Chapter 277: Slaying the Heaven's Pride, Raising a Divine Name

"Pain!"

The short man shrieked, looking at Li Hao in horror. Even if the opponent had been prepared, his close-range ambush shouldn't have been so easily blocked, right?

Yet it had been blocked—what kind of monstrous strength was that!

"You are in the Four Standing Realms?!"

The short man was shocked. He couldn't see through Li Hao's aura, but judging by Li Hao's age, it would be impressive enough if he had managed to step into the Three Imperishable Realms.

"Spare me, the item is yours, don't kill me..."

Too anxious to wait for Li Hao's reply, the short man hurriedly fished out a belt and handed it to Li Hao: "The Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit is inside, spare me!"

Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit?

Li Hao was somewhat surprised. Ji Yunguo had just mentioned this item, and now, in the blink of an eye, it was right before his eyes.

However, the item was in this belt? Li Hao was suspicious, but instead of taking it, he suddenly threw a punch at the man's head.

The man was being hunted, yet he offered a treasure at this moment; it was clearly an attempt to shift the fire onto Li Hao. It looked like begging for mercy, but the intent was truly vicious.

"You..."

The short man was shocked and furious, roaring as a golden talisman ignited in his palm—it was a Sacred Heart Treasure Talisman.

Where the golden talisman burned, it transformed into a scorching divine light, intending to envelop his body and block Li Hao's punch.

But when Li Hao saw the golden talisman, he reacted instantly, abruptly unleashing the "Flying Segment" attribute, doubling his attack range.

The fist had only been swung halfway when the terrifying destructive force suddenly struck the man's head.

*Boom! * It sounded like a fruit bursting.

The short man's mouth hung slightly open. In the final instant before death, he still wore an expression of disbelief, unable to understand why he had died.

But his body had already lost the ability to act, and a primordial spirit flew out from his crown, fleeing toward the distance.

However, the sword Qi Li Hao had condensed, possessing the "Hidden Bow" attribute, had long been hidden in the surroundings. As the primordial spirit rushed out, it slashed instantly.

If sword Qi is hidden using "Hidden Bow" and remains undetected, its lethality doubles.

At this moment, it directly split the short man's primordial spirit, and then the sword Qi burst like a hedgehog, tearing the primordial spirit to shreds.

The short man was only in the Three Imperishable Realms; before Li Hao, he didn't even have the chance to use the Sacred Heart Treasure Talisman to save his life.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The short man's body and primordial spirit were both destroyed, leaving only the already ignited and activated Sacred Heart Treasure Talisman, which shrouded his headless corpse.

One only needed to wait for the treasure talisman to burn out, and only a corpse would remain.

In these few moments, the three figures behind had already caught up. Seeing Li Hao kill the short man in an instant, they were all startled, then immediately surrounded Li Hao, locking him in a triangular formation.

"Damnable little thief, not being able to kill him with my own hands is too easy on him!"

The leading youth looked at the headless corpse, a trace of anger and viciousness still in his eyes. The opponent was only in the Three Imperishable Realms, yet he had nearly snatched the Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit from his hands—it was simply an insult!

"Kid, hand over his corpse. I am from the Qin family of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Clan; you had best not be as stupid as this foolish thief!"

The youth barked at Li Hao, his gaze also carefully sizing him up. The more he looked, the more he frowned; this youth didn't seem to be from the Great Desolate Heaven.

But for a low-born human from outside the Great Desolate Heaven, at such an age, how could he have such a cultivation base, killing a Three Imperishable Realm cultivator in an instant?

Li Hao held up the corpse shrouded in divine light and raised an eyebrow slightly: "Shouldn't you be thanking me first? I helped you stop him and even killed him."

"Youth, hand over the Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit first, and my Young Master will naturally reward you handsomely."

Another middle-aged man beside him stared fixedly at Li Hao, speaking gently, while his entire body quietly emitted an aura that shrouded the surroundings, sensing in all directions to see if Li Hao was alone.

As for the other old man, he quietly locked down the surrounding heaven and earth, using a secret technique to prevent Li Hao from relying on a Sacred Heart Treasure Talisman and secret techniques to escape, just like the short man.

Li Hao possessed the Heaven and Earth Pulse and perceived the surrounding heaven and earth with extreme delicacy. Although the opponent's movements and probing were subtle, he felt them immediately, and his eyes couldn't help but turn cold—the opponent clearly had murderous intent.

