“No matter what, I must thank you for pointing out the flaws in my Sword Dao,” Bian Ruxue said, her expression cold as usual, for it was her nature not to like owing anyone anything, and she preferred to settle matters clearly.
“Your life-saving grace before has not yet been repaid, this little matter counts for nothing, and it was just a casual remark,” Li Hao glanced at her, thought of the tremendous amount of experience just earned, and hesitated before saying, “If you really want to express your thanks, you could let me paint a few more portraits for you in the future?”
“You, young man!”
Before Bian Ruxue could speak, Lin Shanhai was the one who grew anxious, glaring at Li Hao with anger. Did all he said just go in vain?
Bian Ruxue was also slightly stunned, recalling the painting from earlier, her earlobes turning faintly red. She gazed at Li Hao, as if searching for and confirming something in his eyes.
But Li Hao looked at her calmly, without any hint of evasion.
Bian Ruxue took a long look at him, then turned her head away and said calmly, “No problem. If you can find more flaws in my Sword Dao, I will only be grateful.”
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“So, you agree?” Li Hao’s face showed a smile.
Bian Ruxue didn’t respond but flew into the courtyard to continue practicing her swordplay.
This action was akin to tacit agreement.
Otherwise, if she were unwilling, she had a thousand ways to make Li Hao unable even to see her again.
After all, she was the Saintess of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, second only to the authority of the Half-Saint Elders.
“Qingfeng, oh Qingfeng, why wouldn’t you heed advice?” Lin Shanhai murmured with a troubled expression, suddenly feeling as if he had let the wolf in.
“Old Lin, oh Old Lin, there’s no need for you to worry. I have no other intentions towards Qingyue; please trust my devotion to the Artistic Path. It’s just simple painting. How about I do a couple of portraits for you too?” Li Hao promised earnestly.
Lin Shanhai looked into Li Hao’s sincere eyes with some skepticism, “Really?”
“Truly, it couldn’t be more real!” Li Hao insisted.
Seeing Li Hao’s assurance, Lin Shanhai’s heart quietly relaxed and he said, “Alright then, I’ll trust you this once.”
Li Hao felt somewhat helpless and didn’t continue the topic.
Their conversation, however, reached Bian Ruxue’s ears, causing her to frown slightly and swing her sword faster, as if to whisk away the words.
Soon, she was once again engrossed in the practice of Sword Intent.
…
Since Li Hao had agreed to paint for Bian Ruxue, Lin Shanhai had his attendant build an additional courtyard behind his own for Li Hao.
Though Lin professed trust in Li Hao with his words, his actions were still quietly guarded.
Li Hao could only give a wry smile at this but wasn’t offended; having his own courtyard meant he could enjoy much more peace and quiet.
Aside from painting and carving, he was also quietly recuperating from his injuries.
The void energy that had penetrated his body had nearly half disappeared unnoticed, for this Land of All Saints provided one benefit: the Heaven and Earth Energy was extremely dense, over ten times that of the Mortal World.
No wonder all Martial Artists long to enter the Immortal Gate.
The tenfold increase in cultivation speed and the slowing of lifespan decay were considerable benefits.
A year of cultivation here was equivalent to ten years in the Mortal World, with only one year’s worth of life expended!
However, for Li Hao, whether here or in the Mortal World, it didn’t make much difference; he just wanted to live each day in a satisfying and interesting way.
In the blink of an eye, two months passed.
Li Hao’s injuries had almost completely healed, and the rift-like void energy within him, along with the continuous mending of his flesh, was being cleared away more quickly.
As his body recovered, Li Hao began to cultivate in addition to painting and carving.
Previously, when he fought the Void Saint, he had shattered the Heaven and Earth Vein, which meant that all the major meridians in his body were damaged and destroyed.
Although the flesh had healed, these opened meridians needed to be reconstructed.
Fortunately, with the previous cultivation techniques, reopening these meridians was not difficult for Li Hao.
He set up a Barrier in the courtyard, used the Hidden Bow and the All Phenomena attribute to completely conceal his presence.
Then he began to operate the Meridian Opening Skill, reopening each of the previously opened meridians one by one.
All 108 meridians were reestablished as Li Hao’s cultivation technique progressed.
The remaining two meridians, the Mystic Vein and the Yang Meridian, needed to be reopened—the Mystic Vein could be reopened with the cultivation of the Thousand Jiaos Holy Body Skill.
The position of the Yang Meridian was found within the top of the skull, a location fraught with extreme danger; a light mishap could lead to idiocy, and a serious one to instant death by brain explosion.
But for Li Hao, now in possession of the Seventh Extreme Realm, reopening the Yang Meridian was the least of his concerns.
Even if his head burst, he could be reborn from a single drop of blood.
Quickly, after two attempts, the first ended in failure—his head exploded, but upon regeneration, the second attempt was successful.
Without the Seventh Extreme Realm or some special Secret Technique, other prodigies, no matter how monstrously talented, would meet their end if the opening of the Yang Meridian failed.
With the opening of the Yin and Yang Meridians, the Heaven and Earth Vein also reappeared.
The Seven Extreme Realm, plus one Half Ultimate Realm, was where Li Hao’s current apex stood.
In the following days, he began to condense Dao Power. Previously, when he entered the Immortal Gate, he had just stepped into the Tao Comprehension Realm and his Dao Power had not fully transformed; later, the battle dissipated his Dao Power, and now he was in the early stages of the Enlightened Truth Realm with shallow Dao Power within.
The strength of the Enlightened Truth Realm depends on the concentration of the Dao Power inside.
With the indelible attribute of Dao Power, in theory, as long as the Dao Power is sufficiently deep and strong, it could even have a taste of absolute defense.
Seated in the courtyard, apart from the occasional carving and painting for entertainment, what remained was the monotonous conversion of Dao Power.
Every morning, Li Hao would also visit Lin Shanhai’s Alchemy Room to help him refine medicinal materials.