《Immortal Destiny》 CH 1 Chapter 1: Li Hao Since the beginning of time, the eastern star continent has been ruled by nine creatures that possess extraordinary power, each of these creatures can split the sea and destroy mountains with ease, they are known as divine beasts. Human races that were born in the eastern star continent, their physique and strength are not comparable to divine beasts and their followers. This resulted in humans end up being nothing more than slaves, toys and even food to the divine beasts and their followers. Every day, humans wished they could put up a fight, and finally one day the opportunity arrived. Two humans with extraordinary powers of unknown origin suddenly appeared and faced the divine beast and its followers. One by one the divine beasts were defeated and sealed, bringing peace to mankind.. On the ninth day of the divine beasts being sealed, the human race asked the two godlike humans why they didn¡¯t kill the nine divine beasts. One of them replied with a prophecy, ¡°One day there will be a human who will unite all the divine beasts and their followers in the eastern star continent under his leadership. The two godlike humans then passed down knowledge to the human race, the knowledge contains methods that allow humans to absorb the world¡¯s energy called Qi, humans who are able to absorb Qi are called cultivators and they can enter the path of immortality. After many humans became cultivators, these two godlike humans disappeared, and the remaining Divine Beast followers reappeared after previously hiding out of fear of the two. Then, began the era where humans and the followers of Divine Beasts known as Demonic Beasts continued to fight for hundreds of years until humans finally emerged victorious and became the new rulers of the Eastern Star Continent. Thousands of years have passed since that day, the history and prophecies that godlike humans say have begun to be forgotten by mankind, the world enters the age of fellow humans and cultivators kill each other for resources. **** ¡°Why is it so dark? Where am I?¡± Little Li Hao opened his eyes wide but couldn¡¯t see anything, the last thing he remembered was when he was swimming to catch fish. Li Hao tried to feel his surroundings, he then touched a lump of slimy flesh and his foot also stepped on something springy. ¡°Hm¡­ Looks like something ate me again¡­¡± Li Hao concluded, this wasn¡¯t the first time he had experienced this. Li Hao started stomping his feet violently, as well as hitting the nearby flesh wall with all his might. It didn¡¯t take long for the surrounding flesh to start shaking violently and finally Li Hao¡¯s body started to be pushed. Moments later Li Hao saw a light, he had been vomited by the creature that swallowed him, a creature in the shape of a crocodile. The crocodile looked both angry and in pain, he regretted not chewing Li Hao before swallowing it. The crocodile didn¡¯t think the little boy in front of him have so much power. ¡°You naughty fish, how dare you eat me.¡± Li Hao snorted in annoyance before running and beating the crocodile. Within minutes, the crocodile fell to the ground, no longer moving. Li Hao picked up the crocodile¡¯s tail and dragged it towards his house. Li Hao is a five year old boy, he has lived in the Peach Blossom Mountain all his life with a man he calls Uncle Liu. All his life or as far as he could remember. Li Hao had always stayed in Peach Blossom Mountain without ever leaving it. Li Hao never knew the world outside the mountain Peach Blossom Mountain itself had everything Li Hao needed, there were fruit trees, a lake where the fish never ran out and beasts that had delicious meat. Yes, as far as Li Hao was concerned, life was about enjoying food every day. It had been a year since Li Hao was ordered by Uncle Liu to hunt for his own food, at first Li Hao could only pick fruit, then he started hunting small animals and his favorite food was fish in the lake. There were different kinds of fish, but Li Hao never differentiated them, even the crocodile he was dragging was considered a fish. ¡°Uncle Liu! I¡¯m home! I brought a big fish for us to eat today.¡± Li Hao exclaimed cheerfully, ¡°Uncle Liu? Why don¡¯t you answer me? Are you napping again?¡± Li Hao turned his head up. the sun was still directly above his head. He then opened the door of his house, a simple building that had to be repaired every heavy rain because of its fragility. Li Hao¡¯s house was not big, as it was only used for sleeping, so apart from the bed, there was hardly any other furniture. Usually, Uncle Liu would lie in bed while waiting for Li Hao to bring him food but this time the house was empty. Li Hao scratched his head, slightly confused that Uncle Liu was nowhere to be seen. Li Hao checked under the bed but couldn¡¯t find it either. It was a while later that Li Hao realized there was a piece of paper on the bed. Li Hao grabbed the paper containing the notes left by Uncle Liu. Li Hao scratched his head even harder than before, his expression also turning to one of astonishment, ¡°Did Uncle Liu forget that I still can¡¯t read yet?¡± *&^ Five years had passed since Li Hao found the paper on the bed and since that day Uncle Liu was never seen again, making Li Hao often wonder what was written on the paper. Ten years old, Li Hao¡¯s body had grown taller and stronger. Even though he sometimes misses Uncle Liu, at least Li Hao is still passionate about living his days for the past few years. ¡°Groaarr!¡± A loud roar woke Li Hao from his slumber, he relaxed his muscles, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s morning already?¡± After doing a light warm-up, Li Hao left his house to take a morning shower and look for breakfast but only taking a step out of the house, Li Hao was surprised to see that the sky was still dark. ¡°Hmm? Did the rooster wake up too early? Why does he crow when it¡¯s still dark?¡± Li Hao muttered as he looked up at the sky. Right after Li Hao said so, a thunderbolt flashed loudly. Li Hao jumped backwards in surprise, he just realized the sky was dark above him because it was cloudy, but Li Hao had never seen clouds this dark and covered the entire sky in his entire life. ¡°Is Heaven angry?¡± Li Ho swallowed his saliva. Rain started to pour down heavily, so Li Hao could only sit and wait inside his house. At the same time, a loud sound that was slightly different from thunder started to fill the air. The sound kept repeating itself and became more and more frequent. ¡°Why is today¡¯s thunder so different?¡± When Li Hao turned his head upwards, he found that something was hurtling down from the sky. CH 2 Chapter 2: Sword and Poison Amidst the black clouds and flashes of lightning, two people were hovering with an injured condition. One of them was a man who looked to be in his forties, had a stern face and a dignified demeanor, while the other looked like a man in his early twenties. The most striking thing about him was his blood-red hair and handsome face. ¡°Does it have to end up like this?¡± The stern-faced man sighed. ¡°Fang Mu, you already know this war is different from the previous one. It will only end when one of us dies.¡± The red-haired man shook his head with a chuckle, not caring that the blood dripping from the edges of his lips was getting heavier. Fang Mu looked deeply at the handsome man in front of him before closing his eyes, remembering the past that happened between the two of them. ¡°Fang Mu, do you think this is the right time to close your eyes? Are you underestimating me? Remember, with our last match, the number of my wins and losses to you is even.¡± The red-haired man can still joke. ¡°Xiao Fan, it¡¯s all my fault. If I had put more effort in the past¡­¡± Fang Mu clenched his fists tightly. ¡°Fang Mu, there¡¯s no need to lie to yourself. Ever since I killed Xue Bai hundreds of years ago, we both realized that there was no turning back for me, and a day like this would eventually come.¡± ¡°We have lived for more than five hundred years. We were childhood friends back then, but after becoming cultivators, we made different choices. You reach the top with your way, and I reached the top with the path I chose myself¡­¡± Xiao Fan looked up. ¡°Five hundred years is a long time. It is time for us to end this complicated relationship.¡± Fang Mu swung his sword, but his hands trembled. Various thoughts filled his head until he finally couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. ¡°Xiao Fan, come back with me to the Heaven Mountain Sect. Even if I can¡¯t wash away all your sins, at least I¡¯m sure I can keep you alive. Atone for your sins, and maybe¡­ maybe we can go back to how we used to be.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention the name of that cursed place in front of me!¡± Xiao Fan, who was originally calm, changed his expression. Heaven Mountain Sect where Fang Mu came from only held bad memories for him. During the several years that Xiao Fan spent his life as a servant, he was bullied in the sect. ¡°Fang Mu, are you blind?! The Heaven Mountain Sect that you defended had sent you to die!¡± Fang Mu was speechless. His situation in this war was indeed unfavorable. The help that should have arrived for him had not arrived yet, since the patriarch of Heaven Mountain Sect was withholding the reinforcements. ¡°That Ji brat is too afraid of you. He thinks you will take the patriarch position from him after this war is over! He wants you to die in this war! How long do you need to realize this?!¡± Xiao Fan threw out all his anger, and Fang Mu couldn¡¯t retort back. ¡°Xiao Fan¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°Fang Mu, enough¡­¡± Xiao Fan released a large amount of qi and gathered it in his right fist. ¡°Let¡¯s end this now. I will use my best attack to end this.¡± Fang Mu closed his eyes before releasing qi into his sword, making the sword glow golden. Then, he opened his eyes, which were filled with sadness. Slowly, golden-colored flying swords began to appear around Fang Mu, starting from a dozen, turning into hundreds, and then into thousands of golden swords of light. ¡°Xiao Fan, you can¡¯t win over me¡­¡± ¡°Tell that to my punch. Life Banishing Fist!¡± Xiao Fan unleashed a punch that seemed to move the entire world with him. ¡°Rising Yang Thousand Sword!¡± Fang Mu used thousands of swords of light to block Xiao Fan. Thousands of swords of light turned out to be unable to stop Xiao Fan¡¯s punch, and in the end, the red-haired man¡¯s punch landed on Fang Mu¡¯s body. Simultaneously, Fang Mu¡¯s real sword pierced through Xiao Fan¡¯s body. One thing that surprised Fang Mu was that Xiao Fan¡¯s punch wasn¡¯t as strong as he thought. Although the punch wounded him, it wouldn¡¯t get him killed. That¡¯s when he realized that Xiao Fan was smiling broadly at him. ¡°Xiao Fan! You!¡± Xiao Fan couldn¡¯t respond to Fang Mu; he had lost his consciousness. Fang Mu wanted to react further but was stopped, as a huge lightning bolt struck both of them at the same time. If it was on another occasion, such lightning would not be able to injure the two of them, but their conditions were unusual¡ªboth of them were seriously injured. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan couldn¡¯t continue to float, and both of them started to fall down. Fang Mu felt like he hit something in the air before losing his consciousness as well. *** Li Hao became curious after realizing that something that fell from the sky resembled a human. Not caring about the heavy rain, he started running towards one of the locations where it fell. Li Hao found an unconscious middle-aged man. His face reminded him of Uncle Liu, who had suddenly disappeared long ago. Whether it was because of Li Hao shaking his body too hard or the heavy rain falling on him, the man finally came to his senses. The man looked at Li Hao in astonishment. ¡°Child¡­ Why did you¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, the man vomited quite a lot of blood. He then took a jade bottle from his robes, and then emptied the contents in his mouth. The man sat cross-legged before catching his breath. Li Hao watched in silence, observing the actions that he found confusing. It wasn¡¯t long before the man opened his eyes while frowning and realized something was wrong. He was having trouble gathering the qi into his body. ¡°What is this place? Why is the qi here so thin?¡± Li Hao didn¡¯t understand what the man was talking about. He just scratched his head awkwardly. The man¡¯s attention then turned to Li Hao. ¡°Young man, did you see anyone else who fell with me?¡± ¡°Yes. The person you mean probably fell there¡­¡± Li Hao pointed in one direction. ¡°I saw you two fall from the sky. How did you two get up there?¡± ¡°Child, this is not the right time to explain. I need your help to get me to the location. Can you help me?¡± The man tried to stand but had trouble getting up. ¡°No problem, I will take you there.¡± Li Hao lifted the man up easily, making the man slightly surprised. CH 3 Chapter 3: Little Savior ¡°Uncle, can humans really fly, or is uncle not human? Can I fly like you?¡± ¡°I am human. My name is Fang Mu. If there is a chance, I will teach you how to fly, but can we find my friend first?¡± It had been quite a while since Li Hao had someone he could talk to, so he became excited. He ran while carrying Fang Mu on his shoulders. There were actually a lot of questions in Fang Mu¡¯s head regarding Li Hao, but his priority right now was Xiao Fan. In a relatively short time, the two arrived at the location where Xiao Fan fell. It wasn¡¯t hard for Li Hao to find it because he had already memorized the Peach Blossom Mountain region by heart. ¡°Xiao Fan!¡± Fang Mu got off Li Hao¡¯s arms, trudging over to Xiao Fan¡¯s side. Xiao Fan¡¯s condition was worse than his, mainly because of the heavy bleeding he was experiencing. Fang Mu took out some pills and put them in Xiao Fan¡¯s mouth before channeling his qi to help Xiao Fan absorb the pills¡¯ properties. Every pill that Fang Mu used was precious; he didn¡¯t even use it to help himself because the amount he had was limited. Xiao Fan¡¯s breathing became more stable. In contrast, Fang Mu¡¯s face became paler than before. ¡°Uncle Fang, your face is turning white.¡± Li Hao noticed the change in Fang Mu. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine after resting for a while. Is there a place where we can rest?¡± ¡°My house isn¡¯t far from here, but I can¡¯t take both of you there at once.¡± Despite having great strength, Li Hao¡¯s body was too small to carry two people with him. Fang Mu asked Li Hao to help Xiao Fan first, while he could be picked up later. Li Hao complied with the request and carried Xiao Fan to his house. ** The first thing Xiao Fan saw when he opened his eyes was Fang Mu sitting and looking at him. ¡°Ah, have you died with me? Your body is too weak. I¡¯ve reduced my strength by more than half¡­¡± Xiao Fan tried to stand up, but then he realized that his whole body ached and it was hard to move. ¡°This pain¡­ I¡¯m still alive? How long have I been unconscious for?¡± ¡°About a few hours. You swallowed a few Heaven-grade pills, but it still took this long to recover.¡± Fang Mu shook his head. ¡°Are you sure the quality of your pills isn¡¯t too bad?¡± Xiao Fan¡¯s brows rose and fell. ¡°My pills are the best! Other than Pill Immortal, who can make pills better than me? It¡¯s your body that is too weak.¡± ¡°Fang Mu! You!¡± ¡°You what?¡± The two stared at each other intently for a moment before bursting out laughing. For hundreds of years, the two of them had always fought every time they met. It was difficult to get rid of that habit in a short time, but in their deepest hearts, each of them still considered each other as closest friends. As the two stopped laughing, Li Hao opened the door and looked at Xiao Fan. ¡°Oh, Uncle Redhead is awake? I brought you clean water to drink.¡± Li Hao placed the wooden bowl filled with water beside Fang Mu and Xiao Fan. ¡°Hm? Who is this kid?¡± Xiao Fan turned to Fang Mu. ¡°He¡¯s the one who saved both of us¡­¡± Fang Mu hadn¡¯t finished speaking as a loud voice filled the air. ¡°Groooaaarr!¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan became alert. They had never heard such a loud roar before. ¡°What sound is that?!¡± Xiao Fan and Fang Mu asked in unison. ¡°Ah, both of you have never heard the sound of a chicken? That voice means it¡¯s morning and the sun is about to rise,¡± Li Hao explained casually. ¡°A chicken?!