The group arrived swiftly, merely a fraction of the grand army that had ventured recklessly into the Heavenly Beast Forest. None had expected to truly encounter the Desolate One!
This also revealed just how much importance the foreign realm placed on that decrepit wooden chest—so much so that they were willing to risk lives by sending these men into such a perilous forbidden land.
This squad was exceptionally fortunate. Upon entering, they had actually stumbled upon the Desolate One!
Though the old woman felt uneasy and scolded the young man earlier, the moment she saw the wooden chest in Shi Hao’s hands, her breath quickened with excitement.
Amidst the dense thickets of the mountain forest, the thorns had initially concealed them, but now everyone could clearly see what Shi Hao held.
“Hahaha… After searching high and low, we’ve found it without lifting a finger! The treasure we seek is right here!” A young noble laughed boisterously, his arrogance unrestrained.
Even the old woman and other elders couldn’t remain composed, exclaiming in shock.
“Who would’ve thought the Desolate One actually succeeded and obtained this ancient artifact of legend!”
“Fortune favors us! The Emperor’s Barrier is destined to fall—hahaha…”
The entire group was exhilarated, their excitement boundless. This was an unparalleled achievement, and they considered themselves incredibly lucky. Despite the foreign realm dispatching so many forces, it was their squad that had encountered the Desolate One.
All eyes were fixed on Shi Hao, burning with greed, leaving no room for anything else.
“By the way, I heard this chest was once in the possession of an immortal tree—a divine herb. Desolate One, if you don’t wish to suffer, hand it over!” a young man shouted.
They swiftly moved to encircle the area, cutting off any chance for Shi Hao to escape.
“Hah! The heavens smile upon us! What a glorious strike this is! Though the Desolate One obtained the wooden chest, he’s merely preparing it for us!” Even a middle-aged man laughed heartily, abandoning his usual composure.
Most of these beings were not young—primarily middle-aged and elderly.
They knew all too well that the Desolate One’s talent was too formidable. Sending the younger generation would only result in heavy losses, and they still wouldn’t be able to stop him.
Thus, this time, only elite experts were dispatched!
“Strike now! Capture him and report back swiftly. The commotion over him has grown too great. A mere brat at the Virtual Dao Realm has forced our grand army to mobilize so extensively—what an overreaction!”
A middle-aged man spoke and stepped forward, intent on capturing or killing Shi Hao immediately.
“Wait!” The old woman who had spoken earlier suddenly grew calm again, her unease intensifying.
She stood at the peak of the Dunyi Realm, not only the strongest in this squad but also the mightiest among all forces that had entered the Heavenly Beast Forest.
“What’s there to fear?” a young man muttered under his breath.
“Elder, what’s wrong?” another middle-aged man asked.
“This rat seems off—it might be a supreme expert. And this withered branch… it unsettles me!” The old woman’s expression was grave.
At this moment, the Heavenly Rat was critically weak, barely clinging to life, impaled by the withered branch, its blood flowing freely as if on the verge of death.
It no longer exuded any aura of power, its Dunyi Realm cultivation undetectable. The withered branch, too, had returned to its dry state, devoid of any fragments of the Great Dao.
“A dead rat—what’s there to fear? Even if it were a supreme expert, I’d crush it with one slap!” a young man scoffed defiantly.
“Enough hesitation! The Desolate One is real, and so is the wooden chest. Seize them!” The middle-aged man acted decisively.
He stretched out a massive hand, aiming to suppress Shi Hao and seize the wooden chest. Regardless of any anomalies here, securing the artifact and delivering it swiftly was paramount.
Though the others grew more cautious, none could have anticipated the suddenness of the disaster that followed.
“Whoosh!”
From the depths of the ancient forest, a withered branch shot forth!
It moved too swiftly to evade.
“Ah—!” The middle-aged man who had struck first screamed as the branch pierced his body, pinning him in place, blood gushing forth.
“What kind of cursed thing is this? Kill it!” someone roared.
But as their magic surged and they attacked with all their might, calamity descended.
This time, over thirty withered branches erupted, rumbling like hundreds of war chariots charging across the heavens, carrying fragments of the Great Dao and radiant divine laws.
The sheer force of it dwarfed anything they had faced before!