He felt a trace of anger in his heart; the people of this Great Desolate Heaven seemed even less observant of rules and order.

"Whatever you want, just say it, give me that corpse first!" the youth said, incensed. The emotion of being angered by the short man earlier had not yet fully subsided.

"What if I don't want to?" Li Hao said.

The youth's eyes turned icy, and he roared: "Then you are courting death!"

"Die!"

The old man, having finished locking down the surrounding heaven and earth, felt a secret sense of relief. He exchanged a glance with the middle-aged man, confirming that apart from Li Hao, there was no one else around—which meant this youth of unknown origin had come alone.

He was not at all polite, having already launched a sudden attack before he even finished speaking.

As members of a Desolate Ancient Sacred Clan, there was no one they dared not kill. Even if Li Hao were a disciple of some Sacred Clan, it wouldn't matter. The Great Desolate Heaven valued the strong above all; if your skills were inferior, you deserved to die!

*Boom! *

Attacking from such close range, the old man was in the Four Standing Realms and was an old servant from a Desolate Ancient Sacred Clan who had also practiced extremely profound Sacred Clan techniques. The attack was like a thunderbolt striking instantly, and under the guidance of Dao Rhyme, there was no possibility of dodging.

Li Hao also chose not to dodge. The attack was extremely fast; his back shuddered, his body leaned slightly forward, and he felt a series of stinging pains in his back.

But soon, the Indestructible Treasure Body activated, healing the stinging abrasions in an instant, and the pain vanished along with them.

"How is that possible?!"

The old man's eyes suddenly widened. This youth wasn't wearing any divine armor or treasure clothing, yet he had actually resisted his strike with his bare flesh?!

The youth and the middle-aged man were also stunned, their expressions changing instantly.

Li Hao, however, had icy eyes. He used his object-manipulation power to suspend the headless corpse to the side, then suddenly stepped out—Heaven and Earth Without Trace—instantly closing in on the youth.

"You!"

The youth's face changed in shock, both surprised and angry, and he suddenly raised his hand to slash with his sword.

But the sword light was smashed to pieces by Li Hao's punch. The sharp blade rubbed against Li Hao's fist, sparking with fire and leaving a bloodstain; it was clearly a divine weapon of extremely high grade.

But as the sword light shattered, Li Hao's fist also slammed into the youth's chest.

Suddenly, a low roar erupted from within the opponent's chest, followed by the appearance of a dark black Black Tortoise phantom, which roared at Li Hao, using its spine to resist Li Hao's fist.

Li Hao's eyes showed surprise. Inside the golden-threaded robe the opponent wore, there was actually divine armor. This golden-threaded robe was also no ordinary garment; it seemed to be a treasure robe impervious to water and fire, with a material that was soft yet tough.

The powerful impact sent the youth flying, and the black Black Tortoise phantom dimmed slightly.

Since he had struck, he must cut the weeds and eliminate the roots.

Divine light and cold electricity shot from Li Hao's eyes. He stepped out and pursued.

"Damn it, stop being arrogant!"

The middle-aged man was furious. An ancient spear suddenly appeared in his hand; it was as rough as polished stone, yet it contained an ancient, barbaric aura as it suddenly thrust toward Li Hao.

Li Hao did not meet it head-on, but used the Heaven and Earth Without Trace technique to bypass it, opening his illustrated guide, his movement technique suddenly increasing.

Like a bolt of lightning, he caught up to the youth.

A violent fist momentum condensed between Li Hao's palms, and he suddenly threw another punch.

"You are courting death!"

The youth roared, somewhat angry, while at the same time feeling a trace of fear in his heart. This youth was like a barbaric dragon, his strength terrifying to the extreme. He had divine armor to resist, yet he was still shaken to the point of having his blood and Qi roiling—and one had to know, he was in the Dao Heart Realm!

At this moment, Li Hao fought with all his might, and the masking effect of the Myriad Phenomena attribute's aura was greatly weakened, allowing people to see his true cultivation base—he was shockingly only in the Three Imperishable Realms!

It had always been the Heaven's Pride defeating enemies in adverse situations; today, he was actually being bullied in an adverse situation by someone else. The youth simply couldn't believe it.

The dazzling sword light was like black flames, whistling as it slashed open, but Li Hao instantly activated the Supreme Body, entering a state of being temporarily untargetable.

