Li Ao found himself at the foot of another great gate.

This particularly differed from most he saw; instead of gathered patches of clouds, a circle occupied its blocky surface. Within the circle laid a mark like a drop of blood.

Eyes shrinking, he placed both of his hands on the heavy gate. He looked like an ant, pushing against a mountain.

There was no need for him to look around, nor inspect the howling passage behind him.

His divine sense told enough of the deep darkness behind. The gigantic space-time rift created shrill whistles with each rapid turn, even absorbing the air itself.

‘’Why the fuck is it Hell!?’’

Long hair flapping, his ass on fire, Li Ao pushed the gate open. A loud squeak followed, a sliver opened for him to pass, and he jumped right through the hole.

He rolled twice from the momentum, then stood up.

Behind him, the gravitational pull of the space rift caught the door—with its heavy weight, it shut with a bang.

Dusting off his tight white robes, Li Ao raised his head.

The room had no source of light, inside or outside. His sight only extended ten meters before him.

His divine sense didn’t pick up anything living as well, so he waved a hand and created a fireball.

It lit up a hundred meters around him.

‘’...holy heavens.’’

The dark room was full of corpses.

Spirit corpses.

Demon corpses.

Demonic spears, broken staffs, shattered amalgamated bodies of many-armed spirits and hideous demons. Scattered like rain, there was not one inch of the room where the diamond blue ground could be seen.

Some hung from visible walls, struck true by weapons and severed limbs, others laid in pieces. Split armor scattered here and there still smelled foul blood and Spirit organs.

Li Ao held his breath and cast a look at the sole standing figure.

Or the kneeling figure.

It was a single armor—colored diamond blue, covered in red lines like thorns over its back, the heavy plates locked every inch of the wearer’s body. In its hand was a longsword, and its head laid low and bowed towards a high seat.

The throne was half devoured by another space rift. Behind it was another gate, open, showing a dark hallway with no end in sight.

The room was unusually narrow and long. Most likely an audience room.

Unnerved by the silence, Li Ao’s spine tingled. His Qi and Blood mobilized, muscles bulged, and a silver mist poured out of his pores to form a silver lance.

Silver and Prismatic Gloves appeared on him with a flash.

Ticking, the gem on the glove’s surface changed to fiery red.

The armored spirit trembled.

Catching the movement, Li Ao took two steps forward. ‘’Howdy friend!’’

The armored spirit, step by step, rose from its position.

‘’Where are you from?’’

It was another ghost cultivator. His voice was deep and old, like a man in his twilight.

‘Is that why the difficulty is Hell?’

‘But his cultivation...’

The armored spirit was at the 13th-level of Qi Condensation.

Even the songstress’ guards made his instincts tingle more than this fellow.

‘’...you are a human.’’

Li Ao’s eyes sparkled.

‘’You know humans?’’

Raising his longsword, he pointed at a pile of stacked bodies. ‘’I killed some.’’

Li Ao followed the cue.

There was a young woman, at most fifteen looking, separated from her body with a clean cleave. Her head on top of the shredded corpse pile, she cast an anguished look across the room.

If he hadn’t pointed at her, Li Ao wouldn’t have seen her in this darkness.

Blood on her neck was fresh.

Li Ao gulped.

‘’...’’

‘’Trespassers, I can forgive.’’

The spirit waved his longsword and placed it beside his hip. Li Ao noticed thirteen formations inscribed on its blade.

Annihilate, Banish, Purify, Exorcize, Paralyze—the rest, he couldn’t read.

However, those five alone made him lose his shit even more.

Annihilate to destroy, Banish to sever summoning spells, Purify and Exorcize to kill ghosts and demons, Paralyze to immobilize fleshly beings.

It was an all-rounder weapon made for universal wars!

‘Is it the equipment?’

Even now, Li Ao’s mind was more focused on finding the real threat than listening.

‘’You are from the Immortal World, are you not?’’

One foot forward, other behind, knees bent, the armored spirit blended with the environment. His armor didn’t seem to reflect the cast flame’s light.

‘’But humans...you ungrateful lot! You killed my lord!’’

Li Ao raised his hands. ‘’Wait, I’m not from Six-Fold Immortal World!’’

The spirit halted.

‘’...you are not?’’

‘’No! I’m from Four Mountains Realm!’’

‘’Four—Four Mountains? Four Mountains!?’’ The armor began to vibrate, his voice a scream. ‘’Who unsealed the Four Mountains Realm!?’’

‘’Huh?’’

‘’Who!?’’

The spirit turned even more frenzied.

‘’Who taught you our language!? Who brought you here!?’’

