Chapter 393: The Three Saints Revealed, Chaos Divine Fire
Whoosh!
The Sage of Chaos, seething with suppressed rage, sped forward. Continuing to waste time with Li Hao here was meaningless. If Yuan Zu and the others arrived, it would inevitably ruin his plans. They would undoubtedly deduce that his intent to consume Li Hao was aimed at breaking through to the Godly Flesh Realm, and Yuan Zu would never allow the emergence of a second God King.
He sprinted at full speed, quickly leaving Li Hao behind.
In terms of movement techniques, he was nearing the Sacrificial Dao, a realm beyond Li Hao's ability to compete with.
Watching the Sage of Chaos grow more distant, Li Hao's expression darkened. He hadn't expected the Sage to suppress his rage so effectively. If he were to meet up with Long Sheng, it would be Li Hao who would have to continue fleeing.
"Wait... I still have the Human Tribulation!"
A thought struck Li Hao, reminding him of the Three Saint Minor Realms he had yet to fully transcend. He had already endured the Sacrificial Dao Human Tribulation, but the Incense Human Tribulation and Ultimate Dao Human Tribulation remained untouched.
Boom!
Li Hao swiftly unleashed the shackles of the Incense Human Tribulation, as if releasing some hidden force.
A rush of exhilaration surged through him, but it was accompanied by a foreboding sense of calamity, as though tribulation was about to descend.
Breaking these chains meant the Heavenly Dao would impose its punishment.
The Human Tribulation was unpredictable and often manifested in unexpected ways, targeting its subject with deadly precision.
Ahead, the Sage of Chaos, in full retreat, suddenly had a thought flash through his mind:
"He has humiliated me so thoroughly. If I don't kill him, I am unworthy of being a Supreme Saint!"
The thought erupted like wildfire, igniting an uncontrollable urge. He nearly stopped to turn around and battle Li Hao for three hundred more rounds.
But a subtle unease followed this impulse.
Even in his extreme fury, the Sage of Chaos detected a faint agitation, something he hadn't felt before. He frowned. What was this?
Something capable of affecting a Supreme Saint's thoughts could only be the work of the Heavenly Dao. Could it be the influence of the Heavenly Dao's power?
This sensation… it felt like someone nearby was enduring a Human Tribulation!
The Sage's thoughts turned to Li Hao, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Li Hao had already endured a Human Tribulation publicly, with the same Heavenly Dao influence present. It was impossible for him to undergo another.
Perhaps he was overthinking it… The Sage of Chaos narrowed his eyes, shaking off the thought. He suppressed his anger and accelerated toward his goal. Once he found Long Sheng, their long-standing alliance should secure his cooperation. And if not, he had other ways to persuade him.
"Hmm?"
Li Hao noticed the Sage of Chaos slightly reducing his speed and immediately pursued him at full force. His expression grew dark.
Wasn't the Human Tribulation supposed to provoke a desire to kill? Why hadn't it worked on the Sage of Chaos?
"I've heard that when other Supreme Saints endure a Human Tribulation, they isolate themselves in desolate lands. Yet, even then, the power of the Heavenly Dao often draws others from vast distances to interfere, triggering calamities. One way to mitigate this is to find a remote sanctuary guarded by other Saints, ensuring no one interferes and thus avoiding disaster."
Li Hao's eyes flashed with understanding.
This was why Saints founded sacred lands or joined existing ones.
During a Human Tribulation, the protection of a sacred land's grand formation greatly improved their chances of survival.
But his situation was different. He wanted the power of the Human Tribulation to affect the Sage of Chaos.
Using the tribulation as bait… yet the "big fish" before him refused to bite.
Bait… Li Hao's eyes gleamed with inspiration. Why hadn't he thought of it before? The Sage of Chaos himself… could also be bait.
What was a Supreme Saint in the face of a master angler? To one adept at fishing, all the heavens were his hunting ground.
In that instant, Li Hao's mastery of Fishing Dao broke through the bottleneck of the eighth stage, surging into the ninth stage with faint signs of reaching the Dao itself.
"Are you not curious how I suddenly teleported here?"
Li Hao suddenly shouted, directing his voice at the Sage of Chaos.
The Sage's eyes flickered. When Li Hao had appeared out of thin air earlier, it had startled him. The abruptness was unsettling. However, he had suppressed this unease during their pursuit and subsequent battle, nearly forgetting about it entirely. Now, hearing Li Hao bring it up, his expression grew wary.
"I was transported directly here by an ancient statue within the Ancient Hall. That statue belongs to the hall's master. It sent me here, possibly as a form of guidance. Of the three diverging paths, this one might be the only one leading to the Immortal God Road. Tell me, if you reunite with Long Sheng, and I disclose the secret of the Immortal God Road to him in exchange for cooperation, do you think he would still ally with you?"
Li Hao had seen through the Sage of Chaos's intention to seek out Long Sheng for help. His words left no room for doubt.
