Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

The only chance of survival was to master the Secret Skill.

Ultimately, this was the conclusion Lin Hao reached.

The two walked side by side. The old Daoist Ning was silent, and Lin Hao had no intention of starting a conversation.

At that moment, Lin Hao was already reviewing the Secret Skill in his mind.

Although the Secret Skill was only a few hundred words long, it was incredibly profound. Its understanding of True Essence was simply unbelievable.

Lin Hao couldn’t help but feel a surge of relief. ’Thankfully, the Cultivation Technique I practiced in the Blood Coagulation Realm was an imperial-grade one. That’s why I can comprehend this Secret Skill so effortlessly.’

He understood it completely, but he couldn’t cultivate it right now.

Cultivating it now would be no different from suicide.

But this wasn’t enough to stump Lin Hao.

In his mind, Lin Hao began to simulate the circulation pathways of the Secret Skill.

He had often used this method back in the Blood Coagulation Realm, so it was second nature to him.

"That poem existed on Woniushan for countless ages, yet you managed to make it disappear. You truly deserve the title of the Southern Border Prefecture’s greatest prodigy."

Seeing that the poem had indeed vanished, the normally reserved old Daoist Ning’s eyes glinted with a strange light.

"Young Master Lin, would you be willing to share the Secret Skill?" The old Daoist Ning didn’t beat around the bush, getting straight to the point.

Lin Hao gave a wry smile. "Sect Leader Ning, I really didn’t obtain any Secret Skill. The old ox just crashed and died here. Maybe it was the one that knocked the poem away?"

"Hmph! Do you take me for a three-year-old?" Sect Leader Ning’s expression suddenly turned cold.

Lin Hao felt a surge of killing intent.

’This shameless old Daoist is ready to drop all pretenses for the Secret Skill.’

Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed. "No, in my opinion, you’re not even as good as a three-year-old. You’re ancient, yet you’re still stuck in the Elemental Realm."

Even with his life on the line, Lin Hao wouldn’t bow and scrape.

A moment ago, the old Daoist Ning wanted to put on an act, and Lin Hao had merely played along.

"Hand over the Secret Skill, and I’ll spare your life for Cang Yan’s sake." Sect Leader Ning’s face was frosty as he finally dropped his disguise.

Lin Hao shook his head. "The Secret Skill is not for someone like you to possess."

"Since you’re courting death, I’ll grant you your wish!" The old Daoist Ning’s vicious nature was fully revealed, his killing intent overflowing.

Sect Leader Ning didn’t seem to move, but Lin Hao suddenly felt a chill run through his body as an aura locked onto him.

This aura wasn’t coming from the old Daoist Ning.

’There’s an expert hiding in the shadows.’

Lin Hao couldn’t even move a muscle.

His opponent’s cultivation level was beyond his imagination.

Across from him, Sect Leader Ning was smiling brilliantly.

He casually struck out, striking several of Lin Hao’s major acupoints in quick succession.

After doing all this, Sect Leader Ning spoke: "You may leave now. You are no longer needed here."

There was no response, and Lin Hao only saw the leaves of a parasol tree fluttering down.

Meanwhile, his body was lifted by Sect Leader Ning and carried into the thatched hut behind Woniushan.

After throwing Lin Hao to the ground, Sect Leader Ning didn’t waste any words, his hand shooting out to grab Lin Hao’s head.

The corner of Lin Hao’s mouth lifted slightly. He knew what Sect Leader Ning was about to do.

’Soul-Seizing Grand Technique!’

Sect Leader Ning wanted to use the Soul-Seizing Grand Technique to obtain the Secret Skill.

’It might work on others, but against me...’

A wicked smile appeared on Lin Hao’s face.

A quarter of an hour later, Lin Hao’s expression became vacant.

"What is your name?" Sect Leader Ning’s voice rang out.

"Lin Hao," Lin Hao answered mechanically.

"Where are you from?"

"Heaven-Stepping Sect."

"Is Cang Yan still alive?"

"Yes."

Hearing this, Sect Leader Ning paused for a moment. Then, he continued his questioning.

