Chapter 664: Ancestral Scripture of Following Heaven

Li Hao nodded slightly, able to feel the difficulty of being a personal disciple; it was quite perverted.

Elder Wang explained the situation of the True Immortal Realm, then pointed his finger, landing on Li Hao's brow, and taught him the immortal technique.

Li Hao accepted it silently; in his sea of consciousness, it seemed as if an Immortal Seal was whispering and teaching.

"This is the Ancestral Scripture of Following Heaven. I will only teach you the True Immortal Chapter. If you can become a registered disciple of the Immortal Emperor, you can obtain the Immortal Monarch Chapter. When you reach the Immortal Monarch Realm, I will teach you the Immortal King Chapter, which is the final chapter."

Elder Wang's eyes were rarely solemn and serious as he said to Li Hao:

"Even if it is only the True Immortal Chapter, among many True Immortal Realm techniques, it is top-tier. It can cultivate the Ancestral Immortal Body and the Heaven-Battling Imperial Method. Either one of the two is enough to sweep across peers in the True Realm, with few rivals!"

He swept a glance at the cushions in the distance and said: "If others can pass this second trial, they can also obtain this opportunity. Even if they cannot comprehend it thoroughly and only learn a little bit of the fur, they can still shine in the True Immortal Realm. If the Immortal Emperor were still alive, the selection of personnel for the registered disciple trial would be extremely strict; ordinary people wouldn't even be qualified to participate!"

Li Hao was somewhat surprised. That powerful?

"When this method is cultivated to the extreme of the final chapter, if one can break the limit of this method, it is the Imperial Method mastered by the Immortal Emperor—the Heaven-Calamity Imperial Method."

Elder Wang said softly: "The Ancestral Scripture of Following Heaven: following Heaven makes one a King, defying Heaven makes one a Calamity!"

His soft whispers, just eight characters, caused the previously quiet void to faintly transmit muffled sounds like rolling thunder.

Li Hao's heart shook, faintly comprehending the meaning of these eight characters.

"You are still at the Sage level and have only passed two calamities. With your strength, you can break free from the shackles at any time and pass the third calamity. When you touch the Heavenly Dao then and reach the Great Perfection of the Sage level, it will be easier to comprehend."

Elder Wang said.

Li Hao nodded. Passing the heavenly tribulation required full preparation for other Sage levels, but for him, it was a small matter.

However, speaking of passing the heavenly tribulation, his heart stirred. If he passed it just like this, it seemed a bit wasteful...

"You should comprehend it yourself first. I cannot help you with cultivation, but you can ask me about other things."

Elder Wang said, then picked up the chess box, turned and left, and then picked up a sharp hoe flashing with Dao light from the side of the hut and walked toward the fertile fields.

Li Hao sat on a small wooden stool, and only after he had walked far away did he bring up the panel.

Although he knew Elder Wang couldn't see it, he still subconsciously remained cautious toward this old man with an extremely high realm.

He saw that on the panel, an immortal technique had been added.

【Skill (Quasi-Imperial Method): Ancestral Scripture of Following Heaven (True Immortal Chapter, Not Yet Entered)】

At this time, the immortal technique in his mind had already been absorbed by Li Hao, but the immortal technique was extremely profound, containing both the physical body and the mastery of immortal techniques, as well as exquisite control over immortal power.

Li Hao was somewhat surprised. According to Elder Wang, passing the first trial qualified one to ascend to the True Immortal Realm.

But in front of this Ancestral Scripture of Following Heaven, it didn't even count as entering.

No wonder Elder Wang said that once this method was mastered, it would be enough to sweep across the True Immortal Realm.

"Perhaps, it will take the comprehension of the eleventh-stage state of mind to absorb this method, and... this method seems to contain both the Immortal Dao mastery and the Physical Body Dao. Perhaps both paths need to reach the eleventh stage to truly master it!"

Li Hao secretly thought to himself, immediately feeling the terror of this method.

Usually, other techniques, including the Yama Immortal Technique absorbed earlier, could be mastered with a single Dao realm comprehension.

