Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

One of the nine great demonic secret realms had been modified by Emperor Hongtian. The Tongming Sea, the weakest of the remaining eight, was suppressed by the Great Dao itself.

Upon entry, the cultivation of all Martial Artists would be suppressed to the Blood Coagulation Realm, and the same was true for the Devil Beasts within.

But right now, this Winged Python’s tail was actually metamorphosing into a leg. ’Is it about to break through its limits?’

Previously, despite its enormous size, the Winged Python hadn’t gained any advantage against Lin Hao. He had estimated its cultivation to be at the Peak of the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm at most.

Then, the Winged Python had used its bloodline power, taking its strength to another level and catching him off guard.

Now, this transformation of its...

Lin Hao’s expression changed. He murmured, "Don’t tell me this thing is like me and has stepped into the tenth layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm?!"

There was a solid reason for Lin Hao to think this.

The Tongming Sea was suppressed by the Great Dao. Even after thousands of years of arduous cultivation, this Winged Python still couldn’t break through to the next stage.

But then Lin Hao appeared. Although his cultivation hadn’t advanced to the Elemental Realm, it had transcended the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.

Lin Hao’s ability to break through these constraints had caused the laws of this secret realm to change.

The Winged Python had indeed entered the tenth layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm. If its claws and wings were to transform again, it would reach the Great Perfection of the tenth layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.

However, Lin Hao wasn’t about to give it that chance.

His shock passed, and Lin Hao attacked decisively.

Pushing the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill to its limits, the sounds of a dragon’s roar and a tiger’s howl erupted from within Lin Hao. His qi and blood boiled as Chaos Qi flooded his body, which took on the form of a dragon as he threw a punch.

Dragon-Form Overlord Fist! True Essence suffused his muscles and bones, forging them into the form of a dragon. The dragon’s form would dominate the world; in this world, I am the Emperor!

Lin Hao used an emperor-level Cultivation Technique to power this Yellow Level Top Grade martial skill, unleashing the ultimate truth of the fist.

A python transforms into a flood dragon; a flood dragon transforms into a true dragon.

Dragons are the natural predators of pythons. The moment Lin Hao threw his punch, the Winged Python’s transformation stalled, its body enveloped by his invincible fist intent.

It was frozen in place.

BOOM!

The power of a punch from a tenth-layer Blood Coagulation Realm expert, fully powered by an emperor-level technique, was boundless.

The Winged Python’s defensive claw shattered under the force of the punch, and its body was sent flying.

Lin Hao followed like a shadow, pressing his advantage.

ROAR!

Just as Lin Hao was about to grab the Winged Python’s other claw, it let out a great roar. Its half-transformed body reverted to its original serpentine form, unleashing a bellow that could shake mountains and rivers.

But it was futile.

Lin Hao was in peak condition, his essence, qi, and spirit perfectly united. His body, still in its dragon form, twisted violently as his spine coiled like a whip, and he lunged forward again.

BOOM!

Another punch!

The Winged Python sensed the danger. In its true form, it began to burn its bloodline power, its other claw striking at Lin Hao’s arm like a bolt of lightning.

It was fast, but Lin Hao was faster.

Lin Hao’s fist landed squarely on its claw.

The sound of shattering bone echoed once more as the claw, as thick as a boulder, broke under the force of his punch.

Two punches, and both of the Winged Python’s claws were broken.

Anger flashed in its eyes, but it was overshadowed by terror.

It wanted to flee.

But how could Lin Hao let it escape a second time?

He leaped up, landing on the Winged Python’s back, and immediately executed a Thousand-Jin Drop.

At this point, Lin Hao’s physical body alone already weighed as much as a mountain. The added force of the Thousand-Jin Drop made it even more terrifying.

BOOM!

Despite its immense size, the Winged Python couldn’t bear Lin Hao’s weight. Crushed beneath him, its massive body slammed heavily onto the deck of the ship.

