forge iron tools from him. I don't want to learn that. If I were to learn anything, I would want to learn Uncle's wood carving craft." As he spoke, he placed the pot of fruit wine in his hand next to Wang Lin, his small eyes squinting as he stared intently at the unformed wood carving in Wang Lin's hand.

Wang Lin laughed and took a big gulp from the wine pot. This fruit wine had a sweet taste mixed with a hint of spiciness, and after drinking it, a warmth would rise in his belly. Over the past year, it had become Wang Lin's daily necessity.

"Uncle Wang, what animal are you carving now? It looks like a turtle to me," Da Niu said, looking at the wood carving in confusion.

Wang Lin patted Da Niu's head and smiled, saying, "This is not a turtle, but a creature called a Zhong Gu. Although it looks similar to a turtle, in reality, it possesses immense strength."

Da Niu nodded, appearing to understand, though he didn't quite grasp it. Over the past year, he had seen countless various animals in Wang Lin's shop, every single one of which he had never seen before.

Wang Lin held the carving knife and carved stroke by stroke onto the wood. This turtle-like creature was actually a rare Medium Grade Spirit Beast from the Cultivation Devil Sea. When it became enraged, ordinary Cultivators would be unable to resist it at all.

However, for Wang Lin, he had slaughtered many of these lower-tier Spirit Beasts and had swallowed quite a few of their inner cores. As a result, when he carved now, the image of this beast was completely formed in his heart, and with each stroke, there was not the slightest hesitation.

Half an hour later, Wang Lin used his carving knife to deeply dot the eyes of the beast. Instantly, the wood carving seemed to come alive, emitting waves of ferocious flames.

The beast raised its head to look at the sky, its eyes revealing a trace of unwillingness and fear. It opened its large mouth as if letting out a series of silent roars, and a wave of Qi, in a state invisible to Mortals, suddenly spread out from the wood carving.

However, just as this wave of Qi spread less than three inches, it returned to calmness under a single point from Wang Lin's right hand.

Wang Lin took a deep breath and placed the wood carving casually on the shelf nearby. Over this year, Wang Lin had discovered that at most, he could only produce Medium Grade Spirit Beast carvings; no matter what, he could not carve High Grade Spirit Beast wood carvings.

Every time he carved a High Grade Spirit Beast, he would lose control during the last few strokes, causing the carving to shatter.

Wang Lin knew that this was because of his cultivation level. After all, a High Grade Spirit Beast was already equivalent to the Incarnation stage of a human Cultivator.

Da Niu's eyes revealed a look of infatuation. Over the past year, he had watched Wang Lin carve every day, and gradually, he had become completely obsessed with it.

Over this year, he had also secretly tried to hold the carving knife to carve, but he could never carve a satisfactory wood carving. At this moment, seeing Wang Lin effortlessly form a wood carving, he could no longer hold back and asked.

Wang Lin was silent for a moment, then looked up at the youth in front of him and said, "Wood carving requires insight. If you want to learn, then watch me carve for sixty years. After sixty years, you can make them."

Da Niu stuck out his tongue and said, "Sixty years… but I see Carpenter Zhou from the south city, he is only in his forties, yet the wood carvings he makes are quite good."

Wang Lin picked up the wine pot, took another sip, and said, "He and I are different."

A look of confusion appeared in Da Niu's eyes; he clearly did not understand the meaning contained within those words.

Just at this moment, a burst of noise suddenly came from outside. Da Niu quickly stood up and ran out. Not long after, he poked his head back in and said excitedly, "Uncle Wang, the eldest son of the Xu family shop has returned. He is followed by more than a dozen large carts and quite a few people. It's very impressive."

As he spoke, he ran out again.

Wang Lin did not pay attention. Instead, he picked up a piece of wood and recalled the scenes from the Ancient God Land back then—that enormous desolate beast that had left the deepest impression on him. After hesitating for a moment, Wang Lin took his carving knife and began to carve on the piece of wood.

