Chapter 470: Immortal Seal Eruption
"Are you not afraid of death? This entire area is surrounded by ancient fiends, and you're still standing around instead of running!"
The woman ignored Li Hao's question and snapped at him with an irritated tone.
Her voice was crisp and sharp, carrying a seductive yet chilling undertone—it was strangely alluring.
Li Hao let her pull him along, but his mind was rapidly weighing his options—should he take advantage of this moment to strike and kill her in one decisive blow?
However, despite her weakened state, when she had concealed her aura earlier, he had sensed a formidable Immortal Dao energy—she was definitely not just a True Immortal.
Li Hao was not entirely confident in his chances.
After a brief moment of thought, he decided not to take the risk—after all, he had never encountered an ancient fiend like this before.
If he could bring her back to the Yan Chu Immortal Army, he might see what she was truly up to—was she attempting to infiltrate them as a spy?
Would the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty be able to identify her true nature?
Whoosh!
Just as Li Hao was lost in thought, suddenly—
A hidden ripple in space appeared right ahead of them.
It was concealed deep within the void, but its cutting force was sharp and mercilessly swift, sweeping toward them with terrifying precision.
This attack was heading straight for them!
It was a wide-range attack—if he continued moving forward, he would be caught in the crossfire as well.
"Wait."
Li Hao tightened his grip on the woman's wrist, stopping her abruptly.
She frowned, about to question him, but in the next moment, her expression sharply changed—
Her pupils suddenly transformed, revealing a black vertical slit, and an immense surge of Immortal Dao energy erupted from her body.
Without hesitation, she drew her sword and slashed forward, tearing through space!
In that instant—
The concealed spatial attack burst forth, revealing its true form as it swept toward them in a deadly arc.
The woman's face darkened—she gritted her teeth and ignited her ancient fiend bloodline.
Her immortal energy surged explosively, increasing her power tenfold in an instant!
The previously mangled arm, which had been twisted and deformed, suddenly healed completely.
Not only that—
The immortal seals restraining her arm shattered, as if some kind of restriction had just been forcefully broken!
At the same time—
She muttered an incantation, raising her hand as a colossal phantom appeared behind her.
It was a majestic figure, holding a gigantic brush, its presence towering and imposing.
The phantom raised its brush and drew a single stroke in the air.
The void trembled.
The spatial attack shattered instantly, vanishing like ink washed away from paper.
But in the moment the attack dissipated—
Two massive void rifts appeared.
And from within—
Two towering figures emerged.
Ancient fiend commanders.
And not just any commanders—
Their aura was far stronger than the one that had previously chased Li Hao down!
Li Hao's eyes narrowed sharply.
He wasn't sure if he could handle this.
However—
To his surprise, the two ancient fiend commanders didn't seem to be here for him—
Their attention was completely fixed on the woman beside him.
As Li Hao quietly assessed the situation, one of the ancient fiends suddenly spoke in a deep, guttural voice, using the ancient fiend language:
"Come back with us. Stop resisting. Or—hand over that thing. If you do, we may spare your life."
The woman let out a cold, mocking laugh.
Instead of answering directly, she transmitted a message through divine sense:
"Dream on. That thing isn't with me. You're wasting your time chasing me. Even if you kill me, if it gets lost, you'll die too!"
The two ancient fiend commanders visibly stiffened.
A more chilling, murderous intent flickered in their eyes.
They knew she wasn't lying.
That 'thing' was of utmost importance.
If they successfully retrieved it, it would be a major merit—
But if they failed, it didn't matter how hard they tried—they would still be executed.
"Seems like we'll have to use 'Three Lives Soul Annihilation' to make you talk."
One of the ancient fiends spoke coldly.
They were still speaking in ancient fiend tongue—
To most outsiders, their words would sound like guttural, inhuman roars.
But Li Hao understood them perfectly.
He had studied the ancient fiend language under Nangong Jian during his time in the Starry Sky Ancient Path.
He immediately understood the situation.
However—
The woman next to him hadn't said a word out loud.
She had only used divine sense transmissions.
She was still trying to keep up her disguise.
Li Hao instantly knew he wanted no part of this mess.
Without hesitation—
He shook off the woman's grip.
She looked at him, surprised.
Li Hao clasped his hands in a polite salute and said solemnly:
"Senior, I'll leave these two ancient fiends to you. I'll be taking my leave now!"
The moment he finished speaking—
He spun around and bolted.
Whoosh!
But just as Li Hao was about to execute a spatial shift to flee—
The void trembled violently.
A monstrous wave of Immortal Dao energy surged behind him—
A deadly strike shot straight toward his back!
Li Hao's face darkened.
With his Fourth Layer Spatial Origin, he barely managed to sense the incoming attack, but it was far too fast—he couldn't dodge in time!
Freeze.
Li Hao poured his remaining immortal energy into his Heavenly Star Veins.
For a brief instant—
The entire space around him flickered with countless starlights.
His immortal energy was instantly drained, but in exchange—
Time itself was momentarily frozen!
Though it lasted only for the briefest fraction of a second, it was enough.
Li Hao executed a spatial shift at the last possible moment—
And barely dodged the fatal blow!
"Huh?"
The ancient fiend commander was momentarily stunned.
The woman and the other commander were also visibly shocked.
Their attention was entirely on each other, but they hadn't failed to notice what had just happened.
A mere True Immortal Stage Three cultivator…
Had just dodged an Immortal Lord's full-power strike?!
That was utterly insane!
Li Hao, meanwhile, was mentally cursing—
"Aren't you guys fighting among yourselves? Why the hell are you dragging me into this?!"
Without looking back—
He activated his full speed and bolted.
"Stop him!"
The two ancient fiend commanders' expressions changed.
Without hesitation, they launched another attack—
Straight at Li Hao!
Boom!
The ancient fiend woman had not expected that this seemingly weak human could actually attract the full killing intent of the two Immortal Lord Realm pursuers.
At first, she was simply shocked, but in the next moment, she seemed to realize something.
She suddenly understood why Li Hao had appeared so calm and composed, even when wandering through the ancient fiend territory.
With abilities like his, aside from encountering Immortal Lord Realm fiends, there was indeed very little that could truly threaten him.
More importantly—
She had clearly seen the power Li Hao just unleashed.
He wasn't suppressing his cultivation realm.
Rather, he had mastered a form of ultimate power, and his comprehension of Spatial Origin Dao had clearly reached an astonishing level.
This human was undoubtedly a monstrous prodigy.
Her gaze flickered slightly, and a plan formed in her mind.
Instead of using this opportunity to flee, she suddenly struck back, blocking both ancient fiend commanders from attacking.
She knew—
The only reason these two ancient fiend commanders attacked Li Hao was because they suspected she might have handed "that thing" over to him, and he was escaping with it.
Even though this possibility was almost non-existent, the two ancient fiends were being overly cautious, and would not take any risks.
Boom!
As the ancient fiend woman made her move, the attacks aimed at Li Hao were abruptly intercepted.
The two fiend commanders froze in place, momentarily stunned.
They had assumed she would take this chance to escape—
But instead, she risked her life to protect a human?
That only further confirmed their suspicions.
"That thing... is really on him!"
"Kill him!"
One of the ancient fiend commanders let out a low roar and said:
"I'll handle her!"
"You sure about that?"
"Less talking! If we fail to retrieve it, we're all dead anyway. Time to go all out!"
With two furious roars, the two fiend commanders exploded with terrifying power, one targeting the ancient fiend woman, while the other charged straight at Li Hao.
Even as he fled, Li Hao was caught off guard by the fiend woman's unexpected intervention.
However—
When he saw the two enraged fiend commanders, he immediately understood their thoughts.
They actually believed he had 'that thing'!
Damn it. This was complete nonsense.
A disaster that had nothing to do with him was now dragging him into a life-and-death situation!
No more holding back.
Li Hao unleashed his full power for the first time.
His ultimate form erupted—Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspect manifested, every ounce of his strength surged to the absolute limit.
"Die!"
The ancient fiend commander spread its massive wings—
Leaping across a million miles in a single instant—
And in the blink of an eye, it was right on top of Li Hao!
Li Hao's face turned grim.
This fiend's cultivation was far beyond an ordinary Immortal Lord Stage One.
It was likely at least Immortal Lord Stage Four or Five!
