Outside, the various Immortal Kings were left speechless for a long time. Shi Hao had charged into the deepest reaches of the Immortal Domain, faced the legendary creatures that had escaped from the Dark Ancient Palace, and emerged unscathed.
In truth, he had shattered them with sheer force!
He returned victorious, having defeated his foes.
Many sought to question him about the secrets hidden there.
Yet, to their surprise, they learned that Shi Hao had gone into seclusion.
“Secluding himself now—has his origin been wounded?”
“He must be injured. But there are also rumors that he seeks to break through the King realm and become an Emperor!”
Across the Immortal Domain, gasps of shock echoed. Even the Immortal Kings trembled at such news, rising one by one to gaze toward the cosmic sea where Shi Hao resided.
They stood in silence, their eyes unfathomably profound.
What kind of prodigious powerhouse was this? Surging forward with unstoppable momentum, sweeping aside all challengers, rising with unparalleled dominance—and now, was he about to ascend even further?
Whether they were Immortal Kings or the few remaining titans of the Immortal Domain, all had been trapped in the King realm for eons. Some measured their stagnation in epochs, unable to glimpse the path ahead.
Some had attempted to break through, risking everything for a glimpse of the unknown, only to meet their demise.
Others, seeing no hope in this world, chose to “set sail,” crossing the Boundary Sea to reach the other shore.
Yet that journey was equally perilous, a path of near-certain death, where most efforts ended in futility. None who departed had ever returned as Emperors.
“Shi Hao, is he truly willing to stake his life on this? He’s still too young. He should continue to accumulate strength. Rushing like this—if something goes wrong, it would be a tragedy.”
An elder Immortal King spoke gravely.
The ancient beings of the Immortal Domain were deeply concerned, fearing his potential fall. The loss would be immeasurable!
For countless years, Shi Hao had stood against the creatures emerging from the Boundary Sea. He had once faced a titan alone, fought a bloody battle, and slain it, earning immense merit.
His combat prowess was undeniable!
Now, in these turbulent times, as great upheavals erupted frequently, the edges of the Immortal Domain were nearly shattered. If Shi Hao were to perish, the domain would lose an invincible Immortal King.
Today, Shi Hao’s name shook the Immortal Domain. From the lowliest beings to the loftiest powerhouses, none remained unaware of him.
Now, his seclusion sent ripples through all factions, drawing intense scrutiny and anxious anticipation.
Time flowed on. To mortals, it was an age—Shi Hao’s name, once thunderous, gradually faded into legend.
This alone spoke volumes of the passage of time.
Even True Immortals grew weary of waiting.
Ten thousand years… twenty thousand years…
A hundred thousand years slipped by.
During this period, the Immortal Domain witnessed several great wars. Creatures from the Boundary Sea invaded, battles raged, rivers of blood flowed, and the carnage was unspeakable.
In Shi Hao’s absence, people finally realized just how pivotal his role had been.
One of the Immortal Domain’s titans fell, his imprint erased by a terrifying being from the Boundary Sea.
When the wars subsided, the domain lay in ruins, shrouded in gloom and stained with blood. The various clans seized the moment to recuperate, licking their wounds in silence.
By now, many understood—the future was bleak. Perhaps no Immortal King would meet a good end, let alone those beneath them.
Within a stone cave, sealed by a supreme formation, the entrance was veiled in chaotic mist. Inside, terrifying energy pulsed, occasionally erupting like collapsing mountains and roaring seas.
With a *pfft*, blood sprayed from Shi Hao’s lips as his eyes snapped open. The ancient cave was in disarray, the supreme formation cracked, the ground splattered with shocking crimson.
For a hundred thousand years, he had tried relentlessly, charging against the barriers no fewer than ten times, each attempt nearly costing him his life.
Failure after failure cast a shadow over his heart, filling him with torment and helplessness.
Shi Hao had truly given his all. He exhausted every means, hoping to take that final step, to shatter the King realm and ascend as an Emperor—yet he had failed.
And in doing so, he had suffered grievous Dao injuries.
With a sigh, Shi Hao consumed half a stalk of immortal medicine and closed his eyes. Decades later, he awoke, his gaze blazing with renewed vigor.
“This path won’t work!” Shi Hao lamented. Over the past hundred thousand years, he had forced his way through, pushing his cultivation to its peak, tempering his body to surpass even Immortal King weapons in resilience.
Yet, in the end, he had still failed. He had forced his breakthrough, driving his Dao with supreme might, striving for greater heights.
But the backlash had been brutal. Several times, his body had disintegrated. Others, his form and spirit had nearly burned to ashes.
Shi Hao emerged from seclusion, stirring the heavens. Many rushed to him—even the Willow Deity and the Golden Furred Hou—eager to learn the outcome.
Shi Hao shook his head. Though they had braced themselves, a collective sigh escaped them. The path was simply too arduous.
“As long as you’re unharmed!” Shi Zhongtian, his grandfather, said, relieved that Shi Hao hadn’t perished in the attempt.
Since ancient times, nine out of ten who forced a breakthrough had met their end.
Across the Immortal Domain, powerhouses were shaken. Shi Hao’s failure cast a long shadow, making many Immortal Kings question whether the Emperor’s path even existed.
At the same time, they marveled—how had Shi Hao survived such a failure? Truly, he defied the heavens.
