After bidding farewell to the group, Li Hao set off with the Candlelight Spirit and Xiyuan towards the Wang Family in Yunzhou.
Their journey took them across mountains, rivers, and the vast landscape of the martial world. Even though they were traveling directly, they had to traverse six or seven major continents, covering a distance of nearly a million miles.
However, on this trip, Li Hao was in no mood to enjoy the scenery or indulge in leisure. He rushed forward with a singular focus.
The Candlelight Spirit raced through the skies, its hooves leaving trails of fire across the heavens. After a day's journey, they arrived at the borders of Yunzhou.
Yunzhou was a land filled with various powers and martial arts sects, but behind them all loomed the presence of the Wang Family. Ever since the Imperial City stripped them of their authority over the border troops, the Wang Family had extended their influence deep into these martial sects. They used the sects as a front for training their troops. Should a demon invasion ever threaten Yunzhou, the state would present a united front.
These seemingly scattered martial sects possessed battle armors and weapons of exquisite quality, enough to make demons retreat.
Whether the elder in the Imperial City chose to turn a blind eye to this remained unclear.
The Candlelight Spirit descended and landed outside the Wang Family's Shrine of the Divine General.
This magnificent and majestic shrine stood at the heart of Yunzhou City, exuding an aura of absolute dominance. The words "Shrine of the Heavenly Illumination Divine General" were inscribed above its gates, shining with a golden radiance that struck awe into the hearts of all who beheld it.
The guards outside the shrine were startled by the demonic aura emanating from the Candlelight Spirit, but they quickly realized something and hurried inside to report the visitors' arrival.
As the news spread, the Shrine of the Divine General buzzed with excitement.
The Hao Tian General, that young man who had stirred up countless storms from a million miles away, had actually come to Yunzhou!
Everyone was incredibly curious about this young general who had achieved countless glorious feats of war at only sixteen years of age. His name alone was enough to excite and intrigue them.
That young man was already shrouded in a layer of mythical allure.
"Is it true that the Hao Tian General has come to our Wang Family?"
"I heard from Father that he has never seen that general in the imperial court. Despite his countless honors, he has never attended a court session!"
"Why has he come here?"
"I heard it's because of the Dead River."
"The Dead River? Now that's interesting. Is he here to seek guidance from our Wang Family? Has he also set his sights on the treasures within the Merit Treasury?"
"Of course, who wouldn't be tempted by the Merit Treasury? If it weren't for that, I wouldn't even know that the martial path had a pinnacle."
"Let's go and see for ourselves."
The younger generation of the Wang Family was also filled with excitement and anticipation.
In the current Great Yu Dynasty, as power shifted from prosperity to decline and peace turned to turmoil, the name Hao Tian had risen to prominence. In just two short years, it had been mentioned countless times, causing even the proud young masters of the Shrine of the Divine General to set aside their arrogance and feel a deep curiosity about this young man.
If the gap between them hadn't been so vast, they might have tried to compete and prove their strength. But the difference in their cultivation was simply too great. Even their elders, whom they respected, paled in comparison to this young man, causing them to lose any thoughts of rivalry.
At the same time, the head of the Wang Family, Wang Yongzhi, who appeared to be in his forties, had already led a group of influential figures of his generation from the Wang Family to greet their guests outside the mansion.
Although this reception was grand, Wang Yongzhi was a perceptive man. From the recent events involving the Buddhist Sect, he could tell that this young man was extraordinary and even terrifying. He was not someone the Wang Family could afford to be arrogant or complacent around.
Soon, at the entrance of the Shrine of the Divine General, everyone caught sight of the young man seated atop the fiery Candlelight Spirit.
The young man had a fair and handsome face, with deep, black eyes like translucent jade. Contrary to their expectations, he did not exude arrogance or act imperiously. Instead, he gave off an air of reclusiveness and depth, as if he were sitting alone atop a mountain peak, exuding a sense of loneliness and freedom.
Wang Yongzhi's eyes turned solemn, but a smile appeared on his face as he cupped his hands and said, "You must be General Hao Tian. We have never met before, but your reputation precedes you. Your name resounds like thunder in our ears!"
"Head of the Wang Family?"
Li Hao could tell that the other party stood in the center to show respect, so he dismounted from the back of the shrunken, fiercer version of the Candlelight Spirit and returned the greeting.
As soon as Li Hao dismounted, the Candlelight Spirit transformed into a ball of flame, from which a young man with cold eyes emerged and took his place behind Li Hao.
Standing beside Wang Yongzhi were two elderly men of the Wang Family, their eyes solemn and their hearts filled with a chill.
