Pseudo-Seven Elements

Slaying the clone of the coconut tree made Li Hao realize once and for all that the gap between both sides remained vast. Even though nobody had sustained severe injuries—in fact, none had even been badly hurt, as Deputy Director Zhou and Chen Zhongtian had parried the enemy's attacks—that had only been a clone! The coconut tree had claimed it severed a third of its origin source. Just because it said so, you were supposed to take it as gospel? What if it had only been a quarter? Li Hao understood that gambling was fine, but taking wild gambles without the slightest assurance was courting death! Wood-element divine energy erupted! With a booming crash, Li Hao's body split open. Blood spattered outward as his five visceral organs violently convulsed. His fleshly frame could not withstand the energy of seven elements. Li Hao suppressed the divine characters of wind, thunder, water, and fire with all his might, yet the eruption of the seventh element remained nearly unbearable! Drops of the Spring of Life poured into him one after another, and sword energy surged continuously, yet it still proved difficult to patch the damage. Chen Zhongtian watched with his scalp tingling! Insane. This was throwing his life away. Even if he truly broke through to seven elements here, he would tear through space the moment he stepped outside. Right now, space was exceedingly unstable; the slightest leakage of excess energy would cause him to be shredded to pieces by spatial rifts! Why bother? Chen Zhongtian thought to himself, but soon sighed, for this fellow was no ordinary man! Over to the side, the little tree no longer had time to absorb the origin power. It sprayed out vast amounts of the Spring of Life. Li Hao was not the only one struggling to hold on—at this moment, flesh split and organs shuddered across the entire group. Without anyone noticing when, the Black Armor drew close to them. Chen Zhongtian had not sensed his approach in the slightest, which made the presence feel all the more terrifying. The Black Armor glanced at Li Hao. It seemed he was observing. After a while, Li Hao still could not stabilize his power. The "Wood" divine character refused to hold steady; each time it took shape, it swiftly destabilized and shattered. The Black Armor remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "You are not yet qualified to bear seven-element divine abilities. Your physical body is far too weak!" Li Hao ignored him and continued to condense the character. The Black Armor grew slightly displeased. He had offered a well-intentioned warning! If Li Hao went on like this, something would go wrong. Youthful arrogance was one thing, but turning a deaf ear to the counsel of a Neo-Martial Great Sage... Li Hao was far too unruly! Right at that moment, Li Hao let out a furious roar! Boom! The power of both wind and thunder divine abilities abruptly erupted within his body. The Starry Sky Sword instantly soared into the air, and streams of wind and thunder energy were absorbed into the character for "Destruction," which then seamlessly merged into the Starry Sky Sword! "Hmm?" The Black Armor froze in surprise. At that very moment, Li Hao roared again, sensing it was still not enough! In the next instant, beneath the Black Armor's astonished gaze, Li Hao abruptly bellowed and clawed at himself. His golden armor receded to reveal his bare chest, and with a sickening tear, he ripped open his own chest. Blood sprayed forth. Li Hao was expressionless as he lowered his head to gaze at his visceral organs! At that moment, Chen Zhongtian found the sight horrifying. What was he doing? Committing suicide? Li Hao paid them no heed. He stared at his beating heart. Right now, all five of his visceral organs were quaking and fracturing, showing signs of imminent collapse. Even though he had suppressed the wind and thunder divine abilities, it still seemed insufficient. "The Five Elements, the five elements..." Li Hao murmured. In the next instant, a divine character surfaced—the character for "Fire." A ferocious tiger was roaring atop it. Li Hao took a deep breath, seized the tiger, and shoved it straight into his heart! His heart violently shuddered with a thunderous roar, hairline fractures appearing on its surface. Under everyone's incredulous gazes, Li Hao spoke in a calm voice: "A divine character unites essence, qi, spirit, and force. The five organs are part of the physical vessel; their origin is one and the same! Supernatural locks are exceedingly powerful, yet they can lie dormant within the five organs without crushing them—even in ordinary mortals!" An ordinary mortal possessed supernatural locks as well, so why did their organs not shatter? Why did their limbs not rupture? Li Hao said in a deep voice, "Whether it is the five organs or the four limbs, there must be a special space. The human body holds treasures contained within; when power is returned to oneself, the flesh does not break!" To the crowd, it sounded like heavenly gibberish. Only a handful of people suddenly snapped their eyes open. A divine light seemed to kindle within the Black Armor's gaze! Li Hao forced the "Fire" divine character into his heart bit by bit. Countless thoughts and ideas surged through his mind as he continued, "Beyond the supernatural locks, there must be another space within the human body capable of accommodating them. It is a special storehouse of treasure containing essence, qi, spirit, and blood... I do not know its precise location, but it is likely intimately linked to supernatural locks, concealing essence within apertures!" The more he spoke, the more certain he became, continuing to press down the "Fire" character. "I shall compress the divine