Asura Emperor Venerable-Chapter 1532: Illusory Scene

Shi Hao picked up the Stone Essence, sensing the mighty life force within it, incredibly vast.

"If I eat this thing, does it count as eating a stone figure?" he suddenly asked the Purple Gold Rat.

"What do you think?" the Purple Gold Rat retorted.

"Why don’t the other stone figures eat this thing?" Shi Hao was curious. Considering these stone figures are at the level of Immortal Kings, finding the Stone Essence should be easier for them, right?

The Purple Gold Rat shook its head: "Nature has its rules. They can only consume their own kind, and this... doesn’t count as their kind. Otherwise, there would only be one stone figure in this place."

Indeed.

Shi Hao chuckled: "Can I eat this directly?"

"If you find the taste unpleasant, you could steam, stew, or boil it; eat it however you like," the Purple Gold Rat said with a deadpan expression.

Haha, you’re a cheeky one.

Shi Hao said no more and took a bite of the Stone Essence. It crunched crisply. Hmm, the stone figure’s defense was terrifyingly strong, yet the Stone Essence was quite fragile. He didn’t even use much strength to bite off a piece.

Then, he sat cross-legged and began refining it.

The Stone Mill was indeed powerful, grinding the Stone Essence into an essence that Shi Hao could easily absorb.

However, Shi Hao found that the speed was noticeably slower than before.

Hmm, is it because the grade of the Stone Essence is too high?

Speaking of which, what exactly is this Stone Mill?

While pondering, Shi Hao absorbed the immense energy, making his cultivation speed soar.

A day later, he finally absorbed all the energy and Immortal Rule from this piece of Stone Essence.

Truly astonishing!

At this rate, it would take him about a month to fully refine this Stone Essence.

Hiss!

Is this a bad thing?

No, of course, it’s a good thing. The refining efficiency of the Stone Mill hasn’t weakened; it’s just that the energy contained in the Stone Essence is incredibly rich, making the digestion speed seem slower.

So, how many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures does this piece of Stone Essence equal?

The Purple Gold Rat was indeed right. It’s harder to acquire Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures here, as they’re scarce and more dangerous, but once obtained, they’re far richer than in the outer regions.

One equals ten!

Shi Hao continued refining, with the Purple Gold Rat showing no intent of sharing. It said, "Little Stone, you should quickly become an Immortal Venerable, or even an Emperor Venerable, then I can cling to your thigh and fear no one."

Alright then.

Shi Hao diligently cultivated, determined to become a strong support for his loved ones, family, and friends.

Days passed by unnoticed. On the nineteenth day, Shi Hao finally touched the edge of the Peak of Nine Stars Jade Immortal.

Normally, he should be able to challenge becoming a quasi-Immortal King next.

However, Shi Hao had greater ambitions.

He aimed to break the extreme limits, and not just once, but to become an Eighteen Stars Jade Immortal, the extreme of extremes.

Breaking the limit is quite difficult, especially in the Jade Immortal Realm, the first limit of the number nine.

Shi Hao secluded himself for a full twenty-seven days before gaining enough insight for a breakthrough.

Ten Stars Jade Immortal!

Shi Hao felt that this limit-breaking gave him a significant boost in combat power.

Now, his combat power wasn’t at the four-step quasi-Immortal King level but five steps!

However, this breakthrough took a long time.

Theoretically, Shi Hao’s soul strength had reached the level of an Immortal King. He should easily break through to a quasi-Immortal King and reach nine steps quickly, then challenge becoming an Immortal King.

The entire process should have been effortless and smooth.

Yet, a ten stars Jade Immortal checkpoint blocked him for so long.

"Breaking the limit is hard!" he sighed.

The Purple Gold Rat rolled its eyes nearby. Someone who breaks limits like drinking water has the right to make such a comment?

Even if Shi Hao took over twenty days to break through, for others, even if they’re personal disciples or children of an Immortal Venerable, taking years to break through would excite them immensely, not to mention just over twenty days!

This guy is too smug.

Shi Hao continued refining the remaining Stone Essence. Ten days passed, and his cultivation reached the mid-stage of Ten Stars Jade Immortal, but the Stone Essence was also fully refined.

"Tsk, if I had another piece, I could reach the peak of Ten Stars Jade Immortal and aim for Eleven Stars," Shi Hao was full of desire.

"Hehe," the Purple Gold Rat doused him with cold water. "You do know that at any given time, only one Stone Essence forms on this land, and to nurture a Stone Essence to perfection takes how many years? Tens of thousands of years!"

"So, you might as well wait here for a few more millennia!"

Shi Hao shrugged his hands. Couldn’t you just say there’s no second Stone Essence here?

Is it really fun to discourage me like this?

He shook his head and walked out of the cave.

Since the only Stone Essence was taken by him, searching here further would be meaningless—a waste of time. So, Shi Hao quickly moved on to leave this area in search of the next one.

He wanted to reach the Immortal King level here, or at least have the combat power of an Immortal King, and then seek out Immortal King Zi Feng for revenge.

——You can’t always be the ones hunting me down.

A few days later, Shi Hao finally exited this massive area.

Unfortunately, he was once again chased by a stone figure, but fortunately, upon exiting the area, the stone figure stopped pursuing, seemingly restricted to this area, or maybe it just didn’t want to leave.

At this moment, Shi Hao felt like he had entered another world.

A dense forest, lush green trees, endless grass, and the fragrance of flowers, it felt like a paradise separate from the world.

How could there be such a vibrant world within the Forbidden Land?

"Ha, look carefully," the Purple Gold Rat commented from the side.

Shi Hao looked carefully but didn’t notice anything unusual.

However, he knew the Purple Gold Rat wouldn’t speak aimlessly.

He unfolded the Little Star Universe, using it as a touch...

And then he "saw" something entirely different.

There were no green trees and grass, only desolate wasteland.

So, what he saw was likely an illusion, but what created it?

He shivered, saying, "Is the skeleton of an Immortal King buried here?"

Thus, the lingering thoughts of the Immortal King interfered with this place, creating such an illusion. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Likely so," the Purple Gold Rat nodded.

Shi Hao walked into this area, finding it bizarre. What his eyes saw was a green, vibrant world, yet through Little Star Universe, he saw endless desolation. This feeling was truly marvelous.

After walking for a while, Shi Hao noticed ahead, there appeared to be an Immortal Elixir. Its energy shimmered with Immortal Rule, but the Little Star Universe informed him it was a broken sword blade, extremely sharp and could easily cut through a Jade Immortal’s body.