https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-171-Li-Hao-Emerges-Liangzhou-in-Peril-First-Update-/13450210/
Chapter 170: Twin Li Hao, Dragon Pass Road Unapproachable
Chapter 170: Twin Li Hao, Dragon Pass Road Unapproachable
The spring rain drizzled continuously.
The distant mountains and nearby forests beyond the Pass were shrouded in silver raindrops.
The pitter-patter of raindrops fell on the wattle yard, splashing onto the cracks between the blue stone slabs within, bringing the earthy scent of soil.
A pot of tea brewed in the kitchen, and two people sat on the mat.
One was Li Hao, and the other, also Li Hao.
That's right.
The two figures sitting in the small courtyard, sipping tea and playing chess, were both Li Hao.
From the outside, they looked identical.
The only difference was that the other Li Hao seemed slightly dull, with a slightly wooden gaze.
"Indeed, not very sharp."
Li Hao placed a piece, winning the game again, but no experience was gained.
Even in this form of competition, the panel judged it as a match between himself and himself.
But the lack of experience didn't matter. Li Hao immersed himself in the Chess Dao, finding it enjoyable even without the experience gain.
The other figure, identical to him, was a clone created from a famous painting received from the artist.
The painting was titled "Dual-Faced Person."
It depicted a young girl with a long skirt, gazing into the distance, her profile illuminated by the sunset.
Despite its simplicity, the painting contained countless intricate details, blending light and shadow, symmetry, and other painting techniques masterfully.
Through the thickness and thinness of the lines, the artist used a few simple strokes to depict the flowing skirt, with each fold's light and shadow perfectly symmetrical, truly remarkable.
The sunset was a light red, its color like a flame melting into the painting paper, seemingly burning.
Even with his Sixth Rank Art Dao skills, Li Hao felt far from reaching this level of mastery.
He believed that to meet the panel's requirements for inclusion, one might need to achieve the ninth segment of skill.
Such a high level of artistic depth was rare, with only a few individuals in the mortal world capable of it. Even among the famous paintings and musical scores passed down over millennia, such works were few and far between.
Each piece carried a thousand years of heritage, making them profoundly significant.
After "Dual-Faced Person" was included in the panel, it disappeared from the world, leaving Li Hao deeply regretful.
"Dual-Faced Person" was embedded into the Flesh Dao, granting him a unique attribute.
Dual-Faced Person: Using one's own flesh and blood, a Dark Aspect Body can be constructed, possessing 30% of the original's abilities.
If the Dark Aspect Body is destroyed, the original is unharmed.
The original and the Dark Aspect Body are not connected, unable to share memories or vision.
When the Dark Aspect Body is destroyed, the attribute resets—(only one Dark Aspect Body can be constructed).
The original can give commands to the Dark Aspect Body, which will possess the original's basic thoughts.
...
Previously, when Li Hao included other Chess Manuals, paintings, and musical scores, the attributes he gained were mainly enhancements of certain abilities. However, "Dual-Faced Person" provided him with a direct new ability.
Or rather, the previous attributes were also a form of ability.
For example, the lethal attribute was an extremely bizarre ability, giving a 1% chance to inflict a fatal blow.
However, the ability granted by "Dual-Faced Person" was more concrete.
This special attribute, while not significantly enhancing combat power, essentially provided Li Hao with an additional helper, albeit with only one-third of his original abilities.
After testing, Li Hao found that the actual combat strength of the Dark Aspect Body was far less than one-third.
Due to the reduced capabilities, the Dark Aspect Body could not activate Martial Dao Apex special states such as the Heaven and Earth Dharma Image, Divine Power, or Transcend to Immortality.
The physical strength of the Dark Aspect Body was only 300,000 catties.
The internal Qi Power was ordinary Qi, not Immortal Qi. When fully unleashed, it amounted to less than 4 million catties.
For comparison, the Imperial Clan could achieve 2 million catties of Qi Power.
The soldiers of the Yuan Camp had 500,000 catties.
The Dark Aspect Body was only twice as strong as the Imperial Clan.
Fortunately, the Yin-Yang Dual Meridians were not sealed. Activating the dual meridian power, it reached 8 million catties, four times the Imperial Clan's burst strength.
Skills like Divine Roaming and Object Control were also reduced, equivalent to about twice the Imperial Clan's level.
Based on the Dark Aspect Body's combat strength, Li Hao estimated it could suppress some Indestructible Realm Great Demons, but would be easily defeated by a Demon King.
However, Li Hao didn't intend to use the Dark Aspect Body for combat. It was more for leisure, to play chess with him or run errands, which was quite convenient.
Moreover, the creation of the Dark Aspect Body was effortless, formed from one of his fingers.
