Chapter 469: The Ancient Fiendess
"Didn't we send out a distress signal? Why is no one here yet?!"
Huo Xiaoqi's expression was grim. His true treasure robe was torn, and he gripped a silver ruler, its surface stained with blood, its glow dimmed.
His aura erupted to its limit, his entire being exuding a terrifying intensity. Behind him, his divine manifestation loomed like an insurmountable mountain, radiating an oppressive force.
Though he was only at True Immortal Stage Eight, he was unleashing his full power without reservation, making him the strongest among the four survivors—even stronger than Shi Tianjin himself.
It was precisely because of this that they had barely managed to hold out until now.
"Keep fighting! If you have pills, take them! Forget about foundation damage—if we fall, we're all dead! We won't even have a chance to reincarnate!"
Shi Tianjin roared, swinging his blade in a sweeping arc, cleaving an ancient fiend in half.
The fiends had them completely surrounded. Even if he wanted to break out alone, there was no way out.
The only silver lining was that one of the new recruits—Huo Xiaoqi—turned out to be a hidden powerhouse.
Despite being only at True Immortal Stage Eight, he displayed combat strength on par with Shi Tianjin, even managing to hold off two Stage Ten fiends on his own, greatly relieving the team's burden.
"Kill them all!"
Another veteran soldier, his eyes bloodshot, roared hoarsely.
His immortal energy was nearly exhausted, and he was gulping down pills one after another, desperately trying to sustain himself.
Boom!
A True Immortal Stage Ten fiend suddenly swooped down, its massive frame tearing through the void, sending out a vile, putrid gust of wind.
The dark energy it wielded shattered the immortal techniques used against it, sending one of the veterans flying with a horrifying impact.
Huo Xiaoqi's face changed, and he hurriedly swung his silver ruler to block.
But the two fiends he had been fighting seized the opportunity, unleashing their racial secret arts.
In an instant, the space before him twisted violently, his divine sense trembled, and a deafening buzzing filled his mind.
"Save me!!"
The injured veteran, his face turning purple from strain, let out a desperate scream.
The others trapped within the encirclement immediately tried to assist, but their immortal techniques barely left a scratch on the fiend.
The ancient fiend race possessed powerful divine souls and physical bodies rivaling the top bloodlines of the dragon race.
"This is it…"
"Someone, save us!"
"I don't want to die! I haven't even made it into the Sirius Army yet! I still have to return home for revenge! I—!"
The new recruits, their faces deathly pale, were filled with terror, regret, and despair.
Even some of the more seasoned soldiers, though silent, wore the same grim expressions, struggling to fight back but barely making an impact.
Then—
A cold, bone-chilling killing intent swept across the battlefield.
Huo Xiaoqi and Shi Tianjin instinctively looked up.
Beyond the encircling fiends, a massive shadow surged in the darkness, constantly shifting in form.
Gradually, it morphed into a towering, ghostly figure—
It wore what appeared to be a tall ceremonial headdress and held a whisk, but upon closer inspection, the whisk's strands were not fibers, but twisted, tormented souls, their agonized wails echoing hauntingly.
Then—
The shadow lifted its arm.
The whisk lashed down.
An invisible wave of horrifying wails instantly filled the air, reverberating directly into everyone's divine souls.
Their immortal energy felt locked, their souls forcibly drawn from their bodies, leaving them feeling exposed and helpless, as if standing naked in a storm of ice and fire.
This was a well-known secret technique of the ancient fiends—Nine Nether Soul-Shear.
"No…!"
Shi Tianjin's face turned deathly pale, his muscular frame trembling uncontrollably.
He desperately tried to resist, but he could only watch helplessly as the whisk descended.
Everyone else was the same—
Only Huo Xiaoqi, his face twisted with pain, managed to grit his teeth and struggle.
Just as he was about to activate his sect's life-saving talisman—
Slash!
The descending whisk was suddenly torn apart by a blinding golden light, splitting it cleanly in half.
The eerie, soul-piercing wails were instantly silenced.
The fiends surrounding them immediately turned in unison, their eyes locked onto the source of the interference.
There—
Across the void, a golden-haired figure, his robes billowing, descended like a celestial deity.
Shi Tianjin and his team were stunned.
From absolute despair to overwhelming hope, their eyes widened in disbelief.
They desperately squinted, trying to make out his features—
But the radiant sword light behind him was too dazzling, making it impossible to see his face.
