A Terrifying Silhouette

Near the inner city gate, two Three Sols experts had suddenly been flushed out. Not long after, Hong Yitang's second wife also arrived. Hong Yitang transmitted a few brief messages to her. The woman, whose appearance was by no means glamorous, pondered for a moment before speaking up. "Sword Gate would never secretly harm Li Hao. We cannot, nor do we dare. Grandmaster Yuan is a leading figure in the path of martial masters... Sword Gate does not possess the audacity to dare harm Grandmaster Yuan's closed-door disciple!" Hong Yitang hurriedly nodded as well. He could not shoulder this blame. Others might not understand Yuan Shuo, but he knew him all too well. If he, Hong Yitang, killed Yuan Shuo's student... Yuan Shuo would genuinely kill him by any means necessary. He understood Yuan Shuo, and Yuan Shuo likewise knew the veterans of the Silver Moon martial arts world inside out. Crossing him back then would be far more troublesome than offending the Three Great Organizations. None of the others spoke. Li Hao let out a cough. "I believe Sword Gate would not do such a thing... Rest assured, Martial Uncle Hong, I, Li Hao, will not wrongly accuse anyone without cause!" As he spoke, he coughed again, spewing a bit of blood. His internal organs appeared quite severely damaged. Listening to the cough, it did not sound fake in the slightest. In truth, it was never an act to begin with. Everyone present was a powerhouse; had he been faking, they would have seen right through him at a single glance. With Li Hao looking like this, no one would believe it if someone claimed he was putting on a show. Li Hao exhaled and added, "Let us consider this matter in the past! Besides, it was originally my own lack of skill. Perhaps the other party wasn't at the Three Sols level... If they weren't, then even if I had been killed, it would only be normal. As practitioners of martial arts, there is no need to obsess over these things!" With that, he glanced at Ziyue... hesitated for a moment, and said, "Chief Ziyue... could you give me a Blood God Seed? My injuries are severe. If there is more fighting ahead, I'm afraid I might die here." "..." Silence fell. Ziyue's expression turned frigid. A Blood God Seed? That was a Shadow God! Had Li Hao lost his mind? Red Moon and he were bitter enemies, yet he was actually asking her for a Shadow God to treat his wounds. Li Hao said earnestly, "Right now, my injuries are critical and my viscera are damaged. Ordinary mysterious energy is entirely useless. Unless one possesses some legendary treasures, the best remedy for a martial master's injuries is a Blood God Seed. There is really no need to say more on this. I only need one... Chief Ziyue, I believe Red Moon would not wish to see me die either." With an icy face, Ziyue sneered, "Li Hao, are you courting death? Or do you truly believe your death would be such an earth-shattering loss?" Hearing this, Li Hao sighed and said no more. Hao Lianchuan frowned. "Ziyue, if you have one, what harm is there in handing it over?" Hu Dingfang stepped directly toward her, his voice chilling. "If you don't have one... I can go into the city and slaughter a few Red Moon supernaturals. Perhaps one will turn up!" Ziyue replied darkly, "You're welcome to try! Do you think I care if you slaughter all of Red Moon's people?" "Then let's see!" Hu Dingfang threw a direct punch, unleashing the roar of dragons and the howl of tigers with overwhelming ferocity. Ziyue was currently heavily injured. He was merely asking her for a single Blood God Seed, yet she refused... Refusing was no different from demanding Hu Dingfang's life! If she wouldn't hand it over, then they would fight! Thunder erupted from Ziyue with a thunderous boom, yet the lightning was shattered by Hu Dingfang's single punch. His arm suffered no injury whatsoever, and his tiger fist continued hurtling forward! It roared like a raging beast! The onlookers felt their scalps tingle. One had to admit that after mastering the Five Animals Art, Hu Dingfang—already a supernatural—possessed truly formidable combat prowess, rivaling even Sun Yifei. Both were late Three Sols martial masters. The Five Animals Respiration Art was exceptionally refined, and Hu Dingfang was a metal-element powerhouse with immense offensive power. A single punch from him matched the full-power strike of a late Three Sols expert. Ziyue was wounded, and her Thunder God Armor had sustained damage. She held no advantage whatsoever and was continuously suppressed. Sun Yifei had once slain a pure Three Sols peak powerhouse in the central region—a genuine supernatural, not someone promoted from the path of martial masters. He was extraordinarily formidable, by no means a weakling among Three Sols. Now that Hu Dingfang could rival him, it was no wonder the man had always been so arrogant. *Boom! Boom! Boom!* A barrage of resounding blasts echoed as Ziyue was forced back repeatedly, her lightning energy erupting wildly. At this moment, the Wheel-Turning King, who had remained silent all along, finally interjected after watching them clash for a bit. "You two... is there any need for infighting right now? The inner city gate hasn't even been opened, and who knows how many treasures lie within the city. Is it worth it?" He paused, then added, "Ziyue, there should have been Red Moon martial masters who fell in battle inside the city. You must have reclaimed some of those Shadow Gods... Li Hao's injuries are severe. Why not gift him a Blood God Seed? It doesn't need to be particularly strong—Lunar Nether or Solar Radiance will do. Red Moon shouldn't miss a single Shadow God, should it?" Hu Dingfang ceased his assault. He had no real desire to fight Ziyue to the bitter end either, as the Wheel-Turning King would not stand idly by. Yama and Red Moon each had only one Three Sols powerhouse; even if they hadn't formally joined forces, they shared a tacit understanding. Cooperation! The Night Patrollers had two, Feitian had two, and Sword Gate had two... If they didn't cooperate now, they would be utter fools. Formidable though