Chapter 23: Five Years
“Teacher Xiao, what are you making?”
For the past few days Li Hao had only studied from Fang Mu because Xiao Fan said that he needed time to study the enlightenment he got while teaching Li Hao.
One day, Li Hao, who had just left the house, saw Xiao Fan sitting in front of the house while writing something on yellow paper.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to learn about Talisman? Talisman isn’t my area of expertise, but my understanding isn’t too bad. I just need to remember some of the basics,” Xiao Fan replied while still staring at the paper in front of him.
Li Hao took out one of the papers that had been written on. “Is this a talisman? It looks very ordinary.”
“Pour your qi to the talisman, then throw it somewhere,“ Xiao Fan said without lifting his head.
Li Hao obeyed Xiao Fan. He poured his qi to the talisman before throwing the paper, and instantly, the paper caught fire and turned into a fairly large fireball.
“It’s called a Fireball Talisman. It can release fireballs whose strength matches a level 3 or 4 Forging Qi.”
Li Hao’s eyes widened. He also found talismans something interesting to study.
“Fang Mu also has some knowledge in making talismans. The two of us will teach you if you want, but you must be able to master everything well.”
“I understand, Teacher Xiao…”
That day, Li Hao also started learning to make talismans from Xiao Fan and Fang Mu.
***
Time seemed to fly by so fast. Fang Mu and Xiao Fan had gotten used to living in Peach Blossom Mountain. It was hard to believe that the two of them had lived with Li Hao for almost five years.
Li Hao grew to be more mature. At the age of fifteen, Li Hao showed a handsome, warm, and calming face to everyone who saw him.
Little Dragon also grew to the size of an adult donkey. He became Li Hao’s best friend for the past few years. The two of them grew up together and became inseparable.
Every day, Li Hao would learn new things from Fang Mu and Xiao Fan. His character slowly changed; he was no longer as innocent as before, though of course he remained a cheerful child.
“I get worried every time I see Hao’er these days…” Fang Mu stroked his chin as he watched Li Hao carry Demonic Beast meat with him as Little Dragon followed him from behind.
“What are you worried about?” Xiao Fan turned to Fang Mu.
“Hao’er has a calm demeanor, but he is influenced by you a lot too. He spends most of his time listening to your stories whereas I don’t tell him as much as you do.” Fang Mu shook his head.
Xiao Fan snorted in annoyance, feeling a little offended. “It’s better if he resembles me. The world of cultivators is very cruel—if he is as naive as most righteous disciples, then only trouble will await him.”
Fang Mu scratched his head. “I hope you are right about this.”
Li Hao had studied and deepened many skills over the past few years. Although he had never set foot outside Peach Blossom Mountain, his knowledge of the Eastern Star Continent was profound due to hearing various stories from Fang Mu and Xiao Fan.
The only thing that bothered Fang Mu and Xiao Fan was that Li Hao’s cultivation development had stopped at Forging Qi level 5. No matter what they did, Li Hao couldn’t reach level 6 in Peach Blossom Mountain.
Even though they had already regained their strength to the Foundation Realm level after staying for five years in this place, Li Hao’s cultivation was still stagnant at Forging Qi level 5. The two of them had already become much stronger than Li Hao.
It was thanks to that that the two were able to become sparring partners for Li Hao over the past few years.
“I think it’s about time…” Fang Mu sighed softly.
“You think so too?”
“Do we have any other choice?”
Xiao Fan shook his head. Both of them made a tough decision at that time.
***
“The oldest peach tree?”
Li Hao looked confused when his two teachers mentioned the peach tree.
“Hao’er, have you forgotten that the key to getting out of this place is under that tree?” Fang Mu asked.
“I didn’t forget, Master Fang. I thought you guys weren’t even thinking about leaving this place.” Li Hao scratched his head.
Fang Mu and Xiao Fan had already recovered their strength to Foundation Realm. It wasn’t difficult for them to obtain the key, if the two of them wanted it.
“This is the test we prepared for you. We want you to take the key for us,” Xiao Fan added.
Eventually, Li Hao complied with the two of them. Armedwith the wooden sword that had accompanied him all these years, he headed towards the location of the peach tree.
It didn’t take long before Li Hao encountered a group of Demonic Beasts in the form of wolves that possessed the strength of level 7 Forging Qi.
Fang Mu and Xiao Fan watched Li Hao from a distance, confirming he would be fine.
The wolves turned ferocious at the sight of Li Hao. They moved together to attack him, but Li Hao dodged them without difficulty. His speed wasn’t much different from theirs—it was just that he could predict the incoming attack.
Li Hao used his sword to hit the wolf’s head, making the creature lose consciousness.
“Hmm? Why didn’t he kill the wolf?” Xiao Fan narrowed his eyes.
“I taught him to avoid unnecessary killing when using a sword.”
The pack of wolves began to tremble when Li Hao knocked out the third wolf. They chose to stay away and no longer stand in his way.
Li Hao continued on his way only to encounter a bear-shaped Demonic Beast whose strength matched the level 9 Forging Qi. Facing the bear, Li Hao put away his sword and chose to wrestle with his bare hands.
The strength of Li Hao and the bear was almost equal. Thanks to his training in Body Cultivation and regular bathing in Fang Mu’s body-strengthening liquid, Li Hao was able to exert a power equal to that of level 9 Forging Qi despite not using his qi.
Li Hao caught the bear before slamming it to the ground, a bear nearly three times his size and ten times as heavy. As the bear writhed in pain, Li Hao dealt several more punches and made the bear lose consciousness.
“The results of his training are very visible.” Xiao Fan nodded proudly.
Fang Mu said nothing but felt the same way. The two of them felt that Li Hao was a talented disciple and did not let them down.
Li Hao continued on his way. Nothing could stop him anymore until he finally arrived at the oldest peach tree in Peach Blossom Mountain.
