Chapter 440 Zenith of Supreme Immortal Arts

Li Hao was stunned. He had thought this time fragment was one of the Ten Supreme Immortal Arts Elder Wang mentioned, but unexpectedly, it was a time projection of a personal disciple.

"You are?"

Li Hao asked the voice.

"Just a wisp of remnant soul, insignificant."

The aged voice said, "Among the Immortal Emperor's three personal disciples, one suffered soul core exhaustion and perished completely. The other two, though defeated in that great calamity, did not completely die; their soul hearts remain. It is unknown where they were reincarnated, or if their primordial spirits split into strands and fled in separate directions. Please, you must find them and bring them back."

He paused briefly and said, "Once you find them, you'll be eligible to compete with them for the Immortal Emperor's Dao lineage true inheritance. If you worry you can't win in competition, then your only path to becoming a personal disciple is to pass the trials, which demands extremely high talent. However, finding them has no other requirements, even if your soul age is over ten thousand years."

Li Hao nodded. The implication in his words was extremely clear: only personal disciples could hope to inherit the true inheritance of the Immortal Emperor's Dao lineage. They were also eager for personal disciples to emerge, allowing the Immortal Emperor's Dao lineage to regain its former glory.

If one's soul age exceeded ten thousand years, disqualifying them from becoming a personal disciple, this path wouldn't be a bad alternative.

However, ten thousand years was still too long for Li Hao.

"This is the second one, Heavenly Young Goddess, Shi Miao!"

At this moment, after the aged voice finished speaking, the time projection before Li Hao's eyes again appeared as a rhombus shape, slowly unfolding.

It was a vast plain, where demonic god beast figures fiercely occupied, the number too many to count. The dark ground was completely filled, with beasts, birds, dragons, and phoenixes flying together. Amidst this dim world surrounded by demons, a young girl's figure floated into view.

She was slender and graceful, bright like colored glass, with her hands behind her back, flying unhurriedly through the demons.

But the demons around her were all frozen stiff, like sculptures, including their fur and the flames emitted from their bodies, all like a painting, completely still.

Only after the girl flew out of the demons' encirclement did the demons suddenly stir as if jolted, looking around in all directions, but already unable to see the girl's figure.

"Shi Miao was nurtured in chaos from birth, and from the moment she was born she mastered the Great Dao of Time. When she became a disciple under the Immortal Emperor, her mastery of the Dao of Time was already approaching the tenth level. She was expected to become an empress, reigning with the Dao of Time!"

The aged voice was tinged with faint excitement and respect as he said, "Among the top geniuses and prodigies of myriad races in the True World, Goddess Shi Miao is at the apex. Few in the same realm can rival her. The Immortal Emperor also had great hopes for her. It's just a pity, she was too young, and the great calamity came too early. She followed the Immortal Emperor on an expedition and never returned."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but sigh.

For such peerless prodigies, what they lacked most was time.

But Li Hao stared blankly at the time projection, only vaguely hearing the aged voice buzzing in his ears. His mind was entirely focused on the face of the girl in the projection.

It was a devastatingly beautiful face, revealing composure and a steadfast calmness... most importantly, he had seen this face before.

Goddess Shi Miao… personal disciple of the Immortal Emperor… could it be her?

Li Hao was somewhat stunned. Although the temperament was different, the face was exactly the same as Ying Xiaoxiao, whom he had encountered before.

However, Ying Xiaoxiao's eyes were gentler, while Shi Miao's eyes were more serene, like someone who had seen countless demons, and even if mountains collapsed and winds rose from the corners of the earth, there would be not a ripple of emotion.

"You said, these personal disciples' soul hearts haven't withered, so they would reincarnate?"

Li Hao couldn't help but ask.

The aged voice sensed the change in Li Hao and said, "That's right. Could it be that you know Goddess Shi Miao's whereabouts?"

Li Hao didn't answer, but stared again at the time projection. He was already seventy to eighty percent certain that if what the aged voice said was true, then Ying Xiaoxiao was likely Goddess Shi Miao.

Otherwise, such identical appearances would be too unbelievable to be mere coincidence.

"When these personal disciples reincarnate, would they have any distinguishing features, such as bursting forth with extremely strong cultivation talent?"

Li Hao asked again.

