I Shall STH

CH608-617

Chapter 608: You Hurt Me

Even as the bashful expression appeared on his face, his right palm flew up into the air. It moved with such incredible speed that the burly man from the Northern Reaches had no time to react before it slapped him across the face.

A boom could be heard, and the burly man felt as if an entire mountain had collided with the side of his head. His mind was reeling.

Originally, the blow should have sent him flying, but at the last moment, Meng Hao caused his hand to move back down. He grabbed the man's head and directly slammed it into the ground.

The burly man first shot up into the air and then struck the ground, causing a rumbling sound to echo out. The bashful expression still on his face, Meng Hao lifted his right foot up into the air and then began to trample on the burly man.

Even as the sound of the beating echoed out, the burly man began to struggle furiously. His Cultivation base exploded with power as he attempted to fight back. However, in the blink of an eye, the fearsome power of Meng Hao's fleshly body caused him to begin to scream miserably. He shrank back down, shrieking in shocking fashion.

Meng Hao grabbed the man's head and bashed it into the ground, causing blood to spray from the man's mouth.

"Ready to be reasonable!?" said Meng Hao angrily. He bashed the man's head into the ground again.

"I was congratulating the lot of you. Congratulating you! And in return, you want to kill me!?" Meng Hao slammed his head into the ground again. The burly man's shrieks were sad and shrill, and his body was trembling. An expression of shock covered his face, and his heart was in turmoil as he was beaten senseless.

"That's wrong!" said Meng Hao. "That's immoral!" He jumped up into the air and then began to stamp down onto the burly man, leaving footprints with each stamp of his foot.

The burly man covered his head with both hands, screaming beneath Meng Hao's anger.

"You don't even know what's good for you! Is that the right way to act? I congratulate you and then you repay my kindness with enmity!?" The scene of Meng Hao viciously trampling the man caused Liu Zichuan's eyes to gleam with excitement. His heart was trembling, but with excitement. After all, it felt a lot better to be unlucky with a group of people than to be unlucky alone.

Most afraid out of everyone was the other Northern Reaches Cultivator who had also stepped forward just now, as well as the Ji Clan member. Although they had both charged in attack, watching the scene playing out in front of them caused their scalps to go numb.

They were just about to back up when Meng hao looked up at them, an expression of pain on his face.

"Do people really hate me that much?" he said. "I was clearly wishing you all well! If this guy was the only one to be ungrateful, it wouldn't matter. But it seems... you two also don't appreciate my kindness!" He appeared to be more and more torn by grief. The two Cultivators' scalps became even more numb as they backed up. However, it was in that moment that Meng Hao lifted up his right hand and made a grasping motion.

"You need to explain yourself clearly, otherwise, you're not going anywhere." The two were shocked to find that Meng Hao's grasping motion immediately caused their bodies to go out of control. They were pulled up to Meng Hao, where upon he slapped them with full strength. After they slammed down into the ground, he continued to rain blows down onto them.

"WHY?!?!" howled Meng Hao, sounding grieved. He grabbed the Ji Clan member and slammed him seven or eight times down into the ground. The Ji Clan Cultivator was furious, but it didn't matter how much Cultivation base power or how many magical items he tried to use, a few slaps from Meng Hao would cause everything to collapse. The Ji Clan member was now panting from astonishment.

Even in the midst of his astonishment, Meng Hao grabbed his head and slammed his face into the ground again.

The other Northern Reaches Cultivator shrieked. He watched wide-eyed as the Ji Clan member and the other Northern Reaches Cultivator were like nothing more than baby chickens in Meng Hao's hands, completely powerless to strike back at all. The man was so scared that he began to beg for mercy.

However, he could not escape Meng Hao's punishment. Every time Meng Hao leaped up, the three men would let out miserable screams, and blood would spatter about the area....

"You hurt me and then just smiled it off!!" cried Meng Hao. "That's unforgivable! I was being sincere!!" The sight of Meng Hao punching and kicking caused those looking on to be thoroughly shaken. The other Ji Clan members, as well as the other two Northern Reaches Cultivators, were all panting. Expressions of extreme shock could be seen on their faces.

They were also rejoicing at their luck in having not made a move earlier. That was especially true of the ones who had almost stepped forward just now. They felt as if they had just evaded a huge disaster.

Their eyes were filled with unprecedented levels of fear as they looked at Meng Hao. It was a fear that made them feel even more grievous than they had in the Second Plane. That was because they had suddenly discovered that... they could be bullied here in the Third Plane too!

Ji Xiaoxiao's eyes were wide and she was panting with shock. As she stared at Meng Hao, she suddenly had the sensation that she was looking at a madman.

As the sensation appeared, it was coupled with fear. It was as if the Meng Hao that she remembered from the Second Plane had been perfectly extended down here into the Third Plane.

Liu Zichuan stood in the group, his expression one of excitement. Inwardly, he shouted, "Take him out! Drop him dead!"

His face filled with grief and indignation, Meng Hao continued to mop up the three. The two Ji Clan members other than Ji Xiaoxiao, hesitated. One of them was an older man who gritted his teeth and said, "Elder Brother Meng... they were definitely in the wrong, but... considering it was their first offense...."

"Yeah," said one of the other Northern Reaches Cultivators. "Elder Brother Meng, if you keep beating them, they're going to die...."

It was just as the man said. The three offenders lay next to Meng Hao, soaked in blood, gasping as more breath came out than went in. Despite being Cultivators, they had just been literally beaten to the verge of death.

"Do you also wish to repay kindness with enmity?" asked Meng Hao, looking up at the Ji Clan Cultivator who had spoken first.

That look caused the old Ji Clan member to begin to tremble. He quickly backed up a few steps, then angrily cried, "These people went way too far! What I hate most in life is people who repay kindness with enmity! Elder Brother Meng, feel free to continue, just ignore me."

As for the other Northern Reaches Cultivator, the one who had spoken up second, he was now even more nervous. He began to fill with panic as he watched Meng Hao slowly look over toward him. Immediately, the man yelled, "Elder Brother Meng! Get rid of the rascals and protect the good folk! I couldn't be more pleased. I truly wish I could be more like you, with such incredibly lofty sentiments!"

Off to the side, Liu Zichuan's heart filled with disdain. He still felt himself to be far more powerful than these other people.

The bashful look appeared on Meng Hao's face once more. His right foot was up in the air, just about to descend again. Down below, the Ji Clan member, who was covering his head with his hands, suddenly felt as if his moment of good fortune had arrived.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, listen, my... my acquisitions, you can have sixty percent!"

As soon as Meng Hao heard this, his foot stopped moving. Apparently convinced by the man's words, he bent over at the waist and shyly patted the man's shoulder.

"Brother, oh, good Brother," he said. "I really hate to say this but, you know, I have my principles. How about eighty percent? No? Well never mind...."

"Huh?" The Ji Clan member's face was covered with both blood and a look of shock. He was just about to say something when one of the Northern Reaches Cultivators shouted out.

"Eighty percent! Elder Brother Meng, eighty percent of my acquisitions are yours!"

Hearing this, Meng Hao instantly shoved the Ji Clan member back to the ground and then helped the Northern Reaches Cultivator to his feet. His now looked even more bashful, and somewhat apologetic.

"I feel a bit guilty for such kindness, Brother," said Meng Hao. "Very well, since you trust me so much, then I truly wish you well. Please acquire many many things here in the Third Plane...."

The Northern Reaches cultivator wanted to cry, but had no tears to shed. He looked at Meng Hao and nodded vigorously.

The Ji Clan member who had just been shoved back down suddenly yelled out: "Eighty percent! I'll give eighty percent, too!"

The other of the three also gritted his teeth and yelled out similarly.

Meng Hao looked visibly moved as he helped them all to their feet.

"Fellow Daoists, I am truly indebted to your kindness," he said with an emotional sigh. "I feel a bit guilty. However, since all of you insist, then, fine, fine, I accept." From the look in his eye, it seemed Meng Hao felt that good people truly did exist everywhere under Heaven.

The three Cultivators stood there unsteadily, looking at Meng Hao. Although inwardly they might be cursing him to the pinnacle, they did not dare to allow it to show on their faces. As of this moment, they were in complete dread of Meng Hao.

Everyone else had merely watched the proceedings, but these three had experienced it personally. Every blow from Meng Hao contained not the slightest ripple of a magical technique. All of it was completely from the power of his fleshly body.

He had used only the power of his fleshly body to put them in a position where they didn't even have a single chance to fight back. Even stranger, his fists and feet were actually capable of completely scattering their magical techniques.

Such a fearsome fleshly body was enough to cause anyone to feel hopelessness. The bashful look that they saw on Meng Hao's face right now would become the source of their most profound nightmares in the future.

The three had no choice but to clasp hands in respect to Meng Hao. Then, supported by the various members of their groups, hobbled their way back to their original position. Meng Hao glanced at Ji Xiaoxiao with a profound expression. A tremor ran through her, and she suddenly grew even more nervous. No one else would understand, but Ji Xiaoxiao was well aware that Meng Hao had just reminded her of her promise to take him to Ji Mingfeng's corpse.

Everything was silent. Everyone stood there quietly, having completely lost interest in the restrictive spell off to the side. All of them looked nervously at Meng Hao.

As for Meng Hao, he looked at the restrictive spell for a while. Then he examined the house, and the well preserved corpse. All of a sudden, he realized that the corpse looked familiar.

He was silent for a moment as he looked at it. Then he recognized who it was, and his face grew a bit melancholy. This old man existed in Meng Hao's memory as a youth. Back in the Second Plane, he was one of Meng Hao's silkpants friends, a Demon Immortal Sect disciple with two wings on his back.

Meng Hao remembered that his name was Yi Xuanzi.

After a moment of silent thought, Meng Hao clasped hands and bowed deeply toward the corpse. "Fellow Daoist Yi Xuanxi," he said, "perhaps you don't recognize me, but in my memories, we are friends.... If your spirit is in the underworld, please open the restrictive spell. I would like to bury you so that you can rest in peace."

As of this moment, he wasn't thinking about any magical items. He spoke the truth. He wanted to bury his friend from the Second Plane, so that he could rest peacefully.

After a long moment, Meng Hao rose to his feet. He didn't check to see if the restrictive spell had changed in any way. Without a word, he turned to leave. However, it was in this moment that behind him, the restrictive spell suddenly began to glitter and shine. A riot of colors could be seen as a rift appeared, which opened up soundlessly!

It opened for Meng Hao!

A tremor ran through his body as he looked back.

Everyone watched on, eyes wide and minds filled with unprecedented shock and disbelief.

Chapter 609: Three-eyed Concubine

"The restrictive spell... is actually opening on its own!!"

"Could it be that Meng Hao was right about the spirit in the underworld?"

"If that's what's really happening, then wouldn't it mean that we could use the personal relationships we forged in the Second Plane to open other restrictive spells!?"

Everyone was shocked and almost couldn't believe what was happening.

This matter exceeded their imaginations, and in fact, their comprehension. The whole matter didn't seem complicated, and yet, if you analyzed it deeply, there was clearly some incredibly complex cycle of Karma at work.

After all, the Second Plane... was illusory!

And yet, things that had occurred in the Second Plane, and people met there, had apparently created a resonance with reality. It was bizarre to the extreme!

Even as everyone stood there in their fear and shock, Meng Hao looked back at the rift in the restrictive spell. After a moment of thought, a look of decisiveness appeared in his eyes. As everyone watched, panting, he strode forward toward the restrictive spell. His body almost flickered as he... entered inside of it.

The instant he entered, the rift twisted and then rapidly closed up. As for Meng Hao, he now stood there inside of the restrictive spell.

He was now fully separated from the outside world, and the onlookers.

Completely ignoring how shocked everyone was, he looked at Yi Xuanzi's corpse, then silently approached it. He stood there for a moment, then clasped hands and bowed deeply. Then he began to dig a hole next to the house.

He carefully placed Yi Xuanzi's corpse into the deep hole. As for the flute and the drum, he did not take them for himself, but instead, placed them in the pit next to the body.

"Yi Xuanzi, whether or not you recognize me, in my memories, we are friends.... I hope that you can rest in peace. If there is a reincarnation... I hope that we can meet again." He looked at the corpse in the deep hole, and his eyes filled with a look of reminiscence. He thought back to the Second Plane, his silkpants friends from the other mountain peaks, and how they had all been whipped together.

After a long moment, he let out a soft sigh. Just as he was about to begin filling the hole up with dirt, the violet-colored drum suddenly let out a thump. The sound was like that of a heartbeat, clear and distinct as it echoed around.

Meng Hao's brows furrowed in concentration. He watched as the violet drum, which was emanating a slight violet-colored glow, slowly floated up out of the hole to hover in front of him.

The drum was about the size of a head. The drum head itself was black, and the sides were violet. Just barely visible were countless faint magical symbols rising up from the drum head. Also visible on the the drum head was a totem.

The totem was that of a black toad with a vicious appearance. Its long tongue was sticking out of its mouth to wrap around a black dragon!

