Chapter 291: Extreme Path to Sagehood
Chapter 291: Extreme Path to Sagehood
"Did you find it interesting that I just saw a Holy Race member who seemed to be looking for trouble with you?" Ying Xiaoxiao chuckled lightly.
Li Hao raised an eyebrow slightly. The commotion in the small teahouse had just subsided, and two more auras had revealed themselves and chased off outside the city. He naturally sensed it.
Ancient Holy Clan? Li Hao’s eyes flickered, thinking of the Ji Family and other Holy Races in the Great Wasteland Sky. His mind raced as he asked, "Did they get scared off by you?"
"Somewhat."
Ying Xiaoxiao smiled, "Why don't you invite us to sit down first? We haven't eaten yet."
As she spoke, she glanced at the fish roasting over the fire.
"Please, have a seat."
Seeing they had no ill intentions, Li Hao invited them to sit down and asked, "Was that Holy Race member looking for trouble with the two of you, or with me?"
"Obviously with you", Ying Xiaoxiao smiled, "They wouldn't dare to mess with us."
"Are the two of you also from the Ancient Holy Clan?"
"You guessed right."
Ying Xiaoxiao was a bit surprised, then sighed helplessly.
Li Hao glanced at her, feeling that this little girl's acting was a bit exaggerated. But aside from the Ancient Holy Clan, he couldn't think of any other possibility for the moment.
These two had concealed their auras, and he couldn't discern their exact backgrounds. But not being able to probe them was, in itself, a form of revelation. Clearly, these two were quite formidable, most likely Enlightened Realm beings.
"Would you like me to paint a portrait for you two?"
Li Hao suddenly said.
Ying Xiaoxiao looked at the painting board beside her, intrigued, and said, "Can you really paint? If it's too ugly, I'll tear it up."
"Guaranteed to be beautiful."
Li Hao replied.
The Old Tea Vendor said, "Paint me first."
Old Jianghu is always cautious... Li Hao thought to himself, agreeing immediately.
The Old Tea Vendor was clearly on guard. He had heard of small demons using paintings to summon spirits and other demonic arts. Although such tricks would be ineffective against Enlightened Realm beings, who knew what other strange moves might exist.
Once he was seated, Li Hao prepared the ink and began painting swiftly.
Before long, a vivid portrait was sketched out.
Art Dao experience +18790.
As the notification appeared on the painting board, Li Hao was momentarily stunned, then took a deep breath.
Good grief, really good grief!
Painting one portrait actually gave him almost twenty thousand experience points!
His current Art Dao attribute:
Art Dao Level 7: (38279/500000)
He needed five hundred thousand experience points to reach Level 8.
Although he could accumulate experience by painting continuously, it would still take at least half a year to gather five hundred thousand experience. After all, painting ordinary landscapes, even if done with exceptional artistry, would only yield a few symbolic experience points. Only by painting subjects that resonated with the Dao or powerful beings could he earn substantial experience.
"Finished?"
The Old Tea Vendor inquired.
Li Hao came back to his senses, handed the portrait to him, and looked at the two of them, seeing them as experience farms.
"Hmm, it's really good."
Ying Xiaoxiao leaned in to take a look, somewhat surprised. She could tell that it wasn't just a simple replica but had a certain spirit to it.
The Old Tea Vendor examined it for a moment, feeling quite satisfied. He also discreetly checked himself, ensuring he hadn't been subjected to any curses, spirit summoning, or other bizarre attacks or hidden rules, before heaving a sigh of relief.
"Would you like one for you too?"
Li Hao asked the girl.
Seeing that the Old Tea Vendor didn't object, Ying Xiaoxiao nodded happily.
Soon, Li Hao was fully engrossed in painting again.
Art Dao experience +15832.
Tsk!
Li Hao was inwardly amazed. This girl was indeed not simple. Fifteen thousand experience points per painting. Even if the experience gradually decreased with each subsequent painting, he could still gather around a hundred thousand experience points after ten paintings.
If he pushed it to the limit and painted a hundred portraits, he could likely get over two hundred thousand experience points.
Combined with the Old Tea Vendor’s... the two of them could almost reach five hundred thousand experience points!
Just the two of them could fill the gap for Li Hao to reach Level 8.
Earlier, His Majesty had left, and they had been focused on discussing serious matters, so Li Hao didn't get the chance to paint. Next time, he would find His Majesty and the True Person of Qian Dao Palace to paint them as well, which should yield another four to five hundred thousand experience points. That would be enough to get him halfway to Level 9.
