Eternal Heavenly Emperor

Chu Hao was alone now, but his efficiency did not decrease at all. With the continuous slashes of the Crescent Slash, the puppet in front of him was like a living target, only capable of being continuously attacked by him.

Why was the Crescent Slash placed at the end of the first level area?

There must be a particular reason. Otherwise, why bother recovering the secret technique? It was to give potential access to those entering the trial ground in the future.

This was a trial; it was never meant to be a deadlock.

Of course, if someone with insufficient strength insisted on coming in, they would be courting death. These puppets showed no mercy at all.

Chu Hao quickly slashed his opponent puppet apart, then used the Sky Stepping Technique. He condensed and reversed the void, his figure like a ghost, sweeping past the puppet's chest, leaving it to collapse with a loud crash.

"Brother, would you lend me a hand? I'll give you fifteen thousand Fifth Grade Star Stones." Someone suddenly offered Chu Hao.

"I'll pay twenty thousand!"

"I'll pay fifty thousand!"

This seemed to remind others, who began bidding for Chu Hao's help.

Chu Hao laughed heartily and said, "Sorry, I'm in a hurry!"

He had only ten seconds, so he naturally didn't want to waste time. Furthermore, continuously using Crescent Slash was also a significant pressure on him. It not only consumed large amounts of Star Force but also caused his meridians to swell painfully!

Naturally, compressing Star Force within the meridians would inevitably put pressure on the meridians themselves. Besides, Crescent Slash was a great consumer of Star Force; it couldn't be continuously used.

It was too hard to make money this way, so he wouldn't do it.

After just a few leaps, Chu Hao reached the depths of the valley. Ahead, there was a small pentagonal altar, glowing softly. In one corner, there was an obvious notch where something seemed to be missing. Judging by its shape and size, it matched the Puppet's Heart in his hand.

Well, just put it in.

Chu Hao leaped onto the altar, which was just large enough to hold one person. He placed the Puppet's Heart into the notch, and with a hum, the entire altar shone brightly, enveloping him completely.

In the next flash, he appeared in another place.

...

"Brother Gao, Brother Yao, please help me kill this puppet. I will give each of you a Tiger Bone Herb." In the valley, Cao Jingwen suddenly gritted his teeth and shouted to Gao Fei and Yao Di.

"Tiger Bone Herb!" Gao Fei and Yao Di were both shocked.

Tiger Bone Herb was a very rare Spirit Grass, usable without being turned into medicine. After grinding this Spirit Grass into juice and applying it to the body, it could significantly improve defensive power.

It was said that there was once a reclusive tribe. In the place where they lived, Tiger Bone Herb grew in large quantities. In a certain era, someone from this tribe finally ventured into the world.

This person's cultivation was only at the Warrior level, but his defensive power was so strong that even a War King could barely injure him!

It was simply against the natural order.

The reason was that this tribe, from birth, would apply the juice of Tiger Bone Herb all over their bodies every day. Over time, their physique became extremely abnormal.

Naturally, this drew a lot of attention, and soon the tribe's reclusive home was found and faced annihilation. The Tiger Bone Herb there was divided among various powers.

But oddly, after relocation, the growth rate of all Tiger Bone Herb became extremely slow, and their effectiveness greatly diminished. Meanwhile, the original site became a ruin, no longer suitable for planting Tiger Bone Herb.

Therefore, the existing Tiger Bone Herb had drastically reduced effectiveness and was extremely scarce. But this did nothing to lessen its value, as there were very few herbs or medicines capable of improving physique.

——No matter how strong one's strength, without preparation, defensive power wouldn't be much stronger than a normal Martial Disciple's, which was why people dreaded assassins. They wouldn't confront you directly but resort to ambushes.

With a strong physique, even if ambushed, one might survive or suffer only minor injuries.

The preciousness of Tiger Bone Herb was evident. Otherwise, why would so many powers join forces and attack the reclusive tribe back then?

"Really?" Gao Fei said in a deep voice.

One Tiger Bone Herb was too little, but the juice could be applied only to vital areas to enhance their defense.

"I, Cao Jingwen, always keep my word!" Cao Jingwen said sternly, his mouth twitching slightly. Two Tiger Bone Herbs, it pained him.

By chance, he had acquired four Tiger Bone Herbs, used two, and kept the other two to exchange for advanced Miraculous Pills and Elixirs or Treasure Artifacts.

But now he was infuriated by Chu Hao and was determined to catch up and kill that insolent junior. Moreover, there were certainly other benefits in the third level. As the saying goes, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. By giving up two Tiger Bone Herbs, he might gain something equivalent to ten or even a hundred Tiger Bone Herbs.

Gao Fei and Yao Di exchanged glances and both nodded, saying, "Okay, we'll lend you a hand!" They also saw Chu Hao's earlier attitude and believed that Cao Jingwen must be really angry.

