Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 384

Volume 3 - Chapter 96: The Reincarnation of a Saint

Hearing Demon Ram Lord’s words, the two froze in alarm.

“Is this for real?”

However, they were not yet prepared.

Demon Ram Lord said no more. He took out a set of incense sticks, lighting them in the temple within the secret hall.

With sincere reverence, he offered the incense.

Before long, a golden light manifested in front of the temple. From within it stepped a young man clad in a silver-white robe. His entire being radiated an air of sacred dignity, his light silver irises reflecting a glimmer of boundless divine brilliance.

“One year in the Holy Land equals ten years in the mortal world.”

A calm voice escaped his lips as his gaze swept over the three demons inside the secret hall. His expression was cold as he asked:

“How are things progressing here?”

“Your Highness, the Holy Son, this is what happened…”

Demon Ram Lord immediately knelt, bowing deeply, and relayed the situation along with their intentions.

After listening quietly, the Holy Son’s face turned icy.

“So, after decades of waiting on my part, and centuries of your scheming, it has all been for nothing? You want to just go head-to-head now?”

Demon Ram Lord’s body tensed as he bowed his head.

“Your servant is at fault. That young human’s rise was too sudden, and we failed to eliminate him in time. Now, he is beyond our ability to kill.”

Initially, under the Holy Son’s command, they had avoided making any commotion and instead opted for a gradual encroachment. This allowed the Jiang family to secretly revive their ancestor. Although three millennia had passed in the Divine Dynasty of Great Yu, it had only been three centuries in the Land of Saints.

And three centuries, to the saints, were merely the blink of an eye.

“I warned you before: strike to kill in one blow or erode them slowly. Do not drag yourselves into an extended stalemate. And yet, here we are.”

The killing intent in the Holy Son’s eyes made the temperature in the secret hall drop precipitously.

Originally, he had planned to seize the Jiang family’s incense offerings silently, which was why he had these three demons plot in secret for hundreds of years. During this time, he waited patiently in the Holy Land.

But now, if it was going to come down to open warfare, wouldn’t all that time and effort have been wasted?

“Forgive us, Your Highness.”

The three demons pressed their foreheads to the ground, trembling with fear.

“You’re certain he reached this level by the age of sixteen?”

The Holy Son’s tone shifted as he narrowed his eyes.

Demon Ram Lord nodded.

“This has long ceased to be a secret. We now suspect he might be the reincarnation of a saint.”

“The reincarnation of a saint…”

The Holy Son’s eyes gleamed.

“It’s a possibility. The saints in the Land of Saints are currently scheming something significant. To achieve it, all the martial extremes must be unlocked. This could be one of their moves, but based on what you’ve said, his actions are far too conspicuous.”

“Even in the mortal world, he risks drawing the attention of other saints and being struck down.”

The three demons exchanged uneasy glances, sensing they had stumbled upon an immense secret but dared not ask further.

“Had I known this boy was such a prodigy, I should have personally intervened back then.” Demon Ram Lord muttered regretfully.

When Li Hao rose to fame, they had been scheming to take control of Liang Province, planning to eliminate the boy as a side task.

However, even with a Void Realm sovereign overseeing the operation, they failed to kill him. And back then, Li Hao was only fifteen!

Now, even if they acted personally, they had no confidence they could end him. His meteoric rise left them reeling, unable to react in time.

For other prodigies born in Great Yu, they had always worked in the shadows, assassinating them before they could grow. Those few they failed to assassinate posed no significant threat.

They had been systematically severing the dynasty’s new blood, allowing it to decay into stagnation.

But now, a single, unexpected genius had shattered their rhythm with overwhelming force.

Had it not been so, Demon Ram Lord wouldn’t have dared disturb the Holy Son.

“Now you come to me, seeking reinforcements?”

The Holy Son’s voice was icy.

Demon Ram Lord lowered his head.

“Your Highness, with our current strength, we are indeed insufficient. If that boy joins forces with that Daoist…”

“Hmph!”

The Holy Son snorted coldly.

“The Jiang family has been secretly gathering incense to revive their ancestor. Do you know why the five Divine General Mansions have those divine arrays around their cities? They use mountains and rivers as the formation, reversing the flow of incense to funnel it toward the Jiang family.”

“They’ve been so cautious to avoid detection by other saints and to prevent their plans from being disrupted.”

“After all, it’s still unclear whether the Jiang family’s ancestor had rival saints.”

“If we create a commotion now, we might end up with nothing!”

Demon Ram Lord and the other two demons stiffened, their faces shifting.

“Requesting reinforcements is out of the question. Besides, even if I send more help, I doubt you’ll succeed. I’ll handle this myself. I won’t give him any chance!”

