Chapter 507: Entering the Dao of Nine Orders

Seeing the other party off, Li Hao reined in his aura, withdrew the Law Manifestation of Heaven and Earth, and descended from the divine tree.

"It is said that people's hearts are unpredictable and easily decay over time; indeed, that's true."

The old man watched Jin Fengling leave, sighed softly, and turned his gaze to Li Hao.

Li Hao turned around, cupped his hands at the old man, and said, "Thank you, Senior, for your help."

The old man glanced at Li Hao, his gaze seemingly possessing the power to see through one's heart. He said softly, "Just now, what the other person said was right. Do you harbor thoughts about me because of it?"

Li Hao immediately knew what he was referring to and shook his head, saying, "No."

"According to the laws of this Source City, your initial damage to my body can be considered as an attack against me, and I am allowed to retaliate and strike back at you."

The old man looked at Li Hao, sighed lightly, and said, "But you should understand, everyone wants to keep the initiative of harming others in their own hands, otherwise they will become lambs to the slaughter."

"I understand."

Li Hao nodded. Although he had figured out that the other party had some calculation in mind by letting him intercept the tree roots, no matter what, he was the one who proactively made the request, and the other party had simply not refused, going along with the flow.

If he were to resent or secretly hate the other party for calculating, it would somewhat deviate from his true heart.

The old man looked at Li Hao, unsure whether he truly understood or was just pretending to. However, he didn't bother to delve deeper and simply asked:

"Do you still plan to stay here?"

"Yes."

Li Hao nodded. His carving was not yet finished. Since he had already intercepted the other's tree roots and given the right to attack to the other party, there was no point in escaping.

That Jin Fengling didn't even dare to attack the old man's true form, fearing that the old man held the right to attack, indicating that the old man's strength was extremely terrifying.

It was no wonder, as the other party was the true form of this divine tree…

Thinking of this, Li Hao's thoughts stirred.

The old man saw Li Hao nod and couldn't help but smile. He hadn't expected Li Hao to still be willing to stay here even knowing that he could attack him at will, showing some courage.

"Then, just do as you please." The old man didn't say much more.

Li Hao asked, "Senior, just now that person said you are the Source Divine Tree?"

The old man glanced at Li Hao, seeing through his thoughts, and said, "That's right, I was a long time ago, but now…"

He looked at the city, a hint of the vicissitudes of time appearing in his eyes, and a meaningful smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"That is a very distant story. Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes."

Li Hao nodded and immediately stopped continuing to carve, instead coming to the stream bank. He condensed immortal power into a thread in his hand, cast it into the stream, and casually started fishing.

Seeing Li Hao's skilled manner, a hint of surprise flashed in the old man's eyes. Then, he looked at Li Hao a few more times and couldn't help but laugh, saying:

"You are truly a strange little fellow."

Li Hao scratched his head, "Strange?"

The old man shook his head, not elaborating, but also cast the fishing line he had just picked up. However, his mind was not on fishing, but rather reminiscing:

"There was once a war that happened here, that was a hundred thousand years ago…"

A blaze seemed to sweep through his eyes, like a fluttering war banner, displaying the vicissitudes of that battle from a hundred thousand years ago.

"…Ancient demons invaded the source of the True World, attempting to destroy Source City and sever the path to advancement for countless True World prodigies…"

"To protect this Source City, and my four younger siblings, I fought against those ancient demons. The opponent had already half-stepped into the Emperor Realm. I borrowed the power of the entire Source City to fight fiercely, and in the end, we almost perished together…"

As he spoke in his old and hoarse voice, sounds of earth-shattering battles seemed to echo in Li Hao's ears. He could imagine how arduous and terrifying that battle was.

"What happened then?"

"Afterwards, my Source Divine Fire extinguished, and I was on the verge of death. The tree seed withered. Thus, in order not to affect the balanced operation of the Source City, I chose to move the Source Dao Seed out and came to outside the city."

The old man's gaze returned from the distant years, looking towards the direction of the city, a smile that seemed bitter yet mocking slowly appearing at the corner of his mouth:

"Have you seen the Golden Dao Source Divine Tree in the city?"

"I have."

Li Hao immediately thought of the golden divine tree standing in the center of the city, which was much smaller in size compared to the other four divine trees around it.

At the time, he hadn't thought much about it, but hearing the old man's words now, he suddenly felt a sense of realization.

"That divine tree's size should be much smaller than the other four. This is normal because it is the Golden Dao Source Dao Seed that was孕育 (yùnyù - conceived and bred) later, and it can be considered the smallest younger sibling…"

The old man said softly.

Li Hao asked, "Has Source City recovered its stability now? Why don't you move back into the city?"

