https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-338-Wenzu-Holy-Land-Eighth-Apex-Realm-Part-1-/13450520/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-339-Eternal-Dao-Domain-the-Battle-Begins-/13450522/
Chapter 338: Wenzu Holy Land, Eighth Apex Realm (Part 2)
Chapter 338: Wenzu Holy Land, Eighth Apex Realm (Monthly Request for Votes) (Part 2)
Zhantan had already sensed Li Hao's presence. When Li Hao entered the courtyard, she smiled, "You've arrived."
In the Intent Realm Space of the Flower Touring Society, she had only seen a grayish-black silhouette. Now, in reality, Li Hao could see Zhantan clearly. She appeared to be in her late twenties, like a transcendent fairy, exuding a noble aura despite her calm demeanor, making her seem untouchable.
The silhouette alone was like that of an imperial lady, but the current scene added a touch of solitude and otherworldliness.
Li Hao's eyes widened in surprise. The last time he had felt such awe was with Yaizu, but Yaizu's presence was one of isolation and detachment, as if she were separated from the world. This woman, however, exuded a more imperial aura.
"Do you prefer painting landscapes or dragons and beasts?"
Zhantan asked.
Li Hao snapped back to reality, noticing that a painting stand and canvas were already set up in the courtyard. He felt a sense of ease and smiled, saying, "I paint everything."
"Oh?"
Zhantan was intrigued. Though they both shared a love for the Art Dao, their preferences in subject matter differed. She favored painting dragons, beasts, and other bizarre creatures, especially those with the most peculiar appearances.
"Then today, let's paint an Earth Deceptive Dragon."
Zhantan said.
She raised her hand, and the Heaven and Earth Space opened, from which she retrieved a dying, monstrous dragon.
The dragon looked grotesque, almost deformed, with fine scales and many reverse scales. Its claws were like those of an eagle, and its tail was covered in dense, porcupine-like spines.
"Paint this beast and see who can capture its might. How about that?"
Zhantan asked.
Li Hao nodded. Capturing the might was simple, a skill he had mastered at the seventh stage of Art Dao. Capturing the essence was more challenging, but after a careful observation, he had discerned the dragon's origins and cultivation.
Without further ado, Li Hao approached the painting board Zhantan had prepared for him. Both of them became engrossed in their work, starting to paint.
Yu Ying stood nearby, watching with curiosity.
The courtyard was quiet, the moonlight casting dappled shadows on the ground like scattered gold.
Time passed quietly, with only the sound of grinding ink occasionally breaking the silence.
After an hour, both of them put down their brushes. Li Hao set his brush aside and glanced at his painting of the dragon. Though it still lay there, seemingly lifeless and lacking any might, its eyes held a hidden ferocity, and its aura was restrained, as if it were about to erupt in a desperate attack.
At first glance, it seemed like a sickly dragon, but a second look left one feeling uneasy and intimidated.
On the other side, Zhantan's painting was also complete. Her dragon, while in a similar pose to the real one, exuded a formidable presence, as if it were about to leap out of the painting with a roar.
Zhantan had painted meticulously and was quite satisfied. After putting down her brush, she stretched lazily, her impressive figure and subtle fragrance becoming noticeable.
She stood up, looked at her own painting, and smiled. Then she walked over to Li Hao's painting board and saw that he had also finished.
She scanned the painting, feeling a bit surprised. The dragon in the painting was almost a perfect replica of the real one, but such skill was only the foundation in the Art Dao.
Given Li Hao's painting skills, this should not have been the case. She examined it more closely and suddenly felt a sharp presence, as if a dragon's roar and killing intent had entered her mind. Her expression changed, and she instinctively took a step back.
The real dragon was only at the Dao Law Realm, and she could capture it with ease, posing no threat. But the dragon in Li Hao's painting made her feel a chill, even scaring her back a step.
Zhantan recovered and was shocked. She examined the painting again, finding it increasingly vast and profound, not just in brushwork but in the overall aura.
This aura was hidden within the dragon, within the intent, and within the Dao.
The more she looked, the more she was astonished, realizing that Li Hao's painting skills far surpassed her own. The paintings in the Imperial Hall seemed to have been done casually, not showcasing his true Art Dao level.
Is this the true mastery of Painting Skill Entering the Dao?
Zhantan couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. She sighed and said to Li Hao, "Your painting, even if I practiced for another ten years, I would still fall short."
Li Hao asked, "How long have you been practicing painting?"
"Three hundred years."
Zhantan's face flushed slightly. After speaking, she put away the dragon and dispelled the foul wind from the courtyard. She then asked Li Hao, "The journey here must have been tiring. Would you like to eat something?"
"What do you have? The dragon's claws looked quite appetizing. How about we grill some?"
Zhantan recalled Li Hao mentioning his interest in cooking and couldn't help but laugh. "Sure, I'd love to taste your cooking and see if it meets White Ancestor's standards."
Li Hao laughed and waited for her to retrieve the dragon. After cutting off the claws, he began to cook.
Soon, the aroma wafted up the mountain.
In the front courtyard, several disciples who were reciting scriptures suddenly noticed something and sniffed the air.
"What's that smell?"
"It's so fragrant. Is it mealtime?"
They followed the scent and realized it was coming from the Master's courtyard, so they dared not disturb.
In the courtyard, Li Hao sliced the dragon meat and shared it with Zhantan.
This peaceful moment made Li Hao think of the time he spent in the small courtyard at Heavenly Gate Pass.
"Hmm..."
Zhantan, who usually had no interest in the heavily flavored dragon meat, found it surprisingly fragrant after Li Hao cooked it. She took a gentle bite and her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Your cooking skills seem to surpass even White Ancestor's."
"Have you tried his cooking?"
"Yes, it was amazing, making me linger. Unfortunately, he likes to tease me. Once he knew I had a weakness for it, he stopped cooking for me. Humph!"
Zhantan huffed lightly in annoyance as she spoke.
Li Hao couldn't help but glance at her a few more times, noting the blend of dignity and a hint of coquettish charm in her presence.
Zhantan also realized she had let her true nature show a bit and asked while eating, "You're not even 30, yet you know everything. How did you cultivate like that?"
Li Hao smiled, thinking, _If you had a cheat, you would too._
After finishing their meal, Zhantan took Li Hao to admire her past works, adopting a humble and earnest attitude and asking for his guidance.
Li Hao didn’t hold back, pointing out the shortcomings in her paintings.
Li Hao found that he could even gain experience while giving pointers.
Each time he pointed out a flaw, he received a notification of Art Dao Experience, ranging from a few hundred to a thousand, not a huge amount, but it added up to a significant sum over time.
One spoke, the other listened. Zhantan, the Semi-Saint of Wenzu Holy Land, seemed to transform into a student, following Li Hao and asking for advice. Li Hao answered her questions with the depth of an Art Dao expert, giving Zhantan a sense of her meridians becoming unblocked and her horizons broadening.
"Ah, I see. My paintings have been too focused on complexity. The saying 'Great complexity is simplicity' is absolutely true!"
Li Hao quoted a line from the Daoist scriptures, earning tens of thousands of experience points. This insight caused a ripple in Zhantan's Sea of Consciousness, and it seemed to loosen the constraints on her Saint Path.
"Complexity and simplicity should follow the natural flow and not be forced", Li Hao said.
Zhantan's eyes sparkled, and she gazed intently at Li Hao. The more they conversed, the more she realized how high his mindset was, even surpassing her own as a Semi-Saint.
It was hard to imagine that someone under 30 could be so accomplished. If he were truly a reincarnation of a Supreme Sage with some memories awakened, she would believe it.
But she knew that if that were the case, he wouldn’t be wasting time with her and would have long embarked on his Great Dao to return to his true self.
Li Hao settled down on Tian Tan Peak, spending each day painting and discussing with Zhantan. Zhantan also brought out some famous paintings for Li Hao, three of which could be recorded in the Panel. Li Hao asked for them, and Zhantan readily agreed.
Li Hao didn’t rush to record them, knowing that once recorded, the famous paintings would be destroyed and disappear, which would be a pity.
In addition, Li Hao painted over a dozen scrolls for Zhantan, earning nearly 60,000 Art Dao Experience points from this initial effort!
This surprised Li Hao. Other Semi-Saints usually gained around 50,000 points, but Zhantan exceeded that by 10,000, suggesting that she could potentially dominate in a confrontation with other Semi-Saints.
No wonder she was the vice president of the Flower Touring Society, considered top-notch among her peers.
During this time, Zhao Qingshu came to Zhantan for advice on cultivation. Zhantan dismissed him casually, and Zhao Qingshu, seeing his master chatting and laughing with Li Hao, felt a sense of discomfort and unease.
He decided not to seek her out again and instead entered a closed retreat.
Zhantan was completely convinced of Li Hao’s prowess in Art Dao. In addition to Art Dao, she also asked Li Hao about the upcoming battles.
The more she admired him, the more she believed he would go far. Although the Heavenly Path was sealed, with Li Hao’s talent, ascension was not difficult. It would be a shame to waste such potential.
"If you need anything, just let me know. Your guidance has improved my painting skills, but I still can’t compare to you", Zhantan said to Li Hao.
Li Hao, hearing this, didn’t feign modesty. He thought for a moment and said, "I don’t lack much, but I do need cultivation techniques. Do you have any leads on that?"
"Cultivation techniques?"
Zhantan was taken aback, surprised. Typically, prodigies didn’t lack cultivation techniques; they refined and advanced their own techniques over time.
She smiled and said, "That’s a small matter. Tell me what kind of cultivation techniques you need. While Wenzu Holy Land’s techniques are unique and might not suit you, I can find other techniques for you to choose from."
Li Hao’s eyes lit up. Indeed, the vice president of the Flower Touring Society had broader connections and a longer cultivation history, making cultivation techniques relatively easy to obtain.
"Thank you. The more cultivation techniques, the better. I want to gather the strengths of many schools", Li Hao said.
Zhantan raised an eyebrow. "It sounds simple, but it’s a path as difficult as climbing to the heavens. The Sword Saint I know followed the path of the Multitude's Sword Dao, enduring immense hardships before achieving it, but once he succeeded, he became terrifyingly powerful."
Regarding matters of cultivation, she didn’t try to dissuade Li Hao, as anyone who reached such a realm had their own path.
"Minor matter. I have the support of the elders from the Ten Dynasties, who can open the treasure vault of cultivation techniques for you to choose from", Zhantan said, her eyes filled with confidence.
Li Hao was taken aback for a moment, then he laughed. "That would be wonderful."
As he said this, he suddenly remembered the cultivation techniques from the Wenzu Holy Land that the other party had mentioned.
With his Literary Dao, the cultivation techniques from the Wenzu Holy Land might provide him with a lot of experience.
The Literary Dao was one of the hardest for him to advance in, and he could only gain a bit of experience by reciting famous literary works from his previous life.
"If possible, could I also borrow the sacred texts from the Wenzu Holy Land to read?" Li Hao asked, feeling that this request might be a bit presumptuous.
Zhantan raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You want to learn the cultivation techniques of the Wenzu Holy Land? But you are already cultivating the Sword Dao. The Literary Dao is a different saint path, a completely different system. It’s difficult to balance both, and even if you manage to, it won’t significantly enhance your power. The true weapon for battle is the edge of the blade, no matter how thick the back of the blade is."
Li Hao nodded, understanding the logic. He just wanted to accumulate more experience from poetry books.
"If you want to see them, I can take you. However, without Wenxin, you might find it boring before you finish the first book", Zhantan said with a smile.
Li Hao asked, "Would this cause any inconvenience for you?"
"Except for the timeless masterpieces personally passed down by the Literary Saint, the rest shouldn’t be a problem", Zhantan replied.
Li Hao didn’t ask for too much and nodded with a smile, mentally noting this favor.
Zhantan was decisive. That night, she issued an order, and the next day, she informed Li Hao that he could go to the Ten Divine Dynasties to view the cultivation techniques if he wished.
Li Hao thought for a moment and decided to focus on enhancing his Dao Domain first.
Under the guidance of Yue Ying, he went to the Divine Dynasty that Zhantan had mentioned.
These Divine Dynasties had previously observed Li Hao’s battle with the prodigy and treated him with great respect. Knowing that Li Hao was an elder from the Canghai Divine Dynasty, they couldn’t win him over, but forming a first-rank good connection was still a good thing, especially with Zhantan’s backing, which they had to respect.
While chatting with Yue Ying, Li Hao learned that Zhantan originally came from the upper three realms of the Thirty-Three Realms, where she was a princess of a supreme divine dynasty. No wonder she had such a regal and imperial demeanor.
As he toured the cultivation technique vaults of the various divine dynasties, Li Hao collected more and more cultivation techniques.
After viewing all ten divine dynasties, Li Hao returned to Tian Tan Peak with Yue Ying. He greeted Zhantan and then entered the residence she had arranged for him to enter seclusion.
The cultivation techniques stored in the panel began to be continuously deduced and transformed, advancing his Dao Domain.
The number of Li Hao’s Dao Domains increased rapidly from 220 layers.
As time passed, the layers of Dao Domains stacked up, reaching 280 layers, 300 layers, and 330 layers.
After finishing the cultivation techniques from the ninth divine dynasty, Li Hao’s Dao Domain had reached 358 layers!
Li Hao continued to cultivate the techniques from the tenth divine dynasty, and his Dao Domain quickly grew again.
With a hum, when the Dao Domain reached 360 layers, Li Hao suddenly felt his Sea of Consciousness tremble. The density of the Dao Domains around him seemed to reach a limit, with the overlapping layers and interacting Dao force fields gradually merging!
The numerous Dao Wills within the Dao Domains seemed to form a perfect cycle, undergoing a transformation.
A flood of information surged into Li Hao’s consciousness, and his body felt as if it were merging with the Dao Domains, giving him a sense of intimate connection with heaven and earth.
He could clearly feel the wind weaving through, the sand grains peeling away, and the space swaying like water. Moreover, Li Hao also sensed a terrifying power—time!
Li Hao could clearly perceive all the changes within his Dao Domain. It seemed that with a single thought, he could make the space solidify and stop swaying.
And that time, which seemed irreversible, could also be slowed down, making that powerful force sluggish.
(End of Chapter)
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