Chapitre 134: Chapter 270: Returning to Cang Cliff City
In a city of Qingzhou, demons and monsters lurked in every corner, with corpses littering the streets and blood splattered on collapsed buildings.
Some demons feasted on the remains of soldiers, emptying their cavities, leaving organs, severed hands, and feet scattered across the ground.
Surviving citizens were herded into open spaces among the destroyed buildings, penned in like pigs, shivering in fear.
Laborers, scholars, and martial artists were all squeezed together, indistinguishable from each other, mere prey to be slaughtered by the demons.
A frail and delicate young lady from an aristocratic family wanted to cry, but someone covered her mouth, afraid of angering the demons with their wails.
Their sorrow was but a noisy disturbance to the demons.
"Who will save us...?"
The crowd was filled with anxiety, their eyes scanning the horizon, praying for the arrival of Yu's army to vanquish the demons.
From time to time, someone was chosen, taken not far away, and torn apart and roasted alive, their screams echoing through the city, causing the rest to tremble in fear.
Some were so terrified that they lost control of their bodily functions, collapsing to the ground. When picked up by the demons, their bodies went limp, devoid of any strength.
High in the sky, a figure seated amidst blazing flames whistled through the air, approaching from the distance.
As they passed over the city, their speed slowed slightly. Upon witnessing the horrific scene below, the young man in the flames frowned, and without any noticeable movement, a gentle breeze suddenly stirred between heaven and earth.
This breeze transformed into dozens of sharp sword auras, invisible and incredibly fast, shooting out in all directions.
Demons within the city fell one by one, and those that remained, startled by the sudden change, couldn't see their attacker. It was only when bodies of their comrades lay on the ground that they noticed the young man atop the back of a large, flame-clad demon.
Screams of terror and pleas for mercy rang out, but without exception, they were all pierced through the head by the sword auras.
In just a few breaths, all the demons in the city had perished.
Only corpses remained, some with arms still in their mouths, now fallen amidst the dust.
This sudden turn of events stunned the survivors who had been awaiting their fate. Among the martial artists in the group was a low-key and cautious Transcendent Realm expert, who quickly noticed the large flame-clad demon and the young man riding it in the sky above.
"Someone has come to rescue us!"
"It's a general of the court, it must be!"
"That's the general's mount, it's not a demon!"
In an instant, as some martial artists shouted, the others also noticed the flaming figure above the city. Some elderly commoners with blurry vision could only make out a ball of fire, like a floating deity, and they knew that their salvation had arrived—it could only be the mighty generals of the court.
For a moment, all the survivors were overwhelmed with gratitude, kneeling and crying out their thanks.
Li Hao sighed softly. After dealing with the demons and confirming that none remained, he urged Candlefire Spirit to continue on their way to the next city.
Before returning to Liangzhou, he wanted to address the many cities he had seen that were ravaged by chaos and suffering.
Some cities had already been pacified by Li's army, while others had not yet been reached. In some cases, the demons had already withdrawn, while others, driven by greed, continued to occupy the cities, bringing harm to the people.
The faster they reclaimed the lost territories, the fewer casualties there would be.
Not long after Li Hao left, two figures whistled through the air, approaching swiftly—an old man and a young girl.
The young girl in azure and blue glanced down at the city and then raised her hand, on which a golden bracelet with nine small bells jingled crisply.
Soon, strands of pitch-black energy rose from various parts of the city, carrying the vengeful cries and furious roars of spirits. They flew toward the bells on her wrist and were absorbed.
Before long, all the black energy that had emerged from the corpses and ruins disappeared without a trace.
Ying Xiaoxiao lowered her hand and shook her head slightly at the devastated city before continuing on with the old man by her side.
About two hours after their departure, the sound of hoofbeats could be heard in the distance, and an army bearing Li's banner approached.
As the troops entered the city, they were surprised to find that the demons had already been eradicated.
They questioned the martial artists and influential elders of aristocratic families within the city and learned that a general riding a crimson demon had come and annihilated the demons.
Hearing this description, the Li soldiers exchanged glances, their minds flashing back to the scene in the skies above Qingzhou City, an image they would likely never forget for decades to come. Wasn't that the Hao Tian General?
When the survivors asked the officers about the general's name, the Li soldiers did not hide it.
Soon, the name Hao Tian spread among the survivors, and some merchant and aristocratic families offered to fund the creation of a golden statue of General Hao Tian during the reconstruction of the city, hoping to suppress the demons and establish a temple in his honor.
...
...
In less than a day, Li Hao, riding Candlefire Spirit, had covered most of Qingzhou, visiting over a dozen cities without encountering any demons. Finally, he changed course and headed toward Liangzhou.
The rest could be left to the Li family's army to clean up gradually.
The next day.
In the slightly damp morning mist, Li Hao sat atop Candlefire Spirit as they arrived at the border of Liangzhou.
As he caught sight of the familiar Dragon Pass Road, a nostalgic feeling washed over him.
From high above, the once majestic road resembled a giant dragon stretching from the border, with lush greenery and the calls of birds and beasts on both sides.
Li Hao dismounted from Candlefire Spirit and asked him to assume human form to avoid alarming the people in the city.
As they walked toward Dragon Pass Road, suddenly, a voice called out from behind them.
"Young man, are you heading to Cang Cliff City?"
Li Hao turned to see a pair of herb-gathering elders and their grandson, their baskets filled with freshly picked herbs and mushrooms.
He was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but laugh. It felt as if time had turned back two years.
"The Dragon Pass is just ahead."
The old man called out to Li Hao, and these familiar words, identical to those spoken two years ago, caused Li Hao to pause briefly. However, the old man's face was wreathed in a smile as he shouted, "May you young masters of the noble clans have a bright future ahead!"
