Follow the path of Dao from infancy Chapter 1774 Chapter 456: Severing the Emperor Road

In his previous life, the Divine Venerable had entered the Endless Heavenly Domain, yet this reborn form failed to absorb sufficient Heavenly Dao Power. Should he let this chance escape, his reincarnation would end up flawed, causing him to trail behind rivals in the Immortal King Realm. In that case, the divide from Li Hao would simply expand further!

"You, you!"

Fury nearly pushed the Divine Venerable to the brink of insanity, as he never anticipated Li Hao's wild resolve to clash until death, heedless of all repercussions.

"You're trying to drive me away? Fine, I'll trade three of my Domain Artifacts for yours—let's see how you fare on the Heavenly Ascension Road!"

Grinding his teeth, the Divine Venerable spat out his clear warning.

"Domain Artifacts or none, I'll still reach the heavens, but you—get out!"

With icy resolve, Li Hao commanded his Domain Artifact to surge forward at maximum force.

As the two Domain Artifacts smashed together, a massive uproar shook the void. Chaos Dao Seeds across thousands of miles stirred in alarm, with some scattering far away and others rushing toward the disturbance.

However, right then, Li Hao and the Divine Venerable ignored those Chaos Dao Seeds entirely, each focused solely on destroying the other.

Bang!

The clash of the Domain Artifacts stayed deadlocked, though Li Hao's eventually faltered first—ten breaths sooner—yielding to the void's order and exploding apart, drained of strength.

Without pause, Li Hao pulled out his second Domain Artifact, released its seal in a flash—a Flying Sword—and launched it straight at the Divine Venerable again!

"Insanity!"

Shock and rage exploded from the Divine Venerable, who hadn't thought Li Hao meant it so seriously. Golden radiance wrapped around him for protection against the Flying Sword's fierce attacks, yet after three breaths, his own second Domain Artifact hit its limit and burst right there.

Faced with the Flying Sword slicing his way, the Divine Venerable reluctantly unsealed his third Domain Artifact, his gaze burning with fury and desperation. He realized this vital chance was slipping from him for good, but regardless, he'd battle on fully, exhausting Li Hao's Domain Artifacts and broadcasting the details far and wide if he could.

Bang!

Once the third Domain Artifact, shaped like Divine Boots, broke free and slipped onto the Divine Venerable's feet, he abruptly dashed through the void, fleeing into the distance.

Li Hao directed the Flying Sword in hot pursuit at top velocity. Streams of Realm Power rammed and twisted together, neither able to break loose.

Though the Divine Venerable had reached the Ultimate Realm post-Returning Ruins, relying only on that might let him outpace Li Hao's speed and escape. Yet, the Domain Artifact's influence nullified even the Ultimate Realm's swift shifts, since the Immortal King Realm's dominance hindered the Ultimate Realm from fully turning the tide.

Moments later, the seven breaths expired, and Li Hao's Flying Sword cracked apart accordingly.

Freed from the Flying Sword's chase, the Divine Venerable halted his retreat and whirled back to assault Li Hao.

The Divine Boots pounded the void, cloaked in Realm Power, materializing over Li Hao to smash him down.

By doing so, he aimed to compel Li Hao into deploying his final Domain Artifact.

After all, unsealing just two would wipe out all three of his, marking a clear defeat.

Li Hao instantly saw the Divine Venerable's scheme, yet he pressed on without doubt, planning to wield three Domain Artifacts to banish and eliminate him.

Buzz!

A humming vibration echoed as the third Domain Artifact lifted skyward, golden strands unwinding from it.

With Realm Power scattering, the third Domain Artifact—manifesting as a flute—unleashed sound waves that halted the Divine Venerable's charge.

The two Realm Power surges battled fiercely, locked in stalemate, neither yielding an inch.

"You've got just three breaths remaining—show me your tricks!"

Li Hao guided the flute Domain Artifact, unleashing Realm Power like sharp blades that cut across space-time, slamming into the Divine Boots on the Divine Venerable's feet.

"No more Domain Artifacts? Watch how you perish on the Heavenly Ascension Road!"

