Chapter 276: A Youth Enters the Great Wilderness

The Eastern Radiance Continent is vast and boundless. If the Great Yu Divine Dynasty is taken as the center, the Imperial Capital is the bullseye.

The outline of the nineteen provinces resembles a teapot.

The spout tilts upward, and the edge of the mouth is the Tianmen Pass. Extending outward from Tianmen Pass, one traverses the gray borderlands of the demons, where demons dwell and occupy the land. Further still lies the region marked in deep black on the maps: the Great Wilderness Heaven.

The Ministry of War of Great Yu has four bureaus, managing military selection, maps, carriages and horses of the various provinces, and weaponry.

The second, the Bureau of Operations, manages the maps of the world, drawing and updating them periodically.

In the three thousand years of the Great Yu Divine Dynasty's history, the maps have been updated through many generations; we shall set aside the changes in terrain within the provinces.

The demon-occupied territories beyond the borders are marked as gray zones, but over these years, they have been gradually surveyed for mountains, rivers, and peaks, and given names.

This has provided great convenience for the Demon Suppression Division in tracking wanted demons beyond the borders. Maps are the eyes; the mere drawing of these maps has cost the lives of many aspiring talents.

However, no matter how the old and new maps change, in the deep and distant reaches beyond these demon territories, the region named by the Late Emperor during his expedition as the "Great Wilderness Heaven" has always remained deep black.

There are no depictions or descriptions of its terrain.

Like a black abyss encircling the edge of the continent, it is a forbidden and dangerous land for humanity, mysterious and perilous.

For thousands of years, talents rising from the Ministry of War have successively attempted to explore the Great Wilderness Heaven, but countless have sacrificed their lives, bringing back only sparse information.

These messages, written in blood, were woven into a book titled *The Great Wilderness Classic*.

It consists of a mere two pages, with a brief summary of several hundred characters.

A life thinner than paper.

Yet even so, these two thin pages are carefully treasured by the Imperial Palace, and only top-tier factions like the Divine General Mansions possess copies.

At this very moment, on the edge of the Great Wilderness Heaven, a youth's figure is walking through a primeval forest with trees as tall as ancient towers.

All around are towering trees, and the air is filled with gloomy mist.

"The records state that within the Great Wilderness Heaven, miasma fills the sky, giant beasts roam, demons run rampant, and there are traces of legendary ancient fierce beasts."

As Li Hao moved forward, he carefully observed his surroundings.

The records were indeed true. Although he had not yet encountered giant beasts or demons, he had already felt the humid and poisonous miasma in the forest.

Fortunately, his Imperishable Treasure Body was condensed to an extreme degree, allowing him to easily resist and remain unharmed.

But if it were any other cultivator of the Three Imperishable Realms, even staying in this forest for a long time would damage their treasure body.

As for those with lower cultivation, it goes without saying that they would struggle even more.

Mother actually lived in such a place... Li Hao's gaze flickered, his thoughts turning as he asked the old man of the Ji Clan who was hiding on his person:

"Is there really a human race living here as you say?"

"Not the human race, but the Holy Race!"

The voice of the old man of the Ji Clan immediately corrected him.

Treating Li Hao with the love for talent, he was willing to say more:

"My Ji Clan is an Ancient Holy Race. Although we also originate from the human race, our clansmen possess the blood of ancient sages, with strong physiques, far superior to you primitive barbarians. Moreover, my clan has the protection of a Holy Land, where miasma cannot enter; it is no exaggeration to call it a land of immortals."

Hearing this, Li Hao felt a little relieved; it seemed the environment where his mother lived was quite good.

As he walked, Li Hao chatted with this old man of the Ji Clan.

He learned the other's name was Ji Ji Yunge.

Regarding the affairs of the Ji Clan, the other only spoke superficially and did not delve deep, but he gave Li Hao many pointers regarding the Great Wilderness Heaven, making Li Hao understand that the Great Wilderness Heaven was indeed as dangerous as the countless sages of the Ministry of War had explored.

But this danger was divided into regions.

For instance, the place they were in now belonged to the outer fringes of the Great Wilderness Heaven. Although one might encounter extremely terrifying demons, the probability was low.

Most were demons and fierce beasts with low bloodlines occupying the land.

However, the energy of heaven and earth here was abundant, so even demons with low bloodlines had the hope of cultivating into Demon Kings. Thus, the warning recorded by the Great Yu Divine Dynasty that one should not easily step into the Great Wilderness Heaven without reaching the Four Standing Realms was quite reliable.