¡± Xiao Fan and Fang Mu glared at Li Hao, almost cursing. Xiao Fan looked at Fang Mu, his gaze seeming to ask what was wrong with Li Hao, but Fang Mu only smiled faintly. ¡°You two must be hungry. I¡¯ll go find some food for you.¡± Without waiting for their answer, Li Hao hurriedly left the house. Xiao Fan wanted to stop him, but his stomach suddenly rumbled. Something he hadn¡¯t felt for hundreds of years suddenly came back to him. ¡°What the hell? Why do I feel hungry?¡± Xiao Fan couldn¡¯t believe it. When cultivators reach a certain stage, they don¡¯t need food anymore to survive. Even if they eat, that was just to satisfy their craving. The hunger that assaulted him made Xiao Fan very confused. Kriuukk¡­ Xiao Fan turned to Fang Mu, who was stroking his stomach just like himself. Fang Mu also felt hungry. ¡°I told you the story is quite complicated¡­¡± Fang Mu sighed. ¡°Is this related to the child?¡± ¡°His name is Li Hao, and as you can see, he is ten years old. He said this place is called Peach Blossom Mountain, and he has been here his whole life¡­¡± Fang Mu recounted all the information he had obtained from Li Hao as well as what he had managed to find. ¡°Peach Blossom Mountain¡­ How come I¡¯ve never heard of it?¡± Xiao Fan tried to remember but couldn¡¯t find any information regarding Peach Blossom Mountain. ¡°There¡¯s no need to think about it. This place has never been discovered before. I know very well the location of our battle, but there shouldn¡¯t be a place named Peach Blossom Mountain¡­¡± ¡°Ah, does that mean this place is an undiscovered Pocket Realm?¡± ¡°At least that¡¯s the biggest possibility for now¡­ What¡¯s interesting is that this dimension has very little water¡­¡± Fang Mu then recounted how Li Hao brought them to his house and showed a strength that children his age generally don¡¯t have. ¡°I would have accepted it more easily if he was a cultivator, but this brat named Li Hao doesn¡¯t have the slightest trace of qi in his body,¡± said Fang Mu while tapping his finger on his knee. ¡°You mean he has special bodies like your Sword Spirit Body and my Thousand Poison Body?¡± ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯ve never seen a body like this before, so I don¡¯t know what kind¡­¡± Xiao Fan noticed Fang Mu¡¯s constantly changing expression, as if restless. ¡°You weren¡¯t thinking of bringing him to the Heaven Mountain Sect, were you? Your sect has a rule of only accepting talented children 5 years of age or under it¡­ With his age, he wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°We both entered the sect at the age of 12. There are always exceptions¡­¡± ¡°Do you want him to end up like me?!¡± Xiao Fan hit the mattress beside him. ¡°With the influence I have now, I¡¯ll make sure that doesn¡¯t happen again. He¡¯ll become my direct disciple¡­ After all there¡¯s no way for you to bring him to the Five Poison Valley, right?¡± Just as the two were about to start arguing again, Li Hao opened the door with a big smile, and both of their eyes fell on the little boy. ¡°Uncles, I have brought you food. Can you help me to skin it?¡± CH 4 Chapter 4 : Cow? Rabbit? Fang Mu and Xiao Fan froze for a long time in front of Li Hao¡¯s prey. The two then looked at Li Hao curiously. Xiao Fan patted Fang Mu on the back. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not seeing it wrong, am I? Did you see what I saw?¡± Fang Mu stared at Xiao Fan for a moment before turning his gaze to Li Hao¡¯s prey. ¡°Child, do you know what creature you just hunted?¡± Li Hao, who had been watching the two¡¯s reaction earlier, was slightly surprised by Fang Mu¡¯s sudden question. ¡°Eh, eh, what¡¯s that? I forgot. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the name is cow or rabbit, but does it matter? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s edible and tastes good.¡± ¡°Cow?¡± ¡°Rabbit?¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan looked at each other and then at Li Hao¡¯s prey again, both of them quite sure that the creature lying lifeless was a bear. Not even an ordinary bear, but a bear-type Demonic Beast. ¡°There is something wrong with this kid¡¯s common sense¡­¡± Xiao Fan scratched his forehead. Fang Mu did not comment further. He took Xiao Fan to examine the creature more thoroughly. It didn¡¯t take long before they discovered that the creature was indeed a Demonic Beast. Fang Mu used his sword to open the bear¡¯s chest, digging out a red crystal. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s that thing again in the meat, huh? Uncle, that¡¯s too hard to eat. I usually throw it away.¡± Li Hao recognized the red crystal in Fang Mu¡¯s hand. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan frowned, as Li Hao¡¯s statement made their heads start to ache. ¡°Child, this crystal is called a Demonic Core. It can only be found in the bodies of Demonic Beasts. This thing has many uses and is a valuable resource for cultivators¡­ You threw it away?¡± Fang Mu asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Oh, if you feel it¡¯s valuable, you can keep it. I don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s worthless for someone at my level, but¡­¡± Fang Mu had a hard time explaining it. Li Hao watched and listened to Fang Mu attentively, but he could not understand the explanation immediately because everything was new to him. Xiao Fan examined the Demonic Core they had just found. ¡°Judging by its size and purity, this Demonic Beast should have a strength equivalent to a level three of Qi Forging. To kill this creature without any qi¡­¡± ¡°Qi Forging? Is it something that can be eaten?¡± Li Hao sucked his index finger. He was actually hungry, but the two uncles in front of him kept on talking and delaying his time to eat. ¡°Qi Forging is a stage of cultivation¡­ Never mind, we¡¯ll explain further later. Let¡¯s eat first¡­¡± Fang Mu shook his head. Li Hao was not the only one feeling hungry, but Fang Mu and Xiao Fan too. Li Hao enthusiastically cut up the Demonic Beast and separated the meat for cooking while Fang Mu and Xiao Fan were still discussing the Demonic Beast. ¡°This kid doesn¡¯t have the slightest qi. Even though he has a special body, killing creatures that are at level three of Qi Forging¡­ It¡¯s hard to believe¡­¡± Xiao Fan shook his head. Demonic Beasts were famous for being bloodthirsty and living in the wild, and they were generally stronger than humans at the same level of practice. ¡°This place has very little qi; it could be that the Demonic Beasts are weaker. In my estimation, the Demonic Beasts in this place can only use at most ten percent of their full strength.¡± Fang Mu conveyed his analysis. ¡°I still think it¡¯s absurd. Ten percent of the strength of a level three of Qi Forging is still not something a mere mortal can deal with without qi. What type of body does he have?¡± ¡°Perhaps my guess was wrong. This kid named Li Hao doesn¡¯t have a special body¡­ His strength comes from other factors.¡± ¡°What do you mean? Another factor¡­¡± Xiao Fan realized what Fang Mu meant. ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan then looked at the pile of meat in front of them. ¡°Demonic Beast meat is known to have good properties for people who consume it, improving the quality of the body, especially muscles and bones. But not many cultivators regularly consume Demonic Beasts. We prefer to consume pills, spirit herbs, or magic plants, right?¡± Fang Mu then turned his gaze to Li Hao. ¡°Imagine this¡ªLi Hao said that he had spent his entire life in this place. In other words, every day for so many years, he consumed Demonic Beast meat. No wonder he has great physical strength.¡± Xiao Fan scratched his head. ¡°In a ten-star sect like the Five Poison Valley or your Heaven Mountain Sect, perhaps only a few people can obtain resources like this kid.¡± ¡°For him who doesn¡¯t belong to a sect, of course this is a blessing. But in the long run, he won¡¯t be able to keep up with those from big sects just by relying on Demonic Beast meat.¡± ¡°Are you determined to bring him to the Heaven Mountain Sect?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see how the situation develops.¡± Li Hao waved at the two while holding a large roasted meat on the other hand. ¡°Uncles, the meat is cooked!¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan chuckled at his antics. At the same time, they tried to remember when they last laughed and felt calm like this. *** ¡°Grooooarrr!¡± The sound of loud roars echoed again, as usual. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan opened their eyes lazily. The two of them hadn¡¯t slept for hundreds of years, but for the last few days, they couldn¡¯t hold back the drowsiness that struck them because of their recovery. A week had passed since Fang Mu and Xiao Fan fell on Peach Blossom Mountain. Seeing that there were no people looking for them, it made them more convinced that this place was indeed separate from the world they were familiar with. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan¡¯s condition had gotten better. At least the two of them could walk on their own without any problems and had some qi. One thing that surprised them was that they couldn¡¯t recover qi with outside help like pills or spirit stones. The two of them had to rely on their own abilities to absorb the meager qi in this place. Their relationship with Li Hao also grew closer, considering that Li Hao had helped the two of them a lot. ¡°Hao Er, we¡¯re both well enough. Can you take us down the mountain?¡± ¡°Ah, you two uncles already want to go home?¡± Li Hao scratched his head, looking a little sad. Fang Mu stroked Li Hao¡¯s head with a big smile. He had no intention of leaving Li Hao in this place alone. ¡°Hao Er, we have something to do¡­¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll bring you two uncles down the mountain after breakfast.¡± CH 5 Chapter 5 : The Secret of Peach Blossom Mountain ¡°Is there still a long way to go?¡± Xiao Fan asked breathlessly. Fang Mu didn¡¯t ask, but he wiped his sweaty forehead. Neither of the two expected that Peach Blossom Mountain was so big and vast. They had walked for quite a while but had yet to find the end of this place. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Uncle. I¡¯ve only been there once with Uncle Liu¡­ I¡¯ve never gone this far to look for food.¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan had heard about Uncle Liu and the letter he left behind. The problem was, Li Hao forgot where he put the letter, so he couldn¡¯t find out what Uncle Liu¡¯s last message before he disappeared. This Uncle Liu¡¯s story made Fang Mu and Xiao Fan think there was a way out of this place. It was about an hour later that they arrived at the boundary of Peach Blossom Mountain. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan were taken aback by the sight before them. ¡°Why do you want to get out of Peach Blossom Mountain? It¡¯s always night out there, isn¡¯t it?¡± Li Hao pointed at the pitch-black darkness that was beyond the bounds of Peach Blossom Mountain. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan walked closer to the border until the two of them were only a step away from the darkness. ¡°This place is completely separate from the Eastern Star Continent¡­¡± Fang Mu muttered under his breath. ¡°Not only that.¡± Xiao Fan stretched out his hand, then felt an energy wall between Peach Blossom Mountain and the darkness. ¡°There¡¯s a barrier; it won¡¯t be easy to break through.¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan spent quite a while studying the barrier. Both of them came to the conclusion that they could only forcibly break through if they used their full strength together. ¡°This Uncle Liu who was with Hao Er¡­ Could he be a cultivator?¡± Xiao Fan frowned. ¡°If so, he must be stronger than the two of us.¡± Fang Mu stroked his chin, still looking at the energy wall in front of him. ¡°No way. Is the Uncle Liu Hao Er mentioned referring to the Pill Immortal? Only he might surpass us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ I¡¯ve heard the Pill Immortal has the surname Yao.¡± The two of them researched the barrier further until it was getting dark, and both of them finally came to the conclusion that they couldn¡¯t leave this place. ¡°We accidentally entered here when we fell down the sky¡­ Looks like getting in here is easier than getting out.¡± Fang Mu shook his head, looking disappointed. In contrast to Fang Mu, Xiao Fan actually laughed loudly, astonishing Fang Mu. ¡°Anything funny?¡± Fang Mu raised his eyebrows. ¡°Perhaps this is for the best.¡± Xiao Fan sighed after laughing. ¡°After all, one of us should have died in that battle. Let¡¯s just say that we are both dead and this is another realm. I believe the war will end with the death of both of us, right?¡± Fang Mu wanted to say something but ended up dropping it. ¡°I see. Unlike you, returning to Five Poison Valley means nothing to me. The only thing that matters to me is Master She, and she is already too old. She won¡¯t live too long.¡± Xiao Fan smiled bitterly. ¡°You have a better life in Heaven Mountain Sect, so we will find a way to let you out of this place.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need. You¡¯re right¡ªwe¡¯re both dead. If we can¡¯t go back, it¡¯s fate.¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan looked at each other until they finally started laughing together. Li Hao had been squatting while watching the two. ¡°Uncle, do we still have to stay here for long? I¡¯m already hungry¡­¡± He rubbed his stomach. *** Another few days had passed since Fang Mu and Xiao Fan found the dividing wall. The two who decided to live in Peach Blossom Mountain had built their respective homes because they didn¡¯t want to live crowded together with Li Hao. Neither Fang Mu nor Xiao Fan had recovered enough strength to hunt for food on their own, so both of them had to rely on Li Hao. They spent their time telling each other their stories while waiting for Li Hao to come home with his catch. Sometimes Li Hao also listened to their stories together. The two had already spent hundreds of years as enemies without having a chance to talk as friends. Naturally, there was a lot they could tell each other. ¡°Aw. Every time I think about it, I feel embarrassed. To think that one day, I¡¯ll have to depend on a child like this for my life¡­¡± Xiao Fan groaned when he saw Li Hao cutting the Demonic Beast¡¯s meat in the distance. Fang Mu didn¡¯t comment, but he actually felt the same way. ¡°Fang Mu, what happened to you? You¡¯ve been a lot quieter this morning.¡± Xiao Fan noticed that there was something different about Fang Mu today. ¡°I¡¯m still thinking about the question Hao Er asked last night¡­¡± The previous night, Xiao Fan had talked about him killing several people who tried to take resources from him, and one of the people he had killed was a famous figure in the cultivator world during his peak. Li Hao listened to the story. In the few days of hearing the stories of Fang Mu and Xiao Fan, he began to understand the meaning of cultivators and the path of immortality they pursued. A human being could train themselves to absorb qi and extend their life to attain immortality¡ªthat was a cultivator. While listening to Xiao Fan¡¯s story, Li Hao suddenly asked, ¡°Uncle, if one really becomes a cultivator to pursue immortality, why do cultivators kill each other? Isn¡¯t that contradicting their original goal?¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan couldn¡¯t answer for a long time. Of course, they understood the simple answer was because the world¡¯s resources were limited, which was why everyone fought to achieve immortality. But on the other hand, Li Hao¡¯s question made them both aware that the world of cultivators had changed. One no longer became a cultivator for the sake of immortality but for the sake of strength in order to protect oneself from other people who might become cultivators. The world turned into a place where the strong survived and the weak would forever be oppressed. ¡°Xiao Fan, do you think it is possible for the world of cultivators to be such a peaceful place? No more war and everyone living together?¡± ¡°Forget it. The world of cultivators has been split into two large groups, the righteous and evil factions1. Unless there is a cultivator who understands both schools at the same time, there is no way peace will be created. The problem is, which cultivator can learn from the both righteous and evil faction?¡± Xiao Fan frowned. Xiao Fan and Fang Mu looked at each other¡ªuntil they both realized something. Both of their gazes landed on Li Hao. *** CH 6 Chapter 6 : The Path of Immortality Li Hao scratched his head, not understanding what possessed Fang Mu and Xiao Fan that made them suddenly want him to become cultivators. ¡°Hao Er, don¡¯t you want to fly? As long as you train hard, it¡¯s not impossible to achieve,¡± Xiao Fan said in an attempt to seduce him. Li Hao shook his head. He wasn¡¯t too interested in that anymore. ¡°What about longevity? You can live longer if you become a cultivator.¡± Fang Mu took another approach. ¡°Uncle, what is the use of long life? I might spend all of my life on Peach Blossom Mountain.¡± ¡°Besides longevity, you can become stronger,¡± Xiao Fan added. ¡°Uncle, if being a cultivator really makes you stronger, why can¡¯t you find your own food?¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan were choking on their own saliva; Li Hao¡¯s words were like needles piercing their hearts. ¡°Uncle, didn¡¯t you guys talk about unifying the world of cultivators or something? We can¡¯t even get out of Peach Blossom Mountain, so what¡¯s the use of teaching me?¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan looked at each other. Neither of them had forgotten their situation, but they didn¡¯t know what would happen in the future, so they wanted to pin their hopes on Li Hao. After all, neither of them had a successor and didn¡¯t want everything they had learned over hundreds of years to go to waste. ¡°Hao Er, consider this as a way for us to pass the time and repay the favor for helping us both,¡± Xiao Fan said quietly, his confidence fading. Xiao Fan and Fang Mu felt like digging a hole and then hiding in it. Both of them were the greatest heroes in the world and countless people wanted to learn from them, but Li Hao actually took the opportunity as something which is troublesome. ¡°Uncle, I don¡¯t really understand the world you guys are talking about, but I remember a saying that, for a person to become a cultivator, one must have something called a Spirit Root, right? What if I don¡¯t have it?¡± It was only after Li Hao spoke that Fang Mu and Xiao Fan realized this, both of them feeling too rushed to forget the basics. Fang Mu took out a crystal ball shaped device and asked Li Hao to place his hand on it. Before long, the tool showed five different colors, which made Fang Mu and Xiao Fan¡¯s faces look dark. ¡°Is something wrong, Uncle?¡± Li Hao noticed the change in the expressions of the two. ¡°No. Hao Er, you have a Spirit Root, it¡¯s just that it has five elements,¡± Fang Mu replied slowly. Fang Mu explained that a Spirit Root could consist of one to five elements. The fewer elements one had, the purer the quality of the Spirit Root. In the world of cultivators, one¡¯s talent was judged by the quality of the Spirit Root one possessed. ¡°Your Spirit Root has the elements of fire, water, metal, wood, and earth. If you look at it from one perspective, this means that you can use almost any technique at your disposal. But cultivators are better off studying one field until they are skilled at it,¡± Xiao Fan added. Xiao Fan explained that one would normally follow a path that befits one¡¯s Spirit Root. Xiao Fan, for example, has a Spirit Root with two elements. His talent was above average, and he had a special body called the Thousand Poison Body that made him choose the path as a Poison Cultivator. In addition to being a cultivator steeped in poison arts, Xiao Fan¡¯s possession of the earth and metal elements in his Spirit Root allowed him to practice techniques that strengthened his body after mastering poison arts to the pinnacle, allowing him to become one of the greatest Body Cultivators in existence. ¡°Poison Cultivator¡­ Body Cultivator¡­ How about Uncle Fang?¡± Li Hao turned to Fang Mu. ¡°I also have a Spirit Root with two elements, namely fire and wood, making it suitable for me to learn Alchemy and become an Alchemist. Like Xiao Fan, I have a special body known as the Sword Spirit Body, making me perfect for practicing swordsmanship and becoming a Sword Cultivator¡­¡± According to Fang Mu¡¯s explanation, cultivators have various types which depend on the path they take, such as Beast Cultivators, Ghost Cultivators, Demon Cultivators, and many more. ¡°Sword Cultivators are known as the best cultivators because they cannot be defeated by other cultivators at the same level of practice, as well as the most common cultivators encountered in the Righteous Sect,¡± Fang Mu said with a bit of pride. ¡°Hmph! What¡¯s so good about it? Sword cultivators mostly don¡¯t master Daoist Magic, making it difficult for them to take on a large number of opponents at once. Poison Cultivators are the best! Not only can we poison people with higher practice levels than us, we also have no trouble taking on multiple enemies at once.¡± Xiao Fan snorted loudly. Fang Mu¡¯s brows immediately rose and fell upon hearing that. ¡°Xiao Fan, what do you mean by that?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything. I just didn¡¯t want you to mislead Hao Er with your lies.¡± ¡°Lies?! Who¡¯s lying?!¡± ¡°Of course you are!¡± Li Hao shook his head. They¡¯re at it again¡­ Over the past few days, Li Hao had witnessed the two of them arguing and even fighting over petty disputes, leaving him confused whether these two were actually close or hostile. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan started arguing for quite a while until Li Hao yawned and finally fell asleep in a cross-legged position. ¡°That¡¯s enough. This isn¡¯t the time for us to fight¡­¡± Fang Mu was finally able to control himself. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished¡­¡± Xiao Fan wanted to say more, but his stomach started to growl loudly. Arguing for a long time was enough to make both of them hungry, and Li Hao woke up hearing the sound of their stomachs. ¡°Ah, Uncles, are you done fighting? How about we eat first and then continue?¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan could only sigh deeply before following Li Hao to prepare the food. Moments later, the three of them enjoyed a meal together. ¡°Five elemental Spirit Root, huh¡­¡± Fang Mu only ate a bit before starting to sink into his thoughts. ¡°This is nothing strange. Only one in ten humans have Spirit Root, and half of new cultivators every year have five element Spirit Roots¡­¡± Xiao Fan could hear Fang Mu¡¯s low mumbling, but he chose to continue eating. Xiao Fan understood Fang Mu¡¯s feelings because he had the same disappointment. They didn¡¯t blame Li Hao but blamed their expectations being too high. No matter how well the two of them taught Li Hao, with such a Spirit Root, Li Hao¡¯s future as a cultivator was very limited. ¡°Even if you can¡¯t expect something great from him, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to teach him a thing or two, right? After all, there¡¯s nothing to lose either.¡± Xiao Fan tried to comfort Fang Mu. CH 7 Chapter 7: Cultivation Stages Several days had passed since Fang Mu and Xiao Fan found that Li Hao¡¯s Spirit Root had five elements. From that day on, Fang Mu shut himself in his house and just went out just to fill his stomach. ¡°Uncle Xiao, did I make Uncle Fang uncomfortable?¡± Li Hao, who felt Fang Mu¡¯s changes in the past few days, was worried. ¡°No need to blame yourself, Fang Mu is like that. He feels it¡¯s hard to accept something that doesn¡¯t work like he hoped. He wants everything to be perfect.¡± Xiao Fan stroked Li Hao¡¯s head, trying to calm the little boy down. Over the past few days, Xiao Fan slowly started to teach Li Hao more about the world of cultivators, giving him knowledge about how the cultivation world worked. ¡°A cultivator is divided into various stages. Someone who manages to become the cultivator will start from the Forging Qi¡­¡± According to Xiao Fan¡¯s explanation, cultivators had many stages: from Forging Qi to Foundation Realm, Core Formation, and lastly, Nascent Soul. ¡°Actually there¡¯s a belief that there is a higher stage than Nascent Soul, yet for the last thousand years there¡¯s been no one who managed to attain it¡­¡± Forging Qi alone is divided into fifteen levels, but not everyone can achieve the highest level of this realm. ¡°Most cultivators can only reach the ninth level. Some who are a bit more talented can reach level twelve, and only those who are chosen can reach level fifteen¡­¡± If a cultivator wanted to achieve Foundation Realm, he must at least reach the ninth level of Forging Qi. ¡°Cultivators who enter the Foundation Realm at the ninth level of Forging Qi realm will form the Mortal Foundation; those who enter it at the twelfth level would establish Earth Foundation; while those who managed to reach the peak of Forging Qi have a chance to form Heaven Foundation.¡± Xiao Fan explained that the Forging Qi stage and Foundation Realm was very important for every cultivator because it will determine their future on the path of immortality. Someone less talented might end up in the Mortal Foundation, because when they formed a Mortal Foundation, then there was no hope for him to reach the next realm, Core Formation. ¡°One who can reach Heaven Foundation only appears once every few hundred years, but about five hundred years ago, Fang Mu and I succeeded in forming the Heaven Foundation.¡± Judging from the historical records, everyone who managed to form the Heaven Foundation would have a bright future ahead of them, like how Fang Mu and Xiao Fan each became the greatest hero in their faction. ¡°Fang Mu is depressed because you have five elemental Spirit Root. Nine out of ten cultivators with talent like you can only reach the ninth level of Forging Qi, and the other one who is lucky enough will manage to form the Mortal Foundation. However, your footsteps will stop there¡­¡± Xiao Fan explained the conditions that Li Hao didn¡¯t understand. Someone with the Mortal Foundation can become an Elder in a small sect, while in a middle sect he might still have quite a serious role upon achieving the peak of his ability. Yet, in a big sect like Heaven Mountain Sect, they don¡¯t do more than errands or ordinary workers. ¡°Small sects may only have some Mortal Foundation cultivators, but in large sects, their number is tens or even hundreds of thousands¡­¡± Li Hao scratched his head. ¡°Simply put, did I disappoint Uncle Fang?¡± ¡°Ehm¡­ He was disappointed because he hoped for something that was still uncertain. I told you there¡¯s no need to blame yourself.¡± Xiao Fan shook his head. After providing a basic understanding of the cultivator world, Xiao Fan taught Li Hao to read, write, and count because he had never received an education. ¡°If you want to become a cultivator and learn more, then you should be able to read and write. Many things are also related to calculations, such as concocting poison and so on¡­¡± Li Hao didn¡¯t really understand it, but he learned everything Xiao Fan taught to fill the time. The study session became a new and exciting experience for Li Hao. This Hao really has amazing intelligence.. Xiao Fan observed Li Hao¡¯s learning progress. Although he did not have basic knowledge of reading, writing, and counting, Li Hao managed to understand everything he was taught quickly. According to Xiao Fan¡¯s estimation, Li Hao was at least ten times faster at learning things than children at his age. This made Xiao Fan chuckle in admiration and, at the same time, regret Li Hao¡¯s limited talent. If only his Spirit Root had three elements¡­. He might be able to reach Core Formation, and there is even hope of reaching Nascent Soul with his intelligence and the resources we can provide¡­ Xiao Fan sighed from time to time. He tried not to think about it, but it was hard to simply forget. A few days passed, and Li Hao had already mastered the basics of reading, writing, and counting. Xiao Fan was starting to feel a dilemma as to whether he should teach cultivation or not. ¡°Uncle Xiao, what happened to Uncle Fang?¡± whispered Li Hao. Li Hao¡¯s question made Xiao Fan wake up from his dream. ¡°What do you mean¡­¡± Xiao Fan choked on his breath himself as he turned his head towards Fang Mu, who was sitting not far from him. Fang Mu¡¯s hair looked messy, the dark circles under his eyes were so thick, and his face became wrinkled. His red and dry eyes indicated it had been quite a while since Fang Mu had last slept. Xiao Fan didn¡¯t notice before because the past few days Fang Mu ate quickly while his head was lowered then went back into his house. Seeing Fang Mu¡¯s condition, Xiao Fan didn¡¯t ask anything and changed his sitting position to be further away from him. A while later, Fang Mu, who finished eating, got up and went back to his house. ¡°Uncle Xiao, are you going to let it be, just like that?¡± ¡°Hao, you can see it yourself. He doesn¡¯t seem to be thinking clearly. A wrong action might make us fight again to death.¡± Xiao Fan shook his head. He understood that his childhood friend was always serious in dealing with all situations, so easy to stress. ¡°Today we should refresh our minds so as not to suffer the same fate. What if we go fishing?¡± All this time, Xiao Fan had never been to the lake where Li Hao caught their usual fish. Li Hao looked at Xiao Fan from top to bottom down with a doubtful look. Li Hao scratched his cheek before sighing long. ¡°What? Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Xiao Fan raised his eyebrows and questioned Li Hao¡¯s attitude. ¡°Ehm, Uncle¡­ How do I say it?¡± Li Hao looked hesitant to speak. ¡°I don¡¯t mind taking you fishing, but I have one instruction.¡± ¡°What instruction?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t die!¡± CH 8 Chapter 8: Nine Heavens Manual ¡°I won¡¯t be fishing again for the rest of my life!¡± Xiao Fan kept cursing all the way home from the lake where he and Li Hao fished. He didn¡¯t expect that he would almost lose his life from fishing. The lake that the two of them visited turned out to be filled with Demonic Beasts living in the water. Had Li Hao been a bit late to save him, Xiao Fan would have been swallowed alive by one of the fish-shaped Demonic Beasts. ¡°I told you already, it¡¯s a good thing you didn¡¯t die¡­¡± Li Hao shook his head and carried a man-sized fishtail with him. ¡°At the peak of my power, I could kill all the inhabitants of that cursed lake with a snap of my finger! Even now I can still use my poison to do that if I don¡¯t think of them as a food source!¡± Xiao Fan said furiously. Li Hao just nodded without taking it too seriously. Xiao Fan continued complaining and defending himself all the way, his mouth only stopping when they were near the house. The reason he stopped talking was because something happened in front of him. ¡°I found it! I found it!¡± They saw Fang Mu screaming hysterically while running around his own house. He showed great enthusiasm and had a satisfied look on his face. ¡°Hm¡­ So this is how people feel when they see me discovering a new poison¡­¡± Xiao Fan muttered under his breath. ¡°Did you say something, Uncle?¡± Li Hao was as surprised as Xiao Fan at Fang Mu¡¯s actions. ¡°Ah, I just remembered, I was also like that when an invention of mine was successful. Even though it looks like lunacy, it¡¯s a reaction that shows good news.¡± Xiao Fan nodded slowly. Li Hao scratched his head. Sometimes, he couldn¡¯t understand Fang Mu and Xiao Fan¡¯s mindsets. To him, the current Fang Mu looked like a person who had lost his mind. *** ¡°Nine Heaven Manual?¡± Xiao Fan scratched his ear, making sure he didn¡¯t mishear Fang Mu¡¯s words. When he regained his composure, Fang Mu explained his findings to Xiao Fan and Li Hao. Fang Mu felt that he had found a solution to Li Hao¡¯s five elemental Spirit Root problem¡ªthe Nine Heavens Manual. ¡°Uncle, what is this heaven manual about?¡± Li Hao didn¡¯t understand Fang Mu¡¯s explanation at all. Fang Mu took a deep breath before starting to patiently explain. He understood that Li Hao was still very new to the world of cultivators. ¡°There are many paths that a cultivator can take to practice immortality, there are many directions that can be used according to the cultivator¡¯s needs¡­¡± In short, manuals are instructions for someone to become a cultivator, and each manual has its own characteristics and advantages. Besides that, manuals also have compatibility. There are manuals that can accelerate the development of people who have a water element Spirit Root up to five times, but if someone with the fire elemental root practices those manuals they will meet more obstacles. ¡°There are all kinds of manuals¡ªones that only cultivate Forging Qi or ones only for Nascent Soul¡ªbut great manuals will have instructions for all cultivation levels¡­¡± Li Hao nodded slowly, starting to understand it a little. Xiao Fan then added, ¡°A manual is probably one of the most important foundations for a cultivator. It can raise the rank of a sect or group that practices it. All the major sects on the Eastern Star Continent have great manuals that help them reach the highest level¡­¡± Without manuals, no matter how talented a person is, he or she will arrive at a wall that they can¡¯t climb over. Because of that, everyone tries to enter the big and powerful sects in order to obtain the manuals that suit their needs. ¡°Hao er, do you still remember the history of the world that I told you about a few days ago? About the two human godlike humans who liberated humanity from the subjection of Divine Beasts?¡± Xiao Fan asked. Li Hao nodded. He liked the story so much that he remembered everything clearly. ¡°When these two godlike humans taught humanity cultivation so that they could deal with Demonic Beasts, they passed it down in the form of ten manuals. From these ten manuals, new manuals were born based on the experiences of cultivators¡­¡± Xiao Fan explained. ¡°Among the first ten manuals, there are only two that still remain on the Eastern Star Continent, while the other eight have been lost to time. These two manuals are the Nine Heavens Manual and the Nine Hells Manual,¡± Fang Mu added to Xiao Fan¡¯s explanation. Fang Mu said the Nine Heavens Manual and Nine Hells Manual were actually considered lost as well until several hundred years ago when these two manuals were rediscovered. After a long struggle, the Heaven Mountain Sect managed to obtain Nine Heavens Manual. The whereabouts of the Nine Hells Manual were still unknown, but it was believed that the evil factions were still fighting over it. ¡°In the Nine Heavens Manual, there are instructions for practicing from Forging Qi to Nascent Soul. Besides that, there are about thirty pages that have not been translated successfully. It is believed that this script whose language is not yet understood is the key to attaining a higher stage than Nascent Soul.¡± Fang Mu took out a book whose cover emitted a golden light. Written on the cover was, ¡°Nine Heavens Manual.¡± ¡°In that case, have you practiced this manual? It sounds like a really great manual.¡± Li Hao¡¯s question made Fang Mu and Xiao Fan smile awkwardly. Li Hao realized something was wrong. ¡°The Nine Heavens Manual is indeed believed to be the best manual in the cultivator¡¯s world, and only the Nine Hells Manual can match it¡­ Initially, many tried to snatch this manual from the Heaven Mountain Sect¡¯s hands, but eventually, they stopped.¡± Fang Mu looked hesitant to explain so Xiao Fan joined in. ¡°The Nine Heavens Manual produces extremely pure qi for those who practice it; its practitioners are invincible in their cultivation stages. The problem is, to advance to the next stage of cultivation, training with this manual requires ten times more qi than those who practice other manuals¡­¡± Li Hao took Xiao Fan¡¯s explanation seriously, but he couldn¡¯t find the problem. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean just training longer and harder than everyone else? What¡¯s the problem?¡± Li Hao asked innocently. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan looked at each other before Fang Mu explained. ¡°In the world of cultivators, speed is of utmost importance, as well as resources. The ten times as much qi required might not be that significant at the Forging Qi, but it¡¯s a different story when one enters the next stage of cultivation, especially when it comes to Nascent Soul¡­¡± This was why no one tried to practice with the Nine Heavens Manual, which consumed too many resources. Even the Heaven Mountain Sect didn¡¯t want to risk wasting resources. TL Note: Sorry for the late update, I had many matters going on in rl, and thank you for waiting CH 9 Chapter 9: Absorbing Qi ¡°Hm¡­ Then why is this Nine Heavens Manual the answer to my Spirit Root condition?¡± Li Hao actually felt even more confused after hearing Xiao Fan and Fang Mu¡¯s long explanation. He felt that there was no answer that had not been sought before. ¡°In this Nine Heavens Manual, there is a technique that has the ability to change destiny¡­¡± Fang Mu opened the Nine Heavens Manual and showed a page in the book. On the page was an explanation¡ªwhen someone practiced in the Nine Heavens Manual and reached the limit due to Spirit Root quality, that person could use the written technique to reshape his Spirit Root so it could have better quality. ¡°You can form a single elemental Spirit Root with this technique, which is also known as Pure Spirit Root¡­¡± Among the various types of Spirit Roots, the best was the one that has one element. Only one in a million cultivators had it. ¡°Not only that, but this technique also makes you have the possibility of forming more than one Pure Spirit Root. In the world of cultivators, there is one in about a hundred million cultivators who have Dual Spirit Root.¡± Fang Mu explained enthusiastically to Li Hao, who didn¡¯t really understand it that much. ¡°Fang Mu, you just said the sweet things. He must know everything.¡± Xiao Fan, who was silent earlier, finally sighed. Li Hao turned his head towards Xiao Fan before turning it back to Fang Mu, who was now smiling awkwardly and had nothing to say. Xiao Fan shook his head and then said, ¡°This technique is not without risk. The process of reshaping Spirit Root is so painful; it¡¯s more painful than the tribulation that cultivators have to face when ascending to the next cultivation stages. Since Heaven Mountain Sect obtained the Nine Heavens Manual, three people had already tried to use that technique, but all ended up dying miserably.¡± Even though Heaven Mountain Sect tried to cover up the information, in the end, the news spread throughout the world, making everyone finally judge that the Nine Heavens Manual is actually not that great. Xiao Fan¡¯s explanation made Li Hao frown. He turned to Fang Mu. ¡°Uncle, did I do something to you? Why do you want to kill me?¡± ¡°Hao¡¯er! Don¡¯t misunderstand!¡± Fang Mu panicked a little. ¡°The world of cultivators is always full of danger and risk. Moreover, you don¡¯t have to practice this technique if you don¡¯t want to¡­¡± Fang Mu tried to explain that he did expect a lot in the technique of changing destiny but also understood the risks. On the other hand, Fang Mu thought that the Nine Heavens Manual was the best manual. Maybe if Li Hao trained based on the manual, he could cross the line of Forging Qi level 9 despite having five elemental Spirit Root. ¡°Hao¡¯er, you don¡¯t need to rush to decide. If you¡¯re not willing, no one will force you.¡± Xiao Fan patted Li Hao¡¯s shoulder before giving a sharp look to Fang Mu, signaling not to discuss this issue further. Li Hao became silent and pondered for quite a while after that. *** ¡°Have you made up your mind?¡± Two days after Fang Mu introduced the Nine Heavens Manual, Li Hao finally decided to study it. According to Li Hao, there¡¯s nothing wrong with trying new things, especially since there was no necessity for him to perform dangerous techniques that risked his life. After Li Hao conveyed his decision and promised to train hard, Fang Mu handed over the Nine Heavens Manual to him. Li Hao started turning page after page of the Nine Heavens Manual, asking Fang Mu and Xiao Fan when he found something he didn¡¯t understand. ¡°The essence of being a cultivator is absorbing qi that is around us into the body. There are those who said it was world energy or the universe energy, but we called it qi.¡± Fang Mu raised his hand and channeled his qi to his hand, his fist instantly emitting purple light. Li Hao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Is this what is called qi?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. In general, the qi that goes into one¡¯s body will emit bluish light, but when a cultivator learns a certain technique or manual specifically, the color of his qi will change. Mine became purple because I practiced Alchemy ¡­¡± Fang Mu glanced at Xiao Fan. Xiao Fan raised his hand and showed a reddish qi. He explained, ¡°Righteous cultivators mostly have blue qi and evil cultivators are commonly found to have blood-red qi or black qi because of the manual they use to practice¡­¡± The breathing technique was the most basic way to absorb qi into the body. Li Hao practiced for a few hours according to the instructions in the Nine Heavens Manual, but had no signs of qi entering his body. ¡°The amount of qi present in this place is too thin. I don¡¯t know how many days he will take before he manages to absorb qi¡­¡± Fang Mu shook his head as he looked at Li Hao, who sat and closed his eyes for a few hours. Peach Blossom Mountain had conditions that were strange; apart from a meager amount of qi, someone couldn¡¯t recover qi using spirit stones and pills. This also applied to someone trying to increase qi in his body. ¡°Everything takes time. We ourselves need a few days before finally absorbing the qi to the body, right?¡± Xiao Fan patted Fang Mu¡¯s shoulder. Right after Xiao Fan spoke, Li Hao¡¯s body experienced a change. Li Hao opened his eyes and checked his body. ¡°I feel something in my body¡­ Uncle, is this what is called qi?¡± Li Hao turned to Fang Mu and Xiao Fan. Fang Mu then checked Li Hao¡¯s body and found qi in the form of a thin, golden thread. ¡°This is¡­ Qi that¡¯s very pure¡­¡± Fang Mu had never encountered golden-colored qi before. Xiao Fan checked Li Hao after Fang Mu, and his face showed the same shock. ¡°Fang Mu, does Li Hao really have a five elemental Spirit Root? Isn¡¯t his talent too high?¡± Xiao Fan whispered. In general, people with five elemental Spirit Root required seven to ten days of breathing practice before they can absorb some of the qi in their bodies. Fang Mu was actually astonished too but did not think too much about it because it¡¯s a good sign. Li Hao proved to be a good match for Nine Heaven Manual. ¡°Hao¡¯er, if the inner qi thread in your body grows and becomes ten times more thicker than now, then you can be said to have reached Forging Qi level one and officially become a cultivator¡­¡± As Fang Mu gave some input regarding the breathing technique, he looked enthusiastic because Li Hao¡¯s development exceeded his expectations. On the other hand, Xiao Fan was actually immersed in his mind as he looked at Li Hao. Many things crossed his mind. CH 10 Chapter 10: Master A few days after Li Hao¡¯s first time doing breathing exercises, he prostrated before Fang Mu and Xiao Fan three times to be their student. Xiao Fan felt that a ceremony like that wasn¡¯t necessary, but Fang Mu insisted. Fang Mu smiled so widely after Li Hao officially became his disciple. ¡°Finally, I have a successor¡­¡± That day, Fang Mu looked very happy. It might¡¯ve been tens or even hundreds of years since he last felt that way. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan still couldn¡¯t teach their knowledge before Li Hao reached Forging Qi level one, so they both took turns explaining things about the world of cultivation and ordinary people in more depth. The one that Xiao Fan taught Li Hao was the concept of money. In the world of humans, the currency were coins and paper money, while in the world of cultivators, spirit stones are more recognized as a good currency in general. ¡°Many people kill each other because of this? Why?¡± Li Hao looked at the gold coin and a blue crystal the size of a pebble. He then tried to bite the gold coin. ¡°It¡¯s not edible.¡± Xiao Fan chuckled. ¡°This really can¡¯t be eaten, but with it, you can buy lots of food.¡± ¡°Oh, then it makes sense.¡± Li Hao nodded while observing the spirit stones and coins more thoroughly. Among Xiao Fan¡¯s explanations, Li Hao was most interested in the Eastern Star Continent, especially when Xiao Fan explained it like this, ¡°Peach Blossom Mountain is like a tree, and the Eastern Star Continent is the mountain.¡± Indeed, after hearing Xiao Fan¡¯s story and Fang Mu¡¯s tales about their life outside Peach Blossom Mountain, Li Hao became full of curiosity. According to Xiao Fan¡¯s explanation, Eastern Star Continent is divided into three large regions, which are controlled by three different governments, namely Ironwood Empire, Black Moon Empire, and Heaven Star Empire. ¡°The Heaven Mountain Sect that Fang Mu lived in is in Heaven Star Empire while I lived in Five Poison Valley, the one in the Black Moon Empire.¡± Xiao Fan said the strongest sect of the righteous sect built their main sect in Heaven Star Empire, while the strongest sect of the evil sect was in the Black Moon Empire. Among these three Empires, Ironwood Empire was known to be the weakest and smallest in strength while Heaven Star Empire had the strongest and oldest foundation. There was even a time when the Eastern Star Continent was completely ruled by Heaven Star Empire. ¡°These three Empires do have cultivators. They guard their territory with the help of a cultivator, but if compared to a ten- or nine-star sect, they could be counted as nothing.¡± ¡°Nine-star sect? Ten stars? What does it mean?¡± Xiao Fan then explained that the sects in The Eastern Star Continent was divided into ten levels, with one star as the weakest and ten stars as the strongest. One- to three-star sects were called a small sect, while four- to six-stars were middle sects. Sects with seven stars and above were known as big sects. ¡°Heaven Mountain Sect and Five Poison Valley are ten-star sects. At the moment, there are only twelve groups that belong to the ten-star sect,¡± Xiao Fan said in a slightly proud tone. Xiao Fan wanted to brag more about Five Poison Valley, but something stopped him. ¡°Grrooaaarr!¡± Xiao Fan and Li Hao were shocked. The sun was directly overhead¡ªthe voice that Li Hao called as the sound of a rooster didn¡¯t sound at the usual hour. ¡°What happened? Why is it roaring at this time?¡± Xiao Fan narrowed his eyes, trying to find the source of the sound. The roaring sound came not just once, but every few minutes. Li Hao, who was usually calm, turned pale because he had never experienced this kind of situation before. Fang Mu ran towards Xiao Fan and Li Hao after that roar sounded for the umpteenth time. The three of them were both confused and didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°Fang Mu, what should we do?¡± ¡°If you ask me, then who should I ask?¡± When Xiao Fan and Fang Mu started arguing, the sky above their heads started to become dark. For no apparent reason, black clouds began to gather and covered the sun, shrouding Peach Blossom Mountain in darkness. At almost the same time after the sky became completely dark, rain began to fall and quickly turned into a downpour, the roars going louder as it did. ¡°Is this the sky¡¯s wrath?¡± Li Hao turned his head up. Phenomena like this really surprised him. ¡°Don¡¯t daydream; let¡¯s take shelter. It¡¯s raining so heavily that it will take time to subside.¡± Xiao Fan invited Li Hao and Fang Mu to go back home. The three then took shelter at Li Hao¡¯s house. *** It rained heavily for three days without stopping, and puddles began to form in the entire Peach Blossom Mountain. The roaring sound also kept on sounding every once in a while, making Xiao Fan and Fang Mu anxious. On the other hand, Li Hao felt bored and chose to practice breathing while waiting for the rain to stop. What¡¯s more, he wasn¡¯t too far from level one Forging Qi. ¡°Is there something to eat?