The pressure it exuded was ten times stronger than the fiend commander that had previously chased him.
A strong sense of impending death loomed over him—
No more reservations!
Boom!
A brilliant celestial light erupted from Li Hao's forehead—
The Nine-Flower Immortal Seal burst forth, illuminating the endless void.
"Break!"
Li Hao roared, unleashing the strongest sword strike of his life.
This was not just a single technique—
It was a fusion of his three supreme sword arts:
Azure Sky Sword Dao.
Sword God Nine Forms.
And the two Imperial Sword Intents he had comprehended atop Imperial Sword Mountain.
In that moment—
Li Hao called upon his most powerful weapon:
"Taotie!"
Whoosh!
The demonic blade Taotie flew into Li Hao's hand.
Sensing the burning battle intent in its master, the bloodthirsty sword spirit that usually thrived on carnage did something unexpected—
Instead of going wild with excitement, it trembled and sent a nervous transmission:
"Master... that's an Immortal Lord Stage Seven fiend!
And it carries an ancient fiend royal bloodline!"
Immortal Lord Stage Seven?!
Li Hao's heart sank—
He had never heard of fiend royal bloodlines before, but now—
He no longer had any choice.
Slash!
Li Hao twisted mid-air and executed his strongest sword strike.
The Nine-Flower Immortal Seal spun above him, bathing the fiend commander's eyes in a blinding divine light.
For the first time, the fiend commander's pupils contracted in shock.
"Nine-Flower Immortal Seal...!?"
A human with this talent level…?
That momentary shock was instantly replaced by a murderous frenzy—
This kind of monstrous prodigy must not be allowed to live!
Whether he had that thing or not, he must die!
BOOM!
Sword qi surged, ripping through the void!
The Nine-Flower Immortal Seal spun wildly, condensing nine supreme Dao Origin Powers into a single world-breaking sword slash!
Even an Immortal Lord Stage One would have to avoid this strike.
CRACK!
A black crescent moon slashed across the void—
Two extreme forces collided violently!
Li Hao's entire body shuddered—
It felt like he had been struck by an entire collapsing mountain range.
His bones cracked, and agonizing pain shot through every inch of his body.
His entire form was sent flying like a meteor!
But—
At the same time—
A scarlet wound appeared beneath the fiend commander's jaw.
It was shallow, but it was undeniably a wound.
And it had been inflicted by a True Immortal Stage Three cultivator.
With this single strike, Li Hao—a mere True Immortal—had managed to wound an Immortal Lord Stage Seven fiend.
Though Taotie had contributed to this feat, it was still an achievement that defied all logic.
As Li Hao fell through the void, he caught sight of the wound on the fiend commander's face—
A small smile flickered in his eyes.
Even if he died today, at least he had managed to leave his mark on an enemy far beyond his realm.
However—
Just as the fiend commander closed in to finish him off—
A strange black light suddenly shot out from Li Hao's body!
Whoosh!
The black light was no larger than a thumb, nearly unnoticeable.
But in the blink of an eye, it rushed toward the fiend commander's face.
At that moment—
A colossal, towering pagoda materialized from the void itself.
It was as if the black light had dragged this pagoda from the depths of time.
Its presence was ancient, boundless, and suffocatingly oppressive.
BOOM!
The entire void trembled.
For a brief moment, everything in the surrounding space fell into absolute silence.
Even the fiend woman and the other fiend commander, who had been locked in battle, whipped their heads around in shock.
And the moment the fiend woman laid eyes on that towering phantom—
Her pupils shrank violently—
And she let out a startled cry:
"The Floating Pagoda of the Emperor's Heart!?"
"That tower... wasn't it destroyed? The Emperor's Heart was obliterated—how can it still exist? How!?"
The other ancient fiend commander also recognized the colossal pagoda, its expression twisted with rage and shock.
However, before they could process their fear, the tower descended like a supreme emperor, casting an overwhelming shadow over the fiend commander that had just attempted to kill Li Hao.
That fiend commander froze in place, its body shuddering in terror as it instinctively turned to escape.
But it was too late.
The tower's oppressive shadow engulfed it, and in that moment, its primordial soul trembled violently, as if about to shatter.
