Chapter 434: Incense God Realm

Under the focused gazes of everyone present, Li Hao once again arrived before the True Venerable Tower.

Stepping through the tower gate, darkness enveloped him like a tide. When he opened his eyes again, Li Hao stood in the second level.

Dimly lit pillars stood tall before him. He wasn't directly teleported to a battle arena.

Li Hao's eyes flickered slightly, combat thoughts already forming in his mind. After a brief preparation, he reached out and touched a pillar.

In an instant, the pillar, as if absorbing water, drew his body into itself.

The scenery before his eyes changed. The surrounding darkness flew away and faded like scraps of paper. The vast yet desolate world unfolded before him like a magnificent scroll, and wind swept in from all directions.

The pillar hovered in mid-air, standing majestically. Dark purple light rapidly gathered on it, concentrating at a single point. Li Hao's projection slowly solidified.

Just as the projection was about to take shape, Li Hao swiftly brought up his panel and selected the Transcendent Chess Heart, embedding it into the Body Movement Path.

Following the panel's prompt, confirmation... Li Hao felt an ethereal Dao concept descend and envelop him, followed by an ocean of vast information surging into his mind.

In an instant, his thoughts seemed to fall into chaos, and the flow of time seemed to freeze. Countless phantoms and memories, Dao voice inheritances, flashed before his eyes.

It felt like decades, even centuries, had passed. When Li Hao regained his senses, it seemed only a moment had passed in the outside world.

The projection had already solidified, but it didn't immediately attack Li Hao. Instead, it slightly cupped its fist in greeting, then made a gesture of invitation, just like last time.

Li Hao, however, slightly raised his head. He saw that above him, tribulation clouds had gathered at some point.

With the embedding of the Transcendent Chess Heart, he had also chosen to add points at the same moment.

Body Movement Path, tenth stage.

Sacrifice Path to Sainthood!

What Li Hao hadn't expected was that he would attract Sacrifice Path tribulation clouds here. Could this place be a real world, rather than a fabricated illusion?

While he pondered, the tribulation clouds continued to thicken and grow heavier. In front of him, the projection also looked up, but seemed unconcerned. Golden light erupted from its body, and its hair rapidly turned silver-white, displaying its extreme limit power.

At this moment, a Heaven and Earth Manifestation emerged behind the projection. Its own size also swelled rapidly, entering the Heaven and Earth Transformation state.

Seeing this, Li Hao also dared not delay and quickly raised his combat state to its peak.

His silver hair flew wildly, his size rapidly expanded, and the Heaven and Earth Transformation was revealed. As he fused with the Heaven and Earth Manifestation, boundless might swept out, like an ancient, barbaric giant god!

Two majestic figures appeared, but the projection's aura was even stronger than Li Hao's. The pressure it emitted alone caused the tribulation clouds in the sky to boil and fluctuate violently, as if they were about to be dispersed.

These Sacrifice Path tribulation clouds were originally trials of the Sacrifice Path, but for Li Hao now, they could be scattered with a wave of his hand.

Li Hao also ignored the tribulation clouds, focusing seriously on the projection before him. Last time, when he hid in the Ruins, he was struck by the opponent using the power of heaven and earth to break a tentacle. Here, he couldn't rely on the Ruins to delay the battle. Victory or defeat would be decided in an instant.

But now, with the Body Movement Path at the tenth stage, Li Hao didn't know if he could maneuver and find an opportunity to break the situation.

"Rise!"

Just as Li Hao entered his battle stance, the projection's attack suddenly descended.

Massive amounts of heaven and earth power suddenly converged. Under the control of unimaginable, terrifying primordial spirit power, it instantly condensed into a sword energy that seemed to cleave the heavens and sever the earth, slashing down at Li Hao's head.

This sword seemed to be accompanied by torrential rain and whistling winds, and the thunder of heaven and earth ghosts and gods echoed. The boundless power of the firmament was applied to this single sword, pressing down the entire sky and earth, making them seem to sink a notch!

Li Hao's figure swayed, like a small boat on a stormy sea, about to capsize at any moment. But he suddenly unleashed the Netherworld Outer Manifestation. The ancient, majestic Netherworld Yama King of the True World condensed in black flames, appearing behind the youth, as if to support the collapsing firmament.

