OBS Chapter 1358 Han Li, Deeply Affected (Bonus Chapter, Please Vote!)
Chapter 1358 Han Li, Deeply Affected (Bonus Chapter, Please Vote!)
Chapter 1358 Han Li, Deeply Affected (Bonus Chapter, Please Vote!)
The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the dilapidated window frames of the Taoist temple, illuminating the dusty blue brick floor and revealing every detail of the cobwebs. Only then did Qin Hao slowly step into the temple.
In the main hall of the Taoist temple, a hunched dwarf lay on the ground—it was none other than the Venerable Jin Guang. His face was ashen, his eyes wide open, and black blood still clung to the corner of his mouth; clearly, he had died from the effects of the Seven Poisons Water.
The main hall was in a mess. The offering table was overturned, the prayer cushions were scattered on the ground, and the pottery jar in the corner was smashed to pieces. It seemed that the noise was caused by the Jin Guang Shangren's struggle and counterattack before he was dying.
Qin Hao did not rush forward. Instead, from a distance, he took out three short needles coated with bone-corroding poison from his pocket, put them into a blowpipe, aimed at Jin Guang Shangren's vital points—his eyes and throat, and pulled the trigger.
With three soft "plop plop plop" sounds, the poisoned needle pierced the air and deeply penetrated the target, black blood slowly seeping out from the needle's tail.
He stood there for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and seeing that the Golden Light Master was completely still and hadn't even moved a finger, he was certain that the old man was dead. He then slowly walked forward.
Squatting down, Qin Hao looked at the unseeing eyes of the Golden Light Immortal and shook his head: "It's one thing to possess such a powerful treasure but have such low cultivation, but to lack even the slightest vigilance, you should be reborn as a mortal in your next life. I will walk the path of cultivation for you from now on."
He reached out and gently closed the eyes of the Golden Light Master, then began to search the man's belongings. First, he took two items from the Golden Light Master's red robe: two talismans, a palm-sized black token, a thread-bound secret manual, and a heavy money bag.
Qin Hao laid out the items on the ground one by one: The first talisman was bright yellow, with intricate golden runes drawn on it. The patterns resembled Vajra armor, and it was obvious that it was the Vajra Talisman that Jin Guang Shangren had triggered earlier. It could form a golden shield with considerable defensive power.
The other talisman was gray, with a small gray sword printed on it. The sword was engraved with fine patterns. Qin Hao held it in his hand and could feel the surging sword energy contained within the talisman. He was overjoyed: This was a talisman treasure. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would flock to it. It was truly a pearl being wasted in the hands of Jin Guang Shangren, who was only at the third level of Qi Refining.
Pick up the thread-bound manual. The cover has the three large characters "Sharp Metal Secret" written in calligraphy. The handwriting is messy, but it exudes a sharp and incisive spirit.
Qin Hao's eyes lit up instantly when he opened it—unlike Mo Juren's "Longevity Scripture," which only had the first half, this "Sharp Metal Technique" was quite complete. The cultivation methods and meridian circulation routes from the first to the thirteenth level of Qi Refining were clearly written. It also included the cultivation methods for several low-level metal-attribute spells, such as "Golden Arrow Technique," "Sharpness Technique," and "Object Manipulation Technique," with everything from hand seals to mana consumption clearly marked.
"AI Brain, help me fully analyze this 'Sharp Metal Technique,' including the logic of the technique's operation and the key points of spell hand seals," Qin Hao called out to AI Brain in his mind.
[AI: Friendly reminder, the current database contains limited references to cultivation techniques (only including fragments of the "Longevity Scripture"), and the analysis results may contain inaccuracies. The host needs to make their own judgment based on their cultivation experience.]
How long will the parsing take?
[AI: One hour estimated. Should we begin analysis?]
"Begin the analysis." Qin Hao put the "Sharp Metal Technique" into his pocket and picked up another thin book—the cover had no words, but when he opened it, he found that it was full of names and dates, as well as some scattered family matters; it was actually a family tree.
He casually flipped through a few pages, found nothing of value, then had the AI scan and archive it as database data before tossing it aside.
"This Venerable Jin Guang is really in a sorry state. He doesn't even have a storage bag. He carries everything in his bosom." Qin Hao then turned the entire Taoist temple upside down—the drawers of the offering table in the main hall, under the bed in the side room, and the wooden box in the corner—there was nothing of value except for a few dozen taels of silver and a few empty porcelain bottles.
In the backyard of the Taoist temple, he found a patch of open ground with signs of freshly turned soil, the earth still damp. Qin Hao found an old hoe and dug along the marks—he hadn't dug very deep when he hit something hard. Upon closer inspection, he saw several rotting skeletons, still wearing tattered blue Taoist robes. The style of the robes was completely different from the red robes of the Golden Light Master, so he guessed they were originally Taoists from the Golden Light Temple.
