Eternal Heavenly Emperor

Ultimately, the people from the Murong Family obediently handed over all the Mustard Seed Rings and were allowed to return the way they had come.

Why would they not leave?

Without the War Emperor to preside over them, even if some treasures appeared, what did it have to do with them?

"Made a small fortune." Chu Hao took everything out of those Mustard Seed Rings, collected them into his own, and then casually put away the now empty rings to be used by the people of Yunliu Sect in the future.

"Chu Hao, that's the Murong Family we're talking about!" Duanmu Changtian said with a wry smile.

"Oh?" Chu Hao was very indifferent.

"The Murong Family's ancestor, Murong Jiuyue, is said to be a seventh-tier or even eighth-tier War Emperor, with a great possibility of breaking through to become a War God, very much in the ascendant. Even many ancient clans are unwilling to offend this family," Duanmu Changtian explained.

"Ha!" Gu Fei laughed loudly, "Brother Duanmu, you think too highly of that Murong Jiuyue. Not to mention he's not a War God yet, even if he were, he would not dare to act recklessly in front of the He Family and Gu Family, let alone the fact that there are several War Gods presiding over the War God Academy right now."

Duanmu Changtian didn't know just how profound the foundations of the He and Gu Families were. Generally speaking, a Gu Clan would naturally produce only one War God and possess a single Divine Artifact for protection. But what can a Divine Artifact do against a living War God?

To stand against a War God, the Gu Clans would need a Divine Artifact combined with a protective Formation. Only by merging the two could they barely withstand a War God. And even then, if a War God truly wanted to kill, it depended on whether he was willing to pay the price of injuring himself.

After all, Divine Artifacts and Formations are both created and arranged by War Gods.

If that member of the Murong Family truly became a War God and attacked the Duanmu Family's home, Duanmu Changtian believed that his family would without a second thought offer him up to appease the wrath of a War God.

Therefore, he couldn't imagine how Chu Hao and his group could still be so calm and composed.

"Brother Duanmu, relax, should the sky fall, there will naturally be someone tall enough to hold it up," Chu Hao said with a smile.

"Miss Feixue, don't worry. No matter what danger there is, I will protect you!" Gu Fei took the opportunity to offer his fervent protection to Yan Feixue.

"Hmph, Miss Feixue has my protection, so there's no need for you to bother," Duanmu Changtian hurriedly interjected, unwilling to be outdone by Gu Fei.

Yan Feixue merely smiled demurely, but it made both men itch inside as if scratched by a cat.

Chu Hao sighed; beauty indeed could cloud the mind. Duanmu Changtian and Gu Fei, counted among the Heaven Talented of their generation, had become almost imbecilic over Yan Feixue, to the point where he could hardly stand to watch.

"The Dragon Crown Prince's group should have set off before us, and we haven't caught up with them yet. I wonder if they've discovered the secrets of this place." He spoke, "Let's hurry on our way. If that Little Loach really ascends to become a Star Master, that would be a troublesome matter indeed."

They continued onward, with hills and dense forests ahead, as if they had arrived in a normal world, except the environment was eerie and oppressive, causing an uncomfortable feeling no matter what.

"This place is spooky, like a Ghost City!" Yun Cai said.

Gu Qingcheng rolled her eyes, "And you still have the mood to eat chicken legs?"

"Hee hee!" Yun Cai, munching on a chicken leg, defended herself, "Ghost City or not, eating is eating; those are two different things."

"Huh?" Chu Hao gestured and pointed ahead, "There seems to be someone lying over there."

"Is it a ghost?" Yun Cai asked curiously.

"Can't we just not look?" Gu Qingcheng said with a slight shiver.

"Don't listen to this girl's nonsense; where are there ghosts?" Chu Hao said while moving towards the figure.

"Who says there are no ghosts? Isn't that skeleton who ferried us a ghost?" Yun Cai retorted, unconvinced.

In several leaps, Chu Hao landed not far from where a person lay prone before him, but with furry ears—most likely someone from an Alien Race. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, Duanmu Changtian and the others also flew in rapidly.

"Huh, this guy seems to be called Hu something; he's an underling of Sha Tongtian," Duanmu Changtian remarked.

Sha Tongtian?

Chu Hao frowned and said, "Sha Tongtian is one of the Seven Emperors, with noteworthy strength. He ventured in here but left one of his subordinates dead without even taking the body with him; they must have encountered great peril at the time."

Everyone fell silent, a grave sense of caution rising in their hearts. Over the past year, Sha Tongtian had received the full support of the Alien Race and was estimated to be an eighth-tier War Emperor now. Yet, even such an existence didn't have the time to retrieve his subordinate's body?

"Either they encountered a great crisis or a great opportunity to not have time to collect a teammate's body," Su Wanyue speculated.

Everyone nodded, but if it was a crisis, what kind of crisis could make even War Emperors flee in such a hurry? And if it was an opportunity, it had to be incredibly astonishing for them to chase after it without a second thought for their comrade's corpse.

"In any case, be careful, everyone be careful!" Chu Hao said solemnly.

They continued on their way, but after a short while, they abruptly felt the ground shake and a troop of soldiers headed their way.

