This was a group of formidable individuals, none of whom were easy to deal with—not the kind who secluded themselves in meditation to cultivate the Dao. These were warriors who had crawled out from battlefields and piles of corpses.
For such people to reach the Heavenly Deity Realm was terrifying. Their combat experience far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators, and their battle prowess was even more horrifying.
Because they were tempered by death itself into fearsome powerhouses.
Ordinary Heavenly Deities were already considered supreme, symbols of immense strength. But this group? They were the wolves among Heavenly Deities, the reapers of death, even more chilling to behold.
However, Shi Hao was no ordinary man. He had experienced far too much, encountered countless experts, and personally slain numerous Heavenly Deities.
Without hesitation, hundreds of willow branches surged from his back, each one crystalline and radiating golden light as they shot forward. In his right hand, he wielded the Great Luo Immortal Gold, slashing down in a devastating strike.
When it came to battle, his experience was second to none. The number of Heavenly Deities he had slain was no less than those before him.
“Roar—!” The charging enemies did not falter at his display of might. Instead, their momentum only intensified as they rode their mounts, launching a deadly assault.
A middle-aged man atop a blood-horned beast, his hair wild and eyes gleaming crimson, brandished a massive blood-red halberd and cleaved downward. He was their leader.
Beside him were several others, their mounts as large as small hills, their bodies flickering with scarlet light, exuding savagery and bloodlust. They unleashed secret techniques, aiming to annihilate the youth before them.
“Boom!”
The hundreds of willow branches danced, erupting with blazing golden radiance, blocking the group and unleashing astonishing fluctuations of power. The might of a Heavenly Deity was no mere boast.
A battle of this magnitude could easily cause the earth to collapse, mountains to crumble, and ancient forests to be obliterated.
However, this place was filled with ancient ruins, protected by formations from eras past, making it far from easy to destroy.
Sure enough, mysterious symbols bloomed across the ground, stabilizing the mountain ranges and shielding the land.
Shi Hao was surprised—these were not bone inscriptions from this era but mystical runes from the previous epoch.
“Crack!”
Amidst the clash of lightning and the exchange of treasure techniques, the golden willow branches ensnared several artifacts, freezing them midair.
Meanwhile, Shi Hao, his body radiating golden patterns like a fierce tiger, charged forward with the Great Luo Immortal Sword, directly confronting the leader.
“Clang!”
Sparks flew as the blood-red halberd was notched by the sword, nearly breaking. The impact sent the Heavenly Deity reeling, his hands bloodied.
Both were shocked.
Shi Hao stared at the halberd in surprise—it had not shattered. His weapon was forged from multiple immortal metals, capable of cleaving through anything.
Soon, he understood. The enemy’s weapon was special, engraved with sect master-level runes, refined by a supreme expert—a quasi-sect master treasure.
“Whoosh!”
The leader, though shaken, did not hesitate. With battle-hardened instincts, he twisted his wrist, the crimson halberd blade sweeping diagonally, unleashing a thousand layers of bone inscriptions that engulfed Shi Hao.
Shi Hao channeled the Samsara Runes, his own supreme treasure technique, through the sword.
“Clang!”
The Great Luo Immortal Sword clashed with the halberd once more, leaving another deep gash. As the runes erupted, they enveloped the leader.
Yet, the halberd was extraordinary. Sect master-level runes surged forth, weakening the power of Samsara.
Even so, the man’s hair turned white in an instant, his vitality plummeting, his prime years slipping away.
“Whoosh!”
Shi Hao raised his sword again, unleashing another wave of Samsara Runes.
“Clang!”
The leader spat out a gray-black talisman, unremarkable at first glance. But when the sword struck, it exploded like a black sun, reducing the area to chaos.
Shi Hao’s blood churned. Apart from Ning Chuan and a select few, this was one of the rare times he had been stalled by a Heavenly Deity.
“Clang!”
The sword sang as Shi Hao surged through the turbulence, the blade aimed straight for the man’s brow.
“Clang!”
The halberd blocked, but its durability was spent—it snapped in half under the sword’s might.
Shi Hao lunged forward, his sword erupting with dazzling runes, its brilliance like a comet streaking across the sky, blinding to behold.