This all happened in mere moments.
The five Stage Ten fiends quickly reacted, their faces twisting in fury.
They immediately abandoned their original prey, charging straight toward the golden-haired youth.
Sensing an overwhelming threat, they instinctively roared, unleashing their strongest abilities without hesitation.
A dense black mist erupted from their bodies, rapidly expanding into a domain of darkness, attempting to engulf the approaching enemy.
Shi Tianjin and the others felt an overwhelming chill creeping into their bones.
From this shadowy domain, they sensed an unmistakable aura of death.
Had they been trapped inside earlier, they would have been annihilated instantly.
Meanwhile, Li Hao's gaze remained calm.
His Eternal Dao Domain erupted, countering the black mist's encroachment.
At the same time—
He activated the Yama Projection.
Behind him, a towering, demonic figure manifested—
It wielded a massive hellblade, its presence exuding a terrifying aura of judgment.
Boom!
The Eternal Dao Domain and the dark domain clashed, unleashing a deafening explosion.
The laws of spatial origin began tearing through the darkness, while the laws of time origin slowed the fiends' sinister magic.
Within seconds, Li Hao's domain gained the upper hand.
And then—
His hellblade slashed forward.
A colossal blade light cleaved through the battlefield, cutting through reality itself.
Boom!
One of the True Immortal Stage Ten fiends was bisected instantly—
Both its physical body and divine soul were obliterated in an instant.
Yan Blade had an innate suppression over divine souls, and the sword energy carried Li Hao's Sovereign Sword Intent, making it utterly unstoppable.
"Explode!"
Li Hao murmured softly.
The Eternal Dao Domain expanded, enveloping the remaining ancient fiends, compressing the space and shredding everything inside.
Boom!
A series of black mist explosions erupted in midair, countless ancient fiends disintegrating at the same time, bursting like fiery blossoms in the void!
The scene was so intensely shocking that Shi Tianjin and the others, who had just been screaming for their lives, were frozen in place—their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, their faces filled with terror and disbelief.
Li Hao took one step forward, shifting within his Dao Domain, instantly appearing before another two True Immortal Stage Ten fiends.
With a casual flick of his wrist, he swung his sword twice.
One was Qingtian Sword Slash.
The other was Sword God's First Slash.
Both fiends perished on the spot.
The remaining two True Immortal Stage Ten fiends, who had barely processed what was happening, were finally aware of the horror before them.
They couldn't sense a trace of an Immortal Lord's aura from him, nor did they see him use any immortal law techniques, yet that terrifying sword intent and the crushing force of his Dao Domain filled them with an unshakable sense of dread.
And even more terrifying—
They could feel the overwhelming power of his divine soul from within his mortal body!
Run!
Their instincts screamed at them—this was no longer a battle they could win.
Without hesitation, they turned to flee, transforming into two streaks of black wind, desperately trying to escape.
But in front of Li Hao, who had already mastered the Fourth Layer of Spatial Origin, escape was impossible.
Unless they were Immortal Lords, even with wings, they wouldn't be able to fly away.
Whoosh!
Two streaks of sword light instantly tore through the battlefield.
The sword energy stretched for hundreds of miles, vanishing momentarily, only to reappear directly behind the two fleeing fiends.
Slash!
A brilliant arc of sword light severed through the void.
The two fiends collapsed simultaneously, their bodies and souls annihilated.
Li Hao raised his hand and made a slight motion—
The void split open, and the two fiends' corpses were drawn in, vanishing into his Heaven and Earth Space.
After storing them away, Li Hao then collected the remains of the other fiends who had been shredded by his Dao Domain.
Their organs had ruptured, not due to external pressure, but spatial dissection, causing their blood to be expelled naturally—saving him the trouble of draining them manually.
Ancient fiend blood could be refined into blood cakes.
Li Hao had no intention of wasting it.
With a wave of his hand, the blood mist gathered into a massive crimson sphere, which he stored away as well.
As Li Hao calmly and methodically collected the corpses, Shi Tianjin and the others finally snapped out of their daze, as if awakening from a dream.
A moment ago, they had been teetering on the edge of death.
Now, they had been completely saved, and the fiends that had them surrounded were obliterated in mere moments—
They were as fragile as moths crashing into flames.
The shock was so profound that they struggled to comprehend reality.
