Gathering Them All, Success!

Step by step, Ji Hao walked on as ripples spread through the void, carrying him across several miles. His glass-colored Martial Dao Heavenly Eyes opened, and he spotted ancient trees growing atop a distant mountain. He quickly made his way toward the summit.

The nine Holy Mountains stood lofty and imposing, ancient trees towering above them and strange rocks jutting out everywhere. They were truly magnificent.

Ji Hao was neither particularly fast nor particularly slow. The power of desolation permeated the forbidden zone; not only could it drain life force, it could also prohibit flight and seal the void.

If not for the Emperor Blood within Ji Hao resonating with the void, he too could only have climbed step by step toward the mountaintop.

The Holy Mountain was lush with vegetation and filled with bizarre rocks, making it quite beautiful.

He soon reached the summit. Around a spring pool roughly two meters wide grew eleven small trees, each over half a meter tall. Green light flickered from them as though they had been carved from jade, brilliant and crystal-clear. They resembled pine trees, their needle-like leaves clustered together as if polished from green jade divine essence, gleaming with light.

Without much hesitation, he quickly picked three fruits and sealed them away. He took a picture of one of the divine trees, likewise imprinting the laws contained within it, then immediately turned toward the other Holy Mountains.

Hit once, then switch locations.

"This is too slow. Who knows when the desolation slaves will come? There are still seven trees left. Let's split up."

The deities silently chanting scriptures within the Five Directions Dao Palace inside Ji Hao opened their eyes.

The next moment, the five deities each carried a Saint Weapon. Without hesitation, they transformed into five streaks of colored light and raced toward five separate Holy Mountains.

It couldn't be helped. As the most favored child in the family, he could afford to be this extravagant.

Within the Yanhuang Family, only Nüwa, who had become a Jingwei Bird, could compare to him. However, since Nüwa had turned into a Jingwei Bird and lost her consciousness, her share was effectively in Ji Hao's hands as well.

Saint Weapons were counted by the bundle!

Ji Hao also rushed toward the remaining two Holy Mountains.

He quickly arrived atop a neighboring Holy Mountain. This kind of sacred fruit resembled tiny suns, each one golden and perfectly round, as large as an infant's fist.

This divine root had nine small trees growing together, and naturally bore nine fruits. Resting in his palm, they illuminated his entire body with dazzling radiance.

They were like drops of sun essence, their medicinal power mysterious and mighty, beautiful and crystalline enough to intoxicate anyone.

Simply smelling their fragrance gave one the illusion of soaring into the clouds. With one bite, every pore across his body opened, and his divine power was continuously cleansed and condensed by the scorching medicinal energy.

His foundation became even more solid, his divine power even more vast. Blazing golden light burst from within him, washing away another portion of the deathly aura.

Opening his mouth, he inhaled from the Divine Spring like a dragon drawing in water. Endless life essence flowed into the Dao Palace, replenishing the consumption of the five deities.

Ji Hao's true body did not fear the power of desolation because of the Stone Bowl, but although the five deities possessed Saint Weapons, they could not ignore the power of desolation. Moreover, activating Saint Weapons required an ocean of divine power.

If he had not been pressed for time, he would never have dared to do this.

Ji Hao wiped the water from the corner of his mouth. "Only the final Holy Mountain remains."

He collected another portion of Sacred Spring Water and was just about to head toward the final Holy Mountain, stepping over the grim white bones.

"What's that..." Suddenly, his expression changed. A peerlessly elegant woman had appeared atop the Holy Mountain at some unknown time. She stood there quietly, looking at him.

The woman had bright eyes and white teeth, a slender graceful neck, and beauty like a lotus emerging from water. She stood upon the cliff's edge; if she took even half another step, she would fall into the endless abyss below. Her white robes fluttered in the wind, like a moon goddess about to ride the breeze away, transcendent and otherworldly.

Not a single flaw could be found on her. She was so beautiful that she did not seem real, giving off an immensely dreamlike feeling. She possessed the spiritual grace of heaven and earth, free from the vulgarity of the mortal world, with icy skin and jade-like bones—almost perfect.

Clad only in white, she seemed ready to ascend and become an immortal.

Yet the sight of such a perfect woman made Ji Hao's heart sink.

"Tianxuan Saintess?"

As a genuine Earthling, he did not know her at all. He could only make a judgment based on the plot of the original work from his previous life.

On the cliff, the aura of desolation surged. The woman, as though she had stepped out of a painting, swayed gracefully as she walked toward Ji Hao with delicate lotus steps.

"Not good!" Ji Hao instinctively took a step back, staring warily at the woman who was likely the Tianxuan Saintess.

The Stone Bowl in his Life Spring finally began releasing divine light on its own, protecting Ji Hao from the desolation aura and preventing it from stealing his life essence.

Ji Hao did not dare act rashly, because he could feel that a terrifying divine sense had already locked onto him.

"So I still have to fight in the end. Still, this is far better than I had expected."

"Why should cultivators like us fear a battle!"

Divine power surged through his Sea of Reincarnation, while divine sounds rang from his Dao Palace. The five energies transformed into five supreme sacred halos.

Void Great Handprint!

A pitch-black handprint covered the heavens and struck toward the woman. The void resonated with it, further amplifying its power.

Bang!

The woman lightly extended a finger. The enormous handprint descending from the sky was instantly pierced through, shattering into nothingness and dissipating.

Ji Hao remained calm. He had clearly expected this already. An existence suspected to be a saint could not possibly be injured by such a minor technique of his.

His divine power circulated and his blood vitality erupted, shaking the nine heavens. Like a young true dragon, his black hair billowed with a faint sheen, while the five sacred halos above his head transformed back into five-element energy and merged into his body.

Heaven-Cutting Finger!

Ji Hao swung his right hand and pointed forward. A divine beam shot into the skies as his fingers moved like several true dragons whipping their tails, crossing together and seemingly becoming a pair of true dragon shears that radiated a terrifying aura.

The Tianxuan Saintess did not move a single step. She stood quietly ahead, and even her white dress did not flutter. Once more, she lightly pointed a finger, and the Heaven-Cutting Finger transformed into stars filling the sky, breathtakingly beautiful.

At that moment, five streams of divine light returned from the Holy Mountain behind the woman. They were Ji Hao's five deities, returning with the divine fruits they had gathered from various places.

It was not as though he did not know that his abilities might stir up storms outside, but within this Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone, they amounted to nothing. He had merely fought her because she showed no killing intent. In truth, his five deities had long used a Saint Weapon that concealed their auras to gather all the sacred fruits.

His Sea of Bitterness roiled, enormous waves reaching the heavens. At the source of his Life Spring, life essence erupted like a volcano, and his immense divine power poured entirely into the Xuanyuan Sword.

Ji Hao slowly raised the Xuanyuan Sword. Crimson-gold divine radiance burst forth, shattering the void. Imperial might surged into the heavens as stars were cut down one after another, creating a scene that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth.

The Xuanyuan Sword had revived on its own!

The might of the Xuanyuan Sword shocked the many aristocratic families of the Eastern Wasteland. All of them looked toward the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone. No one in the Eastern Wasteland knew what had happened, but one Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon after another revived on its own, protecting their families.