Chapter 458: Tenth!
At this moment, the geniuses selected from various Heavenly Sects and Earth Sects stood in front of the towering black stele, which was as massive as a mountain.
Around the black stele, lightning flickered faintly, drawn and attracted by the stele, and purple electric light surged like fire along the stele, spreading downwards to the ground.
The nine dragon carts flew over and stationed themselves on either side of the black stele. Twenty-seven ancestral dragons, with their enormous bodies filling the sky, brought immense shock and intimidation to the disciples below.
In the central dragon cart, three ancestral dragons with golden scales, their dragon whiskers flying in the wind, had even greater size and power, seemingly having already reached the perfection of the True Immortal realm's tenth level.
Among the many talented individuals present, quite a few of them would not be able to defeat these steeds.
On the dragon cart, a tall and majestic young man, wearing a golden divine armor royal robe, stood. His figure was slender, and he looked down on everyone from above. The space around his body seemed to freeze, and an overwhelming sense of pressure enveloped the crowd, as though the entire sky was being covered by his presence.
"The Ancient Immortal Realm is the place where my ancestors once cultivated," the cold and authoritative voice slowly came from the Third Prince, Chu Xiang Tian. "You all are the dragons and phoenixes of your respective sects, but if you want to represent my dynasty in the Southern Domain War, you must truly be top-tier geniuses!"
"There are only a thousand spots for battle!"
"Everyone else will be eliminated and sent back to their respective sects to continue their cultivation."
Chu Xiang Tian's words were sharp and cold, filled with an unforgiving tone.
This immediately stunned the disciples from all sects, causing them to exchange surprised glances.
There were nearly twenty thousand disciples present, yet only one thousand would be chosen? Did that mean that only one out of every twenty could advance?
It was known that those who had made it here were already the most elite of their sects, and now they would still have to face elimination, with no chance to participate in the Southern Domain War at all.
"Heaven above heaven, people beyond people. I believe that true geniuses will not fear challenges. They will only wish for the challenges to come more fiercely," Chu Xiang Tian continued, paying no attention to the murmurs below. His voice remained indifferent as he said, "The Ancient Immortal Realm has forty-nine barren domains. Even Immortal Kings cannot cross them. The more barren domains you pass through, the higher your score. If more than one thousand people remain in the same barren domain, we will rank them based on who can stay the longest!"
"Those who can pass the tenth barren domain will directly earn the right to represent our Great Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty in the battle and will receive a generous reward from my royal family!"
Upon hearing this, many of the disciples looked toward the barren domain. Was it really enough to just pass the tenth domain? But everyone quickly realized that these barren domains were no easy task. If even Immortal Kings couldn't pass through all forty-nine domains, then how terrifying must they be?
"I didn't expect that this time, the Yan Chu Dynasty would use such a harsh selection method," Li Tie Mu muttered, his brows slightly furrowed. He had had a premonition ever since the Ancient Immortal Secret Realm had been opened.
"Master, is the barren domain really that difficult? What dangers lie within?" Mu Rong Qing Wu asked.
Among the four of them, her status was the highest. She was ranked fifth and was the senior sister of Li Hao and the others. Therefore, she often asked questions on their behalf.
Li Hao and Yue Xi both turned to look at Li Tie Mu, their faces full of curiosity.
"In these barren domains, there are chaotic Dao forces, as well as the remnants of ancient immortal methods and such. At any time, you may be attacked from all directions," Li Tie Mu sighed. "In the past, the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty placed this secret realm at a certain border, luring ancient demons into it. They killed a large number of ancient demons, gaining fame from that battle."
"Usually, the limit for those in the True Immortal realm is only to step into the tenth barren domain. Therefore, only those who can cross the tenth barren domain will be able to directly earn a spot in the battle," he continued.
Mu Rong Qing Wu thought for a moment before she spoke with surprise, "Does this mean that each level of cultivation corresponds to a barren domain? We all have the strength to defeat the ancestral dragons, so even True Immortal realm level ten should not be that difficult, right?"
