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Chapter 123: Advanced Cultivation Techniques
Chapter 123: Advanced Cultivation Techniques
Fourteen years old and already in the Tianren Realm?
Li Red Makeup remembered the month and year Li Hao was born, the same year her ninth brother fell in battle.
It has been fourteen years since then.
Li Red Makeup also remembered that even a prodigy like Li Junye didn't reach the Tianren Master Realm until he was seventeen.
Now, the young man in front of her had achieved it at fourteen.
Three whole years ahead!
"You must be the True Dragon of the Li Family's current generation, right?" Li Red Makeup, coming back to her senses, couldn't help but ask.
To think such a gem was cast out beyond Heavenly Gate Pass?
What was her seventh brother thinking?
True Dragon... Li Hao's lips twitched into a smile and he said, "It's just talent, nothing to be amazed by. The Li Family's True Dragon isn't anything special either. When I have real, solid strength, then maybe people will take notice."
Li Red Makeup was speechless. "You only say that because you have everything. What do you mean, just talent? It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one struggling. Reaching the Fifteen Li Realm might be a combination of talent and family cultivation, but reaching the Tianren Realm isn't just about talent."
"It requires one-in-a-million insight and enlightenment!"
"One in a million, so what?" Li Hao said indifferently.
"For a Li Family member, being one in a million in talent isn't that rare, but your talent is a one-in-a-billion, a thousand-year rarity, among the countless martial artists of Dayu!" Li Red Makeup couldn't help but exclaim.
Li Hao shook his head slightly, not wanting to continue this discussion. He simply waved the crude battle flag in his hand and asked, "What do you think of this?"
"Not much."
Li Red Makeup glanced at it and spoke honestly.
Li Hao smiled. It was just a temporary creation made from tent fabric, so it wasn't exactly impressive.
But he hoped that even in its crude form, this battle flag could still intimidate the Demons.
Li Red Makeup looked at the meat on the grill and said, "I've had Lion Hoof Demons before, but they've never tasted this good."
"That's because I'm the one cooking it."
Li Hao smiled, his eyes showing the seriousness and confidence of a chef.
Li Red Makeup glanced at him, saying nothing, and stared at the dancing flames. In her eyes, dulled by countless battles, a faint glimmer seemed to appear.
【Cooking Dao Experience +182】
【Cooking Dao Experience is full. Please level up as soon as possible.】
The cooking was done, and two notifications flashed before his eyes. Li Hao was already used to it.
Cooking Dao was the only art he had reached the Sixth Rank in so far.
But his experience was already maxed out, and only Spiritual Immersion could help him advance to the Seventh Rank.
However, he had yet to find a way to achieve Spiritual Immersion.
This was different from the third stage of Heart Immersion, which only required intense focus and passion.
It required reaching a level of transcendence, like a grandmaster's state of mind.
In the world, it was easy to talk about passion, but transcendence was another matter entirely.
On the path to transcendence in Cooking Dao, Li Hao was still exploring.
He had previously inspected the various camp tents. The Frontier was the Frontier; there were no Chess Boards, no painting paper, and even inkstones and brushes were scarce, likely used only for recording military reports and sending messages.
Currently, he mastered six arts:
5th Dan in Go, Art Dao Fifth Rank, Fishing Art Fifth Rank, Poetry Third Rank, Music Third Rank, and Cooking Dao Sixth Rank.
Without achieving Spiritual Immersion, his Flesh Dao and Sword Dao were also stuck at the Sixth Rank, unable to advance further.
The most urgent task now was to refine one of these arts to the point of Spiritual Immersion and reach the Seventh Rank.
Li Hao had considered the conditions here. Chess Dao and Art Dao could only be put on hold for now. The most suitable art to focus on, besides Cooking Dao, was Fishing Art.
After reaching the Fifteen Li Realm, Li Hao's fishing no longer relied on a fishing rod. Using a rod could only catch lesser demons at the Force Mastery and Zhou Tian Realms.
The Great Demon is extremely hard to hook, unless, it’s truly an unexpected catch...
