Volume 3 - Chapter 1: The River of Death of the Divine General
A vast wilderness stretched endlessly...
Several figures moved with blinding speed through the desolate landscape. Thunder and lightning crackled overhead, and the howling winds filled the air, striking fear into the hearts of nearby beasts and minor demons alike.
“Stop!”
Lu Yuan roared furiously, his voice echoing like a beast’s growl. Covering his body with the Limitless Thunder Dao, his speed surged as he tried to block Li Hao’s path.
However, Li Hao’s movement technique was exceptionally elusive. Every time Lu Yuan was about to catch up, Li Hao would suddenly accelerate or shift directions.
This brat hasn’t even pushed his movement technique to its limits!
Bang!
Suddenly, a streak of divine fire shot toward Li Hao. He twisted his body just in time, narrowly avoiding a direct hit.
The searing heat brushed against him, leaving a stinging pain on his side. The sheer destructive force of the attack was enough to melt ordinary divine weapons effortlessly.
“If you keep running, I’ll turn back and slaughter every single person on the battlefield!”
The Candlefire God’s gaze was icy as he directly threatened Li Hao.
He had already discerned Li Hao’s intentions—deliberately luring them away to give the people on the battlefield more time to survive. Naïve!
Li Hao responded with a faint, mocking smile. “By all means, please do!”
With that, he exploded forward at full speed, charging toward the distant horizon.
The Candlefire God, enraged by this defiance, hesitated briefly, considering turning back to attack the battlefield. However, Li Hao’s sudden acceleration made him pause.
For a moment, uncertainty flickered in his heart.
But only for a moment. He resumed his pursuit.
Compared to those on the battlefield, Li Hao must not escape.
“How about this? You two chase him while I clean up the battlefield!” Lu Yuan shouted, his voice carrying to Li Hao’s ears as well.
Li Hao heard him but did not slow down. Instead, his speed increased, steadily pulling away.
The Candlefire God and Yin Furen exchanged grim looks, remaining silent.
Lu Yuan was furious. Seeing that the couple didn’t object, he realized he couldn’t back out without consequences later.
Whoosh!
Li Hao surged ahead, gauging the distance. One by one, he activated the previously sealed attributes of his All-Manifestations Attribute, designed for acceleration.
His speed grew faster and faster, widening the gap between him and his pursuers.
“He can still go faster?!”
Lu Yuan bellowed in anger, channeling his thunder energy into his body. His bones crackled with electricity, granting him a slight increase in speed—but it wasn’t enough to close the distance.
The Candlefire God and Yin Furen were also incredibly swift, but they could only watch as Li Hao grew further and further away.
“Damn it! There’s something off about his speed!”
“That movement technique... I’ve seen it before!”
“There was a thief who once broke into the Void Realm using the same technique. Damn him!”
The Candlefire God and Yin Furen were livid. If Li Hao escaped, they would have no peace.
Desperation surged through them as they unleashed their true power, sacrificing their bodies with secret techniques to barely maintain pursuit.
Li Hao could feel the three figures relentlessly chasing him. His expression darkened. Even though he was already pushing himself to the limit, he still couldn’t shake them. These three, all at the Absolute Technique Stage, were formidable adversaries.
If my body refining technique had reached the seventh stage, I could have shaken them off easily...
...
As Li Hao darted past ruined cities in Liang Province, he saw the aftermath of the demon tide. What were once bustling cities were now desolate ruins, littered with corpses and drenched in blood.
Taking a deep breath, he recalled the letter his second uncle had sent earlier, mentioning Fourth Uncle.
Scanning the names of the destroyed cities as he passed, he adjusted his direction and charged toward the border of Liang Province.
The chase spanned thousands of miles...
Li Hao’s Earth and Heaven Meridian granted him near-endless stamina, akin to possessing half the strength of an Undying Force, enabling him to endure without collapsing.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan, the Candlefire God, and Yin Furen were gasping for air.
Sprinting thousands of miles at full speed had drained even these Absolute Technique Stage powerhouses.
Though they could cover tens or even hundreds of miles in an instant, such bursts drained their energy rapidly and couldn’t be sustained.
Earlier, Lu Yuan had leisurely flown across tens of thousands of miles to reach Tianmen Pass, replenishing his strength with ease. But now, this relentless pursuit left no room to catch his breath.
Their frustration mounted as their stamina waned, yet Li Hao’s speed remained undiminished, as if his energy was boundless.
Is he already using his Undying Force?
If so, once his speed falters, that will be our chance to unleash our Undying Force and close the gap.
...
Li Hao reached the western border of Liang Province.
Before him lay a battlefield of devastation.
The ground was littered with the bodies of soldiers and demons, mingling in a sea of blood. Flags were torn, war chariots overturned, and defenses obliterated.
