Li Hao used Qing Shuang to slice his own finger, yet it healed in an instant.
The residual Sword Qi from Qing Shuang couldn’t impede the healing speed.
Li Hao felt that even if he were to lose a limb, it could regrow within a single breath. Just how immense was this vitality?
To be undying, indestructible, and unaging represented the Three Immortal Realms. At this moment, he seemed to truly approach the state of undying and indestructible.
“If it were the Extreme Realm, that would be true Immortality…”
Li Hao thought to himself.
Regrettably, although he was extremely close to the limit, he had not yet made the breakthrough and reached that state of the Extreme Realm.
At this moment, when Li Hao was seventeen, the demons outside Dragon City were already restless.
Groups of demons continuously assaulted the city. Although a major war had not yet broken out, there were repeated probing attacks.
And with each probe, if the soldiers of Dragon City did not resist tenaciously, the demons might actually seize the opportunity to attack.
Inside the Divine General Mansion’s dining room, the atmosphere grew increasingly solemn.
“Is Xing Bei still defending the city?”
Li Tianzong picked at his food, asking with a somber expression.
Chen Hefang wore less of the pearls and gemstones that she used to, appearing simpler. Now, many of the Divine General Mansion’s resources were sent to the front lines, and everyone inside was practicing austerity.
“He’s there with Feng Ping. They watch each other’s backs, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
Chen Hefang’s eyes were filled with distress as she whispered softly, “Since you’re back, rest well and conserve your strength.”
Li Tianzong fell into a slight silence, saying, “If only I could step into the Grand Tao of Peace Realm, those demons wouldn’t be so rampant…”
Chen Hefang gave a bitter smile, “The Grand Tao of Peace Realm is not so easily achieved. Each step in the Four Stands Realm is like ascending to heaven. You are already doing very well.”
Li Tianzong didn’t speak again and simply continued to eat.
However, a glimpse of Li Hao smoothed the seriousness in his eyes, replaced by a look of relief and satisfaction.
“As long as we withstand another ten years, Xiaoshi will definitely be able to step into the Grand Tao of Peace Realm. By then, those demons will surely fear us…” He had immense confidence in Li Hao’s talents.
Although by the time one reached the Four Stands Realm, they would no longer value the initial innate talent, favoring instead opportunities and comprehension, he felt that Li Hao could achieve it.
Hearing this, Li Hao sighed inwardly, fearing that they might not be able to wait for ten years.
In a year’s time, would his strength be sufficient to help them withstand the siege on Dragon City?
Li Hao also wanted to clear the game, but thinking of Li Xiaoran’s words, that within four days of defending the city, over a hundred Demon Kings had appeared, he felt immense pressure.
This time within it still lurked the Candle Flame God and the old dragon Lu Yuan.
Li Hao shook his head, daring not to continue experiencing the Tao Heart Realm here, worried that time would jump directly to one year later. He needed to strive to enhance his physical strength and cultivate other realms to their limits before then.
Only then could he maximize his combat power.
After the meal, Li Hao got up to leave, going back to his training.
If he could have another Artistic Skill reach Spiritual Awakening, and then raise his Control Path to the Seventh Stage, it would greatly enhance his combat capabilities.
Li Hao pinned his hopes on the Art of Painting.
He immersed himself fully in his painting techniques, and during his rest periods, he would go patrol the city with Li Xiaoran, slaying demons.
The demons within the city had been mostly eradicated by now.
Occasionally, they would search the areas near the city outskirts.
The city was larger than Li Hao had imagined, but beyond it, the distant sky was an endless expanse of pitch-black darkness, like an abyss.
That place seemed unreachable even by thought, concealing countless demons.
The Demon Kings that Li Hao hunted were all absorbed using the Ten Thousand Blood True Demon Skill, continuously refining his physical body, growing stronger day by day.
“Painting…”
Li Hao sometimes sat atop the city walls, gazing into the distance and picking up his brush to paint.
This sight caused some surprise among the other soldiers defending the city. Yet knowing of this Li Family youth’s exceptional talent, which shook both the past and the present, they didn’t discuss it much and simply focused on their duties.
With his brush, he captured the distant horizon’s dark and profound sky, resembling an upside-down abyss that sent shivers down one’s spine just by looking.