His original finger regrew in just a few minutes.
The Dark Aspect Body, when injured, healed much slower, only about twice as fast as Li Hongzhuang, as Li Hao tested.
These were secondary concerns. What frustrated Li Hao the most was the Dark Aspect Body's terrible Go skills, which were only about one-third of his own.
But Go was different from Martial Dao. Playing against someone with one-third of his skill was like seeing through their moves at a glance, making it too crude and unenjoyable to win.
The only consolation was that his Dark Side Avatar could run errands for him, occasionally sweeping through Beyond the Pass to clear out those Demons.
Unfortunately, the Dark Side Avatar couldn't earn any experience points for his actions, otherwise, with double the experience, things would have been truly delightful.
In addition to the attributes granted by the painting, the Chess Manual given by the Little Chess Sage also bestowed a special attribute.
The Chess Manual was named: Heaven-Earth Spectrum.
Heaven and Earth represent the universe, and the Chess Manual is a grid of 19 horizontal lines and 19 vertical lines, requiring 361 pieces to fill it!
Li Hao embedded the Chess Manual into the Yudao, gaining a unique attribute.
Heaven-Earth Spectrum:
You can choose any object as a marker and infuse it with half of your power.
If the marker is destroyed, the power will erupt.
Total number of markers: 180.
...
These 180 markers are the number of black or white pieces that can be placed, and also the total number of markers Li Hao can set at any one time.
After experimenting, Li Hao infused his power into a War Flag, and during the process, he could also embed his Sword Art within it.
By infusing a single Sword Art and half of his power, the War Flag became one of his markers.
When the War Flag is destroyed, the sealed Sword Qi and power will erupt, covering the surrounding area indiscriminately.
This is somewhat similar to the Array constructed by the Elder Star Constellation Official.
However, Li Hao's method is simpler and more individual, suitable only for himself.
Under the effect of the Hiding One's Light attribute, the half of his power that Li Hao expends takes half a day to recover.
In other words, he can only create two War Flags infused with power in a day.
Li Hao wasn't in a rush. Since he had nothing else to do, he would create one War Flag each day as his strength gradually recovered.
Now, he had already accumulated 16 marked War Flags in his courtyard.
Once the rain stopped, Li Hao would send his Dark Side Avatar to Beyond the Pass, planting these marked War Flags on the mountains where the Three Immortalities Demons had once resided, placing one on each peak.
He would rule these mountains.
He wanted to make it clear that wherever his War Flag stood, Demons were forbidden to pass!
In the courtyard, Ren Qianqian was initially startled when she saw the Dark Side Avatar, but she calmed down once she learned it was a result of Li Hao's cultivation technique.
This kind of peculiar situation wasn't unique.
Li Hao had read many ancient texts in the Rain Listening Pavilion and knew that some cultivation techniques in the Three Eternities Realm could create avatars, though the quality of these avatars varied.
Furthermore, some Fourth Establishment Realm experts were known to forge a mortal body, placing their mortal heart within it, while their true self would refine their Dao Heart and advance to the Four Foundations Realm.
This was also a technique for breaking through to the Dao Mind Realm.
However, this technique was not recommended, as it was imperfect.
If the mortal heart were to shatter, the Dao Heart would also be affected, like a bowl turned upside down with a crack.
Families like the Li Clan, and the Fourth Establishment Realm experts Li Hao knew, generally transformed from mortals to the Dao, having only one true body without forging a mortal body.
Among the Demons, however, the cultivation method of 'Split Heart and Merge Dao' was promoted.
For example, the Three-Headed Snake Demon Li Hao had encountered earlier—if it could fuse all three heads into one, it could advance to the Dao Mind Realm.
The Thousand Caves Ghost Lady was even more extreme, gathering countless ghosts and demons, tearing apart her mortal heart, and blending it with the hearts of thousands of ghosts to form a Dao Heart seed.
This process was extremely easy to lose oneself, turning into a solitary spirit or a Mountain Spirit and Ghost. Success in cultivation was also related to fate and strategic planning.
Each Demon King who reached the Fourth Establishment Realm had a tumultuous and winding journey.
Once they became kings in the Fourth Establishment Realm, they were almost invulnerable unless they sought their own demise.
Reaching the Fate Reversal Realm made them even harder to kill.
Previously, Li Hao had the power to slay several Demon Kings, but in the end, he only left the Dao Mind Realm Thousand Caves Ghost Lady behind, while the other Demon Kings all escaped.
...
Time flew by.
The spring rain became increasingly continuous, and even when the sky cleared, it was only for a fleeting moment.
The War Flags in Beyond the Pass grew in number, each one seeming like a slap in the face to the Demons of Beyond the Pass.
As the number of War Flags increased, some Demons could no longer bear the humiliation.
Amid the torrential rain, an Indestructible Realm Demon roared and charged towards the mountain where flags had been planted a few days ago. This was where it had been building its new home, but now it was flattened, leaving only a bare mountain peak and a War Flag standing in the pouring rain.
Seeing the words "Hao Tian" on the banner, the Demon's eyes turned bloodshot with rage, and it let out a furious roar.
"Lord Longze, no!"
A bird from the Tianji Hall rushed over, calling out urgently.
But the Demon paid no heed. It would rather find a new home than live in constant fear beyond the Pass, hiding and fleeing every time the 1st Rank cycle came around.
It had already decided to tear the flag of that accursed human child to shreds and leave.
After all, the world was vast; where couldn't it find a home?
Bang!
With a swipe of its claw, the banner was instantly submerged, the flagpole shattered, and the flag torn to pieces.
Before the Demon could sneer, a surge of Sword Qi erupted from the banner, as if a single stroke had split the heavens and earth!
It cut through the torrential rain, slicing it into fragments!
Then, the Sword Qi pierced through the clouds, tearing apart the dark sky and stopping the spring rain.
It came crashing down!
Like a transcendent being in the ethereal realms, casually flicking a stroke of Sword Qi!
The Demon's pupils contracted in shock, its eyes filled with disbelief at the source of this attack!
It roared in anger, unleashing a torrent of Demonic Qi, its scales swelling as it tried to block the Sword Qi.
But in the next moment, the Sword Qi sliced straight through, splitting its body from head to toe, cleaving it in two!
Then, the Sword Qi dissolved, breaking into countless tiny fragments that rained down like a storm.
If it had only been its body that was split, the Demon might have escaped with its life. After all, a mere mortal wound was not enough to kill a Demon of the Three Eternities Realm.
Even if its heart was shattered, as long as it could retreat from the battlefield in time, take the necessary medicines, or preserve its vital essence, it could still survive.
Regenerating its broken heart was not an insurmountable task.
But under the onslaught of the millions of Sword Qi fragments, one stroke of Sword Qi instantly pierced its body, and before it could struggle, its divine soul was utterly destroyed!
Its massive body fell directly onto the hillside, in front of the shattered war flag.
The bird that had rushed over was frozen in terror when the Sword Qi erupted, quickly retreating and fleeing out of its range.
When it saw the countless Sword Qi fragments continuously washing over the Demon's corpse until they disappeared, it was left speechless with shock.
"Is there a sword array on this war flag?!"
"How is that possible?!"
"When did the Celestial Observatory of the Great Yu Divine Dynasty become capable of setting up such a terrifying and intricate array?!"
The bird's feathers trembled, and its shock was so intense that its blood seemed to freeze, even though spring had come, it felt a chill colder than winter.
This spring might be spring for some, but it was a harsh winter for the Demons!
The bird's body went limp as it blew the Mystic Sound Whistle, and soon, a large number of Tianji Hall birds gathered.
When they saw the circle of clear sky above the hill, they were all startled and began to chatter nervously, asking what had happened.
Upon learning the reason, all the birds were stunned, staring dumbfounded at the quiet hill.
The corpse of the Three Eternities Demon still lay there.
A single war flag had slain a Great Demon of the Three Eternities Realm!
And such war flags... if they remembered correctly, there were already over thirty of them!
Moreover, every 1st Rank cycle, a few more would be added, covering the dense energy areas of the five-thousand-mile region beyond the Pass with these flags!
"This, these are all that young man's war flags!"
"Is he trying to turn this five-thousand-mile region into his territory?!"
The numerous birds of the Tianji Hall were all trembling with fear and dread.
They could no longer understand the power and capabilities of that young man.
The red bird transformed into the form of a Red-Dressed Maiden, her delicate and lively face filled with horror.
She had seen much in her work gathering intelligence, having witnessed many talented monsters of the Great Yu Divine Dynasty over the past century.
But the brilliance of the past century paled in comparison to what she had seen in just one year!
The terrifying power of that world-shaking young man, even from thousands of miles away, seemed to radiate a towering aura, suppressing all!
She suddenly understood why that young man dared to come and sit alone at the Border Pass.
It was not a blessing for the Demons, but a blessing for the young man.
He was even more savage and terrifying than the rumors in Qingzhou suggested, like a fierce beast unleashed from its cage, truly revealing its sharp claws and fangs!
"Hurry, notify everyone not to approach these war flags. Later, we'll find someone to bring one back and examine the sword array on it."
The Red-Dressed Maiden said urgently.
The birds shivered and quickly dispersed.
...
In the Wattle Yard.
A notification appeared before Li Hao, showing the marked number jumping from 35/180 to 34/180.
He immediately knew that one of the markers had been destroyed.
Li Hao raised an eyebrow and promptly sent his dark side avatar to investigate, while also instructing the Tianji Hall to give an explanation.
Before long, the dark avatar returned, bringing with it the corpse of a Three Eternities Realm demon.
Along the way, a bird demon from Tianji Hall was waiting, mistaking the dark avatar for Li Hao. It apologized and explained the situation.
The dark avatar remained silent, casually crushing the bird demon to death.
Tianji Hall was enraged upon learning of this but dared not seek revenge. The next day, they sent another bird demon to inquire about the incident, and Li Hao indicated that this was merely a warning.
Actions often speak louder than words.
The messenger bird demon returned, trembling, and relayed Li Hao's message. Tianji Hall was both shocked and furious, yet powerless to do anything.
However, this incident led Tianji Hall to spread Li Hao's fearsome reputation even more vigorously. The Three Eternities Realm demons, though skeptical, dared not risk their lives and gradually left Beyond the Pass, seeking other places and new opportunities.
Despite the fact that many of the peaks, hills, and swamps in Beyond the Pass were the "ancestral lands" of the demons—places of their birth—demons, like humans, had emotional attachments to their origins.
But they knew that during the young man's presence at Heavenly Gate Pass, these ancestral lands no longer belonged to them.
Fortunately, demons have long lifespans and are more patient than humans. Waiting a few decades or even a century before returning would ensure that the young man had long since left.
For some Great Demons, a century was merely a period of seclusion and cultivation.
Beyond the Pass grew increasingly quiet.
All that remained was an empty landscape.
For thousands of miles, demons were nowhere to be found in Beyond the Pass, save for the occasional small demon who wandered in, unaware of the situation.
...
Time flew by.
After the spring rains, the scorching summer arrived.
Cangya City became even more bustling and prosperous, with more pedestrians coming and going.
On the sweltering summer day, a few travelers and a caravan were making their way along the Dragon Pass Road leading to Cangya City.
Meanwhile, in a dense forest several dozen miles from the Dragon Pass Road, a large, bloated demon emerged from the underbrush.
Soon, it saw the broad, white Dragon Pass Road ahead, and its eyes glinted with a bloodthirsty gleam.
Just as it was about to move forward, an old tree demon in the forest spoke, "Don't go any further."
"Huh?"
The bloated demon halted, turning to look at the old tree demon, which it hadn't noticed until now.
Its expression changed, and it said coldly, "What do you mean?"
The old tree demon croaked, "Beyond this point lies the Dragon Pass Road."
"Hmph, so what if it's the Dragon Pass Road?"
The bloated demon sneered.
"Once you reach the Dragon Pass Road, you can't go any further. That's human territory!" the old tree demon sighed.
"Humans?"
"Hasn't this road been demon territory for a long time? Do humans dare to come here?"
"You must be from the Outer Province."
The old tree demon swayed its branches slightly, as if shaking its head, and said, "The situation you describe is from the past. There are no more demons there now, only our corpses, a Mountain of Corpses and a Sea of Blood!"
"Huh?"
The bloated demon frowned and looked at the Dragon Pass Road, where it saw only delicious humans, like walking sweets.
"Do you see that war flag?"
The old tree demon's branches pointed to a war flag planted on a tall stone beside the Dragon Pass Road. "See that war flag, and leave immediately. The heavy scent of human blood on you will bring you great danger."
"Hmph, trying to scare me with a war flag?"
The bloated demon scoffed, "I've eaten entire armies. Old man, if you weren't so scrawny, I'd have you for a snack!"
With that, it ignored the old tree demon and charged straight toward the Dragon Pass Road.
"Grandfather, it won't listen to you."
A small branch beside the old tree demon swayed and said.
The old tree demon sighed but said nothing.
The bloated demon had already reached the Dragon Pass Road and was rapidly approaching a few figures in the distance.
Its eyes were filled with a murderous intent, and the wind it generated as it moved caused the war flag on the tall stone to flutter.
But just as it was about to close the distance, a clear wind suddenly swept through.
On that scorching summer day, the clear wind brought a refreshing coolness, sweeping past the bloated demon.
"This..."
The bloated demon's pupils dilated as it tried to dodge, but it was too late.
Its body split open, and its internal organs scattered across the ground, blood flowing freely.
The clear wind seemed to have originated from Cangya City at the end of the Dragon Pass Road.
Or perhaps it was the sword qi casually released by the young man a year ago, which had eradicated a demon and had been circling the road, returning to its former state after a year...
(End of Chapter)
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