A black Yama blade, like a sword, condensed in his hand. Li Hao also mobilized the power of heaven and earth to its limit, but kept it contained, not releasing it. Instead, at the moment the sword approached, his figure moved like a ghostly shadow, suddenly traversing space, avoiding the sword like a butterfly flitting through flowers.

He simultaneously used the Ruins Extreme State and the Heaven and Earth Traceless Body Movement technique, combining illusion and reality. But even so, he only barely managed to evade this sword. The Yama blade he had been charging up suddenly slashed out with ten thousand miles of black light, seeming to split the heavens and earth, howling as it shot towards the projection.

A hint of surprise flashed in the projection's eyes, as if it hadn't expected Li Hao's body movement technique to suddenly reach such a level. But when it thought of the Sacrifice Path tribulation clouds, it seemed to understand. The projection's expression wasn't as blank as it had been on the first level. Instead, the corners of its mouth curled into a faint smile, and a trace of appreciation appeared in its eyes.

Then, it swung the sword in its hand, and a Netherworld Outer Manifestation also emerged behind it.

With five times the primordial spirit strength, the Netherworld Outer Manifestation it unleashed seemed to surpass the level of original true intent, reaching an even more extreme realm.

Therefore, the ferocious figure of the Netherworld Outer Manifestation was even more imposing and majestic, radiating even greater might.

An equally black sword light slashed out, although it came later, with newly generated power, it cleaved Li Hao's charged sword light in half, like peeling open a piece of black sugarcane.

Li Hao's eyes deepened. This five-fold difference was somewhat beyond his expectations. But his movements didn't stop. One sword was broken, and he immediately followed with continuous sword strikes, orbiting around it like twinkling stars, attacking from all directions.

The projection stood calmly in place, casually wielding its sword, as if enjoying sparring with Li Hao, or perhaps wanting to see the depth of Li Hao's abilities.

It casually dissolved Li Hao's all-out attacks with effortless ease.

The more Li Hao fought, the more astonished he became. This five-fold gap made him feel like an ephemera trying to shake a giant tree. The tenth stage Body Movement Path didn't bring about a qualitative change. The opponent's primordial spirit strength was enough to capture the movements of his body movement technique. All of his attacks were seen through and easily parried.

Fortunately, this projection was vastly different from the one on the first level. It didn't have a strong desire to attack. Instead, it seemed to possess independent consciousness.

Seeing that all his attacks were being dissolved, and the layout he had quietly prepared was about to be completed, finally, when the Universe Chess Game was set up, a fierce look flashed in Li Hao's eyes. Success or failure hinged on this!

Bang!

He suddenly deliberately revealed a flaw, slashing out with a sword as if his stance was unstable, getting too close to the opponent.

This was the best opportunity to strike, and offensive action would inevitably lead to weakened defense.

But the projection watched Li Hao leisurely, a playful look in its eyes, and didn't attack.

Li Hao felt his scalp tingle under that gaze, and his heart also sank. He didn't give up and attacked again, revealing flaws to test it.

This time, the projection suddenly swung its sword and attacked. At the moment Li Hao revealed a flaw, it slashed down with the Yama blade.

Li Hao's eyes instantly brightened. The Universe Chess Game around him instantly activated. The hidden threads and sword energies buried in the void were revealed in an instant, converging with the sword light in his hand, unleashing a power several times greater than his own, and fiercely slashing towards the projection.

The dazzling sword light illuminated Li Hao's own eyes.

But at the same moment, an even more dazzling light eclipsed Li Hao's sword energy.

Sword energies suddenly emerged from the void, converging towards the projection's hand, and then condensed into an even sharper sword芒, piercing through the heavens and earth as it slashed down.

Li Hao's stepping foot froze in mid-air, his eyes somewhat dull, then deeply contracted.

This is also, Universe Chess Game?

Identical moves, layout, completely replicated!

Moreover, its power is even stronger, even more terrifying!

Li Hao suddenly realized, the previous time when the opponent casually swung sword energy to block his attacks, was the layout also buried at that time, using the sword energy he casually swung?

The opponent used the method of fishing with hidden lines, which Li Hao couldn't even detect. In terms of technique in burying lines, it also seemed to be five times higher than his own!