Having already reached perfection in his Painting Experience, Li Hao indulged himself in capturing the spirit within the paintings.
From then on, Li Hao spent each day painting on the city walls. After ten continuous days, countless sheets of paper bore the black skies outside the city and various ferocious demons peeking out from within.
It wasn’t until Li Hao painted the Thousand Demons Emerging from the Abyss Picture that he gradually touched a trace of spirit within it.
Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere of the withering grass outside the city, his state of mind turned melancholic, and the demons in the painting seemed ready to break free and fly out.
As Li Hao contemplated the Art of Painting, he felt time around him accelerate, although not as quickly as when he contemplated the Tao Heart Realm.
Li Hao faintly sensed that this was a deliberate rule hidden by the Mo River, to prevent someone from using it to comprehend the Tao.
Once immersed in understanding the Tao, the Mo River would speed up time until it pushed them out or brought them to the ultimate extremity.
“It seems, unless one enters the Grand Tao of Peace Realm and covers oneself with a Dao Domain, isolating the rules of the Mo River, one cannot live freely here.”
Li Hao thought to himself, unaware of the Candle Flame God’s current situation. Was he hiding among the demons, cultivating, or secretly planning and commanding a part of the demon forces?
He could not know, but as time passed by with each day he spent slaying demons and contemplating the spiritual essence in painting, half a year of the Mo River’s time had quietly elapsed.
The attacks of the demons became more rampant and violent.
After one time leap, Li Hao returned to the mansion to find two coffins lying in the main hall, those of his eldest brother Li Xingbei and his second brother Li Fengping, not yet buried!
Li Hao’s expression subtly changed when he saw Li Xiaoran was also there and immediately leaned in to ask through a whispered transmission.
Li Xiaoran, having regained his cultivation level from before his death, had reached the Ultimate Study Realm. He informed Li Hao through a whispered transmission that when Li Xingbei and Li Fengping were defending the city, they were ambushed by an attacking Demon King. They barely managed to defend the city but lost their lives in the process.
Both were of the Three Immortal Realms, and although they possessed extremely high talent, they were not like Li Hao, who could slay a Demon King at the Three Immortal Realms.
Li Hao’s face grew dark; the great battle for Dragon City had not yet begun, and the nine sons of the Li Family had already started to fall.
The cause of his eldest and second brothers’ deaths was different from that outside the Mo River, as the environment here caused many things to develop differently than they would have outside.
“Don’t be too nervous. After all, passing through is difficult. If it really becomes impossible, I will take you and retreat from the ancestral hall. That place is the exit from Dragon City, as well as the exit from this Mo River.”
Li Xiaoran transmitted to Li Hao, “You are only at the Three Immortal Realms right now. Even if you reach the Tao Heart Realm, it will be difficult. I suspect that in the upcoming days in Dragon City, Demon Kings from the Grand Tao of Peace Realm might appear, in addition to the dominators of the Great Void Realm who have entered this time, which will make the difficulty greater than normal.”
Now, seeing Li Hao display such exceptional talent, Li Xiaoran’s thoughts had quietly changed.
Rather than risking passing through the Mo River, ensuring Li Hao’s safe and complete retreat is the key.
As the elder brother within the Mo River had said, Li Hao is the future hope of the Li Family!
With Li Hao’s talent, as long as he continues his cultivation, he will surely lead the Li Family toward the most splendid future, rivaling that of the ancestral era!
Once Li Hao reaches the Grand Tao of Peace Realm, it would not be unfeasible to assist him in passing through later. Given his rate of cultivation, it won’t be too long a wait for him.
Hearing Li Xiaoran’s transmitted message, Li Hao nodded slightly. Their main task was to defend Dragon City, so most likely, the Candle Flame God’s main task is to destroy Dragon City.
“Elder brother left a back door for us, guessing that we, the descendants of the Li Family, would come to release him and bring him home…”
Li Xiaoran looked at the elder brother in the hall with a sorrowful expression. Although the person before him was not really his elder brother from his lifetime, but merely a soul thought, or even a soul thought affected and enslaved by the Mo River, his emotions were still somewhat turbulent at the moment.
However, he quickly restrained himself.
This was not his first visit to the Mo River.
The scene before him was one he had seen many times before.
Li Hao looked at the hall and fell silent as well.
The other seven sons, including the fifteen-year-old Li Hongzhuang, all showed expressions of grief, with some eyes reflecting anger and others clenching their fists tightly, all filled with hatred and murderous intent towards demons.
Li Hongzhuang was dressed in a lady’s dress and adorned with swaying accessories. Any excessive motion would ruin the aesthetic of her dress hem and earrings, serving as both decorations and a reminder to maintain decorum in her posture.
But at that moment, her eyes were wet and red, staring intently at the coffin, as if contemplating something.
Li Hao knew that this “younger sister” would walk the same path as she did outside the Mo River, transforming from a rich young lady into a sword-carrying female general.
Perhaps this was an unavoidable fate.
Li Hao did not look further, choosing to skip the current scene of sorrow. He kept his emotions cool, watching the progress of his growth task inching closer to 100%, aware that his eighteenth birthday was soon to come.
With the misfortunes of Li Xingbei and Li Fengping, the prelude to the battle had already begun to sound, necessitating a greater focus on the martial path.
Several days later, when a Demon King infiltrated the city and killed Li Ziye, the sixth son, Li Hao and Li Xiaoran arrived only to see the latter’s bisected body, a sight of utter misery.
Although he knew it was Mo River, and everyone else in Dragon City existed because of Li Tianzong’s obsessions, excluding Li Tianzong himself, witnessing the death of Li Yuanzhao’s father right before his eyes—his death so painful—Li Hao felt his emotions were ignited, a surge of anger welling up within him.
He abruptly drew his sword and cleaved the Demon King in two, cutting through the street as well, unleashing divine power.
Having killed the Demon King, Li Hao rushed to Li Ziye’s side, whose breath had already ceased, yet his eyes remained open.
But in his eyes, there was a trace of relief and a smile on his lips, as if he saw the Demon King beheaded and saw his own reinforcements arrive…
Li Hao used his hand to close his eyes.
He remembered when he was four years old and injured from a demon attack during a banquet, lying in bed. Upon opening his eyes for the first time, it was this “Sixth Brother” he saw, struggling to stay awake beside his bed.
Although they were born from obsessions, Li Hao had heard from Li Xiaoran that these people resembled those Li Tianzong had met in life, their temperaments not much different.
This also meant that, in reality, this “Sixth Brother” would have likely been just as gentle and meticulous, the kind most adept at caring for others.
Yuanzhao, you had a good father… Li Hao thought to himself.
What a pity that Yuanzhao was born just as his father died in battle, without ever seeing his face.
He picked up Li Ziye’s body and carried it back to the Divine General Mansion.
Seeing “mother” Chen Hefang’s sorrowful demeanor, Li Hao noticed a few strands of white hair had quietly appeared at her temples.
Li Hao’s lips moved slightly, intending to offer some words of comfort, but suddenly he didn’t know what to say and fell silent in the end.
He clenched his fist slightly and chose to accelerate time, skipping over those sorrowful eyes and the mournful cries as if pouring out grief.
A month after Li Ziye’s sacrifice, the Third and Fourth Brothers also met with accidents one after another.
Within Dragon City that had been cleared before, countless demons somehow infiltrated from unknown places; the city’s protective array seemed to have lost its function to warn of demons, leaving Li Hao perplexed.
“The same happened to Dragon City in the past, infiltrated by demons. Those demons killed the ones with mandates issued by Dayu Divine Dynasty and stole their tokens…” Li Xiaoran said in a low voice.
Li Hao was silent; this must have been imprinted in Li Tianzong’s heart, turning into his inner demon, leading to such unreasonable scenarios.
As Li Hao once again immersed himself in the comprehension of the Art of Painting, and had not yet emerged from the immersion, the growth task that was nearly 100% complete finally prompted.
Task completed.
These four words should herald joy, but instead, Li Hao felt a heaviness in his heart.
He glanced at the progress of passing through Mo River, the completed growth task had only provided 10% of the passage progress.
The many demons he had slain had accumulated to only 3%.
The current progress was 13%.
At the same time, the main task also sent a prompt at this moment, officially opening.
As the ancient golden lettering of Mo River disappeared, Li Hao felt the battlements under his feet suddenly tremble slightly.