Chapter 145 - 115: Terrifying Selection Method, Incredibly Shocked Jiang Hao

Chapter 145: Chapter 115: Terrifying Selection Method, Incredibly Shocked Jiang Hao

Facing Jiang Hao’s inquiry, the silver-haired old man smiled. "You’ll know everything once you go inside. Place the stone on the stone door. Once it senses your aura, it will naturally let you in."

Seeing that the two had no intention of explaining further, Jiang Hao could only bow slightly before turning to walk toward the stone door.

The moment the stone was inserted into the groove of the door, a continuous RUMBLE echoed through the air.

Behind the stone door lay a space of about a thousand square meters. Sealed off by stone walls on all sides, it resembled some kind of Cultivation Chamber.

As Jiang Hao stepped through the doorway, he glanced back at the two old men, then swept his gaze over the Celestial List that seemed omnipresent overhead.

As countless figures entered their respective stone doors, numerous names gradually populated the Celestial List.

Right before the stone door shut, Jiang Hao even caught sight of the name "Ghost-faced Asura" on the Celestial List.

BANG!

With a loud crash, the stone door closed heavily, as if isolating him from everything in the outside world.

After Jiang Hao disappeared inside, the stone door mysteriously rippled like water.

Not long after, Jiang Hao’s figure appeared on the door itself. It was as if the stone door acted as a one-way mirror—the two old men outside could see inside, but Jiang Hao could not see the outside world.

"A prodigy from the Xingyue City Earth Realm has certainly brought honor to our Earth Realm," one of the old men said.

"At the very least, from now on, Cultivators from our hometown will have left their footprints within the Holy City," the other replied.

"It’s just a pity that he is merely an ordinary prodigy. A cultivation base at the Spirit Transformation Fifth Stage is truly insignificant in the Holy City."

"Perhaps... he really can pass the selection and enter the Celestial List."

"The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. We’d better not harbor any expectations and just prepare to receive him when he comes out."

Their conversation concluded, the two ceased speaking. They sat cross-legged and entered a state of deep meditation.

Obviously, although Jiang Hao’s arrival had greatly surprised the two Xingyue City seniors, they did not think highly of the young man. To Nanling, the Xingyue City Earth Realm was incredibly humble—so insignificant that many Nanling Cultivators had never even heard of it.

Meanwhile.

Inside the stone door, Jiang Hao furrowed his brows tight.

"You could have at least told me how the Celestial List selection is conducted!"

With nothing explained and not even the rules announced, Jiang Hao was completely baffled. How could a Celestial List selection be run like this?

However, his eyes were full of vigilance. Although he didn’t know the exact selection methods of the Holy City, he knew one thing for certain: participating in the Celestial List selection carried the risk of death.

He scanned the entire space behind the stone door. It was exceptionally sealed and even somewhat suffocating, looking exactly like a Cultivation Chamber in Qin City—completely isolated from the outside world. The only difference was that this space was much larger than the Cultivation Chambers in Qin City, and the surrounding rock walls were far sturdier, emanating a terrifying defensive power.

Jiang Hao began to pace around the room, examining the surrounding structures from top to bottom in an attempt to find some clues.

At that very moment, Jiang Hao sensed something. A sudden chill ran down his spine as a burst of cold killing intent struck from behind. Reacting on instinct, Jiang Hao spun around to counterattack without the slightest hesitation. He instantly mobilized his entire body’s Spiritual Power and fiercely threw a punch.

To his surprise, the moment he threw the punch, the surrounding stone walls trembled violently. An endless suppressive force descended upon him, directly diminishing his attack countless times over. Restricted by this invisible, arcane power, his punch carried only the strength of around the Spirit Transformation First Stage.

BOOM!

The next moment, a massive fist clashed directly against his own. Two terrifying surges of golden Spiritual Power erupted instantly, sweeping in all directions. Jiang Hao felt a sharp jolt between his thumb and index finger. A fearsome Spiritual Power traveled up his arm, sending his entire body flying backward.

"What a terrifying golden power!"

This was Jiang Hao’s first reaction as he flew backward. The power behind the opponent’s strike was not the least bit weaker than his own; in fact, it was faintly stronger. However, his mysterious attacker clearly didn’t fare much better, flying backward in almost the exact same posture. The two of them halted their momentum at the very same time.

His eyes wide with shock, Jiang Hao looked up to see a figure in white robes standing a short distance away, hands clasped behind its back, staring woodenly at him.

This scene took Jiang Hao completely by surprise. When he had first entered the stone door, the entire space could be taken in with a single glance; aside from himself, it had been completely empty. Yet in the blink of an eye, a figure had inexplicably appeared behind him and launched an attack. What was even more terrifying was that he hadn’t sensed the opponent’s approach in the slightest.

