Chapter 469: Shi Tianjing in Peril

Immediately, Li Hao seeped his Primordial Spirit into the identity token.

Within the identity token, there was actually a misty space, filled with faint wisps of aura.

Only when these auras gathered together could Li Hao barely make them out; dispersed, they would be extremely difficult to notice.

"What exactly is 'essence of the Primordial Spirit'?"

Doubt arose in Li Hao's mind. He suddenly recalled Old Feng's reincarnated form in the mortal realm, killed by the Buddha Lord, soul scattered and spirit dissipated, yet a wisp of soul was still absorbed by the River of Demise.

That thing was likely what the other party referred to as the essence of the Primordial Spirit.

After all, when he previously killed Ancient Demons, he had always annihilated their Primordial Spirits. Only now, with this identity token collecting something, did he realize that even after a Primordial Spirit's annihilation, remnants still remained.

Lost in thought, Li Hao scanned the misty space. He immediately noticed that the auras of these essences of Primordial Spirits also had slight differences. The surrounding mist seemed to make these auras more visible, allowing for clearer perception.

Li Hao calmed his mind and probed carefully, gradually discovering that he could sense the cultivation realm they possessed in life through these auras.

True Immortal Realm First Layer, Second Layer…

Li Hao shrouded them with his Primordial Spirit, silently counting.

These auras were faint and fleeting. Li Hao counted meticulously. Two minutes passed, and he was not even halfway done. Yet, according to Shi Tianjing's rules, converting them into Immortal Merit, it was already close to three hundred thousand!

Previously, the frontline breach was enormous, and Li Hao was killing Ancient Demons at an incredible speed, having slain hundreds in just a short time. Even calculated at the True Immortal First Layer level, it would still amount to hundreds of thousands of Immortal Merit!

"If it's not convenient to say, just forget about it. Let's continue while these Ancient Demons are attacking. It's a good time to build Immortal Merit."

Seeing Li Hao silent for a long time, Xing Lan assumed he was unwilling to reveal his earnings. She had just asked casually. After all, Li Hao was only at the True Immortal Third Layer. A few tens of thousands of Immortal Merit would already be the limit.

For ordinary True Immortal Third Layer cultivators, just surviving would be difficult enough.

Ancient Demons were far superior in strength within the same realm. Even with the myriad races' targeted cultivation and training against Ancient Demons over the past hundred thousand years, they still couldn't match their innate talents.

Moreover, Ancient Demons had also been continuously progressing and evolving in these hundred thousand years of war, becoming increasingly tricky and terrifying.

"Alright."

Li Hao snapped back to reality, immediately ceasing his tallying. He could slowly calculate everything when the battle was over, when there was ample time.

In any case, it seemed his harvest was extremely considerable, enough to last him a long time.

"Let's go."

Xing Lan called out, intending to take Li Hao with her to hunt Ancient Demons. If they encountered True Immortals of lower cultivation levels, she wouldn't mind letting Li Hao have a few.

Li Hao didn't overthink it and quickly caught up with her.

"How did you encounter that Ancient Demon Commander? Was it by chance? Has the frontline already collapsed?"

Xing Lan asked as she explored with her divine sense ahead.

She didn't deliberately slow down too much, as Li Hao had been able to hold out in the Tenth Desolate Domain, meaning he possessed strength at least at the peak of the True Immortal Tenth Layer.

However, as they continued to pursue, she noticed that Li Hao could easily keep up with her, his movements containing the profound principles of the Space Origin Great Dao. This surprised and intrigued her.

Space Origin was one of the Nine Supreme Orders, second only to Time Origin. Comprehending any of the Nine Supreme Orders was already difficult, let alone the notoriously challenging Space Origin.

However, considering Li Hao's ability to endure in the Tenth Desolate Domain at the True Immortal Third Layer, mastering Space Origin didn't seem entirely extraordinary anymore.

Her master often said that there was always someone better, and one should never underestimate the heroes of the world. Xing Lan seemed to see some of her master's meaning in Li Hao.

"Mm."

Li Hao nodded in response to Xing Lan's question.

At this moment, his divine sense enveloped the surroundings, observing if there were any Ancient Demons breaking through the defense line.

