245-247
Chapter 245: The Kill (Extra Chapter 1)
Upon Prisoner's Sky Isle.
After toppling the second Abyssal Heaven Stele, everyone swiftly charged towards the final one.
"If we can't hold it back, then we'll have to push this last stele down as well!"
Someone uttered in despair.
They would rather be incinerated by the Blazing Sun's Holy Fire, or plunge into the River of Oblivion, than be utterly annihilated by the Demon Saint.
Hearing their words, Ji Qingqing's body trembled. She quickly rose and dashed towards the last Abyssal Heaven Stele.
This final stele, she would protect it with her life!
As she ran, she glanced at the abyss beyond the island, witnessing the colossal Abyssal Heaven Stele plummeting downwards, engulfing that figure.
Tears streamed down her face. When she saw the small red flower floating in the air, her heart felt as if it were being torn apart, a piercing pain coursing through her.
She covered her mouth, suppressing her grief, and continued to rush towards the final stele.
The divine soul guarding this stele merged with her, wielding her sword to stand before it.
Everyone glared at her with anger, but for a moment, they held back their arguments. The Prisoner's Sky Isle beneath their feet suddenly soared into the air, as if shedding a heavy burden, like a bird taking flight. It swayed with such speed that it nearly flung everyone off.
Having lost the other two Abyssal Heaven Locks, the island was now held upright by the remaining one. The islanders were startled and scrambled to find nearby rocks to cling to, preventing themselves from sliding off.
The rocks on the island, due to its now completely tilted position, began to tumble and roll downwards.
Large, loose boulders crashed down, striking the chains and plummeting into the abyss.
Li Tiangang and Ji Yunqing, who were desperately climbing, saw the falling rocks above and hurriedly hid in the cracks of the chains, avoiding being swept down with them.
Once the rocks had mostly fallen, everyone looked up and saw that the Demon Saint's tentacles had retracted, surrounding the Abyssal Heaven Lock they had previously flung away.
"Excellent!"
"The Demon Saint's target is actually him! It seems the Old Madman was right. This deceased Wenren Ji is instinctively tracking the Saint's aura. She said that person is a Dao Seed, surely it must be a natural Saintly Bone!"
"A Saintly Bone? Those aren't common in our Ji Family, what a pity."
"Pity what? Weren't you the one pushing the hardest just now? Now you're changing your tune?"
"You pushed too, I just gave a little extra push."
"Alright, we're not out of danger yet, and you're already trying to shift the blame? Are you that afraid of your family holding you accountable?"
"It's all Wenren Ji's fault anyway."
"Speaking of, is that Dao Seed a criminal too? Why would he be imprisoned here?"
"What are you thinking? Even if a Dao Seed commits a crime, someone will take the blame for him. I don't think he's a criminal, he's here on business, probably to pick someone up?"
Clinging to various rocks, the islanders began to argue, their gazes fixed on Ji Qingqing.
Undeniably, the Dao Seed had come to pick her up.
When Ji Qingqing was exiled here, she was accused of marrying a foreigner. Now it seemed that perhaps the Dao Seed was her son?
These hardened criminals quickly pieced together the situation, though they couldn't help but feel astonished. Could the Dao Seed be a mixed-blood? Could a mixed-blood become a Dao Seed? When did the Ji Family become so incompetent? It seems they truly couldn't do without them...
"Stop it, everyone! Quickly, guard this Abyssal Heaven Stele, don't let it fall!"
Suddenly, someone exclaimed.
The Abyssal Heaven Stele was subtly shifting. Previously, the chains from the three steles had held it steady, but now with only one remaining, it was becoming loose.
Upon hearing this, the others' faces turned grim. They hurriedly scrambled towards the stele, attempting to push it back into the island.
Ji Qingqing had been worried that they would topple this stele as well. Now, seeing that without Wenren Ji's attack, they were frantically guarding it, she couldn't help but feel a sense of irony.
But this situation also brought a subtle sense of relief to her heart. She turned her head to look towards the chains, spotting Li Tiangang several thousand meters away.
The couple's eyes met. Li Tiangang's expression was filled with excitement. He shouted, "Qingqing!"
However, Ji Qingqing's heart was filled with sorrow. She crawled towards the front of the chain, saying, "Tiangang..."
After the chain extended vertically from the abyss, the suction force from the Demon Saint's mouth weakened. Li Tiangang, his face alight with surprise and excitement, accelerated his climb, reaching the top of the chain and pulling Ji Qingqing into his embrace.
After a deep, tight hug, he quickly scanned his surroundings and urgently asked, "Where's Hao'er?"
"Hao'er... Hao'er... he fell into the abyss."
Ji Qingqing's eyes were red and swollen, her voice choked with sobs.
"What?"
Li Tiangang suspected that the wind was too strong and he hadn't heard correctly.
But Ji Qingqing was crying too hard to speak.
Li Tiangang finally understood. His entire body jolted, as if all his blood was suddenly ignited to its peak, then instantly plunged into icy coldness.
His mind roared, momentarily blank. He couldn't even hear his wife's cries anymore.
Fallen into the abyss?
Li Tiangang's neck stiffened. He turned his head with difficulty, looking towards the other end of the chain, at the Demon Saint's twisting, blood-lotus body and the bottomless abyss.
How, how could...
Li Tiangang's mind seemed to freeze, stunned.
That child, was he dead?
Dead?!
His mind buzzed, unable to believe it, unable to accept it!
Before he came, he had already made up his mind. No matter how that child treated him, he would endure. Even if he had to apologize, bow his head, or do something even more humiliating, even if he had to bend his knees and bow, he would bring the child back.
He wanted to make amends for his shortcomings towards the child.
He also didn't want his father to die with regrets!
Although he had many disagreements with the child before, disliking many of his actions and behaviors, he had always treated him as his own child, hoping he would become better.
But now, he was dead?
Li Tiangang's mind felt numb. After a long moment, hot tears finally welled up in his eyes.
He recalled the scenes in the courtyard.
The child drawing in the yard, beaming with joy.
The child chatting with his second uncle, lively and spirited.
The child lying in a rocking chair, relaxed and lazy.
Time and again, he had frowned at these scenes.
But now, he would never see them again.
He would never see the child's playful figure again!!
"This is fake, it's fake, right, Qingqing?"
