The bamboo, as thick as a water vat, was not only snow-white like jade in its trunk but also in its leaves, bathed in sacred radiance.
It towered into the sky, not straight like ordinary bamboo but coiled like a dragon, its gnarled and ancient trunk twisted, its lush leaves gleaming like mutton-fat jade.
Amidst the swirling chaos energy, a pool formed at its roots, filled with a fragrant, milky-white sap.
Yet, none of this divine splendor intoxicated Shi Hao. Instead, it sent a chill down his spine. What did the ancient glyphs on the nearby amethyst stone wall reveal?
The roar left behind by that immortal being was filled with unwillingness, even despair. He had sought a way to break free from the eerie and ominous? How absurd!
Because, according to his cries, they themselves were the source of chaos, the abyss of darkness, the end of terror—yet he wanted to resolve it?
The deeper Shi Hao thought, the more his blood ran cold. A shudder ran through him, his hair standing on end. In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
**”Boom!”**
A humanoid figure forged from Dark Immortal Gold strode forward, radiating the sharpest of auras, its body wreathed in metallic divine light and a killing intent that made one tremble.
It was here for one purpose—to intercept!
A servant from the other realm, once following an immortal powerhouse, its master peerless and supreme. Naturally, this metallic being had once been a terror beyond measure.
Yet, it had fallen, slain here, reduced to a puppet!
What kind of place was this, capable of slaying such a powerful being from the other realm and turning it to its own use? This was a creature forged from Immortal Gold!
**”Clang!”**
Shi Hao drew the Great Luo Immortal Sword, pointing its peerless blade forward, ready for a life-and-death battle.
The opponent’s cultivation had been greatly suppressed by the local rules, only half a realm above him, yet still enough to dominate. But it wasn’t an insurmountable gap.
**”This is a clash of true strength, without reliance on external tools,”** the Dark Immortal Gold humanoid spoke in a mechanical, lifeless voice, fitting for a puppet.
Shi Hao was stunned. The moment he didn’t sheathe his sword, the opponent’s cultivation surged, becoming terrifyingly dangerous. A divine light erupted from its crown, tearing through the heavens, threatening to sever the sun and moon!
Shi Hao sucked in a cold breath and silently withdrew his sword. Otherwise, the opponent’s full power would be unleashed, leaving him no chance at all.
Was this a trial? Shi Hao sighed inwardly—a frustrating barrier.
Already severely wounded, his bones cracked, golden marrow visible amidst the shattered fragments, could he still fight in this state?
**”Come!”** Shi Hao roared, his hair whipping wildly, his gaze sharp as a celestial blade as he charged forward.
**”Boom!”**
The heavens and earth shook as if two comets had collided. The Dark Immortal Gold construct erupted into motion, its fist meeting Shi Hao’s in a brutal clash.
It was a gruesome sight.
Blood sprayed as Shi Hao’s fist split apart, divine blood splattering the air. His bones shattered, flesh mangled—he had suffered a horrifying blow.
This was Dark Immortal Gold, a treasure for forging immortal weapons. In humanoid form, its physique was unmatched in hardness!
Shi Hao was at a severe disadvantage—how could flesh compare to Immortal Gold?
Unless he became an unrivaled being, towering above all, his body supreme, perhaps then he could withstand Dark Immortal Gold. But now? Impossible.
Staggering back, Shi Hao stared at the humanoid construct.
This trial was too cruel—who could pass?
In physique, the Immortal Gold was superior—a qualitative gap. Even as a peak body cultivator, he couldn’t match it in this realm.
In cultivation, the opponent was half a realm higher—a significant disparity!
Was this a bitter ending? The Divine Bamboo was right before him, yet blocked by this guardian. How could he proceed?
**”Kill!”** Shi Hao’s brows furrowed, his eyes blazing as he unleashed everything, refusing to die here. He had to break through, to transcend.
At this moment, his essence boiled, his divine sense surged, his body radiant—almost like an Immortal Gold being. He unleashed all his power, wielding his treasures, charging at the enemy.
**”Boom!”**
The Kun Peng Art, peerless in the world, the first of the Ten Calamities Techniques he had obtained, erupted in dazzling brilliance.
A divine bird of blinding light swooped toward the Immortal Gold construct.
Yet, the opponent also wielded supreme techniques, higher cultivation, and an indomitable physique. This battle was grueling for Shi Hao—utterly unequal!
Now he understood why the Grand Elder hadn’t come—this was a trial of life and death, a near-impossible path.
**”If I can’t even pass this, how can I surpass the ancients, how can I plant the seed within myself?”** Shi Hao roared, steeling his resolve.
He fought the Dark Immortal Gold construct fiercely, their clashes shaking the heavens. A bloodied Kun Peng soared, striking at the nine heavens and diving into the nine nethers.
From the skies to the earth, from the depths to the heavens, blood painted the air—a brutal, desperate battle.
The Dark Immortal Gold construct grew ever more terrifying. Initially half a realm stronger, by the end, it was nearly a full realm above!
