Chapter 579: Defying the Dao with the Infant to Break the Emperor's Game, Destroying the Nine Seals to Forge the Dao Source
Ying Xiaoxiao's face changed instantly as the Dao Source immortal seal on her forehead glowed. A vortex of space and time twisted. In a flash, she took Li Hao with her, crossing directly to half an hour earlier.
The scene around them was when Li Hao was killing Jin Fengling and the other two. But before they could land and enter this new reality, a force quietly stretched out, taking over space and time, and slammed them back.
They returned to the original timeline. Li Hao faintly sensed that some invisible force was like an anchor binding them both, that anchor being their current time and space. Even though they could manipulate the source of time and jump into different moments—even disrupt the flow for short periods—their own anchor always stayed in the original timeline, carried along the current of time. In other times, they were always "outsiders," and their anchor still belonged to the time where they started, drifting forward with the flow.
Time stop could only freeze themselves, and whatever was with them, but not the anchor that tied them to their own fate.
Li Hao suddenly felt that time was far more than just a line or a layer, but actually many, many layers!
As they were thrown back, the immortal guard commander's palm print was already descending, bringing a storm of domain Power that felt like a whole world was crushing them.
With a boom, Ying Xiaoxiao used everything she had, sheltering Li Hao beneath her, her whole body shining with seven-colored light. She spat out a mouthful of glowing, rainbow blood and crashed onto the imperial dais.
Li Hao, just from the shockwave, felt his internal organs shatter and his immortal body split open.
"She actually tried to kill the Supreme's direct disciples—how reckless!"
"Provoking imperial majesty directly, no wonder the Supreme would step in and capture her."
"Is the sinner's direct disciple really this wild, not thinking to escape, but trying to kill instead?"
Outside, people everywhere were shocked, whispering and debating.
Earlier, they'd seen Ying Xiaoxiao say nothing and then suddenly charge at Jianxin and Mingyue, and then the Supreme's command came: take her down.
Hearing all the private talk on the mountain top, Li Hao was stunned. Then he realized what had happened. Fury and shock surged in his heart. In front of everyone, the Supreme had reversed space and time, erased Ying Xiaoxiao's words, cut off the cause, and only let people see her attacking Jianxin and Mingyue, flipping cause and effect!
Right in front of countless eyes across the Southern Domain, the Supreme had created a false scene!
Only now did Li Hao sense how terrifying an Immortal Emperor truly was. In his hands, space and time were like a scroll, twisted and shuffled at will, turning what looked real into the perfect illusion by just changing the order.
"Hmm?"
The immortal guard commander was surprised that the girl actually withstood his strike. His face shifted, and his eyes grew colder, the domain core in his body sending out terrifying Dao Power as he brought down a second palm.
"Xianwang picking on a Xianjun—what kind of skill is that?!"
Meng Wannian saw what was happening and shouted angrily.
She knew the Da Meng clan had already offended the Heavenly Palace, so at this point, they had nothing left to lose.
The Da Meng clan had kept their heads down since Tianyang Immortal Emperor's fall, but if they couldn't even protect the hope that was Li Hao, what was left for their future?
The immortal guard commander said nothing, just increased his force.
The quasi-Emperor heir had already lost, and this girl was now unrivaled in the Xianjun Realm. Only if those top heirs from the other clans showed up would anyone have a chance to fight her.
The domain Power shrank into his palm. It was like he was capturing a whole world and wanted to trap Ying Xiaoxiao inside.
Ying Xiaoxiao sent Li Hao away. She'd expected this moment. Now, she could only hope the imperial clan would keep their word and protect Li Hao for the sake of their reputation.
"Imperial clan, you promised me, you'd keep him safe!"
Under the giant palm, her gaze turned to Di Jiming, who looked shaken and upset.
Di Jiming didn't expect that even in a hopeless moment, the girl would still be thinking of that boy. What charm did Li Hao have to make such an unrivaled genius care about him, even risking her life?
"I always keep my word!" he replied stiffly.
Next to him, the imperial clan's old man looked worried, glancing at the Supreme in the Heavenly Palace, feeling how tricky the situation was.
"Stop!!"
Suddenly, a furious roar shook the sky.
Li Hao looked up at the falling palm, every hair standing on end in anger. He stared straight at the mighty figure in the sky, knowing now that anger and shouting were useless—this opponent could even control his mouth.
"What will it take for you to let us go? Name your terms, I'll agree to anything!"
He clenched his fists and forced the words out.
He'd thought it was only about himself, but now Da Meng clan was involved, even Old Wang, and now Ying Xiaoxiao was risking her life for him.
That girl's eyes seemed to hold so many stories. The thought that she would die here brought him a strange, tearing pain.
Hearing Li Hao's words, the Supreme didn't even lift his eyelids. "Compared to her, you don't matter anymore."
The immortal guard commander understood, and no longer held back. In an instant, his Power covered everything like a net from heaven, sealing all time and space around Ying Xiaoxiao and locking it into his domain.
Ying Xiaoxiao's body flickered into hundreds and thousands of shadows, darting through different times, but the immortal guard commander blocked all of time's flow in this place for a thousand years.
As a Xianwang Ninth Layer, he was almost at peak Xianwang. Even the imperial clan elder wasn't his match. He was only half a step from the Xianwang Perfection, right under Immortal Emperor, and though time wasn't his specialty, he was still stronger than this reincarnated Ying Xiaoxiao.
Boom!
The imprisoned domain filled with lightning and instantly pierced through all those shadows, leaving only one behind.
Ying Xiaoxiao was covered in blood. She seemed to realize she couldn't escape. She stopped struggling and just looked back at Li Hao, her hair flying, her eyes filled with softness, as if treasuring this last moment.
"If you want me to take a master, I'll do it. If you want anything, I'll agree. Just let them go!"
Li Hao's heart throbbed with pain. He gritted his teeth and spoke to the Supreme.
The Supreme's gaze was cold and distant. After a long moment, he finally said, "Kneel."
"Don't kneel!"
Before Li Hao could move, Ying Xiaoxiao cried out sharply, "As a Supreme's disciple, you never kneel to anyone else. Even if you beg him, he won't let us go. What he wants is your master's secrets, to erase all risks. He's afraid!"
Li Hao knew this already. He'd seen through the situation, but had no power to break it. Right now, he was just a pawn, not the player.
"You have to agree…"
Li Hao looked at the Supreme in the Heavenly Palace and slowly, he knelt down.
As his knees hit the void, Ying Xiaoxiao's voice was cut off. She stared at him, stunned and speechless.
The Supreme's cold gaze swept through the sky, as if he was looking at some distant figures, countless miles away.
Such humiliation—he believed it would stab at certain people's pride, as long as they still had any spirit left!
"Let them go…"
Li Hao gritted his teeth, feeling like his spine was broken, and bowed his head as he spoke.
"Kneeling just gives you the right to beg from me. The sinner's remnant dares scheme against my disciples. For the sake of her strength, and because she will one day slay demons for the Southern Domain, I'll spare her life, but she cannot avoid punishment…"
He raised his hand, and a ray of Dao light shot into the immortal guard commander's domain, stabbing straight at Ying Xiaoxiao's forehead.
That ray of light coiled around the Dao Source immortal seal at her brow, seeming to wrap her up.
"I will correct her and make her the future First Commander of Demon Slayers."
The Supreme spoke coldly.
The light in Ying Xiaoxiao's eyes faded, her spirit becoming dazed.
Li Hao watched, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, a rage fiercer than ever welling up in his heart. That figure held so high by all was actually so despicable, disgusting, and hateful!
"You… you don't deserve to be called Emperor!!"
Li Hao clenched his fists, stood up straight from the void, his spine snapping back into place with loud cracks.
His eyes turned bloodshot and wild, full of tears, glaring madly at that towering figure.
"She was right, you are afraid! You're not equal to my master, not to Tianyang Immortal Emperor, and even your disciples are far beneath mine!"
Li Hao's immortal body split open, erupting with terrifying Dao Power. Inside him, the Heavenly Dao Infant at last let out its final radiance.
The Heavenly Dao Infant cracked like fragile glass, the Sage's extreme realm Power within him shattering, breaking the limit and turning into a surging Dao force that merged with his being.
It was like he himself became the Heavenly Dao Infant—not an infant now, but a youth, growing from the young form.
That raging Dao Power swept out, leaving everyone stunned. Not far off, Jianxin and Mingyue's pupils shrank in horror.
Li Hao's body went through a huge transformation. The Nine Sequence Immortal Seal on his forehead spun and then shattered!
Every pattern on the immortal seal cracked apart.
If even the Heavenly Dao Infant could break, so too could the nine seals!
If the world began as chaos, why divide into nine sequences?
All things return to the source!
As his soul echoed and his spirit cried out, countless explosions thundered from within the young man. The Nine Sequence Dao, including Sword Dao, all shattered and fused—everything returning to one!
To unite is the source, and Dao Source is the beginning!
A terrifying pressure spread from Li Hao. When his nine seals broke and reformed, what appeared was a gem like Ying Xiaoxiao's, but his was etched with a jagged sword mark!
As the sword mark took shape, the void seemed to tremble. Deep in the true world, the Heavenly Dao itself sang with joy.
The surging waves of Power from the void shook everyone. The whole mountaintop felt swept away by the flood!
"Dao… Dao Source…"
Jianxin and Mingyue were stunned, faces full of shock at the young man's transformation.
The nine sequences broke—Dao Source was reborn!
He had actually achieved a legend, climbing higher in this desperate moment, forging the true world's strongest Dao Source immortal seal!
"Dao Source…"
Whether in the True Immortal Realm or Immortal Lord Realm, even the gathered kings were shocked and horrified at what they saw.
The young man burning with Dao Power, with just a hundred years of soul life, had achieved a miracle that countless had dreamed of!
"That kid…"
On the lone peak, the old man fishing looked solemn, even shaken.
In the city of Heart-Questioning Pagoda, the old man by the tree stood up abruptly.
Not far away, the Heart-Questioning Pagoda buzzed with the cry of cicadas, shaking as if it would shoot into the sky!
"Dao Source… Another Dao Source! After countless eras, Emperor Zun's last disciple also forged Dao Source!"
"Oh Heaven, are you determined to cut off this line, or do you truly care? Will you destroy this seed of Dao Source with your own hand?"
All over Yan Chu, people wailed and laughed and cried in grief.
In the clouds, Emperor Chu and the others stared at the sight, as if forgetting themselves, unable to speak for a long time.
None of them expected things to go this far.
Dao Source… Emperor Chu's hand shook. He suddenly realized he had made the wrong move.
Was it worth it to sacrifice two Dao Sources?
Was it really worth it?!
With Dao Power condensing, Li Hao finished his transformation, his aura now overwhelming Jianxin, Mingyue, and the other True Immortals.
Even the Immortal Lord participants on the field changed faces, feeling dread in their hearts.
Li Hao's eyes were blood-red with tears. He stared at that mighty figure and spoke word by word: "Now, let me trade myself for them. Will you let them go?"
The Supreme narrowed his eyes and slowly replied, "With this talent, if I let you go, you'll bring chaos to the true world. You'll come with him to train in my Heavenly Palace for ten thousand years, as the First Commander of Demon Slayers. That will redeem your master's sins."
At his signal, the immortal guard commander came back to his senses, still stunned at Li Hao's monstrous talent.
But in front of the Supreme, no genius could resist.
Domain Power surged as he prepared to capture Li Hao too.
But at that moment, Ying Xiaoxiao, dazed, suddenly regained clarity. Her eyes flashed with seven-colored light, and from the distant depths of space and time, a terrifying force swept in.
It shattered the immortal guard commander's domain and pierced straight past him, enveloping Li Hao outside the domain.
"Go…"
Ying Xiaoxiao whispered, gazing at Li Hao. Her whole body glowed, her immortal form cracking like porcelain, radiating her last bit of light.
Li Hao froze. He didn't know what method she used, but he knew she was giving up her own life to buy him a shred of hope.
That terrifying force instantly wrapped him, time spinning madly around, as if shooting through a thousand years.
But before he could react, another terrifying force slammed in, smashing the shell of time and dissolving the shifting light. In an instant, everything returned to the beginning.
He looked up. He was still in the Southern Domain, still by the imperial dais.
The Supreme still towered above, unreachable.
The immortal guard commander was still in his old posture. But inside his domain, the blue-green figure looked like a burned-out candle, her immortal body withered, drowned in seven-colored light. Only her last, porcelain-like cheek was left, still holding warmth.
But as she saw him appear, her gaze was full of tenderness, then suddenly turned to despair.