they were individually, two fists could hardly prevail against four pairs of hands, could they? Ziyue's expression fluctuated, turning grim. A single Blood God Seed... was fundamentally of little consequence. Yet swallowing this humiliation... was truly suffocating. She shot a glance at Li Hao. The previously docile youth was now staring straight at her, devoid of any fear. Catching her gaze, Li Hao offered a smile, showing no timidity whatsoever—a stark contrast to his earlier demeanor. There was no mystery to it; their enmity ran too deep. He had nothing to fear and no need to disguise himself. Facing Red Moon, he did not need to act servile! His teacher had slain multiple Red Moon powerhouses, and he himself was Red Moon's target. Thus, toward Ziyue, he showed none of the politeness he extended to others. Even toward Feitian and Yama, though he had secretly killed many of their members, he maintained an outwardly friendly front. At the very least, he wouldn't let them sense his hostility. "Chief Ziyue, do you know how to refine a Blood God Seed? If not, I can teach you..." Ziyue glared at him coldly, retracting her earlier assessment of him being simple and honest. At the very least, this fellow harbored nothing but malice toward Red Moon! Naturally, that was only to be expected. She simply hadn't anticipated that a mere Hundred-Breaker would truly dare to provoke her. After a brief silence, she tossed a red pill across. Hao Lianchuan caught it directly, remarking with slight surprise, "Your Red Moon actually knows how to refine Blood God Seeds? I thought you hadn't discovered their peculiarities yet." Ziyue kept her cold face and said nothing. Li Hao received the red pill from Hao Lianchuan and sniffed it carefully. In truth, he was observing it, though he put on a convincing show of smelling it. After a moment, he sighed with emotion. "It's at the Lunar Nether Moon Overflow level... I thought it would be Solar Radiance. It seems Chief Ziyue has more than one and deliberately picked the weakest to give me!" Ziyue remained impassive, declining to respond. Li Hao chuckled and swallowed the pill whole. The others watched intently! Did the Blood God Seed truly work? Their organizations had likely already hunted down a batch of Red Moon powerhouses and perhaps even manufactured Blood God Seeds using the leaked method. However, they had entered the ruin too quickly to receive word and still had no idea of the true efficacy. A mere Lunar Nether-level Blood God Seed... could it really repair such severe visceral damage once Li Hao absorbed it? If it could... even if it didn't increase one's cultivation, the healing properties alone would make it irresistible to them. Meanwhile, Li Hao circulated the Five Animals Respiration Art, breaking down and digesting the power of the Blood God Seed. Although the effect was slightly inferior without sword energy, the Blood God Seed was originally meant for martial masters; even without sword energy to complement it, the results were still remarkable. At this moment, Li Hao was already a Thousand-Battler martial master. With his momentum bolstered, his absorption and digestion were even swifter. In the blink of an eye, the majority of the red energy was devoured by him, and his internal organs instantly received feedback from the red shadow's power. A visible flush of healthy color returned to Li Hao's skin, as though desiccated hide were being replenished with moisture, gradually filling out. His gaunt appearance from earlier improved considerably as well. Inner force began to generate. A moment later, Li Hao opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. "What a pity... Had it been Solar Radiance, I might have fully recovered. Still, my thanks to Chief Ziyue!" The expressions of everyone present turned exceedingly strange. The effect... was truly extraordinary! Li Hao's injuries had appeared so grievous, yet although he was not entirely healed, his inner force had resurfaced, his viscera were no longer trembling or bleeding, and his foundation at least appeared undamaged... This... and that was only Lunar Nether. What about Solar Radiance? What if it were Three Sols? Just then, Dingchen of Feitian suddenly spoke up. "Li Hao, what happened earlier was likely a genuine misunderstanding! I asked Kong Qi; he wasn't the one who attacked you." After a pause, Dingchen added, "Naturally, there were some misunderstandings involved... which may require more time to clear up." With that, he tossed over an object resembling a ring. "This is an energy storage ring newly produced in the central region. It is small in size but holds substantial capacity, able to store 1,000 fang of mysterious energy divided across five compartments. It can hold the same type of mysterious energy or five distinct varieties! Consider it a small token of compensation. It contains 100 fang of fire energy as well; since you need fire energy, consider it a gift!" Li Hao was surprised—genuinely surprised! Feitian... was gifting him this? This was an exceptional item! It was only the size of a finger ring. An energy storage box was cumbersome to carry around and had a limited capacity, holding a few hundred fang at most. Yet this tiny thing could store 1,000 fang of mysterious energy? Hao Lianchuan also looked at Dingchen with an odd expression. What was this fellow up to, parting with such capital? In the next instant, Dingchen continued, "I have a minor doubt. Does the Blood God Seed work on all martial masters, or... is it only effective for martial masters of your Five Animals Sect?" Currying favor, offering gifts—the man had done all of that seemingly just for this single answer. Li Hao frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and replied, "It works on all martial masters... However, the Five Animals Respiration Art achieves the best absorption efficiency. Other martial masters' breathing methods might yield slightly inferior results. If my Five Animals Sect converts ninety percent of the energy, others would reach seventy percent at best... Even so, it still produces miraculous