Eternal Heavenly Emperor

Chu Hao and Qin Yulian went their separate ways.

He quickly found a stone cave on one side of the valley, surrounded by jutted rocks which were not suitable for the growth of Gloomy Wind Vine, making it quite clean.

After entering the stone cave, he used a large stone that he had moved earlier to seal the entrance, then sat down cross-legged. He did not rush to consume the Essence of Mother Root, but took out the Mustard Seed Ring of the Life-taking Three Talented to see what good things were inside.

The three carried almost the same items, mostly Annihilation Bombs, some Star Stones, and Pills for restoring Star Force and healing injuries.

There were no Cultivation Techniques or Martial Arts Secret Manuals.

Chu Hao nodded, thinking that entering such a dangerous place like the Ancient Trial Arena, the Sect would obviously not let them bring such things. If they were to lose their lives, those secret techniques would be lost to others.

He took out the Star Stones and put them all into his Mustard Seed Ring. He also didn't plan to waste the three Mustard Seed Rings and intended to bring them back for Tang Xin and the others.

—Spanning several counties, Tang Xin and the others should definitely have no chance of encountering people from the Cleverness Sect.

Counting the Star Stones, they now amounted to around one thousand catties, with four hundred catties being Fourth Grade, and six hundred catties being Fifth Grade. Although this couldn't buy Treasure Artifacts or precious Pills, it was enough to support his cultivation for about a year.

That's enough; after a year he would definitely be able to procure more Star Stones. Even if nothing else, just by focusing on blacksmithing and creating a few eighth rank Treasure Artifacts, he could earn a substantial amount.

It was time to consume the Essence of Mother Root.

Chu Hao took out a section of Gloomy Wind Vine's Essence of Mother Root, carefully peeled off the soil outside, as Tu Mingyuan mentioned that the Essence of Mother Root was in liquid form, so by simply biting a small bit, he could absorb all the essence.

He had clear water in his Mustard Seed Ring, but the quantity was very limited and he naturally wouldn't waste it on washing the Essence of Mother Root. He just wiped it clean with a cloth before biting the stem.

Immediately, a richer fragrance rushed into his nose.

Chu Hao did not want to waste it, quickly putting his mouth to it and sucking, and instantly, a sweet and slightly cool liquid entered his mouth.

It was indescribably sweet.

When Chu Hao was on Earth, he had drunk countless fine wines and tasted numerous famous teas, but even all those combined couldn't compare to a single drop of this Essence of Mother Root!

Truly a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.

He greedily sucked another mouthful, only to find that the Mother Root in his hand had already been sucked dry and shriveled. How could there be even half a drop of liquid left? It was too little, only a dozen or so drops in total.

Chu Hao thought to himself but did not slow down. The Minor Formless Mysterious Skill had already started, and Star Force immediately began rotating at high speed, activating every cell in his body, turning them into Flame Furnaces, and began refining the benefits brought by the Essence of Mother Root.

The Mother Root of the Gloomy Wind Vine offered very little improvement to his Cultivation, mainly enhancing the overall quality of a Martial Artist, such as the strength of the physique, physical brute strength, and had certain longevity effects. It even had a slight improvement to the bloodline purity.

The efficiency of the Flame Furnace was too high, even surpassing the Minor Formless Mysterious Skill in this aspect. In just half an hour, the first section of the Essence of Mother Root was fully refined, comprehensively boosting Chu Hao's quality.

Chu Hao thought that if it hadn't been for the help of the Flame Furnace, the refining process would have taken at least twice as long.

Mid-stage Nine Meridians.

Chu Hao couldn't help but sigh. The difficulty of expanding the ninth meridian was far greater than the previous Eight Meridians. However, this was normal, as the crushing advantage of the Ninth Meridian over the Eight Meridians was significant, and it was only natural that there would be a price to pay.

Once he refined the remaining five sections of Essence of Mother Root, he might reach the Nine Meridians Peak.

Chu Hao was ambitious, thinking he might be able to break through to the Ten Meridians, achieving unprecedented Great Perfection!

"Luo Ping said that nobody had ever reached the Ten Meridians, but that's because he was just a disciple of the Yunliu Sect, limited in the small Tianhe County. But the world is vast, and Tianhe County is just one of the Middle Nine Counties. Besides, there are still the Upper Three Counties."

"Perhaps there are true Heaven Talented individuals of the Ten Meridians level in the Upper Three Counties!"

Chu Hao took a deep breath. The foundation determined the ultimate height one could reach in the future, and also decided the power level of a battle within the same rank. If he broke through to the Martial Sect while still at Nine Meridians, then in the future, facing an opponent at the Ten Meridians who also arrived at Martial Sect, both being Three-Meridians Martial Sect, who would win?

Most likely, it would be the opponent.

He absolutely couldn't lose at the starting point; he must break through to the Ten Meridians before advancing to the Martial Sect!

Chu Hao put aside his thoughts and took out the second section of the Essence of Mother Root.

