Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"Senior Brother, where are the pills?"

The Nine-Nine Life-extending Pill. Throughout the entire Southern Border Prefecture, only one person could refine it: Master Shan Dan.

But now, Lin Hao was actually telling him the pills were ready. Wu Kui’s breathing grew ragged.

From start to finish, aside from him refining a batch of Great Returning Pills, Lin Hao hadn’t done a thing!

If Lin Hao could truly produce Nine-Nine Life-extending Pills, it would be nothing short of a miracle.

But Lin Hao just jutted his chin toward a certain spot.

Wu Kui looked over, his eyes widening abruptly.

The direction Lin Hao indicated had only one Pill Furnace—the Li Fire Divine Furnace!

He had just used the Li Fire Divine Furnace to refine Great Returning Pills. Could the pills inside have somehow turned into Nine-Nine Life-extending Pills?

That was simply absurd.

He shot over like the wind and used a pill-releasing hand seal to open the Pill Furnace.

"CLANG!"

With a crisp sound, the pills emerged. Wu Kui snatched them up, and as he opened his hand, he froze completely.

Three peanut-sized, crimson pills lay in his palm. They weren’t Great Returning Pills at all.

He picked one up and sniffed it, and his entire body began to tremble.

It carried two of the four legendary fragrances, and the aroma alone invigorated the spirit. What could this be if not a Nine-Nine Life-extending Pill!

’The Great Returning Pills I refined turned into Nine-Nine Life-extending Pills... This...’

Wu Kui’s eyes bulged like an ox’s as he whipped his head around to look at Lin Hao.

Lin Hao just shrugged, a look of pure innocence on his face.

Just then, the door to Pill Cloud Hall opened, and Wu Taichu walked in.

"Master, Junior Brother Wu successfully refined the Nine-Nine Life-extending Pills," Lin Hao said with a smile.

"What?!"

Wu Taichu looked as if he’d seen a ghost. He was Wu Kui’s master; didn’t he know his own disciple’s capabilities? How could he possibly refine a Nine-Nine Life-extending Pill?

Hearing Lin Hao’s words, Wu Kui didn’t look excited at all. Instead, he looked aggrieved.

He had no idea where these pills came from. He felt ashamed to take the credit.

’Only he and Lin Hao were here. Lin Hao must have done something.’

’To have turned Great Returning Pills into Nine-Nine Life-extending Pills right under my nose, without me noticing a thing...’

For a moment, Wu Kui gazed at Lin Hao, his expression a storm of complicated emotions.

At first, Wu Kui had opposed Lin Hao because of Yingxue. But later, it was purely out of envy, jealousy, and hate.

Lin Hao’s talent far surpassed his own, which made him envious and jealous. But for a mere mortal body to become the head disciple—that, he hated.

But now, Wu Kui discovered that not only was Lin Hao’s martial talent far superior, but even his own proud Alchemy Dao was worthless before him.

Logically, Wu Kui should have hated Lin Hao even more. But Lin Hao’s mysterious and unfathomable alchemy methods left him in awe.

"Master, I didn’t refine these pills." Wu Kui knew his own limits and didn’t dare take the credit.

Although Wu Kui was speaking to Wu Taichu, his eyes were fixed expectantly on Lin Hao.

"Of course I know you didn’t refine them. Give me the pills. And you should learn more from your Senior Brother," Wu Taichu said curtly, quickly giving Wu Kui a meaningful look.

At that moment, the shock in Wu Taichu’s heart was no less than Wu Kui’s.

Only Wu Kui and Lin Hao were here, yet even Wu Kui didn’t know how Lin Hao had refined the Nine-Nine Life-extending Pills. Not even Master Shan Dan was capable of such a feat.

And it had taken so little time to produce three Nine-Nine Life-extending Pills.

If word of this got out, it would shake not just the Southern Border Prefecture, but likely the entire Celestial Yang Continent.

’This Ancestor’s accomplishments in the Alchemy Dao are far more than just ’talented’ as Ancestor Cang Yan described.’

’Unparalleled aptitude and comprehension, terrifying cultivation speed, an incomparably powerful physical body, and now, heaven-defying alchemy techniques...’

Wu Taichu was so stunned by everything Lin Hao had displayed that he was almost numb.

He really wanted to ask, was there anything this Ancestor couldn’t do?

’Probably not.’

If Lin Hao suddenly refined a Spiritual Artifact in the future, Wu Taichu probably wouldn’t even be surprised.

With the Ancestor here, anything was possible.

"I have other matters to attend to. You two take your time. Kui’er, if there’s anything you don’t understand, remember to ask your Senior Brother." Taking the pills, Wu Taichu wisely chose to leave.

This was Wu Kui’s fortuitous encounter, his great opportunity. To be honest, even he, the Sect Leader, was incredibly envious.

He wanted to stay, but he didn’t know the first thing about alchemy. It was better to leave this opportunity to Wu Kui.

After respectfully seeing Wu Taichu off, Wu Kui suddenly grit his teeth and, with a THUD, knelt before Lin Hao.

"Junior Brother Wu, what are you doing?" Lin Hao asked, startled.

"Senior Brother, please accept my respects! I was blind before and failed to recognize your greatness, offending you many times. I hope you can be the better man and not hold it against me. Please, Senior Brother, teach me the Alchemy Dao." After speaking, without giving Lin Hao any time to react, he kowtowed three times. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

Not long ago, Wu Kui had been acting high and mighty, wanting to instruct Lin Hao in alchemy. But now, he was on his knees, begging Lin Hao to teach him the Alchemy Dao. How quickly the tables had turned.

Thinking back on his recent actions, Wu Kui’s face burned with shame. He wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

At the thought of his own arrogance, Wu Kui kowtowed three more times. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

He couldn’t help it; he was terrified Lin Hao wouldn’t forgive him.

As mentioned before, Wu Kui disliked the martial path and loved only the Alchemy Dao. Now that he had witnessed Lin Hao’s heaven-defying methods, if he didn’t seize this chance, he’d be no better than a tortoise.

"Get up," Lin Hao said calmly, accepting the grand gesture without flinching.

"Yes, Senior Brother." Wu Kui was immensely respectful.

"You have an innovative spirit, you don’t covet credit you haven’t earned, and you have principles. Congratulations, you’ve passed my test," Lin Hao said, his eyes narrowed.

In truth, Lin Hao had claimed Wu Kui refined the pills only to test him. Fortunately, Wu Kui had not disappointed him.

Hearing Lin Hao’s words, Wu Kui’s lips trembled. He was speechless, and his eyes even grew moist.

He had made things difficult for Lin Hao time and again, yet not only did Lin Hao hold no grudge, he had been testing him all along.

In an instant, Wu Kui was completely won over by Lin Hao’s character.

What Wu Kui didn’t know, however, was that Lin Hao had a line in his heart. As long as no one crossed his bottom line, anything was negotiable.

In this regard, Wu Kui was undoubtedly lucky.

Of course, the most important thing was that what Lin Hao lacked most right now were loyal followers.

The one-month deadline was drawing ever closer. Lin Hao had to quickly establish a foothold in the Heaven-Stepping Sect, and to do that, he needed the help of people with a certain status and position.

As the Sect Leader’s adopted son and the only Alchemy Master in the sect, Wu Kui was clearly the person Lin Hao needed.

"I can teach you alchemy, but you must keep it an absolute secret from outsiders," Lin Hao told Wu Kui.

Lin Hao didn’t care much for fame and glory, so he preferred to remain behind the scenes.

Only from the shadows could one see everything more clearly.

Wu Kui was also a smart person. A look of reverence flashed in his eyes as he bowed to Lin Hao. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Lin Hao was younger than him, yet he was indifferent to fame and fortune. This mindset alone made him far superior.

"You must be very curious how those pills were made, right?" Lin Hao finally addressed the question that was foremost on Wu Kui’s mind.

Wu Kui nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice.