That sword was affected by the Supreme Body, the Dao Rhyme guidance vanished, and although it was locked onto by his sight, the sword edge quietly slid past Li Hao's side, unable to touch him!

*Boom! *

Li Hao's fist fell again. The Black Tortoise phantom roared out once more, but this time the fist intent was as surging as a violent storm, directly drowning it.

The phantom collapsed, and the punch hit the youth's chest. The golden-threaded robe caved in, and his chest cavity actually collapsed into a large, deep pit; bones fractured, and internal organs shifted.

The youth spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a canary with broken wings.

"Young Master!"

The middle-aged man and the old man had already caught up, their faces pale with horror. The Young Master had divine armor to protect his body, yet he was still severely injured?

Li Hao suddenly raised his hand, energy surging and gathering in the void. The Heaven and Earth Pulse pumped frantically like a water pump, drawing power from all directions, condensing into a terrifying sword tide of sword Qi, which transformed into two sword dragons that roared toward the two.

The two were shocked and furious, hurriedly resisting. The old man among them saw Li Hao still killing toward the Young Master, his eyes splitting, and he roared:

"Stop, how dare you be so rampant!!"

As he spoke, he couldn't care about blocking the sword dragons. He activated his own divine armor, and a circling sword shadow surrounded his body, protecting him and blocking the sword Qi shooting from all directions.

But there were still many sword Qi that were like fish slipping through the net, striking his body.

*Boom! *

Before the old man could rush to the Young Master, a sword Qi suddenly entered his body. In an instant, his whole body shuddered like a shrimp with its nerves pulled out, and he stood frozen in place.

A pulling force that felt like falling into an abyss suddenly struck.

The old man's pupils shrank, realizing that all the strength in his body was disappearing rapidly. He was terrified to the extreme—was he going to die?

Yet he hadn't even suffered any serious injuries!

Seeing that his consciousness was about to fade, in his terror, he hurriedly activated his Fate-Reversing power.

The family had sent him to accompany the Young Master precisely because he still had a chance to reverse fate; even if they encountered danger, he could help the Young Master escape.

But he hadn't expected that he would be the one to die first. In this case, this Fate-Reversing chance could only be used on himself.

*Whoosh! * The primordial spirit shot out from the soles of his feet, wrapped by a force, and flew away toward the distance.

Perhaps due to the influence of reversing fate, at this moment, in the old man's mind, only the fear of death remained, expanding infinitely, making him unable to even care about the Young Master.

The sword Qi chased after him, but all missed, allowing the old man to escape.

Li Hao frowned slightly, but didn't pursue. With his current strength, he still couldn't contend with Heaven's Mandate.

He killed toward the youth, throwing punches in succession. The youth raised his sword to parry, erupting with an extremely strong aura and momentum, but was smashed apart by Li Hao's two punches. The remaining punches all bombarded his body and head.

"I... I am..."

Soon, the youth's body was beaten to a pulp, flesh and blood blurred, and his primordial spirit was imprisoned by Li Hao within his flesh, hammered to death together.

Before he died, the youth hadn't even been able to say a complete sentence. This genius of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Clan had fallen just like that.

The middle-aged man was surrounded by the sword dragons. Seeing this scene, his heart was filled with horror.

Although their Young Master was only one of many young masters in the Qin family, and his talent wasn't considered top-tier—only middle-to-upper level—he shouldn't have been killed so easily.

Moreover, the one who killed the Young Master was only a youth!

Could it be a top-tier Heaven's Pride from another Desolate Ancient Sacred Clan?!

"You, you are dead!"

The middle-aged man was terrified, a look of fear in his eyes. If the Young Master's older brother found out that his younger brother had been killed here while chasing the Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit, he didn't know how furious he would be!

And as guards, they were even more to blame.

Li Hao heard the middle-aged man's words and picked up the youth's sword from the ground. This sword was made of flowing silver, exquisitely constructed, and contained a hazy silver light.

He heard the middle-aged man's words, turned his head to glance at him, and casually threw the divine sword away.

*Whoosh! * The sword light suddenly broke through the air, like a projectile, rushing into the sword tide and slashing down on the middle-aged man's head.

The middle-aged man was horrified, pulling out a Sacred Heart Treasure Talisman and burning it, which turned into a black bell phantom that shrouded his body.

