Chapter 352: Battlefield of the Heavens

"Indeed, it is as I thought…"

Feng Boping, upon hearing this, did not show joy on his face. Instead, he gently sighed and said, "Do not mention this matter in front of outsiders. This realm is special; it can condense divine blood and shed mortality to become divine. Furthermore, the descendants of the divine race will inherit a trace of their ancestors' physique. From a young age, their cultivation speed is exceptionally rapid, all comparable to the nine-tier battle physique talent of the mortal world!"

A nine-tier battle physique was already the highest talent in the mortal realm, enough to make one famous throughout a province.

Li Hao did not expect that Elder Feng also knew the secrets of the divine race. He asked in confusion, "If that's the case, isn't it a good thing?"

"It is indeed a good thing, but also a disaster."

Feng Boping shook his head. "The divine race cultivates exceptionally rapidly and multiplies too quickly. Their descendants can all cultivate the path of extreme dao to become saints. But extreme dao requires slaughter and the salvation of wandering souls. If the number of divine races reaches a certain scale, even to the point where everyone is one, what would the world become?"

Li Hao was slightly taken aback. He hadn't considered this point carefully.

But listening to Elder Feng's meaning, his expression subtly changed.

"In the Land of Saints, divine races were initially born, and their descendants multiplied and prospered. However, as their numbers grew, they fought amongst themselves. To contend for the extreme dao and become saints, they didn't hesitate to actively provoke disasters. Wars frequently erupted at that time, and calamities extended to many small worlds, even surpassing the current Buddhist sect in scale..."

Feng Boping glanced at Li Hao and continued, "Although the ancestor of the divine race did not intend this, it couldn't be helped that there were too many descendants. Some secretly caused trouble. Later, the Supreme Sage took action, joining forces with other saints to suppress them. Only then was the matter settled. Otherwise, today's Land of Saints would have long been ravaged, with war flames engulfing all realms."

Li Hao fell silent. Previously, when he learned from Ying Xiaoxiao that the divine race had been slandered as demons, he felt somewhat indignant. But now it seemed that everything had its reasons.

"Since the divine race incident, the Supreme Sage issued an order, prohibiting the cultivation of this final realm."

Feng Boping looked at Li Hao and said, "Fortunately, the power brought by the Tongli final realm isn't that pronounced. Moreover, cultivation is arduous, so if one doesn't pursue it, so be it. Many people don't bother. Still, some secretly cultivate it. The Supreme Sage turns a blind eye to this, so long as they don't aggressively propagate their bloodline and establish new clans."

Li Hao hadn't expected that a final realm would become taboo because of such a matter.

"You were unaware of these things in the mortal world, so cultivating it is no big deal. Just don't publicize it. Some things can be done discreetly, and no one will care. But if you bring it out into the open and slap certain people in the face, they will have to step in and rectify things."

Feng Boping instructed.

Li Hao nodded. "Then, the Buddhist Venerable of the Buddhist sect should have also secretly cultivated this final realm."

"That bald-headed fellow is without lust. If he cultivates this path, the Supreme Sage wouldn't say anything. I imagine he wouldn't dare to openly display it either," Feng Boping said.

Li Hao asked, "Elder Feng, have you cultivated it? This realm can be used to sacrifice to the dao to become a saint and quickly reach the Saint realm. Can a mere prohibition truly prevent the world from cultivating it?"

Feng Boping sighed. "Although it concerns power, it will ultimately bring trouble. Moreover, the final realm is not something one can cultivate simply by wanting to. Did you think everyone is like you…?"

Speaking of this, he looked at Li Hao speechlessly. "Cultivation is not a sin, but if those in power say it is a sin, then it is a sin. Just like the prohibitions and laws within the Divine Dynasty, methods for rapid wealth are all written in the laws. Everyone knows they can make money quickly, but how many people dare to touch them?"

Hearing him say this, Li Hao immediately understood.

The power of this Supreme Sage was no less than that of an emperor among saints.

The Buddhist Venerable dared to touch it because he himself was already a saint, and he did so extremely discreetly.

It was like the hidden grey industries of noble ministers - loan sharking, gambling dens, etc., all were forbidden. Ordinary people without backing who touched them would surely face death, but for those in power, they were a considerable side income.

Touching taboos relied not on courage, but on backing.

