Chapter 527: Chaotic Lifeform
"Mm."
Li Hao nodded and said generously, "The other one can be your reward for the trouble."
"?"
Seeing Li Hao's serious expression, the Ancient God Clan youth almost laughed—it sounded like the biggest joke in the world. Yet for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to actually laugh.
"Looks like you don't quite know your place. I was going to let you live through this first round for drawing in all these ancient demons—couldn't be bothered to bully you. But now, looks like I'll have to send you packing early!"
His gaze turned cold, golden hair flying as his divine soul radiated a dazzling golden glow and immense pressure.
"One for each of us—what's wrong with that?"
Li Hao let out a light sigh.
The Ancient God Clan youth sneered. "Getting rid of trash early saves everyone the eyesore. If I get the chance, I'll sweep this whole secret realm clean of ancient demons and decide who gets what Dao fire myself!"
As he spoke, he raised his hand, a blue flame—Dao fire—hovering above his palm. He looked at Li Hao with scorn. "Want it? Come get it."
"Alright."
Li Hao replied. In an instant, time and space rippled outward from his Eternal Dao Domain.
Whoosh!
The blue Dao fire vanished abruptly and reappeared silently in his own palm.
At the moment it disappeared, the Ancient God Clan youth's expression changed. He sensed an alien force invade his surroundings, but before he could react, the blue Dao fire had already vanished before his eyes—then reappeared in Li Hao's hand.
His expression turned grim. The disdain in his eyes faded as he stared at Li Hao.
To silently snatch the Dao fire from his grasp—he had a guess about that strange power. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Time and space power? You're controlling both at once?!"
Li Hao glanced at the flame in his palm. With his fourth-stage Fire Dao Origin Realm, he could sense that this "fire" wasn't actual flame but a manifestation of Dao resonance, constructed from some special force and compressed into something that appeared to burn.
He didn't answer the question. With a flick of his hand, he tore open a spatial rift and tucked the blue Dao fire away.
"Hmph. So you've got something going on after all. No wonder you talk so big."
Even without an answer, the Ancient God Clan youth had his confirmation. His eyes grew sharp.
This boy, soul lifespan only 96 years, had actually mastered both time and space—two of the Nine Sequences—and not at a shallow level either.
He himself had mastered the Dao of Space, so he could tell that Li Hao's grasp of space wasn't weaker than his own.
And when combined with the Dao of Time—a power he hadn't yet grasped—it was a well-known fact that the synergy between these two could cause a qualitative leap in strength.
'If our soul lifespans were equal…' The Ancient God Clan youth's face darkened slightly. He always saw himself as unmatched, but now he realized that if their soul ages were equal, he might not win.
For the first time, he felt what it meant to be outshone. In terms of talent—he'd lost.
But that unpleasant feeling didn't last. His Dao heart quickly stabilized. He reminded himself that the road ahead was long. Even some Immortal Emperors had humble beginnings, only breaking through after sudden epiphanies and climbing ever higher.
"I'll give it to you—this time."
The youth looked deeply at Li Hao and slowly retracted his killing intent. His voice was cold:
"You've earned that Dao fire. If you make it to the end… I'll see you in the arena."
With that, he sensed the lingering ancient demon energy in his body dissipate. His divine soul immediately returned to his body. Without looking back, he turned and soared away.
Li Hao had already prepared to fight. Seeing the other leave was unexpected—but he didn't dwell on it. Once the youth's presence faded completely, he swept his divine sense across the battlefield.
He had to admit, the other's method of killing ancient demons was crude—but it got the job done. Nearly all the kills were clean, taking out both body and soul without much damage.
He raised his hand, opened another spatial rift, and stored away the corpses—royal ones included. Those would probably be even more flavorful.
With that done, he continued deeper into the mountains.
Their clash had been broadcast to the outside world, and everyone watching was stunned.
They'd thought Li Hao had just gotten lucky and scraped by with his life. No one expected him to actually ask that Ancient God Clan youth for a share of the Dao fire.
And even more shocking—he succeeded. He'd silently snatched it right out from under him, like it was nothing.
"That Haotian kid… is no pushover!"
"Incredible! That Ancient God Clan youth's already a freak of nature, and this guy managed to rob him?!"