Li Tiangang's voice was hoarse and trembling. In Yanbei, he had witnessed the deaths of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, seen Li Fu and Yu Xuan perish before his eyes. His heart had been filled with unbearable pain, but he had never shed a tear. His father had told him that men on the battlefield only bleed, not cry!
But now, he was crying.
Ji Qingqing could only sob, unable to answer.
"The Hao'er you're talking about..."
At this moment, Ji Yunqing had also reacted. His pupils dilated, his body trembling as if in an earthquake. He exclaimed in shock, "Could it be Leping?!"
Hearing this name, Ji Qingqing's grief intensified:
"Leping is the name I gave him. Tiangang, did you tell him? It's my fault, I killed him..."
Ji Yunqing froze, bewildered.
That child, had he fallen into the abyss?
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The child, who had become famous throughout the Ji Family in the Prodigy War, defeating all the prodigies, confronting a Saintly Bone with his own flesh and blood, breaking through Dao Domains, forging an invincible legend, had actually died here?
A rising star, before reaching its brightest moment, had fallen so rapidly?
"How could this happen? It's the chain, this..."
Ji Yunqing looked up and immediately saw the situation of the now-tilted Prisoner's Sky Isle. His pupils constricted, and he instantly understood what had happened.
He felt a surge of blood rush to his face, his heart filled with grief:
"Why didn't we push down our Abyssal Heaven Stele? Why was it the child's? Why?!?"
His angry roar echoed across the island. The faces of those who had pushed the steles earlier changed slightly. If they had a choice, they would have considered pushing this stele first, but the situation had been critical, and they hadn't had time to think.
"I would rather it be us who fell, not that child! He was so young, so young!!"
Ji Yunqing roared in sorrow. It was no exaggeration to say that he was the most outstanding prodigy the Ji Family had seen in millennia. He had defeated a Dao Domain with three Immortal Foundations, shattered legends, and even received the favor of a Saint. And yet, he had perished like this.
He couldn't accept it. The light that had carried the Ji Family's future hope had been extinguished.
"You bastards, you're all going to die!!"
Bloodshot filled Ji Yunqing's eyes, his sorrow turning into a surge of murderous intent as he glared at everyone on the island.
Everyone's faces turned pale. The Dao Domain elder among them also looked grim. Ji Yunqing was also at the Great Peace Dao Realm. Even if he burned his divine soul, he wouldn't be a match for him, especially since his condition was so poor.
Hearing Ji Yunqing's furious roar, Li Tiangang's body trembled, and he realized the reason.
Looking at the lone chain that stretched vertically towards the sky, he felt his heart tremble, a feeling of indescribable, almost nauseating impulse.
Didn't this mean that he had indirectly killed Li Hao?
If he hadn't come, they wouldn't have been on this chain. The two chains that were pushed down wouldn't have been Li Hao's!
Realizing this, his head roared again, as if his Dao Heart was being burned.
He had personally sent Li Hao to his death?!
But he had only come to apologize...
Why did this happen?
Li Tiangang's eyes glazed over, unable to speak.
...
...
In the abyss.
When Li Hao was struck by the falling Abyssal Heaven Stele, the force of its impact caused pain throughout his body.
As he fell closer to the abyss, closer to the Demon Saint, Li Hao managed to push the stele off him, wiping the blood from his face before quickly climbing to the other side of the stele, activating the Saint's mark within him.
Only this Saint's mark could save him now.
As his consciousness touched it, the silver light on the mark bloomed, but a moment later, it retracted, returning to its original state.
Li Hao's face turned grim. He touched it again, and the silver light bloomed once more, only to fade again.
Was it being blocked by this demon?
Li Hao's heart filled with anger and fear. He quickly touched it repeatedly, but the result was always the same.
Darkness and a foul stench enveloped him. Seven or eight tentacles that had previously wrapped around the chains now lashed out at him.
Despair filled Li Hao's eyes. Was he really going to die here?
Gazing at the unreachable sky, he suddenly realized that no one cared about his life or death.
The despair in his eyes turned to anger, a raging inferno that erupted into a deafening roar. But due to the Demon Saint's suppression, the sound couldn't travel, like a silent scream.
He punched furiously, as if he had nothing left to lose, striking at the tentacles.
With a loud bang, a tentacle sent the Abyssal Heaven Stele and the chain flying. Another tentacle whipped towards Li Hao, its approaching force seeming to crush every bone in his body.
But the young man, filled with utter despair, roared and punched with all his might.
They collided. The tentacle recoiled, sending Li Hao crashing into the gaping maw of the blood lotus.
In a flash, Li Hao unleashed hundreds of punches, striking the Demon Saint's tentacle.
His body seemed to shatter, his flesh tearing apart. The force of the tentacle's recoil was beyond his endurance.
If not for his body being comparable to nine-forged divine weapons, and the fact that he was in a divine power state, the tentacle's mere sweep would have reduced him to dust.
The maw seemed like a bottomless abyss. Li Hao fell for a long time before landing on a dark, sticky ground.
His flesh was torn to shreds, only sinews clinging to his bones, like a discarded skeleton, lying in the abyss.
The maw closed, sealing off the last ray of light.
But after a few seconds, Li Hao suddenly felt his body falling rapidly again.
No, to be precise, it was the Demon Saint's body that was falling rapidly.
He felt a weightless sensation as if his body was floating, but soon, the fall ended, and he crashed heavily onto the sticky ground.
Then, he heard a series of tremors around him, followed by large amounts of liquid dripping down.
Had he fallen to the bottom of the abyss?
Li Hao wondered, feeling strangely calm despite his situation.
More and more liquid poured in, falling onto his broken body. Li Hao felt his flesh being burned, a stinging pain spreading through him.
Was his end to be digested?
Li Hao's lips twitched slightly. Looking at the pitch-black darkness where he could see nothing, he suddenly felt that his transmigration was truly absurd, that he was just a superfluous being in this world.
Had he come here only to suffer?
It was a pity that he hadn't said goodbye to Old Man Feng.
He hadn't taught Qianqian's swordsmanship to the point of enlightenment.
Yuanzhao, whose parents were gone, and now he wasn't there either. Would he be bullied by others?
Thoughts flitted through his mind.
The burning pain in his body intensified.
Suddenly, large chunks of soft flesh seemed to fall from above, along with liquid, striking his body.
Then, the surroundings shook violently, as if the sky was collapsing. Large pieces of soft flesh and hard bones crashed down on him.
