Master, You've Arrived!

Master, you're here! Rumble!

In the underground cave abode, the raging spiritual energy had only just settled, and the mountain of Spirit Stones beneath Zhao Hao had already shrunk by half.

Yet at that moment, the palm-sized array disk at the cave abode's entrance let out a shriek as if it were on the verge of shattering!

Before Zhao Hao could react, a sinister voice seemed to ring out right against his scalp, piercing through the rock layers and the formation, pouring clearly into his ears.

"Zhao Hao, you have quite a few secrets, don't you?"

"If the Heavenly Sword Sect hadn't gone mad and demanded by name that you and Wu De be handed over, I wouldn't even have known you'd already broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refining."

"Tell me, how did a disciple who joined the sect less than three months ago manage that? You must have obtained some extraordinary inheritance, right?"

"Hand over the inheritance. You don't understand the gap between a Qi Refining cultivator and a Foundation Establishment cultivator at all. You can't run."

That voice!

Every hair on the back of his neck instantly stood on end.

It was Jia Ren!

The deacon elder who had taken a drop of his lifeblood essence on the very first day he entered the sect!

A stormy sea of shock instantly surged through Zhao Hao's heart.

The other party had clearly followed the aura of that drop of essence blood to find him. Moreover, Jia Ren still did not know he had already reached Foundation Establishment, and only thought the one inside the formation was a minor cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

He wanted the so-called "inheritance" on him—something that did not even exist!

Thoughts raced through Zhao Hao's mind as he swiftly calculated the trump cards in his hand.

Meet him head-on? He had only just reached Foundation Establishment, and his spiritual power had yet to fully stabilize, while Jia Ren was an old hand at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, with strange methods. If they clashed directly, his odds of winning were not high.

He had to outwit him!

Use the gap in information!

Zhao Hao instantly settled on a plan. He looked at the nearly twenty thousand Spirit Stones still remaining in the cave abode, and a trace of resolve flashed through his eyes.

Without hesitation, he called up the system panel.

[Main Item: Ghost Bone (First-Rank Top-Grade Magic Tool)]

[Please place in consumption materials...]

With a thought, Zhao Hao directly slammed six thousand two hundred and fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones into the material slot!

[Enhancement Success Rate: 100%]

"Enhance!"

[Ding! Enhancement successful! Ghost Bone (First-Rank Top-Grade Magic Tool) has been upgraded to (Second-Rank Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact)!]

A flash of black light passed, and that black dagger let out a clear, melodious sword cry. The aura it emitted was completely different!

"Still not enough!"

Zhao Hao locked onto the Blood Vein Bone Armor again.

[Main Item: Blood Vein Bone Armor (First-Rank Top-Grade Magic Tool)]

"Throw in another six thousand two hundred and fifty!"

[Enhancement Success Rate: 100%]

"Confirm enhancement!"

[Ding! Enhancement successful! Blood Vein Bone Armor (First-Rank Top-Grade Magic Tool) has been upgraded to (Second-Rank Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact)!]

With one offensive and one defensive Second-Rank Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact in hand, Zhao Hao finally had a little more confidence in his heart.

He quickly put on the Blood Vein Bone Armor. The spiritual artifact-grade soft armor silently fit against his skin, and he then put an ordinary inner-sect disciple's robe over it. From the outside, no abnormality could be seen at all.

After finishing all this, he used his perfected Mysterious Yin Breath Concealment Art to firmly suppress his aura to the fourth level of Qi Refining. Then he took a deep breath and slowly activated the Earth Escape Art.

Splash.

Ten zhang away, the ground churned, and a figure emerged from beneath the earth.

Jia Ren held a Blood-Colored Compass in his left hand, its needle pointing fixedly in Zhao Hao's direction. In his right hand, he gripped a Soul Summoning Banner wreathed in black qi, its surface layered with ghostly shadows. Judging from its aura, it was only one step away from advancing to a Second-Rank Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact.

When he saw Zhao Hao appear, a cat-playing-with-a-mouse look of mockery was just about to surface on his face.

But in the next second, his expression froze.

There was not the slightest trace of fear on Zhao Hao's face. Instead, he looked delighted, as if he had seen a savior.

"Elder Jia?"

Zhao Hao's voice carried just the right amount of youthful clarity, along with a trace of relief at surviving disaster, and he even took a few steps forward.

"That's wonderful! I just used the Sound Transmission Jade Talisman to contact Master and asked his venerable self to find someone to bring me back to the sect! I didn't expect you to arrive first!"

