"What is that?"
"A black leopard over thirty meters tall?"
When demonic power surged around the black leopard and it revealed its true form, the intense sense of danger deep in his soul alerted Zhou Hao to its presence at once.
Even though he knew this world was full of immortals, demons, and monsters, Zhou Hao was still stunned when a black leopard as tall as a ten-story building appeared right before him.
In that moment of distraction, the black leopard swept out a hand, conjuring a tornado that hurtled toward Iron Ox.
"Big Brother Iron Ox!"
Earlier, since the Iron Ox Tribe hadn't suffered any losses, Zhou Hao hadn't revealed his trump card of using divine sense to control objects. Besides, fighting the Black Armor Guard could hone his fist techniques and weapon skills.
But now, he had no choice.
Rumble~~~
A ten-meter-high earthen wall, more than a meter thick, suddenly rose from the ground in front of Iron Ox.
The stones swirling in the wind battered the wall, sending dirt flying, but at least none of them could reach Iron Ox before the wall collapsed.
At the same time, Zhou Hao flung out the Cold Iron Dagger.
Whoosh!
The Cold Iron Dagger instantly became a blur.
"Pfft!" The Black Armor Guard warrior in front of him had his head pierced clean through.
Under Zhou Hao's control, the Cold Iron Dagger continued at astonishing speed, piercing one head after another!
"Ah!!"
"No!"
"Ah!"
In the blink of an eye, the Cold Iron Dagger had pierced the heads of all twenty-odd Black Armor Guards surrounding them!
Blood and brains sprayed everywhere.
Their bodies fell almost simultaneously, making the scene all the more bizarre.
Even Black Wind, the great demon who had been wondering how the earthen wall had appeared, was startled.
"An Xiantian Qi Refiner?! Was that a flying sword? I didn't sense any true essence!"
Qi Refiners in the Post-Heaven realm had internal energy but no true essence. Even if they possessed a magical treasure, they couldn't activate it. This was common knowledge among all cultivators.
As for divine sense, it was an extraordinary ability that appeared only when one's soul grew powerful enough.
Even among Purple Mansion Cultivators, it was rare. It was a technique used by cultivators of a higher realm.
Though Black Wind was a great demon, he was only at the early Xiantian stage and had never even seen a Purple Mansion Cultivator, so how could he recognize divine sense?
"The Cold Iron Dagger is a magical treasure? Is Brother Zhou an Xiantian Lifeform?"
A jumble of thoughts surged through Iron Ox's mind as he narrowly escaped disaster.
Zhou Hao stared at the enormous black leopard and said to Iron Ox, "Big Brother Iron Ox, take Xiangcao back and help Big Brother Zhamu and the others. Leave this great demon to me."
"All right, Brother Z-Zhou. Be careful!"
Iron Ox knew he wouldn't be any help here, so he immediately turned and ran toward Xiangcao.
"Brother!" Xiangcao rushed over excitedly when she saw that Iron Ox was unharmed.
"Quick, let's go." Iron Ox grabbed Xiangcao, and the two ran toward the camp.
"Zhou Hao..." Xiangcao looked back.
Before the thirty-meter-tall great demon leopard, Zhou Hao looked as tiny as an ant.
"This time, we've been saved. Brother Zhou must be an Xiantian Lifeform. If we went up against that great demon, we'd only be throwing our lives away. Let Brother Zhou handle it."
Iron Ox kept running as he spoke quickly. "Now all we can do is hope Brother Zhou kills the great demon. Otherwise, we're all going to die today."
An Xiantian Lifeform!
In any tribe, such a person stood at the very pinnacle. Even among the five dominant forces of the Great Wild Plains, they were core members of the upper ranks!
And since Zhou Hao had become an Xiantian Lifeform at such a young age, Iron Ox was even more convinced that he came from an extraordinary background and possessed remarkable abilities.
"The one who was being chased by the Wild Wolf... is an Xiantian Lifeform?" Xiangcao couldn't help looking back again.
In her eyes, his slender figure seemed all the more towering now.
Yet Zhou Hao, whom everyone now regarded as extraordinary and imposing, was feeling rather uneasy.
He wasn't an Xiantian Lifeform at all!
If he really were one, why would he have needed to get cultivation techniques from Iron Ox and Xiangcao?
I can only rely on controlling things with my divine sense. Zhou Hao thought.
What use were the Innate Taiji Fist and internal force against a colossal beast like this?
"Black Wind, kill him!" Motai Jie roared.
Though he was deeply wary of Zhou Hao's sudden outburst of strength, Motai Jie knew he had already provoked him.
If Zhou Hao didn't die, then Motai Jie would.
