Chapter 257: Destruction of the Ancestral Shrine

Boom!

In the distance, Li Tianzong's demon-like, ghost-like figure fought with the tattered-robed youth, erupting with earth-shattering combat movements.

Li Xiaoran glanced twice. In this state, his eldest brother's strength had indeed soared; he was originally only in the Profound Learning Realm, but at this moment, he possessed the power of the Taiping Dao Realm!

"Let's go!"

Li Xiaoran said to Li Hao, enduring the pain in his heart.

Li Hao also looked back, his eyes flickering, but he didn't say anything, quickly flying toward the Divine General Mansion.

The two moved extremely fast, with the Candle Zhu Huoshen and Lu Yuan pursuing them from behind.

But other older generation members of the Li Clan's collateral branches appeared one after another, including Li Xuanyin, rushing toward the Candle Zhu Huoshen to block his pursuit.

"Courting death!"

The Candle Zhu Huoshen's eyes were cold as his Dao Domain expanded, covering a radius of one mile.

His body flew straight out, his Dao Domain pushing forward like an invisible fireball. Wherever it passed, buildings were pulverized and turned to ashes.

Those soldiers who touched the Dao Domain could not dodge in time and were instantly burned into a wisp of flame, perishing in an instant.

At this moment, with his Dao Domain open, the Candle Zhu Huoshen pushed forward horizontally, killing his way into the city, ignoring the others who rushed toward him.

Some of those older collateral generation members were in the Four Standing Realm. At this moment, their attacks flew into the Dao Realm, but before they could extend ten meters, they turned into little flames. Before the Taiping Dao Realm, everyone below the Dao Realm was an ant! Li Hao and Li Xiaoran arrived before the Divine General Mansion in the blink of an eye. Looking at that magnificent and towering divine mansion, the two did not hesitate and prepared to rush inside.

Boom!!

Suddenly, a violent, loud noise erupted from within the Divine General Mansion.

Only to see a massive giant palm covered in black fur raised high from the depths of the Divine General Mansion, sweeping down and smashing. In an instant, the entire Divine General Mansion was shaking violently.

Li Xiaoran and Li Hao's bodies could not help but stop, staring in shock at that giant demon palm. How could that thing appear in the Divine General Mansion?!

Li Xiaoran's expression changed abruptly, and he said in shock and anger: "Not good, it's the Ancestral Shrine!"

He suddenly increased his speed, erupting with full force, guiding with Dao rhyme, his body constantly teleporting out.

Li Hao increased his speed to chase, rushing into the Divine General Mansion. His pores were contracting, and he had an extremely ominous premonition.

He noticed that the barrier outside the Divine General Mansion had not been destroyed.

How did this demon get in? Soon, just as the two stepped into the Divine General Mansion, the pursuing Candle Zhu Huoshen crashed headlong into the barrier. The Dao Domain vibrated against the barrier, constantly burning, and the golden light reaching the sky enveloped it, surrounding the Divine General Mansion.

The strength of this barrier was even more powerful than the barrier of Longcheng. In his rage, the Candle Zhu Huoshen punched continuously, causing the divine patterns of the barrier to tremble slightly.

"This, this is..."

When Li Hao and Li Xiaoran arrived at the Ancestral Shrine, the two felt as if their blood had frozen, with a feeling of being cold from head to toe.

The Ancestral Shrine stood on the mountainside, but at this moment, even the mountain had been smashed into a depression, and the Ancestral Shrine palace was pulverized.

A hundred-foot demon covered in black fur, with a body resembling a bear but a face with ferocious snow-white tusks, swept its cold, crimson-tinged eyes toward Li Hao and Li Xiaoran.

On the other side, the middle-aged Li Qingzheng was covered in blood, his face twisted with anger.

"Ancestral Shrine..."

Li Xiaoran stood stunned in mid-air, somewhat lost.

That exit from the Mo River, the most sacred place of the Li Clan, had at this moment been smashed to pieces with a single palm.

"Still trying to leave from here? Stay, and sleep forever with us."

The hundred-foot demon's eyes were cold as it sneered slightly.

A special air wave erupted from its body. Li Hao's pupils contracted, immediately seeing that it was a Dao Domain expanding.

And this demon's Dao Domain expanded even faster, opening and closing in a single thought.

"I am not that half-baked Dao Realm cultivator."

The hundred-foot demon saw Li Hao's shocked face and sneered calmly. Its massive body turned, the ground rumbled, and it slapped its palm toward Li Hao. The black-furred giant palm seemed to cover the sky, with a feeling of infinite extension.

"You deserve to die!!"

Li Xiaoran roared like a madman, his great meridians seeming to crack, erupting with sky-high momentum, unleashing his strongest supreme saber technique.

