Chapter 520: Departure

The ancient Sun Tree trembled, its golden leaves rustling and radiating a brilliant luster, accompanied by a vast, boundless ripple.

One must understand—this tree reached the heavens. Each leaf was immense, large enough to carry entire mountains. Thus, when it swayed, it seemed as if heaven and earth were roaring.

The sky cracked, and the colossal tree bore the World Mountain and the Primordial Chaos Palace, surging into the void!

All the cultivators, however, were shaken off, unable to keep their footing, plunging downward toward the magma sea.

“Is this truly how we depart?” Everyone was stunned. The tree was leaving this world.

They plummeted rapidly, the wind howling past their ears. As they fell, they saw golden leaves drifting like stars; some wished to halt, but could not—they were torn from the tree.

Each leaf bore a nascent star upon it, a marvel beyond imagination.

“I refuse to accept this!” cried one Elder. He had entered the palace, glimpsed two sacred bone scriptures—yet failed to seize them in the end.

Golden mist swirled, radiant light flowed, branches and leaves swayed, and thunderous sound akin to crashing waves erupted outward—sacred, tranquil, yet fearsomely majestic as it erupted into the skies.

Many reaching out mid-fall wished to grasp something, yet none could touch the divine golden tree.

“Boom!”

Its roots tore from the magma sea, sweeping past those falling cultivators—golden root strands gleaming and crystal clear, drawing in essence from all directions. The subterranean magma began to dry.

“Plop!”

At last, all crashed into the sea of molten lava, gazing upward, watching the golden ancient tree fade into the distance, vanishing into a vast rift and disappearing from this realm.

“Why has this happened?!” someone lamented.

“So close to obtaining the two Celestial Sutras! How cruel—it was within reach, yet we could only watch it go!” roared the Elder.

As the golden tree departed, the laws of this land shifted—the magma sea gradually dried, transforming into hard stone ground, and the cultivators found themselves able to fly again.

“Magma essence…” Shi Hao sighed regretfully. As the Sun Tree soared, its great golden roots had siphoned too much vital essence, draining the crimson sea.

A glimmer of golden light vanished into his hair—Shi Zi Teng had returned, once more forming into a golden pearl. At least it remained unharmed.

The ground was scorching, tendrils of smoke rising, lifeless and desolate, like a ruined wasteland.

Roars of Elders echoed, many filled with despair. They had stood on the brink of great fortune, almost within grasp, only to lose it at the last moment.

“So close!” Even Lan Yu, a gentle girl, clenched her fists tightly, her large eyes brimming with regret.

“It must have entered the Upper Realm,” Hong Feng exclaimed with a punch to the sky, eyes filled with disappointment as she gazed upward.

Shui Yue, Xuan Ming, and others had reached the same conclusion. In that fleeting moment, they sensed the familiar breath of the Upper Realm. Unfortunately, they were all cast down and could not follow.

“The Upper Realm is vast. If it entered the Star Graves or Yama Domain, none would be able to pursue it. This tree has sentience—surely it will evade us all,” Bi Gu softly sighed.

“Young brat, this is all your fault! If you had handed over the treasures earlier, none of this would’ve happened!” one Elder spat hatefully at Shi Hao.

They had captured a Golden Crow Elder, hoping he could wield the bone scriptures unharmed, bypassing the mysterious forces within the palace—but it was still too late.

“What does that have to do with me?” Shi Hao cast a cold glance.

“Were it not for you, maybe one of these bone scriptures would’ve been ours!” roared the Golden Giant whose arm Shi Hao had severed. Even gravely wounded, he could not recover quickly—his eyes filled with killing intent.

“Then come and fight if you’re not satisfied!” Now on solid ground, away from the strange forces of the golden tree, Shi Hao was fearless, smiling casually.

“Everyone, let’s unite and subdue him! He gazed upon the bone scriptures closely and surely memorized some of the passages!” hissed the Nine-Headed Snake, its tail missing but still brimming with menace.

As a serpent race, its aura exuded deep chill, its gaze piercing like slithering insects crawling across the skin.