The aged voice said, "That's hard to say. The great battle was too tragic. Although their soul hearts didn't wither, they might have sealed their memories and power before reincarnating, hiding in reincarnation to evade the ancient demons' pursuit, or to lie dormant, waiting to return again. It's also possible that they were in dire straits, with only a wisp of true soul escaping into reincarnation…"

"If you want to find them, I can project a portion of their soul heart for you. If you find someone suspected of reincarnation, you can let them fuse with the projected soul heart. If they are the true person, they will fuse with the projected soul heart and open a gap in their memories."

As he spoke, two beams of light suddenly appeared before Li Hao's eyes, one azure and one multicolored.

Within both beams of light, there was faintly discernible fine thread coiled, emitting extremely weak primordial spirit aura.

Upon seeing this, Li Hao received these two projected soul hearts into his primordial spirit.

"Don't worry about being in competition and contention. If you can find and bring them back, they will also be grateful to you, and might even withdraw from competing with you." The aged voice said again.

Li Hao understood his concern, worried that he might find them and eliminate them, so that no one could compete with him.

However, to obtain the true inheritance of the Dao lineage, one must be a personal disciple. Eliminating them after finding them would be cutting off his own path.

"I understand."

Li Hao said.

The aged voice said no more. After Li Hao finished watching, the two time fragments in the void converged and disappeared.

Subsequently, spheres of light emerged one after another, stopping after the tenth one appeared.

"These are the Ten Supreme Immortal Arts. If a True Immortal Realm cultivator can master even one of them, they will have the capital to be a match for ten thousand in the same realm."

The aged voice said, "You can gently touch them with your primordial spirit and choose one based on your feeling that you are confident you can master. Once chosen, you will receive the full text and will no longer be able to change your choice. Formal disciples can only choose one, while personal disciples can learn them all. They also have the talent and ability to master them all within a short millennium."

"For formal disciples, mastering one might take thousands of years. Learning more could hinder cultivation. Of course, if you encounter a bottleneck in your cultivation and want to further your studies, formal disciples can exchange for them using Immortal Merit."

"To accumulate Immortal Merit, you will need to find Imperial Concubine Li. She manages these matters. The Immortal Emperor once left an imperial decree for Immortal Merit rewards for slaying ancient demons, and that system should still be in use."

Li Hao nodded and then, guided by his intuition, touched the light spheres one by one, from closest to furthest.

When his primordial spirit touched these light spheres, he felt waves of Dao sounds transmitted, and a peerless figure seemed to dance before his eyes, demonstrating the wondrous methods of the Supreme Immortal Arts.

However, what the figure demonstrated was only the general outline of these Supreme Immortal Arts.

[Immortal Art 'Azure Heaven' has been learned superficially. Record it?]

At this moment, a panel prompt suddenly popped up before his eyes.

Li Hao was slightly taken aback, his eyes instantly brightening. This Immortal Art could also be recorded?

He responded in his mind without hesitation, record.

Soon, an additional attribute appeared on the panel.

[Supreme Immortal Art: Azure Heaven (Entry Level)]

[Advancement Requirement: Sword Dao Origin Triple Realm]

This was a Sword Dao Supreme Immortal Art.

To master it, he needed to improve his comprehension of Sword Dao Origin.

However, although it was only entry level at the moment, with the massive influx of insights from the panel, Li Hao could already feel the terrifying power of this Supreme Immortal Art, far stronger than the Immortal Guiding the Way he had mastered.

Li Hao silently digested the entry-level insights, then withdrew his primordial spirit from the light sphere, and moved it towards the second Supreme Immortal Art.

[Immortal Art 'Purple Forbidden' has been learned superficially. Record it?]

Before long, a second panel prompt popped up before Li Hao's eyes.

Without a doubt, Li Hao recorded it onto his panel.

With the recording, a large number of prompts quickly appeared, and vast amounts of information flooded into his mind.

[You have cultivated the 'Purple Forbidden' Immortal Art to Proficiency.]

[You have cultivated the 'Purple Forbidden' Immortal Art to Mastery.]

[You have cultivated the 'Purple Forbidden' Immortal Art to Zenith.]

Three consecutive prompts flashed by. Li Hao only glanced at them before immersing himself in the information flooding his mind.

