Chapter 301: Extermination, the Appearance of the Saint Son
Escape!
The young man in yellow and white robes suddenly used the Return to the Void technique to teleport away, heading straight towards the dazed old man, the Demon Sheep Elder, who had been standing on the battlefield's edge.
The elder had been watching the entire battle from the sidelines, unable to keep up with the rapid changes in the situation. From Li Hao's sudden attack and killing of the purple-robed youth, to his severe injuries from the combined efforts of the five, and finally his counterattack—all within less than half an incense stick's time.
Seeing the young man in yellow and white robes suddenly appear nearby, the elder was momentarily stunned. Then, he quickly reacted, his hair standing on end, and hastily teleported away to another location.
That youth is terrifying! In the blink of an eye, he had killed six Dao Law realm experts, even dispersing their divine abilities. It was simply horrifying!
But before long, the young man in yellow and white robes teleported again, appearing right in front of him.
"What the hell are you doing?!" The Demon Sheep Elder could no longer maintain his previous politeness, cursing in desperation.
The young man's intention was too obvious—he was clearly using the elder as a scapegoat to attract Li Hao's attention and use this opportunity to escape!
The elder's heart pounded wildly. Though he was furious, deep down, he was also terrified.
Whoosh!
In the next moment, Li Hao appeared beside him.
The Demon Sheep Elder's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly prepared to launch an attack. Even in the face of death, a Dao Law realm expert would not go down without a fight.
But Li Hao's figure blurred and vanished, ignoring the elder, and went straight after the young man in yellow and white robes.
The young man saw this and was both shocked and angry, roaring, "What are you doing?! That's a demon! Why are you chasing me instead of killing him?!"
Li Hao paused for a moment, surprised that the other party would say something so foolish in his panic.
"He's too weak and can be killed anytime. Naturally, I'll kill you first," Li Hao replied.
Though he could track the young man's teleportation traces, if given enough time, the young man could still escape his range of control. Once the traces disappeared, it would be much harder to catch up.
"You...!" The young man gritted his teeth in fury, while the Demon Sheep Elder, behind him, felt a twitch at the corner of his mouth. He hadn't expected that his survival was due to his weakness.
Being weak actually has its advantages.
Feeling both embarrassed and relieved, the elder quickly teleported in the opposite direction, fleeing at full speed.
Meanwhile, Li Hao swiftly caught up with the young man in yellow and white robes.
Whoosh!
The young man, having witnessed Li Hao's terrifying power, had no intention of fighting and only wanted to escape.
However, his teleportation traces were caught by Li Hao. As soon as he reappeared, Li Hao had already teleported ahead of him and slashed out with his sword.
The young man was horrified and hurriedly thrust out his spear, but Li Hao's sword light easily deflected the ancient spear and sliced through the Dao domain, severing the young man's arm.
"Spare me! Spare me, and I'll serve you faithfully!" The young man, clutching his injured arm, pleaded in terror.
"Cattle and horses are everywhere. I don't need you," Li Hao replied coldly, slicing down with his sword. The sword light was about to split the young man's head.
But in that moment, a malicious and hateful expression flashed in the young man's eyes. His body suddenly erupted with power. He, too, had mastered the Earthly Veins, and now he was using them in a desperate counterattack. The veins burst forth like a flood, transforming into a vast force as he thrust his spear at Li Hao.
He had been secretly preparing his full strength even while begging for mercy, aiming to survive at any cost. Losing his extreme realm didn't matter as long as he lived.
Boom!
The sword light and spear energy collided, creating a brilliant explosion.
Li Hao's sword light was pushed back, but he immediately slashed out again with another powerful strike.
The spear energy shattered, and the young man's face showed a moment of fear before his head was severed, followed by a punch from Li Hao that pierced and exploded his body.
The young man's primordial spirit fled in terror and despair, pleading, "Don't kill me! I can exchange my divine abilities for my life! I..."
Li Hao raised his hand, pausing for a moment.
Divine abilities... The ones these people had displayed were indeed incredibly powerful, far stronger than ordinary Dao techniques.
"How many divine abilities do you have?" Li Hao asked.
The young man's primordial spirit, seeing that Li Hao was willing to communicate, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a bit of smugness. As long as I can stay alive, I'll have a chance to escape later. And as for teaching him my divine abilities? How naive.
He only needed to make some subtle adjustments during the transmission process, which would either lead Li Hao down the wrong path or delay his cultivation progress, wasting his potential.
"I have four divine abilities. The one I used earlier, Heavenly Imprisonment and Earthly Extermination, is a top-tier divine ability!" the young man quickly explained. "I can teach them all to you. If that's not enough, once you reach the Land of the Saints, I can help you find more, or even take you to my sect..."