But the next moment, the bell rang and vibrated, torn apart by the silver light, and slashed straight down toward his shrinking pupils.

This divine sword was extremely sharp. In Li Hao's hands, it exerted even greater power than the youth had displayed, directly splitting the middle-aged man in two!

Even the primordial spirit inside was slashed and wiped out together.

"You kid, you're quite decisive in your strikes, it's a pity you let that Fate-Reversing one run away."

Ji Yunguo had been hiding on Li Hao's body all along, not revealing himself. Seeing Li Hao slay this Qin family junior in a few quick strokes, he revealed a smile.

"Won't the opponent go back and report?"

Li Hao frowned, a bit worried that after beating the small ones, the old ones would come—it was quite annoying.

"Inevitably."

Ji Yunguo said: "Otherwise, what would be the point of the Qin family sending this Fate-Reversing Realm cultivator to be by this kid's side? However, it seems the opponent doesn't intend to go back."

As he spoke, a black smoke shot into the sky from the mountain ridge in the distance, appearing to be some kind of signal.

"That is the Qin family's distress signal. It seems there are other Qin family experts nearby."

Ji Yunguo said: "It seems they intend to take revenge on the spot."

In front of a crimson cliff, there was a large hole in the cliff, and a twisted, withered vine several dozen feet long was exposed inside, appearing to be gently twisting and twitching.

Outside the cliff, on one low mountain peak after another, quite a few figures had gathered. They were dressed differently and were all young elites from various tribes and families within the Great Desolate Heaven.

They gazed at the body of the Crimson Blood Vine Demon King, their eyes flashing with strange colors, waiting for it to be born.

They had originally come here to fight for the Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit, but who would have expected to encounter this Crimson Blood Vine Demon King undergoing metamorphosis, condensing a second blood body.

Now, the opponent was halfway through condensing and couldn't stop. Although it sensed these intruders, it was helpless.

And they didn't go to interrupt it, waiting quietly for the opponent's second blood body to condense. That blood body was equivalent to absorbing most of the Crimson Blood Vine Demon King's essence blood and medicinal power; it was like a ten-thousand-year blood ginseng that had just grown, ten times more precious than the Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit.

Therefore, when the Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit was snatched away earlier, no one had chased after it.

Apart from staring at this second blood body about to be born, it was also because the Desolate Ancient Sacred Clan, the Qin family, had sent a Young Master to hunt it down.

For a single Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit, they had resisted the idea of conflicting with this Qin family, but this second blood body was different.

"That Qin family Heaven's Pride, Qin Tianchen, is also here. I'm afraid it will be hard to snatch."

"Let's see what fate brings. That Crimson Blood Vine Demon King is not to be trifled with, and there are other families. Let's see who moves first."

Many people's gazes were focused on several figures with outstanding postures in the field. Among them, one figure was extremely eye-catching—it was the Heaven's Pride of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Clan, the Qin family, Qin Tianchen.

It was rumored that he was born with sacred bones, had extraordinary aptitude, possessed the bearing to ask of the Sages, could cultivate at three years old, and had reached the Shenyou Realm by ten.

Then, at fourteen, he stepped into the Heavenly Human Grandmaster Realm, and at seventeen, he entered the Three Imperishable Realms, slaying Demon Kings in adverse situations—extremely ferocious.

Now he was only twenty-four, but his strength already didn't lose to many of the older generation. He cut off one side, and it was said that not long ago, he had even gone deep into the Great Desolate and single-handedly slain an ancient ferocious beast!

In the crowd, Qin Tianchen was as handsome as jade, his posture outstanding, quietly staring at the Crimson Blood Vine Demon King inside the cave.

Not far from him, several other figures' gazes swept over him from time to time, their eyes revealing solemnity.

It was said that the opponent had long reached the limit of the Tongli Realm and mastered the divine power state, yet he had actually come here too.

Just as everyone was waiting, suddenly, a black smoke shot straight into the sky in the distance.

The two old men beside Qin Tianchen saw it and were both startled, their expressions changing instantly. That direction was exactly where the Second Young Master had chased earlier.

Qin Tianchen's peripheral vision swept over, and he noticed it too. His cold face couldn't help but freeze for a moment, then his eyes suddenly widened, and a majestic aura revealed itself from his body, rushing into the sky.

"Eldest Young Master!"

In the distance, a primordial spirit flew over rapidly—it was the old man who had ambushed Li Hao earlier.