The old man's mouth curled up slightly, and he said, "Thirty thousand years ago, I had recovered and wanted to return to the city to guard Source City with that younger sibling. But they felt that my return would break the original rules, worrying that I would bully that younger sibling and devour it, thereby growing stronger alone…"

As he said this, the smile at the corner of his mouth widened even further.

Li Hao was stunned, and seeing the smile on the old man's face, he became somewhat silent.

The other party was saying "they", not "he".

"So… you have been staying here all along?" Li Hao asked.

The old man sighed lightly, his smile fading considerably, and said calmly, "That's right. Although being outside the city lacks the nourishment of Source City, and my Dao Seed will wither sooner or later, they don't know that in that battle back then, the ancient demon carried fragments of the Destiny Source City…"

Speaking of this, he paused and didn't continue, instead looking at Li Hao and asking:

"Young man, just now that little fellow came looking for the Divine Tree Dao Fruit, do you know what it is?"

Seeing the topic suddenly change, Li Hao shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"This is a Dao Fruit condensed by the Source Divine Tree. If you can display the Dao level during the previous spiritual explosion in Source City and gain the Source Divine Tree's approval, you will be able to cultivate on the Source Divine Tree, and you might even have the chance to be bestowed with a Source Dao Fruit!"

"A Source Divine Tree can only condense one Divine Tree Dao Fruit every ten thousand years!"

"It contains the essence of the Source Divine Tree and Dao crystals."

"Once consumed, even if you are not skilled in this Dao, you can quickly enter the Dao and improve your realm to the Third Layer!"

"If you already have considerable attainments, it will make your Dao Realm improve and breakthrough again. It can be described as an unparalleled top-tier treasure!"

Li Hao suddenly understood. It turned out to be a treasure that directly improves one's Dao Realm.

No wonder Jin Fengling was so impatient and directly attacked him. This thing was a hundred times more precious than the Flying Immortal Pill, which could directly raise one's minor realm by one level!

Although improving a minor realm level would increase one's strength, it was far less significant than the difficulty of improving one's Dao Realm!

"How is it? Are you tempted now?" The old man looked at Li Hao with a smile that was not quite a smile, with a hint of jesting.

Li Hao nodded, "Tempted!"

The old man couldn't help but laugh loudly, "You are quite honest."

"Does Senior have any?" Li Hao looked at him with bright eyes. Who wouldn't want such a good thing?

Seeing Li Hao's eager look, the old man didn't feel disgusted. Instead, he found it somewhat amusing, saying, "That little fellow asked me, so of course I don't have any. But if you want one, I actually do have one!"

"Really?"

Li Hao was stunned. He had just asked casually, not expecting the other party to actually admit it.

"If you want it, you have to agree to a condition of mine." The old man's smile slightly receded as he said to Li Hao.

"What is it?"

Li Hao was puzzled but had a guess in his heart, "Senior previously said I could repay you when I become an Immortal Emperor. Could it be that you want me to transfer you back to the city when my strength reaches a certain level in the future, or to help you suppress the other Source Divine Trees?"

The old man chuckled, but shook his head and said, "Only half right."

"Half?"

"I can dream of the future."

The old man's eyes flickered. He didn't tell the young man in front of him that this was because he possessed fragments of the Destiny Source City, which allowed him to glimpse some threads of destiny.

"In the near future, this Source City, and even the other cities in the Source Secret Realm, will suffer calamities. Ancient demons will make a comeback and invade again!"

He stared at Li Hao and said, "When that time comes, if you cultivate to become an Immortal Emperor, I hope you can protect this source world. Use the power of the Heavenly Dao Emperor Realm to guard the current four Source Cities and protect the cultivation path of the True World prodigies. In this way, even if we experience another Era of Emperor's Fall, Great Emperors will still be born in the True World in the future!"

Li Hao was stunned, looking at him with some shock.

Although discussing Emperor Realm matters with a mere True Immortal like him seemed somewhat distant and ridiculous, the old man's thoughts and broad-mindedness made him feel a chill of goosebumps.

He had thought the other party wanted to use this opportunity to regain his original position, but unexpectedly it was repaying evil with kindness…

He remained silent and after a long while, he said, "If that day comes, I definitely will!"

"Previously, I asked others to swear by their Dao Hearts, but Dao Hearts can also collapse. If one's original intention changes, oaths are hard to bind. Forget about you."

The old man said softly, with a sigh in his eyes.

He reached into his chest pocket, then slowly took something out, and ten thousand rays of golden light bloomed.

At this moment, Li Hao suddenly felt his fishing line move. His eyes suddenly turned to the stream, and he quickly reeled in the line:

"It's biting!"

As he spoke, the fishing line was quickly reeled back, and a Divine Dao Fish was pulled out.

This was a spiritual object condensed from Great Dao luck, extremely precious and a top-grade ingredient, able to enhance one's Dao Realm insights.

