Rising from the abyss and standing between heaven and earth, the blood lake beneath the boy's feet churned violently as the ravaging will of the aging Grand Dao enveloped him, yet it could not wither his physical body.
His flesh and blood were reborn from ruins and sublimated to the extreme, becoming immortal and indestructible!
And at this moment, he broke free from his shackles, forging his dao heart with the myriad things of the world, stepping into the Four Establishments Realm!
At this moment, his dao heart was detached from the mundane, free to roam the heavens and the earth.
Wave after wave of breath, like raging tides and abyssal oceans, surged from all directions and gathered on him, and the breath of the Dao Heart Realm slowly diffused out.
But these dissipating breaths were devoured by the raging aging Grand Dao surrounding them.
The boy raised his head, his face almost perfect, as if meticulously carved by the rivers and mountains.
His eyes were as cold as glaciers, devoid of emotion, as if looking down upon the multitude of living beings, having seen through the vicissitudes of the world, the affairs and objects, and the lives of all things, with indifference and aloofness, high above.
As if unmoved by anything, without joy or sorrow, transcending life and death, like an unfeeling true god!
But as his gaze fell to the side of the blood lake below, and he saw a pitch-black cosmos jade belt hanging limply on a rough chain that drooped into the blood lake, his glacial eyes gradually began to show signs of melting.
Then, slowly, warmth emerged from the cold, and the aloof and supreme heavenly heart that overlooked everything transformed, descending into the chest of this physical body, completely fusing with it. It was the heavenly heart, the dao heart, and also the human heart, three hearts as one, truly reborn from the ashes!
Countless thoughts and memories regained their color at this moment. His eyes shone, and his figure flickered as he swooped down towards the blood lake, landing on the chain of the cosmos jade belt.
This chain was incredibly thick; it was the one that had bound the Demon Saint earlier. He bent down and, from the edge near the blood lake, picked up the already damaged cosmos jade belt.
Earlier, when he had sunk into the blood lake, he had also loosened this jade belt. Fortunately, it seemed to have been quickly washed by the bloody water onto this chain, preventing it from completely rotting away.
At this moment, within the broken cosmos space inside the jade belt, the bloody water churned.
Li Hao's divine sense flew in, and he instantly saw three faint life forces inside.
The Candlelight God, the Yin Lady, and... a red-bearded man.
When he saw the red beard, Li Hao's eyes narrowed, and he quickly jumped to a higher position on the chain.
He inhaled sharply, sucking out all the bloody water that was rampaging with the will of the Grand Dao within the cosmos space.
The bloody water splashed onto him, causing waves of corrosion, but it wasn't as severe as before. At this moment, it was merely like a scorched surface, leaving scars that quickly coagulated.
At this moment, his physical body had surpassed the Nine-Forged Divine Soldiers, undergoing a qualitative change, comparable to a Saintly Heart Heavenly Treasure!
Even if the Ultimate Art Realm struck him unprepared, it couldn't inflict any harm. However, despite this, he still couldn't completely ignore the corrosive power of the blood lake.
After all, this was the power of the Saint Realm. Even if it couldn't compare to its might in its previous life, it was still beyond his current ability to resist. Even a Dao Insight Realm cultivator would have their skin flayed, and a Saintly Heart Heavenly Treasure would be worn down!
After sucking out all the bloody water, Li Hao looked at the Candlelight God and the Yin Lady, who were curled up together. A red beard was huddled between them.
They were still alive!
Li Hao froze, feeling both surprised and inexplicably delighted.
The Candlelight God and the Yin Lady had originally been extremely weak, but now, they had become one body, their entire bodies covered by the Candlelight God's dao domain, yet it was slightly different from its original domain, more profound and powerful.
In addition, a strange purple-black and red light flowed around the couple, swirling and chasing each other, containing the extreme yin and extreme yang powers respectively.
The aging dao intent that permeated the bloody water was blocked by these two ancient and profound powers, and the rest was obstructed by the dao domain, but a tiny bit still managed to seep through.
This caused their bodies to show slight signs of decay.
"Is this... bloodline awakening?"
Li Hao glanced at the purple-black light and the red light, remembering what Ji Yunguo had said earlier. The Candlelight God and the Yin Lady were originally one, possessing the bloodline of an ancient beast from the Great Wilderness.
Now, these two auras containing profound ancient powers seemed to be the latent strength hidden within their bloodline.
Facing death at the River of Extinction and encountering it again here, their bloodline power was finally awakened.
However, Li Hao was more concerned about the red-bearded man than them. A faint aura emanated from him, and it seemed that he couldn't detect Li Hao's presence.
Li Hao's heart ached, as he couldn't retrieve the man yet. The man was unable to isolate the Demon Saint's dao intent from his surroundings.
Taking a deep breath, Li Hao brought up the panel and chose to allocate his skill points.
The bottleneck at the Dao Heart Realm had been broken, and he still had 3 skill points remaining. With his choice, one point was immediately deducted.
As for his Physical Dao, it had advanced from the seventh stage to the eighth!
In an instant, a vast amount of information poured into his mind, like a kind of inheritance from the depths of the underworld, constantly imparting knowledge.
Li Hao sat cross-legged, and since stepping into the Dao Heart Realm, he felt as if the heavens and the earth were like a curtain that he could touch with just a slight effort, and he could even tear it apart.
He immediately tore through the void with his dao heart, creating a small piece of his own cosmos space.
He didn't push it to the limit, as this was temporarily sufficient.
Next, he intended to put the cosmos jade belt into his cosmos space, but he felt a repulsive force resisting him.
And the source of this repulsive force was the cosmos space sealed within the cosmos jade belt.
Li Hao immediately understood. This kind of cosmos space treasure couldn't be stored within another cosmos space. The two spaces couldn't overlap or cover each other.
If he were to take the three of them out of the cosmos space within the cosmos jade belt, the even more violent dao intent raging on the bloody lake outside would quickly erode and destroy them.
These changes caused the qi within his body to become increasingly vigorous and powerful.
Some of the techniques were such that even without practicing them, his body could operate them on its own, causing his flesh and blood to undergo another transformation!
His physical strength rapidly increased, far surpassing the initial million jin. After returning from Tianji Tower, it had already reached a level close to two million jin.
Now that his Physical Dao had advanced to the eighth stage, the insights of the Dao Realm were extraordinary. Numerous top-tier body refinement techniques were once again enhanced and elevated to the level of supreme arts!
Meanwhile, the slightly inferior body refinement techniques also reached the level of supreme-grade, and their layers were refined to an extraordinary level!
This was a comprehensive qualitative change and breakthrough!
His physical strength continued to grow stronger, and in just a short moment, without moving from his seated position, the autonomous operation of just a few techniques caused his qi to surge rapidly, breaking through to the Reverse Fate Realm!
A profound and mysterious qi emerged within his body, coiling around him as if it could communicate with the heavens and earth, an existence beyond the tangible.
Following that intangible feeling, Li Hao sensed an unimaginable depth and an indescribable oppressive fear. If he continued to extend his perception, he felt that he might transgress a taboo and die!
Reverse Fate, Reverse Fate... It not only meant possessing the power to reverse fate but also truly sensing the existence of one's destiny!
Thus, one would also come to understand one's own insignificance and the vastness of the heavens and earth!
Upon reaching the Reverse Fate Realm, one would instead become more humble and reverent.
Earlier, when he had exchanged for the Reverse Fate power in the Merit Treasure Vault, Li Hao hadn't had the time to fully experience it. But now, this qi was something he had cultivated on his own.
Not long after, countless thoughts and insights from various techniques flooded his mind, leaving Li Hao with no time to spare for anything else.
A storm raged in his mind as he refined and fused seven or eight supreme body refinement techniques, as well as dozens of supreme-grade techniques, incorporating the strengths of a hundred schools of thought, blending them with the Grand Dao, and creating his own supreme art.
