Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Lin Hao was startled and shot backward, but it was too late.

The next moment, he felt an itch on his right arm.

"ROAR!"

At almost the same instant, a furious roar thundered in Lin Hao’s ears.

The roar belonged to the Blood-Eyed Demon Ape.

It was obvious that the gust of wind that just assaulted him was from the swipe of the Blood-Eyed Demon Ape’s claw.

Lin Hao looked down. His right arm was as smooth as a baby’s skin; the Demon Ape’s claw hadn’t caused him any harm at all.

His perfected physical body was no longer afraid of the Demon Ape’s sharp claws!

’In other words, my current physical body is probably invulnerable to even ordinary Spiritual Artifacts!’

Although he was uninjured, Lin Hao was fuming and had no intention of letting the Demon Ape off the hook.

He looked up and saw that the Demon Ape’s left foreclaw had, at some point, completely recovered.

But now, Lin Hao felt not a shred of fear.

Facing the Demon Ape’s sharp claws, Lin Hao didn’t dodge or evade. He charged forward and threw a punch.

Lin Hao had been completely reborn; the Demon Ape couldn’t harm him at all.

This Demon Ape was remarkably intelligent. Realizing something was wrong, the nine-colored halo on its forehead began to glow, and its two foreclaws became encased in what looked like dazzling gloves.

A suffocating sensation emanated from them as its claws once again transformed into the hands of a grim reaper.

But it was still futile.

Lin Hao fought with wide, open movements, leaving himself completely exposed and letting the reaper’s hands strike him.

The man and the ape moved too fast to be seen, and only the RUMBLE of their collisions could be heard.

When Lin Hao’s figure became visible again, his body was still free of any wounds.

In contrast, an unknown number of scales on the Blood-Eyed Demon Ape’s Scale Armor had been shattered by Lin Hao’s fists.

"ROAR!"

The Demon Ape roared at the sky, beating its chest and stomping its feet, driven mad with rage.

Then, it opened its massive, bloody maw, and a ball of fire erupted forth.

Lin Hao sneered.

’Even the purest Flowing Light Divine Flame couldn’t harm me—in fact, I ended up Refining it. This little flame is nothing.’

Instead of retreating, Lin Hao advanced, leaping into the air and punching toward the nine-colored divine ring on the Demon Ape’s forehead.

His speed was incredible!

"BOOM!"

A direct hit!

The Demon Ape’s mountain-like body staggered backward.

That was its weak spot.

Pressing his advantage, Lin Hao’s figure moved like a shadow. In the next instant, he was mounted on the Demon Ape’s shoulder, raining down punches.

Sensing the danger, the Blood-Eyed Demon Ape blocked with its two foreclaws, protecting the nine-colored halo on its forehead.

Lin Hao’s fists rained down like a tempest, exceptionally ferocious.

Before long, the Demon Ape’s arms were a mess of mangled flesh and blood.

"ROAR!"

It roared again, then suddenly bucked its upright body forward.

Like a collapsing mountain, it caught Lin Hao off guard, smashing him viciously into the ground.

"RUMBLE!"

The ground shook as Lin Hao’s entire body was driven into the earth.

The Demon Ape moved with extreme speed. Standing tall like a giant, it stomped down hard with one of its claws.

Lin Hao’s body shot out, instantly knocking the Demon Ape off its feet.

The next moment, Lin Hao was on top of the Demon Ape’s body again.

"BOOM!"

He slammed his fist down hard.

The Scale Armor all over the Demon Ape’s body stood on end, like countless steel blades.

Its Scale Armor, tempered over many years by the Divine Flame, had become unbelievably hard and sharp.

But against Lin Hao’s fist, it was still useless.

Wherever Lin Hao’s fist landed, the Scale Armor shattered like tofu.

Then, Lin Hao threw another punch!

Without the protection of its Scale Armor, this punch immediately sent the Demon Ape’s blood flying.