Many eyes lit up. Both ancient scriptures had, indeed, been held by Shi Hao. He had studied them, narrowly escaping injury from the Blue Dragon. Perhaps he really did grasp some of the sacred texts.

“Junior, we ventured the palace together—surely you must share this fortune. Don’t try to keep all the treasures to yourself,” said Zi Jin Ant, stepping forward with several Elders, encircling Shi Hao.

Xuan Ming, Bi Gu, and Shui Yue stood silent, watching from the periphery. They, too, suspected Shi Hao of retaining some knowledge.

“They are Celestial Sutras, not some worms or ants’ legacy. You think merely gazing at them would allow me to memorize the scripture?” Shi Hao retorted mockingly.

All knew that the greater the legacy, the more intricate its glyphs would be. For example, the Kunpeng technique’s core symbol was a single glyph—yet even staring at it revealed endless transformations, like galaxies spinning.

The Nine-Headed Snake and Zi Jin Ant bristled—was Shi Hao not mocking them?

“True, the core glyphs cannot be memorized quickly. But surely the simpler introductory markings might be remembered?” Ironblood Tree declared, advancing threateningly toward Shi Hao.

“None of your damn business! Even if I had, it wouldn’t concern you lot. You were trying to kill me a moment ago—don’t dream of sharing my treasures!” Shi Hao replied flippantly, his youthful temperament shining through.

Surrounding him, they hesitated, hesitant to attack—his prowess had already been proven. But for the sake of the ancient scriptures, none dared hold back.

“Everyone, what are you waiting for? Unleash your ultimate techniques and subdue him! This child has slaughtered many of our realm—he must not escape!” roared the Nine-Headed Snake.

“Shall we strike?” a young genius from the Upper Realm whispered, secretly inquiring others.

“Not yet. Let’s watch for now, neither aiding nor interfering,” Xuan Ming replied.

“You all must decide carefully. Once war begins, it will be to the death—I shall show no mercy!” Shi Hao declared calmly.

The Golden Giant sneered coldly, declaring, “Boy, don’t be arrogant! I will kill you right here!”

Shi Hao’s heart tightened, an instinctive chill racing down his spine. He darted backward thousands of feet in an instant. A dazzling golden beam crashed downward from the sky, striking where he once stood, shattering stone and sending debris flying.

Many cultivators hastily retreated, while the young elites and noble ladies of the Upper Realm were alarmed and fled.

In the sky, a golden island appeared, upon which stood several giants—the source of the earlier beam, its might immense.

“The battle island of the Golden Giants?” gasped a Golden Crow cultivator.

Space trembled, sending forth terrifying force as a massive black mountain flew nearby, inscribed with countless glyphs radiating oppressive might.

“The Snake Mountain of the Nine-Headed Snake race?” an Elder murmured.

“Wzzz!”

A deafening buzz filled the air as a vast ant nest appeared, swarming with winged ants each as large as oxen or horses.

Carved from a hollowed-out meteorite and reinforced with deadly battle arrays, the nest was a formidable war fortress.

More titanic presences emerged around them, looming in the void, exuding dread.

Shi Hao murmured, “So that’s how you gained your courage. I wondered why you were so confident—turns out you secretly summoned your clans, bringing your ultimate weapons.”

Even before these Elders ascended the ancient golden tree, they had prepared countermeasures, calling upon clan Master of Profound Skills for backup—these now appeared instantly on command.

The battle island, ant hive, and snake mountain loomed like a mass of dark clouds, suffocating all below.

Though few Elders arrived personally, the strongest warriors of their races had already entered the golden tree. But these new arrivals brought forth their clans’ great war artifacts!

These battle instruments flew forth, all bearing mighty clan arrays.

“Kill him!” shrieked the Nine-Headed Snake, issuing the order. From the dark Snake Mountain above, eerie beams of light shot forth, serpentine and terrifying.

“Boom!”

From the ant colony surged endless glyphs. The sky filled with swarms of glyph-formed ants—piercing metal and stone, brimming with divine might.

