Invincible Under Heaven!

A flurry of heated discussions swept the outside world, but none of it had anything to do with Li Hao and his companions anymore. Now that the ranking had been cast out, whether that man surnamed Wu was captured or killed was no concern of Li Hao's. The divine character implanted in the man's head had long since dissipated. Li Hao lacked the ability to maintain control across the boundary of an ancient ruin at such great distance, so the mark had naturally faded away. As for whether Wu knew this or not, Li Hao had no idea. His objective in releasing this ranking was exceedingly simple. Even if the Wind and Cloud Pavilion published another ranking, who would believe it? Starting from now, even if they issued one every month, they would have to wait until next month. And whether their organization could even survive until next month remained an open question. *** Inside the ruins. No one knew how much time had passed before everyone ceased their cultivation. The colossal tree trunk had withered noticeably. Five thousand drops of the Spring of Life—gone! Indeed, completely drained. The crowd stared blankly at the dried-up trunk. Some glanced at Li Hao, some at Little Tree, and others at one another... Could someone have secretly hoarded it? It was five thousand drops, not five hundred! None of them possessed the ability to absorb such an immense quantity of the Spring of Life in a mere sitting. At this moment, Li Hao lay flat on the ground as if his soul had been sucked out of him. If anyone could see supernatural locks right now, they would discover countless tiny locks emerging across Li Hao's body, as minute as little worms. Anyone with trypophobia would probably feel their scalp tingle with horror. Li Hao's own scalp was tingling! He had absorbed nearly all five thousand drops of the Spring of Life by himself. That in itself was not the main issue—despite the horrifying consumption, the crux was that his strength had barely increased at all! It had all been swallowed up by these little worms. Only because of this had so many supernatural locks manifested. What made Li Hao's scalp crawl was the realization that the human body held so many supernatural locks. How was that possible? Though he had caught glimpses of them before through his five forces, seeing over a hundred supernatural locks actually materialize still filled him with dread. Having severed eleven supernatural locks, he was already considered a seven-element powerhouse. Yet how many more were there above that? Could a human truly sever them all? How many resources would that require? How much time? How many types of force? In that instant, a shiver ran through him. He suddenly felt that Hong Yitang had the right idea: using a single character to manifest myriad arts. Why had he insisted on torturing himself with one force for every character? When would this ever end? He had not even succeeded with the forces of wind and lightning, let alone this terrifying swarm of other forces. Not to mention light and darkness, which he had not even found the time to practice. "A hundred and twenty!" Li Hao muttered. That was the total number of supernatural locks that had surfaced on him: a full hundred and twenty. It was horrifying to the extreme! He had always known the human body was a treasure trove, but he had never imagined it harbored such terrifying potential. Over an entire lifetime, one might never be able to unlock it completely. Ancient humans possessed no supernatural locks, only things like the Gates of the Triple Burner, which had not been nearly this complicated. Was the cultivation path of modern humanity truly this dreadful? Li Hao pondered silently. Did the humans of this era possess extraordinary potential, or were they simply pitiful? In an age when the martial path had fallen into decline, you were presented with so many supernatural locks to unlock... yet you could spend your whole life staring at them, unable to unlock them all. How agonizing was that? Furthermore, the physical bodies of humans in this era were frail, making development all the more difficult! Just forcing these supernatural locks to emerge had consumed several thousand drops of the Spring of Life. This was the reserve plundered from slaying an Immortal, which Li Hao figured would have been enough to nurture a whole batch of Divine Power Realm experts. And now... it had been squandered on him. Did this count as squandering? He did not know. Initially, his intention had been to reveal a portion of them to lay a proper foundation. Yet without realizing it, he had completely drained the Spring of Life. This was no longer a matter of laying a foundation; it was genuinely terrifying. One after another, the others began to notice Li Hao's strange state. They looked over and saw him lying on the ground with vacant, lifeless eyes. Confusion rippled through them. What was wrong? Shouldn't he be thrilled and delighted after slaying an Immortal demon plant? Why did he look like he was half-dead? At this moment, Southern Fist cleared his throat. "Li Hao, I've reached the four-element divine ability. What's more, my body has grown much stronger, and I feel I can bear the power of another divine ability. The only thing lacking is a bit of the Spring of Life... Did you put it away?" Having absorbed a substantial amount of imperishable substance, everyone's physique had