The top three of the Four Talented joined forces and launched a fierce attack on Cao Jingwen's puppet.

However, their opponents weren't just that one puppet. The other two puppets still furiously attacked Gao Fei and Yao Di, putting them under great pressure—otherwise, they would have long since finished off their own opponents.

After paying a great price, Cao Jingwen's puppet finally collapsed with a loud boom.

"Brother Cao, where's the Tiger Bone Herb?" Yao Di and Gao Fei focused on their own puppets.

Cao Jingwen raised his right hand, and with a swoosh, two gray-green plants flew towards Yao Di and Gao Fei. He then dug out the Puppet's Heart from the puppet and quickly rushed into the valley.

He had to catch up to Chu Hao and kill this disobedient junior. He had to pay two Tiger Bone Herbs to enter the third level because of him.

...

Chu Hao looked around. He found himself at the entrance of a village. Smoke was rising from chimneys, indicating it wasn't deserted but inhabited.

Clap, clap, the sound of footsteps came. Three children ran out of the village, playing and chasing each other. Strangely, though they wore smiles and opened their mouths, they made no sound at all.

After a while, the three children ran to Chu Hao. It was then that he noticed something else was off.

These three children weren't breathing!

Neither did they have heartbeats, like zombies.

—— They weren't zombies; they were puppets.

So lifelike that it was hard to tell with the naked eye. Only their lack of breathing and heartbeats gave them away.

Chu Hao heightened his vigilance; the puppets here were formidable. If they were like the giant puppets before, it would be easier because they could be damaged and dealt with.

But if they were like the ones in the tower… impervious to blades and weapons, that would be truly troublesome.

Chu Hao would rather battle Yuan Tiangang, the top of the Fledgling Dragon List, for three hundred rounds than tangle with these puppets—it would be entirely in vain and greatly upsetting.

The three puppet children circled Chu Hao. If they could make sounds, they would be innocent children playing. But now, the situation was eerie, giving Chu Hao goosebumps.

He didn't act rashly; these were just puppets without schemes. If they meant harm, they would've already attacked.

Chu Hao bypassed them and continued into the village.

There were many "people" in the village, but none made a sound. Naturally, they were all puppets.

What was this play about?

Chu Hao kept walking forward. When he reached the middle of the village, an old man approached, holding up a sign that read: "Goodhearted person, my granddaughter is seriously ill and needs Black Bear Brain, Fierce Tiger's Heart, and Green Snake Gall for treatment. Can you help?"

Seeing this, Chu Hao's mouth twitched slightly. This felt like an online game quest.

The old man had three holes in his hand, of different sizes, apparently for placing the Black Bear Brain, Fierce Tiger's Heart, and Green Snake Gall. Once placed, there would be subsequent changes.

Chu Hao sighed. Let the quest begin.

But where could these Black Bear, Fierce Tiger, and Green Snake be found?

Chu Hao asked the old man, but puppets had no intelligence and did not respond to his words, just stared at him blankly without any change.

Fine, he had to find it himself.

"Chu Hao!" At that moment, a voice full of killing intent came from behind him. It was Cao Jingwen.

Chu Hao turned and smiled, "Why are you like a ghost, suddenly appearing and scaring people?"

"Stop being glib. Do you think I'm here to joke with you?" Cao Jingwen said coldly, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Chu Hao shrugged and said, "Can you kill me?"

"You only mastered The Skill of Releasing Star Force, which happens to restrain the giant puppet. But against me… what use is it?" Cao Jingwen said arrogantly. "I am a Martial Sect who broke through from the Nine Meridians, not comparable to an ordinary First Tier Martial Sect. It's easy to suppress you!"

Indeed, a Martial Sect breaking through from the Nine Meridians was equivalent to the Ten Meridians, theoretically able to suppress all Nine Meridians martial masters. At least, in the Middle Nine Counties, there had never been a Heaven-defying existence of a Ten Meridians martial master.

Cao Jingwen's arrogance and confidence were not unfounded.

Chu Hao couldn't help but smile strangely. Any First Tier Martial Sect encountering him would consider themselves unlucky, because he had just broken history, becoming the only Ten Meridians martial master in the Middle Nine Counties.

"Cao Jingwen, I originally only wanted to defeat you. After all, you're still young and didn't participate in the oppression of the Lower World. But since you're determined to seek death, I won't be polite!" Chu Hao said calmly.

"Hmm? How do you know?" Cao Jingwen's eyes widened. The true fate of Lower World disciples was known only to a core part of each family. He knew only because he was a rare genius of the Cao family, otherwise, he would know only after 30 when in significant power.

Even all Yunliu Sect's Native Faction disciples, including core disciples, discriminated against Lower World disciples merely out of habit, without knowing the reason.

So how did Chu Hao know?

"Hiss—" He suddenly understood and blurted out, "Lin Cheng!"