The Divine Venerable glared darkly at Li Hao. "I've forfeited this shot, and you'll forfeit your path on the Heavenly Ascension Road too!"

With those words, he abandoned the fight; using the Domain Artifact's three breaths, he bolted away at utmost haste.

As he spun and sped off, Li Hao drove the flute Domain Artifact after him. Just as the Divine Venerable nearly shook him loose, the foe's Divine Boots Domain Artifact suddenly crumbled—the ten breaths finished.

"Die!"

Li Hao surged forward abruptly, the flute Domain Artifact gleaming like lush divine light, sheathed in horrifying Realm Power akin to a tiny world, barreling toward the Divine Venerable's form.

The Divine Venerable's eyes widened in shock. Glancing back, his body flickered and faded, revealing the might of a fifteen-mile Ultimate Realm.

Yet the flute's Realm Power had already engulfed him. The Ultimate Realm let him pierce through the Realm with uncanny skill, but faint trails within caught him, and the thick Realm Power swiftly converged to pin him down.

"I won't let you succeed!"

Roaring in wrath, the Divine Venerable's form detonated, his Immortal Body fracturing. The three hundred drops of True God Blood inside him all faced suppression, starting to erode and weaken under the Realm Power's crush.

Not even the Immortal King Realm could wipe out an Immortal Monarch who'd fused True God Blood End Realm in one blow—it merely stalled the True God Blood via Realm Power, demanding time to erode it.

Those leftover seven breaths would drain away most of its True God Blood; though the Domain Artifact couldn't finish the kill outright, Li Hao could then handle the rest, suppressing the surviving True God Blood—capturing him alive could prove useful.

Clearly, though, the Divine Venerable refused to end up in Li Hao's grasp. Beneath the Domain Artifact's press, he ignited every bit of True God Blood in a frantic struggle, yet failed to shatter the Domain's hold. His wounds worsened swiftly instead, and he soon faded out.

One breath afterward, the Domain Artifact exploded with a bang.

Li Hao scanned the void; by now, the Divine Venerable's presence and energy had utterly dissolved, leaving no trace—completely erased.

Still, the Three Immortal End Realm strength shown before convinced Li Hao that true death might elude him, considering his survival through the Ancient Demon disaster—his survival tricks could be exceptional.

It didn't matter, provided the foe couldn't claim this opportunity.

"Gone are three Domain Artifacts, but at least the Dark Side Avatar carries three more."

Li Hao mused to himself.

Earlier, crossing Boundary Flipping Mountain, the Dark Side Avatar's three Domain Artifacts escaped notice, counted as separate, giving him six total. Losing three now left him even with the rest.

"I should've pried out the Source Ancestor's whereabouts from him."

A glint crossed Li Hao's eyes. Back when they both arrived in the True Realm, and with the Divine King now recalling past-life memories, Li Hao figured the Source Ancestor hid depths too.

Upon exiting, he could employ fate calculation to pinpoint a rough position.

Surveying the area, he withdrew his aura as the Extreme Dao Chaos subsided, a wave of deep fatigue crashing over him, leaving him bone-tired.

Such weariness felt alien after so long. Since grasping the All Heavens Star Vein, his immortal power flowed without end, yet even with it flooding his frame now, the exhaustion lingered stubbornly.

Drawing a steady breath, Li Hao shook himself alert, sensing via divine sense seven or eight Chaos Dao Seeds creeping closer from thousands of miles off, drawn by the earlier turmoil.

"Better find a spot to recover first."

Li Hao sensed even basic motion drained him; without a Domain Artifact for guard, steering clear of fights seemed wise for the moment.

His form flickered, departing the site, until he located a summit and carved out a cavern to slip inside and rest.

"This Divine King truly deserves his status as a Quasi-Emperor cultivator from a hundred thousand years past, wielding countless Ultimate Realm skills. I had to pin him down with Extreme Dao Chaos, and despite my Immortal Monarch Realm's Chaos Infinite laws, slaying or capturing him proved impossible."