Ten thousand years ago, this floating pagoda had once terrorized the entire True Realm—even the ancient fiends dreaded its existence.
Back then, the ancient fiend race had mobilized its most powerful emperors to eradicate the tower, fearing its unimaginable might.
Yet now—
After countless eons, this tower's phantom had somehow been pulled back from the depths of time itself, reemerging once more as the nightmare of the ancient fiends!
BOOM!
The fiend commander's primordial soul was instantly crushed, annihilated on the spot!
Its body stood still, completely intact—
Yet lifeless.
An Immortal Lord Stage Seven fiend had been silenced without resistance—
No chance to fight back.
No chance to struggle.
It had simply perished.
Li Hao stood stunned, his mind reeling from what he had just witnessed.
His gaze locked onto the floating pagoda, and he immediately recognized it.
It was the same pagoda he had seen in Floating Pagoda City—the Heart Inquiry Tower!
And the black light that had triggered it…
Li Hao lowered his gaze—
It was the seemingly unremarkable iron shard given to him by Old Man Han before his departure.
But now—
This ordinary-looking piece of iron radiated a piercing black glow, sharp enough to slice through sight itself.
As the floating pagoda crushed the fiend commander, its form began to fade, gradually sinking back into the void.
The black light followed an arc through the air, before shooting straight back into Li Hao's hand.
It felt ice-cold against his skin.
Li Hao remained silent, gripping the iron shard tightly.
He had long suspected that Old Man Han had a deep connection to the Heart Inquiry Tower—
But this...
This was beyond anything he had imagined.
Could it be…?
Li Hao shook the thought aside. He had no time to dwell on it now.
His gaze snapped back to the ancient fiend woman and the remaining fiend commander.
At this moment—
The fiend woman and the fiend commander had snapped out of their shock.
BOOM!
Seizing the opportunity, the fiend woman suddenly launched a sneak attack—
A crescent moon-shaped blade of darkness slashed through the air, slicing one of the fiend commander's wings clean off.
Not daring to linger, she immediately turned and bolted toward Li Hao.
"Run!"
She spoke urgently, reaching out to grab Li Hao's arm as she prepared to flee with him.
However—
Li Hao dodged her hand.
His expression was cold as he said:
"Don't drag me into your mess. You go your way, I'll go mine. We owe each other nothing."
The fiend woman paused, clearly startled by his reaction.
She quickly pointed toward the remaining fiend commander and said:
"You think you can just walk away? Look—"
Li Hao turned his head and saw something that made his expression darken instantly.
The fiend commander… wasn't chasing them.
Instead—
It was fleeing.
It had turned around and was already vanishing into the distance, escaping at full speed.
Like Li Hao, this fiend also grasped the Spatial Origin Dao, allowing it to teleport through the void with terrifying efficiency.
Within moments—
It had disappeared entirely.
Li Hao's face turned grim.
"You… dragged me into this."
He turned back to the fiend woman, his eyes cold, barely containing the burning fury within.
Normally—
Ancient fiends of her status were feared by all.
Even among their own kind, few dared to speak to her with hostility.
Yet now—
Not only did this human glare at her with undisguised killing intent, but he also dared to hold her responsible.
In the past, she might have silenced him immediately.
But instead—
She let out a soft, bitter laugh.
"Yes… this is my fault.
I got you involved."
Her tone was calm, and there was no attempt to argue or shift blame.
"Whatever compensation you want—fine. But for now, we need to leave.
That fiend commander is going to report back. Next time, it won't just be two—it'll be an entire hunting party."
Li Hao narrowed his eyes, staring at her for a long moment.
Even now, he wasn't sure if the iron shard still had power left, and if it didn't—
He didn't have the strength to finish her off.
For now, he had no choice but to retreat.
Finally—
Li Hao let out a cold snort.
"Fine. We'll head back. To the Immortal Army."
But in his heart—
He had no intention of letting her off so easily.
The fiend woman visibly relaxed.
She had successfully used this opportunity to solidify her connection with him.
In truth, she had many reasons for stepping in earlier.
One of them—
Was recognizing that Li Hao was an exceptional human prodigy.
If she could use this connection, it might allow her to infiltrate deeper into the human race's core…