As a father, I just want to quietly watch you live a long life

Chapter 71: The Patina-covered Temple Godʼs Head, the Xu Familyʼs Spirit Child

The snowflakes were instantly shredded, exploding into powder.

Li Qingshan, wearing a cat-face mask, hunched over as he exited the Mysterious Temple.

He leaped onto a lush and verdant pine tree, straight as a spear.

Under the black cat-face mask, two eyes flickered with a ghostly glow.

”Li Che, lad, his mind drawn in and settled within, has observed the divine for two hours. Hopefully, the youngster can withstand it and not be harmed in spirit by the Temple Godʼs divinity...”

Li Qingshan muttered to himself.

Then he turned his head towards the distance, only to see a figure in a white robe, with a white mask on, slowly walking through the snowy forest, with loose hair fluttering in the snow.

On the smooth and polished white mask, no facial features were delineated.

The newcomer had several statues hanging around his waist, each the size of a palm, carved with childrenʼs images, some worshipping Buddha, some crying, each with a unique and vivid expression.

However, few possessed divinity; clearly, none were from the hand of a master.

”Youʼve appeared again...”

”Time and again, do you wish to battle me once more today?”

The man in the white mask said, his voice somewhat hoarse.

Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes, focusing on the wood carvings hanging on the manʼs waist: ”Sacrificing to the Temple God... youʼve really got some nerve, huh?”

The man sighed softly and shook his head: ”Itʼs just a desperate attempt at a cure in dire straits... If it were you, wouldnʼt you do the same?”

”After all, we are just minor cultivators from the countryside, not the heavenʼs chosen of the Divine Sects with resources abound, nor the Divine Weapons Reserve supported by the Imperial Courtʼs Divine Arsenal. Everything we have... we must fight for ourselves.”

”Sacrificing... is also a gamble.”

Li Qingshan shook his head and did not say much more.

Everyone who does evil finds a justification of their own, and others cannot sway their thinking.

”Come on, old man. Though most of my divinity has not descended the mountain, itʼs more than enough to entertain you.”

Boom—!

Countless snowflakes burst from the ground as Li Qingshanʼs body became entwined with divinity, and behind the man in the white mask rose a millstone-like Divine Base.

The two engaged in battle.

Li Qingshan intentionally or unintentionally veered off the battlefield, clashing towards the deeper parts of the mountain woods.

...

...

Inside the Mysterious Temple.

The candlelight flickered incessantly.

Li Cheʼs heart throbbed, this was the boldest thing he had undertaken thus far.

Bolder even than the first time he had decided to kill.

However, his impulsiveness was not a whim; after all... he had ”Flying Thunder Chess Saint.” Should something feel amiss, he could trigger the Dao Fruit, instantly teleport to the chess piece anchor point within the city, and leave.

Li Qingshan had said that Temple Gods of Tenth Capital Level Mysterious Temples corresponded to Divine Base Realm and, although they were far stronger than typical Divine Base Cultivators.

But now, Li Che believed that beings at the Divine Base level... probably couldnʼt block his Dao Fruitʼs ability.

With this thought, Li Cheʼs gaze became fierce.

His fingers opened and closed, gradually pressing down.

And landed on the ”Three-Eyed Wrathful True Lord Child Statue,” full of wrath.

In an instant, an extremely hot sensation spread from within his palm, as if what he had grabbed was not a statue but a red-hot branding iron, forged and tempered a thousand times!

Li Cheʼs eyebrows knitted together tightly, his mind exceedingly cautious.

His arm glowed with a jade color, shrouded in a hazy mist.

The Prototype of Divine Powers, Thousand Analyzing Hands!

In faint and indistinct glimpses, it seemed that strands of divinity were being siphoned from the Temple God statue, beginning to condense into the shape of a chess piece.

But...

Compared to condensing the Divine Chess Piece from the deceased Zhao Xuanhai, it was much more difficult.

It was as if...

He was pulling up a deeply buried wooden branch, with the branchʼs roots tangled underground, making the extraction incredibly difficult.

