Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

’For such a ferocious beast to be so completely obedient to Granduncle-Master... it’s simply unbelievable.’

"Congratulations, Granduncle-Master," the others chimed in one after another, having snapped out of their daze.

Lin Hao gave an embarrassed smile, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a ball of golden light heading toward their location.

Suddenly, a look of extreme terror appeared in the Blood-Eyed Demon Ape’s eyes. Its body actually shrank again until it was the size of a newborn infant.

It prostrated itself on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

The next moment, a cat was riding on its back.

The newcomer was Lord Lingdi.

Patting the Demon Ape’s head with its paw, Lord Lingdi mumbled softly, "A few thousand years have passed in a flash. Even you’ve grown up."

"I was just about to look for you. I didn’t expect you to show up," Lin Hao said happily upon seeing it.

’This secret realm holds too many secrets. Only Lord Lingdi can clear up my confusion.’

"I know what you want to ask, but I won’t tell you. Not unless you can grow to his level," Lord Lingdi said indifferently.

Lin Hao’s heart skipped a beat. Then he asked again, "You can at least tell me what secrets are hidden in that underground palace, right?"

"There’s something you need inside. Work hard," was Lord Lingdi’s reply.

"Hmph!" Lord Lingdi clearly knew everything but wouldn’t tell him. Lin Hao snorted, feeling rather displeased.

As Lin Hao’s anger flared, the Ninth Layer of his Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill began to circulate on its own.

"You..."

Lord Lingdi leaped to its feet, staring at Lin Hao with a look of utter horror.

"How is this possible? How can this be!"

It could see that Lin Hao was attempting to break through to the Blood Coagulation Realm Tenth Layer.

Lord Lingdi had lived for eons and witnessed countless prodigies and geniuses. Very few things could still shock it.

But Lin Hao repeatedly broke that spell.

After the shock passed, Lord Lingdi closed its eyes, its paws moving in a blur.

A moment later, it opened its eyes. It first glanced at the sky, then stared at Lin Hao and said, "You have broken the rules. An unimaginably brilliant new age is about to begin."

Then it slapped the Demon Ape and said, "Get up, stop playing dead. Let’s go for a walk."

The cat and the ape vanished, leaving Lin Hao, Wu Taichu, and the three Grand Elders to ponder Lord Lingdi’s words.

Vaguely, Lin Hao seemed to understand something.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Hao asked Wu Taichu, "Master, how many days was I in there?"

"Four days," Wu Taichu replied.

Lin Hao nodded. Tomorrow, he could enter the Saha World to cultivate again.

The pressure on him had suddenly increased, and he felt an urgent need to raise his strength.

"Granduncle-Master, that young girl Lan Xin is exceptionally talented. She has already mastered everything you’ve taught her."

Wu Taichu spoke up, suddenly mentioning Lian Lanxin.

Lin Hao knew what he meant and didn’t plan to hide it, but this wasn’t the place to talk.

"I happen to have something to discuss with you all. Let’s go to the meeting hall."

After spending so many days together, Lin Hao had come to see the Heaven-Stepping Sect as his home. Moreover, from Lord Lingdi’s cryptic words, Lin Hao knew that the path ahead would be extremely difficult.

He needed the Heaven-Stepping Sect to grow stronger and become his support.

And to make the Heaven-Stepping Sect stronger, the first step was to arm it.

In arming the Heaven-Stepping Sect, the matter of pills was already underway. The next step was weapons!

The ore vein beneath the secret realm required countless Elemental Realm Martial Artists using Spiritual Artifacts to mine it.

In the meeting hall, Lin Hao admitted frankly, "That’s right. I do know the art of Artifact Refining."

Despite having braced himself, Wu Taichu couldn’t help but feel his heart pound upon hearing Lin Hao’s admission.

But the three Grand Elders, who knew nothing of this, were completely stunned by Lin Hao’s words.

The poor elders were well advanced in years. After hearing what Lin Hao said, they were so shaken they began to tremble and then collapsed limply to the floor.

An Artifact Refiner... This was something they had never even dared to dream of.

The three Grand Elders lay collapsed on the ground, tears streaming down their aged faces. Unable to control themselves, they began to cry like children.

They had grown up in the Heaven-Stepping Sect since childhood, and their feelings for the sect were beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.

They were more heartbroken than anyone over the sect’s decline, but they had been powerless to reverse its fate.

Lin Hao’s appearance gave them a glimmer of hope. However, they knew that while an Alchemy Master could strengthen the sect, it wouldn’t be enough to restore it to its former glory.

The power of a Spiritual Artifact was simply too immense. A true expert wielding a Spiritual Artifact of Tier Four or higher could annihilate the entire Southern Border Prefecture with a single strike.

But now, things were different.

Lin Hao was not just an Alchemy Master; he was also an Artifact Refiner.

Having witnessed Lin Hao’s methods in Alchemy, they knew his skill in Artifact Refining must be just as astonishing.

With the sect’s revival now in sight, how could the three Grand Elders not weep?

Wu Taichu’s eyes also gleamed with intense emotion, and his body trembled slightly.

Lin Hao was a bit dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected a casual remark to affect the three Grand Elders this way.

He quickly walked over, intending to help them up one by one.

Who would have thought that upon seeing him approach, the three Grand Elders’ expressions would change drastically? They waved their hands frantically, saying, "Junior Uncle, you mustn’t, you mustn’t! We are not worthy of this!"

Then they scrambled up from the floor on their own, refusing Lin Hao’s help.

"I say, Elders, can you not be so jumpy? It’s just the art of Artifact Refining. Is this really necessary?" Lin Hao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’I don’t just know Alchemy and Artifact Refining, I also know the art of Array Runes.’

’If I told them that, wouldn’t it scare them to death?’

"Our mistake, our mistake." The three Grand Elders, having lost all their usual composure, nodded repeatedly with apologetic looks on their faces.

Lin Hao waved his hand. "Alright, no more of this in the future. I’ve also been to the Divine Weapon Hall. The good materials inside have been all but wasted, yet I haven’t seen a single Spiritual Artifact."

Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders lowered their heads in shame.

"I took a look. The materials in there are barely fit to be used as supplementary materials."

’Before, those materials might have been acceptable. But now, using them as supplementary materials for the Flowing Light Divine Stone would be giving them far too much credit.’

"What we’re lacking now are materials," Lin Hao sighed.

Without excellent supplementary materials, even with the Flowing Light Divine Stone, it would just be a waste.

"Junior Uncle, speaking of materials, I actually know of a place, but..." Elder Gu began, then trailed off.

Lin Hao’s eyes lit up. "But what?" he asked.

"But... it already has an owner." A fervent gleam flashed in Elder Gu’s eyes before dimming.

Hearing this, Wu Taichu and the other elders’ eyes also lit up, but their expressions quickly turned to wry smiles.

"So what if it has an owner? As long as we offer the right price, we can get it," Lin Hao said dismissively.

"Ahem, Junior Uncle, that won’t work. They’re at the Suo Demon Sect," Elder Gu said awkwardly.

The Suo Demon Sect coveted the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s territory, and there had always been friction between them. The two sects were already sworn enemies.

Their only goal was to swallow up the Heaven-Stepping Sect, so even the most tempting offer would be in vain.

"So they’re at the Suo Demon Sect. In that case, we’ll just have to snatch them over!" Lin Hao’s eyes brightened as he spoke these words casually.

The Heaven-Stepping Sect was currently in a developmental phase, so it was not a good time to make enemies. Lin Hao’s original intention was to form an alliance, just as he had done with his Alchemy.

But now that he heard it was the Suo Demon Sect, Lin Hao had no more reservations.

Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders exchanged a glance, and their eyes lit up as well.

Originally, they had been very wary of the Suo Demon Sect. But with the recent increase in pills, the sect’s strength had improved significantly. And the thought of the Suo Demon Sect’s resources made their hearts race.