The black dragon was struggling, but apparently it was powerless to fight back against the toad.

It was obviously a totem, but when he looked at it, Meng Hao felt almost as if it were moving. On the other side of the drum head was another totem.

This totem was an enormous crocodile with vicious looking scales. Its appearance was ferocious to the extreme, and its mouth was open to emit a soundless roar....

This drum was extremely extraordinary!

Meng Hao was silent for a long moment before reaching out his hand. The violet drum flickered a few times, then slowly landed onto his palm.

As soon as it touched him, he heard a buzzing sound in his mind. It was like the call of a toad, the shriek of a black dragon, and the coldness of the crocodile.

A moment passed, and then everything went back to normal. However, as everything faded away, Meng Hao realized that the method of how to use the drum now existed in his mind.

When everyone on the outside saw what was happening, their eyes went wide with astonishment. Although they were completely envious and jealous, they didn't allow it to show on their faces.

The fearsomeness Meng Hao had just displayed was now indelibly branded onto their minds. The impression he had left was something that was deeply imprinted within them, and could never be wiped away.

Meng Hao quietly put away the violet-colored drum. Then he looked at the corpse, and once more clasped hands and bowed.

"Many thanks for your help, Fellow Daoist," he said. "I will not allow anything unworthy to occur to this object." As he spoke, a warm wind seemed to blow through the area. Meng Hao's hair lifted up, and it almost seemed like a murmuring voice could be heard within the wind.

Finally, he buried the corpse. He piled together a small grave mound, then waved his hand, causing a wooden plank to fly over. He used his finger to carve the wood, instantly transforming it into a grave marker which he pushed down deeply into the grave mound.

Here lies Yi Xuanzi.

"Fellow Daoist, I wish you a safe journey," he said quietly. Then he turned and began to walk toward the restrictive spell. He did not disturb anything else in the area, nor did he search it. He had entered this place because of Yi Xuanzi, and because of the memories. He had no other purpose than to bury his friend.

As Meng Hao neared, the restrictive spell flickered and the rift appeared again. After he walked out, the rift disappeared again. Everyone looked at Meng Hao with odd expressions.

Deep in their hearts, they couldn't help but feel that Meng Hao was truly enigmatic.

Ignoring everyone else, Meng Hao continued to walk along. Suddenly, he stopped and looked back at Ji Xiaoxiao.

As soon as he looked at her, her heart trembled. Silently, she gritted her beautiful teeth, then turned to speak to the other Ji Clan members in hushed tones. Then, to the shock of all them, her body flashed as she moved to join Meng Hao.

Meng Hao laughed as he flew up into the air. Ji Xiaoxiao followed, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them disappeared off in the distance. Everyone left behind exchanged speechless glances. The intense impression left upon them by Meng Hao was deep and profound.

Meng Hao flew in the lead position and Ji Xiaoxiao followed. After disappearing off into the distance, where no one would be watching them, Meng Hao looked back and gave Ji Xiaoxiao an enigmatic smile.

He still remembered the scene from the river of stars, before coming to the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane, when he had been stuck up against her body.

Seeing his smile caused Ji Xiaoxiao to feel goosebumps. She quickly began to explain. "Ji Mingfeng's host body was a Conclave disciple from the First Peak. However, his body is not located at the First Peak, but rather, beneath the Third Peak."

"Lead the way," replied Meng Hao coolly. Actually, he didn't really care at all about Ji Mingfeng's corpse. He was merely using this method to thoroughly bind Ji Xiaoxiao to him.

In this way, he was essentially inserting a mole into the Ji Clan. If any mishaps occurred, Ji Xiaoxiao would not be able to escape unharmed. Because she was an actual member of the Clan, if she betrayed the Clan, the results would be even more miserable.

As for Ji Xiaoxiao, how could she not understand this? However, she had little room to maneuver. Originally, she took her actions in the Second Plane to be a temporary stopgap that she could adjust in the Third Plane. But when she discovered how fearsomely powerful Meng Hao's Cultivation base was, she truly understood that... she had no way to fight back against him.

Therefore, since she couldn't fight back, there was no need to struggle.

They sped along together, Ji Xiaoxiao compliant, Meng Hao using his Divine Sense to avoid anyone else. Soon, they neared the Third Peak.

Although Ji Xiaoxiao didn't detect what Meng Hao was doing, she did notice that they didn't run into anybody whatsoever. As such, she could only assume it had something to do with Meng Hao, which of course filled her with even more dread.

As for Meng Hao, his brow was furrowed. As they moved along, he had actually sensed a total of six or seven others. All were alone, and all of them seemed to be moving in the same direction; they were headed toward a place somewhere between the Third and Fourth Peaks.

Meng Hao thought back to what Zhixiang had told him, about true spirit Night, and the pit between the Third and Fourth Peaks. That pit led to the entrance of the Fourth Plane.

His eyes glittered, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

"Considering that they aren't looking for any more good fortune in the Third Realm," he thought, "but are instead hurrying toward the Fourth Realm, it shows that they must have acquired quite a bit already.

"In that case, it's just about time for me to go make them live up to their agreement."

Up ahead, Ji Xiaoxiao stopped. "We're here," she said, looking back at Meng Hao. "This is the place. There are restrictive spells in place, so follow me."

Meng Hao suddenly lifted his right hand and flicked his finger. A red medicinal pill flew out at top speed to appear in front of Ji Xiaoxiao. Her face flickered.

There was still time for her to dodge out of the way, but when she saw the cold streak in Meng Hao's eyes, her heart seized. She did nothing to evade, instead allowing the medicinal pill to enter her mouth. As it dissolved, an acrid liquid spread out through her body.

"Let's go," said Meng Hao with a smile and a nod. He looked around at the ruins and the countless flickering restrictive spells.

Ji Xiaoxiao's face was extremely unsightly. She said nothing, but merely turned and proceeded forward. As she did, the curves of her body made a scene of soul-stirring beauty.

She proceeded on through a specific route for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Soon, a well appeared up ahead of Meng Hao. Shockingly, two corpses could be seen together at the bottom of the well.

One was Ji Mingfeng, the other was the host body.

A three-eyed crow was perched atop Ji Mingfeng's body. In almost the same instant in which Meng Hao looked down at the crow, the crow turned to look at him.

Ji Mingfeng also had two bags of holding. One was white, the other was black. Even as Meng Hao looked at the black bag of holding, Ji Xiaoxiao spoke up.

"The black bag of holding has Ji Mingfeng's collection of Demon beasts. As for that three-eyed crow, it long since gained sentience. When Ji Mingfeng was only three years old, it flew in from the outside, and accompanied him ever since.

"You got lucky in killing Ji Mingfeng. If we were in the outside world, even if you were of the Spirit Severing stage, it would still be very difficult. He... is actually the Nascent Soul stage Dao Child of the Ji Clan.

"He even had a Patriarch's brand on him, although sadly, it's faded since he died."

Meng Hao's eyes glittered. Suddenly, the crow flew up into the air, transforming into a black beam of light that shot toward Meng Hao.

Before Meng Hao could react, an excited voice could be heard coming from the copper mirror inside his bag of holding.

"Bitches! Lord Fifth is awake, little bitches! Hey, I see a lovely three-eyed concubine here!"

Chapter 610: Injured Lord Fifth

Apparently, the three-eyed crow knew the parrot....

Otherwise, it wouldn't have flown out it in such an overbearing fashion, only to, upon hearing the voice of the parrot, begin shaking, the feathers on its body standing on end. Apparently something had gotten it quite worked up. It let out a miserable shriek, then suddenly turned around in mid-air and then fled in the opposite direction.

At the same time, the parrot flew out from inside of Meng Hao's bag of holding. It seemed to be in high spirits, as arrogant as ever to once again be on the scene.

Its eyes glittered with an excited glow as it raised its head up and squawked a few times. Then it shot forward toward the three-eyed crow.

"Long time no see! What are you running away for? If you keep running, Lord Fifth is going to screw you!!

"Beloved concubine, don't run away!" it continued excitedly, "Husband and wife for a day means mutual benefactors for endless days to come! Although we couldn't remain as husband and wife for a long time back then, that doesn't mean you need to flee! Every time I think of you, I can't help but wallow in my memories!"

The parrot seemed to be on the verge of overtaking the crow. Suddenly, though, tears appeared in the crow's eyes. It seemed ready to die rather than be violated. In this instant, it used some unknown magical technique to cause all of its black feathers to suddenly fall off of its body....

In the blink of an eye, there was no longer a black crow in front of Lord Fifth and Meng Hao. Instead, it was a... flesh-colored, completely bald bird.

The sight of the completely featherless bird was appalling and almost too horrible to look at.

However, the miserable shriek which rang through the air next did not come from the three-eyed crow, but rather the parrot. The bloodcurdling scream seemed to emanate from a deep, deep pain. The parrot stopped in mid air, staring at the feathers that were fluttering down to the ground, and then let out another miserable cry.

"Wh-wh-wh... why did you do that!?!?" The parrot didn't seem to be able to accept it. One breath of time before, the crow had been its true love, completely in line with his sense of beauty. The next breath, everything was turned completely around in a completely upsetting fashion.

Its entire body was shaking, even its nerves. What had happened just now was something too intensely upsetting.

Taking advantage of the parrot's sudden loss of spirit, the three-eyed crow used some other method to disappear into mid-air. It vanished without a trace.

The parrot seemed on the verge of going insane. It raised its head up to the sky and let out a roar.

"DAMNATION! Lord Fifth will not let you off the hook!"

Meng Hao suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for the parrot, especially considering how it had just changed its use of bad words. Clearly, the parrot was not just a little bit upset at the moment.

A face suddenly appeared on the bell attached to the parrot's foot. The meat jelly's voice could be heard, filled with a bit of a wicked tone. "Happy? According to Lord Third, that crow is actually quite honest and sincere. For example, what if it had used that move just now when you were in the middle of screwing it? What would you do then?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Hao could only stare blankly. The parrot trembled a few more times before a look of intense alarm appeared on its face.

Meng Hao had long since gotten used to the antics of the meat jelly and parrot. He had also put some thought into the matter of why the two of them hadn't made an appearance in the First or Second Planes. He had assumed that there was something special about the Demon Immortal Sect that made it impossible for them to reveal themselves.

Based on the voice of the parrot just now, it seemed to Meng Hao that it had just woken up. However, even after trying, he couldn't cause the mastiff to appear. Then he thought back to what Patriarch Huyan had said before, and realized that the origin of the meat jelly and the parrot really was unfathomable.

As for Ji Xiaoxiao, this was her first time seeing the parrot. Her eyes were wide, especially after she heard what the meat jelly said. Although she had always been a brazen person, she was still a young woman, and couldn't help but flush a bit and make a reprimanding "pei" sound.

Yet, she continued to look down on Lord Fifth....

The instant she made the "pei" sound, the parrot turned its head to stare at Ji Xiaoxiao. A deadly gleam appeared in its eyes, as if it desired to vent its frustration and pain on her.

Panting, it looked her over.

"No fur or feathers! Dammit! Absolutely no fur or feathers! Dear Heavens, why do you punish me this way!!" The parrot howled and then clenched its jaw. Even the mere thought of the crow shedding its feathers caused it to feel profound pain.

Although Ji Xiaoxiao didn't have the fur or feathers that the parrot liked, as far as she was concerned, the damnable things gaze was far too penetrating.

Meng Hao ignored the parrot. His right hand made a grasping motion, causing Ji Mingfeng's two bags of holding to fly up out from within the well and into his hands. He glanced them over, opting not to open then at the moment. Instead, he put them away.

Then, eyes glittering, he snatched the wailing parrot and ignoring whether it wanted to or not, shoved it back into his bag of holding. Then he looked at Ji Xiaoxiao.

"It's time for me to go collect some treasures," he said. "If you have nothing else to do, you can come with me. My destination just so happens to be the entrance to the Fourth Plane."

Ji Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She didn't seem to be surprised at all to hear about the Fourth Plane, as if she had known about it all along.

As he gazed at her, Meng Hao thought about the resources of her Clan, and how information about the Fourth Plane wouldn't be hard to come by. The two of them left, Meng Hao taking the lead as they shot toward the pit, which lay between the Third and Fourth Peaks. It wasn't very far away. About two hours later, they arrived.

There were quite a few people already gathered together. There were a handful from the Ji Clan, one of whom was Ji Mingkong, who looked at Meng Hao with a strange glow in his eyes. Li Shiqi and Han Bei sat cross-legged not too far off, as did Wang Lihai. As soon as Meng Hao neared, their expressions flickered.

Meng Hao was all smiles as he waved to everyone in greeting.

"Hahaha! What a small world, huh! We meet again, Fellow Daoists. So, tell me, how did things go for you in the Third Plane? What did you acquire?" Behind him, Ji Xiaoxiao's cheek twitched a little as she realized that Meng Hao... was about to con some more people.