A smile slowly spread across Li Hao's face as he replied, "May your harvests be bountiful every day."
The old man smiled back and waved his hand, then left with his grandson.
They were but fleeting passersby in this mortal realm, their brief encounter marked by simple greetings and blessings.
Li Hao watched as the old man and the young boy walked away, then turned with a smile and continued on his way towards the Dragon Pass.
Two years had brought about significant changes to this place.
What was once a perilous path now showed signs of prosperity, and the stream of youths who came here in pursuit of glory and fame had clearly contributed to its burgeoning greenery.
There was one less tea stall on Dragon Pass Road, but there were now many more vendors along the roadside. Li Hao's steps grew quicker and lighter, and he felt a sense of homecoming as he walked.
I wonder if Feng Lao has been waiting long. Qianqian should be reaching a bottleneck in her cultivation by now.
I wonder if Little White Fox has digested that peculiar state it was in.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Li Hao soon arrived at Cang Cliff City.
Gazing upon the city, he could see the array covering it, and the flags planted atop the walls, fluttering with his name in the fierce wind.
Li Hao covered Xu Yan with the Domain of Serenity, concealing her aura, while the Candlefire Spirit required no such precaution from him; apart from that one array in the imperial capital, few other arrays could detect the existence of the Serenity Domain, which was the limit of the Astromancers' abilities.
After all, that old Grand Astromancer had passed away, and it seemed his successor had not inherited the ability to do so.
Upon entering the city, Li Hao noticed that in just a few months, there had been noticeable changes. The streets were cleaner, and there were more vendors, yet everything was more orderly.
It was rare to see such a bustling scene in a city on the fringes of the empire.
In contrast to the increasingly crowded city, there was a spacious open area in the center that was cordoned off. In the middle of this space stood a simple and unadorned bamboo fence surrounding a small courtyard.
Hidden in the shadows outside the courtyard were Heavenly Man Realm soldiers patrolling the area.
Li Hao swept the area with his divine sense and spotted the sword-dancing girl within the courtyard. A smile played on his lips as he transmitted his voice to her, "I'm back."
In the courtyard, Ren Qianqian, who had been practicing her swordplay, froze, then looked around in surprise.
It didn't take her long to realize what had happened, and she quickly rushed out of the bamboo fence and saw the young man standing not far from the courtyard.
"Young... Young Master?"
Ren Qianqian was taken aback, as the young man before her looked somewhat different, but his divine sense and tone left no doubt in her mind that it was Li Hao.
However, when those people had come earlier and seen Li Hao's clone dissipate, hadn't they said that the young master was dead?
Ren Qianqian was bewildered and suspected she was dreaming. She rubbed her eyes, and when she looked again, tears suddenly flowed like a burst dam as she ran towards Li Hao.
"Young Master, you're still alive..."
She threw herself into Li Hao's arms, sobbing.
Li Hao was a little surprised, and after letting her cry for a while, he felt the shoulder of his robe grow damp. A warm feeling spread through him, and he said, "Silly girl, why are you crying? I'm back now."
After Ren Qianqian's emotions had calmed down, Li Hao brought her into the courtyard.
The hidden Heavenly Man Realm soldiers were stunned. They had thought Li Hao was a young master from some noble clan, but upon hearing the sword attendant address him as General Haotian, they were shocked beyond measure.
Many of them widened their eyes, their faces filled with astonishment, then overwhelming excitement.
Earlier, when Li Tiangang and the others had come to confirm Li Hao's death by observing the dissipation of his clone, they had assumed that this was proof of his demise.
And the news they had confirmed had spread throughout Cang Cliff City, causing an outpouring of grief.
But now, Li Hao had returned!
The general who had pacified Liangzhou, the peerless genius, was back!
Not long after Li Hao entered the courtyard, several Heavenly Man Realm soldiers who couldn't contain their emotions rushed in to ask if he was truly General Haotian.
Seeing these soldiers with reddened eyes, Li Hao felt a mix of emotions. He nodded, confirming that he had indeed returned.
The news spread like wildfire, and soon the entire Cang Cliff City was abuzz. Countless people flocked to the courtyard, and the area outside was filled with voices.
Inside the courtyard, Li Hao had already introduced the Candlefire Spirit and Xu Yan to Ren Qianqian, and he also briefly inquired about the events that had transpired during his absence.
Learning that his clone had dissipated, Li Hao was surprised and finally understood why they had all believed him to be dead.
It was probably due to the severed bloodline connection or the severity of his injuries. Li Hao decided to create another clone.
Even if the previous clone hadn't dissipated, its strength was fixed from the moment of its creation and didn't share memories or strength with the original.
As such, the previous clone was now far too weak compared to his current self.
However, before creating another clone, Li Hao intended to search for some secret manuals on spirit refining and object manipulation.
Now that his Domain of Dominance had broken through to the seventh level, finding manuals on spirit refining and object manipulation would allow him to quickly raise the limits of the Divine Travel Realm and the Fifteen-Mile Realm.
At present, he had achieved the ultimate state in the Continuous Power Realm, the Revolving Heaven Realm, and the Successive Soul Realm.
However, he was not yet at the limit of the Divine Travel Realm and the Fifteen-Mile Realm.
He had also mastered the ultimate state in the Heavenly Man Realm and the Three Undying Realm.
Once he perfected the Divine Travel and Fifteen-Mile Realms, Li Hao could consider pushing the limits of the Four Established Realms.
"Where's Feng Lao?"
Li Hao asked Ren Qianqian, a bit surprised.
It had been a while since he returned, and Feng Lao still hadn't shown up. Even if he had gone out to fish, he shouldn't have been gone this long.
After all, Feng Lao was a man of his word.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone