“You’ve only just recovered a bit, so it’s best not to walk around too much. Resting quietly would be good for you.”
The kind old man with white beard advised.
“Okay.”
Li Hao nodded.
He also felt the current condition of his body, which was worse than ever before. Staying in the void for too long, his War Body shattered, suffering deep erosion from the void powers. These forces seemed to solidify within him, like vicious piercings, constantly damaging his flesh, balancing out with his body’s natural healing.
He could only rely on the attribute of keeping a low profile to heal slowly.
The Dao Power that was converted within his body also dissipated quite a bit, and his cultivation fell to the True Person Initial Stage, thus needing to concentrate Dao Power once again.
The injury he sustained this time was severe, but the only consolation was that his life was at least saved.
To have escaped from a Saint’s grasp was also considered a miracle.
Thinking of the Void Saint and the Yang Saint, a killing intent involuntarily emerged in Li Hao’s heart, but he quickly suppressed it and set aside such thoughts for the moment, focusing on recovering from his injuries.
“By the sound of your accent, you don’t seem to be from my Canglan Realm, are you?”
The old man with white beard asked kindly in a warm voice.
Canglan Realm? Li Hao’s heart skipped a beat, and he breathed a sigh of relief—it was good that he was not in the Cloud Realm.
Otherwise, lying low right under his enemies’ noses, with his current strength, would still be too dangerous.
“I was chased by enemies and fled here from somewhere else. Thank you for taking me in, elder.”
Li Hao said humbly. His words were honest, though he omitted the fact that his pursuers were Saints.
The old man with the white beard’s eyes flickered slightly and a smile appeared on his lips as he said:
“Getting involved in Jianghu affairs, it’s hard to avoid trouble. I won’t inquire about your enemy, this place is the Sword Ancestor Holy Land. You can stay here and heal in peace.”
“Thank you,” Li Hao expressed his gratitude once again.
The old man with the white beard did not say much more, but instead picked up some herbs beside him and began to crush and grind them into powder.
In the courtyard, the breeze blew gently. The swordsmanship of the young lady seemed to draw in the energy of the air, with streams of white mist gathering at the tip of her sword like ribbons, graceful yet contained a sharp, crisp attack. It embodied both softness and hardness and hinted at the profound path of ultimate tenderness.
Li Hao sat on a grass mat and watched. He could tell that the young lady’s sword techniques were profound and in no way inferior to his own.
At present, his Sword Dao was still at Sixth Stage, yet he hadn’t realized any other artistic skills into the Seventh Stage through Spirit-Entering.
Previously, despite the advancement in his Realm from consecutive battles, his swordsmanship and Fist Skill were falling behind. In combat, he felt somewhat powerless, and now it seemed a good opportunity to improve his Sword Dao while recuperating.
With a thought, Li Hao opened his panel and looked at his current attributes:
Physical Body Dao at Ninth Stage, Control Dao at Seventh Stage, Body Path at Sixth Stage, Sword Dao at Sixth Stage, Fist Skill at Sixth Stage.
As for Artistic Skills, Chess Tao at Sixth Stage, Musical Rhythm at Fourth Stage, Poetry and Books at Fourth Stage, Carving at Fourth Stage, Cooking Dao at Ninth Stage, Artistic Path at Seventh Stage, Fishing Tao at Fifth Stage.
Skill Points remaining: 5 points.
State of Mind: Heart of Poetry and Books, Heart of Carving (usable).
The two States of Mind he had exchanged for only 200 Merit in the Merit Treasure Vault made his Poetry and Books and Carving smoothly enter Fourth Stage, able to continue gaining experience.
Had he attempted to comprehend them on his own, he would have had to ignore everything else for at least two to three months, fully immersing himself, thus saving several months of effort.
Now it seemed that among the third types of artistic skills, choosing to focus on Chess Tao at the Sixth Stage was the best option.
Li Hao had played a game of chess with Emperor Yu before, and he had already vaguely touched upon the Chess Tao Spirit-Entering. Now he was just one step away from breaking through.
At this moment, suddenly, a distant bell tolling sound came.
The bell tolls resonated like the beating of an evening drum, giving one a comfortable feeling of vibrating spleen and heart. It seemed as if all stray thoughts in the brain were swept away.
“Grandfather, I’m going to the Holy Land to practice my morning exercises.”
In the courtyard, the young lady packed up from practicing swordsmanship, turned, and glanced toward the alchemy room, quickly moving her gaze past Li Hao, and spoke to the old man with the white beard.
