Chapter 805: Chapter 805 Unveiling

Parting is always melancholy, but the journey must go on.

Shi Hao leaves for distant lands, embarking on his expedition!

Each state is vast and boundless, spanning billions of miles from one end to the other, with populations of various races too massive to imagine.

Three Thousand States, if added together, are beyond count in the number of living beings they contain, endless and inexhaustible.

Take Sin State for example, it’s two billion and thirty million miles long east to west, and eighty million miles from north to south. Even so, this doesn’t count as large among the Three Thousand States, considered a middle-to-lower grade region in the higher realms.

This time, just in Sin State alone, eight million Venerables signed up to compete after several rounds of selection, and there would have been more without those eliminations!

How could all these people possibly be admitted into “Immortal Ancient”? Keep in mind, there are still another two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine states.

Many people know that Immortal Ancient holds great fortunes, thus they flock to sign up. Venerables from different schools and beings from different races have used all means at their disposal to secure qualification.

Shi Hao is somewhat dumbfounded. Having just come out, he naturally learned of the situation, and the fact that just Sin State had eight million competition entrants made him feel dizzy and overwhelmed.

“How tragic it will be, how many will have to die in the end.” He foresees that most likely there will be mountains of bones, the waning of talents, too many lost lives.

An elder chuckles and says, “Young man, you’re overthinking it. Didn’t your elders tell you that getting into ‘Immortal Ancient’ isn’t easy, that the number of participants is fixed? There won’t be rivers of blood before getting in. By the way, which school are you from?”

“I’m aware of these things.” Shi Hao nods, “But won’t it become fierce later on?”

Qi Daolin has assumed the role of a hands-off shopkeeper, unconcerned with anything. Fortunately, Shi Hao has already made inquiries in many areas and learned quite a bit.

“Old man, I must go. I haven’t yet obtained the qualification to compete,” Shi Hao says as he turns to leave, for time may be running out.

“Hurry up then, it starts in two days. You’re really calm,” the elder smiles.

Shi Hao, having not gone through the very first few rounds of selection, now needs a “token” from a school, acknowledging him as a core disciple, to compete.

According to Qi Daolin, this isn’t a problem, it should be easily obtainable.

In Sin State, there are many races and numerous lineages, and now many have declined, unable to produce especially strong Venerables for the competition, thus these schools have become targets for some.

Shi Hao travels far and wide, visiting over a dozen declining lineages, only to find that others have “visited” them first.

It’s not until half a day later that he finally sees another school, desolate, atop a great mountain.

“Kun Sect.”

In front of the mountain gate, there is a huge stone with these two characters inscribed on it. The ancient entrance is old enough that the limestone steps have been hollowed from wear.

At the same time, it truly is in decline, not much stronger than the Supreme Dao Ground.

A few ancient halls with cracks are the only buildings standing, on the verge of collapse; it’s a mystery how long they’ve been there.

Here, there’s only one sloppy old man and a young boy, other than that, no one else. When Shi Hao arrives, the boy is preparing to run away.

In his words, this godforsaken place is unbearable, there’s no hope in sight. He originally wanted to find some ancient scriptures among the ruins to bring a moment of glory back to Kun Sect, but this smart boy eventually despaired.

The old man, clutching a yellow gourd filled with wine, gets drunk every day, much to the frustration of the appalled young apprentice, who is out of options.

After Shi Hao states his purpose, the unkempt old man’s eyes light up immediately, clamoring that a deal can be made, ready to part with the school’s token.

This makes the Kun Sect boy even more indignant, finding such irresponsibility intolerable. Doesn’t he think of the future generations at all? It solidifies his intent to flee.

For major schools, it’s straightforward to send core disciples to compete. For smaller schools, these types of tokens are needed.

The so-called “token” is a Bone Talisman, brought back by a disciple who once competed and achieved a notable ranking. With it, one can re-enter the competition, allowing the school to directly send one.

“Young man, what will you exchange for it?” the elder asks, eyes beaming.

“Ten Spiritual Medicines,” says Shi Hao.