"So what if he's an Xiantian Lifeform? Plenty of them have died at the hands of our Motai Clan!"
Boom!
A gigantic leopard paw, large enough for several people to wrap their arms around, came crashing down from above, directly at Zhou Hao.
Whoosh!
The Cold Iron Dagger turned into a streak of cold light and stabbed at the enormous paw, but the thick, foot-wide pad resisted fiercely. The dagger barely sank in before it couldn't pierce any farther.
The terrifying force of the paw strike made the air scream with a sharp sonic boom, bursting like a cannonball.
"Dodge!"
Though the paw hadn't touched Zhou Hao yet, he already knew how powerful it was.
No mortal body could possibly withstand that!
Sss sss sss~~~
Even the surging air left tiny cuts on Zhou Hao's body, as if he'd been slashed by blades.
Whoosh!
Zhou Hao leaped backward.
His invisible divine sense acted on the shoes he wore, letting him shift his footing nimbly even in midair. His speed instantly multiplied several times, and after a few kicks against the air, he had darted more than twenty zhang away.
Bang!!!
The earth shook.
A crater several zhang wide appeared where Zhou Hao had been standing.
"Haha, you're not an Xiantian Lifeform!" The great demon black leopard laughed wildly.
If he really were an Xiantian Lifeform, why would he only activate one dagger-like magical treasure? And when it had stabbed into his paw just now, Black Wind hadn't sensed even a trace of true essence from it.
"Though I don't know how you managed to control that dagger like a magical treasure, you're dead today!" Black Wind roared as he pounced.
What would it look like if a building over ten stories tall came crashing down from the sky?
Zhou Hao could only retreat again.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Though the black leopard was enormous, the natural agility of a cat made it incredibly swift as it pounced.
Each leap sent a thunderous crash through the earth, leaving a crater behind.
Zhou Hao used his divine sense on his shoes, his clothes, and even the clods of earth flying through the air. He twisted and turned nimbly like a bird in flight, dodging the black leopard's repeated attacks.
Under his control, the Cold Iron Dagger also became a streak of cold light, stabbing furiously at the black leopard.
But the leopard was enormous, and its hide, fascia, and muscles were tightly packed and thick. The Cold Iron Dagger had barely pierced the skin before the black leopard's muscles clamped down on it and forced it out. It couldn't penetrate any deeper.
I have to strike its vital points. If I just keep dodging, one hit from it and I'm finished.
With a thought, Zhou Hao used his divine sense to control the surrounding earth and rocks, sending them flying toward the black leopard's head.
The scattered weapons of the Black Armor Guards rose from the ground as well. Guided by his divine sense, they turned into countless streaks of light and closed in on the black leopard like a net.
"These bits of mortal iron can't even break my hide." Black Wind sneered.
How tough was the hide of a great demon at the Xiantian Lifeform realm? Only divine weapons could pierce it.
The black leopard planted three clawed feet on the ground, then raised one paw and swept the incoming blades, rocks, and clods of earth aside like flies.
As for the smaller rocks and clods that its paw missed, the black leopard couldn't be bothered to swat them away. It knocked away what it could and let the rest thud against its body, leaving nothing but a little dust.
"Now!" Zhou Hao's eyes narrowed, and all his divine sense converged at once.
The dozens of blades and weapons that had been flying nimbly through the air suddenly lost their momentum. Only one clod of earth, about half a meter in diameter, sped toward the black leopard's head.
Smack!
The giant paw crushed the clod of earth to dust. Amid the billowing dust, a streak of cold light suddenly shot toward the black leopard's eye.
"Not good!"
The black leopard tried to turn its head and dodge, but the strike, infused with all of Zhou Hao's divine sense, sent the Cold Iron Dagger flying nearly twice as fast as before.
Pfft!
The Cold Iron Dagger pierced through the black leopard's eyelid and eyeball, then plunged into its skull. It swept through the brain, reducing it to a bloody pulp.
The black leopard's remaining eye went wide. The life force of a great demon at the Xiantian Lifeform realm was formidable; even a pierced heart might not kill it. But its greatest weakness was its head.
Not just an ordinary monster like it—even the most unusual divine beasts would almost certainly die if their skulls were pierced at the Xiantian Lifeform realm.
Boom~~~
The enormous black leopard's corpse crashed to the ground. The tremendous impact could be heard ten li away.
Over by the temporary camp...
Iron Ox, Zhamu, and the others were fighting the Black Armor Guards while watching Zhou Hao battle the great demon.
When they saw the hill-sized great demon fall, their faces flushed red with excitement.