"Where is he?"

"I don’t know."

"Who taught you your Blood Coagulation Realm Cultivation Technique?"

"Self-taught. A secret technique."

"Recite it!" Sect Leader Ning’s breathing suddenly quickened.

"Heaven and Earth are everlasting..."

After obtaining Chu Tiandu’s memories, Lin Hao had countless Blood Coagulation Realm Cultivation Techniques in his mind. He simply took a few excerpts from several of them and mashed them together into a new one.

Lin Hao recited several thousand words before stopping.

After he finished, Sect Leader Ning was silent for a long time.

Clearly, he was trying to commit this "Secret Skill" to memory.

"You obtained an Elemental Realm Secret Skill on Woniushan, correct?" Finally, after more than ten minutes, Sect Leader Ning spoke again.

In that time, Lin Hao had already run through the circulation method of the Body Outside the Body technique once in his mind.

Now, hearing Sect Leader Ning’s question, Lin Hao mechanically replied, "Correct."

"Quick, say it!" Sect Leader Ning’s voice jumped an octave, trembling slightly.

"In the chaos of Heaven and Earth, the Dao forms itself. When chaos opened, it became yin and yang; the Dao begets one, one begets two. When yin and yang combine, two begets three, and three begets all things. All things carry yin and embrace yang, blending their energies to create harmony..."

Lin Hao recited a few lines from the Tao Te Ching that he had once used to fool Cang Yan, then suddenly went silent.

’If I could fool Cang Yan with it, duping this old Daoist will be a piece of cake.’

"A Secret Skill! This is truly a Secret Skill! My hundred-plus years of waiting have not been in vain! The number one person in the Elemental Realm... it can only be me!" Sure enough, Lin Hao heard Sect Leader Ning’s excited voice.

"What about the rest?" When Lin Hao didn’t continue after a long pause, Sect Leader Ning couldn’t help but ask.

"My head hurts... I can’t remember," was Lin Hao’s reply.

It was a lie, of course, but Lin Hao was afraid that if he recited the whole thing, the man would just kill him with a single palm strike.

SLAP!

Just as Lin Hao finished speaking, he heard a crisp sound.

This made the corner of Lin Hao’s mouth twitch.

Clearly, Sect Leader Ning had slapped himself.

If the timing weren’t so critical, Lin Hao would have burst out laughing.

’Dammit, how do I treat the trauma caused by the Soul-Seizing Grand Technique?’

Although Lin Hao was like a wooden puppet, he could see the old Daoist pacing back and forth from the corner of his eye. The man’s face was contorted with anxiety, his right cheek flushed red and marked with four fingerprints.

Lin Hao felt an immense sense of satisfaction.

"That’s it! I’ll go back to the sect and look for a cure!" Sect Leader Ning suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly.

"Cul... cultivate..." Just then, Lin Hao spoke again.

Sect Leader Ning froze.

"You remember the circulation method?"

Lin Hao nodded.

"Quick, quick, quick!" Sect Leader Ning said, clamping a hand on Lin Hao’s head.

He clearly wanted to sense the circulation method of the Secret Skill while Lin Hao was cultivating.

Lin Hao feigned circulating his energy, but after a short while, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Not suspecting a thing, Sect Leader Ning quickly unsealed Lin Hao’s acupoints.

And this was the very moment Lin Hao had been waiting for!

The instant the last acupoint was unsealed, Lin Hao struck without hesitation!

BOOM!

The power of his punch was astounding.

The punch shattered the thatched hut. The straw from the roof turned into sharp blades, and the air filled with the sound of countless whooshes.

At the same time, his speed was incredible.

He was fast, but the old Daoist Ning was no slouch either.

In his haste, he actually managed to raise a hand to block.

THWACK!

Sect Leader Ning’s body was sent flying backward.

But Lin Hao didn’t give chase. He activated the Ghostly Divine Step and shot down the mountain.

From that single exchange, Lin Hao already knew that the old Daoist Ning’s cultivation was likely at the very apex of the Peak of the Elemental Realm. Even with the Ghostly Divine Step, he couldn’t finish him off.

Besides, he didn’t know if the person in the shadows was still around. If he didn’t use this chance to escape, he might not get another.

With the Ghostly Divine Step, Lin Hao’s body moved like a streak of light.

But even so, Lin Hao still suffered a heavy blow.

From behind, Sect Leader Ning’s right arm manifested a giant hand of True Essence that slapped toward Lin Hao.

THWACK!

In mid-air, Lin Hao’s body felt as if it had been struck by lightning, and he violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

This was a full-power strike from a Martial Artist at the Peak of the Elemental Realm. How could Lin Hao possibly withstand it?

BAM!

Falling from the sky, Lin Hao’s body slammed downward.

CRACK!

Countless bowl-thick branches on a towering tree were snapped.

Lin Hao forced himself to take a breath, grabbed the tree trunk, and flung his body forward.

Right now, Lin Hao’s only thought was to escape Sect Leader Ning’s sight as quickly as possible.

He couldn’t even handle Sect Leader Ning alone. If the person from the shadows appeared, he wouldn’t even have a chance to run.

Pushing the Ghostly Divine Step to its limit, Lin Hao plunged into the densest part of the forest.

"Lin Hao, you stole my sect’s Secret Skill! You think you can escape?!" Sect Leader Ning’s furious and frustrated roar came from behind.

Lin Hao paid it no mind, his figure flying onward.

Finally, after running for who knows how long, the voice became too faint to hear.

Relying on the Ghostly Divine Step, he had temporarily escaped Sect Leader Ning’s pursuit.

But Lin Hao didn’t relax, continuing deeper into the forest.

Until he found a hidden cave.

The moment Lin Hao ducked inside, he collapsed to the ground.

If he had treated the injury from Sect Leader Ning’s attack immediately, it might not have been so bad, but in his desperation to escape, Lin Hao had to ignore it.

Now, although Lin Hao wasn’t unconscious, a piercing pain was spreading through his body.

His physical body was tough and the blow hadn’t broken the skin, but Lin Hao felt as if his internal organs had all been rearranged.

Even worse, Lin Hao discovered that even his Dantian was damaged.

Forcing himself to endure the excruciating pain, Lin Hao sat cross-legged and began to heal his internal injuries.

He remained seated for several days.

This was definitely the most severe injury Lin Hao had ever sustained since he started cultivating his imperial-grade technique.

After mastering the technique, healing his body usually took only a short time. But this time, he had been sitting for days, something that had never happened before.

After stretching his limbs and confirming his body was fully recovered, Lin Hao calmed his mind and focused his spirit.

Now that he had the Elemental Realm Secret Skill, when better to cultivate it than now?

The Secret Skill was only a few hundred words long. Lin Hao had already reviewed it in his mind and even simulated its circulation once. Before long, he had grasped the basics.

This Elemental Realm Secret Skill, Body Outside the Body, used True Essence to manifest a duplicate of oneself. It was divided into three main parts: the Four Extremities, the Five Organs, and the Six Viscera.

When the Four Extremities, Five Organs, and Six Viscera were all manifested, one could form a Primordial Body!

The Four Extremities are a person’s four limbs.

The Element Transformation Skill only manifested a single right arm, just one-quarter of the first major part.

Although this was nothing compared to a true Body Outside the Body, it provided Lin Hao with an excellent method to build upon.

Following the method from the Element Transformation Skill, Lin Hao quickly finished manifesting the Four Extremities.

The four limbs gradually detached from Lin Hao’s own, hovering in front of him in a very strange sight.

An unknown amount of time passed, and then, between the four limbs, the liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys began to appear...

Following that, the gallbladder, stomach, and other internal viscera also materialized.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a subtle ripple of energy emerged, and then, another Lin Hao appeared before him.

A Primordial Body, formed!

But it vanished in an instant.

A true Body Outside the Body means the Primordial Body is indistinguishable from the original and possesses the same combat strength. Lin Hao still had a long way to go.