Even Half-Immortals Are This Fierce

Wang Hao thought it over carefully.

“Not entirely.”

“I mainly trust the seniors here.”

The Martial Gods: “...”

They suddenly realized that this remark was even more insulting than outright cursing them.

The Demon Lord stepped forward.

The Dark Immortal Gate roared.

The might of a Half-Immortal descended like the collapse of heaven and earth, forcibly tearing through the attacks of the Martial Gods as he advanced toward Wang Hao.

Wang Hao’s expression changed slightly.

Then, with remarkable decisiveness, he retreated another three li.

As he withdrew, he shouted at the top of his lungs:

“Everyone!”

“Don’t let him get through!”

“Whoever stops him even once, I’ll erect a monument in their honor!”

“A monument to merit for the living, and a monument to loyal martyrs for the dead!”

The Martial Gods cursed inwardly.

Yet the attacks in their hands only grew fiercer.

Because everyone knew that Wang Hao could not die.

At least, not yet.

The new Heavenly Son Sword, which had swallowed the Demon Lord’s origin, was in his hands.

That strand of origin was the final gap the Demon Lord needed to become a True Immortal.

If Wang Hao died, the Demon Lord would reclaim the origin.

Then he would no longer be a Half-Immortal.

He would become a True Immortal descended upon the mortal world.

Thus, caught between utter frustration and absolute clarity, the Martial Gods of the world once again chose to surround and attack the Demon Lord.

Wang Hao stood in the distance, clutching the wound on his shoulder as he muttered:

“A Half-Immortal is already this terrifying.”

“What would a True Immortal be like?”

The new Heavenly Son Sword burped in his hand.

“Master, are we still going to snatch it?”

Wang Hao looked at the nearly immovable dark figure at the center of the battlefield and fell silent for a moment.

Then a dangerous smile spread across his face.

“Yes.”

“But this time, we’re not taking it from his mouth.”

“We’re taking it from beneath his feet.”

On the outskirts of Blackheaven City stood the ruins of the Myriad Contracts Platform.

This was once the place where Old Man Heitian presided over transactions.

Countless sects, sacred lands, and demonic magnates had signed shady contracts here.

Some bought lives.

Some sold out their countries.

Some traded for bloodlines.

Some even mortgaged the locations of their own ancestral graves.

After Old Man Heitian’s death, the Myriad Contracts Platform collapsed, leaving only half of its stone foundation buried beneath the rubble.

When Wang Hao retreated there, he suddenly stopped.

A familiar mechanical voice rang out in his mind.

[Special location detected: Ruins of Blackheaven City’s Myriad Contracts Platform.]

[Would you like to check in?]

Wang Hao’s eyes lit up.

This place counted as a check-in location too?

As expected of Blackheaven City.

Even its ruins were valuable.

“Check in.”

[Check-in successful.]

[Reward obtained: Three Severing Immortal Anchor Talismans.]

[Intelligence updated: The Demon Lord forcibly devoured the Demon Lord, causing his ascension to be interrupted. He is currently an incomplete Half-Immortal. His Half-Immortal Dao Fruit has yet to stabilize and requires three anchor points to fix his immortal essence in place.]

[First Anchor: Residual Origin of the Ancestral Nest’s Skin Lake.]

[Second Anchor: Remnant Contract Flames of the Myriad Contracts Platform.]

[Third Anchor: Demonic Pillar of Blackheaven City’s Earth Vein.]

[If the three anchors remain intact, the Half-Immortal Dao Fruit will stabilize after three breaths. If all three anchors are severed, the Half-Immortal Dao Fruit will rebound for the duration of one incense stick.]

Wang Hao’s heart jolted as he finished reading.

Three breaths.

In other words, there was not much time.

The Demon Lord was not merely enduring the combined assault.

He was buying time.

As long as he survived three breaths of Half-Immortal respiration, his incomplete Dao Fruit would stabilize.

By then, even if he did not become a True Immortal, he would still be strong enough to settle accounts with every Martial God present, one by one.

Wang Hao looked up at the battlefield.

The Demon Lord was taking his first breath.

His chest rose and fell slightly.

Dark demonic light descended from the Dark Immortal Gate.

The ruins throughout Blackheaven City were supplying him with some strange power.

Wang Hao lowered his head.

Sure enough, within the remaining foundation of the Myriad Contracts Platform beneath his feet, a cluster of dark-red flames was burning silently.

This was no ordinary fire.

It was the remnant flames left behind after eight hundred years of contracts had burned away.

