Slay the Emperor's Mandate, Become a Free Immortal

Wang Hao turned to look at it.

“I’ll register now.”

The Ascension Herald froze.

“What?”

Wang Hao took out a blank registry.

“Name: Wang Hao.”

“Status: rogue immortal.”

“Origin: the lower realm.”

“Crime: unknown for the time being.”

“Cultivation: first level Earth Immortal.”

“See? I filled it out quite thoroughly.”

The smile on the Ascension Herald’s face stiffened.

“Invalid.”

“Why?”

“Rogue immortals are not permitted to enter Ascension Immortal City.”

“But I’m already inside.”

“You entered illegally.”

Wang Hao nodded.

“Since I entered illegally, then leaving shouldn’t be subject to your rules.”

The Ascension Herald fell silent for a moment.

Then it suddenly realized—

it seemed to have been led around in circles again.

Wang Hao could no longer be bothered to waste words with it.

The New Son of Heaven Sword left its sheath.

The first strike of the Nine Swords of Heaven-Opening.

Sword light swept across the western gate.

The immortal seal trembled violently.

The second sword followed at once.

The third sword!

The fourth sword!

Every streak of sword light seemed to have been cleaved forth from the very dawn of creation.

The densely packed immortal inscriptions on the western gate began to crack apart.

An immortal soldier hidden behind the city gate suddenly screamed.

“It’s the intent of the Heaven-Opening Sword!”

“This is an Immortal Emperor’s legacy!”

Wang Hao’s expression did not change.

“I merely know a sword technique.”

“Don’t go pinning random labels on me.”

The immortal soldier roared:

“The Nine Swords of Heaven-Opening are a forbidden art of the Immortal Realm!”

“You are no ordinary ascender!”

Wang Hao slashed with his sword.

“I told you long ago.”

“I’m a fugitive.”

The fifth sword!

A crack split open in the city gate’s immortal seal.

The sixth sword!

The flesh-and-blood walls on either side of the western gate began to collapse.

The seventh sword!

A massive immortal face emerged from behind the gate.

“Wang Hao!”

“You dare leave Ascension Immortal City!”

Wang Hao looked up.

“I am leaving the place I came to.”

“Why wouldn’t I dare?”

The immortal face opened its mouth.

A terrifying beam of immortal light surged forth.

In an instant, that light crossed space and blasted toward Wang Hao’s brow.

His imperial power of faith had already been severed.

His protective divine arts did not react in the slightest.

Wang Hao had nowhere to evade.

At that critical moment—

the three ascenders within the immortal coffins struck at the same time.

Ash-gray flames, a nine-tailed illusion realm, and black chains—three powers layered together before Wang Hao.

The immortal light crashed into them.

Gu Changfeng and the other two coughed up blood at once.

Wang Hao’s gaze turned icy.

“I do not like owing favors.”

Gu Changfeng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

“Then stay alive.”

“You can repay us after you survive.”

Wang Hao nodded.

The eighth sword!

The western gate’s immortal seal shattered completely.

The massive immortal face roared madly:

“Activate the Immortal-Hunting Grand Formation!”

Rumble—!

Countless blood-red chains descended from the sky above Ascension Immortal City.

At their ends was a gigantic eye.

The eye stared fixedly at Wang Hao.

“Target locked.”

“Fate-mark detected.”

“Remnant trace of imperial authority.”

“Beginning pursuit.”

A stabbing pain rose from the depths of Wang Hao’s imperial soul.

Even after severing his imperial path,

there remained a shred of imperial destiny that could not be cast away—the imprint left by having sat upon the throne and ruled over a billion living beings. The Immortal Realm had forcibly locked onto it.

It was not power of faith.

It was an imprint.

To free himself completely,

he would have to sever this imprint as well.

But if he did,

he would lose every advantage granted by his imperial destiny.

He might even suffer a backlash from the karma of the lower realm.

Wang Hao gripped the hilt of his sword.

“Perfect timing.”

“The ninth sword.”

“Heaven-Opening!”

Boom!

Sword light instantly flooded the entire Ascension Immortal City.

There was no dazzling sword aura.

Only a pitch-black rift remained, stretching from the western gate all the way to the heavens.

It was as though that rift had cleaved heaven and earth in two.

Every blood-red chain shattered the instant it neared the sword light.

The enormous eyeball was pierced through by a single strike.

The immortal face beyond the city gate let out a shrill scream.

At last, the western gate had been split open.

Yet beyond it was not freedom.

It was an expanse of pitch-black void.

Countless shattered stars drifted through the void.

In the distance, a ruined continent slowly turned.

Gu Changfeng’s expression darkened.

“That is the western region of the Immortal Realm.”

“Leaving through here means entering the Unclaimed Immortal Domain.”

“There are no city laws.”

“No Ascension Office.”

“And no protection of any kind.”

