“Young one, how dare you!” The second strongest expert from the Immortal Palace glared coldly as Shi Hao approached, his body radiating divine light as he prepared for a final, desperate battle.
“Hah, forget about you—even if your Immortal Palace’s old supreme being came here, I’d kill him all the same. Unless the crippled immortal himself shows up!” Shi Hao said icily.
“Boom!” The second strongest of the Immortal Palace refused to surrender. He activated a profound technique, summoning a Dao talisman in an attempt to awaken the bronze hall and trap Shi Hao inside, crushing him to death.
“If this were the real Bronze Immortal Palace, I might hesitate to enter, given its sentient artifact spirit. But this broken-down thing thinks it can subdue me?” Shi Hao scoffed, unimpressed. Gripping the Great Luo Sword Embryo, he slashed fiercely—*bang!*—the talisman exploded into flames.
“Is this all you’ve got?” Shi Hao sheathed the sword, his fists glowing brilliantly. Even in this place, his power remained, intimidating the crowd.
The group of experts retreated. The second strongest of the Immortal Palace, eyes dark with fury, could do nothing—he was no match for the youth.
“I regret it now—I should have begged the True Immortal to erase you completely back then. We were too merciful, leaving behind a scourge like you!” he spat bitterly.
“Merciful, my ass!” Shi Hao’s chest burned with rage. The Immortal Palace had suppressed and crippled him, leaving him seething.
“Would that crippled immortal have dared to kill me outright? He feared death too much, afraid the Five Elements Mountain would fight him to the end. That’s why he resorted to underhanded tricks, ruining my hard-earned cultivation!” Shi Hao’s voice was frigid.
Without another word, he struck—*boom!*—his fist shattered the void.
Even with the suppression of laws and Dao here, his might surpassed all limits, shocking everyone present.
They could only sigh—Huang’s rise was no accident. His arrogance was justified, his potential beyond imagination.
*Boom!*
In an instant, Shi Hao closed the distance. His punch sent the Immortal Palace’s second-in-command—a figure said to be near the Supreme Being realm—flying.
He couldn’t withstand Shi Hao’s blow. Blood sprayed from his mouth, his arm broken and limp.
*Boom!*
The second strongest of the Immortal Palace transformed into a golden crane, wings flaring, beak gleaming with radiant light as he lunged in a desperate attack.
This was a life-or-death struggle—he unleashed his full potential, even manifesting traces of magic power.
Yet it wasn’t enough. Shi Hao shattered the crane’s beak with a single palm, golden fragments scattering as blood dripped.
Shi Hao’s expression darkened further. Seeing the crane’s true form, he recalled the past.
Years ago, when the Seven Gods descended, one of the Immortal Palace’s servants had been a golden crane, forcing him into a deadly plight, cursed with bronze rust, suffering miserably.
“No wonder. That must have been your kin. New debts and old—settled together!” Shi Hao showed no mercy.
He seized the crane by the neck, dragging it back to the bronze hall’s entrance.
*Bang!* His fingers slashed, ending its life before tossing it onto the fire Chi Long had prepared, roasting it.
“Master, didn’t you say you never kill?” Chi Long piped up.
“Only occasionally,” Shi Hao replied, swatting him away.
Chi Long, who had come to expose his hypocrisy, swallowed his words, forced to endure it.
The others rolled their eyes—Huang not killing? That was a joke.
Soon, the aroma of roasted meat filled the air—a golden, crispy crane, alongside tender, glistening True Hou meat, ready to eat.
“Eating barbecue every day isn’t healthy—too greasy,” the Lunar Jade Rabbit muttered, yet eagerly snatched a crane wing.
“It’s not greasy at all—the fat’s all rendered out. If you don’t want it, give it to me!” the Heavenly Horned Ant yelled.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
From the bronze hall, fists whistled as Chi Long fought in his master’s stead, dragging out captives.
Human-shaped foes were tossed aside; beasts were skewered over the fire. The “Greatest Barbecue Feast in History” became reality.
The fall of these experts would shake the Upper Realm—all were key figures of major sects. Yet here they were, wiped out in one go.
