Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 393

Volume 3 - Chapter 102: Lifting the River of Death - Part 1

Wang Zhendong, who had been flung backward, quickly escaped the entangling power of the Underworld-level River of Death and returned to the small town. Feeling the inversion of the rules in the area, he was struck by a sudden sense of familiarity and closeness.

In just that fleeting moment, he had teetered on the edge of life and death and almost unleashed his ultimate move. Now, he could only feel the lingering dread of surviving such a calamity.

When he saw the boy’s silhouette engulfed by the pitch-black radiance, he snapped back to his senses. His expression changed drastically as he took a step forward.

But rationality held him back—going in his current state would only cause trouble instead of helping.

As the Wang family's pillar of support, with over a century of experience exploring the River of Death, he had always been their steadfast protector. Yet today, he had been pulled behind a sixteen-year-old boy he had just met, who shielded him from all dangers.

Wang Zhendong stared blankly at the pitch-black light, his heart filled with an inexplicable, deeply complicated emotion.

Wang Yongzhi and the others soon arrived at Wang Zhendong's side.

"Uncle Zhendong, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but he..."

"The Haotian General shouldn’t have any trouble, right? I’ve heard he easily subdued the likes of Long Jue Shen and Feng Lingxiao of the Supreme Dao Realm."

Wang Yongzhi quickly tried to reassure him, but despite his words, his face betrayed a mix of fear and concern.

Uncle Zhendong was an exceptionally powerful figure, yet he had nearly been defeated. Could that young Haotian General possibly hold his ground?

The group gazed at the darkness beyond the small town, its radiance blocking even divine sense and spiritual vision. Not a single movement could be seen within.

Here they stood—figures who could make others tremble with a mere stomp—reduced to the helplessness of villagers. All they could do was wait.

If the boy failed to retrieve the token, they would most likely die here.

Wang Zhendong’s fists clenched slightly, his sharp gaze fixed ahead.

Wang Yongzhi held his breath, desperately wishing his sight could pierce through the darkness.

...

Outside the town, within the pitch-black radiance, Li Hao's Dao Domain unfolded. It resisted the invasive rules of the River of Death while he followed the guidance of the golden paper forward.

With ten layers of Dao Domain superimposed, the rules were isolated, though they still seeped through gradually. It was a defense that couldn’t last long.

Soon, Li Hao reached a tattered flag fluttering in the darkness. Raising his eyes, he saw two characters written on the flag: "Qing Zhen."

Li Hao was momentarily stunned. Behind the flag stood another small town, one strikingly similar to the one he had just left. He had previously scanned the town with his divine sense and remembered its overall layout. Instantly, he recognized that this Underworld-level River of Death had somehow replicated the town!

This bizarre sight caused Li Hao to pause briefly. Information about such rivers was scarce—what little existed had been obtained at great cost, even by the Wang family.

Li Hao’s expression grew solemn as he noticed a string of wooden plaques hanging beneath the tattered flag, tied with red strings and swaying gently in the wind.

These wooden plaques resembled the token Wang Yongzhi had handed him earlier, but their color appeared a shade deeper—possibly due to the surrounding dark light.

The higher the grade of a River of Death, the wider its range... Though there were exceptions, they were exceedingly rare.

This Underworld-level River of Death clearly encompassed more than just the small town. Parts of it had likely merged, creating the town-like appearance.

No wonder the token had been replaced—the two rivers had fused in secret, allowing the Underworld-level river to affect the small town and render its token ineffective. This replica token had then taken its place.

Fortunately, perhaps due to the initial stage of the fusion, this token wasn’t located within the town’s ancestral shrine but instead hung outside of it.

Li Hao didn’t linger and rushed toward the Qing Zhen wooden plaque.

This Underworld-level river was far too strange. Although the Wang family speculated that passing through it could yield a million merit points, Li Hao dared not believe he could clear such a river easily.

As soon as he retrieved the token, the surrounding pitch-black light began to surge violently. From the dense fog emerged shadowy figures, completely dark as if they were vengeful ghosts. These creatures moved with astonishing speed, rushing toward Li Hao.

Li Hao unleashed his Dao Domain to suppress them. The monsters’ bodies instantly exploded into splatters of dark liquid, but as the Dao Domain contracted, the liquid began to reform slowly.

Li Hao’s eyes narrowed as he noticed a trace of indestructible Dao Force within the creatures.

They had already become manifestations of the Underworld-level River of Death’s power.

"Get lost!"

Li Hao struck out swiftly, forcing the creatures out of his Dao Domain. While their Dao Force was indestructible, they could at least be driven away.

