Chapter 555: Manifestation of the Yuan Spirit, Lifted with One Hand
On the imperial platform, Gu Yan reversed the tide and entered the top fifty.
As the immortal guard commander announced the result, the Southern Region's immortal dynasties erupted in uproar. After all, the defeated opponent was a disciple of a Supreme! Though not a personal disciple, anyone able to learn under a Supreme was no ordinary figure.
Moreover, Gu Yan's performance left many True Immortal cultivators in awe, especially the many sword cultivators across the Southern Region who genuinely admired him.
"That Da Meng Jiu Yuan Sect… what sect is that? They're too strong. If I'm not mistaken, this is their third disciple to make it into the top fifty, right?"
"The name sounds familiar… I think I heard it many years ago."
With Gu Yan's victory, all the Southern Region dynasties began discussing Da Meng Jiu Yuan Sect. Some elders' eyes showed traces of remembrance, recalling certain dusty, taboo memories.
But with tens of thousands of years passed, few dared bring up that matter again.
"Da Meng Jiu Yuan… How could I have never heard of such a strong sect in our dynasty?"
"They've produced three sword Dao prodigies that entered the top fifty. Meanwhile, Wan Shan Jian Lou only had one of their two disciples advance!"
In the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty, people buzzed about the sect, inquiring everywhere for more about Da Meng Jiu Yuan.
Back at the sect's core, all nine abysses were boiling over. Disciples cheered wildly, and some elders were moved to tears. None of them ever imagined that one day, Da Meng Jiu Yuan would once again rise to fame across the Southern Region.
As Gu Yan descended from the imperial platform, Li Tiemu's old face nearly split from grinning, rushing up with endless praise.
The elders and disciples of the other abysses looked on enviously. The Sword Abyss had long been one of the weaker branches of the sect—yet now, it was they who carried the sect's glory.
Gu Yan's eyes were cold and clear. Ever since he comprehended the Sword Immortal's true intent, his heart had shifted. Everything he saw now felt transcendent. Within him remained only the vast sword intent—able to pierce anything and contain everything.
His gaze fell on Li Hao. Thinking back to Li Hao's earlier display of fist Dao, Gu Yan felt he now had the strength to go toe-to-toe with him—but whether he could win, he wasn't confident.
Still, that only made things more exciting.
If everything in the world came with certainty, wouldn't it all become boring?
With that thought, his lips curved into a faint smile. He looked to Li Hao and said, "Senior brother, I'm really looking forward to seeing your strongest sword Dao."
Li Hao blinked. Seeing that pure look in his junior's eyes, he felt a strange sense of familiarity. Wasn't that the very same gaze he himself had during chess, painting, or fishing—utterly immersed, with no care for victory or defeat?
"I will," he replied sincerely, a bright smile on his face.
Gu Yan smiled too. No longer so cold, he now seemed calm and approachable.
"Ancient Sword Immortal Physique… That Da Meng Jiu Yuan really dares to take them in. First the Huo Luan Clan, now this."
"That Ancient Sword Immortal Physique didn't come to our sect—foolish. Don't tell me his clan is secretly hiding somewhere in Yan Chu?"
"That boy's soul age is only a few hundred years. Still very young. If he trains for another five hundred years, he'll outshine most!"
In Wan Shan Jian Lou, many elders wore dark expressions. They hadn't expected Da Meng Jiu Yuan to steal the show.
Fortunately, among the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty's other Tian-level sects, many of their True Immortal disciples had also lost. No one dared speak up. Only the Immortal Lord group's battles remained, where each sect's top prodigies would soon take the stage.
As time passed, the fifty matchups neared their end.
The rest of Da Meng Jiu Yuan's disciples weren't so lucky. Though they had entered the top hundred under Li Hao's protection, they lost their solo matches to imperial clans or major sect prodigies.
Even so, to Da Meng Zhu and the others, this was already a massive success. Three disciples in the top fifty—this result outshone most Tian-level sects and brought their sect overwhelming attention.
With the top fifty decided, the immortal guard commander stepped forward and announced loudly, "Rest for half a day. Then we will draw the matchups for the top fifty. Everyone may now rest."
For the competing prodigies, who wielded many extreme powers, a short respite was enough to return them to peak condition. It wasn't their bodies that needed rest, but their minds, and half a day was enough for that.
