Benua Donghuang luas dan tak terbatas. Jika Dinasti Dayu dianggap sebagai pusatnya, kota kekaisaran adalah sasarannya.Kontur sembilan belas provinsi menyerupai teko.Ceratnya melengkung ke atas, dan di tepinya terdapat Celah Gerbang Surgawi. Memanjang dari Celah Gerbang Surgawi dan berkelok-kelok menembus wilayah iblis abu-abu di baliknya, tempat ini dipenuhi iblis yang berdiam dan bercokol, sementara lebih jauh lagi terletak area hitam pekat di peta—Alam Surga Belantara Agung.Departemen Militer Yu Agung terdiri dari empat divisi, yang mengawasi pemilihan militer, kartografi, transportasi negara, serta senjata dan persenjataan, di antara tanggung jawab lainnya.Divisi kedua, Departemen Pemetaan, bertanggung jawab atas peta dunia dan memperbaruinya secara berkala.Sepanjang lebih dari tiga ribu tahun sejarah Dinasti Dayu Ilahi, peta baru dan lama telah diganti dari generasi ke generasi, tanpa menyebutkan perubahan medan di dalam provinsi.Wilayah iblis di luar batas ditandai sebagai area abu-abu. Namun, selama bertahun-tahun, gunung, puncak, dan bentang alam lainnya telah disurvei dan diberi nama di wilayah ini.Hal ini sangat memudahkan Departemen Penindasan Monster dalam melacak iblis-iblis buronan di luar wilayah, dengan peta yang bertindak sebagai mata-mata mereka. Namun, pembuatan peta saja telah merenggut nyawa banyak individu berbakat.Akan tetapi, betapapun berubahnya peta baru maupun lama, di luar tanah-tanah para setan ini, di suatu tempat yang lebih dalam dan jauh, daerah yang dijuluki “Surga Belantara Besar” oleh kaisar terdahulu pada masa ekspedisinya, selalu tetap gelap gulita di peta.Tidak ada topografi atau deskripsi apa pun.Seperti jurang hitam yang melingkupi tepian benua, itu adalah tanah misterius dan menakutkan yang terlarang bagi Ras Manusia.Selama ribuan tahun, ada individu-individu berbakat dari departemen militer yang telah berupaya menjelajahi Great Wilderness Heaven, tetapi tak terhitung jumlahnya yang tewas, dan pada akhirnya, hanya sedikit informasi yang dibawa kembali.Pesan-pesan ini, yang ditulis dengan darah, disusun menjadi sebuah buku yang disebut Kitab Suci Padang Belantara Besar.Hanya berisi dua halaman dan beberapa ratus kata sebagai ringkasan singkat.Hidup lebih rapuh dari pada kertas.Namun demikian, dua halaman tipis ini dijaga dengan sangat hati-hati oleh istana kekaisaran, dan hanya pasukan tinggi seperti Istana Jenderal Ilahi yang memiliki salinannya.Pada saat ini, di tepi Surga Belantara Agung, siluet seorang pemuda tengah berjalan melewati pepohonan kuno yang menjulang tinggi di Hutan Belantara Barbar.Pohon-pohon tinggi menyelimuti area itu, diselimuti kabut tebal.
“It is said that within the Great Wilderness Heaven, miasma fills the sky, colossal beasts roam, demons run rampant, and there are even traces of ancient fierce creatures from the legends.”
As Li Hao advanced, he scrutinized his surroundings with care.
The records indeed were true. Although he had not yet encountered any colossal beasts or demons, he could already feel the damp, toxic miasma in the forest.
Fortunately, his Indestructible Treasure Body was extremely resilient, easily fending off the miasma without being harmed.
Yet, if it was someone from the Three Immortal Realms, even if they were to stay here for a long time, their bodies would be damaged.
And those with an even lower Cultivation Level would not even need to be mentioned, as they would face even greater hardships.
“My mother actually lived in such a place…” Li Hao’s gaze flickered, his thoughts shifting, as he asked the elderly member of the Ji Family hidden and shrunk on his body: “Is there really a human tribe living there as you said?”
“Not humans, but the Saintly Tribes!” replied the elderly Ji Family member, correcting him immediately.
As he held admiration for Li Hao’s talent, he was willing to elaborate: “Our Ji Family descends from the Ancient Holy Clan. Though we emerged from the Human Race, our clan’s members possess the bloodline of Ancient Sages, with strong and formidable physiques, far from comparable to you primitive savages. Moreover, with the blessing of the sacred land in our midst, we are impervious to the miasma. To call it a land of deities would hardly be an overstatement.”
Hearing this, Li Hao felt somewhat relieved; it seemed that his mother’s living environment was not bad.
As he walked, Li Hao started to converse with the elderly Ji Family member.
He learned the man’s name, Ji Yun Ge.
Ji Yun Ge touched only lightly on the subject of the Ji Family, and did not delve deeply into it. However, he gave Li Hao many insights into the Great Wilderness Heaven Realm, clarifying that it was indeed as perilous as countless predecessors from the military department had explored and verified.
