Immortal Martial Emperor

Four puppets suddenly appeared ahead.

Each puppet was bizarre in appearance, its entire body as black as charcoal, yet emitting a faint, cold light.

The frigid light was menacing, creating an immense sense of pressure just by looking at it.

SWOOSH!

The four puppets opened their eyes in unison.

A brilliant light bloomed in their eyes, sharp and powerful. They were like mighty beams of energy shooting out of the darkness, seeming to tear through the night and unleash a sliver of dawn.

'They're so strong!'

Hong Yu took a deep breath.

The power of these four puppets placed him under immense pressure.

ROAR!

The four puppets roared as one and charged forward to kill.

The four complemented each other, forming a Grand Array as they rushed him.

CRACK!

One of the puppets suddenly split apart into three pieces, which then merged into the bodies of the other three puppets.

Instantly, the bodies of the other three puppets writhed and transformed, taking on a three-headed, six-armed form.

Every punch they threw carried a savage gale.

Black light swirled around the puppets, coalescing into black blades that snaked toward Hong Yu.

"Illusion Spirit Spear Technique!"

For the first time, Hong Yu used the Godslaying Spear.

Golden light flowed over the spear's shaft, pulsing with a powerful and heavy Energy Aura. Spear Aura shot across the sky, coalescing in the void to form a massive, thirty-meter-long golden spear. It rose high before falling heavily, accompanied by a weighty, sharp sound of tearing air.

BOOM!

The giant golden spear swept out.

The three puppets raised their palms in unison, a black light flaring as they tried to block the attack head-on, but they were no match for it and were quickly shattered.

Hong Yu let out a breath and quickened his pace.

At this Level, puppets only appeared once every hundred meters he advanced.

By the time he passed the five-thousand-meter mark, the number of puppets had grown from the initial four to two hundred.

As soon as the two hundred puppets appeared, fifty of them automatically shattered and merged with the others. Even so, one hundred and fifty puppets still charged at Hong Yu.

Their momentum was overwhelming, their killing intent palpable!

HUFF... HUFF...

Using his Body Technique, Tyrant's Walk, Hong Yu weaved through the horde of puppets, cutting them down one by one.

These puppets all fought at the Level of the Late-stage Primordial Spirit Realm, making them incredibly powerful.

If Hong Yu hadn't already reached the Peak of the Primordial Embryo Realm, he would have had a hard time dealing with them and would have died long ago on this Path of Trial.

BOOM!

After simultaneously slaying four puppets, Hong Yu finally got a moment to breathe.

He scanned his surroundings. About half the puppets were still surging toward him. Hong Yu felt a trace of exhaustion. 'Killing the puppets like this won't work. It's too draining. If this keeps up, I'll never make it to the end. It seems I have to find another way!'

Just then, two more puppets charged at him from the left and right.

Hong Yu's expression hardened. "Piercing Void—Unstoppable!"

The Long Spear tore through the air, piercing the two puppets' heads.

This time, because they were closer and there weren't many puppets, Hong Yu was more focused.

He suddenly noticed that as he killed the puppets, a speck of red light would flash and disappear from within their shattered heads.

Although it vanished quickly, it didn't escape Hong Yu's eyes.

'What is that?'

With this in mind, Hong Yu paid closer attention as he continued to slay the puppets. Sure enough, he confirmed that a speck of red light flashed within the head of every puppet he killed before vanishing.

'I'll see if I can capture it!'

In the subsequent battles, Hong Yu tried using his Primordial Gang's Power and Mystical Power to capture the red light, but he failed every time.

'Damn it, the Primordial Gang consumption is too great. Even my Infinite Primordial Embryo can barely keep up. It looks like I'll have to use my Spiritual Power!'

A blue light radiated from his eyes.

Flying Sabers circled his body, tearing through the void with PFFT PFFT sounds as they slew puppet after puppet.

"Huh?"

Hong Yu had made an unexpected discovery.

When one of his Nine Feather Flying Knives pierced a puppet's head, the red light didn't disappear when it came into contact with his Spiritual Power. Instead, it only vanished when the Spiritual Power dissipated.

'Do I have to use Spiritual Power?'

A look of joy appeared on Hong Yu's face.

During the fight, he began to consciously manipulate his Spiritual Power, wrapping it around the speck of red light in the puppet's head at the last moment. He had actually managed to preserve it.

Under the concentration of his Spiritual Power, the red light turned from illusory to solid after about three seconds.

Fiery Red Crystal Stones, each about the size of a walnut, fell into Hong Yu's hands.

"What powerful energy! It seems to contain immense Spiritual Power!" Hong Yu excitedly stored the fiery Red Crystal Stones.

Although he didn't know what the Crystal Stones were for, they were hard-won, so he put them away in his Storage Ring.

Having witnessed the lethality of his Spiritual Power-controlled Flying Sabers against the puppets, Hong Yu found the subsequent trials much easier.

Hong Yu passed through the ten-thousand-meter Path of Trial with great difficulty.

He finally set foot upon the black throne at the end.

He plopped down on the ground, swallowing a Pill to recover from the battle's toll. He had already collected as many as three thousand of those Red Crystal Stones in his Storage Ring.

"Congratulations, you have passed the Path of Trial. You may choose to receive the inheritance and Treasures of the Outer Hall, or you may forsake this chance and enter the inner hall!" The little dog appeared on the throne.

It stood on its hind legs, a human-like smile on its face.

Hong Yu let out a long breath. "I'll enter the inner hall!"

