The 45,000-kilometer-long Sword Qi had made an impression to the world.
Countless people raised their heads to the night sky and witnessed the most magnificent scene of their lives.
"Whoosh!"
After the sword attack, the world was engulfed in heavy rain.
The rain seemed to have washed away everything. Thunder crashed with a deafening sound that made all the other sounds of the night seem weaker.
The world seemed to be at peace.
But beneath this peace, hidden currents were surging.
However, none of this had anything to do with Li Qingshan. He was in low spirits after Wu Shaobai disappeared completely. He returned to his bamboo hut, washed up, changed his clothes, and made himself a cup of hot tea, which he sipped it lightly.
He savored not the taste of the tea, but the taste of the Great River Sword Qi.
Even though Li Qingshan had already comprehended the Great River Sword Qi, it did not mean that he could wield it. He still had to continue training hard.
He never imagined that the Great River Sword Qi could actually be this powerful.
The events of this night had opened up a whole new world for him.
Before, Li Qingshan never thought that a strong figure who had reached the Great Venerable Plane could be this strong. But then again, he had never seen a Great Venerable attack before this night either.
Not to mention an attack from a Saint, who was already beyond the Great Venerable Plane.
"And he said he only comprehended a shred of the Path of the Saint," Li Qingshan murmured. "How strong would a complete Saint be?"
He held the teacup with both hands, his eyes filled with determination.
He was eager to make a breakthrough soon so that he could see the Saint Plane.
"After tonight, a lot of things will happen. Considering the aggressiveness of the Heavenly Path Sect, they will definitely not allow themselves to take such a loss. They will make a commotion, and the Yuhua Sect will be affected too.
"But the days of the Heavenly Path Sect will not be easy either. All of the monsters and their enemies they trapped before have escaped from the damaged Monster Refining Tower. Even if the Heavenly Path Sect plans to attack the Yuhua Sect, they will not have the energy to do so. Until the Heavenly Path Sect has settled this, the Yuhua Sect will at least be safe as of the moment.
"And as long as the Yuhua Sect is safe, then I am safe. The struggles of the outside world have nothing to do with me. I only have to be a hermit hidden in the depths of the cultivation world."
Li Qingshan set down his teacup and closed his eyes. He began to absorb the spiritual Qi of the world. It entered his body, nourishing his root bone and thus improving his abilities.
His root bone had already matured enough for him to enter the Ascension Plane.
However, Li Qingshan did not do so immediately.
He needed the right opportunity. Simply put, he still did not have enough comprehension of the cultivation and of the Great Path.
Although Wu Shaobai himself was able to help Li Qingshan make up for what he had lacked in this aspect, Li Qingshan only needed to comprehend the remnants of Wu Shaobai's sword, and then he should be able to make a breakthrough.
The next day, as predicted, the outside world was buzzing with excitement. Everyone was discussing about the shocking event from the night before, guessing and analyzing without end.
The Great River Sword Qi, Wu Shaobai, Heavenly Path Sect, Yuhua Sect—these words had been brought up multiple times by the people.
By now, everyone knew that the top genius from Yuhua Sect 40 years ago had left behind a shred of his soul and that he had comprehended the Path of the Saint and delivered this attack on the Heavenly Path Sect.
The Monster Refining Tower of the Heavenly Path Sect had been forced open. The monsters, demons, and top geniuses had managed to escape, shaking this world to its core.
The world was in a mess.
Many disagreements had been going on as well, even within the Yuhua Sect. Everyone was discussing their views passionately, particularly on their fears that the Heavenly Path Sect's army would attack them very soon.
Some suggested that they should apologize to the Heavenly Path Sect first, even so far as to hand over Wu Shaobai's stele to them in exchange for their forgiveness.
In fact, some of the elders were actually behind this proposition.
However, the present Yuhua Sect Leader had rejected it with an angry roar.
The division within the Yuhua Sect was evident and very serious.
This was the main source of headache for the Yuhua Sect Leader. He wanted to find a way to counter the pressure coming from the Heavenly Path Sect, but not when the Yuhua Sect could not be unified to begin with.
This was really a huge headache to him.
The outside world remained chaotic with numerous rumors spread around. Wu Shaobai's sword stroke last night had ripped apart the long-term peace and tranquility of the world.
At that moment, there was just chaos.
But Li Qingshan was not affected by all of these.
He had already buried in his heart the events from last night since the moment he woke up that morning. Acting as if nothing had happened, he went to wipe the steles just like he used to.
Today, Li Qingshan wiped a stele that had a lion carved on it.