Every contract contained a trace of the signatories’ karma, a fragment of their fate, and a sliver of their greed.

Old Man Heitian had relied on these things to control Blackheaven City.

Now that Old Man Heitian was dead, the Demon Lord intended to use them to stabilize his Half-Immortal Dao Fruit.

Wang Hao smiled.

“Senior.”

“You’re being a little shameless.”

“Old Man Heitian has only just died, and you’re already stealing his inheritance.”

“As the person responsible for collecting the debts, you’re making things rather difficult for me.”

He flipped his hand and produced one of the Severing Immortal Anchor Talismans.

The talisman was pitch-black.

It bore no writing, only the symbol of a broken, door-shaped glyph.

Wang Hao did not use it immediately.

Instead, he looked up at the Martial Gods, who were attacking with all their might.

Then he drew a deep breath. His voice thundered across the battlefield through the Myriad Contracts Origin Seal.

“Seniors!”

“I have bad news!”

The hearts of the Martial Gods sank in unison.

When Wang Hao said there was bad news, it was usually genuinely bad.

And there was a good chance he would charge them for it.

Wang Hao pointed at the ruins of the Myriad Contracts Platform.

“The Demon Lord is extracting the remnant contract flames from the Myriad Contracts Platform!”

“The contracts you signed in Blackheaven City, the lives you bought, the favors you sold, the ancestral graves you mortgaged—all of them are here!”

“If he drains the remnant flames, the karma and fate contained in those contracts will all become fuel for stabilizing his Half-Immortal Dao Fruit!”

The battlefield fell silent.

The next moment, the expressions of many Martial Gods changed.

Even the Taiyin Old Matriarch’s eyes flickered.

The Yellow Springs Ancestor cursed under his breath.

The Sword Ruins powerhouse frowned deeply.

The Blood Prison Demon Sect powerhouse’s face turned ashen.

Back then, he had bought the lives of a number of hidden agents from a sacred land in Blackheaven City.

The contract had been signed on the Myriad Contracts Platform.

The White Bone Old Monster was unsettled as well.

He had mortgaged the excavation rights to three ancient tombs.

Although he had already dug them clean, the karma still remained.

Seeing their reactions, Wang Hao immediately raised the stakes.

“To put it simply—”

“He doesn’t just want to become a Half-Immortal.”

“He also wants to burn your dark histories as fuel.”

“Are you really going to put up with that?”

The Blood Lotus Valkyrie said coldly:

“Wang Hao, is what you’re saying true?”

Wang Hao wore an expression of righteous sincerity.

“I guarantee it in the name of the Emperor of Great Xia.”

“At least, the general direction is true.”

Han Shanyue’s mouth twitched.

The general direction was true.

What about the details?

The details, of course, could be embellished artistically when necessary.

Wang Hao had never considered that to be spreading rumors.

That was called optimizing battlefield intelligence.

The Demon Lord finally turned his head.

His gaze passed through the attacks filling the sky and landed on Wang Hao.

“You know too much.”

Wang Hao immediately pointed at him and shouted:

“Look!”

“He just admitted it!”

The eyes of the Martial Gods changed completely.

The killing intent in the Demon Lord’s eyes grew even colder.

His first Half-Immortal breath had been interrupted, and the remnant flames of the Myriad Contracts Platform had been exposed. He no longer bothered to conceal them.

A black demonic pillar rose from beneath the ruins of the Myriad Contracts Platform, connecting directly to the ground beneath his feet.

The remnant contract flames transformed into countless dark-red threads that converged toward the Demon Lord.

Within those threads, countless human figures appeared faintly.

Sacred-land elders.

Demonic sect powerhouses.

Mighty rogue cultivators.

Traitors from imperial dynasties.

The greed, fear, betrayal, and desires of all these people had been refined into flames of light, nourishing the Demon Lord’s Dao Fruit.

The sight sent a chill through everyone’s hearts.

Not because of justice.

But because they had truly seen themselves within it.

The Yellow Springs Ancestor roared:

“Destroy those flames!”

The Taiyin Old Matriarch formed a series of hand seals, and the projection of the Taiyin Ancient Mirror shone toward the Myriad Contracts Platform.

The Sword Ruins powerhouse redirected his sword light, sending it slashing straight toward the remnant contract flames.

The Demon Lord snorted coldly.

“This belongs to me. Who dares touch it?”

He raised a hand and pressed downward.

The Dark Immortal Gate trembled.

The might of the Half-Immortal transformed into a colossal hand that blotted out the sky and swept across the battlefield.

