Immortal Martial Emperor

"Hong Yu!"

A cold, grating voice came from behind.

Hong Yu frowned and turned to see a man with a shaved head, dressed in tight-fitting black clothes, flying swiftly toward him.

He landed steadily four or five meters away.

Hong Yu raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

"My name is Tian Zheng!"

the bald man said.

Hong Yu’s eyes showed his confusion; he had never heard the name before.

Feng Xue Xin reminded him, "Tian Zheng is a powerhouse from the Wind Chasing Kingdom. In the last True Dragon Ranking Tournament, he was ranked eleventh."

"Oh?"

Hong Yu nodded and looked at Tian Zheng. "Are you also here for that astronomical bounty?"

Tian Zheng shook his head. "I just came to give you this!"

As he spoke, a golden light flashed in Tian Zheng’s hand, flying into Hong Yu’s grasp.

Startled, Hong Yu subconsciously caught it.

He played with it in his hand. It was a golden key, and engraved on it was the number one.

It was the very same golden key that belonged to Hong Yu.

Hong Yu said in surprise, "It was in your hands?"

Tian Zheng nodded. "I wasn’t planning on returning it. However, since you killed that beast Zhui Yang, you can be considered my benefactor, so I’m giving it to you."

"Benefactor?"

Tian Zheng didn’t want to elaborate. "I should go." Before leaving, he paused and warned, "Be careful of the Zhui Yang Ancestor. He’s extremely vicious and malicious, and he’ll seek revenge for the smallest grievance. Not only did you kill Zhui Yang, but you also ruined his astronomical bounty. He will absolutely not let this go."

"Thank you!"

Hong Yu said sincerely.

He wanted to ask more, but Tian Zheng had already dashed away.

Hong Yu looked at the key in his hand, a bitter and helpless smile on his face. "Now I’m actually a little grateful for the Zhui Yang Ancestor’s bounty. If not for that, I’m afraid Tian Zheng would have taken my key with him to the third trial. I would have been completely stuck and doomed in the second."

Feng Xue Xin nodded.

Then, the two of them walked onward side by side.

Wherever they went, everyone ahead—no matter which kingdom or Sect they belonged to, whether they were renowned powerhouses or unknown geniuses—respectfully stepped aside to let Hong Yu pass.

Feeling the fervent awe in everyone’s eyes, Hong Yu took a deep breath.

’I’ve long grown accustomed to the ways of the world and understood the importance of strength,’ he thought.

’With enough strength, one naturally earns respect. Without it, everything is just bullshit.’

"Senior Brother Feng, what exactly happened back at the Cyan Nether Sword Sect? Why did Hong Renjie become the Demon Owl and even end up controlling the entire Sect?"

Hong Yu asked, puzzled.

Feng Xue Xin was taken aback. Even though he was free from the Blood Curse’s control, a grim look still instinctively appeared on his face whenever Hong Renjie or the Demon Owl was mentioned.

Feng Xue Xin took a deep breath. "The real Hong Renjie died long ago. After you caused that uproar at the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, his body was destroyed, and a wisp of the Demon Owl’s soul possessed it and was reborn. From that point on, Hong Renjie’s personality changed drastically, his power soared, and the Heaven and Earth Alliance grew stronger by the day."

"In less than half a year, the Heaven and Earth Alliance had almost completely suppressed my Wind and Snow Association."

Feng Xue Xin seemed lost in recollection, his eyes filled with emotion and world-weariness. "I never paid too much attention to the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s growth, thinking that no matter how strong they got, they would never betray the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. But I never expected that a few months ago, Sect Leader Wang would suddenly announce his abdication in favor of Hong Renjie. Afterward, Elder Bai and I suspected something was wrong, so we investigated further."

"Just as we followed the clues and discovered that Sect Leader Wang and many other elders were being controlled by Hong Renjie, and we were preparing to counterattack, Hong Renjie led the Heaven and Earth Alliance in a surprise assault and crushed my Wind and Snow Association."

Feng Xue Xin’s eyes filled with self-blame and remorse. "Elder Bai, Xiaoguai, and I were all captured alive, and the Wind and Snow Association was forced to disband. During that time, he constantly tortured me and Elder Bai. In the end, he used Xiaoguai’s life as leverage to place a Blood Curse on me, bringing me under his control..."

"So that’s what happened."

Hong Yu nodded and asked, "What about Ling Tian? And why haven’t I seen Dongfang Lang and the others?"

"Dongfang Lang and his group surrendered to Hong Renjie and are now guarding the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. Also, many from your Hong Family and my Wind and Snow Association who refused to submit have been imprisoned in the Cyan Nether Sword Sect’s dungeons. As for Ling Tian, shortly after you left, he said he had no more ties to the Cyan Nether Sword Sect and left the Fengyue Kingdom. His whereabouts are unknown."

Feng Xue Xin explained.

Hong Yu patted Feng Xue Xin’s shoulder and took a deep breath. "Don’t worry, Senior Brother Feng. Hong Renjie is dead now. Once this tournament is over, we’ll go back to the Cyan Nether Sword Sect."

"Go back?"

A bitter look crossed Feng Xue Xin’s face. "Even if our strength is enough to sweep through most opponents, the Cyan Nether Sword Sect has over three hundred thousand people. Excluding the disciples who were forced to obey Hong Renjie, at least one hundred and eighty thousand are under the Heaven and Earth Alliance’s control. Hong Gang, Hong Long, and even some other elders are holding the fort there. How can the two of us possibly go back?"

But Hong Yu just gave a mysterious smile. "Don’t worry, Senior Brother Feng. I have my ways of taking back the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. But for now, the most important thing is to find your key so we can head to the third trial!"

