Chapter 40: Chapter 37: Establishing a Soul with Heaven and Earth
A year later.
By the edge of Blackwater Demon Lake, the aroma of fish soup wafted into the air.
The two elders sat next to a large pot with their bowls and chopsticks, and Feng Boping followed the customary sip of soup before eating. He scooped up a spoonful of fish soup and slowly savored it, not being able to help but exclaim:
“This kid’s cooking skills could almost rival those of the Imperial Kitchen.”
“Tsk, I’ve been eating it for a year and still haven’t gotten tired of it, which is really strange.”
Li Muxiu was also surprised; he had not expected Li Hao to possess such remarkable culinary talent, a skill that was getting better and better.
“Feng, have you ever eaten from the Imperial Kitchen?” Li Hao asked with a smile.
“I’ve stolen a taste.”
Feng Boping’s face, though aged, bore a hint of a mischievous smile, reminiscing as he smacked his lips, “That half a bowl of leftover soup even had my saliva in it. I wonder which concubine ended up with it.”
“You old thief, if you had served it to Emperor Yu, you would have lost your head,” Li Muxiu said, clearly not amused. He had some understanding of his old friend’s audacious escapades and found them incredibly bold.
Li Hao couldn’t help but laugh. He knew this Saint of Thieves spared nothing and no one; last time, the old man even tried to give him a silk scarf thin as a cicada’s wing, supposedly used by some sect’s saintess. It was only when his second elder chased the old man down half a river with a shoe that he gave up on gifting the scarf.
This had become one of Li Hao’s regrets; he felt that sometimes the second elder meddled a bit too much…
“Life’s pleasures must be fully enjoyed; after all, you have to try everything,” Feng Boping said cheerfully.
Li Hao also picked up his bowl and began to eat, listening to the elders’ banter. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and words appeared before his eyes:
[You have comprehended the Spirit of Cooking]
Li Hao’s eyes glinted briefly before returning to normal, the revelation falling within his expectations.
Since his Cooking skill reached the third tier at the fastest speed, he had sought ways to deepen his involvement, often visiting the kitchen to communicate and learn from the chefs.
These chefs, upon meeting Li Family’s young master, the favored genius, dared not neglect him. Though the matter was extremely odd, they were completely open and exhaustive in sharing their knowledge with Li Hao.
Through deep conversations with the chefs, Li Hao’s horizons had broadened immensely. He learned of the vastness of the culinary arts, which were no less nuanced than Chess Tao.
An array of ingredients, various seasonings, heat control, culinary techniques, removing fishiness, and countless other methods.
These revelations gradually made Li Hao fall in love with cooking, exploring it like a vibrant new world.
Unconsciously, he moved beyond the phase of cooking for experience and genuinely grew fond of the culinary arts.
Even without the incentive of gaining experience points, he would take opportunities to show off his cooking by preparing various dishes.
Lately, with the confectionaries being delivered to Mountain and River Courtyard, he would taste each carefully. If they were made poorly, he would even overturn them and call the cook responsible to offer his personal criticism.
Once it entered his heart, he inevitably became earnest and strict.
Just like casual gamers in video games who wouldn’t mind losing but those who would rage upon defeat were usually the ones who seriously sought victory.
Now, with the prompt of having comprehended the Spirit of Cooking, Li Hao didn’t feel too overjoyed. After dedicating himself to something, he became indifferent to the outcomes, as it had been with his earlier understanding of Chess Spirit.
Nevertheless, with this State of Mind, he could now attempt to break through to the fourth stage of Control Path.
The three chatted leisurely, finishing their meal and drinks. Li Hao picked some choice bones to feed to the little white fox by his side.
The little white fox was a year and a half old, still petite and delicate, its coat lustrous, snow-white. Li Hao had been feeding it Spirit Fruits infused with medicinal properties, along with its daily fish soup, setting it on a path of cultivation, reaching the fifth level of Power Passage Realm.
From a wild fox in the mountains, it was now halfway to becoming a demon, with a slight demonic aura.
If it could reach the Zhou Tian Realm, it would develop spiritual intelligence.
Demons in the Soul Succession Realm could already “appear and vanish like ghosts.”
After finishing lunch, they went fishing for the afternoon.
However, Li Hao only caught one fish demon at the second layer of Zhou Tian Realm. His luck in fishing was not good today.
After packing up, he returned to Listening Rain Tower. Carrying the little white fox, Li Hao went back to Mountain and River Courtyard and shut himself in his room. Only then did he reveal his panel and, after some consideration, decided to use his new State of Mind for a breakthrough in Control Path.
Soon, his Control Path progressed from the third to the fourth stage.
The third stage of Control Path had enabled rapid progress in opening his channels, and now at the fourth stage, he wondered whether he would gain new insights into the major channels and the Qi Circulation Skill.
As he finished allocating points, a rush of information flooded his mind. After a while, Li Hao slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes were clear and bright, with a hint of astonishment.
The world he saw seemed to have undergone some marvelous changes, and the deep insights in his mind told him that this universe was far more wonderful than what he had seen before.
The world was alive with spirit!
“Demons and monsters gain insight from the stars, the sun, and the moon… Soul Succession, with the blessing of the soul’s intention, inherits not only the soul’s intent but must also abide by certain ‘agreements.’”
“Humans may inherit from other humans, from demons, or from myriad races.”
