The figure approached from afar, its footsteps carrying an indescribable rhythm, like the beating of a divine drum resonating within one’s heart!
An ordinary deity standing here would have coughed blood and been sent flying under the pressure of those steps. The being was one with heaven and earth, exuding a terrifying aura.
Shi Hao focused intently, his expression grave. He knew he had encountered a fearsome opponent!
Grey mist swirled, as if the netherworld itself had descended, chilling to the bone. Closer now, the figure was humanoid, moving at a deliberate pace yet covering vast distances in an instant, arriving just a hundred zhang away.
The figure halted, its form obscured by the grey fog, revealing only a pair of eyes that pierced through the haze—cold, devoid of pupils or whites, emitting a frigid light.
Even as the mist dispersed, Shi Hao activated his dual-pupil vision but still couldn’t see through it.
The creature’s eyes were like blades, devoid of human emotion or fluctuation, its entire being as cold as stone.
Were it not for the figure standing there, even divine sense would have overlooked it, for it bore no signs of life—no trace of blood or vitality.
“Who are you?” Shi Hao demanded, wary yet determined to understand the anomaly before him.
“Be careful! That thing is here to ruin your Dao foundation. It’s over… another tragedy unfolds. We won’t survive this,” the Void Divine Vine trembled, its voice quivering with fear.
“Stop spouting nonsense!” the Divine Striking Stone snapped.
The grey mist thickened, and the figure loomed like a demon god from hell, its oppressive presence making it hard to breathe.
It remained silent, offering no response, but its gaze grew increasingly terrifying, fixed on Shi Hao like a predator eyeing its prey.
“The Five-Crowned King endured the initial corruption. Why can’t I?” Shi Hao declared, glancing at the Divine Striking Stone and the Void Divine Vine to reassure them.
“This is different. It’s far more dangerous—a physical monster…” The Void Divine Vine wanted nothing more than to flee and never return.
No sound, no breath—the humanoid figure in the grey mist was utterly indifferent, devoid of life’s pulse yet radiating an overwhelming pressure.
**Boom!**
It moved. As its right arm lifted, the grey mist partially dispersed, revealing an ancient spear, its surface mottled with green patina, exuding the weight of ages.
Shi Hao’s heart clenched. This was undoubtedly an ancient weapon, older than anything he had ever seen, as if it had existed since time immemorial.
**Clang!**
The figure’s arm trembled, and the bronze spear emitted a metallic hum, as if echoing from before the dawn of creation, stirring the river of time itself.
In that instant, Shi Hao’s entire body tensed, his hair standing on end—an instinctive reaction to extreme danger. This creature was unnatural.
The void trembled as the figure, standing a hundred zhang away, raised its bronze spear and pointed it at Shi Hao. The very heavens and earth seemed to quake in response.
“Be careful!” the Divine Striking Stone warned.
“If it’s alive, I’ll kill it all the same!” Shi Hao growled. With a sharp **clang**, a gleaming void halberd materialized in his hand, its blade aimed forward.
Yet, when he glanced at the lantern floating above, his eyes flickered. It was a manifestation of rules, marking this place as a coordinate—likely the reason this creature had appeared. Could such a terrifying being even be considered alive?
No matter. There was no time for thought. Only battle remained.
Shi Hao had faced countless life-and-death struggles since his rise, even dying once and being buried in a yellow-earth grave. What was there to fear now, even if this was “corruption”?
**Swoosh!**
The creature lunged, crossing a hundred zhang in an instant, its bronze spear aimed straight for Shi Hao’s brow—swift and lethal.
Shi Hao’s heart pounded. The creature was as fast as him, a bolt of lightning closing the distance in a flash.
**Clang!**
He swung his halberd, its blade cutting through the air like a comet, illuminating the battlefield as it clashed with the spear in a deafening metallic crash.
The impact shook the ancient stone path, distorting space and leaving cracks in the void.
Shi Hao staggered, his arms numb, ears ringing. The force was immense, threatening to shatter his bones and churn his blood.
Anyone else would have had their arm obliterated—this power surpassed the limits of this realm.
**Boom!**
Bracing through the pain, Shi Hao retaliated, swinging his void halberd in a devastating arc that split the sky, leaving a massive rift in its wake.
This halberd, forged from the bones of a void beast, was a treasure of boundless might!
The creature reacted swiftly, gripping its bronze spear with both hands to block the strike head-on.
**Clang!**
The clash was earth-shattering, a collision of raw power and ferocity.
The piercing metallic screech tore through the void, erupting in a blinding light that shook the heavens—a spectacle that would terrify any deity.
Shi Hao’s arms screamed in agony, his palms splitting open, blood dripping from his fingers. This was a contest of pure physical might, and the creature’s strength was monstrous.
He looked up to see the figure also retreating, leaving a pool of black blood on the ground—cold, corrosive, and unsettling.
