Rolling three times in the Thunder Pool, Shi Hao did just that, greedily absorbing the precious liquid to restore himself to peak condition, knowing that the greatest crisis had arrived.
On the ancient platform, the Executioner’s Blade, brimming with sharp killing intent, had already locked onto him!
If he fought desperately this time, would the tiny figure above his head and the Reincarnation Glyph come to his rescue like before? But that was too passive, beyond his control.
“Kid Huang, you’re… done for. Hurry and leave your last words. I’ll keep this willow branch for you. Farewell,” Shen Ming waved dismissively.
“Won’t listen to advice, tsk!” San Zang shook his head helplessly. Once the Executioner’s Blade appeared, even an immortal might be beheaded.
Of course, the blade’s power likely varied depending on the cultivator’s realm, but regardless, this was a death sentence—nearly impossible to survive.
“Stop cursing me, I’m fine!” Shi Hao retorted, battling the heavenly tribulation in the Thunder Pool while devouring the precious liquid. Even at the brink of life and death, he could still spare focus—his nerves were truly thick.
**Boom!**
A massive thunderbolt struck, sending the tribulation liquid splashing everywhere.
Shi Hao winced in pain, roaring as he mustered all his strength to resist.
This time, he had managed to ambush the tribulation. In the past, he would only seize the liquid as the lightning waned.
**Clang!**
At that moment, the Executioner’s Blade on the ancient platform erupted with blinding radiance, unleashing a surge of overwhelming killing intent that stirred up billowing smoke-like mist.
It was about to behead Shi Hao!
“Hmm?”
Shi Hao finally understood the source of that impulse—why he had felt an instinctive pull toward it. A strand of divine light within his body, now blooming from his hand, sought to connect with the Executioner’s Blade.
Back at Emperor Pass, after the tribulation ended and the blade dispersed, he had seized a wisp of divine light and refined it into his finger, making it indestructible.
That divine light now yearned to reunite with the Executioner’s Blade, to merge with it, pulling Shi Hao along as if urging him to leap forward.
**Crack!**
Lightning danced as the Executioner’s Blade descended, aiming to cleave Shi Hao in two!
**Clink!**
At that moment, Shi Hao extended a single finger, meeting the blade—and blocking it!
Shen Ming gasped in shock. The expected spray of blood and Shi Hao’s head rolling never happened. Instead, he had withstood the strike with a finger.
San Zang was equally stunned, unable to believe his eyes. How had Huang managed this?
Shi Hao was also taken aback. His finger and the blade merged, divine light intertwining, filling him with a sharp, overwhelming aura.
It was the Executioner’s Blade’s essence!
**Boom!**
At that instant, his body erupted with world-shaking power as six glowing spheres manifested, shaking heaven and earth.
“What is that?” San Zang murmured, utterly astonished.
That power far surpassed their current level, carrying an inexplicable fluctuation that suppressed all existence.
“I think… it resembles an immortal’s aura. Though fragmented, it’s still beyond our ability to resist,” Shen Ming said gravely.
One shocking change after another left the two Golden Burial Guards stunned.
First, the Executioner’s Blade failed to behead Shi Hao. Then, six glowing spheres emerged, exuding immortal energy. It was unbelievable.
Even Shi Hao was momentarily dazed. Those six spheres, hidden within his flesh, pulsed with traces of immortality!
He knew what they were.
When he had escaped the Gu Clan, an immortal had issued a decree pardoning him, declaring that the foreign realm must no longer harm Huang.
At that time, the decree had shone, and faint light had seeped into his body—imprints.
It was said that six immortals had jointly issued that decree.
Now, it seemed true. Six immortals had left their marks within him, and now they had surfaced.
Undoubtedly, the Executioner’s Blade had forced them out!
What Shi Hao did next sent chills down Shen Ming and San Zang’s spines, leaving them dumbfounded, nearly petrified.
After a brief hesitation, Shi Hao lunged beneath the blade—actively seeking to be struck! Was he throwing his life away?
Having narrowly escaped death, why would he rush toward it? The two Golden Burial Guards couldn’t comprehend it.
Cold sweat drenched Shi Hao. Even when the tribulation lightning nearly killed him, he hadn’t felt such gravity. Now, dread gnawed at him.