“You think the Upper Realm sects will go mad when this news spreads?” Cao Yusheng muttered guiltily, stuffing the last bite of crane leg into his mouth. “Killing’s not my fault—I barely ate any!”
“Too late to worry now,” the Heavenly Horned Ant said carelessly.
“This will cause an earthquake when word gets back. Some factions will be terrified,” Qing Yi said seriously.
This was indeed a historic event. By the end, Shi Hao had roasted every last one—none survived.
Among them were the Immortal Palace’s second-in-command, the deputy leader of the Celestial Nation, a mighty True Hou cultivator, and experts from the Jin and Wang families—all heavyweights.
Not just from the Three Thousand Provinces, but even the Nine Heavens.
“Wait—there were more. Where are those guys from the Immortal Domain?”
The Heavenly Horned Ant, belatedly realizing, glared. Those from the Immortal Domain had mocked his clan’s glory and even questioned his father’s achievements—unforgivable.
“Let it go. Forgiveness is divine,” Shi Hao said magnanimously, patting his shoulder like a benevolent sage.
The others exchanged glances—since when did *he* have such morals? The guy who just hosted a massacre barbecue?
Roasting his enemies, then preaching kindness like an enlightened monk—it was absurd.
“You’d make a demonic monk if you ever took vows,” Princess Yue Yao remarked.
“Princess, heard you’re being pressured to choose a Dao partner. Any candidates?” Shi Hao teased.
“None of your business!” The usually serene princess snapped, eyes blazing.
“Just offering help. If nowhere else suits, I could reluctantly take you in—free you from your troubles,” Shi Hao grinned.
“Get lost!” she hissed, murder in her gaze.
“Don’t misunderstand. I meant as a maid. With me half-crippled, I’ll need someone sharp to tend to me.”
The crowd gaped. Even Chi Long marveled at his master’s talent for provocation—three sentences, and the princess was ready to murder him.
“This bronze hall’s not bad. I’ll keep it,” Shi Hao said, stashing it away. Though a replica, it might still be useful once or twice.
Half a day later, Shi Hao bid farewell to his friends.
Bird Grandpa and Fine Jade Grandpa guided them out of the marsh.
“Is your cultivation really fading? Only half a month left?” Yue Chan asked.
All eyes turned to Shi Hao.
“Yes. I’ve stretched it as far as I can. Just half a month more,” Shi Hao admitted. Then, eyeing Yue Chan, he added, “That melancholic look, those fiery glances—planning to come down and bear me a monkey?”
Sympathy evaporated instantly.
Yue Chan’s eyes flashed with murderous intent, her Qing Yi persona suppressed, the Yue Chan side resurfacing.
“Fine, no monkeys,” Shi Hao waved dismissively.
“If she did, whose would it be?” the Lunar Jade Rabbit asked innocently—or not—sparking chaos.
“Die! Die! Die!” Yue Chan erupted.
“Go on. I’ll miss you all. In my twilight years, I’ll smile, remembering how I once ruled the world, made the Upper Realm bow. Decades from now, at life’s end, I’ll cherish that.”
The mood turned somber.
As they departed through the Lower Realm’s gate, Chi Long inwardly scoffed—his master was a master manipulator.
*He* knew Shi Hao’s body was far from failing. Half a month to crippled? Impossible!
At the Bronze Sparrow Altar, the group lingered, hearts heavy.
“Such a pity. Huang, a peerless hero, undefeated in battle, ending like this…”
“Brother Shi, I’ll visit. If I can return to the Lower Realm, I’ll bring life-extending treasures!”
Suddenly, they froze.
A commotion behind them—someone was running.
They turned, jaws dropping.
The Immortal Domain’s envoys and their young charges were fleeing in panic.
Behind them, Shi Hao—fangs bared, face savage—was in hot pursuit.
Two old men clung to his arms, yelling:
“Ancestor! Those are Immortal Domain envoys! You can’t roast them!”
“Any other disaster, fine—but not the envoys!”
Bird Grandpa and Fine Jade Grandpa hung off him desperately.
The group at the altar stared, dumbfounded. Even as they left, Huang’s brutality stunned them once more.
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