Chapter 203: I am Strong! I Shall Take My Stand!
Blood Immortal Legacy!
Without a face, a single word, the flames of war unify
Sundered clouds, a b.l.o.o.d.y rain, seas that fill the sky
Capture the G.o.ds, advance the troops, fire consumes the towers
Forge all spirits and bloodlines into the 9 killing powers! [1. These words first appeared in Chapter: 37: 10th Patriarch of the w.a.n.g Clan. Please don’t memorize these lines, because I may go back later to adjust them.…]
These words contained magical powers. For the power to be unleashed required a sufficient Cultivation base, namely, Core Formation. Meng Hao was well aware that he was incapable of using it.
However, the Blood Finger, the Blood Palm and the Blood Death World, did not have a Cultivation base requirement. With sufficient spiritual energy, they could be unleashed. In addition to the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, these were his killing moves.
Upon the path he trod to reach this day, Meng Hao had used the Blood Finger technique multiple times. It was clearly uniquely powerful, enough to shock anyone who saw it being used. The world in front of Meng Hao appeared to be red, which was a sign of the Blood Finger. Meng Hao had long since gotten used to this blood-red world. He looked at Zhou Jie, and the ma.s.sive hand formed by the Black Sieve Sect’s magical technique, Great Black Clouds Palm. It screamed through the air toward him.
The hand itself seemed to be formed from black colored mist, and yet it was also interlaced with a strange Qi. As the hand approached, it seemed to grow larger and larger. Meng Hao could imagine that soon it would fill his entire vision, and blot out the rest of the world.
It made him think back to the time in the State of Zhao when Lord Revelation had floated in the air above the Reliance Sect, and sent a palm strike down into the ground. At that time, he had been too weak to even struggle. The palm destroyed the Reliance Sect, and left a ma.s.sive hand print in the earth.
But a red blur had appeared in the sky, like a sword that could sever Heaven and Earth. It split the hand in two, saving Meng Hao. In his mind, Meng Hao could see that ma.s.sive hand descending upon him. [2. The events with Lord Revelation happened in Chapter 93: Sever the Dao, Change Heaven and Earth, Demonic Will!]
Of course, Zhou Jie couldn’t even come close to comparing with Lord Revelation. And yet, the scene today was very reminiscent….
Meng Hao suddenly smiled, a wordless, soundless smile. He lifted his hand toward the incoming palm. The incoming palm attack grew closer and larger, kicking up a fierce wind which sent Meng Hao’s clothes and hair whipping about….
Meng Hao lifted the thumb of his right hand, and then slashed it toward the incoming Great Black Clouds Palm.
This slash was like a flash of blinding light in the midst of pitch blackness. It was a slash like the brightness seen when opening the eyes for the first time. This slash was just like the one the Demon Lord had used to sever Lord Revelation’s palm attack. This slash… was evidence of the enlightenment Meng Hao had experienced underneath that ma.s.sive palm in the Reliance Sect in State of Zhao!
I am strong! I shall take my stand!
A roaring boom filled the air. Meng Hao stood there, not moving a muscle. The ma.s.sive incoming palm was a mere seven inches from him when a huge crack appeared, beginning at the top of the middle finger and snaking down all the way down through the gigantic palm. Then it split out, growing wider and wider. Meng Hao stood there calmly, safely, as the palm pa.s.sed by. Wind screamed, buffeting his hair wildly. However, in the midst of the whipping hair, his eyes s.h.i.+ned brightly. They were like sunlight in the dark of night. Anyone who caught sight of it would find the light… blinding!
“Do you want to keep going?” asked Meng Hao calmly, flicking his sleeve.
Zhou Jie stood there silently, looking at Meng Hao. Bitterness arose in his heart, but a moment later, the will to fight once again sparked to life in his eyes.
“Of course I want to keep going,” he replied coolly. “From the moment I became Dao Child until now, I’ve never been defeated.” He took a breath, waving his hand toward the incense burner off to the side. Instantly, the incense burner began to tremble. Cracks appeared on its surface, and popping sounds rang out as it collapsed into pieces. “No one should interfere with our fight now.” His words were simple, and so were his actions. However, this simplicity revealed incredible power, the power of a true expert. It was only the seed of power, but even that little bit caused Meng Hao’s eyes to narrow.
“He’s cut off his own path of retreat,” thought Meng Hao. “With nowhere to run to, he can only rely on himself, and will be forced to utilize all of the power he can muster. This Zhou Jie really is an outstanding person.[3. This is a slight play on words, because the “jie” character in Zhou Jie’s name means “outstanding”]" He nodded.
Zhou Jie lifted his hand and then pressed down onto his bag of holding. From within, five glittering strands of light emerged. Suddenly, the darkness around them disappeared as brilliant light filled the air. The bright light was emanated from what now hovered in front of Zhou Jie. Five glowing swords!
Five glittering swords, glowing with a variety of colors!
Zhou Jie reached out and extended his fingers. The five swords moved to his fingers, one hovering beneath each.
“Sieve Moon Mother Earth, Heaven Splitting Sword Formation!” Zhou Jie’s hand pushed down toward the ground. As it did, the brightly glowing swords also shot down, and then disappeared.
The instant the swords disappeared, Meng Hao’s pupils constricted, and he shot backward six paces.
Almost simultaneously, the five swords suddenly reappeared out of thin air. They shot upward, heading directly toward Meng Hao, who was still in the midst of retreating.
