The demon beneath Li Hao was the Candle Flame God, who now revealed its original form, albeit not fully, as if showing.
After all, the original body of the Candle Flame God was over a hundred feet tall, and its movement felt like the earth shaking and mountains swaying, causing too much disturbance.
Returning to his homeland, Li Hao felt a sense of nostalgia long missed, despite the stark difference between the outer and inner regions of Beyond the Great Wilderness Heaven. The energy that roamed between heaven and earth was significantly weakened, scarce, thus it was deemed a barren land.
However, it was this very “barren” earthy scent, buried deep in his bones, that was the familiar smell he had breathed since he came into this world as a child.
It was comfortable.
This comfort was not like that of cultivating, but it did bring pleasure to his body and soul.
His thoughts traveled over thousands of mountains, to Heavenly Gate Pass, to that little fenced courtyard, and to the old man in the courtyard, as well as the sword-carrying young girl.
If possible, he would invite that gluttonous lady to join him for a barbecue once more.
Thinking of those peaceful moments amidst snowy years, a slight arc formed on Li Hao’s lips.
He let the Candle Flame God continue forward.
Through the attributes of the Qiankun Diagram, Li Hao saw the number of his markers drop from 100 to 96, only losing four war banners.
These were the total number of war banners he had left at Heavenly Gate Pass; there might have been accidental damage, but from this number, he could roughly judge that Heavenly Gate Pass was rather peaceful.
The Candle Flame God, carrying Li Hao, flew through the mid-air, with mountains, rivers, and lakes howling beneath them.
Seeing those vast, deep lakes, Li Hao could feel the presence of demon’s essences within, which made him itch to note down each of these spots in his mind as excellent places for wild fishing.
Perhaps he could invite Mr. Feng to join him for a casual fishing trip…
At this moment, Xiyan, transformed into a red wooden ring wrapped around his wrist, raised a red whisker from the ring, quivering in the wind like a stray hair, curiously sizing up the fresh look of Beyond the Great Wilderness Heaven.
“Where are we heading?”
“First to see some old friends, then to take a look at this world.”
“Oh.”
Xiyan’s little red whiskers stretched onto Li Hao’s arm, allowing it a clearer view of the surroundings.
Li Hao did not stop it, letting the Qingfeng breeze brush against his face.
“Keep going straight?”
The Candle Flame God asked in a low voice beneath him.
“You don’t recognize the way either?” asked Li Hao, surprised.
“I have little impression of it.”
“Is that for the entire territory outside Liangzhou?”
“For Liangzhou as well.”
“…”
Li Hao was slightly speechless; it seemed that Elder Yun Ge had indeed thoroughly erased their memories.
This lord of the Great Void Realm, if he were to meet some of his old fellows, he probably wouldn’t even remember them.
“Do you have any impressions of the Great Void Realm?”
“A bit.”
“How much is a bit?”
“I only remember there is a mountain there, and on that mountain, there are many little demons that fear me.”
“…”
Li Hao nodded, hearing that the Great Void Realm had secluded itself for a thousand years, it seemed that things deeply embedded over a millennium still left some traces.
“Since you don’t recognize the way, let’s just keep going straight, over the mountains. Eventually, we’ll make it back to Dayu,” Li Hao said.
On his way back, he encountered some demons, and occasionally Xiyan would spot rare divine medicines for him to collect, thus deviating from the original route.
When they tried to find the way again, he realized they were lost.
The miasma permeated inside the Great Wilderness Heaven and the terrain looked similar; Li Hao himself wasn’t particularly sensitive to routes (directionally challenged). Fortunately, he relied on his Dao Domain to break through the miasma, aiming in a direction and simply following a straight line, eventually making his way out.
Now, he had to resort to this straightforward old method again, continuing in a straight line.
As long as they entered Dayu, Li Hao could simply ask any passerby for directions.
After all, he had once seen the Map of the Nineteen Provinces, which was kept confidential within the Divine General Mansion—only because the old master was laid-back did he allow a child, a young teenager, to browse through it.
Nevertheless, though they were lost, these days of travel were not entirely unfruitful.
Apart from traveling, Li Hao would draw upon the Heaven and Earth Power during rests to heal the Candle Flame God and Ms. Yin, helping them restore their cultivation, thereby attracting a lot of demons who were peeping.
These were like mosquitoes lured by the smell of blood; Li Hao naturally didn’t miss out on killing them all, condensing their demon blood with the Soul Sacrifice True Demon Skill and then transferring it to Xiyan.
Now, these essences of Demon King’s blood were no longer of much effect to Li Hao.
His physical body had been refined to an unimaginable degree, seemingly reaching a certain limit. Unless there was some extreme super-refining method, no further enhancement would be difficult.
Meanwhile, Xiyan’s body inherently possessed the ability to absorb fresh blood and convert it into nourishment; with Li Hao’s help and the divine medicines they gathered throughout the journey, Xiyan’s strength had rapidly increased, with its cultivation progressing from the State of Mind Realm to Defying Fate Realm.
Moreover, its body was refined to be extremely tough, reaching a strength comparable to the Five Cast Divine Weapons.
Even among its peers, perhaps not even the Dragon Clan’s physical body could match hers.