A large amount of foul-smelling liquid, like blood, splattered around him, engulfing Li Hao.
Li Hao was submerged in the blood, nearly choking.
The blood carried a strong corrosive power. Li Hao felt as if he were in boiling water, an endless burning and tearing pain.
His flesh was torn and peeled away, but his bones remained resistant, protecting his consciousness and divine soul.
Amidst this excruciating pain, like being slowly sliced to death, Li Hao looked around and was horrified to discover that the Demon Saint that had devoured him seemed... dead?
The towering blood lotus's petals were falling off, breaking apart, crashing into the sea of blood and creating hundreds of meters high waves.
The blood waves crashed over him, sending Li Hao back down to the bottom of the blood lake.
Li Hao struggled desperately to swim upwards. As soon as he surfaced, he saw other parts of the Demon Saint's body rotting and falling, no longer soft and destructive.
Li Hao floated in the blood waves, his bones also being eroded by the blood.
Was the Demon Saint dead?
Li Hao looked at the collapsing body of the enormous Demon Saint, unable to believe it.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and his eyes widened.
Could it be that... the hundreds of punches he had thrown desperately at the tentacle had accidentally triggered the 1% fatal attribute?!
Li Hao was shocked by this idea.
The Demon Saint... had he killed it?!
He was stunned, but at this point, he didn't care about the reason. His previously despairing and gloomy heart was once again filled with a strong desire to survive.
He struggled desperately in the sea of blood, trying to get up. But even though the Demon Saint's body was disintegrating, its power of law hadn't dissipated, preventing him from using his qi, his strength unable to manifest.
He could only rely on his physical body to swim in the blood lake.
However, the Demon Saint's blood seemed to carry a strong corrosive power. More and more of his flesh fell off, and the exposed bones were also burned and worn away. Even his body, comparable to nine-forged divine weapons, was about to melt away.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 246: The Supreme Haotian (Two-in-One)
Within the churning, blood-red lake, Li Hao's clothes had completely dissolved, leaving him naked and exposed.
The Kunlun Jade Belt, about to slip from his body, was grasped by Li Hao and wrapped around his arm, held high.
However, the material of the Kunlun Jade Belt was clearly inferior to Li Hao's physique. Merely splashed with the blood of the Demon Saint, it showed signs of decay and damage.
A corner of the inner celestial space within the belt was exposed, like a gaping wound, with blood swirling within.
"Where… where are we?"
A crimson tendril of the Bloodvine Demon King extended from the space, its awareness probing the outside world. It was instantly splashed with a wave of blood, causing it to shriek in pain.
"It hurts!"
"My power… it feels like it's been sealed. I can't fly anymore."
The Bloodvine Demon King attempted to fly out of the celestial space, but it panicked upon discovering its inability to mobilize its internal energy.
Seeing Li Hao, whose arm was held aloft above the lake surface, his arm now tattered and revealing bloody muscle and bone, the Demon King paused, seemingly understanding.
"Are… are we going to die?"
It asked softly, its voice trembling.
Li Hao, hearing its words, never imagined that his final moments would be spent in the company of a demon.
His heart ached with a bittersweet pang. He looked around, but it was an endless expanse of darkness, with no rock walls in sight.
The falling flesh plunged into the lake, causing the water to surge violently, tossing his body across the surface. He had no idea how far he was from the walls of the abyss.
"I'll try to find the walls."
Li Hao said, kicking his legs powerfully and swinging his single arm, swimming straight in one direction.
But along the way, large chunks of flesh continued to fall, and the resulting waves pushed him back.
The Demon Saint's body, it seemed, had been sustained by a powerful force. Now that force was gone, the body crumbled in an instant, decaying into flesh like millennia-old corpses, swallowed by the foul-smelling, putrid blood lake.
"Be careful."
The Bloodvine Demon King hurriedly warned.
Li Hao saw a falling limb above him, and quickly swam to the side, but it still grazed his shoulder, pulling him deeper into the blood lake.
A suffocating sensation washed over him. Li Hao quickly grabbed the Kunlun Jade Belt and struggled towards the surface.
When he finally resurfaced, most of his flesh had been shattered and corroded, leaving only a few strands of muscle hanging on his white bones, a horrifying sight.
Li Hao raised his bony arm, seeing the five white bones gripping the Kunlun Jade Belt. The gaps between his fingers were wide, unable to contain the blood, and the jade belt was completely soaked and severely corroded.
"I didn't expect to bring you to such a death trap."
In the face of imminent death, Li Hao gradually calmed down. He looked up at the distant sky, at the colossal Sky-Imprisoning Island, now so small it resembled a sesame seed, occupying a minuscule space in his vision.
His gaze drifted towards the empty, cloudless sky of the hidden realm, as if speaking to himself:
"The world outside… it has beauty. Sadly, I won't have the chance to show you."
"Wuu… it hurts so much."
The Bloodvine Demon King's tendril emerged again from the Kunlun Jade Belt's space. Though it cried out in pain, it wrapped around Li Hao's arm:
"Eat me. We're going to die anyway. If you eat me, you can hold on a little longer."
Li Hao was startled: "You want me to eat you?"
"Don't you want to? You were afraid of pushing me too far, afraid I'd self-destruct, right?"
The Bloodvine Demon King's tendril wrapped around Li Hao's skull and cheekbones, like gentle hands, softly and carefully cradling his skeletal face:
"Now that we're both going to die, if my fate is to be eaten, then I choose you…"
"Why?"
The Bloodvine Demon King didn't answer, but its tendril bloomed with a crimson light, actively pouring itself into Li Hao's skeletal mouth.
"Because we hooked our fingers earlier…"
"I won't abandon you. So, if I die before you, it means you've abandoned me, and that would be a breach of our promise…"
It whispered, its voice growing weaker. Its body emerged from the Kunlun Jade Belt's space, transforming into a blood-colored serpent, slithering down Li Hao's head and into his body.
This wasn't Li Hao eating; it was the Demon King actively entering Li Hao's body, offering itself as a sacrifice.
The moment it saw the young man, his body corroded and broken yet his hand still holding the Kunlun Jade Belt aloft, it knew it had chosen the right person.
Li Hao froze, suspended in the blood lake.
He had promised it earlier that he would take it out of the Great Wilderness, biting it once a day to collect interest.
