Chapter 404: Ultimate Dao to Sainthood

"Just saw a Saint Clan member—seems like they came to cause you trouble. Isn't that interesting?" Ying Ying Xiaoxiao smiled lightly.

Li Hao slightly raised an eyebrow; the commotion inside the small teahouse had vanished, and two more signatures had appeared outside the city, chasing each other away—he naturally noticed.

Ancient Saint Clan? Li Hao's eyes flickered, thinking of the Ji family and other Saint Clans of Great Wilderness Heaven, his thoughts turning as he asked:

"Were they scared off by you?"

"You could say that."

Ying Ying Xiaoxiao smiled: "Aren't you going to invite us to sit? We haven't eaten yet."

As she spoke, she glanced at the roasted fish on the fire.

"Please, have a seat."

Seeing they meant no harm, Li Hao invited them to sit and asked, "Was that Saint Clan member after you two—or me?"

"Of course, it was you," Ying Ying Xiaoxiao said with a small smile. "He wouldn't dare trouble us."

"Are you two also from the Ancient Saint Clan?"

"You guessed right."

Ying Ying Xiaoxiao looked slightly surprised, then sighed helplessly.

Li Hao glanced at her, thinking her acting was overly theatrical.

But outside the Ancient Saint Clan, he couldn't think of any other possibility.

These two had their qi completely concealed—he couldn't probe their true depths, but not being able to probe meant he'd already probed something.

Clearly, both possessed terrifying strength—most likely Cultivation Realm of Wending.

"How about I paint you two a picture?"

Li Hao suddenly said.

Ying Ying Xiaoxiao glanced at the painting board and said with interest, "You really know how to paint? If it's too ugly, I'll tear it up."

"Guaranteed beautiful."

Li Hao said.

The teahouse elder said, "Paint me first."

Old hand, cautious indeed… Li Hao thought silently, and agreed at once.

The teahouse elder was clearly wary—he'd heard tales of demons using painting to summon spirits or other sorceries. Though it'd be useless against Wending cultivators, he couldn't rule out other strange tricks.

Once he sat properly, Li Hao prepared his ink and began painting swiftly.

Soon, a lifelike portrait emerged.

Painting Dao experience +18790.

As the prompt appeared before his eyes, Li Hao froze for a moment, then quietly drew in a breath.

Damn, damn! Painting one picture nearly gave him twenty thousand experience!

His current Painting Dao attribute: Painting Dao Stage Seven: (38279/500000)

He needed five hundred thousand experience to reach Stage Eight.

Though accumulated slowly over time, painting constantly would yield experience faster than pure cultivation—but accumulating five hundred thousand would take at least half a year.

After all, painting ordinary landscapes—even if artistically perfect—only granted symbolic handfuls of experience; only paintings of beings imbued with Dao resonance or immense power yielded large sums.

"Finished?"

The teahouse elder asked.

Li Hao snapped back to reality, handed him the painting, and when he looked again at the two, they seemed like walking experience treasures.

"Huh, actually quite good."

Ying Ying Xiaoxiao leaned in for a look, surprised—she could tell this wasn't mere replication; it carried a divine essence.

The teahouse elder glanced twice, thoroughly satisfied, then quietly sensed himself, confirming no curses, spirit-summoning, or hidden rules had been used during the process—only then did he exhale in relief.

"Want one too?"

Li Hao looked at the girl.

Seeing the elder didn't stop her, Ying Ying Xiaoxiao nodded cheerfully.

Soon, Li Hao focused entirely on painting again.

Painting Dao experience +15832.

Hmph! Li Hao was startled—this girl was no ordinary person either. Fifteen thousand experience? Paint ten times, even with diminishing returns, he'd net around a hundred thousand experience.

If he really squeezed, painted a hundred portraits, drained them dry—he could get over two hundred thousand experience.

Add the elder's… together they'd nearly cover the five hundred thousand he needed!

Between these two, he could fill the gap to reach Stage Eight.

Earlier, when His Majesty left, Li Hao was too busy discussing serious matters to squeeze any experience—next time he had a chance, he'd find His Majesty and that True Person from Qian Dao Palace and paint them too; he'd likely net another forty to fifty thousand experience, enough to push him halfway to Stage Nine.

Hmph… the more Li Hao thought about it, the happier he grew—then he suddenly remembered: they'd just driven off a Saint Clan member. Hadn't he just lost an experience package?

