Supreme Emperor of Mist

This was a world hidden inside the painting.

'As usual... The atmosphere inside the painting is always beautiful like this...' Qin Lan praised his surrounding that was covered by a layer of fog. The Spiritual Energy inside here is extremely dense, almost to the point it could overwhelm a cultivator if they stayed here for too long.

Unfortunately, the Spiritual Energy inside here is not maintained by the Five Governing Law of the World. It was running in a cycle known as self-sustainability.

**ROAR...**

The cries that sounded like a dragon came from somewhere not too far from Qin Lan. If this sound were to be heard by a regular cultivator, they would be running for their life right now.

'What are you trying to do? Didn't I treat you some of my blood earlier?' Qin Lan chuckled as he used some Foundation Qi to start plowing the soil beneath his foot. The process was a struggling one as he barely manages to scrape enough to plant a row of spiritual herbs.

"Are you not going to help me?" he yelled out of sudden towards a foggy area. But as expected, there was no reply as he was the only human within this Mountain and Sea Sublime Painting.

"Looks like it will take some time before you're able to get your treat then! Ahh... What a pity..." Qin Lan continued to speak by himself as he continues to take his time plowing the soil. It took him close to an entire day to create three rows of an arable plot to plant the seeds he kept inside the crates.

Once again, it was a spiritual herb that's believed to be extinct in this Precelestial Realm. It took Qin Lan almost all the effort to clear all six gardens for the sake of cultivating this plant back to life.

A stench of sweet and fragrant blood came from the storage chest when Qin Lan opened the cover carefully. His action was like treating the plant as if it was a stack of highly sensitive explosive that could take his life if exploded.

**Roar!!!**

A hint of excitement can be observed behind the dragon's roar. Even the tone itself is much tuneful than before as Qin Lan slowly planted the first sprouting into the loosened soil. The process was repeated fourteen times as the fifteen sproutings rested in care inside the earth.

**Roar...**

The dragon's roar came again. This time, it sounded like pleading for Qin Lan's generosity as it no longer seems haughty and fierce.

"Since we're going to rely on one another for a pretty long time, what about we help each other mutually? You'll be taking care of them for me while I'll keep searching for the treasure to be brought into this painting for you to recover your strength."

"Also, in exchange for these, I want the extract from you frequently." Qin Lan said as he took a jade bottle out and uncapped the cork. His action was like testing the sincerity and decision of the one creating the dragon's roar.

Of course, no reply came from the curtain of fog. But that did not make Qin Lan impatient. He knew that mutual trust is not something that can appear in a single day. Even right now, they're not counted as mutually dependent on each other.

He calmly sat down where he was and started to absorb the Spiritual Energy to hasten the maturity of the Spiritual Accumulation Pills he had with him.

He maintained this attitude for an entire day.

As for the ten matured Spiritual Accumulation Pill, they have been digested by him long ago. The bottle on his hand is currently the second bottle taken out from his spatial jade.

"Are you sure you want to continue to consider? Time waited for nobody... Even if you have an unlimited lifespan, how long could you wait before you returned to your previous state of inanimation like before?" Qin Lan continues to speak to himself.

Finally, on the third day, something else happened.

**Roar**

The sound of the dragon's roar is milder than before, which sounded more like a submission to Qin Lan's persuasion. Very soon, the dense fog of Spiritual Qi seems to be sentient as it condensed into multiple drops of pure Dragon Moss Extract. 

Furthermore, it wasn't just a few drops that were created. A total of a hundred drops entered the bottle soundlessly and brought a smile to Qin Lan's face.

And in return for the gesture, Qin Lan took a bottle of Changshen Dew out from the spatial jade and poured a few drops onto the fifteen plants. The plants seem livelier the moment they absorbed the nutrients from the dew.

A thicker stench of blood is quickly permeated out from the sprouting with every drop of Changshen Dew is administered on the mysterious plant. Five drops of the dew per plant, he used three-quarters of what's available from the bottle in a flash.

The sproutings seem to be dancing with a blushed appearance as it twirls at where it was planted. But perhaps it was just an imagination.

"You want some? There are around twenty-five drops of the dew is left here." Qin Lan chuckled as he shakes the bottle in his hand. The sloshes of the liquid inside the bottle created an irresistible sound to the owner behind the dragon's roar.

**Crack...**

**Shh...**

Mysterious web-like roots appeared around Qin Lan soon after he finished his sentence. It seems hungry for the nutrients in Qin Lan's hand.

"Take it." Qin Lan kneeled a little and poured the dew in a circular gesture to evenly coat the entire surface his hand could reach. The surroundings returned to their tranquility very soon after the roots returned inside the soil.

The third day ended by the time the Spiritual Accumulation Pill matured. Opening his eyes again to look at what's before him, Qin Lan realized he had returned to the secret chamber again.

'Looks like I can only stay inside the Mountain and Sea Sublime Painting for three days each time. Let's have a look at the scroll and see what changes it had.' Qin Lan went closer and started to inspect the painting.

Three short lines were added to the painting. It was similar to a stroke from a pen, but as if they were drawn using a single hair and not the whole brush.

'According to my understanding, the Mountain and Sea Sublime Painting comes in three different grades. Precelestial, Pericelestial, and Postcelestial. This scroll I've gotten is likely a Precelestial-Grade Sublime Painting.'

'Once again, I have to say that I am amazed by the depth of the Ancient Race's understanding related to Spatial Dao. Even I can't recreate this inheritance they left in this world using my knowledge as the mentor of the first Supreme Emperor...' Qin Lan shook his head.

After he had done remembering his past, Qin Lan collected the two Night Glowing Pearls and left the secret chamber.

"Young Master." Lu Yi, Lu Qing Yun, and Huo Zunjie immediately greet him when he came out from the hidden entrance. They were all surprised by Qin Lan's sudden increase in his cultivation.

"What's wrong? Do I look like a monster in your eyes?" Qin Lan jokes.

"N - No... We're just shocked by the young master's cultivating speed." Huo Zunjie immediately answered Qin Lan.

"What is so shocking about it? If I wanted to, I could even do much better than this," said Qin Lan while chuckling by himself. He then tossed the bottle with 100 drops of Dragon Moss Extract into Lu Yi's hand.

"Use them sparingly. As for Qing Yun, I'll give you a bottle when I had more with me. Let them use it first for now." he said.

"Qing Yun will follow the young master's arrangement devotedly." Lu Qing Yun immediately replied. By the time she finished her sentence, she's already by Qin Lan's side wiping away some of the mudstains on his forehead.

"If there's nothing, return to your own place and start cultivating. There'll be something new for you when your cultivation entered the half-step layer for Bone Refining." Qin Lan added.

"We understand!" they left after replying to Qin Lan.

By the time he came out from his Private Refining Room, another problematic issue come.

"Young Master... Lady Zhou Mei and the envoy is arguing near the Yellow Dragon Pavilion. Do you want to go and have a look?" Han Xue appeared by his side and asked.

"Yellow Dragon Pavilion... That's literally twenty minutes walk from our Pill Hall... How long have I been inside my room?" Qin Lan shook his head.

"Close to three and a half hours." Han Xue replied.

"Three and a half hours..." Qin Lan nodded and made his way towards the pavilion. From his looks, he was on his way to mediates them, but in fact, something else is in his mind.

'So... One hour in our world is equivalent to one day inside the Mountain and Sea Sublime Painting... This means as long I'm capable of retaining the Spiritual Qi inside the painting, it will be capable of producing what I need in two to three days?'