Chapter 529: The Ancient Demon Gathering
Boom!
In the void, a young girl in an egg-yellow gown was engaged in a fierce battle with three ancient demons.
Immortal techniques enveloped her, and the surroundings were swept by cascading waterfalls of energy, creating a magnificent sight.
Amidst the crashing cascade of energy, a sword light suddenly struck, landing on one of the ancient demons' heads. However, it only produced a scraping sound, as though scraping across scales.
"Three ancient demons, and I can't even block them!"
Gu Xingwan was horrified. She had reached the full perfection of the True Immortal realm, with the same cultivation level as the ancient demons. Yet, while she could easily kill ancient demons at the borders, here, she was constantly facing danger.
Suddenly, the central ancient demon exerted a powerful force, its eyes turning blood red, and a huge shadow appeared behind it, holding a long brush.
The brush swirled through the air, creating a dark shadow that swept toward her.
Gu Xingwan's heart jolted, feeling that if she were touched by that brush, it would certainly mean her death!
"Dodge!"
She quickly evaded, her law avatar appearing, unleashing its strongest power. Her figure moved like soft flowing water, shooting out from the void, narrowly avoiding the sweeping brush.
However, having dodged once didn't guarantee her safety the second time.
"Is this… an ancient demon royal family?"
Gu Xingwan recognized the dark shadow and recalled the information her grandfather had told her about the ancient demons. Her face changed slightly. No wonder the mental power of this ancient demon was so strong; it was putting a lot of pressure on her.
At this moment, the ancient demon royal family used a royal secret technique and no longer held back. The mental power surged, and with the dark shadow, it swung the brush once again.
The void seemed to be sliced apart by the brush, imbued with a lethal rule.
Gu Xingwan's pupils contracted, and she tried to evade. But the other two ancient demons suddenly let out low roars. The shockwaves caused her mental energy to tremble, and her thoughts became briefly disordered.
In that instant, the brush came sweeping toward her.
Boom!
Suddenly, a sword light streaked across, and the dark brush was cut in half.
Gu Xingwan was slightly stunned but reacted quickly, swiftly retreating, turning her head to see the figure that filled her with immense joy.
"It's you!"
Seeing it was Li Hao, Gu Xingwan's eyes brightened, and she said excitedly.
From the brief time they spent together in her grandfather's courtyard to now, seeing this young man rise step by step, becoming more prominent, the mark he left in her heart grew deeper and deeper. But after that, they had no chance to meet alone, and she vaguely sensed the growing distance between them.
Li Hao, with a serious expression, looked at the ancient demon. The previous attack with the black brush had given him a feeling of danger. He sensed that if he had touched it, something bad would have happened. Therefore, he had used his "Only Me" sword technique.
Fortunately, the "Only Me" sword technique now carried the power of time and space, allowing him to cut the brush.
"Die!"
Without giving the ancient demon a chance to react, Li Hao swiftly turned his sword light and charged.
"Roar!"
The ancient demon royal family's eyes widened in anger. A surge of demonic power erupted from its body, but before it could act again, its body suddenly froze.
The sword light cut through its head, and the mental power it contained was shattered along with its soul.
Then, the sword light changed direction, quickly piercing the heads of the other two ancient demons, killing them both.
The three ancient demons lost their vitality in the blink of an eye, their souls vanishing as they died completely.
Li Hao raised his hand, skillfully cutting open a space crack and collecting their bodies inside, before turning to the girl beside him.
"Long time no see."
Li Hao greeted with a smile.
Though she had often quarreled with him in the courtyard, for her grandfather's sake, Li Hao had never held it against her.
"How did you end up here?"
Gu Xingwan was shocked after seeing Li Hao easily defeat the three ancient demons, including the royal family demon. She couldn't help but ask, her eyes filled with expectation.
But soon, Li Hao's response caused the expectation in her eyes to turn to a slight sense of disappointment.
"Just passing by."
"Passing by..."
Gu Xingwan mumbled to herself, realizing she had been overthinking. After all, it was nearly impossible to track someone in the True Immortal Realm unless by chance.
"You must already have a Dao Fire, right?" she asked.
Li Hao nodded and asked, "What about you? Do you have one?"
"Not yet."
Gu Xingwan shook her head.
Li Hao looked at the void. At that moment, the fierce ancient demon's corpse had been collected into a space crack, and a blue Dao Fire was floating where it had fallen.
He raised his hand to collect the Dao Fire, then passed it to Gu Xingwan, saying, "This Dao Fire is for you."
"This is Dao Fire?"
Gu Xingwan came to her senses and looked at the Dao Fire floating in front of her, stunned. "For me?"
"Yes."
Li Hao nodded, then asked, "So, are you going to rest somewhere, or…?"
"Can I travel with you?"
