Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 327

Volume 3 - Chapter 59: Listening to Opera, Subduing Demons - Part 1

“Liangzhou?”

The shop attendant heard Li Hao’s question, but instead of showing impatience, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he smiled as he said:

“Sir, are you from Liangzhou? Then you must have seen the renowned Major General Haotian, right?”

“Hm?”

Li Hao was surprised. “You know about him too?”

“Come on, who wouldn’t know about him?”

The shop attendant chuckled and said, “Youzhou isn’t far from Liangzhou. The turmoil in Liangzhou months ago, when those damned demon hordes surrounded and attacked, has already spread across all the provinces. I even heard that the old master of the Xia Family's Divine General Mansion from our Youzhou went there to provide reinforcements.”

He spoke with a face full of curiosity and expectation as he looked at Li Hao.

“I heard that during that catastrophe, the demon hordes came out in full force, sweeping across the land. The demon kings filled the skies, darkening the heavens and covering the earth. It was like a swarm of locusts leaving no blade of grass behind. Liangzhou was on the verge of falling. Who would’ve thought that Major General Haotian would rise out of nowhere and suppress all those demons? In the end, just the sight of his battle flag was enough to terrify countless demons. Is that true?”

“…”

Li Hao hadn’t expected the events in Liangzhou to have spread this far, reaching even a small town in Youzhou.

But on second thought, it seemed reasonable. After all, a few months had passed, and even slow-moving news would have made its way here by now.

“More or less,” Li Hao replied. “What’s the situation in Liangzhou now? Have the demons retreated? Is there still chaos?”

“It’s been peaceful for a while now. No demon would dare go near Liangzhou anymore. I heard the royal army was sent to sweep up the remnants. These days, not even a stray dog can enter the city without a permit. They’ve really tightened the security there.”

The shop attendant shared what he had heard.

Li Hao let out a small sigh of relief. It seemed that the forces overseeing the Liangzhou battlefield at the time were the Candlefire God and his wife. The true strength of the Dragon Gate and Sacred Palace hadn’t gathered there.

And now, the greatest demon king responsible for the attack on Liangzhou was standing behind him, already submitting to his command.

Thinking of this, Li Hao said no more. He went to his room, changed into the simple clothes prepared by the shop attendant, and glanced at the night outside. It was still early, and the town was alive with the sounds of drums and gongs.

In a good mood, Li Hao said to Xiyan, “Let me take you out for a stroll.”

“Alright!”

Hearing this, Xiyan immediately became lively. The little red whisker coiled around Li Hao’s wrist rubbed against him, transmitting its curious voice:

“Was that Major General Haotian he mentioned you?”

“Yes.”

“Is ‘Major General’ a rank? I don’t think Da Huangtian uses such titles.”

Having spent her time in Da Huangtian, Xiyan had only gleaned fragmented knowledge from the people who had fought over the Dao Rhythmic Blood Fruit. She had limited understanding of Da Huangtian and even less of the human race in the Great Yu Divine Dynasty.

Li Hao smiled and patiently explained via transmission while leading her and the Candlefire God out.

As for the Yin Lady, she remained in Li Hao’s spatial realm.

Earlier, in order to heal the Yin Lady, he had infused her with a large amount of the power of heaven and earth. After briefly merging with the Candlefire God, it seemed she had touched the threshold of the Dao Domain and was now in seclusion.

Under the night sky, Li Hao strolled leisurely through the small town.

Although the town was dilapidated, the aroma of home-cooked meals and burning firewood filled the air, creating a lively and warm atmosphere.

Cobblestone roads, wooden stakes, and a small river flowed quietly past the houses.

Lanterns were hung along the streets, suggesting it might be a festive occasion.

Following the sound of gongs and drums, Li Hao arrived at the town center. There was a small opera stage here, with many people standing outside listening to the performance.

The front rows were equipped with tables and chairs, where prominent local figures like landlords and village elders sat cracking melon seeds, drinking tea, and enjoying the show.

Xiyan, like an eager child, kept asking Li Hao questions about everything she saw.

The Candlefire God, meanwhile, stayed silent like Li Hao’s shadow, never leaving his side. His expression remained cold, but his eyes reflected the lively scene of the mortal world.

Children played outside the opera stage, competing with paper sparrows, while the elderly occasionally clapped their hands in appreciation of the performance.

...

Li Hao walked forward, handed over a piece of silver, and sat at a tea table, quietly enjoying the opera.

During the nights in Da Huangtian, moments of rest were spent gazing at the stars and moon, humming tunes to pass the time. Here, however, it was a rare chance to truly relax.

But it wasn’t long before Li Hao’s expression subtly shifted. Without getting up, he casually picked up some melon seeds from the table, cracked a few, and flicked the shells onto the ground.

As the shells hit the ground, they suddenly rose into the air as if caught by a breeze, soaring into the night sky above the town before hurtling toward a hillside more than ten miles away.

There, a group of demons moved in the night wind, approaching the small town illuminated by thousands of lanterns and filled with the sound of gongs, drums, and laughter. Malicious grins appeared on their faces.

However, just as the lead demon opened its mouth to speak, a melon seed shell, like a tiny black dot, suddenly descended from the sky.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Infused with the power of object manipulation, the shells pierced through their bodies in an instant.

Over a dozen demons dropped dead on the spot, never even seeing what had killed them. Only one melon seed shell remained, lying next to the last demon’s corpse.

Inside the town, the opera continued. Outside the town, the moonlight shone silently on the demons' corpses.

“Well done.”

Li Hao clapped along with the audience, cheering at an exciting moment in the opera.

When the performance ended and the crowd dispersed, Li Hao took Xiyan and the Candlefire God back to the inn for a good night’s sleep.

It had been quite some time since he’d had a peaceful rest after coming from Da Huangtian.

The next morning, as the sun rose and illuminated the demon corpses outside the town, someone noticed the grisly sight and fled back to the town in terror, screaming as they rushed toward the Demon Subduing Division.

The battered gates of the Demon Subduing Division were barely ajar. Two sleepy demon subduers, still not fully dressed, hurried to the hillside upon hearing the news. When they saw the demon corpses, they were utterly stunned, staring wide-eyed in disbelief.

The discovery of demon corpses outside the town quickly spread, leaving the townsfolk shocked and anxious. Meanwhile, Li Hao, in the early morning light, asked the shop attendant for directions to Liyang City before setting off with the Candlefire God.

Since he was here, he figured he might as well take a look. Liyang City was in trouble, and the Xia Family, whose Divine General Mansion had aided Liangzhou, deserved his attention. As a fellow human, he couldn’t simply ignore it.

Following the official road, Li Hao passed through two cities on the way.

When entering these cities, Li Hao silently used his Dao Domain to cover Xiyan, concealing her presence. The Candlefire God relied on his own Dao Domain to suppress his aura. Although they didn’t have the Demon Pass permits required for demons to travel freely, they avoided detection by the city’s protective arrays.

The arrays were only capable of detecting demons at the Absolute Technique Stage. Against those who had mastered Dao Domains, such as Taiping Dao Realm demons, they were entirely ineffective.

Only in large provincial capitals or the imperial city itself would there be special divine artifacts capable of sensing Taiping Dao Realm demons. But such artifacts were exceedingly rare, and ordinary cities could only depend on their arrays.

The two cities Li Hao passed were heavily guarded, which clearly indicated that demon attacks had occurred there as well. However, the situation wasn’t as dire as in Liyang City.

While passing through, Li Hao casually dealt with demons lurking dozens of miles outside the cities.

To him, it was nothing more than a matter of a single thought.

Liyang City.

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