Eternal Heavenly Emperor

The Seven Flower Fruit was definitely a top-grade sacred medicine for martial masters—one fruit could enhance someone's realm by a small margin. Where else could you find such a great deal?

However, there was a precondition for consuming the Seven Flower Fruit: the meridian it targeted must already be unblocked, otherwise, it would be equivalent to eating it for nothing. For Martial Artists, the process of unblocking meridians was actually the most difficult. By contrast, expanding meridians was a matter of time and hence easier.

Chu Hao needed the Seven Flower Fruit.

He had already issued a challenge to Pang Yi—to fight at the end of the year and now there were less than four months left.

Time was invaluable to him.

If it came down to snatching by combat power, Chu Hao had just reached the peak of the Martial Master First Tier and was still cautiously working on opening up the second of his Proper Veins. There was no chance he could stand against Golden Cloud Forest. But now, they were navigating a maze.

His abilities to analyze and deduce were about to play a huge role again.

No one could make him feel inferior.

The Ancient Medicine Field was really close to them. After only half a day, they had arrived at their destination. Standing on high ground and looking down, the medicine field was about as big as ten football fields. It had been abandoned long ago, covered with ancient trees. If not for the remnants of broken walls separating it, no one would have known it had once been a medicine field.

"Can a maze really hold a Martial Artist?" Chu Hao wondered. Once one reached the Martial Master Realm, they possessed at least the strength of a million pounds. Whatever the obstacle in front of you, you could just bash through it head-on. Was there a need to change your path and move around it?

If that was the case, the maze was no longer a maze.

"Hehe, this isn't the Lower World," Zhao Huan patted Chu Hao's shoulder, "You'll understand once you've been inside."

There were only a few scattered people at the entrance of the medicine field. But before Chu Hao could get a clear look at them, they had already entered, vanishing among the dense foliage in an instant.

"Let's go in as well."

Under Zhao Huan's lead, the eight of them entered together, naturally positioning Chu Hao in the most protected spot in the middle— he was their brain. With his commands, they could unleash one hundred, even two hundred percent of their combat power.

Chu Hao actually wanted to test his own strength. He had finally reached the peak of the Martial Master First Tier, his Star Force was overwhelming, and coupled with the Sky Wind Eight Styles and Sky Stepping Technique, he wondered to what extent these could enhance his combat power.

Unfortunately, he had never had a chance to make a move, as Zhao Huan and the others were protecting him too well.

After entering the medicine field, fog quickly began to rise, making visibility continuously decrease until everything was like a sea of fog, only allowing sights up to ten meters ahead.

Chu Hao quickly noticed something strange: there was a big tree clearly in front of him, and he was moving in a straight line, but as he walked, the tree slowly shifted to his left. Not only did the distance not shorten, but it also seemed to be getting further away, before it finally vanished into the sea of fog.

But after a while, the same big tree appeared once more and then disappeared to the right as he moved forward.

What was going on?

"The fog affects the light, causing your eyes to see illusions," seeing the confusion on Chu Hao's face, Zhao Huan explained.

Chu Hao nodded, which explained why some people had seen the Seven Flower Fruit but couldn't pick it. The scenes appearing here could be real, or they might be mirages.

Real yet false, false yet real.

The eight of them walked for a long time but couldn't find the Seven Flower Fruit. After discussing, they decided to split up to increase their chances of success.

Of course, the Seven Flower Fruit was named after the seven flowers that bloomed together but could only bear one fruit, hence the name. Generally, a Seven Flower Fruit tree could bear up to three fruits, no more.

Therefore, even if all eight of them discovered the Seven Flower Fruit, only two or three of them were destined to get a share.

—One couldn't just cut it open and share it; eating a part of it was of no use.

So, it was better to split up early to avoid conflicts over distribution if they indeed found the Seven Flower Fruit. After all, none of them had reached the Eight Meridians Peak, and each one needed the Seven Flower Fruit.

The eight of them separated, each taking some dry food and clean water, agreeing to stay inside for a maximum of ten days. If after ten days they still hadn't found the Seven Flower Fruit, they would have to find a way out.

Chu Hao chose a direction at random; he had wanted to act alone for some time, but Zhao Huan and the others insisted he was too weak and needed protection.

As he walked, he utilized his powerful analytical abilities to form a model of the entire medicine field in his mind.

The fog created mirages, affecting judgment of real objects, but in the end, they were caused by the refraction of light. By observing the same mirage from different positions, he could calculate the angles of light refraction, and thus deduce the real location of the objects.

This required a massive amount of computations, but that was his strong suit.

The current problem was, he needed to see the Seven Flower Fruit tree.

Otherwise, how could he calculate its exact location?

As he was walking, someone suddenly appeared from the mist ahead.

At first, Chu Hao thought it was a mirage until the distance between them got closer, and he realized that it was not an illusion reflected from afar but a real person.

The other party seemed to realize the same. As they were about to get extremely close, the person suddenly stopped, his expression turning cautious.

This was a young man about 20 years old, dressed in a teal tight-fitting suit, with a long sword on his back. His appearance was rather handsome, and he exuded a sharp aura like an unsheathed Sharp Sword.

