Chapter 4: Root Bone Forest
The complete version of the Immortality Method was lost 3,000 years ago.
Three thousand years ago, a catastrophe caused the Yuhua Sect to suffer significant losses. The sect leader and Elders had all died, taking with them the Immortality Method.
Now, the Yuhua Sect only had preserved a remnant. This caused the continual deterioration of the Yuhua Sect. Therefore, among the righteous sects, it was always forced under the Heavenly Path Sect.
This was why Li Qingshan was so shocked to find out that the woman that the Stele Keeper had guarded for his entire life actually had the original Immortality Method.
Unfortunately, no one would be able to explain this to him.
Even though he learned the Immortality Method, Li Qingshan did not start cultivating immediately. Instead, he first collected the Stele Keeper's body and buried him.
The woman's stele was his gravestone. So, in a way, the two were finally together now.
After doing all of this, Li Qingshan bowed to them to express his gratitude.
"No one will disturb you two in the future," Li Qingshan whispered.
After bowing to the Stele Keeper, Li Qingshan returned to the bamboo hut. He sat down and started cultivating the Immortality Method.
"Rather than repairing the root bone, the Immortality Method transformed it. As a result, even the most untalented people had a chance to become geniuses," Li Qingshan murmured. "If you were a genius, you could reach an even higher level. This was why the Yuhua Sect could rule the world 3,000 years ago."
Now, the Immortality Method had become the medicine to save his life.
Li Qingshan sat down to cultivate. First, he looked inside at his root bone and found that it was a shattered mess.
If a complete tree were chopped into a few thousand pieces, it would be reduced to useless wood.
This was the first time Li Qingshan looked closely at his root bone.
He could barely face it.
"How can I transform this root bone?" Li Qingshan was worried that the Immortality Method had nothing to work with.
Fortunately, he did not feel any pain after activating the Immortality Method. Instead, it created a warm aura that rushed into the root bone that had been crushed into countless pieces of waste.
Li Qingshan observed carefully afterward.
The warm aura enveloped his shattered root bone and gradually seeped into it, creating a bit of vitality in the root bone that had been completely dead.
Vitality appeared in every shattered piece of the root bone.
"Wait..." An idea suddenly appeared in Li Qingshan's mind.
"These root bone pieces all have vitality. So then, can I treat them as seeds and plant them to grow until they become a dense forest?
"My root bone can be this entire forest.
"Other people's root bones are only a single tree. So no matter how large it grows, it can't match my majestic forest.
"I will have a million-acre forest and be peerless in the world!"
Li Qingshan was stunned by his idea.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became because this was very possible with the help of the Immortality Method.
Thus, Li Qingshan began carrying out his plan.
Controlling the Immortality Method, he separated the broken root bone and turned each piece of bone into a seed. Then, he wrapped them with the Immortality Method, ignited their vitality, and planted them.
All he had to do now was fertilize them every day and wait for the right timing. Then, when these root bones took root and sprouted, he would have a million-acre forest.
At that time, his talent would be unprecedented and unachievable by others.
The only flaw in this plan was that it required time and patience.
But did Li Qingshan lack time?
He had no way out of Repentance Cliff. He had more than enough time.
"And thanks to the Million Stele Forest, I have a million techniques. Comprehending those techniques can also speed up the birth of the root bones. I'll be able to hang a dozen techniques from each tree and reach the maxed level for each by then. I would practically be a god on earth."
As Li Qingshan murmured to himself, joy appeared on his face. He had found the path most suitable for himself.
He began to work with that thought in mind. Li Qingshan was not in a hurry to achieve anything. He had no way of using his abilities on Repentance Cliff, so he first established his foundation that night.
After Li Qingshan placed down each piece of his root bone, he started waiting for them to take root and sprout. They would use his physical body as the world and the Immortality Method as soil to grow strong.
That night, Li Qingshan operated the Immortality Method crazily to supply his foundation with nutrients. Then, at daybreak, he collected dew from the flower petals and drank it all.
Then he started wiping the Stele Forest. He would comprehend seriously and learn more because when his root bones started sprouting, these techniques would also be nutrients to help them grow faster.
[You observed the stele carefully and activated your maxed-level comprehension skill. You have now comprehended Blazing Flame Sabre Technique!]
[You observed the stele carefully and activated your maxed-level comprehension skill. You have now comprehended Huge Wave Triple Sword Strike!]
[You observed the stele carefully and activated your maxed-level comprehension skill. You have now comprehended Ghostly Body Technique!]
That day, Li Qingshan studied carefully and comprehended three techniques. He returned with a bountiful harvest.
At night, he cultivated the Immortality Method earnestly to develop the root bones within his body.
The days were simple and peaceful. No one disturbed him, but Li Qingshan did not feel lonely. Instead, he found happiness in this.
As he comprehended more techniques, his outlook also widened. Of course, he still had no cultivation, but his understanding of cultivation was like that of a grandmaster of his generation.
His days passed calmly. Every day, he would wipe the Stele Forest, take care of the flowers, fish, or drink tea in his free time.
The Stele Keeper had left behind many books. He read the hundreds of books and meditated so he could observe the world calmly.
Was this not better than plotting and killing in the outside world?
Three more months passed in the blink of an eye.
It had been half a year since Li Qingshan had made the mistake of freeing the Demonic Divine Concubine.
Half a year was enough for the people of the Yuhua Sect to forget the Head Disciple.
No one mentioned him anymore. Even the Yuhua Sect Leader, who had thought highly of Li Qingshan, believed that he could never rise again. Being able to stay alive and guard Repentance Cliff, living his life in peace, was the best end.
What the people did not know was that Li Qingshan was evolving.
The root bones in his body had been nourished every day for three months. Then, finally, they started taking root and sprouting. Tender sprouts grew from the originally shattered root bone.
They were tiny and fragile, but it was the first step toward the million-acre forest.
After waiting for three months, Li Qingshan's root bone finally came to be. He could start cultivating too.
He had a sea of flowers, a little bridge, and a bamboo hut.
Li Qingshan's linen clothes had faded from being washed time and time again, but he did not seem sloppy. His skin was nourished to a creamy tone due to the Immortality Method, while his black hair fell like a waterfall, tied in a ponytail.
"After being nourished by the Immortality Method for three months, all of the root bones had sprouted. They are fragile, but I can already start cultivating." This thought moved Li Qingshan emotionally.
It had been half a year.
It had been a full half year before he finally broke past the constraints and could start cultivating.
Li Qingshan had waited for this day for so long. He did not go to wipe the Stele Forest that day. Instead, he lit incense and bathed himself. Then, he organized his thoughts and prepared to cultivate them after becoming completely calm.
The root bones had sprouted now. They had not grown into trees yet, but he could cultivate with them.
The first technique that Li Qingshan cultivated was the one that he had comprehended first.
The Great River Sword Qi!
Li Qingshan had comprehended the Great River Sword Qi completely, so it was easy to cultivate it now.
He used the Immortality Method to lure the world spiritual Qi into his body. Then he started operating the Great River Sword Qi.
Instantly, Li Qingshan felt beams of dazzling sword Qi clanging within his body.
He also heard a great river roaring in his ears.
His cultivation plane was rising quickly too.
Having a forest of root bones meant that he could cultivate quickly.
Other people only had one root bone, so their absorption level was at one. But Li Qingshan had a million-acre forest, so his absorption level was like a monster that swept in all directions and left nothing behind.
The first cultivation plane was the Body Refinement Plane.
Li Qingshan reached completion in one short morning.
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