“Fools! How dare you attack here?!” The Heavenly Rat opened its eyes weakly, biding its time to escape.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Blood sprayed in all directions as every being who had attacked was impaled. It wasn’t that they were weak—the withered branches were simply too terrifying, like immortal spears piercing through flesh.
The ground was soon dyed crimson.
Naturally, such a disaster provoked desperate resistance. Every being from the foreign realm fought back.
The result? Every single one of them was skewered and pinned in place!
Even the old woman was impaled by the thickest branch, struggling but growing weaker by the second. Her very soul was trapped within her body, unable to escape.
Only Shi Hao remained unharmed. Clad in the Thunder Emperor’s Armor and wielding the Myriad Spirit Diagram, he had not attacked, only defended passively.
Yet, in the end, he alone was spared.
This outcome was unbearable!
The foreign cultivators had gone from ecstasy to despair in an instant. Moments ago, they had been fervent with excitement—now, they teetered on the brink of death.
“I vow eternal imprisonment in the Heavenly Beast Forest, to heed its call, and journey into reincarnation!” Suddenly, as if possessed, the Heavenly Rat chanted these words before reciting a mysterious incantation.
Whoosh!
Something bizarre happened. It broke free as the withered branch withdrew, transforming into a streak of light that tore open a spatial rift and vanished into the distance.
For a moment, time and space seemed to warp. Faintly, everyone glimpsed the rat plummeting into a mist-shrouded pool atop a distant mountain peak.
Shi Hao’s pupils constricted. Beside the pool stood a stone tablet, and in that fleeting glance, he recognized three ancient characters from the Immortal Ancient Era: Reincarnation Pool!
Had the Heavenly Rat truly entered reincarnation? He could scarcely believe it. The whole scene felt surreal, too bizarre to be real.
This Heavenly Beast Forest was beyond comprehension!
Even the foreign beings, despite their dire straits, were stunned. Some had also glimpsed those words and were left speechless.
Poof!
One of the impaled figures turned to ash, dying instantly.
“No!” the others wailed.
“I vow eternal imprisonment in the Heavenly Beast Forest, to heed its call, and journey into reincarnation!” The old woman mimicked the rat’s words.
But she didn’t know the incantation that followed and could proceed no further.
Poof!
In the end, in her dazed state, a bloody flower bloomed at her brow as her consciousness seemed to extinguish. She slumped from the withered branch.
Her face was blank, her soul seemingly lost, as she began walking toward a certain part of the forest, kowtowing with every step.
Everyone was dumbfounded. What was happening?
Only Shi Hao vaguely understood—the powerful beings gathered in the Heavenly Beast Forest, like those Heavenly Beasts, had likely arrived the same way!
The realization sent chills down his spine. This was too horrifying, too absurd.
“Ah—!” Someone couldn’t take it anymore and screamed in terror.
Their strongest member, the old woman, had been reduced to this—mindless, kowtowing as if in worship, as though paying homage to some unseen entity.
Poof!
More bodies exploded, turning to ash in gruesome deaths.
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, one of them raised a hand, firing a radiant beam into the sky—a magical artifact that exploded into dazzling light, as if reaching beyond the heavens.
It was a unique device meant to transmit a message.
He was signaling the outside world, announcing the Desolate One’s location!
This had been prearranged—anyone who spotted Shi Hao or the wooden chest was to send this signal, summoning reinforcements for the hunt.
But this time was different. The forest’s eerie nature meant that any large force entering would face something extraordinary.
Poof!
The next moment, the impaled beings screamed in terror as most of them perished.
The survivors, all at the Dunyi Realm, fell to the ground with hollow eyes, following the old woman’s path, kowtowing with each step.
This was sheer madness!
Shi Hao stood frozen, witnessing it all, chilled to the bone. The Heavenly Beast Forest was far more dangerous than he had ever imagined.
Could he even proceed?
Outside, multiple forces spotted the radiant signal in the sky and immediately knew—the Desolate One was in the Heavenly Beast Forest, his location confirmed.
“Report this! Mobilize forces to blockade the forest! It’s confirmed—the Desolate One has obtained the chest!”
The news spread like wildfire, causing an uproar.
Soon, massive forces converged from places like the Divine Medicine Mountain Range, gathering at the Heavenly Beast Forest.
Among them were also factions from the Imperial Pass, lurking nearby.
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