Within the Burial City, some beings exuded eerie auras, swiftly vanishing from the range of Shi Hao’s divine sense. Clearly, they were extraordinary figures, making it difficult to gauge their intentions for the moment.
“Not necessarily ancient freaks—they could be natives. Those people are formidable,” Cao Yusheng remarked.
Shi Hao nodded. At this stage, having cultivated a strand of immortal qi, he stood above the rest. Even if danger arose, he could retreat without much concern.
“The Temple’s people left without approaching,” Qing Yi said, sensing an impending storm. A world-shaking battle might be on the horizon.
The golden-striped white tiger was a sacred beast of the Temple. Its death would not go unanswered.
Shi Hao did not pursue. Those individuals were beneath his notice—only the Ancient Holy Son warranted attention. Even if that one took a step forward, should he dare appear, Shi Hao would deliver a surprise.
After all, he had already cultivated a strand of immortal qi.
“The Temple is truly terrifying. Their *Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Scripture* is hailed as the supreme inheritance of the cosmos, unparalleled,” Cao Yusheng said.
Shi Hao nodded, having already gleaned some understanding of this ancient lineage.
The temple itself was not grand in size, yet it had endured since antiquity, enshrining three divine statues.
Legends spoke of these three indestructible effigies, representing the pinnacle of strength. Some claimed they were immortal lords from the Immortal Ancient Era, others said they were destined-to-be-eternal divine ancestors from the Age of Divinity, and still others believed they were future Heavenly Emperors, invincible across heaven and earth.
The Burial City bustled with dense markets and crowds. By now, the secret of immortal treasures within this minor realm had spread, drawing countless beings.
Stalls lined the streets, displaying all manner of rare and exotic goods as cultivators bartered for their needs.
Within the city, vast stretches of dark-red mountainous terrain stretched out—stained by immortal blood, remnants of ancient battles. Many beings roamed these lands, searching for something.
“The underground here is the most extraordinary. Someone once unearthed half of an immortal scripture,” Cao Yusheng explained.
Moreover, it was said that the Ten Crown King had discovered the immortal sapling thanks to vague records on an ancient jade scripture found here. His subsequent search had borne fruit.
Thus, beings from the outside world swarmed into the Burial City, all seeking great fortune.
This was also a place where natives exchanged goods, making it exceptionally lively.
Suddenly, Shi Hao looked up, sensing something amiss. A chilling sensation inexplicably crept over him.
“Move back!”
With a shout, he flicked his sleeve, sending Little Rabbit and the others far into the sky, away from the area.
This sensation was profoundly mystical. Having cultivated a strand of immortal qi, his divine intuition had sharpened to an extreme, granting him premonitions of danger before it struck.
Silently, space split open, and a streak of bloody light swept through the area.
At first, it emitted no fluctuations—only when Shi Hao moved to intercept it did vast ripples erupt.
It was unbearably sharp, a crimson tide of slaughter. This was a red bone sword, carved like jade, its killing intent as vast as an ocean.
In that instant, the entire market froze. The temperature plummeted, and many found themselves paralyzed, as if time had stopped.
“How is this possible?” Their hearts screamed, yet they could not break free.
If outsiders suffered so, Shi Hao at the epicenter faced boundless killing intent—ruthless, icy, and laden with endless runic laws.
Anyone else would have been slain outright. But Shi Hao, with a mighty exertion, shattered the restraint.
Silence reigned. Only he and the blood sword could move, while others seemed frozen in time.
*Clang!*
Shi Hao swung his sword embryo against the blood sword, the impact deafening.
“Celestial God bone!”
His heart shook. This sword was forged from the primal bone of a Celestial God. Only one such bone could craft a single sword—a terrifyingly extravagant weapon.
Had his sword embryo not been extraordinary, that strike would have been disastrous. This was a Celestial God artifact!
Though the bone paled in material compared to the Great Luo Immortal Sword, it was imbued with dreadful laws, using runes to protect itself and assail Shi Hao’s supreme sword embryo.
This was a clash of Great Luo Immortal Gold against divine law!
The immortal gold possessed unique properties, preserving the sword embryo from damage.
Even so, Shi Hao summoned his alchemy furnace for defense. After all, this was a Celestial God artifact—its laws were too fearsome!
Shielded by the furnace and wielding his sword embryo, he slashed at the crimson bone.
By now, the crowd could move again, scrambling back in fear of being caught in the battle.
*Hum!*
The crimson bone sword dripped blood, unmistakably the work of the Heavenly Nation. It radiated unparalleled fluctuations, shaking the area.
“Hmm?”
The sword was strange, absorbing power from the void, its runes growing ever stronger.
Shi Hao’s heart chilled. He swiftly cleaved the void with his sword embryo, aiming to banish the weapon, and shouted, “Everyone, retreat!”
*Boom!*
The area exploded as the blood-dripping sword ignited, erupting in a dazzling burst.
The Heavenly Nation’s assassins were ruthless—to kill Shi Hao, they sacrificed a Celestial God artifact, seeking mutual destruction.
When the dust settled, the market had been flattened.
