Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 474

Volume 3 - Chapter 145: Holy Land of the Literary Ancestor, the Eighth Extreme Realm – Part 1

The great battle concluded, but Li Hao didn’t rest. He quickly used the Huayou Token to contact Zhantan, seeking her insights on painting.

“You’re not going into seclusion?”

Zhantan was surprised. She hadn’t expected Li Hao to be so eager, coming to discuss painting immediately after such a grueling battle. It felt as though the Heavenly Battle of Saints was merely an interruption to Li Hao’s artistic pursuits. Was painting his main focus while the battle was secondary?

Seeking you is my form of seclusion... Li Hao thought to himself.

If he could reach the tenth segment in the Path of Painting, he could achieve Sacrificial Sainthood, which was his most pressing goal.

Aside from the Path of Painting, his Path of Cooking was also at the ninth segment, showing promise of breaking through to the tenth.

Reaching the tenth segment required an elevated state of mind, but before that, one needed to quickly accumulate enough experience.

“Qingfeng truly is carefree. It seems he doesn’t care about the fame and fortune of the Heavenly Battle of Saints,” Yezu remarked.

“Qingjiu, I’m talking about you. Learn from Qingfeng. Huh, both of you have the word ‘qing’ in your names?”

Green Ancestor suddenly pointed out this coincidence.

A faint shadow stirred—it was Qingjiu. He had also heard from Zhantan that Li Hao had claimed first place in the Loose Cultivator Battle. However, this victory was merely equivalent to a preliminary round in a smaller world. The true clash among geniuses would take place in the upcoming battle for the final spots.

“I lack his sense of ease,” Qingjiu replied with a wry smile.

Recently, he had been in seclusion, having received word of a few monstrous opponents who made him feel slightly pressured.

Though he claimed indifference, Qingjiu had been cultivating for less than a century. The fire in his heart had not yet dimmed.

“This kid Qingjiu is said to excel in the Path of Chess, yet he hasn’t played a single game with this old man since joining our Huayou Association. All he does is secretly go into seclusion,” Yezu muttered while shaking his head.

He had long since seen through Qingjiu’s burning ambition but didn’t blame or belittle him. After all, during their youth, they had been even more fanatical—everything apart from cultivation had taken a backseat. They had even resorted to slaying for fame and treasures. Now that they had lived through it all, a sense of desolation lingered after the splendor had faded.

“Don’t be too hard on Qingjiu. With his strength, a bit of effort could secure him a spot in the top ten of the Heavenly Battle of Saints. It’s normal for him to want to push himself. If the goal were too distant, he’d probably take it easy,” said a young shadow, another Semi-Saint known as Huo Zu.

Hearing Huo Zu’s words, Qingjiu cast him a grateful glance and said, “Huo Zu understands me. Right now, I’m in a position where I’m being pushed forward. Both my Sacred Land and master have high expectations for me. Based on the intelligence I’ve received, there are only a handful of opponents who truly intimidate me. With some effort, I stand a chance at the top ten.”

“You’re not just aiming for the top ten, are you?” Yezu teased, seeing through Qingjiu’s ambitions.

Caught red-handed, Qingjiu awkwardly replied, “Old Ye, stop poking fun at me. I’d count myself lucky to make it into the top ten.”

“Don’t kid yourself,” Yezu snorted. “You still owe me that chess game from ten years ago. When are you going to make good on your promise?”

“Next time, I swear!” Qingjiu immediately promised.

Zhantan turned to Li Hao. “You’re really coming?”

“Yes,” Li Hao nodded.

“Alright, I’ll send someone to fetch you tomorrow. I actually watched your Loose Cultivator Battle,” Zhantan said with a soft smile.

Li Hao was slightly surprised but quickly agreed. “Alright.”

Qingjiu looked at Li Hao with envy and said, “Qingfeng, you truly are at ease. But I’ve heard that your Canglan Realm’s Twin Buddhist Son is quite troublesome. Be cautious if you encounter him. He’s one of the contenders for the top ten, and many factions are paying close attention to him.”

“Thank you for the warning,” Li Hao replied with a smile.

After a bit more casual conversation, Li Hao withdrew from the Huayou Association and returned to his courtyard to continue carving in seclusion.

The next day, Gui Qinshuang arrived at Li Hao’s courtyard, bringing news from the Canghai Divine Dynasty.

“The incense offerings have increased from ten cities to fifteen cities?”

Li Hao was a bit surprised but quickly surmised it was due to the recent battle.

With this, the time required for Incense Sainthood would be shortened by twenty years. Now, only 240 years remained.

If he won first place in the Heavenly Battle of Saints, he could achieve Incense Sainthood immediately. The accumulated incense offerings would then become a source of power in the Saint Realm—the more, the better.

After Gui Qinshuang bowed and left, a flower-drawn carriage arrived. A beautiful woman in a pink floral dress stepped down, gently knocking on the courtyard door. Her voice was as clear as an oriole’s call.

“Yueying, under orders from Tan Zu, has come to escort Young Master Qingfeng.”

Li Hao scanned the beautiful woman with his divine sense. Her elegance was on par with that of noble ladies and princesses. He responded, “Give me one incense stick’s time.”

The woman outside the courtyard answered respectfully and waited quietly.

Li Hao continued carving, completing the statue in his hands. It was the likeness of Yao Zu. He placed the statue on a shelf in the courtyard alongside numerous other carvings.

Brushing the wood shavings from his clothes, Li Hao suddenly remembered something. With a wave of his hand, he opened a spatial realm and called out, “Xiyan, come out.”

A streak of crimson light flew out, transforming into a girl in a red dress.

“The energy here is so rich,” Xiyan remarked, marveling at the Sacred Land’s dense spiritual energy, incomparable to the mortal world.

Li Hao smiled. “Feeling stifled? Let’s head out for an appointment.”

“It wasn’t too bad. From your spatial realm, I could still observe the outside world,” Xiyan replied cheerfully. Without asking further questions, she transformed into a streak of red light that coiled around Li Hao’s wrist, taking the form of a crimson vine bracelet.

Previously, in the Sacred Land of Jian Zu, Li Hao had refrained from releasing Xiyan due to unfamiliarity with the environment and the sword cultivators’ animosity toward demons.

Although the Sacred Lands of Saints permitted coexistence between humans and demons, not everyone was accepting. Some Sacred Lands were allies of demons, while others were mortal enemies.

...

Stepping outside, Li Hao saw the flower-drawn carriage and said, “Let’s go.”

Yueying stole a glance at Li Hao, aware that this was the unparalleled genius who had won the Loose Cultivator Battle. She had witnessed his elegant swordsmanship alongside Tan Zu the previous day.

Respectfully, she invited Li Hao onto the carriage, then instructed the dragon demon pulling it to set off.

The carriage rose into the sky, gliding smoothly like willow leaves in the wind.

Passing over mountains and rivers, Xiyan, in her vine form, extended a curious tendril to observe the surroundings.

Before long, they exited the Ji Dao Mountain region and the territory of the Canghai Divine Dynasty. Passing through seven or eight divine dynasties, they finally arrived at a Sacred Land.

Morning light suffused the Sacred Land with a brilliant glow, and a majestic aura permeated the air.

As they approached, Li Hao heard the sound of scholars reciting ancient scriptures.

...

Li Hao peered ahead and saw numerous academy-like courtyards scattered across the Sacred Land. Disciples seated within were reciting scriptures. Strangely, their recitations conjured manifestations of dragons and phoenixes above the courtyards. In other areas, battlefield illusions appeared, depicting soldiers locked in fierce combat.

A look of astonishment crossed Li Hao’s face as he began to recognize the place.

“This is the Sacred Land of Wen Zu?”

Yueying withdrew her gaze from Xiyan, who had coiled around Li Hao’s wrist, and smiled gently. “Indeed, Young Master Qingfeng.”

Li Hao’s eyes flickered. So Zhantan was a high elder of the Sacred Land of Wen Zu?

That made sense. A Semi-Saint like her would either serve as an elder in a Sacred Land or as a consecrated figure for a divine dynasty. As the vice president of the Huayou Association, her status within the Sacred Land of Wen Zu must also be extremely prominent.

“What are they doing?”

Li Hao gestured toward the disciples and asked curiously.

“They’re cultivating,” Yueying replied with a smile. “In the Sacred Land of Wen Zu, cultivation involves using the essence of heaven and earth as a book, turning the written word into the Dao. Unlike the Sacred Lands of Jian Zu and Dao Zun, where the sword or blade serves as the medium for cultivation, we use poetry and prose to kill!”

Li Hao nodded in understanding. He had long heard of the myriad cultivation paths of the Thirty-Three Realms, each Sacred Land claiming its own unique way.

...

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