Chapter 721: Chapter 138 Acquired Dao Embryo, Rogue Challenges (Two in One)_4
Her lips curved slightly upward, and then she glanced at the saintess beside her, “Don’t you have anyone to accompany you in sword practice? Your master is a Sword Saint after all.”
Bian Ruxue’s eyes flickered with thoughts, but she quickly composed herself. Once, when she was a child, someone had practiced with her, but eventually, that person could no longer keep up.
She had tried looking back, but saw no one.
After the great battle ended, the Sword Master finished chatting with Li Hao and left; Li Hao followed Lin Qingyue back to the Pill Refining Institute.
Inside the institute, the place was serene; Li Hao said to Lin Qingyue, “It’s not necessarily a bad thing that your Dao Embryo was ruined.”
“?
…
Lin Qingyue looked at him with confusion.
Li Hao explained, “Originally, you had the Innate Yin Dao Embryo, which matched well with your level of Sword Intent. But now, if you could advance your Sword Intent even further, you could condense an Acquired Dao Embryo, a Sword Intent Dao Embryo!”
“Sword Intent Dao Embryo?”
Lin Qingyue was surprised; she had never heard of it.
Li Hao’s idea was a sudden inspiration, purely an insight from Sword Dao.
“Utmost gentleness leads to nothingness!”
“From non-existence comes invincibility!”
Li Hao continued, “Once you comprehend ‘non-existence,’ you will be able to condense an Acquired Dao Embryo.”
“Non-existence?”
Lin Qingyue was puzzled, but the word seemed to stir something in her mind.
Non-existence?
Supreme gentleness is non-existence.
If that was the case, then the original Innate Yin Dao Embryo instead became an impediment.
Having no Dao Embryo yet having one, the missing part is non-existence!
Suddenly, Lin Qingyue somewhat understood Li Hao’s idea. Her eyes widened as she looked at him in astonishment.
How could he come up with such an idea?
If she could truly cultivate it, her combat power would be ten or even dozens of times stronger than her former self!
Seeing her expression, Li Hao knew she had understood and felt relieved. If she could fully comprehend it, she would surely transform dramatically and become much stronger.
Lin Shanhai returned soon after, and after bidding farewell to those jubilant Alchemists outside, he saw Li Hao and Lin Qingyue together but did not interfere as before. Instead, he wore a smile.
He didn’t know that Lin Qingyue’s Dao Embryo had been ruined, only that she had lost miserably. Lin Qingyue and Li Hao had both decided not to mention this to him to avoid adding to his anger and needless worry.
Li Hao stayed in the Pill Refining Institute for two more days, gathering his belongings before heading to Sword Cliff to bid farewell to the Sword Master.
Knowing that Li Hao was going to the Dynasty to secure a battle slot, the Sword Master did not try to keep him but instructed Li Hao to come and go quickly and to visit him again if he had the chance in the future.
Li Hao readily agreed.
After Li Hao left, the Sword Master sighed softly at Sword Cliff.
He knew that with this departure, it would be a long time before they met again.
The Supreme Genius Battle was not easy; Li Hao needed to be fully prepared. If he eventually came first, becoming a Saint, it was uncertain if he would still retain his detached nature.
Becoming a Saint affected not just one’s Realm but also greatly influenced one’s character. Often, a person changed completely before and after becoming a Saint.
The perspective of a Saint is entirely different from those below Saint level; some views are even contradictory. Seeing different things inevitably leads to a change in many ideas.
“You little minnows, I’ve gotten tired of fishing for you, but in the spirit of the companionship you’ve offered over these days, I will not kill you—scatter.”
The Sword Master sat in front of Sword Cliff and spoke softly.
His voice reached the bottom of the cliff, and the numerous Dragon Demons swimming in the Dragon Pool were stunned, looking up in amazement at the figure on the Sword Cliff.
The Sword Master was actually releasing them?
This news shocked and delighted them, but at the same time, they felt a strange reluctance.
“Sword Master, we wish to continue learning from you.”
Ao Jie leapt into the air and hurriedly spoke to the Sword Master.
The Sword Master chuckled, “I’m off to catch up with some old friends; I won’t have time to keep you company anymore. You folks are too gullible, too easy to bait. Don’t be so foolish when you’re outside.”
