Asura Emperor Venerable
Chapter 436: The Great River

Chapter 436: Chapter 436: The Great River

Did Gu Shiyun also cultivate the ten islands?

Yeah, that’s not surprising. Otherwise, Shi Hao had already used the Net of Rules, yet still ranked below Gu Shiyun on the Eternal Stone—clearly showing how monstrous the latter was.

Were the eight who were ahead of him the same?

Shi Hao thought for a while then slowly shook his head. He had not used any secret techniques in his first strike, just a casual punch, while many others had taken elixirs or employed powerful moves, leading to leaps in their performance which wasn’t unusual.

It seems that only Gu Shiyun is the true freak.

Of course, he can’t beat him.

Shi Hao felt a little smug.

"Gu Shiyun is not your master?" he suddenly asked.

"Nonsense, he didn’t get through the final challenge. Why should I acknowledge him as my master?" Yue Ying said arrogantly, "He just brought me out of the Forbidden Land, I owe him a favor, which is why I agreed to help him lay out his plans."

Though I’ve acknowledged you as my master, I don’t feel the respect due to a master.

Shi Hao complained, then he simply ignored Yue Ying’s arrogance and asked, "Where did Gu Shiyun bring you out from? You sound like it was a big deal. Could it be... that Gu Shiyun has really become an Immortal?"

Legend says that reaching the Sky Ladder can open Heaven’s Gate and enter the Immortal Realm.

Perhaps others find it difficult, like Yuan Chengmie, but for Gu Shiyun, the strongest genius of all ages, would becoming an immortal be hard?

If there really is an Immortal Realm in this world.

Yue Ying remained silent, then after a while said, "You shouldn’t ask this for now. Your power isn’t strong enough, but you have quite the curiosity — you wouldn’t even know how you might die!"

It’s always about insufficient strength!

The same happened with the Sanhe Forest. Although he successfully passed the challenge and could have obtained the ultimate Secret Treasure, that little pig told him to at least reach the Saintly Position before going.

One by one, they all look down on him!

Shi Hao felt a deep malice. He diverted his thoughts, exited the Sea of Suffering, and focused all his attention on Alchemy.

Just wait, once I grow stronger, I’ll see how I deal with each of you.

After the elixir was refined, he immediately used the Nine Revolutions Sky-Plundering Scripture to refine it.

"Damn, the energy needed for the ten islands step is way too much. Otherwise, this elixir would have let me advance one percent in the Nine Islands, now it’s at most one-tenth of a percent."

"Ten times the difference!"

Shi Hao gritted his teeth. This was really slow.

However, he now truly possessed the strength to confront Self-Observation head-on, so cultivating slowly through ten islands didn’t affect him much.

Unfortunately, there were still some Spiritual Medicines that couldn’t be used in alchemy due to the lack of auxiliary materials.

Once out, or perhaps even here, he might get some more medicinal materials.

Shi Hao moved forward, and soon he saw a big river, a thousand feet wide, and endlessly long, blocking his path.

The river water surged violently.

However, to a Martial Artist, even if the river flows ten times more violently, it’s nothing to fear, and can be easily crossed.

Just as Shi Hao was about to cross the river, he saw something rushing down from upstream.

He focused his sight and couldn’t help but stiffen.

It was a giant, at least thirty feet tall, entirely golden, with a hole in its chest, from which blood was continuously flowing.

Even from a great distance, the aura emanating from the giant made Shi Hao shudder.

It wasn’t that he was scared, but that his realm was being suppressed too severely.

The giant was dead, of this Shi Hao was certain, yet did this fellow’s blood ever stop flowing?

He followed the giant’s corpse for at least several hours, only to see that the blood was still pouring out endlessly, as if it had no end.

This blood... contained immensely pure, high-quality energy!

Shi Hao even thought of hauling the giant out of the river and using its blood for his alchemy, but this thought made him shiver suddenly.

——This is not a ferocious beast, but a human, although a rather large one.

Using human blood for alchemy, has he entered an evil path?

Indeed, he needed to strengthen his power, but certainly not in this way.

A line must not be crossed, otherwise, he would sink and lose himself.

Of course, Shi Hao stopped to take a closer look at the river, knowing that even if he were a notorious villain, he would definitely not take any risks now.

In this river, what did Shi Hao see?

Swords, spears, axes, halberds - all kinds of magical weapons!

These were not tangible objects but evolutions of the river water. With the river demonstrating such power to evolve into weapons, how terrifying must it be?

Shi Hao took out a piece of Precious Metal and threw it into the river.

Swiftly, before the Precious Metal even fell into the river, those weapons sprang out from the water and easily shattered the Precious Metal into dust.

This was... a Net of Rules!

Having encountered the Net of Rules beforehand, even though Shi Hao could not comprehend it, he could confirm that this was indeed an evolution of the rules.

So, was this damn place actually a River of Rules?

He was somewhat horrified. Who could possess such grandeur, to use rules as a river?

From the puppets he had encountered before, it was clear that this place was not naturally existing but artificially arranged.

There was also a golden giant, who must have been immensely powerful in life, otherwise, the blood flowing out wouldn’t possess such dense energy, and it seemed endless.

Right then, more things drifted from upstream.

Looking over, Shi Hao saw that it was a corpse, but not human, rather a deer with antlers sharp as swords, seemingly capable of slicing the heavens.

Despite the distance, Shi Hao could feel the terrifying chill making his skin feel as though it was about to tear apart.

It was terrifying, truly terrifying.

Shi Hao quickly retreated. As the deer corpse passed and moved on, the chilling sensation finally faded and disappeared.

The great river blocked the way, obviously preventing further advance.

What to do?

Shi Hao walked along the river’s bank, refusing to believe that the river had no end. If it indeed formed a complete circle... then no one could advance further.

Walking on, Shi Hao found this river to be remarkably long, and the water flowed very rapidly; he needed to exert at least half of his speed just to keep up.

Finally, he saw other people.

They were also walking along the river, but their speed was noticeably slower, and he caught up with them.

As Shi Hao passed by, that person clearly showed a defensive posture, and even stopped walking to cast a warning look at Shi Hao.

Shi Hao, however, did not spare another glance and smoothly sped past.

The person heaved a sigh of relief, but upon watching Shi Hao’s retreating figure, he suddenly flew into a rage from embarrassment.

He suddenly realized, to his dismay, that the aura Shi Hao emitted was merely that of the Other Shore Realm.

As for him?

Second Realm!

Was a Second Realm master really frightened by a mere Other Shore Realm being?

How utterly embarrassing!

"Boy, stop right there!" he immediately shouted, breaking into a run after Shi Hao.

This disgrace could not be made public, and if he didn’t kill Shi Hao, it would become a shadow in his heart, possibly causing him to remain stuck in the Second Realm for life.

With clouded thoughts, how can breakthroughs be achieved?

Heart demons would arise, immediately leading him into madness.