Like a spring, the armored spirit’s legs bent, fell, then rose—in an instant he was mid-way through the hundred meter distance between them.

By then, Li Ao sensed something.

A cultivator’s sixth sense could foresee the near future and assess other’s power to some extent. It was a spiritual instinct, per se. In moments of life and death, it could even be elevated to a state of epiphany.

Physical instinct was the true protector of the living. When it sensed strength, it cowered. When it sensed weakness, it flourished. No matter the opponent, it could read their capacity of danger.

What did Soul do?

It dealt beyond the physical and spiritual. It was metaphysical. It saw what there should be when it wasn’t, and what shouldn’t be when it was.

Having cultivated his soul equal to his Spirit and Physique cultivation, Li Ao noticed his error at the last moment.

Though he sensed the spirit’s realm, he had no feeling for it.

Though he communicated with the spirit, his instincts had no read of it.

Only his soul told him something was wrong, and he did so by pointing out something was wrong with his instinct.

This spirit had no presence.

He was unreadable.

And now, sailing towards him within the darkness, Li Ao felt all three parts of his foundation shake.

This man was the danger!

Sucking in a breath, his spine bent back ninety degrees, echoing awkward cracks.

The longsword arrived in absolute silence. It cut right above the tip of his nose—Li Ao’s pupils shook at the infinitely near reflection of his face.

‘’Oh fuck off!’’

With a twist, his wrists flicked the spear at the armor.

The spirit seemed neither flustered nor wary. His arm retracted and slashed again.

It cut right at Li Ao’s throat.

He was no fool—just the trajectory made Li Ao sure the edge would slip right through his tempered body and Qi.

It wasn’t worth it to exchange.

Li Ao cowered—he pulled back the spear and stomped, again twisting his body like a ragdoll.

Movements that could have caused him nerve and spinal damage could be accomplished with his new physique.

This didn’t save him, however.

‘’Naive!’’

In the middle of his turn, the armored spirit kicked his left side.

Coughing, the flame above dispelled, Li Ao shot off like an arrow and crashed onto a pile of corpses. They exploded underneath him into a shower of blood.

‘This retarded gorilla!’

He was a whole realm beneath him!

And he was a whole realm beneath him in all three paths!

Yet, how did he strike so heavily?

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Fortunately, he had no true damage.

Changing his mind, Li Ao leaped out of the pile. A tick echoed, and thunder boomed around his body. His blood, Qi, and Soul Power circulating at the same time, a ferocious aura manifested behind him.

Each step brought him almost fifty meters away, but the armored spirit didn’t let go of his chase!

His body was a blur, his movements silent. The plate armor made no noise even when stepping on bones and flesh.

The precision at which he used his power frightened Li Ao.

‘What kind of an expert is he!?’

Putting even more distance between them, Li Ao rounded the room and waved his hand.

The darkness was too disadvantageous for him. With the silent movements of the spirit, he would be too hard pressed to block anything with just hearing.

Bolts of flames shot out of his palm like blazing stars and struck at the empty lanterns and chandelier.

They struck, brightened for a moment, then died.

‘Is the wax gone?’’

‘Or are my flames not hot enough!?’

This was a higher realm. Every material was foreign to him.

Casting his look at the silent shadow, Li Ao felt his ass tingle.

‘Shit, why is he so scary!?’

Teeth grit, Li Ao pointed at the corpses around.

Scarlet Path began to circulate at top speed—flames sprouted out of his arm like a whip and lashed at the nearby remains of the demons and spirits.

Some corpses began to burn, others protected by armor—most had nothing left to burn.

‘’Do you have no respect for the dead!?’’

Now lit up, Li Ao’s eyes caught the sneaking spirit right behind.

The spirit drew four circles in the air—three runes on his sword flashed and whipped up a strong wind.

Popping, the baby flames died before they had a chance to flourish.

‘’Oh fuck you!’’

Li Ao lashed again with all his might. The shockwave gave birth to a circle of flames ever expanding.

In a moment, it surpassed a hundred meters and continued spreading from body to body.

The hellish scene caused the armored spirit snarl.

His blurring legs froze in action. He slid a dozen meters and halted atop another pile, overlooking the fleeing Li Ao.

‘’You humans are all the same...’’

His armored knuckles tapped on the longsword.

The blade’s beautiful shine suddenly turned purple, then expanded around him like a sphere.

Li Ao felt his Divine Sense being sucked in.

‘’What is that!?’’

Now he was even more determined to put up more distance. Once more, he began to run circles around.

As he did so, he pointed a hand seal behind and poured his Spiritual Qi into the new spell.