Blood pooled on the ground. Many had perished, despite most having fled in advance. The casualties were still severe.
And this was after Shi Hao had forced the blood sword into the void. Had it detonated freely, the devastation would have been unimaginable.
“Madmen! The Heavenly Nation is full of lunatics, willing to detonate a Celestial God artifact just to kill their target, slaughtering so many in the process,” the Divine Striking Stone raged, nearly caught in the blast.
“They’re fanatics, stopping at nothing to achieve their goals. No rules bind them,” Cao Yusheng said.
Shi Hao’s expression darkened. Though unharmed, his robes were tattered. At the critical moment, he had sliced open the void and escaped.
“The Heavenly Nation—none shall live. Every one of them in the Immortal Ancient Realm will be slaughtered!” Shi Hao declared, his gaze icy.
The next moment, he vanished, tearing through the void with his sword embryo, scouring hundreds of miles for traces of his assailants.
*Thud!*
In the Burial City, heads fell from the void, landing in other markets, eliciting gasps.
One after another, six heads rolled onto the streets, staining them crimson.
Then Shi Hao appeared, descending. His sensitivity to Heavenly Nation assassins had led him to six lurking nearby.
Regrettably, the prime hunter had already fled using a boundary-breaking talisman.
“He knew his limits. This market was full of outsiders, not natives, so he struck coldly without fear of reprisal,” Cao Yusheng noted.
This area housed only outsiders, sparing the mysterious local tribes—whose settlements were guarded by terrifyingly powerful figures.
“Dare to return?”
Shi Hao roared, hair whipping in the wind, his gaze piercing. Sword in hand, he shot skyward, splitting the void.
A flash of white—a bone banner emerged, exuding eerie fluctuations to suppress Shi Hao.
Below, the crowd scattered, fleeing to other markets.
*Boom!*
The sky blazed white. A mountain of bones loomed faintly, countless wraiths wailing upon it, their cries shaking the heavens as nether mist blotted out the sun and moon.
“A Netherworld secret treasure!” Qing Yi exclaimed.
Forged from countless bones and souls, this artifact manifested a killing field to trap and slay Shi Hao.
*Crack!*
Shi Hao advanced fearlessly, the alchemy furnace above his head, runes shielding him as his sword embryo shattered the killing field, severing the central bone banner and dismantling the formation.
This was peerless valor!
“Another Celestial God artifact destroyed like it’s nothing!” the Divine Striking Stone marveled.
“The Great Luo Immortal Sword lives up to its legend. Even without Celestial God-level patterns, it’s peerlessly dazzling!”
“And that alchemy furnace is equally mysterious.”
“Wrong. The most crucial factor is Shi Hao’s own strength.”
Qing Yi, Little Rabbit, and Cao Yusheng exchanged thoughts.
The Netherworld had struck, aiming to annihilate Shi Hao in his moment of respite after the earlier ordeal. Yet they failed to so much as scratch him.
With his strand of immortal qi, Shi Hao’s divine intuition was razor-sharp, rendering most assassinations futile.
“Brother, your valor is unmatched in this era. Admirable!”
A man approached, clasping his fists with a smile.
He appeared in his thirties, with gray wings on his back and dragon horns atop his head—clearly no ordinary being.
Faced with such courtesy, Shi Hao reciprocated the greeting.
Cao Yusheng, Qing Yi, and the others joined, eyeing the newcomer.
“This is no place to talk. Might we speak elsewhere?” The man, introducing himself as Long Yu, extended a sincere invitation.
They adjourned to a quiet tavern to converse.
“Brother Huang, your fame precedes you. I am in awe,” Long Yu said, cutting to the chase. “In truth, I come on behalf of my master, seeking an alliance.”
“Who is your master?” Shi Hao asked.
“Jun Dao,” he whispered.
Qing Yi, Cao Yusheng, and Little Rabbit started. Even Shi Hao’s expression shifted. He knew of the ancient freaks, names like the Ten Crown King and Six Crown King Ning Chuan, legends who dominated their eras.
Others, like the youth Duan Hong, had reigned supreme in the Immortal Ancient Realm without even igniting their divine flames.
Jun Dao of the Frozen Wasteland and Gu Jian Yun of the Sword Valley were also famed ancient freaks, having emerged multiple times.
“Why ally with me?” Shi Hao asked.
“Mutual support beats fighting alone,” Long Yu said with a smile, hesitating before adding, “Truthfully, your situation is precarious. The Netherworld, Heavenly Nation, and Temple are titanic forces. Their strongest have allied against you.”
He delivered the news earnestly—the three factions had joined hands.
“If my position is so dire, why ally with me? Wouldn’t that invite disaster?” Shi Hao pressed.
“We believe in your potential to soar. Moreover, our relations with them are… strained.”
“Would our alliance suffice to eliminate them?” Shi Hao asked calmly, meeting his gaze.
“Our side is formidable, with no shortage of experts. And the Fallen Godchild is on the verge of his final breakthrough.”
“The Fallen Godchild…” Shi Hao’s eyes narrowed. He knew the name—this was the one who had humiliated and driven away his two senior brothers from the Supreme Dao Field.
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