Chapter 126: Carving Dao, Forging a Sword (7K, Fallback Option Two Unity Chapter)

Do not enter a forest. Do not pursue a desperate enemy.

This was a cardinal taboo of military strategy.

Yet Li Hao had already charged forth.

Li Hongzhuang tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Her face tightened with grit, teeth clenched. She swiftly raised her sword, determined to slaughter every Demon Beast before her—then pursue Li Hao.

She feared that if she lingered, these beasts would desecrate the Graveyard. There, the souls of over ninety thousand Blood Devastation Army soldiers rested—along with the fallen generals under her third and sixth brothers.

For years, she had guarded not a city, but people.

All she hoped was that Li He could intercept Li Hao in time—or at least ensure his safe retreat.

Whoosh!

Li Hao surged forward at full speed. Demons that tried to block his path were cut down in an instant, their bodies felled beneath his blade.

He sprinted atop the fallen corpses, his pace accelerating with each step.

His innate Object-Control speed was already three times that of an average Human-Heaven Stage cultivator. Now, fused with the White Phoenix March True Posture Technique, he matched the momentum of two Three Immortalities Great Demons—certainly not falling behind.

After chasing forty miles, he finally caught sight of the two Great Demons vanishing into the wilderness.

“Stop!”

Li Hao roared.

The two beasts spun around, their eyes locking onto the pursuing youth.

They’d sensed him all along—but had refrained from turning back, fearing Li Hongzhuang’s arrival.

But now, she remained far behind at camp. Even if she hurried, she wouldn’t make it in time.

“Kid, you dare chase us?!”

The Six-Tusked Drowned Boar sneered, its voice dripping with mockery.

They’d led him here—lured him into the open.

Li Hao’s gaze locked onto the beast’s snow-white tusks.

“You’ve got nice teeth,” he said coolly. “I’m in need of a sword. Mind if I borrow them for a bit?”

“You’re asking for death!”

The boar roared in fury.

A mere Human-Heaven Stage meat-eater daring to covet its fang? Impossible.

It let out a thunderous bellow, its body swelling, demonic aura surging.

Behind it, a ten-zhang-tall phantom image of a monstrous boar formed—vast and terrifying.

Its fur turned crimson, as if bloodshot, bristles standing like steel needles.

With Divine Might unleashed, it charged straight at Li Hao.

Even a Human-Heaven Stage warrior, unshielded by the Heart-Protecting Military Array, would have had their liver and gall shattered from the mere presence of such aura—too terrified to hold their weapon.

But Li Hao was already at Human-Heaven Stage.

The aura affected him—but only slightly.

He instantly activated the Tiger Compression Trait, a primal roar echoing from his body.

Without retreat, he planted his feet.

Against the force capable of shattering a divine array wall, he charged forward.

His arms extended, the Panzhan Map Trait flared.

His body became a mountain—immovable, unyielding.

Boom!

His hands seized the boar’s tusks.

The impact sent him sliding backward through the air, tens of meters, yet his stance remained unchanged.

“Lift!”

Li Hao bellowed.

The slender arms of a youth erupted with power—true dragon strength.

He yanked the beast upward, then spun and slammed it down with crushing force.

The ground trembled. A massive crater split open like a seismic rift.

Deep within the hidden shadows, Li He froze mid-motion.

His eyes widened. His heart recoiled.

He had sensed a hidden guardian protecting Li Hao—but aside from the clash with Li Tiangang, he had never seen Li Hao face a Three Immortal Realm opponent.

Yet now, the spectacle before him defied belief.

First, the punch that repelled the Flying Peng.

Now, this—wielding nothing but his bare hands, he’d shattered a Three Immortalities Great Demon.

Was this truly just a Heavenly Human Stage cultivator?

No Heavenly Human Sect Master should be this fierce.

The cratered ground erupted with the Six-Tusked Drowned Boar’s agonized squeal.

It spat up blood and bile, a stench so foul it choked the air.

Though it had reached the Unbroken Realm—its hide like forged iron, unscathed by blades—its internal organs shifted under the three-million-jin force of Li Hao’s arms.

It was severely wounded.

“Enough!”