Although they had heard rumors, seeing the master of the Grand Void Realm so completely subdued by Li Hao was still a shocking sight.
Ever since the battle in Liangzhou, the master of the Grand Void Realm had revealed his true strength—a half-step to the Immortal Realm.
In the various Shrines of the Divine Generals, he was considered a top-tier fighter. Yet now, he meekly served as a mount for the young man.
"Greetings, General Hao Tian."
The influential figures of the Wang Family also cupped their hands and bowed to Li Hao, showing great courtesy.
After all, when it came to achievements and titles, these elders, despite their age and experience, paled in comparison to this young man.
"General Hao Tian, please come in."
Wang Yongzhi warmly invited Li Hao inside, and the others also displayed a humility and friendliness that was rarely seen.
When they had first learned that Li Hao had killed the Buddhist Leader, they had been surprised, but it wasn't enough to make them so humble and ingratiating. However, as more detailed intelligence was gathered and secret reports came in from spies embedded within the Buddhist Sect, they discovered that the Buddhist Leader had likely been killed by Li Hao after reaching the Dao Enlightenment Realm.
This piece of news was truly chilling.
After all, the Buddhist Leader had always displayed the power of the Grand Peace Realm.
While this was enough to intimidate others, compared to the centuries-old accumulation of the Wang Family, which included a batch of exceptional talents who had entered the Immortal Realm a millennium ago, they had treated the Buddhist Leader with courtesy but not true reverence.
The Wang Family also had a Grand Peace Realm cultivator.
Each of the Shrines of the Divine Generals possessed some sort of trump card capable of countering a Grand Peace Realm cultivator.
Aside from Li Tianzong, who had fallen in Dragon City decades ago, the Li Family had LiMuxiu, who had risen to prominence. Although he was only at the half-step to the Immortal Realm, his unbeatable fist in the Domain of the Way could still go up against a Grand Peace cultivator.
"If you also count the freaks from the Xianmen, they won't be far behind when they return in the future."
But the Dao Realm was different; this was already the strongest under the sages.
The reason that Zhenren of Qiandao Palace deterred the demons from the four directions from acting recklessly was because the power he displayed on the surface had already reached the Dao Realm.
And no one has ever seen him use his full strength, so no one knows exactly how much he is hiding.
Now, the fact that Li Hao can kill the Buddha Lord is already extremely terrifying. The Emperor's decree further favors him, exposing all kinds of royal heritage, and the reason behind this is even more terrifying, making people respect this young man.
Arriving at the main hall of the Wang Family's palace.
After a few perfunctory greetings, Li Hao asked eagerly, "Lord of the Wang Family, did you say that you've found Elder Feng Bopping's soul?"
Hearing Li Hao's respectful tone towards Feng Bopping, Wang Yongzhi thought of how the other party had killed the Buddha Lord for the sake of the Thief Sage, and he couldn't help but sigh, "General Haotian, don't worry. His Majesty has already told me that the Thief Sage's soul may be incomplete and his obsession is not deep. Now he is trapped in the River Styx of the underworld level."
"When we found him, my second uncle, Wang Zhendong, personally went to try to pass through."
Underworld level? Li Hao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It's good that it's not a Youdu level river.
Previously, when he passed through the Longcheng River of Death, he almost lost his life.
Even with his current strength in the Taiping Dao Realm, he wouldn't dare say that he could pass through other Youdu-level rivers of death. After all, each Youdu-level river of death has different rules.
Although the Dao Realm can suppress rules, even if one ignores the rules of the Youdu-level river of death, if one can't find a way, one can only destroy the river of death instead of passing through it.
"Can I give it a try?"
Li Hao asked.
Although the underworld-level river of death is relatively easy, passing through it and suppressing it are two different things; it's all about finding the right approach.
Li Hao didn't feel confident about passing through, but he figured that the more times he tried, the more likely he would succeed.
As long as the river of death wasn't destroyed and disappeared, he could repeatedly attempt to conquer it.
"You?"
Wang Yongzhi was taken aback by Li Hao's words and felt a bit surprised, but it was also within his expectations. He smiled and said, "General Haotian, don't you trust our Wang family? Rest assured, we will never pretend, and although the Thief Sage has a notorious reputation, our Wang family doesn't dislike him. After all, he has helped us solve quite a few rivers of death in the past."
"Hmm?"
Li Hao looked at him with a puzzled expression, suddenly remembering how he had seen Feng Lao's merit when he first entered the river of death and checked the merit list.
Over three thousand points, ranked in the thirties.
And the Sword Saint from the Sword Lodge was only ranked in the eighties or nineties. At that time, solving the river of death didn't come with any rewards; it was purely done out of passion.
"Do you know his name in the river of death?"
Li Hao asked in surprise.
"It's 'Not Staying,' right? A thief doesn't leave a trace, and a saint doesn't stay in one place. We've known it was him for a long time."
Wang Yongzhi smiled and then sighed, "It's not easy to distinguish between good and evil with just a few words. Although the Thief Saint has visited our Wang family, since he stole from us, we can only blame ourselves for our negligence and take the opportunity to weed out some traitors. Well, I don't care about the rest, but just because he can rank in the top fifty on the merit list, our Wang family respects him as a man."
Li Hao looked at him with a focused gaze, surprised by the open-mindedness of the head of the Wang family.
Then he thought of the merit list he had seen before, where nearly twenty out of the top thirty were surnamed Wang.
This was both a responsibility entrusted by the court and a wall of merit for the Wang family.
"However, now it's fine. Those Sword Saints and Knife Saints have all killed their way into the top fifty. The merit treasure vault is out, and the river of death is not a disaster but a treasure. Haha."
Wang Yongzhi laughed, but there was a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.
In the past, without the merit treasure vault, the names of those Sword Saints and Knife Saints were basically ranked at the bottom, and some didn't even make it onto the list.
Clearing the river of death? They would rather spend their time cultivating and comprehending.
Even if they had to take action, they would go to the border to slay demons.
Both were arduous tasks, but slaying demons could earn them merit and titles.
On the other hand, the river of death was mysterious and complex, with no apparent benefits, and one didn't know what unexpected dangers lurked within.
Slaying demons was much simpler.
In the past, the Wang family had personally visited these powerful experts, hoping that they would help share the burden of the higher-level rivers of death, offering precious treasures as rewards, but no one was willing to pay attention. Even if there was, they would make unreasonable demands that left the Wang family gritting their teeth.
Now, however, the situation had reversed.
It was precisely because they had received countless cold shoulders and disdainful looks that they had no prejudice against Feng Bopping, the Thief Sage.
Reputation could deceive people, but actions could not.
Everyone has their own story.
Unless Feng Bopping had known beforehand that the Merit Treasury would be opened in the future and had positioned himself accordingly, but that was utterly impossible.
After all, it takes ten thousand merits to open the Merit Treasury, and even the Wang family, who has studied the river of death for hundreds of years, was unaware of this.
"With my second uncle taking action, General Haotian can rest assured. If we don't succeed the first time, we can always try again. Now, we won't be using destructive means for these rivers of death."
Wang Yongzhi assured Li Hao.
If a river of death is destroyed, it will disappear, and the merit for passing through is a hundred times greater. Now, big and small rivers of death have become scarce resources. In the past, no one would respond to requests to destroy them, but secretly destroying a river of death is now considered a crime. That's how much the times have changed.
"It's fine. Many hands make light work, and I can give it a try, too."
Li Hao said, "The river of death can erode the soul, and the longer one stays inside, the more dangerous it becomes. I'm worried that if we drag this out, Elder Feng's soul will also face the risk of dissipation."
"General Haotian, this river of death is not like slaying demons. It's not just about having a high realm; most of the time, it's about experience and wit."
Nearby, an elderly man commented in an indifferent tone.
He was Wang Zhenping, one of the older generation of the Wang Family and Wang Xiangru's father.
He remembered the various things his daughter had sent back to her family, and combined with the complaints of his grandchildren, he did not have a good impression of the young man before him.
However, he also knew that this young man was now very different, extremely powerful, and with remarkable battle exploits, so he would not go out of his way to provoke or cause trouble.
What he said at this moment was also the truth, and there was no fault to be found.
"Yes, General Haotian, although you are very powerful, the River of Death is very dangerous."
The others also began to advise, but their expressions were sincere.
Although he was extremely powerful, he was still very young. Navigating the River of Death was a different matter from slaying demons, and it was much more difficult than marching into battle.
"It's fine. Letting General Haotian give it a try is also acceptable. Has General Haotian entered the River of Death before?"
Wang Yongzhi shook his head, not stopping him. He could see that Li Hao had deep feelings for the Thief Sage; otherwise, he wouldn't have killed the Buddhist Leader out of anger. Knowing that his words would not change Li Hao's mind, he thought, "After all, he didn't come all this way just to chat and make small talk with us."
"I've entered it once or twice," Li Hao said.
"General Haotian really has a kind heart."
