“Old man, you’re tougher than I thought—still not dead yet!” Shi Hao’s eyes gleamed with cold light as he lunged forward, seizing the mangled figure.
It had to be said, this once-powerful figure was now a pitiful sight—no longer resembling a human. His limbs had long been severed, his skull cracked, and everything below his abdomen was gone. Now, only a small fragment of his torso remained. A tragic fate indeed.
Not long ago, Shi Hao had been lured onto a war chariot by this group. He had played along, killing an elder at the Dunyi Realm before the situation escalated. The group turned hostile, revealing several powerful cultivators who pursued him relentlessly.
These pursuers had tailed him, even merging with cultivators from the Otherworld without hesitation—proof that they had fully defected. Yet, they too suffered misfortune. Shi Hao had disturbed an ancient dragon, triggering a catastrophe that wiped out their younger and middle-aged generation. The elders who rushed into the lake were instantly crippled.
“What a shame about that war chariot!” Shi Hao observed carefully, noticing a broken chariot emitting a faint glow beside the man. Without it, he would have died long ago.
Even so, the man was now a cripple, and the chariot, corroded by the lake, was on the verge of disintegration, its divine essence nearly depleted.
To Shi Hao, this clan’s members were indeed strong, but they paled in comparison to the Otherworld’s elders. Even those mighty cultivators had been decimated, with nine out of ten dead. This man should not have survived—his survival was solely due to the chariot.
“Speak. Which clan do you belong to?” Shi Hao demanded, a question that weighed heavily on his mind. Being targeted by a clan made him all the more vigilant.
Though he had suspicions, he needed confirmation.
“You—” The elder, once immensely powerful, was now on the verge of annihilation, barely clinging to life.
“Don’t worry. Be good, and I’ll protect you. You won’t die by this lake,” Shi Hao said with a mocking grin.
Even in his near-death state, the elder felt a chill run down his spine. This damned brat, the so-called “Desolate,” dared to mock and intimidate him!
To him, Shi Hao was just a whelp—barely out of his diapers, recently fleeing like a stray dog under their pursuit. Yet now, the boy had the audacity to humiliate him like this.
“Brat, don’t push your luck!” he growled.
“Still putting on airs? Asking for a beating?” Shi Hao grabbed his collar—only for the so-called “treasure robe” to disintegrate in his grip.
**Bang!**
Shi Hao yanked the Golden Lion from nearby, swinging it like a club and smashing it into the elder.
**Splat!**
The elder’s remaining torso shattered, leaving only his head—an even more pitiful sight.
The impact elicited two groans—one from the elder, now seething with rage, his fate sealed; the other from the Golden Lion, humiliated beyond measure.
Shi Hao had treated it like a mere tool—a stick, a weed—so casually that the lion trembled with fury.
“Speak. Which clan? You know I’m not patient, especially after being hunted for so long. If you don’t talk, you know what’ll happen,” Shi Hao warned.
“Don’t you know which clans you’ve offended? Who you’re at war with?” the head spat bitterly.
Shi Hao’s pupils contracted. The situation was more complicated than he thought.
Was it the Wang Clan? The Jin Clan? Both were eternal families opposing him.
But why would the elder confess so readily?
Was this a ploy to mislead him? If other eternal families were involved, things would grow even more dire.
Without another word, Shi Hao struck like lightning, seizing the head to probe its divine sea for the truth.
In the past, this would have been impossible—a Dunyi Realm cultivator’s soul burned like the sun, capable of incinerating weaker minds. But now, with Shi Hao’s advancement and the elder’s decline, it was effortless.
“No!” The elder resisted desperately.
Soon, Shi Hao retreated, his face dark, vanishing like a shadow back into the lake depths.
**Boom!**
The elder’s head exploded, killing three nearby despite the lake’s protection—their deaths filled with resentment.
“A terrifying mark in his head—triggered upon contact. This is the work of an eternal family!” Shi Hao’s expression turned grim.
To plant such a mark on a Dunyi Realm cultivator, sacrificing them without hesitation—only a handful of ancient clans had such ruthlessness.
Above, the surviving cultivators remained silent but trembled inwardly. To feel such fear as Dunyi Realm experts was a humiliation.
“Hmm, no movement above?” Shi Hao muttered, referring to the ancient true dragon outside.
**Whoosh!**
At the same time, someone bolted for the lake’s surface, desperate to escape.
Every moment in the lake eroded their bodies. Only the hope of survival kept them submerged.
They believed the others outside were already dead. Though battered, they still lived.
**Splash!**
One burst from the water, urging his crippled body to flee. Now was not the time for vengeance—survival came first.
Shi Hao smirked coldly. His earlier muttering had been bait, luring them to scout the path.
Even if they realized his ploy, they had no choice. To them, Shi Hao was now a horned demon—staying meant slaughter.
**Thud!**
The escapee wasn’t crushed by the ancient beast’s aura but was instead split in two by Shi Hao’s sword energy—his soul obliterated.
“Run!”
The surviving cultivators felt deep shame. Fleeing from a twenty-something brat!
“Don’t go! My chickens, my sheep, my ducks, my cows—don’t run!” Shi Hao called after them, already attacking.
The fleeing cultivators burned with rage, their teeth grinding in fury.
**Slash!**
Shi Hao showed no mercy. A brilliant sword beam cut one in half, followed by a strike through the skull, destroying the soul.
Next, a bolt of lightning struck another, charring his already broken body, his soul withering before dispersing entirely.
**Whoosh!**
Shi Hao shot upward like an arrow, bursting through the surface. Every pore on his body radiated light—thousands of divine beams erupting like a blazing sun!
**Thud! Thud! Thud!**
Amidst sprays of blood, the remaining cultivators were impaled, their bodies riddled with holes.
In an instant, all were dead.
No survivors.
Dozens of mighty cultivators who had sought refuge in the lake—all fallen.
Even the silver-robed elder, a descendant of the Imperial Clan, died with unseeing eyes, his remains dissolving in the lake.
Meanwhile, Shi Hao activated his Heavenly Eye, observing the distant stone mountain. The dragon had closed its eyes, drawing in essence from all directions.
Shi Hao was stunned. Had half the Heavenly Beast Forest been destroyed? Lush greenery replaced by seething magma!
Now, red mist and verdant life energy rose from the shattered land, funneling into the ancient beast’s body.
Shi Hao quickly submerged again. Lingering outside risked his own essence being absorbed.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, the lake churned violently. Outside, a thunderous roar echoed like tidal waves. Shi Hao resurfaced, curious.
The ancient beast glowed, essence surging outward. Before Shi Hao’s astonished gaze, the magma receded, mountains rose anew, and greenery exploded back to life.
The spectacle was breathtaking—destruction reversed, life reborn.
Unlike the cataclysmic ruin earlier, this was a resurgence of vitality. Shi Hao’s body soaked in the energy, reaping immense benefits.
The ruined half of the forest was restored, lush and vibrant once more.
“Destruction… the dance of life…” Shi Hao murmured, entranced. His body shimmered, his cultivation advancing as he watched.
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