Ao Jie almost choked; wasn’t it because you are cunning as an old fox, playing tricks with fishing? Who could outplay you?
Internally grumbling, yet not daring to show any disrespect, he earnestly said, “But we’ve grown accustomed to living here.”
“Off with you, or I’ll flay and debone you one by one,” the Sword Master said impatiently.
Ao Jie jumped from the shock and dared not speak further, retreating back to the Dragon Pool.
The group of Dragon Demons whispered among themselves briefly before they all leapt into the sky, bowing in unison to the Sword Master.
Then, they turned into streaks of golden light and flew towards the Saint Mountain and beyond.
“Freedom!”
“With our cultivation, returning to the Dragon Clan Holy Land might even enable us to challenge the Saint Heir, right?”
“Challenge? If anyone dares to provoke me, I’ll eat them!”
“Hurry, hurry, hurry, the Supreme Genius Battle is about to start; everyone’s selecting their fighters, and we can’t fall behind.”
Each Dragon Demon relished their freedom in midair. Being caught here by the Sword Master had been both a calamity and an opportunity. At least, they had gained substantially over these hundred years, progressing rapidly in cultivation.
In the Land of All Saints, Demons and the Human Race were not mortal enemies. In the Thirty-Three Realms, some minor worlds were entirely populated by Demons, with the Human Race as a minority struggling to survive.
Moreover, among the Demons, there were many at the Saint Realm. Here in the competition among the Ten Thousand Clans, both the Dragon and Phoenix Clans had their Saint Heirs and Saintesses. Their age limit for battle was calculated relative to their lifespan; some Demons were thousands of years old, but in terms of Human lifespan, they were only in their forties or fifties.
“The Dragon Demons under Sword Cliff…”
Carrying a fishing pole and headed towards Sword Cliff, Qiu Wuheng paused at the sight of the ascending Dragon Demons.
Chapter 722: Chapter 138: Acquired Dao Embryo, Hermit Challenge (Two in One)_5
But soon he understood something—if the Sword Master had not allowed it, these Dragon Demons would certainly not dare to leave.
Qiu Wuheng arrived at the Sword Cliff and indeed saw that the Sword Master was no longer fishing but was staring at the waterfall in front of him, lost in thought.
It was only after asking that Qiu Wuheng learned the Sword Master had long planned to seek out an old friend.
Moreover, he learned that Li Hao also intended to depart from the Holy Land and head to the Dynasty for selection.
Knowing Li Hao’s whereabouts, Qiu Wuheng’s eyes flickered, suddenly setting aside his intention to continue seclusion, curious to see the other’s performance in battle.
Previously, in the exchange with the Haoyue Saint Son, Li Hao did not even reveal his Extreme Realm, leaving one to wonder about his true strength.
…
In the Canglan Realm, there are forty to fifty dynasties, large and small, and over a hundred first-class forces.
Without a background or connections, even if one is from a small sect, they can participate in the war, although they must go through several rounds of selection.
This selection process had already begun before the start of the Sword God War.
The major forces within the dynasty, bypassing the initial screening, would carry out their own selection, similar to the Holy Land’s selection. The disciples selected would then compete with each other.
This competition took place at Sacrificial Mountain, in the largest dynasty of the Canglan Realm, the Sea God Dynasty.
Li Hao, using his identity as the Qingfeng Pill Master, had made connections with those first-rate forces and obtained an entry quota. After bidding a temporary farewell to Lin Qingyue and Lin Shanhai, and armed with the Geomantic Chart of the Sea God Dynasty, he headed for Sacrificial Mountain.
As he drew closer, he encountered numerous disciples from various sects along the way, flocking to a grand event as if to a fair.
Passing through a certain forest, Li Hao heard the sounds of battle inside. When he scanned the area with his Divine Thought, he saw a man in white singlehandedly slaughtering seven or eight Martial Artists of the Three Immortal Realms, swiftly looting their belongings before hurrying away.
Where crowds gather, disputes and disasters are bound to arise; naturally, Li Hao had no intention of meddling.
He had planned to leave directly but then noticed strands of black qi drifting from the seven or eight corpses.
Li Hao immediately thought of the Extreme Path to Saint Ascension, having to purify the malice and resentment from slaughter.
His heart stirred, and he Instant Teleported to the spot, raising his hand. His Divine Blood drew in those strands of black qi.
