Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

The hand was not large, and was exceptionally fair, yet it contained immense energy.

The youth’s advance was halted, and he jerked to a stop.

Just moments before, not even the combined efforts of Zuo Ming and Zuo Yi had managed to stop him.

Though they were injured, the youth’s cultivation was also extraordinary.

For the owner of this fair hand to now bring the youth to a halt was astonishing.

Immediately after he was stopped, the youth’s body fell to the ground with a thud, completely immobile.

The one who had acted was Meng Ru.

The youth’s combat prowess was extraordinary. Though Meng Ru had succeeded in stopping him, she was forced back by the impact.

But in the next moment, Lin Hao caught her, steadying her.

Lin Hao was about to speak, but Meng Ru twisted her body away from him and stomped her foot onto the youth.

BOOM!

The force of the stomp drove the youth’s body into the ground.

"This is infuriating! I can’t believe I couldn’t even beat a guy like him!" After one stomp, Meng Ru delivered another, speaking in a huff as she continued to trample him.

’Back in the Misty Palace, she had been practically unrivaled. She knew many of her senior sisters went easy on her, but Meng Ru was confident she wasn’t much weaker than her peers. Now, after entering the Ancient Road, she found herself needing Lin Hao’s protection at every turn.’

’That in itself wouldn’t have been a big deal, but now she couldn’t even defeat some random guy who showed up. Meng Ru was naturally furious. Most importantly, she discovered that her cultivation seemed to be regressing.’

Nearby, the corners of the Zuo brothers’ mouths twitched. ’This girl is way too violent.’

Lin Hao, standing to the side, simply raised an eyebrow. Not only did he not stop her, but he also began to look around.

However, a closer look would reveal that Lin Hao seemed to be searching for something.

A moment later, Lin Hao’s eyes lit up.

Just as he turned back, he saw Meng Ru cough up a mouthful of blood and collapse.

As for the poor youth, he was already deader than dead.

Lin Hao caught Meng Ru and said to the Zuo brothers, "I’ve decided we’ll wait for a while before leaving. What about you?"

Zuo Yi didn’t speak, but Zuo Ming replied, "You can decide."

Lin Hao nodded, then picked a direction and set off.

Lu Diewu and Meng Qing naturally followed him.

"Lin Hao, what do you think you’re doing? Don’t you know you can’t just stray from the path on the Ancient Road? If you do, we might never be able to get out!" Seeing that Lin Hao was not following the main path forward, Zuo Yi could no longer hold his tongue.

Before Lin Hao could answer, Zuo Ming spoke up. "Brother, do you really think he’d gamble with his own life? Let’s just follow him. The accomplices of those people from before are surely waiting up ahead. If we continue on that way, we’re walking to our deaths."

Up ahead, Lin Hao didn’t slow his pace and was about to disappear from view.

Zuo Yi was still hesitating when Zuo Ming pulled him along...

Not long after they had disappeared, two figures appeared where the group had just been standing.

When they saw the corpse that Meng Ru had trampled to death, they exchanged a look, each seeing the shock in the other’s eyes.

One of them knelt for a moment before standing up again. "He was restrained first, unable to move, and then trampled to death. The one who attacked last was a woman, at only the Soul Gathering Realm Third Layer. And strangely, her cultivation doesn’t seem stable. To be precise, it’s draining away."

To deduce all this from a single corpse with such accuracy, the man’s perception was clearly extraordinary.

"Should we go up ahead to check?" the other person asked.

The man shook his head. "No need. They’re all dead."

"Who could have done this? None of them were weak!"

"If I’m not mistaken, Lin Hao from the Yujin Saint Institute made his move. Evil Wind wasn’t telling the truth. Lin Hao’s cultivation is definitely higher than he claimed."

"Then why haven’t we run into him on our way here?"

"It’s obvious. He has strayed from the Ancient Road."

"He dares to stray from the Ancient Road? Isn’t he courting death?!"

"No, it’s definitely not as simple as you think. I have a hunch that he has everything under control. Let’s head back for now."

With that, the two of them turned and went back the way they came.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao had already led his group to a place where they could settle down.

After setting Meng Ru down, Lin Hao began his preparations.

Meng Ru’s latent affliction, which shouldn’t have flared up for some time, had been triggered early. Lin Hao had to act fast.

"Her condition is acting up. I’ll have to trouble you two to stand guard," Lin Hao said to the Zuo brothers.

Zuo Ming offered a smile, but Zuo Yi just snorted coldly.

’Stand guard? It was obvious he just didn’t trust them.’

He didn’t say anything, however, simply turning his back and moving a short distance away.

Zuo Yi now dared not offend Lin Hao. On the way here, he had tried to memorize the route, but to his horror, he’d discovered that their surroundings were all identical. Then, after a cloud of mist appeared behind them, everything had changed completely.

In other words, if Lin Hao decided to abandon them here, they would be lost forever, completely unable to find their way out.

Zuo Ming, on the other hand, was more easygoing. He sat down cross-legged nearby and began to treat his injuries.

After standing around bored for a while, Zuo Yi also began to circulate his energy and regulate his breathing.

Over with Lin Hao, Meng Ru’s condition was deteriorating.

The True Essence in her body was draining away at a terrifying rate. Her realm dropped again and again, and before long, she had fallen below the Elemental Realm.

Throughout this process, Lin Hao kept his palm pressed firmly against her back, absorbing the majority of the True Essence that was leaving her body.

An hour later, Meng Ru’s body was trembling violently. Her face was as pale as paper and contorted in pain.

By this point, her cultivation had fallen below the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer, stopping at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.

At that exact moment, Lin Hao made his move, feeding her a pill.

The Nine Dragon God Refining Pill!

After the pill entered her mouth, Lin Hao also took out the Divine Spring and had her drink it.

Then, Lin Hao helped Meng Ru circulate her energy.

This time was different. Previously, those who took the pill had been conscious, but this time, the process was entirely under Lin Hao’s control.

As a result, Lin Hao found the process much easier to manage.

Moreover, with the neutralizing effect of the Divine Spring, Lin Hao was confident that this would be the most successful bloodline refinement yet!

Two hours later...

The Zuo brothers were jolted from their meditation.

It wasn’t by choice. Just a moment ago, while in their meditative trance, they had felt an overwhelmingly powerful pressure.

Under that pressure, not only did their cultivation techniques stall, but even the blood in their veins seemed to stop flowing.

When they opened their eyes, they were shocked to see a massive, spectral image manifest behind Meng Ru before quickly vanishing.

A pressure unlike anything they had ever felt before permeated the air.

In the face of this pressure, they could only submit. Absolute submission.

The two were utterly aghast. They had once felt the supreme pressure of the Sword God breaking through to the Spirit Transformation Realm, but even that pressure paled in comparison to this.

’And Meng Ru was only at the Soul Gathering Realm... no, that’s not right! She’s only at the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer!’

The Zuo brothers’ eyes went wide, their shock beyond words.

However, something even more shocking was yet to come...