Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

After learning about the connection between Chu Tiandu and the Heaven-Stepping Sect, Lin Hao didn’t rashly reveal that he was from there.

This Chu Tiandu, with his undying wisp of a remnant soul, had slain countless experts just for a chance at revival. He would certainly not spare Lin Hao just for being a disciple of the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

"Did you manage to revive her?" Lin Hao asked tentatively.

"The materials were incredibly difficult to find, but I discovered a great secret within the sect. In the ancestral grounds, there were actually nine Divine Demon Secret Realms containing everything I needed!" Chu Tiandu’s voice was filled with excitement.

Lin Hao’s heart skipped a beat. ’The ancestral grounds of the foremost sect... isn’t that the current location of the Heaven-Stepping Sect?’

’The Heaven-Stepping Sect of today has nine Divine Demon Secret Realms? That’s astounding!’

"Dammit, the news actually got out! To prevent the leak from spreading, I slaughtered everyone who might have known. Only then was I able to keep the nine secret realms a secret." Even though Chu Tiandu wasn’t a physical entity, Lin Hao could still sense the boundless killing intent in his voice.

’To save his beloved, Chu Tiandu truly stopped at nothing. He was ruthless to the extreme.’

"Actions like that would incur the wrath of the masses!" Lin Hao couldn’t help but say.

"That’s right. The Heaven-Stepping Sect was besieged by the other sects of the continent. Countless Cultivation Techniques and martial arts were plundered. My old wounds hadn’t healed, and I nearly perished. Unreconciled, I had no choice but to go into hiding and flee with Qingyan. In a barren land, I stumbled upon a ten-thousand-year-old ice coffin. I settled there and named the place Red Beauty City."

"In Red Beauty City, I used the rescue method to concoct a medicinal wine that had only one percent of the required potency. I named it ’Laughing at the Mortal World.’ Combined with the ice coffin, it kept Qingyan’s True Soul from dissipating. Only a few decades passed before my enemies found me. Though I was long past my prime, I still managed to slay them all. However, my own life force was spent, and I had no choice but to house my soul within this sheepskin scroll."

After hearing Chu Tiandu’s story, Lin Hao had to admit that the man had taken the meaning of "passionate love" to the absolute extreme. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

However, his willingness to disregard the lives of others for the sake of his beloved was something Lin Hao could not condone.

"How laughable is the mortal world; how tedious is passionate love." Finally, Lin Hao spat out the cold words.

"What does a brat like you know! One day, when you meet the one you truly love, you’ll be just like me! But what a pity... you won’t get that chance!" Chu Tiandu laughed maniacally, and then Lin Hao’s body was instantly submerged by a tide of countless skulls.

Chu Tiandu was trying to seize Lin Hao’s body.

Amidst the tide of skulls, Lin Hao’s entire body began to glow, turning innumerable skulls to ash.

However, the skulls were endless, devouring Lin Hao’s vital energy and spirit.

He held onto a sliver of clarity within his Spirit Body, his eyes shining brilliantly.

This was Chu Tiandu’s world. Even if Lin Hao possessed an imperial art, his strength would eventually be exhausted.

He held on for an unknown amount of time—perhaps an hour, perhaps a day.

Lin Hao’s body was on the verge of collapse.

"Excellent! If I’m not mistaken, you must possess an imperial art. No wonder you’ve cultivated your physical body to such a degree! This body can definitely withstand my power!"

Chu Tiandu’s voice rang out again. By now, Lin Hao had collapsed to the ground, his eyes dim and lifeless, unable to move even a single finger.

"The time for my return to the world has come! Qingyan, after a thousand long years, I’m back!" As Chu Tiandu’s voice rang out, the countless skulls vanished, coalescing into a humanoid phantom that shot into Lin Hao’s body.

Just then, the corner of Lin Hao’s mouth curled into a barely perceptible smirk.

The next moment, his body was enveloped in a blaze of multicolored flames.

The Flowing Light Divine Flame!

The last time he had used the Flowing Light Divine Flame was in War Dragon City against a wisp of a Soul Gathering Realm expert’s Divine Soul, and it had proven miraculously effective.

And all that remained of Chu Tiandu was merely a wisp of a remnant soul.

But Lin Hao didn’t underestimate Chu Tiandu just because he was a remnant soul; instead, he unleashed all of his Flowing Light Divine Flame.

The entire area was instantly engulfed by the Divine Flame, with Lin Hao at its center.

Inside Lin Hao, the Divine Flame flooded his entire body.

Chu Tiandu was terrified.

The Flowing Light Divine Flame was the bane of all souls!

He had never imagined that Lin Hao would be capable of Refining and storing the Flowing Light Divine Flame.

"No!"

Chu Tiandu cried out in despair and terror.

He had waited for thousands of years, all just to return to the mortal realm, but the Flowing Light Divine Flame was about to shatter all his hopes.

The domain began to warp. Mountains collapsed toward him, and a swarm of blades, spears, swords, and halberds rushed Lin Hao like a plague of locusts!

Chu Tiandu was controlling this domain, determined to kill Lin Hao!

However, it was all in vain.

The Flowing Light Divine Flame incinerated everything. The blades, spears, swords, and halberds turned to ash, and not even the mountains were spared.

However, Chu Tiandu’s obsession with returning to the mortal realm was thousands of years old and intensely powerful.

No sooner had the Flowing Light Divine Flame incinerated everything than the mountains reappeared, and the blades and swords swarmed like locusts once more.

Not only that, but the once-solid ground suddenly transformed into a boundless ocean.

BOOM!

The Flowing Light Divine Flame illuminated the entire area, instantly boiling the vast ocean dry.

Lin Hao was inwardly shaken. ’Chu Tiandu is terrifying.’

’He’s just a wisp of a remnant soul, yet he can withstand the Flowing Light Divine Flame’s incineration for so long and even fight back.’

’If it weren’t for the Flowing Light Divine Flame, I would have undoubtedly perished today.’

Not daring to be complacent, Lin Hao pushed the Flowing Light Divine Flame to its limit, continuing his assault on Chu Tiandu.

The entire domain shook violently, resembling Purgatory.

Finally, the space began to distort. The domain Chu Tiandu had constructed over thousands of years was on the verge of complete collapse.

Bathed in the Flowing Light Divine Flame, Lin Hao’s body glowed, wreathed in a divine halo, as if a god or demon had descended.

His entire body trembled, and a cold, sinister mass was expelled from him, immediately dissipating into the surrounding space.

"No!" Chu Tiandu’s desperate roar echoed through the space.

Then, the once-boundless space rapidly shrank until it was no larger than a square inch.

Lin Hao’s expression was incredibly grave. ’Even now, Chu Tiandu still hasn’t been eliminated!’

’This is just a single wisp of his remnant soul.’

’One can only imagine how terrifying Chu Tiandu must have been at his peak!’

"The Flowing Light Divine Flame... so it was the Flowing Light Divine Flame. I cannot escape my doom. Brat, can you promise me one thing?" Chu Tiandu’s voice sounded again, incredibly weak, like that of an old man in his twilight years.

"Speak," Lin Hao said indifferently.

’If not for the Flowing Light Divine Flame, I would have been the one whose body was seized. That’s just how the world is—the victor is king, the loser is a villain.’

He felt neither goodwill nor malice toward Chu Tiandu, viewing him simply as a stranger passing through.

"Help me revive Qingyan. It is my life’s only wish." For the sake of his beloved, the great Passionate Celestial Monarch pleaded with Lin Hao at the moment of his final demise.

Lin Hao frowned and didn’t answer.

Instead, he began to push the Flowing Light Divine Flame even more ferociously.

’Chu Tiandu had managed to survive for thousands of years; his methods had to be astounding. Who knew if he was planning a final, desperate counterattack before death.’

Lin Hao didn’t dare to be careless.

"I know it will be fraught with difficulties, but I will reward you," Chu Tiandu’s weak voice sounded.

Lin Hao sneered. "You’re just a dying soul. What reward could you possibly give me?"

"The secret realms! The nine Divine Demon Secret Realms! The Heaven-Stepping Sect was founded by Emperor Hongtian. His power was world-altering; he moved the nine Divine Demon Secret Realms to the sect’s ancestral grounds. I’ll tell you their locations," Chu Tiandu said quickly, seeing that Lin Hao seemed tempted.

Lin Hao sneered again. "I seem to recall you saying the materials needed to save her are in those nine secret realms. That’s hardly a reward for me."

Chu Tiandu was silent for a long moment. Just as Lin Hao thought he had finally expired, his voice echoed faintly:

"You are very clever and cautious. My revival is hopeless. As you said, I have no real reward to give you. I will trade my life’s memories for a glimmer of hope."

The lifelong memories of a Celestial Monarch were an absolutely priceless treasure.

After all, the Passionate Celestial Monarch had risen from the Divine Demon Destruction Domain, single-handedly fought against both the righteous and demonic factions, and even when they finally joined forces, they still couldn’t eliminate him.

He was a true titan of the martial path!

His cultivation had surely surpassed the Sealed Martial Realm.

His lifelong memories would certainly make Lin Hao’s own journey on the martial path much smoother.

"Well..." Lin Hao still hesitated.

Chu Tiandu was growing anxious; he couldn’t hold on much longer. "My memories contain many unexplored, mysterious lands, as well as countless Cultivation Techniques and martial arts! Not to mention, I know countless lost Cultivation Techniques and martial arts of the Heaven-Stepping Sect!"

A great Celestial Monarch of his generation was actually reduced to groveling and hawking his own memories.

"Alright, since you can’t offer anything else, I guess it’ll have to do," Lin Hao said, putting on a reluctant expression even as he was laughing with glee on the inside.

To Chu Tiandu, Qingyan’s life was more important than anything in the world, so he readily agreed with Lin Hao’s assessment.

Thus, Chu Tiandu added another tempting offer. "If you can save Qingyan, she will definitely not treat you unfairly. She holds a secret to a treasure that will shake the heavens!"

Lin Hao pursed his lips. In his eyes, Chu Tiandu was starting to sound like a con artist, and he didn’t believe a word he was saying.

"I want you to make a Blood Oath!"

Lin Hao shrugged. "I always do what I promise. If you don’t believe me, then you can just disappear along with your memories."

At this point, even the tiny square inch of space that Chu Tiandu was struggling to maintain was about to shatter.

Chu Tiandu, a hero at the end of his road, was truly finished.

"You must keep your promi—" Before he could finish, the tiny space collapsed, and a stream of light shot into Lin Hao’s mind.

Lin Hao’s figure reappeared in the place where the dimension had vanished. He stood tall and proud, his eyes tightly closed.

A vast torrent of memories flooded his mind—the memories of the Passionate Celestial Monarch.

After a long while, Lin Hao opened his eyes, his expression somewhat agitated.

Putting aside the vast number of Cultivation Techniques and martial arts, the knowledge of the nine Divine Demon Secret Realms alone was enough to be earth-shattering.

"The Divine Steles seal the secret realms! Nine Divine Steles are actually suppressing nine secret realms!" As he processed the information about the nine secret realms from Chu Tiandu’s memories, Lin Hao’s eyes flew open, stunned by the Great Emperor’s methods.

And he also finally knew what lay within the underground palace of the Withered Secret Realm.

"When I get back to the sect, I have to explore the other eight secret realms!" Lin Hao clenched his fists in excitement.

The underground palace in the Withered Secret Realm was not a place he could enter at his current level. Through Chu Tiandu’s memories, Lin Hao knew that the other eight realms also had places he couldn’t reach, but the areas he *could* explore held far too many treasures.

Picking up the sheepskin scroll from the ground, Lin Hao smiled brightly.

Chu Junxiong had tried to use this scroll to kill him, but in the end, it had turned into a blessing in disguise. Now, Lin Hao knew the secrets of the Chu family of Red Beauty City better than anyone.

"When I have time, I’ll have to pay the Chu family another visit. Chu Junxiong’s expression will surely be priceless then." A wicked grin spread across Lin Hao’s face at the thought.

Then, Lin Hao looked around, hoping to find the Cloud-Stepping Beast, but the surroundings were pitch black, and the beast was long gone.

Shaking his head, Lin Hao got his bearings, transformed into an afterimage, and vanished from the spot.