The old man took a deep breath, and then lifted the paintbrush, hand trembling. Looking at Meng Hao, he began to paint.
Time passed slowly. It took about four hours, during which time Meng Hao waited patiently. The man painted earnestly, and Meng Hao sat without moving.
After a while, the old man put down his paintbrush. He eyed the painting in front of him, and a satisfied expression filled his eyes. He looked up at Meng Hao and smiled.
“Finished,” he said. “Why don’t you take a look? Does it look like you?” His face was filled with anticipation.
Meng Hao smiled. He stood up and walked over to stand next to the old man. What he saw on the canvas was a young man sitting upright in a chair, surrounded by mountains. You couldn’t say that the painting wasn’t good, but there was something about it that just didn’t seem right. It only bore a thirty percent resemblance to Meng Hao.
“Very good,” said Meng Hao, smiling and nodding his head. “What are these two marks here?” He lifted his hand to point at the painting, where two long, thick marks could be seen. Meng Hao wasn’t sure what they meant.
“What’s above all of us?” asked the old man, smiling.
Meng Hao looked at him in surprise. Then, he smiled. “The sky,” he said quietly.
“Think about it for a moment,” said the old man, gazing at Meng Hao. His smile seems to contain some sort of hidden meaning. He looked completely different than he had just moments ago. Meng Hao thought for a moment, and then looked up. His eyes glittered as his vision passed through the Immortal’s Cave to look up at the sky outside.
After some time passed, Meng Hao lowered his head. The instant he did, his pupils constricted. The old man… was nowhere to be seen!
An archaic voiced suddenly filled the Immortal’s Cave, causing Meng Hao’s body to quiver. His Spiritual Sense suddenly scattered. “Because of the ten thousand year old will of the World Tree, my residual self is here today. It is fate that I came here today to paint for you. I have sealed the true form of the Resurrection Lily, refined its nature talent and fused it with your spirit. While it is sealed, it cannot harm you. Furthermore, you will be able to draw upon the Resurrection Lily’s nature talent of plants and vegetation. When enough time passes, you can cast away my residual will which seals the flower. Every ten thousand years, I commit one person to memory. Furthermore, a person who exists in my memory cannot be exterminated by the Karmic Severing of those surnamed Ji.”
A long moment passed before Meng Hao took a deep breath. His eyes shone brightly as he turned once again to look at the painting. He gasped and stared in shock.
The image on the painting was not that of Meng Hao, but of a… Resurrection Lily!
It looked savage, unwilling, and even insane. It appeared to be sealed inside the painting! The image was incredibly lifelike!
There were also some words written on the painting.