Its body was pinned, but its head and tail were still free.

Its tail coiled and whipped viciously toward Lin Hao.

The roars of dragons and tigers echoed unceasingly from within Lin Hao’s body. A hazy light enveloped him, and he didn’t even try to dodge.

BOOM!

With a tremendous crash, the tail was repelled by Lin Hao’s protective Gang Qi.

It couldn’t harm him in the slightest.

Lin Hao’s fists, on the other hand, were causing immense damage to the Winged Python.

With the Winged Python pinned beneath him, Lin Hao’s fists rained down.

He had to seize this opportunity.

ROAR!

The Winged Python roared in pain, but no matter how it thrashed about, it couldn’t shake Lin Hao off.

In its fury, it snapped its head back, opening its cavernous, bloody maw as if to swallow Lin Hao whole.

Lin Hao’s body was as tough as Gang Qi, yet incredibly flexible. As the python’s head lunged at him, he twisted his body, advancing instead of retreating, and drove a fist toward the weak spot on its neck.

CRACK!

The punch connected, and the python’s head was violently flung back, slamming hard against the ship’s deck.

Lin Hao pressed forward, pinning the python’s head under his foot, his fists a blur as they rained down on the weak spot of its neck.

Each of his punches contained the force of ten thousand catties, and this spot was the Winged Python’s greatest vulnerability—its softest point. How could it possibly withstand such a heavy blow?

The first punch didn’t break through. The second punch didn’t break through. The third sent blood flying.

The Winged Python’s defenses were breached, and its entire body writhed violently.

It sensed the threat of death.

But it was still futile. Lin Hao’s physical body was simply too terrifying.

Lin Hao lost count of how many punches he threw. He only stopped when the Winged Python’s body finally went still.

By the time he stopped, his fists had literally punched the Winged Python’s head clean off its body.

With the Winged Python dead, Lin Hao sat atop its massive body, panting for breath.

"’Form’... it’s truly vital," Lin Hao mused, looking at the utterly dead Winged Python.

His victory was due in large part to his martial skill. The Dragon-Form Overlord Fist possessed the ’Form’ of a dragon, which naturally suppressed the Winged Python.

It was the principle of natural counters at work.

After resting for a while, Lin Hao stood up.

The blood inside the Winged Python was also black and carried an unbearable stench.

Looking at the enormous corpse, Lin Hao did a quick mental calculation. It should just fit inside his spiritual storage ring.

A Winged Python that had lived for several thousand years as the overlord of the Tongming Sea... its entire body was a treasure trove.

Besides, if the previous exotic beasts had rare items inside them, then its belly was certain to hold even greater treasures.

He had to take this corpse with him.

Just as Lin Hao finished wrestling the massive corpse into his spiritual storage ring, a sudden crashing sound echoed out.

Lin Hao turned to look, a broad smile spreading across his face.

He had reached the far shore of the Tongming Sea.

He had succeeded where Chu Tiandu had failed thousands of years ago.

The far shore of the Tongming Sea was a sheer cliff face that stretched endlessly to the left and right.

Above, it seemed to touch the sky, disappearing into the heights.

And on this pitch-black cliff face, not a single blade of grass grew!

However, at the very edge of his vision, Lin Hao saw a small tree swaying on the cliff face.

It was the very same tree from which Chu Tiandu had taken a leaf all those years ago!

Lin Hao’s eyes lit up.

He leaped up, his hands forming sharp claws.

The rock wall crumbled like tofu beneath his claws.

Before long, he reached the small tree.

Seeing it up close, Lin Hao’s eyes flew open. He cried out in astonishment, "The Yinming Tree!"

In his shock, Lin Hao almost lost his grip and fell.

He had his suspicions, but he never dreamed it would actually be a Yinming Tree.

Thousands of years ago, Chu Tiandu had brought a single leaf back from the Tongming Sea, but because he was in a hurry, his memory of the tree’s appearance was vague.