"Done?" Ying Ying Xiaoxiao asked the moment Li Hao stopped.

Li Hao nodded and handed her the portrait.

The girl in the painting wore blue-green robes fluttering, golden wrist bells seeming to chime in the wind, ink-black hair cascading like a waterfall, bright eyes and white teeth, breathtakingly beautiful.

Ying Ying Xiaoxiao's eyes shimmered as she studied it, then asked Li Hao, "Can you give this to me?"

"Of course."

Ying Ying Xiaoxiao's face lit up. "I'll treasure it."

Li Hao smiled: "If you like it, I can paint more—different poses. Walking, picking flowers, that sort of thing."

"Great!" Ying Ying Xiaoxiao agreed eagerly.

Li Hao smiled inwardly and immediately began the second painting.

Through the experience gained, Li Hao could roughly judge: these two were almost certainly Wending cultivators—after all, when he painted the Candlefire Deity, he hadn't received such generous experience.

Yet two Wending cultivators appeared here out of nowhere, claiming to be from the Ancient Saint Clan… who are they fooling?

He'd visited the Ji family before. Even among Ancient Saint Clans, the Jis weren't particularly weak—Wending cultivators there were already godlike warriors, and the entire clan had only two or three. Other Ancient Saint Clans, even if twice as large, wouldn't waste time trailing him here.

But if not the Ancient Saint Clan, what other force could it be? Li Hao wondered. He'd have to ask His Majesty—he currently only knew what the Divine General's Mansion could provide, and even that excluded secrets reserved for family True Dragons.

"Young Master, the roasted fish is almost ready. Should we eat first, then paint?"

Ren Ren Qianqian came over and asked.

Li Hao nodded, finished the current painting, then invited the elder and girl to join him for the meal.

Ying Ying Xiaoxiao readily agreed. The teahouse elder tried to stop her, but it was too late—he whispered a warning: "Miss, we're still not familiar with them."

"Don't worry—I've got an iron stomach. Even poison won't faze me."

Ying Ying Xiaoxiao's reply nearly made the elder choke. He sighed inwardly, resigned to indulging her. But when the meal came, he moved faster than she did, snatching the fish pieces Li Hao offered and gulping them down immediately.

Once he confirmed no poison, he was about to tell his mistress it was safe—only to see Ying Ying Xiaoxiao already eating with grease dripping from her lips. She wasn't lacking in ladylike grace—she just had very little of it.

The teahouse elder sighed inwardly. Seeing Li Hao eat and drink with casual abandon, he realized he'd been overly tense.

If he were alone, he wouldn't care—but with the Miss here, he always felt too on edge.

As they finished the roasted fish, they chatted casually—from food to cultivation.

The topic of cultivation was brought up by Jiang Jiang Lichen, soon shifting to Dao Domains, Wending Realm, and the Saint Realm.

Li Hao just listened; Jiang Jiang Lichen instead debated the path to sainthood with Ying Ying Xiaoxiao.

After witnessing the Buddha Master attempt to leap past Wending and ascend to sainthood directly from the Tai Ping Dao Realm, Jiang Jiang Lichen had developed the same ambition.

"There are three paths to sainthood: one is becoming a Saint through worship, one is becoming a Saint through sacrificing Dao, and one is becoming a Saint through Ultimate Dao!"

Ying Ying Xiaoxiao assumed Jiang Jiang Lichen was Li Hao's retainer and explained: "If you want to walk the path of sacrificing Dao, it's the hardest—requires the utmost insight."

Jiang Jiang Lichen chewed as he grunted, "I like the hardest challenges. When my Sword Dao reaches its peak, I'll sacrifice my sword and become a Saint—then I'll slay everything in this world!"

"…"

After a few more words, Ying Ying Xiaoxiao felt this old man might be a bit addled, so she stopped talking to him and turned to Li Hao:

"Which path will you take?"

As Li Hao listened to their conversation, he already understood the differences between the three paths.

Worship-based sainthood was the most mainstream—nearly ninety-nine percent of Saints chose this path.

Next came the hardest: sacrificing Dao, the path Jiang Jiang Lichen knew.

By refining Dao to its ultimate limit and sacrificing it to transcend, one becomes a Saint.

No need for worship—just endure the Three Calamities of Sainthood through Dao alone. This path demands extreme insight—so extreme it's beyond reason. After all, what kind of insight could rival the power of billions upon billions of worship? It's the most difficult path; no one chooses it. Compared to wasting your brain on this, it's far more efficient to just gather worship.

