Everlasting Renown Chapter 339: Eternal Dao Domain, the Battle Begins! - Novel Cool

Chapter 339: Eternal Dao Domain, the Battle Begins!

Chapter 339: Eternal Dao Domain, the Battle Begins! (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Feeling the boundless power at his command, Li Hao was struck with awe. This was the Eighth Apex Realm?

The Dao Domain had reached 360 layers, achieving a form of perfection, standing on par with Heaven and Earth, forming its own perfect realm!

The laws within the Dao Domain intertwined, phenomena abounded, and strangely, when Li Hao had 359 layers, he needed to expend a tremendous amount of power to activate them all. After all, activating a Dao Domain was extremely energy-consuming, and 359 layers were a significant burden. Even with the Heaven-Earth Meridian, Li Hao could only maintain it for a few minutes.

But now, with the 360th layer, the Dao Domain seemed to mimic Heaven and Earth, operating on its own. Li Hao only needed a small amount of energy to sustain it for a long time!

At this rate, even if Li Hao kept the Dao Domain active around himself at all times, it could last indefinitely.

Li Hao's eyes flickered. Besides the dramatic reduction in energy consumption, the transformation of the Dao Domain itself was the most terrifying. If he were to reveal all his ultimate realms, he wondered if he could match a Semi-Saint.

This Eighth Apex Realm, Li Hao named it the Eternal Dao Domain!

Indestructible!

With the Eighth Apex Realm completed, Li Hao didn't stop. He condensed his Dao Domain and then continued to practice the remaining cultivation techniques of the tenth Divine Dynasty.

However, as he cultivated, when these techniques reached the Dao Domain stage, the formed Dao Domain was compressed and could neither merge with the Eternal Dao Domain nor be activated.

The Eternal Dao Domain, like a queen, surrounded Li Hao. Any new Dao Domain he formed was immediately dispersed by the power of the Eternal Dao Domain, unable to coalesce.

Li Hao was taken aback. With his previous experience, he knew that the ultimate realm was not the end.

The Eighth Apex Realm should be the same. The current situation was likely a bottleneck in the Eighth Apex Realm.

How to break through this bottleneck and continue cultivating was the challenge that lay ahead, leading to the ultimate limit.

But cultivating to the ultimate realm was already difficult, and breaking through the ultimate realm was even harder!

Li Hao tried several more times, but all failed, so he had to put it aside for now.

"The Eight Extremes Realm influences each other. Without the Heaven-Earth Meridian, it's impossible to cultivate the Eighth Apex Realm. Just the process of stacking over three hundred Dao Domains would drain all one's power. Therefore, cultivating the Heaven-Earth Meridian is the foundation for other ultimate realms!"

"Perhaps cultivating the Eighth Apex Realm would be easier if the other ultimate realms were completed first."

Li Hao's eyes flickered. Now that he had achieved the Divine Blood ultimate realm, the second ultimate realm was the Heaven-Earth Meridian.

If he could further enhance the Heaven-Earth Meridian, it might significantly aid the cultivation of the subsequent ultimate realms.

But the Heaven-Earth Meridian had already reached its ultimate form.

All 108 major meridians were fully opened, along with the Yin-Yang dual meridians, forming a complete system that connected with Heaven and Earth. This was already the ultimate form of the Zhou Tian Realm!

Taking another step forward and breaking through this bottleneck left Li Hao at a loss.

After some thought, Li Hao decided to consult Zhantan. She was well-versed and might have some clues to offer.

Li Hao stood up, concealed his aura, and went to Zhantan's courtyard.

Now that he had Zhantan's permission, Li Hao could enter and leave her courtyard freely without prior notice, a privilege not even her direct disciples enjoyed.

In the courtyard, Zhantan was painting. Li Hao saw that she was drawing a small flower and smiled. Although the flower itself was ordinary, the one under her brush was extraordinary, exuding a resilience that seemed impervious to the elements, a will that could break through the darkest soil.

Li Hao knew that her Art Dao had made progress.

