Such remarkable achievements surpassed even the glorious deeds of the ancestors of the Li family.
Looking at the young man surrounded by admiring onlookers, Li Mu Xiu felt a sense of bewilderment in his heart.
At this moment, Li Hao was examining Yu Huang's injuries. After the six people were slain, the rule power affecting Yu Huang had also dissipated. His arms, which had been crushed, and his self-amputated legs had already regrown.
Aside from appearing somewhat weak, he seemed to be fine.
Li Hao approached the old Daoist, who was lying on the ground, and seeing his feeble qi, asked, "Can you heal yourself?"
Qin Zhenren, lying on the ground, looked at the youth before him, who blocked the light, his eyes filled with a complex emotion. He forced a bitter smile and said, "I'm fine, thanks to you this time."
"It's good that you're alright," Li Hao nodded. He didn't have any divine pills or precious elixirs to treat the other party.
Other powerful figures from the Jianghu, who had arrived as reinforcements, also came forward to express their gratitude to Li Hao.
Among them were Wang Xie, the Gun Saint, and Han, the Knife Sage Zu, both of whom had been famous for hundreds of years and had once been at the peak of their power.
Facing the young man with his handsome features, they couldn't help but sigh inwardly, feeling their age.
Other members of the royal family also came forward to thank Li Hao sincerely.
Standing apart from the crowd, Li Mu Xiu did not step forward. Instead, he quietly observed the dazzling young man, a hint of relief and a smile appearing in his eyes as he felt happiness for the other party.
When he glanced at Li Tian Gang by his side, the smile in his eyes faded, and he said indifferently, "Back then, you were full of criticisms. Now, do you think that your former son is qualified?"
Li Tian Gang's body trembled slightly, but he did not turn to look at him. He silently gazed at the young man.
He felt that there was an insurmountable gulf between them that severed their connection.
...
At this moment, Li Hao had arrived at the rear palace of the Imperial Palace.
Yu Huang asked the others to leave so as not to disturb Li Hao, understanding the young man's temperament and his dislike for idle chatter.
After the others retreated, Yu Huang sighed softly and said to Li Hao, "We owe you a great debt for saving us from this crisis. How can I compensate you? With your current strength, it's not even worth discussing any rewards. Just name your wish, and I will grant it!"
His voice seemed to emphasize the last three words, conveying his utmost sincerity.
Li Hao smiled and said, "Didn't I already mention it to Your Majesty before? What about those musical scores and famous paintings? Have you forgotten, Your Majesty?"
Yu Huang replied irritably, "I'm being serious. Stop joking around."
"I'm serious too..." Li Hao felt helpless. "Your Majesty, I truly like them and genuinely want them. If you feel the need to compensate me, then... I've heard that the Daoist Canon Pavilion in Qiandao Palace houses a collection of secret manuals. May I take a look?"
"Is that all?"
Yu Huang glanced at him and thought for a moment. With Li Hao's current abilities, it would indeed be difficult to find something that could attract his interest in the human realm.
After a brief silence, Yu Huang dismissed the physicians attending to him and said in a low voice to Li Hao, "My Jiang family emerged from the Great Wilderness and established this dynasty to resurrect our ancestors. Now, the preparations for the incense offerings are almost complete."
He glanced at Li Hao and continued, "It's estimated that in about ten more years, we will have gathered enough incense offerings. At that time, I will let you inherit the new Taoist orthodoxy, build a golden body martial temple, and for the next three thousand years, we will gather incense offerings for you to help you become a saint!"
Li Hao's eyes flickered as he thought of the three paths to sainthood.
Incense offerings, sacrificial path, and extreme path.
Currently, the most common path to sainthood was through incense offerings, which involved collecting a sufficient amount of incense offerings.
The sacrificial path was the most difficult, requiring extremely high insight. One had to surpass the enlightenment of saints in a certain aspect, which was equivalent to reaching a depth of understanding that even saints had not attained before even touching the threshold of sainthood.
The last path, the extreme path, was similar to incense offerings, but it involved collecting energy from slaughter and resentment.
Three paths, three ways to become a saint.
With the system in hand, Li Hao was inclined to choose the sacrificial path, which suited him better.
However, he didn't know if it was possible to pursue all three paths—incense offerings, sacrificial path, and extreme path—simultaneously.
There seemed to be no answer, and no one had ever achieved such a feat.
"Since that's the case, then I thank Your Majesty," Li Hao said, not rejecting the offer of incense offerings.
Seeing Li Hao's agreement, Yu Huang nodded and smiled, "Although I'm letting you inherit the new Taoist orthodoxy, you don't have to worry about any constraints. You can go wherever you want. The Great Yu Empire is too small to contain you. If the Immortal Gate opens again, you may be able to explore that world, where even more opportunities and chances await."
"I haven't even finished exploring the human realm yet," Li Hao said.
Yu Huang was taken aback for a moment before bursting into laughter.
Li Hao continued, "However, we should deal with that escaped saint son to prevent future troubles."
Yu Huang's expression turned solemn as he thought of the saint's son who had shuttled through the Immortal Gate, knowing that the mastermind behind all the plots was this person. "The opponent should be at the peak of the Daoist realm. He wants to take the incense offerings of my Great Yu Empire to become a saint. Now that he has left, he will most likely return or use other means to send a non-sage-level expert to the human realm, which will damage the incense offerings and harm the saint's body. Unless the gratitude is profound enough and the price is high enough, he won't be able to move a saint."
The Emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty gave such an evaluation.
Li Hao cleared his throat and asked, "Your Majesty, is our Great Yu Shenchao the largest dynasty in the mortal realm?"
Hearing the implication in Li Hao's words, Emperor Yu replied with a hint of annoyance, "Great Yu stands at the edge of the East Huang Continent. Beyond the Great Wilderness lies the Central Region, where countless divine dynasties stand. Overall, Great Yu can only be considered a medium-sized country and is not yet a major power."
"Those major powers are all ancient sacred clans with unbroken lineages and surviving primordial ancestors. Their founders, the primordial saints, reside in the Saints' Land within the Immortal Realm, while their descendants remain here to tend to their mortal roots."
"But even among those major powers, there are only more seated Daoist Laws cultivators. None are as strong as the one you encountered."
"Unless they call upon their primordial ancestors or semi-saints, but for such existences, intervening in the mortal realm would incur a cost, so they won't come lightly."
Hearing Emperor Yu's words, Li Hao was surprised to learn that the vast Great Yu was only on the fringes of the entire world.
However, thinking of the Jiang family secretly developing their strength here and attempting to resurrect their ancestor, Li Hao could understand their motives.
To the Saints in the Immortal Realm, the thousands of years of Great Yu's existence were but a mere few hundred years.
After chatting with Emperor Yu, Li Hao rose to take his leave and headed towards the Qiandao Palace.
The Qiandao Palace was not far from the Imperial Palace, situated on a high mountain just outside of it. The palace loomed majestically atop the summit.
Usually, this place was bustling with pilgrims and visitors, but now it was eerily quiet, and a side hall next to the palace had collapsed.
Zhenren Qin had already been informed of Li Hao's arrival and had instructed his disciples to wait for him outside the palace.
From the foot of the mountain to the summit, there was another path known as the Nine Heavenly Gates.
This was also the place where disciples who wished to pay respects to the palace were tested.
Those who could break through the nine gates could become disciples of Zhenren Qin.
At this moment, Li Hao effortlessly crossed the Nine Heavenly Gates and arrived at the summit. The weak Daoist power that lingered here was a mere breeze to anyone below the Three Immortals Realm, but to Li Hao, it was as easy as blowing it away.
At the summit, two figures awaited him.
One of them was a young man with bright eyes and white teeth, red lips and white teeth, looking extremely handsome. He appeared to be around the same age as Li Hao but seemed a couple of years younger.
The other was a young man with a gentle demeanor and courteous manners.
"Greetings, General Haotian."
The young man bowed slightly to Li Hao and smiled, "I am Qingjingzi, and I have been instructed by my master to wait for you here and escort you to the Daoist Canon Pavilion."
"Mhm."
Li Hao nodded, eyeing the two of them. Their auras were restrained, but he could still tell at a glance that their cultivation levels were at the Four Establishments Realm and the Heavenly Man Grandmaster respectively.
The young man who was apparently two years his junior had actually reached the Heavenly Man Realm at the same age as him.
Li Hao was surprised.
Seeming to sense Li Hao's gaze, the young man's cheeks reddened, and he looked a little shy:
"Mingyue Sword greets General Haotian. Thank you for saving my master and this world."
The young man, on the other hand, noticed the surprise in Li Hao's eyes and smiled, "General Haotian, my junior disciple is a natural Daoist bone, with an extremely high comprehension of the Dao. Coupled with my master's careful cultivation, he has been able to keep up with your cultivation record."
"Natural Daoist bone?"
Li Hao was taken aback, hearing this term for the first time.
Previously, the Ninth Prince, Jiang Licheng, seemed to have a natural sword bone.
And the ancient Ji family's Dao seed was a sacred bone.
"Mhm, according to my master, it's an extremely potent cultivation physique. The body naturally nurtures the Great Dao, and as long as one cultivates well, one can advance all the way to the Hearing the Dao Realm. As for the path to sainthood, that depends on one's accumulation of merit."
The young man smiled as he explained.
Li Hao couldn't help but marvel at his own system, thinking that everyone had their own opportunities.
"General Haotian, please."
Mingyue Sword's face reddened further as he spoke shyly.
Li Hao found his demeanor amusing, resembling a young girl, and followed them towards the Daoist Canon Pavilion.
The Daoist Canon Pavilion was located at the rear of the Qiandao Palace. Usually, it was taken care of by Zhenren Qin's eldest disciple, but in this battle, the old man had been killed by the six people with a single word, his Immortal Realm cultivation unable to even touch them.
"My master said that you can stay in there for as long as you like, and you can do whatever you want inside."
Qingjingzi smiled as he spoke.
"Alright."
Li Hao nodded, bidding them farewell before entering the Daoist Canon Palace.
Inside, it was spacious and empty, with beams of light shining through and dust floating in the air.
Li Hao's gaze swept through, feeling a sense of tranquility.
Without further ado, he enveloped the place with his divine sense, finding a comfortable spot to sit down. He then began to absorb the cultivation techniques and secret manuals, collecting them one by one.
As the number of manuals in his system increased, they cross-referenced and transformed into even more new manuals.
Countless thoughts flooded Li Hao's mind, and he slowly digested, absorbed, and deduced them.
Many cultivation techniques advanced, from top-grade to supreme, and from supreme to ultimate.
Finally, the ultimate techniques evolved into Dao Domains.
The number of Dao Domains that Li Hao mastered also gradually increased from fifteen.