Back then, it had cherished its body, guarding it carefully.
Now, before the young man could fulfill his promise, it had given everything to him.
It was just a demon that Li Hao had never truly considered.
Li Hao recalled the tendril that had secretly wrapped around his little finger to seal their promise, and his eyes instantly reddened.
His head was enveloped in the crimson light, and a vast surge of blood energy flowed into his body, nourishing his bones.
His physique, previously refined to the level of a nine-forged divine weapon, seemed to break through a bottleneck under the nourishment of this immense blood energy.
At that moment, the rate at which the surrounding blood lake corroded his bones suddenly slowed, and Li Hao felt a profound power within the blood.
He was startled and quickly circulated the True Demon Art of the Sacrificial Spirit, absorbing the profound blood energy from the lake.
He had been unable to absorb it before, but now, it seemed he had crossed a certain threshold. He could now barely use his cultivation to grind down the Saint Realm's blood energy!
However, the speed was extremely slow, like drawing a thread.
But Li Hao endured his grief and focused on the True Demon Art of the Sacrificial Spirit. He knew that this was his only chance of survival, a chance to not betray the Demon King's sacrifice.
A piece of flesh fell, pushing Li Hao into the blood lake. He didn't struggle, but instead sat cross-legged in the lake, wholeheartedly focusing on refining and absorbing the energy.
However, his absorption rate seemed unable to keep up with the corrosion. His bones were slowly peeling off, shattering into pieces.
His body was gradually wearing down, shrinking smaller and smaller.
But the blood energy that had wrapped around his head continued to condense, becoming deeper and more profound…
…
…
On the desolate sea, a figure appeared as if teleporting, then vanished abruptly.
The next instant, it reappeared, suspended above the desolate abyss.
The anti-flight laws of the abyss seemed to have no effect on him.
His long, white hair fluttered, and he wore simple, ancient robes. His expression was grave.
His eyes fixed on the dark abyss below, his gaze seeming to penetrate to the bottom, to the churning blood lake and the disintegrating remains of Wenren Ji's body.
"That obsession… has it vanished?"
The old man's eyes narrowed. Wenren Ji had once attacked the Saint Ancestor, but the Saint Ancestor, remembering the time she had spent by his side, had shattered her consciousness but not completely erased her remnant, sealing it within her body.
If it hadn't been sealed, it might have been absorbed by the River of Death, merging into its terrifying depths.
This would have been a danger to all living beings and an eternal torment for Wenren Ji.
But he hadn't expected her remnant to dissipate now.
Had her obsession been fulfilled, causing her to dissipate, or had she transcended and departed?
He carefully examined the blood lake, sensing that it was a lake of poisonous blood, with extremely powerful corrosive and harmful properties, as well as the remnants of Wenren Ji's collapsing laws.
As these laws dissipated, they became chaotic. The laws that had once been condensed from the Great Dao were now reduced to the fundamental Dao, causing indiscriminate harm.
Though he hadn't touched it, he could already tell that the Dao Wenren Ji had cultivated was that of Decay.
Anyone who got close to this place, even above the blood lake, would rapidly age and wither.
Because her Dao was so terrifying, after the great battle, when Wenren Ji had exhausted her strength, she had completely overdrawn her energy, causing her body to rot like this.
If it had been another Saint Realm cultivator, their body could have remained intact for ten thousand years, let alone rot.
"Who awakened her?"
The old man frowned, feeling a sense of confusion. The Saint Ancestor was his grandfather, and he remembered his grandfather sealing this thing here. But for countless years, there had been no trouble. Why would it cause such a commotion now?
His gaze shifted, landing on a chain hanging from the edge of the abyss wall. He reached out and beckoned.
A dark figure flew from the chain, an old woman with white hair, on the verge of death.
But as she moved away from the abyss, her aura gradually recovered. She exclaimed in shock: "Third… Third Ancestor!"
This figure was Ji Yunyue. She hadn't died. Earlier, she had released Li Hao's hand, unwilling to burden the child. But the Demon Saint's tendrils hadn't attacked her; they had chased after Li Hao directly.
Clearly, the Demon Saint had been attracted by the Saintly aura on Li Hao.
This had allowed her to cling to the chain, saving her life.
"What happened? Did you awaken her?"
The old man asked, frowning. He didn't recognize the old woman, but he knew she must be a descendant of the Ji family.
Hearing the Third Ancestor's question, all of Ji Yunyue's sadness welled up. Earlier, she had seen the Abyssal Heaven Stele being pushed over and fall, a sight that had filled her with rage.
That was the Ji family's Dao Seed! It had been abandoned by those damned criminals!
She longed to go and kill them all.
"Third Ancestor, please go and save our Ji family's Dao Seed. He was swallowed by the Demon Saint. I don't know…"
Ji Yunyue hurriedly said.
"Dao Seed?"
The old man was startled, his face changing slightly. His thoughts raced, and he quickly deduced the cause. It was likely that the Dao Seed had awakened Wenren Ji.
Ji family Dao Seeds often possessed Saint Bones. Only Saint Bones could possibly affect Wenren Ji. However, no one had ever imagined that such a thing would happen.
Furthermore, Ji family Dao Seeds were of noble status and wouldn't easily venture into such a dangerous place. It was like a favored prince never visiting a prison.
"The Demon Saint is already dead."
The old man saw Ji Yunyue's anxious expression and said, "Besides you, there are no other survivors, unless he's in the blood lake. The Dao aura in the blood water might be concealing him, making it impossible to see, but…"
"But what?"
Ji Yunyue asked anxiously.
"But if he's truly in the blood lake, even a Dao Realm cultivator would have to shed a layer of skin and would have struggled to get out already. Otherwise, after soaking in it for so long, he would have died without a doubt."
The old man glanced at the abyss, his brows furrowed. "Wenren Ji's remnant likely obtained the Saintly power from the Saint Bone within his body and has transcended and disappeared, abandoning this body. Or, her obsession has been fulfilled, causing her to dissipate."
"Third Ancestor, the child doesn't have a Saint Bone."
Ji Yunyue hurriedly said, "He only has the mark of a Saint."
"A Saint's mark?"
The old man was startled, his eyes flickering. "A few days ago, I faintly sensed a trace of Saintly power. Could it be that it was when he received the Saint's mark?"
"It should be."