been tempered and strengthened. Southern Fist had advanced straight to a four-element divine ability. He felt that the fifth element was well within reach and could be attained at any moment, but he needed a bit of the Spring of Life to replenish his vitality. This was not to mend his physical body, but because condensing a divine character would devour life force. He had just finished tempering his physique and was preparing to condense his fifth-element divine ability. Yet... it was gone! There had been so much! Several thousand drops! How could it have vanished into thin air? Had Li Hao taken it all? Everyone present had made immense progress this time, especially Hou Xiaochen. Hou Xiaochen had always been hindered by a frail body, plagued by illness since childhood. Now, patched up by imperishable substance, his advancement might have even outpaced Sky Sword and the others. Hou Xiaochen had already unlocked his Five Viscera divine abilities, as well as a wind-element divine ability, stepping firmly into the ranks of six-element experts. He had also wanted to remark on the missing Spring of Life. He did not need it himself, but someone else did. Jade Rakshasa! She had gained tremendously from this encounter. Being weaker, her force had been comparatively frail. But after slaying an Immortal, her force had undergone a metamorphosis, barely crossing into the four-element divine ability realm—still slightly behind Southern Fist. Hou Xiaochen believed that with a bit more life force, there was a good chance she could be pushed to the peak of four elements, or even five elements. Even the weakest, Jade Rakshasa, had experienced such a transformation; one could easily imagine how much the others had evolved. Yao Si and his peers had originally been top-tier five-element powerhouses who had forcibly unlocked a sixth element earlier. This time, had he not feared that a seventh element would destabilize space and shred him upon stepping outside, he could have advanced straight into the seven-element realm. However, unlike Li Hao, they had not discovered the secondary space and had no way to fully conceal an element. It was not merely the fear of being shredded by space; their own bodies would likely be unable to endure such an explosive surge of power. At this moment, the number of six-element combatants present was definitely not small. Yao Si glanced sideways at Earth-Overturning Sword and the others. Most likely, they had all entered the six-element realm, perhaps even the peak of six elements, and were holding back from the seventh element just as he was. As for the old ghost Chen Zhongtian, there was no need to speak of him. Under normal circumstances, he could have reached the six-element realm, let alone now. Reaching the peak of six elements was a certainty with zero difficulty. There was, however, one person Yao Si could not see through completely. Zhou Chuan. This powerhouse who walked the ancient martial path had previously lacked origin source power yet possessed strength comparable to the peak of six elements. After absorbing so much imperishable substance, could he take another step forward? Pursuing the pure golden body path was by no means weak. Perhaps he might break through the boundaries? Yao Si's gaze swept over the crowd before resting on Black Panther. No one was openly discussing the dog, yet all were secretly awestruck. The projection of the Demon Suppressing Emissary summoned from the beast's gathered blood was truly terrifying. Inside the ruins, it could even unleash power at the Peak Realm. Earlier, a single strike of lightning had nearly shattered the coconut tree to pieces. It was clear that the countless treasures the dog had consumed had not gone to waste. Yao Si was thoroughly envious—feasting and drinking his fill, this dog lived a blessed life indeed. He then glanced at Northern Fist and the rest. All had made significant progress and were generally situated between five and six elements. Four-element combatants were rare; Southern Fist and Jade Rakshasa were among the weakest. As for Bright Light Sword, she was a cut above those two and should have reached five elements. Yao Si sighed inwardly. Not much time had passed since he chose to follow Li Hao—merely half a month. Divine abilities had only emerged recently, yet in the blink of an eye, this entire group had stepped into that realm. Such a dramatic change exceeded all expectations. Naturally, it was also intensely competitive! At the very least, the powerhouses of the Nine Departments and the various major factions had been forced by Li Hao and his crew to accelerate their growth. By now, they had probably emptied their treasuries, which in turn fattened up the demon plants. Those demon plants must have reaped a rich harvest recently. Previously, each faction had exercised restraint to avoid draining the pond to catch the fish, taking things step by step. After all, a ceiling existed before the secondary recovery, and reaching six elements before then was sufficient. Now, however, everyone was caught in a desperate race! As Yao Si was lost in thought, Li Hao suddenly spoke up. "This cannot continue!" The crowd paused. What? Li Hao frowned. "We must find a way to temper the physical body. Not merely relying on the Spring of Life or imperishable substance... but through a cultivation technique—a specialized, comprehensive manual that allows