Li Hao's gaze shifted; he'd triumphed over the Divine Venerable, but recognized his foe's formidable power. Thankfully, he'd severed the other's path this round. Even if revival came via hidden Divine Blood elsewhere, Li Hao guessed that blood lay beyond the Endless Heavenly Domain.

Naturally, should the foe dare split Divine Blood right inside the Endless Heavenly Domain, Li Hao would lack recourse.

Fortunately, in this Ninth-layer Heavenly Domain, the enemy wouldn't risk reentry.

"Send the Dark Side Avatar to scout the other heavenly domains."

Li Hao pondered silently.

Should he cross paths with the Divine Venerable elsewhere, the Dark Side Avatar would deal with him.

With a mental command, the Dark Side Avatar formed, gave Li Hao a nod, passed over two Domain Artifacts while retaining one, and exited the cavern.

After settling that, Li Hao settled into meditation within the cave to heal.

At the same time, in a cave dwelling atop a peak within the Original Land.

Abruptly, from the depths of the cave's hidden array, a golden glow flared, followed by a silhouette forming from liquid gold, molding into human shape—it was the Divine Venerable.

Bare in the cavern, he took in the known setting, his expression darkening sharply.

"Damn it!!"

He snarled deeply, slamming a powerful punch into the wall, triggering the hidden array—a lattice of thirty-six thousand golden threads blanketed the whole space.

"Curse it, curse it all!"

Madness gripped the Divine Venerable's fury; he'd been hounded out by that bastard personally.

He'd watched this essential chance vanish before him.

Without enough Heavenly Dao Power absorbed or the Heavenly Ascension Road started!

This sealed his inability to prove the Heavenly Heart via Heavenly Dao Power in this life, blocking that easy route—the Emperor Road!

All that remained was forging his own Emperor Road through insight.

But after peaking in the Quasi-Emperor Realm before, he understood the self-forged Emperor Road's grueling nature, particularly with countless Immortal Emperors already charting paths. Few openings lingered, and he drew blanks on fresh ones to blaze.

"Your life is mine!!"

The Divine Venerable's features twisted savagely, his rage and slaughterous urge so intense it seemed steam poured from his orifices, even stirring a urge to reincarnate right away—this incarnation already ruined halfway!

"With Heavenly Dao's rare resurgence allowing Heavenly Heart proof; severing my Emperor Road means unending enmity!"

Bloodshot with anger and vast killing will, the Divine Venerable's eyes blazed.

"Short on Heavenly Dao Power myself, while you claim it—you'll never touch the Heavenly Ascension Road. Good thing I stationed an avatar outside in advance!"

On the second-layer heavenly domain of the Endless Heavenly Domain, upon a summit.

A silhouette perched in crossed legs, lids shut; the energy here stayed deeply concealed, avoiding hunts of nearby Chaos Dao Seeds or alerts to others.

As an avatar, even destroying Chaos Dao Seeds brought no Heavenly Dao Power absorption, and delayed uptake meant it scattered back to the heavenly domain—making such pursuits futile.

This avatar had served as a backup for unforeseen events; now, it functioned merely as a messenger.

"With your three Domain Artifacts spent, I'll ensure the word spreads to all!"

The avatar's eyes snapped open, brimming with deadly intent, before its shape wavered and vanished from the height.

Days afterward.

Inside a cavern on a mountain in the Ninth-layer Heavenly Domain, Li Hao's eyes fluttered open, the tiredness largely gone, though the bodily drain and helpless unease still sparked dread—it appeared this approach demanded care, as even the All Heavens Star Vein struggled to mend it.

"Back to the pursuit."

Li Hao stood at once; twenty days gone now, ten until the Endless Heavenly Domain closed, he needed to sweep the Ninth-layer swiftly.

More time awaited on the Heavenly Ascension Road ahead, after all.

As he advanced, divine sense spread wide, quickly detecting two Chaos Dao Seeds within thousands of miles—one eastward, one westward—both idle.

Li Hao's shape shimmered, reaching one Chaos Dao Seed in moments.

Boom!

Destiny Sword Qi lanced out, skewering the Chaos Dao Seed as it lifted its head, pinning it firmly to the earth.