Chapter 476: Tallying War Merits

Li Hao glanced at Mi Xueyao and saw the obvious relief on her face. Inwardly, he blamed the ancient demon for being so talkative and even roaring it out in human language, on purpose. Who is it yelling at? he thought, Don't startle the snake…

"Looks like you're not completely stupid."

Seeing that Li Hao believed her, a faint smile appeared on the corner of Mi Xueyao's lips.

Just as Li Hao was about to ask her for help to completely kill the Dijiang Clan ancient demon, suddenly, from the depths of the ancient demon tide, a powerful aura soared towards them.

This aura was extremely powerful, as if appearing out of nowhere, instantly displaying a might that was no less than the Dijiang Clan ancient demon.

An ancient battle spear shot out from the newcomer's hand, swirling with golden runes, shattering the space layer by layer, aiming to nail Mi Xueyao to the void.

Mi Xueyao's just-relaxed expression drastically changed, and shock filled her eyes.

She sensed the destructive aura on the battle spear, instantly pushing the power within her body to its limit, even forgetting to conceal herself. Her arms waved like a roc spreading its wings, dark immortal power surged out, and fleshy wings appeared on her back, emanating a devouring power from within.

"Life and Death Nihility!"

With a raise of her hand, she unleashed her clan's innate secret technique, a method unique to her race. On her eight fleshy wings, the power of life and death permeated.

Four wings radiated a brilliant emerald green life immortal power, while the other four wings were filled with destructive, violent dark death power. Intertwined, they transformed into a hazy gray blade, slashing out to meet the spear!

With a loud bang, the battle spear shattered the nihilistic blade. The void trembled with a massive shockwave, and the entire battlefield seemed to sway.

The divine light on the battle spear dimmed significantly, and it flew back. A towering, ferocious ancient demon rushed out and grasped the spear in one hand.

Mi Xueyao's cheeks flushed crimson, and she spat out blood, intense anger flashing in her eyes.

"Lunzhuan Royal Clan, you've hidden yourselves well enough."

She hadn't expected that when the ancient demon tide was about to collapse, a Lunzhuan Royal Clan ancient demon expert would be hidden within, lying in wait.

"That thing is worth more than a hundred battles like this! Hand it over, and you'll get a whole corpse!"

The ancient demon held the battle spear, his eyes cold and sinister. His aura vaguely reached the tenth level of the Immortal Lord Realm, and the heavy pressure caused even the fierce battles raging across the battlefield to slightly pause, sensing this powerful threat.

Mi Xueyao was so angry she almost gritted her silver teeth to dust. She was about to kill the Dijiang Clan ancient demon and use its head to gain merit, smoothly infiltrating the human race. But at this moment, she was caught by the Lunzhuan Royal Clan, forced to reveal her true form.

If she tried to continue hiding and pretending, she would be severely injured even if she didn't die; the difference in their realms was too vast.

Success was just half a step away… She bit her lip, suddenly noticing the sound of air being torn apart approaching. Li Hao's figure flashed several times and arrived beside her.

"Are you alright?"

Li Hao's expression was grave. If Mi Xueyao lost her fighting ability, this ancient demon before them would be unstoppable.

Mi Xueyao was stunned. She had thought this human youth she had spent three months with would be shocked, but instead, she saw him approach her, looking serious, with even a hint of worry and concern in his eyes.

She was slightly dazed for a moment, and couldn't help but ask, "You, you know my identity?"

Li Hao sighed inwardly. Things had come to this point; he couldn't pretend to be clueless anymore. He said, "Didn't I just answer you?"

Mi Xueyao blanked out for a moment, recalling Li Hao's words "I know." So, he meant he knew she was an ancient demon?

"Then, you, you…"

Knowing her identity, he still dared to spend three months with her?

Li Hao was helpless. Was this the time to discuss these things?

"Let's think about how to deal with it first," Li Hao reminded her.

Mi Xueyao snapped back to reality, her expression shifting slightly. She looked at the Lunzhuan Royal Clan ancient demon, her eyes flashing incessantly. Finally, she gritted her teeth and said:

"The opponent is from the Royal Clan, and the realm difference is too great. Good luck to you, I'm leaving!"

"Unstoppable?"

Li Hao couldn't help but ask, thinking she might have some trump card.

Hearing Li Hao's words, Mi Xueyao thought of the Floating Pagoda Heart. "Do you have any means to stop him?" she retorted.

"No."

Li Hao admitted honestly, "My trump cards are all used up."

The Floating Pagoda Heart was given by Old Han; he hadn't even known such a trump card existed beforehand.

Mi Xueyao almost fainted from anger. She didn't know if Li Hao was telling the truth or not, but at this moment, she knew it was time to part ways with this human. Although Li Hao's reaction surprised her, now that he knew her identity, she couldn't believe he had no ulterior motives.

"For the sake of the delicious food of these past three months, I won't implicate you."

