Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"Stop!"

"Bastard!"

Two sharp cries from the women rang out almost simultaneously.

Meng Qing and Lu Diewu tried to intervene, but it was too late.

Just at that critical moment, a terrifyingly peerless aura erupted from Meng Ru’s body.

A phantom image appeared behind her.

The moment this phantom appeared, Zuo Yi’s giant sword Divine Soul unexpectedly broke free of his control and shot back into his body.

Zuo Yi felt his skin prickle with pain, and a sense of fear rose from the depths of his soul.

Needless to say, the phantom behind Meng Ru was her Divine Soul.

It seemed the outcome of their battle was decided.

But that was not the case.

Meng Ru’s cultivation had progressed too quickly. This Divine Soul was a result of the Nine Dragon God Refining Pill Lin Hao had given her, and she couldn’t yet control it.

The phantom appeared for but a breath before receding.

Meng Ru fell to the ground, her chest heaving.

She couldn’t normally control this Divine Soul; summoning it just now had consumed a massive amount of her energy.

For Zuo Yi, that single breath had felt like an eternity. A moment ago, his very blood had frozen.

The pressure vanished, and Zuo Yi’s Divine Soul reappeared.

The giant sword shot across the sky, enveloping Meng Ru in its sword light.

A phantom image flew to meet Zuo Yi’s Divine Soul, only to crumble and disintegrate in an instant.

Lu Diewu was blasted backward, her face deathly pale.

She had just deployed her own Divine Soul, but it was no match for the giant sword.

Meng Ru was too exhausted to even dodge.

At that moment, a figure threw itself onto Meng Ru.

"Sis!"

Meng Ru was scared out of her wits.

"Mmph... Mmph..." On the side, Zuo Ming had been immobilized by Zuo Yi. Unable to move or speak, his eyes bulged as he witnessed the scene. He wanted to shake his head, to cry out, but could only watch helplessly.

Lu Diewu, who had just regained her footing, was stunned speechless by the sight.

In that hair’s breadth of a moment, the giant sword vanished, and Zuo Yi was sent flying, vomiting blood.

Meng Ru saw someone appear, but she couldn’t spare him a thought. Tears streaming down her face, she checked Meng Qing’s body, asking urgently, "Sis, are you okay?"

Meng Qing smiled and shook her head.

Meng Ru’s tears streamed down uncontrollably. "Sis, why were you so foolish?"

"You’re my little sister. I’m useless, this was all I could do." Meng Qing was still smiling.

Meng Ru’s tears flowed even more fiercely. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"Brother-in-law, kill him!" Lu Diewu snapped out of it. Upon seeing the newcomer, her pretty face flushed red, and her body trembled.

Zuo Yi’s actions had enraged her so much that she had the urge to tear him limb from limb.

At this moment, Lin Hao was also filled with rage.

’If I hadn’t returned in time, both Meng Ru and Meng Qing would have perished. This Zuo Yi truly deserves to die!’

"Mmph... Mmph..."

Just as Lin Hao was striding toward the fallen Zuo Yi, he remembered Zuo Ming’s muffled sounds.

Lin Hao understood the situation at a glance and acted, releasing the restriction on Zuo Ming.

"Lin Hao, my brother was just possessed for a moment! I beg you, please spare him," Zuo Ming pleaded for Zuo Yi.

Lin Hao’s expression was cold. "Based on your performance in the canyon, I was indeed planning to treat him as a friend. But now it seems a dog will always return to its vomit."

"I swear, this will never happen again," Zuo Ming continued to beg.

"Young Master, let it go. We weren’t harmed," Meng Qing’s voice rang out at that moment.

"Sis!" Meng Ru cried out, displeased.

Meng Qing said, "Actually, I should thank him. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have broken through to the Soul Gathering Realm First Layer. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have learned how dangerous the world can be."

Meng Ru was stunned for a moment, then became overjoyed. She realized that Meng Qing had truly entered the Soul Gathering Realm First Layer.

