"The Demon Suppression Cave."

Wu Taichu nodded. "Hm? What?!"

When Wu Taichu finally processed what he’d heard, he couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

The Demon Suppression Cave! That was a sect forbidden ground, fraught with peril. The fact that Lin Hao actually said he wanted to go there made Wu Taichu’s heart leap into his throat.

"Martial Grand-Uncle, you... you can’t go to the Demon Suppression Cave. It’s far too dangerous." Shaking his head, Wu Taichu’s stance was resolute.

Cang Yan had nearly died both times he entered the Demon Suppression Cave, and the first time he went in, he was already at the Peak of the Elemental Realm. Lin Hao’s cultivation was a whole major realm below that.

Furthermore, Ling Xiao had entered the Demon Suppression Cave a month or two ago and hadn’t been heard from since. Wu Taichu already regretted letting him go in. Now Lin Hao was proposing the same thing. How could Wu Taichu possibly agree?

Lin Hao smiled faintly. "I’m going precisely because it’s dangerous."

In truth, Lin Hao had a better understanding of the dangers within the Demon Suppression Cave than Wu Taichu did.

Thousands of years ago, Chu Tiandu had entered the Demon Suppression Cave in search of a way to save the one he loved.

His cultivation had been at the Spirit Transformation Realm back then, and even he had barely escaped with his life.

Moreover, his memories of the cave had mysteriously vanished after he came out, a testament to just how terrifying the Demon Suppression Cave was.

It was for this very reason that Lin Hao had decided he had to enter.

’Although I can cultivate in the outside world, I’ll never unlock my body’s true potential if I don’t walk the line between life and death. Reaching the Blood Coagulation Realm Tenth Layer would be impossible otherwise.’

For Lin Hao, this trip to the Demon Suppression Cave was a must.

"Martial Grand-Uncle, you can go anywhere else in the sect, but not the Demon Suppression Cave! I absolutely cannot let you take such a risk," Wu Taichu said, his usual deference gone as he continued to try and stop Lin Hao.

"My mind is made up. I must go to the Demon Suppression Cave!" Lin Hao’s attitude was just as firm.

His words carried an undeniable pressure that even Wu Taichu found oppressive.

It was a bizarre situation. After all, Lin Hao was only at the Ninth Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm, while Wu Taichu had already advanced to the Soul Gathering Realm.

Lin Hao’s assertiveness was beyond anything Wu Taichu could have imagined.

In the end, Wu Taichu could only compromise.

"Alright. You can go, Martial Grand-Uncle, but you must take enough medicinal pills. And the moment you encounter any danger, you must retreat immediately," Wu Taichu said helplessly.

Lin Hao nodded in agreement.

In the time it took Lin Hao to nod, Wu Taichu had already pulled out a great many medicinal pills from his storage ring and stuffed them all into Lin Hao’s hands.

Lin Hao took them and started walking toward the Demon Suppression Cave.

At a time like this, Wu Taichu had to accompany him.

The two of them walked one after the other, their pace swift.

Half an hour later, the two of them stopped in a desolate corner of the sect.

From a distance, the two large, blood-red words on a stone stele were enough to make one’s heart tighten.

Forbidden Ground!

Lin Hao ignored it and continued forward. Then, amidst a patch of overgrown weeds, he discovered another stone stele, this one bearing three words written in jet-black script: Demon Suppression Cave.

The three words were unremarkable, but a single glance seemed to unleash an aura of death that chilled one to the bone.

After walking through the weeds for a while longer, they came upon a cave entrance, mostly hidden by the overgrown vegetation.

What was hair-raising was that for some unknown reason, all the weeds near the entrance had turned black.

Lin Hao stood at the entrance and glanced inside, a feeling like being plunged into an icy cavern washing over him.

He stumbled back several steps before regaining his footing.

He wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light, but he thought he saw a pair of terrifying eyes.

It was this terrifying before he had even set foot inside. But far from being afraid, Lin Hao’s lips curled into a smirk.

Taking a deep breath, he strode toward the entrance.

"Martial Grand-Uncle, wait," Wu Taichu suddenly called out from behind him.

Lin Hao turned back, looking at him with a questioning gaze.

"Martial Grand-Uncle, I just remembered something very important. According to the sect’s records, about a few hundred meters into the Demon Suppression Cave, you’ll find a fork in the path. Next to the forks, there will be words. They will read ’Life’ and ’Death.’ The strange thing is, their positions are never fixed."

Lin Hao nodded.

Although Chu Tiandu’s memories of the deeper parts of the Demon Suppression Cave were gone, this particular detail remained.

’Choose the ’Death’ path, and you face near-certain doom, but there’s still a sliver of hope. Choose the ’Life’ path, and death is absolute!’

"When you see them, you must not choose the path marked ’Life,’ or you will surely die. Throughout history, no one who has chosen it has survived. You must remember this," Wu Taichu said, his expression extremely solemn.

Lin Hao nodded again. The same warning existed in Chu Tiandu’s memories.

Then, he gave Wu Taichu a faint, reassuring smile and stepped into the Demon Suppression Cave.

Behind him, Wu Taichu opened his mouth but said nothing. Only his tightly clenched fists betrayed his anxiety.

Wu Taichu stood there for a long time, watching until Lin Hao’s figure vanished into the entrance, before finally leaving.

Once inside, the very first thing Lin Hao did was, surprisingly, take out all the medicinal pills Wu Taichu had given him and bury them beside the rock wall.

’He didn’t plan on bringing the pills with him. He wanted to burn his bridges and leave himself no way out.’

After burying the pills, Lin Hao began to explore the Demon Suppression Cave.