However, difficult as it was, Li Che had patience, slowly... enticing bit by bit.

It seemed like he was engaged in a tug-of-war with the sleeping Temple God.

As if a thick and resilient divinity was being pulled from the statue, winding around the fingertips of Thousand Analyzing Hands.

Two hours passed in Li Cheʼs consciousness as if in the blink of an eye.

When the sky gradually darkened.

Li Che immediately released his hand.

His figure retreated, jumping down from the altar.

Within the Mysterious Temple, the candlelight was dim, and the red-painted wooden statues seemed to eerily watch him.

But Li Che was oblivious, his emotions surging as he raised his hand.

Jade mist swirled, and a half-formed chess piece... emerged in the palm of his hand.

The chess piece was condensed from an exceedingly dark divinity, only half-formed.

Yet, the strength of this divinity made Li Che slightly astonished, for it was even more tough and terrifying than that of the Divine Foundation Fragment of the Si Familyʼs ancestor that he had obtained.

He narrowed his eyes, raised his hand, and his ”Pure Heart” Dao Fruit beat vigorously...

The next moment, the outpouring of Pure Divinity formed a white chess piece.

As his Divine Cultivation improved, so did the number of Pure Divinity Chess Pieces he could condense.

Li Che hid the Divine Chess Piece beneath the altar, serving as a coordinate anchor point.

Now that he was certain he could extract divinity from the Temple God...

Of course, he would find opportunities to pay several more visits.

First, setting up an anchor point made the journey much easier.

The day was turning dark, and Li Qingshan had not yet arrived.

Li Che also didnʼt continue to wait.

He turned his head to glance at the Three-eyed Child Temple God seated high on the altar, then suddenly exerted force under his feet, his figure shot out like an arrow, erupting towards the outside of the Mysterious Temple.

...

...

Having returned to the Inner City, Li Che removed his disguise, collecting the mask, clothing, and the like into his Qiankun Space.

Afterwards, he ordered some wine and dishes from the Golden Splendor Pavilion and returned to his own courtyard.

His wife, Zhang Ya, was earnestly practicing her stance training in the courtyard. Ever since Li Che had taught her martial arts, she had been tirelessly practicing every day, knowing she started late and thus wanted to catch up to her husband through hard work.

”Husband.”

Zhang Ya, dressed in a practice outfit with a thin belt cinched around her waist, outlined her shapely figure.

A smile immediately appeared on Li Cheʼs lips, and he walked over to stand behind Zhang Ya, wrapping his hands around hers from behind, ”My lady, would you like your husband to teach you how to practice boxing?”

Zhang Yaʼs pretty face instantly turned a shade redder.

After much affection, Old Chen, who had been sitting under the eaves drinking from his calabash bottle for quite some time, finally couldnʼt endure the painful display, ”Cough cough cough... Li Che, lad, Iʼm still here!”

”Can you lovebirds not show off your affection in front of this old man?”

Old Chen said, holding up his calabash, decidedly annoyed.

”Oh, are you still here? Didnʼt go for a stroll?” Li Che turned his head, feigning surprise.

If you change your position, wonʼt you not see us?

Old Chen immediately became even more infuriated, unable to stay in this house. This Li Che... he wasnʼt as honest as he used to be!

With a huff, Old Chen, clutching his wine calabash, decided to run away from home.

”Old Chen, on your way, could you stop by the Xu Familyʼs Divine Cultivation Institute and pick up Xi Xi and Big Head Lu?”

The light, smiling voice of Li Che drifted out.

Old Chen grew even more irritated, ah, life had become unbearable!

Still, Old Chen swiftly went to the Divine Cultivation Institute, picked up Xi Xi and Lu Chi, and with Xi Xi in his arms, a smile and doting affection spread across Old Chenʼs face, and his thoughts of running away from home faded.

Li Che might fail as a son, but Old Chen had his Dawn Treasure.

The following day.

After sending Xi Xi and Lu Chi to the Divine Cultivation Institute, Li Che went to his private workshop.

