Volume 3 - Chapter 400: The Celestial Grace of the Purple Osmanthus
With the Celestial Body fully forged, Li Hao felt that even if he stood motionless and let cultivators of the same realm attack him freely, he could easily endure it.
Now that his Celestial Body had reached perfection, his only shortcoming was his low cultivation realm and meager celestial power. Once his realm improved and his celestial power deepened, the strength of his body would again soar explosively.
By his estimation, with his current physique, he could withstand attacks from a seventh or even eighth-layer Celestial Lord without difficulty.
If he were to face that Imperial Scion Ji Ming again, he wouldn’t even need to draw his sword—his Celestial Body alone could go toe-to-toe with him.
It had been nearly six years since he came from the Southern Domain. Li Hao had already passed his centennial soul lifespan. Now, at 102 years, he still felt incredibly young compared to the elite geniuses whose soul lifespans easily reached four or five hundred years.
Aside from cultivating the Celestial Body, in these five years he had continued cooking the corpses of Ancient Fiends, further tempering his Primordial Spirit Golden Bones—he had grown by another three hundred bones!
Altogether, he now possessed over eight hundred Golden Bones.
Yet they still hadn’t spread through his entire body. By Li Hao’s estimate, to fully cultivate the Primordial Spirit Golden Bones to perfection—until his entire frame shimmered golden—he would need around 1,200 bones.
At that point, he could take the final step and refine the Primordial Spirit True Blood.
Once he reached that stage, his Primordial Spirit would undergo a complete metamorphosis, overcoming the last threshold of the final realm. The resulting power would transform utterly—perhaps enough to rival even a Celestial King!
But in these five years, none of these advancements had come through deliberate effort. All his focus had been on honing his craft, for the transformations brought by mastery of technique were the most profound—and the fastest path to growth.
After five years of ceaseless pondering over the chessboard, he had finally brushed the threshold of a breakthrough in the Chess Dao, just one final step away.
Moreover, he had deepened his state of mind in the Culinary Dao, raising it to the eleventh level.
He had applied this eleventh-level culinary insight to his Fist Dao as well. At present, his movement techniques, fist techniques, sword techniques, and spell arts had all reached the eleventh level.
His Body Dao and Painting Dao had even reached the twelfth level.
Among his seven arts, only Music and Poetry and Calligraphy remained at the sixth level. Li Hao simply had no time or mental space to devote to them. Even if he did elevate them to the eleventh level, they would merely represent two more Daos—not something that would significantly impact his combat power.
To slay an enemy, all he needed was one move.
A single move on the chessboard could decide the entire game.
If the Chess Dao, along with his Fishing Dao and other eleventh-level arts, could break through to the twelfth level, his Sword Dao and Form Dao would also rise accordingly. Coupled with his Body Dao, the combined elevation of these three Daos would bring his combat prowess to its peak—even among Celestial Lords. He would be able to ascend in a single bound, possessing the strength to rival those at the peak of the Celestial Lord Realm!
Pa-da.
A piece landed softly on the board. Li Hao lowered his gaze, deep in thought.
His mind was wholly immersed in the game, entirely unaware of the maids and old Wu bustling through the courtyard.
Suddenly, two gusts of wind swept in from afar, descending into the Celestial Courtyard.
The moment they landed, two graceful figures caught sight of the youth contemplating before the hall. Su Wanqing’s figure flickered forward, approaching the chessboard with a smile.
“Still playing chess? Have you seen my sister lately?”
“No.”
Li Hao snapped out of his thoughts. Seeing her, he knew he would get another glimpse of Ying Xiaoxiao’s face today—but inwardly, he sighed.
A century of promised companionship… yet in the past five years, he had seen Su Muqing only a handful of times—usually when Su Wanqing visited and he could catch a glimpse thanks to her.
Because of this, he had made a point of teaching Su Wanqing the Painting Dao more diligently, hoping she would come by more often.
But all told, he had seen Su Muqing fewer than sixty times—averaging about once a month.
“You really plan to wait like this for the whole century?”
Su Wanqing couldn’t help but sigh.
Beside her, another young woman walked over slowly—it was Su Wanxue.
Over these past five years, Su Wanxue had also visited occasionally. She had witnessed how serious and devoted Li Hao was toward Su Muqing, and though she felt a twinge of emotion, she had never tried to dissuade him.
She knew her sister’s temperament—unyielding and unmoved by flattery. She would not be swayed so easily.
Once, a man who pursued Su Muqing had nearly died retrieving a treasure from a deadly land and presented it to her. She tossed it away like garbage.
The Su Clan had no shortage of rare treasures, and given Su Muqing’s status, even celestial weapons and rare elixirs failed to impress.
Someone else tried a different approach—trying to move her heart with sincerity. He knelt outside the Su Residence day and night. When Su Muqing happened to pass by and was accosted, she struck him unconscious with a single palm strike, severely injuring his cultivation.
Yet afterward, the man bore no resentment. He even spread word that Su Muqing’s “strike” had been an act of concern.
Su Wanxue and the others could only shake their heads. Men’s hearts in this world were simply too smitten—beyond logic or reason.
During that time, the outside of the Su Residence was packed with admirers, causing no end of frustration—until that Imperial Scion of the Lin Clan returned from cultivation and publicly declared his relationship with Su Muqing.
Only then did the chaos quiet down.
No one dared to contend with that true dragon of the Lin Clan. All others withdrew, feeling unworthy.
Now, the youth before them relied on a betrothal letter, dreaming of defying that Imperial Scion. In Su Wanxue’s eyes, it was a delusion born of obsession.
Such self-sacrificing devotion, to her, was merely squandering one’s potential—for nothing.
“You really won’t listen, huh? Fine then. Next time, I’ll bring a Chess Saint to guide your game.”
Su Wanqing gave up persuading him—she’d tried many times over these five years and had long since stopped trying.
“A Chess Saint isn’t worthy to play with me.”
Li Hao shook his head.
A Chess Saint at most grasped the ninth level of Chess Dao. Playing against one would be a waste of time.
“You’re full of yourself.”
Su Wanqing was speechless. “Are you really that good at chess?”
She didn’t understand the Chess Dao, so she couldn’t gauge his skill.
Li Hao shook his head and didn’t explain.
“Wanqing, go call out Muqing,” Su Wanxue said, cutting off the conversation. She didn’t want to waste any more time here.
Before Su Wanqing could respond, the tightly closed hall doors opened.
A stunning figure stood within.
From the moment the two sisters arrived, she had already sensed their presence.
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