"There is no difference in power between becoming a saint through extreme dao and becoming a saint through incense offerings, only a difference in speed."

Feng Boping looked at Li Hao and said, "This Buddhist sect and the Void Saint regard you as a thorn in their side. They will certainly not watch you become a saint peacefully. They will sever your incense offerings. But in this Supreme Heavenly Pride Battle, if you can take first place and become a saint on the spot, that incense is collected in advance, directly bestowed. They won't be able to cut it off even if they want to."

Li Hao secretly thought that Elder Feng was indeed insightful. These past few days, he had already noticed that his incense offerings were declining. The portion from the mortal world remained safe and sound, but the incense offerings in the Azure Sea Realm were constantly diminishing.

He guessed that the Buddhist sect must have sent people to the Azure Sea Divine Dynasty afterwards to ruin his reputation and damage his incense offerings.

"Even if you don't win first place, it's not a problem. I have the incense offerings of the Ten Great Divine Dynasties for you to use. It's just that previously, the incense offerings were all absorbed by me. Now, I will set up an array to reverse the incense flow and send it to you. Starting from today, accumulating it, it will only take about thirty years for you to become a saint!"

Feng Boping said, "They wouldn't dare to come to this small chiliocosm. This is my dao field. Within their own dao field domain, saints are almost invincible."

Li Hao listened to him speaking calmly, but he couldn't help but sigh lightly in his heart.

Elder Feng was still the same Elder Feng, showing him immense kindness.

Buddhists compete for a stick of incense, and even saints cherish incense offerings extremely highly. After all, incense offerings are power. Yet, Elder Feng was willing to give him thirty years' worth of incense sources. This kind of favor was probably only given to one's own personal disciples.

"I appreciate Elder Feng's kindness, but I still want to try the path of extreme dao. It would be even better if I could cultivate both simultaneously," Li Hao said. He wanted to compete for first place in the Supreme Heavenly Pride Battle, and he also wanted to walk the path of extreme dao.

As for Elder Feng's incense offerings, he was reluctant to accept them.

The more favor he received, the less he wanted the other party to suffer a loss.

Feng Boping did not expect Li Hao to have such thoughts. He was stunned for a moment before whispering, "Your ambition is quite wild, kid. You actually want to cultivate both paths to become a saint. This kind of thing is said to be extremely difficult. Some have tried it, including the progenitor of the divine race, but all failed. The two paths are not compatible. I'm afraid your attempt will be futile."

"Incompatible?"

Li Hao was slightly taken aback. He wasn't experiencing this situation as he absorbed extreme dao power and incense offerings.

But Elder Feng wouldn't deceive him by saying this, and this was likely also the reason why the Supreme Sage's prohibition was obeyed. After all, if incense and extreme dao were mutually exclusive, extreme dao, while faster, was prone to provoking public anger and was not as stable as incense.

After a moment of silence, Li Hao whispered, "I want to try."

Besides extreme dao, he also wanted to try sacrificing dao three-in-one. This path might be related to the extreme realm of saints, and Li Hao was unwilling to miss it.

Since he was cultivating, he would cultivate a great dao that reached the heavens.

Feng Boping saw that Li Hao was still unwilling to give up. He knew he was still young. Youth meant vigor, and vigor meant disbelief in fate.

He didn't stop him. He had always treated Li Hao like an old friend, as an equal, rather than as an elder who would put on the airs of an experienced person and instruct and teach.

"Since that's the case, I do know that the Battlefield of the Heavens will be opening soon. You can go there to absorb extreme dao power and become a saint through extreme dao. Perhaps you will transcend and become a saint before the Supreme Heavenly Pride Battle arrives. Then, taking first place will just be a matter of collecting the prize," Feng Boping changed the subject and returned to his previous relaxed smile.

"Battlefield of the Heavens?"

"Yes, in the heavens and myriad worlds, saints stand tall. Friction is inevitable between them, including grudges between divine dynasties. Saints are inconvenient to step forward, as it would damage their dignity and incense offerings. Furthermore, when saints take action, it's easy to cause widespread destruction, even slaughtering half a realm. Therefore, they allow people below to contend."

"Contention will lead to slaughter and bloodshed. The Battlefield of the Heavens is filled with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, most suitable for extreme dao cultivation," Feng Boping said.