Wang Hao was the first to step through the gate.

“Just what I want.”

Su Hongxiu followed.

Mo Xuan came right after her.

Not one of the eighty-seven immortals remained behind.

When the last person crossed through the western gate—

the bronze mirror above Ascension Immortal City re-formed.

Within the mirror, Wang Hao’s figure was moving farther away through the void.

New words of blood appeared.

[Wanted Notice Updated.]

[Wang Hao has escaped Ascension Immortal City.]

[Threat Level: Immortal Emperor Class.]

Wang Hao glanced back.

“It went up again?”

Longevity Earth Immortal said,

“From Immortal King Class to Immortal Emperor Class.”

“Looks like we made rather a commotion just now.”

Wang Hao considered this.

“Then let’s make it even bigger.”

He raised a hand and hurled the Ascension Herald, whom he had been holding in his palm, back toward Ascension Immortal City.

“Go back and tell them.”

“I am not Wang Hao.”

The Ascension Herald struggled in the void.

“You are Wang Hao!”

Wang Hao’s expression did not change.

“From this moment on—”

“My name is Wu Hao.”

The silver-haired youth poked his head out.

“Master, why not call yourself Wang Wanghao?”

“Shut up.”

Within the boundless darkness,

eighty-four immortals escorted three ancient Ascendants who had only just broken free, swiftly departing into the distance.

Behind them,

a decaying immortal city roared in fury.

The Unclaimed Immortal Domain.

There was no sun or moon.

No stars.

There was not even any sense of up or down, left or right.

The immortals traveled through the void for a full three hours, yet still could not tell how far they had gone.

Continental fragments drifted all around them.

On some, mountains and rivers hung upside down.

Others contained nothing but fields of white bones.

One fragment looked as though some creature had gnawed at it, its edges lined with enormous bite marks.

Wang Hao stood at the forefront.

There was no flying sword beneath his feet.

Nor was there an immortal vessel.

He simply walked through the air, supported by his own immortal power.

After severing the Imperial Dao, his aura had become extraordinarily calm.

There was no imperial majesty.

No power of faith.

No towering phantom of an emperor standing between heaven and earth.

Even the New Heavenly Son Sword seemed somewhat unaccustomed to it.

The silver-haired youth sat on the sword’s hilt, resting his chin on one hand.

“Master, you look like an ordinary immortal now.”

Wang Hao said,

“I was only at the first level of the Earth Immortal Realm to begin with.”

“Before, you had a billion people behind you, supporting you.”

“Now you don’t.”

“So I need to find another billion people.”

The silver-haired youth’s eyes lit up.

“Are you going to build another imperial dynasty?”

“Not for the time being.”

“Why not?”

“Emperors are too easily put on wanted posters.”

“And rogue immortals aren’t?”

“At least it doesn’t sound as serious.”

Behind them,

Gu Changfeng and the other two had caught up.

Though they had only just escaped, all of them bore serious injuries.

Gu Changfeng said,

“There is a Fallen Immortal Market ahead.”

“That is the largest trading ground in the Unclaimed Immortal Domain.”

“Many fugitive immortals go there to replenish their immortal materials.”

“But the various bureaus have informants there as well.”

Wang Hao asked,

“Is it safe?”

“No.”

“Then we’re going.”

Su Hongxiu paused slightly.

“You know it isn’t safe, and you still want to go?”

“Because the safe places are usually already occupied by someone else.”

“And besides.”

Wang Hao looked at his palm.

An exceedingly faint thread of golden light was slowly writhing beneath his skin.

It was a remnant trace of Imperial Dao.

Although the River of Imperial Dao had been severed,

the destiny of an emperor had not vanished.

It was like a nail driven into his bones,

continuously giving off faint ripples.

If he did not pull it out,

the Immortal Realm would be able to find him no matter where he fled.

At that moment, the Sign-In Intelligence System suddenly appeared.

[You have arrived in the Unclaimed Immortal Domain.]

[Special location detected: outskirts of Fallen Immortal Market.]

[Would you like to sign in?]

Wang Hao answered silently in his heart.

Sign in.

[Sign-in successful.]

[Obtained: Fragmentary Manual of Loose Immortals.]

[Intelligence obtained: Fallen Immortal Market is not a trading ground, but a living city formed from the corpses of three thousand six hundred Loose Immortals.]

[Intelligence obtained: Within the city stands a Fate-Slaying Platform, capable of severing everything connected to an immortal’s identity and karmic ties, except for their Dao Fruit.]

[Intelligence obtained: The Fate-Slaying Platform opens once every three hundred years.]

[Time until its next opening: half an hour.]

Wang Hao’s eyes flickered.

“The Fate-Slaying Platform.”

Gu Changfeng asked,

“You know about it?”

“No.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

“I’ve found something good.”

Half an hour later,

the immortals arrived at Fallen Immortal Market.

