"Oh, right, Xiao’Er, which passage did you enter?" Wu Taichu asked Ling Xiao, gazing at the nine passages ahead.

Ling Xiao smiled faintly and replied, "I took the ’Path of Life.’ Otherwise, I wouldn’t have reached my current cultivation level. Master, the Demon Suppression Cave isn’t as frightening as we imagined. I believe we could open it up to all Sect Disciples."

"Not frightening? No danger?" Wu Taichu asked, a look of doubt on his face.

Ling Xiao smiled and nodded. "See? Didn’t I make it out just fine?"

"Mm. If even you could make it out, then it seems I have nothing to worry about when it comes to him." Wu Taichu nodded, looking as if a weight had been lifted from his mind.

Ling Xiao’s brow twitched.

’Isn’t he just blatantly saying I’m not as good as Lin Hao?’

’Hmph! Lin Hao, just wait until you get out. I’ll make you pay!’ Glancing back at the passage, Ling Xiao huffed indignantly in his mind.

Although he was fuming internally, Ling Xiao’s expression betrayed nothing. He smiled at Wu Taichu and said, "Master, let’s head back first."

Before entering the Demon Suppression Cave, Ling Xiao had only been at the Blood Coagulation Realm Peak. Now, his cultivation had reached the Sixth Layer of the Elemental Realm. This level of cultivation absolutely made him number one among the third-generation disciples of the Heaven-Stepping Sect. Ling Xiao was now desperate to return to the sect.

He would prove to the disciples of the Heaven-Stepping Sect that he, Ling Xiao, was the true number one.

Wu Taichu had no idea what Ling Xiao was thinking. However, once he felt Lin Hao was out of danger, he no longer insisted on waiting. After a nod, he left the Demon Suppression Cave with Ling Xiao.

Meanwhile, deep within the Demon Suppression Cave, the Evil Demon who sought to become the Ten Thousand Blood Demon Emperor was sitting cross-legged, seemingly in the middle of cultivating.

Black streams of energy swirled around him, and the faint sounds of wailing ghosts and howling wolves could be heard, a truly hair-raising phenomenon.

Gradually, the black energy grew denser. At the same time, skulls faintly appeared within the streams.

Before long, more and more skulls materialized, revolving rapidly around the Evil Demon’s body.

Just as the Evil Demon’s body was completely encased by the countless skulls, a flash of light flickered in a distant corner before vanishing.

And there, a pile of bone fragments was shifting with almost imperceptible movements.

Without close inspection, one would have assumed it was merely the fierce winds generated by the Evil Demon’s cultivation from afar.

But in truth, the piles of bone fragments were converging, as if drawn together by some unknown force.

The bone fragments were shrouded in black energy, but as they moved, that black energy grew thinner and thinner, until finally, streams of white energy appeared.

This white energy possessed immense power. As soon as it touched the bone fragments, they would instantly bond together, completely seamlessly.

An unknown amount of time passed—perhaps an hour, perhaps ten—but eventually, all the bone fragments came together, forming a human body.

And right in the lower abdomen of this body, an infinitesimally small wisp of energy was circulating mysteriously.

It was circular, crimson on one side and milky white on the other.

The two combined to form what looked like a miniature Tai Chi Array Map.

The Tai Chi Array Map was spinning, seemingly without any pattern, but a closer look revealed it was pivoting on its central point.

Focusing the Essence!

From the center of the Tai Chi Array Map, wisps of energy spread outward, filling the map before converging at its edge. This converged stream then traveled up the spine, heading straight for the body’s brain.

One energy, undying, gives birth to a second.

Almost simultaneously, another stream of energy spread out from the center of the Tai Chi Array Map, traveling up along the sternum to reach the brain.

BOOM!

The two streams of energy collided and merged in the brain, after which a new energy was born, instantly spreading throughout the entire body.

Then, a strange phenomenon occurred.

The point in the brain where the two streams merged began to glow faintly, as did the Tai Chi Array Map.

The two points generated even more energy, which spread to every part of the body.

The speed increased, and the energy grew denser.

The body also began to fill out at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was a bizarre sight.

Inside, the white bones were still visible, but outside them, muscles seemed to be regenerating, though these muscles were formed entirely from the mysterious energy.

From a distance, it looked as if a transparent person had appeared.

But this was only temporary.

As the energy grew ever denser, the body became more and more solid.

Another unknown period of time passed, and a perfectly intact body appeared. It was, shockingly, the body of Lin Hao.

However, this Lin Hao’s eyes were tightly shut, and his entire body was perfectly smooth, without a single strand of hair.

Although a mysterious light flowed within his Dantian and brain, Lin Hao was like one of the living dead.

He could not awaken.

It was still missing one crucial substance!

At this very moment, the Tai Chi Array Map in his Dantian began to spin madly. A speck of crimson appeared in its center.

This speck of crimson was tiny and faint, but as the Tai Chi Array Map spun, it continuously grew larger, eventually reaching the size of a water droplet.

It was a deep blood-red. This was clearly a drop of True Blood!

Lifebound True Blood!

A person cannot live without blood!

This was the most crucial substance for this body!

But it wasn’t over. As the Tai Chi Array Map continued to turn, the color of the blood began to transform.

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, all the way to violet!

The various colors flashed by in an instant.

Only when it reached violet did it linger for a longer moment.