He thought it was a stele of the Monster Clan.
But when he studied it closely, he realized it was very different.
[You observed the stele carefully and activated your maxed-level comprehension skill. You have now comprehended the Fearless Lion Seal!]
Li Qingshan blinked his eyes and felt a bit dazed. This was a Buddhist technique and not from the Monster Clan.
In the Buddhist sects, Buddhas were most commonly depicted riding lions. Lions were also used as protectors in Buddhist sects and were known to be extremely fierce and aggressive, hence their title of being fearless.
Thus, the Fearless Lion Seal was a well-known strong attack technique of the Buddhist sects.
Li Qingshan could use it right away now that he had comprehended it. After all, he had already cultivated the Trikaya Buddhist Scriptures beforehand.
If he used the Trikaya Buddhist Scriptures to activate the Fearless Lion Seal, it would become even stronger.
Once he used the spell, he could transform into a fierce lion and rip apart his enemy.
Li Qingshan immediately returned to his bamboo hut to contemplate it further.
But on his way back, Li Qingshan noticed that a single flower was placed in front of Wu Shaobai's stele.
"Has someone come?" Li Qingshan quickly hid his aura so that outsiders would not be able to see his cultivation plane. This was a concealing technique that he had learned from a stele. As long as he did not reveal his cultivation, and as long as other people do not deliberately check, no one should be able to detect his cultivation plane just based on the exterior.
"Perhaps they only came to bring the flower," Li Qingshan murmured.
Returning to the bamboo hut, Li Qingshan began cultivating the Fearless Lion Seal to turn it into his own skill.
It was already nighttime by the time he had finished. An entire day had passed just like that.
Now, Li Qingshan's cultivation had reached its peak.
His root bone had grown while his spiritual Qi was full, and his path was flawless.
He can finally break into the Ascension Plane.
After absorbing the remnants of Wu Shaobai's sword from last night, Li Qingshan had finally completed his cultivation.
But he was in no rush.
Instead, he got up to bathe. He lit an incense and waited until the entire stick had burned up, thus allowing himself to calm down.
Finally, he sat back down in his hut once again and closed his eyes.
These were the scholarly rules he was following.
According to the rules of the scholar, before doing anything major, one must first calm one's mind, bathe, and burn incense. This series of actions could help one focus.
Scholars studied in order to strengthen their spirits, to broaden their minds, and to accomplish feats.
Likewise, Li Qingshan's aim was to strengthen himself, to broaden his horizon, and to reach peak cultivation.
When the last of the incense had burned up and all of its cinders fell, Li Qingshan emptied his mind in meditation. His mind felt like it was both empty and full at the same time.
From the moment he had started cultivating, the stars shimmered in the sky and shone down its endless light, as it passed through the window and fell on him.
When the starlight entered his mind, Li Qingshan felt chills all over. As he bathed in the cold moonlight, all the pores on his body had opened and began to aggressively absorb the spiritual Qi.
Behind Li Qingshan, three gold Buddhas appeared. They hovered in the air with the sun, moon, and stars surrounding them, which gave off a very mysterious aura.
The three gold Buddhas had their eyes slightly closed. They sat with crossed legs and formed seals. Their expressions were calm and not the usual grave expressions commonly seen in temples.
The Trikaya Buddhist Scriptures was the most mysterious and strongest technique that Li Qingshan had comprehended so far.
With the Trikaya Buddhist Scriptures as the foundation of all his techniques, Li Qingshan felt very reassured.
At that moment, Li Qingshan made a breakthrough. He emptied the Repentance Cliff of all of its spiritual Qi and absorbed them all.
The sea of clouds in the distance had rolled in and had supplied him with even more spiritual Qi.
Li Qingshan's mind was completely clear. He would be moving from the Grandmaster Plane into the Ascension Plane.
His breakthrough happened at just the right time.
Just like fishing, when the opportune time has come, the fisherman would lift up his rod once the fish had taken the bait.
The right opportunity that he had been waiting for was accumulation. Once he had accumulated enough, the fish would take the bait naturally.
At that moment, Li Qingshan felt like he was fishing. Finally, he had accumulated enough, so he waved the proverbial fishing pole and lifted it abruptly.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The sea of clouds that were surrounding the isolated Repentance Cliff began to toss and turn. Li Qingshan's massive spiritual energy had managed to lift up this "fish".
He had successfully reached the Ascension Plane. Li Qingshan opened his eyes and the world seemed completely different now.
He could see the "path" hidden behind the spiritual Qi, just like a small fish that had seen the great ocean.
The fish ascended from the ocean!