"Meng Hao offers his most sincere well wishes to all of you Fellow Daoists," he continued. "I hope that you can really profit well in the Third Plane. That way, I can also bask a bit in your glory, right? Thank you, Fellow Daoists. You are all truly good people." Meng Hao seemed a bit emotional and even somewhat embarrassed. A bashful expression appeared as he looked over the increasingly grim-faced crowd, then clasped hands and bowed.

As for the group from the Southern Domain, their eyes flickered. That was especially true of Han Bei. When she saw Meng Hao's smile, a tremor ran through her body and she quickly lowered her head.

She knew all too well what Meng Hao's smile meant. It must be stated that it was quite well known in the Southern Domain that Meng Hao had conned many people with that bashful grin....

Although Wang Lihai had never seen Meng Hao's bashful side, he had heard of his conman's personality. When he saw the smile, and Han Bei's reaction, he instantly went on guard.

Li Shiqi put on a forced smile. She looked at Meng Hao but didn't say anything.

Song Jia was also there. She looked at Meng Hao with a complex expression. It didn't matter how Meng Hao smiled, to her, it was all the same.

As for the Dao Child from the Li Clan, Li Tiandao, he was the only Southern Domain Cultivator who didn't notice anything special about Meng Hao's smile. He frowned, and killing intent suddenly sprang up in his eyes.

In contrast, the members of the Ji Clan seemed to have received news about what happened earlier. Although all of them wore completely ordinary expressions, deep in their eyes, vigilance could be seen.

Meng Hao looked around at everyone, then suddenly seemed a bit discouraged. He was just thinking that it seemed his extortion attempt had failed when he noticed the look in the eye of the Li Clan Dao Child, Li Tiandao. Suddenly, he seemed a bit livened.

"Fellow Daoist," he said, "I don't think I recognize you." He quickly walked toward Li Tiandao, a smile on his face. "Tell me, did you acquire much in the Third Plane? Come, come, open your bag of holding so that Brother can select his share."

"Screw off!" said Li Tiandao coldly.

A moment ago, Meng Hao had worn a sincere smile and a bashful expression. A moment later, his face completely changed. The instant Li Tiandao spoke, a ruthless expression appeared on Meng Hao's face. His right palm instantly shot out toward Li Tiandao.

A cold light of derision flickered in Li Tiandao's eyes. His Cultivation base was extraordinary. If you looked at the Southern Domain as a whole, it didn't matter if you were talking about members of his current generation, or even Li Daoyi who had already passed away, Li Tiandao's Cultivation base was extraordinary. He gave a cold snort and then made a grasping motion with his right hand. Instantly, a blade of white light appeared in his hand.

However, before he could even unleash the power of the blade, Meng Hao's palm, moving with indescribable speed, slapped onto his face, letting out a huge bang.

One slap sent Li Tiandao completely senseless. He was furious, and wanted to struggle back. However, his fate was the same as the Cultivator earlier from the Northern Reaches. Meng Hao directly slammed him down onto the ground.

Punches and kicks rained down onto him, the sound of which echoed out in every direction. Li Tiandao let out miserable shrieks. He tried to fight back, and even tried to wield his blade against Meng Hao. However, all it took was a slap from Meng Hao to cause the Heavenly blade to shatter into pieces.

The sudden violence caused the eyes of all the spectators to grow wide.

"You actually dare to cuss at me!" cried Meng Hao, emphasizing his words with kicks. "I was sincerely wishing you well, and you respond with curses!? Ridiculous!" His expression grew more vicious and intense, causing all the onlookers to grow increasingly shaky with fear.

Li Tiandao was livid, but gradually, that lividity was replaced by terror. Soon, it turned into despair. Blood spouted from his mouth as the shadow of death loomed over him.

Finally, Han Bei blinked, cleared her throat and offered up a quick reminder. That finally provoked a reaction from Li Tiandao who, despite feeling wronged to the extreme, shouted out that he would pay a higher price.

After the matter was resolved, Meng Hao once again smiled sincerely and then took two of the total of three magical items that Li Tiandao had acquired.

Furthermore... those two items were the very best of all of them. Even as Li Tiandao felt pain in his heart, Meng Hao clasped his shoulder, then sighed and bashfully expressed his deep thanks.

After that, Meng Hao looked around at everyone else. Considering what had just happened to Li Tiandao, everyone else had no choice but to suppress their curses inwardly, open their bags of holding and produce the items that they had acquired. With their oaths in place, there was no way to go back on their words, and no way to hide things in violation of the agreement.

Despite their pain, they could only watch on in fear as Meng Hao carefully selected one incredible magic item after another.

"Wow, this looks amazing!

"Eee? It's actually a scale shield! Excellent, excellent!

"This flower vase is incredible! With one glance you can tell it's a precious treasure!

"Ooh, look at this clay figure! It's missing an arm and a head, but I'll just have to suck it up and take it. Yep."

Meng Hao circled around, making acquisitions that would cause anyone to be shocked. Every person from whom he took treasures had faces filled with unsightly looks. If it weren't for the fact that none of them felt capable of taking him on, they would surely attempt to attack him. The hatred they felt rose up to the Heavens, and their hearts dripped with blood.

To them, Meng Hao wasn't just taking away magical items, but their most prized possessions....

Eventually he came to stand in front of Song Jia. He looked at the jade pendant she held out, as well as the complicated, cold look in her eyes. He stood there thoughtfully for a moment, then took out one of the magical items he had acquired and put it in her hand.

Song Jia frowned, and was about to say something when, all of a sudden, three prismatic beams of light whistled through the air toward them from off in the distance. The person in the lead position was none other than Fang Yu. Behind her were the two other men from the Fang Clan.

The two men wore excited expressions; clearly, whatever objects they had just acquired left them very happy.

Chapter 611: Fellow Daoists, Allow Me to Say Something

Meng Hao's eyes gleamed and he turned. With a smile, he clasped hands and bowed to the three incoming members of the Fang Clan. "Well, if it isn't the three Fellow Daoists from the Fang Clan. It seems these two Brothers can't quite cover up the joy in their faces. They definitely must have acquired quite a bit in the Third Plane...."

Fang Yu's face was a bit unsightly as she stared angrily at Meng Hao. The way he looked right now caused her fury to flare up.

"No, we didn't!" she said, glaring at him.

"Oh, that's not good," replied Meng Hao with a wink.

"It doesn't even count as not good!" said Fang Yu, clenching her teeth, an uncompromising expression appearing on her face. "Look at you, you acquired all kinds of things, but big sis put everything on the line and only got two items! You still want to take advantage of me?"

"Okay, how about this...." said Meng Hao, looking a bit embarrassed. However, before he could finish speaking, one of the two men from the Fang Clan who stood behind Fang Yu suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"We try to give you face, but you insist on acting shamelessly, huh? You think this is still the Second Plane? Screw off posthaste, you little bastard! Otherwise, you won't be leaving the Third Plane alive!"

The other Fang Clan member stepped forward, an expression of scorn and disdain on his face as he said, "You really don't know your own limitations. Don't you know that even the Ji Clan would think twice before trying to steal away the things acquired here by the Fang Clan? As for you... well, take out half of everything on your person and hand it over. Otherwise...."

As the two men spoke, Meng Hao's gaze came to be fixed upon them.

However, before he could even get angry, Fang Yu's face filled with fury. She spun to face the two fellow Clan members.

"You want him to screw off?" she said. Clenching her teeth, she vanished, to reappear directly next to one of the Fang Clan members. Suddenly, her fist descended.

Before the Fang Clan member could even say anything, a boom could be heard, and he tumbled backward, blood spraying from his mouth as he looked at Fang Yu in astonishment.

"Fang Yu, what are you doing!?!?"

"Shameless you say!?" she cried, fires of rage burning in her eyes. As of this moment, she truly looked like an explosive dragon. Her body flickered as she neared the man again. He was shaking, and was about to fight back when another boom echoed out and he was sent flying.

"You dare to threaten him!? You say he won't leave the Third Plane alive?! Well then... I'll make sure YOU don't leave the Third Plane alive!" Killing intent flickered in Fang Yu's eyes. Before the Fang Clan member even landed on the ground, she once again vanished to reappear directly next to him. Her fist smashed out again. This was no perfunctory blow, but rather, contained all of her explosive power.

A boom could be heard that rattled Heaven and Earth. Everyone watched on in shock as the blood sprayed from the mouth of the Fang Clan member, and then his entire body exploded into bloody pieces. His Nascent Soul emerged, fleeing and screaming at the same time.

"Fang Yu, you dare to slaughter a fellow Clan member!? You're dead! You actually dare to kill me over an outsider!?!?"

"So what if I kill you?" said Fang Yu with a cold snort. She performed an incantation gesture, then waved her right hand. Instantly, an enormous square cauldron magically appeared. It instantly shot toward the fleeing Nascent Soul of the Fang Clan Cultivator. When they slammed together, a miserable shriek could be heard, and the Nascent Soul shattered.

At the same time, the man's bag of holding flew out to be snatched by Fang Yu. She quickly erased the brand mark on it, and then tossed it over to Meng Hao.

The scene which had just played out in front of everyone left them completely shaken. That was especially true of the Ji Clan, whose eyes were wide and filled with disbelief. Killing a fellow Clan member was a high crime in any Clan!

They truly couldn't understand why Fang Yu would respond so viciously to the handful of words that had just been spoken.

Fang Yu turned and looked at the other Fang Clan member.

The man trembled and took a few steps back. His heart pounded with nervousness and vigilance as he quickly said, "Elder Sister Fang Yu, this was all just a misunderstanding. I...."

"You said he doesn't know his own limitations?" she said, her eyes flickering with killing intent. The Fang Clan Cultivator's scalp was numb as he fell back nervously. Before he could get more than a few steps, Fang Yu was upon him, and her fist descended.

A boom could be heard; blood sprayed from the man's mouth as he fell back.

"Elder Sister Fang Yu, I was in the wrong. Really, it was my mistake!!"

"Didn't you tell him to take out half of his belongings and hand them over?" she said coldly. She performed an incantation with her right hand, causing the illusory square cauldron to fly toward the man. Under the incredible pressure, the Fang Clan Cultivator's face fell. Even as he shot backward, he pulled out his bag of holding and threw it to Meng Hao.

"Elder Brother Meng, allow me to atone for my crime. Junior Brother admits his mistake!!"

Meng Hao grabbed the bag of holding with a frown. It was impossible to tell exactly what he was thinking.

"You're clever," said Fang Yu. "Therefore, you can avoid the death penalty. But that doesn't mean you're... exempt from punishment!" She glared at the Fang Clan Cultivator as the square cauldron descended. A boom could be heard as blood poured from the man's mouth. He staggered backward, his face pale. Although he didn't fear for his life now, he was still scared witless. He immediately clasped hands and bowed to Fang Yu.

Meng Hao gathered up the two bags of holding, then looked over at Fang Yu. She looked back at him.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"None of your concern," replied Fang Yu. With a frown, she gritted her teeth and continued, "In any case, my things are mine, and I'm not going to give them to you. There's no use in even thinking about it. It's not gonna happen!"

Meng Hao looked at her deeply for a moment, but didn't speak again about the matter. Everyone around were lost in various thoughts, and didn't speak.

It was in this moment that the deep pit they stood next to suddenly emitted a shocking rumbling sound. It almost sounded as if something deep inside was roaring. The ground shook, and the countless vine-like objects that surrounded the area began to twitch and writhe in bizarre fashion.

The vines grew thicker and longer as they surrounded the area, looking almost like snakes. The Demonic Qi from the surrounding area surged in toward the pit, transforming into an enormous pillar of light that towered up into the sky.

As of this moment, the enormous pillar of light was visible from any position within the First Heaven of the Demon Immortal Sect. It was like a summons that echoed out in the hearts and minds of all the South Heaven Cultivators.

A message resounded out to everyone. It clearly told them... that the way to the Fourth Plane was now open!

The possibility now existed to enter the Fourth Plane!

Meng Hao's mind trembled, and the Cultivators around him began to pant. Their eyes flickered, and yet, no one wanted to be the first one to make an attempt. Everyone stood watching, not willing to act rashly.

Time passed, and more people began to arrive, attracted by the column of light. Of course, not a one could evade Meng Hao's extortion. Eventually Xu Qing arrived, which meant that the area was now filled with the majority of the Cultivators who were here in the Third Plane.

Their gazes flickered as they looked thoughtfully around at each other.

The first person to make a move was an unimposing, emaciated old man from the Southern Domain. He flew out to stand on one of the vines. After grasping ahold of it, he looked back at the crowd of onlookers and then smiled. Then he produced a magical item, a fan, which he pushed up against the surface of the vine.

Instantly, a green glow surrounded the fan, and it began to disintegrate. It transformed into dots of scintillating light, which then were absorbed into the vine. At the same time, the vine began to grow longer. It extended down into the pit, taking the old man with it.

Fang Yu looked over at Meng Hao and then spoke, her words directed not just at him, but at everyone around. "According to the Fang Clan's understanding, one needs magical items to be able to enter the Fourth Plane. Magical items from the outside world aren't quite as effective as items acquired in the Demon Immortal Sect. Offer them as sacrifices to the Demon vines, and, depending on their value, the vines will extend down.