"With how calm he looked, I'd say he's probably on par with that Ancient God Clan youth—maybe not even any weaker!"
"I wish they'd fought. Too bad the Ancient God Clan kid left—guess he didn't want to show all his cards so early."
"Hey, how exactly did that Haotian guy manage to snatch the Dao fire?"
"If I had to guess—time power. Same method he used on that prince from the Yuanzun Immortal Dynasty. He used time origin power to strike across timelines. You can't even defend against that!"
"That's basically invincible, isn't it?"
"It's the top of the Nine Sequences—you think it's easy to counter?"
People all around buzzed with discussion, gaining a deeper appreciation for Li Hao's strength.
…
Outside the secret realm.
Da Mengzhu and Li Tiemu finally let out a sigh of relief. They already knew Li Hao was strong—he even beat Chu Tianzheng, a cultivator at the Immortal Lord realm—but they still couldn't be sure whether he'd used any external tools like Immortal Weapons back then.
But that Ancient God Clan youth… in their eyes, he might be no weaker than Chu Tianzheng. Even if he was only in the True Immortal realm, his actual combat strength likely rivaled an Immortal Lord.
And judging from what he'd said about entering the Immortal Lord-level trials, his power was probably far beyond the surface.
"That kid gives me a heart attack," Li Tiemu muttered as he wiped the sweat off his forehead, utterly drained.
Da Mengzhu just stared quietly at the reflection of the youth, her eyes bright but filled with concern. She hoped he could go further—after all, he carried ten thousand years of Da Meng Jiuyuan's hopes.
But the monsters in this True Immortal group were even more terrifying than she'd expected. Aside from the Ancient God Clan youth, there were six or seven others she'd marked, including two disciples of that Supreme and even a chaotic lifeform who wielded terrifying chaotic immortal arts.
She had thought Li Hao had a good chance at taking one of the top three spots in this Southern Domain Tournament. Now, even cracking the top five looked like a brutal fight.
"The lure of the Primordial True World really is something else."
Her eyes flickered as she whispered to herself.
…
"One Dao fire down… but that's not enough."
Within the secret realm, Li Hao sped through mountain ranges at full speed. Whenever he encountered a lone ancient demon, he raised a hand and killed it on the spot, then casually stored the corpse in a spatial rift.
The deeper he went, the more ancient demons he ran into. But for Li Hao, this no longer meant anything. Maybe seven years ago they would've been a problem. Now—even dozens at once would fall in moments.
He planned to gather as many Dao fires as he could. If he ran into Lin Qingying or Gu Yan, he'd be able to share with them.
Over a lake…
Four ancient demons were encircling a single figure. The battle was fierce. Immortal techniques fell like rain, transforming into icy arrows that froze the demons in place.
"Die!"
The white-haired youth's face twisted in fury as he roared.
But from within the demons' bodies, black demonic flames erupted, transforming into ghostly skeletal wraiths that lunged at him.
"I can't lose! I can't fall here!"
The white-haired youth howled. He was fighting for glory—for his race. His people hadn't even cracked the top hundred clans and hovered in obscurity. This was their rare chance to earn recognition.
He charged with everything he had, burning his divine soul, eyes bleeding tears of rage as he attacked again.
But the four demons worked in perfect sync. They unleashed a demonic roar that shook his divine soul, making his body tremble uncontrollably.
Just as the demons were about to devour him, a flash of silver streaked past.
In an instant, the four well-coordinated ancient demons froze mid-air. Their bodies quivered, then their pupils dilated in shock and fear—until the light faded from their eyes completely.
Their corpses dropped.
Before they even hit the ground, a massive spatial rift opened and swallowed them all.
"Hmm? More Dao fire?"
A figure stepped out. Li Hao spotted a lingering blue flame in the air and, slightly surprised, waved it into his hand. After a quick glance, he dropped it into the spatial rift too.
The white-haired youth, just now recovering, stood frozen in shock. He stared blankly at the newcomer.
Then recognition hit—this was the kid with the shortest soul lifespan!
"Be careful."
Li Hao gave the youth a glance, waved a hand, and turned to leave. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the distance.
The white-haired youth stood dumbfounded. Only when he saw Li Hao's back flash ten thousand miles away did he realize—he'd been saved. And it was that "youngest" one who had done it.
