The nine leaves of the Saint Medicine swayed, sending faint ripples through the void. Its power was heaven-shaking.

However, this immense power had no adverse effect on Lin Hao.

In fact, not only was he unaffected, but he also caught a whiff of a peculiar fragrance.

The moment this aroma entered his body, the Tai Chi Array Map began to circulate on its own.

Simultaneously, the True Self Divine Soul seated within Lin Hao’s Upper Dantian opened its eyes wide, a look of blissful intoxication on its face. Its nostrils flared, drawn in by the exotic scent.

Lin Hao was ecstatic!

The aroma alone had already advanced his cultivation to the mid-stage of the Second Layer of Soul Gathering Realm!

’The Saint Medicine truly lives up to its name!’

The potency of the medicine stunned Lin Hao. Compelled by his desire, his body moved on its own, taking a step forward.

BOOM!

The next moment, Lin Hao suffered a heavy blow.

An utterly terrifying force descended from the heavens, slamming him straight into the ground.

The celestial punishment had come again!

Lin Hao had been through this before. As he experienced it again, he looked at the chasm that had been blasted open last time, and an unprecedented fury flashed in his eyes.

He had been thwarted by the Celestial Dao last time. He would not give up this time.

Lin Hao had inherited the memories of the Carefree Divine Monarch. Though he had never seen a Saint Medicine himself, his eye for such things was peerless. He knew that if he couldn’t harvest the Saint Medicine now, its fruit would surely wither and fall.

The Saint Medicine was perfectly ripe, already on the verge of declining from its peak.

"’You’re bound by rules, too. I refuse to believe you can stop me!’" Lin Hao looked up at the sky, the anger in his eyes transforming into boundless battle lust.

The next moment, Lin Hao slapped the ground and shot upward.

Lin Hao rocketed toward the sky at an incredible speed.

Hmph!

However, though the sky above appeared calm, Lin Hao’s body was struck a heavy blow. With a muffled grunt, he plummeted toward the ground like a meteorite.

No, he was plummeting toward the chasm!

If he landed in that chasm, Lin Hao wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to climb out.

BOOM!

Lin Hao refused to simply wait for death. His body expanded to an incredible size, and he planted his feet on either side of the chasm in a split.

The Celestial Dao seemed sentient. This time, it didn’t wait for Lin Hao to act before its suppressive power descended once more.

Lin Hao felt an invisible, giant hand from the heavens pressing down on him, squeezing the very air from his lungs.

Under this suppressive force, the hard rock of Forbidden God Mountain crumbled like tofu.

Lin Hao’s body sank continuously, and in the blink of an eye, he was completely inside the chasm.

Then, something even more terrifying happened.

The walls of the chasm began to close in.

It was trying to crush Lin Hao into paste!

The Celestial Dao was sentient, and it wanted to execute Lin Hao!

RUMBLE!

It happened in a flash. The two walls of the chasm slammed into Lin Hao’s body with a deafening CRASH, making the entire Forbidden God Mountain tremble.

Outside the Chaos Gas Wall, the turtle egg’s color paled. It stared at the sky, its expression incredibly grave.

The stars had long since vanished from the sky, replaced by a mass of roiling black clouds that looked utterly terrifying.

"’The Saint Medicine has ripened, and the Celestial Dao doesn’t want it to get out. It’s trying to execute Lin Hao right here and now!’" Even though the turtle egg was outside the Chaos Gas Wall, it naturally understood the cause of the Celestial Dao’s fury.

"’Lin Hao, you have to hold on! Even the Celestial Dao has to follow the rules! Within those rules, it’s not that much stronger than you. You can definitely beat it!’" Outside the Chaos Gas Wall, the patterns on the turtle egg’s shell glowed brightly as it shouted toward the barrier.

And believe it or not, Lin Hao, inside the Chaos Gas Wall, actually heard the turtle egg’s voice, faint and intermittent.

Lin Hao’s fighting spirit was already soaring, and upon hearing those words, the fire in his eyes threatened to blaze forth uncontrollably.

What Lin Hao didn’t know, however, was that the turtle egg was muttering irresponsibly to itself outside, "’Even though the Celestial Dao is bound by the rules, no one has ever defeated it, not even a Great Emperor. Just giving you a little motivation. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the one to do it.’"

If Lin Hao had heard that, he surely would have had the urge to smash the turtle egg to smithereens.

But Lin Hao couldn’t hear it.

He was facing an unprecedented foe.

The chasm walls squeezed in, the force growing stronger and stronger. Lin Hao could even hear the sound of his own muscles groaning under the strain.

Lin Hao’s body had long since been tempered to an incredible toughness, and it automatically activated its defenses against this overwhelming force. But Lin Hao wasn’t idle; he had already pushed the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill to its absolute limit.

But the power of the Celestial Dao was too immense. Lin Hao’s body was being relentlessly compressed, and he couldn’t gain the slightest advantage in his struggle against it.

Trapped within the chasm, Lin Hao’s face was a ferocious mask. He gritted his teeth, his face flushed crimson with effort.

"’Go!’"

The single word was practically forced from between his clenched teeth.

As he spoke, a figure leaped from the chasm, rushing toward the Saint Medicine at an incredible speed.

BOOM!

Although the figure had appeared in a bizarre fashion and moved with ultimate speed, it still failed to touch the Saint Medicine.

The Celestial Dao was omnipresent and intercepted the figure.

Within the chasm, Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed, his expression becoming exceedingly grave.

Meanwhile, on the ground above the chasm, a man identical to Lin Hao stood with a calm gaze, staring at the Saint Medicine just ahead.

This was, of course, Lin Hao’s Primordial Body—one manifested through the highest level of his Avatar Manifestation Secret Skill.

This Primordial Body possessed power completely identical to Lin Hao’s—it was equivalent to Lin Hao himself!

Without needing a command from Lin Hao, the Primordial Body moved.

It threw a punch—a very ordinary-looking punch.

Seeing this punch, even Lin Hao himself was shocked.

Because as the punch flew, the wondrous sight of a mirage materialized in the void.

A palace floated above the Primordial Body’s head, and over that palace, a crimson sun was slowly rising.

Lin Hao’s eyes immediately lit up.

It was his Primordial Body, after all, and its connection to his true self was profound.

The moment the wondrous sight appeared, he understood its origin.

He was using his Soul Gathering Realm cultivation to manifest the Power of Origin from one of his Blood Coagulation Realm Cultivation Techniques.

Using an Imperial Art to manifest an Imperial Art!

The next moment, a palace materialized above Lin Hao’s own head, and over it, a crimson sun was also slowly rising.

BOOM!

Two crimson suns crested the tops of the palaces at almost the same instant.

The peak of Forbidden God Mountain was suddenly bathed in brilliant light.

Palaces hung in the sky, and crimson suns illuminated the world!

Even the turtle egg, safe behind the Chaos Gas Wall, saw this spectacular vision.

"’Holy mother, this kid’s a goddamn monster. He’s only at the Second Layer of Soul Gathering Realm, and he can already use an Imperial Art to manifest another Imperial Art. That’s terrifying!’" The turtle egg was shocked beyond measure.

And as the two crimson suns illuminated the world, the black clouds in the heavens seemed to shrink back.

"’This is...’" The turtle egg saw this and could scarcely believe its eyes.

The Celestial Dao was retreating. It hadn’t just never seen such a thing; it had never even heard of it!

But the sudden decrease in pressure forced the turtle egg to accept it as reality.

A look of joy flickered in the turtle egg’s eyes, but it was immediately replaced by worry.

’The Celestial Dao is bound by the rules, but it would never retreat like this.’

’A far more terrifying suppression must be on its way!’