Shi Hao fulfilled his promise by setting up a supreme grand formation, harnessing the essence of heaven and earth to nurture a Seven-Colored Immortal Gold being, allowing it to complete its final transformation.
Afterward, Shi Hao set out once more, traveling alone.
In the past, when he walked the path of cultivating his body as a seed, the Grand Elder had him undergo physical baptism and temper his primordial spirit, making extensive preparations.
Among them was a place where Divine Warding Bamboo and Yellow Spring Fruit grew. Consuming these could temper an indestructible primordial spirit. Today, he revisited this old haunt.
A towering mountain, hidden in the void, was difficult to detect and even harder to ascend. Back then, Shi Hao had needed to carry the Grand Elder’s jade token to approach it.
But now, with a single step, he reached the summit and beheld the golden temple constructed from laws—the Hanging Temple.
He strode forward without hesitation, stepping onto the Void Divine Bridge and setting foot on the “Immortal Mound.”
Within this secret realm, there was Divine Warding Bamboo and Yellow Spring Fruit. Legends claimed that if these two treasures matured to their peak, they could dispel ominous forces.
Yet, no one had ever succeeded.
Shi Hao had not come for these divine items—he had already consumed them. Instead, he intended for the people of the Heavenly Court to come here in the future to temper themselves and seek opportunities.
He had come for the heroic spirits!
The Yellow Spring Fruit grew in a place of extreme yin, where countless war spirits were buried. Shi Hao had witnessed firsthand the terror of these heroic spirits.
Among them, several emitted radiant primordial spirit light in the darkness, no longer cold and yin but brimming with yang energy and immortal aura.
These were the heroic spirits of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths from ages past. After falling in battle, they were buried in the Immortal Mound, which became their resting place.
Shi Hao had come to ask them to fight once more!
The dim Immortal Mound was shrouded in black mist, but with his Heavenly Eye, Shi Hao could see countless floating primordial spirit lights—so many heroic spirits in slumber.
Among them, several were exceptionally powerful. Shi Hao was certain that after their deaths in battle, they had evolved here, their souls becoming unbreakable.
A few were even close to the immortal path, glowing golden with yang energy!
“Esteemed ancestors, though I am reluctant to disturb your rest, I have come. I feel ashamed, for my words are difficult to speak, yet I must say them—I wish for you to leave this mountain and fight once more.”
Shi Hao bowed his head, deeply uncomfortable. These were spirits who had already given their lives defending this world. Now, he was asking them to fight again.
They were born from lingering obsessions, fragments of souls.
If they fell in battle once more, even their final imprints would vanish.
Thus, Shi Hao felt guilty, struggling to voice his request. But he had no choice—the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths faced their most perilous hour, and he alone could not turn the tide.
Soon, he arrived before a massive boulder, where a yellowed piece of paper sealed the land.
An old farmer materialized, sighing, “I never thought you would truly come.”
This farmer was a painting on the stone wall, now sentient and taking form. He knew everything about this place and had once guided Shi Hao.
He had warned that breaking the seal could summon these heroic spirits to war—but it was a double-edged sword. What if the spirits refused to obey?
“Senior, come with me as well!” Shi Hao said to the old farmer.
Then, with a single motion, he tore away the aged, yellowed talisman.
**BOOM!**
The earth trembled violently as millions of heroic spirits howled, shaking heaven and earth.
The Immortal Mound cracked, rocks flying as the land collapsed. Millions of heroic spirits emerged—some taking human form, others becoming giant beasts or divine birds, representing countless races.
In the past, many immortal beings had fallen in battle and been buried here, making the heroic spirits born from them extraordinarily powerful!
Indeed, the golden heroic spirits surged forward, stirring terrifying gales and blazing auras—truly nearing the immortal path.
But the strongest were those the old farmer had spoken of—buried deep underground, slumbering all this time.
Three figures soared into the sky, taking human form. They were true immortal beings.
One could only imagine how mighty they had been in life, for even as heroic spirits, they had reached such heights.
“Was it you who awakened us?” asked one immortal spirit, his body violet-gold, devoid of flesh, only a soul.
“Yes. This junior feels ashamed for disturbing your rest,” Shi Hao replied sincerely.
“Do not blame yourself. We exist for this very day—to return to the battlefield!”
“Our lingering obsessions are what allowed us to become heroic spirits. Our ultimate purpose is to fight once more, to battle the enemy with our last strength!”
Some spirits were from the previous era, others even older—so ancient that immortal beings had emerged among them.
Shi Hao had not expected them to agree so readily. His eyes stung—no explanations were needed. These spirits were ready to follow him.
“If we leave with you, we may not last long,” one spirit cautioned.
“Fear not. Outside, you will receive a great opportunity—the protection and nourishment of heaven and earth,” Shi Hao assured them.
He explained that the Heavenly Court now held vast karmic power, which could help all heroic spirits cultivate yang energy, shedding their deathly aura and growing stronger.
Before long, a mighty wind swept through as Shi Hao returned with an army of millions, placing them in grand halls across the Heavenly Court, standing alongside his statues.
From then on, these heroic spirits would be tempered by karmic power, growing ever stronger.
