Chapter 236: Chapter 30: Asking Heaven and Earth for a Breath of Life_2
Li Hongzhuang slightly frowned, staring at Li Hao, and said,
“Do you have any other methods? Relying on that senior alone, I’m afraid he might not be able to hold them off, unless he’s like my second uncle, a being who has reached the Peerless Technique Realm, perhaps capable of suppressing them with a single punch.”
There are four distinct levels within the Four Stands Realm, and the gap between each level is enormous. Li Hongzhuang could not determine at what level that senior was.
“There’s only one way.”
“What?”
“If we can’t beat them, we run.”
“…”
Li Hao smiled and returned to the camp.
Li Hongzhuang quickly followed after him, speaking seriously, “What time is it for jokes now? Why don’t you go find your fourth uncle? Uncle Xiao Ran stepping in would mean that ordinary Four Stands Realm demons are no match.”
Li Hao’s eyes flickered, and he shook his head slightly. When he had left the Li Family, he was alone, taking nothing with him except the clothes on his back, not even the famous sword Eternal Night. He didn’t want to take anything from the Li Family or rely on any connections with them.
“Now is not the time for stubbornness!”
Seeing Li Hao shake his head, Li Hongzhuang urgently said, “We previously speculated that if the Demon King of Wan Shan comes, we might face an attack from three demon kings. If they double up on that senior, even if just for a brief moment, the other one could kill you!”
“I understand.”
Li Hao looked at her quietly, “That’s why I said, if things go south, I’ll make an early escape. As for you, you might become a burden, and I won’t be able to concern myself with you at that time. If you don’t want to die, it’s best if you also leave as soon as possible.”
“By the time you realize, it will be too late,” Li Hongzhuang hurriedly said.
Li Hao shook his head slightly, not continuing the conversation with her.
Seeing Li Hao’s stubbornness, Li Hongzhuang sighed, began to pack her luggage, and said,
“I can’t persuade you. I will go back to Qingzhou to find your father, your second uncle, your fifth uncle, and have them come to persuade you. I hope by then the Demon King of Wan Shan hasn’t arrived yet.”
Li Hao was a bit helpless and speechless towards his little aunt, shook his head and paid her no more attention.
After packing her luggage, Li Hongzhuang also left. No one could withstand the wrath of the Demon King of Wan Shan, and as Li Hao had said, she would only be a burden if she stayed.
On the other side, Li He was anxious, continuously sending messages to Qingzhou, but like dropping stones into the sea, there was no response.
He did not know what the Duke was thinking, but his orders were to protect Li Hao, and he could not leave as easily as Li Hongzhuang.
At this moment, Li He pondered whether he should knock Li Hao unconscious and forcefully take him away.
But after the battle at Dayue City, he knew he was no match for this young master. Once the demons attacked, it wasn’t sure who would be protecting whom.
As he was considering whether to launch a surprise attack, suddenly, his vision went dark.
Following that, he fell straight into the snow, face first.
The figure of Feng Boping emerged from behind Li He, patted his hands, and said to Li Hao, “This base-born old chap from the Li Family, stubborn as a mule, not much different from those other Li family members. We had better send him away first.”
The very Li He who was just contemplating how to knock Li Hao unconscious and carry him away, was now knocked out himself.
Li Hao smiled, handing Li He over to Ren Qianqian. There were fast horses in the camp, and he said to Ren Qianqian, “Take him out of Liangzhou, to any place, um, go to Qi State, wait for me in Cangyu City.”
Ren Qianqian’s face was full of worry. She wanted to persuade him, but these past few days, she had seen both Song Qiumo and Li Hongzhuang attempt repeatedly to no avail, knowing the young man’s pride would not allow him to yield.
She could only agree, looking at Li Hao intently, “Young master, I will wait for you in Cangyu City. You must survive!”
Li Hao, seeing the clear lake-like eyes of the young girl and feeling the pure concern in them, smiled slightly, “Don’t worry, you followed me to learn swordsmanship, and I haven’t yet taught you the true sword arts. I won’t die so easily!”
Ren Qianqian bit her lip quietly, not saying a word.
She deeply gazed at Li Hao, thinking to herself, even if you don’t teach me swordsmanship, I don’t want to see you die… These thoughts remained unspoken in her heart.
There weren’t many words of farewell. Li Hao patted the Red Blood Horse’s rump, sending the young girl on her way.