He paused, glancing at Li Hao, and quickly shut up, not wanting to give the impression that he was trying to lure Li Hao into a trap.
"Teach me those four first," Li Hao said.
The young man hesitated, "But this..."
"Stop stalling, or that demon will get away," Li Hao said coldly.
The young man was speechless, not expecting Li Hao to still be concerned about the Demon Sheep Elder. He hadn't intended to let him go either.
"Teaching these divine abilities isn't something that can be done in a short time. I..." the young man started to protest.
Li Hao, tired of the conversation, raised his hand and immobilized the young man. "Help me kill the demon first," he commanded.
With that, he dragged the young man towards the Demon Sheep Elder.
The young man didn't resist, as he was now focused on figuring out how to escape later.
Meanwhile, Li Hao rapidly teleported, manipulating the forces of heaven and earth, transforming them into a sharp sword with doubled power and hidden attributes, striking towards the Demon Sheep Elder.
Boom!
The elder had already escaped the imperial palace and the capital, teleporting thousands of miles away, but Li Hao quickly caught up. When he was within a few hundred miles, Li Hao's sword energy reached him, tearing through his Dao domain and splitting his body.
The Demon Sheep Elder roared in anger, revealing his true form—a massive demonic sheep, its fur curling with a nightmarish aura of malevolence.
He bellowed and unleashed his Dao techniques, trying to grasp a sliver of hope for survival.
But Li Hao, teleporting closer, unleashed a sword strike imbued with the power of a hundred miles, compressing and accelerating it to cut through everything.
Slash!
The Dao techniques were dispersed, and the sword light cleaved through the elder's body.
The Demon Sheep Elder howled in despair, his Dao techniques stirring up ominous phenomena that darkened the sky. What had been a clear sky now turned pitch black, as dark magical light extended from the horizon.
"In my presence, you dare to obscure the heavens!" Li Hao roared, raising his hand. The vast power of heaven and earth swept away the dark light, instantly restoring the sky to its original state. It was even clearer and more radiant than before, with golden sunlight illuminating the clouds.
Despair filled the eyes of the Demon Sheep Elder, but he said nothing. Instead, he prepared his primordial spirit for one last desperate struggle.
Li Hao, seeing his fierce resistance, wasn't concerned. He simply said to the young man beside him, "You handle him."
"Huh, me?" The young man was stunned, and seeing Li Hao's cold gaze, he reluctantly replied, "But I only have my primordial spirit left. I'm not sure I can defeat him."
"Finish him off and then teach me your divine abilities, and I'll spare your life," Li Hao stated plainly.
The young man's eyes narrowed as he studied Li Hao, trying to gauge the truth of his words. "Can you swear on your Dao heart?"
"Swear for you? Are you worth it?" Li Hao retorted.
The young man chuckled nervously, realizing it was unlikely. He had no choice but to say, "Alright, I'll do my best."
With that, he turned to face the Demon Sheep Elder, his eyes filled with killing intent as he teleported forward to engage in battle.
The two soon clashed fiercely, with the Demon Sheep Elder displaying astonishing power, making the fight evenly matched.
As they fought, the young man secretly transmitted a message, "I'm only pretending to attack. I know it was wrong to try to escape earlier, but if we want to survive, we have to work together!"
"Do you really think he'll let us go? Get lost!" the Demon Sheep Elder coldly replied. "He said he'd spare your life, but he never said he wouldn't cripple you and let someone else kill you. If you don't believe me, ask him if that's his plan."
The young man's expression changed as he glanced at Li Hao.
Li Hao, noticing the subtle exchange, remained calm and asked, "Still not done?"
Although the young man had been discreet, Li Hao had sensed the secret communication. He wasn't surprised that the young man harbored ulterior motives.
The young man's face tightened, and he quickly responded, "I'm on it!"
As he fought up close with the elder, he gave a subtle signal.
The Demon Sheep Elder understood the young man's intention but also wanted to escape. They slowly maneuvered closer to Li Hao. Suddenly, the elder unleashed a bizarre Dao technique, transforming black energy into chains that shot toward Li Hao.
In an instant, the chains wrapped around Li Hao, attempting to bind and infiltrate him.
"Stop struggling. If you want to kill me, then we'll die together!" The Demon Sheep Elder's eyes gleamed with a sinister light. "This is an ancient and incomplete divine ability I discovered, the Soul Binding Chain. Now, our fates are intertwined. If he kills us, we die together!"
The young man's face paled. If that were the case, wouldn't he be the only outsider left?
But soon, he saw Li Hao raise his hand and, in the moment the Demon Sheep Elder relaxed, slash out with his sword.
The sword light surged like a river, slicing through the elder's body. The explosive sword energy pierced through him, and as his primordial spirit trembled, he muttered in disbelief:
"How... how is this possible?"
