Li Hao swiftly gave chase, tracking the traces of Gui Xu's instantaneous movement and slicing through it with his sword!
Zhen Yuan Holy Son was forced out of Gui Xu, shocked by this turn of events as it was his first encounter with such a situation.
However, he quickly performed a rule and, through Gui Xu's instantaneous movement, shifted himself to a distant location. He realized that Li Hao held deep affection for the emperor and could use that to his advantage to restrain Li Hao.
But just as he redirected his attack, it was intercepted by Li Hao, who harnessed the power of the other half of the world and directed it towards his opponent in a crushing blow.
Zhen Yuan Holy Son's pupils constricted as he swiftly raised his hand and unleashed a divine ability.
Formless Mirror Image!
In an instant, eight figures appeared around his body, stepping out from the void and identical to him.
Simultaneously, the eight figures attacked, raising their divine palms to block Li Hao's overwhelming sword strike.
But as soon as the divine palms made contact, they felt a power more terrifying than mountains pressing down on them. Zhen Yuan Holy Son was astonished as he had only observed from a distance before and had not personally experienced Li Hao's power. Now he realized how absurdly strong Li Hao was, no wonder he could kill within the Fivefold Dao Domain without restraint.
Such domineering power rendered all rules useless, shattering everything with sheer force!
Puh!
Along with the eight figures, the true body of Zhen Yuan Holy Son spat out mouthfuls of blood. In their panic, they scattered and fled in different directions.
The nine figures simultaneously used Gui Xu's instantaneous movement, each seemingly capable of unleashing the same power as the true body. It was already extremely rare for a cultivation technique to be able to refine an incarnation, and for that incarnation to possess a third of the true body's power.
Not to mention creating eight incarnations in one breath, each possessing the same power. This was the might of a superior divine ability!
Li Hao's expression turned solemn. If he chased them one by one, they would all escape.
Moreover, he suspected that as long as one incarnation escaped, it could transform and become a lifesaving ability.
He suddenly thought of the divine ability he had just acquired and immediately activated it.
However, as he had not yet entered the Realm of Enlightenment, forcibly performing this ability caused the power between heaven and earth to stir violently, shaking intensely and forming a whirlwind that enveloped Li Hao's body.
Then, this power suddenly condensed, transforming into a divine ability comprised purely of energy.
In the square outside the Imperial Palace, a huge barrier suddenly appeared, enveloping the entire palace and isolating it from the world, cutting off all connections to heaven and earth.
The nine Zhen Yuan Holy Sons, who were about to rush out, were simultaneously blocked, all of them taken aback.
He immediately recognized this as the Heaven-Banned Earth-Extinguished divine ability, but wasn't this Brother Mu's signature move?
Even if Li Hao had just chased and forced it out of him, this was still a superior divine ability. How could it be understood in such a short time?
Could it be that he had mastered it long ago?
Zhen Yuan Holy Son was bewildered but then recalled that this young man was a reincarnation of a sage and might have awakened the sage's memory, thus gaining mastery.
As Zhen Yuan Holy Son was blocked, Li Hao also stepped out of Gui Xu and rushed towards him.
Bang! Soon, one of the incarnations was slashed and exploded.
Li Hao stepped out again, chasing after another figure.
Zhen Yuan Holy Son was both shocked and furious. He had already realized that he was no match for Li Hao, and at this moment, he had no intention of fighting but only wanted to escape.
"Don't push me!"
Seeing the second and third incarnations being killed one after another, he couldn't help but angrily exclaim.
The other incarnations also glared at Li Hao with shocked and furious expressions.
Li Hao didn't say anything and continued his rapid pursuit.
Soon, two more incarnations were consecutively slain by Li Hao.
As the number of incarnations decreased, Li Hao's attacks became more and more fierce. Zhen Yuan Holy Son was filled with shock and anger. He clenched his teeth and took out a jade flute from the space between heaven and earth, quickly playing a tune.
The flute's melody was ethereal and captivating, causing the killing intent in one's heart to dissipate.
Li Hao paused for a moment, feeling a sense of calm wash over him.
But he soon reacted, rushing towards the figure holding the flute.
The other incarnations rushed towards Li Hao at this moment, trying to block him from reaching the true body.
Bang!
Li Hao swung his sword, slaying the incarnation that stood in his way, and then turned to attack another.
At the same time, the flute's melody drifted into the depths of the void, becoming the only clear sound between heaven and earth.
As Li Hao consecutively killed the incarnations, when only the true body of Zhen Yuan Holy Son remained, a look of anxiety appeared on his face. Seeing Li Hao's sword about to strike, he roared and struck out with his palm.
A divine ability burst forth from his palm, known as Caged Sparrow.