The Demon Suppression Cave was dark and cold, and its terrifying silence was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

He activated his Cultivation Technique, and his eyes began to glow. Everything in the darkness became clear and visible.

The rock walls were damp and slippery, and the passage twisted and turned. There was no knowing what lay ahead.

In the silence, Lin Hao’s footsteps sounded particularly jarring.

The fearsome reputation of the Demon Suppression Cave was clearly not for nothing. Lin Hao proceeded slowly, on his highest alert.

And yet, after walking a hundred meters, he hadn’t encountered any danger at all.

However, instead of letting his guard down, Lin Hao became even more vigilant.

A strong sense of unease rose in his heart.

Finally, after walking for some time, Lin Hao came to a halt.

Before him, the path split into many forks.

Counting carefully, he saw there were nine of them.

And next to each of the nine forks was a single, flamboyantly written word.

Lin Hao looked closer and saw that they were nine "Death" characters.

This made Lin Hao frown.

’This isn’t right.’

’The Demon Suppression Cave never has only ’Death’ characters without a ’Life’ one.’

Not daring to be careless, Lin Hao chose to wait.

Through Chu Tiandu’s memories, he knew how terrifying this cave was. Even Chu Tiandu, back then, hadn’t dared to choose the path marked ’Life.’ How could Lin Hao be any different?

Lin Hao was afraid that if he took a single step, one of the ’Death’ characters would turn into ’Life,’ and he’d end up dying in here.

But after waiting for a long time, there was still no change.

’Could it be that all nine paths offer a sliver of hope?’ Lin Hao mused, rubbing his chin, and finally began to walk.

He walked straight toward the middle path.

The moment he stepped into it, something bizarre happened behind him. The characters on the other paths remained unchanged, but the one for the path he had entered suddenly transformed from ’Death’ to ’Life’.

"Martial Grand-Uncle, come back!" Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

Wu Taichu, unable to stop worrying about Lin Hao, had decided to come in and check on him, only to see Lin Hao walking into the path marked ’Life’.

This filled Wu Taichu with extreme regret.

But it was as if Lin Hao hadn’t heard his shout at all.

From Wu Taichu’s perspective, Lin Hao didn’t even pause, simply continuing forward.

Wu Taichu yelled and lunged forward, trying to pull Lin Hao out.

BOOM!

Something strange happened. The path was empty, yet an unbelievably terrifying aura surged out, sending Wu Taichu flying backward like a sack of grain.

He fell to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. But he ignored his injuries and scrambled back to his feet, his eyes filled with despair.

’Even with my Soul Gathering Realm cultivation, I was heavily injured just by being near the entrance. How could Lin Hao possibly survive?’

’What do I do? What do I do?’ Wu Taichu paid no mind to his injuries, pacing anxiously like an ant on a hot pan.

’Right, I’ll go find Lord Lingdi!’ Suddenly, Wu Taichu’s eyes lit up.

Lord Lingdi had been in seclusion for some time, so much so that the sect members had almost forgotten its existence. At this critical juncture, Wu Taichu finally remembered it.

The moment the thought occurred to him, Wu Taichu flew out of the cave.

Meanwhile, inside the Demon Suppression Cave, the moment Lin Hao stepped onto the path, he discovered that everything around him had changed.

It wasn’t a change in the scenery, but a sudden shift from the void itself.

Suppression. He felt an endless, oppressive sensation wash over him.

It felt as if a peerless expert had altered the rules of the Celestial Dao, cutting this place off from everything.

Before he could even adjust, an icy chill ran through Lin Hao’s entire body.

Ahead, countless pairs of eyes were staring at him.

He saw a pack of enormous rats. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

They were more than ten times larger than ordinary mountain rats, and their eyes, glowing with green light, were fixed on Lin Hao with extreme ferocity and terror.

It wasn’t just one, but a whole swarm. Lin Hao took a deep breath, and his Cultivation Technique began to circulate.

Just then, something that horrified him occurred.

The moment he activated his technique, his True Essence began to gush out uncontrollably. Wisps of it became visible, so clear that even he could see them.

However, something even more bizarre was yet to come.

The pack of enormous rats before him all sniffed the air at once, and the wisps of his True Essence were actually absorbed by them.

Lin Hao’s face fell in shock, and he immediately stopped circulating his Cultivation Technique.

’Without True Essence, in this treacherous and bizarre Demon Suppression Cave, I’d be as good as dead.’

Having absorbed Lin Hao’s True Essence, the rats squeaked excitedly.

Lin Hao guessed that they could make use of his True Essence.

’If these rats can actually refine True Essence, this is a disaster.’ No longer hesitating, Lin Hao moved.

He took a step forward and threw a punch.

’So I can’t use my Cultivation Technique. It doesn’t make much difference for now. Even a casual strike from me contains the force of ten thousand pounds.’

The strength of his physical body was terrifying.

Lin Hao’s punch was astonishingly powerful, sweeping forward like a category-twelve hurricane.

Ahead, the strange rats arched their bodies and dug their claws firmly into the ground, managing not to be swept away by the gale.

POW!

Under the immense force of ten thousand pounds, the bodies of the first few rats instantly exploded into a bloody mist.

SQUEAK SQUEAK.

Before Lin Hao could punch again, countless rats sprang up and charged at him, their cavernous maws wide open.

Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed as he punched out with both fists.

There were no martial arts techniques or fancy moves, only wide, sweeping, and relentless attacks.

Instantly, the tunnel was filled with the sonic booms created by his fists.

The whirlwind generated by his twin fists shredded the rats’ bodies to pieces.

But there was no joy on Lin Hao’s face, for he realized that these damn things seemed to be endless.