Upon hearing this, Li Hao's eyes lit up slightly.

This was indeed a rare treasure ground for extreme dao.

"Once you become a saint, I can also rest assured. Now that your identity is exposed, being at the sixth extreme realm, it is inevitable that you will be coveted by other saints. After all, it concerns the secrets of immortals and gods, as well as taboos like the origin of the Land of Saints. In the small chiliocosm, I can protect you, but leaving this place is too dangerous. If you can become a saint, it will dispel the malicious intentions of many people, at least allowing for equal communication."

Feng Boping said.

Li Hao's expression became serious. He knew that without becoming a saint, he didn't have the qualifications to be at the table.

Dao realm and even half-saints were too far removed in strength from saints.

This was a gap that even one or two extreme realms could hardly bridge.

After talking with Elder Feng about extreme dao, Li Hao felt a sense of urgency. In this Supreme Heavenly Pride Battle, the enemies he had to face were not the heavenly prides of various realms, but rather the Buddhist saint and that Void Saint.

Before that, he had to accumulate enough power.

Under this urgency, Li Hao found his drawing board, intending to paint for Elder Feng.

Feng Boping saw Li Hao's serious expression and couldn't help but chuckle. As expected, he was still the same person who wouldn't be nervous even if the sky fell.

Only with such a mindset could one cultivate so rapidly... Feng Boping laughed inwardly, not stopping him, nor feeling that Li Hao's action was inappropriate. Li Hao's strength had already proven with results that he had his own path and cultivation methods, and didn't need outsiders to interfere.

Hard work is useful for others, but for top geniuses, they have their own cultivation methods.

Before long, Li Hao finished painting for Elder Feng, gaining about 400,000 experience.

This pushed his painting dao experience bar forward again by a notch.

Li Hao continued to paint. After dozens of paintings, Li Hao also harvested a total of more than 2 million experience from Elder Feng.

This filled up half a bar of experience in one go.

Feng Boping saw Li Hao's excited appearance and didn't stop him. Although he felt a kind of voyeuristic sensation during painting, as if something was being drawn away from him, he didn't mind.

As long as the little fellow was happy.

When the painting was over, there was also news about the matter Li Hao had entrusted to Feng Boping.

Famous paintings and chess scores were delivered one after another. Li Hao was not polite and examined them like treasures, collecting the genuine masterpieces that could be recorded into the panel.

His panel added four or five new illustration attributes, including illusionary attacks, transformation attacks, and another attribute with extremely powerful effects: it could convert qi power into physical hardness!

This attribute was simply eye-opening for Li Hao.

He knew that some cultivation techniques could also do this, but the effect was relatively ordinary.

Using ten parts of qi power could only convert two or three parts of physical hardness, which was not worth the loss.

Moreover, in combat, the effectiveness of physical hardness was minimal; a divine weapon could pierce through it.

But Li Hao was different.

His physical body was refined to the extreme, reaching the final realm. His physical strength was comparable to top-tier saint heart treasures.

If he combined this attribute with the Immortal Transformation Technique to draw in the power of heaven and earth, his physical body would be elevated to an unbelievable level. Even dao tribulation emperor weapons might not be able to harm him.

And Li Hao learned from Elder Feng that even for saints, dao tribulation emperor weapons were extremely rare. These were not divine weapons made by humans, but weapons nurtured by heaven and earth, born through tribulations, carrying the dao rhythm of heaven and earth, and were items condensed from the essence of heaven and earth over billions of years.

The Sword of Fame in his hand was a fragment of a dao tribulation emperor weapon. Although it had lost its dao rhythm, it was hard enough.

The importance of the attribute he obtained now even surpassed the fatal attribute.

Li Hao was pleasantly surprised, feeling like he had picked up a force for free.

But he knew that this was obtained by Feng Boping sending people to search everywhere for him. If he had gone to find them himself, he would have inevitably missed them, or it would have taken an extremely long time. This time wasted, for other martial artists, could have been used for cultivation and achieved something.

In addition to famous paintings and chess scores, Feng Boping also found a woman for Li Hao.

"This is Princess Hongyue of the Cloud Elephant Divine Dynasty. I heard she has been a talented woman since childhood, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, especially skilled in chess."

Feng Boping led a beautiful woman in a red dress to Li Hao's courtyard.