But the perilous regions were divided into areas.
For instance, their current location belonged to the outer periphery of the Great Wilderness Heaven Realm. Although extremely terrifying demons could be encountered here too, the likelihood was not high.
Mostly, the area was dominated by demons and fierce beasts of low ancestry.
However, with the abundant energy from heaven and earth here, even low-ancestry demons could hope to cultivate into Demon Kings, which is why the warnings in the Dayu Divine Dynasty’s records—that those without the Four Stands Realm should not easily step into the Great Wilderness Heaven—were deemed quite reliable.
Among the towering ancient trees, Li Hao, following Ji Yun Ge’s guidance, hurriedly made his way.Dia bergerak cepat di antara pepohonan, masing-masing berdiameter puluhan meter, di mana setiap cabangnya cukup lebar untuk menampung beberapa orang yang berbaring dengan nyaman.Di tengah perjalanannya, tiba-tiba sebuah bayangan melesat ke arahnya.Ditarik oleh jalur esensi, serangan itu tidak pernah salah, dan dia merasakan sensasi yang tidak bisa dihindari.Li Hao, sedikit terkejut, tiba-tiba dan cepat menggerakkan lagi kakinya yang baru saja berhenti, menghilang tanpa jejak dan menghindari tarikan esensi dengan suara mendesing.Sebelum esensi penarik itu dapat terhubung kembali, Li Hao muncul di titik serangan, secepat kilat, dan melihat seorang wanita bersembunyi di balik dedaunan tebal di puncak pohon tengah melancarkan serangan diam-diam.Wanita itu setengah manusia setengah setan, dengan anggota tubuh bagian bawahnya menyerupai bentuk belalang sembah yang ganas.Saat melihat Li Hao yang tiba-tiba muncul di hadapannya, wanita itu terkejut, jelas tidak menyangka bahwa pemuda ini, dengan penampilan biasa-biasa saja tetapi jelas dari Ras Manusia, akan memiliki keterampilan yang luar biasa!Pupil matanya tiba-tiba mengerut, tetapi dia bereaksi sangat cepat, menyemburkan semburan racun hijau.Bang!Li Hao melayangkan pukulan, kekuatan pukulan yang dahsyat menyebarkan racun dan menghancurkan wajah putih halus wanita iblis itu, memperlihatkan struktur tulang seperti rangka luar di bawahnya saat dia berteriak kesakitan.”Keturunan Suci Kuno?!”Wanita iblis itu mundur, terkejut saat dia menatap Li Hao.Dengan kekuatan ledakan yang mengerikan seperti itu di usia semuda itu, apakah dia benar-benar bertemu dengan seorang Keturunan Suci Kuno di pinggiran Alam Surga Belantara Agung?!Sambil mengutuk nasibnya dalam hati, dia tidak peduli dengan rasa sakit di wajahnya dan berbalik untuk melarikan diri.Li Hao bereaksi dengan kecepatan luar biasa. Begitu Peta Seribu Burung Terbang Gunung diaktifkan bersamaan dengan kemampuan gerakan tanpa jejaknya, ia hampir seketika menyusulnya dari belakang. Di bawah tatapan heran wanita iblis itu, ia melancarkan pukulan yang menembus kepala wanita itu.
Blood splattered, spraying on the nearby trees.
A divine soul burst out from the body of the female demon, looked at Li Hao in terror, then turned and ran away screaming frantically.
Her divine soul burned, erupting at full speed, but Li Hao had already condensed his controlling power into a sword, slashing it out in an instant, tearing her body apart, then quickly splitting the sword Qi to shred her severed divine soul, utterly obliterating it.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye, and this Tao Heart Realm Demon King had already fallen at Li Hao’s hands.
Ji Yun Ge, hidden within Li Hao, couldn’t help but show a smile on his face upon witnessing this.
In the Mo River, although he saw Li Hao displaying extraordinary talents, it was somewhat due to the lingering will of Li Tianzong secretly blessing him.
Now, the explosive power of Li Hao’s true body, along with the skill and strength he demonstrated, were in no way inferior to that in the Mo River, which put his mind at ease and left him satisfied.
He thought that once he helped Li Hao return to the Ji Family, he could introduce him, and if he could get Li Hao to cultivate with the Ji Family, that would be an excellent way to nurture him.
At the moment, as Li Hao killed the female Demon King with his fist, he felt a piercing pain in his knuckles—the venom had touched his fist, corroding his skin.
His own flesh was susceptible to corruption; if it had been an ordinary cultivator of the Three Immortal Realms, their flesh would probably have rotted away, exposing white bones.
Li Hao took a deep breath, not expecting that he would encounter a Demon King’s ambush just tens of miles after arriving in the Great Wilderness Heaven.
He looked at the female demon’s corpse, her head smashed, but the rest of her body was still intact.
He quickly flew back, arriving at her body, reached out his hand, and absorbed the life essence within her.
The female demon’s body rapidly withered, eventually becoming like a wrinkled piece of grey rotten flesh.
Li Hao casually slapped the remains, pulverizing the bones and scattering them, to avoid leaving tracks behind.