character into that special space, just like a supernatural lock, so it no longer harms the physical frame. Only when needed will the divine character be summoned!" "Even if damage occurs, it will be fleeting. In normal times, hide the spirit in the apertures, conceal the essence in the apertures..." His voice grew increasingly firm: "The human body must have divine apertures; otherwise, supernatural locks could never reside within mortals without causing harm..." The Black Armor stared at Li Hao in utter disbelief! He watched as Li Hao truly pressed the "Fire" divine character into the depths of his heart, step by step. Li Hao silently sensed the process, even grasping his own beating heart with one hand—a sight that made onlookers' hair stand on end! Watching his heart slowly take in the "Fire" character, Li Hao suddenly frowned. A moment later, a mouthful of blood sprayed out. His heart thundered ominously, on the verge of exploding! Everyone's faces drained of color! "Li Hao!" The Black Armor moved forward, as though intending to save him. This madman! Li Hao merely raised a hand and shook his head, murmuring, "You are formed from my force, trapped within a cage, yearning to break free. You refuse to be a caged tiger... and neither do I!" "Force of the five organs, force of the Five Elements—you were forged from the most blazing peak of my emotions! This world is unjust and dark, where all men are like prisoners. I, Li Hao... refuse to be a prisoner as well!" "Yet... only when a fist is drawn back can it unleash greater power!" "You swallowed a supernatural lock, so you must possess its capabilities... Enter my heart and help me find that special space within... Hide yourself within it, and when you emerge from the cage again, you shall shake the heavens!" *Roar!* The ferocious tiger bellowed. In that instant, a scene beyond anyone's expectations unfolded: above the heart, a fiery tiger materialized! Indignant, enraged, yearning to shatter its cage! Perhaps this was Li Hao himself. The tiger roared as though it understood. In truth, Li Hao was the tiger, and the tiger was Li Hao! The momentum of the fire tiger seemed to come alive at this very moment. Under the Black Armor's visibly shaken gaze, the tiger let out a final roar and gradually shrank into the heart, prowling within before turning increasingly ethereal. Gradually, even the fire-element supernatural energy vanished entirely. Finally, with a muffled boom as though something had been opened, the tiger disappeared! "..." The crowd stood dumbfounded. Chen Zhongtian was entirely bewildered. *By my ancestors, can someone tell me what on earth just happened?* At this moment, Li Hao's heart looked like that of an ordinary mortal. No supernatural lock, no flame, no mystery energy. In everyone's eyes, it was merely an ordinary heart—exceptionally robust, perhaps, but truly just an ordinary heart. The Black Armor's voice sounded somewhat hoarse: "Did you... truly discover the human body's inner treasure?" Li Hao looked up at the Black Armor and shook his head. "No! It was force!" He tilted his head toward the Black Armor. "I didn't find it, but force can. Force merged with the supernatural lock, and force is alive! That is my path. My path discovered that place... As for me... perhaps I will be able to find it in the future! This must be extraordinary, and it might even have a great deal to do with the physical frailty of modern humanity!" "I have long wondered: where exactly are supernatural locks? Why can they not be excavated when a person dies? Why can they reside within an ordinary mortal's body? That implies the human body has a secondary space!" "Someone told me that those at the Peak Realm can tear through space, which made me realize: if space itself possesses another dimension... why can't the human body possess dual spaces?" "Therefore... supernatural locks must normally reside within a secondary space. Wherever a supernatural lock exists, there lies a secondary space... However, one needs force to guide the supernatural lock along its trajectory and return to that secondary space!" "..." At this moment, the Black Armor did not know whether to call him a madman or a genius! Indeed, if supernatural locks were so powerful, why did they not burst the five visceral organs in everyday life? Did supernatural locks truly reside directly within the organs? Or on the other side of the organs and limbs? The Black Armor stared at Li Hao, momentarily in a daze. He did not understand the people of this era either; countless years had passed, and the constitution of humanity might have altered long ago. Thus, their anatomical structures were different. Yet everyone knew the human body was a vast treasure trove. In that moment, the Black Armor thought of the Inner World. He said slowly, "It makes a great deal of sense. Whether a secondary space exists within the human body is an unknown to me, but I know one thing: a secondary space can be created artificially!" Li Hao snapped his gaze toward him, filled with curiosity and anticipation. Under normal circumstances, the Black Armor would never mention such things, nor would he impart such heritage to the people of this era. Now, however, he spoke earnestly: "Whether the human body possesses a secondary space is an unknown, and humans differ from humans, eras from eras, heavens from heavens... It cannot be generalized!" "Yet in the Neo-Martial era, someone eventually transformed the origin path into an origin universe, naming it the Inner World! The Inner Universe!" "One could even open up a world within their body, creating a universe beyond imagination! Perhaps... his body was itself a world—a great world, a universe, an era, a civilization..." Li Hao felt dizzy listening to this and murmured, "How is that possible?" "Why would it be impossible?" The Black Armor said in a deep voice, "Do you think the might of Neo-Martial was a joke? Naturally, that was an expert capable of reaching the heavens and earth. Throughout history, perhaps... only he ever achieved it!" "Who?" Li Hao asked reflexively, then seemed to understand. Sure enough, the Black Armor smiled, his tone intricate—tinged with pride, reverence, and a hint of wistfulness. "Who? Throughout all eternity, who could truly be undefeated, truly invincible... There was one! The Human King!" Someone had truly been invincible! Unrivaled across the world, striding freely across heaven and earth, so powerful... that one dared not even imagine it, able only to look up in perpetual awe. In that moment, everyone felt that profound emotion. Through ancient and modern times, marching across the ages, never tasting defeat! The Human King! At that moment, the puppets heard it as well. In an instant, a peculiar surge of emotion rose throughout Yuanping Martial Arts University—one distinct from that of Battle Heaven City. "The Human King is invincible!" "Pave the way for the King! Fight, fight, fight!" "..." Boom! The entire university seemed to spring to life. In that instant, the puppets appeared to hear and feel something; without speaking, their mental strength swept across heaven and earth! It seemed as though they longed to tear the firmament asunder, draw their swords, and fight. Fight for the Human King! Waves of mental strength surged and collided. The little tree trembled in terror. It knew... this... this school had surely been founded by that supreme figure. Previously, it had only guessed, but seeing the Great Emperor's portrait emblazoned on the Black Armor, it knew it was almost certainly true. Now, with the Black Armor mentioning the Human King, this throng of puppets erupted into an uncontrollable surge of emotion. The little tree understood... this place was truly extraordinary. These were the Human King's direct lineage! Without a doubt! Even supreme experts had closer and distant kin. In the past, the students here must have been die-hard loyalists of the Human King, descendants of his direct line, or faithful guardians. Li Hao and the others felt as though heaven and earth were being torn apart, and they were on the verge of being shredded alongside it. Divine characters flickered, on the brink of detonation. At that moment, the Black Armor barked, "Quiet!" Instantly, heaven and earth fell silent. The puppets whose mental strength had violently erupted in an involuntary surge fell silent in an instant. The Black Armor scolded coldly, "Learn to control your emotions!" The puppets made no sound! Li Hao and his companions had long since turned pale, shaken to their core with disbelief. Every single puppet here felt extraordinarily powerful. What was going on? Chen Zhongtian felt on the verge of wetting himself. He stood shivering, his lips completely white. *Damn it all... I have never seen such a terrifying ruin in my entire life.* In this tiny place, there were hundreds of puppets, and every single one felt... perhaps... no weaker than monster plants. How could that be? Good heavens! There were hundreds of them here! Li Hao, meanwhile, was thinking that the ancient Human King was truly miraculous. Countless ages later, these people were long dead, with only their mental remnants surviving, yet their fervent adoration remained so fanatical. Just mentioning the ancient Human King caused them to run amok. Yes, people. In that moment, Li Hao realized that these puppets were indeed people, surviving purely as mental strength. They were slightly better off than the Battle Heaven Army, which had simply merged into armor. This place seemed wealthier, using puppets—each one an extraordinary treasure. Thus, these puppet-people retained more of their mental strength and were correspondingly stronger. Were these the students of that era? Li Hao felt awe in his heart! They were likely all at the Peak Realm. Were hundreds of students all at the Peak Realm? There might even be Immortals among them! Could they... even be called students? If Peak Realm cultivators went to the Battle Heaven Army, they would probably be division commanders, and an Immortal would be an army commander. Then what was a Great Sage... a corps commander? Only now did he look at the Black Armor in awe. He had not thought deeply about it before, but looking at him now, could this figure... be of the same rank as a corps commander in the Battle Heaven Army? Could a martial arts university that was this powerful still be considered a mere school? While he was shaken, the Black Armor had also felt a surge of emotion speaking those words. Seeing the turbulence in Li Hao's heart, he suddenly smiled: "You are quite interesting... Keep... working hard on your own!" With those words, he vanished instantly. The puppets disappeared as well. Li Hao was taken aback. What did that mean? Previously, the Black Armor had been aloof and indifferent, but now he seemed... slightly warmer? Was it because of his conjecture regarding a secondary space? It was not a mere conjecture; it truly existed, though he could not discover it directly yet and could only rely on force to guide it. An Inner World? The Human King's Dao? Li Hao's heart churned. At the same time, Chen Zhongtian and the others were similarly unsettled. The Black Armor was terrifyingly strong; they knew it and had felt it. Earlier, that mighty expert had not intervened or spoken, merely watching in silence. Only when Li Hao guided the divine character into his body did that figure speak, even bringing up the Human King's