From Chu Tiandu’s memories, Lin Hao knew that he had mistaken it for a Yin Spirit Tree.

Though the names were similar, the value of the two trees was worlds apart.

The Yin Spirit Tree grows in places of extreme yin and takes three thousand years to mature.

The Yinming Tree also grows in places of extreme yin, but requires a full ten thousand years to mature.

This one before him was clearly much older, because it had already borne fruit.

Yinming on the Nether River: ten thousand years to reach the nether, ten thousand years to blossom, ten thousand years to bear fruit.

In other words, this Yinming Tree was at least thirty thousand years old!

Yin Spirit Trees were easy to find; Lin Hao even knew that after leaving this place, Chu Tiandu had found one in another land of extreme yin.

But as for the Yinming Tree, he didn’t know if a second one could be found anywhere else in the world.

Suppressing his excitement, Lin Hao gently reached out and touched a leaf.

The Yinming Tree contained the ultimate power of yin; a single careless touch could mean a death with no corpse left to bury.

Thousands of years ago, Chu Tiandu had paid a heavy price to take just one leaf.

But clearly, Lin Hao’s worries were for naught.

He cultivated the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill and refined his body with moonlight essence; the Yinming Tree could not harm him.

In the end, Lin Hao plucked three leaves and carefully stored them.

The effects of Yinming Tree leaves far surpassed those of the Yin Spirit Tree.

Lin Hao only took three leaves because of an ancient legend: one could only take three leaves from a Yinming Tree at a time. To take more would invite great disaster!

Right now, Lin Hao didn’t want any unexpected complications.

Then, his gaze fell upon the fruit of the Yinming Tree.

On the Yinming Tree hung three fruits, each pitch-black and about the size of a thumb.

Seeing them, Lin Hao couldn’t help but feel a surge of relief.

These three Nether Fruits were already ripe. If he had arrived just a few days later, they would have detached and fallen into the boundless Tongming Sea below. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The Nether Fruit was extremely poisonous.

If you filled a large wooden bathtub with water and simply touched the water with a Nether Fruit, a single drop from that tub would be potent enough to kill a Soul Gathering Realm expert!

One could only imagine how terrifyingly toxic it was.

But at the same time, it was also one of the world’s rarest and most wondrous fruits.

Lin Hao knew it was definitely an ingredient for alchemy, one that could be refined into a pill when combined with other materials.

But as for its specific effects, he had no idea.

Not even the Carefree Divine Monarch, the King of Alchemy himself, had been able to figure out its precise use.

This showed that, despite its extreme toxicity, it was an absolute treasure.

A dry Nether Fruit was non-toxic, so Lin Hao could rest easy.

After carefully picking them, Lin Hao placed them into his spiritual storage ring with extreme caution.

With that done, Lin Hao leaped down.

The great ship still required no action from Lin Hao; it had already begun the return journey on its own at an incredible speed. It was no exaggeration to say it moved as fast as lightning.

A powerful gale swept across the deck, blowing away all the filth.

Lin Hao sat cross-legged, as still as a mountain, a look of deep satisfaction on his face.

’This trip to the Tongming Sea could be considered perfect.’

’Just the Yinming leaves and Nether Fruits alone are incredibly precious, and I still have the Winged Python’s corpse.’

’It grew for thousands of years in the Tongming Sea as its overlord. It must have swallowed the finest treasures.’

’When I get back, I’ll cut open its body and see what’s inside.’

Lin Hao’s heart filled with anticipation at the thought.

The great ship sped onward, but Lin Hao stood up, completely unaffected by the motion.

Under the light of the full moon, the pitch-black Tongming Sea looked incredibly eerie.

A fierce gale raged across the great ship. Lin Hao’s robes whipped about him, making him look like the Netherworld King himself on an outing.

At this speed, no beasts could get near the ship, which left Lin Hao feeling a bit bored.

Suddenly, Lin Hao’s eyes lit up as his gaze fixed upon the hull of the great ship.