Volume 2 - Chapter 33: Ascending to Immortality - Part 2
Feng Lao seemed to have forgotten.
Hearing Li Hao’s words, Feng Lao’s body trembled as if startled. Then, a fierce gust of wind-like power erupted from him, enveloping Li Hao and flinging him away.
“Just avenge me! Go!”
For the first time, Feng Boping roared at Li Hao.
“Heh, no one’s leaving! Still trying to escape?!”
The Myriad Mountains Demon King sneered coldly, giving a signal to Gao Xiong beside him. At the same time, he was inwardly surprised and perplexed. After so long, Gao Xiong still hadn’t dealt with the boy. Although he had instructed him not to kill Li Hao outright and to capture him alive for slow torture, it seemed Gao Xiong had become too engrossed in playing.
The Black Bird Demon King said nothing, but his humiliation was palpable. As Li Hao was sent flying, the demon king immediately unleashed his unparalleled speed to pursue him.
Feng Boping’s aged and withered body tilted back as he let out a furious roar toward the heavens. His flesh seemed to swell, but from the gaping wound in his abdomen, blood surged forth, staining his tattered robes red.
He launched himself into the air, intending to intercept the attackers.
But the Myriad Mountains Demon King and the silver-robed youth seized the opportunity and struck simultaneously.
In the distance, Li Hao raised his hand and dispelled the wind force that had sent him flying. Seeing Feng Lao’s frail figure standing alone against the three demon kings, Li Hao’s eyes widened in rage, and he let out a grief-stricken and agonizing roar toward the sky.
The immortal energy within his body erupted entirely.
Li Hao released the shackles and limitations of his body, desperately drawing upon the power of heaven and earth.
When he had reached the Earth Immortal Realm, he borrowed the power of heaven and earth and felt its boundless majesty. Yet, he also vaguely sensed that excessive reliance on such power would cause his own being to dissolve into the heavens and earth.
The more his body fused with the heavens and earth, the deeper he became a part of it, and the more power he could borrow.
But such a path would also lead to his body disintegrating entirely, merging completely with the heavens and earth, losing his sense of self, and becoming a mere force within the natural world.
He might transform into mountains, rivers, birds, beasts, or even a snowflake.
Assimilation with the heavens and earth!
This was the forbidden limit that Li Hao dared not cross, the ultimate peril of the Earth Immortal Realm!
But now, he took that step.
His body absorbed the power of heaven and earth to an immense degree, causing his flesh and blood to tear and his frame to expand violently.
A tempest-like power surged toward Li Hao in waves.
Heaven and earth trembled; the skies darkened, and everything seemed to fall silent.
An immense, overwhelming pressure suddenly descended upon the battlefield.
At that moment, the three demon kings attacking Feng Boping were stunned and instinctively looked up.
Feng Boping also froze for a moment and turned his head.
He saw the energy of the heavens and earth converging like a tide upon the frenzied youth.
Li Hao’s long black hair stood on end, each strand crackling with fury. His blood-red eyes gleamed with a terrifying light, and his now-massive body resembled the awakening of an ancient god or demon.
“Ahhh!!!”
Li Hao’s roar reverberated across the entire Tianmen Pass, a mixture of pain, rage, and madness.
He raised the Dragon Sky Sword in his hand. In that instant, the blade, infused with the power of heaven and earth, unleashed its true sword force.
The divine sword, as though unsealed, radiated an unparalleled, blinding brilliance. The boundless energy of heaven and earth coalesced within the blade, condensed to its peak. Finally, as Li Hao stepped forward, a vast sword aura swept outward with a slash.
“Heaven and Earth Reincarnation!”
The terrifying sword aura transformed into a vortex that seemed capable of devouring everything. Like a black hole, it surged forth.
...
The space around them distorted as the attack hurtled toward the three demon kings.
Behind the vortex, the Dragon Sky Sword Soul materialized, transforming into a dazzling true dragon. It lunged forward and clamped down on the Black Bird Demon King, coiling around him tightly.
“Shatter for me!”
The Black Bird Demon King, terrified, struggled desperately. However, his bloodline felt an innate reverence and fear toward the dragon coiled around him.
He fought back in fury, but as the sword-shadow vortex approached, a suffocating sense of impending death loomed over him.
