Chapter 51: Battle Realm Name
Chapter 51: Battle Realm Name
Li Hao walked several miles along the wet gravel path, arriving at another waterfall and its deep pool.
"Strange, I thought I just heard a flute."
Li Hao looked around, wondering if it was just his imagination.
The waterfall in front of him was like a curtain, but through the gaps in the water, he could see what seemed to be a small temple inside.
Li Hao was slightly surprised. His figure flickered, and he activated the Supreme Level White Phoenix Walking Technique, darting through the waterfall like a bird through a forest, not a drop of water touching him.
He had previously saved 3 Art Skill Points, spending two on the Body Movement Path, which allowed him to easily grasp this High-Grade Martial Technique.
As Li Hao entered the waterfall, far away from the waterfall, on a moss-covered stone platform, two slender figures stood.
"Hey, Yueyao, didn't someone just pass by over there?" Lin Feifei exclaimed, pointing toward the waterfall.
"It seems so."
Song Yueyao also noticed, but the figure had vanished in a flash, wearing what looked like an Outer Palace Uniform.
"It seems I wasn't seeing things. Why would an Outer Palace Disciple come here? It's not yet time for the New Student Annual Exam, is it?"
Lin Feifei asked, puzzled. "He seems to have entered the Lord of the Land Temple. Could he be heading into the Mourning River?"
Song Yueyao withdrew her gaze, shook her head slightly, and showed no interest in such external matters. She picked up her flute and blew it gently.
...
Behind the waterfall, Li Hao gazed at the temple before him.
It was small, about half a person's height.
But its design was intricate. Inside, there were two statues, one male and one female. The passage of time had made their faces somewhat blurred, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to have been kind and benevolent.
However, due to the crumbling earth, their faces were decayed, and the half-smiles on their lips looked eerie and sinister.
On either side of the temple, there was a vertical couplet:
"Earth can give birth to all things,
"Earth can bury all beings."
Above it, a horizontal inscription read: "Lord of the Land."
As Li Hao examined the temple, a small booklet suddenly flew out from within, opening before his eyes.
Immediately, a piece of paper shot out, like divine light, rapidly heading toward Li Hao's head.
Li Hao was startled and tried to dodge, but with his Fifteen Li Realm cultivation, he was too slow to react, and the divine light penetrated him.
In an instant, the surrounding world seemed to be submerged in water, and then the water light faded, revealing another world that seemed both real and illusory.
The dim cave became hazy, as if a water-like barrier enveloped him within a three-foot radius.
At the same time, a series of ethereal golden characters appeared before Li Hao's eyes:
[You have entered the Mourning River]
[Your registered location: Great Yu Dynasty, Qingzhou]
[Please leave your name in the Mourning River]
Li Hao was stunned. Had he really entered the Mourning River?
He looked around, and a flowing water barrier enveloped him. Beyond the barrier, the light was dim, and he could vaguely see some broken mountains, an extremely vast and desolate landscape, far from the narrow cave he had just been in.
This was the legendary and perilous place?
It was too extraordinary!
Although he had heard about the Mourning River before, actually experiencing it was still astonishing. This went beyond the realm of ordinary martial arts.
But he wondered, what level was this particular Mourning River?
Li Hao had heard from his second uncle during his fishing trips that there were five grades of the Mourning River. Even his second uncle and Elder Feng dared not easily step into a Yudu-grade Mourning River, which contained great terror.
At that moment, the golden light that had entered Li Hao's forehead gathered in his hand, forming a sheet of golden paper.
The paper was blank.
At the same time, first-rank information flooded his mind. Li Hao understood and, after some thought, bit his finger and wrote his Mourning River name on the golden paper:
Two.
As he finished writing, the paper glowed with golden light, covering and absorbing the blood-written name. The light then transformed back into golden light and disappeared, merging into Li Hao's body.
At the same time, the water barrier around him gradually faded, revealing the broken mountains and desolate land outside.
In his mind, a message automatically appeared:
Realm: Fengshan Mourning River.
Mourning River Completion Rate: 0%.
Li Hao looked up, seeing a crimson sky, the setting sun like blood, half of it submerged on the other side of the earth.
Before him was a desolate mountain, with a village and smoke rising from within.
Li Hao's gaze flickered, and he released his Divine Soul to scout ahead.
A Soul Image identical to his own flew out from the top of his head, suddenly darting a thousand miles, soaring above the village, taking in the entire mountain at a glance.
