This king died alone here, using his body to seal the abyss.
Shi Hao could not remain calm, overwhelmed by a sense of sorrow. Gazing at the towering, majestic figure—covered in wounds, embedded with fragments of supreme treasures exuding chaotic energy, its blood not yet dried—he could only bow deeply, his heart heavy with grief.
“Farewell, senior!”
Shi Hao’s emotions were complex, filled with pity for this king. His descendants were all branded as “sinful blood,” labeled as criminals—how tragic was that?
Such a supreme being, who fought valiantly in the borderlands, shedding blood to defend the realm beyond, yet his descendants had fallen to such depths.
“I, too, bear the ‘sinful blood’ within me… Hah…” Shi Hao couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, rage and sorrow intertwined. This king before him might very well be his ancestor.
“If I escape this place, I swear I will one day go to the borderlands and join the war!” Shi Hao vowed.
He clenched his fists. If he ever stood at the pinnacle of the divine path, he would fight to quell the chaos and suppress all enemies of the borderlands!
Even if there were immortals among them, even if there were unfathomable supreme beings, he would charge forward and slaughter his way into that world.
A glyph appeared between his brows, holy light soaring into the heavens, piercing through the gloom of this place, its radiance reaching the skies.
In the abyss, the king’s cold, motionless corpse seemed to respond. His forehead bone also began to glow, shattering the darkness.
Shi Hao shuddered. The glyph on his forehead resonated as if encountering someone of shared blood, an unbreakable bond, filling him with a sense of tragic heroism.
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, a brilliant light shot from the forehead of the towering corpse sealing the abyss. Upon closer inspection, it was the character for “sin,” merging into the glyph on Shi Hao’s forehead.
Shi Hao staggered, his forehead bone burning as if aflame. The next moment, the light between his brows grew even more dazzling, illuminating heaven and earth.
The glyphs intertwined, intricate and profound, the character for “sin” as clear as if carved with iron and silver. Shi Hao’s blood boiled like raging rivers and seas.
In an instant, his body felt warm. In this desolate land, facing endless gray mist and black energy, he no longer felt cold but fearless.
When all settled, the corpse returned to stillness.
Shi Hao felt refreshed, vaguely sensing something new within the complex glyphs on his forehead, though he did not know how to wield it.
“Is this character truly ‘sin’?” he muttered angrily. He knew it symbolized glory and splendor, yet in the upper realm, it had become synonymous with sin and chaos.
One day, he would visit the Fire Cloud Cave, the Demon Dragon Dao Gate, and other ancient sects!
He had seen on that altar how the power of those branded with “sinful blood” surged when their blood boiled. Yet he did not know how to harness it. Even after resonating with the king’s corpse and receiving that light, making the glyph on his forehead clearer than ever, he still did not understand its use.
“Perhaps only at the borderlands will I comprehend it.” Shi Hao felt a yearning. The borderlands were a battlefield of endless war, a terrifying world—yet he longed to fight there, to wage war.
But first, he had to survive and escape this place.
Reaching the end and witnessing the abyss, Shi Hao learned much. The upper realm appeared peaceful, but he now knew it was not so.
“Are the eerie and the ominous lurking beneath this abyss?” Shi Hao pondered.
When had this king returned? It was impossible to estimate.
Suddenly, silently, ancient lamps appeared one after another, suspended in the void. From the depths of the abyss, thunderous roars erupted, assaulting the seal.
Tendrils of gray-black mist seeped through the cracks in the seal.
“It’s weakening!” Shi Hao’s expression changed. Then he saw something even worse, chilling his heart.
The towering, seated king—half his body had turned pitch-black, like a demonic ancestor, instilling dread.
Black mist enveloped him, attempting to corrupt his entire form. Yet each time it reached his forehead, a streak of light would sever it. Though dead, the glyph of “sin” remained, still glowing.
“This is bad. One day, this seal will break, and the eerie and the ominous will descend upon the world—an absolute catastrophe!” Shi Hao sighed.
But he had no time to dwell on it.
In the distance, ghostly wails rose and fell. Beyond the horizon, a range of pitch-black mountains spewed eerie mist.
On each mountain, a massive lantern ignited, crimson as blood, illuminating the heavens.
“Aooo—”
Like the cries of a million vengeful spirits, as if the gates of hell had opened. Among the mountains, countless shadows surged forth—endless, innumerable.
The sight was horrifying. The shadows were too many—perhaps not ghosts but ancient corpses, leaping from peak to peak, charging forward.
The mountains and plains teemed with these shadows, these ancient corpses, all once mighty warriors, now slaughtering their way toward him.
Shi Hao sighed. It was likely over. Facing so many foes, each possibly as strong as him, what could he do even with a strand of immortal energy? It was not enough.
“Hmm… Not all the ancient corpses are strong. Some are already rotting.”
Shi Hao activated his Heavenly Eye and saw the truth. Since the king’s forehead bone had sent that light into his brow, he found he could now use bone scripts without suffering backlash from forbidden powers.
“Kill!”
No matter what, Shi Hao would not wait for death. Even if he died in battle, it would be gloriously, not cowering in fear.
