Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

At the critical moment, Lin Hao drove the runic symbol of the Beast Pattern Skill into the black bear's body. The symbol immediately shot toward the bear's Divine Soul.

The runic symbol was profound and mysterious, and the black bear was utterly unable to escape its grasp.

It felt excruciating pain and the threat of death.

In this state, the power in its claws was immense.

The claw tightened abruptly, threatening to crush Lin Hao's body into a bloody pulp.

Blood streamed from all of Lin Hao's orifices.

Just then, a flash of light slashed through the air.

The bear's claw gripping Lin Hao was instantly severed.

Someone then caught Lin Hao, steadying him.

Xu Zihao had emerged from his seclusion and arrived just in the nick of time.

Seeing Lin Hao so gravely injured, Xu Zihao flew into a rage.

The moment he steadied Lin Hao, he prepared to strike.

Lin Hao shook his head.

BOOM!

The black bear howled in agony, its massive body slamming into a giant boulder and shattering it to pieces.

The runic symbol was devouring its Divine Soul and life force, subjecting it to immense suffering.

Fortunately, this didn't last long.

Finally, the black bear's massive body collapsed, and a slip of paper flew out from its skull.

With a slight lift of his still-functional hand, the slip of paper shrank to the size of a pea.

"The Beast Pattern Skill!"

Xu Zihao's shocked voice rang out.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Just a short while ago, he had used the Mantra Lin Hao gave him to awaken his physique. Not only had he obtained the inheritance of a Supreme Skill and a mysterious otherworldly flame, but he had also grasped many of the profound secrets of Alchemy.

Now, seeing Lin Hao use the Beast Pattern Skill to refine the black bear's Divine Soul without any cultivation whatsoever, his shock was beyond imagination.

After awakening his own physique, Xu Zihao found Lin Hao even more terrifying.

However, Xu Zihao quickly pushed those thoughts aside. Lin Hao's injuries were the most important thing right now.

But he then realized he couldn't do a single thing to help.

Although he had awakened his physique and grasped countless secrets of Alchemy, there wasn't a single pill among them that he was capable of Refining.

A deep sense of frustration washed over Xu Zihao.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to die. Congratulations on awakening your physique."

Though his cultivation was gone, Lin Hao's Spiritual Sense was still terrifyingly sharp, and he could sense Xu Zihao's emotions.

"What's the use of awakening my physique if I can't even help you now?"

"No, you can. I'll teach you the Alchemy Skill. Listen closely..."

Without giving Xu Zihao a chance to object, Lin Hao began his instruction.

Although he had successfully refined the black bear's Divine Soul and gained a battle puppet, the beast's final counterattack had left him so severely wounded that he was on the verge of falling into a deep slumber.

Xu Zihao quickly focused, listening with rapt attention.

Thirty minutes later, Lin Hao's voice had faded to an inaudible whisper.

He had reached the absolute limit of his endurance.

"Your kindness is like a second chance at life for me, and you've opened a wondrous new door. Rest assured, I will not let you down. Even if you can never recover your cultivation, I will ensure your physical body itself becomes that of an Emperor!"

Xu Zihao's voice was soft, yet incredibly resolute.

When he awakened his physique, he had not only obtained a Cultivation Technique called the >—which, once mastered, could summon a celestial flame to descend upon the world, incinerating the four seas with a single thought—

but he had also received a supreme pill formula. One of the pills was called the Five Elements Heaven-Repairing Pill. It required heavenly treasures containing the ultimate five elements, the blood of an Overlord Body, and Refining with the otherworldly flame inside him. It could temper the human body, shatter its shackles, and forge an immortal emperor's physique!

Of course, the materials required for such a heaven-defying pill were horrifyingly rare, and the success rate was abysmally low.

Nevertheless, his vow was unshakable.

After awakening his physique, Xu Zihao's comprehension of Alchemy had reached a terrifying level. It was as if everything Lin Hao said were things he had already known all along.

Thus, after making his vow, Xu Zihao immediately sprang into action.

Several of the pill formulas Lin Hao had just taught him were exactly what Lin Hao needed right now.

This was the edge of the Dragon Transformation Ancient Realm, a place untouched by man for ten thousand years. The amount of Spirit Medicine here was staggering.

It didn't take long for Xu Zihao to collect countless Spirit Grasses. Then, he began the Alchemy.

With a single thought, a small Pill Furnace appeared in Xu Zihao's hand.

The Pill Furnace was bright red, condensed from the otherworldly flame within his body.

The otherworldly flame in Xu Zihao's body was red. It lacked the mysterious aura of other such flames, looking just like an ordinary fire. But that was precisely what made it so terrifying—it had returned to its very Origin.

Xu Zihao's Alchemy was incredibly skillful, as if he were an Alchemy Master who had been immersed in the Alchemy Dao for decades. Moreover, the speed at which he formed pills was astonishing.

Lin Hao had only been unconscious for about an hour when Xu Zihao's pill was complete.

This was the terrifying power of his physique!

He was a born Alchemy Master.

Once the pill was formed, Xu Zihao immediately fed it to Lin Hao.

The pill dissolved the moment it entered his mouth, reaching Lin Hao's Dantian with terrifying speed before being absorbed by the Creation Jade Butterfly.

It was currently like a newborn infant, spending most of its time in slumber.

But this didn't hinder its absorption of nourishment.

With Lin Hao's meridians severed, it couldn't absorb the nourishment it needed. It was starving.

Even in slumber, its craving for nourishment was wide awake.

At first, Xu Zihao thought his Alchemy had failed. But every time Lin Hao took a pill, his complexion improved, making Xu Zihao realize just how desperately Lin Hao's body craved the medicine.

This kept Xu Zihao incredibly busy.

He refined every type of pill Lin Hao had taught him, and all of them ended up in Lin Hao's stomach.

In the end, Xu Zihao lost track of how many pills he had refined.

Lin Hao's body was like a bottomless pit.

Finally, after Xu Zihao spent several days and nights continuously Refining pills, Lin Hao awoke.

By this point, Xu Zihao was in tatters, barely looking human.

The exhaustion was one thing, but over the past few days, he had run into Devil Beasts several times while searching for Alchemy materials. He could only rely on his internal otherworldly flame to win, leaving him in an utterly wretched state.

However, seeing Lin Hao awake, Xu Zihao was overjoyed.

"Brother Lin, you're all right!"

"I'm a little hungry."

That was how Lin Hao felt right now.

Xu Zihao collapsed onto the ground, cold sweat pouring down his face.

"Huh? How did you end up in this state?"

Lin Hao was surprised, only now noticing Xu Zihao's appearance.

"Well, I..."

Xu Zihao suddenly realized he didn't know how to answer.

But Lin Hao didn't press the issue, because he had discovered that Xu Zihao's cultivation had broken through to the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Even without his own cultivation, Lin Hao could discern Xu Zihao's Cultivation Realm from the subtle changes in his body.

This prompted Lin Hao to turn his attention inward.

For the first time, Lin Hao began to carefully examine the meridians in his body, searching for a solution.

Finally, after inspecting his body internally, Lin Hao discovered that five of his most crucial meridians were severed.

The five severed meridians varied in length and size, but Lin Hao discovered they shared a common trait.

Those five meridians, along with two others, were the ones that had borne the most pressure when he used the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

These same seven meridians were also the ones most closely connected to the Creation Jade Butterfly.

"Seven meridians... the Six Paths of Reincarnation... the Creation Jade Disc..."

Lin Hao murmured, a glint flashing in his eyes.