Follow the path of Dao from infancy

Regrettably, the nearby Three Immortal Demons seemed to have heard some news and had all evacuated from the vicinity of Heavenly Gate Pass.

Li Hao found several caves, which reeked pungently with the scent of the Three Immortal Demons, but from the questioning of the lesser demons captured nearby, he learned that the Great Demons inside had already left days ago.

Li Hao casually collapsed these caves and left subtle fish marks as signs, so if any demons passed by, he could come and investigate next time.

Days went by, one after another.

As Li Hao hunted demons, his Grandmaster State of Mind was also slowly being perfected.

Initially, he was proud and ambitious, addressing all creatures in the world as Grandmaster.

This was much harder than the usual path to becoming a Grandmaster.

The door to the heavens he had kicked open revealed a world far broader than he had imagined.

What are all things?

What is the origin of all things?

Li Hao kept pondering this question.

Mountains and rivers, fish and insects, wild animals, and so on, they are all things.

But there are too many of them; if one were to learn from each individually, even a hundred thousand years of life would not be enough for a regular person to learn it all.

Li Hao had the insight of the Sixth Stage of the Physical Body Path; he could comprehend the State of Mind of all things at a glance, and mastering them one by one was not difficult, but what Li Hao wanted was not diversity, but unity!

He wanted to merge the State of Mind of all things into one, which was a problem he created for himself and only he could solve.

In the process of hunting everywhere, Li Hao and Song Qiumo were also traveling the mountains and rivers beyond this pass.

From being enlightened about oneself to glimpsing the universe.

Li Hao saw the bushes and flowers, saw the bright moon, and the streams.

He saw the snow melting under the sunlight, and the persevering new leaves under the heavy snow.

All things have a force, but what is the commonality of this force?

Snow can freeze all things, yet a ray of sunlight can penetrate it.

New leaves are fragile, but snow cannot kill them.

Birds and beasts, though able to walk and destroy great trees, shiver in the snow and hastily return to their nests after seeking food.

Therefore, what is the force of all things?

A cold wind blew, brushing across his face. As Li Hao gazed at the distant mountains and the nearby woods, he seemed to touch upon something in his heart, but it slipped away in an instant.

As the weather gradually turned to winter, the days with snow became more frequent.

Today, having hunted two demons from the Fifteen Li Realm, Li Hao returned with Song Qiumo.

The number of demons in the wilderness outside this pass still far exceeded that within the region.

Outside the small fenced courtyard, Li Hao had also casually built a few houses.

Now that no demons were attacking, these houses could be built without worrying that they would be destroyed immediately.

Li Hongzhuang asked, "Are you planning on rebuilding the original city again?"

Li Hao just smiled, "If the demons keep staying away, then it\'s not impossible."

Li Hongzhuang seemed thoughtful.

In those days, she occasionally left the camp to search for traces of demons outside.

But the nearby demons had all been cleared out by Li Hao, and she ventured to the outskirts of Wan Shan\'s Demon King territory without daring to go deeper. The number of demons in that area seemed to have decreased a lot, with no signs of a large demon army assembling.

This was somewhat inconsistent with the military reports passed on by her fifth brother.

However, she didn\'t doubt her brother\'s intelligence; instead, she couldn\'t help but think.

Could it be that these demons, because of the two Four Stands Realm powerhouses stationed at Heavenly Gate Pass, planned to take a detour?

This speculation couldn\'t be confirmed, and she could only plan to wait and see in a while. If there\'s still no activity outside the Heavenly Gate Pass, she would send a letter to inform her fifth brother to be extra cautious in other areas.

...

Every once in a while, Song Qiumo would go to nearby cities to purchase supplies—vegetables, noodles, seasonings for food and drink, as well as the painting paper Li Hao needed.

On this day, upon returning, Song Qiumo brought back some extra treats for Li Hao.

A set of chess strategies and two famous paintings.

These were what Li Hao had asked Song Qiumo to help him find.

Li Hao was overjoyed when he received the chess strategies and paintings, and he immediately added them to his panel.

The chess strategy was "New Studies of Chess."

It was a guide that helped beginners to quickly learn the game.

After pondering, Li Hao integrated it into his Control Path, and the corresponding trait immediately emerged:

"New Studies of Chess": Increase in control speed by 20%.

Compared to other chess strategies, the trait from this one seemed ordinary, not as exaggerated as something like "Seven-Star Lighting," but like the Myriad Attributes, once equipped, it was always active, a passive skill.

It did not require an extra expenditure of Li Hao\'s power, had no side effects, and offered a percentage-based permanent increase.

In the future, when his control speed reaches even higher levels, this 20% increase will be even more significant.

As for the two famous paintings, Li Hao couldn\'t determine what special attributes they would bring, so he could only try integrating them one by one into his Physical Body Path and Control Path.

One of the paintings was "Shrimp in the Clear Spring," incorporated into the Physical Body Path it brought the trait: 20% affinity to water.

Li Hao did not understand what this trait meant, but he could feel an especially warm connection when he touched snowflakes.

He also felt more comfortable when soaking in hot springs.

If one were to cultivate a cold ice-related Cultivation Technique, it seemed to have an enhancing effect.

Beyond that, it was presently useless.

The other painting, when embedded into the Control Path, was "Yellow Bird Catching Insects Painting," depicting a classic anecdote where the praying mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The trait it imparted was quite unique:

When an attack remains unrevealed, there is a 1% chance for a fatal effect!

This effect seemed similar to "Hidden Bow," concealing the killing move, which could double the attack power when unrevealed.