Having reached the Qi Channels stage in martial cultivation, the usual practice was to train by mobilizing the bodyʼs blood and Qi, gathering Qi in the five viscera, circulating the Minor Circulation, and accumulating and strengthening the Inner Qi, which were the primary direction for this stage of practice.

It was similarly a grind.

Even the cultivation of Divinity was not neglected, practicing the ”Wrathful Maitreya” Divinity and refining Zhao Xuanhaiʼs Divine Chess Piece. It must be said that Li Cheʼs Divine Cultivation progressed at an incredibly fast pace.

The stream of Divinity within the Inner Scene of the Energy Center was constantly growing.

Once he had completed a series of daily essentials.

Li Che put on a wide-brimmed hat and a Cute Bull Mask, transforming into the Bull Demon. His mind touched the ”Chess Saint” Dao Fruit, and through the anchor point placed under the altar of the Mysterious Temple, he observed the situation inside the temple. Only then did he activate the Flying Thunder Chess Saintʼs teleportation.

With a clench of his hand, Li Che held a white chess piece.

But his figure had already arrived inside the dim ”Three-Eyed Fierce True Lord Spirit Child Mysterious Temple.”

The temple was extremely quiet, filled with the pungent smell of candle fire.

Li Che rubbed his hands together and floated up to the altar, beginning to siphon the Temple Godʼs Divinity.

It took roughly two hours to siphon half of a Divine Chess Piece.

It would take two days to gather a complete piece.

This efficiency was heaven and earth compared to when he siphoned Zhao Xuanhaiʼs Divinity.

Days passed by, one by one.

Ten days drifted by like grains of sand between the fingers.

Having made a promise to the Young City Lord Cao Qingyuan regarding the wood carving, Li Che didnʼt have the slightest inclination to start carving.

Having learned the purpose of the City Lordʼs Mansionʼs conscription of Woodcarving Masters to carve statues, Li Che no longer had the heart to carve.

Inside the Mysterious Temple.

Li Che deftly jumped onto the altar and stared at the ”Three-Eyed Wrathful True Lord Child Statue” that seemed both angry and aggrieved for a while.

”Old buddy, Iʼm here again...”

Striving to condense the fifth Temple God Divinity Chess Piece today.

”Iʼm about to finish refining Zhao Xuanhaiʼs Divine Chess Piece... and my current ʼWrathful Maitreyaʼ Divinity has barely reached the ʼCultivation as Riverlikeʼ level. Afterward, I wonʼt have Zhao Xuanhaiʼs Divine Chess Pieces to refine.”

”Fortunately, this Temple Godʼs Divine Chess Piece also belongs to the lineage of ʼWrath Divinityʼ...”

”I just donʼt know how much more I can fleece from this Temple Godʼs Divinity. Is it enough... for me to forge a Divine Foundation?”

Li Che flashed a radiant grin.

Familiarly reaching out towards the almost varnished head of the Child Temple God, he began to condense his hand motion.

...

...

Dark clouds piled up layer upon layer.

The atmosphere was claustrophobic and oppressive, with electric dragons tumbling amidst them.

Cold raindrops poured down from the sky, pelting the ground, exploding into mist, and shrouding the human world.

In the Inner City, the Xu Family.

Outside the Divine Cultivation Institute.

Electric light revealed one tall, dark shadow after another. They were dressed in black, wore wide-brimmed hats, and donned childrenʼs masks, moving silently through the rain.

”The Xu Familyʼs Divine Cultivation Institute... still has two Spirit Children.”

”Old Xu of the Xu Family has already struck a deal with the City Lordʼs Mansion... agreed to turn a blind eye...”

A tall figure adjusted his wide-brimmed hat.

”Heh? Two Spirit Children? Since weʼve come... naturally, we should take away all the Spirit Children of Xu Familyʼs Divine Cultivation Institute.”

”Act quickly, capture them and leave, and deliver them to the City Lordʼs Mansion.”

”Once this matter is settled, our Yang Family can organize our clan to immediately withdraw from Fei Lei City.”