Gripping two halberds—once belonging to an immortal palace heir, forged from the bones of a void beast—he charged forward, cleaving through the ancient corpses.
The stench of decay filled the air. Some corpses had existed for untold ages, long since rotted away, yet preserved by some rule, their flesh intact.
Only now, as they were shattered, did they finally dissolve into pus and rotten bones.
Shi Hao noticed some corpses were different—wrapped in black mist, exuding vitality, pacing slowly from the rear, radiating immense pressure.
Among them were figures whose strength seemed comparable to his.
“They’re here—the so-called eerie and ominous!”
He saw a group of youths, dozens of them, standing arrogantly, their expressions cold, their gazes locked onto him.
“Hmm? They’re from this era—some dressed in ancient attire, others from recent millennia!” Shi Hao was shocked.
The dozens advanced, their terrifying aura overwhelming. These were young supremes, each with an invincible path.
“Tsk!”
Shi Hao inhaled sharply. Were these the peerless geniuses of ancient times, who had succumbed to the ominous? Not only were their precious techniques stolen, but they themselves had been brought here?
If true, it was horrifying!
He glanced further into the distance and despaired. Among the mountains stood middle-aged figures, their auras even more terrifying, exuding an air of supremacy.
They were of a higher realm, yet each had once dominated their era!
If they joined the fray, how could he fight? He was doomed.
“Trial… Slaughter… Theft… Ominous calamity.” A residual thought rippled from the abyss, as if the corpse sensed this phenomenon.
A roar silenced the restless corpses. Hundreds of blood-red lanterns emerged, illuminating the area.
Among the dozens of young elites, some stepped forward—the most dazzling beings, all at the peak of the Divine Flame Realm.
“Kill!”
A brutal battle ensued. Shi Hao, alone, faced a group of unimaginably powerful foes, besieged from all sides.
Worse, his immortal energy was not flowing smoothly. Abandoning it, he wielded his twin halberds, battling fiercely.
Soon, he had slain two, but was wounded himself, blood dripping. A near-fatal spear thrust almost pierced his heart.
“Incredible!” Shi Hao was stunned.
That figure’s strength was immense, rivaling his own physique. Upon closer inspection, it was a golden creature—human body, ant head—with boundless power.
“Could this be the legendary Golden Ant from twenty thousand years ago?” Shi Hao recalled tales of ancient heroes. This ant matched the descriptions.
Regardless, he would not stop. Even in death, he would fight to the end.
“Thud!”
Another young supreme fell to his blade.
Simultaneously, bone scripts flared, precious techniques clashed. He blasted another foe into pieces.
As he fought, flames erupted from within him, shattering the blood-red ancient lanterns in the sky, preventing them from reflecting his techniques.
“Clang!”
A dull gray sword descended, suddenly blazing with light so intense it pained Shi Hao’s Heavenly Eye. His hands lightened—both halberds were severed. A flash of crimson, and a peerless sword energy pierced his body.
Too fast! This sword was transcendent, breaking through space, arriving before him in an instant.
Shi Hao barely dodged, but a gash opened on his neck, blood spurting. A hair’s breadth from decapitation—it was too close.
The swordsman was humanoid, with sharp brows and cold, lightning-like eyes, wielding a dull, unremarkable ancient sword—yet his power was overwhelming.
Shi Hao knew this man must have been legendary in ancient times.
And that sword was extraordinary—unremarkable when still, but once activated, its radiance outshone the sun, blinding all who beheld it.
Moreover, it was merely a sword embryo, unsharpened, unfinished—yet already so formidable. Unbelievable.
“Even the Void Halberds, sacred artifacts, were cut. This sword is no ordinary weapon.” Shi Hao guessed it was forged from supreme immortal metal.
Still a malleable embryo, its potential limitless.
“Whoosh!”
Shi Hao moved like lightning, lunging at the swordsman.
“Clang!”
His precious techniques clashed against the sword embryo, ringing loudly.
Blood sprayed. Around Shi Hao, the other young elites—all peerless geniuses—attacked in unison. Wounds multiplied on his body.
The swordsman was even deadlier, his blade never straying from Shi Hao’s vitals, drawing blood again.
Yet Shi Hao retaliated with a palm strike, sending the swordsman reeling, blood trickling from his lips.
“Who was this in ancient times?” Shi Hao’s heart grew heavy.
Trapped in a deadly predicament, aside from the swordsman and the Golden Ant, the others were equally fearsome. He had slain a few, but the situation grew direr.
Soon, Shi Hao was gravely wounded. Though he had expanded his sole divine aperture, it collapsed under the combined assault of these beings—no contemporary youth could withstand them.
“Clang!”
Amid metallic clangs, Shi Hao deflected the sword embryo but took another slash, a ghastly wound splitting his chest.
“Bam!”
He sent the swordsman flying, seizing the sword.
The cost was immense—he nearly died in the attempt.
“Whoosh!”
Sword light surged as Shi Hao channeled his techniques into the blade, beheading two foes in one sweep. His might soared.
But then, the abyss below emitted eerie wails, an inexplicable force bearing down on him.
Simultaneously, the king’s corpse glowed, suppressing the abyss and sending a gentle force to envelop Shi Hao.
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