“This token isn’t ordinary, it has a significant background. What you’re offering is worth far too little,” the old man asserts.

“What kind of background?” Shi Hao inquires.

“This token comes from a disciple who once ranked in the hundred and something millionth place, a very high ranking. Such a pity, just a few tens of thousands of ranks short. If he had made it into the top one million, you wouldn’t even have to participate in the test, you could directly enter Immortal Ancient,” the old man chuckles.

Shi Hao is speechless, claiming a rank of one hundred and something million as high? If he didn’t really need it, he’d turn around and leave.

“Young man, do not underestimate it. Do you know how many people from the Three Thousand States of the higher realms compete each time? And how many can enter Immortal Ancient? This ranking is absolutely high!” the elder states.

“When…in what era was this left by?” Shi Hao wipes sweat from his brow.

“Should be about ten or so thousand years old, back then our school was ranked around one thousand in Sin State,” the elder claims, clutching his wine gourd and gulping down a few more mouthfuls.

Indeed, a genuinely declining ancient school!

“One price, four Divine Spirit Artifacts!” the elder declares.

Shi Hao is taken aback; the old man really knows how to shoot for the stars, daring to ask for four artifacts of such caliber. After pondering, Shi Hao says, “One.”

“Three, not a single one less,” the old man insists.

The boy beside him is ashamed, feeling this is a misfortune for the school. The elder seems set on squandering the school’s legacy, haggling over a deal.

“Master, can we not do this? We could use the token ourselves,” the boy suggests.

“Use it for what? Can you, being so young, actually utilize it, or will you save it for your eighteenth-generation descendants?” the elder glares, touching his reddened nose.

“But…” the boy tries to speak.

“It’s all fleeting, mere vanity, might as well exchange it for wine,” the elder states.

The boy is defiant!

“Let’s do this, young fellow, one Divine Spirit Artifact plus one precious symbol, take the item away, otherwise, drop the idea,” the elder proposes.

Shi Hao didn’t say much more. After arriving in the higher realms, wandering between life and death, and engaging in endless battles, he naturally had no shortage of Divine Spirit Artifacts. As for precious symbols, he gave away the sliced Jiao Peng technique he had obtained at the Heaven Mending Pavilion, which was, of course, somewhat incomplete.

“The Pi Xiu Emperor’s technique is not bad. It has a deep connection with my Kun Sect. It’s a good technique, it’s a pity it’s not the Kun Peng’s technique.” The old man was overjoyed.

Shi Hao gave him a sidelong glance. Wanting the Kun Peng’s technique for just a token of goodwill was wishful thinking.

The youth’s eyes widened in excitement. There were hardly any techniques left in the sect, which had always frustrated him. Now, he finally saw a very powerful precious symbol technique.

When Shi Hao took out a Divine Spirit Artifact, not only did the old man’s eyes light up, but the youth who was about to flee also bulged his eyes and decided not to leave.

“Master, why are your eyes sparkling like that? Didn’t you say our Kun Sect used to have piles of Divine Spirit Artifacts, and who knows, we might dig up a whole basketful one day?” the youth said.

“Cough, I can exchange it for some drinks again,” said the old man with a smug smile.

“Ah, you old man dare to do that, I’ll defect from the sect!” the youth shouted loudly.

The exchange was successful. Shi Hao had a brief stay here, and he discovered that the local mountains and rivers were extraordinary. With some arrangement, it could become a treasured place.

“It should be refurbished,” Shi Hao said.

“What needs refurbishing? The bright moon in the sky, the beautiful scenery in the mountains, in your eyes, the romance is like a blinding flower, but to me, it is nothing but superficiality, dust and smoke. Far less substantial than firewood and rice, and even less than wine,” the old man said nonchalantly as he walked into an ancient temple, hugging a gourd of wine.

Shi Hao felt a stir in his heart; this old man was somewhat strange.

“Don’t bother looking, he just knows how to act all mysterious. That’s how he tricked me into coming here, claiming he’s lived for many years, wants to die but can’t, calls himself undying, the heck with it!” the youth complained indignantly.