A blood-soaked Kun Peng—a battle of despair.
This herb-seeking journey had been filled with unexpected trials, beyond Shi Hao’s imagination. First, the War God’s imprint, now this path of absolute slaughter.
Shi Hao’s immortal energy surged, coiling around his fist as he struck the Dark Immortal Gold humanoid.
**”Sizzle!”**
Yet, in that instant, the construct’s fist also blazed, erupting with immortal light—even more terrifying.
What was it? Dark Immortal Gold!
A material for forging immortal weapons, inherently imbued with immortal properties. Now, it erupted with immortal radiance, countering Shi Hao’s energy like a burning ocean threatening to drown him.
The bitterest battle. Shi Hao’s fist cracked, blood flying, pain unbearable.
In cultivation, the opponent was higher. In immortal aura, it was denser. In physique, it was unmatched.
By any measure, this was an unequal fight—no fairness to be found.
**”Thunder Emperor’s Secret Art—unleash!”** Shi Hao summoned endless lightning, striking the metallic being.
It worked—the Immortal Gold body began to melt, deforming, turning liquid, glowing blindingly, its heat warping space.
Yet, when the lightning faded, it reformed—an unsolvable nightmare!
**”Injured?”**
Shi Hao’s eyes gleamed. He spotted a weakness and continued his thunder onslaught until exhaustion.
**”Has it developed resistance?”** Shi Hao shuddered.
By the end, the construct turned into liquid metal, omnipresent, still attacking—more horrifying than ever.
Formless, yet still fighting!
**”Kill!”** Shi Hao roared, unleashing his innate supreme technique—the Cycle of Reincarnation. He fought the construct to madness.
A brutal battle, endless bloodshed. By the end, Shi Hao felt his body on the verge of disintegration.
**”A battle of transcendence,”** a cold, emotionless voice echoed—a rule, a guardian force of this place.
It commanded all puppets here, maintaining order.
The voice revealed the truth: only by truly transcending, surpassing all peers, could one win this battle, defeat the Immortal Gold construct.
Fighting the stronger with the weaker? Shi Hao’s techniques boiled over. He roared, unleashing all his arts. Even the Six Paths Reincarnation Heavenly Art was used repeatedly—yet the construct wouldn’t fall.
**”A battle of hope, not despair. Surpass the ancients, rise above all peers of your realm, and you may leave—truly standing above all!”**
The voice resonated again, stirring Shi Hao’s heart.
**”The Immortal Ancient perished, drowned in despair, not a glimmer of light…”** The ancient voice carried sorrow.
It warned later challengers—if they couldn’t pass this trial, they had no hope against the beings of the other shore. Only by overcoming this could they rise again!
The voice made it clear—the Dark Immortal Gold construct would, by the end, become an unrivaled sect master, suppressing with higher realms!
A vast gap—not a small step, but an immortal being’s absolute dominance, like an immortal mountain crushing all for millennia—unshakable!
By the end, Shi Hao fought like a demon, his techniques flying like immortal swords piercing from his body, erupting in dazzling brilliance.
Had outsiders seen this, they’d have been awestruck!
At his age, his realm, who in this era could match such battle prowess?
Yet here, he was at a disadvantage, on the brink of death, nearly slain multiple times—a hopeless battle!
**”Hmm?”**
In his frenzied state, Shi Hao spotted a green stone beside the Divine Bamboo’s pool, inscribed with faint words in Immortal Ancient script.
**”This shore of the world, so-called land of hope, so-called backup plan—pathetic. I came, I took the Divine Bamboo’s sap.”**
And below—a mark. Strange, unique. Belonging to a royal of the other realm!
Shi Hao’s eyes blazed. The imprint left by a youth contained traces of imagery.
Someone had succeeded, fought here, tempered their body with the divine pool’s sap!
Shi Hao looked up at the hole in the bamboo, dripping white sap—likely that being’s doing.
**”A being from the other shore, at the end of the last era, succeeded!”** Shi Hao’s heart shook. Truly a peerless genius—yet an enemy.
But the stone’s final strokes were rushed, weak—that being had barely survived.
**”I can succeed too!”** Shi Hao roared.
At this moment, his sole heavenly passage compressed, all his techniques imprinting upon it, shrinking into his body.
Finally, the glowing passage condensed into a tiny sun, settling in his abdomen like a luminous sea, radiating world-shaking light!
**”Hmm?”**
Shi Hao felt dazed, enlightened. All techniques flowed through his mind. In his confusion, he glimpsed another path.
**”Between life and death, I see hope…”** He murmured, then burned with power.
**”Boom!”**
The compressed light exploded, forming a wheel that sent the Immortal Gold construct flying, cracking it apart.
**”My path, my dao—this is the beginning!”** Shi Hao understood. A new awareness dawned, his gaze blazing brighter.
The construct crashed down, fissures terrifying!
Step by step, Shi Hao approached the pool, his mind lingering on his epiphany—a path of his own.
Lost in thought, he felt as if he was comprehending the dao—his own dao!
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