Chapter 37

One year later.

By the Black Water Demon Lake, the fresh fragrance of fish soup drifted out.

The two old men sat by the big pot with bowls and chopsticks. Feng Bo Ping followed his habit of having a spoonful of soup before the meal; he scooped a spoonful of fish soup into his bowl and tasted it slowly, unable to help but praise:

"Little Hao's craftsmanship is almost comparable to the Imperial Kitchen in the palace."

"Tsk, I've been eating it for a year and I'm still not tired of it; it's truly strange."

Li Muxiu was also amazed; he didn't expect Li Hao to have such excellent culinary talent, and this skill was getting better and better.

"Has Old Feng eaten from the Imperial Kitchen?" Li Hao asked with a smile.

"I've stolen a taste."

A cunning smile appeared on Feng Bo Ping's crane-haired, youthful-faced countenance, as if he were savoring the memory, smacking his lips: "That half-bowl of soup left over had my saliva in it; I wonder which concubine it was served to."

"You old thief, if that had been served to the Yu Emperor, you would have lost your head for sure," Li Muxiu said irritably, clearly aware of some of the things his old friend had done in the past; it was truly daring.

Li Hao couldn't help but laugh. He had long known that this old Thief Saint was capable of stealing anything. Last time, he even wanted to give him a silk scarf as thin as a cicada's wing, which he heard was used by the saintess of a certain sect; he was chased for half a river by his second grandfather wielding a shoe, and the matter of the silk scarf was dropped.

This had become a regret in Li Hao's heart; it was the first time he felt that his second grandfather was sometimes too meddlesome...

"One must enjoy life while one can; after all, one must taste everything," Feng Bo Ping said with a chuckle.

Li Hao also picked up his bowl and started eating. As he listened to the two old men joking, his heart suddenly stirred, and text appeared before his eyes: 【You have comprehended the Dao Heart of Cooking】

Li Hao's eyes brightened slightly, but soon returned to normal; this was also within his expectations.

Ever since his cooking reached the third stage at the fastest speed, he had been trying to find ways to enter the heart, so he often ran to the kitchen to communicate and interact with the chefs.

For this young master of the Li Clan, a heaven-favored prodigy, these chefs dared not be negligent. Although this kind of thing was extremely strange, they told Li Hao everything they knew without reservation.

In the deep exchanges with these cooks, Li Hao also had his horizons broadened, learning of the vastness of the culinary Dao, which was not inferior to the chess Dao at all.

The myriad ingredients, various seasonings, heat control, cooking techniques, removing fishy smells, and other methods.

Li Hao gradually became addicted to it, as if exploring a rich and colorful new world.

Unknowingly, he skipped the stage of cooking for experience and fell in love with cooking from the bottom of his heart.

Even without experience points increasing, he would find opportunities to show off his skills and cook something.

And recently, he would carefully taste the pastries sent to the Shanhe Courtyard; if they were made too poorly, he would even overturn them directly and have the cook who made them come over so he could criticize them personally.

Once he entered the heart, it was inevitable that he would become serious and strict.

Just like a slacker in a game; if they lose, it doesn't matter, but those who break down and curse are often the ones who are serious and want to win.

Now that he had received the prompt that he had comprehended the Heart of Cooking, Li Hao was not overly happy. Once he did something seriously, he didn't care about the result; the previous Chess Heart was the same.

However, now that he had this state of mind, he could try the fourth stage of the Imperial Dao.

The three chatted, finished eating and drinking, and Li Hao picked out some good bones to feed the little white fox beside him.

This little white fox was a year and a half old, still small and exquisite, with bright, snow-white fur. Li Hao usually fed it some spirit fruits containing medicinal power, and with the daily fish soup, this little fellow had also embarked on the path of cultivation, having the cultivation of the fifth stage of the Tongli Realm.

From a wild fox in the mountains, it was now considered to have attained the Dao and become a demon, possessing a bit of demonic aura.

If it could reach the Zhou Tian Realm, it would be born with spiritual intelligence.

Demon creatures at the Ji Hun Realm were already able to "appear and disappear unpredictably."

After finishing lunch, they continued fishing for the afternoon.

Li Hao only caught one fish demon at the second stage of the Zhou Tian Realm; his fishing luck was not good today.

After finishing work and returning to the Listening to Rain Building, Li Hao hugged the little white fox and returned to the Mountain and River Courtyard. After locking himself in his room, he called up the panel. After pondering, he decided to use this state of mind on the breakthrough of the Imperial Dao.

Soon, the Imperial Dao was upgraded from the third stage to the fourth stage.

The previous third stage of the Imperial Dao had allowed his meridian opening to advance by leaps and bounds; now at the fourth stage, he wondered if he would have new insights into the great meridians and the Qi Circulation Art?

As the point-adding ended, a wealth of information flooded into his mind. After a long time, Li Hao slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were clear and bright, and he was somewhat amazed.

The world in his eyes seemed to have undergone some wonderful changes. The rich insights in his mind told him that this world was even more wonderful than what he had originally seen.

The world has spirit!

"Demons perceive the stars, sun, and moon... Inheriting the soul, using soul thoughts to bless, while inheriting soul thoughts, one must also abide by some 'agreements'."

"Humans can inherit from humans, inherit from demons, and can also inherit from the myriad races."

"Similarly, humans can also obtain the inheritance of the myriad races, obtain the inheritance of mountain spirits and ghosts, obtain the inheritance of true dragons and divine phoenixes, or... obtain the inheritance of these stars, sun, and moon, and a side of heaven and earth!"

