Chapter 584: Northern Region, Su Clan
"You knew long ago that child was the Lord's inheritor. Letting him marry into your family as a son-in-law was meant to make the Supreme lower his guard. It was a good move, but…"
The Red Frontier Empress let out a light sigh and said softly, "Who could have thought that child would turn out so extraordinary? Before, I also thought he was just an ordinary inheritor the Lord left behind at the end of his path, but the result…"
Hearing this, the others fell silent.
Yes… before, they all underestimated him. Who could have imagined that young man would end up so dazzlingly brilliant?
Unmatched in the True Immortal Realm, he fought alone against the entire Southern Region. Even the Supreme's personal disciples were defeated by him.
One had to remember, the Lord had already fallen. Though his legacy was good, how could it compare to being personally taught by the Supreme?
Yet even so, that child, with only a hundred years of soul lifespan, shocked the Southern Region and suppressed the Supreme's personal disciples.
"The reincarnated body of the Shimiaodi Princess also appeared but was destroyed. Fortunately, it seems the Shimiaodi Princess has comprehended extraordinary time powers, actually managing to remain undying within the River of Time and avoiding true death."
"This means the Shimiaodi Princess's soul-heart has not withered. As long as she is not personally executed and suppressed by a Great Emperor, we will see her again."
"When that young man and the Shimiaodi Princess's reincarnated body grow strong once more, that will be the moment we sound the horn of counterattack, to clear the Lord's name!"
The few looked at each other, heavy and profound light flashing in their eyes.
The Seven Ancient Emperors of the Dynasties were all figures surviving from a hundred thousand years ago—how could they not know the truth of that shocking upheaval back then?
However, the ancient dynasties left from those years weren't only seven; the others were long since wiped out during their resistance.
Without an Immortal Emperor to oversee them, everyone else before an Imperial Monarch was like ants—resistance would only end in ashes.
"This move was my mistake. Perhaps if I'd hidden that child away and waited another ten thousand years, we might have seen him shine," Emperor Chu said softly after a long silence.
Upon hearing his words, the Original Empress glanced at him. Seeing the faint pain in the burly man's eyes, she understood his feelings. She gently shook her head and said, "The boy's whereabouts were already exposed. The Supreme used him to lure out hidden enemies. What you did was in line with fate; if you'd kept it secret, Yan Chu would likely have vanished from the Southern Region very soon."
"That's right. By then, those people would have been dragged out as well, and there'd be nowhere left for them to hide in the Southern Region," Emperor Tianzhao nodded.
"The only thing unknown is where that boy is now and where he's headed. The Daoyuan Immortal Emperor personally paved a path for him, masking his aura and fate. It's impossible to investigate. Everything about that boy has been cut off—even the Supreme can't find him."
"No matter where he is, I believe within ten thousand years, we'll hear his name again."
"Let's hope the day we've been waiting for will truly come!"
They exchanged looks, their eyes full of a sense of age and weariness. Witnessing the near demise of both inheritors in front of them had been a huge blow. Yet within the mists, they remained calm, not revealing the slightest oddity before the Supreme.
After a brief pause, the seven each departed separately, vanishing into the starry sky without leaving a single trace of aura behind.
…
The starry sky was mottled, endless lights twinkling.
Within the deep, dark void, the Imperial Road stretched across the entire Southern Region like a rainbow.
As Li Hao stepped into the vortex, an ancient voice rang in his ears: "Young man, the Lord has completely severed your fate and aura. I will mask your new body—no one below a Great Emperor will be able to find you. From now on, focus solely on cultivating."
Li Hao opened his eyes. The vortex was deep, with the Dao powers of time and space swirling around him like darting fish, pulling his body toward a distant place.
Time changed around him; he seemed to shuttle back and forth across different moments.
Li Hao knew this path was chosen for him by the Daoyuan Immortal Emperor—perhaps it could help him evade the Supreme's pursuit.
'Who are you?' Li Hao wondered in his heart.
"I am the Black Tortoise Source Shell the Lord granted you, a wisp of Imperial Soul left behind by the Chaos Black Tortoise," the old voice answered softly.
Imperial Soul… Li Hao's eyes narrowed slightly. For something to be called an Imperial Soul, the Chaos Black Tortoise must have reached the Emperor Realm in life.
He spoke quietly in his heart, "Thank you, senior, for your protection. May I know where I am headed?"
"The Northern Region," the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul replied softly. "I cannot see your fate—some power blocks it—but the Lord likely calculated your destiny and sent you here. He also gave me a scroll to pass on to you once you're out."
'A scroll?' Li Hao felt puzzled but didn't press further.
The surrounding vortex kept extending, carrying his body through endless distances. After a long time, about the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn, the vortex disappeared. Li Hao felt as if real-space itself had spat him out from the River of Time into an endless, brilliant starry sky.
All around him, dazzling stars floated. Ahead lay an enormous star with golden stardust circling it, formed from countless shattered meteors swirling around the star like a cosmic ring.
What shocked him even more was a giant beast crouched in space outside that star, as big as a fist from his current distance.
Considering how far he was from the star, the beast's actual size must have spanned millions of miles.