Li Tie Mu smiled bitterly and replied, "That's what the theory says, but I am talking about the limit. In reality, even a True Immortal level one might not be able to stay long in the first barren domain. In other words, even the True Immortal level nine ancestral dragons that you encountered in the Imperial Sword Mountain might only barely stay in the ninth barren domain!"
"Those who can stay in their corresponding barren domain for a long time are all top-tier existences of the same realm. It's not something that can be casually done just by reaching a certain cultivation level."
Upon hearing this, Mu Rong Qing Wu and Yue Xi fell into deep thought.
Li Hao, however, was surprised. The barren domains were divided so meticulously—could there be a strong person who had set up the danger levels of each domain like a game of chess?
"The Ancient Immortal Realm is open for three years!" At that moment, Chu Xiang Tian, standing in the dragon cart, spoke slowly.
"During these three years, you can enter and exit the secret realm at will. If you fail in a challenge, you can return to your sect to continue cultivation. But when the three years are over, anyone who is ranked outside the top one thousand will be eliminated!"
"You have only three years. Work hard," Chu Xiang Tian added, his gaze sweeping over the elders of the Heavenly First Sect. He nodded slightly to them, then took off, soaring into the clouds above the Ancient Immortal Realm, his figure disappearing.
On the remaining eight dragon carts, several figures, dressed like royal guards, flew down, each emanating a terrifying aura. They were all at the peak of the True Immortal realm, exuding immense power, far surpassing others of the same level.
They handed out the secret realm tokens to the disciples of each sect, allowing them to traverse the realm using these tokens.
At the same time, they informed the disciples of the rules in detail, such as how their secret realm ranking would be recorded on the black Immortal Stele.
This way, other disciples could use the black Immortal Stele to see where they stood in the rankings.
Not long after Chu Xiang Tian had soared into the clouds, a group of well-dressed figures, with noble airs, began to fly towards the secret realm. There were both men and women among them, all wearing armor and helmets, radiating a sense of luxury. Their cold expressions and distant, indifferent gazes made it clear that they were figures to be looked up to from afar.
These people arrived at this place, quickly scanning Li Hao and the others before heading straight into the Wilderness Area.
Soon, numbers began to appear on the black celestial monument.
There were over a hundred individuals, and the numbers ranged from one to one hundred.
"Who are they?"
"They don't seem to be disciples of the Tianzong."
"Lower your voice. They are of the royal family, some are princes and princesses, while others are direct descendants of noble lords."
On the open ground outside the Wilderness Area, the crowd whispered, watching as the group of figures flew into the wilderness.
The red mist in the Wilderness Area seemed to suddenly thicken, enveloping their figures and blocking everyone's line of sight, with divine senses unable to penetrate it.
From within the dense red mist, the sound of thunderous booms could be heard, louder and more intense than before.
"Is the royal family really going to fight for one of those thousand spots?"
"Of course. The Southern Region wants fame, and the royal family also seeks prestige. Do you think the royal family doesn't cultivate?"
"If that's the case, won't our chances be even slimmer!"
"What are you afraid of? Only the capable deserve it. Who's afraid of who? If it comes down to it, we'll just fight for it!"
The disciples from various sects were all filled with fighting spirit.
Soon, it seemed the five great Tianyi Sect elders had finished their instructions, and disciples from their sect began to soar into the sky, heading into the dense red mist of the Wilderness Area.
"You go first and see how far you can go. Remember, don't push yourself too hard and don't get hurt. Otherwise, you'll really miss your chance," Li Tie Mu said to Li Hao and the others.
Li Hao and the others nodded. Murong Qingwu and Yue Xi were both eager to try, while Li Hao was also curious and wanted to test things out.
As a large group entered the Wilderness Area, Murong Qingwu spoke up, "Shall we go too?"
With that, she stood up and flew after them.
Yue Xi, not wanting to be outdone, followed closely behind.
Gu Yan said nothing but suddenly shot forward like he was teleporting.
Seeing their eagerness, Li Hao quickly followed suit.