Li Hao doesn’t have a fishing rod or line, but like Li Muxiu, he can condense his own energy into a line to fish in all directions.
Fishing doesn’t necessarily require a lake.
Whether in the mountains or the wilderness, as long as something bites, it counts as Fishing Experience.
Just like how children use hooks to catch frogs in the fields or lure eels from their burrows, it’s all a form of fishing.
What is Fishing?
Lying in wait and striking!
Li Hao has also considered learning new arts, such as carving.
But he doesn’t currently lack Art Skill Points, and advancing carving to the third level requires Heart Immersion, which consumes 1st Rank time.
In this dangerous border region, he must quickly reach the Immortal Realm to have the true strength to fight alone and protect himself!
At this moment, the roasted meat is done.
Li Hao’s thoughts return, and he takes down the meat, first passing a portion to Li Red Makeup.
He then cuts more and hands it to Ren Qianqian and Little White Fox, finally taking a piece for himself and starting to eat.
Li Red Makeup takes the meat, says thank you, and cuts it open with her dagger, using the tip to pick up a piece and put it in her mouth.
“Hm?”
Li Red Makeup’s chewing pauses for a moment, then speeds up.
“Not bad.”
She nods slightly, her expression showing approval, with satisfaction in her eyes.
Li Hao smiles, eating while asking, “Are you really going to stay here and hold your ground?”
Perhaps due to years in the military, Li Red Makeup’s behavior and posture are like a man’s. It’s hard to imagine that, apart from practicing swordsmanship, she was once a gentle and graceful young lady, delicately embroidering peonies.
She casually tears off a piece of tendon meat and says, “Holding my ground isn’t the right word. I’ll stay a bit longer with these brothers and cut down more monsters. Without reinforcements, this place will eventually fall. I just want to see how many I can kill!”
At this, a sharp glint appears in her eyes.
Li Hao nods, saying nothing more, and finishes his portion of the meat.
After satisfying his hunger, Li Hao takes another piece, wraps it in leaves, and sets it aside for Uncle Wind.
Then, he stands up, pats his buttocks, and picks up the crudely made battle flags, heading out of the camp.
Along the way, he plants the flags at the edges of the camp.
There are four in total, placed at the four corners.
The flags are made from camp tents, but the writing is still quite bold, considering he’s at the third level of poetry books.
Li Hao looks at them, smiles, and thinks that compared to the Blood Fiend Army’s flags, his indeed look quite pitiful.
After planting the flags, Li Hao returns to the campfire, takes out some paper he gathered from various tents, and retrieves his brush, ink, and inkstone, beginning to write.
“What are you doing?” Li Red Makeup asks, puzzled. “Writing a family letter?”
Li Hao shakes his head slightly. Where would he send a family letter? The world is his home, and at this moment, this place is his home.
“These are the Rain Listening Pavilion’s cultivation techniques.”
“You’re going to write down the cultivation techniques?”
“Yeah, write them down, then return them to the Li Family.”
Li Hao smiles, his expression calm.
Li Red Makeup, thinking of Li Hao and Li Tiangang’s situation, frowns. “Are you really going to completely sever ties with the family? Blood ties can’t be severed!”
“Nothing is unseverable.”
Li Hao’s eyes narrow, his tone turning cold. “Maybe it’s just that your sword isn’t sharp enough.”
Li Red Makeup picks up on the barb in Li Hao’s words, raising an eyebrow but not pressing the issue.
She knows the boy has just run away from home and is likely still harboring a lot of resentment.
“However, do you think recording the cultivation techniques counts as returning them?” Li Red Makeup asks.
Li Hao replies coolly, “The cultivation techniques I’m returning are all advanced versions, more than enough to make up for it.”
Indeed, he plans to write down all the deeper levels of the cultivation techniques he has comprehended and return them to the Li Family.
While the Li Family would gain a lot from this, he doesn’t care to haggle over it.
As long as the ties can be severed, that’s enough.
“Oh?”
Li Red Makeup is surprised, asking, “How many have you cultivated?”
