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

Boom!

A thunderous sword cry erupted as Di Lingshu was thrown backward, her silver hair whipping wildly in the wind.

The space-time rift ahead of her slowly mended itself, its afterglow fading. The Chaos Dao Beast she had been battling was now shredded, its form torn apart by thousands of lingering sword beams.

A look of pure joy crossed Di Lingshu's face when she spotted the Heavenly Dao Power shimmering within the remains of the beast; she let out a relieved breath, celebrating her very first harvest of this supreme energy!

With a wave of her hand, she pulled the Heavenly Dao Power into her palm and integrated it into her body, focusing intently on the sensation.

It didn't take long for her to realize that her master had been correct; this ultimate power was beyond her control. She could absorb it, but wielding it was impossible. Only by reaching the Immortal King Realm and forming a personal realm would she be worthy of harnessing such a force.

“Is my Little Apprentice finished on his end as well?”

Shifting her focus, Di Lingshu extended her Divine Sense. In this strange land, her perception was heavily suppressed, preventing her from seeing the entire region. In the world outside, her Divine Thought could easily blanket a whole continent.

Here, however, she was limited to probing only a third of the area.

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

As she looked closer, she was startled to see that they weren't actually fighting. Instead, the beast appeared paralyzed while Li Hao sat cross-legged before it. He was gesturing through the air as if painting a reflection, and a second giant beast was slowly taking shape.

“Painting?”

Di Lingshu was speechless. She had heard rumors that her Little Apprentice enjoyed dabbling in unorthodox paths, but she never imagined his painting skills were so profound that he could perfectly manifest a Chaos Dao Beast!

“Go.”

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

The painted Chaos Dao Beast immediately took on a malevolent expression and lunged at the original monster.

The real beast’s eyes widened in terror, unable to grasp the nature of this power, yet its predatory instincts took over. With a roar, it charged to meet its own phantom.

A fierce conflict broke out across the surface of the lake, sending massive ripples through the water and causing the nearby mountain peaks and geo-pulp to shudder.

Because the two Chaos Dao Beasts shared identical combat styles, the fight was a stalemate at first. However, as the battle grew more violent, the creature Li Hao had painted began to exert terrifying Time Power. By manipulating the flow of time—alternating between acceleration and freezing—it quickly overwhelmed its opponent, pinning the original beast into the water and tearing it to pieces.

“Not bad at all.”

Li Hao smiled faintly at the sight. For a first attempt, he felt he had captured the essence of the Chaos Dao Beast rather well.

It was a difficult feat to uncover an opponent's secret techniques through the Artistic Path alone without actually engaging them in combat.

He had succeeded primarily because his Sixth Stage Chaos Dao allowed him to manipulate Destiny Power, giving him a glimpse into the destiny imprint the creature radiated.

That destiny imprint served as a record of the creature’s life and abilities, though he could only decipher about a third of it.

“Is this what it feels like to hold the power of Destiny? Do the lives of common people truly hold no secrets from the Immortal Emperors?”

Li Hao mused silently.

Immortal Emperors undoubtedly wielded Destiny Power at its peak, having mastered countless laws through their infinite lifespans and vast resources. They were terrifying beyond comprehension.

“This Destiny Power has merged into the eye of my artistic realm. Even without a special bloodline, this eye should be just as potent as the Double Pupils or the Emperor’s Eyes!”

Li Hao murmured. His eyes flickered with the laws of Space-time, and a vertical sword scar manifested into a unique pupil—an artistic realm eye of his own creation.

“That painted creature of yours is incredible!”

Di Lingshu flew over, staring in wonder at the beast standing in the lake.

Even though the Artistic Path was considered a minor Dao, Li Hao had pushed it to a level that defied her imagination. She suspected that the painted beast might even be a match for her.

Li Hao scanned the area with his Divine Sense and asked, “Did you finish off your Chaos Dao Beast?”

“Mm.”

Di Lingshu nodded. “Let’s go find some more.”

“I’ve already dealt with the others nearby,” Li Hao said calmly.

Di Lingshu froze. She swept her Divine Sense across the forest and the caves, realizing that the Chaos Dao Beasts she had sensed earlier were indeed gone.

She was stunned. When did he do it? How was he so fast?

“Master mentioned the Heavenly Domain has Nine-layers. Let’s head to the highest one. The Heavenly Dao Power in these beasts is far too weak,” Li Hao suggested.

Di Lingshu’s mouth twitched. “You can’t just listen to half of what Master says! While there are Nine-layers, Master warned us that even if you’ve refined 23 Chaos laws, you must stay away from the Ninth-layer because it is deathly dangerous! Those with one to three laws stay at the First Level, and those with four to six stay at the Second!”

“At my level, the Fourth Level is as far as I should go.”

“The Seventh Level is for those with 18 to 21 laws. Little Apprentice, even with your 23 laws, the Eighth Layer could still be perilous.”

She spoke with genuine concern.

Li Hao understood that the Nine-layer Heavenly Domain was designed to match the various levels of Chaos laws within the Immortal Monarch Realm.

Only those with top-tier Immortal techniques or powerful bloodlines could hope to challenge a layer beyond their law count.

“Then we shall visit the Eighth Layer first.”

Li Hao chose not to mention that he had actually refined 24 Chaos laws. Despite his close bond with Di Lingshu, he felt it was best not to reveal every secret.

“The Eighth Layer...”

Di Lingshu hesitated. If they truly went there, the Chaos Dao Beasts would be far beyond her strength, leaving her entirely dependent on Li Hao.