the physical body to strengthen rapidly!" Otherwise, seven elements were already this demanding. What about eight? What about nine? Slay more demon plants? Demon plants were finite in number. They couldn't just keep hunting them until the ends of heaven and earth, could they? Even then, it wouldn't be enough! Everyone exchanged glances. After a long silence, Southern Fist muttered gloomily, "Then you'll have to call your teacher back!" At the mention of this, Li Hao felt an immense headache. "Who knows where he went! I sent transmissions, but there was no reply—he probably lost his communication jade. He didn't even show up for the founding of the Heavenly Star Governor-General's Office, so there's a ninety-nine percent chance he entered a ruin!" A collective cough rippled through the group. What a monumental opportunity he had missed. A ruin? What was inside a ruin besides demon plants or figures from the ancient civilization? What benefits could they offer you? The Spring of Life? Could they spare you even a hundred drops? What else could they give? Nothing at all. By following Li Hao, look at how much Spring of Life everyone had consumed! Not to mention imperishable substance, the foundational energy that strengthened ancient powerhouses and forged golden bodies. Furthermore, after slaying an Immortal, everyone's force had undergone a metamorphosis. At this moment, the crowd couldn't help but pity Yuan Shuo. How tragic! He had insisted on roaming outside and enjoying his freedom. And now, while everyone else had achieved monumental breakthroughs, Yuan Shuo—the teacher—was probably lingering at the peak of Metamorphosis or had barely scratched into the divine ability realm, feeling pleased with himself. Little did he know that everyone here was already at five or six elements! Still, when it came to researching cultivation techniques, one truly had to look to that man. Certain powerhouses from the ancient civilization might possess vast knowledge and formidable might, but their understanding of the modern human body and the nature of force could never match Yuan Shuo's. The man was his own greatest research subject. Fusing five elements—even now, Li Hao had not achieved it. No one else had either. To this day, Yuan Shuo remained the only one who had accomplished complete fusion, unlike Li Hao, who merely wielded five separate forces. Hearing everyone mention his teacher, Li Hao suddenly asked, "Is there any imperishable substance left?" Silence fell. No one spoke. It was all gone! Even the Spring of Life was depleted. This time, everyone had truly indulged in a gluttonous feast. Fearful of absorbing too little to strengthen their bodies for future breakthroughs, who would hold back? No one had shown any courtesy! Even Chen Zhongtian, an outsider, had held nothing back, gorging himself nearly to the point of burping. He had hoped to secretly pocket a bit for his son, but before he could act, the others had drained it dry. The coconut tree had suffered severe depletion over the years; its true body had not contained as much imperishable substance as imagined. Though labeled an Immortal, in truth, it was only at the Peak Realm. With so many divine ability powerhouses hovering near the Peak Realm absorbing frantically—along with Little Tree, Black Panther... and Deputy Director Zhou—how could anything possibly remain? By this point, only the massive trunk of the tree was left. The coconuts had all been collected by Li Hao. Li Hao patted his forehead. "I forgot to save some for my teacher. Never mind. Next time we kill a demon plant, if he's still missing, I'll save him some." "..." What a thing to say! Yet at that moment, everyone's eyes gleamed like hungry wolves. Chen Zhongtian swallowed hard. "My family has one too!" Indeed, his faction had one as well. Damn it, that plant was arrogant and intolerable. How about... beating it to death? Li Hao did not bother responding. He had only spoken casually. For now, he had no intention of continuing to hunt demon plants. At the very least, everyone needed time to digest their gains. Furthermore, he had to consider that the other plant was intact, unlike the coconut tree whose origin source had been coaxed away by Li Hao. Of course, the Chen family father and son could try to see if they could trick away an avatar. In any case, these demon plants lived in isolation, single monsters living alone without anyone to send warnings. Li Hao dropped the topic and turned his attention to the ruins before them. Earlier, he had not had the leisure to observe, but now he finally had time to inspect their surroundings. This place appeared to be the rear garden of a building. Further ahead lay absolute darkness, devoid of any light. Li Hao exhaled and said, "Everyone, take some time to absorb and digest your gains. Advancing too quickly is not necessarily a good thing; polish yourselves thoroughly... You seniors understand this better than I do. As for slaying demon plants... that will have to wait." No one objected. Southern Fist still couldn't hold back. "Uh... is the Spring of Life really all gone?" "..." The crowd cursed inwardly at his shamelessness. Li Hao laughed. "Gone, completely used up! It's not an urgent need right now anyway. Later, I'll let Senior Tree convert it slowly, which will cost far less!" Rushing the conversion right now came at too steep a price. As for divine energy stones, he still had quite a few—over thirty million. His recent consumption had been immense. The spoils from slaying the demon plant had been consumed on the spot, but the increase in everyone's strength was undeniable. Thirty million stones, converted slowly, could yield ten thousand drops. Converting them in a rush would produce only three thousand or so. Why waste them just for Southern Fist alone? Indeed, that was the thought. Why the rush? Whether you're at four elements or five doesn't change the big picture. Li Hao had gained immensely of late; the total amount of divine energy stones and Spring of Life he had obtained was astonishing. But with so many mouths to feed, the remaining stones would quickly be exhausted if shared by all. Moreover, what frightened Li Hao even more was the sheer number of his supernatural locks! If he wanted to advance further next time, he didn't even know how much it would consume. "Let's investigate the situation here first..." Chen Zhongtian remarked nonchalantly, "This is likely one of the administrative offices. It won't be very large, and we won't be able to explore very far. A barrier will block the path ahead. "Over by my family's side is the former Department of Education of Heavenly Star Town, a fairly important site. Yet it's just a single building, nothing special. In the ancient civilization, the Ministry of Education was pivotal to the entire realm... but it proved useless; no good treasures were left behind." He added, "The Nine Departments are all more or less the same. "Back then, we came into the inheritance of these ruins somewhat by accident... To put it plainly, the demon plants chose us. They wanted people outside to lend them a hand, which was what sparked the reform of the Nine Departments! "The imperial family's Thorny Rose was the true guardian demon plant of Heavenly Star Town back then. Immensely powerful, it has always wanted to devour the other nine. That was what caused the uprising over eighty years ago that overthrew the imperial house... It could overpower any one of them individually, but against all nine combined, it stood no chance." He had grown much more talkative now, continuing, "These sites are the core of Heavenly Star Town, but the true core is the entrance to the mineral vein—the Heavenly Star Great Mine. It's just that place..." He paused in thought before saying, "It has the Mine Guard Army!" "They're still there?" "Yes!" Chen Zhongtian nodded. "We have actually been anticipating the secondary recovery for a long time, but it never began, largely because of the Mine Guard Army. In the ancient Heavenly Star Town, there was a Heavenly Star Army commanding a hundred thousand troops, and the Mine Guard Army was its elite force. It was one branch of the Heavenly Star Army, numbering only around three thousand, yet exceptionally formidable. It is said that the commander of this force was a deputy commander of the Heavenly Star Army!" A commander of ten thousand was at the division general level, starting at the Peak Realm. The supreme commander of the Heavenly Star Army had to be at least an Immortal. A deputy commander was ninety-nine percent likely an Immortal as well. That meant this deputy commander was an Immortal powerhouse who had been assigned to guard a mine. "Was he human? If so... shouldn't he have died long ago?" Li Hao asked, puzzled. Chen Zhongtian shook his head. "I wouldn't know. If he isn't dead, that's normal too. Guarding a mineral vein, staying alive, immortal and indestructible—wouldn't that make sense?" "True!" Li Hao chuckled, almost forgetting that point. It was indeed plausible. Guarding a colossal mine was unlike the situation of others who had run out of energy. A golden body was indestructible, and with sufficient energy, that person might truly be alive—in the truest sense of the word. "So, he's still guarding the mine?" "Yes!" Chen Zhongtian nodded. "I heard this from the demon plants, but they also said that even if the great mine cannot be opened directly, it will detonate sooner or later! Energy will sweep across the world! Because after the primary recovery, the world's energy began to return. The great mine in Heavenly Star City will slowly revive, accumulating overflowing energy. "During the ancient civilization, the demon plants would absorb it to prevent an explosion. "The purpose of guardian demon plants lay precisely in this. But now, the ten guardian demon plants of Heavenly Star Town cannot draw energy from that location, causing a severe backlog. Even if that deputy commander can absorb it, one person cannot drain an entire colossal mine... Sooner or later, it will blow!" Once it exploded and energy swept across heaven and earth, the secondary recovery would begin. Li Hao frowned. "If it explodes... will Heavenly Star City still survive?" "That won't be an issue. An explosion inside an ancient city will not affect the outside world. "Back then, a great mine exploded in Silver Moon, triggering the primary recovery, and it didn't cause too much collateral damage." It was just that the Silver Moon mine could not compare to the one here in Heavenly Star Town. Li Hao said nothing more. Reaching out, he swept the massive tree trunk into his storage ring. He had acquired quite a few storage rings recently and had picked a particularly large one; otherwise, it truly would not have fit. The group bypassed the