Coldness and darkness descended as Shi Hao was sealed within a void prison, unable to find his way back, seeing no end in sight—only eternal solitude in his gaze.
At this moment, he awoke from his dazed state, only to find himself in dire peril. How could he escape?
“Break!”
He exerted all his strength, striking with desperate force, trying to carve a path back to the real world. Yet this place was unshakable, a realm of terror.
Unknown and mysterious, it seemed as though all his past had been lost forever. This place was nearly impossible to tear open—an indestructible prison.
“Kill!”
Shi Hao raised his hands, forming divine seals, invoking the Hand of the Heavens in hopes of breaking free. But time and again, he failed.
“How can this be?” Worse still, he noticed the surroundings growing even darker, swallowing all sight.
Moreover, his primordial spirit was being drained, with no means of replenishment. If this continued, he would inevitably dissipate, erased from existence.
In an instant, Shi Hao fell silent. No longer resisting, he pondered, conserving the strength of his spirit.
Amidst the cold, silence reigned. Darkness was the eternal theme. Time flowed, as though stealing away three lifetimes in a single breath—an eerie sensation.
Shi Hao sat cross-legged, overwhelmed by loneliness. As he meditated, fragments of time seemed to dance around him, as if centuries had passed in a blink.
It was a terrifying feeling, chilling him to the core.
There was an old saying: *Seven days in the cave, a thousand years in the world.* Trapped here, how much time had truly passed outside?
Shi Hao did not know. A shiver ran down his spine.
“Back then, was the Little Immortal King the same? Leaving his flesh behind, his spirit sealed in darkness, unable to escape?” Shi Hao murmured, suddenly alert.
He had once seen such a scene carved into rough stone walls—the Little Immortal King had failed. His corpse was carried back, sent to the alchemy hall, his flesh preserved but his spirit gone.
Now, he understood completely.
“How can I break free? I cannot follow his fate!” Shi Hao’s spirit took the form of a miniature figure, sitting with clenched fists.
He had to escape. Outside lay Stone Village, his family, his friends, all he wished to protect, all he longed to see. He could not perish in this desolate prison.
Yet the cold crept in endlessly, ink-black darkness enveloping everything. He could grasp nothing, touch nothing—no means of breaking free.
Worse still, he felt his spirit weakening, drained by the dark void, slowly eroding away.
Shi Hao’s entire being turned icy. How could he endure? How could he resist this terrifying corrosion? Even if he didn’t escape, lingering here much longer would mean his utter dissolution.
Was this place truly meant to erode spirits, grind souls to dust? Could nothing endure here?
Shi Hao forced himself into the calmest state possible. He could not act rashly. He had to survive, to break free—he could not let himself fade away.
He had seen dark prisons adrift in the river of time, one after another, some still holding faint glimmers—powerful beings trapped within.
Why were they still alive? Was there a way to resist?
Shi Hao pondered deeply, examining himself. What method could he use to withstand the dark corrosion, to keep his spirit “undying,” to survive here?
“Immortal Dao, Divine Dao—two different systems from different eras. What should I do?”
He had already tried divine techniques, invoking divine power, but to no avail. His spirit was being consumed too severely.
As for the Immortal Dao, he knew nothing of it. This era no longer followed that path—there was no such legacy left.
“Immortal Qi—I once cultivated a wisp!” Shi Hao muttered. In fact, he had even cultivated a second strand, but his spirit had been torn from his flesh, his body left unconscious.
“Wait… there’s still a trace?” Shi Hao searched within himself. Neither of the two strands of Immortal Qi had followed him here, yet why did he still possess a faint remnant?
He attempted to channel it—and was shocked to find his spirit’s consumption slowing, the corrosion even being resisted, stabilizing into equilibrium.
What was happening? Though relieved, Shi Hao was also puzzled.
Delving deeper, he suddenly recalled his time in seclusion on the Azure Stone Path. After igniting 2,900 azure flames, he had cultivated a faint, weak strand of Immortal Qi. But back then, his injuries had been too severe, nearly fatal. That wisp had not fully manifested, instead nourishing his body in the end.
Now he understood. That strand had nurtured his flesh, strengthened his spirit. Though it had seemed to dissipate, traces of its immortal essence remained—now revealing itself.
“It merged with my flesh, fused into my spirit. Though weak, it has saved my life,” Shi Hao whispered.
Now, this strand was no longer true Immortal Qi—it had become part of his very being, refined into his essence.
“I must escape! I will use this to break free!” Shi Hao focused, channeling this power to restore himself, to regain his peak state.
Again and again, he struggled in the dark, resisting the forces eroding his spirit.
Through countless trials, he endured near-fatal dangers but ultimately stabilized. Finally, he grasped a new understanding—he could indeed draw power from the void.
Only the essence of the Immortal Dao could achieve this!
Shi Hao concentrated, sitting in meditation, striving with all his might. He *had* to survive, *had* to break open this dark prison.
Time flowed. How long had passed? Shi Hao’s heart grew cold—it felt like a century. Was this an illusion?
