The gentle power enveloped him, warm and soothing, even alleviating the injuries on Shi Hao’s body.
However, the black mist seethed violently beneath the abyss, fiercely assaulting the seal, causing the seated king to tremble. It seemed the seal might be torn open.
*Whoosh!*
A streak of dark light swept toward Shi Hao’s body, slashing from the depths of the abyss.
Shi Hao knew that his repeated attacks here, slaying several powerful undead creatures, had made him intolerable to the “anomaly” lurking within.
Fortunately, the radiance of that king shielded him.
“Wuuu…”
From the abyss came eerie howls, far more terrifying than the shrieks of vengeful spirits. Even as a cultivator, Shi Hao felt his hair stand on end, cold air seeping into his pores.
“Trouble!”
Shi Hao shuddered. Not only were young supreme beings of his level attacking, but even those in the distance—middle-aged figures, towering like mountains, exuding an aura of supremacy—had begun to move.
Hearing the abyssal roars, they strode forward, closing in.
These figures were terrifyingly powerful, their cultivation realms unfathomable. A mere flick of a finger shattered the void, aiming to erase Shi Hao from existence.
Though wrapped in the king’s gentle radiance, Shi Hao swiftly dodged.
That finger was colossal, crashing down and piercing the earth, creating a canyon amidst shattered rocks and billowing dust.
“What realm is this? Heavenly Deity or Sect Master?” Shi Hao thought. Had it not been for the king’s protective light, the violent fluctuations alone would have been unbearable.
From all directions, dozens of middle-aged figures approached, their eyes ancient and weathered, yet tinged with a deathly gray. They spread out, cutting off all escape routes.
Meanwhile, the young supreme beings also acted, unleashing treasure techniques and weapons in a deadly assault.
The middle-aged powerhouses stood like sentinels, ready to strike should any mishap occur.
The situation was dire. The abyssal shrieks intensified, relentlessly battering the seal, attempting to dislodge the king’s corpse and break free.
*Thud!*
Shi Hao, wielding the sword embryo, fought valiantly, beheading another young supreme being—a once-renowned figure of an era.
“Roar!”
The abyss convulsed, ancient lanterns rising from all directions, trembling violently.
Corpses littering the mountains and plains rose, converging toward him.
“Kill!”
One of the unfathomable middle-aged figures murmured, striking out with a palm that blotted out the sky, intent on crushing Shi Hao.
Evidently, the anomaly and ill omen, seeing Shi Hao shielded by the king’s light and too lethal for his peers, sought to eliminate him directly.
Ancient lanterns soared, attempting to imprint and replicate his treasure techniques, stealing them all.
*Boom!*
The king seated above the abyss emitted light, his supreme body stimulated by the surrounding forces, releasing dazzling radiance that rippled outward.
*Thud!*
The massive palm descending toward Shi Hao was struck by the ripple, severed mid-air, blood cascading like a river.
The severed hand crashed to the ground, collapsing the earth into a dark chasm.
Shi Hao was stunned.
A piercing shriek erupted from the abyss as the laws of the anomaly surged to erase him.
Coughing blood, Shi Hao felt an icy chill invade his body. Even under the king’s protection, he suffered unimaginable damage, teetering on the brink of annihilation.
Simultaneously, some of the middle-aged figures moved.
A colossal palm descended like a mountain, distorting and shattering the void.
Several other massive hands, dark as storm clouds, covered the area, all intent on erasing Shi Hao.
*Boom!*
Above the abyss, radiant light erupted. The king’s brow bone glowed, unleashing boundless divine power to suppress the abyss, dispersing the black mist and gray qi.
Golden ripples surged from his body, annihilating all anomalous laws, purging them clean.
Most terrifyingly, these golden ripples shredded the descending palms and the middle-aged figures behind them, reducing them to bloody mist that ignited like fireworks.
The sheer power was awe-inspiring.
Shi Hao finally understood why a corpse could still suppress this place—the king’s body retained supreme runes and divine might.
*Crack!*
Darkness split, revealing a divine glow.
The king’s brow bone ignited, the character for “sin” burning, piercing open a passage.
At that moment, the flame within Shi Hao stirred, surging forth to incinerate all the ancient lanterns and mist.
It even swept toward the abyss, swirling around the king, burning away the blackened corruption within him.