"This Venerable Jin Guang is ruthless enough. He occupied someone else's Taoist temple and even killed the original owner. Was he afraid of exposing his whereabouts, or was he worried that the Taoists had powerful backers?"
Qin Hao frowned, carefully moved the skeleton aside, and then dragged over the corpse of the Golden Light Master and threw it into the pit.
He found a ceramic jar filled with sesame oil in the corner of the room, unscrewed the lid, poured the oil all over the corpse and skeleton, then took out a tinderbox, blew on it, and threw it in. With a "boom," a raging fire broke out, the flames reflecting red onto Qin Hao's face.
He stood at the edge of the pit, silently praying, "Fellow Daoists, I have killed Master Jin Guang, which can be considered as avenging you. Now you can rest in peace in the afterlife."
Qin Hao then burned the entire Taoist temple down before leaving.
……
A week later, at Divine Hand Valley. Qin Hao, carrying a cloth bag, had just reached the entrance of the valley when he saw Han Li standing at the entrance of the herb garden, looking around anxiously.
Upon seeing Qin Hao, Han Li's eyes lit up instantly. He rushed over and gave him a bear hug: "Brother Zhang, it's so good that you're back safe and sound! I've been worried about you these past few days, afraid that something might have happened to you..."
Qin Hao patted Han Li on the back: "Don't worry, your brother Zhang is tough, he won't get into trouble so easily."
He looked at Han Li—Han Li seemed to have been busy in the herb garden all this time, his skin tanned dark, his hands still covered in mud, yet his eyes remained sincere. Qin Hao felt a warmth in his heart: no matter where their cultivation paths would lead in the future, at least for now, Han Li truly considered him a brother.
"There were some twists and turns on the way. That enemy was indeed powerful. I fought him for three days, but I was still no match for him..." Qin Hao made up a "surviving a fall off a cliff" plot that is common in martial arts novels: "Unexpectedly, there was a cave at the bottom of the cliff. Inside the cave were the remains of a cultivator. Next to the remains was a cultivation manual and some cultivation insights. It was only then that I realized that I could also cultivate. However, I did not have a wood-attribute spiritual root and could not cultivate the Everlasting Spring Technique. I could only cultivate this metal-attribute technique."
Han Li was stunned, his mouth agape. Only after Qin Hao finished speaking did he sigh and say, "So Brother Zhang, you can also cultivate immortality! Mo Juren and Yu Zitong were truly blind. They only knew to look for people with wood spiritual roots, and they didn't even realize that you also had the aptitude for cultivation. They almost cost them their lives."
Qin Hao sighed, a hint of lingering fear on his face: "Yes, if it weren't for this fortuitous encounter, I probably would never have known I could cultivate immortality. I might have just spent my life growing herbs in this Divine Hand Valley."
"Brother Zhang, it's wonderful that you can cultivate immortality!" Han Li rubbed his hands excitedly. "From now on, we'll not only be brothers, but also fellow disciples, cultivating together and progressing together!"
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something, turned around and ran into his house, quickly bringing out a cloth bag containing more than a dozen porcelain bottles of different sizes.
"Brother Zhang, these are the Yellow Dragon Pills and Golden Marrow Pills I've refined recently. They can greatly increase your cultivation speed. Use them for now, and if you need more, I'll refine more for you."
Han Li stuffed the cloth bag into Qin Hao's hand, his eyes sincere, without the slightest reluctance.
Qin Hao accepted the cloth bag without ceremony, saying, "Good brother, I'll remember this favor. I'll definitely repay it if I have the chance in the future!"
……
Under a bright moon and shining stars, moonlight streamed through the paper windows of the wooden cabin in Shenshou Valley, illuminating the area in front of the bed.
Qin Hao sat cross-legged on the bed, maintaining the posture of "five hearts facing the sky," his hands forming the starting stance recorded in the "Sharp Metal Technique," and silently circulating his internal energy.
At first, there was no reaction within his body; his meridians were like blocked river channels, and he couldn't even muster a trace of magical power—he knew this was because he had just started practicing metal-based techniques and wasn't yet familiar with the circulation routes. Qin Hao wasn't in a hurry. Following the incantations of the "Sharp Metal Technique," he guided the faint energy within his body little by little, slowly circulating it along his meridians.
An hour later, he suddenly felt a faint warm current coming from his dantian. The warm current flowed slowly along his meridians, and wherever it passed, his meridians felt as if they were being soaked in warm water. It was so comfortable that he almost groaned out loud—was this the feeling of cultivating immortality? No wonder it was so fascinating.
He was overjoyed and focused even more intently on circulating the energy in his meridians, again and again, until dawn before he stopped and rested.
……
For the next three months, Qin Hao hardly left his house. Apart from eating and resting every day, he spent the rest of his time cultivating the "Sharp Metal Technique" with the help of the Yellow Dragon Pill and Golden Marrow Pill given to him by Han Li.
He took one Yellow Dragon Pill every day to quickly replenish his mana; and one Golden Marrow Pill every three days to temper his meridians and make his mana flow more smoothly. His cultivation level was like a rocket, advancing rapidly from the early stage of the first level of Qi Refining to the middle stage of the third level of Qi Refining.
It should be noted that it took Han Li a full four years to break through from the first level of Qi Refining to the third level.
Qin Hao's rapid progress was due in part to his three spiritual roots—in the cultivation world, four or five spiritual roots are considered "pseudo-spiritual roots," with astonishingly slow cultivation speeds; while three or two spiritual roots are called "true spiritual roots," with cultivation speeds far exceeding those of pseudo-spiritual roots.
Having two spiritual roots is already rare, while having three spiritual roots is the standard entry qualification for cultivation sects. It is estimated that Master Jin Guang has a pseudo-spiritual root, which is why he has been stuck at the third level of Qi Refining his whole life and could not make any progress.
"Brother Zhang, if you keep cultivating like this, it won't be long before you catch up with me!" Han Li looked at Qin Hao with a face full of surprise, but there was a hint of pressure hidden in his eyes. He could vaguely sense that Qin Hao's aptitude was better than his own, and if things continued like this, Qin Hao would soon surpass him.
Qin Hao smiled, took out a Yellow Dragon Pill from his pocket, and popped it into his mouth: "I have to thank Junior Brother Han for providing these pills. Without these Yellow Dragon Pills and Golden Marrow Pills, how could I have broken through so quickly?"
"These are just pills I casually made, nothing to mention." Han Li waved his hand, then suddenly seemed to remember something, hesitated for a moment, and still asked, "Brother Zhang, why do I feel like you've become a different person compared to before? You used to speak rather honestly, but now you're much more composed, and even your actions are more meticulous than before."
Qin Hao's heart tightened—was Han Li testing him? Did he suspect that he had been possessed? He quickly composed himself, a bitter look on his face: "Alas, ever since I was turned into a human puppet by Mo Juren, I've lived under his and Yu Zitong's watchful eyes every day. A wrong word or a wrong action could cost me my life. If I were still as naive as I was when I first entered the valley, I'm afraid I would have turned into a pile of bones long ago."
Han Li, his thoughts exposed, looked guilty: "Yes, I've changed a lot since I first entered the valley. I used to be afraid of pain and hardship, but now, for the sake of cultivation, I can endure any hardship or fatigue. It's normal for one's personality to change drastically when facing life and death. I shouldn't have overthought it. Brother Zhang, don't take it to heart."
He secretly blamed himself: Brother Zhang is a brother who has gone through life and death with him, how could he doubt him over such a small matter?
"It's nothing, you're just concerned about me." Qin Hao smiled and changed the subject: "By the way, I've now entered the third level of Qi Refining. According to the records in the 'Sharp Metal Technique,' I can now cultivate spells. Don't you also know the Fireball Spell? How about we cultivate together and verify each other's spell techniques?"
“Okay!” Han Li immediately agreed.
However, Han Li soon discovered that he was no match for Qin Hao in terms of aptitude for cultivating magic.
The two practiced the Fireball Technique together—Han Li first demonstrated the hand seals and the flow of magical power to Qin Hao, and Qin Hao memorized the key points after watching it once.
The first attempt, though only producing a small fireball the size of a fingernail, was a success; Han Li remembered that when he first practiced the Fireball Technique, he failed more than ten times before succeeding.
In the following days, Qin Hao's progress was even more astonishing: his spellcasting speed became faster and faster, from needing ten breaths to condense a fireball at the beginning to only needing three breaths later; the accuracy of the fireball also became higher and higher, able to accurately hit a tree trunk ten feet away, and even control the size of the fireball - things that Han Li took half a month to achieve.
Han Li was puzzled: He clearly had a higher cultivation level and deeper magical power, so why was he inferior to Qin Hao, who was at the third level of Qi Refining, in terms of magic?
He would never have imagined that Qin Hao's ability to master the Fireball Technique so quickly had little to do with his aptitude; it was mainly due to the role played by the "AI Brain"—although the AI Brain was unable to improve the spell due to insufficient database.
However, by analyzing Qin Hao's spellcasting actions and mana fluctuations, the order of hand seals and the rhythm of mana output can be optimized in real time.
"Junior Brother Han, there's no need to be discouraged. Perhaps I just have some talent in magic, but your skill in alchemy is far beyond what I can match," Qin Hao said, trying to comfort Han Li when he saw that Han Li looked so dejected.
Han Li could only smile wryly. He knew his own situation best. How did he improve his alchemy skills? It was entirely due to the endless supply of medicinal herbs. He wouldn't have had such a high success rate with other types of pills.
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