Tsk... The more Li Hao thought about it, the more delighted he became. Then he suddenly remembered that they had just driven away a Holy Race member, which meant he had just lost an experience package.
"Is it done?" Ying Xiaoxiao asked as soon as she saw Li Hao stop.
Li Hao nodded and handed her the portrait of the girl.
In the painting, the girl in her light blue robe seemed to be floating, the Golden Bell on her wrist swaying in the wind. Her hair flowed like a waterfall, and her eyes were bright and beautiful.
Ying Xiaoxiao's eyes sparkled as she examined it carefully, then said to Li Hao, "Can you give this to me?"
"Of course."
Ying Xiaoxiao's face lit up. "I'll treasure it."
Li Hao smiled. "If you like it, I can draw more for you, in different poses... like walking or picking flowers."
"Sure." Ying Xiaoxiao readily agreed.
Li Hao chuckled inwardly and immediately began drawing the second picture.
From the experience he gained, Li Hao could roughly deduce that these two were likely Enlightened Realm cultivators. After all, when he drew the Candlelight Deity, the experience gained wasn't nearly as substantial.
For two Enlightened Realm cultivators to appear here unprovoked and claim to be from the Ancient Holy Clan... who were they trying to fool?
He had previously visited the Ji Family, which, even among the Ancient Holy Clans, wasn't considered too declining. In the Ji Family, an Enlightened Realm cultivator was already a War God-level existence, with only two or three in the entire clan. Even if the number of Enlightened Realm cultivators in other Ancient Holy Clans were doubled, they wouldn't have the spare time to track him here.
But if not the Ancient Holy Clan, then who else?
Li Hao was curious. Perhaps he should ask the emperor. His current knowledge was still limited to the information the Divine General Manor could gather, and it didn't include the secrets only the True Dragons of the family could know.
"Young Master, the roasted fish is almost ready. Should we eat first before continuing to draw?"
Ren Qianqian walked over and asked.
Li Hao nodded, finishing the current drawing before inviting the old and young duo to join him for the meal.
Ying Xiaoxiao readily agreed, while the Old Tea Vendor tried to stop her, but it was too late. He secretly transmitted a message, "Young Miss, we're not that familiar yet."
"Don't worry, I have an iron stomach. I can digest anything, even poison."
Ying Xiaoxiao's response nearly made the Old Tea Vendor spit out blood. He smiled bitterly and had no choice but to follow her lead.
However, when it came time to eat, he was even quicker than Ying Xiaoxiao, snatching the fish Li Hao offered and swallowing it rapidly.
After confirming it was safe, he wanted to tell the Young Miss it was okay to eat, but he saw that Ying Xiaoxiao was already eating with her mouth full, hardly displaying any ladylike manners.
The Old Tea Vendor smiled bitterly. Seeing Li Hao eat and drink heartily, he felt a bit too tense.
If it weren't for the Young Miss, he wouldn't care, but her presence made him overly cautious.
As they finished the roasted fish, they chatted, starting from the food and drinks and eventually moving on to cultivation.
The conversation about cultivation was sparked by Jiang Lidust, quickly shifting from the Dao Domain to the Enlightened Realm and the Sage Realm.
Li Hao mostly listened, while Jiang Lidust and Ying Xiaoxiao discussed the path to sainthood.
Having witnessed the Buddhist Master attempting to leap from the Great Peace Dao Realm to the Sage Realm in one step, Jiang Lidust was now considering the same.
"There are three paths to sainthood: Incense Offering to Sagehood, Sacrificial Dao to Sagehood, and the Extreme Path to Sagehood!"
Ying Xiaoxiao, assuming Jiang Lidust was one of Li Hao's companions, explained, "If you want to take the Sacrificial Dao to Sagehood, it's the hardest and most dependent on insight."
Jiang Lidust, eating while speaking, grunted, "I like the challenge of the hardest path. When my Sword Dao cultivation reaches its peak, I will achieve sainthood through the ritual of the sword and surely slay all in the world!"
"..."
Ying Xiaoxiao, after a few more words, felt that the old man seemed a bit off, so she stopped talking to him and turned to Li Hao, "Which path do you plan to take?"
Li Hao, having listened to their conversation, already understood the differences between the three paths.
Incense Offering to Sagehood was the most common method, with nearly all Sages choosing this path.
The second, and the most difficult, was the Sacrificial Dao to Sagehood, which Jiang Lidust was familiar with.
By cultivating the Dao to its extreme and achieving Sacrificial Dao to Sagehood, one could transcend through the Dao itself.
No incense was needed; one could transcend the three calamities of sainthood through the ritual of the Dao!
This path placed the highest value on insight!
