Chapter 660: Go Dao Enters Sainthood, Yama Unleashes His Power

"Is that the Spear Dao? Could it be Lin Sheng?"

"Is that the true essence of the Spear Dao's origin?"

The sudden surge of powerful spear intent caused everyone on the cushions to open their eyes in shock and look over.

Even though the dao domain shielded them from external disturbances, this spear intent, reaching straight to the origin's true meaning, pierced through the domain's barrier, awakening many who had been fully immersed in enlightenment.

There, on one cushion, a figure hovered midair, holding a jet-black divine spear, its tip blindingly silver.

Behind him, in the void, a colossal spear form faintly coalesced, as if heaven and earth had forged a single spear from their palms.

The spear—the ancestor of all weapons—unstoppable in all directions!

Everyone felt a blinding sharpness and oceanic steadiness emanating from him—both tyrannical and precise, yet neither reckless nor boastful.

"He's actually condensed the origin's true meaning—I recall he hasn't been here long."

"Lin Sheng's talent is extremely high; when he first arrived, he already had a Heaven-grade dao heart and stayed here only ten thousand years."

"To master the Spear Dao of the Ten Thousand Battles Immortal Art to this degree—according to Wang Lao, if he becomes a True Immortal, he'll be among the elite of his realm, capable of holding off a hundred!"

All stared at Lin Sheng's upright figure, their eyes complex.

After Mu Sheng and Ming Sheng, a third person capable of challenging the True Lord Tower had finally appeared—but not one of them, leaving them with quiet melancholy and bitterness.

Lin Sheng appeared as a young man, clad in black, coldly handsome, with unusual heterochromatic pupils—dark purple and black—that had manifested at birth as an omen; since childhood, he was a prodigious demon, and only after accidentally falling here did he vanish from the myriad heavens.

He slowly opened his eyes, retracted his aura, and the sharp spear intent around him dissipated.

Sensing the gazes fixed upon him, he remained calm, unruffled, and descended gently onto the cushion, stowing away the dao-tribulation imperial weapon in his hand.

Then he glanced toward the distance, seeing the boy before the cottage turn to look this way—their eyes met.

Lin Sheng's gaze was serene; he gave a barely perceptible nod with his chin, a silent greeting.

His sudden enlightenment was partly spurred by that boy—but the boy seemed to have chosen a shortcut.

He could understand; though the boy's dao heart was extremely high, dao heart and cultivation talent were two different things, and since he arrived late, the best way to catch up was to take a shortcut.

Unfortunately, that path leads nowhere.

"Congratulations, Lin Sheng—you've entered the second trial and may now challenge the True Lord Tower."

Nearby, other sages offered their congratulations.

Though inwardly tense, their expressions remained harmonious.

Lin Sheng gave a slight nod, then turned to meet two specific gazes—Ming Sheng and Mu Sheng.

Both nodded slightly to Lin Sheng, their expressions unreadable; the nod alone served as their blessing.

Then they exchanged a glance and returned their gazes, resuming their seated meditation.

Lin Sheng faintly sensed something different—he now seemed to have entered their field of vision.

A faint smile curled his lips, stirring a surge of fierce ambition within him.

He had trained less time than they had, yet he felt he could still rise from behind to surpass them.

He turned and walked toward the cottage.

Before the cottage, Li Hao had already withdrawn his gaze, resumed his thoughts, and once again pondered the fleeting spark of insight he'd caught while defusing the bomb.

Wang Lao, seeing Li Hao still pondering the go board, chuckled softly, didn't disturb him, and smiled warmly at Lin Sheng as he approached:

"Good, very good—keep pushing, strive to surpass them."

Lin Sheng's icy face melted slightly into a faint smile; he bowed slightly with clasped hands: "Wang Lao, I've fully comprehended the Ten Thousand Battles Immortal Art—I wish to proceed to the second trial."

"Mm, go ahead."

Wang Lao nodded with a smile, granting permission without asking for a demonstration.

He had already seen the power radiating from him—Lin Sheng had perfected the Spear Dao of the Ten Thousand Battles Immortal Art.

Lin Sheng glanced aside, noticing the boy seated on the small wooden stool, head bowed, lost in thought over the go board—the boy seemed utterly unaware of his presence.

His expression remained cold and indifferent; he said nothing and turned away.

Once beyond the cottage, he headed straight to challenge the True Lord Tower.

His actions naturally drew attention from some sages; immediately, someone lit incense to time him.

Not long after, Lin Sheng emerged from the black tower—the incense had burned only one-tenth.

Even so, many narrowed their eyes.

"Longer than Mu Sheng and Ming Sheng's first attempts."

"Lin Sheng's combat awareness must be strong—he might catch up to Mu Sheng and Ming Sheng in this second trial."

"His master is the Spear Saint, but here, he's already surpassed his master."

Their gazes grew complex; Lin Sheng's progress was too fast, filling them all with intense urgency.

