Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 272

Volume 3 - Chapter 28: The Young Man Enters the Great Wilderness - Part 1

The Eastern Huang Continent stretched endlessly, and if the Great Yu Divine Dynasty was taken as its center, the imperial capital would be its bullseye.

The outline of the Nineteen Provinces resembled a teapot.

The spout tilted upward, with its edge marking Tianmen Pass. Beyond Tianmen Pass extended the gray-hued Demonic Territories Beyond the Border, where monsters and demons resided. Farther away, the map showed a region of deep black, the Great Wilderness Heaven.

The Ministry of War in the Great Yu Divine Dynasty had four divisions overseeing martial selection, cartography, transportation within the provinces, and military equipment.

The second division, the Division of Geography, was responsible for overseeing maps of the realm, regularly updating and redrawing them.

Over the more than three thousand years of the Great Yu Divine Dynasty's history, new and old maps had undergone multiple revisions, leaving aside the shifting landscapes within the provinces.

The Demonic Territories beyond the border were marked in gray, and over the years, areas of mountains and peaks had been gradually surveyed and named.

This provided significant assistance to the Demon Subduing Division in tracking and apprehending wanted demons beyond the border. Maps served as their eyes, though many dedicated talents sacrificed their lives in the creation of these maps.

However, no matter how maps evolved over the years, the region beyond the Demonic Territories, named the Great Wilderness Heaven during an expedition by a former emperor, remained depicted as deep black.

No geographical features or descriptions existed for it.

It was like the black abyss encircling the continent's edge, a forbidden zone for humans, ominous and mysterious.

Over the millennia, various talents from the Ministry of War attempted to explore the Great Wilderness Heaven, sacrificing countless lives to bring back only scant information.

This blood-soaked knowledge was compiled into a book titled The Great Wilderness Scripture.

It comprised merely two thin pages with a brief narrative of several hundred words.

Life was more fragile than paper.

Yet, even so, these thin pages were carefully preserved in the Imperial Palace, with only top-tier factions like the Divine General Mansion possessing copies.

...

At this moment, on the edge of the Great Wilderness Heaven, a young man walked through the primeval forest, where ancient trees reached towering heights.

Surrounding him were massive trees shrouded in dim mist.

"The records state that within the Great Wilderness Heaven, miasma fills the skies, giant beasts roam, demons run rampant, and there are even traces of rumored ancient ferocious beasts," Li Hao mused, carefully observing his surroundings as he moved forward.

The records were indeed accurate. Though he had not yet encountered giant beasts or demons, the damp and venomous miasma within the forest was palpable.

Fortunately, his Indestructible Body was exceptionally tempered, easily resisting these harmful elements.

For others in the Three Immortals Realm, prolonged exposure here would damage their bodies.

For those with weaker cultivation, the situation would be even more dire.

Li Hao's gaze flickered with thought. He pondered as he questioned the elderly man from the Ji Clan, who had shrunk himself and hidden on his body:

"Are you certain there are humans living here?"

"They are not humans. They are the Holy Clan!"

The Ji Clan elder’s voice immediately corrected him.

Developing a fondness for Li Hao’s talent, the elder explained further:

"My Ji Clan belongs to the Ancient Holy Clans. Though we originate from humans, we possess the ancient sacred bloodline. Our physiques are powerful, far superior to you primitive barbarians. Moreover, our clan is protected by a sacred land, impervious to miasma. It is nothing short of a celestial paradise."

Hearing this, Li Hao felt somewhat reassured. At least his mother’s living environment was decent.

As he walked, Li Hao continued conversing with the Ji Clan elder, learning that the elder’s name was Ji Yunge.

While Ji Yunge only provided a cursory introduction to matters concerning the Ji Clan, he offered substantial insights about the Great Wilderness Heaven, helping Li Hao understand its immense dangers, as corroborated by the countless explorations of the Ministry of War’s predecessors.

However, these dangers were divided into regions.

For instance, their current location belonged to the outer borders of the Great Wilderness Heaven. Encounters with truly fearsome demons here were rare.

Most inhabitants were low-bloodline demons and fierce beasts.

Nevertheless, the area was rich in natural energy, enabling even low-bloodline demons to cultivate to the level of a Demon King. Thus, the warning in the Great Yu Divine Dynasty’s records—advising that those below the Fourth Pillar Realm should not venture into the Great Wilderness Heaven—was a well-founded caution.