Sensing Li Hao's presence, Zhantan finished her stroke and turned to look at him, smiling.

"What do you think of my painting?"

"It's very good."

Li Hao didn't hesitate to praise her.

Zhantan's smile widened, and the sunlight in the courtyard seemed to brighten. She suddenly fixed her gaze on Li Hao, examining him closely with a puzzled expression.

"Has your cultivation improved?"

Although she hadn't carefully examined Li Hao's aura, she sensed that he seemed more formidable than before, a subtle and intuitive feeling.

Li Hao was a bit surprised. With the Myriad Phenomena and other Tomes' attributes masking his aura, it was impressive that she could still perceive the change.

"Sort of."

Li Hao said to Zhantan, "I was wondering, do you know how to advance after reaching the Ultimate Realm?"

"Break through the Ultimate Realm?"

Zhantan was taken aback but then relaxed, smiling. "It's understandable that you have this thought. Exploring the power beyond the Ultimate Realm is something Sages have been striving for since ancient times. When we first achieved the Ultimate Realm, we were also curious whether it could be broken, whether we could make further progress. But after various attempts, we found that breaking the Ultimate Realm is almost impossible."

"However, the Ultimate Realm is not the end. In ancient times, there was a Sage who broke through the Ultimate Realm, proving that further cultivation was possible beyond it. But breaking the Ultimate Realm is as difficult as ascending to the heavens, even for a Sage."

Li Hao was taken aback and quickly asked, "Which Ultimate Realm did that Sage break through?"

"Seems like the Fifteen Li Ultimate Realm."

Zhantan said, "It was a very long time ago, and that Sage's whereabouts are unknown, having long since vanished. He left a note for his disciple, warning never to cultivate to the Fifteen Li Ultimate Limit, calling it a taboo!"

"Hmm?"

Li Hao was puzzled. The Sage broke through the Fifteen Li Ultimate Realm?

Li Hao knew that the Divine Race was a lineage descended from those who cultivated Divine Blood.

The Fifteen Li Ultimate Limit being a taboo, what did that mean?

"These are all just rumors. It's hard to say what's true, as it happened so long ago."

Zhantan looked at Li Hao, a light smile playing on her lips. "Your thoughts are similar to ours when we were young. The Night Ancestor and the Green Ancestor, in their youth, also had lofty ambitions, aspiring to become the greatest in history. But they were ultimately defeated by reality, realizing the vastness of Heaven and Earth and the countless beings within, of which they were just one."

As the vice president of the Flower Touring Society, her mindset carried a touch of melancholy and pessimism, her youthful pride long since eroded.

Li Hao nodded slightly. Rumors indeed tend to exaggerate, but he hadn't expected that even Zhantan knew so little about the Ultimate Limit.

Achieving Divine Blood cultivation hadn't been too difficult for Li Hao, but the limit of the Heaven-Earth Meridian seemed impossible to break through with mere cultivation techniques. It required some kind of opportunity or a mindset, a moment of enlightenment, similar to transcending the Sixth Ultimate Realm to Immortality.

Li Hao was at a loss and asked Zhantan, "The Sage you mentioned, did he only break through the Fifteen Li Ultimate Realm, or others as well?"

Zhantan shook her head. "Breaking through the Ultimate Realm depends on opportunity. Some opportunities can help you break through a specific Ultimate Realm, as each Ultimate Realm faces different bottlenecks."

"Moreover, achieving the Ultimate Realm is already extremely difficult, let alone breaking through it. If you have this mindset, you might as well try to achieve other Ultimate Realms first, rather than wasting time on this and taking a detour."

She advised Li Hao with the wisdom of someone who had been through it all, telling him that pondering these things now was a complete waste of time.

Although this was a process that the vast majority of Prodigies would go through, after all, once they achieved the Ultimate Realm, it was natural for them to grow arrogant and want to break through it. However, after striving for a hundred years or even longer, they would realize that their efforts were futile, as they simply couldn't comprehend or break through the Ultimate Realm.

By then, the time would have been wasted, leading to a slow advancement in cultivation.

