At the Gate of the Spirit Realm, a group of people stood frozen, their hair standing on end, their scalps tingling with terror. A chilling dread crept up their spines, leaving them utterly horrified!
Who was that? A young lord from the Immortal Domain, known as Yi Hai, rumored to be a renowned figure in another world, an outstanding disciple of a great sect.
But what had he encountered on his way to the Lower Realm? He had been ambushed!
On the ground, scattered like snowflakes tinged with crimson, lay his shattered teeth—a gruesome sight. A powerful expert had been struck so brutally that most of his teeth were knocked out. This spoke volumes.
Had he not faced extreme peril, how could this have happened? It was a disgrace. One would rather suffer injuries elsewhere than take a blow to the face.
“That’s a finger bone, shattered and flung all the way here!”
They recoiled in unison. What kind of devastating strike had Yi Hai endured? Even his finger bones had been broken and sent flying, crashing against the Gate of the Spirit Realm!
Their hearts trembled with fear. How could they not be terrified? The young lord from the Immortal Domain had barely entered when he met such a gruesome fate—truly a cause for alarm.
Who was blocking him? Had he truly encountered one of the Lower Realm’s great terrors?
Most beings from the Upper Realm knew little about the Lower Realm, only that it was a land of exile, imprisoning ancient criminals and the most malevolent creatures.
The less they knew, the more exaggerated the rumors became. Some even claimed that beings suppressed since the Immortal Ancient Era still lurked there, waiting to break free.
In truth, some of these tales weren’t entirely baseless. For instance, among the Ten Great Evils, some had survived into the Primordial Era of this epoch and had been sighted in the Lower Realm.
“Quick, go call for help!”
“Report this to the sect leaders!”
Panic-stricken, they shouted in chaos. Many of the quicker-witted turned and fled, eager to escape this cursed place.
“Just a few should go! Not all of you!” an elder barked.
But no one listened. In an instant, more than half had scattered in all directions. Even the elder, his skin crawling with dread, eventually fled as well.
Because, in that very moment, a blood-curdling roar erupted from the Gate of the Spirit Realm—like the wail of a savage beast’s tormented soul.
“Aoooo—”
Another agonized scream echoed, so piercing that even those who had fled far from the gate couldn’t suppress their shivers.
Many had escaped, but half were forced to remain, watching from a distance, fearing punishment from their sect leaders if they abandoned their post.
“Heavens! Has Lord Yi Hai descended into hell? Why is he screaming like this?”
“I think the Lower Realm might be connected to the Gates of Hell, burying prehistoric horrors. Now, they might be breaking free from their seals.”
Trembling, they were utterly terrified.
Even a renowned young expert from the Immortal Domain had met disaster here, screaming in a way no human should. How could they not be terrified?
Meanwhile, atop the Bronze Sparrow Altar, Yi Hai staggered backward, drenched in blood, enduring the darkest day of his life.
Never before had he felt such humiliation and fury. He was no match for that creature—beaten mercilessly, his body nearly shattered.
This was a crushing defeat unlike any he had ever known.
In the Immortal Domain, he was a celebrated prodigy. Even when pursued by rivals, he had never suffered such a devastating loss.
The shame was unbearable. That human youth struck with ever-increasing force, overwhelming him—shattering his jaw, crushing his palms, piercing his chest clean through.
Was this even human? He wanted to curse, to rage. Never had he encountered such a brutal human cultivator. Even the most savage races in the Immortal Domain lacked such monstrous strength.
It felt as if he wasn’t fighting a living being, but a barrage of shrunken stars—retaining their mass—pummeling him relentlessly.
**Boom!**
Another fist descended. Yi Hai raised his mangled arms in defense, only for them to explode in a spray of blood—too gruesome to behold.
His ears rang, his vision blurred, his breath choked. Blood seeped from his ears, nose, and eyes—his seven orifices on the verge of rupturing from the sheer force.
