Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

The young Suanni bounded into the air and was caught in the elder one’s arms, looking incredibly excited, as if showing off to its mother that it now had a name.

Holding the little one, the elder Suanni bowed to Lin Hao, its demeanor even more respectful than before.

Lin Hao said nothing and simply sat down to the side.

Though he had just successfully used otherworldly flames to kill two Soul Gathering Realm experts at the Sanqing Sect, Lin Hao had been severely injured.

Furthermore, he had recklessly used his True Essence during his escape, leaving him in a terrible state.

Ignoring them, Lin Hao immediately began to heal his wounds.

In the Suanni’s territory, Lin Hao was completely safe.

Even if Lin Hao were to cultivate an Imperial Art right now, this Suanni wouldn’t be overcome by greed like a human. It would only revere him more.

Thus, Lin Hao channeled the Imperial Art with all his might, circulating his True Essence to treat his wounds.

The moment he began, Lin Hao’s aura grew terrifyingly potent.

Exotic beasts like the Suanni were exceptionally sensitive. Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from Lin Hao, the elder Suanni took Ni Ziyun and retreated a great distance.

Although its bloodline was extremely diluted, it was still a descendant of an ancient exotic beast, which was how it was able to rule this region. But now, the terrifying presence emanating from Lin Hao made it deeply wary, filling it with even greater reverence.

It was a supreme pressure that made it want to prostrate itself in worship.

Fortunately, the pressure didn’t last long before it vanished.

Lin Hao had cultivated the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill to the stage of Great Perfection. Though his injuries were severe, healing them wouldn’t take much time.

Once his injuries were fully healed, Lin Hao didn’t rest. He immediately began cultivating the Elemental Realm Secret Skill.

His cultivation was currently at the Elemental Realm Fifth Layer, and he could manifest a single Primordial Body. However, it only lasted for a short time. He still had a long way to go to reach the true Peak of the Elemental Realm.

Besides, several months of practice had already made Lin Hao incredibly familiar with this Secret Skill.

After entering the Elemental Realm Fifth Layer, advancing had become several times more difficult than before.

The mantra for the fifth part of the Secret Skill surfaced in his mind, and Lin Hao instantly entered a state of meditative focus.

The young Suanni, Ni Ziyun, suddenly jumped out of the elder Suanni’s embrace. Then, it surprisingly sat down beside Lin Hao, properly mimicking his posture.

The elder Suanni’s gaze softened, and a human-like smile seemed to play on its features.

Then, it stood guard nearby, protecting both the human and the beast.

Time flowed by, and a whole month passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, Lin Hao woke up twice.

Each time, he would see the Suanni diligently standing guard. Upon seeing Lin Hao awaken, it would quickly offer him some berries.

After hastily devouring a few, Lin Hao would once again enter a meditative state.

This was the Celestial Break Mountain Range, a place few humans ever set foot in. The natural energy here was countless times richer than in the cave where Lin Hao had first stayed. With the Suanni standing guard, he was under no pressure, and his progress was incredibly fast.

In just one month, Lin Hao’s cultivation had advanced from the Elemental Realm Fifth Layer to the Sixth Layer.

By this point, Lin Hao’s command over his True Essence had reached a terrifying level.

With a single thought, he could make a Primordial Body appear.

One day, seeing Lin Hao awaken again, the elder Suanni offered him some more berries.

This time, however, Lin Hao didn’t take them. Instead, he sent a telepathic message, "Aunt Ni, I’d like to go out and get some experience."

"You are too kind, Ancestor. I will accompany you." The elder Suanni was startled. It glanced at the little Suanni, who was still meditating, before replying telepathically.

Lin Hao shook his head. "There’s no need. If I can’t win a fight, I’ll retreat at the first opportunity."

If he let the Suanni accompany him, it wouldn’t be training; it would be a slaughter.