Many lost interest in discussion and lowered their heads, closing their eyes in deep contemplation.

Hua Sheng and You Sheng exchanged glances, both feeling pressure; they looked toward the cottage, but Li Hao still showed only his back, as always, locked in battle with the go board.

They sighed inwardly and closed their eyes, returning to their own cultivation.

Wang Lao, seeing the sages on the cushions fall silent, smiled faintly—he could sense the young ones' growing anxiety.

His gaze returned to the go board before him, where Li Hao, lost in thought, lifted a stone and placed it down.

"You're remarkably composed."

Wang Lao chuckled lightly, idly pinching a stone, ready to seal off—then he paused, frowning at Li Hao's move.

His eyes flickered as he stared at the placement—it appeared to be a deliberate surrender, a gift, but subtly so; to Wang Lao's skill, it was glaringly obvious.

Yet… he saw it was a gift, yet also sensed it was intentionally given.

If he took it, the slight delay would grant Li Hao a momentary reprieve on the other side—if the boy seized that opening, it might crack Wang Lao's formation.

But can this kid even see it?

Wang Lao pondered briefly, then chose to capture the stone, smiling faintly at Li Hao:

"You just handed me that stone for free."

"Mm."

The boy didn't look up, murmured a soft "mm," then swiftly grabbed another stone and placed it down.

The placement was precisely the spot Wang Lao had just gambled on; hearing Li Hao's "mm," his heart had already dropped—now seeing the move, he realized: the previous stone had been deliberate. But this clashed with the boy's previously calm, steady style.

The boy changed his style! "Good kid—you're setting a trap for me!"

Wang Lao exclaimed.

Li Hao lifted his head slightly, flashed a toothy grin: "It only counts as a trap if you cooperate. Otherwise, it's just a useless move."

Wang Lao shot him an exasperated look at his smugness.

"This move won't reverse the tide—the outcome isn't decided yet. Yes, you've carved a hole, but your side here is now dead!"

He spoke, pinched a black stone, and placed it decisively before Li Hao's chest, anchoring it on the boundary line, sealing off Li Hao's small dragon formation.

Li Hao smiled, as if expecting it, and continued placing stones to tear open Wang Lao's breach. Several moves later, Li Hao's small dragon formation was utterly destroyed, yet Wang Lao's cosmic go formation now had a gaping hole.

This was utterly unlike Li Hao's earlier cautious, preserving style; Wang Lao raised an eyebrow—Li Hao's style had turned fierce and sharp, like an unsheathed sword: better to shatter like jade than survive as pottery!

Wang Lao chose to defend—otherwise his strong position would collapse.

But Li Hao pressed forward relentlessly, abandoning all other formations, charging ahead with pure aggression.

Wang Lao's expression grew grave; he parried, retreated, defended step by step—but as Li Hao placed his stones, Wang Lao sensed something wrong: the abandoned formations, as Li Hao advanced, had all linked together! In an instant, it was like being surrounded on all sides—from a single breach, the entire board became porous.

Wang Lao fell into deep thought.

Li Hao, meanwhile, grew leisurely; seeing Wang Lao lost in thought with no move, he wandered off to brew tea and drank it.

After finishing three cups, Wang Lao still hadn't moved—Li Hao walked to the fields, hands behind his back, admiring the several immortal herbs he'd cultivated—they were thriving.

When the sun dipped low and the twilight glow blazed brilliantly, Li Hao returned to the board. Wang Lao emerged from his reverie, shot him an exasperated look, then placed a stone: "You little brat—I'm too tired to fight this out. Fine, you win."

He placed the stone; Li Hao instantly sat on the small wooden stool and responded with his own move.

After several alternating moves, Li Hao made no mistakes; Wang Lao sighed helplessly and resigned.

Li Hao counted—the win was by half a point.

Wang Lao had already foreseen this; in pure go skill, he was still far superior.

Li Hao had seized a fleeting chance through sudden insight, and Wang Lao had gambled on that exact chance.

As the game ended, Li Hao's mind buzzed, and a prompt flashed before his eyes.

【You have attained the go dao heart: Transcending Mortality, Entering Sainthood】

Three years of go play had already filled his go experience to the ninth rank.

Now, a flood of information surged—his go dao had broken through the ninth rank, ascending to the tenth!

Ninth rank enters the dao; tenth rank offers the dao—touching the true meaning of the great dao.

Li Hao had once seen a go stone as merely a go stone.

Later, as his go path evolved, he saw a cluster of stones as a single stone.

On the board, all are stones—this is the return to simplicity after witnessing countless go paths, like seeing the world in its final purity.

Like seeing a mountain as a mountain, then not a mountain, then again a mountain.

Since they are stones, they can be "abandoned"—or rather, abandonment itself is a move!

To use them to their utmost is go.

Only if utterly useless is it a wasted move.

