Eternal Heavenly Emperor-Chapter 401 - 391 Demon Suppression Stele

"He Luo!"

"Chu Chitian!"

He Luo and Elder Tian spoke at the same time, and a look of wariness and caution flashed across both of their faces.

Both had thought their journey to be very covert, yet they unexpectedly encountered a powerhouse capable of matching them. And with their families currently at loggerheads over a Third Rank mining vein, it made them suspicious—was this encounter intentional?

He Luo was worried that they had discovered Chu Hao’s identity and had come specifically to target him, whereas Elder Tian was concerned about the palace. They too had stumbled upon this ancient relic by sheer coincidence and had not expected to encounter anyone from the He Family so soon after their arrival.

"He Luo, how did you find this place?" Elder Tian, also known as Chu Chitian, asked.

Of course, He Luo couldn’t reveal the truth. He was actually chasing the Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire and had followed it here—saying as much would be unbelievable to the other party. Who are you kidding? Could things really be that coincidental?

He snorted, saying, "Just because you’re here, I can’t be?"

Chu Chitian glanced at Chu Hao and the Barbaric Girl. The pair was clearly with He Luo, which infuriated him. A junior had deceived him! He said, "I never thought the people of the He Family would degenerate with each generation, to the point of even abandoning their family name."

He Luo might look to be in his forties, but he was actually over two hundred years old and possessed an immensely rich life experience. With a quick turn of thoughts, he could guess the events that had transpired. However, this only made explanations more difficult—the prime successor to the He Family’s Head was actually surnamed Chu and named Hao!

To offer an explanation would inevitably involve the recent actions of the Mansion Master’s Wife.

Could one air the family’s dirty laundry in public?

Without answering, He Luo retorted, "Are you done with your nonsense? If you want to fight, draw the line; otherwise, stop your pointless babbling!"

Chu Chitian’s beard trembled with rage. In terms of age, he was nearly twice as old as He Luo, but in the world of martial arts, age doesn’t dictate seniority—power does. Since He Luo had caught up to him in terms of realm, Chu Chitian could only interact with him as an equal.

In terms of cultivation, he was a seventh-tier War Venerate, a notch above his opponent. However, in the larger realm stages, some minor realms were not mandatory to reach, such as the Ninth Tier or Tenth Tier. Whether or not one reached the Ninth or Tenth Tier definitely affected combat power.

Hence, the higher the realm, the less a minor realm disparity means; it might, however, result in a massive gap.

This might seem contradictory, but it isn’t.

Take Chu Hao, for example; he can now battle Peak Warriors, so a small gap in minor realms is truly inconsequential to him. However, the higher the realm, the greater the disparity between each minor realm. If two individuals had the same prior realm achievements, then whoever was a minor realm higher would have an overwhelming advantage.

That’s the rationale.

He Luo was a famous figure among the "middle-aged" generation of the He Family, with an extremely powerful combat prowess, and Chu Chitian knew that he hadn’t shown any brilliance on his own journey here. Therefore, despite being a minor realm above his opponent, he had no assurance of victory.

This was a battle best not fought.

"Hmph, I have important matters to attend to and no time to waste on you!" Chu Chitian said. He was clearly reluctant to engage in battle, yet his pride kept him from conceding outright.

He Luo didn’t press too hard. At their level of realm, even if his combat power was significantly greater, a battle could result in mutual destruction. He preferred not to initiate combat unless absolutely necessary.

Besides, his mission was to protect Chu Hao, not to engage in reckless battles.

"Uncle Luo, that clump of Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire has entered deeper into the palace," Chu Hao told He Luo. Since Chu Baishan and the others had seen them, he did not use Divine Sense to communicate this information privately; instead, he spoke openly.

Upon hearing this, Chu Chitian understood—the other party had come for the Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire. Previously, He Luo must have been chasing the Spiritual Fire, and Chu Hao and his companion had been waiting at the mountain peak, inadvertently guiding them inside, while He Luo followed the fire here.

What a coincidence.

A moment of thought passed before he said, "He Luo, I won’t contend with you for the Spirit Fire, but once you’ve obtained it, you must immediately leave this place!"

He Luo burst into laughter, replying, "Don’t talk as if you’re bestowing a favor. This palace doesn’t belong to the Chu Family; by what right do you tell me to leave?"

A cold glint appeared in Chu Chitian’s eyes as he said sternly, "He Luo, I’m not afraid of you!"

"Then let’s fight!" replied He Luo, unbothered.

In fact, he didn’t want to fight either, but he couldn’t afford to lose in terms of momentum.

Chu Chitian hesitated, taking a deep breath before saying, "You’d best heed my words, otherwise—" He broke off and, with a wave of his hand, hurriedly led the five Chu Family youths away.

"Follow them!" He Luo immediately said. His interest was now piqued; how could the Chu Family just happen upon this place without reason? Especially since there was a palace nestled in this underground lava region—it was utterly bewildering.

Not to mention, Chu Hao and the Barbaric Girl were naturally curious, and they hurried to keep up, eager to discover what exactly was going on with the palace.

They followed behind the group from the Chu Family, especially since the clump of Spiritual Fire had also headed in this direction, not straying from the main issue at hand.