effects!" He answered truthfully. After all, this matter could easily be verified simply by testing it on other martial masters. The prowess of the Five Animals Respiration Art was no secret, so there was no point in hiding it. If one told too many lies, no one would believe anything. Seventy percent! Everyone's eyes shifted; that was still extraordinary. Ziyue's gaze turned increasingly cold as she cast a glance toward Dingchen of Feitian. What did he mean by asking these questions at a time like this? Feigning ignorance of her glare, Dingchen asked again, "Does it work on supernaturals? If a supernatural absorbs a Blood God Seed... can it strengthen their physical body?" Li Hao furrowed his brows. "Hard to say. Under normal circumstances, it has little effect. Even if one knows the Five Animals Respiration Art, it doesn't seem to do much... But... it isn't entirely useless either." "Nonsense!" At that moment, Ziyue barked furiously, "Li Hao, how dare you spout utter rubbish! It is true that the Blood God Seed has some use for martial masters, but it is utterly useless for supernaturals. It will even siphon away their mysterious energy!" This could never be allowed to become an accepted fact, not even as a rumor. If it were taken as truth, she dared not imagine the consequences. As things stood, people were merely curious; only a few martial masters and organizations nurturing martial masters were tempted. But the moment it was claimed to work on supernaturals as well... the trouble facing Red Moon would far exceed their current predicament! It would be total ruin! No one should believe the Three Great Organizations were truly invincible. When the entire world fixed its gaze upon you, treating you as nourishment, one could only imagine how catastrophic the fallout would be! Even now, supernaturals engaged in relentless slaughter simply because mysterious energy could advance their cultivation. If red shadows were even more potent... why bother hunting supernaturals? Naturally, everyone would hunt red shadows! These things could be artificially cultivated; some might even launch an assault on Red Moon's headquarters just to seize the cultivation method. Li Hao frowned, staring at her, and said solemnly, "I don't speak nonsense. I am merely sharing my findings... Why the panic? Whether it's true or false, wouldn't a simple test reveal the answer?" He continued, "The power of the Blood God Seed indeed clashes with mysterious energy to a certain extent. Under normal circumstances, absorbing it brings no great benefit and makes the body feel quite uncomfortable. "However, my teacher discovered that the Blood God Seed can fortify supernatural locks... strengthening them! I do not know if such discoveries or sensations exist within the supernatural realm, but once a fortified supernatural lock is broken, it releases far greater latent potential... Thus, strengthening the supernatural lock is a blessing—for geniuses, of course! "If a genius has fragile supernatural locks and breaks them with ease, advancing in rank is simple, but their foundation will be far too shallow. In such cases, the Blood God Seed proves invaluable. It can be absorbed by the supernatural lock, reinforcing it and increasing the difficulty of breakthrough... Conceptually, it is identical to a martial master strengthening their supernatural locks... except without the need to practice martial arts. It works on the exact same principle as your usual practice of training martial masters before advancing them into supernaturals! "The key difference lies in the massive amount of time saved. Cultivating a Ten-Slayer realm martial master takes several years at the fastest... whereas this requires only a single Blood God Seed to effortlessly resolve the issue!" *Boom!* Auras wavered, gazes shifted, and hearts surged with turbulent waves. To ordinary supernaturals, Li Hao's words would sound like pure nonsense. Fortifying supernatural locks? Do you take us for idiots? Yet to the powerhouses of these major organizations, many hidden truths were well within their knowledge. For instance, fortifying a supernatural lock before breaking it indeed allowed a greater release of latent potential. Was this not the very reason why martial masters who advanced into supernaturals were so remarkably powerful? Martial masters cultivated inner force, and inner force possessed the property of strengthening supernatural locks. It was not that a martial master's advancement guaranteed superior strength, but rather that their breakthrough released more potential, aiding them in pushing toward higher realms. Of course, cultivating martial masters was troublesome and inefficient. It took far too long! Yet... if a single Blood God Seed could resolve that... did it not mean that an ordinary person could ingest a Blood God Seed, break their supernatural lock, and perhaps bypass Starlight entirely to step directly into Lunar Nether? If true... it was simply unfathomable! Dingchen ceased his questioning, his mind racing through calculations. Could Li Hao's words be taken seriously? In truth, it was quite simple: find someone to test it on. The candidate could not lack talent; ideally, it should be someone who broke through easily but possessed a shallow foundation. Feed them a Blood God Seed and see whether such an individual could be transformed into a powerhouse of deep foundation. At this moment, even the Wheel-Turning King could not resist asking, "Once the Blood God Seed enters the body, how can it be directed into the supernatural lock? You mentioned it clashes with mysterious energy..." Li Hao frowned and kept silent. Seeing this, the Wheel-Turning King chuckled. "You have already revealed the core essence. Besides... everyone understands your intentions. Why not say a little more?" How could anyone not see through Li Hao's mind? Why else would he speak so forthrightly, if not to make life more miserable for Red Moon? Li Hao exhaled, ignoring Ziyue's murderous gaze, and continued, "It isn't difficult. Those who can fully control their mysterious energy can suppress it, allowing