Before entering the Starry Ancient Road, Meng Qing’s cultivation was only at the Seventh Layer of the Elemental Control Realm. Even after cultivating with the ambient elemental energy just now, she had only reached the Peak of the Elemental Realm. But a moment ago, she had broken through to the Soul Gathering Realm First Layer without any warning.

The speed was unbelievable.

Even Lin Hao couldn’t quite believe it when he heard.

He turned to look, and happiness for Meng Qing filled him.

He was surprised to find that Meng Qing’s Soul Gathering Realm First Layer cultivation was even more stable than he would have imagined.

"Since Sister Meng Qing has pleaded for him, I will spare his life." In the end, Lin Hao chose not to kill him.

’In the past, I would have killed him without hesitation. But thinking of their performance in the canyon, I’ll give him one more chance.’

"I’ll see you out." Although Lin Hao had decided to spare Zuo Yi’s life, it didn’t mean he would let the two of them continue to follow.

"Thank you." Zuo Ming gave Lin Hao a deep bow, then did the same for Meng Qing.

Then, he walked over and helped Zuo Yi to his feet.

Zuo Yi was completely demoralized, a far cry from his earlier imposing manner.

The blow Lin Hao had just dealt him was simply too great.

They were both at the Fifth Layer of Soul Gathering Realm, yet even after using his Divine Soul, he couldn’t withstand a single move from Lin Hao.

Most importantly, he still had no idea how Lin Hao had even attacked.

Like a walking corpse, Zuo Yi moved forward mechanically.

Lin Hao said nothing, leading the two of them out of the area and sending them onto the Starry Ancient Road.

When Lin Hao returned, he found the three women had once again entered a meditative state.

Lin Hao was surprised for a moment, then he understood why.

A smile appeared on Lin Hao’s face as he watched them.

’Because of Zuo Yi, they feel an even greater urgency to improve their cultivation. This is a pleasant surprise.’

After a glance at them, Lin Hao also sat down cross-legged not far away.

Just now, outside, Lin Hao had been on the verge of an epiphany. He had been about to grasp a wisp of Dao Rhyme when he was interrupted by Yao Yue.

Here, with no one to disturb him, Lin Hao cleared his mind and focused on his comprehension.

Before long, a rumbling began to emanate from Lin Hao’s body.

The dense ambient elemental energy in the air above his head solidified from illusion into reality, forming a funnel-shaped vortex that grew larger and larger.

In a radius of several dozen meters around Lin Hao, the previously withered leaves began to show signs of life, and even the dead branches grew tender and new. The living plants swayed gracefully, becoming more vibrant and lustrous.

Unconscious smiles appeared on the faces of the three women, who were clearly also benefiting.

This was the power of an Imperial Art.

Lin Hao’s Imperial Art disdained the raw ambient elemental energy, but it refined the wildly surging energy, separating the wheat from the chaff. All things have a spirit; nourished by this pure energy, the dead branches naturally began to brim with life again.

This was only because Lin Hao’s cultivation was still insufficient.

If his cultivation were to reach a higher level, he could probably make a dead tree sprout new buds.

Of course, Lin Hao was unaware of all this.

At this moment, the Tai Chi Array Map within Lin Hao’s body began to spin. The drop of green Lifebound True Blood shone brightly, and at the same time, in his Upper Dantian, his True Self Divine Soul was drinking like an ox.

All the ambient elemental energy pouring in through Lin Hao’s Baihui acupoint was being absorbed by the True Self Divine Soul, becoming its snack.

Although the True Self Divine Soul was small, it was like a bottomless pit, terrifyingly so.

Suddenly, the True Self Divine Soul shuddered. Then, it actually stopped absorbing the ambient elemental energy and sat cross-legged in Lin Hao’s Upper Dantian, its appearance solemn and majestic.

Above Lin Hao’s head, the phenomenon formed by the ambient elemental energy vanished. But within his body, a new phenomenon appeared.