Chapter 525: Casual Defeat
As the silver light dissipated, it took the lives of the five ancient demons along with it. The sword energy, which contained Li Hao's primordial spirit power, destroyed their physical demonic bodies while also piercing through and shattering their primordial spirits.
To the outside world, it seemed as if the silver embroidery needle had simply danced through the air, and the five ancient demons perished in succession.
Swoosh!
Li Hao raised his hand, and spatial power gathered. He sliced open a spatial rift in the surrounding void and absorbed the five ancient demons into it.
When he left this secret realm, Li Hao intended to take the ancient demon corpses with him.
However, as he examined each of the ancient demons' bodies while storing them in the spatial rift, he didn't find anything unusual, such as the Dao Fire that the Immortal Guard Leader had mentioned.
"It seems that hunting for this Dao Fire and securing a qualifying spot won't be so easy," Li Hao's eyes flickered, but he remained calm and patient. He connected the space within the rift to himself, using an invisible tether to maintain the balance, turning the rift into another pocket of space that he could use for storage.
This could only be done by mastering the fundamental laws of space.
As Li Hao continued moving forward, this scene was reflected, and countless people watching Li Hao's actions were stunned.
Inside the True Immortal Secret Realm, the ancient demons were all at the True Immortal Full Circle stage. The five ancient demons had surrounded Li Hao, and people thought this would be a fierce battle. However, the situation was resolved in the blink of an eye!
"So fast, what did I just see?"
"Five ancient demons, all dead in the blink of an eye, and their primordial spirits couldn't even escape."
"That young man is terrifying. His strength is definitely among the top in the same realm. Does he really only have 96 years of soul lifespan?"
"Who was it that said he relied on his sect's resources to forcefully increase his realm? This combat strength is too frightening!"
Exclamations echoed throughout the various Immortal Dynasties, filled with shock.
"Interesting. I wonder what kind of bloodline that young man has. Could he be a reincarnated being from the primordial chaos?"
"Even if he is a reincarnation from the primordial chaos, such a performance would still be quite forced, after all, that one was also a being from the primordial chaos!"
"Is this young man from the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty? If there's a chance, we should recruit him, no matter the terms!"
Outside the True Immortal Secret Realm, powerful figures from various Immortal Dynasties stared at the young man, eager to recruit him.
On the other side, the Immortal Lord Realm secret realm had already opened, and the Immortal Lords from various Immortal Dynasties had entered ahead of time, unable to witness the battles in the True Immortal Secret Realm.
Although the Immortal Lord Realm and the True Immortal Realm wouldn't compete on the same battlefield, allowing the Immortal Lords to observe as elders could be unfair to the participants in the True Immortal Realm.
"That guy... he really never disappoints," Li Tie Mu said, his face full of smiles.
Li Hao's presence was like a beam of light, giving him hope for the rise of his sect.
"Mm."
Da Meng Zhu lightly nodded, and a gleam of hope shone in her eyes.
Meanwhile, inside the True Immortal Secret Realm, geniuses from all over had already encountered ancient demons. Only a few lucky ones had yet to face one.
Roar!
An ancient demon roared as it chased after a young man in purple robes, flying above the primordial mountains.
The young man had his hands behind his back, his expression calm, completely ignoring the ancient demon chasing him as he sped forward.
At first glance, it seemed as though he was fleeing, being hunted.
But his expression was extremely relaxed, as if he were strolling through his own imperial palace garden.
Finally, with the ancient demon's continued roars, more and more ancient demons were drawn to the area, one after another, joining the pursuit.
"Look, that's the prince of the Wang Qin Immortal Dynasty! He's being chased by just one ancient demon!"
"Useless. If he keeps running like this, more and more ancient demons will be drawn in."
"As a royal, he can't even defeat a single ancient demon?"
"Our original ancestors are that weak?"
In the various Immortal Cities of the Yuan Zun Immortal Dynasty, countless people were shocked and filled with confusion and disappointment when they saw this scene.
However, as more and more ancient demons joined in the chase, their numbers gradually grew to over ten.
At that point, the savage roars of the ancient demons sounded like thunder, reverberating for miles.
The young man in purple robes, however, slowed his pace and then calmly turned around.
"Which one has the Dao Fire? It's hard to tell. They all seem the same."
The young man in purple robes twirled a folding fan in his hand, examining the ancient demons before him. He didn't even flinch at the stench and malicious aura in the air.
The ancient demons, however, had no intention of talking. Seeing him stop, they quickly closed the distance and launched an attack.