Seeing her say this, Li Hao knew he wouldn't get any more information out of her. The Ultimate Limit was indeed too secretive. Even those with Divine Blood were treated as part of the Divine Race, so one could imagine how secretive and difficult it was to achieve the Ultimate Limit!

However, he was now at the Eighth Extremes Realm. If he were to cultivate the Ultimate Realm, he would reach the Enlightened Realm.

But this required an enhancement of the Yudao.

With the Supreme Battle approaching, Li Hao had to quickly boost his power to match that of the Sage Realm.

The gap between the Sage Realm and the Semi-Saint Realm was extremely terrifying. Just comparing it to the 370,000 Painting Experience of a Sword Master, it was evident that the difference was not just a little bit!

A difference of ten or twenty thousand experience points would already provide a noticeable advantage in battle, let alone a difference of seven or eight times that.

"Even though I'm at the Eighth Extremes Realm, when facing a Sage, I might only have the chance to run for my life."

Li Hao's eyes flickered. Although the Eternal Dao Domain was very powerful, he couldn't be sure if those Sage Monsters had also cultivated the Ultimate Realm.

After all, a Sage was at least at the Fifth Ultimate Realm.

In comparison, the difference in Ultimate Realms wasn't that significant, and the other party was at the Sage Realm, having already achieved the Sage Path. If he couldn't shatter their Sage Path, he wouldn't be able to defeat them.

And he currently lacked the ability to shatter the Sage Path.

"Putting the Insight Ultimate Realm aside for now, I need to Ascend first!"

Li Hao quickly made his decision. Compared to the power boost from the Insight Ultimate Realm, Ascension would undoubtedly be stronger.

The gap between the Sage Realm and other realms was vast.

At present, the Incense Ascension path was too slow, and the most promising route was the Sacrificial Dao to Sagehood!

While Li Hao was contemplating, Zhantan glanced at him, unsure if her advice had taken effect. Sometimes, people wouldn't listen until they had experienced the pain themselves. Teaching by words was often ineffective, but teaching by experience could be more profound.

She didn't dwell on it further. Some experiences were inevitable. Skipping them might seem perfect, but it could also be a different kind of regret.

"Earlier, you said you wanted to see the Sage Books at the Wenzu Holy Land. Do you want to go now?"

Zhantan asked with a smile.

Li Hao snapped back to reality and immediately nodded in agreement.

Zhantan then put away the satisfying painting, and had Yue Ying pack away the painting board, ink, and brushes. Once everything was ready, she took Li Hao and soared out of Tian Tan Peak.

"Look, it's Clear Wind with Master again."

Seeing the two leave, the disciples on Tian Tan Peak all had complex expressions.

Zhao Qingshu's face darkened when he saw this.

Zhantan was the most beautiful sight on Tian Tan Peak. Although the disciples dared not have rebellious thoughts, seeing her breathtaking beauty every day inevitably stirred their hearts, though they deeply buried these feelings and never dared to express them.

Now, seeing her and Li Hao together for several days, they felt extremely uneasy. Wenxin was even a bit flustered.

Wenxin Pavilion was where the Wenzu Holy Land stored the Sage Books. The Wenzu Holy Land took in disciples and taught them the cultivation system of Wen Sheng, extracting the power from the Sage Books. Without the corresponding cultivation system, reading the Sage Books would just be a tedious task.

Therefore, Zhantan bringing Li Hao here wouldn't have much of an impact. Many of the Sage Books in Wenxin Pavilion were collected from various Dynasties and Hanjin Academies. The Wenzu Holy Land held a supreme status among the scholars in the Thirty-Three Realms, even surpassing the Holy Capital. After all, Wen Sheng was the highest Sage in the hearts of scholars.

Wen Sheng's Incense Faith all stems from the literati and scholars of the celestial realms.

The Wenxin Pavilion stands tall and majestic, radiating a refined and elegant aura. As Li Hao approached, he felt a sense of warmth in his mindset, as if all his distractions were swept away, leaving his mind at peace.

