Chapter 837: Invincible! (I)

The ranking quickly disseminated in all directions and raised a hubbub of discussion. Seven elements... and three seven element Arcanus at that! All sides were stunned and nervous. How had they done it? Had they all broken through inside the ruins?

But there was no point in doing so unless they wished to stay within the ruins for the rest of their lives or emerge only after the second awakening. That would make for one less heavyweight in residence at their faction.

Were there other methods that they could call on?

The world was also stunned at Li Hao being peak six elements, but he wasn’t worth mentioning compared to the three seven elements.

As for the veracity of the ranking... some people felt that it was real because the ranking’s estimation of their strength was accurate.

“Which side does the Wind and Cloud Pavilion stand on? So they’re not targeting Li Hao, but Red Moon, the nine ministries, and the royal family?” No one could make any sense of it.

......

The Arcanus Ranking was hotly discussed on all sides, but it had nothing to do with Li Hao and the rest. Having tossed out the ranking, the young man didn’t care whether Wu was captured or killed as a result. The supernatural character that he’d planted in the man’s head had long dispersed.

They were so far removed from each other that he didn’t have the ability to continue manipulating the character. It had faded away a long time ago, but the young man wasn’t sure if the other was aware of that fact.

His goal with the ranking was very simple. Would anyone believe any further rankings that the Wind and Cloud Pavilion published? They would have to wait until next month to publish their next edition, but it was already an unknown if they would survive until then.

......

Within the ruins.

The group stopped cultivating after an indeterminate period of time. The enormous tree trunk was slightly withered as the pool of five thousand drops of Water of Life was... dry!

Indeed, the tree trunk was empty.

The group stared dumbly at the dry internals. Some looked at Li Hao, some looked at the little tree. Others exchanged glances among themselves. ...someone had stolen the Water of Life and hidden it, hadn’t they?? That was five thousand drops, not five hundred! None of them had the ability to absorb so much Water of Life at once.

Li Hao was lying on the ground, like his soul had departed his body. If anyone could see supernatural locks, they would see that a mass of locks had floated upward on his body. They were tiny, like ants, and those with trypophobia would find their scalps crawling.

The young man’s scalp crawled with numbness as well! He’d absorbed almost five thousand drops by himself—and that wasn’t even the problem. Although the consumption rate was terrifying, the key was that his strength had barely improved. The ants had absorbed almost all of the resource to give rise to so many supernatural locks.

What horrified Li Hao was that... there were

so many

locks in the human body. How was this possible?? Although he’d seen some locks through the five auras before, the actual appearance of more than one hundred locks was still a jaw-dropping sight.

He’d broken eleven locks as of present, making him a seven element Arcanus. But how many more were there to get through? Could anyone break them all? How much in resources would be needed? How much time? How many types of aura?

Li Hao was shaking all over, suddenly feeling that Hong Yitang had proceeded down the better path of using one character to encompass a myriad of methods. Would there ever be an end to his hard work thanks to his insistence on one word per aura? He’d yet to succeed with the wind and thunder auras, not to mention this dense concentration of terrifying locks. He hadn’t had time to practice the light and dark auras either.

“One hundred and twenty locks!” murmured the young man. That was the number that’d appeared on him—one hundred and twenty locks. It was a frightening prospect!

The human body was a treasure, that he knew, but he hadn’t thought that the human body would contain such terrifying potential. He might not be able to fully excavate it for the rest of his life. The ancient humans didn’t have supernatural locks, they only had the three cavities and the like. Their anatomy wasn’t as complicated.

Was the modern cultivation system this terrifying? Did modern humans possess too much potential, or were they that pathetic in this age of martial dao decline? They were shown so many supernatural locks to explore, but could only look upon these locks for the rest of their lives and never reach the end goal? How agonizing that would be! Not to mention, the humans of this age possessed weak bodies, which made it even harder for them to develop their locks.

Modern humans had to consume thousands of drops of Water of Life to barely manifest some of their locks. This had been the reserves of an Immortal! Li Hao felt that it could’ve given rise to a large batch of Arcanus. It’d been wasted on him.

Was it a waste?

Li Hao didn’t know. His first thoughts were to summon a few locks and lay a firm foundation for himself, but he’d ended up unwittingly absorbing all of the Water of Life. This was no longer a question of setting foundations, but a question of how horrifying everything was.

The rest of the group had begun to notice Li Hao’s abnormal mood. The young man was sprawled on his back, an empty look in his eyes. What’d gotten into him? Shouldn’t he be excited and happy that he’d killed an Immortal level plant spirit? Why did it seem like he’d died?

“Li Hao, I’m a four element Arcanus now,” He Yong coughed. “My body seems a lot stronger than before and it can endure the strain of another element. I just lack a bit of Water of Life. Have you put it all away?”