Chu Hao smiled at the young man, sending a friendly signal first, and then continued to move forward.

The two passed by each other.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a glint of cold light flashed by, and a Sharp Sword furiously stabbed towards Chu Hao's back.

Cling, the Red Shadow Sword was drawn as Chu Hao swiftly turned around, blocking the strike that had just come at him.

The one who made the move was, of course, the man in the green martial outfit.

"Why?" Chu Hao asked in a deep voice.

"To test your strength," the man in the green martial outfit said with a smile. He sheathed his long sword and flourished it, "You are a Single-Meridian Martial Artist." Just now, only one meridian pattern glowed on Chu Hao's body, even during such a perilous moment, clearly indicating that his cultivation was limited to just a single meridian.

Whereas he was at the Two Meridians!

"So what?" Chu Hao's expression remained grim. Had his reflexes not been so sharp, he might very well have been run through by the sword just now.

"Since you are merely a Single-Meridian Martial Artist, you might as well die," the man in the green martial outfit roared ferociously, lunging forward with his sword in a swift assault.

"Do we have a feud? A grudge?" Chu Hao parried with his sword, clink clink clink clank, sword qi crisscrossing, the sounds sharp and incessant.

The attacks from the man in the green martial outfit grew fiercer with each wave, and he laughed loudly, "We have no grudges or grievances, but surely you have something valuable on you? Since you're weaker than me, hand it all over."

"Even if it's just a single Star Stone?" Chu Hao said coldly.

"Isn't that enough?"

"It's enough." Chu Hao's killing intent surged. If that was the case, he wouldn't hold back. Although his realm was a notch below that of his opponent, the quality of his Star Force far exceeded the other's, and with his meridians expanded to a 100-fold fully open state, his strength was in no way inferior.

"Just die obediently," the man in the green martial outfit sneered strangely. He was at Second Tier Peak, his Star Force double that of Chu Hao's, naturally feeling overwhelmingly confident. He was also worried that the fierce fight would draw attention, and wanted to make it quick.

"Take my Little Spring Rain Sword!" he shouted, brandishing his long sword, his movements as relentless as spring rain, the sword light unceasing.

This swordsmanship... is not weak.

Chu Hao nodded inwardly. If he could observe it a few more times, he was confident he could anticipate the opponent's every move. But he didn't want to waste time. Straightaway, with a shake of his left hand, the essence of the Sky Wind Eight Styles unfolded instantly.

Whoosh!

A gust of forceful qi roared from his palm, forming a whirlwind.

"Go to hell," the man in the green martial outfit lunged, executing his most powerful move.

Chu Hao's expression sharpened, and he released the Sky Wind Eight Styles.

"What!" The man in the green martial outfit couldn't help but cry out, as the onslaught came at him like a torrential wave, leaving him clueless on how to defend.

What kind of palm technique is this, and why is it so terrifying?

Bang!

The two figures passed by each other, Chu Hao frowned slightly. His right arm was sliced open, and blood quickly soaked his sleeve; after all, he had nearly dodged the opponent's strongest strike, but hadn't completely avoided it.

But that was because he had chosen to fight attack with attack.

With a clink, the long sword fell from the man in green's hand. He looked astonished, and suddenly his knees buckled as he fell to his knees, then collapsed with a thunderous fall, a pool of blood gushing out beneath him.

His chest had been shattered, and his heart turned to blood foam — he was unquestionably dead.

Indeed, the Sky Wind Eight Styles are powerful.

At least of Lower Grade Earth Level.

Chu Hao noted inwardly. However, the effort of that single strike consumed a great deal of his Star Force, leaving him feeling almost drained. After all, as a First Tier Martial Artist, his reserves of Star Force were too little, and with the violent shaking of his meridians, even if there was enough Star Force left, he couldn't use it consecutively.

After bandaging his right arm hastily, he searched the other man's body.

The man did not have a Mustard Seed Ring, or any similar spatial containers. On his back was a small pack, which upon opening, revealed only two Star Stones and some fragmentary silver, miserably poor.

Chu Hao unapologetically took everything. Since the other man had intended to rob and kill him, he didn't mind doing the same in return.

He did not have the time to deal with the corpse, so he simply started walking away.

As he walked, he reflected on the recent battle.

Not perfect.

He thought to himself. With better handling, his injuries could have been lighter, perhaps even non-existent. It was the excessive use of Star Force in his attacks that had left his defense vulnerable.

It was evidenced that he could have still killed the opponent with less force.

It was his first real fight since becoming a martial master, and he lacked an understanding of his own combat power. With this experience, he would be better prepared next time.

"Being able to kill the opponent in one strike, aside from the strength of the Sky Wind Eight Styles, another crucial factor was the solidity of my Star Force, which easily broke through the opponent's defense."

"The Earth Flame Jue is only a mid-level Human Level cultivation technique and not considered top-quality. Hence, the fact that I could overpower my opponent in terms of the quality of Star Force must be due to my physique."

"This grants me the ability to challenge those beyond my own level."

"However, I wonder what my limit is, how many small realms I can cross."

"I've heard that Cao Jingwen's most famous battle was when he was at the Third Tier Martial Artist realm, and he killed a fifth-tier bandit."

"I must not lose to him."