"If you leave the vine and try to descend on your own, you will die without a doubt!"

With that, Fang Yu's body flashed, and she neared a vine. In much the same way as the old man moments before, she produced a magical item which she pushed up against the vine. The vine began to grow, extending down into the pit.

One by one, more people began to fly forward. The Ji Clan members, the Northern Reaches Cultivators, the group from the Southern Domain. One after another, they stepped onto the vines, produced treasures, and then sank down into the pit. As all of this happened, Meng Hao cleared his throat. Looking embarrassed and a bit bashful, he began to speak.

"Fellow Daoists, allow me to say something. Considering that you need to offer continual sacrifices to the vines, I must say that I actually have quite a few magical items. However, if I loan them out, if you take one, you'll have to repay me with two. I'm honest with all customers. It's a reasonable price.

"Now, who's to say what incredible acquisitions you will make in the Fourth Plane?" he continued. "Therefore, before going in, you should really think about this. Buy one, repay with two is definitely reasonable!" As soon as the others heard him, grim expressions could be seen on their faces.

"Buy one, repay with two is reasonable?"

"I've never seen extortion of this level!!"

"What a joke! Even if I have to give up half-way to the Fourth Plane, I swear I will never again get entangled with this black-hearted Meng!"

Glaring hatefully at Meng Hao, they completely ignored his offer and quickly grabbed onto the vines and then sank down into the pit.

Xu Qing stood next to Meng Hao, covering her smile with a hand. She remembered all of the things Meng Hao had done back in the Reliance Sect, and as she looked at him now, her smile only grew sweeter.

"They're going to be sorry," said Meng Hao, clearing his throat a few times. "I really did have good intentions just now." He looked blinking at Xu Qing, and her smile grew wider. Shaking her head, she flew over to grab a vine, then sank down into the pit.

Meng Hao wasn't the last person on the outside. Some of the people chose not to attempt to enter the Fourth Plane. Some decided to just give up where they were.

Seeing that no one else was going to enter the pit, Meng Hao walked around the edge of it, eventually decided on a position somewhat in the center. He reached out to grab a vine, then produced a magical item which he slowly pushed onto its surface. As it absorbed the item, the vine began to grow, taking him down at high speed into the pitch black of the pit.

As soon as he entered the pit, Meng Hao could sense coldness coming from all around him. At the same time, he saw that it was not completely pitch black. Glittering dots of glowing light could be seen in the walls, making everything in the area visible.

Around Meng Hao could be seen dozens of vines sinking downward, upon each one was a South Heaven Cultivator.

Far down below was completely pitch black, and it was impossible to see. Occasionally, a roaring sound could be heard, shooting up from down below like a wild wind. When that happened, everyone held tightly to their vines to stabilize their shaking bodies.

Chapter 612: The Gentleman Loves Money

A wind blew, as cold as the underworld. As it passed by, everyone's hearts grew as cold as if they were stuck in the middle of winter. Even more shocking was that the frigid wind made the Cultivators almost like mortals. Everyone began to tremble as they clung to their vines.

Their breath turned into ice, which then cracked and shattered, causing everyone to feel extremely astonished.

Were it not for the vines, and the warmth which pulsed out from within them into the bodies of everyone present, then they wouldn't be able to proceed downward for very long, not even if they had higher Cultivation bases.

Meng Hao's eyes flickered as he clutched the vine. He had long since come to the conclusion that these vines were a critical element in being able to reach the Fourth Plane. Many others had come to the same conclusion.

Although not everyone had chosen to attempt to enter the Fourth Plane, everyone who had come to the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane were outstanding figures from the lands of South Heaven. As for those who did chose to enter the Fourth Plane, they definitely wouldn't just give up halfway.

As they produced more and more treasures to sacrifice to the vines, the vines twisted and writhed, extending downward at high speed.

Time passed by slowly. Meng Hao was the last in line. As he descended he glanced around to inspect the area. As far as he could tell, the pit seemed bottomless. It was impossible to tell how far they had gone down, and yet they still couldn't see any end in sight. The frigid wind grew more intense, seemingly increasing the number of treasures required by the vines.

Not too far off from Meng Hao was Li Tiandao. His face was gradually filling with apprehension. Although he had come prepared with a good supply of magical items, he was finding it difficult to keep up with how much needed to be sacrificed. By this point, it didn't seem to matter the quality of the magical items being sacrificed. Almost anything would do.

Even still, the miscellaneous collection of magical items in Li Tiandao's bag of holding were not very plentiful. If things kept going with no bottom in sight, then he would soon have to begin sacrificing important magical items.

To him, it was something impossible to accept. He frowned and gritted his teeth, a look of determination gleaming in his eyes. He suddenly stopped, apparently preparing himself to start climbing back up. It seemed he planned to give up on his attempt to enter the Fourth Plane.

However, almost as soon as he began to climb up, before he had even gone more than a meter or so, his face flickered. The frigid wind around him suddenly grew ten times as powerful. His hair and his eyebrows became snow-white in the blink of an eye. Ice crystals even formed on his skin; clearly he was on the verge of being transformed into an ice statue.

The intense sense of grave crisis he felt caused Li Tiandao to immediately pull out one of his important magical treasures. It was a glowing blue sword that somewhat resembled a saber. A single glance was enough to tell that this was anything but an ordinary treasure.

Forcing down the pain he felt, Li Tiandao placed the sword onto the vine, whereupon it sank down inside. The coldness around Li Tiandao vanished and his body slowly returned to normal. However, his expression was one of astonishment.

"We're only allowed to go down, not up?" he grumbled inwardly. "Or is it that going back up requires an even higher price?" Everyone around was aware of the strange event which had just occurred, and were shocked. They all began to think various thoughts.

It was at this point that Li Tiandao saw that his own vine was no longer moving down but retracting back upward.

This provoked a reaction from the others.

"That can't be right. It's not that you can't go up. Once you enter this place, even if you want to quit, you still have to sacrifice treasures!"

"That must be the situation. It seems getting into the Fourth Plane isn't so easy after all...."

Meng Hao had the best view of the situation. His eyes flickered thoughtfully, and he rubbed his bag of holding. Suddenly, a bashful smile appeared on his face. He said nothing, but simply allowed his vine to slowly continue on downward.

Li Tiandao hesitated thoughtfully for a moment. Right now, he had two options to pick from. Go up, or go down. Either way, he would have to spend all of his magical items.

After a moment of hesitation, Li Tiandao clenched his jaw.

"Since I have to waste the magical items, I might as well risk it all," he thought. "If I don't, then everything I already spent will have been a complete waste. However, if I succeed, I can make up for everything with gains in the Fourth Plane!"

Many of the other Cultivators were thinking the same thing as Li Tiandao. They clenched their jaws, eyes shining with determination. To them it was a gamble; however, if they gave up now, then they would definitely end up with nothing. By holding on for a bit longer, they would at least have a chance... to make up for what they had already spent.

Since that was the case, there was no reason not to gamble!

Time passed. A day later, the group was deep into the pit. However, they still couldn't see the bottom. It really seemed as if there was no end at all. By this point, quite a few of their number had already used up their supply of random magical items. If they wanted to continue, then they would either have to use up the magical items they had discovered in the Demon Immortal Sect, or draw on their own store of important personal magical items.

The dilemma they faced caused the faces of quite a few of the Cultivators to look extremely unsightly. Before stepping foot into this place, all of them had believed themselves to be extremely well equipped with magical items. Now, though, they realized that they simply didn't have enough.

Compared to them, Meng Hao really did have it very easy. He had vast amounts of magical items in his bag of holding. He casually produced treasures to sacrifice to the vines. Not only did they continue to move downward, Meng Hao actually caused his vine to change course occasionally to hand over magical items to Xu Qing.

This caused the eyes of everyone else present to burn with anger and extreme jealousy.

"Ai, I just have too many treasures," said Meng Hao with a sigh. The sound of his voice echoed around, causing everyone's gums to itch with hatred.

"Fellow Daoists," he then announced, "if any of you are running low on treasures, all you have to do is speak up. We're all in this together, through thick and thin. No matter what happens, I won't ignore your plight while I am in a good position.

"If you need to borrow some magical items, I'll lend them to you without hesitation!

"Don't worry, my prices are reasonable, and I'm honest with all customers. Buy one, pay back three!" His voice echoed about loudly within in the pit. Everyone could hear, even the old man in the lead position. Their faces immediately twisted.

Fang Yu looked back with glaring eyes, and yet a smile could be seen on her face.

As for the Ji Clan members, their faces were unsightly. If they had such reactions, then there was no need to mention everyone else. When the crowds heard Meng Hao, their hearts filled with both hatred and helplessness.

"You crafty, shameless villain!" someone said. "Even if our magical items run even lower than now, there's no way we'll ask for your help!"

"That's right!" said someone else. "Outside, it was buy one pay back two, now it's buy one pay back three?! Raising prices like that is despicable to the extreme!"

"I'll die before asking for your help!"

Meng Hao heard the furious reactions, and simply sighed. "You're all wrong," he said. "Each and every one of these magical items represents an important memory to me. I'm offering to lend you, not my magical items, but rather, the true love of my life." He let out another emotional sigh.

"In all honesty," he continued, "my intentions truly are good. Look at these magical items of mine! Their glow is so resplendent and entrancing! These are high quality products!

"Think about it, all of you. With some of my magical items, you can get into the Fourth Plane without a hitch! Once you're there, you can acquire things so valuable that you can pay back what you owe me in the blink of an eye.

"It's completely worth it!

"Brothers and Sisters, you have to look at things objectively. The price you will be paying now is nothing. The most important thing is to look at what you have to gain! Without paying a price, how can you gain anything, am I right?" Meng Hao was using all his skills to try to persuade everyone. These, of course, were the same skills he had used in his shop back in the Reliance Sect. However, those who heard only continued to get more angry.

Xu Qing was off to the side, covering her smile with a hand. The gaze with which she looked at Meng Hao continued to grow warmer and warmer.

"Fellow Daoists, how can this tiny price possibly compare to the chance to step into the Fourth Plane?" Meng Hao's final sentence was full of meaning. His words echoed about, filled with an air of good faith. Many of the various Cultivators were actually moved inwardly, and they suddenly felt conflicted.

Li Tiandao gritted his teeth. He currently only had four magical items left, and to sacrifice any of them would cause him incredible pain. His expression filled with determination and he said, "I'll take three!!"

Hearing this, Meng Hao's expression shook visibly. He immediately pulled out a magical item and placed onto the surface of his own vine, causing it to change directions and head toward Li Tiandao.

"Elder Brother Li, you are truly experienced and knowledgeable, talented and bold. Alright, listen. This is my first transaction of the day, so I'll give you a bit of a discount. I'll give you these three magical items, and you only need to pay me back with eight.

"These three magical items have a value of 30,000 Spirit Stones. In that case, you need to pay me back 80,000 Spirit Stones." With that, he produced three ordinary-looking random magical items, as well as a promissory note. Then he used the same method he had used in the Second Plane, the Dao oath.

Li Tiandao gritted his teeth. After completing the formalities, he took the three treasures and then pressed one onto the surface of the vine. Instantly, it descended downward at rapid speed, alleviating his anxiety for the moment.

"Did you see that, everyone?" said Meng Hao, setting his head nobly. "Meng Hao is a gentleman. The gentleman loves money, and earns it righteously. I'm not forcing anybody, and am even willing to sell things on credit! That's right! You don't need to pay me back now. A simple promissory note can solve all your problems.

"You can simply pay me back after we leave this place. What a great deal!"

Everyone around couldn't help but think that Meng Hao truly had reached the pinnacle of shamelessness. More time passed, over half a day. There was still no bottom in sight. By this time, Li Tiandao owed Meng Hao more than 400,000. It was at that point that... Wang Lihai couldn't hold back from calling out.

"Give me ten!"

"I'll take ten too!" said Li Shiqi, gritting her beautiful teeth.

"Ten for me too!" said Han Bei with a sigh.

Meng Hao immediately looked quite enlivened. He adroitly produced the magical items and promissory note, watched as the three swore their Dao oath, then smilingly handed over the magical items.

"When you purchase from me, you can rest your heart at ease. The quality of all products is guaranteed, and I deliver everything directly to you!"

The three collected up the magical items they had purchased and then completely ignored Meng Hao. They began to feed the items into the vines and descend down further.

Another day passed. Soon more people began to run out of treasures. Either that, or they weren't willing to sacrifice the treasures they still possessed. No matter how much they hated Meng Hao, they had no choice but to call out to him.

"Buy one, pay back five! Fellow Daoists, I'm starting to run low on magical items, so I have no choice but to raise the price.... Furthermore, I have to announce that when I am down to only ten magical items, then I will have no other choice than to begin an unprecedented, never before seen in history, never again to be repeated... auction!" Although Meng Hao sighed, his eyes actually shone with a brilliant light.

