It wasn’t that Lin Hao had witnessed something unbelievable, but rather that this place was simply too abnormal.

Lin Hao saw the spirit tablets of the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s past Sect Leaders, yet he couldn’t find the one for its founding ancestor, Emperor Hongtian.

What was even stranger was that a terrifying realization dawned on Lin Hao.

Chu Tiandu had once served as the Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect, which meant he must have visited this secret ground before.

Yet, Lin Hao had no memory of this place whatsoever.

After all, Lin Hao had assimilated Chu Tiandu’s memories. If Lin Hao had no recollection, it meant Chu Tiandu had none either.

’Could it be that the stone pillars outside had also erased Chu Tiandu’s memories of this secret ground?’

The question flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

His priority was finding Emperor Hongtian’s spirit tablet.

After searching for a while, Lin Hao’s gaze settled on the highest, most central position among all the spirit tablets.

A large space had been left empty there—enough for three spirit tablets, he reckoned.

But considering Emperor Hongtian’s unique status, Lin Hao found it understandable.

However, Lin Hao quickly dismissed that idea.

’If Emperor Hongtian’s spirit tablet were truly placed there, no one would have dared to move it.’

Besides, the spot was covered in a thick layer of dust. It was clear nothing had been placed there for a very, very long time.

"Huh?" Just as Lin Hao was about to look away, he suddenly noticed something odd.

After a respectful bow, Lin Hao’s right arm shot out, his hand grabbing at the empty space.

When Lin Hao retracted his arm, a wooden box was in his hand.

PFF...

He blew the dust off the wooden box in a single puff. Sensing no danger, he took a deep breath and prepared to open it.

But as soon as he opened it a crack, an intensely cold aura burst forth.

In an instant, everything in the stone chamber was frozen solid!

The spirit tablets, and Lin Hao himself, were no exception.

The wooden box snapped shut.

It all happened in a flash. Lin Hao felt as if his blood had stopped flowing. A bone-piercing chill spread through his body, the pain unbearable.

His entire body was paralyzed; only his eyes could move.

’What in the world is in this box? It has this much power just from being opened a crack!’

Overwhelmed with curiosity, Lin Hao focused his mind and immediately activated his Emperor Art.

Lin Hao had thought it would be easy to recover, but he soon realized he was wrong.

He circulated the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, but his body remained unresponsive. He couldn’t regain control.

But Lin Hao didn’t give up. He activated the Emperor Art over and over again.

After activating the Emperor Art no fewer than a hundred times, his body finally began to respond.

Thankfully, once his body started responding, the recovery process sped up significantly. After activating the Emperor Art one more time, Lin Hao finally regained control of his body.

His body now fully recovered, Lin Hao refused to accept defeat. He prepared to open the wooden box once more.

This time, Lin Hao was prepared. He directly manifested a Quasi-Origin Body while his true self retreated to a safe distance by the stone door.

BOOM!

The Quasi-Origin Body opened the box a crack, and a scorching hot aura erupted. The body was blasted back several steps, its entire form glowing bright red.

With a thought, Lin Hao quickly withdrew the body. Beads of sweat dripped down his face.

In that single moment, he felt the qi and blood in his body were in danger of being completely evaporated.

It was an absolutely terrifying experience.

Lin Hao’s physical body was incredibly tough; it had been tempered by the essence of the sun and moon and even refined by the Flowing Light Divine Flame. Yet now, a mere wisp of aura leaking from the box possessed such might. It was simply inconceivable.

’Could it be that this box contains the weapon used by Emperor Hongtian?’

As this thought struck him, Lin Hao noticed the wooden box had returned to its original position all by itself.

Initially, Lin Hao had thought the box contained the sword Lord Lingdi first wielded, but now it seemed he was mistaken.

’The box might contain an Emperor’s Soldier!’

At this thought, Lin Hao’s heart began to pound wildly.

Although he had inherited the memories of the Carefree Divine Monarch and possessed superb Artifact Refining techniques, an Emperor’s Soldier was not something he could create.

In fact, it wasn’t just him. Even an Artifact Refiner at the absolute peak of their craft could not forge an Emperor’s Soldier; the best they could create was a Tier Nine Spiritual Artifact.

Emperor’s Soldiers were exclusive to Great Emperors; only a Great Emperor could forge one.

Of course, there was another possibility: a Tier Nine Spiritual Artifact, forged by an Artifact Refiner and later acquired by a Great Emperor, could be nurtured by them until it evolved into an Emperor’s Soldier.

Wielding an Emperor’s Soldier was like having a Great Emperor strike personally!

This showed just how significant the appearance of an Emperor’s Soldier was.

’If this box really contains an Emperor’s Soldier...’

As Lin Hao considered the possibility, his heart began to race again.

After quickly using his Emperor Art to restore his body, Lin Hao once again manifested his Primordial Body, using it to grab the wooden box.

Lin Hao backed up to the stone door, placing his hands on it, ready to bolt the moment his Primordial Body opened the box and something went wrong.

This time, however, he paused. He turned and was shocked to see several lines of text carved into the stone door.

After quickly reading the words, Lin Hao’s mouth twitched. He reluctantly returned the wooden box to its original place.

The words had been left several thousand years ago by a senior of the Heaven-Stepping Sect. The gist was that he had discovered the box might contain an Emperor’s Soldier and had nearly died trying to open it. And his cultivation was at the Sealed Martial Realm!

In the end, the senior concluded that the weapon inside was likely the one used by Emperor Hongtian himself. To open it, one would need to have received the Great Emperor’s inheritance.

If a peerless expert at the Sealed Martial Realm couldn’t open the box, Lin Hao had no choice but to give up.

But as he was about to give up, Lin Hao still felt unreconciled. After much hesitation, he decided to risk it one more time.

Gritting his teeth, Lin Hao directed his Primordial Body to open the wooden box once again.

This time, Lin Hao was taken aback.

When the box opened a crack, there was no danger. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t open it any further.

"Don’t tell me Emperor Hongtian is just messing with me. On the God-Proving Platform, he manifested a punch at the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm to fight me from a distance, and now he leaves behind this box that won’t open." After struggling for a long time, Lin Hao was too exasperated to even complain properly.

"Shouldn’t you feel honored to be toyed with by him?" a voice suddenly asked.

"Honored my ass! He..." Lin Hao blurted out without thinking, but he froze mid-sentence.

He looked up, his eyes widening in shock. The wooden box slipped from the Primordial Body’s grasp.

The box didn’t fall to the floor, however. It simply hovered in mid-air.

Meanwhile, back where the box had originally been, a swirling mist began to gather. Vaguely, a figure seemed to be taking shape within it.

The figure was too hazy. Lin Hao couldn’t make out its appearance at all; he couldn’t even be sure if it was real.

"Who... who are you?" Lin Hao asked, his voice coming out raspy.

’This is a secret ground of the Heaven-Stepping Sect. For someone to appear out of nowhere is just too bizarre.’

’It couldn’t be a phantom of Emperor Hongtian, could it?’

’I can’t sense any of a Great Emperor’s might from him.’

The figure remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly.