One year later.
At the edge of the Black Water Demon Lake, the aroma of fish soup wafted through the air.
Two old men sat by a large pot with bowls and chopsticks in hand. Feng Boping followed his usual habit and scooped a spoonful of fish soup into his bowl, savoring it slowly. He couldn’t help but praise, “Little Mouse’s cooking skills are almost on par with the royal kitchen!”
“Tsk, I’ve been eating this for a year and still haven’t gotten tired of it. It’s quite strange,” he added.
Li Muxiu was also surprised. He didn’t expect Li Hao to have such excellent cooking talent; his skills were only getting better.
“Have you ever eaten at the royal kitchen, Old Feng?” Li Hao asked with a smile.
“I’ve snuck a taste,” Feng Boping replied, a mischievous smile appearing on his youthful-looking face. He seemed to reminisce, smacking his lips, “That leftover half bowl of soup had my saliva in it. I wonder which concubine they served it to.”
“You old rascal, if it got served to Emperor Yu, you’d lose your head for sure,” Li Muxiu said with mock annoyance, clearly aware of some of his old friend’s past mischief, which was quite audacious.
Li Hao couldn’t help but laugh. He already knew this old thief had no boundaries. Last time, he even tried to give him a silk scarf as thin as a cicada’s wing, which he heard belonged to a saintess of some sect. It was only after the second master chased him halfway down the river that he gave up on that idea.
This became a regret for Li Hao. It was the first time he felt that the second master sometimes meddled too much…
“Life is meant to be enjoyed. You should try everything at least once,” Feng Boping said cheerfully.
Li Hao also picked up his bowl and started eating, listening to the two old men joke around. Suddenly, he felt a stir in his heart, and words appeared before his eyes:
[You have comprehended the Heart of Cooking]
Li Hao’s eyes brightened slightly, but he quickly returned to normal. This was something he had anticipated.
Ever since he reached the third level of cooking at lightning speed, he had been looking for ways to delve deeper into it. So, he often visited the kitchen to communicate with the chefs.
The chefs, knowing he was the young master of the Li family, didn’t dare to be careless. Even though it was quite unusual, they shared everything they knew with him.
Through these in-depth exchanges with the chefs, Li Hao opened his eyes to the vastness of culinary arts, which was no less complex than the game of chess.
He learned about a variety of ingredients, different seasonings, cooking times, and methods to remove fishy smells and flavors.
Li Hao gradually became fascinated, as if he were exploring a vibrant new world.
Unknowingly, he skipped the stage of cooking just for experience and genuinely fell in love with it.
Even without gaining experience points, he would find opportunities to showcase his skills and cook various dishes.
Recently, he would carefully taste the pastries sent to the Shanhua Courtyard. If they were poorly made, he would even knock them over and call the chef over for personal criticism.
Once he became invested, he couldn’t help but be serious and strict.
It was like in a game where a casual player might not care about losing, but those who genuinely wanted to win would often get angry.
Now that he had realized the heart of cooking, Li Hao wasn’t overly excited. After taking something seriously, he found he didn’t care much about the results, just like with his chess heart before.
However, with this newfound mindset, he could now try to push his way to the fourth level of the Path of Control.
After chatting and eating, Li Hao picked out some good bones to feed the little white fox beside him.
This little white fox was a year and a half old, still small and delicate, with bright white fur. Li Hao usually fed it some spirit fruits that contained medicinal properties, along with daily fish soup. This little creature had begun its cultivation journey and had reached the fifth level of the Spirit Realm.
From being a wild fox in the mountains, it had now become a demon with some demonic aura.
If it could reach the Zhou Tian Realm, it would gain spiritual intelligence.
Once it reached the Soul Continuation Realm, it would be able to “appear and disappear at will.”
After finishing lunch, they went fishing for the afternoon.
However, Li Hao only caught a fish demon at the second level of the Zhou Tian Realm today; his luck wasn’t great.
After wrapping up, he returned to the Listening Rain Pavilion, holding the little white fox. Once he locked himself in his room, he pulled up his status panel and, after some thought, decided to use this newfound insight to break through in the Path of Control.
Soon, his Path of Control rose from the third to the fourth level.
With the third level of the Path of Control, he could travel a thousand miles in a day. Now at the fourth level, he wondered if he would gain new insights regarding the major meridians and luck techniques.
As the points were allocated, a wealth of information flooded into his mind. After a while, Li Hao slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze was clear and bright, filled with surprise.
In his eyes, the world seemed to have undergone some wonderful changes. The rich insights in his mind told him that this heaven and earth were far more exciting than he had previously seen.
Heaven and earth have spirits!
“Demons and monsters comprehend the stars and the sun… to continue the soul, one must enhance their soul thoughts, and while inheriting the soul thoughts, one must also adhere to certain ‘agreements.’”
“Humans can inherit from humans, from demons, and from all races.”
“Similarly, humans can also gain inheritances from all races, from mountain spirits and strange creatures, from true dragons and divine phoenixes, or perhaps… from the stars and the sun, from the inheritance of this heaven and earth!”
With all the martial arts manuals he had seen in the Listening Rain Pavilion, along with the various cultivation methods he had mastered, Li Hao suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.