the power of the Blood God Seed to be channeled inside naturally. Those who cannot need only exhaust their mysterious energy entirely... A supernatural's mysterious energy is hardly infinite. When no mysterious energy remains in the body, there is naturally no conflict!" Realization dawned on everyone. It wasn't that they couldn't conceive of it, but rather that they hadn't expected it to be so simple! The crux was that once cultivators reached their level, situations where their mysterious energy was completely depleted rarely ever occurred. Hearing that it was this straightforward... they had no further doubts. The Wheel-Turning King pressed on, "What about Spirit Nourishing..." Li Hao snapped angrily, "Do you take me for a fool? Besides, that is something only my teacher can achieve. How would I know?" These people were pushing their luck! He had already revealed so much, yet they kept probing, even inquiring about Spirit Nourishing. This time, the Wheel-Turning King was not angry in the least; instead, he smiled. It mattered little whether Li Hao answered that part. At the very least, they had obtained a wealth of critical information. The Blood God Seed could fortify supernatural locks and deepen a supernatural's foundation. Frankly, at the Three Sols level, their understanding of the world was far broader; sometimes, breaking supernatural locks recklessly was not an option. It could get a person killed! Certain peak Three Sols experts, and even those in the Rising Light realm, actually hoped their supernatural locks would not break further. A breakthrough... often meant there wasn't enough time to adapt, resulting in death. Blood God Seeds... Red Moon! At this moment, Ziyue frowned as well. She looked at Li Hao, no longer scolding or cursing. Instead, she fell into deep thought... Could the Blood God Seed truly fortify supernatural locks? She didn't know! Indeed, she had no idea whether it was possible. Red shadows were Ying Hongyue's exclusive domain. The members of Red Moon knew of their existence and knew they offered some assistance to martial masters... but that was all. If it could truly fortify supernatural locks... As though striking upon a realization, her gaze shifted slightly. Could this be the reason why certain Three Sols experts could take on five or six peers of the same rank simultaneously? When their chief was in the Three Sols realm, he had swept all before him, unmatched. After stepping into Rising Light, virtually no one among the Rising Light experts in the central region could rival him... Were these factors involved as well? Reinforcing supernatural locks was a curse for many. Yet for geniuses and powerhouses, it was an immense blessing. How many wished their foundations could be deeper? Blindly breaking through realms would only lead to a violent death from body explosion! In that moment, everyone was lost in contemplation. The intelligence Li Hao had revealed was profoundly thought-provoking. Prior to this, few understood the true function of the red shadows. Although many in Red Moon possessed them, none dared squander them; they were Ying Hongyue's personal property, so who would dare use them casually? Over the years, only a select few had managed to acquire some, yet they wouldn't use them recklessly—most wouldn't even dare ingest them. Only Li Hao and his companions were audacious enough to consume them at will. The surroundings gradually quieted. Liu Long and Liu Yan stood like wooden statues, not uttering a word, yet their minds were shaken and close to frantic. This fellow Li Hao... had grown increasingly terrifying at spinning lies! He had clearly injured himself during cultivation, yet he not only flushed out two Three Sols experts, secured a Blood God Seed to treat his injuries, and gained an energy storage ring along with 100 fang of fire energy, but he had also plunged Red Moon into an even more precarious predicament. Was this the terror of scholars? With just a few casual words, spoken so lightly, he had engineered countless conflicts! One had to remember that many standing before him were his enemies. Yet right now, even Ziyue remained silent. To the side, Hao Lianchuan patted Li Hao once more, speaking with a touch of regret. "Don't go spouting off blindly! Had you contributed this intelligence to the Night Patrollers, we would have credited you with immense merit. Why blab it out like that?" What a waste! Though he admitted the impact of speaking it aloud was considerable, had it been handed to the minister, the minister might have created an even greater commotion with it. *Young man, you still lack channels... this news isn't explosive enough!* If this truly spread, certain bigwigs in the central region would stop at nothing to obtain Blood God Seeds. Even if they didn't use them themselves, they would give them to their children; who would want their offspring to be mediocre? Practicing martial arts was exhausting! A single Blood God Seed could save years of bitter effort and deepen one's foundation. Wouldn't slaughtering a few Red Moon disciples easily solve the problem? Li Hao lowered his head. "Director, either I say nothing... or I speak only the truth!" "..." *Fine, just pretend I never said anything.* Hao Lianchuan said no more on the matter. He cleared his throat lightly and said, "Everyone... let the matter of injuring Li Hao end here! Hu Dingfang, stop picking fights with Ziyue over nothing. Who knows how frantic she feels right now. If you beat her to death, people might think we snatched a peak Three Sols Blood God Seed... If they demand it from you, you won't even be able to refuse!" Hu Dingfang glanced at him and said nothing. Since Li Hao's injuries had mostly stabilized, he naturally had no intention of provoking trouble for the sake of it. Only now did Li Hao find the time to glance toward the inner city gate. Sure enough! He spotted a giant tortoise—well, not excessively large, merely looming faintly above the city walls. A lifelike, vivid tortoise! Looking higher above the gate, there were two large characters... written in ancient script, which he recognized. "Battle Heaven!" Two massive characters hovered above the city gate. Merely laying eyes upon them made his blood surge and his heart pound. *"The Wang Family kept a giant tortoise..."