The Holy Son’s gaze turned resolute and ruthless. He had no intention of dragging things out further, nor of giving his opponent room to grow.

Unlike the cliché tales where villains send progressively stronger foes to train the hero, eventually leading to the hero’s invincibility, he would crush him outright with overwhelming power.

“You focus on the Qiandao Palace. Now that the Merit Treasury has appeared, martial artists across Great Yu will draw upon the merits of the River of Death and grow increasingly strong.”

The Holy Son continued:

“Moreover, if the ancient sacred clans in the Great Wilderness Heaven learn of this, they’ll likely intervene. When they waged war in the past, they sealed the Merit Treasury. This is a blessing from the Dao of Heaven itself.”

Demon Ram Lord and the two other demons were stunned. They hadn’t expected the Holy Son to step into the fray personally.

Previously, he had remained in the shadows to avoid exposure and prevent other saints from interfering. Now, however, he seemed prepared to abandon all caution.

“Forgive us, Your Highness, for causing you such trouble.”

Demon Ram Lord looked deeply remorseful.

“Spare me your useless apologies. Fail again, and I won’t forgive you.”

The Holy Son’s eyes glinted coldly.

“Still, that boy took care of the Buddhist Lord for us, saving us the trouble of dealing with him later. He dared to compete with me for incense offerings? Preposterous!”

The Holy Son’s confidence stemmed from his understanding that cooperation with the Buddhist Lord had always been tentative. Both sides sought the same goal: to amass enough incense to ascend to sainthood.

Inevitably, there would have been a conflict of interests.

Yet the Buddhist Lord was now gone, which, while complicating the immediate battle, removed a key opponent in the endgame. It was, in some ways, a silver lining.

“We will not fail you again, Your Highness.”

Demon Ram Lord vowed solemnly.

...

...

In Liang Province, at Tianmen Pass, news poured into a small courtyard.

When Li Hao received the imperial edict from Emperor Yu, he was somewhat taken aback. It didn’t align with their earlier discussions.

Furthermore, the series of demon attacks that followed made him realize the emperor had chosen a different path than what they had initially agreed upon.

But exposing so many hidden cards...

“Is it worth it?”

Li Hao fell into deep thought.

“Ha, it seems my dear elder brother regards you as the future inheritor of our Daoist legacy. Indeed, after three thousand years of propagation and incense offerings, the Jiang family’s ancestor should be close to revival. The incense offerings from now on will be used to help you ascend to sainthood.”

Jiang Lichen sat leisurely in the courtyard, drinking wine from a small flask and snacking, utterly relaxed and at ease.

Seeing his carefree demeanor, Li Hao asked:

“Didn’t you say earlier that you were going to cut him down with your sword? Why did you run away when he arrived?”

Before Emperor Yu’s arrival, Jiang Lichen seemed to have sensed it and had left in a hurry, claiming he was going for a stroll. He only returned silently after Emperor Yu’s departure, which piqued Li Hao’s curiosity.

“Hmph! I will cut him down, eventually. But I’ve already said, I’ll only do so after I retrieve you from the River of Death. That means you must first fall into misfortune, and I must rescue you. Only then will I deliver that strike. Unlike him, I’m not thick-skinned. I always stand by my word!”

Jiang Lichen’s haughty tone made it sound as though he was trying to justify himself.

But to Li Hao, his explanation carried a childish sense of bravado.

“You’re afraid to cut him down, aren’t you?” Li Hao squinted at him suspiciously. “You must have sensed the emperor’s cultivation level.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!” Jiang Lichen erupted in anger.

Li Hao chuckled.

“Don’t get worked up, don’t get worked up.”

“Afraid? Me? He himself gave me his word that I could strike him down. Why would I be afraid?!” Jiang Lichen retorted indignantly.

Li Hao thought for a moment and nodded.

“That does make sense.”

Jiang Lichen’s expression finally softened as he gave a cold snort.

“Once my swordsmanship reaches its peak, I won’t even need incense offerings. I’ll use my sword to ascend to sainthood. What’s a saint to me? I’ll cut him down without hesitation!”

“You’ve still got a long way to go.”

Li Hao’s blunt remark caught Jiang Lichen off guard. Then, he quickly changed the topic.

“You just mentioned reviving your ancestor. What’s that about? Is it a secret of the royal family? You’re being awfully casual about sharing it.”

“What of it? So what if it’s exposed? What does it matter to me? Like I’ve said, the rest of the world has nothing to do with me. If it can help hone my sword, I wouldn’t blink if I had to cut down everyone!”

Jiang Lichen gave a dismissive snort.

Li Hao raised an eyebrow slightly. No wonder people called the Ninth Prince a sword demon—he was undeniably fanatical.

...

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