Li Hao's heart trembled. Among earthly monsters, a ten-thousand-zhang body was already extraordinary, signifying Dao Comprehension Realm combat strength. Even in the myriad worlds, demon saints only had bodies spanning tens of thousands of zhang.
Compared to the giant beast before him, even the greatest of earthly monsters would be no bigger than a strand of its hair! At that moment, the beast seemed to notice Li Hao. A vast aura enveloped him, locking onto his body. But after a brief pause, the pressure faded like a gentle breeze, and the beast lost interest.
Li Hao felt a chill run through his body. That beast was definitely at the Immortal King Realm, maybe even among the strongest in that realm.
"It's just a Star Origin Beast. You don't need to fear it. In the Northern Region, it's merely a Star Guardian, watching over the stars. That ahead should be a King Star," the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul said. Then, a barrier like rippling water twisted around Li Hao, cloaking his figure.
Soon after, a golden light appeared, slowly unfolding before Li Hao's eyes.
It was an ancient scroll, covered in flowing, dragon-like ancient characters he couldn't read. At the bottom right corner, a soaring dragon and phoenix appeared like a seal, circling and chirping softly with a cheerful, auspicious sound that lifted his heart.
"The Lord said, if you take this scroll to the Su Clan of the Northern Region, you'll get what you seek," the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul said.
Li Hao's heart trembled. The Daoyuan Immortal Emperor actually knew he was heading for the Su Clan in the Northern Region. Could it be that he knew about Shimiaodi's reincarnated body? The Immortal Emperor might have calculated his fate or Shimiaodi's, allowing him to know.
Li Hao understood little of an Immortal Emperor's methods and felt only awe. Perhaps in the entire True Realm, apart from Immortal Emperors themselves, even those at the Half-Step Monarch Realm wouldn't dare claim to fully grasp the techniques of an Immortal Emperor. The gap in cultivation was simply too great; an Immortal Emperor's powers were unfathomable.
"Thank you, Daoyuan Immortal Emperor," Li Hao whispered again, putting away the ancient scroll.
"Do you know anything about the Northern Region?" the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul asked.
Li Hao shook his head and thought, 'I do not.'
"The True Realm has four regions. The Southern Region is ruled by the Heavenly Palace, where humans dominate. It's the main territory of the human race, where the hundred clans of the True Realm are mixed and rooted. Demons and foreign races there are enslaved, used as mounts, beasts, or pets. But the Northern Region is different. It belongs to demons. The major clans here are all powerful demon families; the strongest factions are all demons!"
"Demons?" Li Hao's face changed slightly. In the mortal world, humans and demons were sworn enemies—demons devoured humans, and humans hunted demons.
"That's right. Here, humans are demon food, their status like demons in the Southern Region—free to be slaughtered. Any fierce resistance is crushed with thunderous force," the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul continued. "But there are exceptions. Some powerful ancient human clans have carved out their own territories in this chaotic land of demons. The Su Clan you're heading to is one of the few mighty ancient human families in the Northern Region, with relatively high status among the demons."
Li Hao paused, realizing something, and asked, "From that star ahead, can I teleport directly to the Su Clan?"
"You can," the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul replied.
Hearing this, Li Hao felt an impatient excitement and sped forward.
As his figure streaked across the starry sky, he sensed that the closer he got to the star, the denser the demonic aura became, rushing at him like countless dark streams.
The Star Origin Beast crouched at the star's edge radiated an increasingly oppressive presence.
"Though your appearance is similar to before, your aura is completely different now. There are countless humans in the True Realm, with millions or even hundreds of millions sharing similar faces or names. That's nothing unusual. As long as you don't reveal your Daoyuan Immortal Seal, no one will associate you with your past identity," the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul reassured him.
Li Hao nodded. He'd already used his soul sense to check his new appearance. It looked mostly the same, except for subtle changes in his eyebrows—not obvious at first glance. His face appeared calmer, more like his mortal self, with less sharpness and more tranquility. His aura was fully restrained.
As he approached, Li Hao saw other sounds rushing through the starry sky—treasures carrying immortals streaking toward the star.
Some were flying boats, with singing and dancing women performing on deck. Handsome young men lounged in chairs, waving fans as they watched.
These treasures emitted divine light, like rainbows tearing across the sky, plunging into the star's protective astral energy and vanishing.
Seeing this, Li Hao didn't hesitate and headed into the star.
Beyond the astral barrier was a damp, layered fog. After traveling through endless mist, a magnificent continent appeared before him.
The land was covered in palaces like golden towers and jade pavilions. In the skies, true forms of demons moved back and forth—giant centipedes thousands of zhang long, dragons tens of thousands of zhang long, colorful phoenixes, flying rabbits, giant deer, and more.
Yet once these figures entered certain palaces, they transformed into humanoid forms—handsome men and beautiful women. Only faint markings on their faces, or small patches of scales on their fingernails or the backs of their hands, hinted at their original forms.
Some transformed so completely that they looked identical to humans, with no trace of their true nature.
'If senior hadn't told me, I'd have thought this was a human city,' Li Hao thought, scanning the area.
