Chapter 886: One Step to Heaven

As the great battle loomed, the Snow Empress beside him flickered her gaze—throughout, the young man who had appeared had never so much as glanced at her, yet he bore old grudges with the Divine Sovereign.

Though she felt a faint irritation at being ignored, she did not recklessly interfere, instead asking the Divine Sovereign:

“Do you need my help?”

After fighting side by side for half a month, she asked out of courtesy.

The Divine Sovereign, his thoughts elsewhere, answered without hesitation: “No!”

Earlier, he had arranged others to fight because he feared the Dao Source Immortal Emperor—but here, in the Infinite Heaven Realm, no one could interfere. He intended to see Li Hao perish utterly.

Hearing the Divine Sovereign’s reply, the Snow Empress nodded silently and vanished in a blur, streaking dozens of li away to avoid being splattered with blood if the boy was slain.

Having fought alongside the Divine Sovereign for half a month, she had some grasp of his power—he had yet to reveal his true cards, yet even his displayed strength was sufficient to rank among the top five on the Chaos Dao Rankings, barely inferior to her own.

“Miss, who will win?”

Beside her, the umbrella-holding girl asked curiously.

“The boy is no ordinary one—his Dao heart transcends eternity, and he’s half a step into the Pretender Emperor realm. But this Divine Sovereign was already a Pretender Emperor in his past life, his Dao heart also transcending eternity. Unless the boy is a Pretender Emperor reincarnated, he’ll almost certainly lose soon!”

The Snow Empress spoke almost without thought.

After all, one of them was a Pretender Emperor reincarnated—even she, lacking the ancient immortal clan’s physique, dared not claim she could match the Divine Sovereign.

Boom.

As they spoke, two sharp forces collided violently in the void.

Li Hao’s Fate Sword Qi pierced through layers of chaotic law chains and slashed directly onto the Divine Sovereign’s head, aiming to sever it.

The sword qi, drawn from fate itself, was inescapable. The Divine Sovereign tried to shatter it with his Annihilating Chaos Dao, but was horrified to find it passed straight through, carrying unimaginable power, striking true.

The shadow of death loomed—he had no time to react before his head exploded.

Fate energy seeped into his body, seeking to shatter his Primordial Spirit, yet his body moved instantly, retreating. His severed head regenerated in an instant, his eyes filled with shock as he stared at Li Hao.

This seemingly ordinary sword strike carried power beyond imagination—his Annihilating Chaos, forged from twenty-three Chaos Dao laws, had no effect whatsoever!

“What power is this?”

The Divine Sovereign’s gaze shifted from shock to a furious crimson. He thought of his master—had his master taken some secret art to the grave without passing it on to him or his junior sister?

“Hmm?”

Li Hao’s expression hardened too. Though the Fate Sword Kill appeared simple, it drew upon fate’s power—by all logic, it should have killed the opponent instantly, leaving him no defense. Yet he had not died!

In their first clash, both realized their opponent was no ordinary foe.

“Boy, it seems your master left you plenty of treasures—but none of them belong to you!”

The Divine Sovereign’s eyes turned icy, his anger now mixed with gravity. Just that single strike had elevated Li Hao’s power beyond nearly all others who had fused twenty-three Chaos Dao laws—he was a formidable adversary.

But he had been a Pretender Emperor for one hundred thousand years in his past life—his arsenal far surpassed what an Immortal Lord could imagine.

“Final Realm: The Divine and Demonic Image of the Ten Thousand Realms!”

Suddenly, a towering cosmic manifestation rose behind the Divine Sovereign—but its aura was as unfathomable as an endless ocean. On its head floated twenty-four faces: some holy, some monstrous, some closed in meditation, others glaring in fury, each expression distinct.

Around the manifestation coiled chains of mysterious power, brimming with extraordinary, immense divine and demonic essence.