Zhantan arrived at the entrance of the Wenxin Pavilion, greeted the guard, and then said to Li Hao, "I'll wait for you outside. You can go in and take a look."

Though she spoke casually, Li Hao was grateful and nodded to her, saying nothing more before turning to enter the Wenxin Pavilion.

Inside, the shelves were lined with ancient texts.

Li Hao's Divine Sense swept through the room, and he quickly realized that these were just ordinary books.

Combined with the cultivation system of the Wenzu Holy Land, they could become truly formidable.

In other words, the true cultivation techniques of the Wenzu Holy Land were not here; this place was more like a "Weapon Pavilion."

Li Hao's Divine Sense scanned the books, quickly memorizing them. Among them, he found three masterpieces that could be recorded in the Panel.

Li Hao was somewhat intrigued. After memorizing all the Sage Books in the Wenxin Pavilion and inscribing them in his Soul Spirit, he took the three masterpieces and walked out.

By then, half a day had passed outside. Zhantan was still standing by the pavilion, in the same position and posture as when Li Hao had entered.

Seeing Li Hao emerge, Zhantan's gaze fell on the three masterpieces in his hands, and she couldn't help but smile. "You have a good eye."

"If I want to keep these three masterpieces, what would I need to pay?"

Li Hao asked.

These masterpieces would disappear once recorded in the Panel. The Wenzu Holy Land might not agree to this, and if they didn't, Li Hao wouldn't force the issue.

"You really plan to study these? Without Wen Sheng's cultivation method, they won't be of much use to you. Are you just reading them for fun?" Zhantan said.

"Exactly. They say books are like gold mines; I want to do some digging."

Li Hao replied.

Zhantan laughed. "There's more to that saying. Books also contain beauty."

"Beauty, I've seen. Gold mines, not so much."

Li Hao said.

Zhantan was momentarily taken aback. Seeing Li Hao's gaze on her, she blushed slightly, but quickly composed herself. "If you join the Wenzu Holy Land, these three masterpieces can be gifted to you."

Li Hao sighed and shook his head. "I bear a grudge and can't bring trouble to the Wenzu Holy Land."

Zhantan was surprised. "Who is your enemy?"

Li Hao didn't answer. His feud with the Virtual Sage involved a Sage, and he didn't want to drag anyone else into it.

Zhantan's eyes narrowed, realizing that Li Hao's enemy was no ordinary foe. Given Li Hao's realm, if it were just a Semi-Saint, there would be no need to worry about involving the Wenzu Holy Land. After all, given another sixty years, Li Hao would likely match a Semi-Saint. There would be no need to worry about entanglements.

If it wasn't a Semi-Saint, it could only be...

Zhantan gave Li Hao a long, thoughtful look. She hadn't expected this carefree, playful person to have such a formidable enemy. If someone else had such an enemy, they would likely live in constant fear, unable to sleep. But before Li Hao mentioned it, she hadn't noticed any turmoil in his mindset.

"If you need help, the Flower Touring Society can lend a hand."

Zhantan said.

Li Hao looked at her, understanding her intentions, and shook his head slightly. "I'll handle this on my own."

Hearing this, Zhantan knew Li Hao didn't want to involve others in his troubles. This made her admire him even more.

If Li Hao hadn't said anything and joined the Wenzu Holy Land at her invitation, the Wen Sheng would likely have to step in if something happened in the future. But Li Hao hadn't done that, hadn't used them for his own benefit.

Was this foolishness or genuine sincerity?

The world was full of fame and profit, but genuine sincerity was hard to find. Zhantan sighed lightly, thinking about how she had left the Imperial Clan of the Upper Three Realms as a child, escaping the vortex of power struggles. She had seen the harshness of the mortal world since childhood, and her mother had died because of it. She had seen the coldness of human nature, yet here she met someone like Li Hao.

"If that's the case, if you can't join the Wenzu Holy Land, you can choose one of these three books to take with you, and I'll handle the rest."

Zhantan said to Li Hao.

Li Hao glanced at her, knowing this was another favor she was doing for him.