From afar, it looked like a massive black city floating in the void.

Its walls were piled high with countless white bones.

Two strings of lanterns hung on either side of the city gate.

What burned inside those lanterns was not flame,

but the eyeballs of immortals.

Every eye was turning,

as though examining every living being that approached.

There was no plaque above the gate.

Only an enormous mouth,

clamped around a black bone.

As the immortals drew near,

the mouth suddenly spoke.

“Those entering the city, state your name.”

Wang Hao said,

“Wu Hao.”

“Origin?”

“Loose Immortal.”

“Cultivation?”

“Earth Immortal, first level.”

“What immortal laws have you violated?”

“None so far.”

The mouth on the gate fell silent for a moment.

“You just escaped from the Immortal Reception City.”

“And you claim you have committed no crime?”

Wang Hao replied earnestly,

“I... I merely left a place unfit for habitation.”

“The Reception Bureau has already issued a wanted notice for you.”

“They’re just jealous of my handsome face.”

It seemed to be the first time the mouth had encountered such an answer.

It remained silent for a long time.

At last, it spat out a single word.

“Scram.”

Wang Hao nodded.

“So there’s no charge, then?”

He raised a foot and started walking inside.

“Wait!”

the mouth roared.

“The entry fee!”

“You just told me to scram.”

“You still have to pay even if you scram!”

Wang Hao looked at the Longevity Earth Immortal.

“Write this down.”

The Longevity Earth Immortal immediately took out a register.

“What charge should I record?”

“The gate of Fallen Immortal Market verbally insulted me and demanded an entry fee.”

The mouth on the gate was so enraged that black smoke streamed from it.

In the end, it still allowed them into the city.

The inside of Fallen Immortal Market was even stranger than the outside.

Stalls lined both sides of the streets.

Immortals were selling their own bones.

An immortal had sealed a divine soul inside a bottle and priced it at three rotten Dao Fruits.

Nearby, an old man with only his upper body left was hawking his wares.

“Ancestral Immortal King’s blood!”

“One sip grants three thousand years of life!”

Wang Hao stopped.

“Really?”

The old man nodded at once.

“Of course it’s real.”

Wang Hao pointed at the bottle of blood on the stall.

“Why is there hair in it?”

The old man remained perfectly composed.

“The Immortal King was old. It’s perfectly normal for him to shed a little hair.”

“Then why is the hair moving?”

The old man lowered his head and glanced at it.

“Maybe it’s particularly lively.”

Wang Hao reached out and picked up the bottle.

The dark crimson blood within immediately opened a mouth and bit at his finger.

Wang Hao let go.

The bottle fell.

The old man hurriedly caught it.

“Esteemed customer, even if we can’t make a deal, there’s no need to ruin our goodwill.”

“Where did you get this thing?”

“From an Immortal King’s corpse.”

“Where is the Immortal King’s corpse?”

The old man pointed at himself.

“I am the corpse.”

Wang Hao looked at him.

“You’re an Immortal King?”

“I used to be.”

“And now?”

“Now I’m working hard to recover.”

Wang Hao turned and left.

The silver-haired youth sighed.

“Master, everyone here is exceptionally good at boasting.”

“That’s why I like this place.”

Deep within the Fallen Immortals Market.

A raised platform built from black bones was slowly rising.

Loose immortals stood all around it.

They came in every imaginable form.

Some had only one eye.

Some cast no shadow.

Some were covered from head to toe in talismans.

Yet they all had one thing in common.

None of them bore the aura of an immortal dynasty.

No official seals.

No immortal posts.

No sect insignias.

They were like a pack of wild beasts abandoned by the Immortal Realm.

Gu Changfeng looked toward the platform.

“The Fate-Severing Platform.”

“Those who ascend it sever the karmic ties of their identity.”

“But they also lose the fortune that identity brings.”

“If one is an emperor, one loses one’s imperial destiny.”

Wang Hao said,

“That is precisely what I need.”

Su Hongxiu frowned.

“Are you certain?”

“Once you sever your imperial destiny, you may lose your last connection to the countless living beings of the lower realm.”

“If Great Xia faces danger, you may not even be able to sense it.”

Wang Hao fell silent.

This was what he was most reluctant to face.

After the Imperial Dao River had shattered,

only an exceedingly faint thread of karma remained between him and Great Xia.

If he severed even that thread,

then he would truly become a lone loose immortal struggling in the Immortal Realm.

No way back.

No place to return to.

No one behind him calling him “Your Majesty.”

No one would even know that he had once commanded the faith and aspirations of a billion souls.

Wang Hao looked into the void.

“If I cannot even forge a path for myself,”

“then what good would it do to sense them?”

“To hear them weep across the distance between the Immortal Realm and the lower realm?”

“That would not be protection.”

“It would be a burden.”

Su Hongxiu did not try to persuade him again.