Immortal Martial Emperor

"Liao Fan, watch out!"

Hong Yu shouted a warning.

"Huh? What?"

A dazed look appeared in Liao Fan’s eyes as he turned to look back at Hong Yu.

He saw Hong Yu anxiously waving at him and, puzzled, looked down at his feet.

The moment he did, the expression on Liao Fan’s face turned rigid.

Just moments ago, it had been a patch of what looked like extremely ordinary, low-lying shrubs—so ordinary that Liao Fan hadn’t paid them any mind and had planned to step right over them.

However...

The instant he looked down, he discovered that the low shrubs had transformed into a gaping, bloody maw. The mouth was huge, covering a full thirty to forty square meters.

And he was standing right in the center of it.

’Were those low shrubs actually the sharp teeth inside this bloody maw?’

"No—"

Liao Fan cried out, trying to escape.

But in the end, he was too slow.

SPLURT!

The low, tusk-like shrubs wrapped around Liao Fan’s legs. Then, a massive, bloody thing erupted from the ground on all four sides, swallowing him whole.

Liao Fan struggled for a moment, but as the bloody maw closed, he found he didn’t have even a shred of strength to resist. It felt as if something strange was draining all of his energy.

GLUG GLUG GLUG!

A foul, acidic liquid surged over him.

Liao Fan could only watch as his lower body was corroded by the acrid liquid at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, only bones remained.

BOOM!

Hong Yu slashed down with his Godslaying Spear.

A golden Spear Aura whistled through the air, splitting the monster that had devoured Liao Fan in two.

SCREECH!

A pained cry that sounded neither human nor like a Desolate Beast rang out.

A spray of emerald-green liquid shot out.

Hong Yu quickly retreated to create some distance, and then he saw a figure covered in the green liquid being spat out by the monster.

It was Liao Fan!

"Liao Fan? How did this happen to you?"

Hong Yu stared in shock at Liao Fan, whose body was only intact from the abdomen up. The corner of his eye twitched.

’Only a blink of an eye had passed between Liao Fan being swallowed and me cutting the monster open to save him, yet his lower body has already been corroded so cleanly?’

Liao Fan painfully lifted his head to look at Hong Yu. "Prince... Prince Hong... kill... kill me..."

He roared in agony.

But before Hong Yu could make a move, he had already stopped breathing and died.

TSSSSSS!

A puff of foul, green smoke rose up.

The green liquid was still corroding Liao Fan. In an instant, he had melted into a puddle of blood.

"What terrifying venom. What in the world is this monster?"

Hong Yu took a deep breath and looked at the monster he had sliced in two.

’It’s actually a giant Cannibal Flower?!’

He had only just entered the Illusionary Forest and had already encountered a Phantom Demon Leopard and a giant Cannibal Flower. Hong Yu’s eye twitched. Now he understood why the middle-aged man in Black Armor and the woman in white armor had called this Illusionary Forest a Hell filled with death.

’Looks like I’ll have to be extremely careful from now on. One wrong move, and I could be the next to die.’

Hong Yu’s gaze hardened.

This Illusionary Forest was truly impossible to guard against!

There was no way to know if the very ground under one’s feet was also a Desolate Beast or a terrifying Cannibal Flower in Illusion Transformation.

The threat of death loomed everywhere, at all times!

This was definitely a Purgatory for the living, a nightmare!

’I wonder where my key is. I just hope it’s not in some deathtrap,’ Hong Yu muttered to himself as he chose a direction and started walking.

Although the Gold Medal could sense the direction of the key, its range was limited. It would only react once he was within a certain distance.

If he was too far away, the Gold Medal would never be able to sense the key’s location.

All he could do now was search aimlessly.

Time continued to pass...

As everyone ventured deeper into the Illusionary Forest, the Desolate Beasts and carnivorous plants they encountered grew stronger and stronger.

Just a moment ago, Hong Yu had been ambushed by a Corpse-Eating Ghost Elephant, a Desolate Beast as strong as an Early-stage Primordial Core Realm expert. If Hong Yu hadn’t maintained a high state of alert at all times, he would have likely died at the hands of that massive beast.

"Hm?"

As he was passing the bank of a wide stream, Hong Yu suddenly noticed a flash of golden light up ahead.

Leaping over, Hong Yu discovered a golden key glinting brightly atop a floating rock in the middle of the stream.

’A golden key?’

Slightly stunned, Hong Yu made a gesture with his right hand, concentrating an attractive force to pull the golden key into his grasp.

Fiddling with the key in his hand, Hong Yu murmured, "Number six? Isn’t this Prince Zhui Ri’s number?"

At that exact moment...

Hong Yu heard several figures rustling through the nearby bushes. "Listen up! I’ve just sensed that the key is nearby. Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you will find that key for me. If someone has beaten you to it and taken my key, kill them on the spot. No need to report to me!"

"As you command!"

Immediately after, the sound of several figures cutting through the air echoed one after another.

Hong Yu glanced at the key in his hand, his eye twitching. A torrent of curses flooded his mind. He forced a bitter smile. "Damn it all, it can’t be this coincidental, can it?"

But the world is just full of such coincidences!

Several figures shot through the air and converged on Hong Yu’s position. A total of eight experts landed in front of him.

The man in the lead was none other than Prince Zhui Ri!

When enemies meet, sparks are bound to fly. Prince Zhui Ri’s face was covered in a layer of frost. "Hong Yu, what are you doing here?"

One of Prince Zhui Ri’s subordinates noticed the key in Hong Yu’s hand and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, look at his hand!"

"Hm?"

Prince Zhui Ri paused, his gaze falling upon Hong Yu’s palm. His eyes narrowed slightly.

Only then did he notice that the light on his own Gold Medal was glowing extremely brightly, which clearly meant his key was nearby. There was a ninety-percent chance it was the one in Hong Yu’s hand.

Prince Zhui Ri looked at Hong Yu arrogantly, pointed a finger at the key in his hand, and said flatly, "I’ll give you three breaths’ time. Hand over the key in your hand to me!"

Hong Yu’s eyebrow twitched. ’...’ ’Does he have to be so arrogant?’

’I was the one who found this thing first, okay? You show up and immediately demand I hand it over, acting all high and mighty with your nose in the air. Do you take me for an idiot? Or is your brain just fried?’

It wasn’t that Hong Yu was deliberately trying to antagonize Prince Zhui Ri.

It was just that the prince’s attitude was far too infuriating!

’If you had just asked nicely and tried to negotiate, I would’ve just given you the key. It’s not like it’s any use to me anyway.’

’But you came in with this domineering attitude, trying to take it by force. Do you really think I’m a pushover?’

At this thought, Hong Yu looked at Prince Zhui Ri playfully and dangled the key. "You want this?"

Prince Zhui Ri frowned but still nodded. "That is indeed my number six key. Hand it over, and I won’t make things difficult for you today. If you don’t, I will ensure you never take another step out of this place!"

"Kid, hurry up and give the key to His Highness! He might still spare your life!"

"Don’t think you can challenge our prince just because you were the first one to pass the Path of Heart Refinement. I’m telling you, that’s only because our prince doesn’t specialize in the Martial Dao! If it were a test of Spiritual Power, our prince would have instantly crushed everyone!"

"That’s right! With the Great Sun Celestial Scripture that His Highness has cultivated to the pinnacle, killing you would be as easy as slaughtering a pig or a dog!"

Prince Zhui Ri’s subordinates were all his fanatical admirers.

In their eyes, even when facing Yao Yueye, their Prince Zhui Ri was the strongest!

Faced with their clamoring, Hong Yu felt a nameless fire rise in his heart.

’What is this nonsense?’

’I found the key first, and the moment you show up, you’re aggressive and try to take it by force. That wasn’t enough, and now you’re thinking of killing me?’

’Dammit, you, Zhui Ri, are indeed strong!’

’But I, Hong Yu, am no clay Bodhisattva!’

Hong Yu snorted coldly. A single sharp glare from his eyes was enough to silence the clamoring experts, who fell silent and dared not speak.

Hong Yu looked at Prince Zhui Ri. "Zhui Ri, looks like I’m standing up to you today. You want this key? Fine! But unless you trade my key for it, or offer up some sufficient Treasure in exchange, I’m not giving it to you!"

"Hong Yu, are you really not giving me the key?"

Prince Zhui Ri’s eyes blazed with surging fury as he asked in a chilling tone.

"If you offer up some Treasure now, I might still trade it. Keep dawdling, and you won’t get a single hair off me."

Prince Zhui Ri’s repeated arrogance, his treatment of him as a pushover, and his aggressive attempts to take the key by force had long since enraged Hong Yu.

Hong Yu had always been the type of person who responds to kindness but not to coercion.

’Thinking he can make me hand over the key with such a brazen and brutal attitude? In his dreams.’

"Good. Very good. Excellent!"

Prince Zhui Ri laughed sinisterly, grinding his teeth with a "GRK GRK" sound. It was clear he was on the verge of exploding.

His cold eyes, surging with chilling killing intent, locked onto Hong Yu. "Since you don’t appreciate my kindness, then don’t blame me for being impolite. This place is perfect—no one will answer your cries for help. I can finally settle the score between us right here. With no Yao Yueye to interfere this time, let’s see who can possibly save you!"

As he spoke, a powerful Spiritual Fluctuation suddenly erupted from Prince Zhui Ri’s body, coalescing into the form of a Great Sun Vajra.

"Great Sun Celestial Scripture—Vajra Seal!"

Prince Zhui Ri let out a sharp cry. The Great Sun Vajra behind him abruptly opened its eyes, from which two blinding golden beams shot out.

A massive hand made of Spiritual Power howled through the air, smashing down toward Hong Yu’s head.

Facing Prince Zhui Ri, who had unleashed a killing move at the slightest disagreement, Hong Yu’s brows furrowed tightly. He took a deep breath. As his slender hand clenched into a fist, his five fingers gathered immense power, crushing the air and producing a series of sonic booms. "CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"

With chilling fury dancing in his eyes, Hong Yu roared and threw a punch...

"Stop acting so goddamn high and mighty! Watch me blow you away with a single punch!"