“Undying, the Kun Sect.” Shi Hao’s mind was greatly shaken.

However, there was no time to spare. He couldn’t stay and turned to leave.

Shi Hao traveled through the void, heading to his destination, prepared for what was to come.

A day later, the wailing sounds arose, shaking Sin State!

The horn had sounded; the big contest had begun.

This was an immense Dao Ground, boundless and endless, established by the sages of the past, with many characters flickering and shining.

All participants entered, each finding a spot to sit. Eight million people filled the boundless space, yet they could all find a seat, and there was still a great distance between each other, which showed how extraordinary the Dao Ground was.

“In the Spirit Realm, there is a unique area designated for Sin State. You can only stay there for one day, as there is no time to waste. Select ten thousand people through the contest, and then directly enter the vast No-Man’s Land,” someone announced, and everyone heard it clearly.

The Spirit Realm, a grand and majestic world constructed by the will of ancient gods, is similar to the Realm of Virtual Gods in the Lower Realm, but even more expansive and different in name.

In just one short day, the cohort needed to be decided from eight million to only ten thousand, showing the sheer brutality of the contest.

Fortunately, this was taking place in the Spirit Realm. Generally speaking, there would be no deaths; those who were defeated could be resurrected back in the real world.

However, the time allocated was indeed very short.

As the higher-ups said, there was no time to waste here. True strong ones needed to race against time to enter the vast No-Man’s Land!

The Dao Ground was intricate with various patterns, and could not be interfered with from the outside. In the end, the final ten thousand people would be directly transported from the Dao Ground, all judged and operated by the grand formation itself.

This was the case for all regions to prevent anyone from cheating or tampering.

“Begin!”

With a bang, the chaotic mist above the Dao Ground churned, the void twisted and blurred, and finally, one huge portal after another appeared, opening directly.

This made Shi Hao’s eyebrows twitch–the way the Spirit Realm opened was even more real than the Realm of Virtual Gods in the Lower Realm, more like an independent world.

After coming to the higher realms, this was the first time he was going to enter such a place.

Very real, as if a true grand world was opening up. This thought flashed through Shi Hao’s mind, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

“Spirit Realm, Realm of Virtual Gods… Bird Grandpa, Crystal Wall Master, you still owe me one precious symbol technique,” Shi Hao mumbled to himself.

With a swoosh, eight million figures soared into the sky, entering one huge gate after another, advancing into the Spirit Realm. The scene was spectacular, rendering onlookers speechless.

The great battle had finally begun!

Meanwhile, competitions were also underway in other states.

“Hehehe… How many years has it been, my Jun Tao has revived once again.” No one knows how many billion miles away, beneath continuous snowy mountains, in an ice cave, someone resurrected.

With a head full of purple hair, enchanting eyes, and a terrifying aura that shook the heavens, it was hard to imagine that he was a Venerable One, revered even by gods!

Some people didn’t need to participate in the competition, didn’t need to undergo trials, because they had proven everything many lifetimes ago, directly entering the Immortal Ancient.

At the same time, in another ancient state, filled with volcanoes, one stood out with auspicious vapors steaming. From within the Magma, an ancient red coffin emerged, bursting with a shocking aura.

The lid of the coffin cracked open, and a woman of unmatched beauty looked over the nine heavens, her fiery red hair dancing, and her tall figure radiating holy light.

“Once again emerging from the Coffin of Life, this should be the last time, right? Everything shall come to an end with the final opportunity.” She was also a Venerable One, but her voice was clear and ringing, shaking the nine heavens.

At the same time, in a vast ocean, there was a crystal Dragon Palace. Someone awakened, opened their eyes, and beams shot up like rainbows, piercing through Yunxiao, overshadowing the sun.

That was only… where her gaze fell!

This was a woman with Dragon horns, rising from the depths of the ocean to the sky.

At this very moment, in some ancient places across the Three Thousand States, dazzling glows surged, piercing through the heavens and the earth.

The battle had begun, and the most stunning beings from the ancient past had all awakened! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.wuxiaworld.site to read.)