The dazzling sword light approached. On the edge of life and death, in a desperate situation, Li Hao seemed to suddenly awaken. Light erupted in his eyes, pushing his body movement technique to its extreme. Combined with the Ruins, using the uninterrupted alternation of the Ruins and body movement technique, he instantly left behind an afterimage in place, while his true body escaped tens of thousands of miles away.

That instantaneous extreme body movement technique exceeded Li Hao's limit. When he avoided the range of the sword light and regained his senses, he couldn't even believe that he had actually dodged this sword.

He gasped for breath. Although the Celestial Star Veins provided him with a constant stream of power, he still felt as if he was drenched in cold sweat and his spirit was exhausted.

The projection's sword energy severed the mountains below, cutting off the earth, causing rumbling tremors, and rivers and lakes flowed backward, forming a magnificent scene.

Missing the strike, the projection was slightly surprised. It glanced at Li Hao, then attacked again.

Li Hao quickly dodged. At this point, the projection's attacks became increasingly fierce, and the frequency of attacks continued to increase and accelerate, making Li Hao's evasion more and more difficult.

Tenth stage Body Movement Path could only barely surpass the opponent's body movement technique. But even a slight mistake would lead to instant death!

In this extreme escape, Li Hao didn't even have time to set up a layout again.

Is this the oppression brought by a five-fold gap? No chance to breathe!

Li Hao's heart thumped wildly. Using the tenth stage Body Movement Path and the Universe Chess Game had failed to kill it. Could anyone really complete such a challenge?

Li Hao thought of Old Wang, thought of that lonely figure in the good farmland. His eyes flickered constantly. While running away, because his body movement was too fast, many afterimages were left in place, but these afterimages were all shattered under the projection's pursuit.

Illusions… Li Hao's eyes flickered slightly.

Illusion, reality…

He seemed to vaguely grasp something. Many traces of ink and brushstrokes appeared in his mind.

Painting emphasizes the combination of form and意 (yì - meaning/intent/idea), 意 is illusion, form is reality.

Usually, master-level painters could already perfectly master this concept, not to mention Li Hao, whose paintings had long entered the Dao.

But at this moment, he felt another kind of charm from this illusion and reality.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling sword intent felt like a芒 (máng - awn/prickle/sharp point) on his back. Li Hao woke up, seeing the approaching sword light. He hastily swung his sword to block.

Bang, his arm vibrated, as if ten thousand mountains had collided. His body flew out like a broken kite.

Crashing through more than a dozen mountains, Li Hao barely managed to stabilize his body, covered in blood. But the divine blood state caused his self-healing power to surge, and the wounds rapidly healed themselves.

At this moment, the projection had already approached.

A gentle breeze brushed past its robe, swaying slightly, as it looked down at Li Hao like a celestial being. Then, it raised its hand again, condensing a dazzling sword technique, Immortal Points the Way.

That sword pierced down from the sky, like a finger lightly tapping on the earth.

The Sacrifice Path tribulation clouds above were quietly dispersed under this brilliant sword light, as if they had been torn apart and shattered.

Li Hao's eyes were dazed, a bitter smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. He knew that this challenge was about to fail.

Moreover, this failure meant the next challenge would be even harder, because when the projection appeared again, it would also have a tenth stage Body Movement Path.

"This Immortal Emperor trial is really perverted…"

Li Hao muttered to himself.

He looked up to meet this sword. The violent wind rushed towards his face, his body seemingly about to be crushed.

That old and aged figure flashed before his eyes. He slightly clenched his fist, a trace of unwillingness flashing in his eyes.

But suddenly, after the sword light before him, dazzling golden light filled his vision, like golden rivers and waterfalls splashing down, pouring down like quicksand torrents from the shattered tribulation clouds.

Li Hao was stunned.

Before he could react, the golden quicksand-like light rapidly entwined and followed behind the sword light. It actually seemed like ten thousand arms, compressing and covering the power of the sword light, until it caught up with the sword light. At the moment the sword light approached Li Hao, it wrapped around Li Hao along the sword light.

Time seemed to quietly fall silent.

An extremely gentle force spread throughout Li Hao's body.

Li Hao seemed to be able to feel thousands upon thousands of thoughts, prayers, and requests, like humming whispers, like ancient thunderous sounds, vibrating in his mind.

