The three thousand bluestone paths, now devoid of the Dao flames, had returned to their serene silence.
The paths stretched long and deep, three thousand of them running side by side, their profound and distant aura so quiet that even the drop of a needle could be heard, calming the hearts of those who walked them.
Shi Hao turned back, preparing to leave. This place had nurtured one of his strands of immortal qi. Over the two years he had spent in the Immortal Ancient, most of his time had been devoted to this place, reaping immense rewards.
This was merely the gateway into the Immortal Ancient. Countless people had passed through here since ancient times, yet none had lingered. Yet he had chosen to seclude himself here, making it his path of cultivation.
“Hurry up, what are you dawdling for?” The little rabbit cheerfully hugged a purple-gold carrot—actually a sacred ginseng—munching on it happily.
Shi Hao remained silent for a long while before finally turning to the Divine Striking Stone. “How long would it take to set up some formations?”
“Not long. Last time, to deal with the final eerie and ominous forces, we carved an unparalleled killing formation, but it wasn’t used. The formation flags and platforms are still intact,” the Divine Striking Stone replied, puzzled by his question.
“Good. Rearrange them—make sure they’re the strongest, the most lethal!” Shi Hao declared.
“Here? Aren’t we leaving? This is just a waste!” the Divine Striking Stone protested. Though their current wealth was “insanely” abundant, with divine materials piled high, such extravagance was unnecessary.
“It’s fine. The treasures of the Fallen Divine Child, the inheritor of the Immortal Palace, and Jun Dao have all fallen into our hands. Mountains of rare materials are just sitting there—they should be put to use,” Shi Hao said.
The Divine Striking Stone was no saint either. After a brief complaint, it realized his intentions and let out a sinister chuckle.
Shi Hao laughed too, the sound echoing along the three thousand bluestone paths.
The little rabbit flicked her waist-length silver hair, glaring with ruby-like eyes. “You two are no good people!”
Numerous platforms and formation flags were swiftly arranged along the bluestone paths, transforming the area into a perilous maze of deadly formations.
Shi Hao personally crafted a lifelike statue of himself, infused with great power, and placed it at the center of the formation, its back turned to the myriad minor worlds of the Immortal Ancient.
“Set up a concealment formation—one that even the Heavenly Eye can’t penetrate,” Shi Hao instructed the Divine Striking Stone, tasking it with surrounding the statue with layers of deception.
“That’s tricky,” the Divine Striking Stone muttered, reluctantly pulling out a formation flag looted from the Immortal Palace’s inheritor and deploying it with great reluctance.
This flag bore the mark of immortal techniques, brought from the Immortal Palace, its craftsmanship akin to the formations set by the Willow Deity in Stone Village.
“You’ve confiscated so many platforms and flags—use a few more to avoid exposure,” Shi Hao urged.
“Not a chance! One is wasteful enough. I need to study the rest!” the Divine Striking Stone refused outright, ordering Shi Hao to test the formation from afar with his Heavenly Eye.
“Huh, it works,” Shi Hao remarked in surprise.
“Of course! Who do you think did this? It’s not about the number of flags but how they’re arranged. The Immortal Palace’s inheritor was an amateur. In my hands, their value increases tenfold!” the Divine Striking Stone boasted narcissistically.
Layer upon layer of killing formations engulfed the statue, obscuring it from sight.
“Still not enough. We need formations that lure or forcibly teleport anyone approaching into this trap.”
Shi Hao’s demands once again put the Divine Striking Stone to work.
Finally, the Divine Striking Stone personally set up multiple layers of illusionary and concealment formations at the outermost perimeter, making everything ahead vanish entirely.
“You two are real scoundrels!” the little rabbit judged.
“Those without ill intent will notice nothing. Only those who target me, expending great effort to track me down, will detect the flaw and realize there’s a hidden realm where someone is secluded,” Shi Hao said calmly.
“Let’s go!” Shi Hao waved, departing the bluestone paths with the little rabbit, the Divine Striking Stone, and the Imperial Butterfly, vanishing without a trace.
###
The Frost Realm—a minor world within the Immortal Ancient, a place of extreme cold and terror.
The moment they stepped into this world, the little rabbit shrieked. The cold was unbearable, piercing to the bone, her breath freezing into ice shards that clattered to the ground.
The earth was cracked and frigid, the rocks and soil frozen solid. This was a silent, deathly cold world.
And this was precisely Shi Hao’s destination. He intended to use another treasure here, secluding himself to cultivate his second strand of immortal qi. After careful consideration, this world seemed the most suitable.
“It’s so cold!” the little rabbit whined. The chill was unnatural, seeping through divine power to freeze one’s very bones.
“You’re a Moon Jade Rabbit—shouldn’t you be resistant to cold?” Shi Hao teased.