Seeing this manifestation, Li Hao paused slightly. The Eight Stages of Martial Path, third stage: Soul Continuation Realm—its ultimate form was the Cosmic Manifestation, inheriting the cosmos. But what the Divine Sovereign wielded was far more than mere ultimate form.

“The Divine and Demonic Image of the Ten Thousand Realms… does it encompass not just the cosmos, but also the divine and demonic beings of the ten thousand realms?”

As the Divine and Demonic Image revealed itself, a terrifying pressure descended. Li Hao felt as if the heavens and earth were collapsing—he stood before the manifestation, feeling like an ant.

This was pure force pressure—the Divine and Demonic Image’s aura was over twenty times stronger than a normal Cosmic Manifestation!

“Die!”

As the Divine and Demonic Image raised its hand and slammed down, dozens of spectral palms appeared in the void, joining the main palm in crushing down—not merely crushing Li Hao, but seemingly ready to crush the entire realm itself!

Li Hao’s hair whipped wildly, his robes snapping like banners. He felt the surrounding void drained of air, the pressure suffocating.

“Final Realm… this is the power of the third Final Realm?”

Li Hao did not dodge. Both he and the Divine Sovereign were at the peak of Immortal Lord realm, yet the Divine Sovereign’s Divine and Demonic Image was over twenty times stronger than a normal Cosmic Manifestation of the same level—this alone was enough to crush him.

Remember: in a peak confrontation, even half a percent difference in power could decide victory or defeat—let alone a difference of over twenty times!

“Kill!!”

Li Hao suddenly flipped his palm—the Taowu Immortal Sword landed in his grip. The Taowu beast’s consciousness linked with him. This immortal weapon, requiring peak Immortal Lord realm to unleash its power, now, for the first time in ten thousand years, glowed with the light it had lost.

A crimson sword intent pierced the heavens. The Fate energy, fused with twenty-four Chaos Dao laws, flowed like crimson blood along the blade. In an instant, a piercing shriek rang out as the sword pierced the void, stabbing straight toward the descending giant palm!

“Aaaah!!”

The Taowu Immortal Sword’s beast soul roared—a monstrous roar like a lion-dragon—as it slammed into the giant palm.

The overwhelming palm force, as if all divine and demonic beings of the ten thousand realms pressed down, caused the sword blade to crack instantly!

For the first time in ages, Li Hao unleashed his full power—yet the Taowu Immortal Weapon could not withstand the Divine Sovereign’s attack; its blade split!

But the Fate energy wrapped around it, piercing through the palm in an instant, splitting the twenty-four divine-demonic forces within it, severing their fused state through causal order, then cutting each one apart.

All this happened in a flash—the crimson sword light pierced the palm, its momentum unspent. Guided by causal threads, it struck the Divine Sovereign’s head again, shattering it and spraying divine blood across the sky.

“So strong!”

Far away, the umbrella-holding girl whispered in awe—both their displays exceeded her imagination.

The Snow Empress’s gaze grew grave. The Divine Sovereign had never revealed this Final Realm power before—she had not imagined it so terrifying.

No wonder he was a Pretender Emperor in his past life—she herself had not yet mastered this third Final Realm, and he likely possessed even more beyond this!

“Hmm?”

Li Hao believed this strike would kill the Divine Sovereign—yet suddenly, the Divine Sovereign, like an indestructible pest, regenerated his head in an instant.

“How?”

Li Hao’s eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of shock rising within him. If the first time had been an accident, this time—his body had been slain by Fate, yet still regenerated? That was unthinkable.

His Fate energy could suppress blood regeneration—but it had no effect on the Divine Sovereign.

“It’s fate!”

At the same moment, as the Divine Sovereign’s head regenerated, his eyes widened in shock as he stared at Li Hao.

He had not sensed it before—but this strike, he felt it clearly: this was Fate’s power!

The pull of fate—unavoidable, every strike lands true!

But fate had long vanished, hidden, unattainable—how had Li Hao glimpsed it? How had he comprehended it?!