Gu Xingwan suddenly realized, quickly speaking with a mix of caution and hope.
"My speed is a bit fast; you might find it hard to keep up," Li Hao replied.
"I'll do my best to keep up."
Gu Xingwan quickly reassured him.
Li Hao was speechless, but thinking about how her grandfather was probably watching the South Domain battle, he finally said, "Alright, leaving you alone here might be a bit dangerous."
If it were back when they first met, Gu Xingwan would have been furious at being underestimated, but now, she felt a sweet feeling in her heart.
"Let's go."
Li Hao waved.
"Mm."
Gu Xingwan nodded obediently, while tidying up her messy hair and gown.
"The ancient demon from before seemed a bit unusual."
As they flew forward, Li Hao started talking about the ancient demon they had just encountered, realizing that it could have threatened him.
"That was an ancient demon royal family, it seems to be from the 'Death Name' tribe among the Seven Great Ancient Demon Clans!"
Gu Xingwan recalled her grandfather's words and said thoughtfully.
"Death Name tribe?"
Li Hao was surprised. Such a strange name.
"Yes, I heard that the royal secret technique of the Death Name tribe allows them to kill an enemy once they know their name and carve it into the void!"
Gu Xingwan nodded, her expression solemn. "This is the Dao Law of the Emperor, mastered by the highest members of the Death Name tribe."
"Mm?"
Li Hao looked puzzled. "Isn't that ability a bit similar to a curse? If the highest members of the Death Name tribe know the names of other Immortal Emperors, could they pose a threat?"
Gu Xingwan shook her head. "The Death Name tribe is very mysterious. Among the Seven Great Ancient Demon Clans, they are one of the least numerous. Only my grandfather probably knows the exact conditions."
Li Hao nodded slightly, thinking about asking her grandfather. It seemed each of the Seven Great Ancient Demon Clans had its own unique abilities.
He suddenly thought of the ancient demon woman, who was also from a royal family. He wondered what her strongest innate ability was.
"Where are we going now?"
Gu Xingwan sneakily glanced at Li Hao's side profile.
"Let's explore and find the ancient demons, or others." Li Hao replied.
Gu Xingwan let out an "oh" sound and then stopped speaking, silently following behind Li Hao.
Li Hao moved rapidly with his Gui Xu Instant Transmission, his speed extremely fast. With the Heavenly Stars Meridian, his Immortal Power flowed endlessly.
Before long, Gu Xingwan was struggling to keep up with Li Hao's pace, so exhausted that she couldn't think or talk.
"You... with this pace, will you have the strength to fight if we encounter the ancient demons?"
Gu Xingwan gasped, her face turning bright red, her blood rushing.
"Didn't your grandfather tell you about the Heavenly Stars Meridian?"
Li Hao asked.
During this South Domain Battle, he had revealed the method of the Heavenly Stars Meridian. Even if some people didn't recognize it, many others who were knowledgeable would immediately recognize it. There was no need to hide this trump card.
Gu Xingwan was stunned, noticing the faint starlight surrounding Li Hao in the void. She immediately understood that when he said she couldn't keep up, it wasn't that he was trying to leave her behind, but it was the reality.
Her eyes were complicated as she whispered, "If I can't keep up, you should just go on without me. Don't let me slow you down."
Li Hao continued to use Instant Transmission four or five more times before slowing down slightly, giving Gu Xingwan a chance to catch her breath.
Since he had brought her along, he certainly had no intention of abandoning her midway.
Now, with her Immortal Power nearly exhausted, leaving her behind would only make things even more dangerous.
"It's fine, slowing down a bit doesn't matter."
Li Hao replied, expanding his Divine Sense to scan the surroundings.
Not long after, they encountered a group of ancient demons—eight in total—flying toward them.
There were no words exchanged. Upon meeting, they immediately roared and began to fight.
However, Li Hao moved swiftly and decisively, using the Sword God Technique. His golden sword light was dazzling, shining through the sky, cutting down the eight ancient demons one by one.
Seeing how easily Li Hao slaughtered the ancient demons, Gu Xingwan's lips slightly twitched. Watching him fight up close, she realized just how terrifying this young man was.
"You're likely to make it into the top three in this South Domain Battle," Gu Xingwan said to Li Hao, deeply impressed.
"Mm."
Li Hao glanced back at her, thinking to himself: Little girl, don't jinx me.
After the eight ancient demons were killed, their bodies were all collected by Li Hao, and another Dao Fire was gained.
Li Hao stored the Dao Fire, then continued forward.
…
Outside the secret realm, the divine avatars of the Seven Emperors sat in the void, casually chatting with one another.
They had only shown themselves during this South Domain grand event, as they rarely kept in contact on a regular basis.
