At this moment, Zhang Hao felt a terrifying spear light had locked onto him. He couldn't dodge.
"No!"
Zhang Hao was a bit desperate. Was he going to die here? He was unwilling; he hadn't yet reached the Peak of martial arts, hadn't fulfilled his promise to Zi Qian. There was still everything else he hadn't completed. How could he just die like this?
Just at this critical moment, a black shadow flashed out in the void. It appeared beside Li Haofeng. It was the mysterious Little Black Cat Zhang Hao was very familiar with. When they were in the ruined underground palace, after Little Black Cat helped Zhang Hao obtain those treasures, it disappeared without a trace. Unexpectedly, it appeared here at this moment. Little Black Cat let out a "meow" and swiped its cat paw towards Li Haofeng.
At this moment, Li Haofeng was fully focused on charging up an attack against Zhang Hao. Just now, he had been hiding in the dark without making a move, precisely to make Zhang Hao lower his guard. He planned to deliver a killing blow when Zhang Hao was most relaxed.
But just at this moment, Little Black Cat swiped down with a paw, catching him a bit off guard.
"Boom!"
The cat paw heavily slapped Li Haofeng on the head.
Li Haofeng was blindsided. His head was Stun for a second. The mightiest spear strike instantly dissipated.
"Damn it!"
Li Haofeng was bullied by an animal, and his frustration made him almost go crazy. When he thrust his spear towards the animal, Little Black Cat let out a "meow" and disappeared without a trace.
And when Li Haofeng went to look for Zhang Hao, Zhang Hao was already nowhere to be found.
"Damn it! You can't run away."
Li Haofeng roared, used his movement technique, moving like lightning, and chased after Zhang Hao in the direction he left.
At the same time
In another secret room in the TianZong Holy Hall
Wang Shijun stood in front of a humanoid statue, looking very devout.
The humanoid statue was bronze-colored, its appearance ferocious and terrifying, emitting an eerie and sinister aura. Especially its pair of blood-red eyes, which held a chilling coldness.
"Senior, as long as I can obtain your Legacy, I will definitely avenge you and spread the fearsome reputation of your Dark Demon Lord throughout the entire continent," Wang Shijun said respectfully.
"Heh! Heh! Heh! Kid, although your Aptitude is average, your heart is commendable. All right, this Demon Lord can pass on the Legacy to you," the statue's cold voice said faintly.
"Thank you, Senior!" Wang Shijun was overjoyed, quickly knelt down, and respectfully kowtowed three times.
Wang Shijun, however, did not notice the strangeness in the statue's eyes.
"Open your Sea of Consciousness! I will pass on the Legacy to you now. I hope you can properly inherit my mantle," the statue's voice said again.
Wang Shijun did not doubt and obediently opened his Sea of Consciousness.
A white light burst out from the statue. It shot towards Wang Shijun's glabella. Soon, it entered Wang Shijun's brain.
"Ah! Lord Zhang Hao, you... This isn't giving me a Legacy, why are you doing this?"
Wang Shijun's face was extremely pained, feeling a terrifying power instantly occupying his Sea of Consciousness. He felt something was wrong and, enduring the boundless pain, questioned.
"Haha! Haha! Haha, with your mediocre Aptitude, you're not worthy of receiving my Legacy. This Demon Lord will avenge himself; there's no need to use your hand. Although your Aptitude isn't good, this Demon Lord can make do for now. When the time comes, this Demon Lord will transform this body and be able to return to the Peak again." The cold voice echoed in Wang Shijun's Sea of Consciousness.
"Possession?" This terrifying word suddenly appeared in Wang Shijun's mind.
"Heh! Heh! Heh, you really know a lot. That's right, it's Possession. Just obediently hand over your body! This way, you can suffer a little less pain," the Demon Lord's voice said with great confidence.
"No, I'm not willing! Demon Lord, you despicable fellow, I won't let you succeed. This body is mine; no one can take it, not even you."
"Oh? I didn't expect that despite your mediocre Aptitude, your will is actually so strong. Hmph, but it's useless. This Demon Lord's Soul power is much stronger than yours. I can afford to wait. Let's see how long you can last... Heh! Heh! Heh!..."
...
Zhang Hao didn't know how long he had been running, only that he kept running until he got out of the underground palace. Then he entered a patch of wilderness, and immediately after, his vision went black, and he knew nothing more.
He didn't know how long had passed, Zhang Hao opened his eyes, but felt his forehead was extremely painful. He shook his head, struggling to sit up, but felt pain all over his body. Clearly, all the after-effects of activating his Bloodline had begun.
"Oh, Brother-in-law, you're awake." A clear and pleasant voice sounded.
Zhang Hao was stunned for a moment. He found himself in a cave, and there was a young girl sitting beside him. The girl looked about fourteen or fifteen years old. Dressed in simple white clothes, her skin was as white as jade, as if water could be wrung out of it. Her features were extremely delicate, and a pair of spiritual eyes revealed a mischievous look.
"You saved me?" Zhang Hao was a bit confused.
"Yes, of course it was me. Otherwise, you would have died long ago. I noticed that many people seem to be looking for you!" The little girl smiled.
"Oh, right, Brother-in-law, how did you get beaten so badly? I heard my sister say you're very powerful. Was my sister lying to me?" The little girl tilted her head and looked at Zhang Hao. Her black gemstone-like eyes rolled around, as if examining Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao frowned and said to the little girl, "Who exactly are you? Why are you calling me Brother-in-law?"
Zhang Hao genuinely didn't recognize who this little girl was and felt she was a bit unfamiliar.
"Hmph, Brother-in-law. Are you planning to fall in love with someone else? You didn't even recognize me, how awful! I'm going to tell my sister that you bullied me." The little girl looked puffed up and very angry.
"Huh..."
Seeing the little girl's angry look was actually quite cute. It made Zhang Hao smile, but seeing the little girl's serious demeanor, as if she wasn't joking, made him a little strange. Who exactly was this little girl, and why did she keep calling him Brother-in-law?
Zhang Hao couldn't help but seriously examine the little girl. The more he looked, the more familiar she seemed, and her appearance overlapped with the image that lingered in his mind.
"Ah, you are Murong Xian'er?" Zhang Hao was greatly surprised.
"Hehe, Brother-in-law, you finally recognized me. All right, I'll be the bigger person and won't hold a grudge against you," Murong Xian'er said with a giggle.
Zhang Hao was both surprised and delighted. He hadn't expected that the one who saved him was Murong Ziqian's younger sister, Murong Xian'er. Murong Xian'er was one year younger than Zi Qian, making her fourteen this year. When he was young, he often entered the palace to play with Murong Ziqian. At that time, Murong Xian'er was just a little tag-along. Later, because of the changes that happened to Zhang Hao, he never entered the palace again. He just hadn't expected that in the blink of an eye, Murong Xian'er had grown so big.
"Xian'er, this place is so dangerous, why did your Father Emperor let you in?" Zhang Hao looked at Murong Xian'er and asked in surprise.