“How is this possible?!” Xue Lin’s beautiful eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the sacred, radiant half-corpse, momentarily stunned.
“Silverie, nothing’s impossible,” Shi Hao quipped carelessly, accidentally slipping out the nickname again. Before he could correct himself, he noticed Xue Lin was still dazed, oblivious to his “slip of the tongue.”
“No, it can’t be an immortal. Legends say even a dead true immortal is untouchable. If we were this close, we’d be pulverized—immortal runes would annihilate everything.” After a long silence, Xue Lin finally spoke, her voice trembling.
Shi Hao sighed and confessed the truth: the immortal body had been struck by a palm, its internal patterns shattered and erased.
The remaining half of the immortal corpse had long lost its flesh, leaving only bones as white as jade, radiating a hazy glow that felt like a divine spring breeze.
“Don’t underestimate it. Though the runes are gone and most of its essence has faded, it still carries dense immortal energy. Cultivating with it offers endless benefits—you might even ascend the path of evolution and become a true Heavenly Phoenix,” Shi Hao tempted her.
Xue Lin was indeed shocked. These guys were outrageous—devouring the sacred beast of the temple, stewing the Fallen God’s scion, and now producing half an immortal corpse. It was mind-boggling.
“Could I trade this immortal body for that piece of news?” Shi Hao asked eagerly, his thoughts fixated on the Supreme Hall. From the lower realm to the upper, their paths had crossed, yet he’d never laid eyes on it.
Now, as the inheritor of the Supreme Dao Field, his longing burned fiercer.
“You’ll likely be disappointed,” Xue Lin sighed softly.
“What, was it just a rumor?” Shi Hao’s heart sank.
“No, I truly saw it—a massive black tortoise carrying an ancient hall, shrouded in chaos, piercing through the world’s barrier into the upper realm,” she murmured, her gaze distant as she recalled the awe-inspiring sight.
“Where was it?” Shi Hao pressed.
“A valley. I memorized the location, but word leaked when I sought my clansmen, drawing pursuit.”
Shi Hao knew the rest—he’d saved her.
“Later, I returned to my clan. Our ancient ancestor emerged from seclusion and rushed there…”
But the Supreme Hall was gone. The tortoise and its ancient burden had vanished.
“Alas!” Shi Hao sighed.
“My ancestor is no ordinary being. He’s lived for eons, his power shaking the ages, rivaling even the strongest of the Immortal Palace,” Xue Lin said.
“Did he… discover anything?” Shi Hao asked.
“Yes. Tracing faint clues, he found the Supreme Hall had ventured deep into the untamed wilderness. That… dashed many hopes. Who dares go there?” Xue Lin sighed, her regret palpable.
“I’ll go there eventually!” Shi Hao clenched his fists, demanding coordinates.
“In the most perilous zone. My ancestor said the Supreme Hall likely headed toward the Oathbound Ancient City.”
“What?!” Shi Hao’s mind reeled. An ancient city in the wilderness?
Even Qing Yi and the little rabbit were stunned, pressing for details.
“I don’t know what this ‘ancient city’ is. My ancestor mentioned it briefly before retreating into seclusion,” Xue Lin admitted.
“Oathbound Ancient City…” Shi Hao muttered, connecting it to the ancient oath. Was that where the legendary pact was made? His thoughts spiraled—borderlands, the Sinful Blood Seven Kings, the mysterious war, the black ark, immortals…
Everything seemed linked, a thread weaving through the chaos.
Shaking his head, he forced himself back to reality.
“I’ll go there one day—see this so-called ancient oath for myself!” he vowed.
Compared to his grander thoughts, this was a modest goal.
But to the upper realm’s denizens, it was earth-shattering. Who could reach such a place? Few in history had safely traversed the wilderness’s depths.
“Thank you for your hospitality. I must leave to cultivate in seclusion,” Xue Lin bid farewell.
“Wait, don’t you want payment?” Shi Hao pointed to the immortal corpse, offering a share.
“My news won’t help you. Who can enter the wilderness’s heart, let alone approach some ancient city?” She shook her head.