"Hmm? There's one over there."

Li Hao suddenly noticed an Ancient Demon's shadow at the edge of his divine sense perception to the east, but it was just a True Immortal Realm one.

It was not far from his previous escape trajectory, likely having followed the Ancient Demon Commander in their charge.

"Hmm?"

Xing Lan, just about to turn, was stunned and turned her head to look at Li Hao in surprise.

She had only just spotted that Ancient Demon herself, but she hadn't expected this young man to perceive it right after her.

She was, after all, an Immortal Lord, while he was merely a True Immortal Third Layer!

"You can actually sense it?" Xing Lan couldn't help but ask, feeling a sense of the bizarre and absurd.

She was a top talent of the Star Constellation Palace, and her divine sense was already stronger than those of the same realm. Yet, this young man actually…

Seeing her surprise, Li Hao didn't hide anything. After all, if they were fighting together, it was inevitable that he would display the power of his Primordial Spirit, and she would certainly be able to see it.

Seeing Li Hao remain silent, waves surged in Xing Lan's heart. She realized she seemed to have underestimated this young man.

She didn't ask further. After all, she was a disciple of the Star Constellation Palace, while he was from the Great Dream Nine Abyss. They weren't from the same sect, and in the current situation, there was even a hint of competition between them.

Soon, the two caught up with the Ancient Demon.

The Ancient Demon also sensed their presence, but Xing Lan was meticulous and had concealed her aura beforehand, disguising herself as a True Immortal.

The Ancient Demon didn't detect anything unusual, simply thinking it had spotted two True Immortal Realm humans approaching. A cold sneer couldn't help but rise in its heart.

As they approached, Xing Lan saw that this Ancient Demon was only at the True Immortal Seventh Layer. She could kill it with a flick of her finger. A thought flickered in her mind; she didn't make a move, instead leaving this Ancient Demon for Li Hao.

They had met twice, but she hadn't seen Li Hao take action yet.

Although Li Hao had displayed the Veins of Celestial Stars when being chased by the Ancient Demon Commander, his aura majestic, she wanted to see Li Hao's Primordial Spirit strength.

"This one's for you."

She said.

Seeing this, Li Hao didn't stand on ceremony. With delicious food in front of him, even a beauty had to take second place.

Swoosh.

He flicked his finger, shooting out a sword qi. Though seemingly simple and casual, this sword qi carried the sword intent of 'Azure Heaven', terrifyingly sharp, cutting out a faintly distorted trace in the very void.

It was the power of Space Origin contained within, fused with the sword intent. Killing a True Immortal Seventh Layer was as easy as cutting vegetables.

And in Li Hao's eyes, this Ancient Demon was itself… food.

With a bang, the Ancient Demon's body instantly stiffened, staring in disbelief at these two tiny ants before it.

How is this possible?

Not given a chance to think, its Primordial Spirit was abruptly severed by the Primordial Spirit power contained within the sword intent.

Swoosh!

Li Hao raised his hand, drawing the Ancient Demon's corpse over. Then, he tore open a spatial rift in the Heaven and Earth, sucking the corpse into it.

This entire process was smooth and flowing, practiced and familiar, extremely proficient, taking no more than half a breath in total.

Beside him, Xing Lan was stunned.

Although she had expected Li Hao to easily kill this Ancient Demon, she hadn't expected it to be this easy.

Ignoring cultivation realms, just judging from the process, one would think it was an Immortal Lord Realm expert who had made the move!

Furthermore, Li Hao looked too calm, his movements practiced, as if he had repeated this hundreds of times…

"Let's go, there are more over there."

Li Hao said.

Xing Lan returned to her senses. Naturally, her divine sense had also detected more Ancient Demons, and this time it was a small group, a dozen or so, but there were no Ancient Demon Commanders among them, all just True Immortals. To her, it was just a school of plump fish.

"You…"

Xing Lan looked at Li Hao in surprise. Just now, she hadn't discerned Li Hao's Primordial Spirit strength, but being able to instantly kill a True Immortal Seventh Layer, his Primordial Spirit power must be extraordinarily terrifying.

Veins of Celestial Stars, comprehension of Space Origin, powerful Primordial Spirit… Xing Lan gave Li Hao a deep look, not asking anything. After all, they weren't familiar enough to discuss their trump cards.

She stopped speaking, turning around and leading Li Hao to kill.

When they caught up with these Ancient Demons, Xing Lan didn't leave them all to Li Hao this time, only saying, "Half each."

As an Immortal Lord Realm cultivator, she could completely kill them all, but she still planned to split them evenly with Li Hao.

"Okay."

Li Hao nodded. Xing Lan raised her hand, her movements casual, using Immortal Dao laws to transform the void into a starry domain. Then, myriad stars fell, turning into countless rays of light, piercing through all the Ancient Demons within, leaving their corpses riddled with holes.

Seeing this scene, Li Hao couldn't help but feel a little heartache. Torn apart like this, the taste would definitely be worse if cooked.

Good ingredients emphasized integrity.

Swoosh!

He raised his hand, still in the same way as before, using condensed and minute sword qi to penetrate the Ancient Demon's body, then, following its physical structure, instantly separating its bones, severing its vital points, causing its fleshly body to perish.

The instant its Primordial Spirit detached, the sword qi directly annihilated it.

In the blink of an eye, this group of Ancient Demons was all killed. Xing Lan looked towards Li Hao. He had also killed seven or eight Ancient Demons, including those at the True Immortal Ninth Layer, yet the young man beside her still seemed effortlessly relaxed. This caused her expression to subtly change.

Furthermore, compared to her violent killings, the Ancient Demon corpses killed by Li Hao were intact, as if they had fallen asleep, looking somewhat more elegant.

She silently collected the Ancient Demon corpses she had killed, and seeing Li Hao also smoothly collecting these Ancient Demon corpses, she said:

"It seems you don't need my help either. With your strength, as long as you don't get surrounded or encounter Commander-level Ancient Demons, you won't be in much danger. Then, let's go hunt separately, to avoid affecting each other."

"Alright."

Li Hao agreed. This way, he could hunt all the Ancient Demons he found himself, and his harvest would be even greater.

Seeing Li Hao so straightforward and showing no reluctance, Xing Lan couldn't help but roll her eyes at him slightly. It was the first time she had met someone so readily bidding her farewell.

"I'm leaving."

She turned and left, seemingly deliberately displaying her abilities, directly performing Immortal Dao power transfer, instantly teleporting to the edge of her divine sense perception, and then teleporting again, disappearing directly.

Seeing her leave, Li Hao also turned around, heading in another direction, towards the place where the frontline had previously breached.

As he travelled, Li Hao discovered that there weren't only Ancient Demons, but also many disciples from various sects hunting Ancient Demons in this area.

There were also Wildfire Army battle battalions engaged in chaotic battles with Ancient Demons.

Li Hao saw some who were at a disadvantage and stepped forward to casually kill the Ancient Demon for them. This way, he could justifiably take the Ancient Demon, without it being considered stealing.

His figure darted between these battle battalions. He skipped over those who were besieging Ancient Demons and had the upper hand, instead lending a hand to those who were clearly losing to Ancient Demons, solving the Ancient Demons and collecting them into his Heaven and Earth space.

With his help along the way, many sect disciples were rescued, sincerely thanking Li Hao.

Li Hao casually waved his hand in farewell and left, continuing to move forward.

Behind the battlefield.

Three imposing yet restrained figures stood on a specially constructed platform, surrounded by rows of battle flags, tens of feet tall, fluttering in the void.

Immortal formations encircled them, and phantoms of strange beast totems floated, one after another. If anyone was proficient in the True World Myriad Races Compendium, they would recognize these strange beasts as belonging to the Keen-Eared Clan.

This platform was the Marshal's Platform of the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty. Controlling the platform allowed one to extend their divine sense to various hidden Immortal Power array bases in the starry sky, thereby amplifying and extending their divine sense to cover most of the battlefield, understanding the situation in all areas of the battlefield.

"The First Defense Line has already collapsed. The Second Defense Line is still holding on. Currently, the Third Defense Line remains intact. The forces of various sects have been投入 (tóurù - committed/invested) into the fighting on the Second Defense Line, along with the Wildfire Army…"

Beside them, a sentry responsible for battlefield intelligence reported seriously.

"The Seven Luminaries Star Region in the Second Defense Line has already fallen. The Jade Terrace Star Region still has eighteen war zones holding on."

In this vast starry battlefield, for the Wildfire Army soldiers, there were only the front lines and the rear, but within the Yan Chu Immortal Army's internal system, it had long been divided into familiar regions. Any problems could be quickly reported and reinforced.

"The Crescent Moon War Zone has just been breached too. Three sects and the Wildfire Army are heading to reinforce. A gap just appeared in the Cloud Han War Zone, but it was plugged. Then, it was breached again!"

Hearing the sentry's reports, the three generals all wore solemn expressions.

"I was just about to dispatch a Major General to kill that Ancient Demon Commander, to prevent it from causing too much impact on the rear, but unexpectedly it was killed by that woman from the Star Constellation Palace. She is indeed a rare talent."

A silver-haired, black-armored youth said in a low voice. His face was stern, looking less than thirty years old, yet he was a general of the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty who had been renowned for tens of thousands of years.

"I know that woman, a prodigy from the Star Constellation Palace. Someone recommended her to me, wanting her to join the Demon Subduing Division. She's still under evaluation."

Beside him, a woman with heterochromatic pupils, one gold and one silver, smiled, her eyes extraordinarily mystical, seeming like the sun and moon shining together.

After speaking, she looked at the old man standing in the middle. Although he was also a general, there was a black brand on his armor, a sharp triangular spear tip, the symbol of the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty's Demon Subduing Division.

Not only was he a general, he also held a high position in the Demon Subduing Division.

This was a rare opportunity, so she mentioned Xing Lan, hoping to leave a good impression of her in the heart of this great figure.

"Mm, passable."

The old man slightly nodded, his gaze fixed on the deep starry sky ahead. Standing where they were, they could only see darkness with the naked eye and starlight reflecting from the distant reaches.

"There is an interesting little fellow though, quite energetic in slaying demons, I wonder which sect's disciple he is."

The old man's eyes seemed to pierce through the void, seeing a certain location in the dark battlefield, noticing the figure constantly shuttling around, rescuing small groups of battle battalions and sect disciples. He had noticed this young man earlier when he blocked the frontline breach and was chased and escaped by the Ancient Demon Commander.

Although in this vast battlefield, there was too much information to process under his divine sense coverage, the young man's figure was indeed quite noticeable, somewhat striking amongst the countless chaotic battles.

"That young man, he is indeed quite monstrous."

Hearing the old man's words, the two beside him both narrowed their eyes slightly, also noticing the young man. Although such geniuses were not unique, the young man's performance in slaying demons seemed to have caught the attention of the old man beside them. If he could gain his favor, it meant his future achievements might be higher than theirs.

After all, the Demon Subduing Division was the strongest department of the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty, its status only comparable to the Chu Immortal Army.

"This Ancient Demon attack is a bit strange, the attack routes are very chaotic, it's like there are several commanders."

The woman with sun and moon pupils said softly, her eyes flickering.

Hearing this, the old man's lips curved into a smile, knowing a thing or two about the inside story.

"The myriad races have their struggles, and Ancient Demons, are not a monolith either…"

The old man smiled.

At the same time.

Li Hao, shuttling through the battlefield, was rushing towards the defense line, but before he arrived, he suddenly saw a group of familiar figures ahead.

Li Hao focused his eyes and saw that it was Shi Tianjing and the others, whom he had separated from not long ago.

They hadn't dispersed, but their numbers were clearly fewer than before. Surrounding them, a group of Ancient Demons encircled them, with four or five of them possessing powerful auras, all of them surprisingly True Immortal Tenth Layer Ancient Demons, constantly launching attacks at them.

And the few newcomers who had joined with Li Hao earlier were missing one or two faces. The rest were huddled within the encirclement. Shi Tianjing and the other two veterans, along with Huo Xiaoqi, were among them. The four of them were guarding the four sides respectively, their bodies covered in wounds, their expressions weary, revealing a hint of panic and fear.

(End of Chapter)