"You managed to open it three times, so you are indeed worthy. Good luck." After speaking these ambiguous words, the man suddenly vanished.

The wooden box returned to its original position once more. Lin Hao stepped forward, about to try again, when something terrifying happened.

Without any warning, a tremor rose from the depths of Lin Hao’s soul. He had the distinct feeling that a single move would result in his annihilation.

An energy, powerful and boundless, filled the stone chamber. In its presence, Lin Hao felt as insignificant as a speck of dust.

An Emperor’s might!

Though Lin Hao had never seen a living Great Emperor, he had a gut feeling this was it—an Emperor’s might. A sliver of power that had persisted for ten thousand years.

Terrified, Lin Hao hastily retreated from the stone chamber.

’Could that have been a manifestation of Emperor Hongtian?!’

Once he retreated to the underground palace, the terrifying feeling vanished. Lin Hao gasped for breath as the startling thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Hey! You said I was worthy, so at least tell me where it is!" As soon as the thought occurred to him, Lin Hao understood the man’s earlier words and couldn’t stop himself from shouting back into the chamber.

To shout at the manifestation of a Great Emperor—only someone with Lin Hao’s audacity would dare do such a thing.

No one answered him.

’Emperor Hongtian’s Soul Gathering Realm Cultivation Technique is most likely somewhere in this underground palace.’ This theory seemed more and more plausible.

And the most bizarre features in the underground palace were the nine stone pillars.

With that thought, Lin Hao immediately shifted his focus to the nine stone pillars.

Having learned his lesson, Lin Hao didn’t immediately stare at the relief carvings on the pillars. Instead, he carefully surveyed the area around them.

Time slipped by as Lin Hao unconsciously circled the nine pillars, his gaze unfocused.

"Huh..." After an unknown amount of time, Lin Hao grunted in surprise and suddenly stopped.

The next moment, Lin Hao walked directly to one of the pillars and placed his hands on its surface. He then closed his eyes.

Emptying his mind, Lin Hao tried to perceive the pillar with his "heart."

An hour later, the motionless Lin Hao finally moved again, placing his hands on the second pillar in the same manner...

Nine hours later, Lin Hao’s eyes snapped open, a brilliant light flashing within them for an instant.

He now stood in the exact center of the nine stone pillars.

Lin Hao looked around, took a deep breath, and began to sketch various figures in the air with his hands.

At first, his movements were slow, almost hesitant.

Though he made it look effortless, beads of sweat began to form on his brow.

Gradually, his speed increased until his hands became a blur, leaving only a whirlwind of afterimages.

PTHOO!

An hour later, Lin Hao violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale.

’I’ve memorized all the carvings on the nine pillars. They’re bizarre... it’s like a puzzle. You have to take a piece from each pillar and assemble them. I was so close to figuring it out!’

Lin Hao’s mental state was deteriorating. He muttered to himself, seeming almost delirious.

After resting for a moment, he resumed sketching in the air.

Another hour passed. This time, Lin Hao abruptly looked up, a brilliant light shining in his eyes and a smile spreading across his face.

The next moment, a surge of power flowed through his arms as he suddenly struck out at the nine stone pillars.

Before long, Lin Hao had wiped the carvings on all nine stone pillars clean!

Then, he leaped up and, using his finger like a blade, began to move swiftly across the pillars.

Stone chips flew as entirely new relief carvings appeared under his touch.

He finished one pillar and, without pausing, moved on to the second...

THUD!

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Hao collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.

The carvings on the nine stone pillars were now completely different.

Just then, the nine stone pillars flared with a brilliant light.

Lin Hao, lying on his back between the pillars, was struck by a powerful force and sent flying.

BOOM!

His body slammed violently against the far wall.

PTHOO!

Lin Hao spat out another mouthful of blood, feeling as if his entire body had been shattered.

This was inconceivable.

Keep in mind, Lin Hao’s physical defenses were already immense; ordinary attacks couldn’t hurt him.

If even he was this injured, an ordinary Martial Artist would have been killed instantly by the blow, or at best, knocked unconscious.

In truth, Lin Hao was at the end of his strength and on the verge of passing out.

But he couldn’t afford to faint.

After expending all his mental energy to trigger the phenomenon of the nine pillars, he had a good idea of what would happen next. If he fainted now, he would surely miss this golden opportunity.

Biting the tip of his tongue, Lin Hao forced himself to stay conscious.

The next moment, he was utterly stunned.

Between the nine pillars, a huge orb of light had appeared. It was mysterious and profound, like the boundless universe itself.

Within that boundless universe twinkled countless stars, vast and infinite.

But that wasn’t the most important part. What mattered was the figure that appeared in his line of sight.

His back was to Lin Hao. The figure was immensely tall, and he was in the middle of demonstrating a martial path!

Lin Hao’s eyes widened like saucers, a profound light swirling within them. He didn’t dare to even breathe.

’If I’m not mistaken, that’s the back of Emperor Hongtian, and he’s about to demonstrate the Soul Gathering Realm Cultivation Technique!’

However, even when Lin Hao used his own imperial arts, he still couldn’t clearly see the figure’s movements.

His arts, which could perfectly replicate martial techniques and slow an opponent’s movements, were useless now.

The figure’s speed was simply too great. Lin Hao could only see him continuously evolving his techniques, and the very cosmos seemed to move with him.

With every lift of a hand and step of a foot, all of creation moved in unison. It was a breathtaking sight.

But the shock this man brought Lin Hao was far from over.

He sat cross-legged, and all the stars in the boundless universe blazed brightly. But then, Lin Hao watched as, one by one, the stars were extinguished!

In no time at all, the boundless universe was plunged into total darkness!

’He’s absorbing the power of the stars!’

To drain the power of every star by oneself—this was nothing short of a divine act!

The might of a Great Emperor was truly immeasurable!

Lin Hao was left utterly speechless.

CLINK.

A soft sound pulled Lin Hao back to reality.

The nine stone pillars had returned to their plain, unadorned state. Between them, a handwritten scroll had appeared.

Lin Hao picked it up and saw three ancient, imposing words written on it: Divine Illumination Scripture.

Lin Hao read on, his shock growing with every line. Although the"Divine Illumination Scripture"was only a few hundred words long, it was profoundly esoteric, possessing a power beyond the ken of gods and demons.

Just as Lin Hao finished reading, still in a daze and without time to fully digest it, the scroll burst into flames and turned to ash in an instant.

Fortunately, Lin Hao had a photographic memory and had already committed the entire text to mind.

After reading it, Lin Hao finally confirmed his suspicion: the"Divine Illumination Scripture"was indeed the Soul Gathering Realm Cultivation Technique that Emperor Hongtian himself had practiced!

The legacy of Emperor Hongtian—an imperial art coveted by countless people for thousands of years—was finally his.