Within the sect area, Da Meng Zhu created three separate barrier domains for Li Hao and the others, shielding them for quiet meditation.
Li Hao sat within one, his mind reflecting on his earlier insights.
The presence of the Heavenly Dao during the top hundred draw—Heaven is impartial, all beings equal.
He had nine-sequence origins, but the one he relied on most was the sword—what he'd held since youth.
Was that favoritism?
Compared to chess, painting, or fishing, sword Dao wasn't his truest love. Yet of all his combat arts, it was the one he most favored and relied on.
And if partiality leads to failure, then perhaps the "half-step invincible" realm was his way of seeking redemption.
His thoughts swirled. He had already grasped the Nine-Flower Immortal Seal, yet the legendary supreme Dao Origin Immortal Seal remained beyond his reach.
What was Dao Origin?
The root of the Great Dao. The nine sequences each represented a path, and their fusion gave rise to the true origin.
But how were they to be fused?
Which one would lead? Which would support? If all were equal, how would they combine?
Li Hao closed his eyes, and within the haze of thought, a trace of insight flashed.
He also recalled the inheritance from Tian Yang Immortal Emperor. That temple had laid out two requirements—first, to find the reincarnated disciples of the Immortal Emperor and have them ascend as personal disciples.
Second, to master the Dao Origin Immortal Seal.
His current Nine-Flower Immortal Seal only made him a formal disciple.
Gu Yan had just defeated the Tian Gong disciple, who, like Li Hao, held the rank of formal disciple under a Supreme.
Li Hao remembered Old Wang's explanation clearly: an Immortal Emperor was the ultimate existence in the true realm, the end of the cultivation path. Without the Dao Origin Immortal Seal, one could never reach that final peak.
Yet upon reflection, Li Hao wasn't entirely convinced.
Immortal gods, if not slain in battle, lived nearly forever. Even a True Immortal could live for ten thousand years!
Of course, most True Immortals didn't die of old age. The path of cultivation bred competition—reach True Immortal, and you aim for Immortal Lord; become an Immortal Lord, and you chase the Immortal King realm, seeking to rule a region.
But competition brings danger: stepping into forbidden zones for treasure, battling over resources—do that enough, and death comes.
Still, all of that was accidental death.
With such long lifespans, innate talent wasn't everything.
A prodigy who trained for a hundred years might match what others achieved in a thousand.
But a mediocre immortal who lived ten thousand years could match that same thousand-year prodigy.
In the end, live long enough, and you'd become invincible.
"Maybe Old Wang isn't too clear about the Immortal Emperor realm either. After all, he's only at the Immortal King level. Perhaps Immortal Emperors only take those with the Dao Origin Immortal Seal—or at least the potential for it via the Nine-Sequence Immortal Seal—as personal disciples because the Dao Origin Immortal Seal isn't just a mark of potential, but a requirement. It's a cause-and-effect relationship, not merely a symbol of qualification."
"After all, a youthful prodigy might be nothing special after a thousand or ten thousand years. That's not rare."
Li Hao pondered deeply. If the relationship was one of absolute causality, and considering that another prerequisite to become an Immortal Emperor was to comprehend the Heavenly Dao's imperial will, then it made sense. Only with a Dao Heart at that level could one control the Dao of the Emperor.
In that case, forming the Dao Origin Immortal Seal must be a necessity to walk the path of the Emperor. Its transformation was likely akin to stepping into the state of an Immortal Emperor.
In other words, the insight he'd gained earlier—the impartiality of the Heavenly Dao—was the closest thing to the Emperor's Dao. He was already at the threshold of touching the Dao Origin Immortal Seal.
Li Hao tried to reverse-deduce the requirements for Dao Origin by analyzing the Immortal Emperor realm. A realization dawned on him: the fusion of the Nine-Sequence Immortal Seal was tied to comprehending the Heavenly Dao. At the moment of fusion, one might brush against a sliver of the Emperor realm. That was the true gateway to becoming an Immortal Emperor.
While he was reflecting, Da Meng Zhu's voice came gently into his ears.
"Hao Tian, your match is about to begin."
The voice was soft and pleasant. Though it pulled Li Hao from his contemplation, it wasn't jarring in the slightest.
Still, her words caught him off guard. He opened his eyes and looked toward the imperial platform above. There, fifty golden figures stood in pairs—the drawing had already taken place.