Dao of the Inner World... What did that imply? Was he comparing Li Hao to the ancient Human King? At this moment, everyone found it hard to believe. No matter how arrogant they were, at their level, they knew that compared to the ancient civilization, they amounted to nothing. Any expert from that ancient era could exhale a breath and wipe out a vast swath of them. Not to mention the invincible king of that ancient era! Did this mean he thought highly of Li Hao? ... At this moment, beneath the teaching building. In front of the library doors. Puppets stood like children caught misbehaving, lowering their heads and daring not look at the Black Armor. The Black Armor turned to face them, his tone stern: "Do not recklessly agitate your lingering thoughts. You are already dead, living corpses at best! Do you wish to be utterly obliterated?" "Teacher!" A puppet stepped forward, exceptionally agitated. "We... wish to return to the main world! We want to join the Human King's Demon Guards! Follow the Human King, wage war across heaven and earth, and cast the glory of the human race above the firmament!" Back then, they had come here to study precisely for that—to join the Human King's personal guard. Ninety-nine percent of the graduates from this academy could join, because this place was unique: an academy established by the person closest to the Human King. Descendants of countless supreme experts—who among them would not wish to come here? They had been chosen through rigorous selection to become members of Yuanping Martial Arts University, yet none had anticipated they would not even have the chance to graduate before sinking into silence here. When the Black Armor mentioned the Human King... they felt indignation, excitement, and madness. We... will likely never be able to return in this lifetime. Yet the hot blood in our hearts still burns. The Human King could never be defeated; he was truly invincible. So... perhaps the Human King simply lost his way! Yes, it had to be so. The Human King must have campaigned too far, walked too far, and forgotten the way home, forgotten this place. Others would not get lost, but the Human King would. It had to be so. Someone murmured, "The Human King must have lost his way. It has to be. Back then, after finally slaying the Heavenly Emperor, he got lost too... unable to find his way home, leaving everyone waiting for many years... This time... it must be the same!" "..." The Black Armor was silent. After a long time, he suddenly smiled. "Yes, he must have lost his way! That senior schoolmate of mine has always been like this. We... shall wait for his return, wait for him to step into the Silver Moon lands and take us away..." "Leave! Return!" "Return!" Roars shook heaven and earth! We want to return! The Black Armor watched silently, smiling faintly, yet... deep within his heart, he was filled with helplessness and self-reproach. *I am sorry, truly sorry. I have lied to you once more.* It had been far, far too long! He would not stay lost for so long. *You little fools. This place is exceedingly close to the main world—one could even arrive in an instant. It drew over the forbidden seawater and even projected the main world... If he could truly come, he would have arrived long ago.* *Perhaps disaster has befallen the main world as well!* He turned his head to look outside. He seemed to gaze upon Li Hao, offering a silent chuckle. *An interesting fellow. Perhaps he will become the pride of this era.* *Perhaps he might open the Star Gate?* *Yet... what would that change?* *The moment it opens might be the moment of destruction.* *The Star Gate might have become the final barrier.* As he was lost in thought, a puppet suddenly shouted, "Teacher! Neo-Martial people never despair! Teacher... you've grown old, always daydreaming lately. You don't deserve to be a teacher anymore! Our hot blood still burns—we should be the teachers!" "..." The Black Armor was left speechless. *Have I grown old?* *Perhaps.* *Lately, I truly have grown sentimental.* As for students demanding to become teachers, that had been the norm back then. The Human King had been like that in his day. Every single one of these rascals took the Human King as their role model, eager to surpass their teachers, become teachers themselves, and turn their teachers into students... What a bunch of disobedient brats! He reached out his hand—*smack!*—pinning the puppet who had just yelled to the ground. He thumped the puppet's head hard until it sparked with golden light, then spoke slowly, "When you can defeat me, you can be my teacher. Otherwise... go sweep the floors obediently. Those fellows broke some things again; go repair them. And tell Li Hao that this time, he is fined 4.5 million cultivation energy stones. Adding what he owed before, it makes an even ten million!" "Fine!" The puppets dispersed helplessly, suppressed once again. ... Meanwhile, a faint smile surfaced on Li Hao's face. The tiger momentum had carried the "Fire" divine character into hiding, lifting the burden of one element. At the same time, wind and thunder were locked within the Starry Sky Sword, allowing Li Hao's "Wood" divine character to gradually take form. The others watched without blinking! Chen Zhongtian in particular had his mouth wide open. Today, he felt as though he were living in a dream. He had seen with his own eyes that Li Hao made the fire-element supernatural power vanish—completely gone! He had seen with his own eyes that Li Hao formed characters that absorbed supernatural locks. He had also seen with his own eyes that Li Hao's wood momentum merged into a character, followed by the supernatural lock being devoured, and then a burst of wood-element divine energy