The Name of Eternity.

Chapter 602 Breakthrough, Arrival!
The news that demons had come to challenge the Imperial Star of Gusu spread not only among the Su family, but also among the Lin family, the Jiang family, and other prominent clans.

The Jiang family, the residence of the Jiang deity.

"A demon challenge? Perfect, I'll kill as many as they come!"

"A young prodigy from the Jiang family said coldly."

"So this is the opportunity Master was talking about for going down the mountain. No wonder he told me to go home."

Another young man from the Jiang family said that he was the Jiang family prodigy defeated by General Su Wanxue, who had won the Sword Pool Award, and was also Jiang Huanhuan's fourth brother.

"If they want to take this opportunity to kill our human race's prodigy, then we'll take this opportunity to kill their demonic prodigy!"

"That's right. Even if they don't come, a thousand years from now, I will still go to that border battlefield and slaughter them until the sky and the earth are dark."

The Jiang family members were all full of fighting spirit. No one would back down in the face of demons. Otherwise, how could the Jiang family have become one of the pillars of the human race in the Northern Region?

Lin.

The news spread to all the courtyards, and many of the Lin family's prodigies gathered together. However, one figure rushed to the ancestral land to deliver the message to the imperial prince, who was now the pride of the Lin family.

Outside the ancestral land, the Lin family elder sat in a rocking chair and stopped the person who came to report.

Upon hearing the news, Elder Xue shook his head slightly and said calmly, "There's no need to disturb him with such a trivial matter. I will inform him when he comes out of seclusion. If there is time, let him kill all those demons. If there isn't, let that little girl from the Su family try her best. Other aristocratic families should also be able to contribute."

Besides the three major families, other aristocratic families are also actively preparing for war, pouring all their resources into the most outstanding talents in their clans.

Some families chose to send their most outstanding talents to defend the dignity of the human race and also hoped to make a name for themselves by thwarting the ambitions of the demons in this first competition.

Other families chose to send out backup dragons and hide the real dragon to prevent its demise and the decline of their family.

In the deep garden of the Su family mansion, in the Abbot's Courtyard.

Su Muqing and Li Hao flew back to the courtyard one after the other. As soon as they landed, Su Muqing lifted her foot and walked towards the hall. When she was about to cross the threshold, she suddenly stopped and turned her head slightly to look at the young man in the courtyard behind her.

"If you still have any backbone, then cultivate yourself properly."

As she spoke, she frowned, realizing that what she had said was somewhat unnecessary.

Although Li Hao was qualified to participate in the battle, he was only at the first level of the Immortal Lord realm, which was too low. Even if his movement technique was excellent, he would be useless if he could only run away in a real fight.

Moreover, those demons won't care about martial ethics; they'll only fight against those of the same realm. When they go into battle, most of them will probably be at the seventh or eighth level of the Immortal Lord realm, or even at the peak of the realm. They will all be coming at the limit of their lifespan.

Li Hao's lifespan is too short, and his cultivation level is too low. If he cultivates diligently, he might be able to participate in the next battle. However, the next battle will be a thousand years from now, and Li Hao's lifespan will be longer then. In this great clan competition, there will be no room for the other side to exert its influence.

Shaking her head, she stopped thinking about it and entered the hall.

Three years is but a blink of an eye for her; she must seize the opportunity to take another step forward!
With a bang, the palace doors slammed shut.

Li Hao glanced at the disappearing figure, then looked away and sat back down in his carved chair.

"Three years..."

Li Hao's eyes flickered slightly. If he could break through to the twelfth level of the Sculpture Dao in the next three years, his combat power would increase significantly.

The Northern Region's human race is in dire straits, and if given the opportunity, he would like to contribute his own strength to this place.

Thinking it over, he picked up the carving knife and began to carve seriously.

The piece of wood in her hand quickly transformed into a human figure, which was none other than Ying Xiaoxiao.

Previously, Li Hao was unwilling to use the eleven-stage carving technique to sculpt her, because he did not want to desecrate her. But now, only when carving her can Li Hao be completely immersed in the process and gain a deeper understanding. He feels that only in this way can he grasp the true meaning of carving more quickly.

He also incorporated his insights from painting into his sculptures.

Sculpture and painting may seem similar, but they are quite different.

For ordinary people, one uses the pen as a tool, and the other uses the tool as a pen.

However, in Li Hao's eyes, the two are fundamentally different.

Carving may seem like painting on wood, but in reality it is about removing flaws, capturing the natural essence, and creating perfectly formed objects.

The way of painting is to gather the five elements and cultivate one's true self.

Color, ink, form, meaning, and soul are all part of painting.

What they have in common is that the art of painting also contains the laws of time and space, and so does the art of carving.

"The most precious carvings in the world are probably those that have been sculpted by time and the passage of years, gradually changing over time..."

Li Hao's eyes flickered.

The sacred wood carved in her hand gradually transformed into the likeness of Ying Xiaoxiao, standing gracefully in her palm, her figure slender and beautiful, her eyes revealing the youth of a young girl and the tenderness of an old friend.

Li Hao silently sculpted, each stroke a memory of his partner.

Time passes quietly.

The Immortal Abode was filled with abundant immortal energy. Even though Li Hao did not consciously absorb it, a large amount of immortal energy still flowed into his body.

A year later, as the immortal power within him continued to accumulate, it reached a bottleneck. Then, while Li Hao was immersed in carving, he silently broke through his realm, advancing from the first level of the Immortal Lord Realm to the second level!
As his cultivation level increased, Li Hao's immortal power also suddenly doubled, increasing to three times its original level!
In the True Immortal Realm, each level of cultivation doubles the immortal power, while in the Immortal Lord Realm, it triples!
There wasn't a noticeable difference at the beginning, but as the level increased, every three-fold improvement accumulated into an extremely exaggerated difference!

Therefore, the higher the realm, the lower the possibility of reversing the realm. Even top geniuses like Su Muqing can only reverse the realm by three or four levels in the Immortal Lord realm. If they encounter other geniuses who are also geniuses, other immortal techniques will cancel each other out. It is already extremely rare to be able to reverse the realm by one or two levels.

Despite the advancement in his cultivation level, Li Hao remained oblivious, still immersed in carving.

His celestial body was also constantly being perfected.

Another year has passed.

A faint buzzing sound emanated from Li Hao's body. His immortal body and primordial spirit were locked in a battle, which ultimately ended in a draw!

With the score tied, the two sides were now intertwined and inseparable. His Celestial Body had truly condensed and entered the Lesser Completion stage!
Although it was only a minor achievement, Li Hao could feel that his power surged at this moment, an improvement far exceeding that of a breakthrough in realm.

The power of his primordial spirit and golden bones was all added to his immortal body, and he felt that even raising his hand contained terrifying destructive power of the primordial spirit.

Over the past two years, Li Hao has been consuming ancient demons every day, and his primordial spirit golden bones have increased by more than two hundred, bringing the total to one thousand one hundred!

Li Hao felt that his primordial spirit power was getting closer and closer to fullness, leading to some mysterious legendary realm.

He knew that was the final stage of the primordial spirit!
Back then, the deity in the True God Tower was a being at the ultimate level of the Primordial Spirit realm, and he did not perish in that catastrophe. True Gods are immortal!

If Li Hao could also cultivate to become a true god, he felt that even a Celestial King would find it difficult to kill him, and he might even have a slight chance of escaping in front of a Celestial Emperor.

However, he is still some distance from this distant final realm, but he is getting closer and closer to its threshold!
As time passed, news of demons challenging the human race's prodigies on Gusu Imperial Star gradually spread from various aristocratic families.

The whole of Gusu Imperial Star was buzzing with discussion.

Aside from those aristocratic families, many ordinary immortals and gods were also indignant upon hearing this news, wishing they could personally step forward and slay the demons.

The top talents of each family have all secluded themselves to cultivate diligently within their clans, making their final push in seclusion.

For the past two years, Jiang Huanhuan and Lin Jinrou have not appeared at the Su family home again. Su Wanqing and Su Wanxue have not been seen at the Immortal Abode either. As for the tightly closed palace doors, they have remained unmoved, as if sealed away.

Only Wu Ma and the maids in the courtyard occasionally passed by. Li Hao continued his silent cultivation, devouring the ancient demons every day.

He had already eaten most of the ancient demon corpses he had hunted during the Southern Region Trial. Li Hao felt that the remaining corpses would only be enough for him to eat for less than two more years.

However, once he finished eating, Li Hao planned to ask the Su family for some more, as he was too lazy to go out hunting himself.

……

Outside the Gusu Imperial Star, in the starry sky.

A jet-black warship sped in, teleporting here from the distant depths of space. Its hull was shrouded in imperial might, and it had already alarmed certain beings within the imperial planet the moment it arrived outside.

"Is this the imperial star of the Northern Human Race?"

"I've heard that the Su family and the Lin family, who have been quite active lately, are both on this imperial star."

"Hmph, the Su family, huh? The taste is not bad."

On the deck of the black warship, a series of tall figures stood. Some were slender with cold faces, some were burly with an aura as deep as mountains, and others were graceful with beautiful faces, like bright, cold moons. Each of them had a unique temperament and would become the center of attention wherever they stood.

There were as many as twenty such people on this deck.

Among them, five figures stood out the most, with phantom images of the Great Dao appearing around them, and seemingly invisible, extremely subtle life force above their heads, connecting to the power of a certain star in the distant starry sky.

The fierce wind outside the warship blew, making their immortal robes flutter loudly. Each person stood like a nail, with imposing momentum and cold eyes.

Around them were three profound figures gazing at the enormous imperial star before them.

Outside the Imperial Star, the faint phantom of a golden phoenix could be seen, but ordinary people could not see it.

They knew that this was the lifeblood of this imperial star.

Plants and trees become spirits, birds and beasts become demons, mountains and rivers also have their own life souls, and so does the imperial star.

Judging from the swirling ancient phoenix shadow, the fortune on this imperial star is extremely prosperous, and it must have gathered many geniuses.

"They have already sensed our arrival."

One of the figures whispered.

