Follow the path of Dao from infancy Chapter 1752 Chapter 448: Gathering at the Eighth Layer Heaven

Boom!

The air vibrated with a sharp sword cry as Di Lingshu was thrown back, her silver hair whipping wildly.

The shimmering remnants of a space-time rift slowly mended in the void before her. The Chaos Dao Beast she had been battling was now a shattered mess, torn apart by the lingering strikes of a thousand sword beams.

A wave of relief washed over Di Lingshu as she spotted the Heavenly Dao Power shimmering within the remains of the beast. Her eyes sparkled with delight; she had finally secured her first portion of Heavenly Dao Power!

With a wave of her hand, she pulled the Heavenly Dao Power into her grasp and integrated it into her body, sensing its essence with focused concentration.

She quickly realized the truth of her master’s warnings: this primordial force was beyond her control. It could be absorbed but not directed. Only those who reached the Immortal King Realm and established their own domain were worthy of wielding such power.

"I wonder if my Little Apprentice has finished his battle?"

Pushing her reflections aside, Di Lingshu extended her Divine Sense. In this realm, her perception was heavily muffled, preventing her from seeing the whole picture. Had she been in the outside world, her Divine Thought could have easily blanketed the entire continent.

In this place, however, she could barely reach across a third of the territory.

She soon located Li Hao standing near a lake, positioned across from a massive creature.

As she looked closer, she was struck with amazement. It wasn't a fight; the giant beast appeared paralyzed. Li Hao sat cross-legged before it, his hands moving through the air as if he were painting a reflection. Beside him, the image of another massive beast was beginning to take shape.

"Is he... Painting?"

Di Lingshu was speechless. She was aware that her Little Apprentice enjoyed exploring unconventional paths, but she never imagined his painting skills were so profound that he could perfectly mimic a Chaos Dao Beast!

"Go."

Under Di Lingshu’s watchful gaze, Li Hao gave a light flick of his wrist.

The painted Chaos Dao Beast suddenly took on a malevolent expression and lunged at the living creature.

Terror filled the eyes of the real beast, unable to grasp the nature of this strange power. However, its primal instincts took over; it let out a roar and charged at its own shadow.

A fierce struggle broke out atop the lake’s surface, sending violent waves across the water and causing the nearby mountains and geo-pulses to shudder.

Since both Chaos Dao Beasts utilized identical fighting styles, they seemed evenly matched at first. However, as the clash grew more desperate, the beast Li Hao had painted began to manifest the terrifying influence of Time Power. It manipulated the flow of time—alternating between bursts of speed and total stillness—to gain the advantage. It eventually forced the original beast into the depths, shredding its form in a matter of moments.

"Not bad at all."

Li Hao smiled faintly at the result. For a maiden attempt at painting such a creature, he felt his comprehension of the Chaos Dao Beast was quite satisfactory.

It had been a difficult task to decipher its various abilities through the insight of the Artistic Path alone, without even engaging it in combat.

He had succeeded primarily because of his Sixth Stage Chaos Dao, which allowed him to govern Destiny Power and peer into the destiny imprint the enemy emitted.

That imprint acted as a record of the creature's life and techniques, though he could only decode about a third of its history.

"Is this what it truly feels like to command Destiny Power? Do the lives of ordinary cultivators hold no secrets in the eyes of the Immortal Emperors?"

Li Hao reflected silently.

Immortal Emperors surely possessed mastery over Destiny Power. With their endless lifespans and limitless wealth, they had refined every power to its absolute peak, making them unimaginably formidable.

"By merging this Destiny Power into my artistic realm's eye, I have created something unique. Even without a specialized bloodline, this eye should be equal to the legendary Double Pupils or the Emperor's Eyes!"

Li Hao muttered. His eyes were now etched with the laws of Space-time, and a vertical sword-shaped scar had formed a peculiar pupil—the artistic realm's eye he had forged himself.

"That painted creature of yours is incredible!"

Di Lingshu arrived at his side, staring in awe at the painted Chaos Dao Beast still standing in the water.

Even though the Artistic Path was considered a minor Dao, the level he had reached was beyond her wildest dreams. She suspected that the painted beast might even give her a difficult fight.

Li Hao retracted his Divine Sense and asked, "Is your Chaos Dao Beast taken care of?"

"Mm."

Di Lingshu nodded. "Let us go find more of them."

"I have already dealt with the others nearby," Li Hao noted calmly.

Di Lingshu froze. She expanded her Divine Sense and realized the Chaos Dao Beasts she had previously sensed in the caves and forests had all disappeared.

She was stunned. When had he done it? And how was he so fast?

"Master mentioned the Heavenly Domain has Nine-layers. We should head to the top. The Heavenly Dao Power in these beasts is far too weak," Li Hao suggested.

Di Lingshu’s lip twitched. "You can't just focus on the first part of Master's lesson. While there are Nine-layers, Master also warned that even if you have fused 23 Chaos laws, the Ninth-layer is a place of extreme peril! Those with one to three laws stay on the First Level, while four to six laws belong on the Second."

"At my current level, the Fourth Level is my limit."

"The Seventh Level is meant for those with 18 to 21 Chaos laws. Little Apprentice, even with your 23 laws, the Eighth Layer could still be dangerous for you."

She spoke with genuine concern.

Li Hao understood that the layers of the Nine-layer Heavenly Domain were designed to match the various stages of the Immortal Monarch Realm.

Unless one possessed elite Immortal techniques or powerful bloodlines to bridge the gap, these boundaries were usually absolute.

"In that case, let's start with the Eighth Layer."

Li Hao chose not to mention that he had actually fused 24 Chaos laws. Despite his trust in Di Lingshu, he saw no reason to reveal every single one of his secrets.

"The Eighth Layer..."

Di Lingshu looked hesitant. If they truly ascended to the Eighth Layer, the Chaos Dao Beasts there would be far too strong for her to handle. She would be completely dependent on Li Hao's protection.