I create patterns, regardless of your level of expertise.

The mighty and valiant general was led back like a dog today, utterly humiliated.

Running away is shameful enough, but failing to escape is even worse.

Back at the Qingyun Sect, they arrived at a courtyard behind the main hall.

Li Hao then took out two more pieces of blackish-gray stone that were interwoven like mosaics.

Bedrock.

In principle, bedrock is something that cannot be destroyed.

But Li Hao was cheating; he was sticking to his principles.

In other words, he is the only one in the world capable of destroying bedrock.

They built a pillar out of bedrock and tied Jiang Tianhao to it.

Now, unless someone comes to his aid, there's no way he can escape.

Li Hao brought over a chair and sat down a short distance away, while Shen Lingyan stood behind him.

Just from their positioning, you can already see something going on.

"I admire you for calling me grandpa even while you were running away."

"Tell me, what exactly were the old emperor's instructions?"

Jiang Tianhao stood before me, his face ashen, a rope tied around his neck, looking every bit the loser.

He gritted his teeth and asked, "Who exactly are you?"

Li Hao said, "Now it's my turn to ask you questions. Don't waste my patience."

Jiang Tianhao's expression changed several times before he finally said, "The Emperor Emeritus sent me here to question you, that's all."

"However, I guess he probably wanted me to come here to probe the true strength of the Qingyun Sect."

"He... isn't in good shape right now, and he's preparing to really take action soon."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lingyan's eyes lit up: "Could it be that he's trying to break through again? Heh, at his age, forcing a breakthrough will only hasten his death."

Jiang Tianhao said helplessly, "Yes, how could he not know? But what can he do?"

"You are only a little over 120 years old and you have already reached the Core Formation stage. You have at least three or four hundred years of lifespan left. As long as nothing unexpected happens, breaking through is inevitable."

"But among the royal family's descendants to date, there is still no hope. What will become of the royal family after the old emperor dies?"

Hearing this, Shen Lingyan couldn't help but angrily retort, "Has the Qingyun Sect ever overstepped its bounds in all these years? I have always wanted to coexist peacefully with the royal family, but it is you who have been pushing me step by step!"

Jiang Tianhao shrugged and said, "Yeah, everyone knows that's how it is, but what can we do?"

"In a country, if the royal family isn't the strongest, doesn't have the most important say, and is subservient to others, can it still be called a royal family?"

"The Zhao dynasty has lasted for three thousand years. During this time, it has experienced periods of prosperity and decline, but there has never been a situation like now that has made the royal family so fearful that they can't sleep at night."

"In their view, the strength of the Qingyun Sect itself is a provocation."

"You would never understand this feeling."

"Actually, I don't understand either."

Shen Lingyan gritted her teeth in anger: "This is truly... utterly unreasonable!"

Jiang Tianhao remained noncommittal, then looked at Li Hao: "I've already answered, so who are you?"

Li Hao smiled faintly and said, "You don't recognize me? That can't be right."

"The Crown Princess has a younger sister named Tang Yunxuan, and I was once her fiancé."

Jiang Tianhao frowned. There was such a connection?

He had heard of him; his name was something like Song Yushu, and he was said to have a very good talent.

But even with great talent, it can't be this strong, right?

Slightly puzzled, he glanced at the two people's positions again, and a guess suddenly popped into his mind.

"You, you are!... "

"Shh, just keep it to yourself, don't shout it out."

Li Hao stopped him, then stood up and said to Shen Lingyan, "Tie him up for a few days. When the Song family arrives, give them a few invitations."

"On such a joyous occasion, how can it be complete without the old emperor's presence?"

"I'm going into seclusion for a while. Call me when it's time. As for the rest, you can handle it."

After saying that, Li Hao walked away.

Jiang Tianhao became increasingly puzzled. How did the conversation suddenly turn to invitations again?

"What invitation?" he asked.

Shen Lingyan glanced at him and said, "Wedding invitation."

"Wedding invitation? Whose?"

"mine."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tianhao glanced at Shen Lingyan, then looked in the direction Li Hao had left.

His face immediately lit up with terror, anger, and fear... like a palette of colors.

"Sect Leader Shen, I thought you were a respectable person. How could you associate with such an old monster..."

"Ahem!" Shen Lingyan interrupted him in time, displeased, "What are you thinking? It's me and Song Yuqi, the second son of the Song family, his nominal younger brother."

Jiang Tianhao's expression was complicated, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "The current princess..."

Shen Lingyan said, "Then you'll have to ask him, but he's gone into seclusion and probably won't come out until the wedding day, so you probably won't have much of a chance."

Having said that, she left without another word.

……

Li Hao has gone into seclusion.

It wasn't to avoid anything; even if the royal family proposed a marriage alliance at this time, he wouldn't agree.

Because it's no longer necessary.

This seclusion is to improve my cultivation level.

After all, he has already obtained the pills that can be used by those at the Qi Refining stage, and he doesn't know anything about handling wedding matters, so why waste this time on you?

In the secret room prepared for him by Shen Lingyan, Li Hao sat cross-legged.

The Meridian Opening Realm is the state where blockages in the meridians are cleared and the meridians are expanded. This is directly related to the efficiency of spiritual energy circulation.

Just like water pipes draining water, a thicker pipe will eventually drain a larger volume of water.

Li Hao didn't need to adjust his state; with a flash of his hand, he took out a pill.

"The fourth-grade Raging Flame Pill is considered the best-performing pill in its grade."

"But the price is that the medicine is too potent. It can clear blockages, but it can also break through meridians if you're not careful. So very few people use it, which is why it's so cheap for me."

"Go ahead and push, if you really break through my meridians, I'll praise you for your strength."

Li Hao smiled slightly and then put the pill into his mouth.

"Yes, it's spicy."

Finding the taste surprisingly good, Li Hao simply scooped out a handful and chewed them like beans.

Soon, he felt a hot and violent current rushing through his meridians.

What meridians are blocked? In the face of a torrent, what can block them?

If so, it means you haven't taken enough pills.

Ten days later, after a continuous flow of medicinal power, all the meridians in my body were finally cleared. So, the next step was to expand them.

This is a delicate skill, because meridians have the ability to rebound. By forcefully widening them with the power of medicine, the meridians will slowly return to their previous size after the effects of the medicine wear off.

Unless you can keep the medicine working continuously for a month or two until the meridians are fully established.

but.

Doesn't he have milk?

Milk's effect is to "eliminate all abnormal states".

Is it normal for a cultivator to have a damaged dantian and broken meridians?

This is obviously not normal.

Similarly, a cultivator at the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm should have already expanded their meridians to their limit.

It actually bounced back?

Is this normal?

unusual.

Anything abnormal falls under the jurisdiction of the milk department!

After drinking a bucket of milk, Li Hao reached the peak of the Chongmai stage.

Further on.

He wasn't quite sure what to do.

After all, his predecessor was only at the peak of the Spirit Tribulation stage, so there was no need for him to learn about the Five Tribulations of Heaven and Man so early on, which is why Li Hao didn't know either.

"Let's ask someone."

Passing through customs!

Li Hao got up and walked out. After ten days, the entire Qingyun Sect was bustling with activity.

The disciples came and went, but it was unclear what they were busy with; on the contrary, they looked very busy.

Not long after, Shen Lingyan, having learned the news, came over. This time, she was accompanied by Song Baicheng, the head of the Song family.