¡± Xiao Fan stroked his stomach, which had been empty for a few days. ¡°Shhh! Hao¡¯er is in an important part to enter Forging Qi. Don¡¯t bother him,¡± Fang Mu whispered. Not long after, Li Hao¡¯s body gave off a golden light for two seconds before a black, viscous liquid poured out of the pores of his body. Li Hao opened his eyes, feeling the sticky and foul-smelling liquid covering his whole body. ¡°Teacher Fang, Teacher Xiao, what¡¯s this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a sign that you have successfully entered Forging Qi. Every time you level up, more of that liquid comes out, your body and you gets stronger, and your age becomes longer,¡± Fang Mu replied. Li Hao got up from his seat. He intended to clean himself by taking a bath in the rain. ¡°I¡¯ll be looking for food too. My stomach is hungry¡­¡± Just a few steps after Li Hao left the house, lightning started to strike and surprised Li Hao. For the last three days, even though it¡¯s been raining so heavily, there was not a flash of lightning, but now there suddenly was. It didn¡¯t stop there. Thunder and lightning continued to strike as if the world will end. Li Hao ran back into the house out of fear after seeing so many lightning strikes on Peach Blossom Mountain. At the same time, a long roar was heard. ¡°Grrooaarrr!¡± Peach Blossom Mountain shook violently along with that long roar. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan became alert while Li Hao looked for a place to hide. ¡°Look! What¡¯s that?!¡± Xiao Fan pointed to the sky with eyes wide open. CH 11 Chapter 11: The Actual Identity of the Rooster Fang Mu and Xiao Fan froze, their mouths gaping, when they saw a black dragon that had a body hundreds of meters long take off from Flower Mountain Peach and fly towards the sky. The dragon let out a roar that sounded familiar to Xiao Fan and Fang Mu. That roaring sound was what woke them up every morning. ¡°Fang Mu, we¡¯re not dreaming are we?¡± Xiao Fan poked Fang Mu. ¡°Xiao Fan, do you think this is the right time to ask that?¡± Fang Mu said in a weak voice. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan were the greatest cultivators in the righteous and evil faction. Both of them could be said to be at the top, so it¡¯s been decades since they last felt fear. But, in front of the dragon¡¯s might, their bodies trembled violently even though it was in the distance. ¡°That dragon, is it possible that the dragon is one of the Divine Beasts of legend?¡± Fang Mu stuttered. Indeed, among the nine Divine Beasts that used to rule the Eastern Star Continent, one of them was in the form of a dragon. The characteristics matched with the dragon in front of Fang Mu and Xiao Fan. ¡°If it¡¯s true that the dragon is one of the Divine Beasts, then that explains a lot¡­¡± Xiao Fan muttered. Fang Mu realized something after hearing Xiao Fan¡¯s muttering. Just as Xiao Fan said, if that dragon was one of the Divine Beasts, then the reason for why Peach Blossom Mountain had a bit of qi and the ineffectiveness of pills and spirit stones were answered. ¡°This place isn¡¯t just a Pocket Realm, but a Divine Beast seal?¡± Fang Mu was having a hard time believing the facts in front of him. ¡°It could be. Can you see that?¡± Xiao Fan pointed to the sky. When the dragon almost reached the sky, the black clouds began to turn reddish and released a lot of red lightning toward it. ¡°Heaven Thunder?! The dragon is facing tribulation?¡± Red lightning, known as Heaven Thunder in the world of cultivation, was different from normal lightning. It usually descended when cultivators tried to form the Heaven Foundation. Heaven Thunder itself had destructive power almost a hundred times that of ordinary lightning. ¡°Have you ever seen that much Heaven Thunder?¡± Xiao Fan gulped and had a cold sweat. When Xiao Fan and Fang Mu formed Heaven Foundation, both were struck by one red lightning, and they still remembered the pain they felt clearly at that time. Many geniuses ended up failing to withstand Heaven Thunder and so couldn¡¯t form the Heaven Foundation. One Heaven Thunder was enough to injure a cultivator of the Nascent Soul stage, but right now, the sky before Xiao Fan and Fang Mu was filled with Heaven Thunder. At least hundreds of red lightning struck the dragon at the same time. That much power was enough to make a master like Fang Mu and Xiao Fan seriously injured at the peak of their strength. The dragon¡¯s movement stopped for a moment after hundreds of red lightning bolts struck it, but after a while, the dragon flew back into the air. Withstanding that much frightening lightning shows how tremendous the dragon¡¯s power was. The mighty black dragon roared more loudly, making the rain of red lightning vanish before touching its body. Its ability left Fang Mu and Xiao Fan stunned. ¡°You think the dragon can get out of this dimension?¡± Xiao Fan glanced at Fang Mu. ¡°If the dragon manages to do it, then it¡¯s over for the people of the Eastern Star Continent¡­¡± Fang Mu¡¯s words stopped because he realized the sky above them started to change color. The dragon that was flying also stopped as it saw the previous clouds¡¯ reddish color turn purplish. Then, tens of purple lightning flashed down towards the dragon. ¡°Violet Heaven Thunder?!¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan screamed together. The two of them have never seen purple lightning like that, but they had read historical records. It was said that thousands of years ago, when humans tried to break through the Nascent Soul stage, there would be much more powerful lightning than Heaven Thunder: Violet Heaven Thunder. The Dragon roared loudly again. Some of the purple lightning disappeared because of the roar, but the rest hit its body. A loud sound rang every time purple lightning hit the dragon¡¯s body. Its roars got tougher, especially after its pitch-black scales were torn off by the lightning. Everything happened so fast. The dragon looked seriously injured after the lightning disappeared. Blood the color of gold flowed from all over its body, though the dragon didn¡¯t seem to care. The dragon once again tried to rise to the sky while preparing for the next lightning storm, but the purple lightning no longer struck down, and the sky turned golden. ¡°What happened?¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan looked up and saw the sky that they had never seen before. Li Hao, who was previously hiding, finally appeared. He had never seen such a beautiful sky either. The dragon stopped in midair. In contrast to the stunned and amazed Fang Mu, Xiao Fan, and Li Hao, it actually looked frightened. Suddenly, gold-colored lightning descended and struck the dragon. Time seemed to stop when it happened. The golden lightning passed through the dragon¡¯s body and finally hit Peach Blossom Mountain, making the mountain tremble violently for a long time. Li Hao¡¯s house, which had a weak foundation, wasn¡¯t able to withstand the shock and began to collapse. Xiao Fan and Fang Mu hastily carried Li Hao out before the house collapsed. Not only Li Hao¡¯s house, but Fang Mu¡¯s and Xiao Fan¡¯s had the same fate. When the three turned to look back to the sky, the dragon was already gone, and the clouds that were covering the sky slowly began to separate themselves. In no time, the sky was clear again as if nothing had happened, although Peach Blossom Mountain was still covered in water after raining for the past three days. Li Hao looked at his house and then scratched his head. ¡°Where should I live now?¡± ¡°Hao¡¯er, it¡¯s not the time to think about that now¡­¡± Fang Mu patted Li Hao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Do you know where the dragon fell?¡± ¡°Dragon? That snake-like creature¡¯s name is a dragon? I thought it was a chicken.¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan looked at each other before taking a deep breath. ¡°Hao¡¯er, we have to confirm the dragon¡¯s condition. If the dragon is still alive, then our lives will be threatened.¡± Fang Mu was actually curious about the golden lightning that appeared earlier, but there was no time to think about it. Li Hao nodded before leading Fang Mu and Xiao Fan to the location that was likely the place where the dragon fell. CH 12 Chapter 12: Divine Beast¡¯s Egg Li Hao, Fang Mu, and Xiao Fan went to the place where the dragon should have fallen, but they didn¡¯t find the dragon. ¡°There¡¯s no mistaking it¡ªthis is where it fell¡­¡± Fang Mu noticed the traces of a lightning strike that burned the ground in front of them. In addition, there is a large crack on the ground, which they believed to be the result of the fall of the dragon or the golden lightning. Xiao Fan looked around but found no sign of the dragon¡¯s presence. ¡°How strange. If this dragon left, then there should be a trace to be seen¡­¡± Xiao Fan couldn¡¯t find any trace of the dragon, as if it had suddenly disappeared like smoke. ¡°Perhaps the chicken¡ªuh, the dragon¡ªwent home, huh?¡± Li Hao commented, squatting while watching Fang Mu and Xiao Fan. ¡°Its house? Hao¡¯er, you know the home of this dragon?¡± Fang Mu raised his eyebrows. Li Hao then told them that he once, out of curiosity, asked Uncle Liu who used to live with him to see the chicken that woke them up every morning. Uncle Liu then took Li Hao to a large cave, but before seeing the contents of the cave, Li Hao was frightened because a loud roar suddenly sounded. Since that day, Li Hao had never approached that place. Fang Mu asked Li Hao to take them to the cave in question, and it turned out that the cave was not too far from where they were. The size of the cave was indeed very large; Fang Mu and Xiao Fan were stunned to see it. Neither of them would be surprised if the dragon indeed lived in it. ¡°Fang Mu, we will wait here. You try to check if the dragon is inside.¡± Xiao Fan pulled Li Hao to his side. ¡°Hmm? Why should I check it out?¡± Fang Mu protested. ¡°Don¡¯t you righteous cultivators always say life must be lived with courage? Now is the time to prove it.¡± ¡°Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden? Since when did you believe in that?¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan started arguing again, causing Li Hao to scratch his head awkwardly. After five minutes of staring at the two, Li Hao stepped towards the mouth of the cave alone. ¡°There are no dragons here¡­¡± Li Hao¡¯s words awakened Fang Mu and Xiao Fan. The two looked at each other for a moment before both looked down in shame. The two then followed Li Hao and inspected the completely uninhabited cave. ¡°Do you feel what I feel?¡± Fang Mu glanced at Xiao Fan. ¡°Yes, this place has been inhabited for quite some time by extremely powerful beings¡­¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan could sense the remnants of the qi waves within the cave. These waves indicated that the creatures that lived within had at least the strength of the peak of Nascent Soul. ¡°Teacher Fang, Teacher Xiao, I found something!¡± Li Hao, who entered the cave deeper, shouted loudly, causing Fang Mu and Xiao Fan to rush after him. ¡°This¡­¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan froze when they saw what Li Hao had found: an egg that was half the size of Li Hao¡¯s body. ¡°Teacher, is this egg edible? I¡¯ve never seen an egg this big¡­¡± Li Hao touched the egg with his finger. ¡°No, it¡¯s too precious to be eaten. It¡¯s probably a Divine Beast egg.¡± ¡°Divine Beasts?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll explain later. Let¡¯s get this egg out of here.¡± Xiao Fan grabbed the egg carefully after confirming it was still alive. *** Li Hao and his two teachers left the cave with the egg they found, an egg that had a black shell and dragon-like scales on them. When the three were quite far from the cave, Li Hao again asked about the Divine Beasts. ¡°In the world of cultivators, there are beasts that can absorb qi in the body. They are divided into three main types, namely Spirit Beasts, Demonic Beasts, and Dao Beasts¡­¡± Xiao Fan began to explain. Demonic Beasts were creatures that gathered qi from nature or prey on creatures that have qi. In a Demonic Beast¡¯s body, there was a crystal known as the Demonic Core. Demonic Beasts had abilities equivalent to Forging Qi cultivators. Stronger Demonic Beasts were called Demonic Lord Beasts that had abilities ranging from Foundation Realm to Core Formation, while Demonic Beasts capable of reaching the equivalent of Nascent Soul were called Demonic King Beasts. In the last few hundred years, beast cultivators managed to tame and train demonic beasts, but instinctively, they still hated and wanted to kill humans. ¡°The creatures that we eat every day are Demonic Beasts, but not all Demonic Beasts can reach the level of a Demonic Lord Beast or a Demonic King Beast. Depending on the type, their potential is also limited. The bears or wild boars you hunt, for example, won¡¯t have more power than level 9 Forging Qi¡­¡± Unlike Demonic Beasts, Spirit Beasts were creatures born with Spirit Roots, living in groups with their own kind. Because they had a Spirit Root, they were more skilled at absorbing qi and could use Daoist Magic, which is generally used by human cultivators. ¡°Depending on the breed, when it reaches a certain level of practice, Spirit Beasts can form Spirit Cores. Spirit Beasts possessing Spirit Cores can transform into humans¡­¡± If Spirit Beasts turned into humans, then they didn¡¯t look any different from normal humans. Demonic Beasts could actually transform into humans as well when their practice reaches the peak of Nascent Soul, but Demonic Beasts that took on the human form would still have a small part that was their true form. Spirit Beasts were more commonly kept as pets by Beast Cultivators, but the number of Spirit Beasts continued to decline, which forced Beast Cultivators to start taming Demonic Beasts. ¡°Dao Beasts are Spirit Beasts that live in the Pocket Realm. Their existence is more complicated to explain, so I will tell you about it another time. Now is the time to answer your question about Divine Beasts¡­¡± Between Spirit Beasts and Demonic Beasts, there were some rare types of creatures that were believed to be able to evolve to a power that surpassed Nascent Souls. Spirit Beasts or Demonic Beasts that possessed this kind of potential were known as Divine Beasts. ¡°Divine Beasts are Spirit Beasts or Demonic Beasts that have surpassed Nascent Soul. Currently in the Eastern Star Continent, there are around a hundred Spirit Beasts and Demonic Beasts that have the potential to become Divine Beasts¡­¡± Fang Mu then pointed at the egg in Xiao Fan¡¯s hand.¡°If this egg is a dragon egg, then it will be one of the future Divine Beast candidates.¡± CH 13 Chapter 13: Uncle Liu¡¯s Letter The egg that was suspected to be a dragon egg was finally kept near the residence of Li Hao and the others. ¡°This divine beast egg will hatch by itself when it¡¯s old enough. We just need to put it in a safe place and not let it break¡­¡± Fang Mu stroked the large egg. ¡°Although, I doubt any creature can crack this egg.¡± Fang Mu could feel that the shell of the egg that they found was extremely hard, able to withstand attacks from cultivators at the Foundation Realm. ¡°Just leave the egg there. It won¡¯t hatch anytime soon, especially in an environment with qi this thin.¡± Xiao Fan held up a few sticks. ¡°We have more important things to do.¡± Fang Mu did not forget that, due to the dragon going against the sky, their dwellings collapsed and had to be rebuilt. Li Hao was not interested in the inedible egg and was the first to start cleaning up the rubble of his house. He didn¡¯t know how to build a house, but Xiao Fan promised to help him. It was while cleaning up the rubble that Li Hao found something he thought was missing: the letter that Uncle Liu had left for him. ¡°Ah, I can finally read it¡­¡± Li Hao slowly opened the letter, the contents of which made his brow furrow, then called out to Fang Mu and Xiao Fan. ¡°This is a letter from the Uncle Liu who lived with you?¡± Fang Mu glanced at the paper in his hand. Li Hao nodded slowly. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan read the letter together, its contents managing to surprise both of them. The letter contained only a few lines of words, no special message for Li Hao. ¡°If you are reading this letter, then someone has taught you to read. I am sure they will not harm you, because Peach Blossom Mountain will render them powerless. ¡°If one day you want to get out of Peach Blossom Mountain, go to the biggest peach blossom tree. Under that tree, I stored the key to get out of this place.¡± ¡°The key to exiting Peach Blossom Mountain? Does that mean we can get out of here?¡± Xiao Fan was feeling excited. ¡°It must not be as easy as we think¡­¡± Fang Mu shook his head before glancing at Li Hao. ¡°Hao¡¯er, do you know the location of the biggest peach tree in question?