Lin Hao knew full well that there was no benefit to be gained from blind cultivation alone. Now that he had entered the Sixth Layer of the Elemental Realm, it was time to learn to fight with his Primordial Body. The Secret Skill clearly stated that upon reaching the Peak of the Sixth Layer, one could attempt to manifest a second Primordial Body.

He could manifest a Primordial Body, but if he didn’t improve his combat skills, even being able to manifest three would be nothing more than an empty display.

Therefore, Lin Hao decided to proceed step by step, consolidating and tempering his first Primordial Body.

"I respectfully see you off, Ancestor." As Lin Hao departed, the Suanni saw him off with reverence.

Without a backward glance, Lin Hao instantly vanished into the dense forest.

The Celestial Break Mountain Range was vast and Boundless. Lin Hao naturally didn’t dare venture any deeper, so he chose to head back the way he came.

On his way here, he had crossed several large mountains. Though he hadn’t encountered any Devil Beasts, Lin Hao had distinctly sensed several powerful auras at the time.

Powerful Devil Beasts had a terrifying awareness of danger. With the Suanni present back then, none had dared to make a move.

Lin Hao was very fast. The moment he left the Suanni, he activated his movement technique.

There were no Devil Beasts for dozens of miles around the Suanni’s lair, so he didn’t need to waste time searching.

After crossing two peaks, Lin Hao stopped. He realized something was amiss.

Logically, he should have encountered a Devil Beast by now. This was unusual.

After walking a great deal farther, Lin Hao stopped abruptly and twitched his nose.

He smelled the thick stench of blood.

Leaping into a large tree, Lin Hao carefully concealed himself and peered down.

What he saw made his eyes narrow.

He saw severed limbs and mangled torsos—some belonging to Devil Beasts, others to humans.

’That old bastard from the Sanqing Sect obviously hasn’t given up. He’s sent his disciples into the Celestial Break Mountain Range.’

’And judging from the remains, the cultivation of these Martial Artists is definitely not low. I don’t know how many Tier Two Devil Beasts have been killed... I can even see a furry leg that belonged to a peak Tier Two Devil Beast.’

’The strength of a peak Tier Two Devil Beast is equivalent to a human at the Peak of the Elemental Realm. It’s hard to imagine what kind of force that old bastard has mobilized.’

’There must be a Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artist leading the team!’

’I came out to find Devil Beasts to train against, but now they’ve all been killed! What am I supposed to use for practice now?’

A murderous aura surged within Lin Hao. He wished he could storm the Sanqing Sect right now and kill that old bastard.

But rage was one thing; Lin Hao wouldn’t take a blind risk.

In the end, Lin Hao chose to retreat.

Lin Hao began to head back, thinking he was out of danger. But after crossing a mountain peak, he was suddenly put on high alert.

An utterly terrifying aura descended upon him.

Then, Lin Hao saw a pair of ice-cold eyes.

An eerie green light flickered within them.

These eyes belonged to an enormous bear.

Lin Hao had seen it before while escaping from the Sanqing Sect.

At the time, it had been charging at the front, standing upright on its hind legs. It was over ten meters tall, like a peerless, ferocious beast emerging into the world, its aura monstrously terrifying and its strength immense.

Here, the giant bear, which had been on all fours, caught sight of Lin Hao. It arched its back, its blood-red maw gaped open, and it lunged forward to kill.

Although Lin Hao’s physical body was exceptionally tough, he didn’t dare be overconfident before he understood the situation. With a flash, he dodged out of the way.

BOOM!

A tree so thick it would take several people to wrap their arms around it was smashed to smithereens, but the giant bear’s momentum was unabated, and it crashed through several more.

Lin Hao was secretly speechless. ’That kind of power... it’s too terrifying.’

Its first strike having missed, the giant bear planted its forepaws on the ground and abruptly rose to its full height. It then spun around, closing the distance to Lin Hao in a single stride before swiping with a claw.

BOOM!

Lin Hao chose to dodge again, and a giant boulder next to him was pulverized by the blow!

The bear’s offensive power was astounding.

After missing yet again, the giant bear went berserk. Its massive forepaws lashed out again and again, sending boulders flying and splintering huge trees.

After dodging for a while, Lin Hao had gained a thorough understanding of the giant bear’s strength. It was definitely comparable to a cultivator at the Seventh or Eighth Layer of the Elemental Realm.

And that was while it was injured.

That’s right. The giant bear was injured.

Though its movements were swift and its fur was gray, Lin Hao’s eyesight was astonishing. He managed to spot a scabbed-over wound on its abdomen.

It looked like a sword wound.

’No doubt this bear was also ambushed by the Sanqing Sect disciples, but it managed to escape.’

’Even Devil Beasts comparable to the Peak of the Elemental Realm were killed, yet this bear managed to escape. I can only imagine how powerful it must be in its prime.’

Just as the giant bear’s forepaws swiped at him again, Lin Hao suddenly made his move.

This time, he didn’t dodge. Instead, he took a step forward and threw a savage punch toward the bear’s abdomen.

But Lin Hao had still underestimated the great bear.

The bear’s claw suddenly accelerated by an untold amount. It snatched Lin Hao’s fist out of the air and then violently slammed him to the side.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

A series of sickening cracks rang out as the giant bear swung Lin Hao around, smashing him into tree after tree, each one exploding on impact.

Despite his tough physique, Lin Hao felt he couldn’t take much more of the continuous impacts.

He wanted to escape, but the bear’s paw was clamped around his hand like a vise. For a moment, he couldn’t break free.

The giant bear swung Lin Hao’s body around, and in the blink of an eye, the surrounding area had been cleared into an open space.

But the bear didn’t let go of Lin Hao.

It swung Lin Hao’s body, smashing him against the splintered tree stumps.

RUMBLE!

Huge stumps shattered beneath Lin Hao’s body, his momentum unabated. The impact was so great that even the earth itself began to tremble.

"Die!" Lin Hao roared as he was swung into the air again.

BOOM!

A fist slammed into the giant bear’s abdomen.

The giant bear cried out in pain and abruptly flung Lin Hao away.

CRASH!

Lin Hao’s body slammed into the mountainside, carving out a huge, human-shaped crater.

But at the same time, the giant bear was hit by another heavy blow.

Right in front of it, another Lin Hao had appeared.

In truth, Lin Hao had been fully capable of escaping after the bear had grabbed him, but he chose not to.

He had come out this time primarily to test the combat capabilities of his Primordial Body.

Thus, any thought of resisting was instantly dismissed. Instead, he had frantically mobilized his True Essence.

And then, a Primordial Body had appeared out of nowhere.

The Primordial Body and the original body shared a peculiar connection; with a single thought from Lin Hao, the Primordial Body would respond.

That strike had landed squarely on the bear’s old wound.

The Primordial Body possessed the same combat power as his original body; its attack was equivalent to Lin Hao attacking himself.

The bear’s healing wound was instantly blasted open. In agony, it had thrown Lin Hao away.

But in that incredibly brief instant, the Primordial Body threw another punch, enlarging the wound.

The giant bear roared, dropped to all fours, and charged at Lin Hao’s Primordial Body.

But with a mere thought from Lin Hao, the Primordial Body vanished and reappeared behind the bear. It leaped up and brought its fist down.

Without using any martial arts, the sheer physical force of the blow was a hundred thousand jin. As powerful as the bear was, it couldn’t withstand such heavy hits. It roared again and again, its cries shaking the very mountains.

In the end, the Primordial Body battered the great bear until it collapsed, unable to rise.

With a mere thought from Lin Hao, the Primordial Body vanished.

Just as he was about to inspect his handiwork, Lin Hao’s figure flickered and shot into the dense forest nearby.

’Someone’s approaching!’