“Okay.”
The old man with the white beard was focused on grinding medicine and only responded with a word, without raising his head.
Li Hao watched as his life-saving benefactor flew away with Sword Control, disappearing into the horizon.
The courtyard returned to tranquility, leaving only the crunching sound of a stone pestle grinding the medicine.
Li Hao was curious about his surroundings but knew that being too eager and reckless would be counterproductive. He wasn’t in a rush, so he closed his eyes to rest, planning to recuperate and heal quietly.
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
After recuperation and self-healing by keeping a low profile, a third of the void erosion in Li Hao’s body was purified, and his complexion was improving.
At this moment, in the courtyard, Li Hao sat in the corridor, swinging his feet as if on a swing, hanging outside the corridor in mid-air. He held a small knife and a piece of wood the length of chopsticks in his hand. The knife moved nimbly between his fingers as he gradually carved out the figure of an old man, benevolent and kindly.
Soon, after the final cut, Li Hao finished his work. Seeing the experience tips floating up on the panel, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
This past month, he had planned to explore Chess Tao and Fishing, hoping these two artistic skills would enter Spirit-Entering, but alas, no one here was fond of playing chess. Playing against himself did not accumulate any experience, and as for fishing, even more needless to say, he would have to go outside of the Holy Land to find a place.
Since he had not yet recovered from his injuries, it was inconvenient for Li Hao to wander around too much, to prevent any accidents.
With nothing better to do, he took the opportunity to improve his Carving Arts while in the yard.
After all, it was something he needed to improve sooner or later, and in the tranquility, it was particularly suitable for carving alone.
Apart from accumulating carving experience, he would also ponder over the last hint of Spirit Light in the Chess Tao. For the moment, however, he still had no clue.
“You’re quite skilled at Carving; you’ve studied it before, haven’t you?”
The voice of the old man with the white beard came from behind him. He glanced at the carved figure of the elder in Li Hao’s hand, which was his own likeness, showing an even softer look in his eyes, and gently said:
“I just received news that today we need to refine 300 Soul Condensing Pills. Come help out.”
“Alright.”
Li Hao heard the words, put away his small knife, and placed the wood carving of the old man on the wooden rack beside him.
There, aside from the old man, many other things were carved, many of which were acquaintances of Li Hao from the mortal world, including the Little White Fox and impressive Great Demons he remembered.
After arranging everything, Li Hao then headed to the pill room.
After a month of interaction, Li Hao had come to know the identity of this elder; his name was Lin Shanhai, a high-ranking alchemist from the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, with an extremely prestigious position, second only to the Half-Saint Elders.
The Dayu Divine Dynasty also had alchemists, under the control of the Royal Family, and the Sects in Jianghu had them too, but the pill formulas and techniques they possessed were limited, and their treatment could not compare with that of the alchemists in the Royal Pill Refining Institute.
“It’s the same old routine, you start by stirring, and I’ll follow with the refining.”
Lin Shanhai moved the herbs over and said to Li Hao, “Your family’s unique stirring technique is truly remarkable. Ever since you’ve been helping me, not only has the success rate of my pills increased, but so has their quality. However, these trivial tasks have indeed multiplied…”
Saying this, he seemed somewhat helpless, but there was still a smile on his face.
After all, every time he refined pills, he would get a certain commission, and many tasks meant many benefits.
“A small knack, it’s not worth mentioning.”
Li Hao smiled; he hadn’t expected that his Culinary Path would intersect with alchemy.
Previously, as he watched the elder refine pills and smelled the unusual fragrance of the pills, he had a sudden inspiration—wondering if his Culinary Path could cook the herbs into a delicacy comparable to the pills.
With this idea in mind, he borrowed some low-grade herbs left over by the elder and tried cooking them. Under the core refinement ability of the Ninth Stage Cooking Path, the essence of the herbs was extracted, turning them into simple herbal meals with effects that weren’t inferior to the pills at all.
Moreover, compared to pills, there was no fire toxin, allowing for pure absorption. Even in Li Hao’s unique situation, he could absorb them, treating them as dishes without being blocked by the panel.
“This is no small knack; it’s a refinement technique many alchemists dream of mastering. One of the cores of alchemy is refining, followed by portioning and compounding. Your refining technique is the best I’ve seen so far, and also the most unusual. Even an old fellow like me is ashamed compared to you.”
Lin Shanhai expressed his admiration, “Your ancestor must have been an extremely formidable alchemist, turning this purification method into a cooking method to keep it hidden from prying eyes, thus subtly passing it on.”