¡± Li Hao explained that he knew, but the location was quite remote and filled with dangerous beasts. ¡°We¡¯d better fix the house first, then visit the place,¡± Xiao Fan suggested. Fang Mu agreed and then helped Li Hao to rebuild his house. *** ¡°Teacher, that¡¯s the oldest peach tree¡­¡± Li Hao pointed at a distinctly large tree that was far from them. ¡°We can¡¯t go any further than here.¡± ¡°Yes, we can see it¡­ Keep your voice down.¡± Xiao Fan coughed softly. Li Hao and his two masters hid in the bushes, because not far from them were several demonic beasts that were much stronger than Li Hao usually hunted. ¡°From the qi waves they emit¡­ The strength of these demonic beasts is at least at Forging Qi level 7 or even 8¡­¡± Fang Mu muttered under his breath as he watched the few beasts. Li Hao said that the closer to the tree, the more powerful the demonic beasts that roamed about. The three chose to go home after not finding a solution to get closer to the tree. On the way home, Fang Mu and Xiao Fan started discussing while making plans. ¡°Uncle Liu who used to accompany Li Hao was clearly a cultivator. He deliberately placed the key to escape from this place amidst the demonic beasts because he wanted Li Hao to leave Peach Blossom Mountain after having enough strength to protect himself¡­¡± Xiao Fan argued. In other words, Li Hao could only leave Peach Blossom Mountain if he could face the demonic beasts. Fang Mu agreed with Xiao Fan. ¡°Hao¡¯er, you should train harder from now on. The two of us will teach you everything we are good at.¡± He stroked Li Hao¡¯s head. ¡°You have officially become a cultivator. Even though you are still at Forging Qi level one, we will teach you in turns.¡± Xiao Fan stroked his chin. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan began to further discuss Li Hao¡¯s training. Because Li Hao was still a level one Forging Qi cultivator, his qi was still too little, but his physical strength was much stronger than a cultivator of his level. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan finally agreed, for the first time, that apart from teaching general knowledge about the world, Fang Mu would teach Li Hao swordsmanship while Xiao Fan taught hand-to-hand combat and body strengthening. Li Hao¡¯s practice of becoming a cultivator finally began. *** ¡°Teacher Fang, what are you doing?¡± Li Hao scratched his head when he saw Fang Mu stuffing various plants into a large furnace and heating them with fire. Previously, Fang Mu asked Li Hao to fetch water from the lake to fill the furnace to the brim. Li Hao thought Fang Mu wanted to use it to bathe or at least boil meat. ¡°This mountain has a kind of magic formation that makes pills and spirit stones unable to give us qi, but I think using Magic Plants and Spirit Herbs can help you even a little. This water will be needed later after you finish training.¡± Fang Mu said it would still take about ten more hours for the furnace to be ready and told Li Hao to attend his training with Xiao Fan. Li Hao nodded before heading towards where Xiao Fan was. That day, Xiao Fan intended to teach Li Hao how to fight properly, using martial arts. ¡°Hao¡¯er, so far you have been able to hunt with ease relying on your physical strength, but it all worked out because your prey is much weaker than your strength. But to face an equal or stronger opponent, you must be able to master fighting techniques¡­¡± Xiao Fan took a stance and asked Li Hao to pay attention. ¡°Your body strength is too weak to learn my strongest physical move, so we can start from the basics. I will demonstrate one of the most basic moves in martial arts.¡± Xiao Fan started to make some agile movements and unleashed a few punches that made loud noises, his fist turning slightly reddish. ¡°The name of this move is Red Stone Fist. Did you memorize the moves I showed you?¡± CH 14 Chapter 14: Li Hao¡¯s Ability Xiao Fan froze with his mouth wide open as he watched Li Hao repeat the Red Stone Fist perfectly in one go. Even though Li Hao¡¯s fist didn¡¯t turn red and made a loud noise like Xiao Fan¡¯s, all the moves were repeated without the slightest mistake. ¡°How did you do it?¡± Xiao Fan still couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°I only remember what Teacher showed me¡­¡± Li Hao replied casually. Xiao Fan scratched his cheek, and after staring at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, Xiao Fan told Li Hao to keep repeating the move. Li Hao continued to successfully perform the Red Stone Fist. Xiao Fan then explained to him that he had to channel qi to strengthen his punch and other important things. It didn¡¯t feel like time was going fast, yet five hours had already passed. Li Hao had repeated the Red Stone Fist¡¯s moves more than a hundred times. On his last try, he didn¡¯t manage to turn his hands red yet, but quite a loud sound rang out as he unleashed a punch. Xiao Fan couldn¡¯t help but gulp seeing Li Hao¡¯s rapid development. After resting for a while, Li Hao continued his training with Fang Mu. Xiao Fan didn¡¯t tell Fang Mu about the ability Li Hao displayed¡ªit could just be a coincidence. Fang Mu could see Li Hao was quite exhausted after training for five hours with Xiao Fan, so he let him sit on the ground to rest while listening to his explanation. Fang Mu took out a wooden sword and showed it to Li Hao. ¡°This is called a sword. There are various shapes and sizes of swords¡­¡± For about an hour, Fang Mu explained in detail the meaning of the sword, its history, and its types. Li Hao listened as he continued to slowly nod and ask when he didn¡¯t understand something. ¡°Sword moves are actually simple¡ªbasically stab, slash, and cut¡ªand the combination of these three moves creates the art of the sword. Cultivators Develop it further with the help of qi and call it Sword Dao¡­¡± Fang Mu explained how to hold the sword properly and gave examples of the basic movements. After Li Hao¡¯s fatigue seemed to have lessened, Fang Mu let him try using the sword. Li Hao wielded the sword enthusiastically. So far, all Li Hao knew was a knife for cutting flesh; a sword to him was just a bigger knife. But after making a few moves with the wooden sword, Li Hao realized the difference and became more aware of Fang Mu¡¯s explanation. ¡°You have a good posture, and you learn fast Hao¡¯er¡­¡± Fang Mu nodded in satisfaction. In that first training session, Fang Mu let Li Hao get used to the sword first, so he didn¡¯t find Li Hao as strange as Xiao Fan did. After training, Fang Mu asked Li Hao to soak in the furnace he had provided. The water in the furnace had changed color after Fang Mu mixed in various medicinal herbs. A fragrant aroma was also wafting from the furnace water. Not long after Li Hao soaked in it, the water in the furnace began to emit large bubbles. Li Hao felt pain all over his body, but Fang Mu said it was for his own good. ¡°Spirit Cleansing Liquid? You really went all out¡­¡± Xiao Fan, who arrived later, was slightly surprised when he saw the liquid filling Li Hao¡¯s bath. ¡°Hao¡¯er has consumed so much demonic beast meat. Although doing it strengthened his body, it also slowly changed his meridians. Spirit Cleansing Liquid will help mitigate the impact¡­¡± Li Hao listened but didn¡¯t argue. He knew meridians were the qi pathways in the human body, and there were 108 of them in a cultivator¡¯s body. The reason Li Hao felt pain was because his meridians were being cleared. Xiao Fan chuckled in admiration. ¡°Hao¡¯er, this one furnace is worth at least ten thousand spirit stones. Only geniuses in ten-star sects can enjoy it.¡± Xiao Fan then glanced at Fang Mu and found no sign of his partner intending to tell him anything, so he thought Li Hao didn¡¯t display the abilities he had previously seen. Is it just a coincidence, or is Hao talented as a Body Cultivator? Xiao Fan stroked his chin while looking at the struggling Li Hao. *** ¡°Teacher Xiao, are you sure this is a good idea?¡± Li Hao gulped when he saw the boar-shaped demonic beast in front of him who was clearly displeased at his presence. ¡°To perfectly capture martial essence, you need hands-on practice. Don¡¯t worry; you¡¯ll be fine!¡± Xiao Fan called out from the top of the tree which was quite a distance from Li Hao. Li Hao was indeed able to perform the Red Stone Fist perfectly, but he hadn¡¯t managed to pump the qi into his fists yet. According to Xiao Fan, only tough battles could help Li Hao¡¯s training progress. During this time, Li Hao had always hunted demonic beasts with the strength of Forging Qi level 3 and below, while in front of him now were beasts with the strength of a level 5. If Li Hao used all his physical strength, he might be able to finish off the wild boar in front of him even though he struggled, but Xiao Fan wanted Li Hao to fight only using the Red Stone Fist. ¡°With the appropriate martial arts, you will be able to easily defeat opponents of your level or above. Advanced knowledge and technique will allow even those with little qi to be able to defeat those with far more qi,¡± Xiao Fan said. To a cultivator, the amount of qi was just as important as the technique used. Younger generations in Forging Qi of a large sect defeating Foundation Realm cultivators from a small sect were not a strange sight. While the amount of qi and the level of practice were important, the physical quality, variety of moves, and various artifacts also played a big role in the battles between cultivators. ¡°Focus, Hao¡¯er! Focus!¡± Xiao Fan, who was on the tree, was actually worried of Li Hao losing because, with his current abilities, he would only become soft food for the boar-shaped demonic beast. As Li Hao clenched his teeth and started to perform the Red Stone Fist movement, the demonic beast also started to move. The battle between the two was quite fierce. Li Hao did release a heavy blow, but the demonic beast¡¯s skin was also extremely thick and hard, making Li Hao¡¯s punch barely deal any damage or pain to the creature. Li Hao kept trying to dodge while unleashing punch after punch. If he couldn¡¯t use the Red Stone Fist perfectly, then he would have a hard time winning this fight. CH 15 Chapter 15: Sword Art ¡°What were you thinking?!¡± Fang Mu was really angry when he saw Xiao Fan bringing Li Hao home badly injured. Xiao Fan told him everything that happened and Fang Mu felt that Xiao Fan had gone too far. ¡°You can scold me later; we¡¯d better treat Li Hao¡¯s wound first.¡± Fang Mu wanted to curse, but seeing Li Hao¡¯s condition made him decide to prioritize treatment first. He took out various ointments and herbs that could relieve pain and speed up wound healing. ¡°Nine Heavens Manual doesn¡¯t seem as powerful as we think¡­¡± Xiao Fan watched Fang Mu treat Li Hao while muttering softly. Li Hao finally managed to use the Red Stone Fist to perfection after draining all of his qi. He made both his fists red and had more power, but his attack power was still not enough to penetrate the skin of the demonic beast he was facing. Fortunately, after finding out that his punch didn¡¯t have the desired effect, Li Hao changed his way of fighting and attacked the weakest part of the Demonic Beast. He still failed to kill the creature, but managed to make it escape at a high cost. If Xiao Fan didn¡¯t stop his bleeding using qi, perhaps Li Hao would be in critical condition by now. ¡°Of course! The qi of a tier 1 Forging Qi cultivator is still too little even with the Nine Heavens Manual! You having him face a demonic beast equivalent to a tier 5 Forging Qi with his bare hands is no different than sending him to commit suicide!¡± The normally calm Fang Mu couldn¡¯t hold himself back any longer. Xiao Fan scratched his head and didn¡¯t argue as it was his fault. Fang Mu continued to nag for about five minutes, only starting to stop when Li Hao looked bothered by his nagging. *** ¡°Body cultivators are not inferior to other types of cultivators, but they can only truly show their superiority when they reach at least the Earth Foundation. As long as you are a Forging Qi cultivator, you should use tools to deal with your opponents, especially demonic beasts¡­¡± It took two days for Li Hao to completely recover from his battle wounds with the demonic beast. Fang Mu took over Li Hao¡¯s full training until Xiao Fan managed to come up with a training plan that would not endanger the young man¡¯s life anymore. ¡°If you want to face that demonic beast again, it¡¯s better to use the swordsmanship I¡¯m about to teach you¡­¡± ¡°Teacher Fang, my punch can break rocks but can¡¯t hurt the boar, so how can this sword hurt it?¡± Li Hao looked at the wooden sword in his hand doubtfully. Fang Mu responded with a laugh. ¡°The wooden sword in your hand is not an ordinary sword, but a Spirit Tool¡­¡± Fang Mu explained that in the cultivator world, there are various kinds of weapons, armor, equipment, and so on, which are made from special materials that are generally used by cultivators. These artifacts are called Spirit Tools. Spirit Tools, as well as pills that are commonly consumed by cultivators, are divided into several levels, starting from Mortal, Profound, Earth, Heaven, Ancient, and Immortal, but Spirit Tools and pills that generally circulate in the cultivator world are only up to Heaven level, while pills above Heaven level are believed to be extinct. ¡°At first glance, this sword looks like ordinary wood but is actually harder and sharper than a sword used by ordinary humans.¡± Fang Mu explained while pointing at the sword in Li Hao¡¯s hand. ¡°Oh, is this sword a Heaven-tier spirit tool?¡± Li Hao¡¯s eyes widened. Fang Mu coughed softly. ¡°Of course not. You think that a Heaven-tier Spirit Tool is like grass that could be found everywhere? This sword is a low-tier Mortal sword.¡± Fang Mu added that each level of the Spirit Tool was further divided into three small classes, namely low, mid, and top. ¡°There are also tools that have magic power made by humans but cannot be compared to Spirit Tools; we call them Magic Tools.¡± Li Hao tried to swing the wooden sword a few times but still wasn¡¯t convinced by Fang Mu¡¯s words. His feelings were clearly visible on his face, and Fang Mu realized it. ¡°Hao¡¯er, today I will make sure you understand that Sword Dao is the best¡­¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± Xiao Fan, who was sitting quite a distance from them, suddenly exclaimed. He could hear all of Fang Mu¡¯s words from his spot. ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t interrupt my class!¡± Fang Mu swung his sword at Xiao Fan while Xiao Fan just stuck out his tongue. Li Hao patted his forehead. Come to think of it, Teacher Fang Mu and Teacher Xiao Fan argue almost every day over small matters. Fang Mu refocused his attention on Li Hao, and he asked Li Hao to take a good look at him. ¡°I can only do this once with the amount of qi I have now¡­¡± Fang Mu raised his hand, and suddenly, a purple-colored sword qi that was about sixty centimeters in size appeared. He threw the purple-colored sword qi onto a rock located not far from where he was standing. The sword qi shot so fast and pierced into the boulder before slowly disappearing after leaving a fairly large crack on it. ¡°Due to the state of my qi, I can¡¯t use it to its fullest¡­¡± Fang Mu sighed, his face revealing disappointment. ¡°Hao¡¯er, this move is part of the Yang Divine Sword, the greatest swordsmanship technique in the entire Eastern Star Continent.¡± Fang Mu explained that, at the peak of his strength, he could create a single sword that could turn the boulder into dust. He added that it required a high level of sword comprehension to learn the Yang Divine Sword, so he would teach other moves to build Li Hao¡¯s foundation. ¡°The Yang Divine Sword may look simple, but in order to conjure up sword qi as I did, you must have a deep understanding of the Sword Dao¡­¡± Sitting in the distance, Xiao Fan smiled faintly when he saw Li Hao¡¯s normal expression, because he knew that the number of cultivators who had died because of Fang Mu¡¯s Yang Divine Sword were already countless. The Yang Divine Sword should only be taught to one person per generation. If Fang Mu teaches it to Li Hao, LI Hao would indirectly be the successor of the Heaven Mountain Sect¡­ Xiao Fan mused to himself. According to Fang Mu¡¯s words, the Yang Divine Sword was the best swordsmanship technique in the Eastern Star Continent for the past hundreds of years, as well as one of the two most advanced skills of the Heaven Mountain Sect. A successor to the Yang Divine Sword would be faced with two choices: to become the Patriarch or Grand Elder of the Heaven Mountain Sect. If Fang Mu teaches with all his heart, I guess I should pass down my Thousand Poison Art too¡­ CH 16 Chapter 16: Li Hao¡¯s Talent Fang Mu had just finished performing a series of moves that made him appear to be dancing while carrying a sword. ¡°Hao¡¯er, although I can¡¯t pass the Yang Divine Sword yet, I won¡¯t pass any random sword technique on you. The moves I just showed you are called the Snow Eagle Dance, one of the sword techniques that only an Inner Disciple of Heaven Mountain Sect can learn.