And the insight required was extraordinarily terrifying, far beyond the ordinary. After all, what kind of insight could match the power of countless incense offerings?
This was the most challenging path, and no one would choose it. It was more efficient to focus on gathering incense rather than spending so much mental effort on this path.
It was like the difference between getting into Qinghua or Beida and earning a million yuan.
Earning a million, with a bit more effort and a bit of luck, could take a few decades.
If it's not enough, find some connections, borrow from your parents, and you'll be close.
But getting into Tsinghua or Peking University... that's not something you can achieve just by working hard.
Without the brains, no amount of studying will help.
Unless you reincarnate and get a different brain.
Incense Offering to Sagehood is like that. Once you reach the Enlightened Realm, you're a Heavenly Pride, and no one thinks their Insight is lacking. But on the path of Sacrificial Dao to Sagehood, countless people have failed throughout history.
Thus, fewer and fewer people choose this path. Occasionally, there are those who stubbornly insist, but they end up wasting their time without any real progress.
So, Incense Offering to Sagehood gradually became the primary Great Dao. After all, with the existence of the Enlightened Realm, who doesn't have some connections? Borrow here and there, save up, and you can barely manage.
If that's still not enough, you can only spend more time.
Although incense is always scarce, like money, if you work hard, there's still some hope.
Apart from these two paths to sainthood, the third one, as Ying Xiaoxiao mentioned, is the Extreme Path to Sagehood, a rather sinister method of becoming a sage.
Similar to Incense Offering to Sagehood, but instead of gathering Incense Power, the Extreme Path to Sagehood collects negative things like resentment and slaughter.
It's easier to instill fear than admiration, especially when you have power.
This path suits someone like Jiang Lidust, who acts without restraint, but unfortunately, he's too single-minded and insists on focusing on the Sword Dao.
However, according to Ying Xiaoxiao, this secret art can only be used by their clan. The specific techniques are not passed on, and even if outsiders learn them, they can't use them due to their physical limitations.
"I... I'll see when the time comes."
In response to Ying Xiaoxiao's inquiry, Li Hao thought for a moment and replied.
According to her, he could choose between Incense Offering to Sagehood and the sacrificial path.
Li Hao hasn't yet reached the Enlightened Realm, so he can only wait for his attributes to improve to see which path suits him.
He feels that, based on his attributes, he might be more suited to Sacrificial Dao to Sagehood.
Physical Body to Sagehood!
As they chatted, the group's relationship grew closer. Despite Jiang Lidust's crazy appearance, after talking with Ying Xiaoxiao, he secretly transmitted a message to Li Hao:
"They might be from the Demon Race, so be careful."
" Demon Race?"
"Right, the Extreme Path to Sagehood is an ancient and evil method. If a Sage detects it, it will surely bring disaster."
Li Hao was a bit surprised. He didn't expect this crazy Jiang to know so much, living up to his royal background.
"Still, whether they are from the Demon Race or the Divine Race, it doesn't matter much, at least they don't seem to have any ill intentions toward us", Li Hao replied in a message.
Jiang Lidust thought about it and replied, "That's true."
He then went to find Ren Qianqian to teach her sword techniques.
Li Hao, having finished his meal, continued painting for Ying Xiaoxiao and the others, his Art Dao experience steadily increasing.
Time passed quickly.
An old man and a young girl joined the small courtyard.
The courtyard, though small, seemed to have its own entertainment for everyone.
Two days later, Li Hao received news from the Imperial City. The Wang Family had information on Old Feng!
Reading the message, Li Hao became excited. Old Feng's missing soul fragments were indeed in the Mourning River.
"Qianqian, practice your sword techniques in the courtyard. Ninth Prince, I'm going to the Wang Family. Do you want to come along?"
"Wang Family? No, no."
Jiang Lidust waved his hand impatiently, saying, "Hurry up and come back. I'll teach your little apprentice for you."
"She's not my apprentice."
"What's the difference? Go on."
"..."
Li Hao then turned to Ying Xiaoxiao and Old Tea Vendor, now knowing his name as Ying Lizhong, though he wasn't sure if it was real.
"Do you two want to come with me?"
Ying Lizhong looked at the eager Ying Xiaoxiao and shook his head, "Young Miss, the Wang Family is surrounded by the Mourning River. Let's not join the commotion."
Ying Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and said, "Alright, we'll wait for you here."
"Good. Then I'll leave Old Feng in your care, along with Ninth Prince."
Li Hao nodded. Though they had just met, friendship can be formed quickly, and acquaintance doesn't require much time.
(End of Chapter)
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