Chapter 883: Heaven Beyond Heaven

Absorbing the heavenly dao force from this chaotic dao seed, Li Hao’s figure flickered as he surged toward the chaotic dao seed to the west.

Soon, both chaotic dao seeds were eliminated; Li Hao did not pause, continuing onward.

His spiritual sense covered three thousand li, vastly expanding his detection range and increasing his hunting efficiency.

Li Hao conducted a thorough search, sweeping from east to west and repeatedly clearing the area; along the way, his spiritual sense detected Luo Ningshuang and Su Wanyi again, but he deliberately avoided them, choosing not to meet or exchange pleasantries.

As for these two hunting here, he did not disturb them; any prodigy who reached the Ninth Heaven Realm had endured immense hardship in cultivation. Unless they harbored malice toward him or oppressed humanity, he would not interfere—after all, in the coming Ancient Demon War, these current prodigies might well become his allies.

Through consecutive hunts, Li Hao had amassed an enormous reserve of heavenly dao force; each time he swept from one side of the land to the other, he eliminated at least a hundred chaotic dao seeds.

He felt the heavenly dao force required to construct his domain had long been sufficient; the remainder he intended to preserve for elevating his Chaotic Dao Realm.

After completing the hunt, before ascending the Heavenly Path, Li Hao planned to elevate his Chaotic Dao Realm another level.

His earlier battle with the Divine King had made him realize his current combat power was not yet invincible within the Immortal Lord realm.

Facing the Divine King, who wielded numerous Final Realm forces, he had nearly exhausted his full strength to defeat him; if he encountered another opponent of equal caliber, he had no intention of fighting to such extremes again.

“Sister, this is your share.”

Li Hao sent two portions of heavenly dao force into the Heaven-Earth Space and handed them to Sister Di Lingshu.

When he first arrived in the Ninth Heaven Realm, considering its dangers, Li Hao had feared for her safety and brought her into the Heaven-Earth Space, since she had no opportunity to fight here anyway.

“Younger brother, no!”

Di Lingshu startled and hastily refused.

She had done nothing here, yet Li Hao still honored their prior agreement by giving her a share of the hunted heavenly dao force—this was the greatest opportunity within the Immortal Lord realm, tied to the Emperor’s Path, where countless top prodigies fought desperately to claim it; yet Li Hao offered it as if giving away mere scraps.

As a member of the Imperial Clan, she had received countless rare treasures, yet even within her own family, acquiring such world-shattering relics required conditions.

Talent, blood purity, ancestral foundation… even her parents had chosen to allocate the bulk of cultivation resources to her because her talent was superior, promising greater returns upon her eventual attainment.

Before meeting Li Hao, in all the heavens and earth, only her Master had nurtured her without expecting return.

And her Master gave without expectation because to repay him, one must first reach the highest realm and become an Immortal Emperor.

Aside from her Master, only this young man before her.

Precisely because of this, she could not accept it.

“We agreed beforehand—take it.” Li Hao said.

Di Lingshu smiled bitterly; when Li Hao had said he would give her one-tenth of the cleared force, it had sounded insignificant—but after clearing the Eighth Heaven Realm, even one-tenth was an astonishing amount.

She absolutely refused to accept any more heavenly dao force from this Ninth Heaven Realm.

“Younger brother, you’ve already given me far too much. Truly too much.”

Di Lingshu hurriedly said.

“We already agreed.”

“...Younger brother, I beg you.”

Di Lingshu spoke with a pained expression, feeling absurd even saying it.

Just listening to the exchange, one might think she was suffering great injustice—no one could imagine the truth: he was insistently giving her heavenly dao force.

“...”

Li Hao fell silent, unwilling to force her; he said, “Are you worried you can’t repay the favor? Don’t worry—since you’re here, this opportunity must be fulfilled completely.”

Di Lingshu understood his intent and quickly replied, “It’s already complete—my internal heavenly dao force is sufficient.”

Beyond her reluctance to accept more, she truly felt her current amount was enough; if this quantity weren’t enough, then what others received would be mere specks of light.

Seeing her firm refusal, Li Hao thought for a moment and ceased pressing; he said, “If you need more, tell me.”

“Mm.”

Di Lingshu nodded, secretly relieved.

She truly feared owing such a profound debt she could never repay.

Li Hao retrieved the two portions of heavenly dao force and continued forward, sweeping and hunting chaotic dao seeds.

