Chapter 487: The End

"If one's primordial spirit reached the ultimate realm and they cultivated into a True God, they could contract their physical body and manifest their True God form externally, allowing them to move freely here."

Li Hao mused to himself.

Currently, his primordial spirit power had already surpassed his physical body. Even though his Ancestral Immortal Body was one of the top-tier immortal bodies in the True Immortal Realm, it was still not as formidable as the terrifying 560 primordial spirit golden bones.

Fortunately, his Space Dao Origin was at the fourth level, allowing him to still barely discern the attack traces here. Coupled with the powerful divine sense provided by his primordial spirit, and with his full concentration on adjusting and reacting, Li Hao gradually adapted to the Twelfth Desolate Domain. He became increasingly at ease, effortlessly dodging one attack after another.

Some attacks assaulted him, but Li Hao brushed past them, displaying a slight ease and playfulness.

This feeling of dancing on the edge of a knife, yet being in complete control, was captivating and enchanting, evoking a long-lost sense of excitement.

Time passed quietly.

In the blink of an eye, Li Hao had stayed here for three days.

"It's about time to end, isn't it?"

Li Hao shuttled back and forth near the fog wall deep within the Twelfth Desolate Domain.

He had tried to slash at the fog wall, but the Dao Origin power condensed within was too strong. Even using his Unrivaled Sword Dao, he could only barely split it open by half.

The Immortal Dao Law power attached to the fog wall could reduce his Sword Dao power by more than ninety percent, forcing him to rely solely on pure immortal power for a brute force attack.

The gap between the True Immortal Realm and the Immortal Lord Realm was ultimately too vast. Li Hao didn't push further. He estimated that even if he forced his way into the Thirteenth Desolate Domain, he would quickly be forced back.

Whoosh! Dodging another attack, Li Hao's figure, like a swimming dragon, gracefully arrived at another location.

He took out his token. There were less than two days left. It was time to leave.

As the end approached, he wondered what the scene outside would be like.

With a mentality of watching the excitement, Li Hao activated his identity token. In an instant, a power surpassing the Immortal Dao Law of the current Desolate Domain enveloped him, tearing through the void to directly transport his body out.

Just as Li Hao disappeared, deep within the Desolate Domain, two figures flew over.

"That little guy, after three years, has actually improved so terrifyingly again. His rate of progress is truly astonishing," Yuan Xinggang, with snow-white hair and a white star-robe, stroked his beard and laughed.

Beside him, Shangguan Hong, clad in golden armor, also revealed a rare expression of satisfaction in his eyes, saying, "With his own strength, he should only be able to barely endure in this Twelfth Desolate Domain, but his primordial spirit is powerful, his movements are agile, and he seems to have considerable combat experience. He has the potential to perform beyond his level in actual combat!"

As the top figure in the military, the one stationed at the nine thousand immortal cities of the Yan-Chu Immortal Dynasty, he placed greater importance on the power a cultivator could actually wield rather than just their realm.

With the foundations of those great sects and millennia-old families, nurturing disciples with high realms wasn't difficult. Piling on various heavenly treasures and earthly riches could create a flashy but ultimately hollow prodigy.

But in a real fight, both combat experience and personal foundation were far inferior to those generals who had fought their way through blood and fire.

There had been many laughable incidents. For example, a certain young lady from a prestigious family, despite possessing considerable cultivation, was scared witless by the mountains of corpses and seas of blood conjured by an immortal art from a cultivator whose realm was significantly lower than hers, almost shattering her Dao Heart.

There were also obscene immortal arts like the "Thousand Poses of Spring Palace" that could instantly cripple the combat power of some studious young geniuses, leading to weaker opponents defeating stronger ones.

These weaknesses were fatal in a real fight, as combat wasn't just sparring; it was life-and-death struggle where all means were justified, all of which required a strong Dao Heart to endure.

"I was originally disappointed when he didn't come to the National Academy, regretting that I couldn't mentor him personally. But looking at his current performance, three years of cultivation in the Heavenly Surveillance Secret Realm of the National Academy would probably only yield this much," Yuan Xinggang chuckled.

