89: Chapter 89 [A Thousand Mountains in Misty Rain]

The massive painting was unfurled.

The misty rain of Jiangnan was as hazy as a light veil.

A thousand mountains overlapped, layer upon layer of peaks shrouded in clouds and mist, as if concealing endless mysteries.

The peaks rolled on continuously, lush and verdant, with pines and bamboo intermingled and ancient trees towering high. In the distance, lakes and rivers appeared faintly through the misty rain.

Deep within the distant green mountains, ancient temples were vaguely visible, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys, intertwining with the clouds in the sky, making one feel as if they were in a fairyland.

As the mountain ranges in the ink painting extended into the distance, the layered peaks seemed to become even more profound and mysterious.

In the distance of the painting, a winding river flowed slowly, its surface like a mirror, reflecting the surrounding scenery.

Misty rain in Jiangnan, a thousand overlapping mountains; this massive ink painting with its ancient style and charm allowed one to feel the softness and tranquility of the Jiangnan misty rain.

Gu Hairan stood up, put away the smile on his face, and with a solemn expression, walked slowly to the front of the scroll, appreciating it at a leisurely pace.

The guests below moved forward, leaning in, their faces filled with disbelief and shock.

Gu Sichao looked at the painting, then at Yang Bai, then at the painting again, and then—damn it—looked at Yang Bai again, his lips trembling slightly; if one listened carefully, they could hear a soft "Holy shit."

As the saying goes, "The bystander sees clearly, while the person involved is confused." As the creator of [Mist and Rain over a Thousand Mountains], Yang Bai did not know how outsiders viewed his painting.

"Little Chao, how much did you pay for this painting?"

After Gu Hairan had simply walked a full circle, he turned his body to the side and began walking forward again from the end of the painting, asking at the same time.

"About 2 million plus star coins."

Gu Sichao replied, but his eyes did not move away from [Mist and Rain over a Thousand Mountains].

Gu Hairan nodded. He reached out his hand wanting to touch the scroll, but seemed to be afraid of something and quickly pulled his palm back.

Gu Hairan looked intently at the ink painting before him, his gaze gradually becoming dazed as his spirit was drawn into the painting.

Although he was currently in a banquet hall filled with wealthy families and the heavy scent of alcohol, at this moment, he could feel the breeze in the valley, the rustling of leaves in the forest, and the coolness of the light rain brushing against his face...

Gu Hairan felt an unprecedented peace, as if walking through these thousand mountains and rivers covered by misty rain, like an ordinary old man heading into the deep mountains.

In fact, what Yang Bai did not know was that for Chu Gehang and Chen Jianfeng, painting was not a hobby, but a means to comprehend the [Dao] using a paintbrush.

Chu Gehang cultivated Taiyi Green Wood; he liked to walk in mountains and forests as beautiful as poetry and paintings, feeling the natural vitality between heaven and earth, and then painting the vitality he saw with ink to achieve enlightenment.

Chen Jianfeng cultivated the gengjin sword Dao; to study sword dao, one must first practice calligraphy, and the flow of the brushstrokes reflected the sword intent of a sword cultivator.

Chen Jianfeng had innate sword dao at max level and had long since moved beyond the level of practicing calligraphy; he had reached a higher standard—[Painting Sword], directly using ink to comprehend the supreme Gengjin Sword Intent.

Therefore, the painting ability Yang Bai learned from them was, accurately speaking, a special means of comprehending the Dao.

This [Mist and Rain over a Thousand Mountains] was no longer a mundane painting, but a work containing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the Dao charm of an immortal.

Not to mention in the Star Sea World, even if placed in the Universal Continent where Cultivators were numerous, it would still be a master-level treasure.

A painting containing such immortal Dao charm appearing in the Star Sea World, which was dominated by technology, energy, and magic, was simply a dimensionality-reducing strike.

How could this group of "wild boars" have ever eaten "fine bran" of this level?

Gu Hairan extended his arm, carefully rolled up the ten scrolls, gathered them into the mahogany box in Yang Bai's hand, then walked over to Yang Bai, took the mahogany box, and carefully closed it.

"Little Chao, Grandpa really likes this painting; you have a thoughtful heart."

Gu Hairan stroked the mahogany box, his eyes filled with joy and intoxication.

The scrolls were put away, and Gu Sichao also stepped out of the artistic conception of the misty rain and thousand mountains. He looked at the mahogany box in Gu Hairan's hands twice, then suddenly realized something.

Gu Sichao bowed with both hands cupped and said, "As long as Grandpa likes it."

Gu Hairan nodded and turned his gaze to Yang Bai.

"You must be Yang Bai; you are very good. You have promoted the might of our human race, and your future will surely be incomparably bright. If you want to develop in the military in the future, you must contact this old man."

Yang Bai bowed slightly and said earnestly, "Thank you for your guidance, Grandpa Gu."

Walking down from the banquet hall stage, Gu Sichao gave Yang Bai a look, and the two left the banquet hall.

With trembling hands, Gu Sichao took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and then asked, "Yang Bai, did you paint [Mist and Rain over a Thousand Mountains]?"

"That's right."

"Didn't you say you couldn't paint?"

"I just wasn't very good at it; actually, I do have some level of skill." Yang Bai used his thumb and index finger to make a small gesture.

"You call that not being very good at it? You call [Mist and Rain over a Thousand Mountains] having some level of skill?"

"I have a good opinion of myself. Just as you said, most art is used for money laundering. What do you think of the painting?"

"It's simply amazing. You didn't see the look in my grandpa's eyes, and you didn't see the guests below; you have completely conquered them."

Gu Sichao held his head, grabbed his hair regardless of his image, his eyes full of excitement, and said excitedly.

Yang Bai touched his chin and started to doubt himself, 'Is it really that good? Isn't it just an ordinary ink painting?'

Gu Sichao punched Yang Bai on the shoulder and said,

"Yang Bai, you are too fucking humble. I am a profit-first businessman and have always turned my nose up at art, but from now on, I think art is really amazing."

"Find some time to paint a few more. I will definitely give you a satisfactory price."

Yang Bai smiled slightly and nodded, "Okay, but I have to remind you of one thing: my paintings are only given as gifts, not sold."

Gu Sichao was stunned, smiled, and smoothed the clothes on Yang Bai's shoulder, "You, oh you, I really can't understand you; you don't even want money delivered to your door."

"Those paintings really aren't for sale." Yang Bai smiled bitterly.

Although he didn't know why, Yang Bai always felt that if he really used his paintings to make money, he would definitely be in big trouble.

"Alright, it's time to do the real business now. Are you coming?"

Gu Sichao's eyes turned cold, filled with killing intent.

Yang Bai sneered and said in a deep voice, "Isn't that obvious?"

Yang Bai didn't know where Gu Siqian had gotten his paintings, but his paintings appearing there was not right.

If Yang Bai had not obtained the ability to comprehend the Dao through painting from Chu Gehang and Chen Jianfeng.

If Yang Bai had really listened to Gu Sichao and just dabbled with paint on paper.

Then tonight, the painting Yang Bai brought out would definitely have disappointed everyone present, and perhaps someone would have pointed out the shady deal between Yang Bai and Gu Sichao.

If things had developed like that, Yang Bai and Gu Sichao would have really lost face.