"Then it's even less likely he's alive. Without a Saint Bone, what's his realm?"
The old man asked.
"Three Immortality Realm."
Ji Yunyue said, then quickly added, "But he created a myth, defeating Ji Xuanshen, who had a Saint Bone, and broke through his Dao Domain at the Three Immortality Realm. If this child reaches the Four Pillars Realm, I simply can't imagine how strong he'll become!"
"Three Immortality Realm breaking a Dao Domain?"
The old man's eyes narrowed instantly. "Are you sure? Does he have some Saintly Heart Treasure?"
"No, it was just his fists."
Ji Yunyue said, "He opened four Dao Extremes, one of which should be the Land Immortal Realm, allowing him to temporarily unleash unimaginable power."
"Land Immortal…"
The old man froze. He suddenly understood the reason.
Because he had also stepped into this Dao Extreme.
"So that's it…"
He was slightly moved. He looked down at the blood lake churning in the abyss, a hint of regret and anger in his eyes:
"So, he's truly a peerless prodigy, even someone with the potential to reach the Saint Realm. But how could you let him come to this place?!"
"He's a mixed-blood. His mother was imprisoned here for marrying a foreigner. He came to retrieve her…"
Ji Yunyue said, pleading, "Third Ancestor, please save him. Perhaps he's still alive."
Mixed-blood… The old man was slightly stunned. He had thought that without a Saint Bone, it was over, but he was also a mixed-blood.
He looked at Ji Yunyue's old face, tears streaming down, his brows furrowed. He had only realized now that Wenren Ji would be attracted to Saintly power. It was pointless to blame anyone for this.
He sighed and said, "Don't cry. He couldn't have survived. Although Wenren Ji is only a body, not at her peak, it's not something a Dao Seed can withstand."
He looked up at the Sky-Imprisoning Island, noticing the situation there, his face darkening. He took Ji Yunyue with him, disappearing in a flash, reappearing above the Sky-Imprisoning Island in the next instant.
"Third Ancestor!"
Seeing the old man and Ji Yunyue appear suddenly, the people on the island, who were about to erupt in conflict, were startled, then horrified, and knelt down.
Ji Yunqing saw Ji Yunyue and was stunned, her face that had been red with anger momentarily frozen. She didn't even bother to greet the Third Ancestor, hurriedly asking:
"Fourth Sister, where's Leping?!"
"Leping fell into the abyss!"
Ji Yunyue wept.
The joy and excitement that had just surged through Ji Yunqing's heart plummeted again, like a huge drum pounding in her chest, her mind numb.
Ji Yunyue and Li Hao had come together, presumably on a chain, but Ji Yunyue survived, while the child didn't?
"Third Ancestor, please save Leping. That child is our Ji family's Dao Seed, a peerless talent. He mustn't die!"
Ji Yunqing suddenly reacted and hurriedly knelt down, begging.
"Third Ancestor, please save my son!"
Ji Qingqing also knelt down almost simultaneously, her emotions surging.
Li Tiangang also realized that the old man before him possessed terrifying strength. Just the fact that he could levitate above the abyss was enough to show how formidable he was.
He also quickly knelt down, banging his head hard on the ground: "Please, senior, save my son. I, Li Tiangang, am willing to be a cow or a horse for the Ji family…"
"There's no saving him."
The old man interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, then landing on the Abyssal Heaven Stele.
With just a glance, he quickly pieced together what had happened here, his eyes turning cold.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, the old man didn't speak, but with a wave of his hand, he swept them all into his sleeve world.
Then, he beckoned with his hand, and the two Abyssal Heaven Chains that had fallen into the abyss flew upwards as if drawn by an invisible force.
He waved his hand, and the tilted Sky-Imprisoning Island righted itself, being pushed above the abyss. Then, the two Abyssal Heaven Steles shot straight up, the chains clanging, and were inserted back into the Sky-Imprisoning Island.
Once the Sky-Imprisoning Island was restored to its original state, the old man looked at the abyss, a hint of gloom in his eyes.
He didn't linger, taking Ji Yunyue into another sleeve and disappearing in a flash. Three breaths later, he appeared on the peak of the Sacred Mountain, traversing tens of thousands of miles in a short moment.
He waved his sleeve, and the people who had been on the Sky-Imprisoning Island were flung out onto the ground.
From the other sleeve, he released Ji Yunyue.
Ji Daoxin's figure flashed rapidly, teleporting repeatedly, appearing before the old man and bowing respectfully:
"Third Ancestor."
"The Sky-Imprisoning Island is in trouble. The Saint Ancestor's seal on Wenren Ji was broken, and she ate the Dao Seed."
The old man said coldly, "My Ji family's Dao Seed, how could you let him go to such a place? Couldn't you have sent someone to bring his mother to the Sacred Mountain?!"
Hearing the anger in the Third Ancestor's words, Ji Daoxin froze. The information he had received in this short moment was too much to process.
The Sky-Imprisoning Island was in trouble?
He had only faintly sensed an aura from that direction, as it was too far away.
"The… the Dao Seed was eaten?"
Compared to the Third Ancestor's anger, Ji Daoxin was stunned. He looked at Ji Yunyue and trembled, "That child… is he dead?"
Ji Yunyue wept, "He fell into the abyss and was eaten by the Demon Saint."
Ji Daoxin's pupils constricted, finding it hard to believe.
Seeing the sharp gaze of the Third Ancestor, he quickly regained his composure, his face changing slightly. He lowered his head and said,
"I had intended to wait for the Desolate Sea to calm down and send someone to bring his mother back, but the child couldn't wait. He saw his mother suffering through the Sky-Viewing Mirror and insisted on going himself…"
The Third Ancestor's face grew even darker, but he could understand these words.
Ji Daoxin's words, however, fell on the ears of Li Tiangang and Ji Qingqing, causing both of their faces to change. Ji Qingqing trembled slightly and cried out in grief.
"Third Ancestor, where is the Demon Saint now?"
Ji Daoxin hurriedly asked.
"She's gone. I don't know if she's transcended into the Saint Realm or if her obsession has dissipated." The Third Ancestor said coldly.
"Is there no trace of the child's body?"
Ji Daoxin's eyes also showed a hint of sadness. In terms of talent, the child was undoubtedly one of the top prodigies in the Ji family in ten thousand years. Yet, he had perished?
And he had perished in a Ji family hidden realm, a truly absurd death!