The invincible sword light landed on top of Li Hao's head, but could no longer descend. The power flowing like golden divine sand blocked this sword that suppressed the heavens and earth.

The ground around Li Hao's body cracked inch by inch. The original flat ground instantly turned into a steep solitary peak! And the top of the peak was where Li Hao was.

The sword light dissipated, and the projection's eyes narrowed, staring intently at Li Hao.

At this moment, there was no sword light left in Li Hao's eyes, only countless golden divine sand-like forces, gathering before him. From within, he could feel gentle auras.

This is incense power!

Since arriving here, Li Hao hadn't seen any incense power, thinking that the outside world had forgotten him, or that it had been isolated.

But now, the Sacrifice Path Heavenly Tribulation seemed to have broken some kind of barrier, allowing these incense powers to cross space and obstacles, all coming to his side.

Five years of time, five years of accumulation, Li Hao hadn't expected to accumulate such terrifyingly rich incense power.

At this moment, his entire body was surrounded by this incense power, like hundreds of millions of hands, tightly surrounding him, protecting him.

Li Hao was somewhat stunned, a deep throbbing feeling in his heart.

At this moment, he was in the giant Heaven and Earth Transformation body state, yet this incense power still wrapped around his entire body, like a golden mound of earth.

Power seeped in through every pore of his body, surging into his body.

Li Hao felt the incense power in his body becoming more and more澎湃 (péngpài - surging/turbulent/ebullient), becoming scorching hot. Soon, it was like a container filled with water, and streams of moist power permeated out.

And the incense power in his body continuously condensed into incense sticks. Eventually, from the smoke of these burning incense sticks, golden divine light burst forth. The burning smoke actually outlined and formed a smoke incense!

The smoke incense was golden, hazy, and mysterious.

Li Hao understood something. This should be the realm of the Source Ancestor, the Incense God Realm!

The transformation of this God Realm actually relied on the smoke from burning incense. After it was concentrated to the extreme, it would form divine incense. No wonder it required countless years of incense collection to achieve!

As the golden divine incense was lit, Li Hao clearly felt that the incense power flowing in his body became unprecedentedly powerful, more than ten times stronger than before!

But this was only incense power. If converted into Li Hao's overall power, it was only equivalent to an increase of fifty percent, not even doubling it.

After all, incense power was only a very small part of Li Hao's actual combat power.

This was also the reason why Li Hao could overpower the Source Ancestor and the God Kings.

His own dense immortal power converted into heaven and earth power alone could contend with this Incense God Realm.

If other Saints had such a breakthrough, they would definitely be able to reverse the battle situation in an instant, and might even have hope of passing the True Venerable Tower's third level, the direct disciple trial.

But for Li Hao, this little bit of power was not enough to change the current situation.

Compared to his five times stronger projection, it only slightly narrowed the distance, but it was meaningless.

However…

Li Hao thought of the Three Saint powers.

Extreme Path, Sacrifice Path, Incense!

The fusion of three powers, forming the embryonic form of the Heavenly Dao.

And the power of the Heavenly Dao embryonic form was one of Li Hao's main sources of power.

At this moment, Li Hao instantly felt like a god was possessing him, with an extremely clear-headed feeling. He quickly burned and transferred this Incense God Realm power into the Heavenly Dao embryonic form.

Along with the ignition of the Incense God Realm power, the Heavenly Dao embryonic form actually became hazy with a golden luster. In an instant, its aura rapidly climbed. Originally, the three powers were mutually standing, with the Sacrifice Path power being the strongest. Now, the Incense God Realm power suppressed the other two powers.

And the Heavenly Dao embryonic form was also covered in golden divine light, like a divine infant, and rapidly changing and growing.

If it was just an infant before, now, it already looked like a seven or eight-year-old child.

And the power it radiated was also completely different from before.

After absorbing the Incense God Realm power, the power of the Heavenly Dao embryonic form rapidly surged, completely surpassing the previous embryonic form.

The difference in power was like the difference in appearance. The gap between a seven or eight-year-old child and an infant in swaddling clothes was self-evident.

At this moment, the projection seemed to sense Li Hao's change and threat. Its expression became solemn and suddenly it rapidly dived down.