“Nie Xiong, help me!”
Throwing away the dignity of a demon king, he cried out desperately.
The Myriad Mountains Demon King needed no prompting. Though he was astounded by the youth’s terrifying display, he charged forward nonetheless. Roaring, he unleashed several palm strikes, layering them atop one another like a demonic hand smashing toward the sword-shadow vortex.
With a deafening boom, heaven and earth seemed to explode. The sword-shadow reincarnation roared, and the demonic hand, filled with immense power, cracked under the friction of the collision and finally shattered.
The Myriad Mountains Demon King felt a surge of reverse blood rising in his throat, his eyes filled with shock.
Meanwhile, the sword-shadow reincarnation vortex showed signs of dispersing from the impact. Suddenly, it split into countless sword shadows that darted out like swimming dragons.
In an instant, the Black Bird Demon King was bombarded by countless sword energies.
The sword energy fell like rain, leaving countless piercing scars across his wings. Though the injuries seemed minor, one seemingly inconspicuous strand of sword energy pierced through a gap in his broken feathers and entered his body.
The Black Bird Demon King’s pupils contracted violently.
A bizarre sensation swept through him, as if his bones were being pulled away, leaving him powerless.
His strength, soul, and will rapidly drained away.
What… what is happening?
Eyes wide with disbelief, the massive body of the Black Bird Demon King plummeted, crashing heavily into the ground.
Though his bird-like eyes still held an expression of astonishment, their luster quickly faded. His life force rapidly ebbed away—he was dead!
...
This scene left the Myriad Mountains Demon King, who had just caught his breath, dumbstruck. The silver-robed youth, preparing to strike, also froze.
They stared wide-eyed, horrified at the Black Bird Demon King’s lifeless body.
He was dead?!!
The most devastating attack from that sword had been blocked by the Myriad Mountains Demon King, dispersing it into mere remnants of sword energy.
They had felt the residual sword energy’s limited lethality, yet somehow, it had killed the Black Bird Demon King?!
The Myriad Mountains Demon King and the silver-robed youth turned in unison, their eyes fixed on the advancing youth.
Li Hao’s towering and cracked body exuded an aura of unspeakable terror, as if he had performed some secret technique. It felt as though he carried the entire heavens upon his back, pressing down upon them.
How could someone at the Heaven and Man Realm possess such power?
Unable to comprehend the sight before them, the two demon kings’ hearts were filled with dread.
By then, Li Hao had already raised his sword, roaring as he swung for the second time.
This sword strike carried even more terrifying power than the first. It was as though the gates of a hellish abyss had opened, with sword shadows resembling dragons surging toward the Myriad Mountains Demon King.
The Myriad Mountains Demon King’s expression changed drastically. He could scarcely believe such overwhelming force could be unleashed a second time.
“What kind of secret technique is this? How could it elevate someone at the Heaven and Man Realm to such heights?”
Overwhelmed by fury and fear, he let out a roar and unleashed another demonic hand strike to meet the incoming sword shadows.
The sword shadows dispersed momentarily upon impact but quickly reassembled and, alongside the Dragon Sky Sword Soul, lunged directly at the Myriad Mountains Demon King.
A profound sense of doom washed over him. His body trembled as though his very instincts warned of death looming over him.
Without hesitation, he recoiled, turning and retreating at full speed.
“Retreat!”
He did not dare confront the uncanny sword energy rain. The recent, inexplicable death of the Black Bird Demon King had unnerved him deeply.
Beside him, the silver-robed youth’s expression shifted as well. Realizing the situation was dire, he followed suit, swiftly pulling back.
The sword-shadow reincarnation pursued relentlessly, but the two demon kings fled at such speed that Li Hao could only shatter the vortex, splitting it into countless beams of sword light to shoot outward in pursuit.
Though the beams gained speed, they still failed to catch up.
In the blink of an eye, the two great demons had retreated beyond the borders of Tianmen Pass.
...
In the distance, the sound of a fierce clash shook the air—likely from the battle between the Dragon Lord and Song Qiumo.
Li Hao caught sight of the two demons striking a final attack before retreating. Their parting blows gravely injured Song Qiumo, leaving her reeling, while the Dragon Lord stood in stunned silence. The Myriad Mountains Demon King had already called for their retreat.