Follow the path of Dao from infancy

Li Hao had previously passed through the Fengshan Menghe River at Tan Palace, but his body underwent no changes, and the river was merely inhabited by villagers who appeared normal but were actually long dead. All he needed to do was to deliver their souls to salvation to destroy the Mo River.

But now, he was regressing to a younger age?

No wonder he had felt his strength disappearing, as if it was being stripped away.

Was this the peculiarity of a Mo River of this level?

Li Hao was somewhat startled. As his mind raced with thoughts, he suddenly felt sleepy; he could not hold on and fell into a deep slumber.

...

When Li Hao woke up again, he saw his own tender and soft hands and feet, lying on an unfamiliar bed with a soft little blanket covering him.

He was dressed in a bellyband, looking to be a few months old rather than a newborn.

The previous experience wasn't a dream... Li Hao finally believed that he was still in the Mo River; however, what was the deal with his body now? He felt as if he could actually crawl.

Before long, Li Hao put his thoughts into action and managed to turn over and start moving on the bed.

This was certainly not something a newly born infant could do!

"I must be a few months old..."

Li Hao muttered, but when the words reached his lips, they turned into "lalala" babble.

His vocal cords were not yet fully developed.

But there was no doubt the passage was of time strange here.

He had only just fallen asleep. While he was fond of sleeping in, it should not have resulted in several months passing by, right?

Li Hao stopped crawling, touched his chin with his little hand, and sat pondering on the bed.

At that moment, a golden script emerged before his eyes:

Progress of [Growth] mission: 2.3%.

Li Hao was surprised inside, it had already progressed to 2.3%?

If he calculated according to the mission's requirement to survive until eighteen years old, was he now about five months old?

Five months in the blink of an eye... Li Hao felt a few more sleeps, and it might very soon be eighteen years later.

By then, he presumed, the main mission would commence.

Defending Dragon City, this was the Dragon City Mo River... Li Hao's gaze flickered, realising he needed to be fully prepared before turning eighteen.

This was no ordinary Mo River but one of high level, even the Grand Tao of Peace Realm would only possess a "potential" chance to succeed, which attested to its perilous nature.

Suddenly, the door creaked open.

A man in brocaded garments entered, tall and well-built with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, exuding a striking handsomeness.

Seeing Li Hao about to go from sitting up to lying down, the stern-looking man's face relaxed into a relieved smile, and he whispered, "Little Hao Mouse?"

Just as Li Hao was about to feign rest, he froze at these words, recognizing that it must be his Fourth Uncle who knew of this nickname and had entered the Mo River.

He lifted his head to scrutinize the man and immediately noticed a resemblance to the elderly Li Xiaoran he had seen previously:

"Lala (Fourth Uncle)?"

"You can't speak clearly yet, huh? Well, I'll talk and you'll listen. If you are Little Hao Mouse, raise your hand," whispered the young-looking Li Xiaoran.

Li Hao immediately raised his hand. .net

Seeing this, Li Xiaoran nearly confirmed Li Hao's identity without a doubt. He smiled softly and said,

"I was worried you'd end up elsewhere, but you're right here in the Divine General Mansion. Saves me from looking for you. I wondered how could my eldest brother suddenly come up with a tenth son. Suspecting it might be you, it turns out I was right..."

"It must be the bloodline of the Li Family within you that led my brother's obsession to bind you to his offspring."

Seeing Li Hao's resigned expression, Li Xiaoran chuckled lightly, his visage then returning to a more serious tone:

"I don't know if you've been through a Mo River before, but it doesn't matter. This is a high-level Mo River, very different from the Mo Rivers you know. There are special rules here!"

"For instance, stripping us of our original bodies and powers, that's one of the rules."

"The flow of time here is another special rule. Don't lose consciousness easily. When you sleep or faint, time accelerates rapidly, but your body would only grow in accordance with my brother's perception, without any other changes!"

"If you appear ordinary in my brother's eyes, a few more sleeps and it'll be decades later. By then, your cultivation realm would only reach the extent my brother imagines, which might at most be the Heavenly Human Realm!"

"And being at the Heavenly Human Realm in the upcoming Dragon City battle is no different from cannon fodder, almost undoubtedly fatal!"

Knowing Li Hao couldn't speak, he grew more earnest as he spoke:

"Once you die in this body here, you'll truly die, and your original body will disintegrate, becoming nourishment for the Mo River. Even your own soul will be restrained by this Mo River, unable to reincarnate!"

Li Hao's heart chilled. He currently looked like a baby; if he died, would he truly perish?

No wonder this high-level Mo River was so perilous, with such a drastic gap in realm transition, which powerful being could withstand this.

"Even if it's the Defying Fate Realm, one couldn't preserve their life here unless you cultivate to the Defying Fate Realm in this place, but you don't have much time. Judging by my own age, it's probably eighteen years from now."

"When you turn eighteen, that's when the Dragon Clan will attack the city!"

Li Xiaoran took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "You must grow up before that time, strive to reach your original cultivation level or even higher if possible."

Remembering the power Li Hao had unleashed when he broke free from the Candle Fire Divine Tao Domain, Li Xiaoran felt somewhat reassured, but his expression did not relax as he said,

"This Dragon City was once one of the most splendid cities in Northern Yan, guarded by the Li Family for a thousand years. Hundreds of years ago, one of our ancestors furiously killed a Demon King of the Dragon Clan and dismembered it in Dragon City, hanging its dragon head and embedding it into a wall of the city, from then on renaming the city Dragon City!"