This divine ability could turn the palm into a small world, imprisoning the target within and rendering them unable to fly like a sparrow in the palm of one's hand.
If it were anyone else, this divine ability would have taken effect immediately. But the person he was facing was Li Hao.
Li Hao's body and consciousness were closely connected to the world, and to imprison him as a sparrow in the palm was equivalent to imprisoning the entire world in one's hand, which was something Zhen Yuan Holy Son could never accomplish.
Bang!
The divine ability failed, and the sword light fell, severing his palm.
Zhen Yuan Holy Son was dazed, evidently not expecting his divine ability to fail.
But with life and death at stake, he reacted swiftly, quickly retreating and anxiously blowing into the flute.
As the second flute sound drifted out, Li Hao's body instantly appeared, ready to strike.
Just as his sword light was about to chop down on Zhen Yuan Holy Son, a brilliant golden rift suddenly tore open in the void behind him.
Sensing the aura within the rift, Zhen Yuan Holy Son's eyes lit up with delight, and he heaved a sigh of relief.
The rift was within arm's reach, and he quickly dove into it.
"Brat, once I become a Saint, I will definitely kill you!"
As the golden rift began to close, Zhen Yuan Holy Son glared at Li Hao with murderous intent, his eyes locking onto him.
Li Hao's eyes turned cold.
"Then don't leave!"
He abruptly gathered his sword light and slashed with all his might.
Zhen Yuan Holy Son's expression changed slightly as he hurriedly fled deeper into the golden rift.
Li Hao's sword energy pursued him into the rift, and in an instant, it created a terrifying lightning fire, as if two worlds were colliding!
"Master, save me!"
As he saw the sword energy about to catch up to him, Zhen Yuan Holy Son cried out in panic.
Suddenly, a cold hum echoed from within the rift.
Like a heavy hammer, the cold hum reverberated through Li Hao's body, shattering the sword energy.
"To chase and kill someone in the Immortal Path is too outrageous!"
A cold voice rang out, followed by a surge of overwhelming might that swept out from within the rift.
Bang!
It was like a flick of a sleeve, but it contained unimaginable power.
Li Hao's pupils constricted as he hastily harnessed the power of the heavens and earth to resist. However, the boundless power of the heavens and earth was easily penetrated, and Li Hao sensed a familiar aura within it—it was Saintly Might!
Bang! Li Hao's body was blown open, and then it suddenly tore apart and exploded.
At the same time, the golden rift slowly closed.
The cold and indifferent will within it also disappeared.
After restoring his body in mid-air, Li Hao's scattered blood suddenly gathered and took on his form once again.
Li Hao's face showed a hint of shock. The other party had seemingly attacked with a casual strike, yet it had easily torn him apart, even the power of the world he controlled was unable to stop it.
Obviously, it was a being beyond the Realm of Hearing the Dao.
The question was whether it was a Half-Saint or a Saint.
Li Hao stared at the spot where the rift had vanished, his expression changing as he realized that letting such a formidable foe escape would likely cause trouble in the future. He had to find a way to resolve this quickly.
However, it seemed like the other party had retreated back into the Immortal Sect? Was that the World of Saints...? Li Hao's eyes flickered as he suddenly felt a chill run through him. He looked down and saw that he was stark naked.
Who said that only those standing in the light are heroes?
Standing here naked can count too.
At that moment, his physical body had just condensed, and he was completely bare. Li Hao glanced at Li Mu Xiu and the others in the distance and noticed some of the empresses and princesses among the hostages looking up at him.
Li Hao blushed and quickly took clothes from the dead palace guards and put them on, covering himself modestly.
Afterward, Li Hao returned to the group and also withdrew the Heaven-Banned Earth-Extinguished divine ability, slowly coming out of his extremely refined immortal state.
"Child..."
Emperor Yu looked at Li Hao's injured appearance, his face filled with heartache and emotion.
Li Hao gave him a reassuring smile.
Li Mu Xiu, Xia Linglong, and the others also rushed over, gathering around.
"Haoer," Li Mu Xiu said.
"If not for General Haotian, we wouldn't have survived," Xia Linglong added.
"Thank you, General Haotian, for saving our lives!" the others exclaimed gratefully.
Everyone was extremely moved, never expecting to survive this day, and at the same time, they were astonished and exhilarated by Li Hao's strength.
Single-handedly saving the Great Yu, his merit far surpassed any title or reward.
No existing military achievement could compare to this.
Even the divine generals who had followed the previous emperor on campaigns could not match this feat.
However, they also realized that Li Hao no longer cared about such empty honors.
In the crowd, Li Tiangang made his way through the people and slowly approached Li Hao, his expression complex.
Up until today, his past admonishments and expectations of the young man before him seemed insignificant.
The boy had just saved the Great Yu and all its people.