The Heavenly Beast Forest was truly in chaos, with more and more people gathering—a group of powerful cultivators united to hunt down the Desolate One!
Each time Shi Hao was spotted, someone would activate a special artifact, sending it soaring into the sky with dazzling radiance to mark his coordinates.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Beast Forest was vast beyond measure, with no visible borders. A single valley could span hundreds of thousands of miles, and a mountain range might stretch for millions. It was only due to this immense expanse that Shi Hao had enough room to maneuver and flee.
Moreover, the most critical factor was that the most dangerous beings in this forest were not the foreign cultivators but the Heavenly Beasts themselves.
Once, Shi Hao was nearly caught, but in desperation, he charged into a stone cavern, provoking an ancient beast that wreaked havoc across the entire mountain range.
Another time, he was almost beheaded, only to plunge into a swamp and awaken an exceedingly rare Flood Dragon. That battle alone claimed the lives of six great cultivators at the Escape One Realm.
Relatively speaking, Shi Hao was too weak to be the primary target of the Heavenly Beasts, often overlooked in their rampages.
Even so, he had narrowly escaped being devoured by Heavenly Beasts three times and had come perilously close to being torn apart by his pursuers on numerous occasions.
This was a grand escape, one that had thrown the entire Heavenly Beast Forest into turmoil—especially as the number of participants continued to grow.
“Report! We were on the verge of encircling the Desolate One, but six Heavenly Beasts emerged, slaughtering our elite forces!”
Outside the forest, someone delivered this news to the higher-ups.
“Report! During his escape, the Desolate One slew the young monarch of the Blood Vine Clan!” Another announcement sent shockwaves through the crowd.
The Blood Vine Clan was a top-tier plant-based royal lineage, renowned in their world for their extraordinary strength. Their clan boasted an immortal who safeguarded their destiny, standing proudly through the ages.
Not long ago, people had witnessed the might of this clan—a Blood Vine in the Divine Medicine Mountain Range, their supreme elder, though lost there.
“Disaster! The young master of the Heaven’s Doom Clan was casually slain by the Desolate One, body and soul annihilated!” This news caused an uproar.
The Heaven’s Doom Clan’s origins were too grand—they had nearly become an Imperial Clan in the past. Their lineage once produced a supreme figure named Heaven’s Doom, whose status rivaled that of the present-day He Wushuang.
Legend had it that he later attempted to ascend to the rank of Immortal King but perished in the process.
Yet, the legacy he left behind was immense—scriptures, immortal weapons, his true blood—all inherited by his clan.
Rumors suggested that another prodigy had emerged from their ranks, likely to follow in Heaven’s Doom’s footsteps.
The death of their young master was a storm that could awaken peerless experts.
Meanwhile, news reached the Imperial Pass.
“What? The foreign elites are hunting the Desolate One? We must act now—we cannot delay!”
“We must stop this!”
Even elders from long-lived families grew restless, increasingly convinced that the rotten wooden chest was of monumental importance.
Many within the Imperial Pass felt a deep shame—their descendant was being hunted, yet they were powerless to intervene.
“Stay calm. Grand Elder Meng Tianzheng and another senior have already set out,” someone reassured the crowd.
Sending more people would be futile. Beyond the forest lay the foreign army and several supreme beings—direct confrontation was unthinkable.
By now, the Heavenly Beast Forest had grown even more perilous and chaotic.
Shi Hao’s flight stirred boundless turmoil, crossing millions of miles and drawing countless cultivators into the chase.
In truth, once it was confirmed that he held the rotten wooden chest, the foreign commanders had ordered more elites into the forest to kill him and retrieve it.
Now, Shi Hao no longer sought to lure his pursuers—he was on the brink of encirclement, trapped in a dire situation.
“If I die, we all die together!” Shi Hao growled, throwing caution to the wind.
After stirring the forest into chaos, he chose a direction and raced toward it, intending to drag his enemies to their doom—though he still hoped to survive.
If half of his pursuers perished, he would be satisfied. Among them were at least eighty or ninety Escape One Realm experts, not to mention their followers and descendants, who swarmed like a tidal wave.
The foreign forces despised him. Due to the Heavenly Beasts, they had suffered heavy losses—their numbers made them unavoidable targets.
“Desolate One, where will you flee now?”
His pursuers were certain he was cornered, destined to be captured or killed.
Shi Hao pressed forward resolutely, heading toward the withered tree’s domain, intending to lure them all to their deaths.
He had witnessed its terrifying power firsthand—the first foreign team to reach it had been utterly annihilated.
Mountains blurred past as Shi Hao sprinted, the wind howling in his ears.
Ancient trees towered here, colossal vines coiled around peaks, and the area was eerily silent—no beasts roamed these lands.
In the distance, the faint outline of the withered tree emerged.
As he approached, Shi Hao suppressed all battle intent, wary of provoking the ancient tree.
“Last time, only I survived because I didn’t attack. The others acted—and perished,” he murmured.
This was his gamble—to use the tree to slaughter all the Escape One Realm experts. A mad, perilous plan, one that could claim his own life.
“Desolate One, you cannot escape!” A chilling voice echoed behind him.
A swarm of experts closed in, but Shi Hao accelerated, desperate to maintain distance.
He wanted them to surround him near the tree—so it could kill them all.
A reckless scheme, but the foreigners knew nothing of the tree’s existence—his sole advantage.
Soon, the tree came into view—tall, leafless, its dark branches stretching skyward, ancient beyond reckoning.
Shi Hao tensed, fearing it might strike prematurely.
How could a lifeless tree wield such lethal power?
He was mere miles away when the ground beneath him lit up—an ancient formation had been triggered.
“Boom!”
Space tore open, a passage forming, and Shi Hao was forcibly pulled inside.
“No! He’s escaped!” The pursuers roared in frustration.
Shi Hao, too, was furious—his plan had been on the verge of execution.
Before the portal closed, the foreigners glimpsed its destination.
“It’s that place!”
“The central ancient land—it’s not far!”
“Even if it’s forbidden, we must press on! The orders of Lord Yu Tuo and Lord An Lan are absolute!”
They would not relent.
As Shi Hao neared the exit, he recognized the place—he had seen it from afar before.
Thud!
He landed, his soul trembling.
This was a sacred land, lush with glowing foliage, brimming with spiritual energy.
At its center lay a barren patch—yet it felt anything but desolate. Instead, it exuded purity, untouched by worldly taint.
Ahead stood colossal stone mountains, wreathed in chaotic mist and faint immortal light—a blessed land nurturing immortal essence.
Above the mountains hovered a massive creature, shrouded in immortal qi, the source of Shi Hao’s dread.
It was the same beast whose roar he had heard upon entering the forest.
A chain bound it to the stone below, and a transcendent weapon pierced its skull—yet it still lived.
At the mountain’s base stood a stone tablet, the chain’s anchor, inscribed with four ancient characters:
**”Second Under Heaven.”**
“They’re here!” The foreign cultivators had arrived.
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