* He recalled the ditty. Judging from the tune, the Wang family did not sound particularly formidable or aggressive. Yet upon seeing the two words "Battle Heaven," a surging aura suddenly crashed into his mind. Those two words did not match the ditty about the Wang family. Battle Heaven... what magnificent spirit, what staggering ambition! Battle Heaven City? Staring at those two characters, Li Hao felt an urge to throw his head back and roar. Right then, Hu Dingfang asked abruptly, "You recognize those two characters?" He did not. Virtually no one present could read them. Hao Lianchuan only knew them because their previous expeditions had investigated the matter; after all, only powerful figures could reach this place, whereas academic expedition personnel could never make it here. Li Hao nodded and drew a deep breath. "Battle Heaven!" Battle Heaven? Everyone turned the words over in their minds, frowning slightly. What bold ambition, what immense courage. Battle Heaven City! Waging war against the heavens? Li Hao looked again, staring intently at those two characters. Who had written them? He did not know! Yet he knew that whoever inscribed them was undoubtedly a hero of colossal spirit. When writing those two words, Li Hao could faintly sense that the author truly dared to wage war against the heavens! Arrogant, and immensely powerful! Was this the city of the Wang family? He did not know, but it was highly probable. The Wang family didn't rank particularly high among the Eight Great Families, did they? Li Hao felt a twinge of doubt. If a single Wang family possessed such a formidable city... what about his Li family? Surely they hadn't left behind nothing more than a single sword? All manner of questions lingered in his heart. He examined the gate closely once more. It was exceptionally tall—at least a hundred meters high. Flight was forbidden here, so this gate... would likely be difficult to breach. Above the gatehouse, shrouded in darkness, little could be discerned. Yet faintly, a white silhouette seemed visible. Was that silver millennium captain up there? If he refused to come down... could the inner city gate never be opened? Just then, Ziyue spoke indifferently. "Li Hao, you are Yuan Shuo's student. He has spent his life exploring countless ruins and possesses profound insight into these matters. Can you discern anything?" Li Hao said nothing. He simply stepped closer to the gate and tilted his head upward. The two characters above continued to make his blood race. Battle Heaven! After looking for a while, his gaze fell upon the massive doors. He touched them lightly, sensing a cool, metallic texture. A gentle shove... not a budge. Incredibly sturdy! The entire gate appeared seamless, yet upon closer inspection, a faint seam was visible, along with a small fissure halfway up—likely the slot for a key. This gate could either only be opened from behind or unlocked through that fissure. Yet halfway up was fifty meters high. Would one be attacked upon flying up? It seemed like a dead end! Naturally, if several Three Sols experts joined forces and used Origin God Armaments for defense, they might be able to hover midair for a brief moment. Li Hao observed meticulously, then walked toward the nearby city walls. The walls were towering. He touched them, feeling a texture identical to the ground. It felt as though the wall were truly a monolithic structure! Trying to breach the wall by force... one might as well try the gate. Li Hao turned back, shaking his head. "I am merely a novice; I cannot discern much. Why don't the Three Sols powerhouses try flying straight up, using powerful weapons to defend against aerial attacks, and leap over the wall? Perhaps the gate can be opened from behind without so much trouble." Everyone was speechless. They had considered this plan. However... who was willing? Flying over the wall meant facing not only the silver expert above, but who knew what lay behind the gate? An aerial assault might shatter their Origin God Armaments and leave them gravely injured... Who was willing to pay such a steep price? It wasn't as though only one faction stood to gain; this was a joint effort. Amidst the silence, Hao Lianchuan spoke up. "Let's set this aside for now. It's about time to gather everyone. Those black armors should have been largely dealt with by now; whatever remains won't pose much of a threat!" The fighting had been going on for two or three hours. It was about time! The sounds of battle within the city had quieted considerably, reduced to scattered skirmishes. Evidently, either the weaker ones were all dead, or everyone was moving in groups, leaving no easy targets. No one objected. Hao Lianchuan wasted no words and shouted, "All supernaturals in the city, assemble here immediately!" A moment later, people began arriving. Some bore wounds; some dragged broken bodies, missing arms or legs. One, then two... They arrived in succession. The group watched in silence as the crowd grew. After roughly twenty minutes, no one else appeared. Li Hao swept his gaze over them. Earlier, the various factions had totaled just over a hundred people. Now... including the Three Sols experts, there were sixty at most. Nearly another half was gone! Excluding the Three Sols, there were only about fifty ordinary supernaturals remaining. The Night Patrollers still had around twenty. Evidently, they had also suffered attacks and losses, yet they remained the most numerous. Yama... had three people! Indeed, aside from the Wheel-Turning King, only three members of Yama remained, all Solar Radiance. At this moment, they looked utterly solitary. Red Moon had fewer than ten. Feitian, it had to be said, was exceptionally strong. With a Three Sols expert roaming the city earlier, they still had thirteen people. As for Sword Gate... only around ten remained. As for the rogue cultivators... not a single one was in sight! The independent powerhouses who had acted alone had completely vanished. Li Hao observed quietly. It was normal for Yama to have few people left; he had killed several of their remnants himself. It was also normal for Red Moon to have so few. Yet Sword Gate had a Three Sols expert—why had their numbers dwindled so drastically as well? Meanwhile, Hao Lianchuan was slightly taken aback. The surviving headcount was lower than expected, and the Night Patrollers had lost people too. Could it be... He glanced at the Three Sols expert from Feitian and the woman from Sword Gate... Those two Three Sols experts must have slaughtered quite a few, hadn't they? Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for dozens of people to die in such a short span. Evidently, he wasn't the only one thinking this; the others shared the same suspicion. Feitian simply had too many survivors. Fifteen! Indeed, counting their two Three Sols experts, a full fifteen Feitian supernaturals were alive. And how many had entered initially? Seemingly only twenty-two! In other words, Feitian had retained two-thirds of its personnel and ninety percent of its combat strength. Had the Feitian Three Sols expert not been assassinating people, how could so many have died? On Feitian's side, Dingchen was actually quite surprised as well. The losses among the other factions were immense—even the Night Patrollers, who had over thirty people before, were noticeably diminished. Only Feitian had lost just three people out of the sixteen who entered the city, excluding the two Three Sols experts... That was truly minimal! "Kong Qi, how many did you kill?" Dingchen transmitted mentally, inwardly lamenting. How had so many died? Now, even though Feitian had suffered the least, everyone was convinced that Feitian was responsible—that they had assassinated countless people. Otherwise, how could dozens have vanished all at once? The Three Sols expert called Kong Qi was rather aggrieved as well and replied via transmission, "I... I didn't kill that many. I assassinated three Night Patrollers, a few Sword Gate supernaturals, two Yama Solar Radiance cultivators, and one Red Moon Solar Radiance... then I returned!" He had killed some, but fewer than ten. Yet this time, forty to fifty people had perished. It had to be that woman from Sword Gate! Dingchen sighed inwardly; that was still quite a few. Factor in whatever the Sword Gate woman had slain, mutual infighting, and those killed by the black armors or ambushed by the bronze armors... it was actually reasonable that this many survived. Had they not recalled the two Three Sols experts early, having only a handful of people left would have been truly awkward. ... The Wheel-Turning King's face was no longer as grim. He had composed himself! Looking at the three Solar Radiance cultivators beside him, he felt little anger. He had known people would die before entering. It was just that... leaving only three for Yama showed that Feitian and Sword Gate possessed considerable gall! Hao Lianchuan said nothing about the matter, stating directly, "Let each faction report how many black armors were eliminated so we have an accurate count!" Director He quickly responded, "The Night Patrollers captured seventy-two suits of black armor... Additionally, one bronze armor was backed into a corner by us and ultimately detonated..." Seventy-two suits was a substantial harvest. The other factions reported swiftly as well. All told, the factions had collectively dealt with over two hundred black armors, and three more bronze armors had perished! Thus, even if black armors remained in the city, there were fewer than a hundred left. As for bronze armors, at most two remained. This thousand-man regiment had been thoroughly broken. The outer city no longer posed any real threat. Present here were over sixty people, including the Three Sols experts. Solar Radiance made up the majority, while Lunar Nether accounted for a smaller portion; after all, the excessively weak had nearly all perished. "What do we do now?" Hong Yitang looked at the towering city wall, frowning. "Having reached this point... it feels deeply unsatisfying not to go inside and take a look. But that fellow won't come down. Must we truly force our way up?" "Does the Night Patrol have no solution?" Hao Lianchuan smiled. "We do!" Everyone's interest was piqued. A solution? "Those who traversed the second passage have their auras completely contained. In truth... they can fly!" "..." Silence fell over the four quarters. At this moment, the Wheel-Turning King's eyes flickered. He stared at Hao Lianchuan for a long time before speaking. "A brilliant scheme! You kept silent earlier and only reveal it now... Fine, it seems you were prepared long ago to use those who took the second passage as pathfinders, weren't you? No wonder not a single Night Patroller was willing to take the second passage!" The moment these words left his mouth, how could the others fail to understand? Ziyue's expression turned exceedingly grim as she glared at Hao Lianchuan. Hao Lianchuan said earnestly, "Ziyue and Sword Master Hong can fly directly. If you don't believe me, why not give it a try? The threat in the air has vanished... Truly! This is actually a good thing; you enjoy far more freedom than us and can even cross over the wall directly... In any case, I didn't have the courage to take the second passage. Since you two took it... you have actually seized the initiative!" His reasoning held some truth, yet... the thought that this bastard had concealed the ability to fly—leaving everyone subconsciously afraid to try—filled her with boundless fury! "Hao Lianchuan!" Ziyue hissed coldly. "Aren't you afraid..." Hao Lianchuan chuckled. "Don't be angry. As an early Three Sols, I truly didn't dare rashly take the second passage. It wasn't that I deliberately withheld it; wasn't I afraid that if you could fly, you would leave us behind? Now that you can fly, you can soar over the wall, knock that silver powerhouse down, and we can encircle and attack him together... Once the gate is opened, we can enter together. That would be much safer!" The Night Patrollers truly knew a great deal. As for the ability to fly, people had considered the possibility... but even Three Sols dared not make a reckless attempt. If it proved false, it would mean throwing away their lives. Now that it was confirmed, Ziyue and the others were both furious and burning with indignation. Yet on second thought, this did indeed grant them a massive advantage. Being able to fly... made things far more convenient. Hong Yitang, however, was inwardly groaning! *Damn it!