As soon as the words left his mouth, it gave rise to furious complaints. Despite the anger, people gritted their teeth and spent the price of one to five to acquire large amounts of magical items.

"What a profit!" thought Meng Hao. "Hahaha! I never thought that the ancient Demon Immortal Sect would turn out to be my Blessed Land!" He hung onto his vine, clutching a thick stack of promissory notes. When he looked at the numbers written on them, his eyes glowed brightly. His addiction to making money existed deep in his bones, and had not been reduced in the slightest, regardless of his advances in Cultivation base.

"I'm rich!"

Chapter 613: Fourth Plane!

"Hopefully this pit goes even deeper," thought Meng Hao, his eyes shining. "The best would be if we keep going for about nine or ten days." His bag of holding didn't have much else in it other than the vast, random assortment of magical items.

Many of them were things completely useless as far as Meng Hao was concerned. There were even treasures he had acquired when he was in the Qi Condensation stage, but hadn't discarded even down to this day. He had kept them because... he just couldn't bear to part with them.

Back in those days, when he was young, he had been completely impoverished, unwilling to even part with a single Spirit Stone. These magical items were each worth dozens of Spirit Stones, so how could he possibly have simply discarded them?

He had always been searching for a way to dispose of them. However, the Black Lands and the Western Desert were both poor and barren places. Therefore, such items had accumulated there within his bag of holding.

If an outsider could glimpse the inside of his bag of holding, they would be completely shocked. The inside was completely chaotic, filled with anything and everything. After all... these were all of Meng Hao's belongings. Every time he ran out of Spirit Stones, he could still look inside the bag of holding and feel a little bit of contentment.

The opportunity he had now was something completely rare, and had him thoroughly excited. One Cultivator after another gritted their teeth and then called out to purchase magical items, and Meng Hao rushed to peddle them.

Meng Hao wasn't worried that they would refuse to acknowledge their promissory notes. These people were all Dao Children and Chosen of great Clans and Sects. They didn't lack Spirit Stones, plus, there was a Dao oath in place. They wouldn't dare to not pay him back.

Next to Meng Hao was one of the Northern Reaches Cultivators. His eyes were bright red as he glared at Meng Hao, clutching a small, glittering sword in his hand. His voice filled with madness, he cried, "Dammit! Meng Hao!! This is a Qi Condensation magical item! You, you, you... you actually charged me 10,000 Spirit Stones for this! I wouldn't pay ten Spirit Stones for this thing! You're such a swindler!"

"Yeah, look at this! This is a magical item for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. You charged me 20,000 Spirit Stones, and I have to pay back 100,000!"

"Look at this fan! What the hell! It's broken! It might be a Core Formation magical item, but... you charged me 50,000 for this piece of crap!? Why don't you just outright rob me!"

In response to the ire of the crowd, Meng Hao blinked.

"These things might be trash to you people," he said coldly, "but I worked hard to collect them! I often went without food and water just to collect together these possessions!

"If you don't want them, then you can return them. Then, you'll go onto my list of unwelcome customers!"

The others were fuming with anger, but they could only gnash their teeth and eventually let out long sighs. Then they angrily shoved the magical items onto the surface of the vines, causing them to sink down further.

Eventually, even the Ji Clan members began to call out to Meng Hao. Soon, there were few within the crowd that didn't owe Meng Hao huge amounts of Spirit Stones. As everyone proceeded on, they looked at Meng Hao with eyes that desired to cry but contained no tears.

They proceeded on impatiently for another day. Eventually, far down below, they caught sight of a glow of light. Finally, they glimpsed the bottom of the pit.

In that instant, those who owed Meng Hao vast quantities of Spirit Stones began to weep with excitement. Meng Hao was the only one who let out sighs of regret.

"How can this pit be so shallow?" he mused with a frown. "If only it were a bit deeper. I never got to start my auction." He watched as everyone around him excitedly followed along with the vines as they continued on toward the bottom. It didn't take very long for them to reach the end of the pit.

The bottom of the pit was actually far larger than anyone could have imagined. It seemed that the pit was actually a tunnel, beyond which was an enormous world!

The world seemed to have no end. Even Divine Sense was incapable of finding any borders to it. After everyone reached the bottom and stood there, their minds trembled.

Meng Hao's pupils constricted, and he began to pant. Next to him, Xu Qing arrived, and her mind reeled.

Nobody spoke. Complete silence reigned. Everyone was completely and thoroughly astonished by what they saw.

A continent stretched out in all directions, sleek and smooth. Its surface was like that of a mirror, which was the source of the light that everyone had seen earlier.

If the continent could be described as a mirror, then the group from South Heaven could be described as standing outside of that mirror. Furthermore, when they looked at the mirror, what they saw was not their own reflection, but rather... an ancient battlefield!

Shockingly, an ancient world existed inside of the mirror. It was impossible to say whether or not it was an ancient world that existed before the time period of the Second Plane, or after. In any case, the group was now staring at boundless, majestic battlefield.

Countless Cultivators could be seen on the battlefield, all engaged in mutual slaughter. Heaven and Earth were filled with riotous colors, and booming echoed out through the sky. Cracks spread out through the land, and the fearsome glow of magical shields covered everything.

In the sky were innumerable war chariots flying about, as well as armored Cultivators who fought each other feverishly. Off in the distance, several gigantic dragons could be seen, as well as countless Demon beasts, hunkered into various positions throughout the land.

Many things could be seen.

A person could be seen waving a hand. A huge chunk of the earth collapsed, and then an enormous land mass flew out. It turned into a shooting star which smashed out into the air.

A person could be seen punching. Stars collapsed, and countless flames burned the world.

A person could be seen surrounded by millions of magical items. They formed a tempest that caused blood to splash about wherever it went. The tempest itself was the color of blood!

A person could be seen flashing an incantation gesture. A finger was pointed up into the sky, and countless characters appeared, glowing with a golden light. They formed together to into various ancient characters that radiated a shocking aura which led to endless slaughter.

A person could be seen holding tight to an evil spirit. The spirit's body was three thousand meters long, and had countless faces that appeared and disappeared, howling and glancing around with disdain.

This was... a great battle between two different parties!

One side was made up of Cultivators. Countless, innumerable Cultivators, each one capable of employing destructive divine abilities, of summoning Dharma incarnations, and endless magical items that could shake the Heavens.

The other side was made of up of Demons. These were bizarre Greater Demons of Heaven and Earth, surrounded by sundered winds that rose up into the sky, creating a storm of blackness wherever they went....

Further off in the distance was, shockingly... an enormous coffin. The coffin appeared to have fallen down from the Heavens. Brilliant, multi-colored light swirled around it, within which was something astonishing. Nine butterflies could be seen floating about!

Countless figures could be seen in the area around the coffin. Incredible slaughter was being carried out, as if neither side was willing to allow the other to step even half a pace closer to the coffin!

The coffin was the main cause of the combat on the battlefield. All of the fighting and mad slaughter was because... that coffin needed to be seized!!

All of the South Heaven Cultivators, including Meng Hao, were floating up in mid-air, looking down blankly at the lands within the mirror. They looked down at the shocking battle, and the figures who could topple mountains and invert seas with the wave of a hand, who could crush stars and grab moons with their divine abilities. The hearts of the South Heaven Cultivators filled with shock.

There were three people on the battlefield who, no matter how grand the scale of the battle was, no matter how intense the slaughter, could not be eclipsed. The gaze of anyone who looked down at the battle would instantly be drawn to these three figures.

It was as if... they were the most powerful sovereigns of the battle. They were like venerated suns that everyone had to look up to!

One of them was a Cultivator wearing a Daoist robe, with a full head of white hair. His features were ancient, and when he lifted up his hands two rotating pearls could be seen, one of which was black, the other of which was white!

Behind the man was an illusory starry sky that he had apparently magically summoned. He stood in the middle of the sky, alone, capable of striking fear into the hearts of any within the Demon Tribes.

The second figure was within the Demon Tribes. It was a Greater Demon who looked like a winged bat. Its eyes were bright red, and seven globes of flame rotated around it. Each of the globes of flame was a different color, and, shockingly... a wooden sword could be seen inside of each one!

The Demon was surrounded by an astonishing aura. As it stood there, it seemed capable of making the Earth, the Heavens, and all life therein, prostrate in worship!

Meng Hao was unsure of the level of Cultivation base of these two, but his breathing was unprecedentedly ragged. He wasn't sure if he was perceiving things incorrectly or not, but when he saw the old Cultivator and the black and white pearls in his hands, he suddenly thought of something.

In his mind, he saw an image from back in the State of Zhao. He saw... the pearl in the hand of Little Tiger! [1. "Little Tiger" Dong Hu was one of the group of four who joined the Reliance Sect at the same time. Meng Hao encountered him again in , where he had the pearl. During Meng Hao's fight with Shangguan Xiu in , Little Tiger loaned him the pearl, which allowed Meng Hao to temporarily break into the tenth level of Qi Condensation. Meng Hao returned the pearl to him in . You might also be able to deduce that the pearl was even alluded to vaguely in ]

Little Tiger's pearl, and the white pearl in the old man's hand, looked... completely the same! The sensation that Meng Hao got when he looked at the pearl held by the old man... led him to believe that they were definitely one and the same!

Furthermore, the man-shaped bat looked very similar to the Demon that he had fought so long ago. Even more relevant were the wooden swords inside the seven globes of flame that surrounded it. When Meng Hao saw them, his mind shook. Those swords were clearly... the same as his Immortal Murdering Swords!

Right now he had five such swords, four originals and one copy!

What gave Meng Hao even more cause to pant was the third figure within the world of the mirror. That person caused his mind to reel and fill with a roaring sound.

That person... was a homely-looking middle-aged man. He wore a white robe, and his long hair was half black and half white. He did not emit any aura of a Cultivation base, but rather floated there in mid-air, looking almost like he was sealed. The air around him was completely calm and still.

When the Demon Tribes saw him, they trembled, and their Demonic Qi was thrown into chaos, as if it was completely out of control.

When the Cultivators saw him, their eyes filled with reverence. It was almost as if as soon as they looked at him, an intense pressure bore down on them, causing their Cultivation bases to decline!

He was not a member of either side in this battle. He floated there in mid-air, making it seem as if the battlefield were split into three parts, with him being one third!

Within the man's hand was a long, silver spear that appeared to be covered with overlapping scales. The spear was not completely silver; occasionally the scales would turn black.

As soon as Meng Hao caught sight of the spear, a voice immediately echoed out in his mind.

"Demon Weapon... Lonelytomb!!" [2. Demon Weapon Lonelytomb was introduced in ]

Although Lonelytomb's Devil Construct was on the verge of dissipating completely, Meng Hao still had it. It emanated a buzzing sound, like an intense summoning.

In that instant, Meng Hao suddenly realized who that middle-aged man was floating there in mid-air. Staring fixedly at him, Meng Hao thought, "Third Generation... Demon Sealer!!"

Chapter 614: Seal

It was in this moment that Meng Hao suddenly realized that the copper mirror in his bag of holding—the same copper mirror that had been with him since the Reliance Sect, that precious treasure which had provided him with such incredible help over the years—had begun vibrating.

The vibrating was not like what had happened in the presence of furred or feathered creatures. This vibration was intense, and seemed to encompass the entire mirror, starting from within.

Meng Hao was shocked, but his expression didn't change. His gaze flashed as he looked at Demon Weapon Lonelytomb.

The first time he encountered Demon Weapon Lonelytomb, he had received the Devil Construct, incarnated into the Devil Spear. He had also learned how the real Demon Weapon Lonelytomb was sealed within an ancient battlefield.

Meng Hao also knew that the ancient battlefield had something to do with the Demon Immortal Sect. Once inside the Demon Immortal Sect, he should have been able to use the reaction of the Devil Construct to locate Lonelytomb!

However, throughout all his experiences in the First, Second and Third Plane, he hadn't been able to find even the slightest trail to follow. And yet here... in the lands of the Fourth Plane... he finally had a trail!

The white-robed man with the black and white hair was none other than... the Third Generation Demon Sealer! And the spear in his hand was none other than... Demon Weapon Lonelytomb!

One man, one spear, hovering in mid-air, splitting everything under Heaven into three parts!

His energy shook the Demon Tribes and leveled immense pressure onto the Cultivators. It was as if in Heaven and Earth, although he might not be the ultimate supremacy, he was still esteemed and respected to the utmost degree.

Meng Hao's mind trembled as he looked at the Third Generation Demon Sealer, and he began to breathe heavily. This truly was... a Demon Sealer!

When he saw the Third Generation Demon Sealer's energy, Meng Hao suddenly felt intense anticipation regarding his own path as the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer. He suddenly wished to one day be able to hover in mid-air and split everything under Heaven!

Everything that was happening inside the mirror continent filled Meng Hao with shock, and also astonished all of the Cultivators from South Heaven, who were all breathing heavily. It was at this point that the eyes of the emaciated old man flickered. This was none other than the old man who had been first to enter the passageway from the Third Plane. He performed a minor teleportation as he headed toward the mirror below.

The movement immediately attracted the attention of the others. Meng Hao's eyes glittered as he watched him.

The emaciated old man moved with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he was standing on the surface of the mirror that made up this huge continent. Then he began to move forward. It almost looked as if he were about to enter the ancient battlefield. However, he actually was only moving across the surface of the mirror.

He abruptly came to a stop after a few breaths of time. He pushed his hand down onto the surface of the mirror, which seemed to stimulate it, causing distortions to appear. Suddenly, a middle-aged man appeared across from the old man, except within the ancient world. He wore a suit of battle armor, and when he lifted up his hand, a fireball appeared, within which could be seen a crimson bird.

Originally, everything visible existed only within the mirror. However, due to the stimulation provided by the old man, and some other unknown reasons, the crimson bird suddenly flew out from inside the mirror.

It seemed to have broken through some sort of seal to fly out from inside the mirror and then appear on the outside!

It was currently shrinking in size, and its flames were growing dim. It looked quite different than it had inside the mirror. And yet, as soon as it appeared on the outside, it emanated a powerful aura!

It wasn't just the flame bird that appeared. Shockingly, a moment later, four beams of light shot out through the distortions. Within these beams of light could be seen two swords, a fan, and a flying shuttle.

The four items flew out explosively just behind the flame bird. As for the old man, he laughed and flew into the air, waving his sleeve toward the flame bird to capture it.

Everyone was shocked at what was happening, and yet, they didn't hesitate. In the blink of an eye, dozens of people flew up into the air toward the four beams of light and the magical items within.

Meng Hao moved the quickest. Even as the old man was subduing the flame bird, Meng Hao passed everyone to lay hands on the green-colored flying shuttle.

It was shaped like an awl, and glittered with blinding light. The coldness which emanated off it was oppressive. As soon as Meng Hao touched it, he felt as if his body was filled with winter. Eyes glittering, he entered the Second Anima and held tightly to the flying shuttle.

His body flickered and he stretched out his left hand. A gale force wind screamed out, causing the Ji Clan members and Northern Reaches cultivators who were pursuing the fan to be sent tumbling backward. Even as they came to a stop, Meng Hao closed in and swept his arm to snatch the fan.

The moment he touched it, an indescribable heat exploded out within him. Meng Hao gave a cold snort and, without hesitation, entered the Fifth Anima!

His powerful fleshly body and shocking cultivation base instantly suppressed the flying shuttle and the fan. They struggled, but couldn't fly out of Meng Hao's hand. He quickly put them into his bag of holding.

At the same time, the two flying swords were snatched up by others. Fang Yu managed to get one, Ji Mingkong the other. Everyone else could only watch on with unsightly expressions at the others who had acquired treasures. Then they looked over at the emaciated old man.

The old man finally put away the flame bird. His acquisition was clearly the best of all, which anyone could see. The flame bird was a precious treasure. As for the other items, although they were extraordinary, they couldn't compare.

The old man laughed hoarsely, then glanced over the group from South Heaven. His gaze stopped for a moment on Meng Hao, whereupon it seemed to fill with dread. Finally, he looked back at the others.

"Fellow Daoists, there is quite a bit of good fortune to be had in this place. There's no need to stare at me collecting things, don't you think?" He chuckled, then backed up a few paces. He lifted up his right hand, and although the move seemed casual, pulsating rings of light could be seen within.

Ji Mingkong's position amongst the Ji Clan members had been second only to the now deceased Ji Mingfeng. He looked at the old man and growled, "There may be more good fortune, but you seem to know a lot more about it than we do."

His words caused the eyes of everyone present to begin to glitter brightly. Clearly, everyone was extremely interested in how the old man had extracted items from within the mirror.

The old man laughed, then slowly began to speak: "Well, it's actually easy to explain. Any of you can do exactly as I did. This is the Fourth Plane, and not many people ever make it here. Therefore, few people in the outside world know much about what it's like.

"The mirror-like continent beneath us is actually a seal. Sealed inside is a battlefield, or perhaps, an entire world.

"Within the seal, time is eternal. If you can stimulate it from the outside, and open a breach, then you can create a storm within the eternal time inside.

"It's like causing a reverse black hole. The objects inside will be sucked out to scatter into the outside world. Of course, that process will cause said objects to be weakened.

"As for exactly how to do it, I don't think you need me to go into a detailed explanation. The battlefield beneath us is enormous, and the potential acquisitions all depend on your own luck." Having finished his explanation, the old man gave a final glance to the crowd of people, then flashed off into the distance at top speed.

Everyone else looked down at the mirror with flashing eyes. They all had their own judgements regarding what the old man had said. However, regardless of anything, it seemed that of what the man had told them, eighty to ninety percent was probably true.

In that case, this place... was a once-in-a-lifetime source of good fortune for all of them!

Everyone exchanged glances. Then the Ji Clan members scattered, flying in opposite directions. The Cultivators from the Northern Reaches, Southern Domain, and Western Desert also sped off in different directions. Meng Hao looked at Xu Qing.

"I'm fine by myself," she said with a slight smile. She turned and flew off into the distance, looking for good fortune of her own.

Meng Hao took a deep breath. He looked down at the world within the mirror for a moment. Then his eyes flickered. He picked a direction and shot off at high speed.

He only had one objective, and that was the Third Generation Demon Sealer!

As for everything else, although it was interesting to him, when compared to the League of Demon Sealers, it was all secondary.

He proceeded onward for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. His brow was furrowed as he considered how strange this place was, especially the three most powerful experts that he had seen. They hovered in mid-air in the world inside the mirror, clearly visible, but unapproachable!

Down below, the mirror continent seemed to be endless and without borders. However, it was possible to sense that far off in the distance, there was in fact an end to it all. However, once on the actual surface of the mirror continent, it truly seemed limitless. Even after moving forward for a long time, the Third Demon Sealer still seemed far, far away.

Meng Hao was muttering to himself about this when suddenly his eyes flashed. Not too far away he had caught sight of a magical battle taking place within the world of the mirror.

There were two Cultivators fighting with a mass of black fog. Magical techniques spread about in all directions and magical items slammed out in attack. When he caught sight of the magical items, Meng Hao's eyes began to glitter.

One of the items was a golden leaf that he wouldn't originally have paid much attention to. However, Meng Hao happened to have noticed that upon the surface of the golden leaf was a pattern that looked like a lotus.

It was a made up of ten swords, shaped together to look like a lotus!

It looked exactly like Meng Hao's own Lotus Sword Formation. He couldn't help but make an "eee?" sound as soon as he saw it. He looked at it closely for a moment, then lifted up his right hand and punched down. The punch caused the surface of the mirror to tremble. Distortions appeared, transforming into something that looked like a vortex. However, they quickly dissipated.

Meng Hao's expression was the same as ever as he entered the Fifth Anima. A boom could be heard from his fleshly body as he punched down again. The vortex instantly formed again, along with a black hole. An enormous gravitational force appeared inside of the mirror world, causing three magical items to suddenly be sucked in.

Next, those very three magical items flew out beneath Meng Hao's feet. One of the items was cracked in the process and instantly exploded. The other two shot off in two different directions at top speed, apparently possessed of sentience.

Meng Hao performed a minor teleportation, then transformed into a green smoke and a black moon. He reappeared in mid-air, and snatched his hand out to grab the golden leaf. It emanated a buzzing sound as well as a blinding light, and apparently intended to cut Meng Hao's hand in half.

Meng Hao let out a cold snort, then flicked his sleeve to collect up the golden leaf. He pushed two fingers down hard onto its surface, preventing it from struggling and flying away.

A look of happiness appeared in his eyes as he collected it up. But then he looked back down at the world in the mirror, and his mind trembled.

It was at this point that he noticed that the golden leaf he had just acquired, as well as the item which had exploded and the other item which had escaped, were... still inside the world of the mirror.

"Are they simply ghosts?" he thought. "Or are the items which flew out perhaps not real?" He frowned as he thought back to how the copper mirror had begun to vibrate earlier.

After some more thought, Meng Hao suddenly trembled and looked back down at the lands inside the mirror world.

Chapter 615: Speculation and Cooperation

"This continent is like a mirror, and within the mirror is a battlefield," murmured Meng Hao. "The objects on the battlefield can emerge into the outside. However... those same objects still remain on the battlefield inside the mirror....

"This... this...." Meng Hao's mind was filled with intense rumbling. He was starting to feel that he knew what was happening, but the explanation caused him to begin to pant, and his face to flicker.

"Strange, it's so similar to the copper mirror and its duplication powers!" That was what caused him to be so agitated.

He was the only person who could make such a connection. No one else had his copper mirror, nor did they know of the mirror's Heaven-defying qualities. Therefore, it would naturally be impossible for anyone to reach the same conclusion.

After all, everyone's thinking is limited by the scope of what they know. Thinking outside of one's own scope is something extremely difficult.

Meng Hao's breathing grew heavier the more he thought about it. The situation just seemed to become more and more bizarre. His eyes flickered, and he suddenly leaped up into the air. He did not proceed along in the same direction he had been traveling, but rather, went straight up into the air.

As he rose up, his heart began to pound faster, and he grew more nervous. He had possessed the copper mirror for many years now, and in the past, he had often wondered where it came from. However, the meat jelly and parrot were always very enigmatic when it came to the subject. Every time he brought it up, they acted like it was some type of taboo. The parrot would even begin to fume with rage.

Meng Hao had tried to get information about it on numerous occasions, all to no avail. Eventually, he put the matter to rest inwardly. Now, however, he had the feeling that he suddenly had an opportunity to understand more about the copper mirror!

It was in such a mental state that he flew higher and higher. Moments later, he had reached the highest area possible. Down below, the continent stretched out in all directions. He took a deep breath as he lowered his head to look down.

As before, the continent looked completely endless. The surface was sleek and glossy, and it was impossible to see what the continent actually was shaped like.

"I could keep going and look for the border. Maybe I can find some answers there.

"Or, I could take out the copper mirror and shine it down. Perhaps... that would reveal some clues!" He thoughtfully rubbed his bag of holding, a profound look gleaming in his eyes.

He had the feeling that if he produced the copper mirror, but nothing happened, then it wouldn't really matter. However, if any types of transformations did occur, then... they would certainly be enough to shake Heaven and Earth. In fact, considering how many people were here, it would be impossible to keep the matter of the copper mirror hidden unless he killed everyone.

"The copper mirror is the most mysterious object I possess. I can't let anyone know that I possess it, otherwise it will lead to terrible calamity.

"'The innocent man will be lead to disaster by possessing a treasured object!'" Meng Hao's eyes glittered. He had been intelligent even as a child, and had experienced the law of the jungle in the Cultivation world. The truth of what would happen should he reveal the copper mirror was something he knew all too well.

After some thought, Meng Hao's eyes flickered, and he turned to look off into the distance, a cold smile tugging at his lips.

Even as he smiled, distortions appeared in the air in the direction in which he was looking. An old man emerged. It was none other than the emaciated Cultivator from before. He had been approaching in secret, but as soon as he neared, had been detected by Meng Hao. Without waiting for Meng Hao to say anything, he revealed himself.

"Fellow Daoist Meng, your Cultivation base is extraordinary. It seems I've incurred your ridicule." The old man laughed and then clasped hands and bowed.

Seeing that Meng Hao wasn't going to say anything, the old man smiled and continued, "My name is Han Danzi [1. Han Danzi's name in Chinese is 韩丹子 hán dān zǐ. Han is a common family name, and yes, it is the same character as Han Bei. That doesn't mean they are related, although the possibility couldn't be precluded based on the name alone. Dan means "red" or "pellet." Zi means "child" or "son"], a rogue Cultivator from the Southern Domain. Your fame has resounded like thunder in my ears for many years, Fellow Daoist Meng. Grandmaster Pill Cauldron is an example for all Cultivators like myself. I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to meet you here in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect."

"Did you really secretly follow me just to say some fawning words?" said Meng Hao, a cold glint in his eyes. "State your purpose."

"Fellow Daoist Meng, you don't beat around the bush!" He laughed, apparently ignoring Meng Hao's tone of voice. "I could see you hesitating about what to do earlier. I'm not sure exactly what you were thinking about, but I was curious, so I followed you.

"However, now that you mention it, I actually do have something interesting to share with you.

"The greatest treasures hidden in this place are not the magical items of the Cultivators and the Demon Tribes, but rather... the objects held in the hands of those three Paragons. Whether it be the spear, the seven globes of fire and wood, or those two pearls, each and every one are shocking precious treasures.

"Any one of them would enable a Cultivator to murder an Immortal!" As Han Danzi spoke, he observed Meng Hao to see how he might react. However, Meng Hao's expression did not reveal even the slightest bit of a change in his mood.

"This guy is smart and has a rock-hard will," thought Han Danzi with an imperceptible frown. "I won't be able to fool him easily...."

Meng Hao's expression was the same as ever as he looked coldly at the old man. For some reason, the old man caused a feeling of vigilance rose up within him. He appeared to be at the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, not very far from Spirit Severing.

However, what he had accomplished earlier with the flame bird was not something that a great circle Nascent Soul Cultivator should be able do. This man clearly was hiding something mysterious. Perhaps others might not be able to sense it, but as the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, Meng Hao could tell that the man actually had two auras.

The first contained the ripples of a Cultivator's Cultivation base. The other... was deeply hidden, and had... Demonic Qi!

This Demonic Qi was borderline vile!

Han Danzi looked at Meng Hao and said, "I can't get the treasured items of those three Paragons by myself. That is why I hope to form a cooperation with you, Elder Brother Meng. After we acquire the treasures, we can split them evenly."

"Which one do you want to acquire?" asked Meng Hao, his eyes glittering.

"The seven globes of fire belonging to the Demon Tribes Paragon, of course," said Han Danzi with a smile. "At the very least, we can extract one for each of us. That way we won't waste any energy."

Meng Hao also smiled. He did not refuse, but instead, nodded in agreement.

Seeing Meng Hao agree so easily caused vigilance to rise up within Han Danzi. Previously, of all the people who came from South Heaven, he had paid closest attention to Patriarch Huyan.

However, he had recently been shocked to sense that Patriarch Huyan had been killed. Later, when laid eyes on Meng Hao, he understood that Patriarch Huyan was most likely killed by him.

When he thought about his own techniques and trump cards, Han Danzi felt at ease. With a hearty laugh, he and Meng Hao turned into colorful beams of light that shot off into the distance.

Meng Hao didn't speak at all. He temporarily suppressed any notions of producing the copper mirror. Now was not the time. He needed to wait until the right critical juncture had arrived, then he would pull out the copper mirror to see if it provoked any transformations.

It seemed that Han Danzi was bringing him to just such a critical juncture.

Of course, Han Danzi was wrapped up in his own thoughts as the two of them proceeded onward. Before long, they reached what was actually the very center of the whole continent.

"The locations of the three Paragons are actually where the seal is strongest over this ancient battlefield," said Han Danzi with a smile. "There are some special restrictive spells which prevent anyone from even getting close.

"However, I happen to know of a special technique. I tested it out earlier, and it seems possible to bypass the restrictive spells. However, it requires a certain level of Cultivation base. Elder Brother Meng, considering how extraordinary your Cultivation base is, I don't think you will have any problems." With that, he shot down toward the continent below. He quickly performed an incantation with his right hand, then pushed down onto the surface of the continent.

Instantly, the land shook, and Meng Hao could see a vortex forming inside the mirror. There was no black hole within it, though, and it maintained its shape. At the same time, Han Danzi took a deep breath and lifted his hand back up. Then he stood; the vortex remained within the mirror.

Han Danzi turned to look at Meng Hao.

"Elder Brother Meng, presumably, you know what to do. I'll wait for you up ahead." With that, his body flickered and he moved forward. As he moved, the vortex beneath his feet followed him.

Meng Hao's eyes glittered as he watched Han Danzi proceed onward for what appeared to be several hundred meters. However, he had actually not traveled for several hundred meters, but several hundred kilometers!

"Interesting," murmured Meng Hao. He moved down toward the surface of the land, then landed on its surface. After that he lifted his foot up and slammed it down onto the ground. A boom could be heard, and then, shockingly, a vortex appeared beneath his feet inside the world of the mirror.

It maintained its vortex state, not forming into a black hole, but rather, connecting to Meng Hao's Cultivation base. Then Meng Hao proceeded forward. For every meter he moved... he actually moved half a kilometer!

"What a technique!" he thought, his eyes flickering. He couldn't help but think that if this technique could be used in the outside world, it would definitely be considering an incredibly powerful divine ability.

Using this technique, Meng Hao and Han Danzi moved what appeared to be several hundred meters, but was in fact hundreds of kilometers. They sped along at top speed within the center region of the mirror continent.

At the same time, the other Cultivators from South Heaven were in other locations, attempting to acquire their own bits of good fortune. They continued to stimulate the surface of the land, attempting to cause it to spit out magical items. However, most of the magical items ended up being destroyed in the process of emerging.

Few of the Cultivators were actually able to acquire anything.

Even still, the mirror-like land was like a huge treasure trove for everyone. All of the Cultivators who had come to this place were profoundly wise and intelligent, and soon, their glittering eyes came to be drawn to the center region of the land. That was clearly the location of the three most powerful experts who split everything under the Heavens.

In fact, there were more than a few people who were trying to make their way in that very direction.

Two hours passed. Shockingly, Meng Hao and Han Danzi had just appeared in the area near the Greater Demon with the seven rotating globes of fire.

A strange light appeared in Han Danzi's eyes. He took a deep breath as he exchanged a glance with Meng Hao. At the same time, he began to rotate his Cultivation base. Meng Hao directly entered the Fifth Anima; his fleshly body was shocking, and his Cultivation base boundless. Han Danzi's eyes flickered as he too unleashed his full power. The twisted Demonic Qi within him also began to circulate.

The two attacked the surface of the land together, causing an enormous rumbling to fill the air. The two vortexes beneath them in the world of the mirror suddenly touched each other. They merged, then suddenly ripped open an enormous black hole.

The gravitational force that suddenly surged out was impossible to describe. However... it was incapable of causing the seven globules of fire to even tremble in the slightest. In contrast, quite a few other magical items in the area were sucked into the vortex.

Ten magical items were sucked in, but only five flew out. They shot up into the air in beams of prismatic light. Han Danzi's eyes flickered, but he did nothing to attempt to take them. Meng Hao's eyes also flashed, yet he did not chase after the items either.

Both of the men were wrapped up in their own thoughts as they watched the five beams of light shoot like beautiful pearls up into the sky.

At the same time, the other Cultivators from South Heaven watched on in shock. The looked at the five beams of light, and could sense the intense ripples emanating out from within.

"Incredible treasure!!" That was the thought that ran through all of their minds. Their eyes shone brightly as they flew up into the air. In the blink of an eye, nearly all of the South Heaven Cultivators flew from all directions toward the five beams of light.

Chapter 616: Demonic Qi Explodes to the Sky!

Rumbling echoed out in all directions. As the South Heaven Cultivators flew toward the five beams of light, fighting broke out. The sounds of magical techniques and divine abilities resounded through the air, mixed with growls and cold snorts. In the time it takes for a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, the five incredible treasures were divided up.

Han Danzi looked up into the air and then said, "Fellow Daoists, those five incredible treasures were released by the combined effort of Fellow Daoist Meng and myself. For you to act in such a way is somewhat improper...."

By now, the South Heaven Cultivators up above had taken notice of Meng Hao and Han Danzi down below.

"If you are interested, Fellow Daoists, we can all work together to open up the greatest treasures hidden in this place. We can release them together. What do you think, Fellow Daoists?" Han Danzi wore a smile on his face, but within his eyes was a strange, imperceptible glow. Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched Meng Hao carefully.

That was because he hadn't consulted with Meng Hao before speaking, and his offer just now did not fall in line with his previous explanation. Clearly, what he needed was not just the help of Meng Hao alone, but rather, the combined assistance of almost all of the South Heaven Cultivators.

At the moment, Han Danzi was simply incapable of reading Meng Hao's expression. From the very beginning until this moment, it hadn't changed at all. The more Meng Hao acted in such a way, the more Han Danzi felt unsure of himself.

The main reason he had sought out Meng Hao was because of his Cultivation base. It wasn't just him who looked at Meng Hao in such a way. Although no one would admit it, most of them had already taken Meng Hao to have the most powerful Cultivation base of the entire group.

Therefore, having Meng Hao at his side made Han Danzi's words even more persuasive. After all, when an expert planned some sort of scheme, it would by no means be a small plan.

Up in mid-air, the eyes of the other Cultivators flickered, but no one spoke. Although these people had all been conned by Meng Hao earlier, that was because of the circumstances. It was impossible for them to not get excited right now. Of course, in the outside world, any one of the group could be considered extraordinarily intelligent. As such, they only believed about one third of what Han Danzi told them.

Fang Yu suddenly spoke up, "If some precious treasure appears, how do we split it up?"

"I will swear a Dao oath, I will vow on my heart of cultivation. It doesn't matter how many precious treasures appear, I only want one fire globe!" Han Danzi spoke with decisiveness that could chop nails and slice iron.

"Besides," he continued solemnly, his words ringing out like the peals of a golden bell, "if I violated my oath, if I went back on my word, not only would it sever my path of cultivation, but I would never be able to find safe haven in any of your various Sects and Clans back in the lands of South Heaven."

The South Heaven Cultivators up in mid-air looked on thoughtfully. It was actually exactly as Han Danzi said. Although their Cultivation bases might not be incredibly high, they were all backed by Sects and Clans that could be considered major powers. Therefore, in some ways, they weren't worried at all about Han Danzi reneging on his promise.

Everyone exchanged glances. All were thinking different things, but of course, they wouldn't casually allow others to see that based on their facial expression. Gradually, all eyes came to fall on Meng Hao.

"I too simply require a pledge in the form of a Dao oath," he said coolly.

At first everything was quiet, but after a moment, the Ji Clan members flew down toward the surface of the ground. After that was Fang Yu, and then the other Cultivators from the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches. Their eyes flickered as they neared.

However, it wasn't each and every South Heaven Cultivator that came. Xu Qing as well as some of the others weren't present.

Han Danzi smiled and then began to explain to everyone how to approach the center district. As they waited for everyone to arrive, Han Danzi clasped hands and bowed apologetically to Meng Hao.

"Fellow Daoist Meng," he said in a sincere tone, "it's not that I changed my mind. As you can clearly see, by relying only on our power, it would be difficult to cause the precious treasures to appear. Only by combining power with the others will we be able to succeed.

"I hope you can forgive me." He bowed deeply once more. Then he lifted up his right hand, within which could be seen a jade pendant shaped like a dragon.

"I acquired this pendant earlier which can be considered an excellent treasure. It can summon an enormous dragon which spits out a sea. Fellow Daoist Meng, please accept it as a token of my apology." With that, he sent the pendant floating out toward Meng Hao.

Meng Hao's face was expressionless as he first looked over the pendant and then scanned it with Divine Sense. There didn't seem to be anything suspicious about it, so he casually waved his sleeve to collect it up.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Han Danzi," he said coolly.

Han Danzi watched calmly as Meng Hao accepted the pendant. Inwardly, he was a bit suspicious. Meng Hao's completely expressionless demeanor made it difficult for him to keep his thoughts straight.

"Hmph," he thought to himself. "He's just some kid from the younger generation. Although he might be a profound schemer, he has his limits. Besides, I already made it clear to everyone that all I want is one globe of fire. I simply don't believe that this Meng Hao will be able to create problems for me out of nothing." He was laughing coldly on the inside, but on the outside, he was smiling from ear to ear.

The two of them sat down cross-legged to meditate. Two hours passed, after which the other South Heaven Cultivators arrived one after another. No one spoke. They focused their power together to stab into one particular spot on the surface of the ground. Intense rumbling resulted, and a gigantic whirlpool appeared inside the world of the mirror.

The vortex spun rapidly, and then transformed into a black hole. Immediately, an assortment of magical items were sucked in. Many were shattered in the process, but more than ten beams of light appeared in the outside to shoot up into the sky.

The light from the treasures was blinding, and instantly attracted the attention of the crowd. However, just as quickly, everyone, including Meng Hao, looked back at the world of the mirror. Inside, the vortex was still there, as was the gravitational force of the black hole. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be powerful enough to suck away the seven globes of fire surrounding the Greater Demon.

And yet... it was obvious that the two globes of fire nearest the black hole were beginning to ripple and distort. From the look of it, if the power of the black hole was increased, they might actually move.

"One more time!" snapped Han Danzi, staring fixedly at the globes of fire. The full power of his Cultivation base exploded out. As the power built up, the eyes of the others flickered, and they too began to unleash the power of their Cultivation bases.

Meng Hao closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he was in the Sixth Anima.

BOOM!!

Everyone attacked again. This time, the intensity of the vibrations seemed enough to cause earthquakes and shatter mountains. A vortex appeared inside the world of the mirror that was even larger than before. The black hole that magically appeared afterward caused the two globes of fire nearest the black hole to begin to distort violently. Finally, they began to move.

As the globes moved, everything dimmed, and the majestic aura of a precious treasure poured into the black hole and was then released in the outside. A thunderous roar filled the air, and as they sensed the aura, everyone was completely shocked. The intensity of this aura was such that it seemed it could extinguish Immortals!

Meng Hao's pupils constricted. The aura he was sensing from the wooden swords in the seven globes of light far, far exceeded that of the wooden swords in his bag of holding. However, it was also clear that they were... one and the same!

There was no need for Han Danzi to say anything else. A gleam of longing appeared in the eyes of the South Heaven Cultivators as they once again unleashed the explosive power of their Cultivation bases, along with their most powerful divine abilities and magical techniques.

