Ruthless!

Wow!

Zhou Hao appeared in the chaotic void outside the Fifth World.

With the help of his protective purple aura, the Master Hengmu managed to withdraw from the battle despite taking a blow from Suiren-shi's charred wooden club.

no way.

The three-on-one fight had exhausted him, leaving him constantly on the run.

If he didn't retreat now, and Zhou Hao suddenly punched him, he would be the one dying here today.

The Master Hengmu stepped aside and watched Zhou Hao transform into a stream of light and fly towards the three leaders of Nuwa Faction.

The Sanqing, Rulai, and Suiren-shi ceased their pursuit of the Master Hengmu and stood in the void, watching Zhou Hao fly over.

The four leaders present were utterly shocked.

It was shocking that Zhou Hao was able to block the Demon Hand.

I was shocked by Zhou Hao's ability to suppress and capture Dark Light alive.

They all knew that this young fellow, who had cultivated for over a hundred years, was merely a true immortal deity.

Yet, this very being, a true immortal god, accomplished something that even top-tier True God Dao Ancestor could not do.

Long, long ago, a true immortal god once slew a top-tier True God Dao Ancestor.

That was Houyi, and he used arrows.

Today, there's another Zhou Hao.

What amazed them even more was that Zhou Hao did not kill him, but instead suppressed and captured a top-tier Dao Ancestor.

It's important to understand that suppressing and capturing prisoners alive is far more difficult than killing them.

"Master." Zhou Hao flew into the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

Surrounded by the sword formation and protected by the four chaotic divine swords of the Sanqing Ones, which exuded overwhelming killing intent, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down completely.

He was unaware of the immense shock he had caused to several powerful leaders; all he wanted now was to exchange the life of the Darklight Sword Lord for his son.

"Changsheng, you've reached the level of a true god?" The Sanqing ' voices were filled with surprise.

Zhou Hao hesitated for a moment, then transmitted his voice, "Not yet, almost there, I can only be considered a half-step True God."

Despite being betrayed by the Northern Land Immortal Elder, he dared not trust anyone again.

But Sanqing was his master, and knew almost all of his secrets, including those about Blue Flower.

Therefore, there's no need to hide it.

"Then how come..." Sanqing immediately realized, "Because of that mysterious Blue Flower?"

"Mm." Zhou Hao nodded.

As his magical and divine powers increased, the effect of Blue Flower absorbing the condensed water droplets became several times greater than before.

In particular, the enhancement of his divine body after the power of the Blue Flower permeated his entire body not only elevated his divine body, which was originally comparable to a high-grade innate magic weapon, to a level comparable to a supreme innate treasure, but also caused his power to increase dramatically.

Combined with the already immense power of the Great Chaos Hole Palm, he was able to faintly touch the limits of the Heavenly Dao of Power.

What is the limit of the Heavenly Dao?

That was a tremendous power that only the ancient god Pangu could possess!

"A true god is not like the Dao Ancestor. No one can see what their divine body is like. Just tell others that you have entered the realm of true godhood," the Sanqing Ones said. "Anyway, after this battle, even if you say you are not a true god, no one will believe you."

"Master, I suppressed Dark Light and traded his life for Yu'er. Will the Wujian Gate agree to this?"

Zhou Hao had no time to care whether others believed him or not; his biggest worry now was that the Wujian Gate would disregard the Darklight Sword Lord's life and death and insist on using his son Zhou Yu to blackmail him.

"They should agree, there's at least a 70-80% chance," Sanqing pondered. "If you kill Dark Light, or try to force them to release the people through slaughter, the chances are slim, and it will only make them more united against the enemy."

"But capturing him alive is a different story. After all, if we really stand by and watch him die, and let Dark Light sacrifice himself, which of the powerful figures in the Wujian Gate can feel at ease? Who will be willing to risk their lives in the future?"

Zhou Hao nodded.

This is precisely why, despite having the strength to kill the Darklight Sword Lord immediately, or even, with a little more time, to kill the Shadowless Dao Ancestor, he has always remained patient and waited for an opportunity.

Even his initial frenzied anger was mostly a facade, put on for the benefit of the Wujian Gate.

He knew very well that anger and madness wouldn't save his son; the more critical the moment, the more calm he needed to be.

It was precisely because he was calm enough that he was able to use himself as bait to set up a plan. His purpose in rushing to the Fifth World was to capture a True God Dao Ancestor of the Wujian Gate alive, so that he would have enough leverage to negotiate with the Wujian Gate.

Boom boom boom!!!

The void outside the Fifth World repeatedly cracked open, creating spatial vortexes, and one powerful being after another descended. It was the other powerful beings from Nuwa Faction who had finally arrived.

The top True God Dao Ancestor, such as the Dao Sect Free Roaming Heavenly Venerable, Guangcheng Daozu, Yuding Daozu, the Buddhist Amitabha and Maitreya Buddha, and the human race's Xing Tian God and Kuafu, all came and gathered around the Sanqing, Rulai, Suiren-shi.

Beside the Master Hengmu, one by one, the True God Dao Ancestor of the Wujian Gate appeared.

The Demonic Hand Dao Ancestor, the Black-Robed God King, the Shadowless Dao Ancestor, and other powerful figures who had come from their other strongholds in the world—whether they had fought Zhou Hao in the Fifth World or had just arrived—all had very grim expressions.

They waited for three whole years and planned for the birth of Zhou Hao's two children.

They had calculated almost everything, but they hadn't anticipated that Zhou Hao's strength would improve so much in three years, enabling him to suppress and capture the Darklight Sword Lord.

"Damn it! Damn it! That idiot Dark Light, why isn't he dead!" The Black-Robed God King roared madly in his heart.

If only the Darklight Sword Lord were dead, it would end it all.

If he's not dead, that would be troublesome.

"Where is the Wind Demon?"

Zhou Hao looked at the group of True God Dao Ancestor from the Wujian Gate in the distance and raised the Cosmos Diagram in his hand high.

"Can we talk? If not, I'll throw the Dark Light into the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation."

Surrounded by chaotic sword energy within the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, even if Wind Demon were the fastest in the Three Realms, he couldn't possibly break through the Sanqing' defenses and catch himself off guard, thus preventing the Cosmos Diagram from being snatched away.

Therefore, Zhou Hao directly took out the Cosmos Diagram and used the life of the Darklight Sword Lord to force Wind Demon to come out and negotiate.

"We can talk."

Before the powerful figures of the Wujian Gate appeared a figure in red robes with blue hair, none other than Wind Demon, known as the ' Lord of Myriad Demons '.

"Hand over my son Zhou Yu, and I'll release Dark Light." Zhou Hao looked at the still unconscious Zhou Yu in the Black-Robed God King's palm. "One for one, it's fair."

"It is fair." The Lord of Myriad Demons nodded slightly, his face revealing no emotion. "But it's not enough."

"Not enough?" Zhou Hao's heart sank to the bottom.

The powerful figures in Nuwa Faction were also taken aback, but the powerful figures from the Wujian Gate remained calm, clearly having reached a consensus in such a short time.

This also secretly shocked the Sanqing, Rulai, Suiren-shi about their methods of controlling the Wind Demon.

"If you want to get your son back, besides releasing the Dark Light, you also need to reveal the secret that you possessed strength comparable to True God Dao Ancestor, or even a leader, even at the True Immortal/Celestial God realm."

"If we don't obtain this secret, we are destined to perish. Since we're going to die anyway, what difference does it make whether we die sooner or later?"

The voice of the Lord of Myriad Demons echoed in the chaotic void. The powerful figures on the side of the Wujian Gate remained silent, while the Nuwa Faction erupted in chaos.

"What? True Immortals and Celestial Gods can rival True God Dao Ancestor, and even be comparable to leaders?"

"So, Zhou Hao is still a true immortal god, but hasn't become True God Dao Ancestor?"

"My God, how is this possible?"

The powerful figures were so shocked that they forgot to communicate with each other. Even Guangcheng Ancestor Guangcheng and Yuding Ancestor Yuding stared in astonishment at their junior brother Zhou Hao.

"Don't try to use the excuse of some Nuwa world arranged by Nuwa. I'm pretty sure you're not the Dao Ancestor, just a Pure Yang True Immortal." The Lord of Myriad Demons looked at Zhou Hao from afar.

