Confidently recalling the entire sacrificial process, Li Zhi found no flaws.
Carrying deep doubts, Li Zhi returned to the house.
He sat on the sofa, racking his brain. He even flipped through the original Stealing Heavenly Secrets again and again, but still could not find a clue.
"Xiao Zhi, are you home?" Just then, the large iron gate of his house suddenly rang with Uncle Zhong's loud knocking.
"Uncle Zhong, I'm home." Li Zhi immediately called back loudly and went to open the door for him.
Before the ritual, Li Zhi had locked the courtyard gate from inside to prevent anyone from disturbing him.
As soon as Li Zhi opened the gate, Li Zhong hurriedly said, "It's good that you're all right. What happened at your place just now? A plume of thick smoke rose up, and the smell of meat drifted out. Did something catch fire?"
Naturally, Li Zhi could not tell Li Zhong the truth. He instead said apologetically, "I'm sorry for making a fool of myself, Uncle Zhong. I was trying to roast a whole lamb in the backyard, but I failed to control the heat and burned the lamb to ashes."
Li Zhong smiled. "If you want roast meat, why go to all that trouble yourself? Barbecuing is a real skill. There are mobile whole-lamb barbecue vendors around here. Just give them a call, and they'll bring their equipment and a live lamb over. We won't have to do anything ourselves, and we can still eat fresh, delicious roast lamb."
Li Zhi's eyes lit up. "They offer that kind of service? Then I have to try it. Uncle Zhong, please help me call one over. We'll have roast lamb today."
Li Zhong laughed. "It's no trouble. You've been eating at our place these past few days, and the old couple and I have been enjoying better food because of you."
Seeing this, Li Zhi suddenly said, "Uncle Zhong, please wait a moment. I'll get some more money for you. If we're going to eat, we'll eat the best lamb. Don't try to save money."
After that, Li Zhong took the ten thousand yuan in cash Li Zhi gave him and went to arrange the best roast lamb.
Li Zhi returned to the house and continued pondering what had gone wrong with the Heaven Worship Ritual.
Why had nothing changed in his body?
Could the so-called "Stealing Heavenly Secrets" merely be a joke left by the predecessors for their descendants?
Picking up Stealing Heavenly Secrets, Li Zhi read it carefully once more, but it was still no different from before.
Soon, Li Zhi seemed to realize something. He immediately rushed out of the house, picked up a shovel, and headed for the backyard.
He dug the ground open again with grunts of effort, then took the original Stealing Heavenly Secrets out of the cellar.
Afterward, Li Zhi recited the sacrificial oration from the original Stealing Heavenly Secrets. In an instant, he felt an extraordinary state of mind rise within him.
Without thinking, he began practicing the Breathing Method recorded in the book.
In just a moment, Li Zhi entered a meditative state.
Then he felt as though something from the outside world had begun burrowing into his body.
However, that sensation lasted less than three seconds before vanishing, seemingly because it lacked staying power.
At the same time, a sudden realization arose in Li Zhi's heart.
For the next three years, his cultivation would proceed smoothly.
By borrowing luck through the Heaven Worship Ritual,
Stealing Heavenly Secrets had truly allowed him to borrow roughly three years of Cosmic Luck.
His intuition told Li Zhi that over the next three years, he would turn calamities into blessings, overcome every danger, meet the right people, and succeed in every undertaking.
Overjoyed, Li Zhi worked up a huge appetite. When they ate roast lamb that evening, he alone devoured more than half a lamb.
That was over twenty pounds of lamb, at least.
Li Zhong and his wife were left dumbfounded. Even the barbecue vendor tried to persuade Li Zhi to eat less, warning him not to make himself ill.
But Li Zhi acted as though he had not heard them and continued doing as he pleased.
It was not that Li Zhi could normally eat so much. Rather, after attaining enlightenment and beginning the Breathing Method, his body needed a tremendous amount of energy.
Roast lamb was undoubtedly a food with an extremely high energy density.
That was why Li Zhi had devoured more than twenty pounds of it.
Yet his body showed not the slightest discomfort.
It was as if the lamb had been digested and absorbed the instant he swallowed it.
Good news put a spring in one's step.
The next morning, Li Zhi had just finished practicing the Breathing Technique when he received a call from Zhou Mei.
Over the phone, she told Li Zhi that Ye Fan had already gone to the shop to look for him three times.
Li Zhi was curious why Ye Fan wanted to see him, so he immediately packed up and prepared to return.
Before leaving, he took everything from the cellar with him.