Then his body exploded, and his soul was annihilated.
The young man quickly looked at Li Hao, only to find that Li Hao was unharmed. He hadn't been bound by the elder's technique.
Li Hao glanced at the dead Demon Sheep Elder. When the elder's Dao technique had entered his body, it had been absorbed.
If it had been another Dao technique, it might have caused some harm, but this particular one had a unique effect. However, with Li Hao's extreme mastery of Immortal Transformation, it was impossible for it to connect with him—because he was already integrated with the world.
Binding his fate meant binding with the world.
How could that be possible?
If it were true, he would indeed be immortal.
Li Hao turned to the young man and said, "Now, tell me about your divine abilities."
The young man was stunned, then snapped back to reality. The Demon Sheep Elder's joy and ferocity had been real, which could only mean that the terrifying divine ability had been neutralized by this mysterious method once again.
The young man found it increasingly difficult to understand Li Hao. But considering that Li Hao might be a reincarnated saint, perhaps it was due to memories that had accidentally resurfaced or some hidden preparations that gave him such power and strange methods. It made sense, in a way.
"Well..."
He hesitated but, seeing Li Hao's cold gaze, began to teach.
However, as planned, he included flaws in the four divine abilities. If Li Hao tried to learn and practice them, it would play right into his hands.
He deliberately appeared hesitant and cautious, worried that Li Hao might become suspicious, so he acted extremely reluctant and nervous.
Seeing the young man's performance, Li Hao didn't bother to expose him. He had already considered the possibility of receiving faulty techniques—it was common in the martial world.
But...
As the young man transmitted the techniques, a notification appeared on Li Hao's interface.
[Top-tier Divine Ability, Heavenly Imprisonment and Earthly Extermination, comprehended. Add to interface?]
Li Hao selected Yes.
Soon, the Divine Ability was added to the interface.
Then came the second, and the third.
In total, four Divine Abilities were added: one top-tier, two mid-tier, and one low-tier.
The Divine Ability that had previously trapped and restricted Li Hao's Dao domain was a mid-tier one.
However, although the Divine Abilities were added to the interface, Li Hao's seven-stage Dao mastery seemed insufficient to fully comprehend them, leaving them at the "initial comprehension" level.
Still, the information on the interface revealed some discrepancies with what the young man had taught.
Clearly, those were the hidden flaws.
Li Hao didn't mind; he trusted the interface far more than the young man.
"I've finished teaching you. These Divine Abilities are difficult to cultivate. Even reaching the initial comprehension level will take three to five years. To master them and use them at will, like we do, with your talent, it might take you ten years."
The young man, now acting obsequious and respectful, said, "If you could listen to a saint's teachings, your comprehension would be greatly enhanced. Even with top-tier Divine Abilities, you could master them within five years."
He continued humbly, "There is a saint in the holy land where I reside. If you're willing, I can introduce you. With your aptitude, it would be easy to become a disciple of a saint."
"Is that so?" Li Hao responded calmly. "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"
The young man froze, his expression changing as he nervously asked, "You want to kill me? But you promised me..."
"Yes," Li Hao nodded. "I promised to spare your life, so you're free now."
The young man hesitated, surprised that Li Hao would actually let him go.
He felt a surge of excitement and relief. Is this boy from the human world really so naive?
He quickly bowed and said, "Thank you! I will remember this kindness!"
His words were mere pleasantries, and even his offer to introduce Li Hao to a saint was just to secure his survival.
After finishing his words, he quickly used the Return to the Void technique to teleport away.
But he hadn't gone far before Li Hao teleported after him.
"?"
The young man paused, confused as he looked at Li Hao.
Li Hao smiled faintly and said, "I just spared you. How could you be so careless as to get caught by me again?"
"!!"
The young man froze in shock, then his expression twisted with anger. "You're breaking your word!"
"Do I owe honesty to those who casually slaughter the innocent?" Li Hao's eyes turned cold as his sword light surged, channeling the power of heaven and earth to tear the young man's primordial spirit apart.
"I won't forgive you, even in death!" the young man screamed in hatred and rage.
"Couldn't do it while you were alive, so how could you now that you're dead?" Li Hao retorted.
The young man felt as if he were about to cough up blood from anger.
But soon, his primordial spirit was obliterated by Li Hao.
From the remnants of his spirit, a wisp of dark light floated away. Using his mastery of Immortal Transformation, Li Hao sensed that it was a spirit remnant, drawn to a distant void, possibly towards a River of the Dead.
Suddenly, Li Hao had a feeling that he could imprison this spirit remnant.
Acting on this intuition, he unleashed his power, sealing the remnant in place.
To his surprise, he succeeded in trapping it, freezing it in midair.