He suddenly remembered his master—only the master’s legacy, transmitting his lifetime’s knowledge, could have allowed Li Hao to grasp fate.

“Damn!”

He clenched his fist, his gaze turning fiercer. Behind him, the Celestial Star Veins emerged—this was his second Final Realm power.

He had already revealed his first Final Realm: Divine Blood. That was why his aura was so overwhelming.

Yet even with all three Final Realms, he still could not overcome Li Hao. “Even if it is fate—even if you’ve fused twenty-four Chaos Dao laws—today, I will kill you!”

The Divine Sovereign’s entire body erupted in divine flames. A brilliant divine power glowed on his forehead, like a single drop of divine blood.

Above his head, a divine soul silhouette appeared—but it was not a soul. It was the True God, the culmination of divine soul cultivation to the Final Realm.

True God Final Realm!

Yet the True God he revealed was not fully perfected—it merely indicated he had condensed True God Blood.

Li Hao glanced—he indeed had cultivated the True God Final Realm, but the True God Blood within him numbered only two or three hundred drops, far less than Li Hao’s.

Clearly, though his reincarnation allowed him to retain his past-life combat experience and techniques, his True God Blood in this life still required slow cultivation.

Whoosh!

As Li Hao prepared to unleash the terrifying power of his True God Blood, the Divine Sovereign suddenly vanished—his presence, his aura, even his Dao traces, disappeared entirely.

While Li Hao hesitated, the Divine Sovereign reappeared behind him—like an Instant Move from the Final Realm of the Void’s End, yet faster, quieter, and more terrifying.

A divine spear pierced straight through—infused with Annihilating Chaos Dao energy.

Li Hao had no time to block—he was pierced straight through the chest. His Cosmic Body felt as if it were dissolving; all his divine blood rapidly decayed and faded!

Even his True God Blood suffered annihilation damage, steadily diminishing—within moments, he lost over a hundred drops!

If this continued, he would suffer catastrophic injury—this spear was terrifyingly potent!

“Time, reverse!”

In that instant, Li Hao activated the eighth layer of his Time Origin power, reversing the spacetime within a localized region around himself.

Even though the Divine Sovereign was at peak Immortal Lord realm, his momentum overwhelming, he was thrown backward uncontrollably by this reversal force.

Had it been only the seventh layer of Time Origin, Li Hao could not have interfered with the Divine Sovereign—he had sensed the Divine Sovereign’s own Time Origin power also reached the seventh layer.

But the eighth layer of Time Origin could fully envelop the Divine Sovereign.

As time reversed, his annihilated Cosmic Immortal Body instantly healed; his damaged True God Blood restored perfectly—everything as if nothing had happened.

“How is this possible?!”

The Divine Sovereign stood where he had struck, his eyes narrowed, shock undeniable.

Eighth layer of Time Origin?!

Time was the hardest Dao to cultivate and comprehend—how could someone at Immortal Lord realm have mastered the eighth layer of Origin?!

Suddenly, he remembered the Shi Miao beside Li Hao.

His mind instantly found the answer.

Of course—he had often consulted Shi Miao on the Dao of Time Origin back in their sect.

Now that she was with this boy, she must have taught him.

A surge of fury and jealousy rose within him—whether it was his master or his junior sister, all the benefits went to this boy.

“Damn! When we were sealed during reincarnation, Immortal Lords were only allowed to awaken nine sequences at the seventh layer—this already exceeded the limits of Immortal Lord realm. Yet this boy has unlocked the eighth layer of Origin while still an Immortal Lord—utterly unreasonable!”

The Divine Sovereign seethed. These reincarnated ones did not awaken all their past-life realms at rebirth—they had sealed their realm powers in stages before reincarnation.

Otherwise, a newborn body could not bear the burden of full Dao realms from birth.

Moreover, wielding the power of different Dao realms requires corresponding cultivation base.