Boom!

The Taiyin radiance exploded into fragments.

The sword light was smashed into the earth.

The Yellow Springs River was severed.

A Martial God from the Myriad Forms Sacred Land failed to evade in time and was grazed by the colossal hand.

Before he could even cry out, half of his divine body turned into black ash.

The other half fell into the ruins.

Blood sprayed across the sky.

The remaining powerhouses of the Myriad Forms Sacred Land instantly reddened with fury.

“Ancestor!”

The old Martial God was not dead yet.

With great difficulty, he raised his head and looked toward the dark figure in the sky.

There was no fear in his eyes.

Only regret.

“Don’t let him… become an immortal…”

The moment the words fell, his divine soul was devoured by demonic qi and utterly shattered.

The world fell deathly silent.

He was the first Martial God to truly fall since the war began.

A Martial God was no mere ant.

Every Martial God was a pillar supporting an entire faction.

Yet before a half-immortal, even pillars could be broken.

The brutal reality was like a basin of ice-cold water poured over everyone’s heart.

Wang Hao also fell silent for a moment.

He did not like the sacred lands.

Nor did he like these scheming old monsters.

But when a Martial God fell, Heaven and Earth mourned together.

In that instant, he suddenly remembered the ordinary soldiers stationed along Great Xia’s border.

When they died, they did not even trigger an omen from Heaven and Earth.

At most, their corpses were buried beneath the blowing sand.

An emperor could not afford to be softhearted.

But an emperor was not made of stone, either.

Wang Hao said in a low voice:

“Han Shanyue.”

Han Shanyue immediately stepped forward.

“I’m here, Your Majesty.”

“Take Zi Yuan and everyone nearby who is still alive and continue retreating.”

“Anyone below the Astral Energy realm is not to look back.”

“One glance could get them killed.”

Han Shanyue gritted his teeth.

“Your Majesty, then what about you…”

Wang Hao waved his hand.

“I’ll command the battle from the rear.”

“Sounds safe.”

“It isn’t, in practice.”

Han Shanyue still wanted to say something.

But Yin Jiuyou had already placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Go.”

“With His Majesty here, he can keep those old monsters fighting to the death.”

Han Shanyue fell silent.

He knew that it was true.

If Wang Hao retreated too far, the alliance might fall apart at once.

If Wang Hao charged too far forward, Great Xia might immediately have a funeral to arrange.

So the most suitable position was where he stood now.

Close enough to stir things up.

Far enough away to run if necessary.

Wang Hao concealed the Immortal-Breaking Anchor Talisman in his palm.

Then he raised the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

This ancient tower, ranked fifty-sixth among anomalous artifacts, rose into the air.

The nine-story tower was covered in flowing thunder patterns.

The violet thunder dragon on the ninth floor had already been used once.

It had only one full-strength ninth-realm strike left now.

He could not waste it.

Wang Hao did not activate the ninth floor.

He activated the eighth.

“Thunder Phoenix.”

Boom!

The tower gates opened.

A clear phoenix cry rang across the ruins.

A violet-blue thunder phoenix spread its wings and soared out. Its wings stretched a hundred yards across as it dove toward the dying flames of the Myriad Contracts Altar, carrying the might of demon-suppressing thunder.

What did the dying flames of the contract fear most?

Judgment.

Thunder.

The seal of imperial authority.

Wang Hao supported the tower with one hand and pressed down on the surviving page of the Mandate Tax Ledger with the other.

Gray-gold light shone upon the dying flames.

“Residual assets from Blackheaven City’s illegal contracts.”

“Seized!”

The Martial Gods: “…”

At a time like this, he was still seizing property.

But in the next instant, no one could laugh anymore.

On the surviving page of the Mandate Tax Ledger, the three blurred characters “Blackheaven City” emerged.

Then, slowly, two more lines of small text appeared beneath them.

“Residual contract flames.”

“Collection pending.”

The thunder phoenix crashed into the dying flames.

The Immortal-Breaking Anchor Talisman silently attached itself to the remnants of the Myriad Contracts Altar.

Boom!

The dark-red flames trembled violently.

Three-tenths of the countless threads connecting them to the Demon Lord snapped on the spot.

The Demon Lord’s chest paused mid-rise.

His first half-immortal breath was forcibly cut short.

The breach in the dark immortal gate widened once more.

The eyes of every Martial God lit up.

It worked!

Wang Hao immediately shouted:

“Everyone!”

“The second wave of effective attacks is beginning!”