Chi Hu Jun roared in rage, unable to tolerate this.

It charged forward, its tiger-like form a blur.

Li Hao instantly unleashed the Qiongqi Mountain Range Map Trait.

Behind him, a phantom image of the ancient Demon King Qiongqi—half-tiger, half-demon—appeared, standing atop a mountain.

Its eyes mirrored Li Hao’s.

Both stared coldly at the charging Chi Hu Jun.

Chi Hu Jun’s pupils contracted.

A wave of overwhelming ferocity washed over it—like a flood of the world’s deepest rivers.

Its chest constricted. Blood turned icy.

Its forward charge stuttered.

Just that moment.

Li Hao struck.

He launched forward, diving like a meteor.

His feet crashed down on the boar’s head—like a mountain falling from the sky.

The beast, barely rising, was driven back into the ground.

Then, Li Hao gripped one of the ivory tusks—two meters long.

With a twist of his waist, he wrenched it free with a crack.

The tusk snapped off.

Blood sprayed. The boar screamed in agony.

But Li Hao didn’t stop.

He turned, holding the tusk like a sword.

With a brutal thrust, he drove it through the beast’s eye socket.

Though the boar was Unbroken Realm, it hadn’t reached peak cultivation.

The eye socket was its weakest point.

The tusk plunged straight through—deep into the brain.

The scream that followed shattered the silence of the wilderness.

Chi Hu Jun, stunned, finally snapped back to reality.

In mere moments—this youth had nearly killed a Three Immortalities middle-stage Great Demon?

“Stop!”

Chi Hu Jun roared again, charging.

Li Hao yanked the tusk free.

He turned, eyes cold.

Then—he unleashed a single, self-discovered sword art.

Meteor Fall!

A technique born from the integration of Meteor Atmosphere.

Similar in spirit to Raging Star, yet uniquely his own.

He wielded the tusk as a sword.

A flash of white light blazed.

Sword Qi surged—sharp, cutting, invisible.

He layered it with the Hidden Bow sword manual trait—his inner sword skill.

The true strike was hidden, unseen.

Only when it struck—would the damage double.

Chi Hu Jun, furious and shocked, swung its chains like whips.

Crack!

The chains lashed out—shattering the Sword Qi.

As if nothing had happened.

But then—a sudden, invisible blade.

A razor-sharp Sword Fang, silent and deadly, pierced through the air.

It struck Chi Hu Jun’s chest.

Blood exploded.

Organs ruptured.

The beast was Unfading Stage—its body near-indestructible.

Yet it could not withstand this.

Chi Hu Jun staggered back, eyes wide with terror.

Death loomed.

It instantly activated Immortal-Endurance Power—its body began healing.

But it didn’t look back.

With the healing momentum, it turned and fled.

From the shadows, Li He’s eyes were wide.

When Li Hao had first pursued, he’d inwardly sighed.

Even he would’ve struggled against two Great Demons.

But now?

Li Hao had crushed them—in an instant.

This son of Li Tiangang—the Main Line Young Master—was a prodigy beyond comprehension.

A Heavenly Human Stage cultivator, facing two Three Immortalities Great Demons, bare-handed?

Yes, the Li Clan had seen such feats before—nine Main Line heirs had done it.

But only against early-stage Immortal Realm foes.

Against mid-stage? Only with Divine Weapons.

And yet, Li Hao had faced two—with nothing but his fists.

Seeing Chi Hu Jun flee, Li Hao’s eyes flashed with cold fire.

He hurled the tusk.

With Control-Objects Power, he activated the Flying Segment chess manual trait.

This ability—acquired alongside the Ten Thousand Patterns Chess Scroll—was rarely used.

Flying Segment doubled attack range.

Extended reach.

Added damage.

Now, layered with Hidden Bow, and the tusk’s inherent Sword Intent—it shot across fifty miles.

Chi Hu Jun fled at blinding speed—its steps shaking the earth.

But then—

Piercing air.

A sound like a thousand blades cutting through wind.

It froze.

It roared, whipping its chains to intercept.

But the tusk shattered the chains—flung aside.

Yet the true attack was hidden behind.

Boom!

The sword Qi slashed through Chi Hu Jun’s body.