His palm lit up with three intersecting lines, forming a triangle, and from its center a black flame popped up.

It was infinitely small, dark like the night. Simply crackling there it consumed a quarter of his Qi!

Circulating his Blood and Soulpower, Li Ao attracted the remnant Spiritual Qi in the air to the spell. Wisps of aquamarine and bloody tainted Qi flew towards him in a vacuum.

The armored spirit stood unfazed. He planted his blade into the pile.

‘’Sorry, comrades.’’

The purple sphere expanded—it overtook two hundred meters around him, then suddenly pressed down!

Laws of the world began to tremble.

The ground quaked, corpses began to slide and crush, and armored ones began to collapse into themselves with cracks.

The spreading flames blinked out of existence!

Candles, chandeliers, and some remaining furniture all separated from the ceiling and came crashing down onto Li Ao!

‘’...gravity!?’’

It was one of the four Universal Schools!

How the fuck a foot soldier mastered Gravitational Magic!?

Li Ao cut his preparation short. He heard a faint whistle in the air—the friction of air!

The spirit was rushing at him from the deep darkness!

Eyes blazing, an illusory path appeared underneath Li Ao’s feet. The ethereal flames lit up the room again.

Li Ao took five steps towards the incoming spirit. Ten dragons roared forth, each of them twenty meters long!

Their heads covered in fierce wild manes, silver mist poured onto them and covered their scales in beautiful silver armor.

One by one, they shot off towards the rushing spirit. The man was a blur, they were a blur, and both sides almost a shadow, they zig-zagged through the darkness.

Scarlet Path also turned and twisted like a centipede to catch the spirit’s vague presence. It was the first time Li Ao witnessed someone evading his strike.

The sight caused sweat to pour down his forehead.

Like red beams of light, both the dragons and the Scarlet Path chased after the spirit’s evading figure. The man jumped between charging dragons, leaped over them, but Scarlet Path caught him mid air and smashed him into a pile of burnt corpses.

A colossal gate crashed onto him right then, and Li Ao let out a shout!

The vacuum of Spiritual Qi vanished.

A transparent black triangle appeared before his body, the same size as him, then another copy appeared over the appalled Spirit.

‘’HELLFIRE!’’

The trace of flame propelled into the triangle, then shot out of the other one at supersonic speed!

It blinked, sizzled, then expanded into a gigantic ball of writhing black flames!

The spirit struck his elbows down and pushed himself up—his sword an arc, all thirteen formations flashing, he drew a crescent moon above his head!

Booming, the ball of Hellfire exploded.

The expanding explosion almost deafened Li Ao, who spent half of his Qi for this one strike. He watched the ball of black push down to the ground, sinking the crushed spirit with its body.

Its residual heat even melted some of the impenetrable ground and lit up the hundred meters around it!

‘’Take that, you gorilla!’’

Li Ao breathed a sigh of relief.

This fellow was too skilful. Terrifyingly so.

He had perfect control over his body and reflexes, and he knew gravity magic!

‘’Are all foot soldiers like him?’’

This level of mastery wasn’t within the limits of any Four Mountains Realm cultivator.

At least not for those below Foundation Establishment.

That was a terrifying prospect.

If a civilization with foot soldiers like this were eradicated in such violent fashion, just how powerful were demons, truly?

How much more dangerous was the Universe?

Even as he thought, spine tingling, Li Ao noticed that he wasn’t teleported.

Once more, his Soul alerted him to the absence of his instincts.

Particularly, absence of a smell.

It didn’t smell like a burn or ashes or melted fat.

Eyes wide, he saw the ball of hellfire fall once more, then explode.

Through the storm of black flames, a purple sphere expanded!

This time, it was narrow and long, condensed into a line, and it came right above Li Ao’s head!

‘’Fuck—’’

His ankles bent, Li Ao stepped back. But the purple sphere was persistent.

He zig-zagged and leaped out of the way, yet the purple light continued chasing him.

Worse, a storm picked up at the site of the explosion. Air screamed; a visible whip of wind slapped forth and extinguished the remaining flames!

Now he was in the dark, and the purple aura attacked from the dark.

‘Don’t be complacent!’

‘Don’t be complacent!’

Wasn’t that what he said to himself?

Still, he fell overconfident.

Admonishing himself, heart beating out of his ribs, Li Ao revolved Scarlet Path within his body.

The spirit could take two of his strongest strikes and still fight—there had to be another way to win!

‘’Fuck hell difficulty!’’

Even as he shouted, the purple sphere struck his chest. The strike itself was silent.

Li Ao felt his chest weight ten times more—as if bound by a huge boulder, his ribs began to creak and crack.

His feet slowed down, then the spirit shot out of the darkness with a swing.

Li Ao revolved his spear.

His bodily might overcame the force, but the spirit retreated far too soon. He was given no chance to retaliate.

Right then, the purple line struck again.

His shoulder felt like it was stuck between two rocks. He could neither move nor feel it.

Eyes flashing, his heartbeat even worse, Li Ao threw himself on the ground.

A longsword sailed right where his nape stood, then vanished back into the darkness.

‘’Oh fuck you!’’

His vocabulary limited, frustration building up, Li Ao clenched his empty fist.

Scarlet Path circulated again. An unbearably hot aura spread, then his entire body became immolated!

He burnt himself to disperse the darkness!

His clothes began to tear and burn, but now Li Ao could see further, and he saw the spirit drawing circles around him like a duck.

Li Ao stomped and shot forward!

His spear held with both hands, muscles bulging, the Aura Weapon aimed at the gap between the spirit’s helmet and armor—his neck!

The spirit’s legs bent, slid right, and redirected Li Ao’s momentum with a simple upward slash.

Li Ao, however, didn’t give up. Forgoing all concerns, Spiritual Qi and Blood surging, he forced his joints to bend again. A sickening clink echoed.

Second strike fell, and the spear fell back to the side. Another slash attempted to rise, but Li Ao brute forced it down with a sweep from the side.

Him pushing and the spirit responding, they exchanged a hundred moves, each strike deadlier than the one before. Their arcs turned more defined, and Li Ao found himself being pushed back.

The spirit got a read of his flow far too quickly.

Eyes flashing, Li Ao struck again with a stab to the head.

However, he held back his Spiritual Qi!

The spirit slid the spear through the hand-guard, but the momentum was vastly different than the previous strikes—

But again, he managed to overthrow Li Ao!

He simply took a step forward and crashed the pommel on Li Ao’s nose!

‘’Fucking gorilla!’’

Now this was ridiculous!

How the fuck was a foot solider so skilled!?

Was he not some fucking prodigy or something!?

Exasperated, nose bleeding, Li Ao’s eyes flashed a deep blue for a moment.

He swept the butt of his spear, forced away the spirit, then charged again.

His next strike was the same, but this time the spirit didn’t redirect the strike!

His footwork blurry, he met Li Ao with a downward slice.

That one instant time seemed to freeze. The spirit trembled, and the deep purple aura shot out of his body like a shock-wave.

‘Fucking trash skill!’

The purple magic reversed the gravitational flow—corpses began to shoot out towards the sky, and Li Ao lost his footing within them.

He grasped at one, pulled himself forward, then leaped atop another. From the dense crowd of flying corpses, he saw the spirit rushing up to where he was stranded.

‘’You dare toy with my soul!?’’

Li Ao barked right back. ‘’Shut up! Shut the fuck up!’’

He had just planted a very small cue!

I should block the next strike!

Though the spirit overwhelmed him with pure skill in close combat, Li Ao still had three times the cultivation!

His physical might was on another level altogether!

If it had just worked, he could have ended it with a quick stab to the throat!

But indeed, it wasn’t easy to influence other people, especially a heavens-know how old ghost.

Gnashing his teeth and wiping his nose, even then Li Ao was trying his best to get out of the magic’s influence. But the more he moved away, the more armored spirit was hung upon chasing him.

Worse yet, the aura kept changing every few seconds.

One moment, Li Ao grabbed at a corpse to pull himself up.

At another, a shower of gigantic demonic corpses rained over him in constant booms.

‘’This doesn’t make any sense!’’

Was the ‘Hell’ difficulty really that broken?

By now, Li Ao felt that he had made another mistake.

He wasn’t prepared enough!

No, he was never prepared enough!

If he had forged a Flying Sword, he could escape faster!

If he had piled up some attack talismans for instantaneous attacks, he could have dealt with the spirit easier!

If he had just not barrelled in, he wouldn’t be escaping with his ass on fire like this!

No! It was the fault of the shitty system for not giving a proper difficulty!

Of course, the complaints were all in his subconscious.

In reality, he was already at the edge of the purple sphere.

Roaring, his muscles popping with extreme weight, Li Ao managed to throw himself out of the area of effect.

He was, after all, still higher in cultivation. His speed and pure strength wasn’t something the armored spirit could match with ease.

But his armor and battle mastery wasn’t something Li Ao could match either.

His body a living flame, the spirit the walking embodiment of a wrathful avenger, the duo stared at each other from a few hundred meters.

For a moment, the world was still.

The next moment, Li Ao ran away!