Amidst the towering ancient trees, Li Hao sped through the forest guided by Ji Yunge’s directions.

He leaped across the branches of trees, each with a diameter of dozens of meters and sturdy enough to hold several people lying flat.

As he moved forward, a shadow suddenly shot toward him.

The strike carried the force of Dao Rhythms, ensuring an unerring trajectory, leaving no room to evade.

Li Hao was momentarily stunned. His landing step abruptly shifted as he employed Heaven and Earth Unbounded, vanishing in an instant from the Dao Rhythms’ pull.

Appearing where the attack had originated, he saw the assailant: a woman concealed behind thick leaves on a treetop.

She was half-human, half-demon, with mantis-like legs that appeared ferociously sharp.

Surprised to see Li Hao suddenly materialize before her, the woman froze momentarily. She had not anticipated that this young human, whose aura seemed faint, would possess such agility!

Her pupils contracted sharply, but she reacted swiftly, spitting out a stream of green venom.

Boom!

Li Hao raised his fist and struck with force. The violent wind of his punch dispersed the venom and landed squarely on the female demon’s face, smashing her pale, delicate features and exposing an exoskeletal structure beneath.

The demon let out a wretched scream.

"An Ancient Heavenly Prodigy?!"

The demon staggered back, her expression a mix of pain and shock. She never imagined she would encounter an Ancient Heavenly Prodigy on the outskirts of the Great Wilderness Heaven!

Cursing her misfortune inwardly, she ignored her injuries and turned to flee.

Li Hao’s reaction was lightning-fast. Activating Thousand Birds Flying Across Mountains and Heaven and Earth Unbounded, he caught up to her in an instant. With a single punch, he shattered her head as her horrified eyes widened.

Blood splattered across the surrounding trees.

A divine soul emerged from the demon’s body, terror-stricken, and fled screaming into the distance.

She burned her soul to escape at maximum speed, but Li Hao had already condensed his object-manipulating power into a sword. With a swift strike, he severed her body and shattered her soul with splitting sword energy, annihilating her completely.

In mere moments, this Dao Heart Realm Demon King had fallen to Li Hao.

From his hidden perch, Ji Yunge smiled faintly at the sight.

Though he had previously witnessed Li Hao’s extraordinary talent in the River of Death, much of it was aided by the obsessive will of Li Tianzong.

Now, seeing Li Hao’s true form display such explosive power and skill, Ji Yunge felt reassured and satisfied.

He thought to himself that when Li Hao returned him to the Ji Clan, he could introduce him to his people. If Li Hao could cultivate in the Ji Clan, it would be an excellent opportunity for growth.

At this moment, Li Hao noticed a stinging pain in his fist after punching the female Demon King. Her venom had corroded his skin.

Even his robust physique showed signs of damage. For an ordinary cultivator in the Three Immortals Realm, the venom would have caused severe necrosis, leaving only bare bones.

Taking a deep breath, Li Hao marveled at the peril of the Great Wilderness Heaven. Within mere dozens of miles of entering, he had already been ambushed by a Demon King.

Gazing at the corpse of the female Demon King, whose body remained mostly intact aside from her destroyed head, he swiftly flew back to her remains.

Raising his hand, he absorbed the life essence blood from her body.

The demon’s form withered rapidly, shrinking into gray, shriveled flesh.

With a casual gesture, Li Hao incinerated her remains to dust, ensuring no trace of his presence was left behind.

Absorbing the Demon King’s life essence, Li Hao circulated it within his body, feeling the sting in his fist dissipate. The corrosive effect ceased, and his flesh regenerated anew.

He had only recently emerged from the River of Death, with his true body at the strength level from just before the war in Liang Province—a physique comparable to a weapon forged seven times.

Now, it had advanced further.

It was clear how potent the Demon King’s venom had been. Even his resilient body had suffered injuries, something not easily accomplished even by a peak Dao Heart Realm Demon King.

“To think that a Dao Heart Realm Demon King could wound me. The Demon Kings here in the Great Wilderness Heaven are truly formidable,” Li Hao murmured.

Ji Yunge chuckled upon hearing this remark.

“A Dao Heart Realm Demon King wounding someone in the Three Immortals Realm—should that really be praised? Your talent defies the heavens indeed.”

...

“To think that such a wound could be inflicted by someone of the Dao Heart Realm, no less. Should you really be praising that?”

“It truly defies the natural order.”

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