Those six spheres were immortal—and a colossal disaster.
Back then, he hadn’t fully realized it. The six immortals had left hidden means within him, initially thinking they were mere tracking marks to prevent his escape.
Only now did he understand—they concealed lethal intent. As long as he wasn’t too far from those six, a mere thought from them could kill him!
Only by leaving that realm had he remained safe. Otherwise, catastrophe would have struck.
When he fled last time, he had been fortunate—the Seafall had isolated everything, transporting him to another space, away from the foreign realm. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have escaped alive.
**Squelch!**
The blade cleaved Shi Hao in half at the waist, blood gushing. He sought to use the Executioner’s Blade’s power to purge the six spheres within him.
This time, he was gambling everything. If he didn’t act now, once he returned to Emperor Pass, those six would surely sense him and kill him instantly.
What could be worse than being marked by six immortals?
He had experience. He wanted to see if the Reincarnation Glyph and the tiny figure above his head could bear the calamity for him again.
He hoped the Executioner’s Blade could annihilate all six spheres within him!
Forced into a corner, he had no choice but to take the blade head-on. Otherwise, he would have fought it directly!
Blood poured endlessly, the agony indescribable. This was the Executioner’s Blade—nothing could withstand it.
Shi Hao remembered that when this blade struck, it obliterated both body and soul in an instant, merciless and absolute.
Last time, the tiny figure above his head had died in his stead. Would it happen again?
“Huh?” Shi Hao was surprised. His soul remained unharmed, and no tiny figure appeared, yet he wasn’t truly killed.
His body was severed, drenched in blood, but his soul remained intact.
What was happening?
Soon, he understood—it was the divine light in his finger. Originally part of the Executioner’s Blade, it had merged with the weapon earlier, imbuing Shi Hao with its aura. Thus, his soul was spared.
But the six spheres within him weren’t so lucky. The blade forced them out, separating them from his body.
**Clang!**
A piercing sound rang out as the blade opened, seizing one sphere and cleaving it apart!
**Clang! Clang! Clang!**
Six consecutive strikes—six spheres shattered, their imprints annihilated.
The Executioner’s Blade lived up to its name. When it truly unleashed its might, even immortals and true immortals could be beheaded!
Shi Hao’s severed halves floated up, quickly rejoining before he plunged back into the Thunder Pool to heal.
Soon, he was fully restored—the liquid’s effects were unimaginable.
The lightning vanished from the sky, and the Executioner’s Blade dispersed, the ancient platform fading with it.
Before it disappeared, Shi Hao madly struck again, seizing another wisp of divine light. His finger shone as it absorbed part of the blade’s power!
“Thunder Pool, don’t run!”
Shi Hao roared, gripping the pool tightly.
But in the end, he failed. A vast force from the distant Lightning Abyss pulled the pool away.
“Precious liquid, mine!”
Shi Hao bellowed, collecting most of the liquid inside.
**Clang!**
At the last moment, he hurled the Void Immortal Gold Slab, smashing it against the pool and breaking off a large chunk of silver stone, which he pocketed.
From afar, Shen Ming and San Zang stared in disbelief. This guy was downright “deranged”—daring to strike and succeeding!
Much later, silence returned—no thunder, no other sounds.
Yet the two Golden Burial Guards remained dazed. Had Huang really survived all that?
“Ah, what a shame. Just a little more, and I could’ve collected a second complete Thunder Pool. Being so close to the Lightning Abyss made it harder,” Shi Hao muttered to himself.
Having completed his tribulation, he had reached the peak of the Severing World Realm. If he wished, he could now step into the Escape One Realm.
But this time, he refrained, choosing to further contemplate and comprehend before breaking through.
He was now a supreme expert, capable of entering the Escape One Realm at any moment!
At such a young age, his cultivation was outrageously heaven-defying.
“Let’s go!” Shen Ming urged, glancing uneasily at the embankment, the sandy ground, and the distant Lightning Abyss. A shiver ran down his spine—he wanted to leave quickly.
Soon, the three stood upon the childlike scribble of a formation, ready to traverse the heavens and depart.
Who knew where this ancient array would send them?
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