As for Han Danzi, he took a deep breath. The borderline evil Demonic Qi on him that only Meng Hao could sense suddenly superseded the fluctuations of a Cultivator that existed within him. It was as if he had just become a Demon!

Meng Hao entered the Seventh Anima, which meant that he had a Spirit Severing fleshly body. Along with the others, he continued to levy attacks against the surface of the ground.

The entire area was covered with cracks. Although they sealed back up almost immediately, a huge vortex nearly thirty meters wide exploded out inside the world of the mirror.

The edges of the vortex seemed to be just on the verge of actually touching the wooden swords within the globes of flame.

Everyone was panting, and their eyes were focused on the spinning vortex as it transformed into a shocking black hole!

When the black hole appeared, shockingly, three of the seven globes of fire that contained wooden swords, began to ripple and vibrate. Suddenly... they started moving!

The scene caused the gazes of the South Heaven Cultivators to grow as sharp as knives. Their Cultivation bases were in full rotation as they waited for the precious treasures to emerge, whereupon the fighting would begin.

Time passed. It was only the space of about ten breaths, but in the minds of everyone present, it seemed like an eternity. They watched the three globes of fire moving gradually closer to the black hole. They seemed to be struggling, but the power of the black hole caused them to slowly get closer and closer.

The power source of the black hole's gravitational force was not the South Heaven Cultivators, but rather, the interaction between the world outside of the mirror, and the world within. The function of the Cultivators was merely to release that power.

The gravitational force exerted by the black hole was so strong that it wasn't just the three globes of fire that were affected. Also affected was the extremely lifelike Greater Demon around whom the fire globes rotated.

Nearer.... Nearer....

In the blink of an eye, one of the wooden swords within the fire globule vanished into of the black hole. Everyone stopped breathing momentarily. In that instant, shockingly, a wooden sword shot out from beneath their feet. It burst up toward the sky in a beam of light that resembled an unrolling bolt of silk.

The Ji Clan members instantly shot up into the air to pursue the beam of light.

Next, two more swords shot out, their Sword Qi shining like a rainbow. Coldness radiated out, causing everyone to feel as if they were freezing. However, the burning within their hearts could not be frozen over. Fang Yu, the group from the Northern Reaches, and all the other Cultivators, instantly shot up into the air to pursue the treasured wooden swords.

In the instant in which they flew up in pursuit, the three wooden swords began to emanate an even more shocking energy. Boundless ripples shot out into the sky, which caused anything within fluctuations to suddenly move exponentially slower. It was as if the swords created their own area of time and space.

Meng Hao immediately shot up after the three wooden swords, and Han Danzi followed.

It appeared that the two would begin to fight over the wooden swords. However, it turned out that Han Danzi only appeared to have been moving up. He almost immediately sank back down. As everyone else shot after the precious treasures, he prostrated himself on the ground, biting his tongue to spit out a mouthful of blood. The blood instantly turned into a thin stream which extended out toward the black hole in the world of the mirror. It emerged from the black hole in the mirror world, and then neared the body of the Greater Demon which had been sucked toward the black hole.

"Ancestor Spirit, your posterity of the younger generation have not forgotten you! I have come today to welcome your power back into the world!!" As his words rang out, the eyes of the Greater Demon flickered with intelligence. It allowed the stream of blood to circle around its body, then tighten around it and begin to drag it toward the black hole.

Everything shook violently, and booming sounds filled the air. Suddenly, an enormous vortex appeared in front of Han Danzi, thousands of meters wide. A strange, demonic sound emerged from within the vortex; it sounded like people both weeping and laughing.

Suddenly, an enormous head, fully three hundred meters large... began to rise up from within the water-like surface of the world beneath!

Demonic Qi...

Exploded up into the sky!!!

Chapter 617: Land of the Three Saints

Scattered patches of hair could be seen on the enormous, three hundred meter large head, as well as three, pitch-black horns. It was as gray as death, and wrinkles covered its skin. The facial features somewhat resembled a man, but even more-so, a lion.

It emanated a fearsome, archaic aura that, as soon as it appeared, swept across the entire Fourth Plane, which began to shake violently.

An enormous vortex, tens of thousands of meters wide, circulated around the entire area. Amidst the rumbling, a wild wind swept through the entire area, shaking everything.

Han Danzi prostrated himself beneath the head, his expression one of excitement. His appearance was now changing, and he no longer looked human. Three black horns had sprouted from his head, and he looked very similar to the enormous head up above him.

"Your posterity of the younger generation welcomes the return of the power of the ancestry!!" cried Han Danzi excitedly. As his voice rang out, he seemed to form a connection with the enormous head. A shocking power began to fuse into his body!

His hair whipped about, his clothes flapped. He should have been tossed about like a leaf within the maelstrom, but instead, from his aura, it seemed that he was accepting some type of legacy.

The head appeared to be three hundred meters large, but in the blink of an eye it was suddenly far larger. It was now three thousand meters large. A breath of time later, it was back to three hundred meters. They were like ghost images, distorting the world. Rumbling rose up into the sky. All of the crowds up in mid-air who were chasing after the wooden swords didn't even have a chance to begin fighting over the precious treasures before the scene unfolding caused them to be thoroughly astonished.

The wild wind raged, sweeping across everything. Everyone up above was sent spinning out of control, causing their faces to fill with unprecedented expressions of astonishment.

"What... what is that thing!?"

"Dammit! He's actually trying to release a Greater Demon from inside the mirror!!"

"Isn't that Demon one of three major powers inside the mirror world? Who is this guy!?!?"

Shocked, everyone began to fall back. The rest of the Cultivators in the land, the ones not participating in the events in the central region, including Xu Qing, were all incredibly shocked. They, too, were incapable of preventing themselves from being swept up. They transformed into beams of light that shot through the air.

Meng Hao's eyes glittered as he hovered in mid-air in the Seventh Anima, with a Spirit Severing fleshly body and a Cultivation base of sixty-four great circle Nascent Souls. Such power made it that, although he hovered unstably, he was still able to remain in place and balanced within the vortex and the tempest.

As he looked down at the surface of the land, and his eyes narrowed. He knew that Han Danzi had been plotting something, but he had never imagined that the plan would be so astonishing!

As of this moment, a deafening roar filled the enormous vortex, the source being none other than the enormous head emerging from within the world of the mirror. The sound echoed back and forth like thunder.

It caused everyone, even the Cultivators off in the distance, to cough up blood. Han Danzi was unaffected, and Meng Hao's face was only a bit pale. Other than the two them, everyone else felt their mind spinning, as if they were stuck in some interminable illusion.

By now, the head of the Greater Demon was more than seventy percent emerged. Its nose was visible, and its facial features were clearer. There was an enormous, ferocious-looking wound ripped into its face.

Anyone who even glanced at the Greater Demon would immediately feel as if their mind was being absorbed. Before they even realized it, pulses of terror would be racing through them.

Demonic Qi exploded up, filling the area, intrinsically potent. In the blink of an eye, all other power of Heaven and Earth was expelled from the world by this powerful Demonic Qi.

All of a sudden, the entire world became... a Demon world!

Han Danzi trembled, his face burning with passion. The physical changes to him continued at high speed. His aura exploded up, and his connection to the head grew even more complete.

At the same time, all of the power of Heaven and Earth that was not Demonic Qi rushed up to the top of the world, which was none other than deep tunnel everyone had traveled through to get to this place.

A rumbling sound could be heard as the energy successfully entered the tunnel. The countless vines inside withered in the blink of an eye. They vanished without a trace as the expelled power of Heaven and Earth shot out into the outside world.

If you could stand outside of that deep pit, what you would see would be an exploding pillar of Qi that shot up into the sky. Successive layers of ripples then emanated out in all directions, sweeping over everything.

Although the process had just begun inside the Fourth Plane... it is easy to imagine how quickly everything was changing because of the emergence of the Greater Demon from within the world of the mirror.

When the changes were complete... everyone else inside would either be dead, or would be transformed by the Demonic Qi. Their souls would be transformed, and their Cultivation bases would change on a fundamental level. They would no longer be Cultivators, but Demons!

Meng Hao's face flickered as he looked up into the sky at all the people from South Heaven. The vortex was spinning faster, and as it did, everyone was lapsing into a stupor. Fang Yu, the Ji Clan, the Cultivators from the Northern Reaches and Southern Domain, Wang Lihai, Han Bei, Li Tiandao, Li Shiqi, and also Xu Qing....

Everyone seemed to be lapsing into an illusion. Their faces were twisted, and their teeth were clenched. Occasionally they let out cold laughs, other times their expressions were blank. It was bizarre to the extreme.

Demonic Qi was coalescing around their bodies, clearly beginning to make some illusory changes.

Han Danzi continued to prostrate himself on the ground. "Land of the Three Saints. The power of the ancestor returns, a legacy for me, Han Danzi. Everyone here are my sacrificial objects. Their bodies will be changed, their spirits will be assimilated. If they don't die in the process, then they will no longer be Cultivators, but Demons!

"They will become my Demon horde, and will follow by my side as I use the power of the ancestor to battle with the Heavens!" He trembled as his words echoed out through the vortex.

At the same time, the vortex which spun around the head of the Greater Demon was no longer tens of thousands of meters wide. It expanded again until it was nearly three hundred thousand meters wide, shocking to the extreme. By this point, the top lip of the Great Demon was now visible.

It was now possible to see that the head did not just have one wound on it, but rather, three. One of the wounds appeared to be on its lips, making it so that the creature did not have two lips, but four!

Also visible... were sharp, black fangs! This Greater Demon's physical appearance was savage to the extreme!

More Demonic Qi roiled about, and the rumbling sounds grew more intense.

Meng Hao's eyes glittered. "This is the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. Ke Jiusi isn't dead. He couldn't possibly ignore what is happening here, could he? And what about Zhixiang? Her attitude is difficult to discern.

"So... why hasn't Ke Jiusi made an appearance?

"It doesn't matter. I can't place all my hope in him...." Although he could afford not to care too much about the others, Xu Qing was here. Also, the others owed a lot of Spirit Stones. If a few died, he could handle it. However, if they all died... well, that was something Meng Hao just couldn't agree to let happen.

His eyes filled with a bright glow and he took a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them.

The moment he opened his eyes, Meng Hao entered... the Eighth Anima!

BOOM!

In the Eighth Anima, his fleshly body grew even more powerful. In the Seventh Anima, it was of the Spirit Severing stage, but in the Eighth Anima, it reached an even more terrifying level. His Cultivation base exploded out, not with the power of sixty-four great circle Nascent Souls, but rather, one hundred twenty-eight!

Such incredible power caused profound changes. Meng Hao suddenly appeared in mid-air in the wild vortex, buffeted by the spinning winds. Roaring surrounded him as what appeared to be countless shapeless bolts of lightning exploded out.

His right hand formed into a fist that punched directly toward the passageway high up in the sky. The punch contained not just the full power of his Cultivation base, but also, the Mountain Consuming Incantation!

An enormous mountain peak appeared, which was none other than... the Fourth Peak! The image was somewhat indistinct, but as soon as it appeared, roaring sounds echoed out. It shot toward the passageway. As it flew through the air, parts of it disintegrated and fell apart, but by the time it reached its destination it was still half intact.

The mountain shot at top speed toward the passageway, and as it neared, Meng Hao uttered a single word:

"Collapse!"

As soon as the word left his mouth, the illusory mountain stopped in mid-air and exploded, sending out a sound like endless thunder. The volume exceeded the rumbling of the vortex, transforming into shocking sound waves that swept across the world.

Because of the sound, all of the others, including Xu Qing, were mentally shaken. The illusion which gripped them temporarily vanished, and their eyes grew clear. Then their faces filled with astonishment.

Meng Hao looked up at them and roared, "Why haven't you left yet!?" He performed a double-handed incantation, and immediately tempest winds exploded out from him to fight back against the vortex. Instantly, the vortex was weakened.

Fang Yu gasped and looked down at Meng Hao. She looked anxious, but at the same time determined. Her body flickered as she neared Xu Qing. Even as Xu Qing was gazing at Meng Hao, Fang Yu grabbed her.

"Let's go," she said. "He won't stop worrying until you're out of here!"

Xu Qing hesitated, but didn't struggle. She looked back at Meng Hao one more time, and an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart. She thought back to that year outside the Rebirth Cave. It was a scene just like this one, in which she... was no help at all to Meng Hao.

The South Heaven Cultivators were panting in astonishment at the terrifying scene playing out. One by one, they began to fly up toward the passageway over head. As they shot through the air and then entered into the passageway, they heard Meng Hao's voice.

"I saved your lives, which means you owe me. If you dare to not pay me back, things won't be finished between us!"

As everyone disappeared into the passageway, the expulsion power shoved them up, causing them shoot upward. It was in that same instant that the head of the Greater Demon completely emerged from within the mirror!

Off to the side, Han Danzi looked up at Meng Hao, and at everyone leaving through the passageway.