corpses of the Hu family—which had already been blown to bits—and proceeded forward. After walking for a while and exiting the courtyard, everyone realized what this place was. The Guard Station! Li Hao recognized it as an institution akin to the Inspectorate. Now, however, the halls were empty; nothing remained. Ahead, a layer of black mist churned. Li Hao stepped forward to examine it. He did not recognize what it was, but Little Tree knew. After a moment's thought, it said, "This is chaotic origin source!" "What is chaotic origin source?" Little Tree explained, "When a large number of origin source powerhouses die and no one collects their origin sources, the energies mingle together to form chaotic origin source, which creates a unique barrier..." At this point, it fell silent for a moment. "Heavenly Star Town... experienced a riot and rebellion back then." Li Hao was taken aback. "Why do you say that?" Little Tree said slowly, "In my father's memories, the world's energy suddenly vanished back then, followed by the disappearance of the origin Dao. In an instant, the world entered a phase devoid of energy and Daos. No one was allowed to run around; space became exceedingly fragile... Once a powerhouse left a primary city, they could easily perish. "Therefore, everyone was trapped in place, waiting for rescue while holding the great cities. "The perishing of powerhouses did not occur all at once; they slowly faded into silence, having nowhere to turn, sinking into desolation amid despair... Yet all remembered their duties and rarely abandoned their posts. "Heavenly Star City's duty was to defend the mineral vein. Even after energy was drained, there should have still been reserves here. Logically, they should have continued to hold their ground or assist other regions, rather than having a massive number of powerhouses die simultaneously, without even having the time to absorb their origin sources... "Thus, there is only one possibility... A riot broke out back then. Someone in the city rebelled, leading to a massive slaughter among powerhouses, which caused a portion of them to perish instantly, leaving behind this energy barrier." Little Tree added, "The areas where the Nine Departments are located were all vital strongholds. This implies... all nine places were attacked back then, causing the powerhouses stationed there to fall in battle. That is why chaotic origin source barriers appeared where they died!" Knowing the origin of this substance, Little Tree quickly deduced what had transpired in the past. Riots and rebellions had occurred in the territories of the Nine Departments back then, resulting in the deaths of numerous origin path powerhouses, leaving no survivors in these places. Li Hao frowned. "Then how are the demon plants... still alive?" Were the demon plants the ones who rebelled? The ancient civilization had still existed at the time; would demon plants have had the audacity? Little Tree did not know; that was impossible to deduce. The coconut tree was already dead; perhaps asking other demon plants would shed light on the truth of that era. And Li Hao remembered that he still had a mission of his own: To find out why Heavenly Star City had severed the energy supply back then, causing the eight primary cities to instantly fall silent, deprived of energy support. The eight primary cities had originally been capable of airborne combat, but back then, their energy had been completely drained, rendering them unable to activate. "Can we pass through this place?" Li Hao asked. Little Tree thought for a moment. "We can... but it's very dangerous. It's especially dangerous for origin path powerhouses... It causes origin turmoil. For you all, however... the impact might not be significant. As for specifics, I'm not entirely sure either. You could let Southern Fist give it a try." "..." Southern Fist looked utterly baffled. What was that supposed to mean? Why me? Little Tree had merely picked a random person. Everyone disliked Southern Fist anyway... It figured that naming him wouldn't cause much of an issue or make him fall out with these humans. Yes, a fine choice! Li Hao smiled and glanced at the black mist. Chaotic origin source... This was getting interesting. He did not investigate further. After some deliberation, he said, "Senior Tree, please stay and hold down the fort here for now..." Little Tree was startled. Li Hao explained, "I'm worried that the other demon plants in Heavenly Star Town might sense something. Even if they can't cross the black mist... Director Chen mentioned that the Thorny Rose wants to deal with these demon plants, so it might have some means at its disposal... With Senior here, you can intimidate them appropriately!" At this stage, this matter could not be exposed. Little Tree understood and sent a mental pulse: "Understood!" "Only, if I don't follow you, what about your..." "Don't worry. Unless I encounter someone at the Peak Realm, there won't be any problem. If I descend into a ruin, I'll definitely call for Senior." Only then was Little Tree satisfied. That would work. "Let's go. Everyone, let's head out!" Li Hao said nothing more. He would certainly explore the core of Heavenly Star Town, but not right now. He needed to dismantle them piece by piece, preferably eliminating all the demon plants of the Nine Departments before besieging the one in the center. Walking along while