James felt a jolt of electricity. However, instead of feeling excruciating pain, he felt rather comfortable. “Next, the temple.” Maxine took a deep breath. The True Energy inside her body had been greatly depleted after the first needle. She grabbed a second needle and inserted it into James’ temple, which depleted more of her True Energy. The needle seemed to be capable of automatically absorbing one’s True Energy. “The third needle to the right temple.” Maxine did as she was instructed. After eleven needles, her True Energy was completely drained. Wearing a pale face, she said, “I can’t continue… I’ve depleted too much of my True Energy. I can’t summon any more.” “Mhm.” James nodded. He knew that using the Crucifier would severely deplete one’s True Energy. Besides, the more needles one inserted, the more depleted one’s True Energy would be. “You can pull them out now.” After pulling the needles out, Maxine sat in a lotus position to restore her True Energy.

“What did you find out?” Maxine looked at James with a stunned expression on her face. James pointed at the first and tenth human figures and said, “Look.” Maxine fixed her gaze on the ancient scroll. Then, a smile made its way onto her face. “Do we have to cultivate together?” James nodded. “Seems like it. Wanna test things out?” “Sure.” Maxine nodded with a look of anticipation on her face. The first human figure was sitting in a lotus position with his hands on his head. James mimicked his movements. Meanwhile, the tenth human figure was facing head-down with his palms pressed against the floor. Maxine leaped into the air and pressed her palms against James’. Their positions were a perfect match. Viewing the human figures by themselves, one would inevitably come to the conclusion that the meridian diagram was structurally flawed as one’s True Energy could not flow in the right direction. However, if two people performed the actions together, they would become an

Maxine understood the underlying message in Tobias’ words—he was about to give up on James. Maxine had an idea. She suggested Tobias reveal the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge and the meridian diagram to the other three families. Following that, the other three families would also have to bring their paintings so that they could gather all four paintings in the same place. This could resolve the conflict between the families while allowing her a chance to see all four paintings together. However, Tobias refused. Putting the theft of the Johnstons’ painting aside, the chances of the other two families revealing their paintings were next to none. After all, they had been guarding them for thousands of years. Humans were selfish. The same went for Tobias. He did not wish for others to lay their eyes on the meridian diagram. “Tell James he’ll have to leave in two days.” Saying that, he turned to leave. Maxine frowned and turned to look at the artificial hill behind her. T

At that moment, a crazy thought flashed through James’ mind. Forcing True Energy to move in a retrograde motion caused irreversible damage to his body. He collapsed to the ground and vomited blood non-stop. Blood oozed out from his body and made contact with the ancient scroll and the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge. At that moment, something in the painting changed. Right when he was on the verge of losing consciousness, James saw the full moon disappear and the white flower wither. They were replaced by a scorching sun. Illuminated by the sunlight, the scenery changed, and a few words appeared in the woods. “What…” James was stunned. He opened his eyes wide and stared at the words in the painting. Though the words were in ancient script used thousands of years ago, James recognized them. He etched them in his mind. Then, he fainted. The bloodstain on the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge disappeared, and the painting returned to normal. After some time, Maxi

“Why are you sighing?” “It’s nothing.” Maxine did not say much. Carrying James in her arms, she swiftly made her way into the basement. Since she remained silent, James did not question her further. “By the way, Bobby’s actually a rather nice guy. Don’t take it to heart.” Worried that James might plot his revenge, she added this remark. “Hmph…” James grunted. Bobby had been creating trouble for him since day one. If given the opportunity, he would definitely teach him a lesson. Soon, they arrived at the basement. The ancient scroll and the Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside’s Edge were still on the floor. Though the ancient scroll was stained with blood, the painting was completely fine. Maxine put James in the wheelchair and picked the items up from the floor. James ordered, “Let me have a look.” Maxine handed them over to him. After scrutinizing the painting, he realized that it did not undergo any changes at all. However, he was sure that something changed just bef