Chapter 517: Sword Heart
Li Hao cultivated the Dao of Painting alongside Da Meng Master within the Langya Painting Realm, while the others remained in the realm to continue their final phase of training and comprehension.
Elsewhere, the other top sects of the Yanchu Immortal Dynasty were also unwilling to fall behind. Knowing that the Southern Region War would determine sect rankings, all sacred grounds and secret realms within the sects had been opened to give disciples one last chance to break through.
In the imperial capital of Yanchu Immortal Dynasty, within the royal family's Shenwu Secret Realm—
There stood a massive golden tree, with ten golden crows roosting on its branches. Like ten suns suspended in the sky, they radiated brilliant light that bathed the entire secret realm.
The flowers, grass, and land of the entire secret realm were golden and dazzling, as if plated with pure gold.
Beneath the golden tree flowed the Shenwu River. Its waters shimmered gold, leading toward a mysterious end, where countless shadowy shapes stirred. In contrast to the holy brilliance beneath the tree, the depths of that river exuded darkness, loneliness, and deathly stillness.
"This Southern Region War—you must give it your all. As members of the royal family, you cannot lose to the imperial clans of other immortal dynasties. We of Yanchu bear the soul of our forebears. We once fought across the Eight Wastelands, battled the Six Dynasties, and stepped through the forbidden imperial zones of the Immortal Realm. Even if you are to lose, you must do so standing tall. Never bring disgrace to the divine might of our ancestors."
The Emperor of Chu's expression remained calm, but his voice carried a tremendous pressure. None of the assembled princes, despite their impressive cultivation, dared utter a word. They all bowed their heads in silence.
Chu Tianhuang and the others felt their hearts pounding like drums, their blood surging wildly as if reversing its flow. None dared slack off, each hurriedly responded in agreement.
No matter how gifted a genius, before their father, they all felt a tremor in their souls.
Because in the past hundred thousand years, there had been countless so-called geniuses like grains of sand in a river, but none had ever been able to match the shadow of this father.
In other words, the ultimate limit of their cultivation—what they aspired to their entire lives—was this very man standing before them.
"Go now and comprehend. When the Southern Region War ends, if you place in the top ten, I shall bestow upon you a divine golden crow to protect you for ten thousand years."
The Emperor of Chu spoke calmly.
At those words, light flickered in the eyes of Chu Tianhuang and the others, though most of the princes and princesses glanced toward Chu Tianhuang.
They knew themselves well. During the last trial in the Ancient Immortal Realm, none of them had broken into the top ten. With the addition of the other six dynasties and Tiangong's prodigies, breaking into the top ten now would be nearly impossible.
Among them, only Chu Tianhuang had a real chance.
"The divine golden crow…" In the crowd, Chu Yueli looked up at the golden birds resting on the golden tree. If she could gain the golden crow's protection for ten thousand years, she could fully survive this current 'weak phase.'
Though she had already reached the Immortal Lord stage and was considered a strong cultivator in the True Realm, the stakes tied to her were high. If anyone moved against her, it would likely be someone in the Immortal King realm—an opponent she could not defend against. But with a divine golden crow, she could safely grow into the Immortal King realm herself. Only then would she have the true strength to rule her own fate.
At that thought, the image of a certain young man surfaced in her mind, and her eyes instantly gleamed with a cold light.
If she gained the golden crow's protection, the first thing she would do was eliminate that boy.
That way, even if her father insisted on the engagement, it wouldn't matter. The person would already be dead—there'd be no engagement to speak of.
While the many princes harbored their own thoughts, Chu Tianhuang keenly sensed that several of his older brothers, including Chu Xiangtian, were glancing at him.
Clearly, if he obtained the divine golden crow's protection, he would qualify to compete for the imperial throne—on par with his older and monstrously talented brothers, truly eligible to inherit their father's legacy.
Realizing this, he understood that this upcoming battle was critical for him.
…
In the Chijiang Immortal Dynasty, within a forbidden imperial ruin—
The ground was strewn with broken bones and skeletal remains. Occasionally, a massive shadow would streak across the starry sky overhead. Though it was tens of thousands of miles away, its immense form and savage, ancient aura could still be clearly seen.
On the ground were footprints hundreds of meters wide, leaving deep craters wherever they landed.
An Immortal Emperor had once fallen in this forbidden land, but apparently not completely. It had transformed the place into a forbidden zone, birthing countless strange and deadly lifeforms.
Atop a lonely peak sat an elderly white-haired man, quietly holding a fishing rod.
Before him lay a deep pool, its water pitch black, its depth impossible to see. The edges shimmered faintly green, as if it extended tens of thousands of meters below.