Everyone’s bodies had been strengthened after absorbing significant quantities of indestructible matter. He Yong had directly set foot into four element Arcanus and was on the cusp of five elements. It felt like he would succeed at any time, but that he also lacked the necessary replenishment of Water of Life. He didn’t need it for fortifying his physical body, but that coalescing the supernatural characters devoured life force.

He had just finished tempering his body and wanted to trace the fifth character. But now, they were out of Water of Life! There’d been so much! Thousands of drops, where had it all gone? Had Li Hao taken it all?

Everyone present had shown marked improvement, particularly Hou Xiaochen. His body was extremely weak to begin with and he’d been sickly from youth. Thanks to the fortifying effects of indestructible matter, he showed greater improvement than Sky Sword and the rest. He’d already mastered the elements of his organs as well as the wind element, placing him in six element Arcanus.

He also wanted to point out the insufficient quantity of Water of Life. While he didn’t need it anymore, there were others who did. Yu Luocha!

Yu Luocha had gained a great deal from this operation. She’d been weaker before and with a more flimsy aura, but killing an Immortal had caused a change in her aura. She’d just managed to set foot into four element Arcanus, making her slightly weaker than He Yong.

Hou Xiaochen felt that she stood a chance of rising to peak four elements or even five elements if she had a bit more Water of Life. If the weakest Yu Luocha displayed such improvement, then it was easy to imagine how much the others had transformed by.

Yao Si and the others had been premier five element heavyweights to begin with. They’d forcefully set foot into six elements before, and if it wasn’t for worrying that they’d explode in the outside world if they were seven elements, Yao Si might’ve made that step already.

However, they were yet to discover the secondary dimension like Li Hao had. They couldn’t fully conceal one of their elements. Thus, not only did they have to worry about being churned to pieces by the void, but they also had to consider if their own bodies could endure such an eruption of power.

There were many six elements on the scene. Yao Si flicked a side glance at Earthturner Sword and his brethren. Those guys were likely all six elements, perhaps even peak six elements. Just like him, they didn’t dare set foot into seven elements.

Even less needed to be said about old fart Chen Zhongtian. That fellow could utilize six elements under normal conditions. He had easily set foot into peak six elements.

There was one person who Yao Si could not see through—Zhou Chuan. This was a powerhouse who walked the path of the ancient martial dao. Though he’d lacked core origin strength before, he was on par with peak six elements. Had he improved again after absorbing significant indestructible material?

One wasn’t necessarily weak just because they only walked the path of the golden body. What if he was able to break his limits?

Finally, Yao Si’s gaze rested on Panther. No one talked about the dog, but they were all immensely stunned by it. The projection of the Monster Spirit Envoy that’d gathered out of its blood was truly terrifying. It had erupted with the strength of an Apex inside the ruins!

The coconut tree had almost been struck down with one bolt of lightning. It was plain to see that the dog had supped at the table of countless treasures, and that its diet had been put to good use. Yao Si was highly envious—spending one’s life eating and drinking. The dog lived a good life, alright!

Yao Si then looked at Northern Fist and his companions; they showed marked improvement as well. Under normal circumstances, they would be five or six elements. There were very few four elements left in the group—He Yong and Yu Luocha counted among their weaker members. Light Sword was stronger than both of them, so she should be a fifth element Arcanus as well.

Yao Si inwardly sighed with emotion. It’d only been half a year since he decided to follow Li Hao. The Arcanus level had just appeared then, but an entire group of cultivators had set foot in it in the blink of an eye.

This kind of change was very unexpected, but also fostered incredible competition! The heavyweights of the nine ministries and other factions were forced into swift improvement as well. Perhaps they’d all emptied their family vaults, which rather benefited the plant spirits.

The plant spirits of the various organizations must have benefited greatly in recent days. Everyone had advanced at a prudent rate before—there was no need to drain the pond to catch all the fish in the waters. There was a limit to their improvement before the second awakening arrived. It was sufficient to set foot into six element Arcanus before then.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

But now, everyone bristled with competition!

“This can’t be allowed to continue!” Li Hao suddenly interrupted Yao Si’s line of thought. The group blinked at him.

What?

“We must study how to strengthen the body, and not just through Water of Life or indestructible matter.” Li Hao frowned. “There must be a cultivation method, a unique method that is comprehensive and swiftly develops the physical body!”

They were faced with these straits as a seven element Arcanus. What about when they reached eight or nine? Were they to continue killing plant spirits? But there were limited numbers of plant spirits as well, humans couldn’t just hunt them to extinction! That wouldn’t be enough for their use in any case!

Those of the group looked at each other before He Yong said in a muffled voice, “Then we need to get your master back here!”

“Who the hell knows where he’s gone!” Li Hao's head ached at the task. “He doesn’t respond to any of my messages, so he’s probably thrown the transmission pendant away. He didn’t come back for the Skystar Commander Office inauguration ceremony, so he’s probably entered a ruin!”