Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Meng Qing and the others were right to be worried.

Lin Hao was grievously wounded.

Just moments ago, Lin Hao had closed the distance, unleashing his Chaos True Essence without holding back. The Fire Serpent had recoiled violently, but Lin Hao stuck to it like a shadow, shattering its defenses.

Lin Hao’s attack was astonishingly powerful. His Chaos True Essence held an immense might that instantly made the Fire Serpent spray blood.

Roaring in pain, the Fire Serpent’s cry shattered the surrounding mountains.

A monstrous, terrifying aura then erupted from the Fire Serpent, as if a fierce beast from the Ancient Times had awoken.

It was a descendant of the fierce beasts of the Ancient Times. Having only recently awakened its bloodline, its power was at its weakest. Lin Hao’s attack, saturated with Chaos True Essence, had subjected it to a pressure it had never known.

After suffering a blow from Lin Hao, the Fire Serpent’s bloodline had finally been fully activated.

The terrifying aura appeared with such sudden, raw violence that Lin Hao felt his blood run cold.

For a moment, Lin Hao froze.

The pause was so brief it should have been negligible. However, as a descendant of an ancient fierce beast, the now fully-awakened Fire Serpent had inherited its complete combat legacy.

In the Ancient Times, Devil Beasts were innumerable, and the title of "fierce beast" was earned through countless bloody battles.

One could say that the combat instincts of the ancient fierce beasts were second to none, likely surpassing even those of experts at the Sealed Martial Realm.

Now, the Fire Serpent possessed these very instincts, and it certainly wasn’t going to let Lin Hao’s moment of hesitation pass.

The Fire Serpent’s claws moved, far swifter than before.

Its claws struck at Lin Hao from an unpredictable angle.

Lin Hao reacted as quickly as he could, but it was still too late.

A claw from the Fire Serpent pierced straight through Lin Hao’s body.

Lin Hao’s body was so tough that even ordinary Spiritual Artifacts couldn’t harm it, yet it had just been pierced by the Fire Serpent’s claw. This was a testament to the creature’s terrifying strength.

Pain shot through Lin Hao as if he’d been struck by lightning.

And yet, the more he was injured, the more formidable his aura grew.

Chaos True Essence surged. Lin Hao seized the Fire Serpent’s claw with one hand and, forming a blade with his other, chopped down on it.

Simultaneously, a palace materialized behind him, with the sun and moon appearing in the sky.

And in Lin Hao’s Dantian, the Tai Chi Array Map spun madly. The Lifebound True Blood in its center shone brightly, and the True Self Divine Soul leaped out.

This was the first time Lin Hao had actively deployed his True Self Divine Soul. During his seclusion a few days prior, the Divine Soul had become perfectly attuned to him.

It was no exaggeration to say that Lin Hao was now in his strongest state.

As soon as the True Self Divine Soul appeared, an overwhelming aura that could seemingly crush all of creation surged forth.

But then, something terrifying occurred. As this aura erupted, the Fire Serpent only faltered for an instant.

In that single instant of pause, Lin Hao made his move, severing the claw still buried in his flesh from the Fire Serpent’s body.

The Fire Serpent howled in agony, its cry shaking the Ancient Road.

The emergence of Lin Hao’s True Self Divine Soul released a wisp of a supreme, utterly terrifying aura.

Even a sealed expert at the Spirit Transformation Realm would be forced to submit, so long as their bloodline was not as strong as Lin Hao’s.

Yet this Fire Serpent had only paused for a moment, a testament to its immense power.

As a descendant of a fierce beast, its ferocious aura was overwhelming. The influence of Lin Hao’s aura on it was minuscule.

Lin Hao was not surprised by this in the slightest.

’In fact, ever since Cang Yan’s Divine Soul appeared in Imperial City and suppressed all of its experts, I’ve known that bloodline isn’t the true root of power.’

’Cang Yan was only a Spirit Body, yet he became a legend. That alone proves my point.’

’For a Martial Artist, the true source of strength is the true self!’

’Beasts are living beings, too. In a way, there’s no difference between Devil Beasts and Martial Artists.’

’As a descendant of an ancient fierce beast, this Fire Serpent inherited its bloodline’s power; its own true self must be absurdly powerful.’

’After all, when its aura erupted just now, even I was affected.’

The fact that the Fire Serpent was barely affected was completely within his expectations.

Thus, Lin Hao didn’t hesitate for a moment. As soon as the True Self Divine Soul was out, he struck.

Three of the Fire Serpent’s eight claws were now wounded. Its remaining five claws transformed into peerless weapons and lunged at Lin Hao.

The sun and moon behind Lin Hao shone, directly annihilating one of the Fire Serpent’s claws.

Lin Hao’s hands were not idle either; forming hand-blades, he met two more of the Fire Serpent’s claws.

And while Lin Hao’s Divine Soul was minuscule before the colossal Fire Serpent, its performance was nothing short of breathtaking.

The True Self Divine Soul’s two small, delicate hands slapped toward two of the Fire Serpent’s claws.

Compared to the Fire Serpent’s claws, the True Self Divine Soul’s small hands were like an ant to an elephant—a world of difference.

Yet, when those small hands met the Fire Serpent’s claws, the claws shattered inch by inch, completely and utterly demolished.

In an instant, two more of the Fire Serpent’s claws were gone, leaving two bloody holes in its body.

At this point, the Fire Serpent seemed to feel nothing. It didn’t roar; its aura simply grew more terrifying.

A claw suddenly and bizarrely materialized from the void.

When it appeared, it was already less than an inch from the True Self Divine Soul.

Its speed was beyond description.

The Fire Serpent had inherited its ancestors’ combat instincts. Its Spiritual Sense was terrifyingly powerful, and it had recognized the danger of Lin Hao’s True Self Divine Soul the moment it appeared.

One could even say that it had intentionally let the True Self Divine Soul destroy those last two claws.

This strike was its true killing blow.

The strike was so fast that even a peak Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artist likely couldn’t have dodged or blocked it.

But Lin Hao’s True Self Divine Soul made only a single gesture.

The True Self Divine Soul opened its mouth and exhaled.

It was a simple action, yet the consequences were staggering.

The Fire Serpent’s claw, like a piece of paper, turned to ash!

It was an astonishing sight.

The Fire Serpent’s claws were nigh indestructible, able to shatter hard Celestial Meteorites as if they were tofu.

Yet now, with just a breath from the True Self Divine Soul, it had ceased to exist.

The power of the True Self Divine Soul was beyond imagination.

However, after exhaling, the True Self Divine Soul had become much weaker.

The Divine Soul’s body even swayed, almost imperceptibly.

But the next moment, the True Self Divine Soul transformed into a streak of light and rushed towards the Fire Serpent.

The Fire Serpent’s body shone brightly, and an aura far more terrifying than before surged out.

As the aura erupted, Lin Hao felt as if his skin were being sliced by knives.

The ferocious aura of the ancient fierce beast was overwhelming; even Lin Hao’s steel-like body couldn’t withstand it.

But the Fire Serpent wasn’t finished. As the terrifying aura surged, all of its remaining claws moved.

The Fire Serpent completely ignored Lin Hao, directing all of its claws to intercept the True Self Divine Soul.

But it was all futile. The True Self Divine Soul crushed everything in its path, and all the claws the Fire Serpent used to block it were pulverized.

The True Self Divine Soul shot past, piercing straight through the Fire Serpent’s enormous body.

A gaping, bloody hole appeared on the Fire Serpent’s massive frame.

The Fire Serpent finally let out another mournful howl.

Lin Hao charged forward. A flash of light shot from his hand, and the Fire Serpent’s head went flying.