But this method required both the Physical Body Dao and the Mastery Dao to reach the eleventh stage simultaneously to truly be perfected!

While pondering, Li Hao's heart suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

If he accumulated the Physical Body Dao and Mastery Dao to the eleventh stage here, cultivated this method to perfection, and ascended to the True Immortal Realm, would that mean there was hope of passing the third layer of the True Venerable Tower trial?

The third layer was a projection ten times his own strength, but if he capped his realm, this ten-fold gap would be enough to be smoothed out.

Thinking of this, Li Hao felt somewhat tempted.

After all, Elder Wang had also said that the higher the disciple's status, the more of the Immortal Emperor's orthodoxy one could unlock and obtain.

"Although this is a bit like cheating, those personal disciples who can pass are either born from chaos or have treated immortal medicine as snacks since childhood. Compared to ordinary people, it also counts as a kind of cheating."

Li Hao secretly thought to himself.

In this world, honest people suffer the most.

He put away the panel, then stood up, looked around, saw Elder Wang's figure, and immediately trotted toward him while humming a song.

"Why, do you feel it's very difficult?"

Seeing Li Hao not cultivating immediately, Elder Wang couldn't help but smile.

Li Hao nodded deeply and said: "It is indeed very difficult."

He had to raise both the Physical Body Dao and the Mastery Dao to the eleventh stage; just thinking about it made him feel it would be very long.

Hearing Li Hao's words, Elder Wang couldn't help but laugh heartily. No matter how peerless your talent is, in front of this Quasi-Imperial Method, you still have to honestly work hard and practice diligently.

"It's okay, take your time. You are already walking on the third step, leading others. With your talent, as long as you don't slack off, others won't be able to surpass you."

Elder Wang smiled.

Li Hao nodded. He wasn't comparing himself to others, but thinking that if he finished early, he could leave this place early.

It's just...

"When I go out, Elder Wang, what about you? Will you still guard here?"

Li Hao rolled up his trouser legs, followed Elder Wang's footprints in the muddy field, walked behind him with one step deep and one step shallow, and asked curiously.

Elder Wang's action of weeding the immortal medicine paused, then he smiled indifferently: "Yes, I will continue to guard here and look after the Immortal Emperor's Imperial Palace."

Li Hao's eyes were slightly deep, and he said: "That's so lonely."

"Loneliness is not terrible; being uninteresting is what's terrible."

Elder Wang had his back to Li Hao and continued weeding, only his voice reached Li Hao's ears: "Before any of you came, I had always been living like this."

Speaking of this, he suddenly paused, raised his head, looked at the unreachable sky in the distance—perhaps at a place even more unreachable beyond that sky—and whispered:

"Those old friends died in battle in the True Realm, and I don't know if anyone collected their bones. That is what's lonely..."

Speaking of this, a light breeze rose in the fertile fields, gently brushing over the surrounding immortal medicine.

Wisps of hazy light drifted and gathered, like gentle, soft hands, soothing the old man's painful emotions.

Li Hao was silent, thinking of the bones scattered everywhere on the ground he saw on that ancient road, that endless burial ground.

At first glance, he only thought of them as corpses; now that he thought about it, perhaps Elder Wang's old friends, or even relatives, were lying there.

"Is it a restriction of the rules, or are you unwilling to go out yourself, Elder Wang?"

Li Hao asked in a low voice.

Elder Wang lowered his head and laughed, his shoulders shaking slightly, and said: "This place is the incense of the Immortal Emperor. Relying on just one registered disciple is not enough. In a dangerous place like the True Realm, registered disciples will also fall. Only when a true formal disciple appears can I, as a guardian, accompany the other party out."

Speaking of this, he turned his head to look at Li Hao, his eyes becoming kind and gentle: "You have a glimmer of hope to become a formal disciple, but it is only a glimmer of hope. You have also experienced the trial of the second layer of the True Venerable Tower; do you have the confidence to pass it?"

Li Hao was startled, but his eyes brightened.

Three years of playing chess and three years of chatting—although he and the old man didn't discuss cultivation, other than that, they talked about almost everything.

They already had a feeling of being friends across generations.