Upon arriving at the first Wilderness Area, Li Hao immediately felt a strange pressure in the surrounding heaven and earth. A strong sense of restriction and an inexplicable danger wrapped around his body tightly.
Boom!
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning exploded beside Li Hao without any warning, striking down toward him.
However, as soon as the lightning appeared, Li Hao had already captured the fluctuation with his space origin. Despite how abrupt the thunder was, he merely swayed slightly and easily dodged it.
"With the origin of the Dao in such chaos, no wonder danger arises…" Li Hao sensed his surroundings and realized this place was a land of disorder. Trying to comprehend the origin of the Dao here would be even more difficult. It was like a chaotic painting board, no longer suitable for adding new strokes.
Moreover, the immortal energy here was sparse, making it unsuitable for cultivation. It was simply pure danger.
As Li Hao carefully observed, Murong Qingwu, Yue Xi, and Gu Yan had already flown deeper into the area and vanished without a trace.
Around them, other disciples from various sects were also facing their own challenges. Some had flames suddenly erupting around their bodies, trying to burn them, but it was quickly extinguished. Although they looked somewhat disheveled, they were not injured.
Li Hao saw this and didn't stop. He swiftly teleported deeper into the Wilderness Area.
The Wilderness Area was only about a hundred miles in radius, but the space here was compact. Even with Gui Xu teleportation, the distance was greatly reduced. Fortunately, Li Hao had mastered the Space Origin, so with just two teleports, he was able to cross an entire area.
When he arrived at the border, he felt a barrier made of fog-like mist around him. As he passed through it, the oppressive feeling around him grew even stronger.
However, for him, it didn't have much of an impact.
Li Hao continued to swiftly teleport.
Combining the Gui Xu teleportation with his quadruple Space Origin, in the blink of an eye, Li Hao had traversed five Wilderness Areas.
"Who is that?"
At that moment, in front of the black celestial monument, a group of disciples were observing. Meanwhile, the elders from various sects were still staying there, waiting for their disciples.
They were all focused on the black celestial monument. At the top of the list were those royal family members who had entered first, their identification numbers all in the top hundred. Only after them were the disciples from various sects.
"Look, there's someone whose number is climbing fast. This speed... Did they just reach the sixth Wilderness Area in the blink of an eye?"
Someone was searching for their own disciple's number. However, they didn't find their own, but instead saw one number rising at an astonishing speed.
Li Tie Mu, closely watching, was stunned when he saw the number rapidly jump to 996. Then, he broke into a smile. "It's that kid. He's really fast. In just a few breaths, he reached the sixth Wilderness Area."
No wonder he was able to climb the Divine Sword Mountain without anyone noticing. This sneaky little guy...
Li Tie Mu's gaze quickly swept over the rest of the positions. With his divine sense, he soon locked onto the numbers of Yue Xi, Gu Yan, and the others. He saw that they were still in the fifth Wilderness Area, having already been overtaken by Li Hao.
"This kid is finally done with his act," Li Tie Mu laughed.
He had thought that finding Gu Yan was already a treasure, but this little rascal, with his nine-strike heart technique, was even more of a pleasant surprise.
In just a short moment, the number 996 once again climbed rapidly, reaching the Eighth Wilderness Area.
This time, the ranking jumped straight to 48th place!
Among the top hundred rankings, there were only a few numbers above one hundred. The sudden appearance of 996 at rank 48 made it stand out prominently, quickly attracting attention. After all, it was the only three-digit number among them.
"Which sect is this disciple from? He's this strong?"
"Such incredible speed! He actually caught up with the royal family!"
"The Eighth Wilderness Area… Anyone who can stand there could easily slaughter some peak True Immortal Realm powerhouses in the outside world, right?"
Disciples from various sects murmured among themselves, all staring at the number 996 with astonishment.
At this moment, high above the Ancient Immortal Realm, within the drifting clouds.
More than a dozen figures were gathered there, their postures upright and exuding a powerful and mysterious aura.
