403: The Peculiar Paintings

The Peculiar Paintings

Jiu Shen stared at the two demons talking to Ivy with an amused look. He knew who the male demon was since he had seen him together with Garland a few times. As for the beautiful demon lady, she should be someone of high standing in the Narda Principality. 1

"They finally couldn't hold back their curiosity..." He muttered to himself as he grinned. The Narda Principality should be here to observe the situation and also to check his power. 

"Wine Master Jiu, did you say anything?" He heard the succubus ask with panted breath. 

"No. Continue holding that metal ball for another two hours. You have to practice well since the enemies have already come to our doorstep." Jiu Shen smiled as he leaned back on his chair. 

"Huh? What do you mean?!" Cornelia dropped the metal ball and turned her head towards Jiu Shen. 

Jiu Shen stood up and smacked the back of her head. "Did I say you can drop the ball?" 

He then picked up the metal ball and handed it to Cornelia who glared at him with malevolent eyes. Even so, she still accepted the metal ball and held it with a contorted expression on her face. 

"Don't drop it again. Hold it for three hours." Jiu Shen said as he sat back in his chair.

"Didn't you say two-" Cornelia immediately closed her mouth when she saw Jiu Shen's smile. At first, she thought this smile was the most beautiful thing in the world, but at this moment, she didn't want to see this devil's smile again...

***

Theia inspected the two demons standing behind Blue. The male was a peak stage Origin God Realm, while the woman was a mid stage Void God Realm. She felt surprised upon seeing this, but she maintained a composed look on her face.

"Staying here has a limit. You can check the details of the rules here on that scroll pasted on the wall. Remember. Don't cause any trouble or I'll kick you out forcibly..." Theia warned them with a cold look. 

'This girl is beautiful, but she has a problematic personality.' Lou Baiqing thought as they stepped inside the second floor. 

This room was a place of absolute grandeur! The design, the paintings... Wait those paintings... 

Lou Baiqing walked closer to a painting and a baffled look slowly covered his face. 

"Eh?" He exclaimed in astonishment, but then he suddenly felt a sharp stare boring down on him. He turned his head and saw Theia looking at him with an icy gaze. He smiled awkwardly at her before he turned to look at the painting again. 

It was a depiction of a warrior floating above the clouds with a sword in his hand. 

When Lou Baiqing first saw this painting, he felt that it had something hidden within, but no matter how hard he stared at the painting, he could no longer feel the mysterious sensation. "Weird. Did I sense it wrong?" 

Looking at another painting was Demon Empress Ganda. She was staring at a depiction of a faceless woman seated cross-legged on the mouth of a volcano. 

The Demon Empress narrowed her eyes and she used her spiritual vision to observe the painting. When her spiritual power touched the painting, she suddenly felt that she had become the woman in the painting! 

She was cultivating her fire arts on the mouth of the volcano. She felt the temperature around her rising, but she could also sense that her fire arts was improving at a rapid rate!

"Your Majesty..."

"Your Majesty..." 

Demon Empress Ganda abruptly opened her eyes and saw Lou Baiqing poking her arm with an anxious look. She glared at him as she said. "Why are you disturbing me?!"

Lou Baiqing's mouth twitched. You stared at this painting for several hours and used up all your time standing like a fool. 

While scratching his head, Lou Baiqing answered nervously. "Your Majesty, our time is up. That lady said that we have to go out now..." 

Hearing this, Demon Empress Ganda had a stunned look. Huh? I thought only a second has passed by. How come a few hours have passed without me sensing anything?

Demon Empress Ganda stared at the painting again. She shook her head in regret before she went out of the second floor. It was a pity that staying here was limited or she would have stayed just to dig the secrets of the painting. 

The two demons saw the blonde-haired woman waiting for them outside. "You two exceeded the time limit. According to the rules, you will have to pay six thousand Blood Stones since every minute of exceeding time is worth a thousand Blood Stones. But since this is your first time here, I will let this go. Just be mindful the next you visit here." 

Six thousand Blood Stones for six minutes! 

"Thank you for your understanding, sister. Can I ask for your name?" Demon Empress Ganda smiled as she stared at the cold-looking Theia. 

"Theia." 

"Alright Sister Theia. We're leaving now." Demon Empress Ganda smiled at her and went downstairs. She still hasn't tasted the wines sold in this store. Hopefully, there might be vacant seats now. 

As they were walking down the stairs, Demon Empress Ganda soon noticed the changes in her body. Her essence of fire element became ten percent denser and stronger! This was a substantial increase for her! How did it enhance her fire elemental essence? And what was that painting?! 

"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?" Lou Baiqing asked worriedly when he saw the flickering eyes of the Demon Empress. 

"Those paintings. There is something peculiar about them. After staring at one of those paintings for a few hours, my fire elemental essence increased substantially." Demon Empress Ganda replied. Her voice contained a hint of surprise and bafflement.

'So that's why she stood there for a few hours. That means what I sensed at that time wasn't a mistake! What a pity!' Lou Baiqing felt regret in his heart upon hearing the Demon Empress' words.

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