As the black qi fell into his hand and soon got absorbed into his palm, it turned into a slightly more solid stream of black qi at the location of his dantian.
Li Hao vaguely sensed that these black qi contained the essence of slaughter and screams of agony, but as the dazzling light reflected by his Divine Blood shone upon it, the resentful screams were erased, leaving behind only the pure essence of a will to kill.
Li Hao came to some understanding in his heart.
If incense fire represents the will of faith, then the Extreme Dao signifies the will of destruction.
He wondered what would happen if these two diametrically opposed wills were to merge and then combined with the Ritual Path to Saint Ascension.
Sensing someone approaching, Li Hao did not linger and quickly Instant Teleported away.
Only after traveling several hundred miles did Li Hao resume flying at a normal speed.
He couldn’t help but smile to himself; he was there to purify the resentment, but it ended up looking rather secretive. It was no wonder that Ying Xiaoxiao was known as a member of the Demon Race. When the Divine Clan went to purify disasters, after a long time, they began to resemble crows, originally a symbol of good fortune but mistaken for a disaster.
Upon arriving at Sacrificial Mountain, the place was already swarming with people.
Li Hao scanned with his Divine Thought, found the acquaintances he had made before, who were surprised to learn that he was the Qingfeng Pill Master. Upon seeing the token he had given before, they immediately welcomed Li Hao to a seat.
Sacrificial Mountain was vast enough to accommodate a million people, and without noise-cancellation laws, it was noisy and chaotic.
“Qingfeng Pill Master, here is your battle number. The selection from the smaller sects has already finished. Now it is the selection among ten thousand to pick out the top hundred, and then the top ten will battle it out!”
The slightly plump middle-aged man, an Elder of the Zhenyuan Sect in the Dao Law Realm, had learned from rumors about Li Hao’s actions in the Sword God War, and was now extremely courteous towards him.
Being a Pill Master and an unparalleled Swordsman, as well as a disciple under the Supreme Saint Gate—any of these identities were worth the Zhenyuan Sect making an all-out effort to make connections.
“The ten thousand ranks are the highest order we at the Zhenyuan Sect could obtain for direct competition,” Zhao Xiulin said with a smile.
“That’s enough, thank you,”
Li Hao spoke, “As for alchemy, you can find Master Shanhai later.”
“Then thank you very much, Qingfeng Pill Master,” Zhao Xiulin said, thrilled, and quickly thanked him.
Holding the participation number, Li Hao waited quietly outside the arena amid the cacophony of voices. There were ten battle stages with competitions going on simultaneously.
Besides the disciples who had come to watch and participate from various sects, there were many figures in brocade python robes, clearly members of the Imperial Family from inside the dynasties.
Compared to the selection in the Holy Land, this scene was slightly more chaotic, yet the battles on the platforms were even more exciting, dazzling with a variety of techniques, including using poisons and whips.
As Li Hao sat and watched in anticipation, another group of figures with an air of scholarly elegance sat together elsewhere in the crowd.
“Qingyi, these are all insignificant individuals. What’s so interesting about their competition? You joining in is like bullying. If your father finds out, he’ll have to say you’re taking advantage of others.”
A young man with a white jade hat and fanning himself with a folding fan shook his head, his expression slightly helpless.
The young lady beside him, however, looked naive and simple, yet her eyes sparkled with agile intelligence, “Brother, do not underestimate these people. Some of them just didn’t have the chance to join the Holy Land early on, but they have potential that can lead to astonishing talents.”
“You coming to see is enough, there’s no need to compete. You’ve already obtained our Holy Land’s participation spot. If you were to take another one here and expose yourself, I’m afraid it would cause dissatisfaction among these dynasties and forces.”
The young man with the folding fan said with a wry smile, voicing his actual concern.
The young lady grinned slightly, “I’m just playing around. Once it gets to the top hundred, I’ll purposely lose to someone. After all, I’m not in my true appearance right now, and no one can recognize me.”
Hearing this, several people nearby breathed a sigh of relief; they really were worried that the young mistress would compete with these individual cultivators for a spot, which could have a negative impact on the Sanctuary of Literary Ancestors.
“2678 versus 9527, please come on stage.”
At that moment, a fight on one of the platforms came to an end, and an official with a loud voice announced.
