A pair of colossal stone gates blocked the path, flanked by ancient trees—the very trees where the Leviathan Roc had built its nest, standing like an impenetrable wall. The stone gates became the only way forward. “Could it be that we’ve only just now approached the true entrance to the nest?” Though the group had entered long ago, they hadn’t encountered the nesting trees initially, leading them to suspect they were only now nearing the core.
A sea beast emerged, dozens of zhang in length—a half-humanoid whale—that slammed against the gates with tremendous force, yet failed to budge them. Other creatures attempted to carve through the ancient trees, but glyph-light cascaded like water, repelling them all. Then came a silver-furred berserker ape, impatient and furious, summoning its treasure artifact to strike the gates with a thunderous boom, as if the heavens themselves had split.
The Leviathan Roc’s nest trembled, the gates glowing as a vast ripple of energy surged outward, shaking the earth. Countless warriors exploded like fragile bubbles, blood raining down as limbs and bones scattered in a ghastly spectacle. In an instant, at least thirty percent perished, torn apart by the overwhelming force. The survivors recoiled, chilled to the bone, their breath ragged.
“Where did that damned silver ape come from? To provoke the Leviathan Roc’s glyphs—was it seeking death?!” someone finally roared in fury.
Shi Hao, shielded by his broken sword at the rear of the crowd, coughed up blood but survived the devastation. Many others, grievously wounded, staggered back, haunted by the massacre. Those holding fragments of the Leviathan Roc’s bones suffered the least—the glyphs spared them, the relics acting as wards against annihilation.
“Enough concealment,” declared the leaders at the front, a coalition of powerhouses from the ancient divine mountains, their youths radiant with divine brilliance. “Our fragments are too damaged to proceed further. Surely some among you possess Roc bones—especially our allies from the sea clans.”
The Sea Demon Clan stepped forward, offering a golden-black scale, its luster dimmed. Another group produced half a feather, shimmering with sacred light—likely down rather than a true plume. Land-dwelling factions contributed a smear of blackened blood, rumored to be the Leviathan Roc’s own, a treasure of unmatched potency.
As the relics assembled, the gates resonated, emitting a gentle radiance. With a deafening rumble, the sealed nest opened, unleashing a flood of auspicious mist that bathed the land like celestial rain. The crowd surged forward—but Shi Hao held back.
He sensed the peril ahead. Half a month had passed since entering, yet the true depths remained untouched. Rushing in blindly wouldn’t secure the treasure. Instead, he chose to retreat, seeking solitude to temper his restless heart.
The Leviathan Roc’s nest was vast, its walls lush with spirit herbs, each exuding radiant energy. Yet the allure of the core’s secrets kept most from lingering. Shi Hao, however, lingered in the quieter reaches, reflecting on his recent battles.
“I’ve been too fixated,” he murmured. “My Dao-heart wavers. It’s time to still my mind.”
Amidst the nest’s dangers—where even suppressed experts could crush him—he acknowledged his limits. The sea god’s heir, the fire-scale piscine youth, the purebloods of ancient peaks—each was a titan. Rushing would only spell doom.
With newfound clarity, he secluded himself along a secluded path, ascending the nest’s woven branches to meditate. Here, his genius flourished. At just eleven, he’d breached the Transformation Spirit Realm through ten heavenly apertures—a feat that stunned even the ancients.
Now, immersed in cultivation, he refined his insights from countless life-and-death struggles. The Transformation Spirit Realm was about evolution—reshaping the self, igniting the latent spirit in every wisp of energy. His ten apertures blazed, two already nurturing manifestations: a Leviathan Roc and a Thunder Beast, their eyes snapping open as if bestowed with true life.
This was only the beginning. The realm’s mysteries unfolded as Shi Hao shed all distraction, his soul alight with enlightenment. In this rare tranquility, he reforged himself—body and spirit—ascending toward the divine.
The once-restless “holy terror” had found his path anew.
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