Simultaneously, a powerful aura of vitality surged—the void filled with sprouting seeds, countless young red saplings taking root, intent on burying Shi Hao.

This was the Ironblood Tree Clan’s array—its warriors had arrived.

At this moment, heaven and earth convulsed. A terrifying hunt began, as all Elders focused on Shi Hao, solely for the possibility he had memorized a scrap of Celestial Sutra.

“Stop them too!” an Elder shouted, seeking to also target Lan Yu, Bi Gu, Shui Yue, and others—intending to eliminate all external threats.

Xuan Ming retreated to the edge, activating a jade bridge of stone. The group vanished in a flash beyond the encirclement.

“Still thinking I’m an easy target, huh?” Shi Hao declared, soaring through the sky, dodging deathly radiance, stepping through glyph fields unscathed.

“This is the Azure Tortoise Formation—move left one zhang, forward ten zhang…” echoed the voice of Da Shen Shi from within his hair.

“This battle island uses the Five Elements—enter through the Metal Gate, exit through the Fire Gate…” Da Shen Shi continuously whispered tactics.

Although the great clan arrays filled the sky, for now they could not strike Shi Hao. He moved like a ghost, evading, counterattacking.

“Zzzt!”

In the next instant, Da Shen Shi screamed as it was hurled by Shi Hao like a bolt of lightning, smashing into the Golden Giant’s skull.

“Roar!” Even an Elder, the impact caused blood to stream from his head, his ears ringing, skull crackling.

“Such an iron-hard head! It hurts! Ow!” Da Shen Shi wailed.

The Golden Giant, already furious at losing an arm, now mocked by Shi Hao, became maddened by rage, golden light surging as he struck outward.

Shi Hao waved his hand, Da Shen Shi flew back, then he hurled it again with divine might.

“Crash!”

This time the impact rang louder, like iron being hammered, the reddish-gold stone crashing onto the Golden Giant’s forehead with a metallic clang.

The Golden Giant howled, blood flowing from his forehead, his skull cracked wide open, nearly splitting to the brain.

Shi Hao was astonished. After absorbing divine essence from the Stone Kingdom palace and absorbing vast magma, Da Shen Shi had evolved to such a level—it was truly the root of a divine treasure.

“Whoosh!”

Next, Shi Hao became a flying arrow. Under Da Shen Shi’s guidance, he transformed into a ray of light, launching forward unleashing his most powerful fist.

In that moment, he resembled the Kunpeng soaring, or the Kun swallowing the heavens. His body stretched, his right fist ablaze with divine flame, as if wielding cosmic might, crashing forward in a cataclysmic strike.

“Pfft!”

Though the Golden Giant resisted with all his might, his single arm spasmed, his strength insufficient. He exploded, slain by Shi Hao’s fist.

Swiftly, Shi Hao appeared beside Zi Jin Ant, engaging in brutal close combat. Both possessed terrifyingly strong bodies—though only a zhang long, Zi Jin Ant’s strength surpassed the Golden Giant’s.

It was a savage, unrelenting clash of flesh and bone!

Eventually, Zi Jin Ant trembled violently, its body riddled with fractures, coughing blood as it retreated.

“Zzzt!”

Shi Hao swung his palm, slicing off its head, sealing its body into his space pouch—it was a treasure of flesh and blood.

“Roar!” The Nine-Headed Snake raged, attacking wildly—but Shi Hao swept his palm in a cycle strike, shrinking it instantly. Then, with his bare hands, he tore off its nine heads and ended its life.

“Roar!” Ironblood Tree roared in fury—but after fierce battle, it was finally cleaved apart by Shi Hao’s grass-sword technique.

Shi Hao broke through, leaving a trail of carnage, slaying the mightiest enemies and stunning all.

The war islands, snake mountains, and ant nests of the various clans retreated. Prolonged battle was pointless—it would only result in unnecessary bloodshed.

Shi Hao transformed into a streak of light, vanishing into the horizon. Soon, he arrived at a land where a grand formation radiated chaotic essence—the place where his parents and younger brother were sealed.