After absorbing the life essence of the female Demon King, Li Hao circulated it within his body for refinement, and the stinging sensation on the back of his hand immediately disappeared, and the corrosive decay stopped as flesh regenerated.
He had just come out of the Mo River, with his true body’s strength still the same as before the great battle in Liangzhou, his physical body barely comparable to a divine weapon cast seven times.
Now, he had advanced slightly further.
This showed just how potent the female Demon King’s venom was; even though his physical body could hardly be gravely injured by a Peerless Technique Realm Demon King like Lu Yuan, she was only of the Tao Heart Realm, yet she had made him bleed!
“To injure me while only at the Tao Heart Realm, is this the might of a Demon King in the Great Wilderness Heaven? It feels even more formidable than those outside,” Li Hao muttered to himself.
Ji Yun Ge heard these words and couldn’t help but laugh.
To injure an Immortal of the Three Immortal Realms and still be praised?
That’s certainly defying the heavens.
However, prodigies in the Ancient Holy Clan are like this, defying odds to slay Demon Kings; in the barren lands beyond, such feats may shock the barbarians, but in the Great Wilderness Heaven, it’s merely considered excellent.
But he knew that Li Hao’s true strength was not as it seemed, and even among the Ancient Holy Clan, Li Hao was certainly capable of being a prodigy, which was why he valued him so highly!
After dealing with the female demon, Li Hao did not linger and immediately continued on his way.
He possessed the Myriad Attributes, which could conceal his aura, but the noise he made while moving could still attract some demons along the way.
On his journey, Li Hao dealt with two more, but they were both of the Three Immortal Realms, attempting to launch a surprise attack, and he slapped them to death with his hand.
Without any weapons at his side, Li Hao’s own body was already at the level of a divine weapon, and his fists and feet possessed tremendous destructive power.
As he hastened on his way, Li Hao was also digesting the memories and martial arts cultivation techniques he brought out from the Mo River.
Due to his memories, these techniques were directly added to the panel, and within the panel, after being deduced through the Seventh Stage of the Physical Body Path, some new cultivation techniques evolved.
For instance, the previously deduced Ten Thousand Blood True Demon Skill had now become the Soul Sacrifice True Demon Skill.
The absorption and refinement of the essence from demons had become more efficient.
This allowed Li Hao’s physical body to refine towards its limit even faster.
Ji Yun Ge guided Li Hao, avoiding some of the more perilous forbidden areas within the Great Wilderness Heaven along the way.
Within these places resided well-known Great Demon Kings, and one should not tread lightly there.
Li Hao had no intention of venturing into these areas to hunt; his current urgent task was to return Ji Yun Ge to the Ji Family, and if possible, deep down, he still wished to see that mother of his.
To know of her safety would put his mind at ease as well.
The night was cool as water.
Within the endless expanse of the Wild Heaven Ancient Forest, occasional white bones lay scattered.
A pile of dry leaves and twigs formed a flame, burning on a sturdy branch, yet not igniting it.
The sturdy branch contained abundant moisture and vigorous vitality, making it difficult for ordinary flames to spark a forest fire and ignite these robust ancient trees.
Moreover, the air here was miasmic and damp; without a steady supply of fuel, the flames would quickly extinguish.
Now, beside the fire, Li Hao stopped to rest and adjust his condition.
He leaned against the trunk, took a blade of grass, folded it into a harmonica by his mouth, and began to play softly.
That night, accompanied by moonlight and the Wild Heaven Ancient Tree, the lingering whistle floated gently, then was blocked from spreading by the soundproof barrier Li Hao had set up.
It echoed only among the branches.
His Musical Rhythm experience slowly increased.
This, too, was cultivation.
With nothing around him, unable to delve into painting or chess, only the Musical Rhythm was left for self-entertainment.
Ji Yun Ge stood on the other end of the branch, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the distant stars and moon, his eyes full of the longing to return home.
In this moment, as he listened to Li Hao’s melodious and revolving grass whistle tune amidst the quiet of the moonlit night, the longing in his heart deepened.
He turned to look at the youth, only to find his gaze quietly fixed on the dark ancient forest, lost in thought.
“What’s the name of this tune?”
“Moonlight.”
“You said in the Mo River that you didn’t want to go home, yet your music is filled with longing,” Ji Yun Ge said intently.
“They are different matters.”
Li Hao took the grass blade out from his mouth gently saying, “What I miss are my friends.”
Ji Yun Ge glanced at him, “Are your friends very impressive too?”
“That depends on what aspects you’re talking about.”
Li Hao smiled and said, “Some can fish, some are good at eating and drinking, some have no special skills but are very happy.”
“I think being able to live happily is a skill in itself.”
Ji Yun Ge’s eyes flickered slightly and he said, “I see you spent quite some time in the Mo River seeking comfort and enjoyment. In such a dangerous environment, you still had the mood for entertainment. Are you not afraid of dying?”
“You should not give up on life just because you are afraid of dying, wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse?”
