Darkness enveloped Ling Han as he entered the cave, weakening his senses of sight, hearing, and touch. In the end, he was completely stripped of all of his senses, just like the first time.
In fact, he couldn’t even sense his own existence anymore—he could sense neither the flow of his Origin Power nor the beat of his heart. It was as if he were lying in eternal slumber in a dark and silent tomb.
He couldn’t escape this phenomenon, even as an Eternal River Tier cultivator!
Ling Han activated his killing formations and unleashed an attack. In reality, he was unsure of whether he had actually launched an attack or not. All he could sense was that he had perhaps launched the attack. However, nothing changed at all.
By the looks of it, even a Saint-level power was unable to overcome this profound darkness.
Ling Han was now certain that this was something created by a Celestial-level elite.
After pondering for a moment, he retrieved his Divine Demon Sword. A tiny orb of light instantly appeared. Although this light was hazy, it was something that Ling Han could genuinely see.
Sure enough, Celestial-level power was able to resist this darkness. However, the Divine Demon Sword still wasn’t powerful enough.
Ling Han put away the Divine Demon Sword.
Boom!
The Nine Heavens Flame exploded to life on his hand, and it was instantly as if a small candle had been lit in the pitch darkness of the cave. Although its brightness was incredibly dim, it was still sufficient as a light source.
‘This can work!’
Ling Han was elated upon discovering this. Wherever the Nine Heavens Flame shone, he was able to fully regain his senses. It was as if he had come back to life.
He stuck to the cave wall as he advanced—due to the limited amount of light, he could only ensure that he was on the right path if he stuck by the cave wall.
In fact, this cave wasn’t actually that deep. However, because of Ling Han’s slow pace, it took him an entire half a day to finally arrive at the deepest part of the cave.
Here, there was a stone room with four bare walls. In the middle of it, there rested a stone statue that hadn’t changed a single bit compared to the last time that he had been here. It was as if that were just yesterday.
“Huh? Brat, how did you get here?” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire asked in astonishment. Indeed, Ling Han had only managed to get here last time thanks to the help of Hu Niu. Meanwhile, Ling Han himself had been like a headless chicken.
Now, however, Ling Han had actually come here by himself. This was indeed something that was surprising.
Ling Han smiled faintly, and said, “If Senior doesn’t welcome me, I can take my leave right away.”
“Hold it right there!” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire hurriedly said. “Have you obtained the four items?”
“Yes, I was fortunate enough to obtain them all,” Ling Han answered with a nod.
“But you’re clearly only at the Eternal River Tier… Huh?!” The Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire suddenly faltered before saying, “You’re a b.l.o.o.d.y freak! You’ve actually inscribed that many formations inside your body? Although each of them is pathetically weak by itself, the entirety of them is able to elevate your battle prowess to the low extreme of the Genesis Tier!
“This… Even I was unable to achieve this during my time.”
Ling Han laughed, and said, “Does Senior believe me when I say that I’ve already completed the mission now?”
“Where are they? Hurry up and give them to me,” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire said in a slightly tense and nervous voice.
“That, um, no pay, no goods,” Ling Han said.
“Stinky brat, are you afraid that I’ll cheat you? In any case, the technique that I promised you isn’t a top-notch Celestial—” The Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire immediately shut up upon realizing that he had made a slip of the tongue.
“Oh!” Ling Han said with a nod. “So Senior was planning to use an ordinary celestial technique to trick me.”
“Ahaha, the Immovable Deity Metal Body is a Mystical Power that I spent a lot of effort to obtain from an ancient site. Although it’s not my most powerful technique, it’s already more than powerful enough for you. Anyhow, you won’t be able to learn it if it’s too powerful anyway,” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire explained.
What could he do now that Ling Han had the power over his lifeline?
In reality, Ling Han had only made the remark jokingly. Celestial techniques were indeed ranked in terms of power, but one also needed to take into account their suitability. In terms of this, Ling Han felt that the Immovable Deity Metal Body was an extremely good fit for himself.
“Then please teach me the technique, Senior!” Ling Han retrieved the True Dragon Horn, Heavenly Phoenix Feather, and the other two items as he said this.
A soft glow appeared on the stone statue before a white light orb floated out and hovered toward Ling Han.
Ling Han raised his hand and tapped the white orb with his finger. Countless symbols instantly flashed in his mind, teaching him secret techniques that couldn’t be expressed through words. This was none other than the Mystical Power, Immovable Deity Metal Body.
“Brat, place these four divine items around the stone statue as I specify,” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire said.
Ling Han did as he was told. Meanwhile, he communicated with Small Tower in his mind, preparing to respond should the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire suddenly decide to attack him. If that were to happen, he would respond with force even if that meant running the risk of having the Black Tower being discovered by the Celestial Kings.
If he lost his life, what use would keeping this secret be?
Crackle!
An arc of lightning burst forth from the left eye of the stone statue, while a column of fire burst forth from its right eye. Meanwhile, the stone statue radiated with a soft glow as the True Dragon Horn and other three items rose into the air. The items then started to resonate with each other before suddenly fusing together into one.
At the same time, the arc of lightning and the column of fire intertwined together in a fierce and blazing display. The sight of this was so intense that Ling Han was unable to see what was occurring inside of them.
After a long while, the brilliant radiance finally dimmed down, allowing Ling Han to see a small person appear before him.
This was a child who looked to be around three years old. He was stark naked, and his skin was white and delicate.
Ling Han suddenly felt as if he had been struck by lightning. ‘This isn’t the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire, is it?’
“Stinky brat, what are you staring at? Hurry up and give me some clothes!” Sure enough, the child spoke in an adult-like voice. “Haha, how many years has it been? I can finally use my mouth to speak! This is incredible!”
Ling Han tossed him some clothes, and said, “Was Senior severely wounded? So you remained here to recuperate?”
“You guessed it,” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire said with a sigh. “At that time, I possessed extraordinary talent, so I naturally became arrogant and conceited, offending many people. As a result, I was hunted by an elite, and my physical body was completely obliterated by him. A wisp of my damaged soul came to the Ancient Realm, and I had initially wanted to find a body to possess. However, there was unexpected turbulence in the s.p.a.ce, and I somehow ended up arriving in this small world.
“There’s a mysterious power in this place, and it suppressed me upon my arrival. The situation was so dire that I was forced to rest my soul in an underground Sea of Lightning and Fire for tens of thousands of years before I was finally able to form that stone statue. My initial plan was to guide the explorers of this cave to help me.
“However, I was unexpectedly unable to control my own defensive power. Although the boundless darkness offered my damaged soul protection, it also became the shackles that bound me to this place. Thanks to the girl last time, and you this time, I’m finally able to free myself from this place.
“Although this body is incomparable to a Divine Fetus, it’s still a body that’s been formed from four Saintly Materials, after all. I guess it’s just pa.s.sable for use.
“After all, the power of Celestials comes from their divine senses, and not from their physical bodies.”
Ling Han quietly listened to him speak. He discovered that the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire had the potential to become a chatterbox. He had only asked him a single question, yet the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire had given him an essay as an answer. Or perhaps he had been lonely for too long, so he couldn’t help but speak more now that he could finally talk to a real person.
“What does Senior plan to do next?” Ling Han asked.
“Cultivate, of course. Although I’ve refined my new body from four Saintly Materials, it’s only Saintly Material, after all. Right now, my cultivation level is only at the low extreme of the Genesis Tier. Moreover, my divine sense is still severely wounded, and it’s impossible for me to fully recover in the short term,” the Heavenly Emperor of Thunder and Fire replied with a sigh.
“Dare I ask, Senior, what was your cultivation level in the past?” Ling Han asked in curiosity.
“Immortal Palace Tier!”