"That’s right, snatch them!" Suddenly, the three Grand Elders’ faces turned beet-red, as if they had taken an aphrodisiac, and they slammed their hands on the table.

"Junior Uncle, you have no idea! The Suo Demon Sect’s resources are so abundant it makes one green with envy. The reason they developed so quickly is that they found a secret realm. That realm produces all sorts of rare Crystal Stones and refined iron," one elder said, his expression fervent.

"Exactly! I heard about a type of refined iron called Crimson Cloud Cold Iron. It has excellent toughness and is hard to break. It’s a superb material for Refining Spiritual Artifacts! If we could get our hands on it and use it as the main material for Spiritual Artifacts, that would be..." another elder spoke up, practically drooling.

Crimson Cloud Cold Iron. Lin Hao’s eyes lit up. He was reminded of the long spear he had gotten from Wu Zhen.

That long spear had been forged from Crimson Cloud Cold Iron.

In the past, it would definitely have been considered a superb material for refining Spiritual Artifacts, but now...

’With the Flowing Light Divine Stone in hand, it could only be relegated to a supplementary role.’

"Crimson Cloud Cold Iron is not bad. It’s suitable as a supplementary material," Lin Hao nodded and said casually.

The two elders who had just spoken were instantly stunned.

’Crimson Cloud Cold Iron is only suitable as a supplementary material? Then wouldn’t the main material be beyond their wildest imagination?’

’Are there really Refining Materials even better than Crimson Cloud Cold Iron?’

Never mind them, who didn’t understand Artifact Refining; even Wu Taichu, who only knew a smattering, was shocked to hear this.

Crimson Cloud Cold Iron was the best Refining Material he knew of, yet Granduncle-Master said he would use it as a supplementary material...

Glancing at Lin Hao and seeing his confident expression, Wu Taichu’s heart leaped.

He had a feeling that Granduncle-Master was about to perform another miracle.

As this thought arose, Wu Taichu gripped the edge of the table so tightly that he crushed it to dust without even realizing.

"Junior Uncle, we cannot move against the Suo Demon Sect." Just as everyone was getting excited, Elder Gu, who had been silent, spoke up, pouring cold water on their enthusiasm.

"Why?"

"The Suo Demon Sect has a powerful backer," Elder Gu said.

As soon as he said this, everyone’s enthusiasm instantly faded—everyone except Lin Hao.

The Suo Demon Sect itself wasn’t scary; what was scary was the power behind it.

The Heaven-Stepping Sect had been investigating for a long time but could never find out which power was backing the Suo Demon Sect. One could only imagine how terrifying this power must be.

But Lin Hao still looked relaxed. He shrugged and said, "What if the sect doesn’t get involved?"

"Granduncle-Master! Junior Uncle! Absolutely not!" Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders understood Lin Hao’s meaning.

Lin Hao wanted to take on the Suo Demon Sect by himself. Even if he could succeed, they would not let him take such a risk.

"It’s not that I’m arrogant, but with my current speed, if I want to leave, the mere Suo Demon Sect can’t stop me!" Lin Hao said with a confident smile.

Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders still shook their heads.

Lin Hao smiled and didn’t insist. He changed the subject, "Let’s talk about this later. The end of the year is approaching, and I’d like to make a trip back to War Dragon City in a few days."

Every year around this time, disciples who usually cultivated in their sects would choose to go home and reunite with their families.

Many cities would also choose to hold various martial competitions at the year’s end, partly for good fortune and partly to test the martial cultivation of the family disciples.

War Dragon City was no exception.

And the martial competition in War Dragon City coincided with the one-month deadline that the Lin and Wu families had agreed upon when Lin Hao left.

On that day, it was likely that not only the Zhengyang Sect would send people to War Dragon City, but even the Suo Demon Sect would be no exception.

Lin Hao had to go back.

’I’ve already made up my mind: on my way back from War Dragon City, I’ll make a little detour to the Suo Demon Sect.’