However, his supreme art was not related to swordsmanship or fist techniques.
These two paths had not yet reached the seventh stage, let alone the refinement and enhancement of their respective supreme arts.
The supreme art he was creating at this moment was related to the Physical Dao!
After sitting cross-legged for a long time, Li Hao suddenly opened his eyes. Numerous body refinement techniques fused into one, and he gained insight into his own Physical Dao supreme art. His flesh and blood turned crimson, emitting countless waves of qi.
But soon, the crimson flesh and blood transformed into a reddish-gold color, as if he had entered a divine power state.
However, he had not actually entered that state; it was merely his physical body erupting to its utmost limit, with his refined blood and essence undergoing a transformation.
"Supreme World Honored Body!"
Li Hao sat upright on the chain above the blood lake, his entire body radiating golden divine light. Behind him, a giant rainbow of flesh and blood appeared, like a seven-colored divine cloud, exuding an aura of transcendence.
The aging Dao Intent surrounding his body slowed down significantly in its attempt to erode his physical form.
This was the supreme art he had created for his Physical Dao, capable of enhancing his strength and physical defense while also possessing the 'Suppression' rule! At this moment, it could even slightly repel and weaken the encroaching Dao Intent.
When a supreme art realm practitioner exhibited their supreme art, it would usually be accompanied by a corresponding rule, or a special state. For example, LiMuxiu's brief semi-invincible state and Lu Yuan's Ultimate Void Thunder Dao, which brought about the Ultimate State, enhancing his power from all directions to an extreme limit.
However, these supreme art states could be broken in the face of a Dao Domain, as the refined power was not strong enough. When confronted with the indiscriminate rule suppression of a Dao Domain, they would quickly be shattered. Thus, in the face of a Dao Realm expert, a supreme art realm practitioner could only flee in defeat!
But at this moment, the suppression rule emanating from Li Hao's body was actually affecting the Dao Intent.
If he were to encounter a Dao Domain, Li Hao felt that with his supreme art, he would be able to suppress and break through it!
The strength of supreme art realms varied greatly, with some being superior to others. Li Hao's supreme art was a combination of seven or eight supreme arts and over ten supreme-grade body refinement techniques, resulting in unimaginable power!
Li Hao did not stop there but continued to refine and enhance his supreme art.
Soon, another insight emerged.
Like a vibration, the chain beneath him trembled slightly, rippling the blood lake.
A Dao Domain power extended from his body, spreading out in all directions!
Peaceful Dao Realm!
With his Supreme World Honored Body supreme art, Li Hao stepped into the Dao Realm, successfully creating his own Dao Domain!
At this moment, his Dao Domain expanded, containing the suppression power of the supreme art realm. Similar to the Candlelight God's Dao Domain, which held the power of his supreme art of incineration, capable of burning everything within it.
Li Hao's Dao Domain, on the other hand, was one of suppression!
The strange lock and iron chain that bound the Demon Saint below him shook under the influence of his Dao Domain.
The aging Dao Intent surrounding him was significantly weakened within the boundaries of Li Hao's Dao Domain.
The constant suppressive force bore down on the Dao Intent, but this suppressive rule was being eroded and weakened by the Dao Intent as well, resulting in a mutual attrition.
In this attrition, the Dao Intent still held a slight advantage, exerting a minor influence on Li Hao's physical body.
Li Hao's face turned cold as he closed his eyes and continued to refine his art.
Soon after, suddenly, another strange fluctuation extended from his body, spreading out in all directions!
Second Dao Domain!
This Dao Domain was created by Li Hao using the Dragon Ancestor Indestructible Body supreme art, which he had gained insight into after his transformation with the Dragon Cicada Vacuum Body. Within this Dao Domain, there seemed to be a dragon's roar, containing a terrifying pressure. Although it was not Li Hao's own supreme art, he had managed to create a Dao Domain from it, containing the rule of oppressive pressure!
Suppression and oppressive pressure, these two similar rules overlapped, and in an instant, the aging Dao Intent within the Dao Domain became even weaker.