Yet instinct took over—
They rushed forward, full of gratitude, eager to express their thanks to this supreme powerhouse who had just saved their lives.
However—
As they approached, before they could speak—
They finally saw his face clearly.
"It's... you?!"
Shi Tianjin, who had been about to bow in gratitude, suddenly froze mid-motion, his excitement vanishing, replaced by a dumbfounded expression.
His mind went blank for a moment, as if he had been struck by lightning.
"You…?"
Huo Xiaoqi, who had also rushed forward to thank their savior, stopped in his tracks, eyes wide in disbelief.
And when he focused his divine sense, he confirmed—
This was no illusion.
This was the same young man they had separated from earlier.
The other survivors, now looking at Li Hao's face up close, were similarly struck dumb.
Even though he was just a new recruit, and they hadn't interacted much before, they still remembered his face.
They had assumed that the one who effortlessly slaughtered dozens of True Immortal Stage Ten fiends must have been an Immortal Lord-level expert.
But in reality, it was the very rookie who had joined their camp just hours ago?!
The veteran soldiers were shell-shocked.
The new recruits who had arrived alongside Li Hao were just as dumbfounded, staring at him as if he were a mythical beast.
"Are… are you okay?"
Li Hao, after finishing his battlefield cleanup, turned and looked at Shi Tianjin and the others.
He casually waved at Huo Xiaoqi in greeting.
Huo Xiaoqi blinked in confusion.
This voice…
The familiar tone…
Now, he was absolutely certain—
It really was that same kid.
"You… you… this…?"
Huo Xiaoqi stammered, unable to find the right words.
He suddenly remembered how he had said he'd 'take care' of Li Hao earlier—
His face turned red with embarrassment.
Shi Tianjin also recovered from his shock, immediately putting on a friendly, enthusiastic smile.
"So it was you! We owe you our lives!"
Then, without hesitation, he invited Li Hao to join them—
"Want to team up with us?"
"No thanks."
Li Hao shook his head, then glanced at Huo Xiaoqi.
"You guys be careful. I'm heading to the front lines."
After saying this, he didn't linger, immediately vanishing with a flash, rushing ahead toward the battlefield.
The moment his figure disappeared, Shi Tianjin and the others exchanged glances, their eyes filled with profound shock.
"Isn't he just True Immortal Stage Three?"
"He killed dozens of ancient fiends in the blink of an eye—how is that even remotely True Immortal Stage Three?! Even a Stage Ten expert couldn't do that!"
"But when he fought, I didn't sense any Immortal Lord aura from him… and he didn't use any immortal law techniques. That sword energy… I felt its terrifying sharpness from a distance. That must be the peak power a True Immortal can achieve!"
"Could he be some monstrous genius from a major sect? Maybe from the Heavenly Palace?"
The survivors whispered amongst themselves, still struggling to digest what had just happened.
For the human race, only the most exceptional geniuses could defeat ancient fiends of the same realm.
And to slay fiends across realms—that was a feat exclusive to the most supreme prodigies.
Yet, judging by Li Hao's demeanor, he hadn't even used his full strength.
Huo Xiaoqi stared at the spot where Li Hao had vanished, his expressions shifting rapidly.
Hearing the others speculate that Li Hao was a hidden sect genius, a thought suddenly struck him.
Once this fiend attack ended, he was going to investigate this person thoroughly.
Could it be…
That Li Hao was also planning to participate in the Southern Domain War?
At this thought, his eyes gleamed with newfound determination.
Li Hao rescued Huo Xiaoqi and the others without stopping and continued forward.
Along the way, whenever he encountered human cultivators under siege, he stepped in effortlessly—both to save lives and to seize their ancient fiends as spoils. Not only did he collect valuable resources, but he also earned their gratitude—a perfect win-win scenario.
As he neared the frontlines, the situation became drastically more intense.
The number of ancient fiends was far greater than before.
The entire starry sky was filled with endless waves of ancient fiends, stretching above, below, in every direction.
It was a scene so overwhelming that even Li Hao's expression turned serious.
Fighting here meant an incredibly high kill rate—but also significantly increased the risk of encountering Immortal Lord-level ancient fiends.
Whoosh!
Li Hao expanded his divine sense, scanning his surroundings before launching his assault on the nearest ancient fiends.
At the same time, he released Taotie, letting it unleash its hunger-driven slaughter while he himself wielded his True Treasure sword, maneuvering seamlessly through the masses of ancient fiends.