Refining and advancing cultivation techniques requires tremendous effort and dedication. If it were just one or two, it would be manageable. But if he has cultivated many, how could he possibly refine each one to an advanced level?
How much effort and time would it take?
"A few dozen", Li Hao casually replied.
He picked up his pen and began writing down the first cultivation technique.
Hundred Refinements of Stone Skin —— the advanced version of *Golden Skin Hundred Refinements*
The original Lower Grade cultivation technique had been refined into an Upper Grade technique under Li Hao's advancement to the Sixth Rank of the Flesh and Body Dao. This technique was sufficient to train the body to be as strong as metal.
Although both were in the Grandmaster Realm, Li Hao's physical body, enhanced by these body refinement techniques, was ten times stronger than that of an average Grandmaster.
Additionally, Li Hao wrote down the profound secret of the cultivation technique: *Golden Skin Hundred Refinements: Vajra*!
This secret could instantly boost his defense, multiplying it several times over.
In the short term, its effect was roughly equivalent to a fraction of the "Unbreakable Realm" defense of the Three Immortalities.
When he reached the Unbreakable Realm and used the Vajra secret, his defense would be even more formidable.
This secret was not part of the *Hundred Refinements of Stone Skin*, so he wasn't violating his earlier promise about using the Li Family's cultivation techniques.
As for the improvements to his physical body from the *Hundred Refinements of Stone Skin* and other body refinement techniques, he couldn't ignore them. Therefore, he could only use this more substantial reward as compensation.
"A few dozen?" Li Red Makeup was taken aback by Li Hao's words.
She looked at Li Hao's face, illuminated by the campfire, which appeared solemn and serious, not like he was joking.
She was slightly dazed. At fourteen, he had reached the Tianren Realm and mastered dozens of cultivation techniques?
What kind of monster had the Li Family cultivated in the years she was away?
Suddenly, Li Red Makeup's expression changed, and she turned her head to look outside the camp.
In the darkness, there were dark, cloud-like masses moving, like shadows swaying in the forest.
"Looks like they know we've retreated."
A killing intent flashed in Li Red Makeup's eyes as she gripped the hilt of the sword next to her.
Li Hao also looked up and stopped writing.
The wind carried a foul, bloody smell—demons.
"You stay here, I'll be right back."
Li Red Makeup stood up, gave a quick instruction, and walked into the night.
Li Hao, however, didn't intend to wait here. His Divine Soul emerged from his back, and the night was as clear as day to his Divine Soul's vision.
He saw demons swarming from the mountain forests several dozen miles away, like dark waves surging and spreading through the underbrush and rocks, silently approaching.
There were quite a few of them.
Li Hao immediately put away his pen and the paper with the cultivation techniques, handing them to Ren Qianqian: "Keep these safe for me."
Ren Qianqian, who had already turned pale upon hearing Li Red Makeup's words, was now tense. "Young Master, are you going too?"
"Stay here; Uncle Wind will watch over you from the shadows."
Li Hao glanced at the meat wrapped in leaves: "And he hasn't had dinner yet."
He smiled at the young girl and patted Little White Fox's head, then walked forward.
As he walked, he slightly raised his hand, and broken short swords from all around the ground gathered toward him.
He grabbed one of the less damaged swords, while the others followed him.
"Li Red Makeup!!"
"The whole army has retreated, and you still dare to stay behind? Do you want to join your soldiers in their graves?"
"They're all in my stomach, come and get them!"
Outside the camp, a roar like a tiger's suddenly echoed, revealing a ferocious and joyful killing aura.
Clearly, the opportunity to catch them was a source of great joy for it.
"Chi Hu Jun!"
Li Red Makeup, clad in a bright red battle armor, held a three-foot sword and stepped out of the camp, her beautiful face cold and resolute:
"You escaped earlier, but I've been waiting for you."
"Haha, do you think I would come alone? Fei Peng, come out and meet this iron lady!"
In the darkness, a massive Tiger Demon, its body entangled in chains, bared its fangs and snarled.
(End of Chapter)
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