This voice overrode the discussions below, imbued with the power of laws. The young man with the folding fan smiled, “It’s your turn, but don’t be too harsh.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t even use our sect’s techniques.”
Li Qingyi put on an “it’s all good” expression.
“Your opponent looks very young, don’t shatter his Dao Heart.”
Another young man pointed out as he saw the already present young contestant on stage to Li Qingyi.
Chapter 723 Chapter 139: Defeating Effortlessly, Canglan’s Patron (Second Update at 8 PM)
Upon hearing his number called, Li Hao stepped onto the stage and waited quietly.
Surrounded by the noisy crowd, he garnered quite a bit of attention. However, having just faced Haoyue Saint Son, with a million disciples, Semi-Saints, and even Saints watching, he now felt as light as the clouds and the breeze. His thoughts wandered to another fighting platform, where he watched a bout he’d previously missed.
It was a battle between whip skills and hidden weapons; although not very powerful, it was quite interesting.
“Do you still have the leisure to watch others fight?”
Suddenly, a delicate voice tinged with a hint of surprise reached his ears.
Li Hao gathered his thoughts, turned his head, and saw that his opponent had already ascended the stage. She was a woman of eighteen, with a beautiful appearance, and her soft eyebrows revealed a touch of playfulness.
“Please.”
Li Hao immediately said.
Li Qingyi couldn’t help but find it funny as she saw his calm and serene demeanor, seemingly without any trace of nervousness for the battle,
“It seems you don’t think you will lose at all.”
“?”
Li Hao was somewhat surprised and asked, “If I had come here, naturally I would think that I would win, otherwise who would come to compete?”
That made sense, but you’re about to be unlucky now… Li Qingyi shook her head slightly. Although she hadn’t planned to get serious, this was a selection for the top ten thousand ranks, so she naturally wouldn’t hold back.
“Sorry about this.”
She said to Li Hao and then raised her hand. As the Array condensed, she spoke softly.
“Suppress!”
With the word spoken, the power followed, a single word suppressing.
The Power of Laws enveloped Li Hao, as Li Qingyi intended to suppress him with her cultivation.
But when the Law Power fell upon him, Li Hao was unaffected. Now that his Divine Blood Body had reached Great Accomplishment, the Law Power could not affect his body, and there wasn’t even a need to use his Dao Domain to block it.
“Hmm?”
Seeing her attack was ineffective, Li Qingyi’s eyes narrowed, and she realized that Li Hao’s capabilities were not simple. He must at least possess the power of the Dao Law Realm.
Such a realm being outside of the top ten thousand seemed somewhat regrettable.
She raised her hand to bring up a gale and swept it towards Li Hao. Within the winds, blades of Law Power shot out.
At this level, you’d also have no chance in the top hundred… Li Hao saw her make a move. Even though she was at the Dao Law Realm, she was quite weak. He didn’t bother with any more talk and casually gripped a breeze, which transformed into Sword Qi.
When the Sword Qi solidified, Li Qingyi suddenly felt a dangerous premonition, her hair standing on end.
Her Literary Heart pulsated, allowing her to sense danger in advance. At this moment, she actually felt threatened by this young man?
Li Qingyi’s eyes shifted, realizing she had encountered one of those extraordinary Loose Cultivators she had just mentioned.
Whoosh!
Her figure suddenly flickered, executing Returning Ruin Instantaneous Movement.
When she reappeared, there was a sword in her hand, which she thrust towards Li Hao’s back.
But the moment she swung her sword, Li Hao’s Sword Qi had already burst forth, as if it had been lying in wait for her all along.
Li Qingyi’s pupils shrank, her sword shaking as if a force was pulling at it, trying to dislodge the sword from her grip.
She exploded with power in her arm, unconsciously unleashing the power of the Divine Power Extreme Realm, but she still couldn’t maintain her grip on her sword. She had no choice but to erupt with her Dao Domain, and in an instant, layer upon layer of Dao Domains appeared, twenty-four in all!
With successive appearances of Dao Domains, wondrous visions emerged, and the Laws circulated, eventually suppressing that streak of Sword Qi.
Once the “Intent” within the Sword Qi was erased, only a breeze remained, which quickly dissipated.