But an even greater shock was yet to come. As he looked up and clearly saw the figure’s face, his eyes immediately widened in disbelief, staring blankly at that visage. Only then did Jiang Hao realize that the white-robed young man standing before him looked exactly like him! No, not just exactly alike—they were cast from the very same mold. Whether it was the style of his clothing, his facial features, or his height, everything was identical. Even the aura radiating from his body was exactly the same. The only difference was that the opponent’s eyes seemed to lack a bit of spirit and vitality.

"Who... who are you?" Jiang Hao asked subconsciously. The astonishment in his eyes was no less than if he had just seen a ghost. What horrified him even more was that the figure was also carrying an ancient sword wrapped in black cloth on his back. To call him another Jiang Hao would not be an exaggeration. It was all too bizarre—so bizarre that Jiang Hao’s eyes were filled with absolute disbelief.

While Jiang Hao stood there stunned, the other Jiang Hao was also sizing him up. After a moment, he actually spoke.

"I am Jiang Hao. Who are you?"

Even the voice was exactly the same. This was simply astonishing.

"You are Jiang Hao?" Jiang Hao’s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks. "You are me?"

He wondered, "Then who am I?"

"No, I am not you. I am Jiang Hao," Jiang Hao declared.

As soon as he finished speaking, the other Jiang Hao began to mutter to himself, his eyes incomparably hollow. "I am the true Jiang Hao. You are a fake. Only by killing you can I leave this world.

"Kill you... Yes, kill you."

As the other Jiang Hao muttered to himself, he locked his eyes firmly onto Jiang Hao. His aura climbed endlessly, and his killing intent was overwhelming. In his eyes, it seemed that only by slaughtering the young man who had intruded upon this place could he achieve liberation.

Feeling that incredibly familiar aura and the soaring killing intent, Jiang Hao was utterly dumbfounded. However, he soon shifted his gaze toward the surrounding stone walls. He could see terrifying forces circulating on their surfaces, profoundly esoteric and deep. Suddenly, Jiang Hao seemed to understand something.

"You are a replica of me, created by these stone walls?" Jiang Hao suddenly realized, finally grasping the rules of the Holy City’s Celestial List selection. Even though the opponent looked exactly like him, his eyes lacked a certain spirit, making him seem more like a puppet.

While Jiang Hao was deep in thought, the puppet spoke again.

"Only by killing you can I leave this space.

"Kill you.

"DIE!"

BOOM!

The puppet Jiang Hao launched a sudden attack, throwing a punch that shattered the air and flew straight toward Jiang Hao’s face.

Sensing the terrifying power fluctuations coming from the opponent, a hint of confusion rose in Jiang Hao.

He wondered, "He only has a cultivation base at the Spirit Transformation First Stage?"

With only that much strength, how could this copy possibly harm him? Jiang Hao let out a cold snort. He absolutely would not allow a second version of himself to exist; otherwise, what would happen to the original? Fortunately, the opponent only possessed the strength of the Spirit Transformation First Stage, meaning he was absolutely no match for Jiang Hao’s Spirit Transformation Perfection.

However, the moment Jiang Hao mobilized his Spirit Transformation Power again, he paled in shock. At that moment, his cultivation base seemed to be subjected to some terrifying suppression, restricting him to only exerting the combat strength of the Spirit Transformation First Stage.

"How could this be?" Jiang Hao was greatly alarmed. Right now, his own aura and strength were merely on par with the replicated version of himself—perhaps even a faint trace weaker.

He wondered, "I understand now. Could the Holy City’s selection be about defeating my past self?"

While he was distracted by his thoughts, the puppet Jiang Hao had already charged right up to his face.

BOOM!

The two clashed once again. Golden Spiritual Power exploded violently outward, and the fierce impact left both of their faces deathly pale.

"Kill you... Kill you."

HUM!

Having failed to crush him with a punch, the ancient sword on the puppet Jiang Hao’s back bizarrely appeared in its hand, radiating an earth-shattering and terrifying sword might. The fact that the opponent hadn’t even made a motion to draw the sword further confirmed that this was merely another version of himself replicated by the stone walls.

What shocked Jiang Hao was that during their previous clash, the impact had felt incredibly real, with flesh striking against flesh. It was as if that figure truly existed in reality.

"What an astonishing technique," Jiang Hao murmured, feeling incomparably shaken. A method like this was entirely beyond his imagination.

But the scene that followed stunned Jiang Hao even more. He watched as the figure identical to himself slowly raised its sword. Sword Qi gathered boundlessly.

The next moment, the puppet roared.

"Heavenly Dipper, Seventy-Two Swords!"