Chapter 895: Guardian of Longmen

“Master, do you know where that person went to cultivate?”

Su Wan yi’s eyes flickered as she asked softly.

Hearing this, the others all looked up, their eyes filled with curiosity toward their master—especially Su Wanqing and Su Muqing, whose gazes carried worry; external cultivation was an inevitable path, but it came with danger.

“This is a matter of Jidao Mountain—I cannot divine it for you. Do not fixate your thoughts on that boy. Walk your own path; when you reach the summit, you will meet him there.”

★C〇

The Chaos Immortal Emperor advised his disciples.

Hearing his words, their eyes betrayed disappointment, but soon regained courage and determination—the master was right; once they pushed their own paths to the extreme, they would naturally catch up to him.

“Come to think of it, that boy comprehended the Law of Fate and fused twenty-four paths. Is that mysterious figure on the Chaos Dao List really him?”

Luo Ningshuang suddenly remembered something and sighed.

The Chaos Dao List was established by the Chaos Immortal Emperor; to him, hidden identities were transparent.

“Chaos Wuji has refined the Immortal Lord realm to its peak—he is indeed the most terrifying prodigy in the last hundred thousand years.”

The Chaos Immortal Emperor murmured, a trace of regret in his voice; such a prodigy had been snatched away by Dao Yuan in the first place—no wonder the Southern Domain’s Supreme was willing to sacrifice his dignity to crush this spark in its cradle.

Hearing his words, their expressions varied, but most were filled with delight and admiration.

“Indeed terrifying.”

Luo Ningshuang recalled the boy’s many deeds—in just three hundred years in the Primitive True Realm, his name had spread far and wide, even the proud Chaos Ancient Clans were inquiring about his origins.

“Prepare yourselves. Choose a day to descend the mountain.”

The Chaos Immortal Emperor said.

“Yes.”

Luo Ningshuang and Su Wan yi nodded.

……

Beneath Jidao Mountain, before the mountain gate, numerous disciples had gathered; some outer-disciple True Immortals, weaker in strength, dared only gaze from afar.

“Brothers, no need to see me further.”

Li Hao looked at Lei Jingfeng, Di Wushe, and others—all had come to see him off upon learning he was descending; this was a temporary farewell.

“Fifth, take care of the little brother. Don’t let him come to harm.”

Di Wushe said solemnly to Long Qingge beside Li Hao.

Long Qingge, somewhat fearful of this second elder brother, muttered: “Relax. Even if I die, I won’t let the little brother get hurt.”

“When I finish my cultivation, I’ll come find you in the Eastern Domain. Wait for me.”

Di Lingshu said to Li Hao.

Li Hao nodded.

Beside him, Shi Miao cast a cool glance at Di Lingshu; Di Lingshu sensed it and suddenly felt an inexplicable unease.

“Young friend, travel safely.”

Yuan Ming the Ancestor rumbled.

Li Hao looked at the quasi-Emperor ancient tortoise bearing Jidao Mountain, smiled, and said: “Elder, I hope the next time we meet, I’ll see you crowned Emperor.”

“Then don’t come back too soon.”

Yuan Ming the Ancestor said.

Hearing this earnest remark, Li Hao couldn’t help laughing; the others also stifled chuckles.

“Younger brothers, no need to see me off—until we meet again!”

Li Hao’s gaze passed beyond Di Wushe and the others, toward the dense crowd behind them—all eyes filled with wonder, hope, and kindness; he waved.

Seeing Li Hao take his leave, many grew excited, their blessings echoing back.

“Let’s go.”

Long Qingge said to Li Hao.

Li Hao nodded.

Long Qingge raised his hand; a spatial rift appeared beyond the mountain gate, leading beyond the True Realm.

He had already anchored the coordinates: Eastern Domain, Ancestral Dragon Court.

The Eastern Domain was one of the four realms of the True Realm.

Unlike the Southern Domain, where human ancient immortal dynasties filled the land, the Eastern Domain was ruled by many races; there were no immortal dynasties here, only tribal territories. Humans were a tiny minority; most were ancient beast races—such as the Ghost Clan, Spirit Clan, Mountain Clan, and others—with the Ancestral Dragon Line the strongest, having established the Ancestral Dragon Court to govern the entire Eastern Domain.

“Master said the Southern Domain’s Supreme intends to kill you. My Eastern Domain borders the Southern Domain, but also the Northern Domain—this time, we’re heading north!”

Long Qingge said to Li Hao.

Besides the two of them, Shi Miao was also present; the three emerged from the rift, hovering above a magnificent, towering city.

Calling it a city was no exaggeration—its walls stretched for millions of li, vast and steep like the Great Wall.

“This is Beiyan Pass. Beyond it lies the northern border.”

Long Qingge said.

As he spoke, a phoenix cry rang out—a crimson flame raced toward them like a falling star.