If he could help the other party go out, Li Hao would do his best no matter what!

"As long as I can become a formal disciple, that's enough?"

Li Hao asked seriously, his eyes carrying a scorching brightness.

Seeing Li Hao's gaze, the smile on Elder Wang's face became even softer. He shook his head slightly and said: "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. That Ancestral Scripture of Following Heaven has also been taught to you, and you also know about the Nine-Flower Immortal Seal. You should know how difficult it is to become a formal disciple!"

Li Hao took a deep breath, his thoughts becoming even firmer, and said: "I will definitely let you go out!"

"Don't think too much. The more you think, the slower you cultivate."

Elder Wang smiled, turned around, and continued weeding the immortal medicine. He didn't explain this matter in detail to Li Hao, just because he didn't want to put pressure on Li Hao.

He also didn't want to let himself become a burden on Li Hao's cultivation.

Li Hao didn't say anything more; some things could only be done through action.

After Elder Wang finished tending to the immortal medicine, the two returned to the ridge. Elder Wang chatted with Li Hao about the time he used to cultivate. Here, he often chatted with others about the past.

After all, he had a long lifespan and too many distant memories, even if he talked for tens of thousands of years, he wouldn't finish.

And he liked to talk because he was worried that if he didn't talk and reminisce often, he would forget.

Even with a nearly eternal lifespan, it was still hard to resist the erosion of forgetting by time.

Li Hao also put away his solemn expression and accompanied the other party to chat and listen as usual.

When the sun set in the west, Elder Wang returned carrying the hoe, and Li Hao also followed the other party back to the hut, inviting the other party to play another game today.

Hearing Li Hao's words, Elder Wang was dumbfounded and laughed. He had thought that after teaching Li Hao the immortal technique, Li Hao would be impatient to throw himself into the cultivation of the Ancestral Scripture of Following Heaven.

After all, this was a Quasi-Imperial level True Immortal Realm technique; in the True Realm, only top great powers could come into contact with it.

However, he was already familiar with Li Hao's temperament and didn't find it abrupt, but thinking of what this little fellow said in the immortal field earlier, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Looking at Li Hao's thoughts, he was clearly still keen on pleasures like chess and wouldn't really cultivate desperately.

However, he didn't blame Li Hao; after all, the difficulty of becoming a formal disciple was truly too great. If one didn't have a special foundation from childhood, it was simply impossible to cultivate to that point.

He shook his head, cast away some faint disappointment he felt was meaningless, smiled, put down the hoe, took out the chessboard, and accompanied Li Hao to play under the starlight and moonlight.

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In the distance, the many Sages on the cushions were cultivating, like sleeping sculptures.

And in front of the hut, an old man and a young man played chess from time to time, occasionally laughing.

Time flowed quietly in this world beneath the forbidden land.

In the blink of an eye, two years passed.

Since Li Hao arrived in the depths of this Twin-Slit Demon Valley, five years had already passed.

Here, a short five years was like a snap of the fingers, with no changes at all.

The people on the cushions were still as quiet as sculptures, with no sound on weekdays.

The immortal medicine in the few acres of fertile fields hadn't grown taller; the years were too short, and their changes were minimal.

And in front of the hut, the game between the old man and the young man had undergone earth-shaking changes compared to when he first arrived.

Elder Wang's expression was solemn, staring at the chessboard.

The young man placed a piece; the game was winding, like a mountain path turning, extremely difficult to glimpse the traces.

It had quite a bit of the appearance of an immortal shadow without a trace.

Like their first game, he still had the mood to drink tea and admire the immortal medicine in the fields, but now a cup of tea had gone cold beside him, yet he hadn't noticed at all.

Looking at the young man, he also had a solemn expression, his eyes focused, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

The current situation was also due to Elder Wang's negligence, allowing him to catch a gap, which was why he was step-by-step, leading to the current situation.

Along with the drifting clouds and mist, the immortal medicine in the fertile fields drifted and rose, the breeze brushed gently, and Elder Wang's piece-placing sound also followed, with a "clack."

After a long time, the young man also placed a piece, another crisp sound.