The Sage's expression shifted, his thoughts racing. Li Hao's statement… it had a high probability of being true.
Otherwise, how could Li Hao have teleported so suddenly and without any trace? Not even Guixu Teleportation could achieve such precision.
Only the terrifying celestial and divine forces within the Ancient Hall could accomplish this.
Three diverging paths. They had previously avoided the two paths filled with the auras of Yuan Zu and the God King, leaving them with no choice but to take the middle one. Was it possible they had unknowingly chosen the correct path?
The Immortal God Road…
The Sage of Chaos slowed to a halt, turning to glare coldly at Li Hao.
"You're telling me this because you want to cooperate? You want me to spare your life? That's not impossible."
Li Hao smirked inwardly. The Sage had finally stopped. Earlier, Li Hao had considered feigning weakness, pretending to falter, or even turning to flee, but he quickly dismissed these strategies. Such ploys would be easily seen through by a Supreme Saint.
Instead, he had employed the principle of truth as deception, once shared by Huang Tian Sheng.
The highest art of deception was to speak the truth.
And truth… did not always equate to reality.
"Spare my life? You're overthinking it. I'm simply informing you that seeking out Long Sheng won't end as you hope. I just don't want things to become unnecessarily complicated."
Li Hao's tone remained steady.
Had he tried to feign cooperation and focus on mutual benefits, it would have been a waste of effort. The Sage of Chaos would never believe him.
"What?"
The Sage's face turned icy. "You're saying this to dissuade me from seeking Long Sheng? You think I'll simply give up? Do you truly believe I can't deal with you on my own?"
"Why not?"
Li Hao wore an expression of utter confidence. "You may be a Supreme Saint, but you're not unbeatable. If you could kill me, why would you need to lower yourself to seek Long Sheng's help? Before fighting you, even I didn't realize I was this strong."
The Sage's breathing grew heavier, his claws creaking as his fists tightened. Li Hao's words were infuriating beyond measure.
"I had planned to reserve my strength for Yuan Zu and the God King. You truly think I can't kill you? How naive can you be?!"
His voice, icy and filled with rage, erupted alongside a crimson-golden divine flame that surged across his entire body. His armor ignited with searing divine energy, glowing with a seven-colored shimmer that made his aura swell dramatically, surpassing his previous peak and continuing to climb.
Li Hao's expression tensed as he realized the Sage of Chaos was about to unleash something reckless and terrifying.
The Sage of Chaos, enveloped in raging crimson-golden divine flames, allowed his armor and flesh to combust with terrifying power. A shimmering dark radiance of seven hues rippled across his body as his aura climbed beyond what it had been before.
Li Hao's expression darkened. The Sage was clearly preparing for something desperate and utterly insane.
"What is the Sacrificial Dao? It is when the Dao reaches its pinnacle and is offered to the Heavenly Dao, feeding the heavens in exchange for the purest Heavenly Dao power!"
The Sage of Chaos spoke in a chilling tone.
"This is true Heavenly Dao power, not some borrowed echo of its reflection!"
As he spoke, his physical body began to crack and expand. As a being who had achieved sanctification through the flesh, he was now offering his physical Dao power to the Heavenly Dao. A towering force of unmatched might began to emanate from him—a force so overwhelming it froze time and halted the winds around him. All things seemed to fall under his dominion, pulsing with his anger and freezing under his cold malice.
"Once I've devoured you, I can recover, but this… this makes eating you meaningless. Still, you've made me angry!"
The battle blade in the Sage of Chaos's hand erupted with unparalleled power. Tribulation energy condensed into deadly arcs that screamed through the air, accompanied by the mournful wails of lightning and thunder as the atmosphere was crushed under its force.
Li Hao's face grew grim. The Sage was using a self-destructive method to ensure his victory. This was his true trump card.
"Die!"
The Sage of Chaos wasted no time, swinging his blade in a violent arc. A savage wave of tribulation energy cleaved through the heavens, its might magnified tenfold compared to before.
It was a strike that could obliterate Li Hao's Eternal Dao Domain in an instant, reducing his body to dust and even dissolving his Dao manifestation.
The overwhelming pressure left Li Hao drenched in cold sweat, but he neither retreated nor regretted his position. He knew this would be a fight to the death—either the Sage of Chaos would fall, or he would.
"So be it. If it's Heavenly Dao power, let's see whose is stronger!"
Li Hao's eyes flashed with a cold and determined light as two hidden forces within his body—the powers of Incense Dao and Ultimate Dao—exploded to life.
These forces merged with his physical body and the sacrificial Dao energy coursing within him. From his dantian, a nascent power of the Heavenly Dao surged forth, flowing into his limbs and fusing seamlessly with his flesh. It was as though the Heavenly Dao itself had descended to inhabit his body.
"Law of Heaven and Earth!!"
At this moment, Li Hao stopped holding back. The power of the three Saints within him—Sacrificial Dao, Incense Dao, and Ultimate Dao—burst forth. There was no reason to conceal anything anymore.