pondering, Li Hao suddenly asked, "Is the guardian weapon of the Qian family the Floating Sky Sword?" Chen Zhongtian shook his head upon hearing this. "No, it's the Raging Fire Axe." Li Hao knit his brows and asked, "What about the Hu family? When I killed Hu Mingfa, I didn't see any guardian divine weapon. Your guardian divine weapon is extremely powerful; had Hu Mingfa used theirs against me back then... I would have been in real trouble." A Saint's weapon! It could even be revived. While ordinary in the outside world, inside the ruins it was devastatingly potent. The Qian family hadn't brought theirs, likely to suppress the Heavenly Star King. As for the Hu family, Hu Mingfa's father had already died, so in a desperate gamble, why hadn't he brought the Hu family's divine weapon? Li Hao hadn't found any guardian divine weapon on Hu Mingfa. Had there been a Saint's weapon, the black-armored expert would have offered a handsome price when taking his spoils. "The Hu family's guardian divine weapon is a scimitar, though I don't know its exact name," Chen Zhongtian said after some thought. "After you killed Hu Xiao... it was very likely taken away, either by the Military Law Department or the Department of Administration." "Taken away?" "Yes." Chen Zhongtian nodded. "Back then, the Hu family lacked sufficient strength. With Hu Xiao dead, the force sealing the old Heavenly Star King was down one person, so the two departments probably took it to continue the suppression!" "Would Hu Mingfa just hand it over?" Chen Zhongtian smiled without answering. Li Hao understood—he would have. For no other reason than... he couldn't keep it. Without sufficient strength, offending the top powerhouses of two departments would have cost them their status in the Nine Departments entirely. Sure enough, the law of the jungle governed the Nine Departments as well. "In that case, those two departments snatched a Saint's weapon that was rightfully mine!" "..." Chen Zhongtian was speechless. The others also looked up at the sky. There was some logic to that, technically speaking, but... wasn't stating it so bluntly a bit much? *** The group emerged from the ruins. Upon returning to the outside world, everyone looked anxiously at Li Hao, but nothing unusual occurred. Li Hao smiled; this was how it should be. However, something abnormal did happen to someone else. Deputy Director Zhou frowned slightly. A blood-red slash suddenly appeared on his body, vanished instantly, and then reappeared. Everyone was startled, turning their eyes upon him. Deputy Director Zhou coughed softly. "I... absorbed a bit too much." The crowd was shaken! At this moment, who was stronger and who was weaker became glaringly obvious. The appearance of spatial slicing meant that Zhou Chuan was genuinely on the verge of shattering the void. Deputy Director Zhou let out a helpless sigh, looking uncomfortable as another bloody slash flashed across his body. Frowning slightly, he muttered, "I never expected... it to be this fragile. Fortunately, I showed some restraint later; otherwise... I would have been forced to stay inside the ruins until the secondary recovery before stepping out." This space was simply too fragile. His current strength had not even reached that peak yet, yet he already felt constricted. Li Hao thought for a moment, and with a stir of his mind, manifested four of his five forces. He too felt a prickle of pressure. The next instant, the fifth force emerged... and space suddenly trembled. Li Hao knit his brows. He still allowed the fire force to manifest. And then... nothing happened. Li Hao felt a bit strange and glanced at Deputy Director Zhou. "Deputy Director Zhou... are you stronger than me?" Deputy Director Zhou looked at him, his brow furrowing slightly. After a moment, he let out a sudden sigh and shook his head. "No... Did you notice? Once you revealed your five forces, the blood slashes stopped appearing on me." "Hm?" Li Hao's heart stirred. What did that mean? Deputy Director Zhou sighed. "Times have changed. The ancient martial path faces rejection in this world; it no longer aligns with the great trend, so it suffers heavier suppression. You, on the other hand... seem to face less suppression." Li Hao's thoughts raced. Is that so? Does that mean I can unleash my full strength? With that thought, he threw a punch. Space seemed to tear slightly, and in the next instant, Li Hao hurriedly reined in all his forces. Only then did the crowd notice that the golden armor on his body had been sliced and fractured in an instant. Li Hao was speechless. "This... Exposing myself isn't much of a problem, but once I attack, I'm restricted. Space will truly shatter and slice me... With my physical body, I'd probably be sliced to death in a single breath!" His body was nowhere near as tough as Deputy Director Zhou's. This was truly exasperating! Deputy Director Zhou couldn't help but chuckle. "How interesting. This shows that space doesn't reject you, but your body is too weak to endure the slicing force of space... This means... if you want to shatter space and teleport a thousand li in an instant, it'll probably be difficult!" Li Hao seemed capable of peacefully existing here, but his body was too frail to support tearing through space to travel. Otherwise, Li Hao right now might have been able to rip space apart and teleport a thousand li just like the Peak Realm powerhouses of old. Li Hao, however, chuckled. "Not necessarily... Spatial supernatural abilities do exist." The crowd paused. Li Hao said, "I remember hearing that among supernatural abilities, there is a spatial element, right?" Everyone looked at one another. After a long pause, Chen Zhongtian said in a deep voice, "I have indeed heard of this. Someone even sold a storage ring back then, claiming to be of the spatial element, but no one ever found the person. Whether it truly exists is hard to say; among the major factions, no spatial-element powerhouse has ever been discovered." At this point, he added, "If there truly is one... I suspect someone might be." Everyone looked at him. Who? Chen Zhongtian chuckled. "That fellow from the Department of Administration!" Li Hao raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he a martial master?" "He is!" Chen Zhongtian nodded. "But a martial master... if they saturate a spatial supernatural lock, they might also possess spatial abilities. Of course, I'm not certain, but back when we collaborated, that fellow ran faster than anyone on several occasions. I've always had my suspicions." Now, everyone understood what Li Hao meant. A spatial supernatural lock! But where was such a thing? Li Hao didn't know either. However, he knew that if his physical body remained insufficiently strong, he could attempt to strengthen a spatial supernatural lock. When that time came, tearing the void wouldn't end like this. So Deputy Director Zhou's worry that he would never be able to tear space was unfounded. Out of the more than one hundred supernatural locks that had emerged, could there really not be a spatial one? He didn't believe it! Not only spatial—later on, he might even develop an invisibility element, turning completely invisible so none of them could ever find him. After chatting for a while, Chen Zhongtian departed with lingering reluctance. No one asked him to stay. This disappointed Chen Zhongtian greatly; clearly, these people were still guarding against him. The others followed Li Hao into the main hall of the Heavenly Star Governor-General's Office. Sensing their return, Liu Long rushed over. "The ranking is out!" "What's the situation outside?" "Everyone is discussing it!" Liu Long reported quickly. "The ranking claims all three of them are at seven elements. It hasn't fully fermented yet; we'll have to see the results later." "Mm!" Li Hao nodded. After a moment's thought, he said, "Boss, advance to Spirit Harmonization as soon as you can. Only after reaching Spirit Harmonization will you have the chance to make rapid progress." Liu Long smiled without saying more. After greeting the others, he swiftly departed. At this moment, Hou Xiaochen suddenly remarked, "What a pity about Golden Spear!" Silence fell over the hall. Chief Manager Yu, however, spoke up: "Not necessarily. If Golden Spear can break his inner demons and saturate his supernatural locks, only then can he progress faster, and his force will strengthen. Otherwise... even if he stayed, he might not have been of much use." Hou Xiaochen was taken aback and glanced at Chief Manager Yu. What was this? You're actually contradicting me? Li Hao couldn't be bothered with their dynamic. Taking out a communication jade, he sent several messages. Frowning, he finally let out a long sigh after a long wait. "My teacher... really is... beyond words. He's vanished again. Please keep an eye out for him, everyone. Who knows which ruin he's holed up in." Having said that, he added, "Seniors, those who wish to leave may go out and relax. As for the Wind and Cloud Pavilion, even if we deal with them, we won't need this many people. Next time we strike against the ancient powerhouses in the ruins, I will call upon you all." Under normal circumstances, there was no need for everyone to huddle together. Everyone had their own matters to attend to. Just as Li Hao finished speaking, one figure vanished in an instant. Li Hao was stunned. Staring at the empty seat, he couldn't help remarking, "Senior Thunderbolt Leg... truly has swift legs!" Hou Xiaochen said coolly, "He's just guilty!" Tyrant Saber snapped coldly, "Stop harassing him! Do you really think our Silver Moon martial forest is made of soft persimmons?" He was actually threatening Hou Xiaochen! Hou Xiaochen's eyes flashed with divine light. The next instant, he immediately clamped his mouth shut, because at that very moment, Southern Fist, Northern Fist, Sky Sword, Tyrant Saber—six old fellows—all glared fiercely at their small group. Hou Xiaochen, Huang Yu, Deputy Director Zhou, and Kong Jie were all considered officials. Those other fellows, however, belonged to the martial forest. Now that the ancient powerhouse had been slain, everyone was free, and they had little in common to chat about normally. If Hou Xiaochen dared glare, they naturally wouldn't hold back. Hou Xiaochen felt rather stifled. These martial forest fellows were truly petty. Huang Yu stood up and said, "Then I'll head back to Silver Moon first. Old Kong, let's go..." "What?" Kong Jie was startled. "Go ahead if you want. Why are you calling me?" "Hm?" Huang Yu was taken aback as well. Kong Jie said crossly, "What for? You go back on your own! I haven't even seen my daughter yet. I came here specifically to see my daughter! What would a man without a daughter know? I'll leave in a few days!" "..." Huang