When the clouds and mist burned red and the glow was brilliant, the situation on the chessboard seemed to gradually become clear.

Elder Wang let go of the piece in his hand, sighed lightly, then looked at the young man irritably, and said: "You caught an opportunity, after all."

"Opportunities must always be grasped by oneself; thanks to the senior for going easy on me."

Li Hao laughed, looking very happy.

After all, winning a game against Elder Wang was not easy!

"How many times have you won this?"

Elder Wang asked while collecting the pieces.

Li Hao said without even thinking: "Seven times!"

Seeing him answer so quickly, Elder Wang couldn't help but roll his eyes. This brat remembered clearly enough, humph!

"Then how many times have you lost?" Elder Wang suddenly looked at him playfully.

Li Hao coughed lightly, scratched his head and said: "I don't know about that."

"You brat..." Elder Wang was so angry he almost laughed; what a slippery little fellow.

"I've kept count for you." Elder Wang also revealed a trace of pride on his face, "1821 times!"

Li Hao: "..."

He was actually guessed by the other party.

Seeing Li Hao's constipated expression, Elder Wang laughed out loud, looked at the sky, and said: "It's getting late today, rest, rest!"

Li Hao was helpless and didn't insist.

Two years passed, his chess experience had long since reached the tenth stage of saturation, but the eleventh-stage chess state of mind hadn't been comprehended yet.

After Elder Wang collected the chessboard and went to rest, Li Hao also returned to the cushions, took out a drawing board, and under the moonlight, began to paint the Heaven and Earth Bell.

For two years, besides playing chess with Elder Wang, Li Hao had been painting.

His painting experience had also reached the tenth stage of perfection, and similarly, he had no clue about the state of mind.

As one painting after another ended, a trace of confusion appeared in Li Hao's eyes.

In the repeated painting, he felt his painting technique had reached the peak, but he had never touched the bottleneck of the state of mind.

This made him feel a bit anxious in his heart, feeling more and more distant.

"Using Heaven and Earth as a canvas, the Great Dao as a brush, the peerless painting outlined is not yet the peak. What should a more extreme painting be like?"

Li Hao muttered to himself.

He couldn't imagine it, and therefore, couldn't touch it.

Sitting withered on the cushion for a night, the next day, while Li Hao was still in a daze, a voice suddenly came.

Li Hao came back to his senses and saw that other Sages were also startled by the sound. They looked over one after another; it turned out that Shepherd Sage had returned from challenging the True Venerable Tower.

"Two years have passed, Shepherd Sage's time is longer this time. This progress speed is a bit fast!"

"It used to take decades to make progress, now..."

Everyone was surprised to see Shepherd Sage's results, and then their gazes looked toward Li Hao in unison.

They all knew that since this newcomer arrived, the atmosphere here had become urgent, and everyone's mentality had changed accordingly.

Li Hao felt everyone's gaze, his heart stirred slightly. After so long, it was time to try raising the Movement Dao to the tenth stage to see if he could pass the second layer.

If he couldn't, he would have to wait until he broke through to the True Immortal Realm to try again.

Shepherd Sage, with his white hair, returned and saw Li Hao on the cushion. Seeing that the other party's gaze wasn't looking at him, but at the True Venerable Tower, he frowned slightly, feeling uncomfortable in his heart.

This feeling was like something he was trying desperately to fight for had actually already been reserved by someone else; he felt a sense of effort but also powerlessness.

At this time, Li Hao had already stood up and flew toward the True Venerable Tower.

Seeing Li Hao's figure fly out, everyone was surprised.

For two years, this was Li Hao's second challenge.

"Hao Tian is going to challenge again. Could it be that he saw Shepherd Sage's results improved and wants to try it too?"

"His performance last time was already exaggerated; I don't know if he will improve this time."

"He doesn't seem to have cultivated much; maybe he's just unconvinced this time."

In the crowd, Bright Sage and Forest Sage's gazes had already skipped over Shepherd Sage and looked at the back flying toward the True Venerable Tower. For some reason, their hearts tightened quietly.

【End of chapter】 ===== CHAPTER 665 =====