As for the Five-Colored Earth Altar in the backyard, he cut it apart and moved it into the cellar for storage, then sealed the cellar up again.
Only after that did he leave Da Li Village without any lingering worries.
Let us ask: What were the odds that a child from a modest, well-off family could live in a detached courtyard house and drive a luxury car just three years after graduating from college, achieving financial freedom?
The answer: The odds were so low that there was no need to use statistics to calculate them.
Back in the city,
his first priority was naturally not to greet Ye Fan, but to spend the entire night celebrating with Zhou Mei.
The two had not seen each other for more than half a year, and they did not show themselves for three whole days after entering the room.
When Zhou Mei appeared again, she looked radiant. Her entire body exuded the happiness of a woman nourished by love.
It was not merely because absence had made their reunion sweeter than a newlywed couple's.
It was also because Li Zhi had promised to give her a child.
Zhou Mei was in her early thirties. Although mature and alluring, she had no child to dote on her at her side. Deep down, she was always afraid that her relationship with Li Zhi would not last.
What if a younger and more beautiful woman came knocking one day, while she had already grown old and faded? At that time, she would have no confidence in keeping Li Zhi by her side. Without a child, she would probably be left in tears.
Of course, as a clever woman, she had never brought up these practical concerns in front of Li Zhi.
Now that Li Zhi had taken the initiative to say he wanted to have a child with her, her heart had finally settled.
During the past six months of living at Li Zhi's home, Zhou Mei had truly learned just how substantial the wealth of that young man who used to lie around the shop all day, radiating laziness, really was.
Within the city alone, Zhou Mei had seen thirteen property deeds belonging to Li Zhi.
Half were residences, and half were shops.
Moreover, Li Zhi had casually left those property deeds in the bedside cabinet in his bedroom.
Zhou Mei had secretly done the math. The monthly rental income alone brought Li Zhi no less than three hundred thousand yuan, and that amount would only grow in the future.
And that was merely the extent of his property holdings in the city.
While cleaning Li Zhi's study, she had also seen a locked safe.
There were certainly things of even greater value inside.
Originally, Zhou Mei had fallen for Li Zhi not because of his wealth, but because she had been drawn to his bearing.
Now that she thought about it, her bold choice might have been no less than embarking on a second life.
Especially after Li Zhi agreed to have a child with her.
That had moved Zhou Mei to tears.
Zhou Mei had already taken meticulous care of Li Zhi, but now she became even more attentive.
In the living room, watching Zhou Mei constantly bustle about, Li Zhi said with some heartache, "Mei'er, stop working so hard. Later, we'll hire a housekeeper to handle the chores. The two of us should just enjoy life."
Zhou Mei said, "I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving things to a housekeeper."
Li Zhi said, "You have to learn to trust others. And don't calculate every detail of life too carefully. As long as nothing major goes wrong, that's enough. Life isn't business. Being a little muddled is better for everyone."
Afterward, Zhou Mei carried Li Zhi's tea to the coffee table in the living room, then sat down beside him and nestled into his arms. "I'll do whatever you say."
Li Zhi's hands naturally climbed onto Zhou Mei's breasts, and he asked, "Mei'er, did Ye Fan say what he wanted with me?"
Zhou Mei said, "He came three times, but never said what he wanted. He didn't call you, so it probably isn't urgent."
Li Zhi said, "I'll invite him to dinner another day."
Zhou Mei asked, "My dear, Ye Fan is only a student who hasn't even graduated from college yet. Why do you treat him differently?"
Li Zhi said, "He's special."
Li Zhi did not tell Zhou Mei exactly what made him special.
Afterward, Li Zhi asked, "Mei'er, if we have a child, don't you think our current house is a little small?"
Zhou Mei said, "A one-hundred-and-fifty-square-meter house isn't small."
Li Zhi said, "I still think it's too small. Tomorrow, let's go to West Mountain and find a house with a courtyard."
Zhou Mei asked in surprise, "You want to buy a house in the West Mountain Courtyard Villa Area?"
Li Zhi said, "The city is rather crowded, after all. With people living above and below us, some things are inevitably inconvenient. Our family will definitely be more comfortable and peaceful living in a courtyard."
The real reason was that Li Zhi had discovered that practicing in the city produced almost no results.
Back in Da Li Village, practicing the Breathing Technique had still allowed him to sense fluctuations of primordial energy in the outside world.
But after arriving in the city, when he practiced the Heaven-Guiding Breathing Technique, he could no longer sense any fluctuations of Heaven and Earth Essence.
Before you continue