Li Qingyi felt a cold sweat on her back, her heart unable to hide her shock. Was just a casually gripped breeze enough to nearly force her real skills?
Li Hao was also surprised. Was his opponent pretending to be weak?
He had thought she was just a common Dao Law Realm cultivator, but she suddenly unleashed two Extreme Realms.
The Divine Power Extreme Realm was manageable; it was possibly due to the Mo River Merit Treasure Vault in the Land of All Saints that the majority of geniuses had mastered this realm. After all, one could directly exchange for it in the Merit Treasure Vault. As long as enough Merit was accumulated, this was easier than Cultivation.
But mastering the Returning Ruins Extreme Realm wasn’t so easy. Clearly, she was also a Monster.
Earlier the Sword Master had said that the competition among Loose Cultivators was intense. Li Hao had been somewhat skeptical, but now he believed it.
As he internally marveled, his hand didn’t forget to move. Once again, he grabbed a breeze, but this time, the breeze condensed with the utmost gentle Sword Dao, not merely pure Sword Intent.
Whoosh!
The Sword Qi shot forth like a dragon emerging from the sea, breaking through her layers of Dao Domains. Utterly soft yet utterly firm, it slashed through in an instant.
Li Qingyi was about to use Returning Ruins to dodge when she felt as if she was locked-on. Shock filled her heart as the Sword Qi came too fast. Her Dao Domain was like nothing, unable to add more layers, and her throat numb and then a piercing pain.
She reached up to her neck, somewhat dazed.
“What?”
Below the fighting platform, the earlier graceful figures were taken aback by the scene, their eyes wide with shock.
Less than two minutes on stage and Li Qingyi was defeated?
This was the Saintess and genius of their Literary Ancestor Holy Land. Although she didn’t use her strongest Literature Dao to fight, such a rapid defeat was somewhat exaggerated.
Moreover, they noticed that it seemed the other party didn’t fully use their true skills.
Assuming he was a sword-wielding expert, yet Li Hao had not even drawn a sword and had simply used a breeze to defeat Li Qingyi.
His swordsmanship was terrifying!
“Who is this person? His swordsmanship is quite fearsome. Could he be someone from the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, just like Qingyi, pretending to be a Loose cultivator?”
The young man, who was shaking his folding fan, couldn’t move the fan at all now. He stared intensely at the young man on the stage, but searching his memory, he hadn’t seen this young man before. Unless like Li Qingyi, he too had altered his appearance.
Chapter 724 Chapter 139: Defeating Casually, Canglan Offering (Second Update at 8 PM)_2
Apart from a few of them, many of the disciples watching from below took notice of this platform and were immediately frightened by some astonishment.
Li Qingyi displayed over twenty Dao Domains, with dazzling phenomena, attracting a lot of attention, but she was defeated in the blink of an eye.
“What’s going on with battle platform number 8, encountering a clash of top geniuses right in the thousand ranks?”
“Over twenty Dao Domains, my god, is that even human?”
“I heard that among those saint heirs and saintesses in the Holy Lands, some can achieve it.”
“Who is that youth who defeated the opponent without even using a Dao Domain!”
The area around the platform was buzzing, many who were previously watching other platforms also turned their heads upon hearing this, but the battle here had already ended, leading them to hurriedly ask people nearby what had happened.
Li Qingyi heard the noise outside the platform, returned to her senses, and looked at the youth in front of her, only to see him also quietly watching her, knowing that he was waiting for her to admit defeat.
After all, if his previous strike had not been held back, her head would have already flown off her body.
Li Qingyi slightly bit her lip, feeling a sense of grievance in her heart, but she knew she had no one to blame for her inferior skills. She transmitted her voice:
“What’s your name?”
“Qingfeng.”
Li Hao still used an alias, as he could not reveal his identity without the strength to rival a Void Saint.
Otherwise, although the Thirty-Three Realms are vast, they may be crossed in a blink of an eye by a Saint.
Especially since the opponent was adept in the Dao of Void, having extremely strong movement techniques.
“With your strength, it wouldn’t be a problem to rank among the top ten hermits. I’ll wait for you at the Canglan battle; I didn’t use my real skills this time, next time let’s have a real match!”
Li Qingyi saw his calm demeanor and felt a bit defiant internally, and she transmitted her voice.