Amidst the towering ancient trees, Li Hao hurried along according to Ji Ji Yunge's guidance.

He shuttled through these giant trees, each with a diameter of tens of meters; a single branch could easily accommodate several people lying flat.

As he was moving forward, a dark shadow suddenly shot toward him.

With the traction of Dao intent, the attack was bound to hit, giving a feeling of being unable to dodge.

Li Hao was startled, his just-landed footsteps suddenly stepping out rapidly. With "Heaven and Earth Without Trace," he vanished with a *whoosh* under the traction of the Dao intent.

Before the Dao intent traction could reconnect, Li Hao appeared at the source of the attack, fast as lightning, and saw that the one who had ambushed him was a woman hiding behind the thick leaves of a tree branch.

She was half-human, half-demon, with lower limbs as ferocious as a mantis.

Seeing Li Hao suddenly appear before her, the woman was also startled; clearly, she had not expected that this youth, who appeared to have a weak aura but was obviously human, would have such agility!

Her pupils shrank suddenly, but she reacted extremely quickly, spitting out a stream of emerald-green venom.

*Boom! *

Li Hao threw a punch, the violent fist wind directly shattering the venom, smashing it onto the woman's face, shattering her snow-white, exquisite face and revealing the shell-like bones beneath, causing her to shriek.

"An Ancient Heaven's Pride?!"

The female demon's body retreated, looking at Li Hao in shock.

At such an age, to have such terrifying explosive power—she had actually encountered an Ancient Heaven's Pride on the edge of this Great Wilderness Heaven?!

She cursed her bad luck in her heart, ignoring the pain on her face, and turned to flee.

Li Hao's reaction was extremely swift. With the "Thousand Mountain Flying Bird Chart" activated, paired with "Heaven and Earth Without Trace," he caught up to her back in an instant and, under the shocked gaze of the female demon, punched through her head.

Blood splattered, spraying onto the nearby trees.

A primordial spirit rushed out from the female demon's body, looking at Li Hao in terror, and turned to scream as it fled wildly.

It burned its primordial spirit, exploding with full speed, but Li Hao's object-controlling power had long since condensed into a sword, slashing out in an instant, tearing its body apart, and then rapidly splitting sword qi to stir and crush its severed primordial spirit, annihilating it completely.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye; this Demon King of the Dao Heart Realm had fallen at Li Hao's hands.

Seeing this, Ji Ji Yunge, who was hiding on Li Hao, could not help but show a smile on his face.

Although he had seen Li Hao display extraordinary talent in the Mo River, it was somewhat due to the secret protection of Li Li Tianzong's obsession.

Now, Li Hao's true body's explosive power, the methods and strength he displayed, were not inferior to those in the Mo River, which made him feel reassured and satisfied.

He thought that when Li Hao sent him back to the Ji Clan, he could recommend Li Hao. If Li Hao could cultivate in the Ji Clan, it would be considered excellent cultivation.

At this moment, Li Hao killed this female Demon King with a punch, only to feel a stinging pain in his fist; it was the venom that had touched his fist, which was corroding his skin.

Even his physical body could be corroded; if it were any other cultivator of the Three Imperishable Realms, they would have long since had their flesh and blood ulcerated, exposing white bones.

Li Hao took a deep breath, not expecting that he would encounter a Demon King's ambush just after coming to this Great Wilderness Heaven, before he had even walked a few dozen miles.

He looked at the female Demon King's corpse; apart from the smashed head, the body was still intact.

He flew back rapidly, came before the other's corpse, and grabbed it, absorbing the life essence and blood within the other's body.

He saw the female Demon King's body wither rapidly, finally becoming like shriveled gray rotten meat.

Li Hao slapped it away, reducing it to dust to avoid leaving traces.

After absorbing the life essence and blood of this female Demon King, Li Hao circulated and condensed it within his body, and the stinging pain on the back of his hand vanished instantly; the corrosive rot stopped, and flesh and blood were reborn.

He had just come out of the Mo River; his true body's strength was still that of before the end of the Liangzhou Great War, with a physical body only comparable to a divine weapon forged seven times.

At this moment, it had improved by a few points again.

It could be seen how powerful this female Demon King's venom was; his physical body would be hard for even a Demon King like Lu Yuan of the Absolute Learning Realm to cause serious injury to, yet the other was only of the Dao Heart Realm, and had made him bleed!