He thought for a moment, then selected one of the three books, choosing Renyi Huang Ji.

He then handed the remaining two books to the guardian to return.

Zhantan glanced at him, nodded slightly, and said nothing.

Li Hao stored Renyi Huang Ji in the Heavenly Earth Space and then asked, "Is there a lot of copies of Sage Books in the Wenxin Pavilion?"

Zhantan was taken aback and laughed, "You can actually tell the difference between the original and the copies?"

Unless one had extensive knowledge of certain Sage Books, it would be very difficult to tell the difference.

Li Hao hadn't actually noticed the difference; he had merely deduced it. After all, it was unreasonable that the Wenxin Pavilion, which collected Sage Books from all realms, had only managed to acquire three masterpieces.

Zhantan explained, "Some of the original Sage Books have been lost, so only copies exist. Some originals are kept in the Hanjindian of the imperial court, and their owners are unwilling to part with them. After all, some scholars are deeply obsessed with these works. Even a Sage might not be able to sway their beliefs without using force."

"Other originals are too precious and are kept by the Wen Sheng to prevent disciples from damaging them when they come to borrow them."

Li Hao understood. It seemed that these three masterpieces were the ones the Wen Sheng didn't particularly value, so he left them here, while the other originals were stored away.

Only the originals could be stored in the Panel; copies could not.

Li Hao and Zhantan returned to Tian Tan Peak. A few days later, after Zhantan informed him that the masterpiece had been secured, Li Hao stored it in the Panel.

The inclusion of Renyi Huang Ji also converted into a Tome attribute:

Invincible Benevolence: When using the Invincible Benevolence state, all damage received is equally reflected back.

Li Hao was taken aback. Some of the Tome attributes were strong, while others were average, but the Invincible Benevolence attribute was undoubtedly extremely powerful.

It was essentially a strategy of trading injuries with the enemy, a desperate fighting method.

If given to someone else, it might not be very effective, as martial artists generally try to avoid getting injured during combat. Like wild beasts in the forest, injuring an enemy while getting injured yourself can also harm you, and lingering injuries can hinder your progress on the Martial Dao.

But Li Hao had Blood Drop Rebirth, so he feared no injuries.

"However, I wonder how effective it will be against a Sage."

Li Hao's eyes gleamed. Against a Dao Law Realm opponent, he wouldn't need to use such an attribute, but how effective it would be against a Sage was uncertain.

Regardless, it was a slight enhancement to his abilities.

Li Hao then turned his attention to the other Sage Books and began reciting them in his courtyard.

As he recited the Sage Books, his poetry book experience rapidly increased.

Although each Sage Book didn't provide much experience—ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand, and sometimes just a few dozen—the Wenxin Pavilion had so many Sage Books that as Li Hao recited them one by one, his Literary Dao quickly rose from the fourth stage to the fifth.

Two days later, it reached the sixth stage, and the experience bar was full.

Earning two Art Skill Points in quick succession greatly improved Li Hao's mood.

Outside the courtyard, Zhantan, while taking a break from painting, heard Li Hao reciting the Sage Books inside. She knew he was memorizing all of them and couldn't help but be surprised. She hadn't expected Li Hao to genuinely enjoy this path.

She couldn't help but smile wryly, thinking that compared to the members of the Flower Touring Society who found joy in their struggles, Li Hao seemed to be truly enjoying the Mortal World.

Time flew by.

Li Hao stayed at Tian Tan Peak, and after accumulating enough poetry book experience to reach the sixth stage of perfection, he needed to cultivate the Spiritual Immersion Mindset to continue advancing. However, cultivating this mindset required focus, so he temporarily put the poetry book aside and focused on advancing his Cooking Dao and Art Dao.

Whether it was Cooking or Art Dao, if he could advance them to the tenth stage, he could Sacrifice Dao to Sagehood. Only then would he be able to truly live with his head held high and reveal his true identity.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Hao spent his days discussing the Art Dao with Zhantan, painting together, and exchanging insights. Although there was a gap in their Art Dao realms, the clash of ideas during their exchanges sparked new insights and a deeper understanding of the Art Dao for Li Hao.