Li Hao was surprised and said, “Haven’t you already lost? Can you still fight?”
Li Qingyi stiffened, annoyed and humphed coldly, “That’s none of your business!”
After speaking, she turned and left the platform.
Li Hao felt puzzled but was too lazy to think more about it, waiting for the referee to announce the result before he flew back to his original seat to continue waiting for the subsequent battles.
Meanwhile, Li Qingyi returned to her fellow sect members’ side and the young man with a folding fan asked hurriedly:
“How much strength do you think that person used?”
Li Qingyi’s gaze turned solemn, no longer the playful and relaxed look from before, looking toward Li Hao moving towards another seat, she whispered:
“He didn’t use Dao Domains, not Extreme Realm either, Law Power had no effect on him, it’s evident he still has a Taoist Body, his Swordsmanship… it must have Entered Dao!”
“Entered Dao?”
Hearing Li Qingyi’s words, a few of them gasped and looked at each other.
What does Skill Entering Dao imply? That’s a level only Semi-Saints and Saints can grasp!
A step further, transcending upon Entering Dao, one could perform the Ritual Path to Saint Ascension!
Those who can walk the path of the Ritual Path to Saint Ascension are mostly unique monsters and have high status among Saints, hardly anyone dares to provoke them!
After all, compared to Incense Sainthood, Ritual Path to Saint Ascension has one ability – to freely enter the Mortal World!
Ritual Path to Saint Ascension entering the Mortal World does not get eroded or affected, whereas Incense Sainthood does, damaging the Incense Fire.
“Will we encounter this person in the battle of Canglan in a few months? I heard that there are two dual Buddha Childs in the Buddhist sect, extremely terrifying, rumored to possess the Six Extremes Realm; didn’t expect such characters to exist among these hermits.”
“That Sword Ancestor’s Haoyue Saint Son, rumored to have the Sun and Moon Divine Eye, can see through all illusions, countering many killing moves, also a tough opponent.”
“It seems this Canglan battle will be incredibly intense, not sure if we few can snatch the quotas to represent Canglan.”
Their gazes became concentrated, initially thinking all hermits were just of Inner Sect prodigy standards, but didn’t expect real monsters inside; this time they really came to the right place.
Li Qingyi remained silent, her mind replaying that one sword strike as well as the opponent’s demeanor looking elsewhere when stepping onto the platform.
She suddenly felt a surge of indignation.
The opponent had never thought he would lose from start to finish, and indeed, he did not lose.
So infuriating … Li Qingyi glanced in that direction and no longer felt like staying here, saying:
“I’m going back first, and will return when the top hundred battle is here to see if anyone can force out his Extreme Realm.”
The young man with the folding fan and the others, feeling the urgency, also thought of gaining a higher level of Cultivation.
As they left, in another part of the crowd, Qiu Wuhen stood there, having also witnessed the battle.
He noticed where the woman descended from the platform, several figures, one of which he had once met.
Is it the saintess from the Wen Ancestor Holy Land? Qiu Wuhen wondered, then looked toward Li Hao, who appeared relaxed and carefree drinking tea, feeling somewhat helpless; this fishing companion didn’t seem to know that he just defeated the saintess of the Wen Ancestor Holy Land.
However, it was a bit disrespectful for the Wen Ancestor Holy Land to come here and start a fight.
Qiu Wuhen felt regrettable; unfortunately, this clash seemed to also have hidden strength without forcing Li Hao’s true abilities.
He shook his head slightly and also turned to leave, eager to intensify his Cultivation lest he be left far behind.
Following his initial victory, Li Hao successively appeared several times, each time casually summoning sword winds to easily defeat his opponents.
Ever since the duel with Li Qingyi, Li Hao had been under considerable attention, and seeing him winning one fight after another, many soon began betting heavily on Li Hao as the favorite to win the championship.
Chapter 725: Chapter 139: Defeating Casually, Canglan Offering (Second Update at 8 PM)_3
For three consecutive days, tens of thousands sifting through sand, the process finally came to an end—now it was time for the battle of the top hundred.
And Li Hao had advanced smoothly to the top hundred, winning effortlessly along the way.
During the rest period, many influences sent their visiting cards to Li Hao, wishing to pay him a visit.
Among them, many were from the imperial families of dynasties, including some first-rate major powers.