Time passed slowly. More than two hours later, the shop door was pushed open. Da Niu ran in excitedly, and behind him followed a rather sturdy-looking youth. The youth entered the room, looked at the wood carvings all around, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

Da Niu quickly came to Wang Lin's side, winked at him, and whispered quickly, "Don't sell them so expensively!"

After saying that, he quickly turned around and said loudly, "Young Master Xu, this is the shop I was talking about. Look at these wood carvings; they are definitely no worse than Carpenter Zhou's. How about it? Buy a few to take back."

Wang Lin smiled dumbly. This Da Niu clearly saw that there hadn't been many customers in Wang Lin's shop over the past year, so whenever he encountered a wealthy customer, he would definitely bring them to Wang Lin's shop immediately.

The youth surnamed Xu looked around, his eyes becoming brighter and brighter. Unlike Da Niu, he was a person who had seen the world and was now one of the trusted attendants of the Southern Prince's heir. He could tell at a glance that the quality of these wood carvings was far superior to that of the famous Carpenter Zhou from the capital.

Although Carpenter Zhou's wood carvings were lifelike, they always lacked something. He was silent for a moment, then suddenly realized that the wood carvings made by Carpenter Zhou were missing one thing compared to what he was seeing now—that was "life"!

One was "lifelike," and one was "vividly alive"!

A difference of one word, yet the difference in quality was worlds apart!

The youth surnamed Xu's eyes gleamed as he stepped forward and picked up a wood carving. This wood carving depicted the very same Flood Dragon that Wang Lin had carved a year ago.

This Flood Dragon was coiled up, its dragon head raised, looking at the sky. Every single scale on its body was clearly visible. What shocked the youth surnamed Xu even more was that the moment he held this carving, he suddenly felt as if the beast had come alive. In great shock, he loosened his right hand, and the wood carving fell from his hand.

Da Niu had long noticed the other's expression. He knew well that once these wood carvings were held in hand, there would be a magical feeling, so he often only looked and did not touch.

With a clatter, the wood carving hit the ground. Fortunately, this was a wooden product, and occasional drops and bumps would not damage it.

The youth surnamed Xu blushed and quickly said, "Master Wang, what animal is carved on this wood carving? Why does it look a bit like a snake to me?"

Before Wang Lin could answer, Da Niu puffed out his chest and said, "This is a Flood Dragon! Do you know what a Flood Dragon is? That's the stuff of immortals!"

"Flood Dragon…" The youth surnamed Xu made a mental note and said, "How much for this Flood Dragon wood carving?"

Wang Lin smiled casually and said, "Ten taels of gold."

Upon hearing this, Da Niu sighed inwardly, thinking that it was over again. Over the past year, he had brought quite a few people to this shop, but every time Wang Lin stated the price, everyone would shake their heads and leave.

But he never expected that the youth surnamed Xu would only frown slightly before immediately taking out ten taels of gold from his bosom and placing it on the table. Then, he took off his outer coat, wrapped it around the wood carving, and hurried away.

Da Niu stared blankly at the ten taels of gold on the table, his eyes shining as he muttered to himself, "Unbelievable, a single wood carving can actually sell for ten taels of gold. The iron tools my dad makes can only sell for one tael of gold a month, and even that is a rare occurrence."

After muttering to himself for a while, he immediately made up his mind. So what if it was sixty years? He accepted it. No matter what, he had to learn this craft. With this craft, he, Da Niu, would not have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of his life.

At this moment, however, he did not realize that if he could only make wood carvings after sixty years, even if he didn't have to worry about food and clothing, that would be sixty years later…

After the youth surnamed Xu left the shop with the wood carving wrapped in his coat, he hurried home to bid farewell to his parents. He didn't even touch the dinner his parents had prepared, and immediately took everyone, boarded the carriage, and sped off toward the Southern Prince's Mansion in the east of the city.