บท 2: Three Months
บรรณาธิการ: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Qingshan watched in surprise as a line of words appeared before his eyes. Then, before he had the time to react, the river carved onto the stele really did come to life.
"Boom!"
The river transformed into a streak of Sword Qi. It charged and rushed, falling from the sky and reflecting in Li Qingshan's eyes.
"Ah!" Li Qingshan screamed in fright.
He took a few steps back and finally returned to his senses. However, he discovered the river of Sword Qi, or something that had descended from the sky, was now gone.
There was only that line of words before his eyes.
"Did I just... comprehend the Great River Sword Qi?" Li Qingshan was overjoyed inside.
He looked at the stele again. The river on it seemed to flow as if it were alive. It was no longer a dead object like before.
A cheat!
Better late than never.
"Does that mean I can start cultivating now?" Li Qingshan was extremely excited.
Li Qingshan wanted to try it. Since he had comprehended the Great River Sword Qi, would he be able to repair his broken root bone?
Sitting cross-legged, Li Qingshan tried to activate the Great River Sword Qi.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
But the next second, there were the sounds of bones cracking from within his body.
Li Qingshan's face twisted in pain, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
"I can't cultivate even though I have comprehended the Great River Sword Qi." Li Qingshan's heart kept sinking.
Then what was the point of comprehending it?
No matter how many techniques he comprehended, they were useless with a disabled root bone.
It only took one short minute to go from being overjoyed to being depressed, but Li Qingshan would need a long time to recover from this.
"No, they said that I have the maxed-level comprehension. This means I do not have to be afraid of viewing the steles. Other people's spiritual consciousness might get sucked away, but mine will not.
"There are a million steles here. I bet there is one that can repair the root bone. I have nothing else to do, anyway. I will spend the rest of my life here, so I can just focus on searching for the stele that can repair my root bone."
Li Qingshan instantly saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
The Great River Sword Qi could not repair his root bone, so he would just keep it for now. He would cultivate the Great River Sword Qi after his root bone was repaired.
With that thought in mind, all the depression from earlier was gone. Li Qingshan looked at the scenery around him, and he was in a great mood.
When the Stele Keeper returned and saw Li Qingshan's mood, he asked in surprise, "You seem happy?"
"I remembered some happy things," Li Qingshan answered with a smile.
"That's good. Since you are here, you should not think about anything else. Take your experiences in stride. I will go cook for you." The Stele Keeper was satisfied with Li Qingshan's condition. He caught two fish, picked some vegetables, and made dinner.
"Where is the rice from?" Li Qingshan asked as he held his bowl during the meal.
"Someone brings it over," the Stele Keeper said. "Even though we are imprisoned on Repentance Cliff, they still give us the basic necessities. Once every few months, someone will come and bring over resources. Rice is one of them."
Li Qingshan nodded, keeping this in mind.
"By the way, which senior is the stele over there?" Li Qingshan suddenly asked. He pointed at the stele where he had comprehended the Great River Sword Qi.
That stele was the closest one to the bamboo hut.
The Stele Keeper took a look and said, with lamentation, "That stele fell a few decades ago. A genius who violated the sect rules was imprisoned in it."
"What rule did he violate?" Li Qingshan asked curiously.
"I think he fell in love with a woman from the Monster Clan. I am isolated from the world, so I heard this from the disciples who came here. It caused a big commotion back then, so the Sect Leader imprisoned him." The Stele Keeper shook his head.
"Then, is he still alive?" Li Qingshan asked in a soft voice.
"His magnum opus has appeared on the stele," the Stele Keeper said, shaking his head. "How can he still be alive?"
Li Qingshan looked at that stele and thought of the Great River Sword Qi that had fallen from the sky earlier. He also felt emotional.
After eating dinner, Li Qingshan volunteered to wash the dishes and clean up.
The Stele Keeper sat on the steps before the door. He smoked dry tobacco that he had gotten from somewhere. Then, looking into the setting sun, he fell deep into thought.
He seemed to be reminiscing.
Li Qingshan did not disturb the man after he finished cleaning up. Instead, he returned to his room and closed his eyes. He needed to rest well.
He had experienced a storm today, going through despair, hopefulness, disappointment, closure, calmness, and more...
His disabled body had long become tired.
He fell asleep as soon as he hit his bed and slept until the morning.
Li Qingshan woke up early the following day.
"This is morning dew extracted from the flowers. It contains spiritual Qi. Drinking it can help with your injuries." The Stele Keeper handed a lotus leaf to Li Qingshan. There was fresh dew on the leaf.
Li Qingshan drank it in one gulp and felt his muscles relax. Finally, some energy appeared in his disabled body.
If he could keep drinking this kind of dew, his injuries would heal quickly.
By then, he would only have to find the technique to repair his root bone before he could start cultivating.
"Thank you." Li Qingshan thanked him graciously.
"No problem," the Stele Keeper said while smoking the dry tobacco. "I want you to live longer and send me off. But if you die first, then the grave I chose for myself would have to be given to you."
After drinking the dew, Li Qingshan followed behind the Stele Keeper to learn how to dust the steles.
"Remember, you only have to stay on the fringe right now," the Stele Keeper warned. "The deeper you go, the older the steles. Some of the magna opera on the steles there have mutated. They would tempt you to look and then devour all of your spiritual consciousness."
Li Qingshan nodded, noting it.
But deep inside, he thought that since he had maxed-level comprehension, it would take forever for them to suck him dry.
Li Qingshan spent the entire morning following the Stele Keeper and learning how to take care of things.
By the afternoon, he was able to work on his own.
Li Qingshan started with the Great River Sword Qi stele from yesterday and chose to observe it.
He stared at the stele and observed attentively, immersing himself in it. Then, with his maxed-level comprehension activated, a line of words soon appeared before his eyes.
[You observed the stele carefully and activated your maxed-level comprehension skill. You have now comprehended Triple Sword Strike!]
Li Qingshan did not feel any joy, and instead, he shook his head. It was another sword technique. He could not cultivate it.
But it was all right. He continued to observe other steles.
[You observed the stele carefully and activated your maxed-level comprehension skill. You have now comprehended Foreign Heaven Seal!]
[You observed the stele carefully and activated your maxed-level comprehension skill. You have now comprehended Great Waves!]
In one afternoon, Li Qingshan comprehended the magna opera of three steles. He was progressing quickly. His maxed-level comprehension was very powerful when activated.
But they were all unhelpful to him.
He was not in a hurry. He had more than enough time, and he believed that there had to be one technique in this Million Stele Forest related to repairing his spirit bone.
Thus, in the days after this, Li Qingshan woke up early and drank dew every morning and then focused on wiping and observing the steles. He was immersed in this and could not stop himself.
He and the Stele Keeper were the only ones on Repentance Cliff. No one disturbed them. After focusing on one task, Li Qingshan realized that time really flew.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
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