Li Hao was stunned. He turned to Da Meng Zhu and asked, "It's already been half a day?"
"It passed a while ago. You were meditating so peacefully I didn't want to disturb you," Da Meng Zhu said. Had it not been time for his match, she wouldn't have called him.
Li Hao was momentarily dazed. He hadn't expected a short moment of thought to take up so much time in the real world.
He looked up and quickly found his own golden figure paired with another—a tall, breathtakingly beautiful young woman, her gaze ethereal and distant.
Scanning the crowd, he didn't see her nearby.
"Your opponent is strong—a prodigy of the Gui Clan," Da Meng Zhu said, following his gaze and pointing toward the western mountain peak.
There, a group of black-robed figures stood together. Seven in total—five elderly men whose auras were so reserved and deep that Li Hao couldn't gauge their cultivation, but he could tell—they were all Immortal Kings, likely comparable to Da Meng Zhu herself.
Standing between them were two young women in black dresses, about the same age and nearly identical in appearance—clearly twins.
Yet their auras were different. One was at the True Immortal realm, the other was already at the Immortal Lord level.
As he studied them, perhaps sensing his gaze, both women turned their heads to look his way. One of the elder men followed their line of sight.
"Not the best luck. Your opponent is also a top contender for the top ten," Da Meng Zhu said solemnly. "The Gui Clan, like the Zhan Tian Clan, is one of the true realm's top ten clans, with an Immortal Emperor seated in their lineage. But the Gui Clan isn't from the Southern Region. Their presence here is strange—likely they're here to gauge our Southern Region's talent, or to test the mettle of our top contenders."
Li Hao paused, staring back at them. When one of the girls met his gaze, he didn't look away. He just nodded slightly.
"Miss, that youth is your opponent. His earlier performance was quite impressive. Although he never revealed any bloodline power, it's unlikely he's just a baseline human. More likely, the Zhan Tian Clan simply failed to draw it out," one of the black-robed elders said softly.
Though he was at the Immortal King level, he treated the young women with clear deference. Their grandfather was one of the top figures in the Gui Clan.
"Uncle Yan, based on his battle style, what do you think his origin is?" the True Immortal woman asked gently. She didn't respond to Li Hao's nod and had already looked away.
"Well…" the old man pondered. "He repeatedly used the ancient and nearly extinct immortal technique 'Qingtian', created by the late Tianyang Immortal Emperor. That technique was once widely shared to strengthen the true realm, but most major clans abandoned it in favor of techniques developed by their own Supremes."
"You think he's a disciple of that Immortal Emperor?" she asked in surprise.
The elder shook his head. "Unlikely. If he were, he wouldn't be here competing. Besides…" He trailed off, then said, "His methods resemble those of the Hun Dun Clan. Their innate affinity for myriad Daos allows them to develop complex and unique systems of techniques. Every prodigy walks their own path—it's quite similar."
"Hun Dun Clan?" her eyes glinted. In the true realm's top ten clans, her Gui Clan ranked seventh. The Hun Dun Clan ranked fourth!
"No wonder the Zhan Tian Clan lost. But they failed to force out his bloodline. That's just pathetic. I want to see if he can keep hiding it this time." Her voice was calm, but her eyes were filled with confidence.
"The Hun Dun Clan isn't from the Southern Region either. They're from the Eastern Region, aligned with the Zu Long Court. I wonder if they're here for the same reason we are—to gauge the quality of Southern Region talent," the elder murmured thoughtfully.
"In that case, it's the perfect opportunity to see what a Hun Dun prodigy is really capable of. I don't know if he's their strongest, but based on his soul age and potential, he might be," she said. Her eyes sparkled, and then she gave a soft laugh. "But talent is just talent. The path of cultivation is long. What seems easy for some becomes an eternal wall for others. That's what makes the world so fascinating—who can truly say who will make it to the end? At least in this battle, all that matters is strength. Whoever stands last is the true prodigy."
The elder nodded. It was true.
That youth's talent was monstrous. Reaching such a level within a hundred years of soul age was terrifying.
If he continued at this pace, within a thousand years he'd be invincible among Immortal Lords.
But that was based on current trends. One bottleneck, one major wall, could change everything.