The others shouted, attempting to intervene, but the golden willow branches wove a radiant net, sealing the area, preventing anyone from approaching.
“Clang!”
The leader hurled the broken halberd, clashing with the sword, then spat out a beam of condensed innate essence—his very cultivation manifest.
The sword was momentarily halted by an unseen force.
The leader retreated swiftly. Though a battle-hardened survivor, he was not foolish enough to throw his life away.
“Whoosh!”
But Shi Hao pressed on, relentless. He cleaved through the beam and closed the distance, swinging his sword with devastating force.
“Thud!”
Blood sprayed as the leader’s head was severed, his body burning in a desperate attempt to protect his soul.
Alas, a final sword flash ensured his spirit could not escape.
The others were stunned. This youth, barely twenty, had not even reached the Heavenly Deity Realm, yet he had slain their leader with terrifying ease.
The outcome had been too swift, too unexpected.
In truth, Shi Hao was equally surprised. Since his Sacred Sacrifice, his strength rivaled that of a Heavenly Deity. Combined with his tribulation tempering and three strands of immortal energy, he dominated this realm.
Like the extraterrestrial cultivator Lin Tian, who had cowed Heavenly Deities across hundreds of provinces, Shi Hao possessed such might.
Yet, he had not expected this man to withstand his relentless assaults.
“Strong!” he admitted sincerely. Barely into the depths of the forbidden zone, he had encountered such a deadly group.
To the enemies, however, his words were salt in the wound. A youth barely twenty, slaying their leader so swiftly—it was humiliating.
“Kill!” someone roared.
They unleashed a formation of multicolored stones, aiming to trap and annihilate Shi Hao. A group of Heavenly Deities working in unison was no small threat.
But Shi Hao was no sitting duck. In an instant, he summoned the wings of the Kun Peng, maximizing his speed, and unleashed a barrage of treasure techniques, turning the tables into a bloody hunt.
“Who are you people? Why attack me upon hearing I’m from the Three Thousand Provinces?”
“I bear you no grudge. I seek only the ancient city. Why harm me?”
Shi Hao demanded answers, but the enemies remained silent, attacking without pause.
“Thud!”
One was bisected, blood spraying as his mount was slain alongside him.
“Thud!”
Another’s head flew, landing dozens of feet away.
…
Shi Hao slaughtered without mercy. If they sought his death, he would not hold back.
Even these battle-hardened warriors began to flee in terror.
But Shi Hao was relentless. He split into seven avatars, pursuing and executing every last one.
None escaped.
“Why?” he demanded once more.
Yet, their eyes turned blood-red, as if possessed, howling madly without fear of death.
Shi Hao realized—their eyes bore an eerie resemblance to those he had seen in the misty haze of his dream journey to the Immortal Ancient Era.
Rage surged within him. Fresh from the grief of losing comrades, his killing intent blazed anew.
He restrained his fury, capturing one to probe his soul—only for the man to self-destruct, nearly injuring Shi Hao in the process.
With no other choice, he executed them all.
“Close. I’m getting closer to them,” Shi Hao muttered through gritted teeth.
The memory of the fallen talents of Immortal Ancient still pained him.
“Am I nearing the border? Have the enemies breached it?”
A chill ran down his spine.
Had the border fallen? Were the invaders already here?
He recalled his recent battle with that monstrous eyeball, its dying words: *Our army is coming, and soon.*
The thought horrified him. If the border had truly fallen, chaos would engulf the world.
He wasn’t ready. Not at his peak. Would he, like the Phoenix Maiden and others, be cut down in his prime?
He refused. The dream of Immortal Ancient was still fresh. He would avenge his friends, not join them in death.
After a moment of contemplation, he did not retreat. Instead, he vanished like a wisp of smoke, racing deeper into the forbidden lands. He had to see for himself what was happening.
Days later, after traversing countless miles, he arrived at a strange land.
In the distance, a colossal city loomed on the horizon—majestic, vast, and imposing, like an imperial capital.
“I’ve found it,” Shi Hao murmured, his expression grave.
He would uncover the truth of what lay within.
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