Defeated!

He gained an entirely new understanding of Li Dao's strength.

Before, he had only witnessed Li Dao's terrifying feat of slaying a Spirit Transformation Ferocious Beast. Only after facing him in actual combat did he understand how immense that pressure was.

His body shuddered slightly, and the earth and stones around him instantly exploded. He shot out of the dust like a streak of light, hovered in midair, and said to Li Dao:

"Next, let's spar with Treasure Arts. Watch out!"

Li Dao nodded, remaining where he stood. He raised a hand before his chest and formed a Dao seal as moonlight flowed over his cheeks.

Though his face was still youthful, the imperious look in his eyes already held the grandeur to swallow mountains and rivers.

Hum-

With a soft tremor, the Black-and-Yellow Furnace appeared. The black-and-yellow radiance spilling from it flowed like strands of undying divine light.

Shi Hao naturally understood Li Dao's meaning. He unleashed the Green-Scaled Eagle Treasure Art from his hands.

It tore through the air and charged toward Li Dao.

Clang, clang, clang-

The Black-and-Yellow Furnace trembled lightly, ringing with deep, heavy notes. The divine furnace seemed as though it truly had been cast from divine gold.

Shi Hao's Treasure Art struck it without leaving so much as a mark.

"What formidable defense! It's like striking a slab of divine iron. What a terrifying Treasure Art!"

Shi Hao felt the divine power rapidly draining from his body. Without reaching the Cave Heaven Realm, he could not maintain an inexhaustible supply.

He knew that if this continued, he would inevitably be dragged to his defeat through sheer exhaustion.

Gritting his teeth, he leaped into the air. Runes flashing with lightning shot out of his body.

They settled in midair as arcs of lightning spread across his body, bathing him in their radiance.

He raised his hand, and behind him, a Ferocious Beast slowly materialized, lightning coiling around its body and its four limbs as massive as mountains.

Its snorting breath blew like a fierce gale, and its eyes resembled two purple moons. It was unmistakably a Suanni.

"Suanni Precious Technique!"

Shi Hao shouted and swept his right hand forcefully toward Li Dao. The Suanni phantom behind him immediately charged forward amid flashes of lightning.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle-

Li Dao watched the Suanni stride through the air, each footfall carrying a scorched smell, and his eyes lit up.

He dismissed the Black-and-Yellow Furnace around him and likewise swept a hand toward Shi Hao.

Behind him, a Ferocious Beast appeared, its entire body wreathed in purple lightning as it flicked its forked tongue.

As Li Dao pointed, it shot forward, the Purple Snake's coiled body abruptly unfurling.

Though it moved later, it arrived first, instantly reaching the Suanni and winding its enormous body around him.

The two beasts clashed repeatedly, and the light in Li Dao's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Originally, he had only intended to act as a sparring partner and test Shi Hao's current strength.

He had not expected the appearance of the Suanni Precious Technique to stir something within him.

Both were Thunder Dao Treasure Arts, and their repeated clashes could deepen his understanding and insight into the Dao of lightning.

He could not help feeling pleasantly surprised. Shi Hao, facing him, knew nothing of this. He was pouring everything into his Treasure Art, seeking not victory, but merely to hold out a little longer.

Li Dao did not hesitate either, putting his insights directly into practice.

One after another, darker and more profound runes appeared around him, and he sent them into the Purple Snake's body.

As the runes entered, the lightning arcs coiling around the Purple Snake grew denser. Two small bumps even began to rise faintly atop its head.

The pressure emanating from it grew increasingly weighty, and Shi Hao, fighting Li Dao, felt this change more keenly than anyone.

He knew that Li Dao had hunted down this Purple Snake only recently and had obtained its Treasure Art barely a day ago.

Li Dao's ability to perform it so quickly had already shocked him. He had never expected that, as the Suanni and Purple Snake continued clashing,

the pressure radiating from the Purple Snake would also grow stronger and stronger. His gaze became increasingly strange as he looked at Li Dao.

Could this guy be some old monster?

But that thought lasted only a moment before the violent sounds of collision overhead seized his attention.

Boom-crack!

After another collision, the Suanni and Purple Snake both vanished into nothing in midair.

The surging shock waves swept over the distant mountains, immediately setting off dull explosions.

Shi Hao's face was somewhat pale, clearly a sign that his divine power was nearly exhausted.

Li Dao, by contrast, showed no change at all. With a slight activation of the furnace of flesh and blood within him, the vital essence drifting through heaven and earth immediately streamed toward him.

It rapidly replenished what he had consumed.

Shi Hao showed no hesitation either. He sat cross-legged on the ground and drew in the energy of heaven and earth.

His previously pale face rapidly regained its healthy color.

"Whew-"

Once some of his divine power had recovered, he walked over to Li Dao, admiration in his eyes.

"Li Dao, your strength is extraordinary. I lost this time."

"But next time, I'll definitely win!"

The fighting spirit in Shi Hao's eyes had not diminished. He, too, had gained much from this battle, and his cultivation had advanced somewhat.

Li Dao smiled and nodded.

"There's no need to call me Brother Li or anything. Just use my name."

"I'll be waiting for you to challenge me!"

Shi Hao nodded. He was not the bashful sort, and he took those words to heart.

"All right, then I won't stand on ceremony!"

"From now on, just call me by my name, too."

The two returned to the cave dwelling where they had eaten roast meat earlier and discussed the Dao together in a lively, friendly atmosphere.

Early the next morning.

Golden sunlight pierced ten thousand miles and spilled over the world as Li Dao slowly emerged from his eyes-closed cultivation.

He glanced beside him, only to find that Shi Hao had already left, leaving just a message on the wall.

"You were still asleep, so I left first."

"I'll come find you in the Stone Kingdom Imperial Capital. See you!"

Li Dao could not help smiling. He swept his hand over the stone wall, and the words dissolved into golden powder that dispersed between heaven and earth.

"That was quite a remarkable encounter."

"I wonder when we'll meet again?"

Li Dao shook his head and suppressed the jumble of thoughts in his mind.

He rose and took a step. Arcs of lightning burst beneath his feet, and he appeared directly outside the cave dwelling.

He took the map from inside his robe and looked at it

once more, forming a rough plan for where to head next.

"If the map is accurate, at my pace, the Stone Kingdom Imperial Capital is about half a month away."

"The dangers along the way should give me plenty of trials."

He tucked the map back into his robe. Divine power surged within him, and as he stepped forward, streaks of lightning abruptly exploded beneath his feet.

His figure appeared ten meters away like a phantom, leaving a faint purple trace branded in the air along his path.

After pitting his Thunder Dao Treasure Art against Shi Hao's, his understanding of the Dao of lightning had advanced. Combined with the results of a night's contemplation,

he could now make rudimentary use of lightning techniques.

He took another step, unleashing even more lightning arcs, and the distance he traversed instantaneously increased to fifteen meters.

With a Thunder Dao Treasure Art at hand, he could put it to use as a footwork technique. Though it still required gradual study and adjustment, Li Dao was in no hurry.

He had ample time. He refused to believe he could not derive a movement technique suited to himself.

From then on, a figure wreathed in lightning could be seen departing from the Taiyin River and weaving ceaselessly through the Great Wilderness.

At first, he left devastation in his wake. Toppled trees and shattered mountains were commonplace.

Sometimes, a mistake sent Li Dao straight into a Ferocious Beast's lair.

Wherever he went, chickens flew and dogs leaped in chaos. Had his strength not been exceptional, who knew which Ferocious Beast would have eaten him?