Flame Furnace started, refining.

A continuous flow of essence power poured into his body, enhancing his physique, increasing his strength, and boosting his life vitality, which was an invisible benefit that would be evident in old age, extending his lifespan.

The third section, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth.

Chu Hao suddenly opened his eyes, extended his right hand, and boom, flames swirled. If one looked closely, there was a trace of blue at the center of the flames.

"Indeed, the Essence of Mother Root could also enhance the bloodline, though it was minimal, it truly did!" Chu Hao observed the flames on his hand carefully. The red part was no different from ordinary flames, but the trace of blue made even him feel a sense of palpitations.

This destructive power could be ten or even a hundred times that of ordinary flames.

Unfortunately, there was only a trace. If the entire flame could turn blue, that would be truly powerful.

But there was no way; his bloodline purity was still insufficient.

"However, I've finally reached the Nine Meridians Peak!" Chu Hao nodded in satisfaction. One could attempt to break through to Martial Sect at Eight Meridians, and now he had reached the Nine Meridians Peak. In theory, he should be able to rival an ordinary Single-Meridian Martial Sect.

Of course, Martial Sects could cultivate Starlight, which could break through any Star Force defenses of a martial master. Moreover, geniuses like Jin Yunlin naturally broke through after reaching the Nine Meridians as a martial master, so the Nine Meridians didn't have any advantage.

Unless he could reach the Ten Meridians.

"It seems like physical strength has also increased." Chu Hao muttered to himself. He clenched his right fist and punched the large stone blocking the cave entrance. With a bang, the stone was instantly blasted away and shattered into countless pieces after flying a short distance.

"Indeed, the increase is about ten thousand catties!" Chu Hao nodded. Although the ten thousand catties increase in strength was negligible compared to his current Nine Meridians cultivation, a million catties of strength was the human body's limit, and breaking that limit was a different matter.

"It's said that there are people who specialize in training physical strength without opening the meridians, continuing to use Star Force to strengthen cells. However, it seems no one can reach the peak, at most rivaling martial masters. Martial sects have cultivated Starlight; no matter how strong the brute strength, it's still inferior to the Starlight!"

"But if physical strength can be increased, it's worth trying, as meridians can only be cultivated for three hours a day, and the remaining time shouldn't be wasted."

Thinking so, Chu Hao walked out of the stone cave, located the tower's position, and set out.

He had secluded himself for just one day, all due to the Flame Furnace's powerful refining ability, otherwise, it would have taken at least three days.

After more than two hours, a river appeared ahead.

The river was long, making detouring not a good idea; it had to be crossed. The width of the river was surprisingly consistent at about three hundred meters, and wooden stakes were planted in the river.

The temperature of the river water must be extremely low, as just standing by the river made one feel a bone-chilling cold.

It seemed that one could cross the river by stepping on the stakes.

But this was the Ancient Trial Ground; could it be so simple?

Chu Hao leaped onto the first wooden stake, standing solidly, with no unusual occurrences. He did not hop but stepped onto the second stake, still no change.

The third, the fifth, the tenth, the twenty-first! Suddenly, this stake started retracting, and then swoosh, a jet of water shot out like a sharp sword.

Chu Hao, having moved so cautiously, was naturally on full alert. He immediately stepped back, but then the stake under his feet, which had been fine, also started retracting abruptly.

Swoosh, another jet of water shot out.

Sky Stepping Technique!

Chu Hao tapped lightly with his feet, as if there were invisible steps in the air, allowing him to return to the shore calmly, step by step.

The place was full of mechanisms.

Chu Hao crouched down and reached toward the river water.

The moment his fingers touched the water, he immediately shivered as a wave of cold hit him from the fingertips, rapidly spreading to his elbow, leaving that part of his body numb and lifeless.

He quickly retracted his hand, activated his physique and the Flame Furnace, radiating intense heat.

Bit by bit, the cold was expelled from his body, and it took him several seconds to regain control of his right hand.

Terrifying.

He thought to himself that if he fell into the river, he might barely swim back if he were close to the bank, but falling into the middle of the river would certainly mean his doom. Even with his flame physique, he was powerless against such extreme cold.

Here, even a water attribute physique would be useless because the cold was too severe. Just as excessive flame could incinerate him to ashes, this cold could do the same.

He had to figure out the pattern of the solid stakes to cross safely.

Chu Hao began testing to deduce the pattern.

Having mastered the Sky Stepping Technique to the Third Layer Realm of Reverse Sky, it showed its power here; otherwise, every failure would mean falling into the water, and the cold wouldn't be driven away in just a few seconds.

Being a trial, it couldn't be a dead end; there had to be a pattern. And as long as there was a pattern, Chu Hao's derivation ability could come into play.

"I see!" Chu Hao smiled. The pattern was quite complex, but to someone with inherently terrifying derivation abilities, further enhanced by merging two souls, this wasn't child's play, but neither was it enough to stop him.

He moved forward, advancing.

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