The massive tiger form trembled—then exploded.

Only the chain links, forged of divine iron, remained connected—holding the body together.

The rest? Sliced apart.

Li Hao, eyes distant, summoned the tusk again.

He drove it straight into Chi Hu Jun’s skull.

A thread of spirit soul fled—only to be crushed mid-flight by the tusk.

Annihilated.

Great Demons—once their spirit soul survived—could possess other beings, even possess humans.

Now, both Great Demons were dead.

Li Hao turned to the Six-Tusked Drowned Boar, still writhing.

No hesitation.

He pulled the tusk back, then drove it through the beast’s skull.

Pinned to the ground.

Night wind howled—cold, biting.

The stench of blood hung thick in the air.

Li Hao stood atop the corpse of the Great Demon, its body like a hill.

He pulled the second tusk free.

Besides the fleeing Flying Peng, both Three Immortalities Great Demons were now dead.

A Human-Heaven Stage youth—slaying two Immortal Stage heads.

In the moonlight, his silhouette stood tall—like a spear, cold and unyielding.

The battle ended.

Li Hao’s body relaxed.

The aftereffects of Seven Star Pointing Light and Yin-Yang Dual Meridians surged.

He gasped—his body weak, drained.

He hadn’t reached the Unfading Stage.

No Immortal-Endurance Power to instantly restore.

But Conceal Light and Hide Brightness allowed him to recover slowly.

A gift others of his stage couldn’t match.

He didn’t rush back.

Instead, he sat atop the demon’s body—resting.

His current state—any Demon Creature below Immortal Stage—could still be countered.

But if more Three Immortalities beasts remained?

Only the old man could handle it.

This battle revealed his true limits.

And he was satisfied.

But he also remembered—the fight in the city.

The man’s power… overwhelming.

Even after Broken Heart Oath, his cultivation had briefly surged to mid-Three Immortalities.

And he’d suppressed Li Hao with ease.

That was the true power of the Li Family’s True Dragon—top-tier Celestial Talent.

Far stronger than any peer.

Only a dozen elite Great Demons, attacking simultaneously, could push him to his limit.

But Li Hao knew—he was stronger now.

Perhaps, he could even match that man.

He looked up at the stars.

The frontier night sky—brighter, clearer than within the city.

Countless stars reflected in his eyes—cold, distant.

He knew.

Beyond Mind State Entering Spirit, beyond stepping into the Three Immortal Realm—his Human-Heaven Stage still had vast room to grow.

He needed to level up his Strength Integration Realm, and every other stage.

To do that—he needed combat scriptures.

To test, refine, push his body to the absolute limit.

“My Strength Integration Realm has surpassed 100,000 jin… but I haven’t touched my limit,” he murmured.

“Body strength can still grow.”

The Li Clan’s body cultivation arts were few.

But Demon Beasts—they had their own ways.

Their bodies, like blades.

Power wild, fierce.

They’d forged their own cultivation paths.

Human cultivators had Divine Weapons, armor, and countless scriptures.

But Demon Beasts—focused only on their bodies.

No healing elixirs.

No advanced forging.

They fought with flesh.

In equal realms, if a human’s weapon was weak, they were no match.

“Where’s their lair?”

Li Hao thought.

“Should search it. They must have Spirit Beasts guarding it.”

He looked toward camp.

Using Spirit Soul Gaze, he saw the battle was nearly over.

The Immortal Stage Demon King had fled.

The rest—sensible creatures—had retreated.

Only lower-tier demons remained, sent to delay.

No need to flee fastest.

Only to flee faster than the rest.

The once-ferocious horde now scattered—chaos in retreat.

Only minor demons fled in panic.

Li Hao rested.

Then, he stood, two thick tusks in each hand.

He walked back toward camp.

Li Hongzhuang would know the location.

And he’d ask—about the Demon Beast distribution beyond the frontier.

…

At camp.

Li Hongzhuang stood before the Graveyard.

Around her, corpses of demons.

The small mound—she’d abandoned it.

Crushed by demonic hooves.

This city—Cangya—had been lost, piece by piece, over years of war.

Seeing the demons flee, she exhaled.

