Life was like a bowl of Shimizu. It was plain, but there was a hint of sweetness in it. Wang Lin felt like his soul had been cleansed by a life without killing.
At this moment, he forgot about his identity as a cultivator and forgot about the 400 years of killing he had experienced. He had truly integrated himself into the mortal world and experienced the bitterness and sweetness of mortals.
Every morning, Wang Lin would wake up early, open the door to his shop, and then quietly sit in his shop. He would use a piece of wood to carve. His shop was already filled with countless carvings.
The neighbors in the surrounding shops all knew that the owner of the shop had changed. They all had a good impression of Wang Lin, this quiet and elegant young man.
As time passed, Wang Lin's shop gradually gained customers. Although these people couldn't see the spiritual energy from the carvings, they could see how exquisite the carvings were. Over time, Wang Lin's shop gained a bit of fame in this area.
In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. During this year, that mysterious old man never appeared again. Although Wang Lin would occasionally think of that old man, he gradually stopped caring about him.
He was completely immersed in carving, searching for the joy that he had lost a long time ago.
Inside Wang Lin's shop, there were many lifelike carvings of demonic beasts. Most of the demonic beasts on these carvings were creatures that mortals had never seen before.
In fact, forget them, even if a cultivator came here, very few of them would be able to recognize them. After all, this place was too far from the Sea of Devils. The world was very big and there were many types of demonic beasts, so it was impossible for anyone to recognize all of them.
At this moment, Wang Lin was holding a piece of wood in his hand. This piece of wood was shaped like a square. As Wang Lin continued to carve, the outline of a turtle type demonic beast gradually appeared.
Looking at the carving in his hand, Wang Lin put down the carving knife and picked up the celadon wine jug. Just as he was about to drink, he found that there was no wine left in the jug.
Usually, at this time, Daniu would come over to watch him carve. Every time he came, he would bring a jug of fruit wine.
Sure enough, not long after, Daniu, who had grown a head taller, opened the door and walked in. Daniu was the youth from before. Although he was only 12 years old, he was very tall.
His body was also a lot stronger than it was a year ago.
After entering the shop, Daniu let out a complaint. He sat down next to Wang Lin and said, "Uncle Wang, when you come to my house, you can talk to my dad. He always wants me to learn blacksmithing from him. I don't want to learn. If I did, I would learn uncle's wood carving skills."
As he spoke, he placed the jug of fruit wine next to Wang Lin. His small eyes narrowed as he stared at the unfinished carving in Wang Lin's hand.
Wang Lin laughed and took a big gulp from the jug. This fruit wine had a sweet taste with a hint of spiciness. After drinking it, he felt a burning sensation in his stomach. Over the past year, this had become a daily necessity for Wang Lin.
"Uncle Wang, what animal are you carving now? Why does it look like a turtle to me?" Daniu looked at the carving in confusion.
Wang Lin rubbed Daniu's head and smiled. "This is not a turtle, but a creature called a bell drum. Although it looks similar to a turtle, it is actually very strong."
Daniu nodded, not really understanding. In the past year, he had seen all kinds of animals in Wang Lin's shop. None of them were things he had ever seen before.
Wang Lin held the carving knife and began to carve on the carving. This turtle-like creature was actually a rare mid quality spirit beast in the Sea of Devils. When it became angry, normal cultivators would not be able to resist it.
But for Wang Lin, he had killed a lot of these low rank spirit beasts and had obtained a lot of cores. As a result, he was able to carve the image of the spirit beast in his mind. He didn't stop at all as he continued to carve the spirit beast.
Half an hour later, Wang Lin made a deep cut in the beast's eye. Suddenly, the carving seemed to come alive and emitted a fierce aura.
The beast raised its head to look at the sky, and a hint of unwillingness and fear appeared in its eyes. It opened its mouth, as if it was letting out soundless roars. A wave of air suddenly spread out from the wooden sculpture in a manner that could not be seen by ordinary people.
However, before the shockwave could even spread out more than three inches, Wang Lin pointed at it with his right hand and the shockwave returned to normal.
Wang Lin took a deep breath and casually placed the carving on a shelf. In the past year, Wang Lin found that he could only carve mid quality spirit beasts. He was unable to carve high quality spirit beasts no matter what.
Every time he carved a high quality spirit beast, he would lose control during the last few strokes and the carving would shatter.
Wang Lin knew that this was because of his cultivation level. After all, a high quality spirit beast was equivalent to a human cultivator's transformation stage.
Daniu's eyes revealed an intoxicated expression. In the past year, he had watched Wang Lin carve every day. Gradually, he became completely immersed in it.