Its palms had split too, but the blood was black. Unnatural.
Their physical strength was evenly matched.
“Does corruption send different foes based on one’s cultivation level?” Shi Hao narrowed his eyes.
**Swoosh!**
The creature surged forward like an unstoppable flood, its bronze spear a blur as it stabbed at Shi Hao’s vitals—brow, throat, heart—each strike piercing the void with terrifying precision.
The battle was a whirlwind of motion, their movements too fast for the naked eye, only the clashing of their weapons visible amidst bursts of radiant runes.
The metallic clashes merged into a continuous roar, a testament to their blinding speed.
**Clang!**
Finally, another collision sent them flying apart, each landing a hundred zhang away.
“Are you… alright?” the Divine Striking Stone asked nervously.
Beneath Shi Hao’s feet, the ground was stained red with blood from his torn palms and trembling arms.
“I’m fine,” Shi Hao said.
But he wasn’t. The force of their clashes had pushed his body to the brink. Any stronger, and he might have shattered.
This was the most evenly matched physical battle he had ever faced.
Across from him, the grey mist swirled over a pool of black blood—a sight that sent chills down the spine.
“Die!”
Shi Hao roared, golden light erupting from his body as thunder crackled around him. He unleashed his full power, merging his physique with supreme techniques to strike at the creature.
The grey mist churned, the creature’s aura shifting into a black hole that devoured all light, the fog turning ink-black like the gates of hell opening.
**Clang!**
Shi Hao’s halberd met the bronze spear, while his lightning—the Thunder Emperor’s Treasure Art—plunged into the black mist, only to vanish without a trace.
“What?!” Shi Hao was stunned. His lightning, one of the world’s most destructive arts, had been nullified.
**Boom!**
The black mist surged as the creature was sent flying, crashing into the end of the stone path. Yet, the lightning had inexplicably disappeared without harming it.
“How is this possible?” Shi Hao’s pupils blazed with intensity. This was dire.
“Die!”
He charged again, summoning endless lightning to strike the creature, refusing to believe it could negate everything.
But the impossible happened.
The creature mirrored him, unleashing black lightning—equally devastating, equally terrifying—clashing with his own in a cataclysmic explosion.
“No way!” Even the Divine Striking Stone was horrified. How could this foe wield the Thunder Emperor’s Treasure Art?
One side blazed with radiant lightning, the other with black, their techniques eerily similar.
The battle raged, thunder turning the battlefield into a sea of destruction.
Shi Hao’s mind reeled. This creature knew the Thunder Emperor’s Treasure Art—just like him.
Then, as the black mist partially dispersed, he caught a glimpse of the creature’s head—pierced by a short spear, two chi long, rusted with age, driven through its brow and out the back of its skull.
“This…” Shi Hao’s heart raced. Such a wound should be fatal, destroying even the soul.
“Die!”
Ignoring the horror, Shi Hao pressed on, trusting in his strength.
With a roar, he summoned the Kun Peng’s wings, sweeping them forward like heavenly clouds to crush the creature.
**Boom!**
The creature was sent flying, but it quickly rose, unfurling wings of its own—grey-black, reeking of decay—before charging back.
“What?!” Shi Hao’s pupils contracted. Those wings… they carried the aura of the Kun Peng Art.
First the Thunder Emperor’s Treasure Art, now this?
He fought on, using only these two supreme arts, battling for two thousand exchanges until he was drenched in blood and exhausted.
This was a life-or-death struggle, and Shi Hao was shaken to his core.
The creature’s mastery of both arts matched his own.
“I must change tactics!” Shi Hao steeled himself.
“Let’s see if you know all my techniques!”
He ignited his body, runes intertwining as he unleashed every treasure art he had ever learned in a dazzling display.
When his Reincarnation Technique manifested, a foul stench emanated from the creature. Then, the Thunder Emperor’s Treasure Art, Kun Peng Art, Heaven’s Calamity Light—all erupted at once.
**Boom!**
This time, the creature was blasted away, its body cracking under the onslaught.
**Swoosh!**
Shi Hao pursued, halberd in hand, ready to finish it—only to freeze in horror.
The creature had just activated the Reincarnation Technique’s runes.
“Perish!”
Shi Hao moved faster than ever, combining lightning wings, Kun Peng wings, and spatial traversal into one transcendent speed.
**Thud!**
Success!
His halberd pierced the creature’s chest, pinning it to the ground just before its runes fully activated.
As the black mist scattered, Shi Hao saw its face—and his world shattered.
The creature looked just like him, only older, its hair grey, as if it were his future self.
“No… this can’t be!” Shi Hao screamed.
The figure wore ancient attire from the Immortal Ancient Era, and the spear through its brow was impossibly old, thick with rust.
What was happening?
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage