Chapter 2: The Sacred Lotus Platform

  "There's a ghost!"

  "Yang Hao's resentment is hard to disperse, he has come back for revenge!"

  Three or four villagers shouted loudly and ran wildly with their feet. The village of only a few hundred people was suddenly in an uproar.

  Pan Hao ignored them and walked towards the village. Before long, he arrived at a courtyard. Pan Hao pushed open the gate, and the creaking door was opened with a squeak. The Pan family was considered a wealthy household in the village, and Yang's father had done business and seen much of the world. Therefore, this house was also decorated quite well.

  As soon as you enter the gate, blue bricks are paved on the ground. The yard is planted with all kinds of fresh flowers in two places. A bluestone path leads straight to the main hall, and the house is decorated with simple elegance.

  Entering the hall, furniture is scattered all over the place, and there is still a bloodstain left by Yang Hao on the ground. Entering the house, it's also messy, with broken porcelain all over the floor. Pan Hao comes to Yang's father's room, takes out a bundle of silver tickets and a jade pendant from a hidden compartment. This jade pendant, made of white jade, is exquisitely crafted, with golden fish and blue water carved on it, crystal clear and translucent, giving off an air of nobility.

  Before Yang's mother passed away, she told Pan Hao where the family property was located. This jade pendant that could become a family heirloom was naturally placed inside as well. Then Pan Hao returned to Yang Hao's room to fetch a few more clothes.

  After packing up, Pan Hao didn't linger in this house for long and was about to leave with his things.

  Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the door, and a dark-skinned middle-aged man wearing a green military uniform brought two men to the entrance. With a loud crash, the large gate was kicked open by this man.

  "Go, I'd like to see how this little rabbit seeks revenge!" The man's eyes gleamed with a fierce light as he kicked the door open. This person was Yang Ba, who had not left after killing Yang Hao yesterday, but instead stayed in the village. It seemed that he was unwilling to give up on finding the jade pendant. He had planned to continue searching today, but unexpectedly encountered an unexpected surprise.

  Yang Ba heard the commotion outside as soon as he got up, saying that Yang Hao was back. At first, it was a bit hard to believe. But thinking about it, this little rabbit must have used some trick to pretend to be dead and thought he had left Yangjia Village, so now he should be back for the jade pendant. The more Yang Ba thought about it, the more he felt that's what happened. It's as if heaven is helping me, now I don't have to worry about being scolded by the master!

  Thinking of this, Yang Ba brought two men and hastily rushed to Yang Hao's home.

  A loud noise sounded outside the door, and Pan Hao's expression changed. However, he was not afraid at all, slowly gathered his luggage, walked out of the room to the hall.

  "Haha, I didn't think you little rabbit had such a big talent for playing dead!" Yang Ba said with a sinister smile as soon as he entered the hall and saw Pan Hao walking out.

  "His outer gate horizontal exercise is just average, not yet reaching the level of entering the hall and becoming a master. His footsteps are light and floating, his lower stance unstable. At most, he's only slightly stronger than a country bumpkin. He's basically just a minor character in the martial arts world." Pan Hao raised an eyebrow, analyzing Yang Ba's martial skills.

  "Hand over the jade pendant, kid!" Yang Ba clearly didn't mind this little brat who was already pale with fear. His large palm came crashing down, about to grab Pan Hao in his hand.

  "Too slow." Pan Hao shook his head, his feet moving in a swift and agile manner as he dodged Yang Ba's large hands with ease. At the same time, his right hand clenched into a fist and struck out at Yang Ba's stomach.

  With a loud "Boom", Yang Ba's face changed color, and he retreated several steps while clutching his stomach.

  "Little brat, looking for death!" Yang Ba was furious. Pan Hao didn't use his true energy this time, so the damage to Yang Ba wasn't much. On the contrary, Yang Ba felt humiliated in his heart, he had two subordinates with him! Just now he hadn't used his full strength, and this little rabbit could still punch him, it was a complete loss of face.

  Yang Ba's anger burst out, his big fist swung, and a set of fierce tiger punches came out, with the momentum of thunder and lightning knocking Pan Hao to the ground.

  Pan Hao's eyes were icy cold, with true energy surging in his dantian. A pale white aura flowed through his meridians and into his hands. With a faint roar, a weak tiger howl rose up. The Tiger Fist was one of those third-rate martial arts that Pan Hao had seen many times before. In his heart, he sneered coldly.

  Yang Ba's face changed drastically. This was true energy. How is this possible? The little kid who was beaten by himself until his internal organs were bleeding just last night, how did he suddenly possess inner strength?

  Boom, two fists collided, and the sound of cracking bones echoed. Puff, Yang Ba retreated and fell to the ground, his eyes fixed on his right hand, which hung limply like a noodle, with white bone protruding from his wrist. Yang Ba's face was pale, but he didn't even let out a groan.

  Pan Hao couldn't help but admire Yang Ba's mental quality. However, things wouldn't end like this. Pan Hao calmly scanned Yang Ba's two subordinates, and the two immediately turned pale. Run! At this time, the two subordinates had lost their domineering aura from when they were with Yang Ba. In a state of panic, they rushed towards the door.

  Hehe, the two embroidered needles taken from Yang's mother's room shot out, and with a "poof", the two fleeing henchmen let out a miserable cry as they fell to the ground.

  "Speak up, who wants the jade pendant from my house!" Pan Hao looked at his two subordinates with disdain and turned to ask Yang Ba. Pan Hao knew Yang Ba's identity, and Yang Ba didn't have the qualifications to lay a hand on Yang Father, so someone must be behind it.

  "Cough, how is this possible!" Yang Ba was shocked beyond words. How did this little guy become so formidable? Cough, a few mouthfuls of blood were coughed up by him. His internal organs had already been damaged by Pan Hao's true energy.

  "Haha, want to take revenge? Look for our hall master! It's him who heard that your family got a precious jade pendant, so he wants to get it and present it to the helm master to gain his appreciation!" Yang Ba's mouth was filled with blood as he maniacally laughed loudly.

  Pan Hao's eyes stared tightly at Yang Ba, observing his expression, and finally confirmed that he was not lying. With a flick of his finger, an embroidered needle shot into Yang Ba's heart area.

  "Ugh!" A mouthful of blood with internal organs spewed out, Yang Ba's head fell, and his breath stopped.

  Pan Hao indifferently watched Yang Ba die, turned around and left. The hall master would absolutely not let him off. Because the jade pendant was still in his hands.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, not long after Pan Hao left, a group of burly men in green uniforms entered the village. Seeing the three corpses lying in Yang Hao's house, they were suddenly enraged and turned Pan Hao's house and Songjia Village upside down. Of course, Pan Hao would never know about this, and even if he did, he wouldn't care in the slightest.

  Ten days later...

  A dilapidated mountain temple, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy sat cross-legged on the withered thatch, his body wrapped in a faint white mist, vaguely forming a white lotus shape.

  Pan Hao sat among them, his face gleaming with a warm and jade-like luster, as if he were an immortal. If some rustic villager were to see him, they would probably prostrate themselves in worship, suspecting that a celestial being had descended upon the mortal world.

  As the spiritual energy condensed, the white mist in the dantian grew thicker and thicker. The white mist slowly formed a white lotus shape. The white lotus flower opened nine petals, emitting a faintly sacred and noble aura. As soon as the white lotus shadow solidified, the speed of absorbing spiritual energy increased by several degrees.

  The spiritual energy poured into the white lotus like flowing water, and the water droplets at the root of the white lotus slowly increased, starting to seep upwards. The illusory roots of the white lotus had a hint of solidification, forming small spots one by one.

  As the true energy flowed slowly, Pan Hao gradually stopped his cultivation. Because Pan Hao understood that wanting the lotus to condense into a tangible form wasn't something that could be achieved overnight. Next was the grinding of water, even with decades of experience, there was no way to obtain cultivation through empty effort.

  Unless one can obtain heavenly treasures or elixirs that enhance their powers, accelerating the accumulation of spiritual energy, it would be impossible to make progress. However, this was already satisfactory for Pan Hao, who thought that in his past life, during the Dharma Ending Era, spiritual energy was scarce and it took decades to reach the White Lotus Second Realm, whereas here it only took one or two years, what a huge difference.

  At some point, a gentle spring rain began to fall outside the temple. The cold wind blew, and the nearby bamboo forest made a rustling sound. Small bamboo shoots burst out of the ground one after another, and the bamboo leaves became even more lush and vibrant.

  What a good time it is! Pan Hao's eyes were fixed on him, his mouth cold and calm, some things should be settled too.

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