"I don't know if they're planning to send some suicide ghosts or if they're going to fight to the death. I've heard that the Su and Lin families have produced some prodigies with imperial potential. I hope I can meet them on this trip."

Another figure spoke calmly, his eyes were purple, as if lightning was born and died within them, containing terrifying power.

The warship slowly approached the imperial star until it was engulfed by the star's light and entered it.

On Gusu Imperial Star, the hidden figures of the various powerful families all raised their heads at this moment, gazing at the sky in astonishment and doubt.

An undisguised, extremely evil and ferocious demonic aura swept in from outside the imperial star.

"They're coming!"

The patriarch of a certain aristocratic family, his body hunched over, suddenly flashed a cold light in his dim, yellowish eyes.

"Go awaken the Crown Prince, prepare to slay the demons and exorcise the monsters!"

The patriarch of another family whispered, his eyes filled with undisguised killing intent. At the same time, his aura was also revealed without any restraint.

This is the Human Emperor Star, this is the territory of the Human Race. How can we allow those demons to run rampant and spread their oppressive aura!
As the enormous warship descended upon the Imperial Star, the ferocious and evil aura of demons descended like dark clouds. The people in the more than 30,000 immortal cities on the Imperial Star felt a chilling sensation, as if something slippery had flowed down their throats into their stomachs, churning them constantly, causing an extremely nauseating and uncomfortable feeling, as well as an uncontrollable tremor of terror.

"It's the aura of a demon!"

"What a terrifying aura! What level of demon is this?!"

"Could it be the Demon Emperor?"

"No, impossible. When the Great Emperor travels, his Imperial Road traverses the starry sky of the True Realm, and even a three-year-old child can look up and see it."

In each immortal city, countless people were shocked and looked up at the sky, but their eyesight was limited, especially on the back of the imperial star, where they could not see the warship. However, the evil and ferocious aura was like a demon breathing in their ear, and everyone could feel it.

As the demonic aura spread, countless people on the entire imperial star were filled with fear. Suddenly, powerful and unparalleled auras rose from all parts of the Gusu Imperial Star, like shining divine pillars piercing the sky!

Those powerful and invincible auras came from various powerful families. Many of the family's slumbering ancestors were awakened at this moment, displaying their power and filled with anger and killing intent!
The entire Gusu Imperial Star instantly seemed to have become a battlefield between humans and demons. Terrifying auras swept across the sky, protecting the immortal city and confronting the auras of the demons.

There was a bang.

In Suzhou, the Su family's imposing aura suddenly rose, as if a god were raising his head and rising from the earth.

Those who were cultivating or in seclusion in the various courtyards of the Su family all felt this vast and powerful force. This force was pure, masculine, and as majestic as a mountain, standing tall and unyielding.

Li Hao, who was engrossed in carving, looked up, his thoughts gradually returning from confusion.

A celestial Dharma image appeared above the Su family. This Dharma image was extremely huge, like an ancient giant god. Even with Li Hao's eyesight, he could only see its lower legs and knees. Its upper body was countless feet long and pierced through the clouds.

"This is……"

Li Hao's eyes were solemn. The aura of this Dharma image belonged to Su Zhenyuan, the head of the Su family, and it exuded imperial might, but it was clearly inferior to the imperial might of a supreme being. It was not a true Immortal Emperor.

With a creak, the palace door in front suddenly burst open, and a figure stepped out on the wind—it was Su Muqing.

Her gaze fell upon the majestic Buddha image, her eyes solemn.

"A three-year period..."

She whispered softly, and in the blink of an eye, three years had passed, and the demon arrived just as promised!

Li Hao's gaze shifted to Su Muqing. Su Muqing noticed Li Hao's gaze, glanced at him, and immediately noticed that Li Hao's cultivation had increased by one level, reaching the second level of the Immortal Lord Realm.

It seems that my previous words had an effect on him... However, after staying in the Immortal Abode for so long, it's time for him to break through.

Su Muqing withdrew her gaze and stopped looking at Li Hao. Whether the latter broke through or not was meaningless in this battle.

The key point is that she has made breakthroughs herself over the past three years.

Now, I am at the seventh level of the Immortal Lord Realm!

Besides her improved cultivation level, she has also made progress in other areas.

"A demon with a thousand-year lifespan... Let me meet it."

Su Muqing's eyes flashed with a cold light, filled with chill.

High in the sky, thunder rumbled and a jet-black warship descended, clouds billowed and mist rose, its boundless power pressing down as it appeared above Suzhou City.

Besides the Su family, the Lin family, the Jiang family, and other prominent families in the city also felt this oppressive atmosphere.

"Three half-step Emperors?!"

In the Jiang family, a silver-haired woman with a divine moon mark on her forehead sat upright in the Taixu Palace of the Jiang family, her eyes gazing straight at the sky, piercing through the palace's dome to see the scene on the black warship.

The next moment, her silver hair flew in the wind, her immortal robes billowed, and a celestial Dharma image rapidly extended from behind her, instantly crossing the entire massive Taixu Palace. Even the surrounding Jiang Shen Mansion shrank rapidly beneath her feet. The Dharma image continued to grow taller, and even Gusu City seemed to be under her feet.

(End of this chapter)