Chapter Sixty-Eight: Legacy

In the desolate battlefield, beside a dragon bone whose radiant, jade-like divine glow was subdued, Luo Hao sat cross-legged. Not a trace of fluctuation could be felt from his body, the dried bloodstains on his sharply defined face long since hardened. Yet no one knew that, within the dragon bone at this very moment, a breathtaking battle was unfolding.

Within the dragon bone’s space, Luo Hao was in utter disarray. His consciousness was nearly shattered. In front of him, a slender, ephemeral figure stepped forth from the divine statue, identical to Long Ao in every respect—moving with the stride of a dragon and the strength of a tiger, silver hair flying, a handsome face marked by utterly vacant eyes, devoid of spirit.

“A deity!” Luo Hao gasped in disbelief. This was absurd—he had built a temple to honor himself, only to foster a god within it.

“Those who trespass upon the Dragon Temple shall be killed without mercy.” The voice of Long Ao’s phantom rang with a killing intent, its resonance sharp as steel. To Luo Hao, the sound was like a thunderous bell, its terrifying reverberations nearly shaking his consciousness apart.

As his awareness began to unravel uncontrollably, a strange, rhythmic wave appeared in this golden world of the dragon bone. Even the phantom intent on obliterating Luo Hao’s consciousness paused. Suddenly, a black fissure emerged, extending from outside the golden dragon bone space. Luo Hao sensed a familiar, kindred aura seeping through.

“Oh my god!” From the verge of dissolution, his consciousness was rocked by shock. The black fissure was like a heavenly scar, and from it drifted a small, golden, indistinct figure.

“My spirit infant.” Luo Hao’s consciousness wavered, speechless. First the ancient mirror, then the golden seal of battle, and now even his spirit infant had gone mad. Was there nothing normal within his own dantian?

The embryonic golden spirit infant was tiny, its features indistinct, but the battle-mark seal upon its brow was unmistakably clear. An unrivaled fighting will surged forth, as if the tide of the cosmos, appearing once in countless millennia.

The entire dragon bone trembled beneath this fighting will—boundless, unrestrained by heaven or earth, invincible with the self as its core. It was this magnificent force that forcibly tore open the dragon bone’s space.

Long Ao’s phantom stared blankly at the golden spirit infant, its hollow gaze unchanged, but it refrained from attacking, clearly harboring some apprehension.

“This aura—it’s him. He’s returned, he truly has returned!” Somewhere within the dragon bone world, the true Long Ao had been watching the events in the temple. Even after enduring the changes of countless ages, his heart as still as water, he was now visibly shaken.

His voice, tinged with shock and a hint of dread, broke forth. From the moment the golden spirit infant breached the dragon bone space, Long Ao’s expression had changed completely.

“Impossible. That battle was a river of blood; countless supreme gods fell, and even shadowy hands lurked behind the scenes. He couldn’t have survived. There must be some mistake.”

An eerie silence settled over the Dragon Pattern Temple. Luo Hao’s consciousness was taut with tension, fearing that the phantom would shatter his spirit infant with a single blow.

Yet, to his relief, the phantom seemed wary and did not attack, simply standing there, quietly watching the golden spirit infant.

“No mistake. It is indeed his aura. Could there be hidden truths in that battle? With his strength, having slain even supreme gods, perhaps he could contend with the black hand. Maybe he truly found a way to survive the catastrophe. I shall test it—if it is really him, then perhaps the dominion of this world will change hands once more.”

Long Ao appeared to reach a decision. From between his fingers, he conjured dragon patterns more profound than those forming the temple itself. The roar of myriad dragons echoed, stars fell, and gods bled—a vision of chaos and slaughter.

“Trespassers in the Dragon Temple shall be killed without mercy.” The voice thundered, ancient killing intent suffusing the air. A flicker of emotion flashed through the deity’s previously vacant gaze, and he stepped forward. Instantly, the entire dragon bone world quaked, as if ten thousand dragons paved the way beneath his feet.

“Kill!”