Li Hao didn’t explain it was because of the panel, but he did share his thoughts, “Just like working hard at cultivation is for the sake of living, but if you spend all your living time cultivating, then… what’s the point?”
“Without power, in the face of life and death, in the face of demons, only despair remains,” Ji Yun Ge stated.
Li Hao chuckled, “But what about those powerful martial artists? Are there few of them who have died? Many of them didn’t even get the chance to enjoy life. Like you, predecessor, your cultivation level is not low, right?”
Ji Yun Ge froze, his face changing slightly. The underlying meaning of Li Hao’s words was that someone as powerful as him had died.
This was obviously somewhat offensive.
But he did not get angry because of it; instead, he seemed somewhat lost in thought.
Looking back on his life, he had lived for a very long time, but most of it was spent on cultivation.
Now, as he reminisced, what he often missed in the Mo River were things outside of cultivation.
Fooling around with those guys, drinking, competitive hunting, etc., and the everyday gentle words, laughter, and the ordinary scenes…
He fell silent.
In moments of life or death, what came to mind was not how to cultivate, but some people, some events.
Not to mention, he was now a dead man.
His obsession with returning to the Ji Family was to return home, and the purpose of returning home was the inability to let go of the Sacred Mountain and the people on it.
Seeing the other party fall silent, Li Hao also said no more, continued to hold the grass between his lips, and gently started to whistle again.
He was not opposed to cultivation, but even in the busy gaps of cultivation, one could also stop to enjoy a couple of cups of tea and a chat.
That’s what it meant to live a “truly living” life.
The night was slightly cool, a cluster of flames, a clear melody of whistle song, and two souls with different thoughts.
And a bright full moon…
…
For several consecutive days, Li Hao was on the move.
On the journey, he also practiced each cultivation technique recorded on the panel one by one.
With each practice, his body was refined and improved again. Along with hunting demons along the way and absorbing their essence blood, Li Hao’s progress was astonishing. His physical strength reached a level almost comparable to that of an Eighth Cast Divine Weapon.
In the Mo River, his physical body was comparable to a Ninth Cast, and he could barely manage in the Taiping Tao Domain.
Now, he was getting closer and closer to that level.
After all, in this reality, he didn’t have a multitude of divine medicines to consume, nor could he actually consume them, relying solely on transformation through cultivation techniques. Fortunately, the effect was not inferior to divine medicines; it merely required a bit of time.
“Hmm? Something seems off here.”
Li Hao stepped into a crimson blood-colored mountain range. The surrounding red mist swirled around, making his flesh feel soft upon contact.
This was more terrifying than miasma, seeming to weaken his physical strength.
“This is Redwood Corpse Ridge,” Ji Yun Ge stated. “It is the place where a seeker of the Dao fell, and his Dao Domain lingers on, forming a special forbidden area here that is extremely treacherous.”
Then he shifted the topic, “However, it shouldn’t be much of a problem for you. The Dao Domain rules contained here are not as strong as that of the man before he died. They will only continuously dissolve your qi and blood, leading to physical weakness if you stay too long, or even aging and death. But with your physique, you should be able to withstand it.”
“Deep within here is a Crimson Blood Demon Vine King rooted in that Dao seeker’s skeleton. Every sixty years, it produces a Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit of great potency, which can significantly enhance one’s physique and help push physical strength to the Power Limit Realm, triggering a state of Divine Power.”
“You can try looking for the Crimson Blood Demon Vine King. It has absorbed too much of that Dao seeker’s flesh and bounds itself here, unable to escape. Its combat power is mediocre, so you should be able to defeat it.”
Li Hao was stunned and somewhat at a loss. That Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit might not be very useful to him.
But since he was here, it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. If he couldn’t use it, he could still take it back for Qianqian to use.
As Li Hao was pondering, suddenly several sounds of breaking through the air came from ahead.
“Stop right there!”
“Who is that? Quick, help me stop him. I am from the Ancient Holy Clan of the Qin Family!”
Several angry shouts came through.
Li Hao looked over to see a short man rushing forward, with three figures in hot pursuit, their movement techniques extremely fast.
The short man fleeing ahead, upon seeing Li Hao standing in midair, his complexion changed and he urgently said, “Don’t block me; I’ll give you the treasure!”
In the midst of speaking, he had already reached Li Hao’s side.
As Li Hao was wondering, the man suddenly lashed out, slapping a palm toward Li Hao’s face.
Thump!
The man’s wrist was caught by Li Hao, and with a crunch, it was crushed.
“¿”
Li Hao asked in puzzlement, “What are you trying to do?”
“Ouch!”
The short man screamed in agony, looking at Li Hao in horror. Even if Li Hao was on guard, it shouldn’t have been so easy for him to fend off a close-range attack, right?
But it was indeed fended off, what kind of freakish strength was that!
“Are you from the Four Stands Realm?”
The short man was shocked. He couldn’t see through Li Hao’s aura, but considering Li Hao’s age, it would have been impressive enough if he had just stepped into the Three Immortal Realms.
