Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Down below, the two youths shouted what Lin Hao was thinking: "What’s going on? This is too strange!"

"Don’t bother me. I’m going to look a little longer," the youth named Liu Feng said to the plainly dressed youth after a few seconds of silence.

The plainly dressed youth shook his head. "It’s useless. I’ve been staring at it for hours and still have no clue."

"This... Just because we’re seeing different things doesn’t mean everyone else will. We should get more people to study it and then combine what we all see!" Liu Feng’s eyes lit up.

"How did you find out there was an Elemental Realm Secret Skill here?" the plainly dressed youth suddenly asked Liu Feng.

Hearing this, Lin Hao, who was up in the parasol tree, pricked up his ears.

But Lin Hao didn’t hear Liu Feng’s answer. When he looked down, he saw the excitement on Liu Feng’s face had suddenly drained away, replaced by an unnatural pallor.

"So, it’s best if you just keep it to yourself. Otherwise, you and I will die a miserable death. Alright, from now on, we don’t know each other," the plainly dressed youth said in a low voice.

Liu Feng nodded. The two then moved some distance apart and once again looked at the lines of poetry.

Lin Hao’s brow furrowed slightly.

Although their exchange was fragmented, Lin Hao now understood why the news hadn’t leaked.

’It seems that old Daoist Ning really does have some hidden resources.’

A glint flashed in Lin Hao’s eyes, and he silently left the parasol tree.

Carrying his broom, Lin Hao headed for the place the old man had mentioned.

Behind Woniushan, down a small path, stood a single thatched hut.

Lin Hao even saw a vegetable patch, with a large, empty plot of land beside it.

Just then, the old man was plowing the field, driving an ox.

Watching his trembling figure, Lin Hao worried he might fall over at any moment.

Putting down the broom, Lin Hao walked over and said, "Grandpa, let me help you."

"You? Do you know how to plow a field?"

"Well..." Lin Hao looked embarrassed. He really didn’t know how to plow.

"It’s okay, I can learn. Besides, it looks pretty simple." Despite this, Lin Hao smiled and took the tool from the old man’s hands.

"Alright, but be careful. This ox is wary of strangers."

The old man hadn’t even finished speaking when the ox suddenly bolted forward.

Caught off guard, Lin Hao was nearly pulled to the ground.

Watching Lin Hao scramble to control the ox, the old man shook his head and went to the vegetable patch to pick some vegetables...

"Young man, you’re different from the others. I like you. Why don’t you build a thatched hut next to mine and keep this wretched old man company?" the old man said when Lin Hao returned, drenched in sweat, after managing the ox.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lin Hao agreed.

’It seems obtaining the Secret Skill on Woniushan won’t be something I can accomplish overnight. Helping this old man won’t hurt.’

When night fell again, another thatched hut stood beside the old man’s.

That night, Lin Hao stayed in his newly built hut, falling asleep the moment he lay down on the straw.

「The next day」

When Lin Hao woke up, he saw the old man heading out, leaning on a broom.

"Grandpa, where are you going?" Lin Hao sat up and asked.

"Woniushan must be swept every day."

Lin Hao nodded and then easily took the broom from him.

When Lin Hao reached Woniushan, he found the two youths from yesterday were still there, only now they were sitting cross-legged instead of standing.

There were even parasol leaves on their clothes; it seemed they hadn’t moved in a long time.

Lin Hao shook his head and began to sweep Woniushan...

When Lin Hao finished sweeping and returned to the hut, he saw the old man plowing the field again.

Moreover, Lin Hao discovered that the land he had tilled yesterday had somehow become firm and compact again.

"Wh-what’s going on?" Lin Hao walked over, dumbfounded.

"It’s nothing. This used to happen to me, too. I’d plow the field one day, and it would be like this the next. With the old ox here, we just have to plow it again," the old man’s voice was completely flat.

"Did someone come and flatten the ground after you fell asleep?!" Lin Hao was first stunned, then furious.

’To use such tactics on an old man... they’re worse than beasts.’

"It’s fine. Based on my experience, if we keep plowing it for a month straight, the soil will finally soften for good," the old man said, his voice still calm.

Lin Hao froze, then frowned and asked, "Who exactly are you?"

’If he were really just an old man at death’s door, who would torment him like this?’

Besides, to flatten a plot of land so silently—this was a feat no ordinary Martial Artist could accomplish.

"Since I’m here, I’m naturally a member of the Sanqing Sect. I just refuse to associate with the likes of them." A spark of anger finally entered the old man’s voice.

Lin Hao now understood. This old man must have been a powerful figure in the Sanqing Sect who offended someone, had his cultivation crippled, and was punished by being sent to guard Woniushan.

At that, Lin Hao stopped dwelling on his identity and began to plow the field for him once more.

This second time plowing went much more smoothly and was finished in no time.

MOOO...

"The old ox is hungry. Since you’re idle anyway, why don’t you take him out to graze."

Lin Hao nodded. Herding an ox was something he knew how to do...

The days passed one by one. Lin Hao’s life behind Woniushan consisted of nothing but sweeping the mountain, plowing the field, and herding the ox.

During this time, Lin Hao tried to catch the culprit who kept flattening the land, but no matter how hard he tried, he always came up empty-handed.

He even stood guard by the tilled field all night once, but the moment he turned his head, the land was instantly flattened.

What’s more, Lin Hao couldn’t feel any fluctuation of True Essence.