This 'Purple Forbidden' Immortal Art required comprehension of Space Dao Origin. It was a Supreme Immortal Art capable of sealing enemies' various techniques, and it was terrifyingly powerful.

Once cast, enemies would completely lose the ability to use Immortal Arts in front of Li Hao, left to be slaughtered.

Li Hao's quadruple realm comprehension of Space Dao Origin directly enabled him to comprehend this Supreme Immortal Art to its zenith.

Li Hao didn't know if reaching the quintuple realm of Space Dao Origin would surpass the zenith and reach a higher realm, or if this was the limit of this Supreme Immortal Art, and further improvements would only cause a qualitative change in the Immortal Art.

While Li Hao was digesting and absorbing, the aged voice remained silent, and the place was very quiet.

Li Hao's slow daze was perfectly normal in his eyes. After all, the Ten Supreme Immortal Arts were extremely precious existences. Carefully choosing one required deep thought and meticulous consideration.

After a long time, Li Hao mastered the Purple Forbidden Immortal Art completely.

He slowly opened his eyes, moved his feet, and then touched the third Supreme Immortal Art with his primordial spirit.

Soon, the panel prompt appeared again.

[Immortal Art 'Myriad Shadows' has been learned superficially. Record it?]

Record.

As Li Hao's primordial spirit touched them, one Supreme Immortal Art after another was recorded onto his panel.

Li Hao recorded a total of six Supreme Immortal Arts out of the ten.

The remaining four were Immortal Arts that his current Dao realm comprehension could not correspond to, so he could not glean even a superficial understanding from their general outlines and record them.

Li Hao didn't feel regretful. Each of the six Supreme Immortal Arts he had recorded was incredibly powerful. If he could master them all to the zenith like 'Purple Forbidden', Li Hao could hardly imagine the gap between himself and ordinary True Immortal Realms.

No wonder the other party said that mastering any one of them could make one invincible against ten thousand in the same realm.

Among the ten Immortal Arts, two were related to the Dao of Space, and two were related to the Dao of Time.

As the two strongest Dao Origins in the Nine Sequences, once mastered, they possessed extremely terrifying methods, and even ordinary attacks were close to Supreme Immortal Art level.

In the end, Li Hao chose the Purple Forbidden Immortal Art with the aged voice's guidance.

He didn't choose those he couldn't record because there was no point. Spending his time and effort studying those would be less productive than pondering over how to play a good game of chess or paint a good picture.

Seeing that Li Hao had chosen, the aged voice raised his hand and summoned the light sphere. The light sphere shattered, and the restrictions within were also lifted. Vast and boundless information poured into Li Hao's mind.

But Li Hao had already digested and absorbed this information before. When Purple Forbidden reached zenith, he had already mastered the full text of the Immortal Art.

Now it was equivalent to recalling it again, and he absorbed it quickly.

"Cultivate diligently, and don't let down our expectations."

The aged voice said gently, then sent Li Hao out of the inheritance stone.

"How was it?"

Elder Wang asked anxiously the moment Li Hao came out, his eyes filled with concern.

Li Hao said, "I chose Purple Forbidden Immortal Art. It resonates with my Space Dao Origin."

Elder Wang nodded, "I guessed you would choose this one. Among the Ten Supreme Immortal Arts, Purple Forbidden and 'Descent' only require Space Dao Origin. With your Space Dao Origin realm, choosing one of these two, you can quickly master it to perfection, or even higher levels."

Li Hao smiled. He had already mastered both to zenith now.

The Descent Immortal Art allowed him to leave behind his space mark and descend to any place he had ever set foot on, instantly traversing billions of miles, endless distances.

This was far more terrifying than the Return to Void teleportation. No wonder, despite having only one ability, Descent could become a Supreme Immortal Art.

If used to escape in battle, it would be nearly an unsolvable existence.

"Descent is for escaping, Purple Forbidden is for offense. It seems you still prefer offense more, just like when you play chess."

Elder Wang laughed.

Li Hao smiled and said, "If one can defend successfully, who would willingly risk offense?"

Elder Wang knew Li Hao was talking about the game of chess and burst into laughter, "Let's go, I'll take you to see Imperial Concubine Li now. Let her bestow the Seal of Office upon you. From now on, you will be an official disciple of the Immortal Emperor."

