Ruyi Peak, Bamboo Forest Residence.
Just ten minutes ago, this place was bustling with activity, but now it’s as quiet as a mausoleum.
For some unknown reason, it suddenly turned into a ghost town.
Ke Mo sat in the room, inspecting various paintings on the walls.
Majestic mountains with flowing water, springtime blossoms amidst snow, portraits, and all kinds of animals—every single piece was worth a closer look.
Naturally, most of them were on the lower tier, with only a few achieving middle-grade.
“So, Ouyang, you paint such great observation artworks, why on earth are you messing around with side gigs?”
“Ah, my dear junior, you have no idea how poor an artist can be.”
Ouyang opened the floodgates and started spilling his woes.
A good observation painting doesn’t just come out of nowhere.
It requires a spark of inspiration and a hefty amount of rare materials.
Even after that, you may not find the right person to appreciate it.
For example, that painting of the mountains and flowing water—which encapsulated the essence of nature—cost him three thousand taels, and so far, he hadn’t found anyone suitable to enjoy its beauty. Now it’s just collecting dust.
After listening to this for what felt like ages, Ke Mo fell into deep contemplation.
How is it that in a different realm, artists still struggle to make money?
“So Ouyang, you had to find a side hustle to support your art habit, huh?” Ke Mo asked.
“Well, not entirely,” Ouyang chuckled.
Ke Mo quipped, “Brother, your saliva is about to drip.”
“Ow ow…”
Ouyang wiped his mouth and then turned serious:
“Junior, are you preparing for the Observation Realm?”
Ke Mo nodded, “I still don’t know what kind of essence I should be observing.”
“You came to the right guy!” Ouyang guaranteed.
Ke Mo felt a flicker of skepticism.
His gut told him Ouyang’s advice might not be the most reliable.
For safety’s sake, better check the Destiny Divine Eye first…
【Name: Ouyang】
【Age: 27】
【Bone Structure: Talented in Painting.】
【Realm: Four Keys of Observation.】
【Destiny: Blue-gray】
【Evaluation: Born under a star of poverty, but after d*ath, his artworks gain fame, and his unique understanding of painting is gradually appreciated by all.】
【Recent Encounter: To fund his fellow brothers at the Painting Academy, he regularly takes side jobs to make ends meet.】
Ke Mo sighed, “….”
So the main reason his paintings aren’t valuable is simply because he’s still breathing, huh?
But not every dead artist’s works make it big.
Ouyang does indeed have some skills.
“I have quite a few observation paintings; feel free to check them out.”
“If you can make the painting ‘come alive,’ that means you can carry the essence within, and it would be suitable for you.”
“Come alive?”
Ke Mo wasn’t quite sure what that meant.
Ouyang stood up with an air of mystery:
“This is my secret method of painting; you’ll see soon enough.”
He took down a striking painting of a tiger descending the mountain.
“This observation painting is my very first creation. It embodies the essence of a tiger roaring in the mountains.”
“Though it’s just a lower-grade piece, anyone observing its essence would exude the tiger’s might once they enter the Observation Realm; it’s exceptionally powerful.”
Ke Mo raised an eyebrow and scrutinized it closely.
At that moment, his mind felt like it was getting sucked into the painting.
Suddenly, vast mountains and forests appeared before him, shrouded in mist.
In a daze, Ke Mo found himself in a dense, old forest.
Vaguely, he sensed rustling leaves as something drew near…
A gust of wind whipped past him.
It was a ferocious tiger, half-opening its eyes, radiating a fierce aura.
It stepped on the blue stones, patrolling its territory like the king of beasts!
With an intimidating presence, the tiger surveyed its surroundings, seemingly hunting for prey!
And then it spotted Ke Mo!
It opened its massive jaws!
And released a roar:
“Meow……”
It curled up and started trembling like a leaf in the wind, its fur standing on end.