Wang Yongzhi smiled and felt a sense of goodwill towards Li Hao. "Before entering the River of Death, I should first explain the situation regarding the River of Death to General Haotian so that you can understand it clearly."
"Alright," Li Hao nodded. The Wang Family had been studying the River of Death for hundreds of years, so their understanding of it was definitely deeper than his.
Wang Yongzhi did not beat around the bush. Regarding the secrets of the River of Death, it was impossible to reveal everything at once, but he did inform Li Hao of some of the more subtle intricacies and rules to avoid any unknown dangers within.
After he finished speaking, he led Li Hao away from the main hall.
The others saw that Li Hao was determined and did not try to dissuade him further. After all, gaining more experience was not a bad thing, and besides, there was merit to be earned from the River of Death. They believed that the Emperor would also bestow future River of Death resources to this general.
That merit could be exchanged for extremely precious extreme realm cultivations and various states of mind from the Merit Treasure Vault.
Thinking of this, they couldn't help but feel envious, as well as regretful and sigh with emotion.
If he could make use of the items in the Merit Treasure Vault, this young man would surely soar even higher.
As Li Hao followed Wang Yongzhi and the others out of the main hall, the many young disciples of the Wang Family who had gathered outside became lively.
Someone far away used their spirit to look down from the sky, curious to see.
"That's General Haotian? He's chatting with the family head and the others, and he looks so relaxed."
"Yes, Grandpa Zhenping is also there. He's not afraid at all. My legs would be shaking if I were in front of Grandpa Zhenping."
"You coward! Do you think General Haotian is like us? You probably don't know that Grandpa Zhenping, a strong man like him, isn't even enough for him to kill."
"Shh, Grandpa Zhenping is glaring at you."
"Miss, look, that's General Haotian. He's one of the two people you most wanted to meet, and now you've finally seen him."
Outside the crowd, a woman with a frosty and misty aura stood quietly, gazing into the distance as her maid held an umbrella for her.
"General Haotian is so young. I wonder what Mr. Insect Two looks like. He's probably an old fool, right?"
"Don't talk nonsense. You haven't even seen him." The woman frowned and gently scolded her.
The maid giggled but was not afraid, obviously used to playing around with her mistress.
Not long after, Wang Yongzhi and the others led Li Hao to a secret place within the Tian Zhao Shen Jian Fu. The many young disciples of the Wang Family who had been watching from a distance were blocked far away and did not dare to approach casually. This was a heavily guarded area of the Wang Family and was not to be trespassed.
In front of them was a mountain that seemed to have been hollowed out, extremely spacious and vast.
The mountain body, like a pointed hat, sat on the ground, and a beam of light shone down from the peak, landing on a black sculpture.
"This is the Ksitigarbha Buddha."
Wang Yongzhi brought Li Hao here and said, "This strange object was brought out from a River of Death by one of our Wang Family's ancestors long ago. Later, we studied and figured out its function. As long as we feed the clay from the Land God Temple outside the River of Death into the mouth of this Ksitigarbha Buddha, we can directly connect to that River of Death through it."
"In other words, we can enter any of the Rivers of Death under the jurisdiction of our Wang Family from here."
Although this Ksitigarbha Buddha was strange and bizarre, it was not considered a big secret and had already been reported to the Emperor.
Li Hao was surprised. He had always felt that the origin of the River of Death was extremely mysterious, and he never expected that there would be such a strange object.
"General Haotian, if you have entered the River of Death before, you should already have a list of the River of Death, right?"
Wang Yongzhi smiled and said to Li Hao, "You only need to enter from here. Choose the River of Death you want to enter, and there will be a map of the River of Death above. I will tell you which one it is."
Li Hao nodded and then, according to Wang Yongzhi's instructions, stood in front of the half-human-height Ksitigarbha Buddha.
The Ksitigarbha Buddha looked kind and benevolent, but in the light and shadows, it also exuded an air of strangeness. Its narrowed eyes seemed to be mocking.
Li Hao's palm glowed with golden light, and the slip of paper about the River of Death floated out.
Subsequently, the Ksitigarbha Buddha also glowed with golden light, and a book flew out, flipping through its pages.
Li Hao's slip of paper was attracted and merged into the book. After a while, as if confirming his identity, the slip of paper flew out from the book and returned to Li Hao.
Wang Yongzhi, standing beside him, could see clearly. The slip of paper floating in front of Li Hao recorded his information about the River of Death: his name, merit, events, and so on.
When he saw the two simple characters on the slip of paper, Wang Yongzhi froze, his heart trembling: "You're Insect Two?!""