As he spoke, he led Li Hao out of this rift world.

When they returned to the Imperial Platform atop the endless steps, that stunningly beautiful figure was calmly looking at them.

At this time, Li Hao was clad in the Extreme Lightning Immortal Armor, wielding the Taotie Immortal Sword, looking majestic and imposing, with lightning and baleful aura swirling around him, like a young god of slaughter.

"Imperial Concubine Li, Hao Tian has inherited the legacy. Please bestow the Seal of Office upon him."

Elder Wang cupped his hands and bowed.

Imperial Concubine Li's expression remained eternally calm and unchanging. Her eyes briefly paused on Li Hao, then she gently said, "Come here."

Li Hao obeyed and walked forward.

Imperial Concubine Li lightly raised a slender, jade-like finger and tapped in the void. In an instant, Li Hao felt a scorching heat on his forehead, piercing into his primordial spirit and leaving a mark within.

"From today onwards, you are an official disciple of Heavenly Calamity Immortal Emperor. His Majesty the Immortal Emperor's rules are strict. You must firmly adhere to them. You must not bully the weak, nor collude with ancient demons…"

Her voice carried a hint of sharpness, and numerous rules, along with the Seal of Office, appeared in Li Hao's mind.

However, Li Hao searched through them and did not find anything like "do not wantonly slaughter the innocent" and so on.

It seemed that in True World cultivation, competing with myriad races for opportunities, one inevitably became stained with killing intent. This was an unavoidable path of cultivation.

To tread on snow to reach the mountain peak, how could one avoid crushing spring buds and tender sprouts?

Despite being called strict rules, Li Hao felt they were actually quite broad, with basically no restrictions, except for matters concerning the greater good of the True World.

Even the rule about not bullying the weak was about bullying, not slaughtering. These were two different things.

One could kill, but not humiliate.

"Once you leave, I will depart from this place. You do not need to know my specific location. In the future, if you wish to return, you can return at any time with this Palace Seal."

Imperial Concubine Li said calmly, "You are now an official disciple, but you still need to work hard and strive to become a personal disciple to obtain the true inheritance of the Dao lineage. At that time, I will also stay by your side and assist you."

Li Hao nodded.

"The soul hearts of two personal disciples have not withered. Elder Lan should have told you, finding them and bringing them back is far more beneficial to you than finding and eliminating them. You must not misunderstand this and make a mistake."

Imperial Concubine Li said.

Li Hao smiled wryly. Why were both of them worried he would take that path?

"I won't."

He shook his head and said, without further explanation.

Imperial Concubine Li slightly nodded, then looked at Elder Wang.

Elder Wang's eyes were filled with emotion. He deeply bowed to her, then said, "Imperial Concubine Li, farewell to the mountains and rivers."

"Do not forget, you are also someone His Majesty cared about."

Imperial Concubine Li's expression softened, and she spoke softly.

Hearing these words, Elder Wang's body trembled slightly, and his eyes instantly grew somewhat warm. He knew what Imperial Concubine Li meant.

He said nothing, only bowed slightly, then turned and walked away.

Seeing this, Li Hao also cupped his hands to Imperial Concubine Li in farewell.

Finally leaving… Li Hao also felt a little nostalgic, thinking of Elder Feng, Sword Master, Ren Qianqian, and the others. He wondered how they were now.

And Ying Xiaoxiao, she was very likely the reincarnation of the personal disciple Shi Miao. But in this ancient demon calamity, he only saw God Kings, but no other saints of the God Race. He wondered where they were.

Li Hao's eyes flickered. Everything would be known once he went out.

Five years had passed, and he didn't know what the situation in the Heavens was like now.

As Li Hao and Elder Wang returned, Ming Sheng, Lin Sheng, and the others at the prayer mats were all eagerly craning their necks, waiting.

Seeing them, Elder Wang smiled, and said to Li Hao, "As an official disciple, you have the authority to choose Immortal Guards. Immortal Guards can serve you and also obtain Immortal Guard cultivation methods. You have ten slots. Would you be willing to choose among them?"

Li Hao was not surprised. When Imperial Concubine Li bestowed the Palace Seal, she had also informed him of this.

(End of chapter)