The ancestor of the Kong Clan was also listening in beside them, yet he couldn’t make head nor tail of what was going on.

‘What Defense Index?’

However, he at least understood that Ling Han’s physique was incredibly freakish. It was almost at the Celestial King Tier.

Fortunately, it hadn’t reached the Celestial King Tier yet. Otherwise, the restrictions in the treasure chamber might not be able to wound him! Of course, it was also possible that these people were purposely lavishing praise onto Ling Han, with the intention of warning him not to have any dangerous thoughts. If that were the case, their attempts were in vain.

They continued their journey.

Ling Han and the Empress successfully unlocked a higher cultivation limit, so they could naturally start to cultivate Source Power again. This was truly a long process. Even with the blood essence of Ancestral Kings, they could only shorten this process by 10-fold to 100-fold, but it would still require a shocking amount of time.

They didn’t hide their tracks. In any case, it would have been extremely difficult to hide. This was because they needed to use numerous Transfer Formations, so the chance of being discovered was very high anyway.

Thus, after traveling for around two months, their path was finally blocked by someone.

It was an ordinary-looking young man. He was dressed in coarse clothes, and even though he was clearly young, he had a weathered and worn look. It was as if he had suffered far too much grief, causing his expression to become one of perpetual melancholy.

He was obstructing Ling Han and the others’ path, and he had even placed a large boulder in the middle of the road. He sat atop this boulder with his eyes half-closed. However, this still couldn’t hide his expression of melancholy.

“I’ll go!” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire volunteered. He had already made a full recovery. Ling Han had refined some top-notch healing alchemical pills for him, and it was naturally very easy to heal the wounds of a measly Immortal Palace Tier cultivator. Moreover, Ling Han was extremely generous to his friends, so he had even given the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire a significant amount of Ancestral King blood. This greatly increased his cultivation speed, causing his battle prowess to also become much superior to what it had been before.

Thus, he was itching to test himself out.

Ling Han smiled, and said, “You want to go? Perhaps even 10,000 of you won’t be able to rival a single finger of this person.”

The Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire naturally didn’t believe this. “Brat, are you belittling me?”

“He’s speaking the truth,” the young man on the boulder suddenly said. He opened his eyes, and they were surprisingly a haze of white. It was as if he were blind. However, possessing the ability to easily defeat the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire, he was definitely an Immortal Palace Tier elite at the very least. That being the case, how could he not heal his eyes?

The Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire was infuriated. So be it if Ling Han belittled him. He could treat this as banter between friends. However, who the f*ck did this person think he was?

Ling Han looked toward the youth, and asked, “You are?”

“Jiu Quan,” the youth replied apathetically. “I possess everything, yet I always lack joy. I’m unable to attain perfection, so I’m called Jiu Quan¹.”

Hu Niu was extremely curious, and she asked, “Why not Jiu Mei¹?”

Jiu Quan glanced at Hu Niu, and replied, “Because Jiu Mei is my junior sister¹.”

‘Alrighty then! It’s a pair of weirdos!’

“Don’t try to change the topic. Am I really that weak?” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire asked, unwilling to accept this.

Jiu Quan stood up, and a devastating aura instantly surged forth. This was the unique aura of an Ascending Origin Tier elite. His Source Power pulsated, easily resonating with the Regulations of heaven and earth. This was because Source Power was the fundamental power of the world, so it was naturally closer to the Regulations.

“Consummate level of the Ascending Origin Tier!” Ling Han said.

The Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire immediately shut up. To say nothing of an Ascending Origin Tier elite at the consummate level, even one at the Small Accomplishment could easily kill him 10,000 times over.

“I think we’ve met before?” Ling Han said with a smile.

“No, we haven’t,” Jiu Quan replied with a shake of his head.

“So there’s no animosity between us?” Ling Han asked.

“No,” Jiu Quan replied with another shake of his head.

“Then why are you blocking our path?”

Jiu Quan sighed, and said, “I can’t go against Master’s commands!”

“Oh?” Ling Han nodded, and asked, “Who’s your master?”

“Arduous Law Celestial King,” Jiu Quan replied in a respectful voice.

“Never heard of him,” Ling Han said with a shake of his head.

“Then you’ve definitely heard of my grandmaster’s esteemed name,” Jiu Quan said. His eyes lit up, and it was as if an arc of raging lightning were shooting across the clear sky, forcing the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire to involuntarily squint. “He’s the Jiuwu Heavenly Venerate!”

The Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire was astounded. He was naturally aware of the existence of Heavenly Venerates now. This Jiu Quan person… was actually the grand-disciple of a Heavenly Venerate? This was far too terrifying.

He hurriedly opened his eyes, only to see Ling Han taking a step forward. His body leaned forward, and two gashes had already appeared on the sleeves on his forearm. These were clean cuts that had clearly been left by a sharp weapon.

He then looked at Jiu Quan, only to see that a sword had appeared in his hand at some time. Right now, he was slowly sheathing this sword.

With a crisp clang, the sword fully slid into its sheath.

Whoosh!

Ling Han’s sleeves were completely severed, and they slowly drifted to the ground. However, there wasn’t a single scratch on his arm.

It was clear that in the split second that the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire had closed his eyes, Ling Han had already exchanged a strike with Jiu Quan. In fact, they might have already exchanged several strikes. However, the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire hadn’t noticed these exchanges at all. If he hadn’t opened his eyes to witness them, perhaps he would have thought that he had simply blinked and not missed anything at all.

He drew a sharp breath. Just how powerful were these two people?

“Very well, you’re worthy of being my opponent,” Jiu Quan said apathetically. He possessed everything but the feeling of joy. He would never smile, either. “I’m at the consummate level of the Ascending Origin Tier, and you’re at the Small Accomplishment. I’m only two minor levels above you.”

These were the words of Heavenly Venerate Wu Le. They could target Ling Han as long as they were no more than two minor levels above him.

Even the grand-disciple of a Heavenly Venerate was being so careful, so it was clear that Heavenly Venerate Wu Le had truly made a name for himself during that battle. He had also announced to the world that the Celestial Realm had a fourth Heavenly Venerate, one who was incredibly powerful and assertive.

Ling Han clasped his hands behind his back, and said, “Then come, let’s spar.”

The two of them soared into the sky. In no time, the sky was immediately filled with astonishing explosions. Deafening booms surged over, and it was as if the sky were rumbling with thunder.

Everyone was gazing up at the sky. However, apart from Hu Niu, the Empress, and Bewitching Maiden Rou, the three Ascending Origin Tier elites, no one else could see the battle clearly.

The ancestor of the Kong Clan couldn’t see it clearly, either. This was because his cultivation had been sealed. However, he silently prayed that Jiu Quan could kill Ling Han and his companions. That way, he could finally break free.

Of course, he was also slightly worried. What if Jiu Quan chose the path of violence and killed him as well?

However, it wasn’t long before the explosions in the sky ceased. Peace and tranquility returned.

Whoosh!

A figure shot down. It was none other than Ling Han.

“He fled,” Ling Han said.

He squinted as he gazed into the distance. He had to admit that Jiu Quan was indeed a worthy opponent. He was extremely powerful. However, thanks to Ling Han’s freakish physique, Jiu Quan could only be suppressed and pummeled. Thus, he naturally chose to flee.

As the grand-disciple of a Heavenly Venerate, he was indeed superior to most others. If Ling Han hadn’t obtained the Heavenly Venerate Blood and advanced his physique, the outcome of this battle would have been much harder to determine.

After all, Jiu Quan possessed an advantage of two minor levels.

“By the looks of it, this won’t be a peaceful trip,” Ling Han said with a shake of his head. Their location had already been exposed, so the elites from the three Heavenly Venerate lineages would definitely continue to hunt them.

However, as long as he wasn’t attacked by a Celestial King, Ling Han was genuinely unafraid.

They continued to advance. Sure enough, they were met with a wave after wave of attacks. Some came alone, while others came in groups. However, they were all beaten back by Ling Han. Some were even killed on the spot, serving as a warning to the others.

Several months passed, and they had already entered the Seven Majestic Heaven. They had also traveled through the final Transference Portal. At this moment, they only had the final stretch left to travel.

“Huh?”

Everyone exclaimed in astonishment. This was because two groups of people were engaged in a bloody battle before them. Moreover, the surroundings were already littered with corpses.