The Ten Primordial Dao Realms: three levels correspond to the True Immortal Realm, six levels to the Immortal Lord Realm.

Levels seven to nine correspond to the Immortal King Realm; level ten is the peak.

If a True Immortal tried to wield the power of the sixth or seventh Primordial Dao level, their meager immortal energy and physique would be instantly drained, causing their body to collapse.

An Immortal Lord mastering the seventh level of Time’s Primordial Dao is already over the limit, enough to dominate their realm—but Li Hao possesses the eighth level.

“Using this once will cost you a good chunk of your lifespan!”

The Divine Sovereign glared fiercely at Li Hao.

The eighth level of Time’s Primordial Dao is already a technique an Immortal Lord can wield, requiring a domain to activate; reversing a region to barely use the seventh level already drains immense energy—without the Celestial Star Veins sustaining him, one use would leave him exhausted and immobile.

Once he breaks through to Immortal King, he will immediately attain the ninth level of the Nine Sequences Primordial Dao, and the dormant Dao realms from his past life will return.

This is why reincarnators can easily outpace their peers—they advance in realm level effortlessly through two lifetimes of cultivation, yet their immortal body and divine form still require diligent cultivation using current-world resources.

At this moment, Li Hao stared intently at the Divine Sovereign; the man’s threat exceeded his expectations—just now, that spear had nearly truly endangered him.

Had he not reversed time, he would have been gravely wounded.

“A reincarnated Pre-Emperor—truly not to be underestimated.”

Li Hao took a deep breath, his eyes filled with killing intent. He no longer held back, unleashing layer upon layer of Ultimate Realm power, activating the Second Layer of the Ultimate Dao Art he had been taught.

In an instant, his foundation increased sixfold!

His entire aura, including his Ultimate Realm power, surged at this moment.

The original three thousand True God Bloods instantly radiated the power of eighteen thousand True God Bloods, and this transformation expanded his spiritual sense to eighteen thousand li.

Many figures of the Chaotic Dao Seeds appeared within his spiritual sense.

Condensing ten thousand True God Bloods achieves perfection; the True God becomes immortal. Li Hao’s enhanced foundation, though exceeding ten thousand, lacked the special effects of True God perfection—it was merely a pure increase in foundational power.

Nevertheless, as Li Hao’s Primordial Spirit rotated, eighteen thousand True God Bloods manifested upon his True God body, radiant like a deity, bathing the surrounding hundreds of meters in golden light.

“Chaotic Ultimate!”

Li Hao raised his hand, once again condensing Chaotic Dao in his palm—but this time, it was not mere Fate Sword Qi. Fate Sword Qi, strictly speaking, was only the power of the Fate Chaotic Dao, not the fusion of the twenty-four Chaotic Dao principles!

The fusion of twenty-four Chaotic Dao principles into one is called Ultimate.

Now, under the surge of eighteen thousand True God Bloods, this Ultimate force churned like a titanic divine power rising from the abyssal ocean.

“If you rely on brute force to suppress, then I shall crush you with brute force!”

Li Hao gazed at the Divine Sovereign’s Celestial Demonic Form, raised his hand, and the True God Bloods erupted violently, transforming the Chaotic Ultimate Dao into Ultimate·Fate. A streak of crimson flame ignited, coalescing into a sword qi dozens of zhang long, slashing toward the Divine Sovereign.

The Divine Sovereign froze, then his expression changed—he stared in horror.

The power of the surrounding heavens and earth had been entirely stripped away by Li Hao—even the Celestial Star Veins—now he could not draw any power at all.

At the same Ultimate Realm, his Ultimate power had been utterly crushed by Li Hao’s.

“Ultimate Dao Art...”

The Divine Sovereign finally remembered the most terrifying foundation of Dao Source Immortal Emperor—his face filled with mortal dread. Facing the Ultimate Fate Sword Qi, for the first time, fear flashed in his eyes—a heavy shadow of death loomed.