Chapter 248: Never Seen Before

Wang Lin picked up the gold from the table, casually tossing it into a small basket nearby, not even sparing it a glance.

As for the wood carvings in the shop, aside from those of his parents and relatives, Wang Lin didn't care about them at all. In his view, these things were merely tools to bring peace to his mind and help him comprehend the Heavenly Dao.

He believed that when he could carve Cultivators or Yao Beasts at the Soul Transformation Stage, his cultivation would certainly experience a Breakthrough.

Da Niu left the shop in a daze, muttering to himself as he walked, unclear what he was mumbling about.

Wang Lin took a sip of fruit wine and continued to immerse himself in carving. As he carved, wood chips fell, and the block of wood in his hand gradually took shape, exuding a majestic aura. However, this aura was completely confined within the wood carving and could not spread out.

With each stroke, this aura intensified a bit. Slowly, a thick Dragon began to take shape on the wood carving, but at this moment, Wang Lin's carving knife hesitated.

He remained silent for a long time, then sighed softly. With a flip of his right hand, the carving knife disappeared. He casually tossed the half-finished wood carving in his left hand aside, where a large box already contained more than a dozen such half-finished wood carvings.

If one were to look closely at these wood carvings, they would find that there were people and beasts among them: Meng Tuozi, Gu Di, Six Desires Demonic Lord, High Grade Spirit Beasts, and even Desolate Beasts… Although the subjects of these wood carvings varied, they shared one astonishing similarity: all were above the Soul Transformation Stage.

Wang Lin had tried many times over the past year, but he was still unable to carve people and beasts with Soul Transformation cultivation. If he were to force it, there would only be one outcome: the wood carving would turn to ash.

He was silent for a moment, then slowly closed his eyes. Immediately, a layer of red mist, about a palm's width, appeared around his body.

The Evil Qi red mist had doubled its condensation speed over the past year and had now been compressed by Wang Lin to such an extent. Wang Lin was quite satisfied with this progress. For a year, he hadn't actually forced the compression; rather, once he had the intention, a series of actions naturally followed.

Wang Lin believed that given another year, he could compress all of this Evil Qi to its limit. Although compressing Evil Qi had no direct connection to increasing cultivation or comprehending the Heavenly Dao.

Wang Lin always felt that if he allowed these Evil Qi red mists to dissipate, he would definitely regret it in the future. It was this premonition about the future, which arises when a Cultivator's cultivation reaches a certain level, that made Wang Lin unhesitatingly begin the compression of the condensation.

Just then, Da Niu's father's hearty voice came from outside the shop: "Brother Wang, your sister-in-law made some good dishes today. Come over and eat, let's have a few drinks, us brothers."

Wang Lin opened his eyes, and a profound light flickered within them. Slowly, this light dissipated and eventually vanished completely. At this moment, Wang Lin had once again become a Mortal. He carried the wine pot, walked a few steps, hesitated slightly, took out the gold from the small basket, and walked out.

Meanwhile, the young man surnamed Xu sat in the carriage, his heart pounding. He looked at the object wrapped in his coat, licked his lips, and a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.

He hadn't expected to encounter such an extraordinary person on his trip home to visit his parents, someone who could carve such wood carvings. One must know that the Prince's only hobby in this life was collecting such items.

Whether made of stone or wood, in short, no matter the material, as long as it was carved into shape, it was something the Prince loved.

And the Heir Apparent was a filial son; if he presented this wood carving, the Heir Apparent would surely praise him highly. Thinking of this, the young man surnamed Xu immediately took a deep breath.

This convoy of more than ten carriages sped through the capital, moving quite fast, but he still wished the carriages could go even faster so he could return to the Prince's Mansion as soon as possible.

After a long while, the carriage stopped. The young man surnamed Xu immediately pushed open the door, leaped out, and hurried towards the mansion.

In the East Garden of the mansion, the young man surnamed Xu stopped outside a rather magnificent palace and loudly declared: "Your Highness, Heir Apparent, Xu Tao has urgent matters to report."

After a moment, a lazy voice came from within the palace: "Xu Tao, weren't you visiting your family? Why are you back so soon? Let's discuss whatever it is tomorrow."

Vaguely, Xu Tao heard a few soft, melodious voices from inside the palace. He hesitated. Logically, it was truly inconvenient to disturb him now, but he had great confidence in the item he held. After some deliberation, he gritted his teeth and said: "My Lord Heir Apparent, I truly have urgent matters. During my family visit, I discovered a wood carving. If the Prince sees this wood carving, he will surely be delighted."

There was a moment of silence in the palace. A little later, the voice, tinged with dissatisfaction, said: "Come in. If what you have is not as you say, you will lose this month's reward."

Xu Tao quickly entered, only to see a large bed covered by white gauze hanging from the ceiling within the palace. A pale-faced young man, draped in a purple robe, sat by the bed, his gaze somewhat gloomy.

Xu Tao placed the coat in his hand on the ground and gently opened it, revealing the Dragon wood carving inside.