Along the way, he encountered Chaotic Dao Beasts of King rank—similar in power to the four he had ambushed beside the Chaotic River—but he slew them effortlessly.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, while advancing, Li Hao spotted a figure walking across the surface of a lake.

The figure wore a black robe, masked, with a balanced build and an icy, untouchable aura.

When Li Hao’s spiritual sense detected him, the man seemed to notice Li Hao too—and turned his eyes toward Li Hao’s position.

Li Hao froze; in the instant the man’s gaze turned toward him, he felt a direct eye contact—he was certain the man had noticed him.

Yet his spiritual sense spanned over three thousand li; usually, he detected others while they remained unaware.

This was the first time someone had detected him simultaneously as he detected them!

Li Hao felt a chill, his hairs slightly bristling; he had assumed the Divine King he’d faced, though not the top prodigy among this group, was at least among the top two—but this black-robed youth was clearly far more terrifying.

“His spiritual sense rivals mine—even possibly surpasses mine!”

Li Hao’s pupils contracted slightly; did this mean the man’s True Divine Blood exceeded his?!

Throughout his journey, Li Hao had encountered many strong foes, but never before had he met a peer whose spiritual sense surpassed his own.

His expression turned grave; he halted in place, no longer advancing.

They gazed at each other across thousands of li.

On the lake’s surface, the black-robed youth’s eyes flickered slightly, his heart equally astonished.

Such a vast spiritual sense?

To achieve this range in the Ninth Heaven Realm, the opponent was no mere Primordial Spirit Extreme—he had condensed True Divine Blood, and in substantial quantity!

“Immortal Lord realm, True Divine Blood—has he condensed at least three thousand drops?”

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The black-robed youth felt dazed; for an instant, he wondered if some old friend from a past life had also been reborn in this world.

“That boy seems to be… the human known as Haotian, who caused such a stir?”

“Non-human race—could he be a reborn Human Emperor?”

“The legend of sixty-nine stars in one day… aside from an Emperor’s awakening, no other possibility seems plausible.”

His eyes flickered slightly; if the boy were an Emperor, then perhaps his journey on the Heavenly Path would not be lonely.

Otherwise, competing against these mere children would be dull and tedious.

A faint smile touched his lips; he gave a slight nod, the warmth in his gaze sharpening into a blade of killing intent—yet still retaining propriety and grandeur.

Li Hao sensed the calm, composed killing intent in the man’s gaze—he was startled; this feeling was strange. Though it was killing intent, it was utterly candid and serene, not born of personal grudge or petty hatred, but rather of ancestral enmity and righteous duty—both the calm acceptance of an opponent and the resolute determination to fight with all one’s might.

“Even the Divine King, a pseudo-Emperor reborn, never gave me this sense of danger...”

Li Hao’s eyes trembled slightly, “Could this man be a reborn Emperor?”

Previously, though he had heard of Emperor rebirths and even clashed with those who claimed such lineage, most were merely fragments of an Emperor’s lingering soul or will—none had inherited their past life’s full memories; though they performed brilliantly, they were still crushed and slain by contemporary prodigies.

But this black-robed youth was clearly different.

“It seems those who reach the Ninth Heaven Realm are truly no ordinary beings.”

Li Hao gave him a long look, memorizing the black-robed youth’s aura, then moved past him without pause, flying onward.

Their clash was not meant here—it would come on the Heavenly Path.

On the lake’s surface, the black-robed youth watched Li Hao depart, slowly withdrawing his gaze; his previously numb and indifferent heart suddenly stirred with vitality, as if he had found amusement.

“Heavenly Path—I await you.”

He murmured, then continued walking forward, hands clasped behind his back.

Though his steps were slow, each stride spanned hundreds of zhang in instantaneous teleportation; in mere steps, he crossed the lake, moving with astonishing speed.

…

Li Hao continued hunting and clearing, encountering other groups of figures along the way—dozens clustered together, hunting chaotic dao seeds—but their aura was clearly weaker; their control over chaotic laws had not yet fused beyond twenty-three chaotic laws.

Thus, even in groups of ten or more, hunting chaotic dao seeds here proved exceptionally difficult.

Li Hao glanced at them, ignored them, and continued forward.

As he pressed deeper into the Ninth Heaven Realm, the number of chaotic dao seeds rapidly dwindled.

Meanwhile, after Li Hao and the Divine Sovereign’s battle ended and they departed, Xue Fei waited briefly at the spot; seeing the Divine Sovereign fail to return, she ceased waiting and set out alone to hunt chaotic dao seeds.