Li Hao’s gaze grew solemn as he imagined the scale of the battle that had taken place here. Without stopping, he flew past the border, heading toward his next destination.
Behind him, the three demon kings’ speed noticeably slowed.
Sensing this, Li Hao slightly reduced his speed to prevent them from collapsing and retreating to the battlefield.
Seeing Li Hao slow down, Lu Yuan and the others felt a surge of hope and increased their speed again, resuming the chase.
But as they approached, Li Hao accelerated again, maintaining the distance.
It became a game of constant probing and countering.
While fleeing at high speed, Li Hao’s eyes scanned his surroundings. He relied on the natural landmarks—mountains and rivers—to confirm his direction.
He had memorized the geographic layout of Liang Province long ago. Back at Tingyu Pavilion, he had studied a detailed map of the area.
After all, Liang Province had long been the domain of the Li Family.
There were a total of nineteen provinces, with each Divine General Mansion governing three to four provinces.
Initially, each mansion governed only three provinces. However, after the eruption of the River of Death, which extended into Great Yu, the Wang Family had been ordered to establish the River of Death Division. They were tasked with solving the crisis but had to relinquish control of several provinces in the process.
This restructuring also indirectly weakened the military strength of the Wang Family.
That event, centuries ago, had countless hidden stories behind it. While the older generation still remembered the grudges involved, time had long buried most of the details.
The intertwined conflicts and reconciliations between the great clans and the royal dynasty, spanning millennia, were impossibly complex.
By Li Hao’s generation, the Five Divine General Mansions maintained a tenuous peace on the surface—a rare and fragile accomplishment.
Whoosh!
Spotting his target, Li Hao shifted direction and flew toward another location.
“That brat… it seems like he’s heading somewhere specific,” Yin Furen remarked, her expression darkening.
The Candlefire God narrowed his eyes, his voice cold. “It’s said that the fourth son of the Li Family guards the area near the River of Death. Hmph, does he think he can use that person to escape? If he dares show up, he’ll die like any other!”
If this turned into a direct confrontation, with his Dao Domain unleashed, the Candlefire God wasn’t worried about an Absolute Technique Stage opponent.
Lu Yuan also caught on to Li Hao’s plan. “If the Li Family’s Fourth Son is present, you two take care of the brat. I’ll handle the Li Family’s Fourth Son myself!”
“What if he escapes into the River of Death?” Yin Furen asked hurriedly.
“Then he’ll die even faster!”
Lu Yuan sneered. “We’ll follow him in. I’ve entered the River of Death before. Funny thing is, the previous generation’s True Dragon of the Li Family is still trapped in that river. Back then, our sect master personally killed him!”
Hearing this, the Candlefire God and Yin Furen exchanged a brief, meaningful glance but said nothing as they continued to pursue Li Hao at full speed.
Mountains and rivers flashed past. After traveling another two thousand miles, Li Hao saw many demons ruling over the mountains, but he ignored them.
Finally...
The density of demons began to thin. For the next three or four hundred miles, he encountered none at all.
Li Hao arrived at the base of a steep and treacherous mountain range. The peaks looked as if they had been carved into jagged spires, and a shadowy river wound through the terrain, vanishing into the mountains’ depths.
The river’s water was pitch-black.
Abyssal black.
Halfway along this river, near a break in one of the peaks, lay a white stone beach covered in shattered rocks.
Beside the beach stood a monument, over ten feet tall, inscribed with several large black characters:
The River of Death of the Divine General
Next to the monument was a lone figure wearing a bamboo hat. His tattered clothing fluttered in the wind, and he leaned against the monument, holding a battered black blade in one hand and a flask of wine in the other.
When Li Hao spotted the figure, the person also noticed him.
Moments later, the figure’s gaze shifted to the three pursuing demon kings behind Li Hao.
The old eyes under the bamboo hat seemed to squint slightly.
Suddenly, the figure vanished without a trace.
...
A dazzling blade light erupted, as if splitting heaven and earth, cutting directly across the path of the three pursuing demon kings.
Lu Yuan barely managed to dodge in time, his neck retracting instinctively. Even so, he could feel that if the blade had struck, it would have seriously injured him despite his hardened body.
The Candlefire God and Yin Furen were both forced to stop as the blade light forced them back.
Li Hao immediately realized who the figure was—Li Xiaoran, the fourth son of the Li Family!
“Three Immortal Stage?”
A soft voice drifted to Li Hao’s ears.
Li Hao looked up to find that the figure had somehow appeared by his side.
Beneath the bamboo hat, the man’s weathered face showed signs of age, though he appeared just over sixty. His features still carried traces of a once-handsome and noble demeanor.
In his youth, he must have been an extraordinary prodigy...