In an instant, the saber light illuminated the heavens and earth, then suddenly disappeared. The void cracked into terrifying gullies, extending rapidly, crashing directly into the demon's Dao Domain, actually splitting a twisted trace in its Dao Domain.

That invisible saber light extended and attacked at extreme speed. With a bang, it slashed onto the rough black-furred giant palm, carving out a wound half a meter deep.

The hundred-foot demon seemed not to have expected that the opponent, a mere Profound Learning Realm cultivator, could penetrate its Dao Domain and injure it. Its calm, cold eyes revealed a bit of surprise, but then it turned into even colder chill: "A peerless genius, the taste will be even better."

Its aura surged, the Dao Domain reflecting like aurora, extending rapidly, wanting to envelop both Li Hao and Li Xiaoran.

"You go, I will block it."

Li Hao was just about to strike, but Li Qingzheng's figure appeared before him. He seemed to be trembling with anger, and scarlet divine light extended from his body, releasing monstrous, intense evil energy.

This evil energy condensed into a blood-red phantom behind him, seemingly some kind of great existence.

His blood vessels cracked, and his aura tore his robes, revealing his lean upper body.

Waves of blood-colored air erupted from his pores, his aura surging violently—he had clearly burned his soul! "Go!"

Li Qingzheng roared, suddenly raising his hand. A brilliant spear radiance shot out, turning into a black arc of light, piercing the extending Dao Domain, actually forcing the expansion of this Dao Domain to stop at the tip of the spear! The extreme power condensed at the spear tip was blocking the expansion of the Dao Domain, rubbing out endless might.

Li Xiaoran and Li Hao were both shocked. The Li Qingzheng before them, whether due to the Mo River or his own nature, displayed power that exceeded their imagination.

Li Xiaoran felt sorrow in his heart, endured his anger, and turned to rush toward the collapsed Ancestral Shrine.

Li Hao also knew that the opponent was fighting for their lives to buy them time. Although he was filled with anger, he could only turn and flee, rushing into the Ancestral Shrine.

Li Xiaoran's object-controlling power swept out, lifting all the broken palace bricks and tiles in the Ancestral Shrine, only to see that the ancestral tablets inside had all been destroyed!

Only one tablet was emitting a gray-gold light.

That was the tablet of the first ancestor, Li Tianyuan.

Its golden statue had already been shattered, and only this small tablet remained at this moment.

As the two arrived, they immediately sensed that there were many weak remnants of consciousness on the tablet, which were clearly the heroic spirits of other ancestors.

"You have come..."

"Unfortunately, we cannot hold on any longer."

"I fear there is no way to send you out..."

One after another, the remnants of consciousness transmitted their thoughts with sadness, but after transmitting only a segment, they dissipated.

Under the accumulated attack containing the Dao Domain of the hundred-foot demon of the Taiping Dao Realm, they only had time to condense the power of all the ancestors to protect the first ancestor.

They were powerful in their lifetimes; some had dominated for hundreds of years, peerless and brilliant, while others had fought alone against the nineteen provinces of Da Yu, establishing a name for a hundred generations.

But after death, they only had remnants of their souls, and their power was greatly reduced. Even those in the Profound Learning Realm could seriously threaten them, let alone the Taiping Dao Realm.

"Unfortunately, my Li Clan's descendants have produced an ancient sage genius, yet they must die here..."

"If you die, remember to kill all the demons here..." More ancestors transmitted their final thoughts, filled with endless regret, and dissipated from the tablet.

That hazy golden light gradually dissipated and extinguished.

Li Xiaoran and Li Hao both stared blankly at the only remaining ancestral tablet.

Although they knew it was all born from Li Tianzong's obsession, at this moment, those words still made their blood boil, with a feeling of sorrow.

"Child, do not be sad."

Li Tianyuan's heroic spirit appeared on the tablet and said to Li Xiaoran and Li Hao: "My Li Clan has no ghosts that cling to life, only heroic spirits that die in battle!"

"Which of you is willing to wear my remnant soul and go slay the demons?"

Li Xiaoran and Li Hao looked at the first ancestor before them. If they were outside, Li Xiaoran would definitely have bowed and paid his respects first, but at this moment, only sorrow remained in his heart.

"Me."

Li Xiaoran said to Li Hao: "Hao'er, you go find a way to survive; I will buy you time."

"There is no way to survive."

Li Hao said bitterly: "I have no clue at all. The only way to survive... is probably to hold on, to live through one day."

Li Xiaoran felt sorrowful in his heart. Indeed, he also didn't know where to find a second way to survive.

Without the Ancestral Shrine, there was only clearing the level, or death.

