Nine Orders

Li Hao was stunned, feeling both surprised and delighted.

Although he could reach the True Immortal Realm by comprehending the Art Skill to the Eleventh Dan, it was unknown whether he possessed the Nine Flowers Immortal Seal.

Challenging the Second Layer the True Venerable Tower is only the second step in the test; the difficulty of the Third Step is unimaginable.

Thank you, senior.

Li Hao said repeatedly.

The projection, or rather, the Tower Soul of the True Venerable Tower, waved its hand indifferently at Li Hao, as if speaking to itself:

"Looking at Mountains and Rivers has already passed on the Heaven-Following Ancestral Scripture to you, right? Do you know what Shun means, and what Tian means?"

Li Hao honestly shook his head.

"Remember this: follow the natural order, and let the heavens be empty!"

A sharp glint flashed in the Tower Soul's eyes as it stared at Li Hao for a moment before returning to its calm expression. "You'll understand when you reach your bottleneck," it said. "I'll send you out now. If you need a challenge, you can come back anytime. If you want a sparring partner, I can provide you with projections of the first and second floors for practice."

Li Hao's heart skipped a beat, the other person's words still echoing in his mind.

Follow the natural order; let the heavens be empty.

The Time-Space Ancestral Scripture?

He immediately realized that this was tantamount to a huge hint for him in terms of comprehending the Heaven-Following Ancestral Scripture.

At this moment, the Tower Soul casually waved his hand, and Li Hao returned to the True Venerable Tower once again.

It was pitch black before my eyes, Dao Light opened behind me—it was a tower gate.

"Go."

The voice of the Tower Soul came, but compared to the voice of Li Hao's projection earlier, it was more profound and weighty, as if it came from a distant Time and Space.

Li Hao was momentarily dazed before slowly walking out of the True Venerable Tower.

Outside the tower, on a distant Meditation Cushion.

When the crowd saw Li Hao appear, they immediately began to whisper among themselves.

Compared to last time, Li Hao stayed inside for a slightly shorter period of time this time.

Although Li Hao passed the Second Layer, this time he didn't have to constantly pull himself up through the Return to Emptiness Extreme Realm like he did in the first level.

The battle ended much faster.

"It's half an incense stick faster than last time. It seems I've been neglecting my studies for the past two years; if I don't improve, I'll fall behind."

"It could also be that their State of Mind was disturbed, and they had other distracting thoughts during the battle, making them less focused."

"Most likely."

Among the crowd, Flower Saint and Wandering Saint's expressions changed slightly as they looked at Li Hao with some worry, thinking they would wait for him to come over and give him a subtle reminder.

Meanwhile, Bright Saint and Herding Saint, who were at the front of the Meditation Cushion, exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. Hearing the whispers around him, Herding Saint suddenly felt embarrassed. Would Li Hao's mindset be affected by his challenge?

How could that be? The others don't know yet, but that young man has already passed the first level of the True Venerable Tower's test. This time, he's challenging the Second Layer!

The time limit has been shortened, which is understandable, since the difficulty of the Second Layer has doubled. Being able to last for two rounds of incense is already quite terrifying.

A Qing Feng stirred, and Old Wang, who had been standing in front of the Dwelling in the distance, appeared before the Meditation Cushion. His eyes were fixed on the True Venerable Tower, and after a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of shock.

Even with his extensive experience, such things are rare.

During the heyday of the True Realm, those few Prodigy Personal Disciple did display such exaggerated talent, but the boy who competes with me on the Go Board every day has actually reached this level?

In just five years, he passed the Second Layer of the True Venerable Tower twice.

He felt that he had somewhat underestimated the boy's Heavenly Talent.

His body trembled slightly, like a withered old man shivering in the cold wind; no one knew the excitement in his heart.

The sages Bright Saint and Herding Saint were standing before the Meditation Cushion, were startled when they noticed the arrival of the Old Wang. Their expressions changed instantly, and an unbelievable thought welled up in their hearts.

