Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Shrugging, Lin Hao turned and left.

The Lu family had nothing to do with him anymore, and he didn’t want to get involved in their affairs.

The middle-aged man stared at Lin Hao’s departing figure, his eyes glinting. In the end, he said nothing, simply pulling Lu Diewu to her feet and quickly leaving the Treasure Hunting Pavilion.

Tears welled in Lu Diewu’s eyes, her hopeful gaze fixed on Lin Hao, but he never once looked back.

Upon entering the Treasure Hunting Pavilion, Ninety-Three personally escorted Lin Hao to the VIP room.

"Young Master Lin, I feel terrible that I couldn’t help you when you entered the city. You must stay for a couple more days this time. As long as I’m here, Chu Junxiong won’t dare to lay a hand on you."

Ninety-Three spoke as he brewed tea for Lin Hao.

The men from the Treasure Hunting Pavilion had just returned to report. Because the situation was urgent, they had only managed to say that Lin Hao had escaped the City Lord’s Mansion, with no time to mention anything else.

Lin Hao smiled faintly. "There’s no need, I have to hurry back. By the way, Pavilion Master, do you know anything about the Chu family’s ’Laughing at the Mortal Dust’ formula?"

Ever since obtaining the sheepskin scroll, Lin Hao had felt a persistent sense of unease. He decided to take this opportunity to inquire with Ninety-Three.

"I know a little. The Chu family possesses a very evil sheepskin scroll," Ninety-Three nodded, using that exact word to describe it.

"Evil? Pavilion Master, why do you say that?" Lin Hao’s heart skipped a beat as he asked.

Ninety-Three’s expression grew solemn. "The name ’Laughing at the Mortal Dust’ is famous not just in the Cangnan Empire, but across the entire continent. Such renown naturally attracts covetous eyes. Countless families, sects, and even imperial powers have tried to claim it, but in the end, no one has ever succeeded in obtaining the formula."

"So the rumors are true," Lin Hao murmured. "Anyone who touches the sheepskin scroll dies, with no exception even for experts at the Sealed Martial Realm."

Ninety-Three nodded. "Of course it’s true. It’s the very reason the Chu family has endured for so long. No one outside the Chu family can obtain the scroll and live! Young Master Lin, why are you asking about this?"

"Because the sheepskin scroll is on me right now," Lin Hao replied with a smile.

Ninety-Three’s expression changed drastically. The tea set slipped from his hands, about to shatter on the floor.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Lin Hao caught it and gently placed it on the table.

"What are we going to do? What are we going to do?" Ninety-Three paced back and forth, as anxious as an ant on a hot griddle.

"But I’m perfectly fine right now, aren’t I?" Lin Hao said with a laugh.

Ninety-Three stopped abruptly. "That’s right. Do you feel anything amiss? Try circulating your Cultivation Technique and see."

Lin Hao nodded.

He didn’t dare to be careless. This was a sheepskin scroll that even the most powerful experts of the Sealed Martial Realm were helpless against.

Centering himself, Lin Hao began to circulate the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill.

The moment he did, he discovered something was wrong.

An entirely black mass had appeared in his mind, radiating an exceptionally evil aura.

He directed his technique, and a wave of pure yang energy crashed against the evil object. But it was like a black hole, instantly devouring every last scrap of Lin Hao’s True Essence.

Refusing to give up, Lin Hao tried again, but the result was the same.

An hour later, Lin Hao opened his eyes, his expression unchanged.

"How is it?" Ninety-Three asked with concern.

Lin Hao shrugged, indicating that he was fine.

"That’s good. Whatever you do, don’t open the scroll. Things will get complicated if you do. I suggest you return it to the Chu family," Ninety-Three said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I’ll consider it. It’s getting late, and I need to get back." Lin Hao sensed the danger. He had to return to the Heaven-Stepping Sect as soon as possible and find Lord Lingdi to seek a solution.

"Alright," Ninety-Three nodded, then personally saw Lin Hao out.

He didn’t turn back until he had seen Lin Hao out of the city gates.

Outside Red Beauty City, Lin Hao mounted the Cloud-Stepping Beast and sped away.