He saw Qin Tianchen, who had just taken to the air, and hurriedly said: "Young Master, someone snatched the Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit and is going to kill the Young Master."

"Who?!"

Qin Tianchen's pupils shrank upon hearing this. He had come here precisely to protect his younger brother and help him get the Dao Rhyme Blood Fruit. At this moment, someone actually dared to kill his brother?

The people who had come to snatch it were all already here, and no one had left.

Looking at the old servant before him who only had a primordial spirit left, his expression changed, and he said: "Where is Tianyu?"

"I, I used Fate-Reversing to escape..." the old servant stammered, his heart tense and fearful.

Qin Tianchen saw this, and thunderous divine light erupted from his eyes: "So, you abandoned my brother and fled yourself?"

"Eldest Young Master, please go save the Young Master quickly..." the old servant hurriedly said. He had used his Fate-Reversing chance to escape, but the Young Master was only in the Dao Heart Realm; he was afraid he wouldn't escape the poisonous hand. He only hoped there was still time to rush over.

Qin Tianchen's expression was ugly; he wished he could slap him to death, but at this moment he couldn't care about pursuing it. He turned and stepped out, just about to chase over, when he saw a figure flying over in the distance, wearing a golden-threaded robe and carrying a flowing-light silver sword.

This attire was exactly his brother's appearance.

But the one wearing it was a youth.

When Li Hao escaped from the Great War of Liangzhou to the Mo River, his clothes were already tattered. After killing the youth, he stripped off the opponent's clothes—this was, after all, a treasure robe, so he used it to cover himself, changing out of his own tattered robe.

As for the divine armor, it was already ruined, so he couldn't be bothered to take it.

At this moment, he was tracking over, both to strike first and to avoid being searched after escaping, which would lead them to investigate outside the Great Desolate Heaven and bring a powerful enemy to the Great Yu Divine Dynasty.

"So many people?"

Li Hao's gaze swept over, seeing figures all over the near and far mountain peaks.

His gaze locked onto the old man's primordial spirit, and seeing him crying and complaining in front of a youth, he immediately understood that the youth was most likely the target of the other's request for help.

"It's you?!"

Qin Tianchen saw Li Hao wearing his brother's clothes and holding his brother's sword, and his eye sockets immediately turned red. His previously icy, cold expression was instantly enraged.

"Who are you?!"

The two old men beside Qin Tianchen also chased over. Seeing Li Hao's attire, their hearts were shocked, and they hurriedly shouted angrily.

The change here startled everyone, causing the crowd waiting for the Crimson Blood Vine Demon King's blood body to be born to look over in astonishment.

Looking at this situation, the Qin Tianchen's brother who had just chased out seemed to have been slain?!

They immediately recognized Li Hao's attire. Even the clothes had been stripped, and the weapon had been lost; clearly, the person was definitely gone!

"Who is that person, so young!"

"He looks like he's only in his teens, which clan's Heaven's Pride is he?"

"Actually daring to kill the Desolate Ancient Qin family and still daring to chase over, this guy's guts are too big!"

The crowd watched in shock, discussing in awe.

"Listen well, I come from the Desolate Ancient God Clan, the Heaven Clan!"

Li Hao heard the old man's question and thought to himself that he had been handed a lead. He had come to hide his identity; if he just walked away, he didn't know what methods these Desolate Ancient Sacred Clans had, and it would be bad if they traced him back to outside the Great Desolate Heaven.

Since you are a Sacred Clan, then I'll come as a God Clan—that's not too much, right?

Hearing Li Hao's loud response, the heaven and earth fell silent for a moment, and the crowd was dumbfounded.

Desolate Ancient God Clan?

Did they hear wrong? They had never heard of this name!

In the Great Desolate Heaven, there was still an ancient God Clan?!

Everyone was shocked, feeling their horizons had been broadened.

Qin Tianchen was also shaken, a trace of suspicion appearing on his angry face. Desolate Ancient God Clan?

The elders in the family had never mentioned it. The reason the Desolate Ancient Sacred Clans were called Sacred Clans was because their ancestors were Ancient Sages!

Therefore, they all had the bloodline inheritance of Ancient Sages in their bodies.

This youth before him called himself the God Clan—could it be that he was a descendant of gods?

But where were there gods in the world? They hadn't even heard of them! ===== CHAPTER 278 =====