The word, sharp as a blade, seemed to transcend ages. The deity’s fist, etched with dragon patterns, descended like a star from the heavens. The aura of destruction surged, enveloping Luo Hao’s consciousness and the golden spirit infant in a flash.

“Ah!” Roaring ceaselessly, Luo Hao’s consciousness trembled as if suppressed by ancient mountains through endless ages, now perilously close to annihilation.

Despair flooded Luo Hao. What was this power? He did not know the strength of supreme gods, but the terror before him was no less than their might.

The wind of the fist howled and dragon force crackled; the deity’s blow did not pause, sweeping through the dragon bone space to crush the golden spirit infant.

Luo Hao realized the deity’s true target was his spirit infant, with himself as mere collateral.

As the deity’s slaughter descended, Luo Hao struggled to protect the golden spirit infant, but his consciousness could not move in the slightest.

“No!” His consciousness let out a desperate howl. If the spirit infant was destroyed, his path of cultivation would be ended.

Just as the fist, carved from endless dragon patterns, was about to annihilate the spirit infant, a soul-shaking battle cry erupted from the seal on the infant’s brow, striking terror into all gods.

“Battle!”

A single battle cry stirred the ages—none would follow its legacy!

The golden fist, radiant with dragon patterns and destruction, dimmed instantly before that mighty battle cry. The dragon patterns forming the deity’s right arm shattered.

In that moment, Luo Hao, within the battle cry, seemed to glimpse again the figure on the stone wall—aloof, solitary, back turned to all life.

The deity was thrown back, violently repulsed, the dragon patterns on his form flickering uncertainly, and he did not attack again. Somewhere within the dragon bone space, the true Long Ao’s divine radiance faded, his form growing more ethereal, yet he was oblivious, his expression now one of immense joy.

“It’s him—indeed, it’s him. The ancient scheme truly befits one who slew even supreme gods.” His last words were audible only to himself, hinting at a monumental secret within that battle, entangling forbidden figures like supreme gods.

Long Ao, who had been observing the temple all along, seemed to come to a crucial decision, vanishing in an instant.

In the temple, Luo Hao watched the deity’s phantom, wounded by the spirit infant, and was ever more convinced of the mysterious power of the battle-mark seal. His understanding of the ancient Cang Qiubai also soared to new heights.

“Luo Hao!”

“Senior Long Ao!” Suddenly, the silver-haired figure of Long Ao appeared in the temple, though more ethereal, still majestic. Upon the true Long Ao’s arrival, the deity ceased its attack, standing respectfully behind him.

Long Ao’s eyes burned as he glanced at the floating spirit infant, then turned to Luo Hao and spoke solemnly, “Boy, congratulations—you are qualified to inherit the Dragon Concealed Eight Steps. But you must answer something truthfully.”

He pointed to the battle-mark seal on the spirit infant’s brow and asked, “Where did you obtain the Battle Heaven Seal on your spirit infant?”

“Battle Heaven Seal?” Luo Hao had expected Long Ao to inquire about the origin of the battle-mark, but had not known it was called the Battle Heaven Seal. The name alone bespeaks its extraordinary nature.

Luo Hao did not intend to conceal anything. Since Long Ao had perished countless ages ago, there was little consequence in revealing the truth. He recounted the whole story.

“The ancient book transformed into the Battle Heaven Seal!” Hearing Luo Hao’s explanation, Long Ao’s brow first furrowed, then a playful smile appeared as he regarded Luo Hao, making his consciousness shiver uneasily.

With a sweep of his hand, Long Ao summoned the deity behind him, which swiftly shrank and, to Luo Hao’s amazement, transformed into a golden dragon. Upon its powerful body, four mysterious characters formed from dragon patterns could be clearly seen: Dragon Concealed Eight Steps.

With a flick of its tail, the golden divine dragon became a beam of light, merging into Luo Hao’s consciousness. Feeling a warm sensation within, Luo Hao was overjoyed—so the deity had been the legacy of Dragon Concealed Eight Steps all along!