This was an army, with cavalry at the forefront and infantry at the rear, each soldier clad in heavy armor. A hundred or so soldiers carried tall banners, and the whole army stretched for miles, a rather impressive sight.

Chu Hao and his seven companions were puzzled. How could an army suddenly appear here?

Yun Cai, curious, was about to jump out when Chu Hao's gaze sharpened, and he was startled. He quickly grabbed her and whispered, "Retreat now!" and then pulled the girl to hide in the bushes.

Su Wanyue and Gu Qingcheng, of course, didn't hesitate at all. They immediately followed his lead. Yan Feixue, after a slight moment of shock, also followed into the bushes. The remaining two men had no choice but to hide in the bushes along with Xia Yuanchao.

"Crunch, crunch." In the dense forest, a sudden chewing sound rang out, eerily grating.

"Stop eating for now!" Chu Hao quickly covered Yun Cai's mouth. The girl was actually nibbling on a chicken leg.

"Brother Chu, what exactly is happening?" Yan Feixue asked through divine sense transmission.

"Look carefully at those soldiers," Chu Hao informed everyone through divine sense transmission, one by one.

The other seven people all looked intently at the front row of knights. They were all riding tall horses, fully armed. Not just the humans, even their horses were encased in iron armor, with only their faces exposed.

Earlier, from a distance, and perhaps because those knights had some ability to make it hard to see their faces clearly, it wasn't until now that they got a clearer view. And when they did, all seven felt the hair on their neck stand on end.

Because these cavalries looked no different from the floating corpses in the Nether River they had seen before.

Their eyes were tightly closed, without a breath of life, devoid of any hint of vitality.

Martial Artists tend to emit life essence unless they deliberately restrain it. Like Chu Hao, who practices body cultivation, is known to have vital essence as strong as wolf smoke that could rise to the sky. It might be possible for one or two people in an army to hide their life essence, but for an army of tens of thousands to be without a single sign of life essence was extraordinarily eerie.

This was an Undead Army!

Thinking of the terrifying floating corpses in the Nether River, everyone held their breath, too afraid to make a sound as they retreated. They dared not move quickly, fearing to alarm the vast army.

It finally dawned on them why someone as powerful as Sha Tongtian had only been able to abandon his comrades' bodies and flee. Encountering such an army, it was miraculous that only one person died!

Quietly, stealthily, they kept moving back.

The Undead Army was on the move. The sound of hooves and footsteps shook the earth. Many soldiers wielded long spears, their tips oozing a bloody aura. One could even see a thick layer of congealed blood on them, a clear sign that this army had been through countless slaughters, staining their hands with untold amounts of blood.

Chu Hao and his eight companions involuntarily held their breath. Even though they did not yet know the full strength of this force, just sensing the bloody and murderous aura was enough to understand their frightfulness.

As the army marched past, one of the knights turned his "eyes" towards where Chu Hao and his group were hiding. Although his eyes were closed, Chu Hao and the others felt as though they were being scrutinized by him.

That sensation... indescribably uncomfortable, as if a wave of deathly energy was spreading through their bodies, enveloping them in the shadow of death.

"Not good, he's spotted us. We need to withdraw quickly!" Chu Hao immediately said, taking out the Western Wind.

The eight of them turned and ran. They had all seen the floating corpses in the Nether River, which were terrifying beyond belief, and thus they lacked even the courage to confront this army -- joking aside, the War Emperor could only cover his ears and cry out against their battle cry, let alone them, mere War Venerates.

Fortunately, the army seemed to be continuing on their original route, apparently deeming them unworthy of attack.

But... they were wrong.

Whoosh, an infantryman rushed out, blocking their path.

He was clad in full armor, even his hands covered, with only a pair of closed eyes visible. Yet this made him even more terrifying. He stood in front of Chu Hao and the others, his spear held horizontal, exuding a fearsome killing intent.

"Go! Go! Go!" he shouted. "Wanyue, cover our retreat with me!"

"Okay!" Su Wanyue nodded. She and Chu Hao, working together, yin and yang in harmony, could achieve a combined force greater than the sum of their parts.

The infantry soldier did not speak but swung his spear at Chu Hao.

Humming, the spear glowed with dark runes that were darker than darkness itself, making it seem as if the brightness was due to its very darkness. In an instant, more than a dozen intricate patterns of darkness appeared on the spear, too complicated to describe.

"Not good!" Chu Hao quickly grabbed Su Wanyue's hand, "This guy is too strong, we can't stand against him even together."

This damned thing wasn't an Elemental Rune, it was... Laws!

Chu Hao had seen these runes on the Heavenly Dharma Stone, and although he still couldn't comprehend them, that didn't prevent him from knowing their power. More than a dozen runes of the Laws, this was, after all, a War God!

Fighting a War God, are they out of their minds?

Chu Hao immediately revived the Western Wind, but faced with the War God's Spear, his weapon was flipped away with a 'ding.'

"Run!"

Chu Hao pushed Su Wanyue ahead with a palm to her back and then followed suit at full speed.

Behind them, the warrior gave chase. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)