Some had guessed what Shi Hao intended to do, but none expected him to be so utterly mad. Their scalps tingled, and a bone-deep chill seeped from their very marrow.
“Run! Don’t look back—flee as far as you can!” someone roared, not just warning those on the stone mountain but also alerting the distant cultivators.
But was there still time? Panic gripped many.
Shi Hao raised his head, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the direction of the ancient beast. His eyes gleamed with an eerie radiance as he stared at that primordial “True Dragon.”
On the opposite stone mountain stood another stele, inscribed with the ancient words “Second Under Heaven.” A massive chain coiled around it, stretching into the sky, where it bound an ancient beast—a creature shaped like an archaic crocodile, with divine wings on its back, dragon horns upon its head, and a body densely armored in silver scales. An aura emanated from it that could destabilize souls.
To gaze upon it was to feel one’s own spirit on the verge of shattering!
This was a peerless beast of antiquity, one no mortal could look upon directly. A mere glance was all one dared before swiftly turning away—lest they invite annihilation.
Yet now, Shi Hao opened his mouth, preparing to unleash a heaven-shaking roar, a sonic technique meant to rouse the slumbering beast!
This was sheer madness, beyond anyone’s expectations.
Even if one sought death, this was not the way. Should the beast awaken, heaven and earth would collapse. No living being could survive the shockwaves of its revival—most would simply explode.
Even in its dormant state, the beast had made Great Ascension cultivators tremble in fear, too terrified to face it. What then of its awakening?
“Shi Hao is a lunatic! He’s lost his mind!”
“Does he not want to live? He’s not even cornered—why drag us all down with him?!” someone raged, their fear laced with resentment.
The silver-robed elder, who had been cautious from the start, had avoided the stone mountain until he was certain Shi Hao had sunk into the lake. Yet even he had been ensnared.
In truth, many had been wary, keeping their distance from the stone mountain. Only when word spread that the Golden Lion had taken control, that Shi Hao was dead and his corpse lay at the lake’s bottom, had they dared approach.
“ROAR!”
Shi Hao’s voice erupted first, a devastating sonic wave crashing toward the stone mountain. It wasn’t a direct attack, but it was undeniably a disturbance to the beast’s slumber.
“Shi Hao, stop this! You’ll die too!” Pale-faced, some shouted in desperate plea.
To stop him was to save themselves.
Yet Shi Hao would never relent. His blood energy surged into the heavens, his dark hair whipping wildly as his cold eyes blazed. His roar shook the world.
Despair settled in—no one could stop him now.
“Damn you, Fearless Lion! You’ve doomed us all!” Others seethed with fury, their hatred directed at the Golden Lion.
In their eyes, the lion’s arrogance had been their undoing. It had believed itself victorious, proclaiming Shi Hao’s death, luring them onto the mountain. For the cautious veterans who prized their lives, this was nothing short of betrayal—a one-way path to ruin.
Shi Hao’s sonic waves crackled with lightning, infused with Thunder Emperor runes. Thunderbolts rained down, each deafening and blinding, tearing through the void.
The chaos was concentrated not around Shi Hao, but at the “Second Under Heaven” stele.
Simultaneously, he wielded a great divine ability, disrupting the mountain’s energy, making it tremble as if on the verge of collapse.
The stele shuddered but did not fall. Mysterious glyphs flared to life, rattling the chains binding it. The metallic clangor was deafening, sending fleeing souls into terror.
There was no escape now. The chains swayed, sealing their doom.
“I don’t want to die here!” Young cultivators wailed in despair.
“I regret this!” Even seasoned experts lamented, for they could already see the beast stirring.
Chaos mist billowed as the colossal creature shifted. Its eyelids, thick as city walls, trembled.
A supreme aura erupted, freezing souls and rending flesh.
This was only the beginning of its revival, yet many could no longer endure.
“AH—!”
Young cultivators screamed as their bodies split apart, annihilated by the beast’s overwhelming might.
“Guh—!”
Some coughed blood, their organs rupturing as their bodies exploded.
“CRACK!”
Others had their skulls shatter, their souls bursting into radiant mist before scattering like rain.
This was true despair—no resistance was possible.
“RUN!”
If this was only the start, what horror would come when the beast fully opened its eyes?
Yet they knew—there was no escape. Once awakened, the beast’s aura would sweep across the world, unstoppable.
Here, the void was sealed, the laws unbreakable.
“Golden Lion, you’ve doomed us!” Even in their final moments, some cursed the lion’s name.
Their enemy had been Shi Hao, the detestable youth. Yet now, blame fell upon the lion.
Many had stayed cautious, avoiding the mountain until the lion declared victory over Shi Hao.
“Who’s to blame but ourselves?”
“Shi Hao is insane!” Others gnashed their teeth, hating him to the bone.
But one voice cut through: “He’s not mad—he has a way to survive!”
Suddenly, some turned back, racing toward the stone mountain like bolts of lightning.
Among them was the silver-robed elder and other leaders—powerhouses all, none below mid-stage Great Ascension.
BOOM!
The void shattered, forming black spatial gates—or perhaps black blades—piercing the heavens.
The dragon was truly awakening.
Where cultivators failed to open spatial gates, this ancient terror, born of the True Dragon’s era, did so effortlessly. Its mere revival aura was enough to sunder the world.
Nothing could contain its true form—not this realm, not this universe.
“SPLAT!”
The black energy annihilated ninety percent of the young cultivators in an instant. Only those at the horizon’s edge, already fleeing, survived—barely.
Even elders perished.
“Ancient Dragon, peerless and mighty, I beseech you—slay these wretches!” Shi Hao’s final roar echoed as he dragged the Golden Lion into the lake.
He needed no confirmation of their fate.
And he had to dive now—a moment later, even he would be crushed to dust.
The Golden Lion’s face was frozen in regret, its golden eyes wide with terror. It had never imagined this outcome—total annihilation.
In its mind, Shi Hao was ruthless beyond measure.
And it blamed itself. Had it not been so confident, so sure of Shi Hao’s death, the others would never have ascended the mountain.
In a way, it had been their executioner.
“Shi Hao, I’ll die with you!” the lion roared, struggling to fight back.
“Death won’t come so easily. You’ll live—for now.” Shi Hao struck, shattering the lion’s bones effortlessly. The gap between them was vast.
“What do you want?” The lion’s golden eyes burned with hatred.
“You’ll be my mount. On the battlefield, you’ll face the enemies of the other realm.” Shi Hao’s tone was merciless.
This was no mercy, no true recruitment—it was enslavement. A lesson for all traitors.
The Golden Lion lineage had once belonged to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, only to betray their own, ushering in the enemy’s invasion.
Shi Hao’s act was a warning—a brutal judgment for all who would turn their backs.
For the Golden Lion to be ridden into battle would send shockwaves through the other realm, a humiliation beyond measure.
SPLASH!
SPLASH!
One after another, figures plunged into the lake—the strongest of the survivors, desperate for refuge.
Shi Hao smirked coldly. “Here they come—a pot of dumplings, ready to be devoured.”
Outside, the world darkened, on the brink of collapse. The heavens themselves were about to change.
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