Chapter 263 - Return

Inside the blood pool, scarlet clouds rose streak after streak into the air. They seeped into Shi Hao’s body, making his skin appear splendid and translucent.

He continued his comprehension. While sitting there without moving a muscle, his body absorbed Kun Peng blood on its own. The aura around him was becoming more and more powerful.

The heaven and earth pouch loosened just then, and a little golden creature revealed itself. Hairy Ball popped out its head and looked about, its little nose sniffing greedily. It joined Shi Hao in getting cleansed by the Kun Peng blood.

Let alone everything else, this drop of true blood alone was enough to make supreme experts kill others. It was simply too amazing, allowing one to completely be reformed from the inside out.

Shi Hao was totally unaware of his surroundings and his body. His body was absorbing the power instinctively as he continued his study of the dao. Around him, clouds floated about while multicolored light shone resplendently. It made him gleam with a glaze-like golden light.

Ten heavenly passages opened with a hong sound and a Kun Peng opened its eyes from one of the passages. Nurturing of the spirit had already begun a while ago; what was happening now was the real transformation and the granting of life.

At this instant, the ten heavenly passages were filled with a majestic aura of life. In addition, they all carried within them a strong spiritual will.

This was especially obvious in the Kun Peng heavenly passage where a wing-spreading Peng bird rested. The bird was looking down upon the world with an unrivalled boldness. Its splendid golden body had black-stripes running through it, conforming to the true meaning of the great dao.

Right at this moment, Shi Hao’s body shook violently. The golden spirals on his body surface melted away and densely packed symbols emerged. The symbols then erupted, and in the end, they all disappeared into that heavenly passage, coinciding with the Kun Peng.

Those were the remaining profound symbols of the blood pool. Shi Hao had memorized them completely and inscripted them deep inside his mind, including the original one.

He was now going to fuse the inherited imprints directly into a heavenly passage. It would fuse into Kun Peng spirit body, unifying into a single entity inside of a single heavenly passage!

It was an incredibly amazing transformation!

The strength of this spiritual body increased rapidly. It grew more flexible and vivid, as if a real Kun Peng had come to life and hovered above nine heavens. It seemed as if it reigned supreme throughout the great emptiness and remained unrivalled throughout the cosmos.

If one reached the peak of perfection in the Spirit Transformation level, the spirit bodies inside the heavenly passages would be granted intelligence, as if they were turning into living creatures.

There was no limit to how much a spirit could be nurtured. Eventually, one had to withdraw their own will and return it to the original body. Only the precious technique would be left behind, which would evolve on its own into a seemingly living entity.

Of course, there were too many factors involved in this process. To be able to nourish spirits in one’s heavenly passages was already quite successful. To grant the spiritual body with life would surely be seen as the deed of deities.

Ordinary people would find it very hard to use the Kun Peng as a spiritual body. The creature was just too powerful, and condensing it into spirit was a truly difficult task.

In fact, if one endlessly condensed the true spirit of Kun Peng within heaven and earth, it would only grow increasingly terrifying. Eventually, it would reach a point where it was infinitely close to the real thing and possess unparalleled strength.

Finally, all of the golden and black symbols left over within the pool had merged with the Kun Peng in Shi Hao’s heavenly passage. It almost seemed as if it had been revived.

“I made it!” Shi Hao knew that even though he had not fully comprehended this precious technique, with this special spiritual body alone, he could summon part of its commanding and frightful power.

He then moved on with the refinement of the other heavenly passages. Within one of them, a Suan Ni was raising its head and roaring towards the sky. It almost seemed as if it bore some kind of hostility against the nine heavens, and was going to charge violently upwards.

The remaining eight heavenly passages did not have any divine birds or vicious beasts nurturing within them. Finally, Shi Hao infused his own will into one of the heavenly passages. A figure identical to himself was formed. In the other heavenly passages, he created a sword core, pagoda, bell, cauldron, halberd, and other similar items.

He was under a severe shortage of precious techniques, and so he could only use weapons as replacements for the time being.

The effects, however, would be the same in the end. The purpose of nurturing spirit was to allow the spiritual nature itself to undergo evolution. Later on, when a corresponding precious technique was obtained, it could be placed directly inside.

As for his current cultivation level, the nurtured spirit was only his will. Sooner or later, it would all return to him.

The nourishing of spirit only needed to begin. As for everything else, everything would work out as long as the accompanying technique was perfect.

He had already achieved this. The ten heavenly passages had successfully nurtured the spirit, reaching the legendary state. A vigorous aura filled the air, creating an incomparably mysterious atmosphere.

However, genuine gathering of the precious technique in correspondence with the creature’s true spirit was a lengthy process that could last all the way until the Deity Sealing stage.

That day, Shi Hao opened his eyes. Several months had already passed since he entered this place, and he had been sitting cross-legged in the pool of blood the entire time as he nourished his spirituality within the heavenly passages to a consummate level.

Meanwhile, the pool of blood had dimmed. The scarlet multicolored lights had all disappeared, because they had been absorbed by Shi Hao and Hairy Ball, entering their bodies.

Hairy Ball retreated into the heaven and earth net and resumed its dormancy. A layer of hair had been shed from its body, and some more resplendent gold fur had grown back, making it appear all the more radiant.

Shi Hao looked down at his own body, realizing that he had also shed a layer of skin. The new layer was translucent and bright like jade. It was enough to even trigger jealousy from girls.

He stood up and did some stretching. After some pipa sounds rang out, he discovered that he had actually grown a bit taller. In the Great Wastelands, a thirteen-year-old youth was mature enough to marry and raise a family.

Shi Hao had delicate and pretty features. His eyes were bright and clever with some dreamlike qualities. After he changed himself into all white clothes, he looked aloof and otherworldly, as if a exiled immortal had descended to this world.

As a thirteen year-old mighty expert of the Spirit Transformation level, he had already achieved the peak of perfection in all three stages. He had reached the legendary state. If word of this got out, it would surely stir up the Great Wastelands.

“Is it possible to break a legendary record?” Shi Hao asked himself. From Blood Transformation to Heavenly Passage, he had always managed to create his own path. What about this time?

“I think it’s time that I leave.” With a sweep of his wide sleeves, he dashed out of the Devil Refinement Cave with a shua sound, as if an immortal was moving.

As a result of the altar’s collapse, the exit had been buried under as well. A Kun Peng erupted from Shi Hao’s heavenly passage and destroyed everything obstructing him. With a honglong sound, a wide path was cleared.

Finally, he left this cavern. His white clothes fluttered in the sea wind as he stood on the waters. He looked like an immortal who was riding the fair wind.

He stood there for a moment, lost in his thoughts. It had been four months since that battle. The islands were still there, and the mysterious gate remained undisturbed. However, the Kun Peng nest had completely shattered.

This place was completely ruined from that point on, with no imprints of the Kun peng left behind. Shi Hao released a sigh. Even the most unrivalled beings would fade away with the passage of time.

He did not leave immediately, but instead dove towards the bottom of the sea and entered the Cave of Utmost Yang again. Once he felt the scorching heat on his body from the divine flames, he sat cross-legged onto that mysterious stone platform again.

This time, flames climbed up his body surfaces like lightnings, but they could no longer hurt him. His spirit was shining as splendidly as the flames, with no burning sensations at all.

He didn’t know whether it was due to the cleansing by that one drop of Kun Peng true blood or his achievement of the nourishing of spirituality in heavenly passages, but regardless, he could now resist the formidable flames here.

He then visited the Abyss of Black Ice and the Tomb of Fallen Stars. In each place, he could reach the deepest parts without suffering any injuries, demonstrating his perfection of the Spirit Transformation realm.

Ao... The devilish brat roared loudly. He stepped on the sea waves while running into the distance.

This was a living legend! The accomplishments that this thirteen year-old achieved were enough to shake this world. He was quickly growing up, and quickly rising towards greatness!

The appearance of Kun Peng symboled bone stirred up the Great Wastelands majorly, and no one knew exactly just how many great forces were involved. It was said that supreme experts had even been killed in the North Sea, creating an unimaginably tremendous impact.

That battle was incredibly tragic and fierce. Those supreme experts had fought from the nine heavens into the space beyond. The scene was exceptionally terrifying!

