Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

In Lian Lanxin’s room, after testing her Artifact Refining skills, Lin Hao couldn’t help but marvel. The girl was a natural-born Artifact Refiner.

She hadn’t just mastered the Artifact Refining techniques he had taught her before he left; she had even developed her own insights. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Big Brother, how did I do?" Seeing Lin Hao remain silent for a long time, Lian Lanxin asked, her heart pounding with uncertainty.

Lin Hao didn’t answer, simply giving her a thumbs-up.

A smile immediately blossomed on Lian Lanxin’s delicate face.

"You’ve already learned the ordinary Artifact Refining skills very well. Next, I’ll teach you engraving."

Artifact Refining was the process of Refining ordinary weapons into Spiritual Artifacts.

And in this process, inscriptions were the most crucial part.

By engraving divine runes onto a weapon and then activating them by Refining various special materials, it would become a Spiritual Artifact.

It sounded incredibly simple, but it was extremely difficult to do.

First, the divine runes were of paramount importance—the very core of Artifact Refining—and were not taught lightly.

Second, just like with Alchemy, the combination of various materials followed strict ratios; the slightest deviation would result in complete failure.

The simplest part was probably the engraving itself.

Engraving was the act of carving divine runes onto a weapon.

What people called Artifact Refining techniques were just the basic methods.

They were just the foundation for an Artifact Refiner.

But engraving was the first and most essential principle for an Artifact Refiner.

"Do you have a carving knife?" Lin Hao asked Lian Lanxin.

Lian Lanxin nodded and took out a small carving knife.

The knife was about five inches long, and its cold glint was intimidating.

Held in the hand, it was surprisingly heavy.

"A good knife!" Lin Hao exclaimed in admiration.

Lian Lanxin’s expression darkened. "It was my grandfather’s."

Lin Hao nodded, then asked abruptly, "Before I teach you engraving, you must tell me: why are you learning Artifact Refining?"

"Revenge! I want to avenge my grandfather!" Lian Lanxin’s eyes were bloodshot.

Lin Hao frowned. Lian Lanxin’s vengeful aura was very strong.

However, he understood completely.

After his bloodline was forcibly stolen by Lin Wu’s faction, he had woken up wanting revenge, just like Lian Lanxin.

Fortunately, he had inherited the memories of the Carefree Divine Monarch.

Although the Carefree Divine Monarch was not skilled in martial arts, he was a master of both Alchemy and Artifact Refining.

To refine pills or artifacts, one must first refine the heart.

Only with a mind free of distracting thoughts could one achieve the supreme Great Dao.

Martial arts followed the same principle.

To cultivate the martial path, one must cultivate the mind.

Being blinded by hatred would only be counterproductive.

And the engraving technique of an Artifact Refiner was the best way to cultivate one’s mind.

"Follow me." Without asking any more questions, Lin Hao led Lian Lanxin directly to a large rock in the courtyard.

"Watch closely!" Lin Hao growled, and the carving knife in his hand began to dance.

Stone chips flew everywhere!

He wielded the knife as if it were flying, cutting deep into the stone!

In no time, a stone dragon appeared, so lifelike it seemed ready to bare its fangs and brandish its claws.

Strangely, the stone dragon had no eyes.

"Engraving is the first principle for an Artifact Refiner. Though it is a basic skill, it is absolutely crucial. It requires three things: speed, completing the work in a single, fluid motion; precision, maintaining consistent force from start to finish; and spirit, making every stroke and carve a masterpiece. When you can carve the spirit of this stone dragon, I will teach you the rest." A smile filled Lin Hao’s young face.

To be honest, this was his first time holding a carving knife. But the memories of the Carefree Divine Monarch had merged perfectly with his own, so when he acted, it was as if the Carefree Divine Monarch himself was acting.

His reason for leaving the dragon’s eyes uncarved was, of course, deliberate and profound.

Lian Lanxin nodded. A strange light flashed in her eyes as she stared at the stone dragon.

Before, she had only suspected that Lin Hao’s attainments in Artifact Refining were profound, but seeing this stone dragon, she was finally certain.

She had watched her grandfather teach his own apprentices, so she naturally knew of this first principle of engraving.

Her grandfather could not have carved a stone dragon to such a level of perfection.

Gripping the carving knife tightly, Lian Lanxin began to trace its form in the empty air, and before long, she entered a state of complete absorption.

Lin Hao nodded in satisfaction and quietly departed.

’I’ve been away from the sect for over ten days. Now that I’m back, it’s time to enter the Sahā World to cultivate.’

Lin Hao had a faint feeling that the mist he had inhaled at the summit of Forbidden God Mountain was causing a strange transformation within his body.

’He might be able to break through the Blood Coagulation Realm Tenth Layer.’

When he reached the council hall to find Wu Taichu and the others, Lin Hao walked in on a startling scene.

The four of them were actually playing rock-paper-scissors...

They were really giving it their all to fight for the mining rights.

When Lin Hao entered, they merely glanced at him before throwing themselves back into their "grand undertaking."

’Looks like the war has entered a white-hot stage.’

Finally, with Lin Hao as their witness, the first two elders won.

At this, the two elders became as happy as children.

"Martial Uncle, when do we set off?" they asked, rushing over to Lin Hao, their faces filled with impatience.

"Let’s enter the Sahā World to cultivate first. We’ll go in a few days. We don’t have enough supplementary materials anyway, so there’s no rush."

"No need, we’ll go and prepare." The two elders were so excited about entering the secret realm that they couldn’t even calm their minds to cultivate.

As soon as they finished speaking, they took their leave.

"Martial Grand-Uncle," Wu Taichu said with a sigh, "while you were away, Lord Lingdi used that drop of your essence blood to take us inside twice. Our cultivation has now reached a bottleneck, so it’s not beneficial for us to go in again. You should take Yang Peng instead. His progress there is astonishingly fast."

Yang Peng. Lin Hao had forged a bloodline for him and helped him obtain the Divine Soul of one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon.

Now that Wu Taichu mentioned him, Lin Hao asked, "What is his cultivation level?"

"He’s already at the Blood Coagulation Realm Eighth Layer! And he’s far more terrifying than a typical Eighth Layer cultivator!" Speaking of him, a flicker of shock passed through Wu Taichu’s eyes.

Then, staring at Lin Hao, Wu Taichu made no effort to hide his admiration.

Lin Hao was simply too much of a monster.

Not only had he forged a bloodline for an ordinary mortal, but he had also allowed that mortal to grow at an astonishing rate.

A smile appeared on Lin Hao’s young face.

’My idea was correct.’

’With the Divine Soul of one of the Dragon’s Nine Sons, an artificially created bloodline is no weaker than an Innate one.’

"Alright then. Please have paper and a brush prepared for me in the Scripture Pavilion. I’ll take Yang Peng to cultivate first." ’Wu Taichu and the other elders were tied down by the sect. They were destined not to join him in his future battles, so he had to start nurturing Yang Peng now.’

Lin Hao left and headed straight for Yang Peng’s residence, taking Xiaojiu with him.

「In the Sahā World.」

Upon entering again, he found that nothing had changed.

Lin Hao stared at the towering tree for a moment, recalling what Lord Lingdi had said the last time he was here. A brilliant new age was dawning, and he could go and take a look.

Lin Hao didn’t know where the tree’s gateway led, but the thought of potentially meeting Lin Wu inside made his heart skip a beat.

Unfortunately, Lord Lingdi didn’t enter this time. ’It must be tied up with that little rascal of a turtle-egg.’

’I’ve waited this long; there’s no need to rush now. It won’t be too late to go once I’ve reached the peak of the Blood Coagulation Realm Tenth Layer!’ Finally, Lin Hao made up his mind and snapped back to reality.

"Yang Peng," Lin Hao began, looking at him, "on this trip back, I offended the four great sects of the Southern Border Prefecture and the Lin family, one of the four great families of the Cangnan Empire. The enemies I make in the future might be even more terrifying. Are you afraid?"

Yang Peng shook his head. "The moment the Young Master forged my bloodline, I swore an oath. I respect no gods and fear no demons. For the Young Master, I would slay gods and slaughter demons! Even if the Young Master becomes an enemy to the entire world, I will still press forward without hesitation!"

"Good! I will definitely find the complete ’Golden Roc Soaring’ and ’Great Roc King Fist’ for you," Lin Hao declared.

In Chu Tiandu’s memories, the Celestial Roc Race was an extremely ancient family even in the Divine Demon Destruction Domain.

And all signs indicated that the Celestial Roc Race also existed on the Celestial Yang Continent.

As long as he could find their lair, Lin Hao had ways to acquire those techniques.

Yang Peng nodded, then sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.

On the other side, Xiaojiu was already sitting cross-legged in a human-like posture, having entered a state of deep meditation.

A casual glance in its direction gave Lin Hao a huge shock.

Xiaojiu’s body was surrounded by a nine-colored divine ring, and a faint sound of thunder rumbled from within it.

’Is this some kind of Cultivation Technique?’ Lin Hao wondered.

He had originally planned to teach Xiaojiu a Cultivation Technique for Devil Beasts, but it seemed that was no longer necessary.

Even the techniques he had obtained from Chu Tiandu seemed inferior to what Xiaojiu was currently practicing.

Xiaojiu was indeed lucky to have been taught a Secret Skill of the Saint Ape Race by Lord Lingdi.

It had grown up in the secret realm, its physical body tempered for thousands of years by the Flowing Light Divine Flame. Now, with a Cultivation Technique from the Saint Ape Race, it was not impossible that, given time, it could become a true Saint Ape.

With the man and the ape on either side of him both growing stronger, Lin Hao was naturally unwilling to be left behind. He calmed his qi, focused his mind, and began to cultivate.

As he circulated the Ninth Layer of the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, Lin Hao immediately noticed that it was operating much faster. The moment it started, a feeling of unparalleled smoothness spread through his entire body.

In his Dantian, the Tai Chi Array Map remained clearly divided, but the "True Self" at its center had grown even more brilliant.

Moreover, Lin Hao discovered a very strange phenomenon.

Before, although the True Self occupied the center of the Tai Chi Array Map, it had been in a weaker position, and the map seemed to reject it slightly.

But now, the Tai Chi Array Map clung tightly around the True Self, completely centered on it.

This was the main reason for the increased operational speed.

Calming his mind, Lin Hao discovered that the surface of his True Self was enveloped in a layer of shimmering white light, exuding an aura of peace, harmony, and sanctity.

The Tai Chi Array Map clung to it so tightly that it gave Lin Hao a feeling of being connected like flesh and bone.

One had to understand that the Tai Chi Array Map was formed from Refining the light of the sun and the essence of the moon.

Sunlight and moonlight represented the apex of qi between heaven and earth. For something to be acknowledged by them...

Lin Hao’s heart leaped. A single word surfaced in his mind—Chaos!

Chaos Qi!

Chaos separates into yin and yang. Yin becomes the moon, and yang becomes the sun.

Upon cultivating to the Blood Coagulation Realm Tenth Layer, the yin and yang qi from the moonlight and sunlight had finally merged, producing Chaos Qi!

Forbidden God Mountain!

Lin Hao finally understood what had happened.

No one had ever set foot on the summit of Forbidden God Mountain. While the mist at the peak was not true Chaos Qi, it possessed a sliver of its characteristics.

After his body absorbed that mist, it had finally caused the two streams of qi within him to merge, producing Chaos Qi to nourish his True Self.

And because of this, his True Self had earned the acknowledgment of the Tai Chi Array Map.

This was true perfection!

Lin Hao’s eyes opened, and he murmured, "The summit of Forbidden God Mountain is also a cultivation Holy Land. It seems I should go up there and try cultivating."

The moment the words left his lips, Lin Hao was stunned.

Because he discovered that the Sahā World was suddenly filled with a dense, swirling mist, identical to the one on Forbidden God Mountain.

’This Sahā World can actually imitate places I’ve been!’ First, the sun and moon appeared together, then the Flowing Light Divine Flame, and now this phenomenon. If Lin Hao still didn’t understand what was happening, he might as well go and bash his head against a wall.