A black vortex appeared, seemingly trying to suck the young man's primordial spirit into it. The ancient demons unleashed various primordial spirit killing techniques, aiming to slay this genius.
Swoosh!
The young man in purple robes smiled faintly. A purple light appeared on his forehead, and an unusual heat radiated through the surrounding void. A purple bolt of lightning and fire surged forth, instantly forming a thunderous inferno that surrounded the ancient demons.
Under the scorching purple lightning fire, the ancient demons let out agonizing howls. The sharp primordial spirit blades from the black vortex flew toward the young man but were shattered by the lightning that appeared out of nowhere.
In the blink of an eye, the infernal scene dissipated, leaving only the charred bones of the ancient demons.
The purple-robed youth glanced around but didn't see any Dao Fire, murmuring to himself, "Did they possibly destroy the Dao Fire?"
He was somewhat puzzled, then shook his head. "Looks like I'll have to be gentler."
With that, he shook his folding fan and turned, continuing to fly forward.
This scene caused a stir, and countless people in the various Immortal Dynasties began to focus on the purple-robed youth.
Boom!
In a certain forest, a golden lightning bolt shot forward rapidly.
Roar!
An ancient demon leaped out in front, roaring loudly. Before it could attack, the golden lightning pierced through its body, creating a hole in its torso, while its primordial spirit perished at the same time.
The golden lightning briefly paused, revealing a young figure with golden hair — it was the ancient god clan youth.
He glanced back briefly, seeing no Dao Fire, then continued forward.
"I wonder if I'll meet someone from another Immortal Dynasty. How many ancient demons have been released here? If I can hunt them all, this first round of elimination should clear out the weaklings," the ancient god clan youth mused with a smirk, his speed increasing as he vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Huh, a windfall?"
High in the air, Li Hao was flying when he suddenly noticed two ancient demon corpses lying on a mountain peak.
He was surprised, instantly using his Instant Step to get closer. Upon inspecting the bodies, he saw minimal damage, just a single spear hole.
Without hesitation, he opened a spatial rift and stored the two ancient demon corpses inside.
"Seems like someone else was here. But it doesn't matter, they don't need the bodies, and anyone can kill them," Li Hao thought to himself, relieved it saved him some trouble.
He spread his divine sense and scanned the area, but saw no sign of the person who killed the ancient demons. They must have already left.
Li Hao continued onward, soon encountering another ancient demon.
With a casual wave of his hand, a sword light appeared. Before the ancient demon even got close, the sword light pierced through it, and the body was torn open by a terrifying spatial rift. Inside, other ancient demon corpses could be seen.
The rift swallowed the corpses, then closed up, disappearing.
As time passed, many battles across the True Immortal Secret Realm had begun to showcase the dazzling power of numerous participants, drawing the attention of countless onlookers.
In a vast mountain range with towering peaks and deep valleys, Li Hao followed the scent of malicious intent, his gaze sweeping across the area. He immediately sensed that in the shadows of the peaks, ancient demons were lurking.
He was surprised; these ancient demons seemed to be preparing an ambush, not planning to reveal themselves just yet.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a figure flew in from the distance.
Like Li Hao, this figure was radiating their aura without concealment, seemingly intentionally drawing the ancient demons' attention.
When the figure saw Li Hao in mid-air, they slowed their speed, revealing a young man holding a long spear.
"Hm?"
He immediately recognized Li Hao as the one with the youngest soul lifespan.
"Interesting," the spear-wielding youth smiled, a playful battle intent in his eyes. "Care for a little spar?"
He wanted to test how strong this youth was, given his incredibly low soul lifespan.
"No," Li Hao shook his head, uninterested in wasting time on something so trivial.
Seeing Li Hao's outright rejection, the spear-wielding youth was stunned for a moment, and a look of disdain immediately appeared in his eyes. "You won't get to decide that. Coming here means you must pay the price. Having a low soul lifespan is no excuse."
For geniuses, there's always only one choice: to accept a challenge. Refusing was the same as admitting defeat.
But he couldn't stand Li Hao's calm attitude when refusing, and decided to teach him a lesson. Since Li Hao didn't dare to accept the challenge, he thought it only right to make him retreat in fear.
As he spoke, he acted immediately, not giving Li Hao any chance to respond.
He valued time as well.
Whoosh!
In an instant, he crossed the space, his movements like shadows, quickly closing the distance with Li Hao.
He knew that those at the South Domain Battle level could detect traces of the Extreme Void, so even though he had covered his primordial spirit, he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't be noticed.
His movement was like a fading shadow, incredibly fast. The long spear in his hand was imbued with the destructive power of the Thunder Dao and one of the Nine Sequences, the Water Dao!
Combining Thunder and Water Dao, it had the explosive power of Thunder, followed by the continuous pressure of Water, making it extremely effective in large-scale battles.
But just as his spear was about to strike Li Hao's body, he suddenly felt his heart tighten, a terrifying sensation flooding over him.
His pupils contracted, and his instincts told him something was wrong. His body instinctively shot up into the air, quickly retreating.
Whoosh!
A silver sword light appeared where the purple-robed youth had been, spinning rapidly, but it did not pursue.
The spear-wielding youth's face changed. Had he continued his attack, that sword light would have struck him.
Such speed in a sword.
His eyes narrowed. With just a test, he could tell that this youth was not to be underestimated.
However, this only made him more eager for battle.
"Interesting!"
He whispered softly, and suddenly, his celestial law avatar appeared behind him, exuding an even more terrifying aura than before.
Li Hao, seeing this, slightly narrowed his eyes.
He hadn't pursued earlier as a warning, but if the other side kept wasting time, it was no longer something he could overlook!
"Slash!"
Li Hao raised his hand. The silver light, controlled by his primordial spirit, suddenly surged, and the sword's body glowed with the sharp rhythm of Dao.
Whoosh!
The sword light vanished in an instant.
"Not good!"
The spear-wielding youth's heart skipped a beat, but then his face changed, "What?!"
He couldn't sense where the sword energy had gone!
Even with his divine sense covering the area and within his own Dao domain, he couldn't detect the sword light.
But suddenly, a feeling of dread washed over him, and a sharp pain shot through his throat.
A crack appeared in his throat, and before he could react, his head was severed.
At the same time, a powerful primordial spirit force invaded his mind.
"Primordial Spirit Technique, Nine-Level Spirit Tower!"
The spear-wielding youth urgently roared, summoning a golden Spirit Tower in his primordial spirit, rising toward the heavens to destroy the invading force.
But the invading force transformed into an enormous hand, as if carrying an irresistible pressure, pushing the Nine-Level Spirit Tower down.
Boom!
The spear-wielding youth's body shook violently, and both his body and head tumbled down into the abyss below.
Li Hao glanced at him but didn't make a move to finish him off, treating it as a lesson for the youth.
He glanced briefly and then turned to leave.
At the bottom of the abyss, with a resounding impact, the spear-wielding youth's body fell, his spear dissolving as it lost its spiritual force, his head rolling to the side, his eyes vacant.
After a moment, his eyes slowly regained focus, filled with deep shock.
Soon, his head floated back up, and his headless body crawled back up to meet it.
As his body reformed, the youth's face turned pale. The invading primordial spirit force had shattered his Nine-Level Spirit Tower, damaging his primordial spirit.
"How is this possible? My primordial spirit is no match for his?!"
The youth was in disbelief. This person's soul lifespan was only 96 years. How could he have cultivated a powerful primordial spirit?
The peak of the primordial spirit realm was just the first step. Breaking through that limit made one a true genius.
Yet, on this road to breaking that limit, the other party had surpassed him. His primordial spirit's golden threads seemed to be cracks spreading throughout his body.
"Where did this monster come from?"
The youth's heart raced as he looked up, but the youth was already gone.
The other party had shown mercy, not finishing him off. He felt a hint of relief. If his primordial spirit had been destroyed, he would have missed the South Domain Battle and fallen in the first round.
He rose into the air, glanced at the mountain ahead, and prudently turned to leave.
Meanwhile, this battle caused an uproar outside.
"Heavens, the prince of the Tianzhao Immortal Dynasty actually lost!"
"He took down eight ancient demons in one go, unscathed, but now, in one exchange, he was defeated by that youth!"
"Did you see how he lost?"
People from all the Immortal Dynasties were shocked, while some Immortal Kings and even higher-level existences narrowed their eyes.
They all noticed that the seemingly simple move from that youth contained terrifying power. The disappearing sword energy had traces of the Time Dao, traveling into the past to sever his head. In a battle of the same realm, it was nearly impossible to defend against!
Unless one had a top-tier Immortal Weapon to resist.
But in the South Domain Battle, one could only rely on themselves.
The leader of the Nine Sequences, the power of the Time Dao, provided an overwhelming advantage in battles of the same realm!