Eternal Heavenly Emperor

Seeing real benefits, Chu Hao was naturally full of vigor as he continued to search tirelessly within the mine tunnel, dark as night without end.

He seemed to have Lady Luck's favor, for he harvested something nearly every day, though the Cloud Mist Stones he found were always small—it was inevitable, as the larger pieces would unlikely be left behind.

The smallest weighed only two grams, while the heaviest was about ten grams.

Nevertheless, Chu Hao's strength increased daily, causing his appetite to skyrocket. Fortunately, Yang Suyun was generous, providing them with dry food made of ferocious beast meat. Though it was surely from beasts of the Lesser Mahayana realm, which wasn't much use for enhancing strength, it won in being energy-rich and filling.

After ten days, Chu Hao's strength soared to 3,000 jin, stepping into the Third Tier Lesser Mahayana realm, a progress astonishingly rapid!

The food and water Yang Suyun brought were almost exhausted. This would be their last venture into the mine; after emerging this time, they planned to return home.

Chu Hao reluctantly accepted, having collected a fair number of Cloud Mist Stones—seven in total—though combined, they didn't even weigh an ounce, barely enough to sustain a month of cultivation. Moreover, as his realm rose and his cells reached saturation, the quantity of stone he could absorb each day would naturally increase.

Having nothing to pack, Chu Hao began heading towards the mine's exit.

"Hehehe, I told you I would claim your sword!" A cold laugh echoed as Ba Hu, with a torch in hand, rounded a corner and approached, his face sinisterly smiling, unnervingly so under the flickering flame.

There he was, at last!

Chu Hao chuckled and said, "We'll see about that!"

If it were ten days prior, he might have had some reservations, since there was a notable gap in strength between them! But now, having gained over a thousand jin of strength and stepping into the Third Tier Lesser Mahayana realm, he was not far off from Ba Hu, well enough to stand toe-to-toe in a straight fight.

"I can see from your face that today is an ill-fated day for you, destined to be splattered in blood," Ba Hu unsheathed his sword, reflecting a threatening cold light.

Chu Hao shook his head and said, "Just for a sword, you harbor a killing intention?"

"Isn't that reason enough?" Ba Hu shot back.

"Since you've said that, I'll have no guilt in killing you!" Chu Hao declared coldly.

"Hahahaha, I will stand on your corpse and say to you, 'Your hopes are but a fool's dream!'" Ba Hu suddenly flung the torch at Chu Hao and, with a flit of his shadow, could only be seen by the harsh glint of his Sharp Sword in the darkness.

While he appeared contemptuous of Chu Hao, his actions once engaged were utterly committed! Throwing his torch to blind Chu Hao's vision then seizing the moment for a deadly strike was done in one fluid motion!

Chu Hao's reaction was equally quick. He too flung his torch, colliding it with the incoming one, and simultaneously, his Red Shadow Sword was drawn.

The two torches collided, emitting a brief burst of light before falling to the ground. Although still burning, their brightness had greatly diminished, and the area they illuminated became pitifully small.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In such dimness, their swords clashed repeatedly, sparking with each strike.

"Impossible!" Ba Hu exclaimed in shock. In their recent exchanges, Chu Hao's power seemed in no way inferior to his! But that man was clearly just in the First Tier Lesser Mahayana realm, how could he rival him after merely ten days?

Indeed, his strength was a tad greater, but at the level of 3,000 jin, a few hundred jin of difference was insufficient to create an overwhelming advantage.

Chu Hao also inwardly lamented the misfortune, the darkness impairing his vision so he couldn't fully discern his opponent's moves! Exactly because of this, his potent Derivation ability was rendered ineffective—deriving strategies from incorrect actions could easily backfire on him!

He flicked his sword and said, "Nothing is impossible!"

"Hmph, even if your strength has improved significantly, you're still no match for me," Ba Hu insisted. "I've claimed your sword and your life!"

"One must be realistic and not always live in their own world!"

"That's exactly what I intended to tell you!"

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Their swords continued clashing fiercely, sparks flying in all directions.

Whoosh!

One by one, torches flickered out, plunging the cave into total darkness, bereft of even a sliver of light. However, at this moment, the Red Shadow Sword became the best target, for its special material made the sword glow faintly!

It wasn't very strong, but in such darkness, that slight glow was enough for Ba Hu to discern Chu Hao's position!

"Hahahaha, it seems even the heavens are against you!" Ba Hu laughed boisterously. "Now what will you do? If you abandon your sword, how can your flesh and blood contend with me? If you don't, you're just a living target!"

Chu Hao spun his sword deftly and said, "I will still cut you down!"

"You have an annoying mouth. I dislike being denied and even more so being threatened," Ba Hu lunged with his sword, the darkness allowing only the sensation of a chilling gust.

Both could be considered geniuses, who had memorized the terrain while the torches were still lit, so even now in complete darkness, they were certain not to crash into the walls.

Chu Hao was put on the defensive, dodging and parrying based on the sound of the wind as the blade nearly struck him.

"Hahahaha, within ten moves, I will make you bleed out in five steps!" Confident as ever, Ba Hu knew he had the upper hand in strength and that the environment greatly aided him—a victory was plainly in sight.

Chu Hao didn't respond, but brandished his sword in incomprehensible patterns.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Blood splattered; Chu Hao was unable to fully parry the opponent's attack and was wounded by Ba Hu's long sword.

"Die!" Ba Hu thrust his sword fiercely, pouring all his strength into the blow. He was confident that this strike would pierce through Chu Hao's heart!

Indeed, under the cover of darkness, Chu Hao's reaction was much slower. It wasn't until the sword was about to strike that he sensed it and unleashed a counterattack! Did he hope to put them both at a disadvantage and force Ba Hu to retract his sword? A cold smile appeared in Ba Hu's heart. With this thrust, Chu Hao would undoubtedly drop dead, and the attack he had launched would dissipate into nothingness!

He didn't care at all and drove his sword forward, determined to kill Chu Hao in one fell swoop.

Stab!

Huh!

Ba Hu's eyes suddenly widened in disbelief because his thrust had not hit anything solid! Could it be... Chu Hao was not human but a monster?

Thud!

Before this thought could fully form in his mind, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. A cold sensation immediately spread, as if his strength was being sucked out of his body in an instant. His grip on the sword loosened, and it fell to the ground with a "ding".

After a short while, the light of the fire was rekindled within the cave, and Chu Hao approached, holding a torch.

"How is this possible!" Ba Hu said weakly, coughing up blood. His chest had been pierced by a sword, going right through his heart. It was indeed due to the robust life force of a Martial Artist that he didn't die instantly.

But he could only live a minute or two more; there was no hope for survival.

Chu Hao gave a faint smile and said, "Are you trying to say that your sword should have hit me, but instead, you got killed? It's very simple—" He passed the torch from his left hand to his right, and the Red Shadow Sword in his right hand to his left.

Ba Hu had a sudden realization and exclaimed, "You switched the hand holding the sword at the last moment, causing me to misjudge!" He had based his attack on the faint glow from the Red Shadow Sword to determine Chu Hao's position. Since Chu Hao had previously been using his right hand, that was the basis for his judgment.

But switching hands would make that judgment go wildly astray!

"You—you—you really can endure!" Ba Hu spewed blood violently. Chu Hao had endured being wounded without employing that move, waiting until Ba Hu exerted his full strength in a final kill move before launching a desperate counterattack!

When Ba Hu went all out, that was the moment his defense was at its weakest!

Chu Hao too was in grave danger just before; any slower in reaction and it wouldn't have been just a minor flesh wound. He could've been severely injured or even crippled, or dead! Yet, this fellow had borne it all without a flinch.

Dying at the hands of such a man didn't seem so wrongful!

"Hahaha, you won't live much longer either!" Ba Hu's face turned extremely flushed for an instant, his speech more coherent, a symptom of the end-of-life rally. "Do you know who I am? I'm the son of Ba Houyuan, Third Master of the Seven Wolf Stockade. I infiltrated this team to serve as an insider... My father will lead an attack today, plundering all your belongings and slaughtering every one of you!"

"My vengeance... will soon be avenged!"

Having spoken, the young man finally kicked the bucket, dying with eyes wide open and a strange smile lingering on his lips.

Chu Hao frowned; the things this person said right before dying were unlikely to be lies! Seven Wolf Stockade was probably a bandit stronghold. With Ba Hu as the inside man, they likely knew everything about them. The impending attack would certainly be swift and ruthless, with an assurance of victory.

He needed to notify the others immediately and leave at once!

He took another glance at Ba Hu's body and then took off running.

This was his first time killing someone, and he should've felt an intense discomfort, but firstly, it was self-defense, and it was either Ba Hu's death or his own, so he had the moral high ground. Secondly, the pressure of the impending bandit attack left him no time to contemplate the act of killing.

He ran desperately, and after several hours, he finally emerged from the mine, gasping for air.

By that time, there were fifteen people outside. Not counting Ba Hu, it meant only one person was still inside the mine.

"Bandits are about to attack, leave quickly!" Chu Hao immediately shouted.

"Bandits?" Everyone looked at each other doubtfully.

"How do you know?" someone asked.

Chu Hao frowned and replied, "Let's leave those questions for later, we must leave now!"

"How do we know you're not making this up just to throw us into disarray and fall into an ambush?" a middle-aged man scoffed.

"Yeah, yes indeed!" Several others concurred. Blackwood Forest was exceedingly dangerous, and stumbling into an ambush, a ferocious beast's lair, or an insect nest in panic was tantamount to courting death!

Chu Hao's expression grew cold as he said, "I've notified you about the threat; my duty is done. Whether you listen or not is up to you!" He turned to leave.

"Caught red-handed and trying to flee?" The skeptical middle-aged man immediately uttered coldly.

"Right, you can't leave! What exactly are you up to?" Others, stirred by his words, quickly surrounded Chu Hao, even drawing their weapons.