Surrounded by the monstrous tide, Li Hao found himself completely engulfed, the darkness pressing in from all sides. These shadowy beings charged into his Dao Domain without fear of death, attacking with terrifying ferocity. Their strikes carried power equivalent to practitioners at the Absolute Technique Stage, as if their very existence was forged for battle.

Even worse, as they pushed into his Dao Domain, they extended the River of Death’s invasive rules further into the domain itself, giving Li Hao the unsettling sensation that his defenses were being eroded at an accelerated rate.

Li Hao's expression darkened as he quickly deduced that these creatures were likely manifestations of the Underworld-level River of Death's power.

"Begone!"

With a swift punch, he expelled the creatures from his domain, though he knew their essence couldn’t be destroyed. Their bodies, suffused with indestructible Dao Force, reassembled themselves rapidly even after being torn apart.

Outside, Wang Zhendong and the others anxiously observed the churning darkness.

"An Underworld-level River of Death," someone muttered gravely. "Our ancestors once invited a True Daoist to intervene, but even he was injured and never entered the river again."

Wang Zhendong’s expression was grim. His own Dao Domain had been eroded in just two breaths’ time, yet Li Hao had been inside for dozens of breaths already.

“Could it be that he’s already...”

The pessimistic voice of one onlooker trailed off as a chill spread through the group.

Wang Yongzhi’s heart was pounding. As the head of the family, he couldn’t bear the thought of leading everyone to their doom, nor could he accept the possibility that the young Haotian General—someone with the potential to reach sainthood—might perish here because of them. The weight of such a sin was too heavy to bear.

Just as unease reached its peak, the pitch-black radiance outside the town suddenly surged like crashing waves.

A moment later, the oppressive darkness seemed to be lifted, as a dazzling silver light burst forth, tearing through the gloom like the first light of dawn, illuminating the world with boundless brilliance.

Boom!

A terrifying sword aura erupted, slicing through the dark power and forcefully creating a fissure within the Underworld-level River of Death.

The shockwave from the sword aura was so powerful that even those in the town felt their hair blown back by its force.

Under the light of the sword, the group could see Li Hao holding a cluster of wooden plaques tied with red strings as he rushed toward the town.

However, on the ground behind him, viscous dark liquid pooled and coalesced, forming ferocious figures with twisted bodies. These ancient, malevolent spirits emanated an aura of deep evil and decay, as if they had slumbered for millennia.

Yet despite their ferocity, they were unable to breach Li Hao's Dao Domain, which firmly held them at bay.

Suddenly, one of Wang Zhendong’s companions let out a blood-curdling scream, clutching his eyes as blood poured from his sockets.

From the corners of his eyes seeped black liquid, which rapidly condensed into one of the terrifying shadowy figures they had seen before.

Wang Zhendong immediately reacted, shouting, "Close your eyes! Quickly, don’t look at them!"

He activated his Dao Domain, enveloping the group within its protective rules. However, when his domain’s power clashed with the emerging shadow creatures, he encountered surprising resistance—his rules couldn’t destroy them outright but could only barely suppress their movements.

“What are these cursed things?” Wang Zhendong muttered, stunned.

At the same time, he felt a strange itching and swelling sensation in his own eyes, as if something were trying to crawl out from within.

Another scream broke out nearby, followed by another. In a matter of moments, four or five shadow creatures had emerged, slinking from the bleeding eye sockets of his companions.

Wang Zhendong relied on his extensive experience with the River of Death—hundreds of life-threatening encounters—to swiftly deduce the nature of the threat. He shouted urgently:

"Don’t look at them! These things operate by the 'Reflection Rule!' They can emerge directly from your eyes!"

The group scrambled to shield their eyes, but it was already too late for some. Wang Zhendong struggled to hold the shadowy figures at bay with his Dao Domain, but it was clear he couldn’t suppress them for long.

Just then, a sweeping arc of sword energy tore through the air.

It effortlessly sliced through Wang Zhendong’s Dao Domain and cut apart the shadow creatures within it.

Although the monsters were bisected, they didn’t vanish. Their remains writhed and reassembled, showing their indestructible nature.

The source of the sword energy was Li Hao, who had seemingly teleported to their side. His figure flickered with speed, appearing almost instantaneous in his movements.

This ability wasn’t derived from Dao Rhythms but was instead a crucial technique he had used to kill the Boundless Buddhist Lord—a pinnacle skill known as Return to the Void!

Within a radius of five kilometers, Li Hao could teleport instantaneously using this ability...

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