Li Hao's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this.

Hongyue looked at the young man in front of her, his eyes shining as he stared at her. She immediately felt somewhat displeased in her heart, but did not show it.

She knew her identity. Although she was a well-known talented woman in the imperial capital of the Divine Dynasty, pursued by many princes and young masters, this was a holy land. The one who brought her was a saint, and the person in front of her was likely a holy son!

Her identity was insignificant in front of a holy son.

But to her disappointment, this holy son was even inferior to the princes and young masters she had seen. At least they would hide their sordid thoughts, while the young man in front of her was completely unmasked.

"Hongyue greets Holy Son."

Although she was inwardly critical and disappointed, Hongyun showed a clever and obedient appearance on the surface.

"I am not a holy son, just call me Young Master," Li Hao said.

Hongyue was stunned, a look of surprise appearing in her eyes. She lowered her head and called out "Young Master" softly, then looked at the old man beside her.

Feng Boping smiled at Li Hao and said, "This person is entrusted to you. You can use her as you please."

After saying this, he turned and left.

Li Hao sighed inwardly. Elder Feng was too thoughtful and considerate towards him.

After Feng Boping left, he called out to the woman in front of him, "Come over here."

Hongyue: "..."

But her footsteps still obediently moved forward.

Although she was a virgin, being personally sent to a saint by the emperor of the Divine Dynasty, how could she dare to resist?

These were beings who could make her disappear with a flick of their fingers. She could only carefully serve them, but her heart was filled with sorrow and resentment.

"Prepare yourself, let's begin," Li Hao said.

A hint of shame and indignation flashed across Hongyue's face, but she quickly concealed it and lowered her head, saying, "I am a virgin, I hope Young Master will show mercy..."

As she spoke, she unbuttoned her collar.

"What are you undressing for?"

Li Hao was startled, and then realized she had misunderstood. He said, "The chessboard is over there. Never mind, I'll get it."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and the chessboard and chess box flew into his hands.

He looked at her and said, "Let me see how good you are."

Hongyue: "?"

What was going on?

She stared blankly at the young man in front of her, seeing him picking up chess pieces with a calm expression, and immediately knew that he wasn't deliberately toying with her.

But, traveling thousands of miles to find her was actually just to play chess with her?

Hongyue was a little dumbfounded. After being stunned for a long while, she tentatively asked, "Does Young Master like playing chess?"

"Yes."

Li Hao nodded, too lazy to retort. If not to play chess, what else would he look for her for?

Hongyue heard this, and immediately knew that she had misunderstood earlier. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in her heart.

"Then Hongyue will play a game with Young Master," Hongyue immediately said softly, thinking of her earlier undressing action, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"You have to be serious. If you can win against me, I will reward you with many spirit pills and divine medicines. If you lose, you will be punished," Li Hao said seriously.

These words were also to prevent her from being considerate of his identity and playing it easy.

Although with his current chess skill, there were few opponents in the world, after all, there were not many who were proficient in chess.

Hongyue was startled in her heart, and repeatedly said she dared not, her expression also becoming serious. But in her heart, she secretly laughed. Although she didn't know what identity this young master had, he must be a martial artist. If it was anything else, she could only accept her fate, but when it came to playing chess?

A light of wisdom and confidence appeared in her eyes. She divided the black and white pieces with Li Hao and began to take it seriously.

After a while, the game ended.

Li Hao was a little surprised. The opponent's chess skill was extremely strong, almost on par with him, even slightly stronger.

In this first game, he actually lost by half a piece.

Since reaching seventh-dan chess skill, Li Hao had not experienced the feeling of losing for a long time.

Compared to Li Hao, Hongyue was even more shocked in her heart.

She had been good at chess since childhood, proficient in chess dao. Even the grand scholars who were tutors to the princes had been defeated by her, easily losing. But this young man in front of her actually made her sweat on her forehead while playing.

"Young Master has excellent chess skills," Hongyue put away her pieces, and couldn't help but sincerely praise.

At the peak of chess dao, it was hard to find an opponent, inevitably lonely. In this game with Li Hao, she also experienced a long-lost joy.

"You are also good, very skilled, no wonder Elder Feng brought you here," Li Hao also did not hesitate to praise. Elder Feng had found this extraordinary woman, probably selecting her from the many divine dynasties in the small chiliocosm. She could be considered one of the best in chess dao in the entire small chiliocosm.

Seeing his chess dao experience increase significantly for the first time in a long time, a satisfied smile appeared on Li Hao's face. He casually opened his heaven and earth space, took out some of the pills that Lin Shanhai had given him earlier, which he couldn't refuse and reluctantly accepted, and rewarded the woman in front of him.

"Looking at your aura, you are also half a martial artist. These pills, for you, can shape your bones and condense your spirit, and have good effects," Li Hao said.

Hongyue took the pills, scanned the names of the medicines on the gourds, and couldn't help but be stunned. They were all rare divine pills that she had only heard of. Even the pampered children of the royal family would be envious and fight for them.

"This…"

Hongyue was a little dazed, realizing for the first time that playing chess could actually get her such valuable things.

Li Hao smiled and said, "Accept them, let's continue."

Hongyue came back to her senses, looked at the young man in front of her, her eyes slightly changed, quickly put away the pills, and showed a flower-like smile:

"Thank you, Young Master."

In the small courtyard, the chess game continued.

Chess dao required brainpower. When Hongyue was tired, Li Hao would paint by himself, or go fishing with Elder Feng. Life was extremely fulfilling.

In a blink of an eye, half a month passed, and there were still five and a half months before the Supreme Heavenly Pride Battle.

On this day, Elder Feng found Li Hao and said that the Battlefield of the Heavens had opened and could send Li Hao in.

That place was a special zone, with heaven and earth laws restricting it, and saints could not enter. Therefore, such places were chosen as battlefields of the heavens, precisely to prevent saints from secretly interfering and influencing things.

In addition to Li Hao, Feng Boping's two disciples, Lin Baichuan and Chu Hanwei, would also enter this Battlefield of the Heavens to train inside.

Fighting or secluded cultivation in the holy land could improve skills and dao realm, but the Battlefield of the Heavens was a place to hone actual combat.

In addition to Feng Boping's two disciples, there were also four holy sons and holy daughters from the Stealing Heaven Holy Land participating. Including Li Hao, there were a total of seven people.

Li Hao asked Feng Boping if he could bring Hongyue in as well.

He was going to the Battlefield of the Heavens not to fight, but just to absorb extreme dao power. Even while playing chess, he could absorb it, doing two things at once.

"That place is dangerous. She is only in the fifteenth-mile realm. If there is no one to protect her, I'm afraid…" Feng Boping said.

Li Hao had asked him about the details of the Battlefield of the Heavens. He just smiled at this and said, "When we get there, we'll just find a place to rest. I can protect her."

Feng Boping heard this, thought for a moment, and with Li Hao's strength, in the Battlefield of the Heavens, there were indeed few who could pose a threat to him, unless it was those old holy sons who had cultivated for thousands of years and had not yet stepped into the Saint realm, who might pose a slight threat to Li Hao.

"Alright, then go as you wish," Feng Boping didn't say much more. Even if something happened to Hongyue, he wouldn't care.

Lin Baichuan and Chu Hanwei and others couldn't help but look at Li Hao, their expressions complex. The other holy sons and holy daughters had also heard that a genius had come to the holy land today, and was personally brought back by the Stealing Saint, but Li Hao had been living in seclusion, and no one knew Li Hao's identity.

Now seeing Li Hao so favored, they were all somewhat surprised, and couldn't help but look at Lin Baichuan and his fellow disciple.

Perhaps even these two disciples were not so favored by the Stealing Saint.

Feng Boping raised his hand and swept everyone into his sleeve. Then he came to the high sky in the small chiliocosm. Here, there was actually a trace of dark black fluctuations.

Releasing Li Hao and others from his sleeve, Feng Boping suddenly sensed something and looked in one direction. He saw the void ripple there, and a figure stepped out, tall and slender, with immortal beauty, streamers and great dao surrounding her body, with an extraordinary and refined temperament.

The other party saw Feng Boping, her eyebrows slightly raised, but a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips:

"Also sending them to the Battlefield of the Heavens for training?"

"Aren't you too?"

Feng Boping said indifferently when he saw the other party.

Li Hao received Feng Boping's voice transmission in his mind: "This is the saint of the Lie Heaven Holy Land, Lie Heaven Saint."

(End of chapter)