"What are you trying to do?" Lin Hao asked, his voice grave.

The "Lin Hao" opposite him smirked wickedly, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. "After that old fool Hongtian perished, ten thousand years have passed with no one becoming a Great Emperor. Now that I have returned, it is only natural that I will be the sole sovereign across the nine heavens and ten earths."

’He wants to become an Emperor Venerable!’

Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed. His ambition was far too great. To return to the mortal realm, he had plotted for thousands of years, slaughtering nearly ten thousand people from the Heaven-Stepping Sect. ’If an Evil Demon like that becomes a Great Emperor, he’s bound to leave a trail of devastation.’

Lin Hao took a deep breath and sneered, "As long as I’m here, you won’t succeed!"

"You? HAHAHA!" The other "Lin Hao" suddenly turned, looking at Lin Hao and bursting into laughter as if he had heard the most hilarious joke in the world.

Lin Hao, however, looked certain. "If I’m not mistaken, you haven’t gathered the True Essence of ten thousand people, and you’re still a long way off from gathering the blood of ten thousand beasts, aren’t you? Whoever suppressed you for all those millennia wouldn’t have made it so easy for you to escape."

"Shut up! That damned old fool Hongtian! I was slain here, and after tens of thousands of years, just as I was about to reconstruct my physical body, he interfered and killed me again! But I possess a Supreme Skill, and I ultimately reawakened. When I leave this place, I will slaughter every last one of his followers! I will extinguish his entire legacy!"

Lin Hao had clearly struck a nerve. The face of the other "Lin Hao" twisted into a ferocious snarl as it roared in fury.

Alarm shot through Lin Hao.

’From what this Evil Demon is saying, it was born even before Emperor Hongtian. It was killed here, and just as it was about to revive, Emperor Hongtian discovered and killed it a second time.’

’Of course, that wasn’t the important part.’

’What mattered was that it had been slain by a Great Emperor and still managed to reawaken. Just what kind of heaven-defying entity was this?!’

"You’re very clever, boy. Not a single word out of place. But with you here, I’ll be able to leave this place immediately. You cultivate an Emperor Art! And your Divine Soul is monstrously powerful! All I need to do is seize your True Essence, take your blood, and perform a Refining on your physical body and Divine Soul. Then I can forge a supreme Demon Body and become the first Ten Thousand Blood Demon Emperor in history!"

’So that’s its goal.’

Lin Hao took a deep breath and took a step back.

Lin Hao’s expression was incredibly grave. This was a being that not even a Great Emperor would dare to treat lightly.

BOOM!

Just then, the eyes of the "Lin Hao" opposite him blazed with light, and Lin Hao found his consciousness irresistibly drawn toward them.

Lin Hao raised his head and met its eyes.

THUMP!

Those eyes were beyond terrifying. In a mere instant, Lin Hao was sent flying backward, slamming into the rock wall and coughing up a large mouthful of blood.

At the same time, cracks began to appear all over Lin Hao’s body.

Countless fissures split open across his skin, blood gushing from them.

The other "Lin Hao" remained motionless. The blood pouring from Lin Hao’s body, as if drawn by an unseen force, flowed straight into the demon’s form.

It was an utterly horrifying sight.

Lin Hao was facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions.

An evil being that had cheated death twice was now after him, coveting everything he was.

The Evil Demon’s techniques were terrifying. Lin Hao felt not only his blood draining away at a rapid rate, but also the True Essence within his body.

’This was what was truly terrifying, because I’m not even circulating my True Essence.’

’The Evil Demon is siphoning my Lifebound True Essence!’

BOOM!

At this point, Lin Hao no longer held back and circulated his Emperor Art with all his might.

In an instant, Lin Hao’s body was wreathed in divine light. His remaining qi and blood churned, then fused into his muscles and bones.

At the same time, Lin Hao’s cracked body began to gradually recover.

Strangely enough, after Lin Hao circulated his Cultivation Technique this time, he didn’t feel any True Essence leaking out.

But the Evil Demon opposite him curled the corner of its mouth into a wicked smile.

A jolt of alarm went through Lin Hao, and he immediately noticed what was wrong.

’The only reason my True Essence isn’t leaking out is that the Evil Demon can’t be bothered to absorb it. Its real target is the Lifebound True Essence in my Dantian!’

Lin Hao could clearly feel the True Essence in his Dantian draining away.

’This Evil Demon is trying to drain me dry from the very source!’

"A Dantian divided into yin and yang... Excellent! Excellent! I have lived for endless eons and witnessed countless prodigies, but none of them were your equal! Even that old fool Hongtian in his youth couldn’t compare. Your Dantian is near perfect. I’ll take it!"

The Evil Demon’s eyes gleamed with avarice.

SPURT! SPURT!

Immediately, Lin Hao faced an even greater crisis.

His body, which had just been recovering, cracked once more, and this time it was even more severe. Lin Hao could even see his own bones exposed.

’But compared to the loss of True Essence from my Dantian, this is nothing.’

He knew that the True Essence from his Emperor Art was his main support. As long as he had True Essence, his body could recover from any injury.

Now, the True Essence in his Dantian was hemorrhaging away.

Lin Hao was seized by a maddening hatred.

"You want my True Essence, you want my blood essence? Then take it all!" Lin Hao roared, no longer retreating, but instead striding toward the Evil Demon step by step.

The Evil Demon seemed utterly confident. Seeing Lin Hao approach, it was not moved in the slightest.

The two of them drew closer and closer.

Lin Hao’s body continued to fissure and gush blood, but not a single drop hit the ground. It all vanished into the Evil Demon’s body, along with thin, thread-like wisps of milky-white vapor.

Lin Hao’s blood essence and Lifebound True Essence were both draining away.