The result was extremely miserable. Apart from the fallen supreme experts, those from the Archaic Divine Mountains and Divine islands also received great blows to their strength. Even the supreme experts that survived had been badly injured.

As a result, even though several great battles broke out, the seas eventually became calm.

The ancient divine land had taken a great blow, and no one could afford another round of conflict. After this incredible tumult, a brief period of peace and quiet settled in. All sides were in a state of rest and recovery.

This kind of atmosphere was extremely abnormal!

Everyone knew that things would not end like this. The homes of those forces that obtained the symboled bones would become troubled lands sooner or later. Disturbance would arise again, and endless battles waited ahead.

Of course, these weren’t necessarily bad news for the great ancient countries of the Great Wastelands.

The reason was because they only sent a handful of people to the Northern Sea this time. The forces that took the greatest hit were not them, but rather the otherworldly divine mountains, as well as the descendants of legendary archaic vicious beasts.

A rare period of tranquility had settled in, and the human race countries were rather peaceful.

Some rather special trees grew within one of the wasteland regions. They were jet black in color, including their leaves. There were no chirping of birds and no signs of beasts. The place was deadly silent.

It was the Deep Black Forest, a legendary forbidden land.

Ever since the ancient times, almost every living creature that entered this place had been killed. Only a few managed to come out alive.

Yet now, a sound came from deep inside the black forest. An old man was making his escape, and despite his staggering movements, he managed to emerge alive.

The moment he escaped that forbidden black land and saw the sunlight, he could not help but roar towards the sky. The sound blasted apart some hills nearby, and the entire mountain range was trembling.

He was an incredibly powerful human being, almost deemed terrifying. He was tall and sturdy with disheveled grey hair. His beard was in a mess as well, as it had been quite some years since he last cleaned up his appearance..

This individual must have been quite handsome during his youth. Even with his untrimmed beard and unruly hair, there seemed to be a rather special aura around him that made him seem like a supreme king.

However, it was a pity that he only had one arm left. A giant bow hung on his back, but even with his maimed body, he still appeared extraordinarily heroic.

“I’ve finally broken free, haha! Damned Pi Xiu, not only were you not able to get rid of me, not even the heavens could deal with me!”

He let out a bold and generous laugh. After so many years of struggling and being trapped in that incredibly desperate situation, he still appeared to be rather optimistic.

“It’s been thirteen years. My grandson should be a young man by now. He must have grown into a matchless hero, just like me! Haha...”

He sat down in a cross-legged position and adjusted his breathing. The cost he paid to break out was obviously great. Blood was spattered all over his body, and even the beard at the corner of his mouth was dripping with blood.

Spirit essence of heaven and earth was surging over in a frantic manner. After seeping into his body, his body soon began to glow from head to toe. Around his body, a Golden-Winged Peng, Bi’an, and many others appeared. As they circled about him, it created a scene that was absolutely frightful.

After quite some time, he stood up and began talking to himself. “Ziling was as good as myself at his age. I think he should be able to kill an archaic descendant with a single arrow now.”

Even though this old man had been trapped inside, causing him to endure countless hardships, his spirit had not waned in the slightest. Instead, he became even more elated and said, “I can finally reunite with my family.”

He marched out of the mountains while talking to himself. After being trapped in there for so many years he had truly been bored beyond his mind.

“Hao’er, grandpa had great expectations for you back then. I had even risked my life entering the battlefield of one hundred clans to fight with all kinds of enemies. All I wanted was to obtain some pure blood for your baptism.”

His entire face seemed extremely devoted and affectionate after speaking these words. It was as if that lovely, bright, and chubby grandson was right in front of him. That little fellow had only been a few months old when he left.

“Something unexpected happened. Grandpa suffered some great setbacks, and cannot bring back the pure blood for you. However, grandpa found a divine pill for you that should make up for all that.” The old man smiled so happily that he almost seemed like a child.

“As my grandson, it is only right for you to be ridiculously powerful. I truly doubt anyone can bully you!” He could not stop laughing at these words.

“More than ten years have passed, and I miss you all so much. Ziling and my lovely grandson, I’m coming home.” These final words brought tears to the old man’s eyes.