Among them, Chu Xiang Tian stood atop a dragon chariot, observing the scene below along with the others.
"Everyone, have you spotted any promising sect disciples?" Chu Xiang Tian asked indifferently.
"I heard that Wan Shan Jian Lou's Tian Hong Yi has already pledged allegiance to Yun Jin. Brother Yun moves fast!"
"Tian Hong Yi has already reached the Ninth Wilderness Area, ranked 32nd!"
"I heard he's already at the Immortal Lord Realm, so it's normal for him to be this fast."
"An Imperial Clan bloodline at the Immortal Lord Realm... This guy even secured first place in Wan Shan Jian Lou's sword ladder challenge. In this Southern Region battle, he'll definitely make a name for himself."
"That Xinglan Fairy from Xingchen Palace is also remarkable. I heard she was nurtured from the fruit of an ancient tree on a Chaos Star, born as an Innate Dao Body."
"She's already reached rank 26."
The group of figures casually discussed the rankings below, appearing relaxed and unconcerned.
Their very presence radiated an air of nobility, seemingly untouched by the dust of the mortal world, as if even starlight falling upon them would be sullied.
"Hm? There's a number rising incredibly fast!"
"Which sect is that disciple from? I noticed it too. He just entered the Ninth Wilderness Area and even ranked ahead of Long Xiao's younger brother."
At rank 41, a number stood out conspicuously, drawing their attention.
At this moment, in the Ninth Wilderness Area.
Li Hao felt as though he were submerged in an ocean of pressure, the sheer density of it making him click his tongue in amazement.
Within the Ninth Wilderness Area, he could finally feel resistance affecting his movements—it was significantly stronger than in the Eighth Wilderness Area.
Moreover, his divine sense was now restricted to a mere ten miles around him. Adding to the challenge, the fragmented space of the region made it appear as one whole area, but in reality, it was divided into countless separate sections.
"This place is like a chaotic, shattered realm…" Li Hao thought to himself.
But his steps never faltered.
A broken and chaotic space would disorient others, causing them to wander in circles, but with his Quadruple Space Origin, he could precisely detect these spatial fractures and find the correct path.
Whoosh!
His figure flickered through the air, teleporting across one fragmented space after another.
Suddenly, the Dao Origins in the area surged violently, materializing into a ferocious dragon's head—without a body, yet its terrifying roar was more fearsome than even an Ancestral Dragon.
Li Hao raised his hand, sword light flashing, slicing through the dragon head in an instant, shattering the manifested Dao Origins. Without stopping, he stepped forward swiftly.
After seven or eight continuous teleportations, Li Hao finally arrived at the boundary of a mist wall.
Unlike the previous mist barriers, this one couldn't be breached so easily. Within the dense fog, an overwhelming sense of danger radiated outward—it was filled with countless fractured Dao Origins, swirling together, lying in wait for any intruder.
Li Hao lifted his hand, immortal energy gathering at his fingertips. In that instant, his calm eyes sharpened into a piercing gaze.
Qingtian Sword Slash!
The mist wall was instantly torn open, revealing a gap. Without hesitation, Li Hao stepped through.
He had entered the Tenth Wilderness Area.
The moment he set foot inside, it felt as though he had stepped into a swamp.
The surrounding pressure instantly intensified, as if millions of pounds of weight had been strapped to his body.
"Hmm?"
While Li Hao was adjusting to the environment, curiously scanning his surroundings, a slightly surprised voice reached his ears.
Following the sound, he turned his gaze and saw a stunning girl in a colorful dress adorned with star and moon symbols standing near the mist wall.
She was looking at him with genuine surprise.
She had taken note of his clothing and demeanor—he clearly lacked the distinct royal presence.
Yet, reaching the Tenth Wilderness Area this quickly… In her mind, only a few of those Tianyi Sect guys should be capable of that.
Where did this person come from?
"...Uh, hello."
Li Hao greeted her in an overly formal manner.
The girl raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze shifting to assess his cultivation level.
True Immortal Realm, Third Layer?