Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 478

Volume 3 - Chapter 146: Eternal Dao Domain, Battle for Supremacy Begins! - Part 2

Li Hao’s spiritual sense swept through the surroundings and quickly noticed that these were merely ordinary books.

Only when paired with the cultivation system of the Wen Zu Holy Land could they exhibit their formidable power.

In other words, the true cultivation techniques of the Wen Zu Holy Land were not here; this place was akin to an "Armory Pavilion."

Li Hao’s spiritual sense swept over and rapidly recorded these books, discovering three notable works worth collecting among them.

Feeling slightly tempted, Li Hao decided that after imprinting all the books of wisdom from the Wenxin Pavilion into his primordial spirit, he would take these three masterpieces with him as he left.

Half a day had passed outside by this time. Zhantan still stood waiting outside the pavilion, in the same position and stance as when Li Hao had entered.

When she saw Li Hao emerging, her gaze landed on the three masterpieces in his hand, and she couldn't help but smile, saying, “You certainly have good taste.”

“If I wanted to keep these three works in my collection, what would it cost me?” Li Hao asked.

Once added to the interface, these three masterpieces would disappear. The Wen Zu Holy Land would likely object, and if they did, Li Hao wouldn’t insist.

“You actually intend to study these? You don’t have the cultivation methods of the Literary Sage; they’d be useless to you. Are you just going to look at them?” Zhantan remarked.

“Mm. They say there’s gold in books, so I thought I’d do a little panning,” Li Hao replied.

Zhantan laughed, “You’re missing the second half—there’s also beauty in books.”

“I’ve already seen the beauty, but I haven’t come across the gold,” Li Hao responded.

Zhantan froze for a moment, noticing Li Hao’s gaze directed at her. With those words, her cheeks flushed slightly, but she quickly calmed herself and said, “If you were to join the Wen Zu Holy Land, these three masterpieces could be gifted to you outright.”

Li Hao sighed and shook his head. “I carry a grudge. I wouldn’t want to bring trouble to the Wen Zu Holy Land.”

Zhantan blinked and asked, “Who is your enemy?”

Li Hao didn’t say. His grudge against the Void Saint involved a sage-level conflict, and he didn’t want to drag others into it.

Zhantan’s gaze grew slightly intense as she realized that Li Hao’s enemy must be quite formidable. Otherwise, with Li Hao’s current cultivation level, if it were merely a semi-saint as an enemy, there would be no need to worry about implicating the Wen Zu Holy Land.

After all, in another sixty years or so, Li Hao would likely be on par with a semi-saint, rendering concerns about collateral issues moot.

If it wasn’t a semi-saint, then it could only be…

Zhantan gave Li Hao a deep look, realizing that this seemingly carefree person had such an enemy. Most people with such adversaries would be terrified and sleepless, but before Li Hao revealed this, she hadn’t seen any sign of inner turmoil.

“If there’s ever a need, Huayou Association can lend you some assistance,” Zhantan said.

Li Hao glanced at her, understanding her sentiment, and gently shook his head, “I’ll handle this matter myself.”

Hearing this, Zhantan realized Li Hao didn’t want to involve others in his troubles. This made her sigh inwardly, and she couldn’t help but admire him even more.

If Li Hao hadn’t said anything and joined the Wen Zu Holy Land at her invitation, should trouble arise in the future, the Literary Sage would be obliged to intervene on his behalf.

But Li Hao hadn’t done that; he hadn’t sought to take advantage of them.

One might call it foolish, or perhaps too sincere.

In a world full of fame and fortune, true sentiment is rare. Zhantan sighed softly, recalling how she had left the imperial family of the Upper Three Realms as a child to escape the vortex of power and incense politics. She had witnessed the world’s malice and lost her mother to it; human warmth had long lost its luster to her. Yet here, she encountered someone like Li Hao.

“Well then, if you can’t join the Wen Zu Holy Land, you can pick one of the three to take with you, and I’ll handle the rest,” Zhantan said to Li Hao.

Li Hao looked at her, knowing this was another favor.

After some thought, he selected The Collection of the Renhuang among the three.

Then, he handed the remaining two books to the keeper for return.

Zhantan glanced at the choice and gave a slight nod without further comment.

Li Hao stored the Collection of the Renhuang in his Spatial Realm and then asked, “Are there many copied versions of the sages’ writings in the Wenxin Pavilion?”

Zhantan was momentarily surprised and smiled, “You could tell the difference between originals and copies?”

Unless someone was highly knowledgeable in the sages’ works, it was challenging to discern.

Li Hao didn’t actually see through it but deduced it, as it seemed unreasonable that the Wenxin Pavilion, which amassed sages’ books from all realms, would only yield three notable works.

Zhantan explained, “Some originals are lost and merely transcribed; others are kept in the Imperial Hanlin Hall, where they aren’t willing to part with them. Many literati hold deep attachments to these works, and not even a sage can sway their beliefs without using force.”

“Additionally, some originals are so precious that they are preserved by the Literary Sage himself to avoid damage from disciple access.”

...

Li Hao understood. So, these three masterpieces were those that the Literary Sage didn’t think much of, thus leaving them here, while the rest had been stored away.

Only the originals could be added; copies couldn’t be incorporated into the interface.

Li Hao and Zhantan returned to Tian Tan Peak, and in the following days, once Zhantan informed him that the book had been sorted out and presented to him, Li Hao added it to the interface.

With the inclusion of the Collection of the Renhuang, a new attribute appeared in his compendium:

Invincible Benevolence: When activating the Invincible Benevolence state, all damage received will be equally reflected back at the attacker.

Li Hao was taken aback; some of the attributes in the compendium were powerful, while others were moderate, but this Invincible Benevolence attribute was undoubtedly domineering.

It allowed one to trade injury for injury, fighting in a death-match style.

For others, it might be less effective since warriors generally strive to avoid injuries in battle. Like wild beasts in the forest, inflicting wounds to kill also harms oneself; any lingering injury can obstruct one’s path in martial arts.

But Li Hao possessed the Blood Regeneration ability, making him least concerned about injuries.

“Though, I wonder how effective it would be against sages.”

Li Hao’s eyes flashed. Against someone in the Dao Law Realm, he didn’t yet need to use this attribute, but its effectiveness in a sage-level battle was uncertain.

Regardless, it was a slight enhancement to his capabilities.

Li Hao’s thoughts shifted to the other sages’ books, and he began reciting them in his courtyard.

As he recited the texts aloud, his experience in the Poetry and Calligraphy Dao began to surge rapidly.

Though each sage text contributed only a small amount of experience—ranging from a few dozen to several thousand points—there were countless sages’ texts in the Wenxin Pavilion. With each recitation, Li Hao’s proficiency in the Poetry and Calligraphy Dao swiftly advanced from the fourth segment to the fifth.

After another two days, it rose to the sixth segment, and the experience bar filled up.

Two successive skill points left Li Hao in high spirits.

Outside, Zhantan would occasionally hear his recitations from the courtyard as she painted, realizing that Li Hao had indeed memorized all the sages’ texts, and she couldn't help but smile wryly. It seemed that Li Hao genuinely had a passion for this path.

She shook her head with a wry smile. Compared to members of the Huayou Association, who found joy amidst hardships, Li Hao seemed to be truly reveling in life’s pleasures.

Time flew by.

Li Hao remained at Tian Tan Peak. After accumulating enough experience to reach the sixth segment in the Poetry and Calligraphy Dao, he needed to comprehend the Lingxin state to continue progressing. Since that required focus, Li Hao set aside Poetry and Calligraphy for now, shifting his efforts to the Culinary Dao and Painting Dao as primary goals.

Whether in culinary arts or painting, once he reached the tenth segment, he could achieve sainthood through the Sacrificial Dao, allowing him to live openly and reveal his true identity.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Hao spent his days discussing painting techniques with Zhantan, exchanging ideas and painting together, gradually accumulating insights. Although their levels in painting differed, their exchanges sparked new realizations in Li Hao, deepening his understanding of the Painting Dao.

Currently, his experience in the Painting Dao had reached 920,000 points, with 4,080,000 remaining to achieve the ninth segment.

While a considerable amount of experience remained, he could only gather it through the upcoming Battle of Tianjiao.

Compared to experience points, breaking into sainthood in the Painting Dao proved even more challenging.

During these three months, Li Qingyi also arrived at Tian Tan Peak to visit Zhao Qingshu. When she saw Li Hao there, she was taken aback.

At that moment, Li Qingyi had shed the disguise she’d worn during the Sacrificial Dao Mountain confrontation, revealing her natural, delicate beauty. Her cheeks were fair, her almond-shaped eyes enchanting, with a faint trace of innocence.

Upon inquiry, Li Qingyi learned that Li Hao was at Tian Tan Peak to discuss painting techniques with the semi-saint Zhantan.

Li Qingyi was momentarily speechless.

Over the past three months, her senior brother from the Book Sea, the top saintly son of the Wen Zu Holy Land’s Tianjiao Battle, had been in secluded cultivation. Meanwhile, Li Hao had been leisurely discussing painting?

Li Hao did not recognize Li Qingyi. As three months passed, he bid farewell to Zhantan. The next event was the Canglan Realm’s quota battle—a contest that had been brewing for some time. Through the reflection of the Boundary Stones, all the royal dynasties and tens of thousands of cities in the Canglan Realm would witness this grand spectacle.

As the battle drew closer, one peerless genius after another emerged from seclusion, radiating unparalleled auras.

“My sword is ready. I’ll secure a spot in the top ten!”

“Book Sea Senior Brother has exited his retreat!”

“Look over there! That’s the Haoyue Holy Son’s Radiant Moon Divine Peak, and there are two blazing suns above it. Is that the Sun and Moon Sword Intent? It feels even more terrifying than before!”

Within the Three Great Sacred Lands, the situation shifted dramatically. As various prodigies broke through, visions of their newfound power became apparent.

“The sky darkened… What is that? A demon?”

“That’s the Buddha’s son conquering his inner heart demon. The Buddha himself said that the stronger the heart demon, the stronger the Buddhist essence. The Buddha’s son’s Buddhist essence far surpasses ours.”

In the Buddhist Sacred Land, the sky turned black, covered by a surge of ominous clouds that loomed as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.

The phenomenon startled countless individuals, and news of it spread rapidly.

At the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, numerous saintly sons emerged from their meditation, promptly sending messengers to gather intelligence about other prodigies.

The Haoyue Holy Son also finished his retreat, his aura restrained. Silver strands of hair glimmered with gold, and his eyes radiated an even more dazzling brilliance of gold and silver.

He immediately summoned his men to inquire about Li Hao’s movements.

Not long after, the information returned.

“What? He went to the Wen Zu Holy Land?”

“Yes, it’s said he’s hosting an art exhibition and discussing painting with a semi-saint elder of the Wen Zu Holy Land.”

Hearing this, the Haoyue Holy Son was dumbfounded, nearly spitting blood.

“That guy is too conceited! With the quota battle imminent, he still has the leisure to paint?”

...

In a fiery domain, crimson light burst forth as a figure emerged from meditation. The scorching flames around him gathered inward, being completely absorbed into his body, leaving behind only charred earth.

A brilliant red pattern glimmered in his eyes, resembling natural dao patterns.

“Twin Buddhist Son, let me test your strength!”

With eyes brimming with battle intent, the fiery figure donned his robe and flew out. Upon returning to his abode, he consulted his master about the status of the other geniuses.

When he learned about the heart demon phenomenon in the Buddhist Sacred Land, his expression turned serious, though his fighting spirit only grew stronger.

As for the dual suns over the Haoyue Holy Son’s peak, his lips curled into a cold smile.

Then, remembering something, he asked his master about the recent actions of the gentle breeze prodigy he had fought previously.

When told that the other party was hosting an art exhibition, he was stunned. He couldn’t help but burst into laughter, both amused and angry.

“It seems my previous defeat has made him overconfident...”

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