Suddenly, a huge crashing sound came from the forest in the distance. Moments later, a massive shadow flew toward the peak.
Looking closely, one could see that the shadow was being dragged by a youth with fiery red hair. His eyes glowed with restrained divine light, and his pupils were a brilliant crimson-gold—strange and powerful. Even though his frame was small, it pulsed with primitive, brute force.
Swoosh!
The boy landed, dragging the massive beast behind him, and slammed it down with a loud thud that made the entire ground tremble.
"Careful, you scared away all my fish," the old man atop the peak said softly, a bit helpless.
The boy clapped his hands and grinned. "Master, anything you're trying to catch wouldn't be scared off that easily."
The old man gave no particular comment, just glanced at the savage beast lying on the ground. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he said, "That Wind and Thunder Violent Ape had drunk emperor's blood. Its divine soul was enhanced, and it had grasped the fifth level of the wind and thunder source path. You handled it cleanly."
The massive beast lay on the ground with only one horrifying wound at its chest—right over the heart. The rest of its body was unscathed, clearly felled in a single decisive strike. Dark flames still burned at the wound, preventing the flesh from healing and even devouring its soul.
Hearing his master's praise, the youth grinned and said, "I wonder if this Southern Region War you mentioned will be exciting enough for me."
"I hear some strong contenders came out of the Origin Secret Realm this time. You'll run into them soon enough."
"Strong, huh?"
The boy's eyes lit up. "If I'd known, I would've gone to the Origin Secret Realm too."
"You've already been there once. Going again would be pointless. Here is better for you."
The old man smiled. "Still, who knows if those brats held anything back in the secret realm. They should be qualified enough to be your opponents."
"Let's hope so," the youth clapped his hands. "At the very least, they'd better be stronger than this big ape."
The old man chuckled, though he knew in his heart that many of the so-called prodigies in the Southern Region War probably couldn't even match this beast. After all, with a soul lifespan cap of three thousand years, reaching the Immortal Lord stage was already exceptional. This beast, tainted by emperor's blood, had reached the fifth level of the Immortal Lord stage. In terms of true combat strength, it could probably go head-to-head with someone at the seventh level.
Throw it into the war, and it would be an insurmountable mountain for most.
"You can take a look at that ancient coffin during the final three months," the old man said with a smile. Though he was already very satisfied with his disciple, his ambition was not just to win the war—it was for the boy to go even further.
"Really?" The boy's eyes sparkled again, clapping his hands in joy. "I'm going now!"
Before the old man could reply, the youth vanished in a flash, afraid the offer would be rescinded.
The old man chuckled, shaking his head. 'If you really see it, I hope you don't regret it.' Still, he packed up his fishing rod and quietly followed, just in case something unexpected happened.
…
In the Wangqin Immortal Dynasty, an enormous dragon skeleton lay across the starry sky.
This was a forbidden area of the dynasty and a place of great renown—the Heavenly Dragon Tomb.
Within it lay only a single colossal dragon skeleton, stretching nearly a hundred million li across the void. Just the size of this dragon bone was equivalent to several Immortal Cities, making it impossible to imagine the might of the creature in life.
At the dragon skull, a figure walked silently. He wore black imperial robes and radiated a noble, kingly aura. Nine dragon souls coiled faintly around him like external veins, drawing the surrounding dragon qi into his body.
Suddenly, he paused and pulled out a token from his robe.
A faint light emerged from the token, revealing the image of an emperor—it was the Emperor of Qin from the Wangqin Immortal Dynasty.
"It seems your dragon vein has been successfully cultivated. Apart from the Stellar Meridian Vein, this is another unique great vein technique exclusive to our Wangqin Immortal Dynasty."
The Emperor of Qin looked down at his peerless son, eyes cold and detached. "For this Southern Region War, I want you to take first place."
"Yes, Father Emperor," the young man in dragon robes nodded slightly, his expression equally calm and composed.
"You may go to the dragon eye. There's a gift waiting for you there."
With that, the emperor's image faded away.
A glimmer of dark light flickered in the youth's eyes. He looked into the distance, then stepped forward. With a slight blur, he vanished and reappeared tens of thousands of li away.
…
In the Southern Region, Tiangong—
The True Realm of the Grand Thousand Worlds was home to countless races, Immortal Dynasties, Immortal Cities, and thriving stellar systems. In the ancient past, when numerous Immortal Emperors rose to power, they divided the vast lands into four great regions. Though the Southern Region was just one of them, it spanned countless stars and numerous Immortal Dynasties.
At the heart of all these dynasties stood a majestic heavenly palace.
This Tiangong stood as the guardian of the Southern Region, overseeing the six directions of the cosmos. Even ancient demons dared not trespass.
The city of Tiangong resembled a massive continent—resplendent, noble, and understated in its grandeur. The eaves of its buildings were crafted from top-grade treasures, indestructible even by True Immortals.
In the starry space outside the city, squads of Tiangong guards patrolled constantly.
Within the Supreme Emperor Hall at the city's center stood five figures. One stood alone at the front, while four stood a step behind in a row.
All five were disciples of the Supreme One. However, the four at the back were merely outer disciples. The one at the front was a personal disciple.
"The Southern Region War is about to begin. I've already spoken with the Original Emperor. When you enter the Original True Realm, he'll look after you. Perform well this time—there are many monstrous geniuses from other Immortal Dynasties, including those from the top bloodlines of the Hundred Races. Do not underestimate them."
Inside the imperial hall, the Supreme One, clad in snow-white robes radiating flawless divine light, spoke calmly.
But his words were directed only at the four people standing in the back.
Those four immediately understood and bowed their heads respectfully.
"As for you, Jianxin, go easy on your opponents. Don't injure them too severely. The ancient demons beyond the realm are watching. We need more young elites to rise and become guardians of their people."
The Supreme One smiled gently as he said this to the lone youth standing in front.
The youth nodded slightly. "I'll hold back."
"Good. Time is nearly up. They'll be arriving soon. Go and prepare."
With the Supreme One's calm words, the five nodded and turned to leave.
…
Time flew by.
As the Southern Region War drew closer, the disciples from every abyss in Langya Painting Domain of the Grand Dream Nine Abysses sect were focused on refining and internalizing the insights they had gained from the secret realm.
In one area of Langya Painting Domain, Gu Yan sat cross-legged, surrounded by swirling sword light. The silver-white sword aura hummed faintly, resonating with his body.
On his forehead, a silver sword mark shimmered—evidence of the power of his innate sword spirit body.
He hadn't told anyone, but during his time in Chaos Origin City within the Origin Secret Realm, he had earned the recognition of the Sword Dao Origin Tree and been granted its Dao fruit.
That Dao fruit awakened his Ancient Immortal Sword Body, as if unlocking his true potential. From then on, his comprehension of the Sword Dao soared exponentially.
Now, his mastery of the sword had reached an unimaginable level. Though still at the True Immortal stage, Gu Yan was confident that, like Li Hao, he could defeat an Immortal Lord—and perhaps even more easily than Li Hao had.
Elsewhere, in the main hall of Langya Painting Domain, Li Hao sat with the Grand Dream Master, painting together.
After spending three months with Li Hao, the Grand Dream Master had come to truly witness his strength in the way of painting. She was astonished. Reaching such a level in painting alone wasn't unusual, but what shocked her was that Li Hao's soul lifespan was only a hundred years, and he was fundamentally a swordsman. How could he have so much time and talent to study a secondary path?
This could only mean one thing—Li Hao's talent was extraordinary beyond belief.
"You're neither of imperial blood nor chaos bloodline. I truly don't understand how you possess such insight. Could it really be the pinnacle of a mortal constitution?"
As a single leaf of the Tree of Time manifested on the scroll, Li Hao ended his painting, soaked in sweat.
Beside him, the Grand Dream Master finally spoke, expressing her awe.
Li Hao gave a wry smile. He had heard similar words countless times over the past months.
"How's the painting this time?" he asked.
The Grand Dream Master glanced at the divine leaf and nodded. "It has spirit. Not bad—obvious improvement."
Li Hao let out a breath of relief. He could feel the progress himself.
The Tree of Time was on a whole other level of painting technique. Before, he couldn't even begin such a drawing. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't paint even a single leaf.
But now, he could finally capture its outline.
"Even with my skill in painting, I can only just barely sketch the shape. The Tree of Time contains a profound Dao. It demands far too much of one's grasp on the time source."
The Grand Dream Master sighed.
If it were another tree, she explained, it would only require understanding of space, water, or earth source paths. But the Tree of Time was a special case.
"Yeah," Li Hao nodded. He had only gained insight after studying the Grand Dream Master's own misty depiction of the Tree of Time.
Time appears still, yet it flows.
So a painting, though still, could also flow.
His ability to paint it was thanks to a drop of divine dew granted by the Tree of Time, which elevated his comprehension of the time source path to the fourth level—allowing him to realize that truth.
"The Southern Region War is about to start. You're still at the ninth level of the True Immortal stage. You didn't use that Ascension Pill yet?" the Grand Dream Master asked.