Several conditions on these visiting cards tempted Li Hao; he sifted through them, compared them, and accepted the one from the Canglan Divine Dynasty.
Canglan Divine Dynasty was the largest divine dynasty in the Canglan Realm, revering ten Semi-Saints and maintaining relations with the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, the Buddhist Holy Land, and the Sage of Letters Holy Land—these interactions could be understood as paying protection fees.
…
However, the protection fee was Incense Fire. Within the divine dynasty, golden temples for the saints from the Three Saints Lands were built, where Incense Fire was offered all year round, and in return, the divine dynasty received the blessings of the Three Great Sacred Lands.
Canglan Divine Dynasty extended an olive branch to Li Hao, hoping he would become one of their worshipped, willing to offer the Incense Fire from ten cities to him.
Those ten cities were of immense size; Li Hao knew that if he could secure them, it would speed up his journey on the Incense Sainthood path, reducing the time from 300 years to 260 years—a savings equivalent to forty years of accumulation!
If in the Mortal World, that would be four hundred years!
Such was the magnitude of those ten cities.
The power of the Incense Fire depended not only on the population scale but also on the believers’ own strength.
The number of martial artists in the Canglan Divine Dynasty was enormous and the Incense Fire Power between a martial artist’s faith and that of a common person varied greatly.
Although winning first place in the Supreme Genius Battle would also grant him massive Incense Fire, instantly making him a Saint, Incense Fire remained a source of power for saints on the path of Incense Sainthood. Even after becoming a Saint, there was still an endless need, as if absorbing Heaven and Earth Energy—the more Incense Fire absorbed, the stronger one’s power.
Therefore, the saints who had been famous for many years were incredibly challenging to displace for the up-and-coming saints.
This was why, although there were dozens of dynasties in the Canglan Realm, only a few saints were worshipped—the Semi-Saints or other Saint Heirs found it extremely difficult to acquire Incense Fire, as the majority of the Incense Fire Power was controlled by the saints.
Li Hao agreed to the visiting card, and besides Incense Fire, he also requested Cultivation Techniques.
Receiving Li Hao’s response, a secret decree was delivered to the hands of Emperor Canghai in the Emperor Hall of the Canglan Divine Dynasty.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, that Qingfeng has also agreed to our invitation and is willing to become a worshipped figure of our Canglan Divine Dynasty.”
A towering General reported in a low voice.
A satisfied smile appeared on Emperor Canghai’s face, and he said, “Good, well done. This young man has immense strength. Now that he is to be worshipped by our Canglan Divine Dynasty, if he can fight on behalf of the Canglan Realm, our dynasty will receive a divine mandate of dragon energy!”
“Your Majesty, there is a discussion within the court—will ten cities’ Incense Fire be too much? These years, we have already forsaken quite a bit of Incense Fire in worshiping the Three Great Sacred Lands, and now we’re cutting another ten cities for someone who is merely in the Dao Law Realm, and not a Semi-Saint,” the towering General asked doubtfully, unsure why His Majesty was being so generous this time.
Emperor Canghai smiled faintly and said, “The prince from the Sword Ancestor Holy Land sent back word. This man is not simple; for ten cities, he’s worth it!”
The towering General was slightly stunned but, realizing his place, he didn’t ask further and said in a subdued voice:
“Besides Qingfeng, there are also three other geniuses with exceptional talent who have agreed to our invitations—one for Incense Fire of five cities, another for seven, and yet another for twelve!”
He looked towards Emperor Canghai and said, “Together, this amounts to the Incense Fire of thirty-four cities, equivalent to an entire state.”
Emperor Canghai’s eyes gleamed slightly, and he asked, “Did Chi Guang also agree?”
The towering General nodded, “They initially proposed twenty cities’ worth of Incense Fire, but after negotiations, it was compensated with other pills. Moreover, they specifically requested Princess Yun Ji to marry him.”
Emperor Canghai’s gaze flickered as he pondered before saying:
“With his strength, he’s certain to represent our Canglan Realm in battle, securing a definite share of dragon energy. It is Princess Yun Ji’s good fortune to add to the dragon energy of our Canglan Divine Dynasty by marrying such a genius.”
The towering General bowed his head, saying no more; in royal unions, sacrifice for the dragon energy was quite normal among the Emperor’s many children.
