Establishing a Soul with Heaven and Earth

Establishing a Soul with Heaven and Earth

A year later.

By Blackwater Demon Lake, the rich fragrance of fish soup drifted out.

The two old men carried their bowls and chopsticks to sit beside the great pot. Feng Boping followed his habit of taking a mouthful of soup before the meal, ladling a spoonful of fish soup into his bowl and slowly savoring it. He could not help praising,

"Little Mouse's skill is almost catching up to the Imperial Kitchen in the palace."

"Tsk, I've eaten it for a whole year and still haven't gotten tired of it. Strange, truly strange."

Li Muxiu was also amazed. He had not expected Li Hao to possess such outstanding talent for cooking too. His skill was getting better and better.

"Old Feng, have you eaten from the Imperial Kitchen before?" Li Hao asked with a smile.

"I stole a taste."

A sly smile appeared on Feng Boping's crane-haired, child-faced visage. As if savoring the memory, he smacked his lips. "That half bowl of leftover soup still had my saliva in it. No idea which consort it was served to afterward."

"You old thief. If it had been served to the Yu Emperor, you'd have lost your head for sure," Li Muxiu said irritably. Clearly, he had some understanding of the deeds this old friend of his had once committed; he truly had gall that could swallow the heavens.

Li Hao could not help laughing. He had long known that this old Thief Saint stole anything and everything. Last time, he had even wanted to give Li Hao a silk handkerchief as thin as a cicada's wing; Li Hao had heard it had belonged to the Saintess of some sect. Second Master had chased him off for half a river's length with a shoe in hand, and only then had the matter of gifting the handkerchief been dropped.

That had also become a regret buried in Li Hao's heart. For the first time, he felt Second Master could sometimes be a little too meddlesome...

"When life is proud and easy, one must enjoy it to the fullest. In the end, you should taste everything at least once," Feng Boping said with a chuckle.

Li Hao also lifted his bowl and began eating. Listening to the two old men banter, his heart suddenly stirred, and words surfaced before his eyes: you have comprehended the Heart of the Path of Cooking

Li Hao's eyes brightened slightly, then quickly returned to normal. This had also been within his expectations.

Ever since cooking had reached the third stage at the fastest speed, he had thought of ways to make himself enter the heart of it. Thus, on ordinary days, he often ran to the kitchen to converse and exchange ideas with those head chefs.

Toward this young master of the Li Family, this favored son of heaven, those head chefs did not dare be negligent. Though this matter was extremely strange, toward Li Hao they held nothing back and answered everything they knew.

Through his in-depth exchanges with these cooks, Li Hao's horizons were also greatly broadened. He came to understand the vastness of the Path of Cooking, which was not the slightest bit inferior to the path of chess.

All manner of ingredients, all kinds of seasonings, heat control, cooking methods, removing fishiness and off-flavors, and so on.

Li Hao gradually became immersed in it, as if he were exploring a rich and colorful new world.

Without realizing it, he had skipped past the stage of cooking for experience and had come to like cooking from the bottom of his heart.

Even if his experience points did not increase, he would still find chances to show off a few moves and cook something.

As for the pastries recently delivered to Mountains and Rivers Courtyard, he would carefully taste them all. If they were made too poorly, he would even overturn them on the spot, call over the cook who had made them, and personally criticize them.

Once one had entered the heart of it, it was hard to avoid becoming earnest, and strict.

Just like deadweight players in a game, they did not care if they lost; the ones who broke down and cursed were often the ones who were serious and wanted to win.

Now that he had received the prompt that he had comprehended the Heart of Cooking, Li Hao was not overly delighted. Once a person had begun doing something seriously, he instead stopped caring about the result. The earlier Chess Heart had been the same.

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

The three chatted idly, eating and drinking until they finished. Li Hao picked out some good bones and fed them to the Little White Fox beside him.

This Little White Fox was one and a half years old, still small and exquisite, its fur bright and snow-white. On ordinary days, Li Hao fed it some spirit fruits that contained medicinal power, and with the daily fish soup as well, this little fellow had also stepped onto the path of cultivation, gaining a fifth-level Power Through Realm cultivation.

From a wild fox in the mountains, it could now be considered a creature that had attained the Dao and become a demon, carrying a faint trace of demonic aura.

If it could reach the Circulation Realm, intelligence would be born in it.

A demon creature at the Soul Succession Realm could already "appear and vanish like ghosts and spirits."

After lunch, they continued fishing for the whole afternoon.

Yet Li Hao only caught one second-level Circulation Realm fish demon; his fishing luck was poor today.

After finishing up and returning to Listening Rain Pavilion, Li Hao carried the Little White Fox back to Mountains and Rivers Courtyard. After shutting himself in his room, he called out the panel. After some thought, he still used this state of mind on breaking through in the Imperial Dao.

Very soon, the Imperial Dao rose from the third stage to the fourth stage.

The previous third-stage Imperial Dao had made his meridian opening advance a thousand li in a single day. Now at the fourth stage, he wondered whether he would have new insights regarding the Great Meridian and circulation arts.

As the point allocation ended, rich information flooded into his mind. Only after a long time did Li Hao slowly open his eyes.

His eyes were clear and bright, with some surprise in them.

The world in his eyes seemed to have undergone some marvelous change. The abundant insights in his mind told him that this heaven and earth was more wondrous than what he had originally seen.

Heaven and earth had spirit!