At this moment, Li Hao had already arrived in front of the Meditation Cushion.

Seeing several pairs of eyes staring intently at him from the crowd— Bright Saint and the other two—he smiled slightly, then looked at Flower Saint and Wandering Saint, and was surprised to see their worried expressions.

"Haotian ---"

Just as Flower Saint was about to send a telepathic message to Li Hao, intending to persuade him, Lin Sheng suddenly stood up and spoke to Li Hao:

"To have lasted this long on your first attempt at the Second Layer, it seems the Immortal Emperor Dao Heritage is truly yours."

Meditation Cushion fell upon those words.

The Flower Saint, who was transmitting her voice, froze, then stared blankly at Li Hao.

Wandering Saint also looked incredulous; her exquisitely beautiful, Imperial Daughter -like face was filled with disbelief.

The other Sage were stunned, unable to react to Lin Sheng's words for a moment.

Just a few seconds later, a chorus of exclamations erupted.

"The Second Layer? What Second Layer?"

"The True Venerable Tower has Second Layer?"

"What kind of level is this Second Layer? I've never heard of it before!"

The crowd became excited and started discussing amongst themselves, then they noticed Old Wang right above them and all looked at him with suspicion.

I'm waiting for him to give an explanation.

Amidst the clamor and exclamations of the crowd, Old Wang had already suppressed his inner excitement. A kind smile appeared on his face, his eyes seemingly fixed only on Li Hao. He softly uttered three "good"s, then continued:

"Come with me."

Li Hao nodded, then looked at Flower Saint and asked in a puzzled voice, "Did you need something from me just now?"

Flower Saint was stunned for a moment before she couldn't help but ask, "Is what Lin Sheng said true?"

"Um."

Li Hao nodded, then, seeing that the other person was in a daze and did not react, he followed Old Wang away first.

As Old Wang and Li Hao headed to the Dwelling, the people on the Meditation Cushion immediately began to pester Lin Sheng with questions. Soon, they learned from Lin Sheng that Li Hao had already successfully completed the first level of the True Venerable Tower, and that they had met for the first time.

Furthermore, it was learned that the True Venerable Tower has three levels, corresponding to the three types of disciples: Personal Disciple, formal disciple, and registered disciple.

They have strived for tens of thousands of years, and all they have experienced is the test of Registered Disciple.

After everyone heard this, a deathly silence fell over the Meditation Cushion area.

"Didn't Old Wang say he wouldn't give special treatment to his children? Why is he an exception?"

After a long pause, a Sage spoke in a low voice.

The Flower Saint and the Wandering Saint looked over and saw an old saint with a long beard and a gloomy face.

Lin Sheng glanced at the other person and said, "Who said that someone could pass because they received special treatment? Can't they pass based on their own ability?"

"But only three short years ago—"

The Sage frowned, staring at him without the slightest fear.

Lin Sheng chuckled coldly and said, "Three years, so what? A true Prodigy Breaking Convention. You all call yourselves Prodigy, but who here wasn't once Heavenly Prodigy? Even Heavenly Prodigy have their differences. Besides, he has already Breaking Convention with his Heaven and Earth Nine Resonances. What's there to complain about?"

He had just stood up and spoken when he realized that he had already seen Li Hao's potential. It was highly likely that the Immortal Emperor Dao Heritage would fall into Li Hao's hands, so he wanted to befriend him in advance to leave himself a way out and also to give up his thoughts of competing with him.

Now he loudly refuted Li Hao, speaking up for him, and his voice could be heard even in front of the Dwelling.

Upon hearing about the Heaven and Earth Nine Resonances, the long-bearded old saint was slightly speechless and immediately fell silent.

The other Sage, recalling the astonishment Li Hao had displayed upon his first arrival, all fell silent.

In front of the Dwelling, Old Wang led Li Hao back. Hearing Lin Sheng's voice, Old Wang didn't turn around, but chuckled and said, "Looks like those little rascals are jealous of you again."

Li Hao shook his head and smiled, not taking it to heart.

Old Wang habitually sat in his usual spot. When he turned around and saw Li Hao's calm and unaffected expression, his mood improved even more. He looked Li Hao up and down, let out a soft sigh, and said:

"Don't blame them, you really scared me this time."

Upon hearing this, Li Hao asked, "You already know that I just passed the Second Layer?"

"The Venerable God has already informed me of your situation."

Old Wang smiled and looked at Li Hao with eyes full of admiration and affection, saying, "Although you were able to pass the first level of the True Venerable Tower before, I thought you had probably had some kind of enlightenment to break through it. I didn't expect you to be able to break through the Second Layer as well."

This isn't just a simple five-fold increase in difficulty. Keep in mind that in the past, at least a million people could pass the first level of the True Venerable Tower, but fewer than ten thousand could pass the Second Layer.

"Some people can even quickly destroy the projection on the first level, but they stop on the Second Layer and can never get past it in their lifetime."

As he said this, his eyes, besides showing emotion, were mostly filled with a smile.

Previously, Li Hao had only passed the first level, and he hadn't dared to think about the Second Layer, but now, Li Hao had given him a huge surprise.

"But-"

Thinking of the Third Step test, the smile on Old Wang's face slowly faded, and his eyes became complicated.

The test for formal disciple must be completed within the Nine Flowers Immortal Seal and Soul Lifespan of ten thousand years; there is a time limit.

This is hundreds of times more difficult than the Three Flowers Immortal Seal.

The Three Flowers Immortal Seal are generally understood by those who have Cultivation Method. One of them is called the One Flower Immortal Seal, which is the most common type of True Immortal.

Secondly, there is the Two Flowers Immortal Seal, which is considered a Heavenly Prodigy level in small to medium-sized Sect.

The Three Flowers Immortal Seal is Prodigy that many top powers are vigorously cultivating.

"The Nine Flowers Immortal Seal requires comprehending nine Great Dao Origin. You yourself cultivate the sword; if your sword cultivation reaches its pinnacle, that constitutes one of them."

"The Primordial Spirit is also the Imperial Dao; this is the second type!"

Old Wang stared intently at Li Hao and said, "But these are only two types. You still need to comprehend seven more!"

Li Hao's expression changed slightly. Hearing what he said, he immediately felt the difficulty of the Nine Flowers Immortal Seal.

If we calculate it this way, wouldn't his advancements in the Imperial Dao and the Path of the Physical Body only count as two different things?

That's the Two Flowers Immortal Seal?

"There are countless Great Dao in the world, but to comprehend nine of them to the level of their Origin, and even within ten thousand years, that difficulty is far too high."

Old Wang gazed intently at Li Hao and said, "Although I really want to help you, I cannot disappoint the Immortal Emperor's expectations. This matter can only be resolved by you. If you haven't completed the Nine Flowers Immortal Seal by ten thousand years—"

He Pause, then said in a low voice, "I will make an exception and help you comprehend the Nine Flowers Immortal Seal. However, even if you manage to condense it, you won't be able to become formal disciple of the Immortal Emperor. But that's alright; at least you will possess the power of the Nine Flowers Immortal Seal, and I can rest assured when you go out into the world."

Li Hao glanced up at Old Wang, seeing only a smile in his eyes. Clearly, once the rules were broken...

The other side will also have to sacrifice something.

But the old man seemed to have already prepared for this.

Li Hao shook his head slightly, took a deep breath, and said, "I'll try it first!"

Seeing the determination in Li Hao's eyes, a gaze like the unwavering focus of Chess, the Old Wang's gaze softened, and he spoke softly:

"There are countless Great Dao in the world, but they were recorded by the Immortal Emperor in the past. This is a book Myriad Paths Record, which collects the Great Dao of Myriad Worlds. Take it and take a look. See which Great Dao you have encountered and gained some understanding of. Then you can continue to explore and delve deeper."