Cao Yusheng, Qing Yi, and the little rabbit sighed. The wilderness was a mystery, ten times vaster than the three thousand provinces, its depths unexplored.
Shrouded in mist and dread, it housed intact immortal corpses, living true dragons, phoenix nests, and supreme races.
A forbidden realm.
Without a guide, who could enter—let alone reach the fabled city?
“I’ll go there. Once I leave the Ancient Immortal Realm and settle scores, I’ll conquer it!” Shi Hao declared.
The little rabbit stared at him like he was mad, earning a flick on the forehead that made her yelp.
“Stay with us. Cultivate using the immortal aura,” Shi Hao invited Xue Lin.
“I…” She hesitated.
“Sister, stay. We can’t use all this immortal essence alone,” the rabbit chimed in.
They chose a serene land, rich in spiritual energy, to cultivate.
Flowers bloomed, birds sang, and the earth pulsed with vitality.
The Divine Striking Stone and Cao Yusheng set up wards to conceal the immortal aura, then began their seclusion.
Seeing Shi Hao enveloped in immortal qi, the others were inspired.
Even the Divine Striking Stone and the Imperial Butterfly joined, absorbing traces of the aura.
“Huh, it’s working!” Shi Hao marveled. After refining the Fallen God’s scion’s qi, progress had stalled. But now, his own qi thickened, growing more serene and sacred.
Days later, he realized the corpse’s radiance no longer aided him—his qi had peaked.
“Perfection!” He opened his eyes. Further growth required a second strand of immortal qi.
As for fusing the bones into himself? Never. Even if they bore runes, he’d refuse. His path was pure self-cultivation.
“Without that breakthrough, we can’t retain the immortal essence,” Xue Lin lamented.
Though the light nourished them, it slipped away—their mortal frames couldn’t hold it.
Yet their bodies gleamed like jade, tempered by the ordeal.
Shi Hao emerged first, his qi complete.
Testing it, he found it self-replenishing, needing no external source.
Qing Yi and Cao Yusheng followed.
“Gains were made, but the breakthrough is key. Otherwise, the qi slips through us,” Cao Yusheng said, vowing to advance in the Array Realm before leaving.
“The corpse is useless to me now. Take it,” Shi Hao offered, seeking deeper truths in prolonged seclusion.
“Good. It might aid my breakthrough,” the chubby lad said, departing with the relic.
Qing Yi needed no help—her battle was with her main self.
The rabbit, on her own path, eyed Shi Hao’s herbs, eager to plant them all.
“Till we meet again!” Xue Lin transformed into a radiant bird and soared away.
Qing Yi, ethereal in white, vanished like a breeze.
“Carry the herbs if you’re tagging along,” Shi Hao indulged the rabbit, entrusting her with his treasures.
Her presence was also protection—against the elusive Heaven Kingdom’s top assassin, whom only he could counter.
Qing Yi, with her Blue Moon Flame, was safe. Cao Yusheng, armed with the third-deadliest array, could hold his own.
Back on the three thousand stone paths, flames erupted, engulfing the sky.
“Monster!” The rabbit gaped from afar with the Divine Striking Stone and Imperial Butterfly.
Shi Hao had returned, igniting the paths to their zenith.
Days passed, the inferno raging as he sat unscathed, his immortal qi pristine.
“The path ends here. This place no longer serves me,” he murmured, donning his armor.
He’d foreseen this, telling Qing Yi and Cao Yusheng to seek him elsewhere if he departed.
Elsewhere, in a blood-soaked battlefield, a skull loomed mountain-high.
A figure sat atop it, a blood-dripping sword across his lap. Below, the Heaven Kingdom’s top assassin knelt, reporting on Shi Hao.
This was one of the ancient freaks, a terror even Ten Crown Kings and Ning Chuan would dread.
In another land, wreathed in deathly fog, the Dark Divine Son stood like a demonic peak, his gaze piercing life and death.
“Since all seek Shi Hao’s death, let it be done,” he declared, his aura shattering the void.
Elsewhere, the ancient freak Jun Dao vowed, “Fallen God’s scion, we’ll avenge you with a grand stroke.”
Whispers spread: “Shi Hao’s doomed. Once found, he’s finished.”
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