Chapter 3
Li Qingshan’s life was very simple but fulfilling during these three months.
Every morning, he would drink the dew with spiritual Qi, healing his weak body. Then he would go to the Stele Forest and observe them attentively while wiping away the dust.
Within three months, he had used his maxed-level comprehension skill to learn countless skills and techniques.
These techniques alone could lead countless people to fight for them.
But Li Qingshan did not think highly of them at all.
The technique that he wanted the most was one that could repair his root bone. It didn’t matter how many other techniques he learned if he didn’t have it.
Even if he had the maxed-level comprehension and could comprehend them fully, he would be unable to cultivate or utilize them.
However, Li Qingshan was used to it by now.
During these three months, he had completely settled down. No one disturbed him on Repentance Cliff, so he was able to build himself up calmly.
Li Qingshan noted down all of the techniques and skills he learned with the maxed-level comprehension in detail.
Even if he could not cultivate at the moment, he could still think about the future.
Once he repaired his root bone, he would be able to reach the top instantly.
Thus, his days passed in comfort.
However, there was one thing that Li Qingshan was worried about. The Stele Keeper kept aging. Before, he could bring Li Qingshan into the Stele Forest to clean, but now, he would only sunbathe at the door of the bamboo hut every day. He would close his eyes, and his breaths were weak.
Li Qingshan knew that the Stele Keeper was at the end of his days.
But he could not do anything other than watch him quietly.
In the Grand Meeting Hall of the Yuhua Sect
The current leader of the Yuhua Sect had his hands behind his back as he gazed at the clouds rolling outside the window. “How is the Head Disciple behaving after entering Repentance Cliff?” he asked softly.
“Sect Leader”—an expressionless elder behind the sect leader said—”after entering Repentance Cliff, Li Qingshan spends his days wiping the steles, viewing flowers, drinking tea, and fishing. He is extremely relaxed.”
He was the Yuhua Sect’s Elder of Justice.
“He fell from the status of the almighty Head Disciple and prince of the Great Yan Dynasty, and yet he is relaxed?” the sect leader asked in shock.
“That is indeed so,” the Elder of Justice said, nodding. “But I wonder if he has truly set things down or if he is pretending.”
Then the elder suggested, “How about I go test him and see what he truly thinks?”
“No need. His cultivation and root bone were disabled. No matter what he does, he won’t be able to change his end. It is just a pity.” The sect leader waved his hand and sighed.
The Elder of Justice stayed silent.
“Wu Shaobai from decades ago to Li Qingshan decades after were all geniuses,” the sect leader said with a broken heart. “They had the potential to break the shackles of the world and let the Saints return to the world. It is a pity that they were defeated due to love.”
“Wu Shaobai…” Hearing this name, even the Elder of Justice’s expressionless face twitched.
He was the sore of the Yuhua Sect.
“At that time, he insisted on marrying that monster girl, wreaking such havoc,” the Elder of Justice said painfully. “The other righteous sects applied pressure and besieged the Yuhua Sect. He repressed the nine major sects with only himself and his sword, but the Heavenly Path Sect defeated him. He voluntarily sealed himself into the stele to not affect the Yuhua Sect.”
“Wu Shaobai from 40 years ago to Li Qingshan 40 years later all met the same end,” the sect leader said painfully. “The only difference is that Li Qingshan had not reached the same level as him. The Heavenly Path Sect did not get involved, but the other righteous sects applied pressure, so I was forced to punish him. The geniuses of two generations all ended up at Repentance Cliff.”
“Time passes so quickly,” the Elder of Justice said softly. “In a few days, it would be 40 years since the monster girl was suppressed in the Monster Refining Tower.”
“The Heavenly Path Sect is too powerful. Their pressure suffocates us,” the sect leader said gravely.
On Repentance Cliff, Li Qingshan continued to wipe the steles.
[You observed the stele carefully and activated your maxed-level comprehension skill. You have now comprehended Swordsmanship of Mercy.]
Li Qingshan was completely unmoved when he saw these words. He continued wiping the stele and only strolled toward the bamboo hut after the stele was clean.
He could clean a few steles and comprehend different things every day. It was no longer big news to him.
“Right now, I am like someone building a skyscraper who starts with the foundation. The sturdier the foundation is, the more I can build a thousand-meter building,” Li Qingshan comforted himself. Then he faced everything with a calm heart.
When he returned to the bamboo hut, he saw the sleeping Stele Keeper.
He had already slept for a few days without eating anything. Finally, he had entered his last moments, and Li Qingshan could not wake him.
Li Qingshan felt sad inside. This man was the one who had cared for him the most in this world, but unfortunately, it had only been three months. They would have to separate forever.
He checked the Stele Keeper’s vitals. Li Qingshan felt that it would happen soon. He decided not to go clean the steles anymore. Instead, he would wait until the Stele Keeper passed away and was buried before slowly comprehending other techniques.
He guarded the man for three days. Then the Stele Keeper actually got up by himself.
“Sir, have you recovered?” Li Qingshan asked joyously.
“I have been dazed these days, as if I had fallen into hell. I experienced endless pain, but I kept remembering that there was one thing I had not done. I haven’t told you where my chosen grave is. If I die and am not buried there, I won’t be able to rest in peace, so I climbed out of hell,” the Stele Keeper said, chuckling.
Li Qingshan was stunned. He looked at the Stele Keeper, knowing that this was terminal lucidity.
The Stele Keeper walked shakily out of the bamboo hut.
Li Qingshan followed behind him. A few times, he wanted to speak but always stayed silent.
“A long time ago, a female disciple who had made a mistake came to Repentance Cliff. Because she had defeated a genius of the Heavenly Path Sect, people slandered her and said she worked with the Monster Clan. Various sects applied pressure, and she had no choice but to seal herself in a stele.”
The Stele Keeper’s voice was weak.
He exited the bamboo hut. He walked past the bridge and creek, past the foliage, and stopped before a stele.
Li Qingshan had never seen this one before.
It was a stele that the Stele Keeper guarded.
A beautiful flower was carved on the stele.
“This female disciple loved to write poetry and draw. She hated being lonely, so I volunteered to come here and plant a garden full of flowers and build a creek and bridge for her. I accompanied her for decades. And I just hope that she will never be lonely again.”
The Stele Keeper reached out to touch the stele with trembling hands.
When he was young, he had met this female disciple, and she had colored his entire life. So he chose to come to Repentance Cliff and guard her.
“Did she know?” Li Qingshan asked curiously.
“It’s enough for me to know.” The Stele Keeper’s breaths grew weaker. He leaned against the stele and pointed feebly at the side of the stele. “Bury me here,” he said.
“Okay.” Li Qingshan nodded in agreement.
The Stele Keeper smiled, and his breathing stopped.
Li Qingshan felt very somber. He gazed at the well-protected stele.
The flower seemed to be swaying.
A few drops of dew slid down from the petals.
The flower seemed to be crying.
“She has always known!” Li Qingshan murmured. He stared at the flower on the stele, and soon, he became immersed.
In his eyes, he saw spring return to the world. All the beings were revived, and flowers bloomed.
[You observed the stele carefully and activated your maxed-level comprehension skill. You have now comprehended Immortality Method.]
A line of words suddenly appeared before Li Qingshan’s eyes.
He shivered, but he felt ecstatic inside.
“The Immortality Method was a lost secret technique of the Yuhua Sect. This female disciple knew it.” Li Qingshan used to be the Head Disciple of the Yuhua Sect. He obviously knew about the Immortality Method.
He never thought that the Stele Keeper would bring him such a surprise at the brink of his death.
The Immortality Method could reform his root bone.