"I said you have an innovative spirit because you knew to add thirty percent more Dragon Saliva Grass. It is precisely that extra portion that can turn a Great Returning Pill into a Life-extending Pill." Lin Hao finally revealed the secret.

Wu Kui was stunned. ’The Nine-Nine Life-extending Pill, which only one person in the entire Southern Border Prefecture can refine, is that simple?’

Lin Hao smiled and spoke again. "Of course, it must also be supplemented with a special Alchemy Hand Seal. Did you really think I was using those Fire Crystal Stones just to get my revenge?"

Wu Kui’s eyes shot wide open.

So everything had been within Lin Hao’s calculations and control from the very beginning.

"I beg you to teach me, Senior Brother." Wu Kui bowed and respectfully pleaded for instruction.

As he bowed his head, Wu Kui’s face was as red as a monkey’s backside.

He had just shamelessly offered to teach Lin Hao the most basic fire-control hand seals, showing off in front of him.

Thinking about it now, it was like brandishing a broadsword before the God of War—utterly ridiculous.

Moreover, he had failed to recognize a diamond in the rough and even called Lin Hao’s move a Demon Technique.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had disgraced himself completely.

However, Lin Hao didn’t take it to heart at all. He didn’t have time to dwell on such things right now.

"Watch closely!"

As Lin Hao spoke, with just a slight movement of his hand, all the Fire Crystal Stones beneath the Pill Furnaces rose into the air.

Wu Kui stared intently at Lin Hao’s hand, a blank look on his face. He couldn’t make any sense of it.

Seeing this, Lin Hao slowed his movements.

Wu Kui still shook his head.

Lin Hao frowned and slowed his movements even more.

Wu Kui’s face reddened, and he shook his head again.

At this point, Wu Kui was mortified.

’How laughable.’ He used to be so arrogant, thinking that just because he’d assisted an Alchemy Master in the past, he had become a mortal-grade Pill Master. He believed his talent in the Alchemy Dao was second to none in the Southern Border Prefecture.

But now, faced with what seemed to be an extremely simple fire-control hand seal from Lin Hao, he couldn’t even see it clearly, let alone learn it.

’Humiliating. This is too humiliating.’

"Your talent is just too poor. I’ll demonstrate one more time at the slowest possible speed. If you still can’t see it, then you might as well give up on learning alchemy," Lin Hao said, a hint of helplessness in his voice.

Wu Kui grew extremely tense. His eyes were wide, and he didn’t dare to move a muscle.

Lin Hao moved his hand again.

This time, Wu Kui saw it clearly, but he was shocked beyond measure.

The seemingly simple movement that Lin Hao had completed in just a few seconds actually contained dozens of hand seal variations. It was terrifying.

And that was his slowest speed. If he performed it at his fastest, how astonishing would that be?

"Digest that for a moment. I’ll teach you the next hand seal," Lin Hao said, knowing that Wu Kui had seen it clearly this time.

Half an hour later, confident he had memorized the hand seal, Wu Kui opened his eyes.

"The next move is the Snap Thousand Illusion Hand. In simple terms, it’s just snapping your fingers, but all the hand seal variations are contained within that snap." As Lin Hao spoke, he snapped his fingers. All the Fire Crystal Stones began to rotate rapidly before once again chasing after Wu Kui.

Wu Kui took off running.

"Slow down. Don’t watch my fingers for now. Observe the trajectory of the Fire Crystal Stones."

This time, the Fire Crystal Stones moved very slowly, allowing Wu Kui to see what he couldn’t before. And what he saw shocked him.

Just now, it wasn’t that he was running and the Fire Crystal Stones were chasing him along his path. Rather, the Fire Crystal Stones were forcing him to run in a specific trajectory.

This was too astonishing!

"When refining the Nine-Nine Life-extending Pill, the temperature beneath the Pill Furnace isn’t the most important factor. What’s crucial is the temperature within a five-meter radius around the furnace. The Snap Thousand Illusion Hand is what controls that ambient temperature."

Lin Hao continued to reveal his secrets.