The newcomer was the Lin family's Housekeeper Mo!
Given Housekeeper Mo's cautious nature, he couldn't have come into the mountains alone. Lin Hao had to be on his guard.
This time, however, Lin Hao was wrong.
The day before, Housekeeper Mo had seen the Haoyue phenomenon in the Skybreak Mountains. He was terrified, but while trying to persuade Lin Cheng, his mind was captivated by the moonlight. He'd unconsciously thought he had returned to that moonlit night years ago when he'd had his fortuitous encounter.
He shouldn't have been able to break free from that state of mind, but halfway there, the moonlight suddenly pulsed, jolting him awake. He was immediately scared out of his wits.
At that moment, Housekeeper Mo felt as if his body wasn't his own; it wouldn't obey his commands at all. Fortunately, a mysterious, unknown force swept in and carried him away.
Even after getting away, Housekeeper Mo's legs felt like jelly, and he couldn't move an inch. This lasted for a long time. Just as he was about to flee, a celestial phenomenon occurred—lightning flashed and thunder roared.
Housekeeper Mo assumed some powerful being was defying the heavens with its cultivation, triggering a heavenly tribulation.
When all was calm again, his heart began to pound. He remembered the fortuitous encounter from years ago.
'With such a powerful tribulation, there's no way that creature could have survived. If I could get its Inner Core, then…'
Although greed made him bold, the ever-cautious Housekeeper Mo decided to set out at dawn. A creature that could cultivate using moonlight must have an incredibly strong life force. If it wasn't dead, he knew he couldn't handle its death throes.
But when dawn broke, Housekeeper Mo never expected the first person he would encounter to be Lin Hao.
And what he expected even less was that Lin Hao, who had been a fool for three years, had actually recovered.
After a moment of shock, he pieced it all together. 'My nephew's death is probably connected to Lin Hao!'
But he never imagined that Lin Hao would detect the mere sliver of killing intent he had revealed. That was why he hadn't dared to act rashly.
However, watching this young brat, Lin Hao, provoke him again and again, Housekeeper Mo was losing his patience.
Seeing Lin Hao stop in his tracks with a drastic change in his eyes, Housekeeper Mo felt a sense of relief, and his aura began to climb steadily.
"After searching high and low! Little bastard, today I'll grind your bones to dust!" Vicious light raged in Housekeeper Mo's eyes.
Lin Hao's eyes were ice-cold as he said proudly, "Hmph! You reached the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer through unorthodox means, so you're merely in a Pseudo Realm. You're not worthy of killing me!"
You're not worthy!
These three words made Housekeeper Mo's breath catch in his throat from pure rage.
"If you were still the genius you were three years ago, I might be a little wary. But now..." Housekeeper Mo shook his head. He had seen through Lin Hao's cultivation level by reading the fluctuations in his aura.
"Even if I'm only in a Fourth Layer Pseudo Realm, it's more than enough to kill you! Today, I'll show you just how vast the gap between us really is!"
As Housekeeper Mo's chilling words fell, his figure leaped up, his right hand forming a fist that came crashing down toward Lin Hao.
Fierce Tiger Fist!
A violent gale raged at the scene. Wherever the wind passed, massive tree branches snapped, and falling leaves that touched the wind instantly turned to dust!
It was the same Yellow Level Low Grade martial skill, but when used by Housekeeper Mo, its power was countless times greater than when his Second Layer nephew used it!
Lin Hao's heart went cold. He furiously circulated the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, and the Tai Chi Array Map in his Dantian began to spin.
The next moment, without dodging or evading, he also threw a punch. It was the Lin family's Yellow Level Middle Grade martial skill—Stone Fall Fist!
Stone Fall Fist: a punch like a falling stone, a strike like a shooting star. Its intent was awe-inspiring and relentless.
Seeing this, Housekeeper Mo couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
His fortuitous encounter had been swallowing the Inner Core of a Blood Python, a Devil Beast with an incredibly powerful physical body. Forget a Blood Coagulation Realm Second Layer; even a Fourth Layer expert would only have their fist explode if they tried to clash head-on with him!
Even if his opponent's martial skill was a grade higher, it wouldn't matter!
Housekeeper Mo was absolutely confident that this one punch would leave the little bastard Lin Hao half-dead and in a miserable state.
"Explode!" The two fists met in mid-air. Housekeeper Mo put forth a burst of force, and an even more powerful energy erupted violently from his fist.
'First, I'll cripple this little bastard's arm, then I'll slowly torture him to death!' Housekeeper Mo's smile was radiant as an infinite sense of pleasure welled up inside him.
But the next moment, his smile froze on his face as if someone had grabbed him by the throat.
A strange power surged from Lin Hao's fist, giving Housekeeper Mo an illusion: the scorching sun was falling from the sky, and he was as insignificant as a dry weed about to be ignited. But then, the Haoyue descended, and the dry weed was instantly frozen solid!
The next moment, the scorching sun and the Haoyue assaulted his body simultaneously.
Housekeeper Mo wanted to pull back, but he discovered to his horror that Lin Hao's fist was stuck to him like sticky candy, making it impossible to break free.
Then, an incomparably tyrannical power suddenly erupted from Lin Hao's fist!
Strength within softness, softness within strength—a perfect balance of hard and soft!
In his alarm, Housekeeper Mo hastily changed his move, switching from the Yellow Level Low Grade martial skill, Fierce Tiger Fist, to the Yellow Level Middle Grade skill, Celestial Wheel Fist!
Celestial Wheel Fist: True Essence revolves, generating endlessly. As long as the True Essence does not perish, the fist will not cease!
BOOM!
The two fists collided, creating a massive bang that seemed to tear the very air apart.
One person retreated several steps, while the other was sent flying backward like a sack of potatoes.
PTUI!
Housekeeper Mo stumbled back six steps and spat out a mouthful of blood, his face a mask of horror. 'Fourth Layer against Second Layer, and I'm the one who got injured?!'
However, seeing Lin Hao lying motionless on the ground after being sent flying, he finally felt a sliver of joy.
"A piece of trash at the Blood Coagulation Realm Second Layer actually forced me to use a Yellow Level Middle Grade martial skill. Lin Hao, oh, Lin Hao, you can be proud of yourself in the afterlife."
Housekeeper Mo said as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
The next moment, however, his pupils dilated as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Hey, Mo, did you forget to eat? That felt like a tickle." The previously motionless Lin Hao suddenly raised his head, shaking it as he climbed to his feet as if nothing had happened.
"Th-this is impossible!" Housekeeper Mo couldn't believe his eyes. Although he had changed his move hastily, that punch contained over four thousand catties of force. Let alone someone at the Blood Coagulation Second Layer, even an expert at the Fourth Layer couldn't have been unscathed after taking that hit.
"Again, again! Put some muscle into it," Lin Hao shouted with a provocative look on his face.
In truth, Lin Hao's injuries were even more severe than Housekeeper Mo's. But the moment he hit the ground, he had instinctively circulated the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, and the speed at which his injuries recovered was beyond his imagination!
From landing on the ground to getting up and taunting his opponent, only a few dozen breaths had passed, but Lin Hao knew his injuries were already eighty percent healed.
"AHH!" Housekeeper Mo steadied his mind, let out a furious roar, and threw another punch.
Lin Hao, completely fearless, met him with a punch of his own.
In the next moment, a huge explosion rocked the area. The sound of rumbling was incessant, mixed with the furious roars of a middle-aged man and the cheerful laughter of a young boy.
A quarter of an hour later, they exchanged another punch and both retreated simultaneously.
Lin Hao stood tall, his spine as straight as a sharp sword. His eyes were bright, filled with delight.
'The Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill not only let me rebuild my cultivation and made my physical body incomparably tough, but it also has a Healing Secret Skill. It truly is a Cultivation Technique worthy of an Emperor Venerable for Body Refinement and Blood Coagulation!'
'When the Emperor Venerable reigns, I am invincible!'
Lin Hao was stunned. His mind traveled back to ancient times, as if he could see the supreme bearing of the Profound Emperor in his youth. A feeling of reverence rose in his heart.
'Reverence?'
'No, I, Lin Hao, don't need to look up to anyone. If I revere the Profound Emperor, I'll be suppressed by him my entire life.'
'The Profound Emperor became an emperor from a mere turtle. Give me time, and I, Lin Hao, can dominate the martial path even without a special bloodline or constitution! Not only that, I will surpass the Profound Emperor, reign above the Nine Heavens, and become the emperor of emperors!'
"The heavens can be defied, and I am invincible!"
Lin Hao's fighting spirit suddenly soared. He looked past everything, his eyes fixed on a single target. He took a step forward and threw a punch!
The punch had no technique, yet it possessed intent. A dreadful thought rose in Housekeeper Mo's mind: 'The current Lin Hao is unbeatable.'
This filled his face with horror. 'What a powerful martial conviction!'
Facing Lin Hao's punch, Housekeeper Mo couldn't even muster a single thought of resistance. He wanted to flee, but he discovered in terror that Lin Hao's aura had locked onto him completely.
Like a lamb to the slaughter, the fist grew infinitely large in his terrified eyes...
Lin Hao's fist struck Housekeeper Mo's chest. There was no sound. The surroundings were deathly silent, as if everything had frozen.
The next moment, a gentle breeze blew, and a terrifying scene unfolded.
Housekeeper Mo, along with a massive tree ten feet behind him that would take several people to encircle, vanished, turning into dust!
Lin Hao came back to his senses and stared at his fist in disbelief.
'What just happened? How could that punch have such power?!'
Even with the aid of a powerful Cultivation Technique, Lin Hao knew there was still a huge gap between the Blood Coagulation Realm Second Layer and a Fourth Layer Pseudo Realm.
Normally, he wouldn't even be able to defeat him, let alone obliterate him.
'That's right, at the end, I seemed to have entered a profound and mysterious state. That state…'
Lin Hao tried to trigger it again, but he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
By entering the Profound Realm, Lin Hao had unified his essence, energy, and spirit. Although he had obliterated Housekeeper Mo, his mind had already been damaged. It would be strange if he didn't vomit blood when trying to trigger it again.
Lin Hao circulated his Cultivation Technique, but to his alarm, his injuries showed no signs of improving.
The Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill could repair his physical body, but it was useless for mental damage.
'Looks like I need to find a place to heal!' After hastily washing himself in a pool of water, Lin Hao headed deeper into the Skybreak Mountains.
The journey was surprisingly smooth; he didn't encounter a single Devil Beast. Lin Hao was wondering about this when his heart suddenly leaped. An intense sense of crisis washed over him, and without a second thought, he jumped up and scrambled onto the trunk of a tree ahead.
BOOM!
With a tremendous crash, Lin Hao felt the very earth tremble. The tree trunk he was clinging to was snapped in two. Fortunately, his reactions were swift, and he had already leaped away onto a nearby boulder.
Standing on the boulder, Lin Hao saw that the broken tree trunk was so thick it would take six or seven people to encircle it. He couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. 'Good thing I was fast, or I'd be dead by now!'
And the next moment, Lin Hao's expression became more solemn than ever before, because he saw a Devil Beast.
It was nearly five meters long and completely covered in Scale Armor. Its head resembled a dog's, it had spikes along its back, and a long, sharp horn protruded from each of its shoulders.
Devil Beasts are graded by tiers. Tier One is the weakest, with strength equivalent to a Blood Coagulation Realm Martial Artist. Tier Two is equivalent to an Elemental Realm Martial Artist, and so on...
The Devil Beast before Lin Hao, a Scale Armor Crocodile, was only a Tier One Devil Beast, but it was a fully grown adult, with strength comparable to the Fifth Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm.
However, facing an opponent he had no chance of winning against, Lin Hao still did not retreat.
But just as he was about to attack, a voice suddenly sounded beside him. "Your cultivation isn't high, little fella, but you've got guts. Still, now that you've run into me, you'll have a hard time dying even if you want to."
The next moment, Lin Hao felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and lost consciousness.
Before he passed out, he thought he saw the Scale Armor Crocodile across from him explode with a BANG, turning into a mist of blood.