erupted as a divine ability manifested! Chen Zhongtian simply stared, thoroughly dumbfounded. Everyone here seemed to be doing the same. What was this? A new Dao? Meanwhile, Li Hao consumed drops of the Spring of Life once more to mend his physical body and visceral organs. He had only concealed the tiger momentum because it was the one he could most easily control and influence. The others might not understand his intent, as their force remained somewhat weak. Yet this was enough. Just as before, he returned to possessing six divine abilities. With the tiger momentum hidden, the burden on his body was not excessive, remaining the same as earlier. Yet Li Hao knew that the moment the tiger momentum emerged, he would possess seven elements! However, wind and thunder were too weak. Li Hao sighed inwardly. In his view, even now, he could not truly be considered a seven-element divine ability user. The crux lay in the fact that his wind and thunder abilities lacked independent momentum, rendering their power mediocre. Ordinary people might consider him a seven-element user, but to Li Hao, he was merely a pitiful fellow with five elements. The Spring of Life was consumed like rain. The little tree's emergency reserves of the Spring of Life had been heavily depleted. Li Hao had given it over ten million divine energy stones across their encounters, and it had provided Li Hao with around a thousand drops. In truth, the little tree had only used a bit over three million stones for that, while using four to five million to restore its own strength. The remaining two million or so had been converted into a reserve of the Spring of Life, totaling about five hundred drops. This was the instinct of monster plants. Just as squirrels stored food for the winter. Even without recovering completely, monster plants would stockpile the Spring of Life. Yet at this moment, the little tree's reserves had been thoroughly drained. The group was frantically absorbing it; without the Spring of Life, their bodies would split apart. The little tree felt immense heartache! Yet at the thought of having consumed a large amount of origin power this time, its heartache eased somewhat. To catch a wolf, one could not begrudge the bait. Aside from itself, only Deputy Director Zhou could absorb some of that origin power. If it did not pay a price, how could it reap benefits? When these people fought and killed later, they would all be working for it! Yes, that was the little tree's line of thought. *They are all pitiful people working on my behalf. I must keep their bodies in good shape.* The stockpiled Spring of Life was depleted drop by drop, almost entirely consumed in the blink of an eye. The little tree wanted to weep, but comforted itself: *It's nothing. I'll just save up again.* At this moment, only one person felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. Seeing that Li Hao seemed to have finished his cultivation, Chen Zhongtian could no longer hold back. He stepped forward cautiously: "Governor-General Li... what... what is going on here?" Originally, he had thought he might be the strongest present. Now, he realized that was far from the truth. Setting aside that tree, Deputy Director Zhou was exceptionally powerful—a pure ancient martial artist—and Li Hao was frighteningly formidable. As for the others, the strongest appeared to be at the peak of five elements. Yet... there were so many of them. Yao Si and Hong Yitang seemed to have reached that level, and Hou Xiaochen and his peers felt close as well. Only a few weaker individuals lowered the average, such as Chief Steward Yu, who was approaching three elements, and Bright Sword, whose three elements were not particularly robust... Oh, Kong Jie had also barely scraped into the three-element realm, though his fists were quite hard. Even so, if word of this leaked, it would scare people to death. What was more, this bunch of lunatics was continuing to cultivate. Who knew what might happen next—whether they would erupt and grow once more. Truly terrifying! Li Hao smiled. "Nothing much, just cultivating. Director Chen... do not let word of this slip!" Chen Zhongtian coughed awkwardly. "Well... of course I won't leak it. It's just... those characters resemble the supreme arts of Zhenxing City, which I actually know as well. Governor-General Li, do these characters... possess something special?" "Take a guess. Why don't you try it yourself?" Chen Zhongtian was at a loss for words. *If only I dared.* Sometimes cultivation appeared simple, but a single wrong step could cost someone their life; this was no laughing matter. He had been observing all along and had grasped a few clues, but to let him test it without guidance? How could he possibly dare? It would truly kill him! If he severed all the supernatural locks in his body and failed to contain them within characters, wouldn't he explode on the spot? "Then... Governor-General Li, what is this secondary human space?" Li Hao laughed. "How would I know? I haven't found it either." Chen Zhongtian was completely speechless. Never mind, then. If you won't say, forget it! In truth, Li Hao genuinely did not know, so what could he say? He knew the thing existed, but could not locate it. Perhaps when his force grew stronger, he would be able to discover it, but not now. Only the tiger momentum could barely understand his intent, guiding the supernatural lock along its trajectory to disappear into the depths of his heart. The others fell slightly short. Li Hao glanced over. Everyone was cultivating, while the little tree and Deputy Director Zhou were devouring origin power. Yet someone else was devouring it as well; Li Hao noticed and turned to look, his brow furrowing slightly. He looked toward the Black Panther. This fellow rarely took action lately, mostly tagging along, yet it consumed a great deal. This time, it was actually eating origin power too! This stuff was exceedingly precious; what was the point of you eating it? "Black Panther!" The Black Panther immediately opened its eyes and looked at Li Hao. Seeing Li Hao glaring at it, the Black Panther looked somewhat sheepish. *I can eat it too!