Meanwhile, just outside the city walls, Chu Junxiong and Chu Sheng stood watching until Lin Hao’s figure vanished from sight.

"Father, are we just going to let him go like that? Shouldn’t we send someone to follow him?" Chu Sheng, who hated Lin Hao to his very core, couldn’t stomach watching him just leave.

"The moment he opens that scroll will be the moment he dies. The scroll will then find its own way back to the Chu family," Chu Junxiong said with conviction.

"But I don’t want to let him off that easily!" Chu Sheng said fiercely.

"One who accomplishes great things doesn’t get bogged down in trivialities." Chu Junxiong’s eyes narrowed before he turned and walked away.

Chu Sheng stared in the direction Lin Hao had vanished and spat resentfully, "Lin Hao, dying like that is far too easy an end for you!"

Meanwhile, Lin Hao was riding like the wind, kicking up a cloud of dust as he sped toward War Dragon City.

The sky gradually darkened until it was pitch-black.

THUD!

Lin Hao, who had been riding the Cloud-Stepping Beast, suddenly fell from its back without any warning.

The sheepskin scroll tucked into his robes instantly unfurled.

This was a desolate area, with the roars of beasts echoing in the distance.

The Cloud-Stepping Beast nuzzled Lin Hao, then suddenly shrieked in terror. It bolted on all fours, vanishing in an instant. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Lin Hao lay on the ground like a corpse.

Suddenly, a puff of black smoke rose from the sheepskin scroll, and Lin Hao’s body vanished.

"Ugh, where am I?" Lin Hao opened his eyes, finding himself in a pitch-black space.

The ground beneath him was uneven and painfully lumpy.

Lin Hao scrambled to his feet and circulated his Cultivation Technique. Instantly, his eyes began to glow.

As he looked around, he couldn’t help but draw in a sharp, cold breath.

Skulls!

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but skulls!

A sinister, cold aura permeated the area, making Lin Hao’s teeth chatter.

It was an astonishing place.

After all, Lin Hao cultivated an emperor-grade technique and refined sunlight; the most malevolent evils shouldn’t have been able to touch his body. Yet now, a bone-deep chill spread through him.

Almost without any conscious effort from Lin Hao, his body began to glow, pushing back against the evil aura.

BOOM!

Beneath the brilliant light, the skulls surrounding Lin Hao instantly turned to ash.

JYEH HEH HEH!

Suddenly, a strange, cackling laugh echoed out without any warning.

Lin Hao was instantly on high alert.

"A body like a bastion, Refining Essence into Hair, a weight like that of a mountain! Such a perfect physical form... I have searched for thousands of years, and I have finally found it!" An incredibly evil voice echoed throughout the space.

It was an eerie, horrifying sound that would make one’s blood run cold.

"Who’s there?! Show yourself!" Lin Hao shouted, on guard as if facing a great foe and scanning his surroundings.

"This is my world," the evil voice continued. "I am everywhere!"

"Enough of your games! Break!" Lin Hao roared. His fist, wreathed in True Essence, smashed down on the ground.

BOOM!

The entire area trembled, and vast swaths of skulls were pulverized into dust.

However, something even more astonishing happened.

The dust quickly reformed, turning back into complete skulls.

"In my world, I am god! I am the master! Not even a Sealed Martial Realm Martial Artist could do a thing here, let alone you... JYEH HEH HEH..." The strange cackle rose again.

Lin Hao was startled for a moment but quickly calmed himself. ’The sheepskin scroll... I’m inside the sheepskin scroll!’

Humans have an instinctive fear of the unknown, and Lin Hao was no exception.

But once he understood the cause, a great weight was lifted from his mind.

"A clever little fellow. My wait of several thousand years has not been in vain!" the voice said again.

"You’re an ancestor of the Chu family. You died long ago, yet you’ve been pathetically clinging to existence in this sunless scroll for thousands of years. I feel sorry for you." Lin Hao instantly understood the situation.

When Lin Hao had received the Carefree Divine Monarch’s inheritance, he had witnessed a similar world within his sea of consciousness. After a moment of thought, Lin Hao understood what this place was.

This was a space manifested from the spiritual will of a powerful martial expert. After death, a wisp of their soul had refused to dissipate out of sheer unwillingness.

’This remnant soul wants to possess my body!’

"You’re a knowledgeable one! The darkness is about to end. Once I have your body, I will walk the mortal world once more!" The voice trembled with excitement.

Lin Hao snorted coldly. "Thousands of years have passed. The world has changed. Your era is over. Give up on this foolish dream!"

"My era? Do you think everyone’s purpose is to pursue the pinnacle of the Martial Dao? If I, Chu Tiandu, wished to pursue that pinnacle, I wouldn’t fear it even if the Celestial Dao itself stood in my way!" The voice paused, its tone a mixture of disdain and an indescribable, domineering arrogance.

Lin Hao’s expression changed dramatically upon hearing that name.

The Passionate Celestial Monarch, Chu Tiandu!

Chu Tiandu. In the Divine Demon Destruction Domain, that name was a legend.

His cultivation was astonishingly high, yet he treated the mortal world as his playground, fond of fine wine and beautiful women.

But he made the one mistake he never should have: he fell in love with a woman he was forbidden to love.

In the Divine Demon Destruction Domain, the Divine and the Demonic were eternal enemies.

The Demon Race cultivated demonic techniques and were scorned by those who followed the righteous path.

Yet Chu Tiandu fell in love with a princess of the Demon Race. For reasons unknown, he was then hunted by both the Divine and Demonic factions.

Chu Tiandu was a peerless talent, and none could stand in his way.

To deal with him, the Divine and Demonic factions did the unthinkable: they joined forces, cornering him on the summit of Divine Demon Mountain.

The battle that ensued blotted out the sky, plunging the sun and moon into darkness.

In the end, Chu Tiandu perished on Divine Demon Mountain, and the Demon Race princess died with him.

"Passionate Celestial Monarch... you want to fight your way back to the Divine Demon Destruction Domain?!" Lin Hao asked, assuming the obvious.

"Who are you?!" Chu Tiandu’s voice suddenly turned violent.

Skulls began to fly through the space, a strange and terrifying sight.

Lin Hao, however, remained unmoved. "Me?" he said lightly. "Just a nameless nobody at the Blood Coagulation Realm."

"You’re lying! Only someone from the Divine Demon Destruction Domain would know the title ’Passionate Celestial Monarch,’ and this is the Celestial Yang Continent!" Skulls swirled around Lin Hao, looking as if they might devour him at any moment.

Lin Hao was startled but quickly came up with a story. "The Celestial Secret Sect! I once met the Celestial Secret Elder. He told me I would meet you!"

"Celestial Secret Sect..." Chu Tiandu fell silent. Clearly, those three words held an authority that even he had to acknowledge.

"So in the battle at Divine Demon Mountain... you didn’t actually die?" Lin Hao asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Perish? How could I possibly perish!" Chu Tiandu snorted, then sighed heavily, his voice filled with sorrow. "But tragically, Qingyan’s organs, bones, and meridians were all shattered."

’Now that he knew Chu Tiandu’s story, Lin Hao’s animosity toward him lessened considerably. Qingyan must have been the Demon Race princess,’ he thought.

"My condolences," Lin Hao offered.

"With me here, how could she possibly die!" Chu Tiandu snorted again.

Lin Hao was stunned. Chu Tiandu was truly astonishing; he could keep someone alive even after all their organs, bones, and meridians had been shattered.

"To save her, I stopped at nothing. I became the Sect Leader of the greatest sect on the Celestial Yang Continent. After that, I entered the Netherworld and explored ancient ruins until I finally found a way to save her." Perhaps it was out of loneliness, or perhaps because he saw Lin Hao as a fish in a barrel, but Chu Tiandu began to reminisce.

Lin Hao was shocked. ’Thousands of years ago, wasn’t the number one sect on the Celestial Yang Continent the Heaven-Stepping Sect?’

’This Chu Tiandu had actually been the Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect!’

’Could he be directly connected to the great war thousands of years ago that led to the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s decline?’