After arranging this, Shi Hao set out alone once more.
He traveled to Boundless Heaven, one of the Nine Heavens, then journeyed north into the vast ocean.
A sigh escaped him. In these northern seas, he and the Heavenly Horned Ant had once fallen into a time vortex, where they met the White-Robed Empress—a woman who transcended time to speak with him.
Alas, the workings of fate had erased all memory of what she had told him.
Though she seemed close, as the White-Robed Empress had said, they were separated by time—each step spanning an era, too distant to defy heaven’s will.
The White-Robed Empress had once traveled upstream through the River of Time to repel an Immortal King. She had folded blood-stained paper boats by the Kun Peng’s nest and manifested here.
Shi Hao remained silent for a long time before finally leaving.
He headed for a stone forest in the sea—actually a series of towering peaks. Long ago, he had found the Indestructible Scripture in its deepest reaches.
There, he had battled He Wushuang and faced the Refining Immortal Pot, barely obtaining the scripture.
This time, he was not heading for the ultimate depths but approaching several massive mountains nearby.
“This is the place!”
Shi Hao looked up. Since the dawn of this era, no one had ever scaled these peaks, for they held strange and inexplicable phenomena.
On one peak rested an ancient coffin, from which a terrifying human skin had once drifted down—suspected to be a ghost who had become immortal.
On another sat a cross-legged figure gazing down below.
Now, he had returned and saw them again.
**BOOM!**
Without hesitation, Shi Hao leaped onto the peak—a forbidden land no outsider could tread.
But his power was now incomparable. What was once forbidden now felt like flat ground.
An ancient coffin hung from the cliff face.
Now, the coffin was closed, guarded by a terrifying humanoid creature covered in half-foot-long red fur, with black, hook-like nails. Its eyes were shut.
**ROAR!**
Sensing his presence, the crimson-furred creature opened its eyes and let out a deafening cry. Mountains trembled, and distant waves surged, scattering clouds.
This monstrous being was ghastly—its face covered in red fur, its mouth a bloody maw with gleaming white fangs.
Its eyes were crimson, filled with malice.
“Supreme realm,” Shi Hao discerned its cultivation, then nodded, intrigued by what lay within the coffin.
**BANG!**
When the supreme-level fiend pounced, Shi Hao pressed a single finger down, immobilizing it instantly.
“Fellow Daoist, come out and meet me.”
**CLANG!**
The coffin lid flipped open, and a human skin floated out, inflating until it hovered midair. Empty eye sockets gleamed with cold light.
Then, a bloodied, skinless figure sat up from the coffin—the skin belonged to him.
“Fellow Daoist, you should wear your immortal skin,” Shi Hao said calmly.
“Once skinned, wearing it again will not heal me,” came the icy reply.
Yet, the skin merged with the gory flesh, forming an old man whose pores oozed blood—a testament to his brutal death.
“So, ghosts can truly become immortals,” Shi Hao murmured.
“Yes,” came a reply from another peak. A gray-haired figure with deathly gray eyes sat cross-legged atop the mountain.
Shi Hao had noticed him earlier but ignored him.
Long ago, passing through here, he had seen this seated figure and the coffin’s drifting skin, suspecting a ghost had become immortal.
“We have no wish to enter the mortal world. Why have you sought us?”
Then, from a distant peak, a pale-faced woman spoke—another ghost immortal.
“Interesting. How did you achieve immortality?” Shi Hao asked.
“Why should we tell you?” the gray-haired man retorted, suddenly striking at Shi Hao.
**BANG!**
Shi Hao seized his wrist, coldly stating, “I have slain a true immortal and three undying beings. Would you like to test me?”
Silence fell. The three ghost immortals remained quiet for a long time.
“Fellow Daoist, what brings you here?” the elder in the coffin finally asked, the oldest among them.
Seeing Shi Hao’s cold expression, he added, “We are born from immortal corpses, awakened with consciousness. We are not true immortals, but due to this place’s uniqueness, our bodies retain their former power, allowing us to wield immortal might.”
He was candid about their origins.
They were new souls born from immortal corpses—their bodies peerlessly strong, equal to true immortals, but their souls weaker, lacking immortal techniques.
“You possess true immortal power but lack immortal methods. I invite you to leave this mountain. In return, I will grant you immortal scriptures—even immortal king classics!” Shi Hao declared.
The three ghost immortals gasped, their hearts stirred.
After a private discussion, they agreed to follow Shi Hao.
He knew they would only obey while he lived, fearing his might. If he left, they might become a calamity.
But he was unafraid—confident he could suppress them indefinitely.
Fifteen hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.
The Heavenly Court flourished, gathering most of the world’s geniuses, now grown and guarding all corners.
The Seven-Colored Immortal Gold being had emerged, perfected, rivaling immortal experts. It now guarded the dark cosmos, warding off dark creatures while absorbing the essence of sun, moon, and stars to grow stronger.
The heroic spirits, nourished by karmic power, had stabilized their cultivation. Three immortal-level spirits and several nearing true immortality now protected the Heavenly Court.
The three ghost immortals remained dutiful, guarding the borderlands.
And all this time, Shi Hao’s karmic avatar stood watch alongside them.
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