Although the Evil-Slaying Sword drew ever closer, Lin Hao’s gaze remained fixed on the two severed halves of the yellow paper.

Just as a smile spread across Lin Hao’s face, the two halves of yellow paper, which had been drifting down through the air, bizarrely merged back into one.

In the next moment, the reunified paper drifted down onto the body of the gloating Demon Bear.

By this point, the Evil-Slaying Sword was less than three inches from the top of Lin Hao’s head.

CLANG!

The sound of metal hitting the ground rang out.

The Evil-Slaying Sword, which had been expanding in the Demon Bear’s paw, first reverted to its original form before clattering to the ground.

Lin Hao made a scooping motion with his hand. When he opened his palm, an unusually plump "soybean" rested within it.

BOOM!

Then, the massive body of the Demon Bear, which had been standing upright like a man, crashed to the ground.

At almost the exact moment it collapsed, Lin Hao’s body went limp, and he slumped to the ground, panting heavily.

Only then did large beads of sweat break out on his forehead.

Everything that had just happened looked simple, but for Lin Hao, it had been incredibly perilous.

His Spiritual Power was insufficient; ordinarily, he wouldn’t have been able to perform the Refining on this Demon Bear’s Beast Soul. Even the rune he drew by unifying his essence, qi, and spirit still lacked the power needed. Therefore, Lin Hao had to take a desperate gamble.

Lin Hao knew he only had a chance to win when the Demon Bear was completely lost in its own gloating and let down its guard. That was why he chose not to dodge or evade the incoming sword strike.

"Kid, you’ve got real guts, daring to pull a stunt like that." Just then, a voice spoke up.

Hearing this voice, Lin Hao couldn’t help but roll his eyes. It was the turtle.

From the sound of it, the turtle had been here for a while.

And indeed it had. The turtle had witnessed the entire confrontation between Lin Hao and the Demon Bear. Near the end, the turtle had been certain Lin Hao was going to die and had been on the verge of charging in. Ultimately, however, it had restrained itself.

As a result, it had once again witnessed Lin Hao accomplish the impossible.

The turtle was very familiar with the Beast Pattern Skill Lin Hao had used, and it knew his strength just as well. For Lin Hao to actually succeed, against all odds, in using Refining on a Devil Beast on the cusp of the Tier Three Late Stage and turning it into a battle puppet—this was completely beyond its expectations.

Lin Hao truly didn’t even have the strength to speak right now, so he couldn’t be bothered to respond.

"Weren’t you afraid your Beast Pattern Skill would fail to contain its Beast Soul?" the turtle asked again as it ambled over, seeing that Lin Hao remained silent.

Lin Hao still didn’t say a word.

Not only did he remain silent, but he also sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

The toll had been too great; Lin Hao needed to recover his strength as quickly as possible.

And with the turtle here, Lin Hao felt completely at ease.

"Kid, this divine turtle is truly curious. If your Beast Pattern Skill had failed, did you have another trick up your sleeve?" The turtle didn’t seem angry. It walked up to Lin Hao and stared at him with its two small eyes.

"Let me correct you. That was the Array Pattern Skill, not the Beast Pattern Skill." Lin Hao opened his eyes and finally spoke.

The creature’s incessant chattering was making it impossible for Lin Hao to regulate his breathing in peace.

"Array Pattern Skill? You’re saying what you just used was the Array Pattern Skill? HAHAHA, you’re killing this divine turtle!" After a brief stun, the turtle burst out laughing.

Lin Hao stared intently at the turtle. Seeing it had no intention of stopping, he cut it off. "So explain it to me."

His tone had suddenly become that of a superior.

The turtle froze, then immediately fell silent.

Then, in the staring contest that followed, the turtle was actually the one to back down.

"Fine, you win," the turtle said, dejected.

It had been hoping to show off in front of Lin Hao, but his stare had actually sent a shiver down its spine.

"The Beast Pattern Skill is one type of Array Pattern Skill, but to say the Beast Pattern Skill *is* the Array Pattern Skill would be a grave error," the turtle said with a serious expression.

As it spoke, it gazed toward the horizon, a look of wistful remembrance appearing in its eyes.

"What is the true Array Pattern Skill?" Lin Hao asked, his heart stirring with curiosity.

’To be honest, I’d started to have my doubts about the Array Pattern Skill I’d mastered. The technique of imprisoning a Beast Soul and turning it into a battle puppet didn’t really fit the name. "Array Pattern Skill" should be a general term for both Arrays and runes. This technique just used runes; it had little to do with actual Arrays.’

So, the moment the turtle said it, Lin Hao instantly accepted it as fact.

"You haven’t even mastered this Beast Pattern Skill to its limits. Knowing about the true skill now won’t do you any good. It’s too powerful." The turtle shook its head, refusing to divulge the secrets of the true Array Pattern Skill.

Lin Hao nodded and said no more.

’The turtle is right. There’s no benefit in me knowing about the true Array Pattern Skill right now.’

’As long as this guy knows, it doesn’t really matter when I find out.’

Lin Hao stared at the turtle as this thought flashed through his mind.

The turtle shivered violently, wishing it could slap itself across the face.

Lin Hao found this amusing but decided to change the subject. "What did you come here for?"

"Forbidden God Mountain. Saint Medicine." Hearing Lin Hao’s question, the turtle’s eyes began to gleam as it uttered these few words.

Lin Hao’s eyes also lit up, but then he asked in confusion, "How did you know I received Emperor Hongtian’s inheritance?"

"If you hadn’t received Emperor Hongtian’s inheritance, how could your Spiritual Power have grown so quickly?" The turtle shot Lin Hao a look, as if annoyed that Lin Hao was treating it like an idiot.

Lin Hao nodded.

"A Great Emperor’s inheritance! That’s the inheritance of a Great Emperor! Countless Martial Artists have searched for thousands of years without finding it, and you stumbled upon it in a few hours. Aren’t you even a little bit excited?" Seeing Lin Hao’s nonchalant expression, the turtle was about to lose its mind.

Lin Hao pondered this for a moment before replying, "I was excited at first, of course. But it’s been a while now. Why would I still be excited?"

The turtle was left completely speechless.

If it hadn’t already spent a good amount of time with Lin Hao, it would have sworn he was just putting on an act.

"Hurry up and get on, we’re going to Forbidden God Mountain." Lin Hao wasn’t excited, but the turtle, on the other hand, was practically buzzing.

The thought of possibly obtaining a Saint Medicine made it hard for the turtle to contain its excitement.

"My cultivation is still lacking. I’m afraid we’ll come back empty-handed." Though Lin Hao said this, his movements were not slow in the slightest.

’A Saint Medicine... connected to a Great Emperor.’ The mere thought was enough to stir his own excitement.

The turtle’s form flickered, and in an instant, it vanished from the spot, taking Lin Hao with it.

A little over ten minutes later, the turtle and Lin Hao appeared on the summit of Forbidden God Mountain.

Upon reaching the summit, even though the turtle kept urging him on, Lin Hao was in no hurry.

Not only was he not in a hurry, but he also sat down right there on the summit of Forbidden God Mountain and began to cultivate.

In ten thousand years, no outsider had set foot here besides himself, the turtle, and Lord Lingdi. One could only imagine how dense the worldly energy was.

The turtle was as anxious as an ant on a hot griddle, but Lin Hao had already entered a state of deep meditation.