“Spare me, I’ll give you the item, just don’t kill me…”
Not even waiting for Li Hao to respond, the short man hastily handed over a belt: “The Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit is inside, spare me!”
Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit?
Li Hao was somewhat surprised. Ji Yun Ge had just mentioned this item, and now it suddenly appeared before him.
However, the item was in this belt? Li Hao was puzzled, yet he did not take it. Instead, he suddenly threw a punch at the other’s head.
The man was being pursued, but at this moment he offered treasures to Li Hao, clearly trying to transfer the trouble onto him. It seemed like a plea for mercy, but in reality, it was a sinister move.
“You…”
The short man was furious and let out a roar as a golden talisman ignited in his palm. It was indeed a Saint Heart Talisman.
Where the golden talisman burned, divine light emerged to envelop his body, intending to block Li Hao’s punch.
But when Li Hao saw the golden talisman, he suddenly realized what was happening and forcefully used the “Flying Phase” ability, doubling the distance of his attack.
His fist had just swung halfway when the fearsome destructive force struck the opponent’s head.
With a bang, it burst like fruit pulp.
The short man’s mouth was slightly open, his final moment before death still filled with disbelief, not understanding why he was dying.
Yet his body had already lost all motor functions, and a divine soul flew out from the top of his skull, attempting to escape into the distance.
But the Sword Qi that Li Hao had condensed, having the “Hidden Bow” attribute, was already lurking in the surroundings. As the man’s divine soul burst out, it was instantly slashed at.
If Sword Qi employed the “Hidden Bow” to stay hidden and went undetected, its lethality would double.
In that moment, it directly split the man’s divine soul in half, and then the Sword Qi exploded like a porcupine, shredding the divine soul.
The short man was only from the Three Immortal Realms; in front of Li Hao, he had no chance even to plead for his life using the Saint Heart Talisman.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye; the man’s body and soul were both destroyed, leaving behind only the activated Saint Heart Talisman still burning and enveloping his headless body.
One just had to wait for the talisman to burn out, leaving only a corpse behind.
In the brief moment, three silhouettes were already chasing after him. Upon seeing Li Hao kill the short man in a blink of an eye, they were all startled and immediately surrounded Li Hao in a triangular formation, locking him down.
“Damn little thief, he died too easily without me personally killing him!”
The leading youth looked at the headless body with a trace of anger still in his eyes; the man was merely from the Three Immortal Realms, yet he nearly snatched the Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit from his grasp, a complete humiliation!
“Boy, hand over his body, I am from the Qin Family of the Ancient Holy Clan. You better not be as foolish as this idiotic thief!”
The youth shouted at Li Hao, eyeing him closely. The more he looked, the more he frowned; this young man didn’t seem to be from the Great Wilderness Heaven.
But those of the lower Human Race beyond the Great Wilderness Heaven, at such a young age, who had such a cultivation level, to instantly kill someone from the Three Immortal Realms?
Li Hao, holding up the corpse enveloped in divine light, slightly raised an eyebrow and said, “Shouldn’t you thank me first? I stopped him for you, and I also killed him.”
“Young man, hand over the Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit first, and our young master will surely reward you handsomely,” another middle-aged man said, carefully watching Li Hao with a calm voice while quietly exuding his aura to envelop the surroundings, sensing in all directions, trying to discern if Li Hao was alone.
Another elder was silently locking down the area, using a secret technique to prevent Li Hao from escaping using a Saint Heart Talisman and secret arts like the small man had attempted.
Li Hao, with his Heaven and Earth Vein, had an extremely refined perception of the surrounding world. The opponent’s subtle movements and probes, though discreet, were immediately picked up by him, and his eyes became slightly cold as he sensed their murderous intent.
He felt a hint of anger. The people of the Great Wilderness Heaven seemed to care even less about rules and order.
“Whatever you want, just say it, but hand over that body first!” the youth said angrily, his emotions from the earlier provocation by the short man not fully calmed.
“What if I don’t want to?” Li Hao said.
The youth’s eyes suddenly turned icy cold as he angrily said, “Then you’re asking for death!”
“Die!”
The elder had secured the area and sighed with relief inwardly. After exchanging glances with the middle-aged man and confirming that there was no one else around other than Li Hao, he concluded that this unknown young man had come alone.
Without politeness, his attack came in a sudden, even as he was speaking.
As a member of the Ancient Holy Clan, there was no one they dared not kill. Even if Li Hao were some holy clan scion, it mattered not. Great Wilderness Heaven respected the strong, and those inferior in skills deserved their fate!
With a thud.
Pouncing from such close proximity, the elder was from the Four Stands Realm; as an old servant from the Ancient Holy Clan, he also practiced a profoundly mysterious Cultivation Technique. The attack was as swift as lightning, unavoidable under the guidance of the Tao Rhyme.
Li Hao didn’t choose to dodge either, and the attack was incredibly fast. His back vibrated violently, and his body leaned slightly forward, feeling piercing pain.
But soon enough, his Indestructible Treasure Body kicked in, swiftly healing the grazing wound and the pain along with it.
“How is this possible?!”