With the breakthrough of go dao and the attainment of the Transcending Mortality, Entering Sainthood dao heart, Li Hao could now elevate one combat art to the tenth rank.

He had previously embedded the tenth-rank Transcending Mortality, Entering Sainthood hearts of cooking dao, painting dao, and carving dao into his body dao, control dao, and sword dao.

Now, this fourth Transcending Mortality, Entering Sainthood heart of go dao—he planned to embed it into his movement technique.

Thus, his ninth-rank movement technique would ascend to the tenth rank, offering the dao; among the myriad heavens, few cultivate movement to the tenth rank—Li Hao knew of only one: Old Wind.

Although Li Hao learned fist techniques first, then body movement, now body movement holds greater importance than fist Zhidao.

Previously, when fighting the Chaotic Heaven Saint, Li Hao suffered from weak body movement, barely surviving by relying on the Ultimate State to maneuver.

If body movement reached the tenth level, just that alone would place him among the top tier among all Heavenly Saints.

Combined with the Ultimate State, his speed would be even greater, securing him a place among the absolute pinnacle of his realm.

Yet Li Hao did not rush to embed an upgrade.

"Old Wang, if one achieves sudden enlightenment during the True Lord Tower challenge, does the reflected shadow also gain a corresponding boost?"

Li Hao asked.

Old Wang was carefully selecting chess pieces from the board, clearly preparing for another game; he replied offhandedly to Li Hao's question:

"Of course not. The True Lord Tower's projection is established before your challenge begins. Any sudden enlightenment during the challenge is merely battlefield improvisation—a valid method of passing the True Lord Tower."

He looked up at Li Hao and said, "But don't think you can half-understand something and then rush into the challenge at the brink—you won't get a moment's rest once it starts. The projection of you is fiercely aggressive and won't waste a single word on you."

Li Hao understood. Sudden enlightenment during battle was extremely rare—common at lower realms due to accumulated buildup, but nearly impossible at higher realms, where reaching the threshold for enlightenment required immense accumulation, making such events exceedingly scarce.

"I can try."

Li Hao said.

For others, breaking through a bottleneck to attempt the challenge was difficult, but for him, it was easy.

And this seemed to be a loophole in the True Lord Tower challenge? "You want to try?"

Old Wang paused, then scowled, "You brat, even if you beat me at chess, I won't give you any leeway—you must first fully master either the Yama Immortal Art or the Ten Thousand Battle Immortal Art."

"I've already gained some understanding of the Yama Immortal Art."

Li Hao said.

"Don't lie."

Old Wang rolled his eyes slightly. "Though your primordial spirit is strong, surpassing other Saints and making cultivation easier, you've never actually practiced it."

"..."

Li Hao fell silent, then immediately activated the three combat techniques of the Yama Immortal Art.

This was indeed his first time performing them. Though he had already comprehended them—as if decades of experience resided in his mind—he had never personally executed them.

Yet now, he felt no clumsiness.

As his primordial spirit turned, black flames seemed to ignite across Li Hao's body.

Li Hao's primordial spirit soared from his ninth-grade Chaotic Origin Divine Blood body, its exterior completely shrouded in black flames, radiating demonic slaughter and destruction. Behind his primordial spirit, the flames faintly shaped a grotesque shadow—a devilish figure standing tall.

It was the Yama Outer Form technique.

"Hmm?"

Old Wang froze upon seeing this.

The Yama Outer Form, like a Rakshasa descending, radiated terrifying slaughter—undoubtedly the Yama Outer Form technique, and at the level of perfect true intent!

At this moment, Li Hao was carefully sensing the power this technique granted. Previously, when fighting the Ancient Demon, he had merely used his primordial spirit and crude self-derived techniques. But the Yama Outer Form was different—it was not only an immortal-grade combat art, but an exceedingly profound one.

Though he currently only possessed the first layer of Yama—Desolation—and this Yama Outer Form was merely one of the three techniques within Desolation, Li Hao already sensed that if he faced the True Immortal Ancient Demon's primordial spirit again, he could kill it without burning his divine veins!

As the black flames gathered, Li Hao's primordial spirit slowly condensed a black Yama Blade in his palm.

This blade, forged from Yama force, inflicted devastating damage upon primordial spirits!

The next instant, Li Hao's primordial spirit raised its hand; the black flames contracted, forming six Earthly Yama Shields around him, moving with his will.

The Earthly Yama Shields could block attacks from True Immortal primordial spirits.

As he performed them, Li Hao carefully savored and felt each technique—unlike the mere mental familiarity he had before, only firsthand execution revealed just how powerful these three techniques truly were.

If he encountered a True Immortal Ancient Demon again, he could swiftly annihilate it!

After all, the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Art's sword Zhidao had also reached perfect true intent. Even with a fragmented immortal weapon, its power would be amplified several tiers, allowing him to swiftly slay the True Immortal Ancient Demon's body, then obliterate its primordial spirit with the Yama Blade!

(End of Chapter)