Every prodigy faced different bottlenecks. Some had powerful combat strength but struggled with their Dao Heart. Others had a strong Dao Heart but advanced in cultivation slower than ordinary people.
"This Southern Region has likely already seen through my identity. Since I've come here, I must at least make the top five. If I lose, it can only be to someone from the Imperial Clan—or one of the two Supremes' personal disciples."
Gui Lingyue's gaze swept the arena. So far, the only opponents she acknowledged were the youth from the Imperial Clan and those two personal disciples. She estimated she had only a ten percent chance of defeating them.
As for the rest—she neither feared nor expected to lose to any of them.
"If he really is from the Hun Dun Clan, you'll likely have to go all out, Miss," the elder warned.
The Hun Dun Clan ranked fourth among the hundred clans of the true realm. Their foundation was unimaginably deep and terrifying.
Gui Lingyue gave a slight nod and quietly awaited the end of the current match on the imperial platform.
Soon, the second match in the round of fifty concluded.
Li Hao learned from Da Meng Zhu that this was already the second battle, and he and the Gui Clan's prodigy were set to fight in the third match.
Yuexi and Gu Yan were matched ninth and twenty-fourth, respectively.
Their opponents were relatively ordinary—but having reached the top fifty, none could be underestimated. Yuexi's opponent was the green-dressed girl, while Gu Yan was up against a prodigy from the Yuan Zun Immortal Dynasty, one of the top hundred clans, albeit ranked in the thirties.
For Gu Yan, it would be a tough fight. Based on their opponents' earlier performances, Da Meng Zhu thought Yuexi had the highest chance of advancing—followed by Li Hao. But since the Gui Clan girl hadn't gone all out before, it was hard to say for sure.
The next match on the platform ended with one contestant even burning their immortal Seal to fight—only to still lose. The battles now were clearly far more intense than those in the top hundred round.
"Do your best. Just give it your all," Da Meng Zhu said to Li Hao.
Although she believed he had a chance at making the top ten, his opponent was no pushover either. In a battle between two monsters, anything could happen.
Li Hao nodded.
He said goodbye to Yuexi and the others, then stepped onto the imperial platform.
"Big sister, I'm going," said Gui Lingyue, also flying up onto the platform.
Her twin, standing beside her, looked nearly identical in appearance but had a colder aura. She didn't respond, simply gazing indifferently at her sister.
Gui Lingyue was used to it. Smiling, she waved goodbye and flew up to the stage.
As the two landed, the sealing formation activated. The commander of the celestial guards announced their identities loudly.
"From Yanchu Immortal Dynasty, disciple of Da Meng Jiu Yuan Sect, human race Hao Tian, facing off against Chiyang Immortal Dynasty, disciple of Que Yue Sect, Gui Clan's Gui Lingyue!"
His voice boomed across the heavens. In the Chiyang Immortal Dynasty, everyone recognized the name Gui Clan. But no one had heard of Que Yue Sect—until now. Despite being a humble fourth-rank sect, the Gui Clan prodigy had made its name famous through her victories.
However, many suspected this so-called affiliation was just for show. The Gui Clan hailed from the Northern Region, so it was likely they had borrowed the sect's name to flex their power in the Southern Region.
"The Gui Clan? Aren't they known for their slaughter and mastery of the Yuan Spirit?"
"Exactly. During the ancient demon catastrophe, the Gui Clan's Emperor personally took the field and slew multiple demon kings. I heard among the Immortal Emperors, only three could suppress a demon emperor, and one was from the Gui Clan!"
"Their Yuan Spirit isn't any weaker than the Gu Mo Clan's. In fact, I heard they've even studied Gu Mo techniques and surpassed them!"
"So why are they in our Southern Region? Doesn't the Northern Region have its own talent tournaments?"
"Of course. Maybe they didn't get a spot, or they're here just to flaunt their power. Hmph, foreign clans… I hope Hao Tian can beat her!"
"Not likely. That girl hasn't gone all out yet. This fight's going to be a clash of dragons and tigers!"
Many major sects across the immortal dynasties were watching closely. Neither Li Hao nor Gui Lingyue could be considered ordinary True Immortals anymore. In a few centuries, they would undoubtedly be powerful Immortal Lords.
In the Yanchu Immortal Dynasty, many watched anxiously, hearts in their throats.