"Don't tell me it's a unique method passed down to you by the Sanqing, one that they can't pass on to outsiders. If that were true, it's impossible that you're the only one who's special, and it's also impossible that the Sanqing, Rulai, and Suiren-shi only started secretly cultivating the Void Return Immortal Demons after you transcended your tribulation."

"Speak," the Lord of Myriad Demons said softly, "If you reveal the secret to your increased strength, I will return your son to you."

"Wind Demon! You are a dignified Chaos Ancestral Demon, yet you use a mere child to threaten me. Don't you think that's utterly despicable?" The Sanqing were completely enraged. "Hengmu, do you also agree with Wind Demon's actions?"

Under the sharp gaze of the Sanqing Pure Ones, the Master Hengmu's expression changed several times. His lips moved as if he wanted to speak but held back.

"Sanqing, don't blame Hengmu, we just want to survive," the Lord of Myriad Demons sighed.

"You want to survive, so you threaten us with the lives of your children?" Suiren-shi's dragon-like hair and beard danced wildly, and his gaze made the powerful figures from the Wujian Gate opposite him feel a tremor in their hearts.

"If you want to survive, you can wage war without regard for the lives of all living beings?"

"You want to survive, but we don't?" Suiren-shi's imposing aura was astonishing, and his powerful voice caused the Fifth World in the distance to tremble, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

However, the Lord of Myriad Demons has reached the level of a leader; his Dao heart cannot be shaken by just a few words.

He remained unmoved by Suiren-shi's repeated questions, simply looking calmly at Zhou Hao, just as Zhou Hao had initially pressured him, and asked, "Are you willing to speak? If not, I'll have Bu Xiu kill your son."

Bu Xiu was the real name of the Black-Robed God King, but everyone else addressed him as God King, except for a few leaders such as the Lord of Myriad Demons.

"Master, Rulai, Suiren-shi, I cannot risk Yu'er's life." Zhou Hao transmitted his voice to the three powerful leaders.

He never expected that the secret of his true cultivation level would be discovered by the Wujian Gate, and with such certainty. He also never expected that the powerful figures of the Wujian Gate would disregard the life and death of the Darklight Sword Lord for this secret.

"The method for enhancing the Golden Core is yours; you can do whatever you want with it," Suiren-shi said. "Even if you tell the Wujian Gate, it's simply a matter of both sides jointly cultivating a new generation of Celestial Immortals and True Immortals."

"We occupy a larger territory and have more cultivators. Even if we compete simultaneously, we have the advantage," Rulai said.

Both leaders knew that it was impossible for Zhou Hao to sacrifice his son's life to keep the secret, otherwise it would mean that they were becoming estranged.

"Master?" Zhou Hao asked, noticing that the Sanqing remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

He didn't believe his master would prevent him from revealing the method for advancing to the Golden Core stage, so he immediately asked, "Master, is there anything wrong with this?"

"That's not appropriate." Sanqing's expression was grave. "I'm worried that even if we tell him the method to enhance his Golden Core, Wind Demon will still refuse to release him."

Sanqing glanced at the Lord of Myriad Demons in the distance. "The Wind Demon are now resorting to such despicable tactics as threatening children's lives. I simply cannot believe what he is saying now."

Rulai and Suiren-shi nodded in agreement.

yes.

Now they are forcing Zhou Hao to reveal the method for advancing to the Golden Core stage.

Once they obtain the method, if that's not enough, and they want Zhou Hao to do other things, or go on adventures in a dangerous place, deliberately keeping him trapped for millions of years, or even better, causing him to perish, would Zhou Hao dare to refuse?

"What should we do then?" Zhou Hao also realized.

This catastrophe was a life-or-death battle between the two major camps, who used every means possible.

Having demonstrated strength comparable to that of a powerful leader, how could the Wujian Gate not be wary?

With Zhou Yu in their grasp, they could continue to threaten him; without Zhou Yu, they would no longer be able to threaten him.

Perhaps they're testing my attitude towards Zhou Yu right now...

