Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Somewhere on the Ancient Road, the vital energy of heaven and earth was incredibly dense.

Below, two men and three women sat cross-legged, absorbing the dense worldly energy to cultivate.

Among them, two of the women were absorbing the worldly energy at a terrifying speed.

The worldly energy above their heads was so dense it was beginning to solidify.

Furthermore, one could faintly see the dense worldly energy forming a funnel, pouring into their bodies from the crowns of their heads.

Suddenly, a soft sound came from the side as one of the young men woke up.

When he saw the phenomenon above the two women’s heads, his eyes widened in horror, and he couldn’t help but let out a gasp.

But he immediately clamped his mouth shut, afraid of disturbing the two of them.

"To condense worldly energy into a physical form... Only a peerless genius could create such a phenomenon. For the Celestial Horse to actually achieve this... it’s truly incredible!" he murmured, staring in their direction.

The young man was about to resume his cultivation when the other one beside him stirred and woke up.

Just like the first young man, he was stunned by the sight of the phenomenon not far away.

But a moment later, he spoke. "Where did Lin Hao go?"

This group was none other than Zuo Ming’s party, and the one who had just spoken was Zuo Yi.

The last few hours of cultivation had not only allowed Zuo Yi’s injuries to fully heal but had also directly raised his cultivation by an entire layer.

Zuo Yi’s cultivation had now reached the Fifth Layer of Soul Gathering Realm. Paired with his Mingjian Manor’s Unrivaled Swordsmanship, he believed that as long as he didn’t run into a freak like Lin Hao, he could traverse this Ancient Road with ease.

Thus, Zuo Yi was eager to venture deeper into the Ancient Road.

But when he looked, Lin Hao was nowhere to be seen.

Their current location was off the main path of the Ancient Road. Without Lin Hao to guide them, they had no way of getting out.

The moment he thought of his past grievances with Lin Hao, Zuo Yi’s heart sank. He turned to ask Zuo Ming, who had woken up first.

Zuo Ming glanced at the three women still cultivating not far away and made a shushing gesture at Zuo Yi. Then, he whispered, "Brother, be quiet. Don’t disturb them. Lin Hao was already gone when I woke up. He probably stepped out."

Zuo Yi’s expression turned cold. A flash of panic crossed his face before he said, "He abandoned us!"

"How could that be? If he wanted to move against us, he wouldn’t need to go to all this trouble. He could have just made his move earlier. Besides, the girls are still here," Zuo Ming said, shaking his head, completely unconcerned.

Zuo Yi thought about it and realized he was right. Just as he was about to nod, his expression turned cold again. He snorted at Zuo Ming, "Don’t forget how Lin Hao treated you in Red Beauty City. Don’t side with an outsider against your own!"

Zuo Ming opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a cold voice rang out from the side. "You, Zuo! Has your conscience been eaten by a dog? If it weren’t for my brother-in-law, would you even be standing here talking right now?!"

It was Lu Diewu who had woken up.

Although Lu Diewu’s talent was not quite on par with Lu Dieyi’s, it wasn’t far off, which was why the elders of the Proud Moon Divine Sect had fought over her the moment she arrived. Even though she had only been at the Proud Moon Divine Sect for a few months, her cultivation had progressed rapidly.

Just now, with the help of the dense worldly energy, she had broken through her bottleneck, successfully crossing two minor realms to reach the Third Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm.

She had been feeling quite pleased with herself, but waking up to hear Zuo Yi speaking ill of Lin Hao immediately soured her mood.

"You!" Hearing Lu Diewu’s words, Zuo Yi’s face flushed red as killing intent began to rise from him.

"What’s this? Flown into a rage from embarrassment? You think you can kill me?" Lu Diewu keenly sensed his killing intent and raised a delicate eyebrow.

"A misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding," Zuo Ming said, quickly stepping in when he saw how things were escalating.

But Zuo Yi simply flicked his sleeve, shoving Zuo Ming aside. "Get out of the way!"