"To be able to injure me at the Dao Heart Realm, this is a Demon King of the Great Wilderness Heaven; it feels more powerful than those outside."

Li Hao muttered to himself.

Hearing this, Ji Ji Yunge could not help but laugh.

Is it worth boasting about to be injured by a Dao Heart Realm cultivator when you are in the Three Imperishable Realms?

It is truly heaven-defying.

However, Ancient Heaven's Prides are all like this. Slashing a Demon King across realms can shock those barbarians in the outer lands, but in this Great Wilderness Heaven, it can only be called excellent.

But he knew that Li Hao's true strength was not just this, so even in the Ancient Holy Race, Li Hao was qualified to become a Heaven's Pride; this was the reason he cherished talent!

After solving this female Demon King, Li Hao did not stop and continued forward.

During the journey, he also attracted some demons along the way due to the sounds caused by his movements, despite his Myriad Manifestation attribute being able to conceal his aura.

Li Hao solved two more along the way, but they were all of the Three Imperishable Realms, attempting to ambush him, and were slapped to death by him.

He had no weapon by his side, but Li Hao's own body was already at the level of a divine weapon, and his fists and feet possessed extremely strong destructive power.

While hurrying, Li Hao was also digesting the memories and martial arts techniques brought out from the Mo River.

Because of his memory, these techniques were directly recorded into the panel, and within the panel, after the deduction of the seven stages of the Physical Dao, some new techniques were evolved.

For example, the "Myriad Blood True Demon Art" deduced earlier had become the "Sacrificial Spirit True Demon Art."

The ratio of absorbing demon essence and blood and converting and condensing it was higher.

This allowed Li Hao's physical body to condense to its limit faster.

Ji Ji Yunge guided Li Hao, avoiding some forbidden areas in the Great Wilderness Heaven along the way.

There were famous Great Demon Kings occupying those places, and one could not step into them lightly.

Li Hao had no intention of taking risks to hunt them; his top priority now was to send Ji Ji Yunge back to the Ji Clan. If possible, he still wanted to take a look at that mother of his in the depths of his heart.

It would be good to know she was safe.

The night was cool as water.

In the endless, stretching wilderness of the ancient forest, one could occasionally see scattered white bones and remains.

A pile of dead leaves and broken branches built a small flame, burning on a thick tree branch without igniting it.

The thick branches contained abundant moisture and vigorous life force; ordinary flames were hard to cause a forest fire here or ignite these ancient trees with vigorous life force.

Moreover, it was humid and filled with miasma here; if there were no continuous fuel, the flames would soon extinguish.

At this moment, by the fire, Li Hao stopped to rest and adjust his state.

He leaned against the tree trunk, picked up a blade of grass, folded it into a harmonica by his mouth, and blew it gently.

Moonlight scattered, accompanied by the ancient trees of the wilderness, and the melodious whistling sound drifted lightly, then was blocked from spreading by the sound-insulating barrier Li Hao had set up.

It only echoed between the tree branches.

His musical experience grew slowly.

This could also be considered cultivation.

There was nothing by his side, no way to study books, paintings, or chess, only music for self-entertainment.

Ji Ji Yunge stood at the other end of the tree branch, hands behind his back, gazing at the distant stars and moon, his eyes full of longing for his homeland.

At this moment, listening to the melodious and circling grass-whistle tune, in this quiet, moonlit night, his inner longing was stirred even deeper.

He turned to look at the youth, but saw the youth's gaze was just quietly watching the pitch-black ancient forest, not knowing what he was thinking.

"What is this tune called?"

"Moonlight."

"You said in the Mo River that you didn't want to go home, but your tune is full of longing." Ji Ji Yunge stared.

"Two different things."

Li Hao smiled softly, taking the blade of grass from his lips: "I am longing for my friends."

Ji Ji Yunge glanced at him, "Are your friends also very powerful?"

"That depends on which aspect."

Li Hao smiled: "Some can fish, some can eat and drink, and some have no special talents, but they are very happy."

"I think being able to live a happy life is also a skill."

Ji Ji Yunge's eyes flickered, "I see you spent quite a bit of time in the Mo River enjoying yourself. In such a dangerous environment, you still have the heart for entertainment; are you really not afraid of death?"

"One cannot abandon life just for fear of death; that would be putting the cart before the horse, wouldn't it?"

Li Hao did not explain it was because of the panel, but he also expressed his own thoughts: "It's like cultivating hard for the sake of life, but then using all one's time for living on cultivation—then... what is the meaning of it?"