“…Perhaps.”
Li Hao felt a bit awkward. When he first demonstrated his cooking refinement, he had casually fabricated a story, leading the elder to imagine a saga of grudges and rivalries, even believing that Li Hao’s being hunted by enemies was due to the leakage of this secret, coveted by those with ulterior motives.
Regarding this, Li Hao naturally didn’t go on to explain… so much the better.
At this moment, he stepped forward to help, getting the herbs ready.
When Lin Shanhai started the furnace, Li Hao immediately stimulated the herbs in his palm, stirring and melting them in mid-air, using his Qi Force as a spatula to refine the herbs.
Soon, the cooked herbs let out a greenish juice.
Having the experience, Lin Shanhai opened the furnace lid without an announcement.
Li Hao guided all of the refined herbal juice into the alchemy furnace.
Lin Shanhai’s palm revealed a light of fire, beginning to manipulate the medicine inside the furnace to condense.
The two had clear responsibilities collaborating; soon, spherical pills exuding fragrance were taken out of the furnace.
“Done.”
Two hours later, three hundred Soul Condensing Pills were completely refined.
A smile spread across Lin Shanhai’s face as he patted his old back and said:
“With your help, it’s much easier. You’re a stranger in the Canglan Realm, with neither relatives nor friends. If you’re willing, stay here in the future as my alchemy assistant. Once you learn those middle rank pill formulas, you can become a middle-rank alchemist and enjoy a significant status. In the future, I’ll also pass on to you the few high rank formulas I hold.”
“Mr. Lin, you’re too kind. Offering a helping hand is a small matter. There’s no need to bring up formulas.”
Li Hao shook his head.
Lin Shanhai smiled at the response, not the first time he had brought it up, but Li Hao had consistently refused, so he had grown accustomed to it.
“Come, drink some tea.”
Lin Shanhai brought over the tea and called for Li Hao to have a tea break.
Li Hao also sat down at the tea table, slowly sipping the tea with him, his gaze landing on the girl practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard. The girl, named Lin Qingyue, was Lin Shanhai’s granddaughter and one of the ten saintesses of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land. She had exceptional talent in the Sword Dao and possessed a Holy Bone, suspected to be the reincarnation of a Saint.
However, a Saint reincarnate could not retrieve all their memories until they became a Saint again.
At this moment, she was still Lin Shanhai’s granddaughter.
“Miss Lin is really diligent…”
Li Hao, watching the girl practice her sword day after day without pause, couldn’t help but feel moved. Whenever he saw these people earnestly cultivating, he felt somewhat ashamed.
But then, considering that his carving was also a form of cultivation, he felt somewhat better.
“In a short while, the Sword God War of the Holy Land will decide the strongest geniuses within the land, representing the Sword Ancestor Holy Land in fighting the Pride of Heaven Battle of All Saints. The spot is extremely precious and concerns the path of becoming a Saint; naturally, she dare not slack.”
Lin Shanhai, cupping his teacup, smiled as he spoke, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes.
Competing with others risked injury or even death.
But in a world where all things vie for survival, not advancing means retreating; this path was destined to be paved with blood and tears.
During this time, Li Hao had also heard much about the Land of All Saints and had become less unfamiliar with this place than when he first arrived.
In the Thirty-Three Realms, one hundred and eight Saints have been using incarnations or direct reincarnations since a thousand years ago to cultivate anew in the mortal world.
Also starting a thousand years ago, every hundred years, a Pride of Heaven Battle swept through the Thirty-Three Realms, covering numerous Dynasties.
It was said that the person who achieved first place would receive the Incense Fire of all nations and instantly become a Saint!
This made the Pride of Heaven Battle every hundred years extremely fierce; countless reincarnated Saints participated in the competition.
Dong, the morning bell chimed.
Upon hearing the bell, Lin Qingyue slowly put away her sword and turned to look at an old man and a young man drinking tea in the courtyard, her gaze calm.
After spending a month together, she had grown accustomed to the presence of Li Hao, and had also learned from her grandfather that this man she had brought back was from a Pill Refining Family. Apparently, something might have befallen his ancestors, causing the family’s decline, and now he had become her grandfather’s alchemy assistant.
She had no interest in alchemy, so naturally, she didn’t bother to pay much attention.
“Grandfather, I’m off to practice my morning routine at the Holy Land.”
Lin Qingyue spoke to Lin Shanhai.
Then she flew away on her sword.