Li He’s body was also loaded onto the horse’s back, and together, they left via Dragon Pass Road.
This Dragon Pass Road had been cleared by Li Hao. Demons occasionally passed through, but were slain. It was relatively safe.
“Little fellow, if something happens to me, you’ll have to find a cave in this wilderness and practice on your own.”
Li Hao bent down, looking at the little white fox that clung to his leg with both of its paws.
The little white fox looked up, its watery eyes pitifully gazing at Li Hao, making a distinctive fox’s whimper.
Li Hao returned to the small fenced courtyard. With everyone else gone, the yard suddenly seemed empty.
In the nearby snowfield, the figure of the sword-practicing girl was gone.
In the side bedroom, there was no trace of Song Qiumo’s enchanting figure.
And by that solitary grave a thousand miles away, the vivid red figure that used to sit quietly, drinking, was also absent.
“Feng, you’ve never fished for a Demon King before, have you?”
Li Hao looked at the old man leaning on the armchair in the courtyard and smiled. After so many years of acquaintance, they had become friends unconcerned with age. He owed so much that it was beyond words of thanks.
“Hmm, this time I might give it a try.”
Feng Boping chuckled lightly, holding a jug of wine and gently swaying it.
Li Hao sat next to him, took the jug and drank a couple of sips, and asked, “Feng, you’ve been here for so long, yet you seem to have never urged me to cultivate.”
He knew how others viewed his daily actions as frivolous, losing ambition through indulgence. At the mansion, he had some concerns, but here he had let go completely.
Let go of “cultivation.”
“Cultivation is also for the sake of joy. Since you are joyful, what does it matter if you cultivate or not?”
Feng Boping said with a light chuckle.
Li Hao knew that Feng was naturally carefree and unconcerned with trivial matters. Hearing this, he still turned to look at him and then smiled:
“If I could become a bit stronger, you wouldn’t have to work so hard.”
Feng Boping shook his head slightly, his demeanor serene, “A mere three years of trials and tribulations are not worth mentioning.”
Li Hao looked at him and didn’t speak again.
The elder and the younger sat quietly drinking wine, watching the snow scene. Although there were fewer people in the courtyard, it had become even more tranquil.
To prepare for the arrival of the Wan Shan Demon King, Li Hao and Feng had made some preparations, laying many secret plans outside the Heavenly Gate Pass.
Both were adept at fishing, and they were also waiting for the other’s arrival.
Whether they could match the opponent would depend on the size and quantity of the catch.
If the line broke, it would be time to let go.
Another half month passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Hao sat on the mountain top, basking in the cold wind.
The wind today seemed exceptionally strong and cold.
Li Hao sat quietly, with the little white fox curled up in his arms.
With Li Hao’s physique, he naturally didn’t mind the chilly wind. He watched the countless Falling Snow being swept up by the cold wind from the sky, swirling and fluttering, landing among all things.
Suddenly, a sense of enlightenment, as if surging up all at once, filled him.
Days of accumulated thoughts, the sediment of reflection, and the repeated impacts at the door of his heart, at this moment, abruptly broke through the last barrier in his mind.
Li Hao had an epiphany.
He suddenly understood what it was he had been tirelessly seeking.
He also suddenly understood what was common among all things in this vast world.
—It was a breath!
Mountains, rivers, birds, beasts, and all living creatures are animated by this breath!
So too is the cultivation of martial artists.
Ordinary people rely on this breath to live.
Martial artists, rely on Qi Force traveling through their meridians to exert power.
Emotions and desires, all are a breath.
The growth of all things, too, is a breath!
But this breath is not the breath understood by ordinary people; this is a breath of the heavens and earth!
This breath can evolve all things, nourish all things, transform into mountains, rivers, birds, beasts, and into life itself!
Li Hao closed his eyes, and the Qi within his body rapidly contracted and transformed, merging with the heavens and the earth.
This sensation was similar to cultivation, yet also different.
His Qi melded with the heavens and the earth, dispersing, transforming under the refinement of the world, like washing off all adornments, revealing a dazzling brilliance.
This brilliance was ethereal and illusory as if it didn’t exist in the real world.
Li Hao presented all his Qi to the heavens and the earth and then asked the world to lend him a breath, which he integrated into himself.
Li Hao called this breath Immortal Qi.
The Grandmaster Limit, the Land Immortal Realm, achieved!
