Hm? Is there perhaps something wrong with what I asked...?
Seeing the sad expression that appeared on Elder Meng's face after he asked him about his domain, Xuan Hao could not help feeling even more interested in how he had managed to integrate a domain derived from the Dao of Rainwater into his mist domain.
"Hah... You should already know that after stepping into the Domain Lord Realm, if your talent is strong enough, you can comprehend and create more than just a single domain... But as you know, there are not many people who do this. Even if someone is talented enough, they will avoid creating another domain if possible. The main reason for this, is that to break through to the Soul Ascension Realm, one will be forced to merge these domains together into a single domain.
The act of merging one's domains together is something that even someone at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm are unable to handle due to the terrifying pressure brought along to the soul by the newly formed domain..."
"Yes, I know about this... And this is also the reason that I'm curious about the current state of your domain. Clearly you should just be in the Fifth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, but you are doing something that would easily kill someone in the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm! Ever weirder is how weak your domain is even with two domains having fused together..."
Nodding his head as he said this in response to what Elder Meng said, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as he remembered the domain of Elder Meng.
Even though his domain was the merger between two different domains, its strength was nowhere the same level of his domain after his ice and sword domain merged together and could even be considered to be weaker than an ordinary Fifth Stage Domain Lord Realm Expert's domain!
Considering just how much one's domain would increase in strength after they merged together. Even if Elder Meng had merged them together when he was only in the First Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, his domain should still have been far more powerful compared to now!
"Indeed... My domain should be far stronger than it currently is and I should be dead considering how strong my domain would be compared to the strength of my soul... But as you can see, it's strength is even weaker than the domain of an ordinary Fifth Stage Domain Lord..."
"Why is that?"
"I think it's better for you to see it yourself to understand it..."
Whoosh-!
Following Xuan Hao urging him to continue, Elder Meng went quiet for a short moment before his domain spread out and enveloped the small room they were inside of.
"Try to focus on the mist part of my domain with your divine sense..."
As the domain of Elder Meng enveloped both of them, Xuan Hao heard Elder Meng's somewhat sad voice say this to him before he went quiet while waiting for him to inspect his domain with his divine sense.
Whoosh~
Not knowing why Elder Meng had suddenly become sad again, Xuan Hao decided not to say anything as he used his divine sense to inspect Elder Meng's domain in-depth.
Compared to what he had been able to do before where he had been watching from a distance without using his divine sense. Only barely capable of sensing the different Daos present inside the domain, this time around, he could get a clear understanding of the exact strength of Elder Meng's domain and how far his comprehension of the Dao of Mist and Dao of Rainwater had progressed.
"Hm? This is... Your comprehension of the Dao of Mist is actually this strong!?"
Because of this, Xuan Hao was now able to clearly sense that the strength of the Dao of Mist inside the domain was not only far stronger than the Dao of Rainwater. Even if it was weak at the moment, the essence of the Dao of Mist present in the domain had actually managed to exceed the Domain Lord Realm!
As for the Dao of Rainwater... The essence of the Dao of Rainwater present in the domain had only reached the level of an ordinary Second Stage Domain Lord.
Although this would normally not be a problem, Xuan Hao did not take long to realize that the cycle formed between the two different Daos had resulted in the strength of the Dao of Mist being reduced to speed up the progress of the Dao of Rainwater advanced and bring it up to the same level as the Dao of Mist... And with the two of them reaching the same level, the cycle formed would begin showing its true power and help Elder Meng improve by leaps and bounds.
But... Before all of this, the reduction in power of the Dao of Mist had resulted in the cultivation base of Elder Meng being forcefully reduced to its current state.
Given the strength of the Dao of Mist present in the Domain, Xuan Hao realized that before he merged the rainwater domain into his mist domain, Elder Meng should have been someone who had reached the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm. Maybe even someone who had reached the limits of the Domain Lord Realm and were preparing to undergo the first of the seven tribulations from the Immortal Soul Tribulation!
For him to be able to bear the terrifying rebound of merging two domains together, it was obvious that his soul had been more powerful than normal. Even then, it should still have been injured to some degree. Resulting in Xuan Hao not having the ability to accurately sense the strength of his soul.
The fact that his soul was a bit weaker than someone in the Fifth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm was likely due to the damage his soul had suffered when merging the two domains together...
Elder Meng forming a cycle between the two Daos present in his domain, was most likely a last ditch measure to save himself by reducing the strength of his domain to a level where it wouldn't end up killing him...
"So it's like this... I never expected for Elder Meng to have experienced something like this..." Muttering this to himself as he understood why Elder Meng had showed such a sad expression whenever his domain was brought up, Xuan Hao could not help feeling bad for the old man.
Elder Meng had once been someone just a single step away from the Soul Ascension Realm, yet in an attempt to increase the strength of his domain, he had ended up being forced back to the Fifth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm again.
Even if he had a chance to recover again in the future, Xuan Hao understood very well that for someone like Elder Meng who had once reached the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm at the cusp of reaching the Soul Ascension Realm, the main thing holding them back would not be a bottleneck... But time!
Considering just how badly Elder Meng's condition was, it would likely take at least another thousands or two thousand years for him to recover back to his peak again and be ready to face the first tribulation and attempt to reach the Soul Ascension Realm.
But... Someone like Elder Meng who had once reached the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm and spent an unknown number of years trying to recover his strength already, should be close to the limit of his lifespan.
Even if a Domain Lord could live for thousands of years and a much longer time than someone in the Nascent Soul Realm, it was agreed that the natural lifespan of a Domain Lord was around ten thousand years with only a few exceptions who could live a few thousand years longer due to having a special physique or encountering a godly spiritual herb that could help extend their life beyond this point.
As he thought about all of this, Xuan Hao could not help turning his attention towards Elder Meng who was quietly sitting in front of him with closed eyes as he patiently waited for him to examine his domain.
"Elder Meng... If you don't mind me asking... How old are you?"
Interrupting the silence that had fallen over the small room, Xuan Hao's sudden question caused Elder Meng to open his eyes with a surprised light flashing through them.
"I didn't expect for you to see through it so quickly, looks like you are not just someone in the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm... Oh well... To answer your question, I'm not as old as you think. Actually, I just became three thousand years old a few decades ago!
Back then, I reached the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm when I was two thousand years old and could be considered a geniuses! Later after my strength fell, I left my home and decided to settle down here until I recovered again..."
Listening to what Elder Meng said, Xuan Hao could not help once again being surprised by the old man.
Reaching the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm at only two thousand years old! Even across the entire Ewaria Continent, such a feat could be considered close to unheard of!