Shangguan Hong nodded slightly. In just three years, from barely stepping into the Eleventh Desolate Domain to now navigating the Twelfth Desolate Domain with ease, the progress was immense.

One had to know, this was equivalent to crossing a whole realm in Immortal Lord standards.

Yet, the other party was merely in the True Immortal Realm Ninth Level. Although his realm advancement was significant, at the Immortal Lord level difficulty, whether you were True Immortal Realm Level One or Level Ten, there was little difference – all would be instantly defeated.

"There are still seven years until the Southern Domain Tournament. I'm actually looking forward to this little guy's performance."

"In the True Immortal Realm group competition, he should make a name for himself in the Southern Domain."

Shangguan Hong also wore a smile, unexpected to find such a treasure in Yan-Chu.

"His Majesty has also learned of this and will come to take a look this time," Yuan Xinggang said with a smile.

"It's almost over, and these little fellows have become more well-behaved," Shangguan Hong remarked, his gaze sweeping towards the royals outside the Desolate Domains and the few still venturing within, a smile curving his lips.

...

Outside the Desolate Domains.

Li Hao stepped out of the Desolate Domain and flew to the area belonging to the Dreamvoid Great Abyss Sect.

He glanced up at the Immortal Stele and quickly found his identity number in the tenth position.

Climbing from 25th to 10th, Li Hao was quite satisfied, although he didn't expect to become the gatekeeper.

Three days had passed, and Li Hao's ranking hadn't improved further, remaining at tenth. Li Hao hadn't encountered any other royals in the Twelfth Desolate Domain, guessing that the ninth position must require entering at least the Thirteenth Desolate Domain.

If so, the top nine were likely all individuals with peak Immortal Lord Realm Level Three combat strength.

"If I encounter these guys in the Southern Domain Tournament, it might be a little tricky…" Li Hao thought to himself.

As he landed, the people of Dreamvoid Great Abyss Sect also noticed Li Hao. Amidst exclamations from Zhou Qingyun and others, Li Tie Mu excitedly rushed over, embracing Li Hao tightly, "You little brat, told you to get tenth, and you actually got tenth!"

"How did you do it?"

He looked at Li Hao in astonishment and disbelief.

"Just focused on charging forward," Li Hao smiled.

Li Tie Mu rolled his eyes. It couldn't be that simple. However, as it concerned Li Hao's secrets, he didn't truly intend to probe.

He could see that this disciple's current performance was far beyond his own teachings. This cheap master had reaped a bargain. The little he had taught could never achieve this. It must be that the disciple possessed another inheritance or some kind of fortuitous encounter.

Regardless, it was a good thing. Their master-disciple bond remained, and he wished Li Hao well.

As the two landed, Zhou Qingyun and the others approached, gazing at Li Hao in awe and congratulating him.

Lin Mingrong watched the young man surrounded by everyone, like a moon surrounded by stars. Her eyes were complicated. She hadn't expected the young man she had once misunderstood to possess such terrifying talent.

She understood that the gap between them was now like that between a dragon and a fish, and their paths would only diverge further in the future.

Beside her, Gu Yan and Yue Xi also had complicated expressions. They had become disciples around the same time as Li Hao, and their realms were similar, but now the difference was like heaven and earth, a much greater shock to them.

"This little junior brother is really bringing glory to our Sword Abyss," Mu Rong Qingwu murmured.

Apart from the people from Sword Abyss, disciples from other Abyss also gathered, eager to see what made this strongest prodigy of Dreamvoid Great Abyss Sect so special.

From Spear Abyss, Su Yecheng in black stood still. His fellow disciples swarmed towards Li Hao, but he remained like a reef standing firm against the tide, fixed in place, only gazing at the returning youth from afar.

With his Immortal Lord Realm, he could tell at a glance that the other's aura was clearly True Immortal Realm, not even reaching the Tenth Level of perfection.

