Immortal Martial Emperor

ROAR!

A low, grating roar suddenly swept through the canyon.

The roar was somewhat hoarse. It lacked the resonant power of a ferocious Desolate Beast, sounding more like a raspy old man who hadn’t spoken in years. The sound was incredibly jarring.

"What’s going on?"

The crowd, locked in a chaotic battle, all stopped their attacks. They stood frozen, looking at one another, and saw the same flicker of fear and trepidation in each other’s eyes.

Everyone glanced around nervously.

The sky...

The ground...

The sound seemed to come from all directions at once, or perhaps it originated from within the canyon itself.

"What in the world was that?"

Hong Yu stood beneath the Enlightenment Fruit Tree, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.

The deep roar didn’t last long, vanishing in an instant.

The combatants exchanged uncertain glances, then resumed their life-or-death struggle.

Xue De was locked in a fierce battle with Tie Heng when he suddenly noticed Hong Yu was just a step away from the Enlightenment Fruit. He immediately roared, "Don’t let him take the Enlightenment Fruit! Everyone, attack! We have to kill Hong Yu!"

"The Enlightenment Fruit belongs to our Guiyuan Sect! No one else will lay a finger on it!"

The powerhouses from the Guiyuan Sect abandoned their opponents and charged toward Hong Yu, their eyes blazing with greed and murderous intent.

Facing the siege of twenty or thirty people, Hong Yu simply raised an eyebrow and snorted coldly.

As his right hand clenched into a fist, a golden light flashed, and the Godslaying Golden Spear materialized in his grasp.

Taking a long, deep breath, Hong Yu’s narrowed eyes snapped wide open. A gaze as cold and sharp as an iceberg swept over the charging Guiyuan Sect powerhouses as he let out a thunderous bellow, "I’d like to see which one of you dares to come closer!"

As he spoke, he swung his right hand. The Godslaying Spear swept out in a golden curtain of light, landing on the ground with a BOOM.

In the area between him and the Guiyuan Sect powerhouses, a massive trench, thirty to forty meters long and four to five meters deep, appeared as if the earth itself had split open. The lingering afterglow of the sharp Spear Aura still pulsed with a terrifying Energy Aura.

GULP!

The Guiyuan Sect powerhouses, who had been so menacing just a moment ago, swallowed hard. They stared at the massive trench before them and looked at each other, none daring to take another step forward!

"You useless bunch! What are you standing around for? Go! Don’t let him snatch the Enlightenment Fruit!" Qi Tianbao, who was taking a Pill to recover his Elemental Power, couldn’t help but roar when he saw this.

"Should we... go?"

"Let’s just all go together. He’s only at the Celestial Soul Realm, no matter how strong he is. What can he do to so many of us?"

The Guiyuan Sect powerhouses exchanged glances.

"Fuck it, I’m going for it!"

One of them took a step forward, his foot barely halfway across the trench.

Just then, a streak of golden light descended from the sky!

"Damn it...!"

This powerhouse was also at the Initial-stage Celestial Soul Realm, so his strength was not to be underestimated. Furthermore, he was already on guard, so he calmly raised his Primordial Weapon to block at the critical moment.

However...

Under the impact of the golden light, his Spirit-level Lower Grade Primordial Weapon was like tofu meeting a cleaver. With a sharp CRACK, the Primordial Weapon snapped in two.

The golden light continued downward, unimpeded, slicing through him from the top of his head down between his legs.

SPLAT!

The man shuddered, and then blood gushed out like a fountain.

His body had been split cleanly in two. Amidst the dripping blood, a gory mess of red and white matter piled on the ground—a scene so gruesome it would make anyone who saw it want to vomit violently.

HISS!

The Guiyuan Sect powerhouses, who had been eager to act just moments ago, all sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

Every one of them felt an icy chill shoot up their spines straight to the crown of their heads. It was a sinister, bone-deep cold!

"Take one more step over the line, and you will be killed without question!"

Hong Yu held his golden Godslaying Spear, his eyes glinting with an icy light. The coldness in his gaze was enough to make one tremble.

Gazing at the youth holding the golden spear,

these so-called Celestial Favorites of the Guiyuan Sect, who were usually so arrogant and looked down on everyone, felt their legs go weak. They didn’t even dare to look him directly in the eye!

Killed without question!

What a threat—’killed without question’!

He truly meant it. Cross the line by even a hair, and a thunderous strike would bring absolute slaughter!

If Hong Yu’s first warning had only made them wary, then this time, the deterrent he established with fresh life and dripping blood had truly terrified these Celestial Favorites!

After a brief glance at the Guiyuan Sect powerhouses, who were now as docile as chicks, a disdainful smirk touched Hong Yu’s lips. He turned and walked toward the Enlightenment Fruit.

With a gentle movement of his hand, an Enlightenment Fruit landed in his palm.

He took out a jade box, carefully placed the fruit inside, and then reached for the second Enlightenment Fruit.

But just then...

The entire canyon began to shake violently again. The mountains seemed to crumble and the earth to split as massive boulders rained down from above.

The ground within the canyon cracked, and terrifying, jagged fissures appeared on the cliff walls on both sides, as if it were the end of the world.

"What’s happening?"

Hong Yu’s expression tensed.

The sudden change in Mist Canyon made the unease in his heart grow even stronger.

"Xue De, stop."

Tie Heng suddenly halted his assault and said in a low voice.

Xue De also stopped attacking, his expression becoming incredibly grave. "What exactly is this Mist Canyon? Why do I have a very bad feeling about this?"

BOOM! RUMBLE!

The canyon’s tremors gradually subsided.

The thick mist before them also began to recede, slowly revealing the scenery ahead.

When the crowd saw the true face of Mist Canyon, now unobscured by the mist, a series of sharp gasps echoed one after another. There were even the crisp clatters of weapons falling from the hands of those with weaker minds.

"What... what kind of place is this?"

"My heavens! The outer layer of rock and soil on the entire canyon has completely vanished! Look, there are all kinds of Elemental Ores everywhere on the ground and the cliff faces!"

"We’re rich! We’ve struck it rich this time!"

Whether they were from the Guiyuan Sect or the Iron Soldier Pavilion, all the powerhouses had fervent expressions on their faces.

Without the shroud and concealment of the mist, the Mist Canyon before them had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.

The outermost layer of soil and rock covering the entire Mist Canyon was gone, revealing a pinkish surface. Scattered across this pink surface were tens of thousands of various Elemental Ores.

There were fiery red Flame Elemental Ores, icy blue Water Wave Element Ores, and shimmering Gold Elemental Ores that glittered with brilliant light...

In short, the value of the Elemental Ores visible to the naked eye alone was comparable to the entire output of a small mineral vein!

"Just the surface has such abundant minerals. The reserves of this mineral vein are definitely the largest in the history of the Qin Kingdom."

The greed in Xue De’s eyes grew even more intense. "No, not just the largest in the Qin Kingdom. This could be called the richest mine in the entire Southern Ten Nations! Hahaha, we’re rich! We’ve really struck it rich this time..."

In the midst of his glee, Xue De suddenly saw Hong Yu in the distance, and the smile on his face slowly vanished. ’I absolutely cannot let this kid get back alive. Otherwise, I’ll have to hand over a thirty percent share to him out of my Guiyuan Sect’s fifty percent stake. I must eliminate this little bastard!’

While Xue De was plotting how to eliminate Hong Yu, the expressions on Tie Heng’s and Chen Mu’s faces were not so optimistic.

Chen Mu said gravely, "Chairman, with my decades of experience prospecting mineral veins, this situation is absolutely abnormal. Until now, the closest Elemental Ore ever found to the surface was still more than thirty meters underground. No matter how rich a mineral vein is, it’s impossible for Elemental Ores to appear on the surface layer. The appearance of these ores is extremely strange..."

"I also know the situation is strange. And I have a faint, uneasy feeling, as if something is secretly watching us," Tie Heng said with a grim face.

Chen Mu’s expression changed slightly. "Someone is watching us? Could it be powerhouses from the Yaoyue Kingdom?"

"I don’t know!"

Tie Heng shook his head, his wary gaze sweeping the surroundings. "Regardless, tell everyone not to act rashly for now!"

"Yes, sir!"

Chen Mu immediately ordered the Iron Soldier Pavilion powerhouses to wait and observe.

Xue De, however, thought he had seized an opportunity and secretly sent a voice transmission, ordering the Guiyuan Sect powerhouses to start digging for Elemental Ores.

’Huh? Tie Heng isn’t even paying attention to me?’

Xue De glanced at Tie Heng and saw him frowning in deep thought, not paying him any mind. He then looked at Hong Yu, who also wore a pensive expression.

Seeing that neither of them was watching him, a malicious plan formed in Xue De’s mind.

He pushed his Profound Skill to its limit. His figure shot through the air like an arrow loosed from a bow, charging toward Hong Yu at extreme speed with palpable killing intent.

A sharp glint suddenly flashed in the eyes of the pensive Tie Heng. As he looked up, he saw Xue De lunging for the Enlightenment Fruit and immediately shouted, "Hong Yu, watch out!"

"Hm?"

The shout startled Hong Yu from his thoughts, and he immediately sensed a sharp killing intent and a fluctuation of Elemental Power coming from behind him.

’Xue De?’

Alarmed, Hong Yu didn’t try to block or counterattack; instead, he dodged away at the fastest speed possible.

’What a shame, letting the little bastard escape. Still, it’s for the best. These two Enlightenment Fruits are mine!’

Xue De’s regret was fleeting. He changed his target and grabbed for the Enlightenment Fruit.

Just as the Enlightenment Fruit was within his grasp, at that critical, hair-raising moment, every nerve in Xue De’s body tensed. He looked to his side in horror.

A pink figure shot through the air.

The figure was moving so fast that even a mighty Primordial Core Realm powerhouse like Xue De couldn’t react in time.

BAM!

The pink figure viciously whipped against Xue De’s body.

The pitiable Grand Elder Xue let out a wretched scream as his body was slammed into the ground like a broken kite, embedding him deep within the earth.

His face was contorted, blood flowed from all seven of his orifices, and his limbs twitched intermittently.

"Hong Yu, are you alright?" Tie Heng rushed over and asked anxiously.

He remembered very clearly that when he left Qin Royal City, his old man had warned him repeatedly that if anything happened to Hong Yu, he should just pretend he never had a son!

Hong Yu shook his head. His face showed no sign of relief or joy at having escaped disaster; instead, it was completely grave.

Tie Heng looked at Xue De, who was spasming and twitching on the ground, and frowned. "What was that thing just now? It was so fast, even I didn’t get a clear look at what it was."

Hong Yu took a deep breath. "I hope it’s not what I think it is. If it really is... then I’m afraid all of us will be meeting our end here today!"

"What did you just say?"

Tie Heng hadn’t heard him clearly and asked again.

Hong Yu shook his head without responding, instead staring intently at the Mist Canyon, which had finally revealed its true, formidable face. The grave look in his eyes grew heavier and heavier.

It wasn’t until a Guiyuan Sect powerhouse tried to forcibly dig up some Elemental Ore, once again provoking a pink figure to strike down and smash the Late-stage Earth Soul Realm powerhouse into a meat paste, that the gravity in Hong Yu’s eyes turned to helplessness and bitterness. He let out a long sigh...

"What rotten fucking luck. It really is that thing!"

He looked at Tie Heng and the others...

"Everyone, prepare to fight for your lives!"

[Author’s Note: One Chapter for now. I have to go back to my hometown today, so I’ll post the second and third Chapters around 8 AM!]