* *I'm a descendant of ancient demons, and eating is my specialty. Eating it brings me immense benefits.* *As for why I didn't fight... was there any need?* *It was just a clone; it was obvious we'd win, so why bother meddling?* Seeing Li Hao still glaring, the Black Panther felt depressed. After a thought, it suddenly opened its massive maw and swallowed Southern Fist nearby in a single gulp, winking toward Li Hao as if to say: *See, I'm useful!* As for how it was useful? Eating people! Swallowing people into its belly where no one could see or sense them. If you wanted to kill the big tree, bringing a large crowd in would make it suspicious—it wasn't stupid, so why would it let everyone in? Just bring me in! I can eat people; my belly can hold the four seas! Boom! Its belly quivered violently as someone frantically attacked from within. Southern Fist's voice faintly drifted out, roaring furiously: "Black Panther, you wretched dog, let me out!" What kind of ghost luck was this! He had been cultivating peacefully, enjoying the bath of the Spring of Life, when he was suddenly swallowed. Then... darkness fell before his eyes, and he knew he had been eaten by the Black Panther. Li Hao's eyes flickered slightly. Southern Fist was a three-element divine ability user, yet he couldn't break out on his own? The Black Panther shook its plump belly, looking somewhat uncomfortable. A moment later, it dry-heaved and spat Southern Fist out in a single gulp. Southern Fist rolled across the ground. Seeing everyone staring at him blankly, he was beside himself with rage, glaring fiercely at the Black Panther: "Are you picking a fight?" He had been cultivating peacefully when this wretched dog swallowed him—this was taking bullying too far. Out of so many people, why swallow me? Do I look easy to bully? Am I not stronger than Jade Rakshasa? Why didn't you swallow her? The Black Panther seemed to understand his thoughts but could not be bothered to explain. Jade Rakshasa... had Hou Xiaochen backing her, and Hou Xiaochen was practically at five elements now—how dangerous would that be? You're universally disliked; swallowing you wouldn't cause any trouble. "All right!" Li Hao coughed. The toll on his body had been heavy, leaving his face pale. He looked at the Black Panther: "Don't go around swallowing people. Senior Southern Fist didn't provoke you. I understand what you mean..." He pondered for a moment and smiled. Not bad, the Black Panther was indeed useful. Setting aside its combat prowess, this fellow could consume energy and conceal people. Earlier, he had also been considering how to bring a large force inside without arousing the big tree's suspicion. After all, with dozens of people, even if divine characters concealed their strength, the tree would not rashly permit them all inside. Now, the Black Panther had reminded him. Back at the Duke of Dingguo's Residence in the east, he had once stayed inside the Black Panther's belly. The space within was vast, bearing some resemblance to the Black Armor's so-called Inner World. A capacious belly could hold dozens of people without an issue. Living people could not enter storage rings—that was an ability exclusive to monster plants. "You may continue eating a little, but don't eat too much. Senior Tree is the key to dealing with our enemy... Senior Tree takes priority!" *Woof, woof, woof!* The Black Panther nodded vigorously, delighted, and scampered off to the side to continue gorging itself. Just as Li Hao finished making arrangements, a puppet materialized. "Teacher says that your destruction caused damages. You are fined 4.5 million cultivation stones, totaling ten million. Do not forget to pay the fine!" This time, the puppet dropped the act and spoke directly. Li Hao nodded. "Understood!" The puppet looked at him curiously for a moment, then added, "You are very impressive..." "You flatter me. Compared to you, I am not worth mentioning." "No, it is different..." The puppet shook its head. "We had the supreme cultivation methods, the greatest teachers, the finest environment, the best conditions, the most outstanding order, and the mightiest King... Though we were indeed exceptional, under these conditions... it would be difficult for us to achieve what you have. You are truly formidable!" Li Hao smiled. Just as he was about to speak, the puppet added, "Since you are so formidable, you will surely be able to open the Star Gate, right?" "..." Li Hao was silent. The puppet continued, "When you open it, could you tell us? We... wish to go out too, wish to return home. Even if we die, we want to be buried in our homeland... We trouble you with this!" "Well..." The puppet said earnestly, "We are already dead. Though we long to follow His Majesty the Human King to wage war across heaven and earth once more... we know that chance may never come. But we truly want to go home. We will not let you labor in vain. Every one of us knows supreme arts—true heritage arts passed down through our families. We are what people call second- and third-generation scions; our fathers and grandfathers were close friends of His Majesty the Human King, and among our ancestors, there are true Sovereigns... If you are willing, we can teach you some Sovereign arts!" Li Hao froze. Descendants of true