The young man, now a spirit remnant, was stunned. His awareness had shifted from confusion to clarity. After his death, he had felt his body being uncontrollably drawn somewhere, his consciousness dim and foggy, but now he was fully aware. Seeing Li Hao again, he was bewildered.
Am I... not dead?
But soon, he saw Li Hao raise his sword and strike again.
The young man's pupils contracted as he tried to defend himself, but the power was too overwhelming, tearing him apart once more.
Li Hao had intended to test this ability, not expecting that he could indeed imprison a spirit remnant and destroy it!
It was well known that spirits that turned into remnants would reincarnate, escaping total annihilation—a mercy granted by the heavens.
Even Dao Law realm experts struggled to harm or touch remnants, as they existed in a different dimension.
But now, with his mastery of Immortal Transformation, Li Hao could not only imprison remnants but also destroy them!
Does this count as complete eradication?
Li Hao was momentarily lost in thought. This power seemed almost too domineering.
However, within the shattered remnant, he faintly glimpsed a trace of something, fleeting and elusive, disappearing before he could grasp it.
Li Hao hesitated, wondering if it was a mere illusion. But soon, he realized it wasn't. Could it be that remnants could reincarnate even after death?
Puzzled, he felt that this might involve secrets of the River of the Dead—knowledge perhaps only saints possessed.
Li Hao paused for a moment, glancing at the massive corpse of the Demon Sheep Elder. The fatal blow had been delivered by the lethal attribute.
He shook his head slightly and turned back towards the imperial palace. It was time to deal with the true mastermind.
When Li Hao returned to the palace, he sensed that the presence was still there, lurking in the shadows. Without his extreme sensitivity to the forces of heaven and earth, he might not have detected it.
But now, it was as if the presence stood right before him.
General Haotian...
In the plaza, Emperor Yu and the others were visibly excited upon seeing Li Hao return.
The recent turn of events had been so fast and unbelievable—from Li Hao slaying the beautiful woman to his counterattacks, and finally chasing down the young man in yellow and white robes outside the palace.
Alone, he had defeated six Dao Law realm experts and killed them all.
It was beyond belief!
Even more terrifying was that Li Hao seemed to still be in the Peaceful Dao realm. Whether he had broken through during the battle was unclear, but none of them had sensed the aura of the Dao Comprehension realm from him.
Too terrifying, impossible to comprehend!
Li Muxiu, overwhelmed with emotion, clenched his fists and rushed forward. "Hao'er, are you alright?"
"Grandfather, don't come over," Li Hao said softly.
Li Muxiu froze, his face darkening slightly, thinking that Li Hao was still upset about the Li family. But soon he noticed the serious look in Li Hao's eyes as he gazed towards a certain direction.
His face changed, and he quickly followed Li Hao's gaze.
At the same time, the hidden figure, the Void Origin Saint Son, felt a chill.
How is this possible?
His eyes widened in shock. How did he detect me?
Earlier, he had followed the young man in yellow and white robes and the others, using the Demon Sheep Elder to clear the way, while he hid in the shadows. With the battle and the attempt to seize the incense power, he had every reason to be here.
But after seeing the two demon clans, he had feared their interference, leading him to let the young man and his group confront them first. It had been his plan to use them as a test, as it had been his idea to invite them.
But the demons never showed up. Instead, Li Hao did.
He had single-handedly entered the imperial palace and changed the tide of battle. Since Li Hao's arrival, the situation had rapidly deteriorated, leaving the Void Origin Saint Son dumbfounded.
He didn't dare make a move. His Divine Art concealed an entire space, and if he left, his aura would be exposed. If Li Hao chased after him, it would be troublesome.
Though he was confident that he could defeat any one of the six who had come with him, their combined strength was too much even for him.
Moreover, he had noticed that Li Hao seemed able to sense the traces of the Return to the Void technique. Though he didn't know how Li Hao was doing it, the very idea was absurd.
If he fought Li Hao, the latter could use the technique to evade his attacks while he would be tracked down and killed. He had no chance of winning.
He had planned to wait for Li Hao to return, and then wait for him to leave again. Even if it took ten days or half a month, he could afford to wait.
But he hadn't expected Li Hao to detect him the moment he returned.
Or perhaps, Li Hao had known all along and had saved him for last.
Whoosh!
The Void Origin Saint Son suddenly attacked, using the Return to the Void technique to redirect his attack.
Li Hao detected the traces, his face changing as he realized the attack was aimed at Emperor Yu.
He swiftly teleported to intercept it, then saw the Void Origin Saint Son rapidly fleeing into the distance.
Li Hao hadn't anticipated that the Return to the Void technique could redirect attacks, allowing for instantaneous strikes.
That's terrifying!
However, with his mastery of Immortal Transformation, he managed to intercept it. Otherwise, this youth's abilities would have been far more troublesome than those of the previous six.