This palace was intricate, presenting a labyrinthine series of ring-shaped corridors just beyond the relatively spacious entrance hall. For beings at Chu Hao and his companions’ level, their Divine Sense was immensely powerful, allowing them to effortlessly construct a three-dimensional map in their minds. With each circuit around the corridor, a portion of the palace layout became clearer to them.

They could affirm that they were indeed progressing towards the center of the palace, but the winding path made a journey of mere minutes stretch into half an hour without reaching the end.

Fortunately, they encountered no traps along the way, so despite the labyrinthine route, they rapidly approached the central area.

After another ten-odd minutes, the space ahead suddenly opened up into a vast area.

It was a circular region with a golden metallic ground, seemingly paved with some kind of metal and engraved with numerous runes. At the center of this area stood a black stele that reached the height of three men.

The stele was covered in countless runes that gleamed one after another; each rune separated from the stele, taking the form of bright glowing symbols in the air, and then causing only certain lines on the ground to illuminate.

As different runes leapt off the stele, different lines on the ground would light up as if in response.

There, atop the stele, crouched the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire, which had once more taken the shape of a rabbit, its whole body flickering with flames.

"What is this thing!" He Luo couldn’t help but exclaim in shock. He felt an overwhelming pressure emanating from the stele, as though if it pressed down upon him, he would be suppressed for eternity, never to break free.

Considering that his War Venerate strength was such that even if a mountain pressed down upon him, he could still carve a way out, it was inconceivable that a mere stele could invoke such a sense of helplessness in him.

"The Demon Suppression Stele!" At that moment, Fat Cat suddenly transmitted to Chu Hao, "Good grief, we’ve unfortunately stumbled upon such an ominous thing! Hao, we must hurry away! No, no, no, we can’t flee, we have to prevent anyone from moving that stele!"

Fat Cat’s words came out rapid and urgent, revealing his extreme nervousness.

Chu Hao, curious, asked, "What Demon Suppression Stele? Explain clearly."

"No time to explain now, hurry and make that fool discard the idea of taking the stele, and stop the old fool as well," Fat Cat nearly yelled.

Chu Hao had never seen Fat Cat lose his composure like that, not even when the War God had awoken in Black Iron City. He did not take the situation lightly and quickly said to He Luo, "Uncle Luo, we must not touch that stele, or disaster will strike! And furthermore, we have to drive them out," he added, gesturing towards Chu Chitian and the others.

"Junior, such audacity!" Chu Chitian heard the remark clearly and snorted disdainfully. A mere warrior was trying to send him away, which was simply outrageous.

He Luo sent a perplexed look at Chu Hao. In a battle among War Venerate-level fighters, even a stray gust could crush warriors like them, and he certainly didn’t want the future mansion master to die here.

"Uncle Luo, this is for you!" Chu Hao gritted his teeth, took out the golden pupil eye from his Mustard Seed Ring, and handed it to He Luo, saying, "Uncle Luo, probe it with Divine Sense, then hold it in front of your eyes and take a look."

He Luo didn’t understand Chu Hao’s intent but followed his instructions after receiving the golden pupil. He sent his Divine Sense into it and then held it before his right eye. Instantly, his face lit up with excitement, and his mouth gaped open in amazement.

"In this world, there exists such an incredible treasure!" he exclaimed tremulously. With an item like this, as long as the gap in strength wasn’t too vast, he could win against all opponents.

It was as if a War God was watching over the fight, continuously informing him of his opponent’s weaknesses. All he needed to do was to target those spots. After all, instructions are abstract, unlike the more direct and clear advantage of using his eyesight.

The value of such a treasure was beyond description!

"Uncle Luo, do you now have the confidence to take down your opponent?" Chu Hao asked with a smile.

A laugh escaped He Luo’s lips, brimming with boldness. "Not just one, even if ten joined forces against me, I would remain undaunted!"

"Nonsense!" Chu Chitian trembled with rage; the young man had the gall to belittle him so. The situation was maddening!

"Fight and see!" He Luo lunged forward, attacking Chu Chitian directly.

"You think I’m afraid of you?" Chu Chitian bellowed, meeting the attack with an open palm. Boom! Boom! Two fiery mountains burst forth from his sleeves, pressing down on He Luo.

He Luo laughed heartily, throwing his fist to meet the attack. Bang! Bang! The Flame Mountains instantly crumbled. He surged forward with barely any resistance, continuing his assault on Chu Chitian.

"How is this possible!" Chu Chitian was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out. The "Twin Peaks Mountain" was one of his signature techniques; how could it be so easily broken?

Could that eye really possess such tremendous power?

Of course. The golden pupil eye had the ability to see through all lies and understand the essence of things, including weaknesses. He Luo had thrown his punches precisely at the weakest points of the two flame mountains, instantly shattering them.

In the fierce battle, He Luo quickly gained an overwhelming advantage with the help of the golden pupil eye.

"No good, Elder Tian is going to be defeated!"

"Seize those two, and use them to threaten the He Family’s experts!"

The five young members of the Chu Family focused on Chu Hao and the Barbaric Girl, already advancing towards them with determination. (To be continued. If you enjoy this novel, please cast your vote of recommendation at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)