“Likewise, humans can also receive the inheritance of myriad races, the spirits of mountains and specters, the legacies of True Dragons and Phoenixes, or even… the inheritance of the stars, the sun, the moon, and the very earth itself!”
Seeing many martial arts secrets within Listening Rain Tower, and with his own numerous cultivation methods, Li Hao suddenly felt an epiphany.
To inherit from humans, one must carry on their intentions.
To inherit from demons, one must carry on their nature.
But to inherit from the heaven and earth, one must carry on their profundity!
“I will establish my soul with heaven and earth!” Li Hao’s eyes blazed with intense light.
He activated his Myriad Attributes, enveloping his flesh. Unless he himself made a large commotion with his punches and kicks, others would not be able to detect it.
Then, the Qi Force in his body surged through his major channels, with the Yin and Yang Dual Pulse emerging, converging at the top of his head.
In an instant, his body’s strength crazily surged, containing a terrifying force within.
This force seemed as though it would burst forth from his body, breaking through that elusive barrier of nothingness.
He wanted to connect with heaven and earth, to question the sky, the earth, and borrow that bit of strength!
As if sensing Li Hao’s intense will, a vast and terrifying pressure enveloped him like an actual mountain crashing down, causing all his bones to crackle with stress, some unable to bear the weight.
The weight of the world, heavier than Mount Tai!
Li Hao’s eyes reddened, and he roared in his heart.
The terrifying power of the Yin and Yang Dual Pulse erupted, and in an instant, his Qi Force doubled, reaching nearly ten million catties!
That boundless willpower seemed to be lifted up by sheer force!
But then, it was heavily suppressed again!
Li Hao’s body bent, and his feet deeply embedded into the floorboards.
He clenched his teeth, knowing that relying solely on Qi Force was not enough as he had not glimpsed the essence of heaven and earth!
What were the true features of heaven and earth?
It’s the sky, the white clouds, the mountains and rivers, the myriad things on earth… all parts of the world, but not the complete picture of the world!
And he needed to stand his soul upon heaven and earth, what form would that world take in his heart?
In Li Hao’s mind emerged a Buddhist martial art from the seventh floor of the Listening Rain Tower, within which there was a line of Buddhist scripture.
Buddha has no form.
If even the Buddha has no form, how could heaven and earth have a form?
“I stand within this world, I am the form reflected by this world!”
A sudden burst of light exploded in Li Hao’s eyes, his spirituality and Qi Force seemed to surge out together, breaking through an invisible checkpoint and reaching directly into the world!
All of his Qi Force gathered and condensed his essence, energy, and spirit above his body, vaguely manifesting a shadow, that was his own likeness.
Establishing his own form as the form of the world, establishing his soul with the world as its foundation!
At that moment, Li Hao stepped into the Soul Succession Realm.
It seemed an endless strength flowed through the world, through the voids in all directions, pouring into his body.
Every curtain in the room was shaking violently, yet the doors and windows were shut—where was this wind coming from?
In the courtyard, within the pavilion.
As Li Hao embarked on his cultivation, Li Fu no longer followed him like a shadow, but they still resided in the same courtyard.
At this moment, he was playing chess in the courtyard, not because he enjoyed it, but because Li Hao once strongly invited him, teaching him, so that now in his leisure, it seemed the only pleasure he could find.
He was engrossed in a game with Zhao, fighting a battle across the chessboard.
If Li Hao were to see the game, he would only have one comment: “Amateurish pecking.”
Suddenly, both men seemed to pause in their move, involuntarily looking toward a certain direction.
An inexplicable sense of shock, as though something magnificent was awakening, filled them with astonishment, as if it was the misconception of a divine premonition.
What was this thing?
The next moment, both stopped their game and rushed towards Li Hao’s room, for an abnormal event surely meant the presence of a demon.
As they burst through the door in haste, they saw the room in disarray, with vases that sat on the edge of shelves already fallen and shattered on the floor.
And there was Li Hao, his legs embedded in the wooden planks, breathing faintly as if he had practiced a vigorous technique.
“What’s going on?”
Seeing that there was no ambush, the two men relaxed, and immediately hastened to Li Hao’s side.
Li Hao had already calmed the impact of the power from entering the Soul Succession Realm, and Myriad Attributes hid his extraneous aura. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Li Hao exhaled and said, “I was just practicing.”
“You brat, why not go practice in the courtyard,” Li Fu said irritably, yet without suspicion.
Li Hao’s Body Refinement in the Zhou Tian Realm was hardly a secret, and he was aware of it, although the specific details were unclear to him.
“I just had a sudden insight.” Li Hao explained.
“Well, that’s quite good.”
Zhao laughed, although the vases on the floor were centuries old and quite precious, as long as Li Hao made progress in his training, everything was worth it.
Having reassured the two men, Li Hao continued to savor the power of the Soul Succession Realm in his room, which was far superior to the Zhou Tian Realm.
No wonder it was said that only those who reached the Soul Succession Realm were eligible to be the guardians of a city.
And at this moment, he was only nine years old, yet already capable of commanding a city!
After entering the Soul Succession Realm, Li Hao’s life remained as usual.
Day by day, he ate and drank, either going out fishing, drawing or playing chess in the courtyard, or running to the kitchen to cook.
As time went by, the young master started coming up with new ideas, learning poetry and playing the qin, seemingly ever more determined to drift away from ‘proper pursuits.’
Time flew by, spring went and autumn came.
In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.
The Qingyuan Era, year fourteen.
That year, Li Hao turned fourteen.