Not long after, the two ascended the mountaintop.
The mountain was several hundred zhang high, shrouded in mist. Added to the current frigid winter season, the wind was bone-chilling and a blizzard was piling up.
For an ordinary person, this mountain peak was a place of extreme danger.
On the slippery peak, with the cold, strong wind, a careless misstep would lead to a fatal fall.
"Train your swordplay here?"
Liu Ji Ya was suspicious. The cold here was no challenge for her; Qi Refining Realm powerhouses could handle heat and cold easily, let alone her, a Great Grandmaster Realm cultivator.
"That's right, this is an excellent place to practice swordplay. But you are not allowed to use any cultivation. You must be like an ordinary person. Try it," Chu Hao said.
Liu Ji Ya's expression became serious. She knew Chu Hao was beginning to instruct her and nodded.
She drew her sword and performed the Cloud-Breaking Sword Art, just like an ordinary person practicing swordplay.
"Wrong, wrong. I don't want you to practice here. I want you to go to the edge of the cliff."
At this moment, Chu Hao stood at the edge of the abyss, his eyes gazing into the distance. A great wind blew, and his clothes fluttered, as if he could be carried away by the wind at any moment.
Liu Ji Ya took a deep breath and walked to the edge of the abyss.
"Remember, you are not allowed to use any cultivation," Chu Hao reminded her.
Liu Ji Ya didn't say a word and once again performed the Cloud-Breaking Sword Art, her sword shining as she executed more than a dozen moves.
"Hoo!"
Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind blew, and Liu Ji Ya's delicate body swayed, tilting towards the abyss.
Under normal circumstances, a gust of wind like this would do nothing to her, but Chu Hao did not allow her to use any cultivation, so she was not much different from an ordinary person at this moment.
The fierce gale on this mountaintop could even uproot trees from the ground. Because of this, the entire mountaintop was bare, with no vegetation in sight.
In a moment of danger, Liu Ji Ya let out a soft cry. She instantly cast Chu Hao's words to the back of her mind, used her cultivation to resist the fierce wind, and quickly retreated from the edge of the abyss.
Her smile was slightly pale.
"How does it feel?" Chu Hao looked at Liu Ji Ya with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"It's very dangerous. My mind was on the verge of collapsing. If I don't use my cultivation, I'm no different from an ordinary person. I'd die if I fell."
Liu Ji Ya took several deep breaths, steadying her frantic heartbeat. At this moment, she looked at the abyss with a different feeling, a slight apprehension towards it.
"I asked you to prepare a Qi-Locking Pill yesterday. You should have it ready. Take the Qi-Locking Pill and continue to cultivate at the edge of the abyss." Chu Hao's tone was indifferent.
The Qi-Locking Pill was an item that could restrict the true qi within the body. Once consumed, the true qi in the body would be locked for several hours. During this period, a cultivator was practically no different from an ordinary person.
"Isn't that too dangerous?"
Liu Ji Ya was a bit hesitant. After taking the Qi-Locking Pill, she couldn't use any cultivation. What would happen if she encountered a situation like the one just now?
A fall would mean she'd be smashed to a pulp.
"Dangerous?" Chu Hao let out a light laugh.
"The reason I want you to cultivate at the edge of the abyss is precisely to make you feel this danger, to put yourself on the brink of life and death, to tense your mind, and to restrain your thoughts. Only then can you dispel fear and stimulate your potential."
"As a cultivator, without tempering yourself on the brink of life and death, how can you become a talent?"
"You must remember that the path of a cultivator is originally a path of life and death. I ask you, cultivators often have to fight others. Can you avoid this? When you fight someone, you are also placing yourself on the brink of life and death. Win, and you live; lose, and you die."
"Even if your realm rises in the future, for example, to the Primordial Spirit Realm, you will still have to face the Heavenly Tribulation. This is also a path of life and death. If the heavens send down the Heavenly Tribulation to kill you, do you feel afraid?"
"The heavens wanting to kill you is the Heavenly Tribulation. People wanting to kill you is the Human Tribulation. Besides those, there are also thousands of other calamities and difficult trials. If you don't even have the courage to overcome this bit of fear, why are you a cultivator?"
"With no fear in your heart and advancing bravely, you can set aside life and death. Only such a person can go further."
"To hear the Dao in the morning and be content to die in the evening-this is the spirit of a cultivator!"
Chu Hao spoke at length, and every word was enlightening.
Who was he? The legendary Heavenly Venerate from many years ago. Throughout his life, he didn't know how many great life-and-death calamities he had experienced. With his experience, his words were truth, undeniable.
"Hahaha, what a great saying, 'To hear the Dao in the morning and be content to die in the evening.'"
Suddenly, a loud laugh rang out.
"Ji Ya told me she met an extraordinary person who, at sixteen, could control a sword with his will. I didn't believe it at first, but after listening to you for a moment today, it seems Ji Ya didn't lie to me. You are indeed an extraordinary person."
In the cold mountain wind, a figure rushed over.
It was an old man, with a face full of the vicissitudes of life and weathered by wind and rain. But his build was tall and his back was straight, and his eyes were bright and full of spirit.
His aura was the strongest powerhouse Chu Hao had encountered in this world.
"Grandfather!"
Liu Ji Ya hurriedly called out.
This was the Liu family's elder patriarch, the true number one person of the Liu family, Liu Long!
"'To hear the Dao in the morning and be content to die in the evening,' what you said is very profound. But can you yourself do it?"
Liu Yuan Long looked at Chu Hao and questioned him. It was easy to speak of principles, but how many people could truly do it?
He didn't believe a young man could possess such a state of mind.
"Can I do it?" Chu Hao suddenly let out a long laugh, his aura vast and towering. "Bring out the Qi-Locking Pill."
He took a Qi-Locking Pill from Liu Ji Ya and swallowed it without hesitation.
The pill went down his throat and into his stomach. Instantly, the true qi in his body congealed, as if shackled by an additional layer of chains. When he forcefully tried to use his true qi, his dantian immediately felt a sharp, needle-like pain.
Clang.
His sword came out like a dragon, echoing across the mountaintop.
Chu Hao held the three-foot-long green blade, standing at the edge of the abyss. The strong wind howled. The snow under his feet had long since frozen into blocks of ice under the fierce wind, making it extremely slippery.