Staring at Hong Yu’s confident smile, Feng Xue Xin was momentarily lost in a daze.

Recalling the earth-shattering changes that had happened to Hong Yu in such a short time, Feng Xue Xin nodded and clenched his jaw. "Alright! Then let’s, as brothers, make our mark on the grandest stage of the Southern Ten Nations!"

"Let’s go!"

The two of them took to the air.

Following the connection they felt, the two discovered that Feng Xue Xin’s key was located in a swamp in the far east.

This Mist Dream Swamp was vast. The air up to ten meters high was filled with a dense, poisonous miasma. It was impossible to see the ground below even when looking down from a height of eleven meters, let alone fly through the air to avoid the poison.

With no other choice, Hong Yu took out the Nine Dragon Celestial Cauldron.

The moment this enormous, nine-legged cauldron appeared, it exuded an ancient, primordial aura. Hong Yu sat cross-legged before the Nine Dragon Celestial Cauldron and added Spirit Medicines into it according to the Divine Medicine Scripture.

The greatest advantage of the Nine Dragon Celestial Cauldron was its ability to automatically refine Pills.

The grade of the Pills it could refine depended on Hong Yu’s own strength!

For example, when Hong Yu was in the Essence Realm, it could refine First-Grade Pills. At the Earth Soul Realm, it could refine Second-Grade. Now that he had an Early-Stage Primordial Core Realm Cultivation, the Nine Dragon Celestial Cauldron could easily and automatically complete the refining of Fourth-Grade Pills.

As for even higher-level Pills, besides raising his own strength, he would have to rely on improving his own Alchemy Technique!

Refining the Fourth-Grade Spirit Pill, the Hundred Poison Pill, took only half an hour.

After swallowing the Spirit Pill, they could walk through the layers of poisonous fog completely unimpeded, which Feng Xue Xin found somewhat unbelievable.

He looked at Hong Yu beside him with a complicated expression.

He realized that the naive young man of the past had, without him even noticing, already surpassed him.

"HISS!"

Suddenly, a ripple of bubbles rose from beneath the swamp.

Hong Yu stopped abruptly. "Wait!"

"Hm?"

Feng Xue Xin also broke out in goosebumps, feeling as if a pair of large eyes were staring at him from the shadows.

They waited in silence for a full half hour.

The hidden creature was clearly a patient one. It wasn’t until an hour later that, at a certain moment...

Hong Yu’s eyes suddenly flashed with cold light. "Get the hell out here!"

Golden Red Thunderfire danced in his palm.

WHOOSH! It shot out and plunged into the swamp. BOOM! An explosion erupted, and in the next instant, a massive figure shot out from within.

It was an enormous python, a full fifty meters long and over two meters thick!

"HISSS!"

The Enchanting Python’s massive body rose from the swamp, its grim eyes fixed on Hong Yu.

Its scales were a dull gray, yet after bursting out of the filthy swamp, they weren’t stained with the slightest bit of mud or grime. Instead, they shone with an oily luster.

Its flickering tongue was a startling, blood-like red.

Its sharp fangs had a nearly transparent sheen, and hollow channels within them were filled with venom.

"Hong Yu, be careful! This Enchanting Python is a Tier Four Advanced Desolate Beast, comparable to a Late-stage Primordial Core Realm Powerhouse. Its fangs can pierce even an Earth-Level Primordial Weapon, its defense is comparable to an Earth-level Middle-grade Primordial Weapon, and it has a terrifying Power of Enchantment. Even an ordinary expert at the Peak of the Primordial Core Realm would have to flee from it," Feng Xue Xin warned.

Hong Yu smiled faintly.

Just as he was about to speak, the Enchanting Python moved...

"HISS!"

The Enchanting Python lunged forward.

Its speed was incredible, like a flash of lightning, and it was in front of him in the blink of an eye.

It opened its massive, bloody maw to bite down.

Hong Yu shot forward, laughing heartily as he condensed two huge Primordial Gang Palm Seals with his hands and slapped them out with a WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

As his wrists twisted and shook, his ten fingers suddenly clenched into fists.

"ROAR!"

The Enchanting Python’s charging body suddenly shuddered to a halt.

Hong Yu’s hands had already seized the Enchanting Python by the neck. Its huge body twisted and struggled, but Hong Yu held it fast in his grasp, like one of the Deities.

"You beast, daring to launch a sneak attack. You really are cunning!"

Hong Yu let out three hearty laughs.

Seeing that it couldn’t break free, the Enchanting Python’s eyes suddenly locked onto Hong Yu, staring at him intently.

Hong Yu froze.

He saw that in the Enchanting Python’s eyes, its pupils had transformed into dozens, even hundreds of layers, each crimson layer a slightly different shade.

One ring was set inside another.

They cycled and flowed endlessly, a kaleidoscopic vortex spinning with a strange Magic Power. It gave Hong Yu an odd feeling, making him feel as though his very consciousness was being controlled.

As if possessed, he loosened his grip.

The Enchanting Python seized the opportunity, its eyes flashing with madness and a Bloodthirsty light. With a HISS, it lunged forward.

Its gaping, bloody maw snapped down toward Hong Yu’s head.

Trapped by the Enchanting Python’s Enchantment Technique, Hong Yu was completely unable to fight back. He was swallowed by the python’s massive maw, consumed by its two rows of vicious fangs.

Even though Hong Yu cultivated the Eighth Transformation of the Eight Desolates Saint Slaying Technique and possessed a physical strength comparable to an Earth-Level Primordial Weapon...

But...

...the Enchanting Python’s sharp fangs could easily tear through an Earth-Level Primordial Weapon. And with Hong Yu trapped by the Enchantment Technique, he offered no resistance to the python’s fatal blow.

Under this attack, would he live or die?!