"What's his name? I think… Haotian?"
The white-haired youth murmured, quietly committing the name to memory.
At the same time, elsewhere in the void—
Boom!
A burst of golden light exploded, followed by a sharp slash of sword light. A few golden strands of hair fluttered down in the wind.
Two figures stood in this wild, desolate land. Below them were towering trees and cascading waterfalls.
"Don't ask for trouble."
The white-robed youth spoke calmly. The sword in his hand radiated an icy gleam—this was his sword soul, condensed from his Sword Dao. Though not an Immortal Weapon, the pressure it gave off was just as terrifying.
Opposite him stood a golden-haired youth from the Ancient God Clan, his face tight and eyes cold.
He had only just parted ways with that youngest soul lifespan kid, and now he ran into one of the Supreme's disciples.
And the power this one displayed made him feel serious once again.
"Interesting. So this is a disciple taught by the Supreme? If this were already the third stage and we were in the arena, I'd really want to fight you properly."
The Ancient God Clan youth narrowed his eyes, a strong fighting spirit burning within.
"You'd better hope you don't meet me," said the white-robed youth flatly, as if stating a fact. "Or you'll die."
The Ancient God Clan youth laughed. "As expected, the Southern Domain tournament is actually fun. I thought I was already invincible, but turns out there are even cockier people than me. Excellent!"
The white-robed youth looked at him coldly, his gaze devoid of emotion, not responding.
"I'm Shen Wuji. Remember that name. I look forward to fighting you on the arena stage!"
The Ancient God Clan youth let out a loud laugh, his battle spirit blazing like sparks. But he held himself back. He had come here not just to challenge other prodigies and test whether the world could rival his edge, but also to fight for a slot in the Primordial True World.
So far, the results had been satisfying.
He'd thought being placed in the True Immortal group would be boring—but it turned out to be plenty interesting!
"When you become another soul under my sword, maybe then I'll remember you," said the white-robed youth coldly.
Shen Wuji chuckled and didn't press further. He turned and soared away, leaving behind just one parting call: see you again!
…
Boom!
In the void, three ancient demons were surrounding and attacking a figure in green robes.
Suddenly, slash marks appeared on the demons' bodies one after another.
"Don't get in my way!"
Lin Qingying's eyes were sharp as she wielded the Void Sword. She held no physical sword, only one in her heart. The sword light was invisible, but the ancient demons' bodies were still marked with gashes.
If she had more Immortal Power and a deeper foundation, her sword technique could have ended them with a single thought.
But her divine soul still wasn't strong enough. And the ancient demons' strongest attribute was their divine soul.
"Break!"
She soon infused her divine soul into her Void Sword Technique. A blade formed directly in the sea of consciousness and heart of the demons, splitting their divine souls apart.
Whoosh!
She flashed past, leaving behind three fallen demon corpses.
…
"It's not time yet. When the third stage begins, then you'll see my true Sword Dao!"
"You've already recognized me by now, haven't you?"
High in the sky, Gu Yan slashed down with a sword light, cleaving through five ancient demons. His eyes burned with cold and hatred. He stepped over their corpses, gaze sweeping across the void—as if he could see through the distance, back to the path he came from.
A path full of thorns.
Now, at last, he had the qualifications to cut them down with his sword.
…
"Another Dao fire."
Li Hao streaked across the savage world, divine sense extending far out. He searched for ancient demons with high efficiency, hunting constantly. The number of corpses piling up in his spatial rift grew by the minute.
When he ran into other prodigies, he offered help to those in need. If they were evenly matched, he didn't interfere and moved on.
There were enough ancient demons around—no need to fight over them.
Along the way, he picked up many corpses too. Some were mangled, some killed cleanly in one blow.
Li Hao looked like a scavenger, collecting everywhere.
On a mountaintop—
A youth sat cross-legged, holding a wine jug. Behind him at the base of the cliff were dozens of ancient demon corpses, their limbs and wings twisted, all killed gruesomely.
That hellish scene clashed sharply with the youth's relaxed air as he sipped his drink.
Suddenly, he spotted a figure racing in from the sky. His lips curled into a smile, and he raised his wine jug in greeting.