Even the usually steady Zhamu roared with delight. "The great demon is dead! We've won!"
"Haha! We've won!"
"Brothers!" When Iron Ox saw the remaining Black Armor Guards trying to flee, he roared, "Kill every last one of these Black Hand Tribe bastards! Don't let a single one escape!"
"Kill!"
The warriors of the Iron Ox Tribe were all fired up. They followed Iron Ox and slaughtered the fleeing Black Armor Guards.
"Ah!" "No!" "Spare me!"
They had killed so many Black Hand Tribe warriors today and even lost a great demon. Their feud was now sealed. If they let even one man escape, he would become a future threat, so Iron Ox and the others showed no mercy.
"Run!" Motai Jie frantically dug his heels into the belly of the Black Sly Beast.
Wincing in pain, the Black Sly Beast swung its hooves and raced into the distance.
"You still want to run?" Zhou Hao moved his divine sense.
Pfft!
The Cold Iron Dagger shot out through the black leopard's other eye and raced toward Motai Jie, who was fleeing in panic.
"I'm the young lord of the Black Hand Tribe! My father is Motai Xiao! You can't kill me!" Hearing the sharp whistle behind him, Motai Jie wailed, "If you kill me, none of you will survive! You'll all die..."
Pfft!
The Cold Iron Dagger pierced straight through Motai Jie's head.
"The young lord of the Black Hand Tribe? Then you deserve to die all the more." Zhou Hao spoke coldly.
If he killed Motai Jie, it would take the Black Hand Tribe some time to investigate.
But if he let him go, was he supposed to wait for him to return with even more experts to take revenge?
"Why didn't you run?" Zhou Hao asked the middle-aged man, who had stayed behind instead of fleeing and was now kneeling on the ground.
"Mercy, sir! Please spare me!"
Renzha lay prostrate on the ground, his voice trembling. "I know all the Black Hand Tribe's secrets. Sir, you killed Motai Xiao's spirit beast and his son. He'll definitely come for revenge. If you spare my life, I'll tell you anything you want to know."
"You'll tell me anything?" Zhou Hao's interest stirred. "Do you know any Qi Refining techniques?"
"Qi Refining techniques?" Renzha was stunned, unsure why the man had suddenly asked about cultivation techniques. Still, he quickly replied,
"Qi Refining techniques are the most important foundation of any tribe. They're never passed on to outsiders. Even if a tribe occasionally grants one to a warrior in its service, it's always a simplified, abridged version. I-I don't have one!"
"It looks like I'll have to go to Jade Dragon City."
Zhou Hao was a little disappointed. He was about to use the Cold Iron Dagger to kill the man when he suddenly heard him shout, "Sir, I know! I know a God-Devil Body Refining technique!"
"God-Devil Body Refining?" Zhou Hao's eyes lit up.
He had heard Iron Ox and Xiangcao say before that there were two paths to cultivating immortality: Qi Refining and God-Devil Body Refining.
What's more, the God-Devil Body Refining path claimed to completely overpower Qi Refiners at the same stage!
Of course, God-Devil Body Refining methods were even more precious. Even if a major tribe possessed one, it would only grant it to clan members and loyal servants trained from childhood.
"Where is it?" Zhou Hao asked urgently. "What's the technique?"
"It's the Chiming Nine Heavens Map, hailed as the greatest God-Devil Body Refining technique." Renzha hurriedly continued, "It's in Motai Jie's Mustard Stone. I've seen him take it out before."
"The greatest God-Devil Body Refining technique... the Chiming Nine Heavens Map?" Zhou Hao was taken aback. "It sounds a little familiar."
Whatever!
At last, he could start cultivating immortality!
Let me answer a few questions.
1. The timeline of this story is set before Ji Ning's.
2. The protagonist has lived two lives. After dying in his first life, he was reincarnated with his memories into a small world similar to Earth in the Desolate Era world.
Then, after Zhou Hao's master died, he was sorting through his belongings when he was enveloped by the light emitted by the shattered Taiji Stone Diagram and transported to the Xia Clan Great World.
3. The earlier plot won't have much to do with the original work. If it does, it'll only be through side stories. The protagonist will gradually become involved once the major events from the middle of the original story begin.
4. This is Suifeng's second attempt at writing a book, so please treat it as a new story. Even if you haven't read the original, you should still be able to follow it.
5. Some less important details may be changed to suit my understanding and needs.
If you want to nitpick details with me and argue over whether someone stepped with the left foot or the right, then let's not...
Writing a book is really hard on the brain. Suifeng doesn't have that much energy to spare, so please understand, brothers!
Finally, I hope both new and old friends will continue to support me!
Before you continue