Chapter Fifty-Six: Li Hao’s Transformation, Part One

Li Hao heard Lin Xueyou ask where his home was. After a moment's thought, he replied, "Actually, I don't know either. I only heard Grandpa Hundred Herbs mention it once—it’s in a place very, very far away, called the Li Tian Star Domain."

Lin Xueyou noticed the longing in Li Hao’s eyes and comforted him, "Someday, I’ll go with you to see your homeland, to meet your father and mother. Since you’re so handsome and charming, I’m sure your parents must be handsome and beautiful as well."

"Alright, as long as you’re not afraid of the hardship, I won’t mind the trouble," Li Hao responded.

"You little rascal, you dare say your sister is troublesome?"

With a radiant smile, Lin Xueyou reached out to grab him. Li Hao had just thought to dodge when, all at once, disaster struck. Lin Xueyou too was caught off guard.

Ever since Li Hao had broken through his cultivation and unsealed Xiao Jiu, the primordial chaos force within him had become restless. He had been keeping a close eye on Xiao Jiu’s movements, chatting and laughing with Lin Xueyou, not realizing the changes within himself.

Now, as he tried to evade Lin Xueyou’s playful grasp, he suddenly found himself unable to control his own body. His emotions swung erratically—one moment on the verge of tears, the next laughing, then looking at Lin Xueyou as a lecherous old bachelor might gaze at a beautiful maiden, his eyes flashing wickedly, then thinking all sorts of wild thoughts. At that moment, Li Hao was completely unable to restrain his seven emotions and six desires.

Watching the bizarre changes flit across Li Hao’s face, Lin Xueyou was utterly bewildered. To her, it looked as if he had suffered some sort of internal deviation. Not knowing what was happening, she stood rooted to the spot, helplessly watching his strange transformation.

Within Li Hao’s sea of consciousness, his soul was also undergoing a change, his expressions reflecting the turmoil of his spirit. An instant later, Xiao Jiu transformed into a streak of light and darted into Li Hao’s brow. Entering his sea of consciousness, Xiao Jiu found the mysterious force inside was in utter turmoil. Everything was blurry and indistinct, nothing visible. In a heartbeat, Xiao Jiu was expelled from Li Hao’s consciousness by the mysterious power within.

Seeing Xiao Jiu reappear, Lin Xueyou was even more at a loss. After Xiao Jiu manifested in human form, Lin Xueyou was shocked by his painful expression. Xiao Jiu immediately sat cross-legged and quickly mobilized the laws of heaven and earth from his own inner realm to suppress the invading force. After a few breaths, he opened his eyes, disbelief and lingering fear in his gaze.

Lin Xueyou urgently asked, "What’s happened to Li Hao?"

Xiao Jiu replied, "I do not know. When my master was a child, both his body and spirit were gravely wounded. My former master—his grandfather, the Divine Lord Li Yang—before leaving, entrusted me to his care. At that time, he was far too weak; his sea of consciousness couldn’t withstand my power, so I was sealed within the Nine-Dragon War Halberd, and the halberd was sealed within his consciousness. Even then, there was already a mysterious and powerful force inside him. I don’t know where it came from or why, but even my nine variant powers at the Return-to-Origin Realm couldn’t withstand it. Now, that mysterious force is rampaging again, and this time is the strongest in the past twelve years. In all that time, it has only acted twice, the last time being ten days ago. My master had entered a minor inner realm, and much of my power was sealed by the old master and further restrained by that realm’s unique laws. I don’t know what happened to him there—just that I sensed the mysterious force stirring within his consciousness. Thankfully, it only lasted a quarter of an hour before subsiding, and afterward, my master broke through a minor cultivation stage."

"What? Are you saying that Li Hao broke through a major stage and two minor stages in just ten days?" Lin Xueyou was so shocked that her beautiful face changed dramatically.

Xiao Jiu nodded. "That’s right. I followed the old master across the starry universe for hundreds of years and have seen countless strange things, but never anyone like my current master. I have never seen a cultivator break through so quickly relying solely on their own strength."

Lin Xueyou was even more astonished. "So you’re saying he’s reached his current realm through absorbing the laws of heaven and earth himself—never using any cultivation-boosting pills?"

Xiao Jiu nodded resolutely. "Yes."

Lin Xueyou was utterly speechless and thought to herself, "A talent like this is demonic—no, he’s a monster among demons."

---

Lin Xueyou now felt a deep anxiety for Li Hao’s safety. Everyone knew the harsher truth: the more monstrous one’s talent, the more likely they were to die young along the path. She asked Xiao Jiu with tension, "How is he now?"

Xiao Jiu shook his head helplessly. "I don’t know. I just forced my way into his consciousness to investigate, but saw nothing before I was flung out by that mysterious force. It invaded me as well, and I only just managed to suppress it."

By now, Lin Xueyou was so stunned by Xiao Jiu’s words that she was numb, yet she still asked in horror, "You were thrown out by that force?"