* Had he known earlier, he would never have taken the second passage. This damned Hao Lianchuan blatantly wanted him and Ziyue to act as bait to lure that fellow down. That was far too dangerous. He had previously thought that taking the second passage to contain his aura would allow him to stay low-profile and safe. As it turned out... it was an even bigger trap! Hao Lianchuan was no saint either. Ziyue said nothing, her expression dark. She was badly injured and had no desire to serve as a target. "You can take the second passage yourselves!" Ziyue snapped coldly. "It's not as if it's closed!" Hao Lianchuan sighed. "Even Yaocheng died. If I go, I'll be dead for sure, and the other Three Sols might lose half their number as well... If too many Three Sols perish, how are we supposed to deal with that fellow? Now that you two have already passed through... why not contribute a bit more effort? At worst, you can take a larger share when dividing the spoils. Lure that fellow down, eliminate him, and we can all feast inside!" To the side, Li Hao could only offer his... admiration! No wonder Hao Lianchuan had tricked those people into taking the second passage. It wasn't merely to weaken their strength, but for this very scheme. If Ziyue and Hong Yitang refused now, what would the consequences be? To say nothing of the Night Patrollers, would Feitian be satisfied? Would the Wheel-Turning King be satisfied? They were only asking them to serve as bait, not sending them to their deaths. Couldn't they just go up and take a look? Even if they didn't join forces to wipe out Ziyue and the others in the end, there would likely be no further cooperation. If the Night Patrollers moved against Ziyue then... how would she resist? Ziyue had clearly thought through all of this as well. Taking a deep breath, she said abruptly, "Let Li Hao try! Li Hao, force out a few drops of your heart's blood and drip them into the gate's fissure to see if it can be opened..." Li Hao stared, dumbfounded. How had this landed on his head? Ziyue said coldly, "Only after you attempt it and it fails will Hong Yitang and I... consider going up to look. Otherwise... don't even think about it!" In any case, she had to try before she would be willing to resign herself. Li Hao frowned. "I am a member of the Li family. Even if this is an ancient city of the Wang family, we aren't of the same lineage. Aren't you overthinking things?" "Try it first!" Li Hao retorted displeased, "My injuries have yet to heal, and my viscera just suffered severe damage... If I force out heart's blood now, are you trying to kill me?" "You won't die!" Ziyue sneered. "Don't you love Blood God Seeds? Fine, I'll give you one! Force out a few drops of heart's blood, and if the gate still doesn't open, I will compensate you with an early Solar Radiance Blood God Seed... You will naturally be able to recover!" *Damn it all!* Li Hao cursed inwardly. He had indulged his mouth earlier, only to dig a pit for himself now. Would heart's blood work? Who knew! If it failed, so be it; but if it truly opened the gate... he would likely be watched like a hawk by these Three Sols experts from then on! Li Hao had a headache. Hao Lianchuan inwardly cursed as well, having forgotten about Li Hao's lineage. Just as Hu Dingfang was about to speak again, Li Hao suddenly said, "Fine, but... I want a Three Sols-level Blood God Seed... If not, then ten Solar Radiance ones!" "Are you joking?" Li Hao said petulantly, "You will reap the benefits upon entering the city while I sacrifice my heart's blood. Even if we enter, what share will I get? Is it excessive to ask for a bit of compensation? Regardless of whether it opens... hand over the goods first before I agree! Otherwise, I refuse. Open it or don't—what does it have to do with me?" Heart's blood was almost certainly useless. Li Hao knew this well! If it had been effective, the stone door last time would likely have opened. Losing a few drops of essence blood was fine... but he had to be compensated, or the loss would be too great. A single Solar Radiance seed could definitely replenish it... Yet if there was no profit in it, Li Hao was entirely unwilling. Now that sword energy was gone, he didn't care much for ordinary mysterious energy either; acquiring Blood God Seeds was by far the best outcome. The Wheel-Turning King spoke up. "Ten is too many. Three! Li Hao, what do you say?" He then turned to Ziyue. "Red Moon won't bear the cost of these three alone. Sword Gate, Feitian, and Yama will each provide one, or an equivalent item! As for the Night Patrollers, since Li Hao is offering his heart's blood, their share is waived!" Hong Yitang was displeased, speechless. "Well... I'm also going up the wall if Li Hao fails..." What, did he have to pay as well? Even though a single Solar Radiance seed wasn't excessively valuable and he could afford it, why should he pay? The Wheel-Turning King chuckled indifferently. "Very well, what harm is there if my Yama provides two equivalent items?" At this juncture, why fret over petty gains and losses? Things had reached this stage; if Li Hao refused and Ziyue refused... were the Three Sols truly going to break into open warfare? Knowing when to stop, Li Hao nodded. "Fine, out of respect for the Wheel-Turning King, I agree. If it were just Red Moon... don't even dream of it!" Ziyue swept a cold gaze across him. She thoroughly detested this fellow now. Had killing him not been forbidden, she would have loved nothing more than to swat him to death with a single