"Demons comprehend the stars, sun, and moon... Soul succession, with soul thoughts reinforcing them. While inheriting soul thoughts, they must also abide by certain 'agreements.'"

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

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

With the many martial arts manuals he had seen in Listening Rain Pavilion, plus the many cultivation methods he himself had mastered, Li Hao suddenly felt a flash of understanding.

To succeed a human soul, one had to bear their thoughts.

To succeed a demon soul, one had to bear its nature.

But to succeed the soul of heaven and earth, one had to bear its heaviness!

"I will establish my soul with heaven and earth!"

A fierce light burst from Li Hao's eyes.

He activated the Myriad Manifestations attribute, covering his physical body. Unless his own fists and feet smashed out some tremendous commotion, outsiders would not be able to sense him.

Afterward, the strength throughout his body began to roam along the Great Meridian. The Yin Yang Dual Meridians surfaced at the same time and converged at the crown of his skull.

In an instant, the power throughout his body surged wildly, increasing explosively. Terrifying strength was contained within him.

This power seemed as if it wanted to burst out through his body and break through that vague, illusory obstruction.

He wanted to commune with heaven and earth, to ask heaven, to ask earth, and borrow that sliver of strength!

As if sensing Li Hao's intense will, a vast and terrifying pressure enveloped his body. Like a tangible mountain descending, it made every bone in his body crack and creak, somewhat unable to withstand it.

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

The terrifying power of the Yin Yang Dual Meridians erupted. In an instant, his strength doubled, reaching nearly ten million jin!

That vast willpower seemed to be forcibly held up! But afterward, it pressed down heavily again! Li Hao's body bent, and his feet sank deep into the floorboards.

He gritted his teeth, knowing that relying on brute strength alone would not work. He had not glimpsed the aspect of heaven and earth!

What was the aspect of heaven and earth?

It was the sky, the white clouds, the mountains and rivers, all things and the great earth... these were all parts of heaven and earth, but not the whole appearance of heaven and earth! And if he wanted to establish his soul with heaven and earth, then what aspect did heaven and earth hold in his heart? In Li Hao's mind surfaced a Buddhist martial art from the seventh floor of Listening Rain Pavilion, which contained a Buddhist saying.

Buddha was originally formless.

If Buddha had no form, how could heaven and earth have form?

"I stand within this heaven and earth, so I am the aspect reflected by this heaven and earth!"

Light suddenly burst from Li Hao's eyes. All his spirit and strength seemed to pour out with it, breaking through an invisible checkpoint and reaching straight to heaven and earth!

All his strength gathered, condensing his essence, qi, and spirit. Above his body, a faint phantom appeared; it was his own appearance.

Using himself to establish the aspect of heaven and earth, using heaven and earth to establish his own soul! At this moment, Li Hao stepped into the Soul Succession Realm.

There seemed to be endless power flowing along heaven and earth, through the emptiness from all directions, into his body.

All the curtains in the room shook violently, yet the room's doors and windows were already closed. Where had this wind come from?

In the courtyard, inside the pavilion.

After Li Hao stepped onto the path of cultivation, Li Fu no longer followed him like a shadow, never leaving his side, but they still remained within the same courtyard.

At this moment, he was playing chess in the courtyard. It was not because he loved it, but because Li Hao had once forcefully invited him and taught him, so that now, in his leisure time, it seemed this was the only amusement he could find.

He and Uncle Zhao were fighting and contending across the chessboard.

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

All of a sudden, the two seemed to pause with their pieces in hand at the same time, unable to help looking toward a certain place.

An inexplicable sense of horror, like some majestic thing awakening, startled the two of them, as if it were an illusion of divine sense.

What was it? In the next moment, both men stopped and rushed quickly toward Li Hao's room. When things went against the ordinary, there had to be a demon.

As the two swiftly pushed the door open and entered, they saw that the room was somewhat messy. Some vases placed at the edges of the shelves had long since fallen to the floor and shattered to pieces.

As for Li Hao, both his feet were sunk deep into the wooden boards, and he was panting lightly, as if he had practiced a round of martial arts.

"What happened?"

Seeing that it was not a covert attack, the two let out a breath of relief, then swiftly came to Li Hao's side.

Li Hao had already calmed the impact of the power gained from soul succession. Myriad Manifestations concealed the aura leaking out from him. Wiping the hot sweat from his forehead, Li Hao exhaled and said, "I was practicing just now."

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

The matter of Li Hao tempering his body in the Circulation Realm was already not really a secret. He also knew about it, though he was unclear on the specifics of what level it had reached.

"I suddenly had a bit of insight just now," Li Hao explained.

"That's quite good, then."

Uncle Zhao smiled. Though the vases on the floor had several hundred years of history and were rather valuable, as long as Li Hao made progress in his training, everything was worth it.

After setting the two men's minds at ease, Li Hao remained in the room and continued to carefully savor the might of the Soul Succession Realm. It was actually far beyond the Circulation Realm.

No wonder they said that only after reaching the Soul Succession Realm did one truly have the qualifications to serve as the guardian of a city.

And at this moment, he was only nine years old, yet he could already hold down a city!...

After soul succession, Li Hao's life continued as usual.

Every day, he ate and drank, either going out fishing, painting and playing chess in the courtyard, or running to the kitchen to cook dishes.

As time passed, this young master came up with some new tricks again, studying poetry and the zither, seeming to walk farther and farther down the road of "neglecting proper work."

Time hurried by, spring left 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.