Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 443

Volume 3 - Chapter 130: Sword Lord’s Command Token, Yao Ancestor’s Trial - Part 1

“Ninety-seven layers of Dao Domain?”

Hearing the Sword Lord’s words, the three were stunned. They exchanged bewildered glances, wondering if they had misheard.

Jiang Yingyue looked completely dazed, her mind blank except for a cascade of question marks.

She didn’t dare doubt the Sword Lord; instead, she chose to believe there was an issue with her own hearing.

The alchemist who had accompanied her possessed a ninety-seven-layer Dao Domain?!

How could that be possible?

Such a quantity of Dao Domains was unheard of. Even she had only cultivated fifteen layers, a feat already considered extraordinary for her unparalleled talent.

It should be noted that she had to balance cultivating her martial realm and swordsmanship simultaneously. Time was limited, and to achieve such accomplishments at her age—still under a century—already made her a peerless prodigy.

Except for those born with innate Dao Physiques, such as the Holy Sons and Holy Daughters, her achievements represented the pinnacle of acquired effort.

The Sword Lord didn’t wait for the trio to react and naturally didn’t address their astonishment. His figure flickered, suddenly disappearing from his original spot, and reappeared on the fifth floor of the Sword Tower.

There, Li Hao was seated, meditating and cultivating.

However, the Sword Lord’s sudden appearance startled Li Hao. Although the Sword Lord’s aura was faint, Li Hao caught it—specifically, a fishy smell of water.

This was the instinct of an experienced fisherman, highly sensitive to aquatic scents, and the smell came from the fishing rod and line carried by the Sword Lord.

“Sword Lord?”

Li Hao opened his eyes and saw the figure before him—a man wearing a bamboo hat with an impassive expression, yet exuding a shadowy, oppressive presence.

Even though the other party didn’t deliberately reveal his aura and had gone to great lengths to conceal it, the unique pressure of a Saint, felt so closely, still inspired awe.

“Ninety-seven layers of Dao Domain. Are you planning to use this to break into the Extreme Realm?”

The Sword Lord scrutinized Li Hao, asking with keen interest.

Li Hao’s heart tightened, a chill spreading through him. His All-Manifestations attribute, along with the illustrated attributes from the diagrams such as Jiangxue and Hidden Bow, had always been infallible and almost impossible to detect. Yet, the Sword Lord had seen through them.

Could it be that the illustrated attributes were ineffective against Saints?

Noticing the slight panic and thoughts in Li Hao’s eyes, the Sword Lord chuckled faintly and said, “You possess a technique to conceal your aura—quite advanced. But surely, you realize this Sword Tower is my weapon?”

“Cultivating within my weapon, how could I not be aware of what’s happening? No matter how well-concealed, it’s meaningless here.”

Li Hao froze, shocked. This Sword Tower was a weapon?

No one had mentioned this to him… He felt a twinge of despair, responding awkwardly:

“Breaking through to the Extreme Realm is exceedingly difficult, but this junior still wishes to give it a try.”

The Sword Lord nodded slightly. “A martial artist unwilling to pursue the Extreme Realm will achieve little. That you have cultivated ninety-seven layers of Dao Domain speaks to your extraordinary talent. My disciple mentioned you’re an alchemist? And that painting earlier, was it your work?”

The Sword Lord’s gaze carried a hint of interest as he examined Li Hao.

The painting alone was no simple matter—it required meticulous research and dedication to accomplish.

And this young man also seemed to be an experienced fisherman, making things all the more intriguing.

“Consider me a half-alchemist,” Li Hao replied with a wry smile, knowing it wasn’t something that could be explained in a few words.

“The painting was mine. If senior deems it acceptable, I wonder if I might have the honor of painting one for you as well.”

Li Hao’s thoughts turned, remaining true to his opportunistic nature.

The Sword Lord raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, giving Li Hao a once-over. Then, with a sudden flick of his palm, a small, pitch-black mirror appeared in his hand.

Li Hao recognized it as the Bone Reflection Mirror, the same item Lin Qingying had previously used to observe him—though he couldn’t be certain if it was the exact same one.

Did the Saints of this land all carry Bone Reflection Mirrors?

Li Hao mused to himself.

The mirror began to reflect, and soon, Li Hao’s age appeared on its surface: 28 years.

He had been resting and cultivating here for nearly a year. His swordsmanship had advanced to the eighth segment, and his Divine Blood Dao Body had reached perfection—progress he considered satisfactory.

“Only 28 years old?”

The Sword Lord’s gaze sharpened instantly, the calmness in his eyes replaced by unprecedented gravity.

Ninety-seven layers of Dao Domain had only slightly surprised him. After all, while cultivating Dao Domains required talent, even top-tier inner disciples could, given thousands or even tens of thousands of years of diligent effort, slowly accumulate such layers.

But being 28 years old, having reached the Supreme Dao Realm with 97 layers of Dao Domain—this was beyond shocking. Even if one cultivated one layer per year, it would still take over a century!

And the process of cultivating Dao Domains was far from straightforward. It demanded profound mastery of a particular technique to extend it into a Dao Domain.

Such speed was terrifying.

“You possess such aptitude, yet you are not a Holy Son or Holy Daughter. You don’t belong to my Sword Ancestor Holy Land, do you?”

The Sword Lord’s intense gaze locked onto Li Hao.

This level of talent was something he had never seen before, even in his lifetime. The Holy Sons and Holy Daughters he knew paled in comparison. While he distanced himself from worldly matters, he was well aware of their abilities.

Li Hao felt a bitter smile forming. He had intended to cultivate quietly here, but his abilities had inadvertently been exposed. At this point, further concealment would only invite trouble. After all, the methods of a Saint were beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, and any lie he told would easily be uncovered.

Thus, he straightforwardly recounted his circumstances—being pursued by an enemy, falling into this land, and being taken in by Lin Qingying.

The Sword Lord didn’t seem surprised and nodded slightly. “I suspected as much. When would such an exceptional talent emerge in the Sword Ancestor Holy Land without my knowledge?”

A genius of this caliber would have caused a sensation within the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, even reaching his ears despite his detached lifestyle.

He glanced at Li Hao again but refrained from probing further about his enemies or past. Since Li Hao hadn’t volunteered such information, it was clear he didn’t wish to discuss it. The Sword Lord wasn’t one to force others, and he could already surmise much.

“No wonder the Yao Ancestor values you so highly. Now, do you intend to join our Holy Land, or are you merely staying temporarily and plan to leave later?”

The Sword Lord’s tone was measured. He could tell that someone like Li Hao, with such extraordinary aptitude, likely had an extremely powerful background, perhaps as a personal disciple of a Supreme Saint. Such a person wouldn’t necessarily remain here permanently.

“Saintess Qingying has shown me great kindness, and since she is part of the Holy Land, I’d like to avoid dragging the Sword Ancestor Holy Land into any potential trouble in the future,” Li Hao replied earnestly, his gaze firm.

The Sword Lord nodded subtly, as he had expected. A prodigy like this didn’t belong to the Sword Ancestor Holy Land. He was most likely a personal disciple of one of the Supreme Saints, having been forced into exile due to internal strife.

When Li Hao eventually sought vengeance, it would undoubtedly cause a massive upheaval. By not affiliating with the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, Li Hao was showing them kindness by avoiding unnecessary complications.

The Sword Lord’s impression of Li Hao grew more favorable. He said, “I will act as though I saw nothing. Continue your cultivation. When the time comes for you to seek revenge, ensure you do not implicate the Sword Ancestor Holy Land by using our sword techniques.”

“I would never bring trouble to the Holy Land,” Li Hao promised sincerely.

The Sword Lord said no more. With a flicker of his figure, he disappeared, fishing rod in hand.

Li Hao let out a sigh of relief but felt too shaken to continue his cultivation.

From the Sword Lord’s tone, it seemed he believed Li Hao had only recently broken through to the ninety-seventh layer of Dao Domain, rather than achieving it all at once.

The distinction between the two was significant.

Standing up, Li Hao made his way to the sixth floor of the Sword Tower.

This time, he continued collecting techniques, meticulously recording them all. Many thoughts swirled in his mind, but this time he resisted the urge to begin cultivation immediately.

Next was the seventh floor of the Sword Tower.

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