The wind howled as the Candle Flame God, with Li Hao on his back, galloped across over a hundred thousand miles, flying over the mountaintops surrounded by demons.
These demons, sensing the Great Demon King’s aura from the Candle Flame God, were all terrified and hastily bowed their heads.
As Li Hao passed by, he casually slapped down those mountaintops that still had traces of the Human Race’s aura, incidentally annihilating the demons residing there.
However, he ignored the other demons that fed on demons or those who cultivated the clean energy of heaven and earth to avoid worldly affairs.
As they continued to advance, Li Hao gradually saw war banners and ruined armor hanging on branches along some mountains. He knew that he was about to return to Dayu.
Now re-entering Jianghu, he had no sword in his hand and no longer needed one.
The grass and trees of the world could turn into the sharpest Sword Qi in his hands, cutting down everything.
“Xia Family, huh…”
Seeing a war banner tattered atop a mountain, Li Hao’s gaze flicked, realizing he had arrived in the territory guarded by the Xia Family.
Before long, as he saw some scattered villages at the border, Li Hao immediately made the Candle Flame God perform the Demon’s Transformation Art, changing from its original Fire Lion Dragon Tail form to an inconspicuous maned horse.
Otherwise, riding a Demon King into the domain would be too arrogant and would immediately become a spectacle like a grand monkey drawing crowds.
Afterward, taking advantage of the nightfall, they landed in a deserted area. Quickly, a youth on horseback sprang forth, stepping onto the official road from the wilderness and galloping toward a township.
The township lacked even an Array, making it impossible to detect hidden demons, but Li Hao noticed that every household hung some Demon Suppressing Talismans.
Li Hao glanced and saw they were all low-level talismans. If a lesser demon approached, it would ignite and turn into Chi Guang, tracking the demon.
But for Great Demons, a single breath could blow them away, rendering them useless.
The township was rather simple, but at night, it was brightly lit with sounds of opera and the beating of drums and gongs echoing vibrantly.
Along the way, children carried lanterns, chasing and frolicking, running towards the center of the town.
With his Divine Thought covering the area, Li Hao saw that besides the government office handling cases, there was also a derelict Monster Suppression Department, which appeared to be in a bustling street lined with stalls leaving behind rotten vegetable leaves.
This perhaps embodied the saying, “Small as a sparrow is, it possesses all its internal organs.”
The Monster Suppression Department was empty. A few staff members hadn’t even buttoned their uniforms properly, fitting with the rustic and casual style of the township.
Li Hao smiled faintly, fetching the corpse of a demon he had hunted along the way from the Heaven and Earth Space and sent it using Object Control to the shabby warehouse of the Monster Suppression Department. He then found a silver chest under the bed in a locked house and drew several ingots of silver from it.
It was a sort of bartering.
That demon’s head, if turned in, could probably fetch a considerable reward.
As the ingots of silver flew back into Li Hao’s hand in the night, he found a deserted alley and allowed the Candle Flame God to transform into a youthful appearance. However, it wasn’t like when it had once pursued Li Hao, blazing with Divine Flame and an imposing aura; instead, it now restrained its aura and concealed the Divine Light.
Still, the stern-faced Candle Flame God came off as not someone to be trifled with.
Standing in this unpretentious township, his unique demeanor was extremely conspicuous.
Li Hao led him to an inn and asked the boy to prepare two sets of clothes and a room.
Currently, Li Hao was wearing Divine Garments, clothes forged by his power, only subdued in brilliance to appear somewhat ordinary.
He planned to rest briefly tonight, ask for directions, and set off for Heavenly Gate Pass the next day.
“Sir, are you also going to reinforce Liyang City?”
The boy was extremely courteous and even somewhat reverent.
He noticed Li Hao’s extraordinary aura, which had nothing to do with clothes but was purely the eyes and aura.
With the Candle Flame God behind him, whose eyes were calm yet compelling, they still stood out despite their efforts to blend in.
“Liyang City?”
Li Hao thought for a moment and immediately understood that he was in the territory of the Xia Family, in Youzhou.
It wasn’t far from Liangzhou.
“Reinforcements for Liyang City? Are there demon attacks there?”
Li Hao asked, surprised.
The main regions guarded by the five Divine General Mansions were basically the most stable and prosperous, heavily guarded by troops, where demons dared not intrude.
“You don’t know?”
The boy was startled, but kindly said, “Sir, judging from your accent, you are not from Youzhou, right? If you are here to travel and enjoy the scenery, it’s best to leave quickly. Recently, Youzhou has not been peaceful.”
“Oh?”
Li Hao’s eyes flickered: “Explain in detail.”
Soon, from the boy’s explanation, Li Hao learned of the recent situation in Youzhou. Liyang City was a dangerous pass in Youzhou on the border, frequently subjected to demon attacks.
Aside from Liyang City, several other cities near Youzhou’s border were also attacked by demons, causing widespread panic.
It seemed that the battle in Liangzhou was merely an appetizer for these demons. Intending to break with the Dayu Divine Dynasty, were they determined to fight to the death?
Li Hao’s brows furrowed, sensing a storm brewed by demons approaching the entire Dayu Divine Dynasty.
He then inquired further about the situation in Liangzhou from the boy.