With the many martial arts secret manuals seen in the Listening to Rain Building, plus the many cultivation methods he had mastered, Li Hao had a feeling of enlightenment in an instant.

Inheriting the soul from a human requires bearing their thoughts.

Inheriting the soul from a demon requires bearing their nature.

And inheriting the soul from heaven and earth requires bearing its weight!

"I want to establish a soul with heaven and earth!"

A strong light erupted in Li Hao's eyes. He activated the Myriad Phenomena attribute, covering his physical body; unless he made a huge commotion with his fists and feet, outsiders would not be able to perceive it.

Subsequently, the strength of his whole body wandered along the great meridians, and the yin and yang meridians appeared simultaneously, gathering at the top of his skull.

In an instant, his whole body's strength surged wildly, and his body contained terrifying power.

This power seemed to want to penetrate his body and break through that ethereal obstacle.

He wanted to communicate with heaven and earth, ask heaven, ask earth, and borrow that bit of strength!

Seeming to feel Li Hao's strong intent, a vast and terrifying pressure enveloped him, like a mountain of substance falling down. His whole body's bones were creaking, unable to bear it.

The weight of heaven and earth is heavier than Mount Tai! Li Hao's eyes turned red, and he roared in his heart.

The terrifying power of the yin and yang meridians erupted, and in an instant, his strength doubled, reaching nearly ten million jin!

That vast willpower seemed to be lifted up alive! But, it was then pressed down heavily again! Li Hao's body bent, and his feet were deeply embedded in the floor.

He gritted his teeth, knowing that relying solely on strength wouldn't work; he hadn't glimpsed the appearance of heaven and earth!

What is the appearance of heaven and earth?

It is the sky, the white clouds, the mountains and rivers, the myriad things of the earth... these are all parts of heaven and earth, but not the full picture of heaven and earth! And he wanted to establish a soul with heaven and earth; what did this heaven and earth look like in his heart? In Li Hao's mind, a Buddhist martial art from the seventh floor of the Listening to Rain Building appeared, which contained a Buddhist saying.

Buddha has no appearance.

If Buddha has no appearance, how can heaven and earth have an appearance?

"I am in this heaven and earth, and I am the appearance reflected by this heaven and earth!"

A light suddenly erupted in Li Hao's eyes, and his whole body's spirit and strength seemed to vent along with it, breaking through an invisible barrier and reaching straight to heaven and earth!

All his strength gathered and condensed his essence, energy, and spirit. Above his body, a phantom image faintly appeared, which was the appearance of himself.

Establishing an appearance for heaven and earth with oneself, and establishing a soul for oneself with heaven and earth! At this moment, Li Hao stepped into the Ji Hun Realm.

It seemed as if endless power was flowing into his body along with heaven and earth, along with the void in all directions.

The curtains in the whole room were vibrating violently, and the doors and windows of the room were closed; where did this wind come from?

In the courtyard, in the pavilion.

As Li Hao embarked on cultivation, Li Fu no longer followed him like a shadow, but they were still in the same courtyard.

At this moment, he was playing chess in the courtyard, not because he loved it, but because Li Hao had once strongly invited him and taught him, so that in his spare time, he seemed to only be able to find this one pleasure.

He and Old Zhao were fighting and playing chess on the chessboard.

If Li Hao saw the game, he would only say one thing: "Chickens pecking at each other."

Suddenly, the two seemed to pause at the same time while holding pieces, unable to help but look somewhere.

An inexplicable feeling of horror, as if some kind of majestic thing had awakened, made the two surprised, as if it were a divine illusion.

What was it? The next moment, both stopped and rushed to Li Hao's room; when things go wrong, there must be a demon.

As the two pushed the door open and entered, they saw that the room was a bit messy, and some vases placed on the edge of the shelves had already fallen to the ground and shattered into pieces.

And Li Hao had his feet deeply embedded in the wooden floor, panting slightly, as if he had practiced a set of exercises.

"What's going on?"

Seeing that it wasn't a sneak attack, the two breathed a sigh of relief and then quickly came to Li Hao's side.

Li Hao had already calmed down the impact of the power he had obtained from inheriting the soul. Myriad Phenomena concealed his outward aura. Wiping the hot sweat from his forehead, Li Hao exhaled and said, "Just practicing."

"You brat, why didn't you go to the courtyard to practice?" Li Fu said irritably, but he didn't doubt him.

The fact that Li Hao was practicing body cultivation in the Zhou Tian Realm was no longer a secret, and he knew about it, but he didn't know the specific level.

"Just had a bit of an epiphany," Li Hao explained.

"That's quite good."

Old Zhao smiled. Although the vase on the ground had a history of hundreds of years and was quite valuable, as long as Li Hao made progress in his practice, everything was worth it.

After letting the two put their hearts at ease, Li Hao continued to savor the power of the Ji Hun Realm in his room, which was far beyond the Zhou Tian Realm.

No wonder it was said that only after reaching the Ji Hun Realm could one be qualified to be a city guard.

And at this moment, he was only nine years old and could already sit in command of a city!...

After inheriting the soul, Li Hao's life continued as before.

Eating and drinking every day, either going out to fish, painting and playing chess in the courtyard, or running to the kitchen to cook.

As time went on, this young master came up with some new tricks, learning poetry and the zither, as if he were going further and further on the road of "not doing his proper job."

Time flew by, spring went and autumn came.

In the blink of an eye, five years passed.

The fourteenth year of the Qingyuan calendar.

This year, Li Hao was fourteen years old.

(End of chapter)