The glittering light they emitted was dazzling as they screamed through the air. They were winding beams that were instantly upon Meng Hao, their sword auras billowing up to the sky. The sword Qi seemed to have locked Meng Hao up tightly; death surrounded him in all directions.
“Interesting,” said Meng Hao, his eyes narrowing. He lifted the thumb of his right hand and waved it toward the five swords.
A boom filled the air, and suddenly a blood-colored s.h.i.+eld surrounded Meng Hao, thirty meters in each direction. The five swords slammed into the s.h.i.+eld, causing a ma.s.sive roar to echo out.
Zhou Jie coughed up some blood and then flickered in an incantation with both hands. The five swords emitted a shrill screaming sound. A flash of light burst out, and the five swords turned into twenty five swords!
The swords filled the air as they shot once again toward Meng Hao. Their intense power caused Meng Hao to be filled with a sense of life-or-death danger.
However, his expression remained the same as ever. As the twenty five swords shot toward him, he flicked his sleeve. The power of his Cultivation base roiled out. He slashed his index finger with his thumb causing blood to pour out. Using the power of two Blood Fingers, he gestured up into the air.
Boom!
The ma.s.sive explosion was enough to distort one’s vision. Everything in the area seemed to twist. The twenty five swords were blocked. Zhou Jie let out a howl. He pushed his hands against his chest, and veins popped out on his face. The twenty five swords flew up into the sky, and in an instant, transformed. One hundred and twenty five swords now filled the sky. From all directions, they descended upon Meng Hao.
They slammed into the glowing blood s.h.i.+eld, which distorted and began to retract. In the blink of an eye, it had shrunk by nearly ten meters. Nearly half of the swords pa.s.sed through it, pressing on toward Meng Hao.
Meng Hao took a deep breath and slashed a third and fourth finger. Four fingers were now filled with the power of the Blood Immortal Legacy. The glow of blood filled the air as Meng Hao slashed the fifth finger!
The five fingers were covered in blood, forming the shape of a b.l.o.o.d.y handprint. This was the second of the three Legacy techniques, which contained power exceeding the Blood Finger. This was… the Blood Palm!
The Blood Palm appeared, filling the sky with a shocking roar. A ma.s.sive blood-colored palm magically coalesced above Meng Hao’s hand. He waved his hand, and the bright red, b.l.o.o.d.y glow spread out, sweeping through the sword formation and causing the more than one hundred glittering swords to tremble and fly backward. Meng Hao took a step forward, waving his hand once again.
A roaring sound could be heard as the s.p.a.ce three hundred meters surrounding Meng Hao suddenly was filled with the image of an enormous, blood-colored hand. Meng Hao stood at its very center. The ma.s.sive hand shot into the air, then clenched into a fist.
Zhou Jie’s face twisted. He coughed up more blood and rapidly flashed some incantation gestures in an attempt to regather his glittering swords. Instead, his face drained of blood.
The more than one hundred swords were apparently under the control of the ma.s.sive clenched fist. They struggled as if they wished to free themselves, but were unable to.
Thirty of the swords trembled so violently that they eventually let out plaintive whines and collapsed into pieces.
Meng Hao snorted coldly. Roaring filled the air as thirty more flying swords disintegrated, and then another thirty. Finally, another thirty….
In the s.p.a.ce of a few breaths, all of the flying swords were shattered to pieces by the ma.s.sive clenched fist. The blood-colored hand slowly disappeared. As it did, five glittering, crack-filled swords appeared in front of Meng Hao.
“I have one last technique!” said Zhou Jie through clenched teeth. His eyes were crimson as Meng Hao waved his hand, sending the five glittering swords into his bag of holding.
“Black Sieve, Immortal Subjugation!” howled Zhou Jie. His left hand pushed down on his forehead. At the same time, he waved his right hand. Instantly, dozens of jade slips flew out. Cracking sounds filled the air as each and every one cracked into pieces. A sweet, beautiful aroma filled the air. However, it quickly turned into a disgusting odor which made one wish to vomit out their internal organs.
Suddenly, a Qi filled the entire area, which seemed to belong to Zhou Jie…
Meng Hao’s eyes flickered. Suddenly, the archaic voice from the Demon Sealing Jade echoed in his mind.
“A hosts of evil spirits which call themselves Immortals (仙). But why fear a man (人) and a mountain (山)? If you encounter them, seal them immediately!” [3. As you should be able to see by looking closely, the character for Immortal is made up of the character for "person" and "mountain." In this pa.s.sage, the voice is kind of making fun of these spirits which claim the t.i.tle "Immortal." There was an a.n.a.lysis of the character "Immortal" in Chapter 118: Without Entering Mount Heaven, Immortal Ascension is Impossible]
Meng Hao was used to the sudden appearance of the voice in his mind. He looked over at Zhou Jie, sensing the increasingly powerful Qi which radiated out from him. Zhou Jie’s twisted face no longer looked handsome. Instead, it seemed as if countless faces of others were flickering atop his own.
Anguish filled Zhou Jie’s face, and it appeared as if he couldn’t hold on much longer. Slowly, the life began to drain away, and his face began to grow dark. It turned out this technique could not be used by someone of the Foundation Establishment stage, not even…
A Dao Child!
“Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!” Meng Hao slowly lifted his hand. A Qi suddenly began to emanate from him that outsiders would not notice, but was absolutely visible to the countless bizarre spirits which were currently pouring into Zhou Jie.
The legion of faces which hovered on top of Zhou Jie’s face, one and all, filled with expressions of terror…
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This chapter was sponsored by Fan from WA