Its speed was terrifyingly fast, continuously using Ruins teleportation. The endless power brought by the Celestial Star Veins allowed it to squander power as it pleased.

Whoosh!

Its figure approached in an instant. The "solitary peak" beneath Li Hao's feet was already tottering.

At this moment, Li Hao also raised his head, meeting the projection's cold eyes. They both felt that this battle would be fought with everything they had!

Simultaneous sword strike!

The surrounding heaven and earth power was plundered in an instant, divided into two streams.

Li Hao suddenly realized that his projection was not without flaws.

Although the projection's power was extremely strong, what it relied on was still heaven and earth power. And the heaven and earth power nearby was limited. If it was all squandered, even with more power, it would be difficult to exert it.

Now they were plundering at the same time, the surrounding heaven and earth power seemed to be divided in half, meaning their powers were equal!

Just as light erupted in Li Hao's eyes, filled with strong confidence and hope, the projection showed a cold expression. Its primordial spirit soared into the sky. The five times stronger primordial spirit strength allowed it to condense heaven and earth power from an even wider range.

In an instant, the power of the sword light in its hand surpassed Li Hao's.

Li Hao's expression slightly froze, then a wolf-like light appeared in his eyes. There was no way to retreat anymore. If he couldn't defeat it this time, then he would have no chance to pass in the future, unless he advanced to the True Immortal Realm!

Fight!

Li Hao suddenly erupted with the power of the Heavenly Dao infant, directly burning it, using Burning Heavenly Dao to fight against his true self!

The Heavenly Dao power burned fiercely in Li Hao's body, as if it wanted to fight to the death with him. Scorching power covered him. Along with Li Hao's sword swing, the clouds in the entire sky seemed to be sucked away by a whale, scattering towards the distant horizon.

Boom!!

The entire vast and desolate world seemed to violently shake, as if a giant hand was grasping the entire world and shaking it.

Immediately after, there was a deafening silence, like a buzzing sound.

The order of time seemed to shatter at this moment. Everything was still, but as a sword light suddenly broke through the illusion and slashed out, everything seemed to return to the real world.

Li Hao was covered in blood, his tens of thousands of feet tall body drenched in blood. Countless sword energy wounds chaotically covered his body, and they were difficult to heal. At this moment, Li Hao also concentrated all this self-healing power, turning it into this last sword in his hand.

The sword light traversed the Ruins Extreme State, reaching the depths of the broken sword light in an instant, penetrating the swaying, hazy figure.

The sword light pierced through its head, like a black silhouette, and the world returned to silence.

Li Hao gasped for breath, waiting for a long, long time. Until the world in front of him, which had been shattered by that sword like chaos, returned to its original state, he also saw clearly that the projection's head was shattered, its primordial spirit was already extinguished, and there was no breath left on its body.

Dark purple light emerged from its body, flickering slightly. The edges of its body dissipated like smoke, gradually disappearing.

Li Hao's heart, which had been in his throat, finally fell back into his chest at this moment.

Immediately afterward, an indescribable sense of fatigue surged from all over his body. Even with the nourishment of the Celestial Star Veins, the power in his body was still full, but he felt like he couldn't even stand up straight.

That last sword, borrowing the aura of the Heavenly Dao infant, touched the Heavenly Venerable will at the deepest level of the 化仙 (huà xiān - transforming immortal) extreme realm, borrowing a portion of power, and integrating it into that sword, killing the projection's primordial spirit.

At this moment, his body fell down like a kite with a broken string.

The original plain was now a deep pit like an abyss. After falling for a long time, Li Hao finally landed at the bottom.

He slumped to the ground, but grinned and laughed.

But when he felt the God Realm incense in his body, Li Hao slowly stopped laughing.

He sat on the ground, silent.

Five years had passed, and the outside world hadn't forgotten him. To gather so much incense, it was likely that ninety percent of the heavens were all in his faith.

And this also meant that other Saints hadn't interfered in this matter.

Similarly, this was also an excellent signal. The heavens seemed to have not been invaded by ancient demons again!

Otherwise, if the heavens were destroyed, there wouldn't be so much incense.

"Xiao Xiao once said that to reach the Extreme Path God Realm, at least half of the heavens' incense needed to be absorbed. It seems that was still an underestimate."