Xiao Jiu nodded helplessly.

At this moment, only two words echoed in Lin Xueyou’s mind: "Utterly bizarre."

She asked Xiao Jiu, "Then what should we do?"

Xiao Jiu pondered for a moment. "With our abilities, there’s nothing we can do—it might even make things worse for him. We should wait and see if there’s anything we can do to help when the time comes."

With no other choice, Lin Xueyou and Xiao Jiu could only wait.

But as soon as they finished speaking, something unbelievable happened. Li Hao’s body suddenly exploded, dissolving into the wind, and vanished.

Xiao Jiu collapsed to the ground, murmuring, "It’s over! It’s all over!"

Lin Xueyou cried out in panic, "Li Hao!"

Tears streamed from her eyes—her worst fears had come to pass. Suddenly, a profound sorrow enveloped her, and she realized just how important this mischievous boy, whom she’d only just met, had become to her.

She muttered, "You bastard, how could you do this—sleep with me and then leave without a word? Do you think I’m that kind of woman? How could you treat me like this? I hate you, I hate you!"

Her grief became uncontrollable, her wails tearing through the silence.

Deep in the valley, Lu Xuemei was suddenly wracked with pain, inexplicably so. She thought for a moment and muttered, "Could it be… something happened to Li Hao?"

The more she considered, the more certain she became. The only people she truly cared for were her father, her brother Lu Zhengtian, and Li Hao. Her father, as the master of a palace, would be safe; her brother was by her side, so it could only be Li Hao.

Eliminating all others, tears slipped down her cheeks.

Elsewhere, Lu Yao, lying on a grassy field, suddenly felt a wave of depression and immediately thought of Li Hao. Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered, "Brother Li Hao, you’ll be alright—you must be. You promised you’d protect me forever, and I won’t let you break your word. You can’t lie to me, you can’t."

In a side hall near the great hall of the Li Tian Star Domain, Supreme Lord Li Tian and his wife Mo Rou were discussing whether the envoy sent to the Lu Jia Mountain Star Domain had returned. Just then, a servant arrived with news: "The envoy to Lu Jia Mountain Star Domain has returned."

---

The envoy reported, "I did not see Li Hao in the Lu Jia Mountain Star Domain. I heard he had gone to Lishui City, and after some inquiries, learned he participated in the centennial selection tournament. I found out that he was safe and so returned to report, awaiting your command."

Supreme Lord Li Tian was delighted by the news and rewarded the envoy. The moment the envoy left, before he and his wife could fully rejoice, a sudden, familiar heaviness struck their chests. Their faces changed drastically, and in unison, they exclaimed, "Something has happened to Hao’er during the selection tournament."

Li Tian hurried to comfort his wife. "Rou’er, there’s no need to worry. It was the same last time, and didn’t Hao’er come through safely? Don’t be anxious yet—perhaps he’s only in danger. We must have faith in him. I will send someone to investigate in the Lu Jia Mountain Star Domain at once."

Mo Rou said, "Husband, why not send some strong cultivators to protect Hao’er in secret?"

Li Tian considered and found her words reasonable. Without another word, he vanished from her side to make arrangements.

Xiao Jiu, like a statue, sat motionless, waiting for death to descend.

Time ticked by, and yet Xiao Jiu remained as he was. Gradually, he seemed to realize something miraculous, and stammered in disbelief, "How is this possible? What on earth is happening?"

He glanced at Lin Xueyou, who was sobbing brokenheartedly, and hurried to her side. "Miss Xueyou, please don’t worry—my master will be fine."

Hearing this, Lin Xueyou thought he was simply trying to comfort her and cried even harder.

Xiao Jiu was helpless, unsure how to console her. After a moment’s thought, he blurted, "Miss Xueyou, I have a soul master-servant contract with my master."

Lin Xueyou wiped her tears and choked out, "So what?"

"If my master dies, I die as well," Xiao Jiu said.

"Ah! You mean Li Hao isn’t dead?"

Her pupils dilated in disbelief.

Xiao Jiu nodded firmly. "Exactly. When I forged the contract, my fate was tied to his. If he survives, so do I; if he perishes, so do I. Don’t you see? I’m perfectly fine. My master must have undergone some unusual transformation. Please, Miss Xueyou, calm yourself and let’s see what truly happened."

Only then did Lin Xueyou slowly regain her composure. She realized belatedly the implication of Xiao Jiu’s words—if the master of a soul contract dies, the servant’s soul is destroyed as well.

Even she did not understand herself—she had known Li Hao less than a day, and yet, just from having him sleep beside her for a short while, this boy five or six years her junior had come to matter so much to her.

Of course, for cultivators like them, age meant little—five or six years, or even five or six hundred or thousand, was nothing. She herself was bewildered that this boy, who had taken such liberties, had so quickly and deeply embedded himself in her heart.