Thinking of this, Zhou Hao looked up at the Lord of Myriad Demons.

"That's right, I created a method that allows celestial immortals to rival ordinary gods, and true immortals to rival ordinary true gods," Zhou Hao said coldly.

"Is there really such a method?"

"Oh my god."

The powerful figures from both sides were immediately in an uproar.

The Lord of Myriad Demons, who had remained calm until now, finally smiled, "Very well, speak."

The Sanqing, Rulai, Suiren-shi all remained silent.

Because Zhou Hao had already secretly sent a message saying that he would handle it himself.

"I can say it, but I can't believe you'll keep your promise. Unless you can convince me that you'll release Yu'er as soon as I say it, otherwise..." Zhou Hao looked at the Lord of Myriad Demons and the powerful figures of the Wujian Gate.

Every powerful figure who met Zhou Hao's gaze felt a jolt in their heart.

What kind of look was that?

Pain, self-blame, regret... yet it also contained unparalleled hatred and murderous intent.

"Otherwise, I won't say it."

"I will pretend that Yu'er is dead."

"I will make all of you members of the Wujian Gate die for him."

"Including you, Wind Demon." Zhou Hao stared at the Lord of Myriad Demons and said slowly, "Even if you escape to the end of chaos!"

A profound silence descended upon the chaos; even the Lord of Myriad Demons fell silent.

A long time passed.

"What can I do to make you believe me?" the Lord of Myriad Demons broke the silence.

"This is something you should consider. I won't tell you unless you can convince me." Zhou Hao shook his head, and with a flick of his hand, he released the Darklight Sword Lord that had been suppressed within the Cosmos Diagram.

"Demon Lord!" Upon seeing the group of powerful figures from the Wujian Gate in the distance, especially the leaders such as the Lord of Myriad Demons and the Demonic Hand Dao Ancestor, the Darklight Sword Lord was overjoyed and called out.

Then Zhou Hao's right palm reached out towards the Darklight Sword Lord.

His index finger, middle finger, and thumb are pressed together as if he is about to pick up a flower, which is the Buddhist supernatural power of "Flower-Plucking Finger".

"Puff."

Blood splattered.

The Darklight Sword Lord's body was pierced directly by Zhou Hao.

In the hand that pierced through the body of the Darklight Sword Lord, Zhou Hao held a Ancestor Immortal of the Ancestral Immortal.

As Zhou Hao's divine power surged, the divine soul and true spirit within the Ancestor Immortal were annihilated, then turned to ashes in his hands.

"Don't want!"

"Stop!"

Many powerful figures from the Wujian Gate shouted.

However, Zhou Hao acted too ruthlessly and decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

"This is the first to be buried with Yu'er, but it will never be the last!"

Zhou Hao's voice reverberated through the void.

"Wind Demon, what do you say?"

What do you think?

The Lord of Myriad Demons transmitted his questions to the Demonic Hand Dao Ancestor and the Master Hengmu.

Although he was the supreme leader of the Wujian Gate, he still needed to consult with other leaders and powerful figures when faced with important matters.

"How can you look at it? He was just a son. It's not like he can't be born again," said the Demonic Hand Dao Ancestor.

While it's true that the higher a cultivator's strength, the less likely they are to have offspring, it's only a matter of probability.

Just like ' Ancestral Dragon ', who was Ancestor God of chaos, whose realm was much higher than Zhou Hao's, and who still had nine children, which multiplied and grew into the dragon race.

"I think it would be good enough to obtain the method Zhou Hao mentioned," Master Hengmu sighed. "It's just a pity about Dark Light."

Even the Lord of Myriad Demons was helpless.

It was originally just a negotiation tactic to show that their side wouldn't be blackmailed, not that they really didn't want to save the Darklight Sword Lord.

Who would have thought Zhou Hao would be so ruthless, directly killing someone?

That's precisely why they've found it difficult to do things.

"The problem now is how to convince Zhou Hao that we will release his son after we obtain the method." The Lord of Myriad Demons had a headache.

I have a bit of a headache...

I'm not writing tonight. I'm so tired. I haven't eaten yet.

Thank you to everyone who voted and tipped!

I saw Suifeng, and I was very touched.