’I am Zuo Yi, the esteemed Young Master of Mingjian Manor. No woman has ever dared to look down on me like this.’

Fuming, Zuo Yi was genuinely overcome with the urge to kill.

Lu Diewu tilted her head back stubbornly, showing him no regard. Her beautiful eyes were even tinged with mockery.

This completely enraged Zuo Yi.

In the next moment, Zuo Yi summoned a longsword and moved to strike Lu Diewu down.

The sword was too fast, so fast that even Zuo Ming had no time to stop it.

Lu Diewu’s expression changed.

She was no Lin Hao; the gap between the Third Layer and the Fifth Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm was immense. Moreover, she had never imagined that Zuo Yi would actually attack.

As Zuo Yi’s sword descended, Lu Diewu felt her body turn cold, and for a moment, she forgot to even dodge.

Just as the sword was about to cut Lu Diewu down, a crystal-clear, jade-like hand shot out and slapped it, sending the longsword clattering to the ground.

"Zuo Yi, you’re courting death!" a voice as cold as a blade rang out.

Only then did Lu Diewu snap back to her senses. She saw Meng Ru walking toward Zuo Yi, her face a mask of frost.

Zuo Yi retreated.

An immense aura erupted from Meng Ru’s body, an aura so powerful it made his heart pound with fear.

Meng Ru’s appearance also sobered Zuo Yi up, and a flicker of regret crossed his eyes.

"Miss Meng, my brother was in the wrong. I apologize to you on his behalf," Zuo Ming said, stepping in front of Zuo Yi while enduring the immense pressure.

Meng Ru snorted coldly. "He just tried to kill someone. Do you think an apology can solve this?!"

Zuo Ming opened his mouth, then suddenly drew his own sword, preparing to sever his arm.

However, Zuo Yi snatched the sword from his hand and restrained him, leaving him unable to even speak.

At the same time, Zuo Yi’s voice echoed in his ear, "Get out of the way! The name of Mingjian Manor cannot be sullied, and I, Zuo Yi, am not in the habit of apologizing to a woman."

"Arrogant!" Meng Ru spat out the single word as her body suddenly blurred into motion.

"Xiaoru, stop!" Just as Meng Ru was about to strike, Meng Qing woke up.

But not only did Meng Ru ignore the plea, her aura surged even more powerfully.

A moment ago, she had been worried that fighting would affect Meng Qing, so she had held back. Now that Meng Qing was awake, she no longer had any such concerns and attacked with her full strength.

Meng Ru’s translucent, crystalline hand clashed with Zuo Yi’s sword, creating a massive BOOM. In the distance, countless boulders began to tumble down from a mountain peak.

But the countless boulders exploded in mid-air before they could land.

The shockwaves from their duel were simply too terrifying.

The impact sent both of them flying backward, but Meng Ru, still in mid-air, barely paused before striking again.

By then, Zuo Yi had only just managed to regain his footing.

But Zuo Yi was a disciple of Mingjian Manor, after all. Seeing Meng Ru charge at him again, he brandished his sword in an impenetrable flurry, forming a massive shield in front of him.

Unfortunately, this shield could not stop Meng Ru.

She slapped her palm against the shield, and it immediately crumbled into nothing.

The next instant, Meng Ru formed her hand into a claw and lunged for Zuo Yi’s throat with lightning speed.

"You’ve gone too far!" Zuo Yi roared. Instantly, a giant sword erupted from behind him.

This giant sword was Zuo Yi’s Divine Soul.

The giant sword shot across the sky, slashing toward Meng Ru’s hand at an incredible speed.

The appearance of the giant sword affected Meng Ru’s movements, causing her to pause for a fraction of a second.

In a battle between experts, a single instant could decide life and death.

In that brief pause, the giant sword had already touched Meng Ru’s skin.

Meng Ru had not manifested a hand of True Essence for her attack. If this sword strike landed, the consequences would be unthinkable.