Chapter 922: The Endless Angler

Time passed.

While the Immortal Emperor imparted the Dao to Li Hao, others came seeking the two Immortal Emperors’ teachings, yet this did not disturb Li Hao.

As Immortal Emperors, they could manifest countless incarnations with a single thought, patiently teaching each Immortal King who came seeking the Dao, one-on-one.

“A hundred years—again a hundred years…”

Time flowed swiftly; among the crowd, Luo Ningshuang and Su Wanyi were both meditating within the Immortal Emperor’s Dao ground.

Having come to this abyss to cultivate, three hundred years had passed; from their initial Immortal King Realm Stage One, they had each advanced to Immortal King Realm Stage Four!

To ascend one realm in less than a hundred years was already extraordinarily swift for an Immortal King.

Yet Immortal King Realm Stage Four was still far too weak, too immature here; relying on the Primordial Emperor’s power and numerous secret techniques, they could barely reach the 72nd level.

Previously, they had barely crossed four realms; now, they could barely cross three.

Over these three hundred years, they had sought the Immortal Emperors for guidance, and their understanding of the Dao’s origin had improved, yet as time passed, both still felt a lingering sense of anxiety.

“My two junior sisters, you need not be so eager; among your peers, you are already the strongest.”

An elderly Immortal King of Stage Nine smiled, his hair snow-white yet his face flushed with vitality.

“In another three hundred years, if you reach Immortal King Realm Stage Seven, your Primordial Emperor’s power may allow you to breach beyond the 95th level. If you cultivate here for a thousand years, your chance of breaking the hundredth level remains substantial. I heard one True King has two deputies—that’s twenty deputies total!”

“Currently, only twenty-nine have broken the hundredth level; at least eleven slots remain.”

These words of comfort brought little solace to Su Wanyi and Luo Ningshuang; after all, others were advancing too—two hundred years ago, fewer than twenty had broken the hundredth level, yet now ten more had joined!

In another three hundred years, competition would grow fiercer; only those who broke the hundredth level could vie for deputy positions.

Currently, the top rank still belonged to the Heavenly Emperor Clan’s Di Mingyuan, whose score remained unchanged at 134, but the second-place contender had now caught up to 128.

“Those two will surely secure two slots.”

Luo Ningshuang and Su Wanyi’s gazes swept toward the Tower of All Heavens; there, the youthful figure they cared about held rank 153—unchanged for over two hundred years—but they dared not relax, suspecting he might be in seclusion, and once he emerged, his power would leap, possibly even surpassing them.

As for the other figure, the girl who followed Li Hao, her current rank was a staggering 99th level!

In just three hundred years, she was nearly breaking the hundredth level—her ascent was terrifyingly rapid.

“Deputy positions aren’t judged solely by performance, but also by one’s relationship with the True King. A True King has the authority to appoint one deputy directly; my two junior sisters need not worry too much.”

The Immortal King of Stage Nine reassured them.

Both nodded silently; among their Chaos Immortal Emperor’s disciples, three had already broken the hundredth level, the strongest being their seventh senior brother, who had shattered the 120th level and currently ranked eighth!

He was a formidable contender in the True King candidacy.

“Our Ancestor reinforced the Eastern Region; even I have only heard of his awakening, never had the chance to receive his guidance. I wonder if the two Immortal Emperors know of our Su family’s Sword Nine Revival Secret Art—could they offer some insight…”

Su Wanyi’s eyes flickered as she gazed toward the summit of the Tower of All Heavens, where the two Immortal Emperors stood silently; all the Immortal Kings who had come to seek teachings had been transferred to other teaching spaces, leaving no glimpse of their condition.

After all, these abyss cultivators were both allies and rivals.

After a moment’s thought, Su Wanyi flew toward the summit of the Tower of All Heavens.

Luo Ningshuang also withdrew her thoughts, activated her realm, and entered seclusion to meditate.

In the Dao Clan.

“Qingyin, you’re only three levels away from breaking the hundredth level—you’re certain to secure a deputy position.”

A middle-aged Immortal King of Perfect Stage smiled.