Then—she shot out her spirit soul, scanning the distance.

Her eyes froze.

Dozens of miles away—the boar’s head split open, life aura fading.

Farther—Chi Hu Jun lay dead, skull shattered, body torn open.

Blood stained the earth.

Two Immortal Stage Great Demons—both dead.

Only one figure returned.

Li Hao.

Walking through blood trails, hands holding two-meter-long tusks.

Calm. Unmoved.

Li Hongzhuang stood frozen.

Li He?

Could it be?

Even though Li He was an elder—Illegitimate Branch—he could only master one ultimate technique from the Pavilion of Listening to Rain.

To learn a second? Only through massive achievement, and high official title.

In her eyes—Li He was worse than her.

She couldn’t even kill two Three Immortalities beasts in such speed.

How could he?

Li Hao?

She thought of his earlier punch—crushing the Flying Peng.

Her face paled.

That child… only Human-Heaven Stage?

She stood at the frontier gate, waiting.

“Did you do this alone… or with Li He’s help?”

She asked, voice sharp.

“Alone.”

Li Hao replied. “You were busy.”

“This is my garrison. No need to thank me.”

She snapped, then studied him.

“You’re really my seventh brother’s child?”

“No.”

“…”

“I meant—”

“None of it.”

Li Hao shook his head.

Why did this topic keep coming up?

He stepped into camp, tusks in hand.

His spirit soul floated above—scanning.

Ren Qianqian and the Little White Fox were still by the campfire—unharmed.

The tent near the fire remained intact.

Only one thing was missing.

The bundle of roasted meat—wrapped in leaves.

Li Hao’s expression fell.

He could almost see Old Feng, in the shadows, stealing it.

Sitting there, eating leisurely.

Flicking away demons that came too close.

While Li Hao and Li Hongzhuang fought to the bone.

And the old man?

Enjoying his snack.

But Li Hao felt no anger.

Only gratitude.

If not for the old man’s mental transmission—that whisper in his ear—he wouldn’t have stepped forward.

It was the old man’s words that gave him courage.

It was the old man who protected him—from Qingzhou to Liang Prefecture… all the way here.

Along the way—how many demons had he slain in secret?

Demons that hated the Li Clan—for thousands of years.

From the moment Li Hao left the mansion, the news spread.

And they knew.

Every demon—watching, waiting.

But the old man had shielded him.

That night—snow fell like goose feathers.

But not a single flake touched Li Hao.

All blocked by that thin, aged figure.

This debt—he could never repay.

Li Hongzhuang returned to the fire.

Her face was weary.

After using Immortal-Endurance Power, she couldn’t use it again soon.

Unless she forced her blood—but that would scar her body forever.

And it would hinder her path to higher realms.

It was a crisis ability.

Life-saving in emergencies.

But it was also powerful—like having two lives.

And in Unfading state? Infinite power.

She could unleash ultimate techniques without draining.

Each strike—fatal.

Power multiplied.

“Did Li He help you?”

She sat, skeptical.

“You’re overthinking it.”

Li Hao said calmly.

Li He wouldn’t act unless life or death.

He knew the man in the city’s plan.

To break Li Hao with the cruelty of the Heavenly Gate Pass.

To force him back.

To make him bend.

But… would he still be himself?

Born this way.

Lived this way—through lifetimes.

If he didn’t like it?

Then he’d just leave.

Who among fathers hates his child?

And he’d said—he’d rather die outside than in that courtyard.

Li Hongzhuang studied him.

Calm. Collected.

No wounds.

No blood.

A Human-Heaven Stage cultivator—slaying two Immortal Great Demons—and unharmed?

Would even her seventh brother believe it?

In the Divine General’s Residence—where prodigies were common—this story would be laughed at.

“Can you roast more meat?”

She asked suddenly.

Li Hao raised an eyebrow.

Then he heard it—her stomach growling.

She didn’t flinch.

“Just used Immortal-Endurance Power. Natural exhaustion.”

So even Three Immortalities elites are just big eaters…

Li Hao thought, sighing.

But he didn’t refuse.

The battlefield was littered with corpses.

He picked two Great Demons.

Using Ren Qian

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end