Volume 2 - Chapter 46: The Young Man's Fierce Reputation - Part 2
Li Hao's head buzzed, and a feeling of dizziness washed over him.
In the moment of his pause, the fiery phoenix before him vanished, transforming into a streak of fire that fled into the distance.
Li Hao looked up and met Feng Shanjun's gaze from afar.
"You bastard!!"
Feng Shanjun’s eyes were bloodshot with rage. This young man had actually forced him to use his Reverse Fate Power! His second life was gone!
Beside him, Bai Shenjun also wore a look of shock. Feng Shanjun's cultivation was on par with his, and yet he had been forced to activate his Reverse Fate Power. This was no longer a matter of holding back or underestimating the enemy.
It was the boy—he was far too strong! His treasured body was terrifying, completely unscathed by the Phoenix's True Flames!
"Three Immortals Realm... How could it be this powerful?"
"Are you perhaps possessed by a Saint?!"
Feng Shanjun roared in disbelief. To lose like this was utterly inconceivable. Even among the monstrous prodigies of the Divine General Mansion, someone like this was one of a kind!
This young man was practically like a feral beast cub from the Great Wilderness Heaven, savage and terrifying.
"You haven't seen me before because you've never met someone like me," Li Hao replied coldly, stepping forward with icy determination, intent on cutting him down.
Bai Shenjun stepped forward, taking a deep breath and addressing Feng Shanjun, "Let’s join forces."
"I'm not sticking around for this!"
Feng Shanjun was both humiliated and enraged. Losing his second life was already devastating. Even if he fought to the point of serious injury, the other lurking monsters and demons nearby would seize the opportunity to turn him into sustenance for their paths to invincibility.
No need to become someone else’s stepping stone.
Bai Shenjun's face darkened. Had he really come all this way for nothing?
"Wait!"
At this moment, a loud cry echoed from afar.
Feng Shanjun and Bai Shenjun turned toward the voice to see the red-dressed girl from earlier flying over, with a man and woman rushing ahead of her.
"Devouring Demon Ancestor!"
"Ten Thousand Caverns Ghost Maiden!"
The sight of the newcomers made Feng Shanjun's expression harden. He hadn't expected them to show up as well.
"This is bad," Feng Boping transmitted to Li Hao. "Little Mouse, it’s time to go. Too many Demon Kings are gathering."
Li Hao paused briefly, his gaze fixed on the approaching pair of demons. He quickly assessed their auras.
Neither hid their presence—they were Demon Kings. The woman’s aura was slightly weaker, seemingly at the Dao Heart Realm.
"No problem, Old Feng. Hold one off for me. As for the other three… I’ll give it a try!" Li Hao transmitted back.
At this moment, he had yet to unleash his full power. He wanted to test his limits.
"Three? Are you sure?" Feng Boping looked at Li Hao in shock.
Though he knew Li Hao had reached the Three Immortals Realm, and had previously killed a Demon King while still in the Heaven and Man Realm, facing three Demon Kings alone was far too reckless!
But when Li Hao confirmed his intent, Feng Boping took a deep breath and stopped trying to dissuade him. He simply said, "Very well. I’ll fight by your side."
From the Divine General Mansion in Qingzhou to this place, Feng Boping had accompanied him through wind and snow, never once urging him to turn back—only walking beside him.
Now, he wouldn’t say more.
Because in his eyes, although Li Hao was a junior, he was also a companion. Between friends, there is mutual respect. A single warning suffices; to continue insisting would be nothing more than a veiled order.
"Good!"
Li Hao strode forward, his entire being radiating boundless resolve. He wanted to see his own limits.
Three Demon Kings—though it seemed a bit much, it wasn’t necessarily impossible to fight them!
"...
"Feng Shanjun, let’s attack together! Do you really want to let this go?"
The man who had just arrived was surrounded by demonic energy, his head covered with densely packed lumps of flesh that made him look horrifying.
He glared coldly at Li Hao in the distance. "A mere Three Immortals Realm cultivator, yet so ferocious? Even the Imperial Clan wouldn’t achieve this. I’ve heard this boy’s mother hails from the Great Wilderness Heaven. He’s likely inherited some secret method. He must be eliminated! Otherwise, where will there be room for us in the future?"
"Exactly! We all have grudges against the Li family, and this is a rare opportunity. We can’t let it slip away!" added the pale-skinned woman, her aura exuding chilling yin energy, and her green eyes glinting sinisterly.
Feng Shanjun was briefly stunned. He hadn’t expected so many Demon Kings to appear here.
A mix of joy and regret filled his heart. If he’d known this boy was so terrifying, he would have waited to act alongside the others, sparing himself the loss of his Reverse Fate Power.
But the thought vanished as quickly as it came. It was too shameful.
As a Demon King, to admit he couldn’t single-handedly kill this boy? Unthinkable.
"Kill!"
Without wasting more words, he gave the order.
The Devouring Demon Ancestor and the Ten Thousand Caverns Ghost Maiden wasted no time, charging toward Li Hao.
...
Bai Shenjun, seeing this, turned his focus toward the Fourth Pillar Realm cultivators hiding in the shadows, intending to force them out.