"Wenren Ji's flesh has rotted into a lake, and the Dao intent is rampant on the surface. It's impossible for a body to remain. It's been reduced to dust."
The Third Ancestor's face was grim. "I haven't truly stepped into the Saint Realm yet. Even I would be affected. Let alone a child. Even if there was a one in ten thousand chance, I would be willing to search, but now, there's not even a sliver of a possibility."
Having said that, he glanced at the people below, his eyes cold. He said to Ji Daoxin:
"Ask them about the details. You can decide how to handle it."
With that, he waved his sleeve, turned, and vanished in a flash.
After hearing the Third Ancestor's words, everyone, including Ji Daoxin, felt as if their faces had turned to ash.
A one in ten thousand chance?
Reduced to dust?
Li Tiangang and Ji Qingqing were both pale.
The news of Li Hao's death spread throughout the Ji family, causing a great stir.
In the days that followed, Li Hao's reputation, once as bright as the sun in a hidden realm, gradually faded. People no longer spoke of him as often, not because they had forgotten him, but because they didn't want to reopen that wound.
Ji Daoxin and Ji Tianchao both personally went to the abyss, but seeing the calm blood lake below and the rampant Dao intent above, they were both silent.
No wonder the Third Ancestor hadn't intervened. Such Dao intent, even if they fell, would cause them to shed layers of skin, and they would have to struggle to get out immediately.
"Has the Ji family's fortune… declined?"
Ji Daoxin stood at the edge of the abyss, muttering to himself, his eyes filled with sadness.
He hadn't expected that a peerless prodigy, a mixed-blood, a gift from heaven, would perish so easily.
Ji Tianchao remained silent. He didn't regret the child's talent as much as the brief time he had spent with him, the child's personality…
He hadn't been able to fulfill his third brother's request. If his third brother knew, he would surely be very sad.
…
…
Beneath the abyss, where the Dao raged, in the depths of the calm blood lake.
A white skull, no bigger than a baby's fist, was submerged in the blood.
Apart from the skull, the rest of the body had disappeared.
At this moment, the skull occasionally emitted a golden-red light.
The True Demon Art of the Sacrificial Spirit was still circulating, refining the energy. Li Hao's consciousness was tranquil, absorbing the faint threads of power from the blood lake, like threading a needle, constantly pushing against the bottleneck.
He had no sense of time, but Li Hao couldn't stop, for otherwise, eternal darkness awaited him.
Several days later, the skull was washed by the blood, shrinking even smaller, like a thumbnail.
Li Hao's consciousness grew extremely faint, but he still didn't give up.
The bones floated, corroded smaller and smaller, until they were like a grain of yellow bean.
Li Hao's soul was compressed within, with nowhere left to go. He felt a surge of grief and anger, choosing to burn his soul to absorb the blood energy from the blood lake at maximum speed.
As his soul burned like a candle within the tiny bone, the absorption rate suddenly increased significantly.
With a loud boom, the bottleneck shattered.
An unimaginable surge of vitality flooded into the bone.
Li Hao felt himself entering a mystical state. This feeling was very familiar to him, as it was the same when he entered other Dao Extremes.
Li Hao immediately understood that the bottleneck he had broken was the Three Immortality Realm!
Although only a bone remained, Li Hao had a feeling that as long as he used this unimaginable vitality, even if only a drop of his blood remained, he could be reborn!
Besides the vitality, his soul seemed to have undergone a certain refinement, allowing it to fully merge with the tiny bone.
As long as a part of his body remained, that part would contain his consciousness, and a single thought could allow him to regenerate from a drop of blood!
Undying, Unbreakable, Unfading, these were the Three Immortalities.
Now, this Dao Extreme, Li Hao called it the Undying and Immortal Realm!
The Three Immortality Realm was originally a realm for refining the body. Therefore, in the Undying Realm, one could pass on their divine blood. In the Unbreakable Realm, one could traverse ten thousand armies, their body impervious to harm. And in the Unfading Realm, one could unleash the hidden potential of their body, erupting with endless power in a short period.
This Dao Extreme was about refining the body to its ultimate limit, allowing a drop of blood to contain one's soul and one's consciousness to be reborn!
In other words, unless Li Hao was shattered into pieces, completely ground into dust, he could not be killed!
Compared to the other three realms of the Three Immortalities and their powerful survival abilities, this was a qualitative leap!
At this moment, as Li Hao's thoughts turned, the vitality within the bone erupted, and the bone rapidly grew. Hair sprouted, and flesh condensed.
In the blink of an eye, a head appeared in the blood lake.
But Li Hao stopped there.
Having reached the Dao Extreme, his control over his body became even more precise.
He could sense two extremely faint auras within his body.
These two auras were the bloodlines of Li Tiangang and Ji Qingqing.
He suddenly felt like laughing.
The wind and snow raged, and the young man was forced out of his home.
He held the Twin Blossom Flower high, but was struck by a chain and plunged into the abyss.
The vine demon, who had never been noticed, had secretly wrapped its tendril around his little finger, making a promise of never abandoning him.
The soft whisper that had finally flowed into his body, pushing him to the brink, had now brought him back to life!
He smiled and dispelled his power.
His body rapidly decayed, his bones dissolved, and the newly formed head was instantly reduced to a single drop of blood.
But even within this drop of blood, there were the extremely faint traces of those two bloodlines.
Li Hao took a deep breath. He knew that what he was about to do was incredibly risky. Even with the Undying and Immortal Realm, he could still perish.
But he still chose to do it.
"From now on, I am me. I will see the Heavenly Heart with my own heart, and I will prove my heart with the Heavenly Heart!"
Li Hao's soul erupted, using his great will to sever the two auras within the drop of blood.
A complete split!
Half of the drop of blood quickly vanished.
But this act, at this moment when he was on the verge of death, was like suffering another severe injury!
He was on the verge of death at any moment.
But Li Hao's will was stronger than ever, more powerful than ever!
His previously confused Dao Heart solidified at this moment.
With Heaven and Earth, he established his heart!
With mountains and rivers, he forged his bones!
With the sun, moon, and stars, he sculpted his flesh!
With supreme Dao intent, he created his blood!!
"I am the true me. I am Haotian, the Supreme Venerable!!"
A power like a mountain collapsing and the sea surging erupted from the half-drop of blood. The entire calm blood lake trembled and swayed, creating waves and undercurrents!
