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The hundreds of thousands of cultivators outside of the Ancient Dao Lakes region were bearing witness to a rare and shocking spectacle!
“That longsword… is two meters long, the nine shortswords are each one meter long. Look at the brilliant glow, and the lightning! It almost looks like Tribulation Lightning! Is it possible… is it possible that sword is the legendary Deadwinter Tribulation Sword?!?!”
“Why does that war drum looks almost the same as the Primordial True Spirit Drum that I read about in the ancient records…? And that puppet next to it…. I get the chills just looking at it!”
“What is that tree?! It looks so bizarre, and has three fruits on it!!”
“Check out that beast claw! It looks incredible! Could it be a Dao Seeking treasure?!”
“That’s… that’s a black dragon!? It’s a real-life dragon!! It looks relatively small, but its body is definitely a treasure!!”
The few dozen Spirit Severing cultivators immediately convened above the 30,000-meter main lake as one object after another appeared amidst the eruption of the lakewater.
Boom!
There were simply too many magical items! Fierce fighting broke out in the blink of an eye.
“Screw off!”
“Hey, I wanted that!”
“This is mine! Anyone who dares to fight me over it will die!!”
Explosions immediately began to echo out as the Spirit Severing experts shot toward the treasures they had taken a liking to. Shocking roars filled the air, and wild colors danced about.
The greatest focus of attention was the teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect, then the Golden Frost Sect puppet, both of whom exuded Dao Seeking auras. Strangest of all were the three people from the Northern Reaches. They flew about in three different areas, causing the air to shatter around them wherever they went.
Their sudden appearance on the scene was quite a source of alarm for the Southern Domain cultivators. However, there was no time to try to uncover information about their origins and backgrounds. Everyone sped toward the treasures that they wanted.
The teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect flew at top speed toward the two-meter longsword. In the blink of an eye, his hand clasped the hilt.
The enormous puppet from the Golden Frost Sect exploded with a Dao Seeking aura as it headed toward the puppet next to the war drum, slamming aside several Solitary Sword Sect Spirit Severing cultivators in the process.
The Song Clan Patriarch flew along at top speed, his body pulsing with an aura that seemed to contain a force which was incompatible with the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth. Everywhere he pa.s.sed, shocking illusory blades flew about. His goal was one particular jade slip that glowed with violet light.
The 19th Li Clan Patriarch shot furiously toward the black dragon.
The only member of the Violet Fate Sect to make an appearance, Reverend Withered-Dao, headed toward the red-trunked tree with the black leaves, blue flowers, and three white fruits!
As for the barbaric, hulking Di Ye from the Northern Reaches, an enormous wolf-tooth club appeared in his hands. A savage and wild aura exploded out from him, reaching a pinnacle in the blink of an eye. His wolf-tooth club swept back and forth, shattering the surroundings as he charged toward his goal, the three-hundred-meter long black-colored claw.
“This claw belongs to Di Ye!”
Dao Child Zhou Chen from the Coffin Altar Sect, also from the Northern Reaches, looked incredibly soft and feminine. The air around him did not shatter, but rather his surroundings warped and twisted, causing everything he pa.s.sed by to wither.
His expression was cold as he headed toward the enormous golden halo that emanated a pulsing power of sealing.
Last was one of the four Young Starlords of South Heaven, the number one figure under Dao Seeking from the Northern Reaches, Lu Bai of the Imperial Bloodline Sect, who could battle Dao Seeking even when in the Spirit Severing Stage!
As he hovered in mid air, the Dao Lake eruption surging around him, he almost seemed to exist in a different time and location. It was as if he could, at will, travel anywhere in s.p.a.ce and time.
He glanced around at the various objects in the area until his gaze came to rest on the corpse of the enormous black dragon. As it did, a strange gleam began to s.h.i.+ne in his eyes.
He immediately headed in the direction of the black dragon, and toward the 19th Li Clan Patriarch, who was clearly vying for the same object.
Everyone had their own targets and goals, some the same as others, some different. In addition, there were Spirit Severing experts from the other sects and clans who also headed toward their own favored objects.
The six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs scattered and headed toward various things that attracted them.
The fighting seemed chaotic, but was in fact quite the opposite. Only the most powerful experts would actually fight over any of the visibly extraordinary items. Others weren’t qualified to do so.
“Dammit! That’s mine!”
“n.o.body owns the Dao Lakes! The treasures go to the lucky, and you’re not lucky! Screw off!”
“Die!”
Explosions rattled out, and in the blink of an eye, they were joined by miserable shrieks.
A Golden Frost Sect cultivator was cut down by Reverend Withered-Dao. A Li Clan member excitedly closed in on the black dragon, and was about to grab it when a soft sigh could be heard. The sigh caused his body to begin to tremble, and then blood sprayed from his mouth. His fleshly body immediately transformed into a pool of blood. His Nascent Divinity flew out without hesitation, but was then crushed by the power of Time.
Meanwhile, Meng Hao still sat at the edge of the dried-up 3,000 meter Dao Lake that bordered the 30,000-meter Dao Lake. His mind rang with thunderous roars as he gained further enlightenment regarding the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao. He was finally able to thoroughly break it down.
“Withering. Flame. Demon. Magic. True. Self. Dao!” His eyes opened.
“This magic has three levels and seven parts! Each character represents a different secret art. Combined, they form something unbelievably powerful!
“The ‘self’ character is the clone magic!
“It’s too bad I didn’t understand it before, and pursued some incorrect theories. Were it not for that, I might have already been able to gain some true understanding, and therefore, some boosts in power!