He flipped his hand and handed Li Hao an ancient book with black Golden Name lettering.

He could see that Li Hao's Soul Lifespan was too Prodigy Heavenly Talent had a high level of understanding in terms of focus, he didn't master enough things.

The Nine Flowers Immortal Seal must contain the True Intention of nine Great Dao Origin.

Li Hao didn't refuse or stand on ceremony; he took the ancient book with both hands and began to read it.

One could see ancient, ruyi-shaped characters, gleaming golden, shooting into his eyes.

Immediately, an ancient, Heaven and Earth voice echoed in his mind.

Destiny...- Time and Space...-- Five Sources...-- Form Control...---

A multitude of Great Dao flooded his mind. These Great Dao, gathered within, were actually ranked in order of importance, with Destiny as the supreme being, Time and Space as the king, Five Sources as generals.

The Great Dao of Destiny, the Time Great Dao, the Space Great Dao.

These Five Sources are Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, and earth.

Form Control refer to the Form Dao and the Imperial Dao.

Based on the above description, Li Hao understood that the Form Dao is the Path of the Physical Body.

All Things has form, and the physical body is the outward form of everything.

One Destiny is unique; the other nine, when combined, form the Nine Orders!

To comprehend one of them and condense it into Immortal Seal makes one Heavenly Prodigy among peers; to obtain both makes one invincible among peers!

Li Hao suddenly remembered what the Tower Soul had said.

Follow the natural order; let the heavens be empty.

Could the Heaven-Following Ancestral Scripture Shuntian contain the profound principles of the Time-Space Great Dao?

Li Hao's eyes flickered slightly. If that was the case, it wouldn't be surprising that someone who had mastered the Shuntian Ancestral Realm could dominate others in the same realm.

Aside from the Nine Sequences Great Dao, the others, such as the Spear Dao, the Sword Dao, and so on, are the common Great Dao.

"If that's the case, to comprehend the Heaven-Following Ancestral Scripture, my advancement to the Eleventh Dan in the Path of the Physical Body and the Imperial Dao might not be enough."

Li Hao's eyes showed contemplation. This Cultivation Method has corresponding insights into the Great Dao, while the Imperial Dao and the Path of the Physical Body correspond to the insights into Form and Control in the Nine Orders.

However, the attributes of Time and Space Great Dao seem to be missing from my own Panel.

Does this mean that this time, I can't improve by adding points and I can only rely on my own understanding?

Li Hao's eyes flickered.

Old Wang sat quietly, seeing Li Hao deep in thought, and didn't say anything. He couldn't preach to Li Hao, not even hints; Li Hao had to understand on his own.

After a long while, Li Hao's furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and he Old Wang:

"Old Wang, where's the Go Board?"

"Um?"

Old Wang with a slightly wry smile, he asked, "Are you really not tempted?"

Li Hao shook his head slightly, looked up at him, and said, "Even for the sake of you, senior, I will do my best."

And I want to get out!

Old Wang young man's clear eyes, Wang Lao's heart fluttered slightly. He turned to look at the medicinal herb field swaying in the wind in the distance and said, "That—."

I'd like to see the Go Board.

Li Hao said.

Although Old Wang did not know what Li Hao meant, he did not refuse and took out the Go Board with a flick of his sleeve.

Li Hao gazed at the Go Board, its lines crisscrossing, 361 squares—not many, not few, but this small Go Board, so small that Li Hao could easily crush it with a flick of his wrist, contained a Heaven and Earth within it for the game.

When placing a piece, one becomes deeply immersed in it, yet the Go Board feels as vast as the Heaven and Earth.

Li Hao stared intently, as if the Go Board was constantly expanding before his eyes, until it surrounded him, and he stood on the Go Board like a chess piece.

Li Hao suddenly realized something.

Within this Go Board lies endless space.