Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 385

Volume 3 - Chapter 97: The Demon - Part 1

While waiting for news from the Wang family, Li Hao resumed his daily cultivation.

Although he could now slay opponents at the Dao Law Realm, this required him to exhaust all his methods without reservation, leaving him feeling somewhat strained... This realization gave rise to a sense of urgency in his heart.

Currently, in martial cultivation:

• Body Refinement: Stage 8

• Royal Dao: Stage 7

• Movement Dao: Stage 6

• Sword Dao: Stage 6

• Fist Dao: Stage 6

In artistry and skills:

• Chess Dao: Stage 6

• Music: Stage 4

• Poetry and Calligraphy: Stage 3

• Sculpting: Stage 3

• Culinary Dao: Stage 7

• Painting Dao: Stage 7

• Fishing Dao: Stage 5

Artistry points remaining: 1 point.

At present, only his Culinary Dao and Painting Dao had reached the Enlightened Spirit stage. Among the others, Chess Dao and Fishing Dao showed the most potential for improvement.

If he could achieve Enlightened Spirit in these, his Movement Dao, Sword Dao, and other martial disciplines would see a qualitative leap.

However, his Chess Dao experience had only just reached Stage 6 and was far from perfect, while his Fishing Dao lagged significantly behind.

Fortunately, there were no bottlenecks from Stage 5 to Stage 6; with enough experience, he could naturally achieve progress.

Having spent recent days traveling and slaying demons without a proper moment to focus on his cultivation, Li Hao now seized this rare opportunity. He brought along Feng Lao, his chessboard, and Ren Qianqian, traveling thousands of miles beyond the pass to find a secluded lake.

Li Hao condensed his strength into a thread, casting it into the lake where it became almost imperceptible. This demonstrated his mastery of the hidden-line technique in fishing.

The thread pierced into the body of a small fish demon, threading through its meridians like acupuncture needles, leaving the fish demon oblivious to the fact that it had been hooked. It continued to frolic in the water, blissfully unaware that it had become Li Hao’s bait.

“Feng Lao, why don’t you give it a try?”

Li Hao smiled at Feng Lao, who stood nearby.

Despite his damaged soul and slower movements, years of fishing had become muscle memory for Feng Lao. Before Li Hao could finish speaking, Feng Lao had already extended his energy into a thread, skillfully casting it into the lake.

Watching this deft maneuver, Li Hao couldn’t help but chuckle.

He casually retrieved a tea table and chessboard from his spatial realm. Ren Qianqian brewed tea by his side, quietly meditating on her own by the lakeshore.

Li Hao used the fishing process to discuss Sword Dao principles, explaining the logic of the sword to her.

A gentle breeze brushed past, carrying the soft whispers of a boy by the lake. The rhythmic chirping of cicadas from the distant forest formed a harmonious backdrop.

As Ren Qianqian pondered his teachings, Li Hao shifted his focus to teaching Xiyan how to play chess. Having brought her to experience the human world, Li Hao naturally wanted her to savor all its joys.

To him, chess was an enjoyable pastime.

Xiyan was remarkably intelligent. Once she grasped the rules, she quickly played with skill and composure.

“What is he doing?”

From the distant forest, two figures stood watching: a young woman and an elderly man. They were Ying Xiaoxiao and the tea stall elder from the Qingzhou official road.

“If I’m not mistaken, he’s... playing games,” the tea stall elder said with a wry smile.

Ying Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. “I can see that. Doesn’t he cultivate at all?”

She stared at the boy by the lake, appearing carefree as he sipped tea, played chess, and leisurely fished, showing no intention of practicing his Sword Dao or martial arts.

This was the daily life of a peerless genius?

Occasional relaxation was one thing, but it seemed as though, throughout their time following him, they had never seen the boy train.

“He was able to kill the Buddha Lord at the Dao Law Realm while still in the Supreme Dao Realm,” the tea stall elder muttered, his eyes flickering. “Though that Buddha Lord’s Unity of Buddha and Demon was flawed and forcibly merged, it was still a Dao Law-level being. He’s likely comprehending the Dao...”

They had witnessed Li Hao slay the Buddha Lord from a distance during that epic battle.

“Comprehending the Dao...”

Ying Xiaoxiao mused. Indeed, with his current power, he should be at the peak of the Supreme Dao Realm. Once he understood his own grand Dao, he could step into the Dao Seeker Realm.

“But his way of comprehending the Dao is peculiar,” Ying Xiaoxiao muttered, her eyes gleaming. She had seen many geniuses pursue the Dao, most of whom sought secluded caves or tempered themselves through worldly trials. This boy, however, neither secluded himself nor experienced the mortal world’s trials. Instead, he spent his days relaxing with his companions, savoring moments of leisure.

By the lakeshore, Li Hao’s eyes lit up.

The thread in his hand tightened abruptly. The small fish demon he had hooked earlier had just been attacked by a larger demon, which bit down on it in an instant.

Hooked.

Li Hao yanked the line swiftly. Water splashed as the larger demon, startled, tried to spit out the small fish demon, but Li Hao’s line pierced through its body like a needle, dragging it out of the lake.

Fishing experience +68.

The demon, now revealed as a Heaven and Man Realm being, glared at the young man standing on the shore and roared in anger: “Ignorant boy! How dare you fish for your grandpa! Die!”

Before the words could fully leave its mouth, it was dead.

The fishing line rapidly wriggled through its body, severing its meridians and bones. Just then, the 1% lethal attribute activated, leaving the demon's eyes wide with terror as the light in them quickly dimmed.

Li Hao flicked his wrist, sending the demon’s body to the shore, then stored it in his spatial realm.

Lunch for the day was settled—grilled fish back at camp.

Casting the line again, Li Hao extended it further into the lake, spanning several kilometers to find another small fish demon as bait. Once prepared, he resumed his waiting.

With his current power, he could easily churn the lake and obliterate every demon within, but such an approach would rob him of the joys of fishing.

Sipping tea and placing a chess piece on the board, he glanced at Xiyan, who tilted her head in thought. Amused by her serious demeanor, Li Hao smiled faintly. His gaze drifted to the distance, where the tranquil azure sky and drifting white clouds seemed to transform into the patterns of a chessboard. One cloud after another resembled chess pieces.

He became entranced, a realization dawning in his heart.

Mountains, rivers, and all living things followed natural principles, like the crisscrossing lines of a chessboard.

The concept of "structure" stemmed from this small chessboard.

Mountains and rivers formed the chessboard, while beasts served as its pieces...

As his gaze returned to the lake, the vast rippling surface, stirred by the breeze, seemed to transform into an expansive chessboard.

In the depths of the lake, demons swam, moving like pieces across the grid, forming patterns of their own accord.

“Chess...”

His prior game with that emperor had deepened his understanding of the Chess Dao. Now, he seemed to have taken another step forward, touching upon a new level of comprehension.

...

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