Yu was speechless. He understood: you just want an excuse to stay. Truly... shameless. "Commander Yu is leaving?" Li Hao asked, puzzled. Huang Yu said solemnly, "There are duties in the military that require my attention; I cannot linger. If my strength were insufficient, I would naturally stay. Now... there is no need. If you need me, call at any time!" Li Hao nodded. "Safe travels, Commander Yu. However, regarding the matters here... please do not inform Director Zhao for the time being." "Hm?" Huang Yu was slightly surprised. After a moment's thought, he nodded. "Understood!" Without another word, he departed swiftly. Hou Xiaochen looked at Li Hao. "Director Zhao... you're guarding against him?" Li Hao remained silent for a moment. "Not quite! It's just that Director Zhao has deep ties to the ruins. I wonder if my slaying of demon plants will make certain powerhouses in Silver Moon's ruins wary as well! After all, strictly speaking, they belong to the same kind, while we... are people of the new era!" He was even debating whether to give the tree trunk to Battle Heaven City. Of course, Battle Heaven City... was quite familiar, so perhaps there wouldn't be an issue? Hou Xiaochen pondered for a long while before saying, "There are many ruins in Silver Moon! It's wise to remain vigilant; there's nothing wrong with that. Old Zhao should understand in his heart... If you prefer not to say, then let's keep quiet." Li Hao smiled. It was good that he understood. "Then our next step is to locate the Wind and Cloud Pavilion!" Li Hao said, "I need their treasure!" He needed that item immensely. He wanted to probe everyone's strength. Those in the outside world weren't critical; the main concern was those within the ruins. Otherwise, it would be easy to suffer a disastrous setback. The Wind and Cloud Pavilion's artifact could detect the strength of everyone's vitality, making it perfectly suited for gauging those ancient powerhouses. Right now, targeting the Wind and Cloud Pavilion was no longer about them targeting him; their treasure would be of tremendous use for his upcoming plans. Li Hao said in a deep voice, "Seniors, disperse and help me conduct a thorough search. Nanyue is key... If you encounter them, do not alert them. Once we take down the Wind and Cloud Pavilion, that will be the moment we do something truly great!" What they had just done was merely testing the waters. Everyone's spirits lifted! The next instant, smiles broke out across their faces. "Agreed!" Once they found the Wind and Cloud Pavilion and obtained the treasure that detected strength, Li Hao would undoubtedly move to purge any demon plant he found to be weak. That would be an opportunity for everyone. *** At the same time. Across the land of Silver Moon. Near Mount Cang, a head popped out from underground. Patting the dirt off his head, he cursed, "The exits are always in these wretched places. Can't there ever be a proper, decent location?" After cursing for a while, he crawled out from the earth, drew a deep breath, and suddenly burst into hearty laughter: "Only half a month! Emerging from seclusion today, in this vast world, who else but me! Even divine abilities are no match!" In a mere half month, I, Yuan Shuo, have taken another step forward! I can battle divine abilities, I can slay divine abilities! This time, no matter how fast those bastards have progressed, they will find it hard to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me. I have only one flaw: I love slapping faces! You all broke your supernatural locks? Not me! I will show you what a true Five Animals Demon King is! Not only that... Remembering the origin avatar stored inside his ring, he chuckled wickedly. That fellow had claimed it was definitely comparable to a six-element divine ability, and inside a ruin, it might even battle a seven-element expert! Now, I, Yuan Shuo, can be considered invincible under heaven! Did you really think I couldn't dig up ancient relics? I know where more old antiques reside than anyone else! The one over here was comparatively easy to talk to, though it was also thanks to my extraordinary talent that he deemed me worthy of investment. Excellent! "Jade Light, from now on, we can walk sideways across this Heavenly Star Dynasty!" At this moment, Yuan Shuo was filled with pride and ambition. Across the vast world, truly no one could oppose him. Perhaps he wasn't the absolute strongest, but holding a formidable origin avatar, he was an invincible existence prior to the secondary recovery. Foolish disciple, this time, I'll let you know who is the grandfather and who is the grandson! Jade Light Sword crawled out as well, nodding. This time, she didn't refute him. Leaving aside his own divine ability combat power, holding six-element or even seven-element combat strength... if this wasn't invincible, what was? How long had divine abilities even existed? "Let's go, to Heavenly Star City!" Yuan Shuo laughed arrogantly. The Old Demon of the Five Animals had always been brazen. Last time, he had suffered quite a blow, but now, he was staging a grand comeback! Half a month—I'll make your jaws drop! Jade Light Sword smiled as well. This time, those fellows probably really would be stunned. Yuan Shuo was truly impressive; he had managed to catch up with them so quickly, and crucially, without snapping his supernatural locks. This man truly knew so much.