’This is definitely a technique only a true, peerless expert could possess!’

’If such a person wanted to kill me, they could probably do it just by breathing on me.’

Unable to catch the culprit, Lin Hao showed no change on the surface, but in addition to sweeping, plowing, and herding, he would always find time to study the lines of poetry.

However, about ten days later, Lin Hao no longer had time to study the poem.

The old man he had spent every day with was now bedridden.

He wasn’t sick; he was simply too old.

Lin Hao’s cultivation was too low, and the old man’s body was likely beyond saving even for an expert at the Spirit Transformation Realm. All Lin Hao could do was take care of him with all his heart.

Another ten-some days passed, and the old man finally passed away.

Before he died, he asked Lin Hao to bury him beneath the tilled earth and entrusted the old ox to his care.

"Grandpa, may you have a safe journey." Standing by the thatched hut, Lin Hao whispered toward the empty plot of land.

Lin Hao let out a breath, composed himself, and led the ox to stand before the lines of poetry once more.

By his count, he had been here for nearly two months.

In those two months, four or five other youths had come and gone, but all left in disappointment.

This time, Lin Hao saw the pattern again, but it remained as incomprehensible as ever.

MOO!

Suddenly, the ox let out a cry and charged toward the inscribed poem.

BOOM!

With a loud crash, the lines of poetry remained completely unscathed, but the ox collapsed, its blood splattering on the spot.

Lin Hao was stunned.

He never would have imagined the old ox would be so fiercely resolute.

Just as he was about to lift its body, Lin Hao’s eyes suddenly widened.

He watched as the lines of poetry, upon contact with the blood, seemed to come alive and began to writhe.

BOOM!

An explosion went off in Lin Hao’s mind as the elusive pattern suddenly clicked into place, everything becoming clear.

The fifty-six characters of the poem rapidly broke apart and reassembled in his mind, finally expanding into several hundred characters.

Lin Hao was profoundly shaken. This was the Elemental Realm Secret Skill, *One Qi Into Three Pristine Ones*. It also had another name—*Body Double*!

The Sanqing Sect’s Element Transformation Skill was clearly an incomplete version derived from this Secret Skill, containing only a fraction of its essence.

"Old ox, thank you." Lin Hao returned to his senses and thanked the ox, which had long since stopped breathing.

’Woniushan, Woniushan... to think it actually needed the blood of an ox to activate the Secret Skill.’

If not for the ox, there was no way Lin Hao could have ever obtained this Secret Skill.

Looking at the lines of poetry again, Lin Hao discovered they had vanished.

This caused Lin Hao’s expression to change drastically.

However, Lin Hao calmly lifted the old ox and buried it next to the old man.

He had just finished leveling the dirt when a voice sounded, "Young Master Lin is truly kind-hearted."

The newcomer was, of course, the Sect Leader of the Sanqing Sect.

"Sect Leader Ning, long time no see." Lin Hao cursed inwardly but wore a broad smile.

Sect Leader Ning held a duster in his hand and asked with a smile, "It’s been nearly two months, Young Master Lin. Have you made any progress?"

"I’ve been plowing fields and herding an ox every day. What progress could I possibly have made?" Lin Hao shrugged.

"I’m not so sure about that. The poem on Woniushan has vanished. I suspect that was your doing, Young Master Lin," the old Daoist Ning said with a grin.

Lin Hao feigned great surprise. "What? It vanished?! I studied it for two months, and it just up and disappeared!"

He wore a shocked expression, but inwardly he was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan.

’This old Daoist Ning arrived so quickly. It must mean he or his people were nearby this whole time, and I didn’t sense them at all. What does that imply?’

’Either what old Daoist Ning said about being at the Peak of the Elemental Realm was a complete lie.’

’Or, there’s another expert hiding in the shadows whose cultivation is far greater than mine.’

Either way, the situation was extremely disadvantageous for Lin Hao.

This was the Sanqing Sect’s territory; Lin Hao didn’t believe he could escape.

Even with the Ghostly Divine Step, it wouldn’t be enough.

’"Damn that turtle egg, where did it run off to? Why isn’t it showing up now!"’ At this moment, Lin Hao desperately wished that ridiculously unreliable turtle egg would hurry up and appear.

’I’ve got it!’

’Lin Hao suddenly remembered—hadn’t he just obtained an Elemental Realm Secret Skill? If he could master the *Body Double* technique, he might have a chance to escape.’

"Sect Leader Ning, you’re not trying to fool me, are you?!" While his mind began to study the mysteries of the *Body Double* technique, his words continued to spar with Sect Leader Ning.

"What a coincidence, I don’t believe it either. Let’s go have a look together," Sect Leader Ning said, still perfectly amiable.

’This made Lin Hao curse inwardly again.’

’Old Daoist Ning’s words clearly meant someone had reported to him, which meant there was someone else in the shadows.’

’This is terrible.’

’I can’t even detect the person in the shadows. One can only imagine how frighteningly high their cultivation must be.’

’And that’s not even counting Sect Leader Ning, who’s right here in the open.’

’Even if Sect Leader Ning really is only at the Peak of the Elemental Realm, my Elemental Realm Fifth Layer cultivation is no match for him.’

In two months, although Lin Hao hadn’t focused much on cultivating, his cultivation had still risen from the peak of the Fourth Layer of the Elemental Realm to the Fifth Layer.

’But even so, this was a dead-end situation!’