Li Hao's eyes flickered. The faith of the heavens, accumulated over five years, finally allowed him to achieve the God Realm!

Although the Source Ancestor was the most ancient Saint, when he became a Saint, the population of the heavens was far less than it is now.

At that time, there were natural and man-made disasters, and demons ran rampant. After the Source Ancestor became a Saint and absorbed the incense of the heavens, protecting the heavens, making all places peaceful, the population also multiplied more and more, leading to the current prosperity of the heavens.

And with more people, other Saints were also born, and incense was dispersed. Although the Source Ancestor was always the Saint with the most believers in the heavens, it also took tens of thousands of years for him to reach the God Realm.

After reaching the God Realm, he also reached the limit of the Incense Saint Path, with no further progress, and could only explore other paths.

Compared to other Saints, the Source Ancestor had reached his peak as early as tens of thousands of years ago. After that, he could only quietly wait for other Saints to rapidly improve and catch up to his gap.

He still occupied the vast majority of the heavens' incense, also unwilling for a second Incense God Realm to appear.

And in the eyes of other Saints, the Source Ancestor seemed to have shown power beyond ordinary Saints very early on. This was also why the Source Ancestor was highly respected. No one knew how much real strength he had, they could only estimate it through time.

But in fact, the Source Ancestor's cultivation had long stagnated, and the other paths he studied could only bring very little improvement to himself. This was also the reason why the Source Ancestor was extremely fanatical and eager for immortals and gods.

That was the only path he could continue to walk!

And that path, he had been waiting for for an incredibly long time.

"I wonder how Old Feng and the others are doing now…" Li Hao's eyes flickered slightly, and a sudden feeling of urgency arose in his heart.

Suddenly, he sensed something, his face slightly changed, and he looked towards the sky.

He saw that the projection, whose life气息 (qìxī - breath/aura) had been silent before, had actually recovered from its injuries and was slowly descending.

Seeing Li Hao's stunned expression, the corners of the projection's mouth slightly curled up, and a mischievous smile flashed in its eyes. With a raise of its hand, a vast and mighty aura condensed.

Li Hao's face changed. Although he felt a strong sense of fatigue, he still stood up immediately, preparing to condense his power and fight again.

But seeing his posture, the other party suddenly dispersed the power in his hand, and said with a grin, "Don't be nervous, you won."

"Huh?"

Li Hao looked at it in surprise. The projection could actually speak?

"Being able to pass the second level trial of the True Venerable Tower, you can be considered qualified to know my existence."

The projection smiled. Although its body was the same as Li Hao, its expression and temperament were completely different from Li Hao. It put its hands behind its back and smiled faintly, "After waiting for a hundred thousand years, finally waiting for a little guy who can pass the second level of the True Venerable Tower, it's really not easy. You should be able to guess my identity, right?"

"You are… the True Venerable Tower?"

Li Hao said in a daze.

Even divine weapons had spirits, let alone immortal weapons. This True Venerable Tower could serve as a trial for the Immortal Emperor to select disciples, and could also project his Celestial Star Veins' ultimate realm power. It was definitely not an ordinary immortal weapon, it was very likely to be an Emperor weapon!

"You're quite clever."

Seeing Li Hao guess correctly, the corners of the projection's mouth slightly curled up. Then it glanced at Li Hao and said, "I also know something about the situation outside. I've been waiting these years for someone to pass the trial and explore the situation outside. But those little guys outside are all dumber than each other. No one has even passed the first level of registered disciples. If it were back then, if His Majesty the Immortal Emperor announced that he was accepting disciples, all worlds would be震动 (zhèndòng - shocked/shaken/vibrated). In a single day, countless people would be able to pass the first level of the True Venerable Tower. Although those who came to participate at that time were all monstrous geniuses from all worlds, numbering in the millions, but…"

As it spoke, a look of reminiscence appeared in its eyes, but it quickly faded into melancholy.

Slightly shaking its head, the projection said to Li Hao, "Your talent far surpasses them, but the Nine Flower Immortal Seal in the back is very difficult. If you encounter a bottleneck in enlightenment at that time, you can come here. I have a way to help you without violating His Majesty the Immortal Emperor's rules."

(End of chapter)