Such a person had actually surpassed him in ranking…

His eyes fixed on Li Hao, he remained silent.

Li Hao noticed the crowd surrounding him and immediately knew that his identity ranking had spread within the sect. But with the end nearing, there was no point in hiding it anymore. He raised his hands and greeted them one by one, thanking his fellow disciples for their warm greetings.

"Senior brother, you are only in the True Immortal Realm, right? How did you manage to rank higher than Senior Brother Yecheng?"

Among the crowd, a disciple couldn't help but ask curiously.

This question voiced the curiosity of many disciples, all of them staring at Li Hao with wide, eager eyes.

Li Hao didn't know who this Senior Brother Yecheng was, nor did he inquire further. He just smiled and said, "This Desolate Domain doesn't seem to restrict cultivation level. As long as you work hard, you can do it too."

"Senior brother, you're really good at comforting people," the disciple said with a wry smile.

Li Tie Mu waved his hand, blocking the crowd to prevent further probing. Then, he pulled Li Hao back to Sword Abyss and asked, "You little brat, what did you do for three days? You weren't just wandering around in there again, were you?"

Li Hao's ranking had already reached tenth, unchanged for three days. Li Tie Mu had assumed Li Hao had retreated to earlier Desolate Domains to relax.

"No, I was just finding my bearings inside," Li Hao replied.

Li Tie Mu was speechless. He looked up at the Immortal Stele and said, "You're now the gatekeeper of the tenth position. I don't know if anyone will challenge you. The one you pushed down earlier, I asked around, he's a disciple of Wan Shan Sword Pavilion, second only to Tian Hongyi, also of imperial bloodline. He probably won't let this go easily. The final competition will be particularly intense."

"If I get pushed down, there's nothing I can do," Li Hao laughed.

Seeing Li Hao's relaxed demeanor, Li Tie Mu was speechless, but thinking that Li Hao must have already tried his best to reach this ranking, he didn't say much more. "Well, let's just leave it to fate then. The difference between tenth and eleventh is vast."

Li Hao remained noncommittal but wasn't too worried. If he couldn't get the so-called top ten reward, so be it.

While the two were talking, in Wan Shan Sword Pavilion's area.

"Time's almost up. This time, I'll stay inside for two full days!" Zhang Xuanyu stood up, coldness in his eyes.

When he was previously tenth, he could only last one day in the Twelfth Desolate Domain before his immortal power ran out.

Now, he planned to use some secret technique to endure for another day inside! As for breaking through the Twelfth Desolate Domain… that was a bit too much for him.

After all, these Desolate Domains were extremely difficult to traverse. Many disciples in the True Immortal Realm Tenth Level of Earth Sects were theoretically suited for the Tenth Desolate Domain, but many of them could only barely last a short while inside. Only the prodigies from great sects could persist for longer periods.

"Senior Brother Xuanyu, you got this!"

"Be sure to reclaim your tenth place!"

"Xuanyu, your master believes in you. Remember the instructions I gave you earlier."

Many disciples of Wan Shan Sword Pavilion gathered around Zhang Xuanyu, cheering him on.

Zhang Xuanyu's expression was indifferent. As a top prodigy from a great sect, he was long accustomed to the encouragement and flattery around him.

He merely nodded slightly to his master and close friends, then soared into the air, heading towards the Desolate Domain.

"Master, can Senior Brother Xuanyu do it?"

"No problem. If he uses that Imperial Blood Secret Technique, his immortal power should last him another day!"

"There are only two days left. If he holds on until the end, his ranking will rise. Even if the other person wants to challenge, there won't be enough time."

"I see."

The people of Wan Shan Sword Pavilion watched Zhang Xuanyu leave.

Standing at the edge of the Giant Sword Domain Artifact, Lin Qingying felt a trace of worry. She had been paying attention to Li Hao and already knew that the tenth identity number belonged to him, feeling happy for him. Now, as this senior brother took action, whose reputation had long preceded him in the sect, she couldn't help but worry for Li Hao.

...

"It's quite lively," Li Hao remarked in Dreamvoid Great Abyss Sect, watching disciples constantly flying in and out of the Desolate Domains, as bustling as sparrows.

This lively scene was somewhat reminiscent of when the Ancient Immortal Realm had just opened three years ago.

However, these disciples coming and going didn't seem to possess strong auras, and the identity numbers in the top hundred of the Immortal Stele also remained largely unchanged.

The royals and prodigies of various sects had already concluded their challenges. No one was deliberately waiting to snipe at the last moment, as such actions were meaningless.

With the final month nearing its end, the dust had long settled.

"You really aren't worried at all. I heard that Zhang Xuanyu has already entered," Li Tie Mu said with a wry smile, seeing Li Hao's relaxed demeanor, as if he were an uninvolved spectator.

Li Hao shook his head. "If it's meant to be, it will be. Don't force it."

"..." Li Tie Mu was speechless, but after carefully pondering Li Hao's words, he faintly sensed that they aligned with some great Dao. He seemed to understand somewhat why the latter could trigger the Nine Echoes of the Heart Questioning and achieve an Eternal Dao Heart.

To eternity, temporary successes and failures, gains and losses, were all seen through, leaving one unmoved.

...

In front of the Immortal Stele.

Standing apart from the disciples of various sects, in the foremost territory, many figures in luxurious royal robes gathered here.

Most of the men wore golden swallow-dragon robes, with gold thread woven swallows and flying dragons entwined on the cuffs.

The women's robes were each uniquely beautiful, like drifting clouds, like encircling rainbows, captivating and enchanting, each different in their charm.

"Who exactly is Bo Ya Xue Jian? How can they be ranked above us?"

"Luckily, we have Heavenly Desolate Brother to suppress everyone. Otherwise, if we were suppressed by someone like that, our royal family's face would be completely lost."

"If that were the case, I wouldn't dare to look at Father Emperor's face."

"That Bo Ya Xue Jian, I heard he's a snow spirit born from chaos, a Chaos Being!"

"A Chaos Being? Does that mean life from the Primordial True World?"

"So that's it. That's even rarer than imperial bloodline. No wonder he's so powerful."

"Fortunately, we have Heavenly Desolate Brother. No matter if it's some Chaos Being or imperial bloodline, they will all be suppressed by Heavenly Desolate Brother!"

The crowd spoke in hushed tones, their eyes mostly focused on the second identity number on the Immortal Stele.

That ranking was too prominent, making it hard for them to accept.

"Heavenly Zheng Brother, you ranked twelfth, what a pity. Just a little more effort and you could reach tenth."

"If you entered the top ten, you would definitely catch Father Emperor's eye. Plus, your mother consort is deeply favored by His Majesty…"

"Hmph!"

Before the words were finished, they were interrupted by a cold snort from a young man in a royal robe.

The flattering prince's expression changed slightly, then he quickly offered a forced smile and said, "Heavenly Zheng Brother, please don't be angry. Ranking twelfth is already something we look up to and envy."

"I don't know where this guy who snatched tenth place came from. He was previously ranked 25th, then suddenly jumped to tenth. It was already barely acceptable with Heavenly Zheng Brother ranked eleventh."

Beside him, another royal princess spoke with her arms crossed, her expression indifferent.

Although her ranking was lower than Chu Tianzheng, the difference wasn't much. Her tone now was not flattering, merely expressing slight regret.

"This kind of person who only rushes up at the last minute, I'll see who it is in two days," Chu Tianzheng sneered.

Time flew by.

Two days passed quickly.

As the deadline approached, the sects before the Immortal Stele became increasingly restless, knowing that the rankings were about to be finalized.

The top hundred rankings saw almost no change, the most intense competition was around the nine hundred and ninetieth position. After all, only by reaching the top thousand could one participate in the Southern Domain Tournament and obtain an entry ticket.

Therefore, the fighting here was the most intense, and every ranking change would elicit exclamations.

(End of Chapter)