“Both of them unleashed their full cards—they’re formidable foes capable of matching me. Grandmother was right: any solitary figure encountered in the Ninth Heaven Realm possesses extraordinary power.”

Xue Fei’s gaze grew grave; having witnessed Li Hao and the Divine Sovereign’s clash, her former arrogance gradually faded, realizing there were heavens beyond heavens—though she was of the Ancient Immortal Clan, she could no longer assume dominance here.

In contrast to the brilliance of that human youth, her own luster had been dimmed considerably.

“Still, their domain artifacts are damaged—they won’t qualify as rivals on the Heavenly Path.”

Xue Fei shook her head and pressed onward, not waiting for the Divine Sovereign; he had merely been a temporary ally, brought along to accelerate chaotic dao seed hunting.

To halt now and wait for him would be to reverse priorities.

…

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

Li Hao had thoroughly swept the entire Ninth Heaven Realm, encountering many other prodigies—but he never interfered with their opportunities, merely circling around them to continue hunting other chaotic dao seeds.

What they found was theirs; what they missed, Li Hao claimed without hesitation.

“I heard the Heavenly Path appears somewhere within the Ninth Heaven Realm, at any random location—has it appeared yet?”

“But I also heard the Heavenly Path lasts only three days; I still have eight days left—I’ll reserve three days for the Heavenly Path, and spend five more days observing the chess game at Old Man Qi’s.”

Li Hao thought to himself.

Thinking of it, he felt a pleasant warmth in his chest.

He immediately flew deep into the Boundless Heaven Realm, releasing his spiritual sense and calling out: “Old Man Qi, your humble disciple wishes to observe your chess game for several more days—I humbly beg your permission.”

As he spoke, he bowed deeply toward the empty air.

He believed that with Seventh Elder’s strength, even if the other party wasn’t an Immortal Emperor, merely being at the Pretender Emperor realm would allow them to know of any word he spoke anywhere in the Ninth Heaven Realm.

Indeed, shortly after Li Hao finished speaking, the void before him grew hazy, and a bamboo-path extended toward him.

“Since you’re of the same path, come, come.”

Seventh Elder’s aged voice chuckled as it reached him.

Li Hao rejoiced and followed the bamboo path, soon spotting the thatched cottage, the two elders playing chess before it, and the large black dog.

The large black dog looked up at Li Hao, stretching its neck to glance at him; Li Hao clearly saw anger and resentment in its eyes.

Li Hao walked over, and Seventh Elder smiled: “You’ve hunted down quite a few Chaotic Dao Seeds these past two days—this little fellow’s furious.”

Li Hao glanced at the large black dog; it was the strongest Chaotic Dao Seed in the Ninth Heaven Realm—he wondered how much Heavenly Dao force it harbored within.

Sensing Li Hao’s gaze, the black dog’s expression shifted instantly from resentment to wariness, glaring at him with tension and fury, as if asking: What do you intend?

Seeing its nervous state, Li Hao abandoned his thoughts—after all, this was the two elders’ beloved dog; he would never dream of hunting it.

“Didn’t expect you received Dao Yuan’s true transmission. Boy, train hard—try to surpass Dao Yuan.”

Eighth Elder spoke without turning around, his voice sudden and cold.

Li Hao froze. Hearing him refer to Dao Yuan as “that boy” left him speechless—his Master’s age was unknown, but surely at least a hundred thousand years, since Dao Yuan Immortal Emperor had survived the Ancient Demon War a hundred thousand years ago.

Yet this elder’s tone treated Dao Yuan as a mere junior—just as Li Hao himself was treated as one, with no difference.

Realizing these two elders were primordial beings born with Chaos, Li Hao smiled bitterly: “You’re right, Elder. I’ll do my best.”

“Hmph.”

Eighth Elder snorted and returned to his game.

Li Hao knew the earlier battle outside hadn’t escaped these two elders’ notice. Curious, he asked: “Elder, do you know where the Heavenly Path will appear?”

“That depends on the Heavenly Dao’s will. If the Heavenly Dao wishes to toy with mortals, it might place it within the Ninth Heaven Realm.”

Seventh Elder smiled amiably.

Li Hao fell silent. If that were true, then the vast majority who came here would never even see the Heavenly Path, let alone ascend it.

“You came to watch the game—then watch it. If your mind is elsewhere, leave.”

Eighth Elder said, his tone calm.

Hearing this, Li Hao immediately stilled his thoughts: “I came solely to watch the game.”