After accepting the Sacred Heart Treasure Talisman, Li Hao thanked Chu Jiuyue again and asked her to convey his gratitude to His Majesty the Yu Emperor.
His impression of that most exalted figure in the Great Yu Dynasty still lingered on the first glimpse he had caught as an infant, when he had just arrived in this world.
It was a towering, powerfully built figure seated upon a dragon throne, his presence swallowing mountains and rivers, his majesty looking down upon all living beings.
He seemed someone who could only be worshipped from afar, never approached or offended.
Yet his repeated rewards had made Li Hao feel that this imposing figure was perhaps not quite so cold, unfeeling, and beyond reach.
The snow continued to fall.
The letter that had burned to ashes received no response, and the matter faded into silence.
No more letters arrived from Qingzhou City.
Li Hao continued cultivating on his own each day, painting the snowstorms and mountain scenery beyond the pass, fishing for lesser demons in the wilderness, and exploring the vast, elusive Dao of heaven and earth. Deep down, he still could not bear to abandon that pursuit of the ultimate.
Perhaps he, too, possessed a martial Dao heart?
Time hurried past.
In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
The early winter when he had first arrived outside the camp had now become deep winter, and the snow on the ground had grown thicker.
But all things were like yin and yang. Once the falling snow piled deep enough, the day would come when it broke through the clouds to reveal the moon.
In the distant snowfields, demons secretly crept out of their caves, preparing to hunt for food.
In the woods, two wild mountain tigers fought over