It's like trying to get into Tsinghua or Peking University versus earning one million.

Earn one million? Work hard, get lucky, and you'll save it in a few decades.

If you're still short, ask relatives for help—you'll make it.

But getting into Tsinghua or Peking University… that's not something effort alone can achieve.

Without the brain, no amount of studying helps.

Unless you reincarnate and get a new one.

Worship-based sainthood is like that: everyone who reaches Wending is a heavenly prodigy; none think themselves lacking in insight. But on the path of sacrificing Dao, countless geniuses have failed since ancient times.

So gradually, no one chose it anymore. Occasional stubborn fools still tried—but they only wasted their time, achieving nothing.

Thus, worship-based sainthood became the dominant path. After all, Wending cultivators all have connections—borrow, collect, pool together, and they barely scrape by.

If still insufficient, they just endure, waiting out the years.

Though worship is perpetually scarce, like money, at least there's still a chance if you work hard.

Beyond these two paths, the third—Ying Ying Xiaoxiao's "Ultimate Dao Sainthood"—was a somewhat heretical method.

It's similar to becoming a saint through worship, but the difference is that the Extreme Path to Sainthood gathers not worship power, but negative forces like resentment and slaughter.

Compared to being praised, being feared seems simpler—especially when you have power.

This path suits Jiang Jiang Lichen's reckless nature, but unfortunately he's too stubborn, fixated solely on the Sword Dao.

According to Ying Ying Xiaoxiao, this secret technique can only be used by their clan; the exact method of control is never passed on, and even if outsiders learn it, they cannot use it—their physical condition is insufficient.

"I… I'll see how things go when the time comes."

In response to Ying Ying Xiaoxiao's question, Li Hao thought for a moment and said.

According to the other's words, he could choose between worship and sacrifice as his path to sainthood.

Li Hao has not yet reached the Realm of Hearing the Dao; the specifics can only be determined once his panel points increase.

He felt that, judging by the panel's point-boosting path, he might be destined for the Sacrifice Path to Sainthood.

Sainthood through Physical Cultivation!

During casual chatter, their bonds grew closer. Though Jiang Jiang Lichen acted erratic, after talking with Ying Ying Xiaoxiao and the others, he quietly whispered to Li Hao:

"They might be Demon Clan—be careful."

"Demon Clan?"

"Yes. The Extreme Path to Sainthood is a long-lost method, the most evil one. If a Saint detects it, disaster is inevitable."

Li Hao was surprised—he hadn't expected this madman Jiang to know so much. No wonder he was of royal blood.

"But whether they're Demon Clan or Divine Clan, it makes little difference—at least they mean us no harm," Li Hao whispered back.

Jiang Jiang Lichen thought for a moment and replied: "That's true."

Then he went off to find Ren Ren Qianqian to teach her swordplay.

Li Hao also finished eating and continued drawing for Ying Ying Xiaoxiao and the others; his Painting Dao experience surged steadily.

Time passed quickly.

The small courtyard now had an old man and a young girl.

The courtyard was small, yet each person seemed occupied with their own amusement.

Two days later, Li Hao received news from the imperial capital: the Wang family had information on Feng Lao! After reading the message, Li Hao was instantly excited—Feng Lao's missing soul fragment was indeed in the Mo River.

"Ren Qianqian, practice your swordplay well in the courtyard. Ninth Prince, I'm going to the Wang family—do you want to come along?"

"Wang family? No, no."

Jiang Jiang Lichen waved his hand impatiently. "Go quickly and come back—I'll teach your little apprentice for you."

"She's not my apprentice."

"What's the difference? Go on, then."

"..."

Li Hao turned to Ying Ying Xiaoxiao and the tea stall elder. He now knew the elder's name, though he didn't know if it was real or fake: Ying Ying Lizhong.

"Are the two of you still coming with me?"

Ying Ying Lizhong looked at the eager Ying Ying Xiaoxiao and shook his head. "Miss, the area around the Wang family is filled with the Mo River. Let's not get involved in this commotion."

Ying Ying Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and said: "Alright, we'll wait here for you to return."

"Good. Then please, both of you and Ninth Prince, look after Feng Lao for me."

Li Hao nodded. Though they had only just met, a single cup of wine was enough to form a bond.

(End of Chapter)