Walking in the city were only people in human form—no obvious demons in sight, except for a few in the sky revealing their true bodies.
"Transforming into human form is because the most ancient Chaos Dao Ancestor of the True Realm was a human. All races revere him!"
The Black Tortoise Imperial Soul spoke slowly, "Secondly, transforming into human form helps conceal their true selves, preventing other races from instantly seeing their origin and details. For example, if you were a rat demon, revealing your real form would make it easy for a snake demon to target you!"
"When everyone looks like a human, they can coexist more peacefully."
Li Hao felt enlightened upon hearing this. He had thought they transformed because they liked the human appearance, but it turned out he was overthinking. Indeed, only humans appreciated human beauty—other demons probably found human looks hideous.
"This is the King Star, the most prestigious star in the Northern Region aside from the Emperor Stars," the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul patiently explained. "The Tiandao Emperor Stars are the highest stars, home to the great clans. The Su Clan you wish to visit is located on one of the Tiandao Emperor Stars."
"The strongest families on this King Star reach peak Immortal King Realm, a power you must never underestimate."
Li Hao nodded silently, a memory of Ying Xiaoxiao's face flashing through his mind. Her reincarnated body was in the Su Clan. He hadn't expected the Su Clan to be such a powerful family—it likely possessed extraordinary bloodlines, which might be why she chose it for her reincarnation.
He didn't linger and stepped into the city. As he walked the streets, demons of various races in human form caught his human scent, their eyes frequently turning to him.
Once they sensed he was at the Immortal Lord Realm, many gazes withdrew slightly, though deep inside, their eyes still hid bloodlust and greed.
Li Hao hadn't expected these demons to stare so brazenly. He frowned as he heard whispers all around him, but the languages were of different demon clans—he couldn't understand them. He continued down the street, occasionally probing with his soul sense to find the teleportation array.
"I have a compendium of Northern Region demon languages I can teach you," the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul offered, sensing Li Hao's discomfort.
Immediately, Li Hao felt a vast influx of information in his mind, filled with the languages of many demon clans.
Standing in the middle of the street, he paused abruptly, frowning and closing his eyes to absorb the knowledge. Moments later, he fully grasped the demon languages. The whispers on the street instantly transformed into understandable speech, like human language in his ears.
"Look, what's that human idiot doing?"
"Keep your voice down, that guy's aura isn't simple—he must be an Immortal Lord."
"Just an Immortal Lord. If we were in the wild, I'd eat him for sure. With that tender skin, he must taste amazing."
"Too bad the Barbaric Lion Clan's laws forbid killing in the city. Otherwise…"
Hearing these words, Li Hao looked over and saw two men and a woman watching him. The woman covered her mouth, giggling with flirtatious eyes, but her words were full of hunger to devour him.
Li Hao hadn't expected these demons to speak so openly, acting like he wasn't even there. Long-time human residents here must have understood these demon languages. The demons' unrestrained words showed how lowly humans were regarded in this place.
"Look, that human's staring at us. He must understand what we're saying."
"So what if he does? He wouldn't dare cause trouble."
"We're only able to breathe here thanks to the Barbaric Lion Clan's laws. Otherwise, we'd have torn him apart already."
They whispered among themselves, flashing him bright smiles with sharp white teeth before turning away, clearly bored since they could only look but not eat.
Li Hao swept his gaze across the shops lining the street and saw that some displayed human bones. One leg bone glowed with golden light, divine essence flowing across it—clearly once the limb of a powerful immortal.
Other shops imprisoned human men and women, their eyes wide with terror as they were publicly priced for sale at the entrances.
Li Hao's face darkened slightly. The Northern Region was just as the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul described: the roles of humans and demons were completely reversed. Here, humans were beasts, pets, or livestock to be slaughtered. Any human family that could thrive here had to be truly extraordinary.
Yet in such an environment, even a powerful family would still face countless obstacles.
Li Hao didn't linger. Listening to the demons' conversations, he learned the teleportation array's location and made his way there.
Along the way, he saw many imprisoned humans. Though he wanted to help, he knew meddling now would only lead to his own death. Besides, this situation had persisted for countless ages before he arrived.
If he truly wanted to change things, he would need enough strength; by then, a single word could carry more weight than his sword ever could today.
Before long, Li Hao found the teleportation array. Back on the Tiandao Bridge, he had traded some Dao origin essence with the royal clans of various Immortal Dynasties for immortal stones, so he was well supplied.
He paid ten thousand immortal stones to use the teleportation array. Under the Black Tortoise Imperial Soul's guidance, he set the destination for the Northern Region's Emperor Star where the Su Clan resided—Gusu Emperor Star.
He learned that on Gusu Emperor Star, humans paid ten thousand immortal stones for teleportation, while demons had to pay three times more—thirty thousand immortal stones—and provide proof of not having eaten humans for ten thousand years. A special immortal treasure at the Gusu teleportation array tested human blood essence; if a demon had eaten humans, traces of blood or souls would remain, which the treasure would expose.
When Li Hao arrived, he saw an expansive, majestic street and a grand city.
Above, a mirror inscribed with divination symbols pointed at the teleportation array, reflecting every figure arriving through it—including Li Hao.