In an instant, the majestic tiger transformed into a frail little kitten, as if it had seen some apocalyptic monster.
Pathetic, weak, and utterly helpless.
“That can’t be right.”
Ke Mo was utterly bewildered.
Come on, at least try to puff yourself up! I can’t observe you if you’re acting like this!
Little Ke was clearly confused, his consciousness almost drawn closer.
The once-mighty tiger now seemed increasingly terrified.
Puff—
It vanished.
Ke Mo: “…..”
What on earth just happened?
Is there something wrong with this observation painting?
Just then, the ethereal beauty was completely shattered.
Ke Mo opened his eyes and saw the painting now smeared with ink, looking like it had been vandalized. Clearly ruined.
When he looked up, he met Ouyang’s bewildered gaze.
Ouyang also appeared to be questioning his entire existence.
“What in the world happened?”
Ke Mo asked, puzzled.
“Ke, you’re definitely at the Internal Breathing Realm, right?” Ouyang asked, concern written all over his face.
Ke Mo nodded, “Just recently entered.”
“Then that’s strange,” Ouyang frowned, rolling up the tiger painting:
“My ‘Tiger Descending the Mountain’ has withstood the essence of even our Master’s consciousness; how could it be broken like this…? ”
He had previously shown this painting to other fellow disciples.
Some couldn’t handle the tiger’s aura and were driven away, while others simply couldn’t immerse themselves in the painting.
Both groups remarked they didn’t have the qualifications to carry the tiger’s essence.
So, what on earth does it mean for a painting to get ruined?
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Ke Mo replied, “Why don’t we give it another shot?”
Ouyang: “Huh?”
That painting cost over a thousand taels!
His heart felt like it was bleeding.
Are we doing this again?
But he had just promised there would be no problems!
Would Junior Ke show up with a hammer if he backed out now?
“Cough, looks like I need to bring out something exceptional.”
Ouyang took a deep breath.
He rummaged through the room for a while and soon returned with a scroll.
Unrolling it revealed a vividly illustrated mythical beast, unlike anything else.
“I was fortunate to have encountered a legendary beast, which had a hint of an ancient lineage.”
“It took me immense effort to put it on paper, and painting it in the upper tier allowed me to break through…”
“Brother…..”
“Hmm?”
“Sorry, I accidentally sank into it again…”
Ouyang froze and looked down.
The painting infused with ancient bloodline essence ended up breaking like the tiger painting.
The paper, which originally held profound meaning, now felt eerily light.
Ouyang plopped down on the ground, looking like his soul had left his body.
“My painting…”
“Brother, how much is this one worth?”
Ke Mo said, feeling a bit awkward.
“Boo-hoo… this is my masterpiece! I spent ten days and nights tracking that beast without sleep.”
“Ten thousand taels?”
Ke Mo fished out a silver note.
“Boo-hoo… I even got kicked by that beast, breaking a few of my ribs.”
“Twenty thousand?”
Another note joined the pile.
“Junior, this is an artwork! Do you know the essence of art? If I sell it to someone who doesn’t understand…”
“Fifty thousand.”
Ke Mo replied flatly, producing three more notes.
“Junior, you look like you have a true appreciation for art!”
Ouyang’s face lit up with joy.
His painting only cost around ten thousand taels; if he found the right buyer, he could sell it for thirty or forty thousand at most.
Fifty thousand is a massive profit.
Ke Mo felt a bit speechless, but hey, at least he wasn’t losing out.
【Congratulations, host! Successfully invested ‘Ouyang’ five hundred thousand silver!】
【Investment Feedback: “Artistic Mastery of Ink and Brush.”】
【“Artistic Mastery of Ink and Brush”: A peculiar painting technique that captures the essence of objects and imprints it on paper.】
The reward looked good.
But Ke Mo was feeling a bit down.
Why can’t he even manage to observe the upper tier?
What’s he gonna do now?
Do I really have to paint for myself?