To continue the soul through humans, one must bear their thoughts.
To continue the soul through demons, one must bear their nature.
But to continue the soul through heaven and earth, one must bear its weight!
“I want to establish my soul with heaven and earth!”
Li Hao’s eyes burst with intense light. He activated the myriad attributes, enveloping his body. Unless he made a huge commotion with his fists and feet, outsiders wouldn’t be able to sense him.
Then, his entire body’s energy began to flow with the major meridians, and both the Yin and Yang meridians appeared, converging at the top of his head.
In an instant, his strength surged wildly, containing terrifying power within him.
This power seemed ready to burst forth, breaking through that ethereal barrier.
He wanted to communicate with heaven and earth, to ask the heavens and the earth for that fragment of strength!
As if sensing Li Hao’s strong intent, a vast and terrifying pressure enveloped him, like a massive mountain descending upon him. His bones creaked under the strain, unable to bear it.
The weight of heaven and earth is heavier than Mount Tai!
Li Hao’s eyes turned red as he roared within.
The terrifying power of the Yin and Yang meridians erupted, instantly doubling his strength to nearly ten million pounds!
That immense will seemed to be lifted!
But then it came crashing down again!
Li Hao’s body bent, his feet sinking deep into the floorboards.
He gritted his teeth, knowing that relying solely on strength wouldn’t work; he hadn’t grasped the essence of heaven and earth!
What is the essence of heaven and earth?
It is the sky, the white clouds, the mountains and rivers, and all living things on earth… these are all parts of heaven and earth, but they do not represent the whole!
And if he wanted to establish his soul with heaven and earth, what did this heaven and earth look like in his heart?
A line from a Buddhist martial arts text he saw on the seventh floor of the Listening Rain Pavilion flashed in his mind.
Buddha has no form.
If the Buddha has no form, how could heaven and earth have form?
“I exist within this heaven and earth; I am the reflection of this heaven and earth!”
Li Hao’s eyes suddenly burst with light, and all his spirit and strength seemed to pour out, breaking through an invisible barrier, reaching heaven and earth!
All his energy gathered, condensing his essence, spirit, and will. Above his body, a faint shadow appeared, resembling his own figure.
Establishing the image of oneself as heaven and earth, establishing the soul with heaven and earth!
At this moment, Li Hao stepped into the Soul Continuation Realm.
It felt as if endless power surged from heaven and earth, flowing in from all directions of the void, entering his body.
The curtains in the entire room shook violently, and the doors and windows were closed. Where did this wind come from?
In the courtyard, inside the pavilion.
As Li Hao began his cultivation, Li Fu no longer followed him closely but remained in the same courtyard.
At this moment, he was playing chess in the courtyard, not because he liked it, but because Li Hao had once insisted he teach him. Now, in his free time, it seemed like this was the only entertainment he could find.
He was engaged in a fierce chess battle with Zhao Bo.
If Li Hao saw their game, he would only say one thing: “A couple of noobs pecking at each other.”
Suddenly, both of them seemed to pause at the same time and looked toward a certain direction.
A strange sense of dread washed over them, as if some great force was awakening, leaving them astonished, as if they had sensed something divine.
What was it?
The next moment, both of them stopped and rushed toward Li Hao’s room. Something unusual must have happened.
As they hurriedly pushed the door open, they saw the room in disarray. Some vases that had been placed on the edge of the shelf had already fallen to the ground, shattered into pieces.
Li Hao, however, had his feet deeply embedded in the floorboards, breathing slightly heavily, as if he had just practiced a technique.
“What’s going on?”
Seeing it wasn’t an ambush, the two of them relaxed and quickly rushed to Li Hao’s side.
Li Hao had already calmed down from the impact of the power he gained from the Soul Continuation, and the myriad attributes concealed his aura. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he sighed and said, “I was just practicing.”
“You brat, why didn’t you practice in the courtyard?” Li Fu said with mock annoyance, but he didn’t doubt him.
Li Hao’s body refinement and Zhou Tian practices were no longer secrets; he knew about them, but he wasn’t clear on the specifics.
“I just suddenly had some insights,” Li Hao explained.
“That’s good to hear,” Zhao Bo said with a smile. Although the vases on the ground were hundreds of years old and quite valuable, as long as Li Hao made progress in his cultivation, it was all worth it.
Once the two of them were reassured, Li Hao continued to savor the power of the Soul Continuation Realm in his room, which far surpassed the Zhou Tian Realm.
No wonder it was said that only upon reaching the Soul Continuation Realm could one be qualified to guard a city.
At this moment, he was only nine years old and already capable of overseeing a city!
...
After entering the Soul Continuation Realm, Li Hao’s life continued as usual.
Every day was filled with eating and drinking, fishing, painting, playing chess in the courtyard, or running to the kitchen to cook.
As time went by, this young master came up with new tricks, learning poetry and playing the zither, seemingly wandering further down the path of “not doing anything serious.”
Time flew by, spring turned to autumn.
In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.
In the fourteenth year of the Qingyuan calendar.
This year, Li Hao turned fourteen.
(End of chapter)