Li Hao was somewhat pleasantly surprised and put it into his Heaven and Earth Space.

If he were to cook it and turn it into dishes, it would absolutely be no less valuable than a top-grade Dao comprehension Immortal Pill!

The old man saw Li Hao's joyful appearance, his eyes flickering slightly. When Li Hao put away the Dao Fish, he slowly handed the thing in his hand to Li Hao:

"This is the Golden Dao Divine Tree Dao Fruit!"

Li Hao looked at the golden, shimmering, and fragrant Dao Fruit, with strange patterns on it like natural wood grain, yet also seemingly carrying a sharp, knife-like glow, like a natural top-tier divine pill!

"Thank you, Senior."

Li Hao didn't decline. He knew this item was extremely valuable, only condensing one every ten thousand years, and it was still the crystal of the Source Divine Tree. You couldn't buy it outside even with Immortal Stones. It was estimated that even in the treasure vaults of top-tier great powers and Immortal Dynasty royals, there would be no stock of it.

"How much you can comprehend from consuming this Dao Fruit depends on your comprehension ability. I see that your Golden Dao Source is only at the First Layer, just getting started."

The old man said, "Even if your talent in the Golden Dao aspect is average, you can reach the Golden Dao Source Third Layer. If your talent is extremely good, you might even reach the Fourth Layer!"

Li Hao nodded. The other party was willing to take it out, which meant he was willing to use this item as a gamble for the future.

He took it over, feeling like he was holding a cloud of mist, weightless, yet he could solidly feel a round, juice-filled sensation in his palm.

He glanced at the old man, and in front of him, he directly opened his mouth and swallowed it.

This Dao Fruit was the size of a head, but his Law Manifestation of Heaven and Earth body was ten thousand feet tall. Just slightly enlarging his upper body, he easily swallowed it in one bite, and then his body shrunk back to its normal size.

As the Dao Fruit melted into his body, it instantly turned into mist-like energy, flowing through his forty-eight thousand acupoints.

His mind buzzed, as if a strong will was about to burst out.

Li Hao dared not delay and quickly returned to the previous open space. He picked up the divine wood and started carving.

At this moment, his thoughts erupted, with numerous beliefs. Li Hao felt that carving contained the Golden Dao, and his perception of the Golden Dao Source was extremely strong now, perhaps allowing him to break through the bottleneck in one fell swoop and comprehend the carving state of mind!

As Li Hao carved, the divine wood gradually changed. Li Hao used time to accelerate it, turning it into a blade, but under the influence of the Golden Dao Source will, he gradually realized that simply using time as a blade was not sharp enough, not fast enough!

He slowly condensed time, from the original slow ripening to now completely transforming it into a sharp blade.

Carving… Golden Dao Source…

Time also has a sharp side, and that is the Golden Dao Source!

Heavy, hard, sharp, immortal!

Li Hao gradually gained some understanding, his eyes turning golden, like a young god sitting under a divine tree.

His hair flew without wind, sword-like eyebrows sweeping into his temples, and his eyes were like golden stars, immersed in carving and comprehension.

Besides the Time Great Dao Source, his body also had the Space Great Dao, also transformed into another extremely sharp blade compressed to the extreme, quickly outlining on the carving in his hand.

Stroke by stroke, the carved divine wood gradually took shape, blooming with flowers and branches, astonishingly a miniature Source Divine Tree!

That Source Divine Tree even seemed to emit Golden Dao Source aura, just like when he carved Ying Xiaoxiao and Lin Qingying previously, respectively emitting the Dao Realm of Time Great Dao and Void Sword Dao!

"This kid…"

The old man sat by the stream, shock revealing itself in his eyes.

He felt that what the young man was carving in his hand was not something acquired and sculpted, but a innate Source Divine Tree seedling!!

The rich Golden Dao Source aura gave him a sense of trance and illusion, as if he saw himself leaving Source City ninety thousand years ago, when a tender bud was newly sprouted from the seated Source Dao Seed!

The scene before him brought his thoughts back to ninety thousand years ago.

At the same time, a notification popped up in Li Hao's mind.

[Carving Dao increased to Tier 11]

[You have comprehended the Carving State of Mind: Carving Origin]

As his carving improved, Li Hao, immersed in carving, had memories in his mind gushing out like a floodgate, with a vast Dao inheritance descending.

Carving Origin was not just about the Golden Dao, but also the Wood Dao.

Previously, Li Hao had an epiphany on Carving Origin through Golden Dao comprehension. Now, as the panel broke through, the Wood Dao Origin contained in carving also flooded into Li Hao's heart.

In an instant, the aura around him changed drastically.

Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, the Five Dao Sources, were all mastered at this moment.

Time and Space.

Form and Command.

The Nine Orders had all entered the Dao!!

(End of chapter)