In the distance, seven or eight Immortal Lord-level ancient fiends loomed like dark storm clouds, exuding immense pressure.
Luckily, those battlefields already had human Immortal Lords holding the line.
Li Hao, meanwhile, moved silently and swiftly through the lesser ancient fiends, his aura still restrained at True Immortal Stage Three, avoiding detection from the ancient fiend commanders.
However—
If anyone truly observed carefully, they would see that his kill speed was absolutely monstrous—
Like a razor-sharp blade, slicing through the dense ancient fiend horde, leaving corpses in his wake.
The surrounding ancient fiends soon noticed that this slaughtering madman was not someone they could handle easily—their instincts screamed at them to avoid him.
Yet when they sensed that he was only True Immortal Stage Three, they found it utterly unbelievable.
Ancient fiends were supposed to be unparalleled among their peers.
Only prodigies from the most powerful races posed a real threat to them.
But now, they were being hunted down like prey by a mere human cultivator?
Roar!
The fleeing ancient fiends roared in frustration, sending out distress signals.
However—
Li Hao was too fast.
His Fourth Layer of Spatial Origin gave him movement abilities leagues beyond any True Immortal.
Combined with his mastery of Time Origin at the Second Layer, even Peak True Immortal Stage Ten ancient fiends, going all out, couldn't shake him off.
Whoosh!
Li Hao continued his relentless pursuit, tearing a massive gap through the ancient fiend ranks.
At that moment, two Peak True Immortal Stage Ten ancient fiends bellowed in fury.
They knew they couldn't beat him, so they coordinated their retreat, fleeing toward a floating asteroid field.
The asteroid field was littered with remnants of past battles—scattered bones of human cultivators, broken armor pieces, and drifting war relics.
Li Hao's steps faltered for a brief moment.
He had reached the First Defensive Line.
The number of human battle camps was noticeably lower here.
If he pushed any further, he would be out of range of the Yan Chu Immortal Army's main forces.
Chasing too deep wasn't worth the risk.
Just as he was about to turn back—
A sharp, ominous wave of energy suddenly erupted ahead!
Li Hao's gaze snapped forward.
He saw the two fleeing ancient fiends being sliced in half by a dark crescent blade, their divine souls obliterated in an instant.
Then—
A woman in a black dress, her long black hair flowing, emerged from their shattered corpses, flying directly toward Li Hao.
Li Hao paused, stunned—
Someone else was here?!
He focused his gaze.
The woman appeared gravely wounded—
Her right arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly broken, and showed no signs of regeneration.
But what stood out most—
Were the eight pitch-black wings protruding from her back.
Those wings were identical to ancient fiend wings—
Just significantly smaller.
Li Hao had only ever seen ancient fiends with two wings.
Even ancient fiend commanders only had four wings.
While he was still processing this, the woman's icy-cold gaze locked onto him as she sped through the remnants of the two fallen ancient fiends.
She clearly hadn't expected to find a human here.
Her expression subtly shifted—
Then, as if realizing something, she immediately retracted her black wings, pulling them into her body.
At the same time, her entire aura rapidly changed, completely concealing all traces of ancient fiend energy.
Within moments—
She arrived right in front of Li Hao.
"Leave now."
The woman scanned Li Hao with a single glance, sensing that he was merely True Immortal Stage Three, and immediately felt a wave of relief.
At that level, his divine sense range was limited—
He couldn't have possibly seen her true form.
And this was a golden opportunity.
She moved closer to Li Hao, saying, "This place is dangerous. Hurry, I'll take you away."
As she spoke—
She grabbed Li Hao's arm and rushed to fly off with him at full speed.
Li Hao was momentarily stunned.
The information he had just gathered told him without a doubt—
This woman was an ancient fiend.
But he never expected an ancient fiend to take on such a form.
Now, her aura was flawlessly disguised, making it impossible to detect anything unusual.
But the scent she carried—
Li Hao knew that scent too well.
After eating so many ancient fiends, he could instantly recognize it.
She was an ancient fiend.
"Who are you?"
Li Hao didn't resist, simply staring at her in apparent confusion.
Her expression remained stoic, but the momentary flicker of emotion in her eyes showed she was studying his reaction.
Seeing him dazed and motionless, she felt mildly exasperated.
Why were humans so slow-witted?
They were in such a dangerous place, yet he was just standing there like an idiot instead of running for his life.