The elder’s eyes widened in shock. This young man wasn’t wearing any Treasure Garment He actually took the full brunt of his strike with his bare body!
The youth and the middle-aged man were both stunned, their expressions changing immediately.
Li Hao’s eyes were ice-cold as he used his control over objects to put the headless body aside, suspended in the air. Suddenly he stepped forward, using the Heaven and Earth Traceless Skill, and instantly closed in on the youth.
“You!”
The young man’s face changed with shock and fury, and he instantly raised his hand to slash with his sword.
But the sword light was shattered by Li Hao’s punch, the sharp blade sparking against Li Hao’s fist, drawing a bloody streak—clearly a Divine Weapon of extremely high quality.
However, as the sword light broke, Li Hao’s fist also landed on the young man’s chest.
A low growl suddenly burst from within the young man’s chest, followed by the appearance of a dark Xuanwu phantom that roared at Li Hao, using its back to block Li Hao’s punch.
A look of surprise appeared in Li Hao’s eyes. The young man’s golden silk robe, apparently armoured with a Divine Armor inside, didn’t seem like ordinary clothing; it appeared to be a Treasure Garment that was impervious to fire and water, soft in material yet extremely tough.
The powerful impact sent the young man flying backward, the dark Xuanwu phantom fading slightly.
Having made a move, he must ensure to root out the problem completely.
Divine light shot from Li Hao’s eyes, his footsteps quickened as he pursued.
“Damn it, stop your arrogance!”
The middle-aged man was furious, a primitive spear appearing in his hand, rough as stone but containing the aura of an ancient wilderness, as he suddenly stabbed at Li Hao.
Li Hao didn’t meet the attack head-on but used the Heaven and Earth Traceless Skill to pass by, his movement technique enhancing drastically as the patterns activated.
Like a dazzling bolt of lightning, he caught up with the youth.
Fury condensed in between Li Hao’s palms, and he violently smashed his fist out again.
“You’re courting death!”
The young man roared in anger and a hint of fear. This youth was like a wild dragon, terrifyingly powerful. Even with Divine Armor to protect him, the young man still felt his blood roiling—he should know, he was in the Tao Heart Realm!
At this moment, Li Hao’s combat revealed his cultivation level, which was indeed in the Three Immortal Realms!
It was always the prodigies who defeated enemies against all odds, yet today he found himself humiliated in adversity, something the young man could hardly believe.
The bright sword light, like dark fireworks, whistled through the air, but Li Hao instantly activated his Supreme Body, entering a state where he could not be targeted for a brief moment.
The sword affected by the Supreme Body lost its guidance, and despite being locked within his sight, the blade quietly slid past Li Hao, touching nothing!
Boom!
Li Hao’s fist landed once again, the Xuanwu phantom roared out, but this time, the fist’s intent surged like a tempest, engulfing it entirely.
The phantom dispersed, and the fist struck the young man’s chest, the gold silk robe caved in, his chest collapsing into a massive depression as bones snapped and organs shifted.
The young man spewed a mouthful of fresh blood, his body flying backward like a golden canary with broken wings.
“Young master!”
The middle-aged and the elderly men had caught up, their faces filled with horror. The young master had Divine Armor to protect him, but he was still gravely wounded?
Li Hao suddenly raised his hand, energy surged in the void, the Heaven and Earth Vein pulling the power of the surroundings like a pump, condensing it into terrifying sword tides of Sword Qi. These formed into two sword dragons, roaring as they rushed toward the two men.
The two men, alarmed and furious, hurried to defend themselves. The elder, seeing Li Hao continue to kill the young master, his eyes nearly splitting with rage, roared:
“Stop, how dare you act so wildly!!”
As he spoke, neglecting the sword dragons, he activated his own Divine Armor. A swirling sword phantom encircled him, protecting him, blocking the Sword Qi from all directions.
But still, many strands of Sword Qi, like fish slipping through a net, struck him.
Boom!
Before the elder could reach the young master, a strand of Sword Qi entered his body. In an instant, his body trembled as if his nerves were pulled out, freezing him on the spot.
A force pulling him towards the abyss assaulted him suddenly.
The elder’s pupils contracted as he felt his strength drain rapidly. He was horrified; was he dying?
Yet he hadn’t sustained any severe injuries!
As his consciousness nearly vanished, he panicked and quickly stimulated his life-reversing power.
He had come to accompany the young master because he still had a chance to reverse fate, to help the young master escape danger even in perilous situations.
But to his surprise, he was the one facing death first, forcing him to use this life-reversing opportunity on himself.
With a whoosh, his Divine Soul shot out from under his feet, wrapped in a force and fled into the distance.
Perhaps because of the influence of reversing fate, the elder’s mind was now filled only with an overwhelming fear of death, causing him to forget the young master.
The Sword Qi chased after him but missed, allowing the elder to escape.
Li Hao frowned slightly but didn’t pursue; with his current strength, he was still not able to contend with destiny.
He turned his attention back to the young man, throwing punch after punch. The young man wielded his sword to defend, exploding with a tremendous aura, but Li Hao disrupted it with two punches, and all the rest landed upon the young man’s body, his head.