In an instant, the crimson flame vanished, revealing a divine phoenix shimmering with radiant feathers.

The phoenix’s eyelashes fluttered, its eyes brimming with liveliness; it spoke in a clear, youthful voice: “Husband, are these your fellow disciples?”

Li Hao froze, glancing at Long Qingge.

Long Qingge’s face flushed slightly; he said to Li Hao: “Little brother, this is my wife, Feng Qiqi—of the Zhu Feng Clan, one of the Eastern Domain’s ancient ten clans.”

Li Hao hadn’t expected this elder brother, who looked fifteen or sixteen, to be married; but upon reflection, his true age was surely thousands of years.

“Sister-in-law, greetings.”

Li Hao quickly greeted.

Shi Miao also nodded slightly, her gaze flickering to Li Hao beside her—“husband”? A fitting term. When would she change her own address?

Her cheeks flushed slightly.

“Don’t call me sister-in-law—that’s so old-fashioned. If you don’t mind, just call me Seventh Sister.”

Zhu Feng’s voice was crisp and youthful.

Li Hao scratched his head. “Then I’ll call you Seventh Sister.”

Long Qingge smiled, his expression now natural; he said to Li Hao: “Qiqi’s clan guards Beiyan Pass. I anchored the dimensional portal here so she could escort us—she knows this region best. And Seventh Sister is now at the seventh level of Immortal King realm—she’s one of the commanders here!”

“Thank you, Seventh Sister.”

Li Hao bowed.

“No need for thanks—you’re my husband’s fellow disciple, so helping you is natural. He told me you have a little brother with extraordinary talent, who fused the Chaos Laws to perfection in just a few centuries, and even all twenty-four legendary paths—could that be you?”

Feng Qiqi asked with wide curiosity. Li Hao glanced at Long Qingge; his true form had always been in the Eastern Domain—if other great clans knew this, his deeds might already have spread across the True Realm.

“Little brother’s name is Haotian. This is his… past-life consort. Rumor says she was one of the Seven Sovereign Kings ten thousand years ago.”

Long Qingge immediately introduced Li Hao and Shi Miao to Feng Qiqi.

“Seven Sovereign Kings?”

Feng Qiqi’s eyes widened; that was an ancient legend. Had she not been born into a great clan preserving such forgotten lore, she would never have known of it.

“Not just past life—this life too.”

Shi Miao looked at Long Qingge and softly corrected him.

Long Qingge blinked, then chuckled: “Right, right—you’re both Immortal Kings now. When will you marry? My wife and I will definitely attend.”

Hearing this, Shi Miao froze, her cheeks instantly flushed crimson as she looked at Li Hao.

Li Hao had long known Shi Miao’s feelings; now his heart stirred—but quickly, he thought of inviting Elder Feng and Second Master to the wedding; they had raised him since childhood. If they were absent on his wedding day, it would be a great regret.

Yet they—and many other old acquaintances, including Yu Huang—were likely still in the Southern Domain.

Even if they were elsewhere, gathering them while evading the Southern Domain Supreme’s influence would be difficult.

If word leaked during this process, it would put them in danger.

“Let’s wait until I carve out the Emperor Path.”

After pondering, Li Hao said to Shi Miao.

Shi Miao saw the flicker in his eyes—he was thinking of something else. She instantly understood, smiled warmly, and said: “No matter how long it takes, I’ll wait for you.”

Li Hao’s heart warmed; he took her hand.

“Is this what your humans call showing off affection?”

Beside them, Feng Qiqi muttered.

Long Qingge laughed. “Let’s go. I’ve already informed the Ancestral Dragon Court and my family of your arrival—they’re thrilled and planning a banquet for you at the Court. But I think such formalities are meaningless—just empty pleasantries. Better to wait until you’ve earned glory on the battlefield.”

Li Hao nodded; he agreed that action mattered more.

“Besides, the border has been in constant turmoil—many commanders are stationed there. Troops are scattered. Once this war ends, I’m sure they’ll all want to meet you, this peerless prodigy.”

Feng Qiqi said.

“Frequent wars? Mostly against the Ancient Demons?”

Li Hao’s eyes flickered; the Ancient Demon corpses in his space had previously been obtained from his second elder brother—now he could hunt them himself.

“Mainly Ancient Demons, secondly traitorous races they’ve corrupted.”

Long Qingge’s gaze sharpened; his golden double pupils glowed with dominant dragon energy as he growled: “These traitorous races are worse—they’ve handed over countless ancient secrets to the Ancient Demons, causing us heavy losses. We’ve adjusted repeatedly, but we still don’t know if more ‘spies’ remain hidden. Fortunately, we have our own agents among them, pretending to defect and feeding us intelligence—it’s balanced for now.”

Li Hao’s expression grew grave; in the mortal realm, he had experienced war firsthand, raised in the illustrious Divine General’s Mansion—he knew war’s horror.

“Husband, carry them on your back—we’ll talk as we go.” Feng Qiqi said.

“Alright.”

Long Qingge agreed, then his body twisted sharply—his robes turned to golden scales, his form rapidly elongating into a hundred-meter-long Ancestral Dragon, his dragon horns towering, his eyes now quadruple pupils, each containing crackling laws, radiating terrifying dragon might.

Merely gazing at it carried a power that shook the spirit.

Li Hao had never seen his fifth senior brother’s true form before, but he felt the body before him was far from its full size—this was likely a shrunken version.

“Come up, little brother, sister-in-law.”

Long Qingge whispered, yet his voice carried the weight of a dragon’s authority, unlike his earlier youthful tone.

Shi Miao heard the address, curled his lips, and as Li Hao thanked him and climbed aboard, he happily sat beside Li Hao.

“The place we’re heading to is the rear city of my current post—Longmen City!”

Long Qingge flew alongside his wife Feng Qiqi, carrying Li Hao, and said to him: “The outermost border fortress, Longshan Pass, is guarded by many of our elders, whose leaders are all at the Pretender Emperor realm—it’s the most intense battlefield!”

“The Jianlong Pass I guard lies behind it, with terrain advantages, making it harder for the Ancient Demons to invade here, so defense is relatively easier. I’m responsible for this post. Once I enter the Pretender Emperor realm, I’ll fight on the front lines myself!”

As he spoke, his voice brimmed with dominance and killing intent—he had witnessed mountains of corpses and seas of blood, seen many of his kin die before his eyes, watched countless elders he’d known since childhood fall. He had long yearned to fight at Longshan Pass, but because he was the clan’s prodigy, the clan held great expectations for him and kept him from the front lines.

After all, the casualty rate on the front lines was terrifyingly high; the Ancient Demon clan knew his identity and would surely give him “special attention” on the battlefield.

“The Longmen City you’re going to is the rear city of Jianlong Pass. Combat here is less frequent, relatively safer—but only relatively. Given the current situation, you’ll likely be called to battle once every ten years!”

Long Qingge said.

Li Hao’s eyes flickered. Once every ten years sounded infrequent, but for an Immortal King cultivator, meditating on a scripture could take a full six decades—or even centuries. Ten years was actually quite frequent, equivalent to a mortal soldier being sent to battle every month.

Remember, every battle meant injury, and healing alone took time.

“If you find it too frequent, I can reassign you to Qiqi’s side. Though the Beiyan Pass they guard is also perilous, the front line there is long, and with Qiqi looking after you, you might go a hundred years without seeing battle.”

Long Qingge said.

Li Hao shook his head. “I’ll go to Longmen City. I want to hunt Ancient Demons.”

Hearing Li Hao’s words, Long Qingge and Feng Qiqi both showed a flicker of respect—they had guarded this post for over a thousand years and hated the Ancient Demons with every fiber of their being.

Soon, beyond the towering city of Beiyan Pass, they reached a floating land suspended in the starry void, upon which stood a massive fortress. Each of its four walls bore eight gates; a single wall stretched millions of miles, each gate towering and majestic, carved with ten totems of ancestral dragon elders, their massive dragon heads looming above.

The dragon heads were lifelike, their eyes like molten iron, gazing outward with chilling, deadly solemnity.

Seeing this, Li Hao was stunned, overwhelmed by the stench of blood and the weight of ancient time.

The walls bore patchy bloodstains, countless claw marks etched deep; even the soil beyond the walls carried a faint, foul odor, burying countless lives and bones.

This was no recent mark—it was the result of centuries of relentless war.

Outside the city, only crimson weeds grew. No immortal trees or plants remained—all had been destroyed by battle and corrupted by the lingering battlefield miasma.

“This is Longmen City…”

Long Qingge whispered. His hundreds-of-meters-long dragon body appeared minuscule, almost invisible, before the towering walls.

Li Hao’s spiritual sense stretched vast, able to perceive a million miles, deeply sensing the sheer scale of this battlefield.

And this was not even the front line—only a relatively safe rear outpost.

On the walls, a thick aura enveloped the city like an unbreakable barrier—Li Hao’s spiritual sense could not penetrate even a fraction.

“Longmen City…”

Shi Miao looked at Li Hao. “A familiar name.”

Li Hao’s eyes flickered slightly as he nodded gently. It was indeed familiar. Once, in the mortal realm, he had held a lone city alone—its name had been Tianmen Pass. Originally a city, it had been reduced to a small mound by relentless war. After he arrived, he rebuilt it into a city, renaming it Tianmen City.

Perhaps this was fate—Tianmen City, Longmen City—as if foretelling this was his new beginning.

As they observed, Long Qingge suddenly lifted his head and let out a dragon’s roar.

The roar reverberated, carrying the might and aura of the Ancestral Dragon imperial bloodline, striking against Longmen City’s barrier.