Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 456

Volume 3 - Chapter 135: Ninth Stage of Sword Dao, Li Hao's Fury! - Part 2

Remaining skill points: 7.

Both movement techniques and fist techniques are stuck due to the lack of an Entering Spirit Realm.

These two are relatively important. Currently, Li Hao primarily relies on the Void Extreme Realm to compensate. However, if his movement techniques themselves reach the ninth stage, combining them with the Void Extreme Realm would produce unimaginable results. He believed this would vastly enhance his mastery of the Void Extreme Realm.

As for Fist Dao, in addition to improving fist techniques, it also boosts arm strength, which in turn increases the power of Sword Dao. Thus, it is indispensable.

“Heart Realm, Heart Realm. If my fishing and sculpting skills both reach the seventh stage, my combat strength will advance another level.”

Li Hao sighed inwardly, lamenting the shortness of time. Although he devoted himself to diligent daily practice in fishing and sculpting, the progress was still too slow.

Shaking his head, Li Hao closed the interface and resumed his sculpting.

This time, Li Hao took the Sword Lord as his subject. He began carefully carving the essence he had memorized into the wood. Before long, a trace of Dao Rhythms emerged.

When the sculpture was complete, Li Hao saw that he had gained over 5,000 points of experience.

Merely carving the opponent's figure from memory yielded such a substantial amount of experience.

If he sculpted the subject in person, it might easily reach hundreds of thousands.

Without stopping, Li Hao began his second sculpture.

Although the experience gains were generous, Li Hao could clearly feel that sculpting saints was far more difficult than sculpting anything else. Were it not for the fact that his sword had already merged with the Dao, allowing him to wield the carving knife with Sword Dao, he would have injured his hand multiple times during the process.

As the second sculpture took shape, Li Hao’s Sculpting Dao advanced to the bottleneck of the fifth stage and broke through to the sixth stage!

Reaching the sixth stage required 50,000 experience points.

Li Hao continued sculpting, completing four or five sculptures in succession, each earning an average of 2,000–3,000 experience points.

When the experience gains began to diminish, Li Hao thought of Yao Zu and the other semi-saint elders, as well as the Sword Saint.

Images of Yao Zu appeared in Li Hao’s mind, and he immediately began sculpting. His carving knife danced like a dragon in flight, shavings flying as the figure of a stunningly beautiful woman, otherworldly yet grounded, emerged in his palm. It was none other than Yao Zu.

...

While Li Hao was immersed in sculpting, in the Sword Tower, the Sword Lord, sitting on the rooftop gazing at the moon while sipping wine, suddenly stirred.

A sensation of being observed swept over him, guided by the pull of Saint Dao. His once wistful gaze turned sharp as he looked in a specific direction.

His vision seemed to pierce through thousands of miles, settling on a small courtyard.

When his gaze fell on a familiar face, he froze briefly, the sharpness in his eyes dissipating. He then noticed the youth’s hand.

Seeing the boy diligently sculpting a piece of wood, the Sword Lord was momentarily taken aback before chuckling wordlessly.

He had thought the boy’s obsession with Painting Dao was eccentric enough. Now, it seemed he had taken up sculpting as well?

What an interesting character. Spending solitary moments not practicing, yet still advancing in strength. How had he managed to cultivate 97 layers of Dao Domain?

The Sword Lord observed for a while. Li Hao’s sculptures carried a profound essence, evidence of more than a passing interest. It was impossible to achieve such depth without dedicating significant effort to mastering the craft.

Shaking his head, the Sword Lord withdrew his gaze with a faint sense of exasperation.

He had met countless individuals, yet never anyone quite like this peculiar youth.

That serene and profound temperament was not a façade but something innately cultivated.

“Could he be the reincarnation of one of those old fellows? Drawn here to the Sword Ancestor Holy Land by fate? Could it be one of my old friends who has been reborn? It’s been so long since we last met; perhaps one of them has quietly undergone nirvana?”

The Sword Lord murmured thoughtfully.

His interactions with those old acquaintances were often limited to spiritual communication. Meeting in person rarely added anything new, as they had long since exhausted all topics of conversation.

He decided that when he had time, he would visit those old friends—just in case someone had reincarnated without his knowledge.

...

Atop the Sacred Mountain, in another pavilion beneath a giant pagoda tree, the Sword Saint sat in his snowy gold robes. Under the moonlight, a woman practiced sword techniques in the courtyard, her moves fierce and her Ice and Snow Sword Intent manifesting a domain of frost within a three-zhang radius.

“Your Ice and Snow Sword Dao has reached a bottleneck,” the Sword Saint remarked. He had noticed the flaw earlier during her sparring match.

Hearing her master’s comment, Bian Ruxue sheathed her sword and lowered her gaze. “Please guide me, Master.”

The Sword Saint smiled faintly. “Don’t be disheartened. For someone your age to comprehend this level of Sword Intent speaks to both my teaching and your innate talent. Your foundation was laid well when you were young.”

During her earlier battle, Bian Ruxue had managed to win, but it had been grueling, leaving her feeling disheartened.

Hearing her master’s encouragement and his mention of her childhood, her thoughts drifted to a certain courtyard.

She recalled a child sprawled over a chessboard who had casually corrected her flaws in sword practice at the training grounds.

Her master had always praised her solid foundation, but it was that Sword Dao prodigy who had truly shaped it.

Sadly, that prodigy had later gone astray...

As Bian Ruxue recollected, her master continued:

“Ice and Snow Sword Intent is not about sharpness—it’s about condensation.”

The Sword Saint elaborated, “In your earlier match against Lin Qingying, her Supreme Soft Sword Intent excelled in dispersion, whereas your Ice and Snow Sword Intent focuses on cohesion.

“Condense to the extreme, and its power will far surpass anything dispersed to the extreme.”

Bian Ruxue nodded slightly. She understood her master’s intent: if their intents both reached perfection, hers would dominate with its overwhelming strength.

"Condensation..."

She murmured softly, her thoughts sparking with inspiration.

The Sword Saint seemed ready to add more when he suddenly paused, his expression shifting subtly. With a soft hum of surprise, his gaze turned sharp.

Someone was observing him.

A flash of piercing light shot from his eyes, spanning thousands of miles until it landed on a small courtyard.

When his gaze found the young man within, wielding a carving knife with fluidity, sculpting a wooden figure of him, the Sword Saint faltered slightly.

“Master?” Bian Ruxue noticed his unusual expression and asked curiously.

The Sword Saint narrowed his eyes for a moment before relaxing, withdrawing his gaze.

He recognized the small courtyard near Lin Shanhai’s Alchemy Courtyard, indicating a close connection. The youth’s act of sculpting him was not an affront, perhaps a form of admiration instead.

For a saint, such behavior wasn’t unfamiliar. However, what intrigued him was the youth’s ability to capture his Dao Rhythms during the act of carving. This level of precision suggested exceptional skill in sculpting, not mere reverence.

If it were genuine worship, he would have sensed the offering of Incense Power from the boy. Saints could easily perceive the devotion of their followers, but this youth was not one of his.

“It’s nothing—just a young man with remarkable sculpting skills,” the Sword Saint said evenly, his tone betraying no particular emotion.

“Sculpting?” Bian Ruxue was puzzled but didn’t dwell on it. The mention of this seemingly trivial skill reminded her of another memory: the chess-loving boy who had once corrected her swordsmanship with a few casual remarks.

That boy must have fulfilled his ambition to become a Chess Saint by now. A faint, self-mocking smile appeared on her lips.

...

Li Hao remained oblivious to the fact that his act of sculpting saints had drawn their attention. He continued to focus entirely on his work.

As his experience in Sculpting Dao neared the fullness of the sixth stage, the night passed in quiet dedication.

By the next day, Lin Qingying and Lin Shanhai followed their routine, heading off to spectate battles. Li Hao, uninterested, stayed in the courtyard to further refine his sculpting.

When he grew tired, he would occasionally join the Sword Lord for fishing.

...

On the Sacred Mountain, the battles raged with intensity. Amid fierce combat, two individuals emerged victorious, clawing their way back into the top ten from the losers’ bracket.

They were none other than Qiu Wuhen and Bian Ruxue.

After three days of rest, the tournament moved into the top ten competition, with Lin Qingying stepping into the arena alongside Lin Shanhai, who had come to spectate.

Over these three days, Li Hao had brought his Sculpting Dao to the peak of the sixth stage, just shy of entering the Spirit Realm.

Now, his courtyard was filled with all sorts of carvings. Some were of people he knew in the mortal world, while others depicted Yao Zu, the semi-saint elders, the Sword Saint, and the Sword Lord.

In the floating spectator seats, Li Hao sat with Lin Shanhai and other alchemists, quietly watching the tournament unfold.

The format remained the same: head-to-head duels. This time, however, the stakes were higher, and the atmosphere far more charged.

Earlier, the battles in the losers' bracket had already roused the disciples of the sacred lands to a fever pitch, making the top ten matches even more anticipated.

When it was revealed that Lin Qingying’s opponent was once again Bian Ruxue, the announcement drew collective gasps from the audience. Many even sympathized with Bian Ruxue.

Having struggled to make it back from the losers’ bracket, she now faced the very opponent who had defeated her before. It was enough to make anyone despair.

Bian Ruxue’s face shifted slightly at the result. The seemingly fated rematch filled her with unease.

Although her master had guided her, her Ice and Snow Sword Intent had yet to fully mature. While it had improved slightly, it was still far from perfection.

Lin Qingying appeared unfazed by the announcement, her expression calm.

Meanwhile, others admired Lin Qingying’s luck. Facing the same opponent meant she had a near-guaranteed advancement.

From his position, the Sword Saint sighed softly when he saw the pairing. While he could have interfered to manipulate the matchups, he chose not to—there was no need.

The greater a saint’s power, the more they trusted in fate. After all, they could catch glimpses of it.

Fate could not be defied.

Even at the Fourth Pillar Realm, those who claimed to reverse fate could only manage to obscure it temporarily when faced with someone of Dao Seeker Realm.

What was called “reversing fate” was no more than an opportunity granted by the heavens—a single chance to negotiate a new destiny.

But true fate? It was immutable.

...

Night fell.

The bright moon hung high in the sky.

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