The young man's eyes immediately sharpened the moment he saw the wood carving. He abruptly stood up, quickly took a few steps to the carving, grabbed it with his right hand, and held it.

Just as Xu Tao was about to remind him, the young man exclaimed, then flipped his right hand, and the wood carving disappeared from his grasp. His eyes lit up with a strong glow, and he laughed loudly: "Good, Xu Tao, I'll credit you with a great deed!"

With that, he patted a seemingly ordinary cloth pouch at his waist. Immediately, a stream of purple Qi emanated from it, enveloped his entire body, and then instantly dissipated. The young man was now wearing a purple long robe.

The moment the purple Qi emerged, a gentle breeze stirred within the palace. A corner of the white gauze on the large bed was lifted, revealing two exquisite figures on the bed amidst two soft cries.

Xu Tao's eyes involuntarily glanced over, and after swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he immediately lowered his head, not looking.

This young man was not a Mortal but a Cultivator, though his cultivation was not high, only at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation.

He looked at Xu Tao, having seen the look in Xu Tao's eyes, and then smiled: "Mei Ji, come out. Today, you belong to Xu Tao!"

A soft moan came from within the bed. Immediately, a graceful figure elegantly stepped down from the bed and, pulling the dazed Xu Tao, left through a side door.

The young man's eyes flashed, and he hurried out of the palace.

The young man walked straight to the main hall in the center of the Prince's Mansion. While still outside the hall, he heard strains of music and his father's hearty laughter coming from within.

Outside this grand hall stood rows of guards. The moment they saw the young man, they immediately knelt on one knee. The young man hurried past them and directly entered the hall.

Inside the main hall, there were two small tables, behind which sat two Cultivators dressed in Daoist robes. Although both wore Daoist robes, their colors were different: one black and one green.

The Cultivator in the black Daoist robe kept his eyes closed, completely oblivious to the music and dancing.

The other Cultivator in green robes watched the singing girls and dancing sleeves in the center with a smile.

At the head of the hall sat a rather handsome middle-aged man. His handsome appearance did not lack dignity, and he exuded an air of authority.

After the young man entered the hall, the middle-aged man laughed heartily and said: "Not enjoying yourself in your sleeping quarters? Why have you come to your father's place?"

The young man first respectfully saluted the two Cultivators, then looked at the middle-aged man and said: "Father, look at this!" With that, he flipped his right hand, and the Dragon wood carving was placed on the floor of the main hall.

At that instant, the green-robed Cultivator, who had been watching the singing girls, suddenly narrowed his eyes and fixed them on the wood carving. The middle-aged man's eyes also lit up, and with a wave of his right hand, the singing girls immediately dispersed to the sides.

The green-robed Cultivator suddenly stood up, took a stride to the wood carving, examined it carefully, and then gasped, saying: "This is…" He had a guess in his heart but dared not confirm it.

"This is a wood carving!" The black-robed Cultivator, who had kept his eyes closed, now opened them, revealing a strange light, and slowly said.

The green-robed Cultivator standing near the wood carving was stunned and said with a wry smile: "Senior Brother, of course I know this is a wood carving. I'm talking about what is carved on this wood carving."

The black-robed Cultivator, addressed as Senior Brother, pondered for a moment, then slowly said: "Never seen it."

The green-robed Cultivator immediately broke into a bitter smile. He was already used to his Senior Brother's eccentricities.

The middle-aged man sitting at the head of the hall stared at the wood carving and smiled: "Two Immortal Masters, is there anything extraordinary about this item?"

The green-robed Cultivator near the wood carving picked it up, and immediately a vast, ancient aura surged towards him. The immense power of this aura caused his mind to tremble violently. With his Middle Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, he actually felt as if his Foundation Establishment was about to collapse. In great alarm, he quickly let go.

His Senior Brother, the black-robed Cultivator, flicked his sleeve, and the wood carving flew up into his hand. This Cultivator's face also turned pale instantly, and his Golden Core nearly became unstable. After a long while, he gradually managed to control the fluctuations of his Golden Core.

The higher one's cultivation, the greater the impact of this wood carving made by Wang Lin. Conversely, for Mortals, the impact was not too significant.

"This item is by no means an ordinary wood carving. The beast carved on it is almost identical to the Dragon recorded in our School's ancient texts!" the black-robed Cultivator slowly said.

"Senior Brother, didn't you just say you'd never seen it? Why are you saying it's a Dragon now?" the green-robed Cultivator asked with a strange expression.

The black-robed Cultivator looked at his Junior Brother in surprise, an expression of disbelief on his face, and said: "Junior Brother, I finally know why you haven't had a cultivation Breakthrough…"

The green-robed Cultivator's face twitched, but he didn't speak.

"I have indeed never seen the beast carved on this wood carving, but I didn't say I don't recognize it," the black-robed Cultivator sighed and said.

The green-robed Cultivator nearly suffered an unstable Dao Heart and spat out blood. After a long while, he finally managed a bitter smile. He was truly convinced by this Senior Brother.