Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Shan Dan had just recovered from the shock and envy brought on by the unusual fire when his eyes suddenly widened like bronze bells.

He had seen Lin Hao’s method of fire control.

He watched as the unusual fire, which had shot out from Lin Hao’s Laogong Acupoint, split into three, each stream making its way to the bottom of one of the three Pill Furnaces.

Shan Dan had once seen the Sect Leader use an unusual fire for Alchemy, and it had been a great strain for him to control it for even a single Pill Furnace.

But now, Lin Hao was controlling the unusual fire to simultaneously operate three Pill Furnaces.

Shan Dan really wanted to ask, ’Is he even human?’

Then, his breathing quickened.

’He’s operating three Pill Furnaces. Don’t tell me he’s about to perform Alchemy in all three at once?’

"Master, what is he doing?" Su Molixi’s voice rang out.

She was a medical Grandmaster, it was true, but she knew nothing of Alchemy.

Hearing her address him as "Master," Shan Dan couldn’t help but blush. In front of Lin Hao, what kind of master was he? He wasn’t even fit to be an apprentice.

"Young Master Lin is probably planning to perform Alchemy using three Pill Furnaces at once," Shan Dan replied to Su Molixi.

Sure enough, Lin Hao’s next words confirmed it.

Lin Hao spoke to him, "Master Shan Dan, when I say ’start,’ you will throw the Spirit Grass into the Pill Furnaces in order from left to right. Wait ten seconds between each furnace."

With those words, what Lin Hao intended to do was now obvious.

Hearing this, Shan Dan’s old face flushed red once more.

But he didn’t dare to delay, and he hurried over to the Spirit Herb Shelf to await orders.

"First, five qian of Thousand Blood Vine. Start," Lin Hao commanded, and Shan Dan sprang into action.

Following that, Lin Hao called out the names and quantities of one Spirit Grass after another, and Shan Dan acted as his pill boy, placing the Spirit Grass for him.

Lin Hao’s hands danced in the air, forming a series of dazzling hand seals. It was a spectacular sight to behold.

And as his hand seals changed, the unusual fire beneath the three Pill Furnaces morphed into various shapes...

An hour later, the unusual fire suddenly surged upward, enveloping all three Pill Furnaces. After several seconds, it vanished without a trace.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Lin Hao’s figure moved with incredible speed, his palms slapping against the Pill Furnaces one after another.

The lids of the three Pill Furnaces flew up. At the same time, an exotic fragrance filled the air as pills leaped out.

Lin Hao’s hands moved in a blur, catching the pills from all three furnaces.

Only after his figure came to a stop did the lids fall back onto the Pill Furnaces with a crisp, metallic clang.

Shan Dan quickly took out a jade box he had prepared and opened it.

Lin Hao opened his hands.

Shan Dan counted a total of eighteen pills.

Looking at their luster, he couldn’t even begin to guess how much better they were than the ones from before. What was even more incredible was that the color of all eighteen pills was absolutely identical.

In Shan Dan’s experience, the pills refined by even the most brilliant Alchemy Master could never have the exact same color. It was simply too difficult to ensure the flames heated the Pill Furnace perfectly evenly.

Therefore, even a single batch of pills would have some inferior products.

But the pills Lin Hao had made were vibrant in color with an exotic fragrance. Every single one was of the highest quality!

And this was the result of him operating three Pill Furnaces at the same time.

Shan Dan was aghast, his Divine Soul trembling. The way he looked at Lin Hao was as if he were seeing a god of Alchemy.

"What, is it not enough?" Lin Hao saw Shan Dan’s dazed expression and asked with a smile.

"Ah..." Shan Dan snapped back to reality, then stammered, "Enough, enough, it’s more than enough."

To be honest, seeing these pills made him want to go back on his word. They were simply too perfect; he couldn’t bear to part with them.

"Hurry and take the pills to the secret chamber. I’d like to borrow the Alchemy Room a while longer and use some more Spirit Grass," Lin Hao said. He wanted to refine another type of pill.

"Alright, use it as you please," Shan Dan said before heading out.

He clutched the jade box containing the Harmonization Pills tightly, as if afraid someone would snatch it away.

Su Molixi also turned to leave.

She was a smart woman. It was obvious that Lin Hao didn’t want Shan Dan to know about the next pill he was Refining, so she naturally wanted to give him his privacy.

"Sister Su, wait. Let’s leave together in a bit," Lin Hao called out to her.

Su Molixi didn’t answer, but she stopped walking.

This was Lin Hao’s way of showing his trust.

This time, however, Lin Hao didn’t start right away. Instead, he turned and stared directly into Su Molixi’s beautiful eyes.

Though he couldn’t see anything through her veil.

The pill Lin Hao was about to refine was of grave importance. If Su Molixi were to spread word of this, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Su Molixi seemed devoid of desire, indifferent to everything, but the human heart was the hardest thing to fathom.

"Sister Su, do you recognize this?" After a few seconds, Lin Hao suddenly took a Spirit Grass from his storage ring.

"The Nine-Loathing Flower."

Lin Hao nodded.

Then he turned around, and the unusual fire he had just withdrawn shot out from his Laogong Acupoint once more.

"You... you can use the Nine-Loathing Flower in Alchemy?" This time, even Su Molixi couldn’t remain calm.

The Nine-Loathing Flower could not be used in medicine, much less in Alchemy. This had been an unbreakable law on the continent for millennia.

Now, seeing Lin Hao take it out, how could Su Molixi possibly stay composed?

"Xiaoru was born with a Celestial Yin Body. If someone with this constitution doesn’t practice martial arts, they can live a peaceful life. But the talent of a Celestial Yin girl is simply too good; she can master any Cultivation Technique or martial skill with ease. If I’m not mistaken, Xiaoru’s cultivation is already nearing the Peak of the Elemental Realm."