If they had the power of the Taiping Dao Realm, they could rely on the Dao Realm to go elsewhere, not be confined within Longcheng, and having a Dao Realm to evade the rules of the Mo River would make lasting a day not difficult, but neither of them was in the Taiping Dao Realm.

"I don't know if Eldest Brother's consciousness has recovered. If it has, let him use his Dao Realm to protect you, but Eldest Brother cannot leave Longcheng..."

Li Xiaoran's expression changed constantly, somewhat desperate.

He himself was not afraid of death, but this time Li Hao was here.

If Li Hao died here, he felt it would be more painful than if he died himself.

"Since that is the case, child, then the two of us will fight together."

Li Tianyuan's heroic spirit saw the situation of the two and immediately made a decision for them. His figure flickered, turning into a golden light, and entered Li Hao's body.

In an instant, Li Hao's entire body seemed to be wearing a golden divine armor.

That soul turned into battle armor divine flames, covering Li Hao's entire body. At the same time, it was accompanied by a burst of powerful power amplification.

Boom! A figure suddenly flew over, smashing fiercely a hundred meters away.

Li Xiaoran and Li Hao turned to look, only to see it was Li Qingzheng, covered in blood, his spear broken.

"Old Five!"

Li Xiaoran hurriedly prepared to rush over.

Li Hao stopped him and whispered: "You go find a way to survive, I will handle this."

Deep, cold killing intent shot from his eyes, his entire body covered in golden light, combined with his own divine power state, exuding unimaginable divine might.

Seeing the hundred-foot demon's Dao Domain crushing over, wanting to kill Li Qingzheng, Li Hao suddenly raised his sword and swung.

The sword qi swept past, actually blocking the Dao Domain for a moment.

The power of this casual sword strike was comparable to Li Qingzheng's full-force eruption of burning his soul just now.

At the same time, object-controlling power dragged Li Qingzheng's body to another place. Li Hao looked up, holding the Green Frost, looking at the towering body of the hundred-foot demon.

"Hmm?"

The hundred-foot demon also sensed Li Hao's aura at this moment; it was extremely vigorous. Although he was only in the Three Imperishable Realm, it made him feel a sense of focus.

"If you were in the Four Standing Realm, I might need to be a bit serious, but just a mere Three Imperishable..."

The hundred-foot demon sneered, then raised its hand to suppress, bringing the Dao Domain to flatten over.

"How did you get into the Divine General Mansion?"

Li Hao said.

"Naturally by relying on the barrier token. Otherwise, why would I send people to ambush the ten sons of your Li Clan? Their barrier tokens had long been swapped."

The hundred-foot demon finished speaking, and the Dao Domain had already crushed down.

Li Hao's expression was ugly. Was it actually because of this?

"Fourth Uncle, leave quickly, go find a way to survive, don't die!"

Li Hao quickly sent a sound transmission, then faced the pressing Dao Domain and slashed a sword strike toward the sky.

"Kill!"

The ancestor's heroic spirit seemed to be roaring in his ears.

This sword strike had divine light filling the sky, like the first ray of light in the dawn when dispelling the dark night.

The sword radiance penetrated the Dao Domain, suppressed by the rules of the Dao Domain. The opponent's Dao Domain was not Flame Dao, it did not burn the sword qi, but instead carried a terrifying power of compression and collapse, wanting to crush the sword qi.

But the sword qi was wrapped in divine light, dazzlingly bright, actually penetrating through and slashing fiercely onto the hundred-foot demon's chest, severing many hairs and leaving a wound.

However, that wound was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Hmph!"

The hundred-foot demon was angry, raising its giant palm to slap down continuously.

Li Hao's body flashed and shifted rapidly, forcing back its giant palm with a sword strike, and both pulled away from each other.

The demon was right; the difference in realms was too great, a limit difference of a full major realm.

At this moment, with many divine medicines and the ancestor's heroic spirit added to his body, Li Hao's power surged like an angry river, but he could only injure the opponent with all his might, unable to cause a fatal attack.

"Ancestor, I am going to strike with all my might."

Li Hao took a deep breath and said in a low voice.

"Come on, die in battle without regret." Li Tianyuan's consciousness transmitted.

Li Hao did not want to die in battle, but now he had no other choice.

He extended his Heaven and Earth meridians, released the restrictions on his body, and in an instant, the vast Heaven and Earth energy of the surroundings poured into his body.

The Immortal Transformation Realm he had originally entered was now pushed further, from thirty percent to fifty percent! Then seventy percent!

Terrifying power gathered toward Li Hao like a storm, the heavens and earth changed color, and clouds and mist rolled.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 258 =====