Mi Xueyao looked deeply at Li Hao. Their exchange was extremely quick, everything happening in the blink of an eye.

Ignoring Li Hao's surprised gaze, she suddenly stepped forward. In her palm, a dark rhombus shrouded in chaotic divine light emerged. The rhombus was extremely profound, like some kind of fragment.

Seeing the dark rhombus, the Lunzhuan Royal Clan ancient demon's expression instantly changed, his eyes becoming sharp and excited.

"Hand it over!"

"If you want it, catch me first!"

Mi Xueyao abruptly put away the rhombus, turned and soared away. The fleshy wings on her back tore open the void, displaying the fourth level of spatial origin techniques, directly performing void traversal and jumps.

At the same time, she raised her hand and waved, and a blazing sea of fire erupted in the void to cover her retreat.

The sea of fire scorched the heavens and the earth, baking the space to the point of distortion, igniting everything within range, including immortal power and all matter.

"I won't let you escape again!"

The Lunzhuan Royal Clan demon's eyes were ice-cold. Golden light reappeared on the battle spear in his hand. He suddenly strode forward, swung the spear, and scattered the sea of fire into hundreds and thousands of sparks, tearing open a pitch-black, deathly silent passage.

He chased after her, without even looking at Li Hao again.

However, as he passed by, he still casually released a dark blade of energy, slashing towards Li Hao in an instant.

Li Hao's expression changed slightly. The extreme limit within his body instantly erupted, his bones cracking. He unleashed the Law Manifestation of Heaven and Earth, drawing in the immortal power of the stars, pushing his Ancestral Immortal Body to its peak. He raised his hand and slashed out a sword beam to meet the attack.

Bang!

The sword beam exploded, seemingly devoured by the immortal law attached to the dark blade, shattering silently.

But the dark blade was also affected, dimming slightly. It then collided with the Invincible Fist of Heaven and Earth that Li Hao threw out.

The invincible fist wind was annihilated by the laws, and the fist was split open, the cut extending along the arm bone all the way to the shoulder before the remaining power of the blade slowly dissipated.

With just a casual strike, Li Hao was almost pushed into a life-or-death situation. This was only because his displayed True Immortal Realm third level cultivation had misled the opponent, preventing him from using too much power.

This Lunzhuan Royal Clan demon in the ninth level of the Immortal Lord Realm was stronger than any ancient demon Li Hao had encountered before. He watched the other demon disappear into the sea of fire, his brows furrowed. A hint of worry arose in his heart, wondering if that fellow could escape.

However, thinking that she was also an ancient demon, even if she died, it was none of his concern.

But the dark rhombus she revealed before leaving was undoubtedly the reason she was being chased. Her choice at this moment, not implicating him, not using him as a shield to buy time, did surprise Li Hao, and his prejudice against her lessened slightly.

"Good luck to you…"

Li Hao murmured, retracting his gaze and looking at the vast border battlefield.

Countless immortal techniques erupted, clashing with the ancient demons. The figures of disciples from various sects could be seen in the melee.

True Immortals were falling every moment. Li Hao thought, perhaps he should call back Old Wang.

With an Immortal King like Old Wang joining the battle, it would definitely be quickly quelled, reducing casualties.

However, Old Wang was searching for the reincarnation of his master's former personal disciple, Shi Miao's reincarnation, Ying Xiaoxiao. He didn't know how that was going, and rashly calling him back might make his previous efforts come to naught…

While pondering, Li Hao still decided to summon him back, as human lives were at stake.

Just as he was about to speak, suddenly a violent tremor came from above.

Immediately afterwards, a patch of inky black cloud splattered across the sky. The cloud lingered briefly in the high altitude before rapidly expanding, becoming a torrent of black demon blood.

A black light beam shot away from the demon blood, flashing continuously, and in the blink of an eye, disappeared into the battlefield, like a beam of light shooting straight towards the distant starry sky, vanishing in an instant, leaving no time for reaction.

As the black light disappeared, a towering figure descended from high in the sky. A colossal Dharma Form stood behind him, surrounded by a surging sea, seemingly capable of engulfing the entire battlefield.

In front of the Dharma Form, the imposing figure was an old man. Although aged, with snow-white sideburns, he possessed an aura that could swallow mountains and rivers.

In his withered old hand, he pinched a broken wing. He gazed at the ancient demon king who had fled, and though they were both of the King realm, their strengths differed. But when the opponent was desperate to escape, it was somewhat difficult to pursue and kill.

He retracted his gaze and turned to look at the entire battlefield, instantly understanding the situation.

Humph!

He snorted coldly, and with a wave of his hand, he summoned his Immortal Kingdom, pressing down.

Without any King realm ancient demons remaining in the tide, his actions would be unrestrained. As the Immortal Kingdom descended, large swathes of ancient demons instantly died violently, without even time to scream or resist.

Those Immortal Lord Realm ancient demons felt the terrifying pressure and were all terrified, knowing this battle was lost. They roared and broke free from their opponents, frantically fleeing.

