Follow the path of Dao from infancy Chapter 1864 Chapter 498: Five Hundred Years

"Curses, this is incredibly tough!"

Deep within the Heaven Tower, Li Hao rapidly cut down several Ancient Demons before starting to tame the five wildly churning Realm Hearts inside his body.

In the past, he had always picked his trials after careful setup, yet this time he found himself compelled to push forward without it.

"Five Realm Hearts, three arranged like a zither body, one like a string. But now with five Realm Hearts, pulling them with just two strings won't work..."

After a short but useless round of thinking, as the five Realm Hearts neared merging once more, Li Hao had no choice but to trigger self-destruction and leave the Heaven Tower, avoiding a true merge that would prove pointless even outside.

And so, Li Hao kept cycling in and out of the Heaven Tower, with no chance to pause.

Every entry granted him just half an hour for reflection.

Through endless self-explosions, days turned into months. Without Li Hao's unyielding Dao heart, which outlasted eternity and held half an Emperor's Heart already, his resolve would have shattered ages ago.

A year stretched into ten.

Over those brief ten years, Li Hao detonated himself innumerable times inside the Heaven Tower, so many that even he lost track.

"Five Realm Hearts, Five Paths..."

"Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth... in what way do they support and counter one another?"

Li Hao tried building a loop from the five Realm Hearts, yet they all rushed to the core spot, defying any command.

"The harmony of Five Paths rests on promotion and restraint among them..."

"Yet keeping five Realm Hearts together proves tougher than the Five Paths themselves. If not, across all these years, not even Immortal Emperors could have failed to unlock this Emperor Road."

"The Five Elements... must tie into the Emperor Road, crafted by some mighty Great Emperor."

"That Great Emperor who forged the Five Paths couldn't crack the puzzle of Realm Hearts sharing space, showing this path leads nowhere..."

With countless ideas hitting dead ends, Li Hao sank into hopelessness but pressed on relentlessly, each blast urging him further.

"Space-Time, Formless, Cause and Effect, they bolster one another..."

"Existing in balance, where balance means shared gain!"

"The shared gain among five hearts..."

Li Hao pushed himself to steady his mind, diving deep into insight, slowly grasping the way for the five Realm Hearts to aid each other.

Reverse Time, Formless, Cave Void, Creation, Boundless!

Boundless spans the world, void engulfs all things, creation reigns supreme, formless holds the throne, reverse time endures forever!

These five Realm Hearts varied greatly but could dwell together, much like a primal Chaos World.

...

"Is he tackling the 60th floor of the Heaven Tower and failing over and over?"

"Maybe he's hit a roadblock?"

"That doesn't seem right. Last time he stepped out, I felt his cultivation at the Fourth Level of Immortal King Realm. The 60th floor pits against Ancient Demons fresh at the Seventh Level. Leaping two levels is remarkable, but it shouldn't stump him too badly, should it?"

Beyond the Heaven Tower, Luo Ningshuang, Su Wanyi, and various other talents from the Primordial True Realm's latest group spotted Li Hao.

After ten years of constant trips to the 60th floor, it was impossible to stay unnoticed.

"Back when he was at the First Level of Immortal King Realm, he bridged huge gaps. Has his talent run dry now, his base worn out?"

"Perhaps his cultivation advanced, but his techniques lagged behind."

Luo Ningshuang creased her brow, a touch of pity in her gaze.

Each time Li Hao came out looking frantic and lost, she picked up on his irritation, even catching the hopelessness in his stare.

Did even geniuses end up lost in the masses?

Such fates weren't uncommon across the Ten Thousand Races of the True Realm. Many shone bright in youth, exploding into fame, only to dim quickly or drift into averageness, vanishing from notice.

Nobody foresaw that the fearsome young man who once dominated all in the Immortal Monarch Realm would drop to this, his gifts burned out.

"He might have tapped powers like our Ancestor Emperor Power earlier, but those had strict bounds. No matter how far the realm climbed, the boost from Ancestor Emperor Power couldn't match it," Su Wanyi murmured gently, reluctance flickering in her eyes. She'd watched plenty of prodigies tumble or settle for ordinary—a harsh fate. Who, after tasting glory, would embrace the dull life?

"That Human Race kid is done for; he trails us by ten floors now!"

Even the Chaos Ancient Clan followers under the Original Immortal Emperor caught sight of Li Hao, their looks cold and tinged with scorn.

He had once overpowered all on the Heavenly Ascension Road, but now lagged far, his potential spent. Stuck at just the Fourth Level of Immortal King Realm, nowhere near the top, it showed his gifts were always capped, just flaring once before fading.

"He's exited the 60th floor without retrying. Looks like he's quit."

"His grit only goes that far."

"Let's ignore him and focus on our own training, aiming to serve as the True King's aides!"

After observing Li Hao's struggles and letting out sighs, the crowd dove back into their own practice.

The many Immortal Kings from Extreme Dao Mountain also saw Li Hao and considered offering solace. But as he soared toward the Heaven Tower's peak, apparently consulting the two Immortal Emperors, they held back, emotions tangled.

"Shi Miao, looks like your companion has hit a snag."

At the Great Emperor Dojo, some Yan Fire Clan members had spotted Li Hao long ago and brought it up to Shi Miao nearby.

Shi Miao had of course seen Li Hao's efforts but knew him inside out, certain he wouldn't stall at the Heaven Tower's 60th floor.

"Ah, it looks like he's made a breakthrough."

Shi Miao whispered, a subtle smile lighting her eyes.

She alone caught that this exit brought a spark of ease to Li Hao's gaze.

"Breakthrough? But didn't he quit?"

The Yan Fire Clan girl queried, puzzled.

Shi Miao arched a brow, shot her a cool look, and stayed silent.