Chapter 166: Shi Hao's Cheat, His Own Freedom Method
People looked in surprise at the young man who had left his name on the stone tablet. Unrestricted. Such a young man with world-shaking talent dared to choose such a name. If he didn't fall, the entire Upper Realm would probably be shaken by him. And the people next to him—any one of them was above the Immortal Venerable Qin Changsheng. If they grew up...
"Which force's Prodigies are these people from? And what are they doing on Devil Island?" People speculated about Shi Jian's origins. Beings with such talent had to have a powerful force behind them. Most of the Supreme Prodigies from the various states near Five Elements State were known, but the crowd had never seen Shi Jian, Meng Qi, and the others.
"Boring... The Geniuses accumulated over tens of thousands of years in the Ten States are nothing more than this!" Yang Qi said with great disappointment after seeing Shi Jian also reach the peak. They had only made a slight move. This was already the limit of the stone tablet.
Shi Jian rolled his eyes after hearing Yang Qi's words. The few people in the group had gathered top-tier Cultivation Techniques from various worlds and resources from various worlds. Each one of them was ridiculously strong. If even this wasn't enough to suppress the Geniuses of the Ten States, then the cheat was opened for nothing.
"Let's go, enter the depths of the Immortal Tomb and seek an opportunity!" Shi Jian called out. The others nodded, and everyone followed the Heavenly River deeper into the Immortal Tomb, leaving behind only the numb crowd and Tang Sanshao, whose Dao Heart had collapsed from the blow.
After they left, the commotion continued. The Divine Tablet incident erupted, attracting attention from all sides. Soon, this news not only startled Five Elements State but also spread to farther places.
"What? Someone with Heaven-Defying combat power displayed his might on the ancient tablet, ranking first?"
"There are four people who left their names on the stone tablet, overpowering the people of the Ten States and knocking the Immortal Venerable down the rankings?"
"Black Emperor, White Emperor, Unrivaled Sword Venerable, Unrestricted? Four Prodigies appeared out of nowhere?"
"Which force's successor is this, to be so terrifying?" The matter was fermenting, spreading to well-known Great Sects and causing an uproar. Many people rushed to Devil Island to see what was going on. From ancient times until now, the top rankings had almost never changed, but today, they were rewritten. "Four Prodigies' imprints are suppressing Qin Changsheng, even risking the curse to go there and take a look."
There were even some super old antiques who came just to see the Immortal Venerable make a fool of himself. For a time, the names left by Shi Jian and the others shocked the Ten States. Those old antique-like figures, after seeing the stone tablet, let out incredibly shocked sounds.
"It's capped, it's actually capped..." One after another, great figures stood before the stone tablet, their faces showing surprise. Ordinary cultivators couldn't see the intricacies, but they could see deeper. The names left by Shi Jian and the others not only surpassed Qin Changsheng but also capped it.
Although the names had a sequential order, their images left were as high as the stone tablet. This meant that even the "Unrivaled Sword Venerable" had talent comparable to or even surpassing the Supreme Demon Venerable. The other few people were even more self-explanatory.
"Good heavens, what kind of Prodigies has this force cultivated?" one person exclaimed. "I originally thought it was some old fellow intentionally playing a trick on Qin Changsheng... Now it seems some truly remarkable fellows have appeared."
"Appearing out of nowhere, and so many terrifying Geniuses at once... This world is probably about to change!"
"Unrestricted? This person's name is truly arrogant. Looking at ancient and modern times, even an Immortal wouldn't dare to say he's Unrestricted."
"If this person is ignorant, that's fine, but if he truly has the confidence... Hiss."
One person then recalled something. "The names Unrestricted and Unrivaled Sword Venerable are unfamiliar, but I have heard of White Emperor and Black Emperor! I have a Dao lineage in the Lower Realm, so I received news. Just over a year ago, in the Virtual God Realm of the Lower Realm, several Prodigies also appeared out of nowhere..."
The others responded thoughtfully. "Are you talking about that Sin Blood Great Fiend?"
"That's right, it's that Sin Blood Great Fiend. Among the Prodigies who traveled with him, two of them had left their names as White Emperor and Black Emperor! Later, when True Immortals descended, these two also made a move..."
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the others changed. That previous matter was now considered a taboo in the entire Upper Realm. Ordinary people didn't know the intricacies, but they were clear. It was hard not to attract attention when Immortals acted all at once. According to their investigations, that Sin Blood Great Fiend seemed to have an extremely terrifying force behind him. Besides him, there was a group of terrifying Prodigies.
They, as a group, resisted the attacks of ten Divine Flame powerhouses in the Lower Realm and even caused True Immortals to descend to deal with him. The most terrifying thing was that Immortals personally acted, yet they couldn't do anything to them.
The few people who caused this stone tablet's anomaly had terrifying talent. People with such talent should have been famous long ago, but their names were not seen in the Three Thousand Dao States.
Now, they realized this group of people was very likely that group of peerless Prodigies from the Lower Realm. As for Unrivaled Sword Venerable and Unrestricted, they were most likely also part of that group but had changed their names. Especially this Unrestricted—to dare to choose such an arrogant name—it was very likely that this person was the Sin Blood Great Fiend.
At this thought, the expressions of many great figures became excited. As far as they knew, that group of Prodigies from the Lower Realm possessed a bunch of extremely terrifying precious techniques. Some people's hearts surged with greed, but others were cautious.