Now, his Painting Experience had accumulated to 920,000. He needed another 4,080,000 to reach the Ninth Rank Perfection.

There was still a significant amount of experience needed, which he could only accumulate through the upcoming Prodigy Battle.

Compared to gaining experience, breaking through to the Art Dao Transcendence and Sainthood Immersion was even more challenging.

During these three months, Li Qingyi also came to Tian Tan Peak to visit Zhao Qingshu. When she saw Li Hao there, she was taken aback.

Li Qingyi had removed the disguise she wore during the Ji Dao Mountain battle, revealing her naturally graceful and refined appearance. Her cheeks were fair, her almond eyes and peach-like cheeks still held a hint of innocence.

Upon inquiry, Li Qingyi learned that Li Hao had come to discuss paintings with the Semi-Saint Zhantan.

This left her speechless.

During these three months, her Shuhai, the Holy Son who ranked first in the Wenzu Holy Land Prodigy Battle, had been in seclusion. And yet, Li Hao had come here to chat about paintings?

Li Hao didn’t recognize Li Qingyi. As the three months drew to a close, he bid farewell to Zhantan. The next step was the Canglan World quota battle, which had been long anticipated. Through the Realm Stone, the entire Canglan World, encompassing tens of thousands of cities, would witness this event.

As the battle approached, one prodigy after another emerged from their seclusion, exuding an invincible and overwhelming aura.

"The sword is complete. This time, I will surely secure a place in the top ten!"

"Shuhai has emerged from seclusion!"

"Quick, look! That’s Hao Yue Holy Son’s Bright Moon Peak, and there are two blazing suns on it. Is this the Sun and Moon Sword Intent? It feels even more terrifying than before!"

Within the Three Great Holy Lands, the atmosphere changed dramatically as the phenomena of prodigies breaking through their seclusions were displayed.

"It’s getting dark, what’s that? A Demon of Heaven?!"

"That’s a Buddhist Disciple subduing their Heart Demon. The Venerable Buddhist said that the stronger the Heart Demon, the stronger the Buddhist Nature. The Buddhist Disciple’s Buddhist Nature far surpasses ours."

In the Buddhist Sect Holy Land, the sky suddenly darkened, and dark clouds swept in, as if the heavens were collapsing.

This phenomenon startled countless people, and the news spread rapidly.

In the Sword Ancestor Sanctuary, numerous Holy Sons emerged from seclusion. After completing their practices, they quickly sent people to gather information on others.

Hao Yue Holy Son emerged from seclusion, his aura subdued, with strands of golden hair intertwined in his silver locks, and the golden and silver light in his eyes shining even more radiantly.

He immediately sent someone to gather information on Li Hao.

Soon, the news came back.

"What? He went to the Wenzu Holy Land?"

"Yes, I heard he’s hosting a painting exhibition and discussing paintings with a Semi-Saint Elder there."

Upon hearing this, Hao Yue Holy Son was taken aback, nearly choking with rage.

This guy is too arrogant. With the quota battle just around the corner, he has the nerve to spend his time painting?

In a fiery domain, Chiguang stepped out of his seclusion. The scorching flames around him converged and were absorbed into his body, leaving only scorched earth behind.

His eyes revealed brilliant crimson patterns, resembling some kind of innate Dao Pattern.

"Let me see what you, the twin Buddhist Disciple, are made of!"

Chiguang’s eyes glinted with battle intent as he changed into his robes and flew out. Upon returning to his Cave Mansion, he asked his Master about the others.

When he learned that a Demon of Heaven had appeared in the Buddhist Sect Holy Land, his eyes showed a hint of concern, but more so, a surging battle intent.

Upon hearing that two suns were shining in the Sword Ancestor Sanctuary, he sneered.

Then, he thought of something and asked his Master about the previous encounter with Clear Wind.

When he learned that the other party was hosting a painting exhibition, he was stunned, feeling a mix of anger and amusement.

It seems that my previous defeat made him overconfident...

(End of Chapter)

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