Thereafter, Shi Hao visited various powerhouses, stepping into the abodes of Immortal Kings to discuss the secrets of becoming an Emperor.
The Kings welcomed him eagerly.
In these exchanges, Shi Hao traded profound techniques. From an elder Immortal King of a non-True Dragon lineage, he obtained the True Dragon Treasure Art.
He passed it to the Crimson Dragon, though the latter had already deciphered the imprints within his own blood. Comparing the two, he found his own deductions accurate.
Both the Crimson Dragon and the Heavenly Horned Ant had been born with innate deficiencies, sabotaged before birth. Fortunately, they had compensated through later cultivation.
Others among the descendants of ancient powerhouses hadn’t been so fortunate.
Shi Hao’s journey spanned millennia, for some discussions with Immortal Kings led to mutual enlightenment, lasting years, decades, or even centuries.
“If this path has failed, perhaps I should try another,” Shi Hao murmured.
None would have guessed he dared to attempt again—and so soon—to risk death once more in pursuit of the Emperor realm.
This time, however, Shi Hao moved quietly. He left the Immortal Domain, returning alone to the shattered Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
Walking through familiar lands, gazing upon the ruins, he sighed. Over eight hundred thousand years had passed since he entered the Immortal Domain—an eternity of change.
He visited the Lower Eight Regions, where the graves of old were long gone. With a heavy heart, he paid silent respects to the ancient land.
The Nine-Headed Lion, the proud-horned Xiao Tian, the Ghost Elder of the Sky Mending Pavilion, the uncles and elders of Stone Village…
Too many, far too many.
Time was merciless. For mortals, memories would have long faded, but for Shi Hao, the past remained vivid as yesterday.
He traversed the Three Thousand Provinces and the Nine Heavens, all now broken remnants floating in the cosmos, offering tributes and seeking echoes of the past.
The bloodshed, the laughter, the tears, the bitter endings, the heart-wrenching memories—all had scattered like dust, buried in this ancient, desolate land.
In one such place, Shi Hao paused, his divine gaze piercing a patch of scorched earth.
Deep below, a slumbering being stirred, awakened, and burst forth.
“It’s you… it’s really you!”
The Five Elements Mountain, now shattered, had lain buried in the earth’s depths, isolated for ages.
Seeing Shi Hao again, it was first stunned, then awed, and finally overjoyed.
Shi Hao was surprised. Only his profound cultivation—having tread the path toward Emperor—allowed him to sense the cold, hard stone beneath as the Five Elements Mountain.
He recalled the Qin Clan once stood here.
Time had claimed Qin Changsheng long ago.
The Five Elements Mountain, having endured great battles, had fallen here.
“Friend, help me!” the mountain pleaded.
Shi Hao nodded. This was karma—the mountain had once shielded him, and now he repaid the debt.
*Boom!*
Divine light surged as Shi Hao reforged the shattered mountain with supreme Immortal King flames, infusing it with rare treasures.
The Five Elements Mountain was restored, its ancient seals long gone, its body once broken.
“Creatures from the Boundary Sea entered this realm. Some among them were titans, clashing here. I was caught in the crossfire.”
Shi Hao’s eyes turned icy. “Rest assured, a great reckoning approaches. They cannot escape it.”
The devastation of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, the rivers of blood—he would partake in the vengeance.
He asked the mountain its plans.
“I wished to hibernate, but where in this world is safe? I shall follow you to the Immortal Domain.”
Shi Hao tore through the void, sending the mountain to the Heavenly Court, but he himself did not return. Instead, he journeyed onward.
He sought the Burial Grounds, where another Origin Ancient Artifact lay.
“Is this still the desolate borderland?”
Along the way, Shi Hao sighed. Once, this place had been shrouded in mystery, with a towering Imperial Pass guarding the passage to the Foreign Realm.
Now, all lay in ruins.
Amidst the wasteland, bones and relics littered the ground, a scene of desolation.
“Hmm?”
Shi Hao’s eyes sharpened. With a flick of his finger, he split the void, revealing a hidden pocket realm.
Inside, dense immortal energy greeted him—a sealed ancient world.
Ahead, a divine lotus swayed in a pool of azure mist, clearly sentient.
“Who are you?”
The lotus trembled, ripples of divine law intertwining. Though not weak, it remained within the Mortal Dao realm.
Shi Hao’s pupils shimmered with the power of time. Fragments of the past surfaced—he recognized the lotus.
“It’s you,” he murmured, unable to suppress a sigh.
This lotus was connected to him.
Long ago, after the Three Thousand Provinces’ genius competition, envoys from the Nine Heavens selected talents for the Celestial Academy. A trial sent them into the borderlands beyond the Imperial Pass.
Among them was a woman named Qing Xian, who perished on the journey.
Shi Hao had encountered her in her final moments.
Yet, she had defied fate, achieving nirvana and transforming into a seed, begging Shi Hao to plant her here in secret.
“I recall you spoke of a destiny here—a Chaos Azure Lotus. Did you obtain it?” Shi Hao asked.
But Qing Xian was blank. Her rebirth had erased her past.
And in the eons since, she had only recently awakened and grown.
Shi Hao’s gaze pierced the pool’s depths, where a broken Chaos Lotus Seed lay.
He had planted her outside, not within this realm. Someone else must have brought her here.
Was it this mysterious seed?
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