The Demon Ape let out a mournful cry, followed by another furious roar.

Lin Hao’s fists were its only answer.

At this moment, Lin Hao was stark naked. As he swung his fist, the muscles in his arm bulged with explosive power. Though his skin was like a newborn’s, he possessed a kind of wild beauty.

Lin Hao had blended softness and hardness to the absolute extreme!

Lin Hao’s fists continued to hammer down. The Demon Ape’s earth-shaking roars eventually turned into whimpers.

Then, it began to cry like a child, continuously bowing with its foreclaws.

"Given up?"

To Lin Hao’s surprise, the Demon Ape actually nodded upon hearing his words.

’It can’t speak, but it understands human language?’

"The heavens value all life. I’ll spare you!" Finally, Lin Hao stood up and let it go.

After getting up, the Blood-Eyed Demon Ape knelt like a human and kowtowed to Lin Hao.

Its body was enormous; even kneeling, it looked like a small mountain.

Lin Hao was like an ant before it, yet it knelt to him, thanking him for sparing its life. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The scene gave Lin Hao a sense of accomplishment.

With a small smile, Lin Hao turned to leave.

But unexpectedly, the Demon Ape grabbed his hand with its foreclaw and pointed in a certain direction.

"Is there treasure in there?" Lin Hao’s eyes lit up as he looked in the direction the Demon Ape was pointing.

The Demon Ape nodded, then scratched its ear and cheek, gesticulating wildly.

Lin Hao didn’t understand what it meant, but he walked in the direction it indicated.

In the underground palace, Lin Hao passed through one door after another. The Demon Ape followed beside him, pointing the way, until the two of them stopped in the deepest part of the palace.

The door ahead looked ordinary to Lin Hao, but the Demon Ape pointed at it, then backed far away. A look of dread crossed its face, and its body trembled slightly.

Lin Hao pushed the door open. Just as he was about to step inside, a terrifying aura rushed out, making his heart palpitate.

"PFFT!"

As if struck by lightning, Lin Hao’s body was sent flying backward, spraying a large mist of blood into the air.

"THUD THUD THUD!"

After landing, Lin Hao stumbled back several more steps before he could steady himself.

Then, the underground palace began to shake, as if some peerless, ferocious beast was about to break out.

The Blood-Eyed Demon Ape was already prostrate on the ground, its body trembling violently.

Horrified, Lin Hao grabbed the Demon Ape’s claw, about to retreat.

But in the next moment, his body felt as if it had been plunged into an ice cavern, unable to move.

’I’m done for!’

The terrifying aura made Lin Hao’s heart tremble.

Just then, a soft light manifested. Lin Hao’s eyes widened in astonishment as he discovered he had left the underground palace and was now standing at the edge of the withered jungle on the border of the secret realm.

The Blood-Eyed Demon Ape had been teleported out with him.

The Blood-Eyed Demon Ape first looked around in confusion, then stood up straight, beat its chest with its foreclaws, and roared at the sky in sheer joy.

It had been bound by the Array within the ruins, and now that it was free, how could it not be happy?

But looking back at the ruins, Lin Hao felt his scalp tingle and his hands and feet turn cold.

’What exactly is hidden in that underground palace?’

Suddenly, Lin Hao’s heart jolted as he remembered the words left by Emperor Hongtian.

’Tread the Nine Heavens, enter the Netherworld, and obtain the heaven-defying pill formula.’

’Could that pill formula be what’s in there?!’

The thought shook Lin Hao to his core.

Emperor Hongtian had reached the pinnacle of martial cultivation. Even a Great Emperor like him called the pill formula "heaven-defying" and said that with it, one could fight against unknown existences. One could only imagine how world-shaking that formula must be.

This underground palace was originally built by Emperor Hongtian for a peerless Pill God to create that heaven-defying pill. ’Could the Pill God’s legacy also be in there?’

The more he thought about it, the more his heart itched with curiosity.

But his recent encounter also told him that his current strength was insufficient to explore the mystery of the underground palace.

’Strength!’

’I need to increase my strength as quickly as possible!’

’If I can be stumped by a single secret realm, what right do I have to contend with the heroes of this world!’

Lin Hao clenched his fists, gazed toward the distant ruins, and vowed silently, ’I will be back!’

Taking a set of clothes from his storage ring and putting them on, Lin Hao prepared to leave the secret realm.

The Blood-Eyed Demon Ape tugged on Lin Hao’s clothes, staring at him with pleading eyes.

"You want to follow me?" Lin Hao asked.

The Demon Ape nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, I’ll give it a try." ’If I can really get it out,’ Lin Hao thought, ’I’ll have gained a powerful helper.’

Having been to the secret realm once before, Lin Hao was already familiar with the method of leaving. He closed his eyes, relaxed his mind, and then suddenly threw a punch.

A strange passage appeared and sucked Lin Hao inside.

With quick eyes and faster hands, Lin Hao grabbed the Demon Ape’s claw.

The Demon Ape’s mountain-sized body was pulled in as if it were a piece of paper...

Outside the secret realm, Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders appeared.

Lin Hao had been in the secret realm for four days. Eager to get news of him as soon as possible, Wu Taichu had been visiting almost every other day.

He had just arrived here with the three Grand Elders when the same strange phenomenon from last time appeared.

They knew Lin Hao must be coming out. They backed far away, watching the strange passage nervously.

Once again, they saw someone step out calmly from within, wreathed in a divine halo that illuminated the world.

Even though they had witnessed it once before, seeing it again still left them dumbfounded.

Finally, the strange passage vanished, and Lin Hao appeared before them.

Then, the group recoiled in horror.

For they saw a behemoth following behind Lin Hao.

"The Blood-Eyed Demon Ape!"

The group cried out in alarm.

"ROAR!"

The moment it emerged, the Blood-Eyed Demon Ape tilted its head back and let out a roar that seemed powerful enough to shatter mountains and rivers.

Then, its body began to expand continuously. Before long, it was more than twice the size it had been in the secret realm, truly comparable to a mountain!

Lin Hao was surprised at first, but then he understood.

’In the secret realm, there’s a suppression of the Great Dao left behind by Emperor Hongtian!’

’Even after ten thousand years, no matter how the Devil Beasts inside cultivate, they can never break through to a higher realm.’

’No wonder this Demon Ape wanted to come out. The outside world is where it truly belongs.’

As the Demon Ape roared, even the three Grand Elders turned pale and retreated repeatedly.

Wu Taichu grabbed Lin Hao, shielding his body, and watched the Blood-Eyed Demon Ape nervously.

This was a ferocious beast. Its current strength, if not at the Peak of the Elemental Realm, was not far from it.

Lin Hao shook his head and barked at the Demon Ape, "Down!"

Now that the Demon Ape was free from the suppression of the Great Dao, its strength was far greater than in the secret realm. Lin Hao didn’t know if it would still obey him.

But that one simple word received a response.

The Demon Ape was incredibly obedient.

After squatting down, its body shrank again until it returned to its original size.

Then it bowed repeatedly, a fawning look on its face.

Lin Hao smiled with satisfaction.

’This Blood-Eyed Demon Ape will definitely become my most valuable assistant.’

Putting aside everything else, Lin Hao had personally experienced the power within the strange passage. He had thought the Demon Ape wouldn’t be able to withstand it, but the outcome had stunned him.

The energy in the strange passage, which could pulverize giant boulders, was like a mere tickle to the Demon Ape.

The Demon Ape’s physical toughness was definitely comparable to his own before his Body Refinement with the Divine Flame.

Coupled with its strength, having it by his side would make it the strongest possible bodyguard for him at this stage.

Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders stared at the scene before them, dumbfounded.