The drop of blood was unaffected by the blood lake. It erupted with intensely bright light, the blood coagulating, seemingly alive, winding its way out of the blood lake with the supreme Dao intent as its blood!
Above the abyss, endless light seemed to gather, and flesh regenerated!
Beneath the flesh, bones reformed and grew rapidly. Finally, a powerful, beating heart formed in the chest cavity.
The perfectly proportioned body of the young man slowly raised his head, and an aura of standing alongside Heaven and Earth emanated from him!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 247: The Taiping Dao Realm
Emerging from the abyss, standing between heaven and earth, the young man stood upon a churning sea of blood. The rampant, decaying Dao intent of the ancient Saint enveloped him, yet failed to wither his flesh.
His flesh was reborn from ruin, sublimated in the face of extremity, achieving immortality!
And in this moment, he shattered his shackles, forging his Dao heart with the essence of all things, stepping into the Four Pillars Realm!
His Dao heart, now transcendent and ethereal, allowed him to roam freely through the heavens and earth.
Waves of energy, like raging tides and fathomless oceans, surged from all directions, converging upon him. The aura of the Dao Heart Realm slowly emanated from his being.
However, these escaping wisps of energy were devoured by the rampant, decaying Dao intent surrounding him.
The young man lifted his head, his features near-perfect, as if meticulously sculpted from mountains and rivers, ink and brush.
His eyes were as frigid as glaciers, devoid of emotion, as if overlooking the myriad beings of the world. They held a detached and cold indifference, having witnessed the ebb and flow of time, the rise and fall of all things, the birth and death of every life, perched high above.
He seemed impervious to any emotion, experiencing neither joy nor sorrow, transcending life and death, like an emotionless true god!
But as his gaze shifted, landing on a side of the blood lake below, where a dark, Heavenly Sphere Jade Belt hung limply from a rough chain that plunged into the crimson depths, his glacial eyes began to thaw.
Slowly, warmth surged from the icy depths, shifting from the detached, supreme celestial heart that overlooked all, to settle within the chest of this body, merging completely with his flesh. It was the celestial heart, the Dao heart, and the human heart, all three united as one, truly reborn from the ashes!
A multitude of thoughts and memories, in this moment, regained their color. His eyes blazed with light, his figure flickered, and he swiftly descended towards the blood lake, leaping onto the chain where the Heavenly Sphere Jade Belt lay.
The chain was immensely thick, the very chain that had once bound the demon saint. He bent down, near the edge of the blood lake, and retrieved the now-damaged Heavenly Sphere Jade Belt.
Earlier, when he had submerged into the blood lake, he had loosened his grip on the jade belt. Fortunately, it seemed to have been quickly swept by the blood to this chain, preventing its complete disintegration.
Within the jade belt, in the fragmented space it contained, the blood surged.
Li Hao's divine sense darted into it, and he immediately saw three faint life forces within.
Candle Flame God and Yin Madam, and, a crimson beard.
Upon seeing the crimson beard, Li Hao's eyes narrowed, and he quickly leaped to a higher point on the chain.
He inhaled sharply, sucking out all the Dao intent-infused blood from the Heavenly Sphere space.
The blood splashed onto his body, causing a burning sensation, but not as severely as before. Now, it was akin to a superficial burn, leaving scars that quickly healed and solidified.
His flesh had surpassed the level of nine-forged divine weapons, undergoing a qualitative leap, comparable to a Sacred Heart Treasure!
Even a Peerless Technique practitioner, if they were to attack him without warning, would not be able to inflict any harm. However, despite this, he could not completely ignore the corrosive power of the blood lake.
After all, this was the power of a Saint, even if it was a pale shadow of its former glory. It was beyond his current ability to withstand. Even a Dao Comprehension practitioner would be severely injured, and a Sacred Heart Treasure would be worn down!
Once he had sucked out all the blood, Li Hao looked at Candle Flame God and Yin Madam, huddled together within. They were embracing, the crimson beard nestled between them.
They were still alive!
Li Hao was stunned, a mixture of surprise and indescribable joy.
Candle Flame God and Yin Madam had been extremely weak, but now, they had merged into one. Their bodies were enveloped by Candle Flame God's Dao domain, but it was subtly different from its original form, more profound and powerful.
Furthermore, their bodies were surrounded by strange purple-black and crimson glows, swirling and chasing each other, each containing the power of extreme yang and extreme yin respectively.
The decaying Dao intent emanating from the blood was mostly blocked by these two ancient and profound forces. The remaining portion was then partially blocked by the Dao domain, but a very small amount still seeped through.
This caused slight signs of decay to appear on their bodies.
"This is… bloodline awakening?"
Li Hao glanced at the purple-black and crimson glows, recalling what Ji Yun Ge had said earlier. Candle Flame God and Yin Madam were originally one, possessing the bloodline of an ancient, savage beast from the Great Wilderness.
Now, these two auras, imbued with profound and ancient power, seemed to be the power latent within their bloodlines.
They had faced the brink of death in the River of Oblivion, and now, here, they had been pushed to the limit, ultimately triggering this awakening.
Compared to them, Li Hao was more concerned about the crimson beard. It emanated an extremely faint aura, seemingly unable to sense his presence.
A pang of pain shot through Li Hao's heart. He was not yet able to extract it, as it could not isolate itself from the surrounding demon saint's Dao intent.
Taking a deep breath, Li Hao opened his panel and chose to allocate points.
The bottleneck that had been holding him back at the Dao Heart Realm was now broken. He had 3 remaining Skill Points, and with his choice, one was immediately deducted.
And his Flesh Dao, leapt from the seventh stage to the eighth!
In an instant, a torrent of information flooded his mind, like a legacy from the depths of the unknown, continuously pouring into his consciousness.
Li Hao sat cross-legged. Since entering the Dao Heart Realm, he felt as if the heavens and earth were a curtain, which he could almost touch with a slight effort, and even tear apart.
He immediately used his Dao heart to tear open the void, creating a small piece of his own Heavenly Sphere space.
He didn't expand it to its limit, it was enough for now.
Then, he intended to store the Heavenly Sphere Jade Belt within, but felt a repulsive force resisting him.
The source of this force was the Heavenly Sphere space sealed within the Heavenly Sphere Jade Belt.