“Three-tenths of the Myriad Contracts Altar’s anchor points have been severed!”

“Everyone, target the Demon Lord’s chest and the breach in the immortal gate!”

“Anyone who draws blood earns double battle merit!”

The Blood Prison Demon Sect powerhouse cursed:

“You think we’re soldiers from Great Xia?”

Wang Hao replied instantly:

“Temporary enlistment.”

“Automatically dissolved after the war.”

The White Bone Old Monster spat blood as he cursed:

“I’ve lived for two thousand years, and this is the first time I’ve ever been temporarily conscripted!”

Wang Hao consoled him:

“Rest assured, Senior.”

“His Majesty won’t charge you an enlistment fee.”

The White Bone Old Monster was nearly so furious that the fire in his bones went out.

But curses were curses.

They still attacked.

Because everyone had seen it clearly: once the flames of the Myriad Contracts Altar were severed, the Demon Lord’s immortal dao fruit truly began to destabilize.

This was an opportunity.

And their only opportunity.

The Taiyin Old Matriarch bit through the tip of her tongue and sprayed a mouthful of divine blood onto the projection of the Taiyin Ancient Mirror.

The ancient mirror’s icy light surged.

A true Taiyin seemed to descend from the primordial past, pressing down upon the Demon Lord’s chest.

The Yellow Springs Ancestor also unleashed his fury.

He thrust both hands into the great Yellow Springs River and actually pulled a pitch-black chain from its depths.

“Yellow Springs Chain to Bind Immortals!”

The chain streaked through the sky and wrapped around the Demon Lord’s right arm.

The Sword Ruins powerhouse stood before the mountain of swords, his entire body seeming to transform into an ancient sword.

“From the Sword Ruins lineage…”

“We request the third wisp of the Ancestor Sword Intent!”

Boom!

The mountain of swords trembled.

A gray-white sword intent descended in a slash.

It possessed no dazzling radiance.

Yet it tore open a fissure in the half-immortal’s demonic qi.

The Golden Watchtower Sacred Land Martial God roared. The phantom of the golden palace solidified completely.

The Blood Lotus Valkyrie’s lotus petals shattered one after another, and each fragment transformed into a blood-colored divine blade.

The various demonic sects also fought desperately through their hatred.

The Blood Prison’s heart thudded wildly, and its sea of blood transformed into a giant ten thousand yards tall.

The White Bone Old Monster pulled out his final six ribs and refined them into bone spears.

The Martial God of the Myriad Souls Sect directly sacrificed three-tenths of the wraiths in his Myriad Souls Banner.

At this moment, no one dared hold anything back.

They did not trust Wang Hao.

They trusted their own fear.

If the Demon Lord became an immortal, they would all die.

Even if the half-immortal state stabilized, they might not survive.

So they could only fight.

The gods surrounded the half-immortal.

Blackheaven City was completely transformed into a battlefield from hell.

The Demon Lord stood at its center.

The Yellow Springs chains bound his right arm.

Taiyin’s icy radiance pinned down his left shoulder.

The Ancestor Sword Intent struck his chest and finally left behind a wound deep enough to expose the bone.

Black half-immortal blood spilled down.

Every drop that touched the ground transformed into a demonic pool.

Countless low-level warriors had their souls torn apart by the demonic thoughts within the pools simply by drawing near.

The Demon Lord lowered his head and looked at the wound across his chest.

He slowly smiled.

“Very good.”

“Even ants know how to bite.”

In the next moment, he suddenly clenched his left hand into a fist.

Boom!

The Taiyin radiance exploded.

The Taiyin Old Matriarch was sent flying ten thousand yards. Her white hair froze inch by inch, only to be dyed black by demonic qi moments later.

The Demon Lord shook his right arm.

A section of the Yellow Springs chain shattered.

The Yellow Springs Ancestor spat out a mouthful of black blood.

The Demon Lord raised his foot and stomped down upon the giant of blood.

The Blood Prison Demon Sect powerhouse’s expression changed drastically.

“Block it!”

The White Bone Old Monster cursed and launched all six bone spears at once.

The Golden Watchtower Sacred Land Martial God also forcibly activated the golden palace, sending it to block the attack from the front.

Boom!

The power of all three sides shattered together.

The Blood Prison Demon Sect powerhouse’s chest caved in once more.

Half of the White Bone Old Monster’s skeleton was crushed into powder.

A crack running through the phantom of the golden palace appeared behind the Golden Watchtower Sacred Land Martial God.