"Without power, in the face of life and death, in the face of demons, there is only despair left."

Ji Ji Yunge said.

Li Hao smiled slightly: "But many martial artists with power have died, and many of them didn't even have time to enjoy life. For example, Senior, your cultivation is not low, is it?"

Ji Ji Yunge was startled, his face changing slightly. Li Hao's implication was that even someone as powerful as him had died.

This was clearly somewhat offensive.

But he did not get angry because of this; instead, he felt a bit lost.

Looking back on his life, he had lived for a very long time, but most of his time was spent on cultivation.

Thinking back now, what he often recalled and missed in the Mo River were things outside of cultivation.

Playing around with those guys, eating and drinking, hunting and competing, and those ordinary, everyday scenes of warm words and laughter...

He fell silent.

When experiencing life and death, what one recalls is definitely not how to cultivate, but some people and some things.

Not to mention that he was a dead man now.

His obsession with returning to the Ji Clan was to return home, and the purpose of returning home was that he could not bear to part with that Holy Mountain, and could not bear to part with the people on that mountain.

Seeing the other fall silent, Li Hao did not say anything more and continued to hold the blade of grass, whistling softly.

He did not oppose cultivation; he just felt that in the spare time of busy cultivation, one could also stop to have two cups of tea and chat for a while.

That was the "living" life.

The night was slightly cool, a cluster of flames, a piece of clear and melodious whistling, and two souls with different thoughts.

And a bright full moon...

For several consecutive days, Li Hao was on his way.

During the journey, he also took the opportunity to practice the techniques he had recorded in the panel one by one.

Each practice allowed his body to be refined and improved again, and combined with the demons hunted along the way and the absorption of their essence and blood, Li Hao's progress was rapid, and his physical body reached the level of an eight-forged divine weapon.

In the Mo River, his physical body was comparable to nine-forged, barely able to support him in the Domain of Peace.

Now, he was getting closer and closer to that level.

After all, in this reality, he didn't have so many divine medicines to take, and couldn't take them, relying entirely on the conversion and absorption of techniques, which fortunately was no worse than divine medicine, just requiring a little time.

"Hmm? Something seems wrong here."

Li Hao stepped into a blood-red mountain range that was crimson and hazy, surrounded by red mist. When this mist touched his body, it actually made Li Hao feel as if his flesh and blood were softening.

This was even more terrifying than miasma; it seemed to be able to weaken his physical strength.

"This is the Red Wood Corpse Ridge."

Ji Ji Yunge said: "This is the place where a Dao-Hearing cultivator fell. Their Dao Domain does not dissipate, forming a special forbidden zone here, which is very dangerous."

Then he changed the subject: "However, it's not a big problem for you. The Dao Domain rules contained here are not as strong as when that person was alive, and staying here for a long time will cause physical weakness and even aging and death, but with your physique, you can withstand it."

"Deep inside here, there is a Red Blood Demon Vine King rooted on the skeleton of that Dao-Hearing cultivator. Every sixty years, it produces a Dao-Rhyme Blood Fruit, which is powerful and greatly enhances the physique, helping to push physical strength to the limit of the Power Realm and stimulate the divine power state."

"You can go and look for that Red Blood Demon Vine King. It has absorbed too much of that Dao-Hearing cultivator's flesh and blood and is restricted by it, unable to escape, but its combat power is average, so you should be able to win."

Li Hao was startled and somewhat dumbfounded; that Dao-Rhyme Blood Fruit would probably have little effect on him.

However, since he was here, it wouldn't hurt to go and see. If he couldn't use it, he could bring it back for Ren Qianqian to use.

Just as Li Hao's thoughts were turning, several sounds of breaking through the air suddenly came from ahead.

"Stop!"

⊙￠〇

"Who is that? Quick, help me stop him; I am from the Qin Clan of the Ancient Holy Race!"

Several angry shouts came.

Li Hao looked over and saw a short man running wildly in front, with three other figures chasing at full speed behind him, their agility extremely fast.

The short man running in front saw Li Hao standing in mid-air and his face changed slightly, hurriedly saying: "Don't block me, I'll give you the treasure!"

As he spoke, he had already arrived by Li Hao's side.

Just as Li Hao was puzzled, the other suddenly attacked, slapping Li Hao's face.

*Boom! *

The other's wrist was gripped by Li Hao, and then with a *crack*, it was crushed.

""

Li Hao asked puzzledly: "What are you trying to do?"