palm! Li Hao added, "More heart's blood won't make a difference anyway. In truth, as a mere Hundred-Breaker, I don't possess many drops to begin with... Driving me to death won't help. I will condense three drops. If they have no effect... then speak of this no further. Otherwise, should I gouge out my heart and hang it up there for you all to see?" No one argued. Hu Dingfang glanced at him and calculated mentally; three drops of heart's blood... wouldn't cause too much damage. Acquiring three Solar Radiance Blood God Seeds would easily replenish it and even bolster his vitality. It was acceptable. Over on her side, Ziyue wasted no more words and tossed over three red pills. Li Hao inwardly wondered if these people possessed storage rings or something similar. Did spatial-attribute supernaturals exist? Otherwise, looking at them, there seemed nowhere to store things on their bodies. Where did all these treasures come from? Catching the three Blood God Seeds, he consumed one immediately before stepping forward. Circulating his respiration art, a brief moment later, he let out a low shout and struck his chest. A drop of crystal-clear blood, gleaming like a ruby, was forced out by his strike. Li Hao splashed the blood directly onto the massive gate... It did not budge in the slightest! A trace of disappointment flickered across the crowd. Though anticipated, it appeared Li Hao, as a descendant of the Eight Great Families, truly held no sway over the ruins of other families—unless a ruin belonging to the Li family was found. The first drop of blood was entirely useless. Li Hao struck his chest again to produce a second drop of blood, splashing it against the gate. Still, it remained completely motionless. Twice in a row. Li Hao took a deep breath, his back turned to the crowd, an odd gleam flashing in his eyes. It was indeed useless; he had felt that. However... he had also sensed something peculiar. The two ancient characters hovering above the gate seemed... eager to drink blood, exerting a subtle pull on his vitality. Li Hao suppressed the pull, preventing the two characters from absorbing his blood, and carefully directed his essence blood to splash only onto the gate. Yet his heart raced with excitement. Could those two characters... possess some kind of function? "Battle Heaven..." Those two words carried immense power. Perhaps... perhaps he could test them later to see if there was any reaction. Naturally, not right now. With so many people present, if they noticed his blood affecting the characters, they might very well tear Li Hao to shreds just to feed the script. The third drop of essence blood splashed onto the gate. Still useless! Li Hao's face grew slightly pale, though he quickly recovered under the effects of the Blood God Seed. Exhaling, he looked toward Hao Lianchuan. "Director... burn my blood... lest Red Moon take it and do something with it..." In the distance, Ziyue had indeed harbored that very thought. However, Hao Lianchuan waved his hand, conjuring a fireball that instantly incinerated all traces of blood on the gate. At this point, the others were out of options; it was useless. It seemed the only way forward was to have the two Three Sols experts fly up and lure the silver warrior down. Panting, Li Hao stepped back. His face bore a look of displeasure... yet inwardly, he was beaming with joy. Another profit! Crucially, those two characters... He faintly felt a connection lingering between them. Tilting his head to gaze at the words once more... in that instant, it felt as though he were back in Silver City, gazing upon the Eight Trigrams diagram. It was not the Eight Trigrams diagram... but rather, in his mind's eye, he faintly saw a figure inscribing those two colossal characters. "Battle Heaven!" Vaguely, the figure carried a blood-red longbow on his back and wore a saber at his waist. It was merely a hazy, indistinct shadow... yet it drained the color from Li Hao's face in sheer terror. There was none of the overbearing majesty or murderous aura of the Li family ancestor! Yet... why did it feel... so utterly terrifying! It was merely an indistinct silhouette, devoid of sound, appearing gentle and scholarly. Yet in that moment, Li Hao felt as though he had plummeted into the depths of hell—it was something that could not be looked upon directly! He lowered his head, massive beads of sweat dripping from his brow. "Li Hao..." "Boss... I... lost too much heart's blood... my injuries flared up... it hurts..." Li Hao gasped violently for air, resembling a suffocating fish. The expressions of those around him shifted slightly. Was it that severe? The torrential sweat pouring from Li Hao did not look faked in the least. How could it be? It was merely three drops of heart's blood... Had his old injuries truly flared up? Yet before Li Hao's eyes, that solitary silhouette persisted. The figure had made no move, drawn no sword, done nothing at all—merely writing two characters in tranquil calm... Yet at this moment, it was even more terrifying than witnessing that sword strike from the past. Who was this? The ancestor of the Wang family? Why... did he appear so much more terrifying than the Li family ancestor! Or was it that he himself was far too weak to comprehend the true difference, feeling instinctive terror simply because the Li family ancestor had shown him some leniency, dulling his perception of that power? One question after another surfaced. Li Hao's ragged breathing continued, sweat pattering onto the ground, until the voices around his ears finally grew clear once more. In this instant, he felt as though he had survived yet another brush with death. Certain people, through nothing more than a silhouette cast across countless eons, could bring you to the brink of death. That was true terror. "The Wang family!" He turned the thought over in his heart. Had the ancestor of the Wang family truly reached such a terrifying level? Among the Eight Great Families... could his Li family actually be the weakest? Surely not! At this moment, Li Hao could not help but harbor that very suspicion.