“What I currently have the deepest understanding of is not the ‘self’ character and its clone magic, but rather the ‘withering’ character!
“All living things wither. However, a withered tree can grow anew in spring. The character ‘wither 枯’ has a ‘tree 木’ component on the left, which represents life. The ‘ancient 古’ component on the right represents death. The left is the past, the right is the future.
“The character ‘wither’ is also similar to the third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic. Once I enter the Spirit Meridians stratum, I will be able to consume spirit meridians, which in actuality… is very similar to the ‘wither’ character!
“Withering someone’s spirit meridians is akin to crippling their cultivation base and influencing time. It’s like planting a seed. The seed is planted, then reaped immediately, ignoring the time that normally pa.s.ses inbetween!
“That is the true meaning of the Spirit Meridians stratum of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!
“All I need is some time spent in secluded meditation, perhaps half a month, and I should be able to step fully into the third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!” Meng Hao’s eyes flickered with a brilliant glow. It was in this moment that shocking energy suddenly surged up from within him.
Instantly, the eyes of all the cultivators above the Dao Lake turned in his direction.
He raised his head, and a golden gleam could be seen in his eyes. Suddenly, he performed a minor teleportation and reappeared in mid-air above the lake.
“Meng Hao!!”
“He was meditating before, and based on his energy now… could it be that he made a breakthrough?!”
“Dammit! If he gets involved, that means there’s one more powerful foe in the mix!”
“Please, please, PLEASE don’t take a fancy to this magical item here, go look at someone else’s.”
Various thoughts and feelings such as these bubbled up in the blink of an eye.
Rumble!
When Meng Hao appeared above the Dao Lake, his energy immediately drew special attention from four people.
The first was the teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect, whose pupils constricted.
The other three were the Chosen from the Northern Reaches. One of them, Dao Child Zhou Chen from the Coffin Altar Sect, frowned and stared seriously for a moment. A look of scorn appeared on the face of Di Ye, although his heart filled with vigilance.
The person who seemed most interested in Meng Hao was none other than Lu Bai. He turned to look at Meng Hao, and when he did, a tremor ran through him.
“It’s him!” he thought.
He sensed a feeling like destiny, and was instantly sure that the young man he was looking at was the person the esteemed Dawn Immortal had referred to, his destined adversary.
Meng Hao’s arrival on the scene shocked everyone. He glanced around, and then, to the shock of many, shot toward the black claw.
His decision caused quite a few people to sigh in relief, and continue fighting.
Di Ye’s eyes flickered with killing intent as he too barreled toward the black-colored claw.
The teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect had just grabbed the two-meter longsword. Energy exploded out, and he lifted his head back and laughed loudly. Next to the black dragon, the 19th Li Clan Patriarch coughed up some blood. He was no match for Lu Bai, who swept his sleeve to collect up the black dragon.
The Golden Frost Sect was after the enormous war drum and puppet. There were a few Spirit Severing experts fighting them over it, but with the power of their Dao Seeking aura, the Golden Frost Sect steamrolled everyone in their way and promptly seized it.
As for the red-trunked tree, no one else dared to fight with Reverend Withered-Dao over it. Everyone knew that Grandmaster Pill Demon could refine all types of objects into medicinal pills. Since the tree didn’t seem to be of much use to others, Reverend Withered-Dao was easily able to collect it up.
The Song Clan successfully acquired the violet-colored jade slip they had been after.
As for the golden halo, there were quite a few people who tried to fight Zhou Chen of the Coffin Altar Sect over it, but all were sent into retreat, blood spraying from their mouths. Two people were even slain. In the end, Zhou Chen took it.
Regarding the other miscellaneous objects, Spirit Severing cultivators from various sects and clans had already divvied them all up.
Di Ye arrived near the black-colored claw. His wolf-tooth club swept about, causing lake water to spray about. His left hand reached out toward the black-colored claw.
However, just when his hand was about to latch onto it, Meng Hao pierced through the air with indescribable speed to appear directly next to the claw.
Seeing that Meng Hao wanted to contend with him over the claw, Di Ye roared, “Screw off!” Then smashed his wolf-tooth club down toward Meng Hao.
Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever as his fist struck out. The fist had no Dao Seeking aura, but considering that Meng Hao was the number one figure under Dao Seeking, it contained explosive power, which smashed directly into the wolf-tooth club.
A huge boom rattled out. A tremor ran through Meng Hao, and the wolf-tooth club was sent flying back. Di Ye’s face fell as he was sent staggering back seven or eight measures. He looked up, and a vicious expression could be seen on his face.
“So you’re not on par with that inhuman Lu Bai!” Di Ye’s body flickered as he charged forward once more. Although Di Ye and the other two from the Northern Reaches had actually arrived quite a bit earlier, even Lu Bai wasn’t able to see what was happening inside the Dao Lakes. Only after the master lake had erupted, causing the surrounding air to distort and churn and allowing them to teleport closer, were they able to get a clear glimpse of what was going on. As such, he was unaware of the shocking things Meng Hao had done.
After looking more closely at Di Ye, Meng Hao realized that the hulking man had the familiar aura of a Northern Reaches cultivator. “Northern Reaches?” he asked.
“Yeah! I’m Di Ye from the Desolate Clan in the Northern Reaches!” Di Ye roared as he closed in on Meng Hao.
“You must know Liu Zichuan!” [1. Liu Zichuan was the Northern Reaches cultivator Meng Hao beat up in the Demon Immortal Sect chapter 599. He also made a brief appearance in chapter 607 and the following chapter]