During this past year, he had secretly tried to carve with a carving knife, but he couldn't carve a satisfactory result. Now that he saw Wang Lin carving a piece of wood, he couldn't hold it in anymore and asked Wang Lin.
Wang Lin was silent for a while. He raised his head to look at the youth in front of him and said, "Carving requires comprehension. If you want to learn, then watch me carve for 60 years. After 60 years, you will be able to carve."
Daniu stuck out his tongue and said, "60 years … But I saw Carpenter Zhou from the southern city. He is only 40 years old, but his carvings are also very good."
Wang Lin picked up the wine jug and took another sip. He said, "I'm different from him."
Daniu's eyes revealed a look of confusion. It was clear that he didn't understand the meaning behind these words.
At this moment, there was a commotion outside. Daniu quickly got up and ran out. Not long after, he poked his head back in and said in pleasant surprise, "Uncle Wang, the eldest son of the Xu family's shop is back. He is followed by more than 10 carriages and many people. He looks very impressive."
With that, he ran out again.
Wang Lin didn't mind. He picked up a piece of wood and recalled the scenes from the Land of the Ancient God. The huge desolate beast that had left a deep impression on him. After hesitating for a moment, Wang Lin picked up a carving knife and began carving on the piece of wood.
Time slowly passed. After more than an hour, the door to the shop was pushed open. Da Niu happily ran in. Behind him was a young man with a sturdy body. The young man entered the room and looked at the carvings around him. His eyes suddenly lit up.
Daniu quickly walked to Wang Lin's side. He winked and whispered, "Don't sell it so expensive!"
With that, he quickly turned around and said, "Young master Xu, this is the shop I was talking about. Look at these carvings. They are no worse than Carpenter Zhou's. How about it? Buy a few and take them back."
Wang Lin couldn't help but smile. This Daniu had obviously noticed that Wang Lin's shop didn't have many customers this year, so when he encountered a rich customer, he would definitely pull them to Wang Lin's shop.
The youth named Xu looked around and his eyes became brighter and brighter. He was different from Daniu. He was someone who had seen the world and was now one of the trusted followers of the Southern Prince. He could tell at a glance that the quality of these carvings was several times better than the famous Carpenter Zhou's.
Although the Carpenter Zhou's carvings were also lifelike, there was something missing. He pondered for a bit and suddenly realized that the carvings made by Carpenter Zhou and the carvings in front of him were different by one word, and that was life!
One was lifelike and the other was lifelike!
The difference of one word was more than a thousand miles!
The youth named Xu's eyes shined as he picked up a carving. This carving was the dragon that Wang Lin had carved a few years ago.
The dragon coiled its body and looked up at the sky. Every single scale on its body could be seen clearly. What shocked the youth named Xu even more was that the moment he picked up the carving, he felt as if the carving had come to life. Terrified, his right hand loosened and the carving fell from his hand.
Daniu had long been paying attention to the youth's expression. He knew that once he held these carvings in his hand, there would be a magical feeling, so he often only looked at them without touching them.
With a clang, the carving fell to the ground. Fortunately, it was made of wood, so it wouldn't be damaged even if it fell a few times.
The youth named Xu's face turned red and he quickly said, "Master Wang, what kind of animal is this carving?
Why does it look like a snake? "
Without waiting for Wang Lin to answer, Daniu puffed out his chest and said:
"This is a dragon!
Do you know what a dragon is?
It's an immortal! "
"Dragon …" The youth named Xu remembered it and said, "How much is this dragon carving?"
Wang Lin casually smiled and said, "Ten taels of gold."
When Daniu heard this, he sighed. This time he was finished. This year, he had brought a lot of people to this shop, but every time Wang Lin mentioned the price, everyone would shake their heads and leave.
But he didn't expect that the youth named Xu would just frown and immediately take out ten taels of gold. Then he took off his coat, wrapped it around the carving, and quickly left.
Daniu stared blankly at the ten taels of gold on the table. His eyes shined and he muttered to himself, "Unbelievable, a carving can be sold for ten taels of gold. My father's iron tools can only be sold for one tael of gold a month. That's a rare thing."
After muttering to himself, he immediately made up his mind. It was only sixty years. No matter what, he had to learn this craft. With this craft, he, Daniu, wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of his life.
At this time, he didn't think that it would be sixty years before he could make wood carvings. Even if he didn't have to worry about food and clothing, it would still be sixty years later … After the youth named Xu left the shop with the carving wrapped in his coat, he hurriedly went home to say goodbye to his parents. He didn't even touch the dinner his parents had prepared and quickly took everyone to the Southern Palace.