Now, with three Demon Kings besieging that boy, unless another Fourth Pillar Realm expert intervened, no one could save him.
Dark demonic energy blotted out the sky, accompanied by eerie wails and ghostly howls. The Devouring Demon Ancestor produced an ancient bronze mirror that captured Li Hao’s reflection. From the mirror, a figure identical to Li Hao emerged, rushing to attack him.
Li Hao’s hair flew wildly as he took each step forward, his aura surging skyward.
Within him, Immortal Qi erupted in full force, drawing on the power of heaven and earth as the strength of the Ten Directions Domain gathered at his command.
At the same time, his treasured body unleashed its Extreme State Power. His flesh turned a radiant golden hue, and his hair transformed into shimmering gold, resembling a golden deity.
An overwhelming and terrifying power surged forth from his body, pouring out in waves.
Not only did his strength increase dramatically, but his physical defenses, speed of thought, and all other capabilities were enhanced in every aspect.
Facing the doppelgänger emerging from the ancient bronze mirror, Li Hao did not dodge. Instead, he struck forward with a powerful punch.
The golden fist seemed to pierce through the heavens. The doppelgänger raised its sword and slashed down with fury, but with a single punch, Li Hao shattered the blade’s light and pierced through the figure entirely!
"Impossible?!"
The Devouring Demon Ancestor froze, his expression filled with shock. His ancient treasure could produce a magical clone mirroring the target’s own cultivation level. Just this treasure alone had allowed him to easily crush opponents of similar strength countless times.
Yet, the doppelgänger created from the treasure had been destroyed by a single punch from Li Hao’s original body?
What he didn’t realize was that while the treasure could replicate cultivation levels, it couldn’t duplicate Extreme State Power!
Under the augmentation of his Extreme State Power, Li Hao’s physical body had been enhanced to an unprecedented degree. His absorption of the surrounding forces of heaven and earth had also increased, resulting in an extraordinary surge in overall strength.
Shattering the doppelgänger, Li Hao’s arms radiated divine power as he swung his sword, slashing at the countless ghostly figures being projected into the void.
"Yama’s Ghost Domain—kill!"
The Ten Thousand Caverns Ghost Maiden’s face was streaked with green veins as she channeled immense power. Countless ghostly phantoms poured out from her sleeves, shrouding the heavens and transforming the area into a deathly domain.
These ghostly shadows layered over one another, their presence capable of absorbing an enemy’s strength with ease.
However, as Li Hao’s resounding sword radiance erupted, a brilliant dragon-like sword cry rang out. The countless ghostly figures screamed as if being scorched by divine sunlight. In an instant, the phantoms were torn apart.
With a single strike, the overwhelming ghostly horde was wiped out!
"Is that all you’ve got?"
Li Hao laughed loudly, sword in hand, and charged forward. His footsteps seemed to compress the vast distances of heaven and earth with each step.
He appeared directly before the Ten Thousand Caverns Ghost Maiden, his blade flashing with an unrelenting storm of sword energy.
Countless streams of sword energy emerged from the void, resembling dragon tides that roared toward her.
The ghostly shadows she conjured to defend herself were shredded the moment they clashed with the sword energy.
The surging sword shadows rained down upon her like a tempest.
"Ten Hells Demon Suppression Form!"
The Ten Thousand Caverns Ghost Maiden let out an ear-piercing scream, her body suddenly swelling as a deep, masculine roar emanated from within her. Her form erupted with a terrifying aura.
But the relentless sword energy struck her body repeatedly. Suddenly, one of the sword strikes pierced through her defenses and sank into her body.
The Ghost Maiden’s figure trembled violently. The ghostly aura surrounding her came to a halt, then swiftly began to dissipate.
"W-what is this..."
The Ten Thousand Caverns Ghost Maiden’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Li Hao. She felt her life force draining rapidly as though an invisible force was consuming it, dragging it into a faraway void.
She tried to summon her strength and extract her soul from her body, but all her power and her soul itself were bound by an unrelenting force, rendering escape impossible.
She could feel the shadow of death looming over her, cold and suffocating.
Seizing this moment, Li Hao’s Dragon Sky Sword surged with divine light and slashed down, cutting her body cleanly in two.
The Devouring Demon Ancestor and Feng Shanjun, just arriving, froze in confusion. They couldn’t fathom why the Ghost Maiden had failed to evade the strike. What they saw next left them horrified—her severed body began to dissolve, her life force rapidly draining away until it completely disappeared in an instant.
She was dead.
This sudden and shocking turn of events left both Demon Kings dumbfounded, their eyes wide with disbelief.
In just one exchange, this Dao Heart Realm Demon King had been slain by Li Hao!
"And now, it’s your turn!"
Li Hao knew he had triggered a devastating ability. Although the chances were extremely slim, the sheer volume of sword energy that had struck the Ghost Maiden’s body had ultimately forced the outcome.
Had she chosen to meet his attacks head-on, countering them with her own power to neutralize the blows, she might have survived. But opting to rely solely on her physical defenses made her more vulnerable to the ability’s activation.
...