'I don't know if that Xiahuang the First is an enemy or an ally, but he became number one in the True Dragon Battlefield just by obtaining a mid-tier Treasure from the inner hall.'

'Just in case, I can't settle for second best and stop at the Outer Hall!'

"Very well!"

The little dog smiled.

A black light then radiated from the throne, bathing Hong Yu. A moment later, his body trembled, and he vanished from the Outer Hall.

When he reappeared, he was in a bright, snow-white world.

It wasn't snow and ice, but a uniform, pure white.

RUMBLE RUMBLE!

A noisy sound, like bricks being stacked, echoed around him.

In the vast white space, steps about ten meters long and half a meter high appeared out of thin air, stacking one on top of the other to form a stone staircase that reached to the heavens.

BOOM!

With a dull, tremendous sound, the stone staircase was finally complete.

Hong Yu looked up. The piercing white light was a bit dazzling, and he squinted. A rough glance told him there were about a hundred layers.

"This is a natural Treasure that my master obtained in the past, called the Ancient Celestial Ascension Ladder. There is a great Treasure on every layer. Which one you get will depend on your own perseverance and luck. Of course..."

the little dog said calmly, "once you take one of the great Treasures, you will be transported away by the Ancient Celestial Ascension Ladder."

Hong Yu frowned. "Senior, what kind of Treasures are on this Ancient Celestial Ascension Ladder?"

"For example, the First Layer has a Demigod-Level Martial Skill, the second layer has a Demigod-Level Cultivation Technique, and the tenth layer has a Seventh-Grade Divine Medicine..."

The little dog spoke casually. Any one of those Demigod or Divine Level items would cause major powers in the outside world to fight to the death, yet in its mouth, they sounded insignificant.

Hong Yu asked curiously, "Then which layer's Treasure did Xiahuang the First obtain?"

The little dog glanced at Hong Yu and said with a grin, "The Treasure he obtained was on the forty-ninth layer. It's considered a great Treasure of the upper-middle tier!"

"I see. Thank you, Senior!"

Hong Yu took a deep breath and walked toward the Ancient Celestial Ascension Ladder.

The moment he stepped onto the First Layer, the pressure on his entire body instantly tripled.

Fortunately, he was prepared and continued to advance.

The second layer, the Third Layer...

After the Sixth Layer, the gravity had already reached six times the normal amount.

By the eleventh layer, the gravity reached nine times normal, and Hong Yu felt as if he were carrying a small mountain, incredibly heavy.

His steps trembled, but he still pressed forward.

He passed the first twenty layers with some scares but no real danger. But on the twenty-first layer, the gravity instantly increased to twenty times normal. A powerful crushing force came from all directions, squeezing Hong Yu. His bones creaked, "CRACK CRACK," as if he were about to be crushed into a paste.

Droplets of blood were already being squeezed out from under his skin.

'What a formidable Ancient Celestial Ascension Ladder! It's this terrifying at only the twenty-first layer. For Xiahuang the First to reach the forty-ninth layer, his strength must be truly horrifying!' Hong Yu took a deep breath. His eyes were bloodshot, but he wasn't discouraged. Instead, they burned with intense battle intent and firm resolve.

Taking a deep breath, he instantly pushed the Cyan Celestial Transformation Dragon Technique to its limit.

Cyan energy surged from beneath his skin as layers of cyan Dragon Scales covered his entire body. The Dragon Spirit Sacred Body was active.

At this moment, facing twenty times the gravity, Hong Yu felt much more at ease.

He gently twisted his neck, producing a series of "CRACK CRACK" sounds, and continued to advance.

Under the powerful amplification of the Cyan Celestial Transformation Dragon Technique, his physical body was comparable to a Fifth-grade High-Level Primordial Weapon—extremely tough.

He charged forward recklessly, directly reaching the forty-fifth layer.

BANG!

This time, the gravity increased to fifty times normal. Hong Yu could no longer stand it. His legs felt like they were filled with lead as he knelt heavily on the ground, striking sparks.

What did fifty times gravity even mean?

It meant that a single falling feather could shatter marble!

HUFF... HUFF...

Hong Yu gasped for air, his lungs burning as if they were on fire.

Every breath was a huge burden on his heart, lungs, and internal organs. He could barely keep his eyelids open, his mind exhausted.

'No, I can't give up. I have to persevere!'

Gritting his teeth, Hong Yu was already half-crouched, crawling.

BOOM!

The forty-sixth layer.

This time, it wasn't just the impact of gravity, but also a powerful Mental Shock. The Mental Shock wasn't particularly strong, only at the Late-stage Primordial Embryo Realm Level.

Ordinarily, Hong Yu wouldn't have given it a second thought.

But...

Now, he was mentally exhausted and his stamina was severely depleted. Under such a Mental Shock, he nearly fainted.

He shook his head desperately.

Beads of sweat the size of beans dripped down, landing on the stone steps with a "POP POP" sound as they burst upon impact.

'At least... at least I have to pass the fiftieth layer!'

Hong Yu bit the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to endure the physical and mental exhaustion as he continued to climb.

His hands and feet were trembling.

Under the immense pressure of the gravity, his muscles felt as if they were carrying a mountain. He also had to constantly endure the assault on his Spiritual Power. He had almost lost consciousness, only his stubborn obsession and willpower supporting his body's subconscious movements.

Climbing.

Still climbing...

One layer, another layer, and another.

Until at a certain moment, he finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell onto the steps with a THUD.

He barely managed to pry his eyes open enough to see the great Treasure floating before him. A faint smile touched his lips before he lost consciousness completely and passed out...

'Th-this is the great Treasure I obtained?'