Had it not been for the Heavenly Dao drawing lots, people might suspect Li Hao was being targeted. First, he faced the Zhan Tian Clan—one of the top ten clans. Now he was matched against the Gui Clan—again, a top-ten powerhouse.
On the stage, Gui Lingyue's face was icy. Besides her sister, she showed no warmth to anyone.
"This time, if you don't use your Hun Dun Clan bloodline, you won't win," she said coldly.
Li Hao raised an eyebrow. Huh? Hun Dun Clan? What's that supposed to mean?
Seeing his confused expression, Gui Lingyue arched a brow. She assumed he was pretending—still hiding his identity. Her lips curled into a cold smirk. She wasn't some failure like Zhan Yuchen.
Without another word, dark ghostly qi surged from her body, like a rising black mist, cloaking her in shadow.
The temperature on the platform dropped instantly, a cold and eerie chill sweeping out. Having watched Li Hao's battle against Zhan Yuchen, she knew victory wouldn't come easy. She would need to use some of her real power.
As her extreme power unfurled, her bloodline aura emerged. A black Immortal Seal appeared on her forehead—not silver like the others. A distinctive mark of the Gui Clan.
Nine blossoming flowers formed from Dao origin patterns, elegant yet ominous.
As her power climbed higher, a heavy ghostly pressure filled the platform. Li Hao's gaze sharpened. This girl's aura… was at least a level stronger than Zhan Yuchen's.
"You'd better win," Zhan Yuchen muttered under his breath from below, watching nervously.
If Li Hao lost to the Gui Clan, it would mean the Zhan Tian Clan had been outclassed by them—and that would be too shameful to bear.
Swoosh!
Surrounded by black ghost mist, Gui Lingyue's figure suddenly flickered—instantly vanishing and appearing in Li Hao's shadow, striking out.
She moved faster than even Return-to-Void teleportation. It wasn't simple speed—it was like a curse that acted directly on Li Hao's body.
This was one of the Gui Clan's top movement techniques—Gui Ying Yue!
It ranked among the top three movement techniques in the true realm!
Li Hao's expression shifted. He didn't even have time to react. Too fast.
Boom!
A palm slammed into his back. Li Hao felt that soft palm carry the force to split mountains and rivers, fracturing the bones in his spine and sending him hurtling forward.
He crashed to the ground, pain shooting through his back—but it wasn't a burning sensation. It was an eerie cold, seeping into his body.
That force contained terrifying soul power. The opponent's attack had embedded a strike on the level of a Yuan Spirit.
Li Hao was startled, but his own Yuan Spirit immediately countered, wiping out the invading energy. He raised his Eternal Dao Domain at once and unleashed one of the ten immortal techniques—Wan Ying.
From the inheritance of the imperial palace, besides Qingtian, Li Hao had memorized the other immortal techniques too. Once his nine-sequence Daos reached the fourth level, those techniques had all advanced to perfection.
Wan Ying, or Ten Thousand Shadows, manifested instantly across the imperial platform—ten thousand figures of Li Hao.
They weren't just afterimages. Each was more like a clone, with a third of Li Hao's strength.
A third—that was terrifying.
If it were simply about stacking power, ten thousand times 0.3 meant three thousand times his strength.
But in real battle, especially against opponents of similar or stronger realms, it didn't work like that. For instance, if Li Hao could barely contend with a fifth-realm Immortal Lord, then one-third strength from a clone might not even threaten such an opponent.
So even ten thousand clones wouldn't crack a fifth-realm Immortal Lord's defense—the baseline was too far off.
But if the opponent was weaker than Li Hao, someone he could kill in one blow, then ten thousand clones equaled catastrophic destruction. He alone could be an entire army.
This was one reason Wan Ying ranked among the ten great immortal techniques.
And while it wasn't the fastest, it surpassed most techniques in sheer coordination and scale.
"Hm?"
"Wan Ying movement technique?!"
"Another one of the ten immortal techniques—and one of the hardest to cultivate! This one requires mastery in both Form Dao and Control Dao!"
"I thought this one was lost to time—how does he still know it?"
As the imperial platform filled with Li Hao's figures, countless onlookers were stunned.
Until now, Li Hao had displayed terrifying sword and fist techniques but an average movement skill. No one expected him to suddenly unleash something this fearsome.
