Ji Xiaoxiao forced a smile, then clasped hands and bowed. Inwardly, she sighed. She understood that from now on, she would have to try to convince other members of the Ji Clan that Ji Mingfeng had died because of an error in selecting the time period. That was why he had been killed the instant he appeared.
If anyone didn’t believe her, then as soon as Meng Hao faced any trouble, she too would be in a bad situation. Having reached this conclusion, killing intent flickered in her eyes. Some of it was for Meng Hao, the other was for her fellow Clan members.
Outside, the sun was beginning to set. As everyone began to depart, Meng Hao noticed Song Yunshu’s absentminded expression, and suddenly realized that, considering Ji Xiaoxiao’s ruthlessness, this Song Clan Dao Child was surely heading for a catastrophe.
Meng Hao shook his head, then paid the matter no more heed as he headed back toward the Fourth Peak with Xu Qing.
More time passed.
Everything was peaceful. Each morning at dawn, Meng Hao would go to observe and study the Fourth Peak to gain enlightenment of the Mountain Consuming Incantation. Other times, he would go to the Underworld Cave to practice fleshly body tempering.
Another month passed. Meng Hao wasn’t sure how the passage of time in the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane compared to that in the outside world. In any case, he had acquired quite a bit during these two months.
The Mountain Consuming Incantation was now in an embryonic form within him. He had succeeded in branding it into his mind. Furthermore, his fleshly body tempering had also succeeded to quite a degree. By now, his normal body was as tough as it had been in the Third Anima.
“It’s too bad the Soul Divergence Incantation… seems like a normal technique, but actually requires a very special environment.” Meng Hao felt it to be somewhat of a pity. He was starting to get the feeling that if he could master the technique, he would be able to make shocking gains within the Demon Immortal Sect.
In fact, he was now beginning to suspect that the Soul Divergence Incantation was the reason Ke Jiusi was still alive within the First Plane.
“The cultivation of this art is filled with profound mysteries. An undying soul….”
As for Xu Qing, she was completely submerged in the three hundred Daoist magics. Meng Hao did not disturb her. After all, gaining enlightenment of such Daoist magic was the most important thing for her and the others.
Meng Hao could tell that Xu Qing was extraordinarily qualified to seek enlightenment of the Daoist magic. Some of it had to do with the latent talent of her own soul, and some of it had to do with her host body.
Several days later, Meng Hao was floating cross-legged in mid-air, studying the Fourth Peak. All of a sudden, Ke Yunhai’s voice could be heard in his ears.
“Come see me,” said the low voice. Meng Hao’s eyes instantly snapped open.
Without hesitation, his body flashed as he headed toward Ke Yunhai’s Immortal’s cave. It didn’t take him long to arrive, and when he entered and saw Ke Yunhai, his face fell.
Ke Yunhai now looked nothing like the middle-aged man he had been two months ago. He was much older, thoroughly ancient, his head full of white hair.
He sat cross-legged on the stone bed, just like he had before. However, the oil lamp next to him was much dimmer than before.
When he saw the look on Meng Hao’s face, Ke Yunhai said, “Don’t worry, your dad isn’t dead yet.” He smiled, his eyes filled with kindness and expectation, and even more so, a reluctance to part.
Meng Hao wasn’t sure why he felt the emotions that he did. He had known all along that something like this would happen; but to see Ke Yunhai change into a white-haired old man in front of his own eyes, to see the aura of death around him grow stronger and stronger… it filled his heart with emptiness.
Not much time had passed, but the fatherly love from Ke Yunhai that Meng Hao felt made him think of his own father. At the moment, all he could do was stand there silently.
“You’ve done well recently,” said Ke Yunhai. “You haven’t brought about any more disasters for me to deal with. Since you’ve decided to focus on body tempering, then let me tell you about one of the three thousand Daoist magics that should be especially useful to you. It’s called the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal. It’s a Daoist magic that fuses magical items into your fleshly body, turning it into a treasure. By combining it with the Mountain Consuming Incantation, you can make your body into something like a mountain.
“In the rankings of the three thousand Daoist magics, it is number 9!” His voice was very dignified by the time he finished speaking.
“There is another art called Fleshly Sanctification! It is extremely extraordinary. It would be better to call it a technique than a secret art. If you can master it, then your fleshly body can grow exponentially powerful in the blink of an eye, and stay that way forever.
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