Sovereigns? Unlike him—he did not even know how many generations had passed. Counting fifty years per generation, Li Hao estimated it had been at least fifty thousand years, through countless generations of inheritance. Yet these people were second and third generation... These were the true descendants of Sovereigns! No wonder they were so terrifying; even in death, they remained exceedingly formidable. "I... I will do my best!" Li Hao did not give a definitive promise. Star Gate or not, he had never even seen it. Wait, that wasn't entirely true... Could the gateway suspended in the starry sky at the center of the Silver City Bagua diagram be the so-called Star Gate? Li Hao frowned as he pondered. That would be troublesome! That thing was perilous. He had faintly caught glimpses of it before; something seemed to be sealed on the other side of that portal. "Mm... doing your best is enough. Thank you!" The puppet said no more and quickly departed. The Black Armor wouldn't say it, so they said it themselves. The Black Armor cared about saving face, but they did not; they wanted to return home, and even if they died, they wanted to be buried in their homeland. Li Hao said nothing more and cultivated for a while. After about two or three hours, the others gradually woke up. Their strength seemed to have improved across the board. Yet everyone knew this was merely the beginning. That had only been a clone of the tree. The true body was the tough foe to crack. Li Hao exhaled and looked at the crowd: "Everyone took part in the fight just now. If the clone was already so powerful, the true body... will certainly be far harder to deal with. People might die, and I have no absolute certainty..." Before he could finish, Southern Fist snorted: "Enough. We Silver Moon martial masters have seen every kind of storm. Ask that old scoundrel if he's afraid of dying. If he isn't, that's that. No need to ask the rest!" "..." Chen Zhongtian shot him a sidelong glance, too disdainful to argue, and spoke up: "Governor-General Li, it's inevitable that the monster plant's true body is powerful. Right now, there is another issue that urgently needs resolving. As for slaying the monster plant... I naturally have no objection." "What issue?" Chen Zhongtian coughed dryly. "Well... the monster plant is too strong, and we could die at any moment. But with the Spring of Life, we can at least barely preserve our lives. I believe each person should be equipped with at least a hundred drops as life-saving medicine. We lack healers, so we can only use this as a substitute. But the demand is massive; equipping everyone present would require over two thousand drops." "My point is... equip the frontline personnel first, such as Deputy Director Zhou Chuan, the previous generation's Iron Cloth Armor, Earth-Overturning Sword, and..." He didn't finish, but implied: *and me!* *We are the main line of defense!* Frontline personnel without the Spring of Life to save their lives could easily perish. Li Hao tapped his own forehead, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He looked at the crowd: "Everyone... must have thought of this, so why didn't you speak up? I was momentarily confused and forgot about it, thinking only of killing the enemy!" How could no one remind him of such an important matter, leaving an outsider to bring it up? No one said anything. It wasn't that they hadn't thought of it, but that they knew the Spring of Life had been exhausted. What would be the point of reminding him? Li Hao laughed. "Don't try so hard to save resources on my behalf; this concerns your lives." He looked toward the little tree: "If you create it right now, regardless of the cost, how long would it take to produce a thousand drops?" "Regardless of the cost?" The little tree sent a mental pulse: "That would mean at least triple the consumption. Producing the Spring of Life regardless of cost is fast, but... isn't that too wasteful..." "It doesn't matter!" Li Hao laughed. "Then give it some more time; dawn shouldn't have arrived yet. What's there to fear about waste? I have plenty of divine energy stones—there are still fifty million left!" As for trading for time, there was no need. Once they stepped outside, the big tree would be able to sense that its clone was gone. They naturally had to seize every moment and deny the enemy any chance to recover. "Fine... I'll condense it right now!" The little tree was much stronger than before, so its conversion speed was swift. Since Li Hao had said to spare no expense, it had no need to pinch pennies. Once they killed the coconut tree's true body—an entity that had been revived for years and drained who knew how many benefits from the Department of Criminal Law—slaying it would provide everything. In less than two hours, the little tree converted a massive amount of the Spring of Life. The consumed divine energy stones reached as high as ten million. Li Hao began distributing them. Chen Zhongtian was thrilled, finally receiving his first substantial benefit—it felt wonderful. After a moment, Li Hao looked at the crowd: "Now... I will have to trouble everyone to enter the Black Panther's belly first!" The Black Panther had long since opened its mouth wide. *See, I'm useful now, aren't I?* Everyone was somewhat speechlessly amused, but they understood it was necessary. Soon, they were swallowed by the Black Panther one by one. The little tree entered the storage ring once more, leaving only the Black Panther and Li Hao in the area. Li Hao let out a laugh, then abruptly slapped his own head with a palm strike! In an instant, blood seeped from all seven facial orifices, and his aura turned feeble... The Black Panther clicked its tongue in secret awe. *He's so ruthless to himself! Truly vicious!