Lin Hao didn’t answer her question, instead speaking of Xiaoru’s constitution.

Su Molixi’s breathing suddenly became ragged.

Everything Lin Hao said was correct.

The crucial point was Xiaoru’s cultivation level. She had already made her practice a Secret Skill to conceal her true cultivation.

’Under the effects of the Secret Skill, not even a Soul Gathering Realm expert could see through it. How does Lin Hao know?’

Then, she heard Lin Hao continue, "But unfortunately, as she gets closer and closer to her eighteenth birthday, her cultivation will regress. It will fall all the way to the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm. Then, her muscles, bones, and skin will all atrophy. She will experience unimaginable pain for three days before she dies."

"How can such an evil constitution exist!" Su Molixi’s voice was filled with indignation.

Lin Hao didn’t answer her question. Instead, he said, "It’s not that I was unwilling to speak of this before, but it would have been useless. The only way to save her is to wait until her cultivation regresses to the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm."

"Thank you." Su Molixi’s voice returned to its usual calm, but her thanks were sincere.

At this point, Su Molixi no longer doubted Lin Hao’s ability to cure Xiaoru.

Lin Hao smiled. "You don’t have to thank me. I just hope you don’t kill me."

Behind him, the corners of Su Molixi’s lips tilted up slightly beneath her veil.

"What pill are you Refining?" she then asked proactively. Her tone was less chilly and held a hint of closeness.

"I’m going to create a bloodline for Sister Meng Qing," Lin Hao said softly.

Su Molixi nodded, then her head snapped up as she cried out in shock, "What?!"

’The Celestial Charm Body can never awaken its bloodline.’

And now, Lin Hao was actually saying he was going to create a bloodline for Meng Qing. Even someone as knowledgeable and worldly as Su Molixi was shocked beyond words.

How old was Lin Hao? Fifteen or sixteen at most.

Forget his age, even if you added a zero to it, Su Molixi would have dismissed the claim of creating a bloodline as nothing but a fairy tale.

But the fact that Lin Hao could see through Xiaoru’s constitution and cultivation at a glance filled Su Molixi with anticipation.

Then, a thought took shape in her mind.

Even if she was only at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, a woman born with a Celestial Charm Body was a cultivation vessel that men dreamed of.

By obtaining the pure yin of a Celestial Charm Body, a Martial Artist could advance an entire layer. There was even a high chance of breaking through from the Ninth Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm to the First Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm.

’If Meng Qing really overcomes the hurdle of the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, her True Qi transforming into True Essence, and then her Pure Yin is seized, wouldn’t that...’

Staring at Lin Hao’s back, Su Molixi’s expression turned somewhat strange.

"How do you know her, and why are you doing this for her?" Su Molixi’s voice became cold again.

Lin Hao, however, didn’t notice. He replied:

"In Celestial Jade City, I met her grandfather. The last thing the old man said before he died was for me to save Sister Meng Qing. I promised him. A promise is a promise. She has no way to protect herself. If a powerful Martial Artist were to covet her, the consequences would be unimaginable. I want to give her the ability to protect herself."

Su Molixi didn’t say anything more. She just stood there in a daze, lost in her own thoughts.

Of course, Lin Hao paid her no mind. His full attention was focused on Refining the Nine Dragon God Refining Pill.

In two days, Meng Qing would be heading to the Misty Palace with Su Molixi. Lin Hao needed to create her bloodline before then.

This wasn’t the first time Lin Hao had refined a Nine Dragon God Refining Pill, so he was extremely familiar with the process. Another hour passed, and a single pill emerged from the furnace.

Lin Hao collected it, his face beaming with excitement.

Getting carried away, he spun around and slammed his shoulder right into someone.

A distinctly resilient sensation met him.

When he was sitting on the turtle egg’s back with Meng Qing and had grabbed her, he had felt something similar. He knew exactly what he had just bumped into.

And the only person standing behind him could be Su Molixi.

"Sister Su, uh... you’re still here," Lin Hao stammered. As he spoke, his face flushed red, and he lowered his head.

And then, he bolted out the door and ran off in a flash.

"Why is it him again," Su Molixi said something baffling, then left as well.

"Phew..."

Lin Hao ran a good distance away and leaned against a rockery. Looking back and seeing no one chasing him, he let out a long breath and wiped away a cold sweat.

’I touched a place I shouldn’t have, and on top of that, she’s the Palace Master of the Misty Palace, one of the five great divine sects. I’m lucky to be alive.’

"That was close, that was close." Lin Hao patted his chest, a look of lingering fear on his face.

But then he muttered to himself, ’It’s not like I did it on purpose. Why did I run?’

’If I didn’t run, Sister Su would have definitely struck me dead. Who could I even complain to then?’

Then, Lin Hao suddenly smacked his lips, a blissful look on his face as he said, "But I have to say, that felt pretty good."

After saying that, Lin Hao walked away, humming a little tune.

And at that moment, behind the very same rockery, Su Molixi, her face veiled in white gauze, was gritting her teeth in frustration.

"You little brat! If it wasn’t for the fact that you can save Xiaoru, this Palace Master would have slapped you to death!"

As Su Molixi finished speaking, the rockery that Lin Hao had just been leaning against exploded with a BOOM, turning to dust.

Of course, Lin Hao was oblivious to this scene. As he walked back, his mind was still replaying that soul-stirring collision.

BAM!

The next moment, he collided with another person.

"You..." The person got out a single word before suddenly falling silent.

Lin Hao took a closer look and saw it was another familiar face.

Third Master Hao.

The moment Third Master Hao saw Lin Hao, a flash of panic crossed his eyes, and he hurried away.

Lin Hao stared at his retreating back, his brow furrowed.