At the same time, the Divine Soul's vision rapidly expanded, looking further to try to see the entire Mourning River Battle Realm.
But as he gazed into the distance, Li Hao saw that at the end of the Mourning River, there was a mass of darkness. When his Divine Soul's perception penetrated it, he felt an inexplicable chill, as if there was something in that darkness that should not be disturbed!
Li Hao quickly retracted his Divine Soul's perception, limiting its range to the village and its surroundings.
The old and young walked about in the village, men tilled the fields, and women wove, creating a picture of harmony.
...If you could ignore their faces.
Everyone had withered, shriveled faces. The elderly looked like mummies, the children had eyes like black holes, and their tongues hung down to their chests. The women at the windows wove with nails like knives and sharp teeth, their smiles eerie and unsettling.
What a hidden paradise of the dead... Li Hao sighed.
Having seen various grotesque forms of Fish Demons, he didn't find these deceased inhabitants of the Mourning River particularly terrifying.
"Do I need to eliminate all of them to complete the task?" Li Hao pondered. He considered backing out, but first, he needed to enter the corresponding temple in the Mourning River.
Through his Divine Soul's reconnaissance, he had already located the temple, which was situated in the center of the village on a stage-like platform.
What a despicable location...
"That person seems to be the leader here, at the Soul Succession Realm. Can the dead even have their own Soul Images?"
Li Hao's gaze fell on the back mountain of the village, where a Black-robed Scholar sat, with a Smoky Female Soul Image perched on his back, giving off a rather eerie vibe.
After surveying the situation, Li Hao didn't linger. His Divine Soul returned to his body, and he strode into the village.
Soon, the villagers loitering at the village entrance spotted Li Hao.
"Hello, hello..." Li Hao waved with a smile.
The old man who had been leading a child suddenly let out a fierce roar and charged at Li Hao with a menacing expression.
The child, who had previously looked innocently dumbfounded, also became violent, baring sharp teeth as he lunged at Li Hao.
"Such enthusiasm", Li Hao sighed.
He casually broke off a withered branch and flicked it lightly.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and before the charging old man and child could reach within two yards of Li Hao, their bodies stiffened, their heads snapped, and the wounds were astonishingly sharp and clean.
Li Hao then casually carried the withered branch and walked into the village along the ancient path.
The villagers planting rice in the fields, upon noticing Li Hao, suddenly turned violent, roaring as they pounced.
Some farmers, wearing straw hats and carrying baskets of grain, also rushed over with their carrying poles.
"Do you have a dream of conquering the sea?"
Li Hao didn't stop walking. He casually waved the withered branch, and snowflakes seemed to fall, each one landing on the villagers like some kind of seal, causing their bodies to stiffen instantly.
As Li Hao delved deeper into the village, more and more villagers surged forward, including women holding pots and pans and long-tongued women weaving.
"All at the Zhou Tian Realm, tsk, and a few at the Zhou Tian Perfection stage."
Li Hao casually flicked the withered branch, walking down the wide main road, leaving behind a trail of broken bodies.
These deceased seemed to be ghosts, and logically, they shouldn't have physical forms. However, in the Mourning River, they possessed bodies, with blood and flesh, and their severed limbs spewed black blood.
"Could this be the Mourning River that will be tested next year?"
Li Hao mumbled.
He felt that the strength of this Mourning River wasn't particularly high.
The only significant danger he had seen so far was the Black-robed Scholar at the Soul Succession Realm in the back of the village.
Using a Soul Succession Realm entity to test Alpha Court disciples was indeed quite challenging.
As more and more villagers fell, Li Hao glanced at the Mourning River golden paper in his palm, which displayed a message:
Mourning River Completion Rate: 89%.
Each villager he eliminated seemed to complete about 1% of the progress.
"Given the nature of the Mourning River, even if I eliminate all of them, it doesn't seem like I can achieve 100% completion and completely dismantle it."
Li Hao muttered to himself.
The difficulty of Suppressing the Mourning River lies in the fact that it must be 100% resolved to disappear.
He had heard that some people had tried to kill all the deceased in the Mourning River and destroy everything, but still failed.
The Mourning River cannot be destroyed or obliterated; it will always return and spread to any part of the world unless fully resolved.
Li Hao passed by the temple near the stage, glanced at it, but didn't choose to exit just yet.
Since he was here, he decided to try and see how far he could go. After all, this was his first time encountering it.
(End of Chapter)
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