* The torn wound on Li Hao's chest had not healed either. Li Hao chuckled and looked at the Black Panther: "I'm injured like this... is it appropriate for you to be completely unscathed?" *Woof, woof, woof!* The Black Panther barked in panic! In the next instant, Li Hao seized its tail and delivered a palm strike: "No pain, no gain. Otherwise, once the coconut tree is dead, don't even think about getting a drop of soup!" *Woof, woof!* With tears welling in its eyes, the Black Panther had no choice but to resign itself to fate. In the blink of an eye, Li Hao beat it until its flesh split and blood flowed like a river. It severely suspected that Li Hao was deliberately taking revenge, thinking it had eaten too much! ... A moment later, in the darkness, Li Hao's figure surfaced and vanished in an instant. In the blink of an eye, he returned to the Heavenly Star Governor-General's Office, immediately spewing a mouthful of blood. In the rear courtyard, a violent wave of mental strength surged. Within the ruin, a coconut tree, bordering on madness and fury, instantly sensed something. *My clone... is gone!* *Damn it!* *Bastard!* *That bastard Li Hao, damn him—didn't he claim he was exceedingly confident?* *Where is my clone?* Before long, it sensed Li Hao's aura. Right now, Li Hao was bathed in blood, his eyes filled with sorrow and agony. Behind him, a dog had turned into a bloody hound, limping forward with difficulty. The moment Li Hao approached the hall in the rear courtyard, before the big tree could erupt in fury, he coughed blood incessantly: "Apologies... I... I never thought it would end like this. You should have sensed it..." He smiled bitterly: "My people... were entirely wiped out!" The big tree shuddered! Entirely... gone? "Fortunately, at the final moment, I escaped using the Wind-Chasing Boots..." Without another word, he produced both the Starry Sky Sword and the Wind-Chasing Boots, holding them in his hands. "Injuries are too severe... need the Spring of Life... As long as I live, there is hope... Let me enter the ruin first... to heal. I will give you these two divine weapons in exchange for borrowing a hundred drops of the Spring of Life... Absolutely... not a loss for you!" The tree was stunned. It had intended to erupt in rage, but seeing the Starry Sky Sword and Wind-Chasing Boots, its fury dissipated somewhat. Only... enter? "Hand those items over to me, and I shall give you the Spring of Life..." *Cough, cough!* Li Hao shook his head. "I must enter the ruin... Otherwise, the eruption of the Spring of Life will release an aura far too dense. Everyone in the city will know I am gravely injured... and I will surely die! Neither the Nine Departments nor the imperial family will pass up this opportunity to kill me... *cough, cough*..." Blood flowed continuously as Li Hao gasped violently for breath: "If I enter the ruin, you can shelter me for a time. At most a single day, and my healing will be complete. As long as I live, the Heavenly Star Governor-General's Office still stands!" "You..." The big tree wanted to ask what had happened and who had killed its clone, but seeing Li Hao's injuries growing increasingly severe and his aura fading, it considered the situation and sent a mental pulse: "Then come in!" It did not hold much wariness—simply out of sheer confidence. The ruin was the monster plant's true domain. If Li Hao dared enter, it was Li Hao who should be worried, not itself. It could tell that Li Hao was truly desperate, grasping at straws. If it harbored the slightest ill intent, he would certainly die. Come to think of it... why couldn't it harbor ill intent? The big tree's mind stirred. Li Hao carried many divine weapons, and he might not truly be out of divine energy stones. If it killed Li Hao, everything would belong to it. It could let the Hu family step back out and take control of the Department of Criminal Law... Using a portion of its origin power had earned it not only three divine weapons of the Eight Great Families, but perhaps other treasures as well. Wouldn't this... be an immense windfall at little cost? It thought quickly, worried that Li Hao might realize this as well, and immediately pulsed its spirit: "Hurry inside, lest someone probe your condition..." In an instant, a gate of light materialized. Appearing completely oblivious, Li Hao coughed, spat a mouthful of blood, grabbed the Black Panther, and swiftly darted inside. The gate of light vanished instantly. Within the ruin, the big tree swayed its form, practically buoyant with delight! This Li Hao was truly foolish. He actually placed such trust in it. Such trust even made it wonder whether it should save Li Hao instead of killing him for his treasures. Yet at the thought of how unruly and unyielding this man was, he was far less obedient than the Hu family. It did not lack talented subordinates—it only needed obedience. In that case, wasn't the Hu family far more suitable? At this moment, the tree could only say: apologies. Who told you to carry so many treasures! Once it killed him, those fellows in the Silver Moon lands could forget about reviving as well. With this thought, it made up its mind: kill Li Hao. As for who had killed its clone, once the second revival occurred, it would naturally settle the score. Meanwhile, Li Hao stumbled, landing alongside the Black Panther. The very first thing he saw was a towering tree bearing what looked like coconuts. This appeared to be a small town, and in the distance, human figures were swiftly rushing over. Members of the Hu family? Before he had time to dwell on it, he looked toward that great tree, a sharp glint surfacing in his eyes! A true Immortal existence!