“Aaaaaah—!” Yi Hai howled like a beast in its death throes.
He was losing his mind. After the initial hundred exchanges, where he had held some advantage, he had been utterly overwhelmed, suffering grievous wounds with every blow.
His bones cracked and reformed, his flesh wriggled as he regenerated shattered limbs and a ruined jaw—again and again.
Yet, it was futile. His hands were pulverized repeatedly, the pain driving him to the brink of madness.
In his eyes, even the young heirs of the ancient orthodoxies in the Immortal Domain might not suppress Shi Hao. This “wild one” was too unnatural, too terrifyingly strong.
He even suspected Shi Hao had surpassed human limits, unlocking abnormal potential.
In his understanding, the peerless experts of the Immortal Domain had always emerged from rare, extraordinary bloodlines—invincible by nature.
Humans, though vast in number, lacked such innate superiority. While some claimed physique mattered little, at the highest levels, it undeniably played a role.
He had heard this from the mouths of Immortal Kings—supreme experts who knew the truth: some innate conditions were indispensable.
Yet, Shi Hao seemed to lack such limitations, his blood energy surging boundlessly.
“I see now… You must carry the blood of another invincible lineage,” Yi Hai growled.
“Begone!” Shi Hao’s fist tore through him once more.
Shi Hao knew his own origins well. And he found it laughable—did strength truly hinge so much on race?
“This talk of physique and bloodline—did your elders feed you these lies to bolster your confidence? Pathetic.” Shi Hao soared, his foot crashing down, collapsing space itself, threatening to shatter Yi Hai entirely.
“Aaargh—!” Yi Hai screamed.
“If human potential is so lacking, why do you all choose humanoid forms for evolution?” Shi Hao said coldly.
The words stunned Yi Hai briefly, but he quickly retorted, “You don’t understand! The humanoid form merely resembles humans superficially. The internal Dao patterns are entirely different!”
“So, humans are naturally closer to the Great Dao—just needing to break certain shackles,” Shi Hao said calmly, yet his strikes remained merciless.
“Ahhh—!” Yi Hai shrieked, as if provoked—or perhaps enlightened. A piercing phoenix cry erupted from him.
His body swelled, his blood churned violently. His face morphed into that of a demonic ape, while phoenix wings sprouted from his back. His legs became talons, his arms those of the ape.
Now, he looked grotesque—terrifying.
“So, a mongrel,” Shi Hao sneered.
“I’ll kill you!” Yi Hai roared. This was his ancestral reversion. Neither a pure phoenix nor a pure demonic ape, his lineage had long abandoned their true forms, deeming them shameful.
By Yi Hai’s generation, the humanoid form was fixed. Reverting required immense sacrifice.
His clan had once used sealing arts to pursue ultimate power in one aspect, forsaking other bodily potentials.
He could only use this reversion a few times in his life—each time tearing his soul apart, inflicting severe damage.
**Boom!**
In response, Shi Hao’s back erupted with massive phoenix wings, blazing with crimson radiance. A single flap shook heaven and earth—a sight too dreadful to behold.
Even the indestructible Bronze Sparrow Altar cracked, on the verge of exploding. But as the wings glowed, space itself solidified, freezing all motion.
“You claim phoenix blood? Let me teach you how to wield its power,” Shi Hao said icily.
Yi Hai trembled in horror. Under the glow of those wings, he was paralyzed—frozen alongside the altar and the void itself.
**Crash!**
Shi Hao’s foot slammed onto his chest, pinning him to the altar, crushing every bone in his body.
“Ancestral reversion? Just this?” Shi Hao murmured.
Yi Hai despaired. In his eyes, this was a demonic youth—perhaps only the young kings of the Immortal Domain could rival him.
“And such a fool dares to strut around the Lower Realm?” Shi Hao looked down at him coldly.
Yi Hai remembered—not long ago, he had trampled Shi Hao’s brother underfoot. Now, the roles were reversed. He was the one being crushed.
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