Gui Lingyue hadn't expected it either. Worse yet, the ghost corrosion she'd infused in her earlier strike—one of the Gui Clan's core soul-destroying techniques—had been instantly erased. That should've injured his Yuan Spirit severely.
"How is this possible?"
Gui Lingyue's eyes narrowed. Could his Yuan Spirit be stronger than hers? That was the only explanation she could think of.
But as she froze in shock, Li Hao's ten thousand clones struck back.
Though he wasn't familiar with military formations, Wan Ying let him command the clones directly. All of them raised Eternal Dao Domains.
The domains stacked over each other. Though they couldn't truly merge or multiply power like layers of armor, they had another goal: amplifying time and space within.
"Time Freeze."
Li Hao's eyes turned cold, unleashing the power of the Time Dao.
Time Freeze, Reversal, Acceleration—these were all basic Time Dao abilities. The Saint-level of the true realm already knew them.
But knowing didn't mean resisting.
Like a beast that knows the stars exist—but can never touch them.
Now, with thousands of shadows layering their domains, each clone froze time for just a blink—but together, those blinks stacked into something terrifying.
That was the power of Wan Ying combined with Time Dao.
At the same time, his Zhou Tian Xingchen bloodline lit up, radiating solid starlight. Wan Ying consumed enormous immortal Power—most True Immortals could only use it once before exhausting themselves.
But with the Zhou Tian Xingchen pulse, this movement technique became truly monstrous.
Violent immortal Power surged forth, and with the ninefold boost from the Zhan Tian Royal Art, everyone watching could see the ocean-like flow of immortal Power in his body.
The sheer amount released in those brief seconds could make even Immortal Lords sweat.
Then, with a calm whisper, time across the imperial platform... stopped.
The five Gui Clan elders frowned simultaneously.
Even Gui Lingyue's cold, expressionless sister showed a change—her frosty gaze flickered with a sharp light.
On the platform, under the total stillness, Li Hao stepped forward and charged at Gui Lingyue.
She was frozen in mid-air, unmoving. Though her thoughts barely spun, her body couldn't respond.
Realizing she was trapped, fear flickered through her mind. She quickly unleashed her own Time Dao.
Yes, she too possessed the Time Dao at the third level.
But third and fourth levels were worlds apart.
Worse yet, Li Hao's freeze was stacked from ten thousand clones—even if she resisted with full force and shrank the duration, it was still long enough for Li Hao to kill her dozens of times.
Boom!
Li Hao didn't hold back. He stepped forward and swung his fist—blasting her head apart, body and all, into a cloud of blood.
The spectators gasped.
Though Gui Lingyue was from the Gui Clan, her pale beauty and cold charm had mesmerized many. For Li Hao to be so utterly merciless shocked them all.
Her body burst into mist. The crowd knew: the match was over.
Everyone had expected a brutal duel. No one thought it would be one-sided slaughter.
Even the seventh-ranked Gui Clan's top prodigy was powerless before the Time Dao.
But just as everyone was sighing over the tyranny of time...
A pitch-black ghost shadow shot from Gui Lingyue's shattered blood mist—unaffected by the frozen space—rushing toward Li Hao with deadly speed.
As he saw the ghostly shadow clearly, Li Hao realized it was Gui Lingyue—her Yuan Spirit. But now it appeared pitch-black like a true wraith, streaked with even darker shadows, making her form seem even deeper and more menacing.
"What?"
"Impossible!"
All who saw the scene stared wide-eyed, stunned.
The blood mist over the imperial platform remained frozen in time, yet Gui Lingyue's Yuan Spirit moved freely, appearing right in Li Hao's shadow and lunging to bind him.
"Gui Clan secret art—Union of Ghost and God!"
Several Immortal Lords narrowed their eyes sharply.
Da Meng Zhu and Elder Li, along with others from their sect, looked deeply serious.
The time-freeze just used by Li Hao could suppress nine-tenths of the top geniuses in the top hundred. To them, it was Li Hao's ultimate trump card—even more terrifying and domineering than his fist technique.
But none expected the Gui Clan to break through it. The reason: their secret art transferred all power into the Yuan Spirit. And the Gui Clan's Yuan Spirits were uniquely strong, nurtured through secret cultivation methods—now completely immune to time's restraint!
Li Hao hadn't anticipated this either. Time suppression... ineffective?
That shouldn't be possible. Nothing should escape time's rule—except destiny itself.
He quickly understood. The enemy's Yuan Spirit was simply too strong—strong enough to slip through the seams of the time rules defined by his current time Dao foundation.
In the blink of an eye, Gui Lingyue's Yuan Spirit coiled around his body from behind, clinging to him like an octopus.
He could feel her Yuan Spirit—soft, but eerily cold, like ice—and sensed its invasive power attempting to pierce into his immortal body, trying to force his own Yuan Spirit out.
"You forced me to this... You don't deserve to complain about losing!"
Gui Lingyue's hoarse voice whispered beside his ear, cold and sinister—nothing like the icy clarity from earlier. It felt like a ghost was murmuring.
Li Hao's eyes turned cold. 'That line should've been mine.'
He'd believed that combining Wan Ying with time-stacking was enough to crush even top-ten geniuses. Maybe only a handful could survive the combo.
He didn't expect he'd have to reveal yet another trump card.
"So you're using your Yuan Spirit? Yours is strong… but not strong enough."
Li Hao's voice didn't come from his mouth—it was his Yuan Spirit speaking.
From the crown of his head, his Yuan Spirit rose—brilliant gold, radiating divine majesty like an untouchable god.
Golden divine light burst out, carrying overwhelming soul force. Most shocking of all were the countless glowing structures inside his Yuan Spirit body.
They weren't just gold meridians—they were gold bones!
Bone after bone—uncountable!
And this was only half his spiritual body. No one could imagine what the full form looked like.
Li Hao's Yuan Spirit hovered above, coldly gazing down at Gui Lingyue's coiled form.
Gui Lingyue looked up too. Her expression froze.
That gaze… like a deity beyond reach.
She was momentarily dazed. 'How could this be...?'
In the next instant, Li Hao's Yuan Spirit lifted a hand and—like pulling a weed—yanked Gui Lingyue's Yuan Spirit off himself.
Yes, just yanked her off, like peeling off a stubborn sticker.
The ghostly Yuan Spirit that had latched on tightly now appeared like a helpless chick, unable to resist as Li Hao flung her aside.
He had devoured countless ancient devils. His Yuan Spirit gold bones now numbered over five hundred. The geniuses he'd fought before had barely reached gold meridian level. Even those who had gold bones had only a few.
Gui Lingyue's black-glowing structures were her own gold bones—but Li Hao counted only forty or fifty. Barely a tenth of his own.
Even so, that number was already monstrous—on par with a fourth or fifth-realm Immortal Lord.
But unfortunately for her, Li Hao's Yuan Spirit was far beyond ordinary even among Immortal Lords.
"You..."
Gui Lingyue came to her senses and tried to resist—only to feel Li Hao's hands squeezing her Yuan Spirit into a ball.
Her voice was muffled under the crushing force, twisted by the pain.
"I'll spare your life. One chance to surrender."
Li Hao's tone was calm as he rolled her up.
Gui Lingyue felt real fear. The Gui Clan was the recognized strongest in Yuan Spirit mastery—even the Di Clans couldn't match them.
But now… she was being utterly crushed by someone in the same realm?
She, a Gui Clan prodigy, now felt like she had seen a ghost.
"I—I surrender!"
Her trembling voice rang out. The pain reached her soul—it was unbearable.
She knew if she didn't surrender, and he shattered her Yuan Spirit, her whole cultivation life would be wasted.
Yes, she could reincarnate with memories, but the massive resources spent on her so far would be wasted. And it would cost even more to cultivate again.
For geniuses like them, it wasn't like restarting meant getting stronger. They already followed the most optimal paths selected by their clans—rarely was there a better road to take.
Upon hearing her surrender, Li Hao flicked his hand and tossed her compressed spirit away. Wan Ying vanished, time resumed, and the suspended blood mist slowly drifted.
Soon, it gathered again, reforming Gui Lingyue's body.
Her Yuan Spirit, battered and shrunk, returned to her body. She stared at Li Hao in horror—like she'd seen a ghost.
It had all happened in a flash.
And aside from Gui Lingyue on the platform, the rest of the crowd sat in stunned silence.
Across the mountain peaks and cliffs, countless gazes—some calm, some cold—now turned razor-sharp, all focusing on Li Hao.