The Sin Blood Great Fiend and his group had appeared out of nowhere and grown to an extremely terrifying level in just a few short years. To say they didn't have a big shot behind them was unbelievable. He must have a reliance that ordinary people didn't know about.
A group of people wanted to follow the Heavenly River to find Shi Jian and the others, but they ultimately feared incurring the curse. The curse here was proportional to one's cultivation; the stronger the cultivation, the more terrifying the curse. Even more powerful Sect Master-level figures had fallen here, so they dared not go deeper.
"It's little brother, and Brother Yang Qi and the others..." A young man mixed in the crowd, full of vigor, his eyes shining as he looked at the stone tablet.
"After listening to you boast all the way, this Shi Jian indeed has his unique points!" The young man was Shi Hao, who had been separated from Shi Jian when they ascended to the Upper Realm. Next to him was a very handsome young man, Kunpengzi.
"Senior, I told you long ago, little brother's power has been recognized by Liu Shen!" Shi Hao continued.
"Hmph... It doesn't disgrace my Kunpeng method!" Kunpengzi snorted. He had heard of Shi Jian's great name and, after meeting Shi Hao, his ears were almost calloused from hearing about his little brother. Now, seeing Shi Jian suppress the Immortal Venerable on this stone tablet, Kunpengzi truly understood some of his strength.
Shi Jian was a successor of Kunpeng, and they were on the same side. The stronger Shi Jian was, the happier he became. After all, Shi Jian also had a grudge with those few crippled Immortals. An enemy of an enemy is a friend.
"Don't you want to test your strength? See where you can rank?" Kunpengzi asked Shi Hao. He had never met Shi Jian but knew how abnormal Shi Hao was. To cultivate to the Venerable Realm at such a young age was unheard of.
Shi Hao's heart stirred. That day, after they stepped onto the teleportation gate, Shi Hao vaguely saw a drop of blood that had a fatal attraction to him. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a special world that was neither the Lower Realm nor the Three Thousand Dao States but the Chaotic Ancient Era.
Taking a teleportation array and suddenly returning to the Chaotic Ancient Era, Shi Hao was very confused. However, he was someone who had broadened his horizons with Shi Jian and had transmigrated to other worlds. Transmigrating through a timeline was not unacceptable.
So, Shi Hao began to cultivate in the Chaotic Ancient Era. He cultivated and broke through to the Venerable Realm, and then, in another spiritual trance, he transmigrated back. After returning, he discovered that he and Shi Jian had separated. Little Pagoda and the Divine Stone were still by his side, and they briefly told him what had happened. Shi Hao, worried that Shi Jian would worry about him, immediately rushed towards Demon God Island.
He encountered some dangers on the way, used the Kunpeng method, and was coincidentally discovered by Kunpengzi. After a few misunderstandings, they realized they were on the same side and arrived at Devil Island, where they saw the rankings left by Shi Jian and the others.
"I can definitely surpass Qin Changsheng... But I just don't know how I compare to little brother and Brother Yang Qi..." Shi Hao secretly thought. Previously, he was only in the Spiritual Realm. Now, he had already broken through to the Venerable Realm. In terms of realm alone, his realm was even above Shi Jian's. More importantly, he also possessed an extremely terrifying Divine Ability that he had comprehended from that drop of blood.
To be precise, it couldn't be considered fully mastered. The Divine Ability was sometimes effective and sometimes not. Shi Hao guessed that he was brought to the ancient era due to its effect. The Divine Ability seemed to be called... His Own Freedom Method? Thinking of this cultivation technique, Shi Hao felt a wave of regret.
Shi Jian had taught him so many Divine Techniques, and he had been freeloading all along. If he could fully master this technique and teach it to Shi Jian and the others, that would be great. Unfortunately, he currently had no clue about this Divine Ability. It was simply too terrifying for his current realm.
"There are too many people here, all kinds of giant-level figures are gathered here... It's not appropriate for me to challenge the stone tablet now!"
"It's better to go into the depths of the Heavenly River to find little brother and the others!" Shi Hao also wanted to test his strength, but the situation was too complicated. If he stood out now, he would be seeking death.
"Alright then... There's a curse in the depths of the Heavenly River, I can't go in... I'll wait for you here!" Kunpengzi said. "If you find them, remember to be careful! I estimate they already know your true identities!"
Shi Hao nodded. He also noticed that more and more people were gathering, including many Sect Master-level figures. If not for the curse, they would probably rush in immediately. However, even if these figures didn't go in, Divine Flame Realm powerhouses from various forces continuously entered along the Heavenly River.
There were even True One Realm powerhouses holding treasures that could resist the curse, leading Divine Flame Realm teams deeper into the perilous land. Shi Hao didn't need to think to know they were going after Shi Jian and the others.
Shi Hao wasn't too worried. He was very clear about the strength of Shi Jian and the others. And no matter what, there was Liu Shen, that big leg, to back them up. They wouldn't fail. Having cultivated until now, Shi Hao also roughly knew what kind of existence Liu Shen once was—an Immortal King! An existence above a True Immortal.
There wasn't even one Immortal King in the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Lands. And more importantly, Liu Shen's strength had almost recovered to its peak. She had even found the path to the next realm. With such a super invincible big leg, Shi Hao's hands didn't tremble, and his heart didn't panic! He walked along the Heavenly River towards its depths, resisting the lightning flashes while comprehending his Dao.