But immediately after, it turned from violet to black.

In the distance, the Evil Demon’s Dantian was also undergoing a transformation. A mass of black blood had also appeared within his Dantian.

Moreover, this mass of black blood was being compressed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Evil Demon was trying to refine it into black Lifebound True Blood!

If any Martial Artist were to witness this scene, they would surely go mad!

After all, the most direct manifestation of a Martial Artist’s special physique was the color of their blood.

Violet was already the known limit.

But now, black blood had actually appeared in the world!

This was a world-shocking sight.

But it still wasn’t over.

The drop of Lifebound True Blood in Lin Hao’s Dantian was still transforming.

The black gradually faded, replaced by a speck of golden light!

The golden light grew brighter and brighter, until finally, the black was completely replaced by gold!

BOOM!

The moment the golden blood took form, it erupted with boundlessly terrifying power.

With a slight tremor, a powerful shockwave shot straight toward the body of the Evil Demon opposite him.

At that instant, the Evil Demon finally opened his black hole-like eyes. Seeing this, he screamed in terror, "No!"

PFFT!

With a soft sound, the mass of black blood inside the Evil Demon’s body instantly vanished without a trace.

Then, without another sound, his entire body ceased to exist.

It was as if that body had never been there at all.

In the void, countless wraiths appeared. They seemed to bow in Lin Hao’s direction before completely dissipating.

The Demon Suppression Cave was as if baptized by holy light; the oppressive atmosphere vanished.

And deep within the Demon Suppression Cave, the True Blood inside Lin Hao’s body was still transforming.

The color of the golden drop of blood also began to fade slowly, eventually returning to its original color.

At this moment, the Tai Chi Array Map trembled, and this drop of True Blood suddenly shot out to every part of Lin Hao’s body.

Afterward, Lin Hao’s body recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye. His qi and blood seethed, flowing in an unending torrent.

His head in particular—his hair began to grow at an unnatural speed, and before long, it had returned to its original length.

BOOM!

The next moment, Lin Hao’s eyes snapped open. For an instant, the sun and moon seemed to appear within them before they returned to normal.

At this moment, his eyes were bright and brilliant, shining more brightly than the stars.

Lin Hao looked down at his arms. A flash of doubt crossed his eyes, but it was immediately replaced by elation.

Then, Lin Hao closed his eyes again.

As he circulated the Ninth Layer of the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, Lin Hao was shocked to find not a trace of sluggishness within his body. Moreover, every inch of his skin was filled with a peculiar True Essence.

That peculiar True Essence was like Chaos Qi!

With no sluggishness at all, Lin Hao easily circulated the cultivation technique to the Great Perfection stage.

Lin Hao opened his eyes, finding it hard to believe this was real.

After a moment’s daze, Lin Hao closed his eyes once more.

This time, he looked inside his own body.

Before long, Lin Hao opened his eyes, his gaze vacant.

"So it wasn’t a dream... my physical body was reconstructed with Chaos Qi, reaching a state of true perfection!" Lin Hao muttered to himself.

Then, Lin Hao suddenly came to his senses and cried out, "Doesn’t this mean... I’ve cultivated to the Extreme Realm of the Blood Coagulation Realm?!"

The Extreme Realm of the Blood Coagulation Realm was something Lin Hao had only ever imagined. Even with Chu Tiandu’s memories, he had never heard of a Martial Artist reaching such a state. How could he not be shocked?

Standing up, Lin Hao felt his body overflowing with endless power.

Lin Hao confirmed it again: his cultivation was still at the Blood Coagulation Realm.

But at this moment, Lin Hao knew he was a world apart from his former self, countless times stronger than before.

Moreover, Lin Hao had a feeling that he could break through the Blood Coagulation Realm and step into the Elemental Realm whenever he wished.

But this state was simply too extraordinary, and Lin Hao had no plans to advance just yet.

Of course, there was another reason: Lin Hao discovered that even if he advanced to the First Layer of the Elemental Realm, his power wouldn’t be much different from what it was now.

The rule that advancing from the Blood Coagulation Realm Peak to the Elemental Realm would increase one’s combat power tenfold seemed to be invalid for him.

Lin Hao shook his head, a little displeased.

But then, Lin Hao broke into a wry smile. ’This must be what they call ’a man’s heart is never satisfied, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.’’

Surveying the cave, Lin Hao found that not only was the original oppressive feeling gone, but nine passages had also appeared in the previously exit-less cavern.

Lin Hao released his Divine Sense, hoping to catch a wisp of the Evil Demon’s aura, but he ultimately found nothing.

That thing had managed to escape from Emperor Hongtian with its life; Lin Hao naturally didn’t dare to let his guard down.

After searching several more times, Lin Hao finally confirmed that its aura was no longer here.

’I’ll get out of here first. I need to find a place to test if I really have 100,000 jin of strength.’ Putting his mind at ease, Lin Hao walked toward one of the passages.

As soon as he entered the passage, Lin Hao noticed something was different.

The passage no longer had that chilling, sinister aura, and there was no trace of any Devil Beasts.

’Looks like that thing really is dead.’ Lin Hao shook his head, finally setting his mind completely at ease.

Without encountering any danger, and after many twists and turns, Lin Hao emerged back at the fork where he had first entered the Demon Suppression Cave.

Then, Lin Hao stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing slightly...