*Whoosh!*
The flame returned, enveloping Shi Hao as it shot into the passage, vanishing from sight.
Beyond the void, on the three thousand bluestone paths.
Qing Yi, Cao Yusheng, Little Rabbit, and the Divine Striking Stone were anxious. What lay within the black void rift? Shi Hao had been inside too long, warning them to stay far away.
“The black rift is closing!” Cao Yusheng exclaimed.
“What do we do? Shi Hao hasn’t come out. Is he lost in the Ancient Immortal Realm?” The Divine Striking Stone panicked.
…
Across the minor realms, many sensed the anomaly.
The violent fluctuations from the bluestone paths had drawn the attention of powerful beings, who now hastened toward them.
“Could someone be attempting *that* step, nearing success?” one murmured, speeding closer.
Clearly, this was no isolated reaction. Many had sensed it.
*Swoosh!*
A brilliant light burst in the void. Shi Hao, astonished, found himself ejected from the black ancient ship, escaping the abyss.
Ahead, the void rift was closing. He charged toward it.
Behind him, the black ship trembled before drifting into the void’s depths, vanishing.
Faintly, he sensed the king’s residual will—a plea: “Help me… guard…”
“I will. I’ll go to the borderlands and return to this ship to resolve everything!” Shi Hao roared.
The flame, having carried him out, retreated into his body, dormant once more.
Coughing blood, Shi Hao felt his body on the verge of splitting apart.
The anomalous laws had invaded him, though the king’s light had mitigated the damage.
Still, the clash of two supreme laws had left him battered.
An ordinary person would have been reduced to pulp. Only Shi Hao’s immortal qi and tempered body kept him alive.
He hastily consumed a half-divine fruit to heal.
Yet residual fluctuations forced him to cough more blood, his body riddled with cracks, nearly disintegrating.
“So strong?” He paled.
Thankfully, the anomalous power faded, the king’s protection sparing him.
“Not good!”
Even so, one of his arms split off. He caught it, reattaching it with bone runes.
*Thud!*
His torso split with bloody gashes, nearly tearing apart.
Suppressing his injuries, Shi Hao steadied himself.
After a while, his condition stabilized, and he found he could freely wield his immortal qi.
Infusing it into his body, the pain lessened, replaced by overwhelming strength.
Only then did he exhale in relief. He needed to recover fully.
Glancing at the sword embryo in his hand—short, unsharpened, dull and unremarkable—he noticed faint engravings of ascendant immortals.
“What material is this?”
The sword was unfinished, a mere rough draft, yet already bearing such markings.
“Hmm?”
Ahead, darkness swallowed everything as the void rift sealed shut.
Channeling divine power into the sword, Shi Hao slashed forward.
*Swoosh!*
The dull blade erupted with blinding light, brighter than a hundred suns.
The void split. Shi Hao lunged through, crashing to the ground.
“He’s back!” Little Rabbit cheered, bouncing excitedly.
“Thank goodness!” Qing Yi smiled.
*Thud!*
Shi Hao collapsed, blood seeping from reopened wounds, his left arm nearly detaching again.
The sword’s brilliance faded, returning to its dull state.
“Watch out!”
Cao Yusheng shouted as Qing Yi and the others tensed.
The Divine Striking Stone shot forward, yelling, “Back off!”
Several shadowy figures emerged, attacking Shi Hao—powerful beings from the minor realms.
One stared greedily at the sword. “The legendary blade!”
Others, cold and murderous, seized the chance to strike, seeing Shi Hao wounded.
Among them was an assassin from the Heavenly Nation, here solely for Shi Hao.
“Kill him! He tried to cultivate immortal qi and failed. Don’t let him recover!”
More joined the assault.
Shi Hao’s body glowed as he swung the sword.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Three heads rolled, blood gushing.
But his own body cracked further, an arm falling.
“He’s finished! Attack!”
The remaining assailants pressed forward, led by the Heavenly Nation’s assassin.
“Finished? Heh!”
Despite his injuries, Shi Hao sneered.
He unleashed the sword, merging it with his treasure techniques, beheading three more.
Only one evaded, lashing out at Shi Hao’s fallen arm.
To his horror, the detached arm, wrapped in immortal qi, shot up and struck back.
“Heavens! He took *that* step!”
*Thud!*
Even severed, the arm pierced his palm and shattered his body, killing him instantly.
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