¡± Li Hao had heard from Xiao Fan that within a sect, there was a structure that explained the position of each sect member. In general, sect members were divided into two types, namely sect administrators and disciples. The sect administrator consisted of Elders with various occupations, protectors, and teachers, including Patriarchs and Grand Elders. Disciples were those who were still learning, generally those under thirty years of age for those in Forging Qi. Students themselves were divided into several classes, namely from the lowest Outer Disciple, Inner Disciple, to Core Disciple. This level determined the talent, potential, and status of the student, as well as how many resources and skills they could learn until the manual they could use. Sometimes, the administrators will take a special disciple and make that student their successor; this is called a Legacy Disciple. Li Hao was practically the Legacy Disciple of Fang Mu and Xiao Fan. ¡°This Snow Eagle Dance is a swordsmanship that doesn¡¯t rely on qi but is purely steeped in sword arts. Every attack is sharp and unpredictable and makes it difficult for the opponent to find an opening. I think this is the right move for you to start.¡± The Snow Eagle Dance was divided into eight moves, which were called the first dance to the eighth dance. Although it includes high-level knowledge, the first three dances are quite simple. Fang Mu demonstrated the dance first and then asked Li Hao to try it. Li Hao took a stance before starting to imitate Fang Mu¡¯s previous moves. He remembered each move clearly and repeated them without any difficulty. Fang Mu, who was originally smiling with satisfaction at Li Hao¡¯s initial movement, slowly lost his smile after Li Hao finished the first half of the dance and finally rubbed his eyes when Li Hao finished the first move of Snow Eagle Dance. ¡°Hmm? Did I see wrong?¡± Fang Mu was still rubbing his eyes. ¡°Oh, so you haven¡¯t realized this one ability of Li Hao¡¯s?¡± Xiao Fan patted Fang Mu on the shoulder. He had walked over as Li Hao seemed to have managed to do the first dance in one go. ¡°What do you mean? You¡­¡± Fang Mu then realized something. Two days ago, Li Hao was seriously injured from facing a demonic beast with a Red Stone Fist. Fang Mu just remembered that Li Hao had only started learning the move the day before. ¡°Li Hao mastered the Red Stone Fist in one day?!¡± Fang Mu glared at Xiao Fan. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it like that¡ªhe only imitates our moves perfectly. After repeating a few times, he can make noise with every hit, but he can only use qi in his attacks only when facing a demonic beast.¡± ¡°Still, it was too fast!¡± Xiao Fan was not surprised by Fang Mu¡¯s reaction, as he had reacted more or less the same way the first time he was in the same situation. ¡°From what I see, Li Hao is more talented in swordsmanship than barehanded skill. He imitated the Snow Eagle Dance¡¯s first dance perfectly in one try. He needed ten times to perform the Red Stone Fist well.¡± Xiao Fan added that he already knew that Li Hao was a smart kid, because when he taught Li Hao to write andread, Xiao Fan only had to teach him once before Li Hao immediately understood it. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan then tried to ask Li Hao the reason why he was able to learn everything so quickly. ¡°I don¡¯t understand it myself, Master, but I remember Uncle Liu saying something about this¡ªthat no matter what I see, I won¡¯t be able to forget it. I can learn something in one glance.¡± Li Hao pointed at his eyes. ¡°Could it be Heavenly Eyes?¡± Xiao Fan furrowed his brows before glancing at Fang Mu. ¡°No. There are only 72 Heavenly Eyes and I know them all by heart. No Heavenly Eyes has this ability.¡± Fang Mu shook his head. ¡°Heavenly Eyes? What¡¯s that?¡± Li Hao was sure he¡¯d never heard of this term before. Fang Mu explained that Heavenly Eyes were special eyes that usually appeared on babies whose parents are a pair of cultivators. Heavenly Eyes was another trait that indicated one would become a genius cultivator, like Pure Spirit Root. ¡°Heavenly Eyes are extremely rare; only one in a hundred thousand geniuses possess them.¡± Fang Mu had extensive knowledge due to his hobby of reading, so he had memorized all types of Heavenly Eyes. After all, he had fought several cultivators who possessed them. ¡°Fang Mu, isn¡¯t there a young genius in your sect who has Heavenly Eyes? I heard the type is Violet Cloud Eyes that can see through all illusions.¡± Fang Mu nodded slowly but didn¡¯t discuss it any further because the genius Xiao Fan was referring to was the disciple of someone Fang Mu didn¡¯t want to remember in their current situation. Xiao Fan remembered just that when he saw Fang Mu¡¯s reaction. He then smiled awkwardly and acted as if he didn¡¯t say anything before. ¡°Hao¡¯er, try to repeat the first dance a few times.¡± Fang Mu broke the silence between them. Li Hao nodded and then started repeating the Snow Eagle Dance¡¯s first dance while Fang Mu and Xiao Fan watched him. ¡°You noticed something?¡± Fang Mu glanced at Xiao Fan. ¡°Ehm, yeah¡­ I thought it was just my feeling.¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan found something interesting while they watched Li Hao perform the first dance. Fang Mu then asked Li Hao to do it a few more times to confirm their findings. ¡°How unbelievable¡­¡± ¡°Is it possible¡­¡± Li Hao could not only perfectly repeat the Snow Eagle Dance, but each time he did, his movements became sharper. Fang Mu, who had the Sword Spirit Body, couldn¡¯t do it as fast as Li Hao. ¡°Fang Mu, are you sure you didn¡¯t check Li Hao¡¯s Spirit Root quality wrong?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you check it yourself too?¡± ¡°What about his body? He really doesn¡¯t have a special body?¡± ¡°I am not sure¡­¡± Li Hao was simply too talented for Fang Mu and Xiao Fan, both of whom had lived for hundreds of years and had seen thousands of geniuses, but never before had anyone been as talented as Li Hao. ¡°If he had a Pure Spirit Root, he would definitely be the greatest master in the entire Eastern Star Continent¡­¡± ¡°Are you kidding? I think he can even breakthrough to a higher realm than Nascent Soul.¡± CH 17 Chapter 17: Woman While Fang Mu and Xiao Fan were busy discussing how talented he was, Li Hao kept repeating the first dance move. Although initially disinterested, he gradually found swordplay to be fun. ¡°We better not get too excited or too quick to judge¡ªhe¡¯s just learning the first dance. Try to pass down the next dances first. We need to see how far he can memorize and imitate movements in one glance,¡± said Xiao Fan. Fang Mu agreed and passed the second dance of the Snow Eagle Dance to Li Hao, who once again mastered it in one glance. Fang Mu continued on to the more complicated third dance,but Li Hao still managed to imitate it. ¡°Mastering three dances in one day¡­¡± Fang Mu was speechless. ¡°And they say I¡¯m good at swordsmanship. In front of Hao, I¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t compare yourself to him. I don¡¯t think there will be anyone like him anymore in the Eastern Star Continent¡­¡± Fang Mu didn¡¯t go on to the fourth dance. Though he was pretty sure Li Hao could imitate the fourth or even fifth dance in one glance, he didn¡¯t think learning too much in a short period of time would have any good impact on Li Hao¡¯s development. It was also not good for Fang Mu¡¯s health. Fang Mu said he would teach Li Hao more tomorrow; he needed time to calm his soul. Xiao Fan helped Fang Mu, whose legs felt weak, back to his house. Li Hao himself did not go straight home and chose to continue practicing alone because it was not yet dark. During this time, Li Hao also repeated the three sword dances he had learned that day. *** ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Li Hao returned yet? It¡¯s getting dark¡­¡± Fang Mu stood in front of his house, looking worried. Seeing Li Hao not returning home after the sun had set for quite a while, Fang Mu took Xiao Fan to look for Li Hao. The two later found Li Hao still in the same location as a few hours earlier, practicing swordsmanship. ¡°Hao¡¯er, you can continue your training tom¡ª¡± Xiao Fan called out to Li Hao but Fang Mu suddenly grabbed his shoulder. ¡°Wait!¡± Fang Mu noticed something in Li Hao¡¯s move. ¡°That¡¯s not the Snow Eagle Dance I taught¡­¡± Xiao Fan frowned before taking a closer look at Li Hao. It was true that even though at first glance Li Hao looked like he was doing the Snow Eagle Dance, there was a difference compared to before. His movements became more fluid and sharp; the Snow Eagle Dance shouldn¡¯t have this ability. ¡°Ah, Teacher Fang, Teacher Xiao¡­¡± Li Hao only realized the arrival of the two after finishing his move. He then looked up and realized it was already night. ¡°It was already dark? I forgot the time¡­¡± ¡°Hao¡¯er¡­ How did you¡­ What made your movements change like that?¡± Fang Mu asked, stuttering. ¡°Oh, my move earlier? After repeating the first to third dance several times, I realized that the moves didn¡¯t really suit my body shape. Although I can do it well, there seems to be a flaw that I don¡¯t understand¡­ I was planning to ask Master the next day.¡± Li Hao explained that there were some parts where he felt his movements weren¡¯t as smooth as others, so he found the problem, and the solution to fix it just popped up in his mind. ¡°So you¡¯re saying the Snow Eagle Dance¡¯s moves don¡¯t match your physical condition?¡± ¡°Yes, you could say that, Master. Am I wrong?¡± ¡°No, you are absolutely right¡­¡± Fang Mu explained that the Snow Eagle Dance was actually a sword technique created for women; performing this move perfectly required a female body. When males used it, they could only use at most eighty percent of the full power of this move. The reason Fang Mu passed this move on to Li Hao was that the Snow Eagle Dance was one of the best swordsmanship that could be used completely without qi, not to mention that it could be used even if one had reached Nascent Soul. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Snow Eagle Dance was said to be the best swordsmanship at the Forging Qi level, as Forging Qi cultivators did not have enough qi to fight using a cultivator¡¯s sword technique for a long time. ¡°This Snow Eagle Dance was created about five to sixty years ago so it¡¯s not perfect yet, but you¡­¡± Fang Mu could see Li Hao perfecting the first three dances of the Snow Eagle Dance so that it could be used by men to the fullest, not to mention the technique might be better than the original. Li Hao had a confused look on his face. Xiao Fan was the first to notice. ¡°Hao¡¯er, looks like something is confusing you. Just ask,¡± Xiao Fan reminded. ¡°Yes, what are a man and a woman?¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan looked at each other and then slapped each other on the forehead. Both of them just remembered that Li Hao had lived in this place since he could remember and had very little knowledge of the outside world. ¡°You know, Hao¡¯er, just like us, a man has a bir¡ª¡± Xiao Fan was still speaking when Fang Mu smacked his head. ¡°Don¡¯t explain like that!¡± Fang Mu glared at Xiao Fan. That night, Fang Mu and Xiao Fan explained at length to Li Hao about the gender that is also found in animals and other creatures. Li Hao felt like he had discovered a new world while listening to the explanations of the two. ¡°It turns out that there¡¯s so much I still don¡¯t know about the world¡­¡± Li Hao muttered under his breath. ¡°The world is too vast for one to know all its mysteries. Even us who have lived for over five hundred years can still find surprising things like you, for example.¡± Fang Mu smiled awkwardly. When they arrived at the residence, Li Hao was allowed to rest. He even added that he couldn¡¯t wait for the next day. ¡°How far do you think Li Hao can progress?¡± Xiao Fan turned to Fang Mu after Li Hao entered his house. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure. But one thing I do know is that his sword talent is probably the best I¡¯ve seen in the Eastern Star Continent. Don¡¯t you feel that way too?¡± Even though Xiao Fan was not a Sword Cultivator, over the past hundreds of years, he had fought and killed countless Sword Cultivators that had gone against him. Xiao Fan admitted that he could see Li Hao would probably become a better Sword Cultivator than Fang Mu. ¡°Too bad. I wish he could be my successor, but it looks like he will take the Sword Sage mantle from you instead of my Poison King.¡± Xiao Fan chuckled. ¡°I think it¡¯s too soon to say that. We don¡¯t know whether Hao¡¯s talent is limited to swords or more.¡± ¡°You mean?¡± ¡°We¡¯d better teach him all the areas we¡¯re good at and see how far he can absorb it.¡± CH 18 Chapter 18: Poison Art ¡°Why do you look so disappointed?¡± Xiao Fan raised his eyebrows when he looked at Li Hao¡¯s listless face. ¡°I thought today Teacher Fang will teach more swordsmanship.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your own fault; your speed of improvement surprised him that it took him some time to recover his heart.¡± Xiao Fan laughed mockingly. Li Hao scratched his head, then put down the wooden sword he was carrying knowing he wouldn¡¯t be using it today. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll teach you something no less interesting than swordsmanship. Today, we will learn the art of poison.¡± ¡°Poison? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It would be easier to show you¡­¡± Xiao Fan then took Li Hao to go look for a small demonic beast. They then found one in the shape of a cow. ¡°We can make the cow a guinea pig¡­¡± Xiao Fan rubbed his hands together. ¡°Oh, poison can turn a cow into a pig?¡± Xiao Fan patted Li Hao¡¯s forehead and asked him to pay attention. Xiao Fan sneaked closer to the cow, and after getting close enough, he released white powder from his hand towards the cow. Within seconds, the cow began to struggle and roll over the ground. Li Hao¡¯s eyes widened when he saw this behavior. Curious, he asked, ¡°Teacher Xiao, what did you do to it?¡± Xiao Fan chuckled. ¡°I used itching poison. If you don¡¯t get the antidote, then the cow will be itching for the next twelve hours.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just getting started. I¡¯ll show you something more interesting.¡± Xiao Fan again approached the cow. With the cow too busy scratching its body, he didn¡¯t even try to sneak around. Xiao Fan threw another powder. This time, instead of just struggling, the cow started laughing in amusement. He explained it was laughing poison, then threw another poison which put the cow to sleep. ¡°There are tens of thousands of different types of poison in this world. Those who are new to poison arts will seek to learn deadly poisons, but those who understand the essence of poison arts will realize that poison arts are far greater than that¡­¡± Xiao Fan started to mention the different types of poisons and their functions. Li Hao listened enthusiastically because poisons turned out to be much more interesting than he thought. While Xiao Fan was explaining poison science, the previously sleeping demonic beast woke up. The cow-shaped demonic beast had stopped laughing, but his body was still very itchy. He then looked at Xiao Fan with anger knowing that the cause of his suffering was the red-haired man. The cow was ready to attack Xiao Fan, but before he could start running, his body was suddenly in great pain. Finally, the creature vomited a large amount of blood and fell to the ground, no longer breathing. ¡°There is no easier way to kill people who are stronger than us than using poison.¡± Xiao Fan laughed as he glanced at the cow carcass lying not far from him. Li Hao studied the cow in surprise before looking at Xiao Fan. ¡°Teacher Xiao, if you can kill him so easily, why don¡¯t you ever hunt for food for us?¡± Xiao Fan¡¯s smile faded. ¡°Demonic beasts that affected by my poison can no longer be eaten by you guys. I might be able to eat them because of my Thousand Poison Body, but you can die. After all, my poison is too valuable to kill a demonic beast like this.¡± Li Hao pondered for a moment before asking again, ¡°Master, didn¡¯t you tell me that you have fought Teacher Fang for hundreds of years? Why can¡¯t he be defeated with your poison?¡± ¡°Who said I can¡¯t beat him with my poison?! He nearly died several times from my poison.¡± ¡°Then why is Teacher Fang still alive? Doesn¡¯t that mean Master¡¯s poison isn¡¯t as great as Master boasts?¡± Xiao Fan refrained from smacking Li Hao¡¯s head. He realized that this young man was not trying to anger him but was asking this out of pure curiosity. ¡°Didn¡¯t Fang Mu say that apart from being a Sword Cultivator, he is also an Alchemist? The only profession capable of making antidotes other than Poison Cultivator is Alchemist. Fang Mu is one of the best Alchemists that the Eastern Star Continent has; there are only one or two people who can surpass him in the realm of Alchemy.¡± Xiao Fan explained that Fang Mu studied Alchemy to deal with his poison skills while Xiao Fan became a Body Cultivator to face Fang Mu¡¯s Sword Dao. ¡°Just as Fang Mu is famous for his Alchemy abilities in addition to his position as a Sword Sage, I also have the reputation of being one of the strongest Body Cultivators in the Eastern Star Continent apart from being a Poison King.¡± ¡°Master, you and Teacher Fang often mention Sword Sage and Poison King. Is that something important?¡± Xiao Fan refrained from cursing. ¡°Hao¡¯er, you may be the only one in the entire Eastern Star Continent who can ask that¡­¡± He explained that Fang Mu¡¯s title of Sword Sage was due to his ability as the best Sword Cultivator in the Eastern Star Continent. ¡°Sage is the nickname for the five strongest cultivators of the righteous and neutral faction¡ªthey are called the Five Sages. Fang Mu was not only one of them, but the strongest. That¡¯s why Fang Mu is known as the greatest master of the righteous faction,¡± Xiao Fan explained. Xiao Fan added that, just like the righteous and neutral faction, the Eastern Star Continent¡¯s evil faction¡¯s greatest cultivators are known as the Seven Kings. They are seven people with extraordinary abilities among the faction, and Xiao Fan, nicknamed the Poison King, was one of them. Apart from being the best poison expert in the Eastern Star Continent, Xiao Fan was also the strongest master among the Seven Kings. That¡¯s why Xiao Fan was known as the strongest master of the evil faction as well as Fang Mu¡¯s rival. ¡°Master, I still don¡¯t understand. Why is someone belonging to the Five Sages or Seven Kings considered important?¡± Xiao Fan took a deep breath. ¡°Listen, I¡¯m too lazy to admit it, but Heaven Mountain Sect, where Fang Mu is from, is the strongest sect in the world because it has two Sages within it. Fang Mu is the Sword Sage, and the other is called the White Sage.¡± Ever since Fang Mu became a Sword Sage about three hundred years ago, the Heaven Mountain Sect¡¯s position had steadily risen until finally, not a single righteous and neutral sect had disputed their position as the number one sect in the Eastern Star Continent. CH 19 Chapter 19: Experts Xiao Fan¡¯s eyebrows rose and fell at Li Hao¡¯s question. He looked at Li Hao¡¯s expression carefully, making sure he didn¡¯t ask it to test his patience. ¡°The Five Poison Valley is known as the strongest sect of the evil sect because of my existence, but we realized that was not the case.¡± Xiao Fan let out a long sigh. ¡°One of the five ten-star sects in the evil faction, the Blood Cloud Clan, is the one at the top, but they chose to hide and strengthen themselves.¡± Xiao Fan reminded Li Hao that if one day he left Peach Blossom Mountain, the Blood Cloud Clan would be the group he should be most wary of, more than the Five Poison Valley. ¡°The Blood Cloud Clan has two people who are within the Seven Kings¡ªthe Blood King and the Death King. The only one who can match their strength is the Heaven Mountain Sect.¡± Li Hao scratched his head in confusion. ¡°Teacher Xiao, after hearing all of your story, I think I get how the evil factions work, that they have their own way of doing things. The Blood Cloud Clan shouldn¡¯t be able to accept the Five Poison Valley being known as number one. If the strength between them differs so much, why don¡¯t they subdue your sect?¡± Xiao Fan laughed loudly, satisfied with Li Hao¡¯s analysis. ¡°Good child. You understand the world of cultivators quite a bit now. That¡¯s right; the Blood Cloud Clan shouldn¡¯t remain silent, because the number one position also provides a lot of advantages, especially when it comes to resources.¡± He explained that if the Blood Cloud Clan believed they could subdue the Five Poison Valley without any major losses, they would have done so a long time ago. ¡°I, as the Poison King, am in first place among the Seven Kings, while the Death King and Blood King are second and third, respectively. They have enough strength to face me. The problem is, one of the other Seven Kings is my best friend.¡± The Ice King, who is in fourth position of the Seven Kings, was Xiao Fan¡¯s only friend in the evil faction. If the Blood Cloud Clan really attacked the Five Poison Valley, the Ice King would not remain silent. The Ice King could be a troublesome opponent for the Blood Cloud Clan. ¡°Teacher, didn¡¯t you say there¡¯s no one important to you even if you can get out of here? Isn¡¯t your friend an important person too?¡± Xiao Fan laughed loudly, but his laughter did not sound like a happy laughter. Instead, it was sad and regretful. ¡°Brother Bing is indeed kind to me; I owe him a lot. He¡¯d lost his beloved son and daughter-in-law for helping me in the war, and I don¡¯t have the face to see him again. I think dying in this place could be one of my forms of redemption.¡± Li Hao didn¡¯t really understand human emotions because he had lived alone for a long time. The emotion that Xiao Fan showed felt distant to him. ¡°Teacher Xiao, now that I understand the importance of the Five Sages and Seven Kings¡­¡± Li Hao didn¡¯t understand how to comfort Xiao Fan, so he could only change the topic. ¡°Then, are these people the strongest experts in the cultivation world?¡± Xiao Fan smiled as he realized Li Hao¡¯s intentions. ¡°Yes. But there are also people who can match the big names of the Five Sages and Seven Kings, namely the Three Immortals. They are three cultivators who have extraordinary strength but are not part of a sect.¡± The Three Immortals in question were the Pill Immortal, Jade Immortal, and Talisman Immortal. ¡°The Pill Immortal is the best Alchemist in the Eastern Star Continent. He¡¯s one of the people who can beat Fang Mu in the realm of Alchemy. In addition, it¡¯s believed that he possesses extraordinary abilities, not inferior to the Five Sages and Seven Kings. He lives alone on Blue Lotus Island.¡± ¡°Jade Immortal is the nickname for the Empress of the Ironwood Empire. She is the strongest female cultivator in the entire Eastern Star Continent. If it weren¡¯t for her, the Ironwood Empire would not have survived the two Empires that were much bigger than them, the Black Moon Empire and the Heaven Star Empire.¡± ¡°The Talisman Immortal is a wanderer, and he is the best Talisman Cultivator. Among the Three Immortals, he is the most mysterious and rarely encountered. I don¡¯t know much about him either¡­¡± According to Xiao Fan¡¯s explanation, the Three Immortals had abilities that were not inferior to the Five Sages and Seven Kings. Even the Pill Immortal was believed to be the strongest master in the Eastern Star Continent as well as the oldest living cultivator, who was at least 800 years old. ¡°Ehm¡­ Teacher Xiao, what is a Talisman?¡± ¡°Talisman is¡­ Wait a minute! Today, I wanted to teach you poisons. Why did we discuss all of this?¡± Xiao Fan said Li Hao didn¡¯t need to know the Talisman for now. He was continuing his lessons on poisons and planned to train Li Hao to concoct poison in the near future. Li Hao became more aware of poisons after getting more explanations from Xiao Fan, but something was bothering him. ¡°Teacher Xiao, now that I understand poison better, doesn¡¯t that mean you can use poison to kill the powerful beasts that stand in our way to the oldest peach tree?¡± Xiao Fan laughed loudly at that. ¡°Hao¡¯er, you are indeed intelligent to quickly understand this, but there¡¯s a reason why I didn¡¯t do it. One day, you¡¯ll understand.¡± Li Hao scratched his head, not understanding what Xiao Fan meant. ¡°That means Teacher Fang knows it? Master Fang must have realized sooner than me, right?¡± Xiao Fan nodded. ¡°Yes. Once you deepen your knowledge further, you will understand in time even if we don¡¯t explain. Now, let¡¯s try to make a simple poison.¡± Xiao Fan took out some ingredients, then taught Li Hao to make itching powder poison. Li Hao watched Xiao Fan carefully, seeing a slightly different smile than what Xiao Fan usually showed. This time, his smile felt more sincere and warm. ¡°Teacher Xiao, is there something that¡¯s making you happy today?¡± ¡°Hmm? I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t understand either. Most people look for me intending to learn deadly poison, but I think it¡¯s more fun doing it like this¡­¡± Li Hao scratched his head again. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Teacher¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to understand.¡± Xiao Fan stroked Li Hao¡¯s head. ¡°I just thought it would be interesting if one day a person with an innocent face like you carried all kinds of dangerous poisons in your body. You might become a better Poison Cultivator than me.¡± Xiao Fan laughed loudly, lost in his imagination, while Li Hao just looked at him in surprise. CH 20 Chapter 20: Little Dragon Over the next few months, Li Hao displayed talent that did not cease to amaze Fang Mu and Xiao Fan. Li Hao¡¯s progress in swordsmanship and poison art was so rapid, he could absorb everything he was taught without difficulty. Apart from the Snow Eagle Dance, Fang Mu taught several other, more complicated swordsmanships, making Li Hao¡¯s swordsmanship foundation even more solid. Li Hao was also able to memorize the composition of a poison in one glance. Now, he could concoct nearly a hundred kinds of simple poison. What surprised Fang Mu and Xiao Fan the most was, when they taught Li Hao, the two of them also gained a new understanding of the knowledge they taught. Li Hao helped Fang Mu see some sides of swordsmanship that he had not managed to see before, and he made Xiao Fan discover some new poison combinations that he had never thought of before. The only thing weighing on Fang Mu and Xiao Fan¡¯s minds was the development of Li Hao¡¯s cultivation level, which was currently still at Forging Qi level 1. Li Hao realized the anxiety of the two teachers, so he reduced his sleep time and cultivated more at night to increase his qi. ¡°Ah, this black liquid, does that mean I have reached the second level?¡± Li Hao noticed the black liquid oozing out from the pores of his skin. One night, when it was drizzling rain, Li Hao finally managed to reach Forging Qi level 2. Li Hao went out of the house to clean himself and remove the stench from his body. He washed himself with rain while smiling broadly at the thought of the happy faces of his two teachers. It was then that Li Hao heard a loud noise from behind his house. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s that sound?¡± Li Hao went to check the source of the sound and found the egg he had almost forgotten. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan researched the eggs obtained from the dragon¡¯s cave dwelling for several weeks and couldn¡¯t find anything. The egg that was considered a Divine Beast egg was finally forgotten after a few months, but now that same egg was giving off a greenish glow. ¡°Teacher Fang! Teacher Xiao! Something happened to this dragon egg!¡± Li Hao shouted loudly, breaking the silence of the night. The cry not only woke up Fang Mu and Xiao Fan but also caused something to happen to the egg. Upon hearing Li Hao¡¯s voice, the egg emitted a greenish light that grew brighter until finally, a crack appeared on the egg. Before Fang Mu and Xiao Fan arrived at the location, the egg had already hatched, and something came out from inside the egg. Li Hao was the first one it saw. ¡°Oak¡­¡± *** ¡°Hao¡¯er, is it really this creature that came out of the Divine Beast egg?¡± Xiao Fan pointed at the tiny creature that was being carried by Li Hao. Li Hao nodded. Actually, he was just as confused as his two teachers. ¡°Fang Mu, what do you think? Why are you silent?¡± Xiao Fan glanced at Fang Mu, who froze at the tiny creature. ¡°Ehm¡­ No matter how we look at it, isn¡¯t this a baby donkey? How can a baby donkey come out of this Divine Beast egg?¡± ¡°If you ask me, then who should I ask?¡± Xiao Fan glared at him. As Fang Mu and Xiao Fan were confused by the phenomenon, the black-haired baby donkey was actually being spoiled in Li Hao¡¯s arms. Maybe because Li Hao was the first one it saw, the baby donkey thought of Li Hao as its parent. ¡°There must be something special about this baby donkey. After all, it came out of a dragon egg.¡± Fang Mu stroked his chin. Fang Mu tried to examine the baby donkey¡¯s body with his finger, but the creature struggled when he tried to touch it. ¡°Right now, he only accepts Hao¡¯er. We are considered strangers.¡± Xiao Fan sighed softly. ¡°Then, Hao¡¯er, from now on you have to take care of it.¡± Fang Mu shook his head. Li Hao stared at the baby donkey for a long time. The donkey¡¯s face was sweet to him. ¡°He was born from a dragon egg, right? Then from now on, his name will be Little Dragon.¡± ** Li Hao stopped his training for three days to take care of Little Dragon with Fang Mu and Xiao Fan. They were looking for milk for the little donkey. Little Dragon grew rapidly. In three days, he was twice the size of when he first hatched. Besides that, his teeth had also grown. He finally let Fang Mu and Xiao Fan touch him after the two gave him milk in turn. They then discovered something surprising. ¡°This donkey, how unusual¡­¡± ¡°Maybe it really is a Divine Beast¡­¡± Little Dragon had a Spirit Root, showing that he was not a demonic beast but a Spirit Beast. In addition, the Spirit Root only had one element, the element of wood, making it a Pure Spirit Root. He also had a lot of life energy, and in his blood flowed dragon blood, although not much. Fang Mu could feel a few drops of golden blood within Little Dragon¡¯s body. ¡°With enough resources, he can reach the Nascent Soul stage without difficulty.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a donkey possessing the power of a Nascent Soul.¡± Fang Mu and Xiao Fan both had intense headaches, unable to decide whether to be happy or sad. ¡°Ok! Oaks!¡± Little Dragon felt himself being humiliated, so he showed his irritation. ¡°Teacher Fang, Teacher Xiao, it has a name. Please don¡¯t call it a donkey, he doesn¡¯t like that title.¡± Little Dragon flashed a broad smile before stroking his body against Li Hao¡¯s feet, as if pleased that Li Hao could understand his point. Fang Mu scratched his nose. ¡°Yeah, at least it¡¯s proven to have great potential. His form shouldn¡¯t be underestimated.¡± ¡°Right, one day it will become a powerful being that can protect even a ten-star sect.¡± On the fourth day, Little Dragon stopped drinking milk and chose to eat grass that grew around Li Hao¡¯s house. One thing that bothered Fang Mu and Xiao Fan, every time he finished eating, Little Dragon would let out a fart that smelled of grass, and thus the two named him Fart Donkey. ¡°Hao¡¯er, we¡¯ve already postponed your training for a few days. Little Dragon can take care of its own food, so it¡¯s time for us to resume your training.¡± Fang Mu reminded Li Hao. ¡°Okay, Teacher. Am I going to learn swordsmanship or poison today?¡± ¡°Neither. You¡¯ve already reached Forging Qi level 2, and it¡¯s time for you to learn Daoist Magic.¡±