As the Law of Heaven and Earth erupted, Li Hao's body expanded, growing to an enormous size. His physical form became towering and majestic, with feet large enough to crush mountains beneath them.
Behind him, a projection of the Heaven and Earth Manifestation began to take shape, merging with his body and imbuing him with an unfathomable power that caused the ground to quake and ancient mountains to tremble.
"What?!"
The Sage of Chaos's crimson eyes narrowed in shock. For the first time, a trace of clarity surfaced in his bloodlust-filled gaze.
This boy… he still had power hidden?!
And that power… was it the power of three distinct Saints?!
The Sage's face twisted in disbelief and awe. For countless eras, countless Saints had striven to merge three paths of Saintly Dao, and all had failed. Even Yuan Zu himself had fallen short.
But now, in this moment, this seemingly monstrous youth had accomplished the impossible.
The Sage's mind flashed back to the moment of unease he had felt earlier—the faint agitation that had gnawed at his consciousness. The realization struck him like a thunderclap.
It had been the power of the Second Saintly Dao—the Human Tribulation—used as a lure to manipulate him!
He, a being who had lived countless ages, was witnessing something unprecedented: someone using a Human Tribulation as a weapon.
Everyone else feared and avoided tribulations, taking every precaution to survive them. Li Hao had turned his into a tool for combat.
"Where did this monster come from? Is he the reincarnation of an immortal god…"
The Sage of Chaos muttered to himself in disbelief.
His sacrificial Dao-enhanced blade descended, brimming with the true power of the Heavenly Dao. Tribulation energy rained down like a storm, enveloping Li Hao entirely.
But in that same instant, Li Hao raised his blade and unleashed an ancient sword technique: The Immortal's Path.
This technique had three stages—Intent, Origin, and Ultimate.
Previously, Li Hao had only touched upon the Intent stage. But now, his attack displayed a trace of the Origin stage. The sword's intent pierced through to the very essence of existence, as if it carried the presence of a true immortal god descending upon the battlefield.
Fueled by the vast power of the three Saints and the nascent Heavenly Dao within him, the strike reached a level of profundity that seemed to brush against the will of the Celestial Sovereign himself.
The impact was catastrophic. The sky filled with the sound of shattering tribulation energy as the Sage of Chaos's power fractured under Li Hao's strike.
Though the Sage's strength stemmed from borrowing the Heavenly Dao's power, it was but a fragment. Li Hao's Heavenly Dao, though embryonic, was fully under his control, giving him an edge that the borrowed power could not match.
Boom!
The sword strike cleaved through the Sage of Chaos's Six-Tribulation Emperor Weapon, splitting his body in two.
At this moment, with his massive form unleashed by the Law of Heaven and Earth, Li Hao matched the Sage in size, appearing as a battle between an ancient god and a primordial demon.
Though Li Hao had delivered a devastating blow, he could see the Sage's wounds rapidly closing. Even with such power, Li Hao lacked the means to finish him off completely.
Supreme Saints were extraordinarily resilient. Defeating one was possible, but killing one was nearly impossible. Only weapons of the Seven-Tribulation Emperor level could threaten their existence.
"Even Yuan Zu couldn't kill the God King—merely seal him away. That alone shows how unkillable Saints are," Li Hao thought grimly.
"You… you're a monster! You've merged the power of three Saints, discovered the Second Final Realm, and now… you must die! Once I spread this news, you won't survive!"
The Sage of Chaos's body healed as he howled with fury. Despite his resilience, he had been bested in direct combat—a humiliation he could not bear.
"You won't get the chance," Li Hao said coldly.
Raising his hand, he sent the fragment soaring once more.
The fragment, glowing faintly, flew in a perfect arc, striking a critical point in the Sage's body. His form froze, stiffened as if the essence had been stripped from him.
Li Hao had spent the entire battle analyzing the Sage's body, finding its weak points. This precise strike severed the Sage's skeleton and separated his flesh and primordial spirit, turning his body into little more than a lifeless shell.
Before the Sage could recover, Li Hao's eyes burned with an intense light.
"Heaven and Earth as the cauldron, all things as the fuel. The Dao is born from the heavens, and the heavens are born from chaos… Chaos Divine Fire!"
A deep rumble echoed through the void as flames burst forth.
Li Hao's mastery of the Cooking Dao surged, breaking through the bottleneck of the ninth stage and ascending to the tenth.
This was the apex of the Cooking Dao—a state where the art aligned with the Heavenly Dao itself.
With his Cooking Dao heart guiding him, Li Hao summoned the primordial fire born from chaos itself, igniting the Sage of Chaos's body.
The flames burned with a power that could incinerate all things. Even the Six-Tribulation Emperor Weapon in the fire began to warp and weaken, its tribulation energy dissolving.
Li Hao, however, spared the weapon. Destroying such a treasure would be wasteful, and he couldn't help but entertain a whimsical thought:
Couldn't it too be… cooked?