“I… I am from the…”
Soon, the young man’s body was battered into a bloody mess, his flesh unrecognizable, and his Divine Soul, trapped in his body by Li Hao, was pulverized along with it.
Before his death, the young man couldn’t even utter a complete sentence, and this talent from the Ancient Holy Clan fell.
Surrounded by the sword dragons, the middle-aged man watched this scene with utmost dread.
Although their young master was only one of many in the Qin Family and his talent was not at the pinnacle, only above average, he should not have been killed so easily.
Moreover, the one who killed the young master was just a youth!
Could it be that he was a top prodigy from another Ancient Holy Clan?!
“You, you are doomed!”
“`
The middle-aged man was terrified, his eyes revealing a color of fear. He couldn’t imagine the fury of the young master’s older brother if he found out that his younger brother, who had chased after the Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit, was killed here!
And as their protectors, they would be even harder pressed to escape blame.
Li Hao, hearing the middle-aged man’s words, picked up the sword that had fallen on the ground. The sword shone with a silvery sheen, its construction exquisite, containing a dim silver light.
After listening to the middle-aged man, he turned his head and glanced at him, then casually tossed the Divine Sword.
With a whoosh, the sword light suddenly broke through the air, charging into the tide of swords and slashing toward the middle-aged man’s head.
The middle-aged man was horrified. He pulled out a Sacred Heart treasure talisman and burned it, turning it into a black clock shadow that enveloped his body.
But the next moment, the bell rang out with a tremor, torn apart by the silver light, and slashed straight at his shrinking pupils.
This Divine Sword was extremely sharp, and in Li Hao’s hands, it unleashed power that far surpassed what the previous young man had exhibited, cleaving the middle-aged man in two!
The man’s Divine Soul was also severed and erased.
“You, kid, you sure are decisive in your actions. It’s a shame that the one from Defying Fate Realm got away.”
Ji Yun Ge had been hidden on Li Hao’s body all along, not revealing herself. Watching as Li Hao swiftly dispatched this young descendant of the Qin Family, she couldn’t help but smile.
“The other party won’t go back to signal, will they?”
Li Hao frowned, a bit worried that fighting the small fry might bring the big ones, which would be quite troublesome.
“Most certainly.”
Ji Yun Ge said, “Otherwise, what would be the point of the Qin Family sending someone from the Defying Fate Realm to stay by this kid’s side? However, it seems they don’t plan to go back.”
As he spoke, a plume of black smoke shot up from the distant mountains, as if it were some sort of signal.
“That’s the Qin Family’s call for reinforcements. It seems there are other Qin Family experts nearby.”
Ji Yun Ge continued, “It seems they plan to take their revenge immediately.”
…
In front of a crimson-red cliff, there was a huge hole in the cliff face, partially exposing a few dozen zhang of twisted, withered vine, seeming to twist and twitch slightly.
On the lower hills outside the cliff, many figures gathered. They were dressed differently, each the young elite of various tribes and clans from within Great Wilderness Heaven.
They gazed upon the body of the Crimson Blood Vine Demon King, their eyes gleaming with anticipation, waiting for its emergence.
They had originally come here to compete for the Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit, but unexpectedly found the Crimson Blood Vine Demon King undergoing transformation, refining its second blood body.
Now, the transformation process was halfway complete, and it could not stop even though it sensed these intruders; it was helpless to do anything about them.
They, too, decided not to interrupt, quietly waiting for the second blood body to fully emerge. That blood body, equivalent to absorbing most of the essence and medicinal power of the Crimson Blood Vine Demon King, was like a ten-thousand-year-old blood ginseng just sprouted, ten times more precious than the Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit.
So, when the Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit was seized earlier, there were few who pursued it.
Aside from watching for the birth of this second blood body, it was also because the Ancient Holy Clan, the Qin Family, had sent a young master to pursue and kill the thief.
They had restrained themselves from clashing with the Qin Family over a single Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit, but this second blood body was different.
“The Qin Family’s prodigy, Qin Tianchen, is also here; it might be difficult to compete.”
“It’s all up to chance now. The Crimson Blood Vine Demon King is not easy to provoke, and there are other clans watching too. Let’s see who makes the first move.”
The gaze of many focused on several extraordinary figures in the crowd, one of whom was especially striking: the prodigy of the Ancient Holy Clan, the Qin Family, Qin Tianchen.
There were rumors that he possessed an Innate Holy Bone, an exceptional talent, and was said to have the demeanor of a saint. He could cultivate at the age of three, reached the Divine Travel Realm at ten,
stepped into the Tianren Grandmaster level at fourteen, entered the Immortal Realm at seventeen, and was extremely fierce, having slain a Demon King in a reverse state of power.
Now, only twenty-four years old, his strength was already on par with many of the older generation, dominating one side, and it was said that not long ago he had even ventured deep into the Great Wilderness alone to slay an ancient fierce creature!
In the crowd, Qin Tianchen stood with an illustrious air, extraordinary bearing, quietly staring at the Crimson Blood Vine Demon King inside the cave.