Beside him, Dao Qingyin’s expression was calm, showing no trace of joy; as the Dao Clan’s current heir, her goal was not merely to become a deputy, but to claim the True King title itself.

Yet the lowest-ranked tenth-place contender now stood at 118th level in the Tower of All Heavens!

A gap of over twenty levels—vast indeed.

“Not enough.”

Dao Qingyin murmured.

She had mastered four top-tier realms and fused them together, yet had not yet transcended into a Sovereign Realm.

Had she not already comprehended over half of the fourth chapter of the Dao Canon, and elevated all ten thousand Dao origins to Stage Eight, with over half of the Nine Orders Dao elevated to Stage Nine, she would have struggled to cross three realms and reach the 97th level.

“Still too slow, too slow…”

Dao Qingyin withdrew her gaze and resumed meditating with closed eyes.

The Perfect Stage Immortal King sighed bitterly; this girl had been raised under his watch since childhood, and now she was nearly catching up to him—the forty-thousand-year cultivation gap nearly erased.

Within the Eternal Pseudo Realm.

On a floating landmass.

Here stood a small Imperial Domain Dao ground, thick with immortal energy, serene and tranquil.

Two figures were present: the elder tirelessly imparted teachings, while the youth flipped through the Dao Canon, his body enveloped in radiant Dao light, ten thousand laws swirling like divine chains gathering around him.

“To comprehend any Dao to Stage Eight is already exceedingly difficult.”

The Immortal Emperor gazed at the thoughtful youth and murmured: “Perhaps you should consider elevating your cultivation base; the higher your realm, the clearer and deeper your perception of the Dao’s origin.”

“With your current Immortal King Realm Stage Three, you’ve reached the limit of perceiving Dao origins at Stage Eight. If you raise your base to Stage Seven, you may effortlessly awaken to the fourth chapter.”

Li Hao slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the Immortal Emperor before him, and nodded; this was indeed a more efficient approach.

Realm was always the core.

Moreover, he felt his comprehension had grown sluggish; delving deeper was proving arduous, heavy, and obscure.

“Thank you, Elder.”

Li Hao rose and bowed.

The Immortal Emperor replied coolly: “You were simply born a few thousand years too late; otherwise, with your talent, you might have challenged Di Mingyuan of the Emperor Clan.”

Li Hao, surprised by such high praise, hurriedly said: “Elder, you flatter me too much.”

“Focus on your cultivation and contemplation. If you wish to stay, remain here. Ask me anything—beyond the Dao Canon, I understand a little of everything.”

The Immortal Emperor spoke without further words and rose.

As soon as he finished, seeing Li Hao lost in thought, he vanished into thin air.

For the past two hundred years, Li Hao had been immersed in Dao contemplation; his cultivation had passively absorbed immortal energy, and he now stood at the bottleneck of Immortal King Realm Stage Three.

“Though I should raise my cultivation… even if I do, I’ll struggle to catch up to Di Mingyuan and others who are already at Immortal King Realm Perfect Stage.”

“Of the remaining arts—cooking, poetry, and fishing—I have yet to reach the Thirteenth Stage of mastery in any. I must first accumulate sufficient experience in these three.”

Li Hao thought to himself.

He did not leave the place; instead, he took the ancient demon corpse from his personal space and began cooking and roasting it there.

Whether his secret cooking methods would be noticed no longer mattered; after all, even outside, he could not escape the eyes of the two Immortal Emperors.

While accumulating cooking experience, Li Hao repeatedly recited the Dao Canon; each recitation yielded substantial poetry experience.

Thus, in one corner of the Eternal Realm, the youth cast his fishing line into the void, reciting the Dao Canon while calmly fishing, and cooked meals whenever hungry.

His poetry and cooking experience rose rapidly, but his fishing experience grew slowly; the Eternal Realm held no danger, and even when Li Hao threaded his line through time, piercing into past timelines, he found no fishing prey.

All his actions fell within the Immortal Emperor’s perception; he was somewhat surprised—when had this boy developed such leisurely indulgence?