Except for the great calamity that occurred one hundred thousand years ago, where the Seven Emperors gathered an army to resist the ancient demons, they later split up due to many internal reasons. They now each governed their own Immortal Dynasty, and sometimes, they even had friction with one another.
"Supreme, your disciple's swordsmanship is quite terrifying. At such a young age, they've already comprehended the fifth level!"
The Emperor of Tianzhao Immortal Dynasty, Tianzhao Di, chuckled lightly at the Supreme of the Heavenly Palace.
At this moment, in the reflective scene of the secret realm, a young man in white was holding his sword alone, stepping over the corpses of dozens of ancient demons as he walked further into the distance.
Those dozens of ancient demons had all been slain with a single sword, leaving everyone stunned into silence.
"Just some talent," the Supreme of the Heavenly Palace replied gently.
"I wonder if this child will inherit the Sword Emperor's throne. Since the Sword Emperor's fall, no one has been able to wield his Spring Slash Emperor Sword. It's a shame," said Emperor Chu calmly.
"The Spring Slash Emperor Sword was just one of the Sword Emperor's weapons. In the past, his sword chest was lost, and I've heard it contained nine Emperor Swords, each one famous enough to pierce the heavens and suppress the Immortal Realm for ten thousand years. But now, the sword chest is nowhere to be found."
The Empress of Yuan Zun Immortal Dynasty spoke indifferently, her figure outstanding, her imperial robe etched with ancient fierce beasts, looking both noble and domineering.
"Emperor Chu, that little fellow from your Immortal Dynasty isn't bad either. His swordsmanship has its own flavor."
Emperor Jiang of Jiang Rong Immortal Dynasty chuckled.
Not long ago, in the True Immortal Secret Realm, Li Hao had severed the ancient demon royal family, cutting through the Death Name Tribe's secret technique with a single sword, demonstrating the terrifying power of that strike.
Emperor Chu had noticed, but did not mention it, mainly because he didn't want Li Hao to show his strength too early in this first trial, drawing too much attention.
Although Li Hao was already the center of attention due to his exaggerated soul longevity, which had made countless people notice him, soul longevity only indicated innate talent and didn't necessarily reflect actual combat power.
"Not bad, but compared to the Supreme's disciple, there's no comparison."
Emperor Chu said calmly.
"Supreme, your disciple seems to have the natural body of a Sword Immortal, doesn't he?" asked the Empress of Yuan Zun Immortal Dynasty.
The Supreme of the Heavenly Palace nodded, saying, "Yes, but that's from his bloodline in his past two lives."
Upon hearing this, the other Emperors exchanged looks but remained silent.
Given the Supreme of the Heavenly Palace's perspective, taking such a disciple would definitely mean the child had an extraordinary potential.
The bloodline of the Sword Immortal Body from his previous two lives seemed to have left a significant mark on him. Looking at the boy's actions, it was highly likely that he also carried the blood of an emperor, though which generation it came from was unclear. But with such accumulated experiences over previous lifetimes, he was bound to inherit part of the Emperor's will.
Each life was a top-tier accumulation, and when combined, it made him an extraordinary talent this time around, capable of inheriting all the foundations of previous lives. It was no surprise that the Supreme of the Heavenly Palace had chosen him as a direct disciple. Such an individual could very well be cultivated into a new Immortal Emperor.
"This first round of the trial, with three thousand Dao Fires, eliminating over two-thirds of the participants, is quite a cruel process," said another Emperor, the Emperor of Jin Yun Immortal Dynasty.
The others didn't respond. After all, the geniuses who made it here were the best among billions of cultivators. To have such a large portion eliminated here was to be expected.
"Only about three thousand will make it through in the end," the Empress of Yuan Zun said calmly. "It looks like that young man plans to clear out more participants in this round."
In the True Immortal Secret Realm, a golden light surrounded the ancient god clan's young man, "Shen Wuji," as he hunted down the ancient demons and collected Dao Fires.
He already had over ten Dao Fires in his possession.
"Hmm? It looks like the ancient demons are gathering in groups over there. They must be planning something big!"
"That little guy is in danger."
Suddenly, in a mountain range within the True Immortal Secret Realm, a large group of ancient demons gathered, revealing themselves.
There were hundreds of them.
Such a scale was equivalent to a small ancient demon army.
And they were all in the True Immortal Realm, including royals and elite ancient demons.
This formation made the Seven Immortal Dynasty Emperors furrow their brows.
Soon, the gathering of ancient demons also attracted the attention of others, and everyone gasped.
"The ancient demons are all gathering together!"
"Are they planning to form an army?"
"Who can stop them?"
"The people over there have no idea; someone is approaching them."
Emperor Chu and the others looked at the Supreme of the Heavenly Palace, their eyes full of questions.
This situation was clearly spiraling out of control.