Li Hao immediately understood. This type of Heavenly Sphere space treasure could not be stored within another Heavenly Sphere space. The two spaces could not overlap or cover each other.
If he were to move the three beings out of the Heavenly Sphere Jade Belt's space, the even more violent Dao intent of the blood lake outside would likely erode and destroy them instantly.
Li Hao immediately retracted his Heavenly Sphere space, holding the Heavenly Sphere Jade Belt in his hand, protecting the small, fragmented Heavenly Sphere space within his palm.
At this time, as he continued to absorb the Dao comprehension of the eighth stage of the Flesh Dao, his panel updated again, and many body refinement techniques underwent significant changes.
These changes in the techniques caused the energy within his body to become increasingly vigorous and powerful.
Some techniques, even without practice, could operate autonomously within his body, causing his flesh and blood to undergo another transformation!
His physical strength increased rapidly, far exceeding the million jin he had possessed before. After returning from the Heavenly Mechanism Tower, it had already reached close to two million jin.
Now, with the Flesh Dao elevated to the eighth stage, the Dao comprehension was far beyond the ordinary. Many top-tier body refinement techniques were further refined and improved, reaching the Peerless Technique level!
And those lesser body refinement techniques also reached the pinnacle level, and their stages were pushed to the extraordinary level!
This was a complete qualitative change and leap forward!
His physical strength continued to increase, and in just a moment, without moving, simply through the autonomous operation of a few techniques, his energy soared, and he broke through to the Defying Fate Realm!
A mysterious energy arose within his body.
This energy, swirling around his body, seemed to be able to communicate with an existence beyond the heavens and earth, something intangible.
Following the vague feeling to perceive, Li Hao only felt an unimaginable depth and unspeakable pressure and fear. If he continued to extend his perception, he felt that he might violate a taboo, that he might die!
Defying Fate, Defying Fate, it was not just about mastering the power to defy fate, but also, in the truest sense, feeling the existence of Heavenly Fate!
And thus, one could also understand their own insignificance and the vastness of the heavens and earth!
Reaching the Defying Fate Realm, one would become even more humble, filled with awe.
Earlier, when he exchanged the Defying Fate power from the Merit Treasure Vault, Li Hao had not had time to properly feel it. But this time, it was something he had cultivated himself.
Soon, the thoughts of numerous techniques flooded his mind, distracting him from other matters.
His mind was like a storm, refining and merging seven or eight Peerless Technique level body refinement techniques, as well as dozens of pinnacle-level body refinement techniques. He was gathering the strengths of a hundred schools of thought, blending them with the Dao, and creating his own Peerless Technique.
However, his Peerless Technique was not swordsmanship, nor fistsmanship.
These two Dao paths had not yet reached the seventh stage, let alone refining and developing his own Peerless Technique.
He was currently creating a Flesh Dao Peerless Technique!
After sitting cross-legged for a long time, Li Hao suddenly opened his eyes. The numerous body refinement techniques had merged into one. He understood his own Flesh Dao Peerless Technique, and his entire body glowed crimson, exuding countless waves of energy.
But then, his crimson flesh transformed into a golden-red color, as if entering a divine power state.
However, he had not actually entered this state. It was simply his flesh reaching its peak, the condensation of his essence and blood causing this change.
"Supreme World Honored Body!"
Li Hao sat on the chain above the blood lake, golden divine light bursting from his body. Behind him, a huge blood-red rainbow of light appeared, like a seven-colored divine radiance, exuding an ethereal and transcendent aura.
Around his body, the speed at which the decaying Dao intent eroded his body slowed significantly.
This was the Flesh Dao Peerless Technique he had created. It could enhance his strength and physical defense, and also possessed a "suppression" rule!
Facing this decaying Dao intent, he could even slightly push it back and weaken it.
When a Peerless Technique practitioner uses their Peerless Technique, it usually comes with corresponding rules, or special states, such as Li Mu Xiu's brief, half-step invincible state.
And Lu Yuan's Infinite Thunder Dao, which brings about the Infinite state, boosting all aspects of his power to a certain limit.
However, these Peerless Technique states would be broken by Dao domains, because they are not yet strong enough. Faced with the indiscriminate rule suppression of a Dao domain, they would quickly be broken. Therefore, Peerless Technique practitioners could only flee in the face of a Dao domain!
But now, the suppression rule that Li Hao was manifesting could slightly influence the Dao intent.
If he encountered a Dao domain, Li Hao felt that he could suppress and break it with his own Peerless Technique!
The strengths of Peerless Techniques vary, some are stronger, some are weaker. His Peerless Technique was a fusion of seven or eight Peerless Techniques and a dozen pinnacle-level body refinement techniques, incredibly powerful beyond imagination!
At this moment, Li Hao did not stop, but continued to refine and develop this Peerless Technique.
Soon, an epiphany arose.
Like a kind of tremor, the chain beneath him vibrated slightly, causing ripples in the blood lake.
A Dao domain force extended outwards from his body as the center, expanding in all directions!
Taiping Dao Realm!
He used the Supreme World Honored Body Peerless Technique to step into the Dao Realm, successfully creating a Dao domain!
At this moment, this Dao domain expanded, containing the suppression power of a Peerless Technique. Just as Candle Flame God's Dao domain contained his Peerless Technique's burning power, capable of incinerating everything within the domain.
And Li Hao's Dao domain was about suppression!
The chain beneath him, the strange, iron chain that bound the demon saint, trembled slightly.
And the surrounding decaying Dao intent, within Li Hao's Dao domain, was significantly weakened.
The constant pressure of the suppression force weighed upon it, but this suppression rule was being eroded and aged by the Dao intent, each consuming the other.
In this consumption, the Dao intent still had a slight upper hand, having a minor impact on Li Hao's body.
Li Hao's face was cold, he closed his eyes, and continued to refine.
After a while, suddenly, another strange ripple extended from his body!
A second Dao domain!
This Dao domain was created by Li Hao using the Dragon Ancestor Unbreakable Body Peerless Technique, a transformation of the Dragon Cicada Vacuum Body. Within the Dao domain, there was a dragon's roar, containing a terrifying oppressive force. Although it was not Li Hao's own Peerless Technique, he had created a Dao domain with it, containing a rule of oppression!
Suppression and oppression, two similar rules superimposed at the same time. Instantly, the decaying Dao intent within the Dao domain became even weaker.
(End of Chapter)