Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

However, just like before, Wu Taichu was once again flung back.

Without a word, Wu Taichu leaped again.

The result was just as predictable.

"AH!"

His Martial Uncle-Ancestor had disappeared right under his nose, falling into the secret realm. Wu Taichu was mad with desperation.

With a furious roar, his eyes turned crimson as a sword of light materialized in his hand, which he then slashed violently at the cliff.

The sword strike was unstoppable, carrying enough force to cleave a mountain.

However, an overwhelming rebound force erupted from mid-air. Not only did it instantly shatter the light sword he had manifested from his True Essence, but it also sent Wu Taichu stumbling backward, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Wu Taichu paid it no mind. Manifesting a giant hand with his True Essence, he began to slap crazily at the empty air.

The full-powered attack of a Peak Elemental Realm expert was world-shaking.

The ground beneath his feet trembled from the terrifying fluctuations of power.

Throughout this ordeal, Wu Taichu continued to cough up blood. Even for someone as powerful as him, the intense rebound force was too much to withstand.

With his hair in disarray, Wu Taichu looked completely unhinged.

The massive noise shook the entire Heaven-Stepping Sect. Being the closest, the three Grand Elders and Wu Kui arrived first.

"Sect Leader, what happened?" Elder Gu asked, grabbing Wu Taichu’s hand.

Wu Taichu snapped back to his senses and choked out, "Martial Uncle-Ancestor... he jumped off the cliff."

Without a second thought, Elder Gu leaped off as well.

’I rashly activated my Bloodline Power. Even though the Nine-Nine Life-extending Pill has allowed me to temporarily preserve my strength, I can already foresee the final outcome.’

’For a Martial Artist, cultivation is everything. To have one’s realm fall is a fate worse than death.’

’My life was originally devoid of all hope, but a single Life Reviving Pill brought me back from the brink.’

He already knew that Lin Hao was the one who had refined the Life Reviving Pill. After experiencing such a dramatic reversal of fortune, his gratitude toward Lin Hao had reached its peak. How could he not be frantic upon hearing that Lin Hao had jumped off the cliff?

Just as quickly as Elder Gu jumped, he was flung back even faster.

The other two elders exchanged a look and also leaped.

The result was the same.

Wu Kui already knew Lin Hao’s true identity. Seeing his master and the elders going to such desperate lengths for him, he gritted his teeth and threw caution to the wind.

However, he too was flung back.

"Go and summon all the Sect Disciples! Tell them to come here and jump off this cliff!" Wu Taichu, his eyes bloodshot, gave Wu Kui the order.

This was undoubtedly the most absurd order in the history of the Heaven-Stepping Sect, yet Wu Kui didn’t hesitate for a second. He simply turned and left.

"We’ll go inform the eight Peak Masters!"

Not only did the three elders not try to stop him, they even volunteered to go and inform the others.

Sect Disciples of the Heaven-Stepping Sect began to arrive one after another. Before long, the area was packed to the brim.

"Hasn’t this secret realm already withered away? Why did the Sect Leader summon us here?" a disciple whispered to his companion.

Of course, when Wu Kui and the others went to gather them, they didn’t say it was to jump off a cliff. Who would have come otherwise?

His companion shook his head.

"If you ask me, the Sect Leader has probably found a way to restore the secret realm. He’s going to have us enter it," another disciple nearby chimed in.

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the surrounding disciples lit up.

Entering a secret realm, while dangerous, also represented a great opportunity. They were filled with all kinds of heavenly treasures. Bringing back even a single item would be of endless benefit.

At the very edge of the cliff, all eight Peak Masters were present. One of them asked Wu Taichu, "Sect Leader, for what reason have you summoned us?"

Staring down from the cliff, many of the Peak Masters had a curious glint in their eyes.

With their incredible hearing, they had naturally overheard the disciples’ chatter. If the secret realm truly was restored, it would be a massive opportunity and temptation for them as well.

However, Wu Taichu suddenly snapped back to his senses and said something that left everyone utterly dumbfounded:

"Whoever can jump down from here will be rewarded with a Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Pill!"

Everyone was stunned. ’Has our Sect Leader gone mad? He gathered all these people just to make them jump off a cliff?’

"Preposterous! This is utterly preposterous!" Qin Tianlong exclaimed, flicking his sleeve as he turned to leave.

"Today, you will jump whether you want to or not! I will expel anyone who dares to leave from the sect!" Wu Taichu’s eyes were crimson as an overwhelming aura erupted from his body.

Qin Tianlong froze and stopped in his tracks.

"You want us to jump off a cliff en masse?! Wu Taichu, if word of this gets out, the entire Heaven-Stepping Sect will become a laughingstock! Do you really think they will agree to this?!" Qin Tianlong was furious. His gaze swept across the other Peak Masters.

He was trying to incite them, hoping to use this opportunity to impeach Wu Taichu.

"Sect Leader, this order is indeed improper. We urge you to retract it," a Peak Master spoke up, supporting Qin Tianlong.

A smile crept onto Qin Tianlong’s face.

"What? Are you trying to rebel?! Hmph! Feel free to try! Today, you will either get the hell out of this sect or you will jump!" Wu Taichu’s eyes were bloodshot, his attitude incredibly aggressive.

The expressions on the faces of several Peak Masters turned grim.

Wu Taichu couldn’t care less what they thought. In his heart, all eight Peak Masters combined were not as important as his one Martial Uncle-Ancestor.

If the Peak Masters were gone, he could just appoint new ones. But if his Martial Uncle-Ancestor was gone, where would he ever find another one with such talent, aptitude, and comprehension, who could also perform Alchemy?

"Sect Leader, I will go first." Seeing the stalemate, Elder Gu stepped forward once more and leaped off the edge.

The outcome, of course, was obvious.

An elder had jumped, so what else was there to do but jump as well?

Finally, one of the Peak Masters began to move.

Though resentful and frustrated, even Qin Tianlong had no choice but to jump.

The elders and Peak Masters had all jumped. Would the ordinary disciples dare to refuse?

In the end, the most absurd scene in the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s history unfolded: everyone, one after another, began to jump off the cliff...

"Sect Leader Wu, what is all this?" Master Shan Dan rushed over, his eyes wide in disbelief at the scene before him.

The eight Peak Masters had already tried numerous times and were now standing at the cliff’s edge. Hearing Master Shan Dan’s question, they all turned their gazes to Wu Taichu in unison.

They had been jumping for so long, and they still didn’t know why Wu Taichu was making them do it.

"Master Shan Dan, I... Ai!" Wu Taichu started to speak, but how could he possibly explain this?

’Am I supposed to tell him that the sect’s chief disciple jumped off the cliff, and since we can’t get down, we have to resort to this method to test things out?’

’Master Shan Dan would definitely think I’m a madman.’

’Master Shan Dan?!’

’That’s a man who could make the entire Southern Border Prefecture tremble with a stomp of his foot.’

The eight Peak Masters hadn’t recognized the short, unassuming old man, but now that they heard Wu Taichu call out his name, they all became respectful.

They hurried over, scrambling to offer a fist and palm salute. But to their surprise, Master Shan Dan beat them to it, bowing deeply with his own salute and saying respectfully, "This junior, Shan Dan, greets all you seniors."

Master Shan Dan, an elder of the Danling Sect in the Southern Border Prefecture, was a supreme existence. Yet here he was, greeting them with the etiquette of a junior.

’Uh, what is going on?!’

The eight Peak Masters were all petrified.

Since Wu Taichu was hesitant to speak, Wu Kui had no such reservations. "Old man, my Senior Brother Lin Hao jumped off the cliff, and none of us can follow him down. Hurry and help us think of a way."

Now that he knew Lin Hao’s identity and had witnessed his Alchemy skills, Wu Kui was utterly devoted to him.

Grabbing onto Shan Dan now was a last-ditch, desperate measure for Wu Kui.

"What?! You’re making such a huge fuss just because Lin Hao jumped from here?!"

Before anyone else could speak, Qin Tianlong was already losing his temper.

He had never accepted that Lin Hao, a mere mortal with an ordinary constitution, had become the sect’s chief disciple. Now that he heard they were all jumping off a cliff for Lin Hao’s sake, Qin Tianlong was furious.

"Wu Taichu, the foundation of the Heaven-Stepping Sect will be ruined by your hands sooner or later!" Qin Tianlong snarled, glaring at Wu Taichu and grinding his teeth.

Then, he shot a subtle glance at Master Shan Dan.

In his mind, this whole affair was a joke within the sect. He was sure that Master Shan Dan, after hearing this, would support him and help him reprimand Wu Taichu—after all, Master Shan Dan had just been so respectful toward them.

However, in the next moment, Master Shan Dan’s reaction completely defied his expectations.

"What? That little fellow jumped off the cliff?!" Master Shan Dan’s voice suddenly shot up an octave. His eyes flew wide open, and with a sudden dash forward, he leaped off the edge...

The eight Peak Masters were all petrified!

They hadn’t misseen it, had they? Not only did Master Shan Dan not mock them, but he had also jumped off the cliff without a second thought.

’Could he have gone mad too?’

Even Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders were stunned. They hadn’t expected Master Shan Dan to have such an extreme reaction to the news.

A moment later, Master Shan Dan was also flung back.

Just as one of the eight Peak Masters was about to speak, Master Shan Dan charged forward and jumped again...

And again, he was flung back.

"Sect Leader, this... this isn’t working! It feels like there’s an invisible energy wall down there that can’t be broken. How did he manage to get through?" Master Shan Dan said, scratching his head in a mix of confusion and anxiety.

The secret to the Life Reviving Pill was entirely with Lin Hao; how could he not be anxious?

"I brought Ma—... I brought him to see this secret realm. At first, he was flung back just like us. Then, he simply paused for a moment to think, leaped again, and disappeared," Wu Taichu said with a look of deep regret.

"There’s definitely something strange going on here. Let’s think this through carefully." Master Shan Dan began to pace and ponder.

This was a problem that likely only the person involved could truly understand.

Meanwhile, after being repelled by an immense force when he jumped, Lin Hao had realized something was amiss.

He discovered that while he was in mid-air, the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill within his body had begun to circulate madly on its own.

His mysterious True Essence had formed a Protective Gang Qi, as if it were resisting some kind of substance.

Yet, after being flung back, an intense longing rose from within him.

It was as if something mysterious below was calling to him.

This was especially true in his Dantian. At the center of the Tai Chi Array Map, the "true self" he had created was stirring restlessly, as if it wanted to burst out of his body.

’There must be something down there that I need!’

A sudden understanding dawned on Lin Hao, and his eyes lit up.

Then, he leaped once more.

Reaching mid-air, the immense rebound force appeared again. Lin Hao abruptly stopped his cultivation technique from circulating, and the pressure on him greatly diminished.

However, he still couldn’t descend.

Just as he was about to be flung back again, the Tai Chi Array Map in his Dantian suddenly began to spin frantically. All of his mysterious True Essence surged toward its center.

Then, an immense suction force was generated, and his entire body was abruptly pulled downward...