“Oh, right.” For once, the little rabbit didn’t argue. Closing her eyes, she murmured, “Could there be a supreme Yin treasure here?”
Ordinary cold couldn’t harm her—only something beyond her imagination could.
“Yin power can transform into water, nourishing all things. It complements my natural path,” she muttered.
Venturing deeper into this freezing world, Shi Hao headed straight for the coldest heart of the land.
“Gods, what kind of place is this? Even divine corpses are frozen and shattered!” the Divine Striking Stone exclaimed, spotting dismembered bodies frozen apart.
Ahead, snowflakes as large as goose feathers swirled in the air, the biting cold slicing like blades.
As they drew closer, the terror of this ancient land became apparent. The snowflakes contained divine power—even murderous intent—chilling the soul.
This was no ordinary snow.
The blizzard blotted out the sky, a vast expanse of white, carrying an oppressive killing aura.
“Ouch! Is this even snow?”
After traveling dozens of miles, snowflakes the size of basins pelted down, followed by icy blades raining from the sky, infused with divine power.
“This damned place is haunted!” the little rabbit gritted her teeth. Though she had been sensing the Frost Realm’s essence, she found nothing unusual.
The Imperial Butterfly, upon arrival, gorged on semi-divine fruits before unexpectedly spinning silk around itself, entering hibernation.
Shi Hao stared in disbelief. “It turned into a butterfly and now it’s cocooning again?”
A vast snowy mountain range stretched before them, the blizzard sealing the land for thousands of miles.
This was the heart of the Frost Realm.
Along the way, a peculiar sight caught their attention—numerous snowmen standing in an icy cavern, their forms lifelike within the translucent ice.
“Something’s off.”
Shi Hao frowned, flicking his sleeve to disperse the snow covering the figures, revealing frozen corpses—men and women, all deities long dead.
Outside the cavern, gusts of wind and snow periodically swept in, burying them anew.
“So many divine corpses!” The little rabbit gasped, sensing the danger. Among them were even True Gods, yet they too had perished.
“Could there be Frost Immortal Stones or Supreme Yin Source Stones here?” The Divine Striking Stone, far from afraid, grew excited, declaring it was ready to carve a path into the depths with its killing formations.
After observing for a while, they pressed onward.
The icy wilderness stretched endlessly, the snowfall so heavy at times that entire waves of snow crashed down.
“Ahhh! I can’t take it anymore!” the little rabbit cried. The cold penetrated divine power, freezing the soul itself.
“Almost there. We’re nearing the mountain’s center,” Shi Hao assured her.
Along the way, they uncovered more corpses buried in the snow—beings of various races.
“Look! In this cave, there are elders, children, even infants!” the Divine Striking Stone exclaimed.
Passing a cavern, they were shocked to find what appeared to be indigenous people—a tribe with human forms but scaled horns, all frozen to death.
Exploring further, they uncovered an entire frozen settlement, its structures encased in ice, every inhabitant lifeless.
It was as if an inexplicable cold had struck, freezing even deities in place, preserving them in their final moments.
“How strange!”
Shi Hao discovered a damaged altar, where a group of beautiful maidens had been offering sacrifices. Frozen in crystal-clear divine ice, they stood as if alive, their slender legs and flawless skin untouched by decay.
“Look—this tribe was massive. They all seemed joyous before death, as if expecting something, only to be inexplicably frozen and wiped out,” the little rabbit noted gravely.
*Hum!*
At that moment, the Great Luo Immortal Sword at Shi Hao’s side suddenly glowed, emitting a soft hum.
Simultaneously, the entire snowy mountain range erupted in radiant light, beams of terrifying power shooting skyward like immortal ascension, sacred and awe-inspiring!
“Immortal Dao aura?!” Shi Hao was stunned. The strand of immortal qi around his body also resonated, coiling around him in response.
###
“Annihilate the Desolate One! Clear his path!”
“Move out!”
…
Outside, forces from different minor worlds mobilized, converging toward a single destination—to slay the Desolate One.
Across the Immortal Ancient, only a few with sharp instincts caught wind of the news, shocked by the scale of what was unfolding.
“Heavens! Ancient freaks are leading the charge, uniting to suppress the Desolate One. Something monumental is about to happen!”
“Where are they headed?”
“Some saw them heading for the three thousand bluestone paths. By now, even if someone wanted to warn him, it’s too late—they’ve arrived!”
Dark mist churned as the Nether Clan’s forces gathered before the bluestone paths, oppressive and foreboding.
Behind them stood the Dark Divine Child, his towering form like a demonic mountain, his flesh radiating mysterious runes that cracked the void around him!
From another direction, the assassins of the Celestial Nation appeared, their leader—one of the most feared beings of the Immortal Ancient—perched atop a skull larger than a mountain.
Elsewhere, Jun Dao accompanied another figure, followed by a host of experts.
…
The crowd grew, their killing intent overwhelming.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage