Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Cao Ba’s furious roar shook the mountains, and everyone at Pill Cloud Hall naturally heard it as well.

At the entrance of Pill Cloud Hall, the Alchemy Masters who had returned with Cao Tianguan scattered in a panic, wishing they’d been born with two more legs.

Even Cao Ba, a respected elder of the Danling Sect, had been utterly humiliated by Lin Hao. What chance did they stand?

If Lin Hao truly decided to deal with them, could they even resist?

After running a good distance, several of them glanced back. Seeing that Lin Hao hadn’t moved, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Would Lin Hao even bother with them?

They really thought too highly of themselves.

Once they were gone, Pill Master Shan Dan hastily took his leave as well. "I must return to my sect at once. If the sect believes Cao Ba’s slander, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"We’ll be troubling you, Master." Wu Taichu understood the stakes. He didn’t stand on ceremony, cupping his fist to Pill Master Shan Dan.

Pill Master Shan Dan didn’t reply, but instead looked at Lin Hao and gave a final smile.

Lin Hao shrugged, also remaining silent.

"You little fox!" Pill Master Shan Dan cursed with a laugh. Then, his figure flashed like lightning and vanished without a trace.

"Fellow masters, what are your plans?" Lin Hao turned to look at the group of Alchemy Masters beside him.

"Young Master Lin, we’re hardly worthy of being called masters. We came here on Pill Master Shan Dan’s orders. He hasn’t told us to leave, so of course we’ll stay—unless you want to send us away." The Alchemy Master who had been refining the Dao-Encompassing Pill was the first to speak.

It should have been a difficult choice, but he had already made up his mind.

Though Lin Hao was young, he was clearly destined for greatness.

As soon as he said this, the other Alchemy Masters all voiced their agreement. In the end, not a single one chose to leave.

"Very good. I wasn’t mistaken about you," Lin Hao said with a profound, enigmatic smile.

"Master, I’ll have to trouble you with this bastard. Junior Brother Wu Kui and I have something to attend to."

Lin Hao handed Cao Tianguan over to Wu Taichu, then led Wu Kui toward Pill Cloud Hall.

After the whole farce, the Heaven-Stepping Sect was completely unscathed.

Wu Taichu watched Lin Hao’s departing figure and let out a long breath. He then grabbed Cao Tianguan and sped away toward Heaven-Stepping Peak.

"Honorable masters, please go and rest. We will remain outside to guard Senior Brother," said the few Heaven-Stepping Sect disciples standing outside Pill Cloud Hall. They gazed at the tightly shut doors of the hall, their eyes filled with adoration.

The group of Alchemy Masters were surprisingly respectful to these ordinary Heaven-Stepping Sect disciples, saying repeatedly, "We’re hardly masters. If you don’t mind, just call us brother. You’re busy, so please don’t worry about us."

The Heaven-Stepping Sect disciples nodded.

If any other sects were to witness this scene, they would be shocked beyond belief.

Alchemy Masters, who should have been high and mighty, were actually being so polite to ordinary disciples of a third-rate sect.

But these disciples weren’t fools; they knew why the Alchemy Masters were acting this way.

Gazing at the main doors of Pill Cloud Hall, various emotions flickered in their eyes: excitement, gratitude, adoration...

Finally, a single thought surfaced in all their minds: ’With Senior Brother Lin Hao here, our time to shine has come!’

After the incident with Cao Ba, these disciples revered Lin Hao as if he were a god.

But in Lin Hao’s eyes, that incident was merely a trivial matter.

By now, Lin Hao had already cast the matter to the back of his mind.

Inside Pill Cloud Hall, Wu Kui was bowing respectfully to Lin Hao. He then asked, "Sen... Senior Brother, what do you need me to do?"

Lin Hao didn’t answer, instead taking out a Nine Dragon Flower from his storage spirit ring.

Upon seeing it, Wu Kui’s eyes shot wide open, and his breathing grew ragged.

’Could it be...’

And sure enough, Lin Hao’s next words confirmed his suspicion.

"I’m going to use this to refine a pill. Watch closely from the side."

The ability to refine a Nine Dragon Flower into a pill had only ever been a guess. Now, hearing Lin Hao say it himself, Wu Kui was utterly astounded.

For hundreds of years, no one had ever succeeded in refining a Nine Dragon Flower into a pill. But today, not only would he witness a miracle, he would even have the chance to learn. Wu Kui felt like he was dreaming.

SMACK!

He foolishly gave himself a hard slap across the face.

It hurt!

"Heh heh, Senior Brother, I’m not dreaming."

Wu Kui grinned foolishly at Lin Hao.

"It’s just refining a Nine Dragon Flower into a pill. Do you have to be so dramatic?" Lin Hao said, amused but also exasperated.

’Just...’

Wu Kui was so shaken he couldn’t think straight.

"The pill I am about to refine is called the Nine Dragon God Refining Pill. Although it’s not some incredible pill, its effect is simply heaven-defying. I need you to swear an oath with your Lifebound True Blood that you will not reveal this to a second person without my permission!"

Lin Hao said with the utmost gravity.

Wu Kui did as he was told and swore the Blood Oath.

Afterward, he asked Lin Hao, "Senior Brother, just from the name, I can tell this pill is awesome. What does it do?"

"It has only one function: to increase the success rate for a mortal body to forge a bloodline," Lin Hao said faintly.

Wu Kui nodded. "So it’s a support pill... Sen... Senior Brother, you... did I hear you right?!"

The realization hit Wu Kui a moment later. He couldn’t believe his ears. Forging a bloodline for a mortal body?!

Bloodlines could only be awakened. This was the first time he had ever heard of one being forged. It was too heaven-defying!

He desperately wanted to ask, ’Is that even possible?’

"What’s so strange about it? I once awakened a bloodline, but it was cruelly stolen from me." When Lin Hao spoke of this now, he was completely unperturbed. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"You forged your own bloodline!!" Wu Kui cried out, his body trembling.

Forging one’s own bloodline—if word of this got out, it would surely shake the heavens and move the earth!

"That’s right. Without the Nine Dragon God Refining Pill, the chance of successfully forging a bloodline is very low. But with it, the success rate for a mortal body to forge a bloodline is as high as eighty percent. Moreover, they will have a chance to observe the nine sons of the dragon taking form. If they can observe even one, they can evolve it into a Divine Soul."

Wu Kui was aghast.

If their Divine Soul became one of the nine sons of the dragon, how formidable would that be!

Hearing Lin Hao’s words, an absurd thought suddenly rose in Wu Kui’s mind: ’Why wasn’t I born with a mortal body?’

"Senior Brother, you said that taking the Nine Dragon God Refining Pill lets you observe the nine sons of the dragon take form. Doesn’t that mean your Divine Soul is..." Suddenly, Wu Kui cried out in alarm.

But Lin Hao shook his head. "My Divine Soul is not one of the nine sons of the dragon."

Wu Kui breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself, ’What a pity.’

Lin Hao just smiled faintly, offering no explanation.

Never mind the nine sons of the dragon; he wouldn’t even give the Black Dragon a second thought.

If Wu Kui knew this, he would probably faint from shock.

"Alright, that’s all I can tell you. Refining this pill requires nurturing the Nine Dragon Flower before adding it to the cauldron. Watch carefully."

As Lin Hao finished speaking, a Pill Furnace appeared. It was none other than the Li Fire Divine Furnace.

This Pill Furnace was one of the ten great furnaces of antiquity, a matter of grave importance. After Lin Hao acquired the storage spirit ring, Wu Taichu had him carry it with him at all times.

Now, the divine furnace had reappeared. Lin Hao then opened his palm, and a ball of unusual fire materialized in it.

Wu Kui stumbled back several steps, his eyes as wide as bronze bells!

Now he finally understood why the furnace at Pill Cloud Hall had exploded that one time.

He never would have imagined that Lin Hao possessed an unusual fire!

Unusual fires were the flames of Alchemy, a treasure bestowed upon Alchemy Masters by the heavens. But obtaining one was an incredibly difficult task.

"Focus your mind!"

Lin Hao’s sharp reprimand pulled Wu Kui’s mind back to the present.

Wu Kui quickly suppressed his shock and stared at Lin Hao’s movements without blinking.

Now that Lin Hao’s cultivation had reached the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, his hand seals flowed with even greater ease.

One by one, Lin Hao tossed Spirit Grasses into the Li Fire Divine Furnace. As he did, he didn’t forget to state the quantity of each Spirit Grass.

To know the exact quantity of a Spirit Grass with a single grab—such a skill was simply astonishing.

Wu Kui had been studying Alchemy with Pill Master Shan Dan for the past few days, and not even Pill Master Shan Dan could perform such a feat!

However, Wu Kui no longer had time to be amazed by Lin Hao’s skills.

Because the Nine Dragon God Refining Pill required ninety-nine different Spirit Grasses, he had to concentrate fully just to remember the names and quantities of each one.

Moreover, the scorching heat radiating from the unusual fire was testing him even further.

Wu Kui stood far away, yet he was still drenched in sweat, his teeth clenched.

Despite the distance, the searing heat felt like it was going to cook his skin. He could even smell the scent of roasting flesh.

Wu Kui had to circulate his True Essence with all his might just to make his body feel a bit better.

The power of the unusual fire was terrifyingly immense.

But Lin Hao stood before the Pill Furnace as if nothing were wrong.

Wu Kui noticed a faint white light emanating from the surface of Lin Hao’s body, which was actually resisting the scorching unusual fire.

’His physical body has formed an aura, protecting him automatically!’

"Focus!"

Just as Wu Kui was reeling from shock, Lin Hao’s voice rang in his ear again.

Gathering his wits, Wu Kui stared at Lin Hao’s hands without blinking.

Lin Hao began to form seals with his hands, a type of hand seal Wu Kui had never seen before.

Wisps of the unusual fire coiled around Lin Hao’s fingertips, his fingers darting as if they were dancing.

Wu Kui’s eyes widened. Lin Hao’s movements were too fast; he couldn’t see them clearly at all.

"I don’t expect you to memorize it all in one go. Just focus on digesting what you’ve seen so far," Lin Hao’s voice remained as calm and nonchalant as ever.

Wu Kui felt dizzy and his body was swaying, but then he saw Lin Hao toss the Nine Dragon Flower into the furnace.

Instantly, his focus returned.

But he immediately stumbled backward in a panic and fell to the ground, landing on his butt.

Lin Hao’s hand seals accelerated again. Watching him made Wu Kui’s head spin, and his mind couldn’t take the strain.

Realizing the danger, Wu Kui quickly closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing...

An unknown amount of time passed. When Wu Kui opened his eyes again, Lin Hao was standing in front of him, watching him with a smile.

"Senior Brother..." Wu Kui scrambled to his feet, his face filled with shame.

He felt deeply ashamed that he couldn’t even endure watching from the side.

"Did you memorize the formula?" Lin Hao asked.

Wu Kui nodded.

"Good. I’m not just refining one, so there will be more chances in the future. I don’t expect you to memorize everything in one go. You can go rest."

Calling Wu Kui over this time was just a warm-up, to let him witness the entire process. That was all.

Wu Kui’s performance was more than enough to satisfy Lin Hao.

With one Nine Dragon God Refining Pill complete, Lin Hao didn’t plan on refining a second one right away. After all, Wu Kui couldn’t keep up with his pace.

There were still a few days before he had to return to War Dragon City, so Lin Hao was in no hurry.

Having finished refining the pill, Lin Hao suddenly felt like he had nothing to do.

But as he was placing the Nine Dragon God Refining Pill into his storage spirit ring, he suddenly saw something.

His eyes lit up when he saw it.

He had almost forgotten about something important.