Steady Cultivation: Starting With the Perk “Work Hard, Rest Hard” Chapter 542: Encounter Battle, Slaying the Enemy

That other party consisted exactly of the cultivators from Taihao Holy Hall.

Upon attempting to strike it, they realized the massive stone treasure was utterly indestructible, prompting them to circle it warily.

Zhou Hao and his companions had hidden themselves well in advance, determined to evade detection by these intruders.

Yet, fate had other ideas.

A cultivator cried out in shock, "This area seems suspicious! Hardly any gemstones are falling—it's clear someone has already looted everything here! Others beat us to this place!"

The leader's eyes narrowed fiercely. He promptly activated the eye on his forehead, unleashing a beam of divine radiance that swept across the nearby cliffs, the ravine, and all the caves.

It wasn't long before this divine light dragged Zhou Hao and his hidden allies into the open.

The eight of them were compelled to show themselves, staring down the nine adversaries before them.

"Eliminate them!" the enemy leader barked without hesitation."Kill!" Lin Feng roared in response.

The two sides locked eyes for just an instant before charging into savage combat.

On this narrow terrain, with the supreme treasure dangling right there, they were compelled to battle desperately for it.

Zhou Hao clashed with a foe. In their initial exchange, he gauged that his enemy had attained the rank of an Eight-Order Fused Dao Venerable!

A full level above his own!

A devastating strike crashed against his barriers, draining the color from Zhou Hao's face.

"Heh, only Seven-Order? Time to perish!" the foe sneered icily, unleashing his maximum might in a relentless assault.

Zhou Hao retreated step after step, his Dao Principle Origin Essence draining away at an alarming rate!

"Curses, I'm getting overwhelmed!" Zhou Hao grumbled inwardly.

He spared a glance at his senior and junior brothers. They too struggled fiercely. Lin Feng, in particular, faced two opponents alone and was under even heavier pressure!

He never imagined this bunch would prove so formidable!

"I need to break through right amid this chaos!" Zhou Hao thought urgently.

Gazing deep into his mind, he spotted a pearl whirling at high speed. This pearl split into twelve segments, each inscribed with a Divine Beast Dao Principle.

Seven segments glowed brightly: Mysterious Snake, Golden Tiger, Shadow Rat, Fan Ox, Lu Horse, Eternal Goat, and Devouring Dog—alternate designations for seven distinct Dao Principles.

Zhou Hao swiftly produced seventeen treasures. Employing the most extravagant approach, he devoured them. Threads of Time Dao Principle were extracted from these items and drawn into the enigmatic pearl.

The Divine Beast Dao Principle for "Chen Dragon" ignited swiftly.

In truth, the Chen Dragon Dao Principle embodied the Time Dao Principle.

Zhou Hao's treasure enabled direct assimilation of essences from other treasures, granting instant command over Divine Beast Dao Principles. Regrettably, the waste was immense. Zhou Hao had hesitated to employ it earlier, but with peril mounting, such concerns vanished!

Aided by the treasures, he sequentially unraveled the secrets of the Time Dao Principle. Even as he parried the foe's onslaughts, he cultivated covertly in parallel!

This bordered on outright cheating!

Zhou Hao's swift ascent to the Dao Venerable Realm hinged on this pearl—his ultimate edge for such rapid progress!

In that pivotal instant.

Zhou Hao fully comprehended the Time Dao Principle!

Over the Treasure Star, the Time Dao Principle quivered, rejoicing as a cultivator seized its essence.

His opponent's face twisted in dismay, yet panic didn't grip him. Grasping one Dao Principle alone wouldn't forge fused Dao Principles. The power surge remained quite modest.

But anomaly struck soon after. The Dao Principles Zhou Hao wielded exploded in potency by at least several dozenfold!

The tide turned abruptly. Zhou Hao shifted from victim to dominator.

"Impossible! How did you fuse to Eight-Order in a flash?!" the enemy blurted in disbelief.

Zhou Hao smirked faintly. His pearl's ability was extraordinary; it fused Dao Principles instantaneously. Though merely stepping into Eight-Order fusion, his prowess soared dramatically!

Moments prior, he'd battled above his level under duress. Now, matched evenly, his rival crumbled effortlessly.

Trapped in that clash, the cultivator clenched his jaw and pressed on against Zhou Hao. The canyon's confines mimicked a prison; traversal was sluggish. With combat underway, flight was futile—they fought to the death!

He pinned hopes on his allies swiftly dispatching theirs to rescue him.

Yet, glancing at their fights, horror seized him: his comrades were now the ones cornered by Lin Feng and company!

Utter bewilderment and dread overwhelmed him!

"How is this possible? They weren't this powerful earlier! What made them all surge in strength so suddenly?!"

Zhou Hao, reading his mind, sneered, "You've crossed the wrong souls! Die!"

Zhou Hao triggered his hidden art. A blazing Sword Light, infused with eight Dao Principles, cleaved savagely into the foe's form.

The enemy's body sundered apart. A horrific rending energy burst from the gash, voraciously shredding flesh, blood, True Spirit, and Origin Essence alike!

The foe hastily regenerated, but Zhou Hao's barrages hammered relentlessly, sapping his vigor progressively.

Suddenly, Lin Feng's voice rang out.

"Senior Brother Zhou Hao, allow me to finish him!"

Zhou Hao whipped around in surprise, seeing Lin Feng had already felled his targets and hurtled toward them.

Aware of Lin Feng's command over the Slaughter Dao Principle, Zhou Hao hurled the enemy toward him.

"Spot on!"

Lin Feng bellowed with glee. His massive sword plunged down brutally onto the cultivator. The Slaughter Dao Principle detonated. An annihilating slaughter force snuffed out all vitality instantly, obliterating every True Spirit Incarnation in a blink!

As the cultivator perished, a crimson glow fused into Lin Feng's frame.

A sanguinary spark lit Lin Feng's gaze. His presence rocketed upward once more, markedly!

Without pause, he wheeled his blade toward the remaining foes.

Observing this, Zhou Hao shivered inwardly with awe at Lin Feng's Slaughter Dao Principle. It could extinguish Dao Venerables, amplifying with every death. A slaughter engine of unparalleled terror.

Furthermore, Lin Feng's fusion path astonished him—all Dao Principles converging into Slaughter, veering from orthodox cultivation.

As he pondered, Lin Feng, backed by their brothers, cut down more enemies. His aura climbed ceaselessly. At last, felling the final one propelled him to Nine-Order Fused Dao Venerable heights!

Having crushed these adversaries, they hurriedly gathered the battle spoils.

Just as loot division began, a fearsome aura materialized from nowhere, crushing down mercilessly.

This horrifying pressure pinned them to the earth. Panic flickered in Zhou Hao's eyes. A behemoth had arrived! They were doomed!