After such an agonizing span, he had only just regained his peak. Absorbing soul energy from the void was excruciatingly slow—this was the result of his utmost effort.
Would this strength be enough to shatter the dark space?
Shi Hao did not know.
But he had to try. He had to fight with everything he had.
“If I fail, must I wait another century?” Shi Hao’s heart grew heavy. He inhaled the dark energy, calming himself, restraining his urgency, and began absorbing void energy once more—nourishing his soul, strengthening his spirit.
Another few decades? Shi Hao could not tell. But he felt his spirit growing stronger.
He had to attempt it now. He could wait no longer.
If a century had truly passed outside, was his body even still intact? Had it decayed? The battles of the Immortal Ancient era must be nearing their end—perhaps everything was already over.
“I must return!” Shi Hao roared inwardly.
After so long, too much could have happened. How could he resign himself to this prison?
“Now or never!”
He was far stronger now than when he had entered. His spirit blazed brilliantly, radiating light in the darkness.
“Break!”
Shi Hao staked everything, pouring all his strength into a single strike, aiming to shatter the dark prison and escape.
Immortal Qi intertwined with his divine techniques and secret arts, channeled through his spirit—this was his most powerful attack yet!
*Boom!*
The dark prison trembled, warping faintly—yet it did not break.
The backlash sent Shi Hao’s spirit reeling, nearly scattering it entirely.
“Again!”
Shi Hao roared, unleashing nine consecutive strikes with all his might.
*Thud!*
He was thrown back into the darkness, his spirit dimming rapidly, his essence withering under the corrosion.
The prison had shuddered, twisting violently—yet it held. The backlash had nearly destroyed him.
Shi Hao circulated his remaining strength, resisting the erosion, then steadied himself and began restoring his spirit once more.
With experience, he stabilized faster this time—but drawing energy from the void remained agonizingly slow. Alone in the abyss, Shi Hao cultivated, growing stronger.
“How many years have passed? Another century?” When he opened his eyes again, sorrow and frustration flickered in his gaze—along with a hint of fragility.
His grief was not for himself, but for the outside world. What had become of his family, his friends? What had they endured, believing him lost?
He had promised to return to Stone Village within decades—yet how many years had truly slipped by?
And what of the figure beneath the fire mulberry tree? Where was she now? Was she well?
He could not bear the thought of his village elders passing one by one, generations vanishing into the graves behind the village. He *had* to escape!
“I *will* return!” Shi Hao cried out in anguish—yet even in despair, he continued absorbing energy, fortifying himself.
In the darkness, he cultivated endlessly, growing stronger than ever before. But he did not attempt another reckless strike. He would reach his absolute peak.
He would refine his divine sense to its utmost, make his spirit shine with unrivaled brilliance—only then would he have a chance to break free.
And so, he trained and trained, endlessly strengthening his spirit, his soul power growing steadily.
This made Shi Hao question—what *was* this place? Why did it contain soul energy? How could he cultivate here? What was the nature of this dark prison?
Was this the so-called cycle of reincarnation? Had his body perished, leaving his spirit to await rebirth?
“There is no reincarnation. I *will* return!”
Time blurred. Shi Hao could no longer tell how long he had been trapped—it felt like millennia, an eternity. He was nearly petrified by the passage of ages.
“Why?” he murmured.
In this desolation, he saw his own heart more clearly than ever. Memories of his past surfaced one after another.
From childhood to adulthood—scene after scene.
Losing his Supreme Bone as a child, drenched in blood, growing weaker by the day, his memories fading—only A’Man stood by him, tears in her eyes, urging him to remember, to never forget.
Then came Stone Village…
And the Willow Deity…
“I *must* return! I must see them again!”
Shi Hao felt as though countless lifetimes had passed. He believed he had accumulated enough strength—his soul power alone was now unimaginably vast!
*Boom!*
With a single punch, fueled by all his might, he finally made an impact. He pierced through the dark prison, a sliver of light breaking through—revealing the river of time, and countless other prisons drifting within it.
“How do I return? How do I find my way back?” Shi Hao trembled with excitement. He could break this prison—but how could he navigate the path home?
—
**Outside the Prison:**
Jun Dao, the King of the Heavenly Nation, and the Ancient Sacred Son of the Divine Temple approached with a retinue. A master of formations—a native of this land—had breached the array within the mountain, revealing Shi Hao’s true body.
Within the dark prison, Shi Hao had felt millennia pass—yet in truth, it was merely the illusion of the void’s erosion.
Here, soul energy was abundant. After countless trials, his spirit had grown terrifyingly powerful!
If he returned now, his spirit would be incomparably mighty—enough to shock the world!
“Two strands of Immortal Qi encircling him?!” Jun Dao gasped in astonishment.
Even the King of the Heavenly Nation paled. The figure seated before them was cracked, his flesh split—yet the Immortal Qi coiled around him, slowly healing his wounds.
“He’s dormant—no spiritual fluctuations. Even as we breach the array, he remains unaware. This is our chance—strike now!”
They lunged forward without hesitation, seizing the moment to attack.
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