However, Lin Hao paid it no mind and continued to walk toward the Evil Demon.

Finally, Lin Hao’s hand landed on the Evil Demon’s shoulder.

The Evil Demon looked at Lin Hao, its smile exceptionally wicked.

BOOM!

However, in the next moment, both their bodies were engulfed in a mass of colorful flames.

Flowing Light Divine Flame!

The first time he used the Flowing Light Divine Flame, Lin Hao had destroyed a wisp of the Zhengyang Sect Leader’s Divine Soul. The second time, he annihilated Chu Tiandu’s Divine Soul.

’This led Lin Hao to believe that the Flowing Light Divine Flame might be the ultimate nemesis of all Divine Souls.’

Right now, the Evil Demon facing him, hiding inside this body, was also nothing more than a remnant soul.

"AHHHH!"

A miserable scream escaped from the Evil Demon’s mouth. Its nonchalant demeanor was finally gone.

’It worked!’ Lin Hao was overjoyed.

’A moment ago, Lin Hao had been filled with apprehension.’

He had, after all, used the sun and moon for his Body Refinement, making his physical body incredibly tough. He had then tempered it further with the Flowing Light Divine Flame, bringing it to near perfection.

But even so, a single glance from the Evil Demon had been enough to make it crack.

’The demon’s power was unimaginable.’

To be honest, this Evil Demon was just too powerful. Lin Hao hadn’t known if the Divine Flame would even work against it.

But that scream gave Lin Hao confidence.

BOOM!

However, before Lin Hao could celebrate, a huge force surged forth, instantly sending him flying.

Lin Hao’s expression changed drastically.

’If the Evil Demon gets a moment’s respite, I will undoubtedly die here today.’

Under the intense sense of crisis, an unimaginable power erupted from Lin Hao’s body, and his speed reached a new height.

Time itself seemed to freeze for a moment, and Lin Hao suddenly grabbed hold of the Evil Demon and held it tight.

The Flowing Light Divine Flame reappeared, burning fiercely.

Two bodies were bathed in the Divine Flame. On one, white bones were visible; the other was completely unscathed.

But miserable screams continuously came from the mouth of the unscathed body.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Likewise, under an intense sense of crisis, the Evil Demon’s speed also reached its limit. It relentlessly punched Lin Hao’s body, trying to break free.

Lin Hao coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and his body was gushing blood wildly, but he remained unmoved.

"You deserve to die!" the Evil Demon roared, its aura terrifyingly monstrous.

Then, its eyes suddenly disappeared, leaving only black holes—endless, bottomless black holes.

This time, Lin Hao was horrified.

He found his eyes uncontrollably drawn to these black holes, and then the True Essence and blood essence in his body began to drain away at a rate several times faster than before.

Not only that, but even the True Self Divine Soul in the center of his Dantian’s Tai Chi Array Map was starting to disintegrate.

’This is beyond terrifying.’

For the first time, panic appeared on Lin Hao’s face.

’If the Flowing Light Divine Flame failed, I still had another ace up my sleeve—my True Self Divine Soul.’

Lin Hao knew the power of the True Self Divine Soul better than anyone.

That was why he had remained unfazed even when the Evil Demon was absorbing his Lifebound True Essence just now.

But now, even his True Self Divine Soul was in danger of being absorbed. How could he not panic?

The Flowing Light Divine Flame had been enough to make Chu Tiandu perish in resentment. But this Evil Demon was not only enduring its flames but even had the strength to counter-attack.

This Evil Demon’s power was horrifying.

The blood essence and True Essence were draining away too quickly. Lin Hao could clearly feel his own body withering.

But fortunately, under the searing heat of the Flowing Light Divine Flame, the Evil Demon’s body was also withering.

However, the situation was not optimistic.

’Because I know I’m withering away much faster than it is.’

If he didn’t do something, at this rate, there was only one way this could end.

Suddenly, the scene of him creating his own bloodline flashed through Lin Hao’s mind.

The next moment, Lin Hao’s arms and legs suddenly tightened, clamping down on the Evil Demon’s body.

With this movement, Lin Hao’s spine straightened.

Then, the long bone of his spine began to writhe in a bizarre manner.

"Hahaha, boy, stop your pointless struggles!" the Evil Demon opposite him laughed madly.

At this point, Lin Hao’s upper body—aside from his hands, head, and Dantian where a strange energy flowed—was nothing but skin and bones, like a skeleton.

In this confrontation, the Evil Demon had actually withstood the searing Flowing Light Divine Flame and gained the absolute upper hand.

That great spinal bone was crystal clear, and its writhing speed increased.

The Evil Demon’s laughter stopped abruptly, and its expression changed drastically.

It sensed danger.

Just as it was about to make a move, a draconic cry suddenly rang out from the void.

HUM!

The Evil Demon seemed to see an Ink Dragon being born.

Lin Hao’s spine was taking the form of a dragon!

Panic appeared on the Evil Demon’s face. It threw a punch that landed on Lin Hao’s great spinal bone.

At the same time, its hollow eyes sank deeper, and an even stronger suction force was generated.

Lin Hao’s Dantian began to disintegrate.

But at this moment, Lin Hao’s expression was completely calm.

He had entered a strange state.

Vaguely, a glimmer of light appeared in Lin Hao’s consciousness, causing him to forget where he was, and even who he was.

He forgot everything; there was only that glimmer of light.

Lin Hao’s Divine Sense pursued it, but it was too fast. His body twisted, transforming into an Ink Dragon, riding the clouds and mist, crossing through the void as he chased it with all his might...

Back in the cave, the Evil Demon discovered that not only had Lin Hao’s limbs released it, but his body had also stopped twisting, like a corpse.

A look of delight appeared on its face, and the black holes of its eyes widened once more.

But then, something strange happened.