As he spoke, he actually took out a jade talisman from his storage bag and waved it in front of Jia Ren.

Jia Ren's eyelid twitched.

Of course he recognized it. That was a Sound Transmission Jade Talisman specially made by True Person Corpse Heart.

Had this brat really contacted True Person Corpse Heart?

Jia Ren studied Zhao Hao with an uncertain expression. He could sense that this brat's aura was at the fourth level of Qi Refining, which did not match the intensity of the ninth-level Qi Refining aura reported by the Heavenly Sword Sect at all.

"Junior Brother Zhao, your cultivation..." Jia Ren narrowed his eyes and spoke probingly. "It seems a little off. Even if you have a Heavenly Spiritual Root, it should be impossible for you to break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining in such a short time, right?"

When Zhao Hao heard this, he immediately put on an "oh-so-proud" look, mixed with a bit of "a youngster who could not keep a secret," and mysteriously leaned a few steps closer.

"Elder Jia, this... Master won't let me tell outsiders..."

He lowered his voice, his tone brimming with unconcealable showing off.

"This is treatment none of my other senior brothers and sisters have! After Master took me as his disciple, his venerable self summoned me in private again. Not only did he personally guide me in my cultivation method, he even bestowed an incomparably precious spiritual liquid on me so I could break through as quickly as possible!"

"I only just stepped into the ninth level of Qi Refining. I was originally planning to wait until I reached perfected Qi Refining and give Master a surprise!"

"Spiritual liquid?!"

When Jia Ren heard those two words, he could not help sucking in a breath of cold air.

That was a treasure only Golden Core powerhouses used when cultivating! True Person Corpse Heart was actually willing to let a brat in the Qi Refining stage use it?

In an instant, his mind filled in everything on its own.

How pure was the spiritual energy contained in spiritual liquid? If a Qi Refining cultivator consumed it, it could almost be converted into their own spiritual power without needing refinement.

With such a treasure assisting him, plus the aptitude of a Heavenly Spiritual Root, rushing to the ninth level of Qi Refining in three months truly was not some difficult feat!

Only...

With this kind of pulling up seedlings to help them grow, this brat's foundation was as good as ruined! In the future, forget Golden Core—even Foundation Establishment would carry some chance of failure.

Unless... True Person Corpse Heart had never intended to let him form a Core at all!

The look in Jia Ren's eyes as he gazed at Zhao Hao instantly became intriguing.

Could it be that True Person Corpse Heart had also taken a fancy to this "Heavenly Spiritual Root" fleshly body and was preparing to use it as a future vessel for possession?

That made sense. A frail body could not withstand the descent of a Golden Core cultivator's soul.

First fatten the cauldron, then harvest the fruit—this fit the Demonic Sect's way of doing things perfectly!

Thinking of this, the heat in Jia Ren's heart over seizing the "inheritance" was instantly doused by a basin of cold water.

Rob a Golden Core powerhouse of his cauldron? He had not lived long enough for that!

"Hehe..." Jia Ren squeezed out a smile uglier than crying. "So that's how it is. As the personal disciple of the branch master, Junior Brother has the branch master's support. Being able to break through so quickly is indeed a heaven-sent opportunity."

Seeing the changes in his expression, Zhao Hao knew his words had worked, and immediately struck while the iron was hot.

He said to Jia Ren with a nervous face, "Elder Jia, you absolutely must not tell anyone about my strength! Master won't let me reveal it! He said this is called... hiding one's light and biding one's time!"

"And this time too, those madwomen from the Heavenly Sword Sect were just too dangerous! If Master hadn't given me means to preserve my life and escape, letting me slaughter that ninth-level Qi Refining female cultivator in one move and then flee with a second-tier Space Escape Talisman, I'm afraid my little life would have been left there!"

"Master already transmitted a message to me just now, telling me to return to the sect to cultivate at once. I don't need to take part in the trials outside anymore."

A second-tier Space Escape Talisman!

A trump card that killed in a single strike!

Jia Ren completely dismissed every thought.

He did not dare gamble on whether this brat still had a second or third life-saving trump card bestowed by True Person Corpse Heart.

This deal carried too much risk and too little reward. It was not worth it!

Jia Ren was just about to find an excuse to extricate himself when suddenly, he saw Zhao Hao, who had always been acting innocent and artless, have his eyes flare brightly. Zhao Hao looked past his shoulder toward the empty mountain forest behind him.

Immediately afterward, an expression of wild joy erupted across Zhao Hao's face. Using all the strength in his body, he shouted in delighted surprise:

"Master, you're here!"