Not far from him, several other figures occasionally cast glances his way, their eyes filled with seriousness.
It was said that he had already reached the limit of the Power Passage Realm, grasping a state of Divine Power, and to everyone’s surprise, he had come here as well.
While everyone waited, suddenly, a trail of black smoke soared into the sky from afar.
The two elders beside Qin Tianchen saw it and were startled, their expressions immediately turning grim; that direction was precisely where their second young master had gone earlier.
A flicker of recognition crossed Qin Tianchen’s face as he noticed it, too. Usually impassive, his eyes now widened, and a tremendous aura burst forth from his body, shooting up towards the heavens.
“Big young master!”
From a distance, a Divine Soul raced over swiftly. It was the elder who had previously attempted to kill Li Hao.
“`
He saw Qin Tianchen who had just leaped into the air and hurriedly said, “Young master, someone is trying to steal the Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit and wants to kill the young master.”
“Who?!”
Upon hearing this, Qin Tianchen’s pupils constricted. He had come here precisely to protect his brother and help him acquire the Tao Rhyme Blood Fruit. Now someone dared to kill his brother?
All those who had come to compete were already here, none had left.
Seeing that only the divine soul was left of the old servant in front of him, his face changed, and he asked, “Where is Tian Yu?”
“I… I only managed to escape by using my Defying Fate ability…” the old servant suddenly became somewhat incoherent, his heart filled with nervous fear.
Seeing this, Qin Tianchen’s eyes suddenly shot out lightning-like divine light, “You mean to say, you abandoned my brother and escaped alone?”
“Great young master, please hurry and save the young master…” the old servant quickly said. He had escaped using his Defying Fate opportunity, but the young master was only at the Tao Heart Realm; he likely could not escape from harm. He could only hope that they were still in time to make it there.
Qin Tianchen’s face turned ugly, wishing he could slap the servant to death, but there was no time to pursue the matter. He turned around and stepped forward, about to chase after him, when he saw a figure in the distance rushing towards him, wearing a golden-threaded robe and holding a shimmering silver sword.
This attire was exactly like his brother’s.
But the one wearing it was a young man.
Li Hao, having fled from the great battle in Liangzhou to the Mo River, had long been in tattered clothing. After killing that young man, he took his clothes, which happened to be a Treasure Garment, as something to cover his body, replacing his own ripped robe.
As for the divine armor, which was already ruined, he had been too lazy to take it.
Coming here now was to strike first to gain the upper hand, as well as to avoid being caught escaping, and having them search beyond the Great Wilderness Heaven, causing trouble for the Dayu Divine Dynasty by attracting a powerful enemy.
“So many people?”
Li Hao glanced around and saw figures on mountaintops both near and far.
His gaze locked onto the divine soul of the old man and, seeing him pleading in front of a youth, he immediately understood that the youth was probably the target of the man’s plea for help.
“Was it you?!”
Qin Tianchen saw Li Hao wearing his brother’s clothes and holding his brother’s sword and his eyes immediately reddened. His previously icy demeanor instantly turned furious. Your next journey awaits at empire
“Who are you?!”
Two old men beside Qin Tianchen also rushed over. Seeing Li Hao’s attire, they were shocked and urgently yelled.
The incident here alerted everyone, causing all those nearby waiting for the Crimson Blood Vine Demon King to be born from the blood body to look over in astonishment.
From the looks of it, the Qin Tianchen’s brother who had just been pursued seemed to have been slain?!
Li Hao’s attire was immediately recognized by them. His clothes had been stripped, and his weapon lost, which clearly meant that the person was gone too!
“Who is that person, so young!”
“He looks like he’s in his teens, right? Which clan’s prodigy is he?”
“He dares to kill someone from Ancient the Qin Family and even chase after them? This guy’s got some nerve!”
Everyone watched in shock, buzzing with stunned discussions.
“Listen well, I am from the Ancient Divine Clan, Heavenly Clan!”
Li Hao, hearing the old man’s question, thought to himself that they were paving the way for him. He had arrived intending to disguise his identity; if he just walked away, he didn’t know what means the Ancient Holy Clans had at their disposal. If they traced him back to being from outside the Great Wilderness Heaven, that wouldn’t end well.
Since you all are Holy Clans, it’s not too much for me to be from a Divine Clan, right?
Hearing Li Hao’s loud response, there was a moment of silence in the heavens and earth, leaving everyone dumbstruck.
Ancient Divine Clan?
Had they heard wrong? They had never heard of this name!
In the Great Wilderness Heaven, was there really such an ancient divine clan?!
Everyone was shocked, feeling as if their horizons had been broadened.
Qin Tianchen was also shaken, astonishment showing on his furious face, Ancient Divine Clan?
His family elders had never mentioned it, and the Ancient Holy Clans were called Holy because their ancestors were Ancient Sages!
Therefore, they all had the bloodline heritage of Ancient Sages in their bodies.
This young man before him claimed to be from a divine clan; could it be that he was a descendant of gods?
But in this world, where are there gods? They had never even heard of such a thing!