But their escape speed was no match for the Immortal King's Immortal Kingdom. Soon, they were enveloped and killed by the Immortal Kingdom. Only a few Immortal Lord Realm ancient demons from the outer edge of the battlefield managed to escape.

The situation on the field suddenly reversed. The human battlefield immediately sounded the counter-attack horn. The ancient demon tide fell into panic and chaos, fleeing in all directions.

Seeing this chaotic, excellent situation, Li Hao immediately abandoned the idea of calling Old Wang back. Without wasting time, he quickly plunged into this feast of hunting ancient demons.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Don't let them escape, leave none alive!"

Throughout the battlefield, shouts of charging and killing echoed. The bitter struggle of several months was about to end. Everyone could see that the ancient demon tide had collapsed.

As human morale soared, the Immortal Lord Realm commanders within the ancient demon tide were all in shock and anger. They could only flee, terrified of being targeted by the old man in the sky.

Li Hao appeared behind the ancient demon tide. These demons retreated like a receding tide. Li Hao was like a sword piercing through the reverse current, quickly killing the panicked demons that passed by him.

He unleashed the Dharma Form of Heaven and Earth, summoned Taotie, and revealed his ten-thousand-foot tall immortal body, constantly suppressing and killing the demons around him.

These demons were all shocked and enraged, wanting to fight Li Hao, but the defeat was already set, and they had no heart for battle. They were consecutively pursued and killed by Li Hao, with only a few escaping.

Li Hao conveniently collected all the corpses of the demons he killed into his Heavenly Earth space, quickly accumulating them. The true treasure immortal sword in his hand was becoming slightly dull at the blade from constant slashing. Li Hao was covered in blood, like a killing god on the battlefield.

Many Tiger-Lion Army soldiers chasing the demons caught up to Li Hao. Seeing Li Hao's speed and power in killing demons, they were all shocked and terrified. Which sect's expert is this? He was so terrifying!

As the ancient demon tide largely collapsed, Li Hao killed all the way, following the Tiger-Lion Army, chasing the fleeing demons to the edge of the Shattered Stone Starfield before stopping.

Any further ahead would be where ancient demons frequently appeared, and there might be ambushes hidden. The army stopped one after another. Then, at this boundary line of the Shattered Stone Starfield, they roared and cheered, celebrating the victory of this war.

"This harvest is enough to eat well for several years…"

Li Hao checked his Heavenly Earth space and revealed a satisfied smile. Then he looked at the remnants of the ancient demons fleeing towards the Shattered Stone Starfield, feeling a bit unsatisfied, but he still chose to turn back to avoid any further complications.

He hadn't seen Mi Xueyao's corpse along the way, and didn't know her situation.

Li Hao shook his head, not thinking about it further.

As the army returned, in the high sky, the silver-haired, black-armored youth and the woman with double pupils rushed to the old man's side.

"Heavenly Teacher, are you alright?"

The woman with double pupils asked with concern.

The old man slightly raised his hand, indicating he was fine. Then he surveyed the battlefield and chuckled, "This battle was smoother than I expected. Diqiu was heavily wounded by me and won't recover for several centuries. It's a pity I couldn't keep him here."

"If not for the Heavenly Teacher's brilliant plan, we wouldn't have been able to expose his weakness. That guy was hidden too deeply," the silver-haired, black-armored youth said.

The old man's eyes flickered slightly. "If not for an inside informant, I wouldn't have known he would personally take action, probably wanting to take the opportunity in this battle to ambush and kill you, which would also be a significant loss to our human race."

After ten thousand years of war, the myriad races of the True World and the ancient demons had long given up the idea of a decisive victory. That was impossible. They could only mutually exhaust and erode each other. When the exhaustion reached a certain point, they would launch a large-scale offensive for a final decisive battle.

Hearing the old man's words, the two were slightly silent. As human border generals, they had cultivated for tens of thousands of years. It took at least ten thousand years and absorption of many precious resources for the human race to nurture experts like them. In these years of war, every Immortal Lord Realm expert was a pillar of the human race.

"Let's go, return to tally the casualties. The Peacock Army that went around for the surprise attack actually didn't suffer major losses, I can also give an explanation to King Zhao…"

The old man smiled, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield. Although the number of Peacock Armies within was small, they were extremely conspicuous.

"Mm."

The two nodded in agreement, and returned with the old man.

At this time, the horns sounded, and the army also withdrew from the edge of the Shattered Stone Starfield.

Li Hao followed the army back to the city, returning to the Wildfire Army city barracks.

Along the way, he encountered soldiers from various war camps. Some were grief-stricken, weeping for fallen comrades. Others were tallying their war merits, letting out joyful cheers, obviously having gained many benefits in this battle.

When Li Hao returned to the Wildfire Army city barracks and walked into the courtyard, he saw Shi Tianjing and the others were already there. Obviously, they had returned earlier, not chasing as deep as Li Hao.

(End of Chapter)