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All cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea who were watching looked completely astonished and tongue-tied as they observed the 108 Immortal dragons soaring through the starry sky outside the Door of Immortality above Planet East Victory.
“100 meridians is a legend, but 108? This... this is the first time I’ve ever heard of someone getting more than 100 meridians!”
“No one in the past has ever done this, and most likely, n.o.body in the future will either!” The Ninth Mountain and Sea was in a tumult, and that shock actually spread out throughout the Mountains and Seas.
All of the members of the Fang Clan watched with gaping mouths. They knew that Meng Hao was the type of person to defy the Heavens, but when they saw him open 100 meridians, they had a.s.sumed he was finished. They could never have imagined that Meng Hao would actually... open up 108 meridians all in one shot!
“Impossible!” Fang Wei went pale. He could reluctantly accept the idea of Meng Hao using the One Thought Stellar Transformation Incantation to open 100 meridians, and use that as an excuse for why he didn’t measure up to Meng Hao. But now... 108 meridians had appeared, causing Fang Wei to completely lose self-control.
Fang Xiushan was trembling as he stood there in the crowd, and the icy aura inside of him flourished.
As far as anyone knew, the Fang Clan only had one Dao Realm expert, which was the Earth Patriarch. Currently, his eyes shone with a brilliant light as he murmured, “There’s only one explanation.... Before he started transcending this tribulation, the kid... already had 8 meridians. He experienced something just like Kṣitigarbha, the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea!”
His words struck like lightning into the hearts of the other six Patriarchs present.
“The necropolis!” exclaimed the Seventh Patriarch. “I personally saw that kid enter the necropolis of the first generation Patriarch!”
Meanwhile, in the Nine Seas G.o.d World, Fan Dong’er staggered backward a few paces, her face pale. She looked bitterly at the images in the crystal, at the 108 Immortal dragons soaring around Meng Hao. She had no choice but to admit that there had already been a huge gap between her and Meng Hao, and that after reaching true Immortality, that gap... was only widening.
“Such profound preparation and reserves,” murmured the old woman standing next to her. “In all the great Nine Mountains and Seas, the only person other than this kid to do something like this is... the number one most powerful expert, Kṣitigarbha! According to the legends, when Kṣitigarbha reached true Immortality, he opened more than 100 meridians. Very few people actually know how many, though.... After all, those events took place many, many generations ago.” A strange gleam appeared in her eyes.
As of now, all of the true Immortal Chosen were staring at Meng Hao. They had no desire to look at Meng Hao"s 108 meridians, and yet, they were unable to look away. To open so many Immortal meridians was something that shocked everyone.
That was especially the case when they realized that Meng Hao didn"t seem to be happy with only 108 meridians. All of them gasped.
“Could it be... that he’s actually planning to open more meridians!?!?”
Meng Hao was absolutely not satisfied!
Now that he had opened the Door of Immortality, he was completely confident that he could open more than 108 meridians.
“This is a rare opportunity,” he thought. “Very rare. I’ll only get this one chance....” He stared at the Door of Immortality, and realized that the glowing light was beginning to fade, and the Immortal qi was slowly beginning to dissipate.
He well knew that once this opportunity pa.s.sed, it would be very difficult to get another chance like this in which he could absorb as much Immortal qi as he wanted, and then open more Immortal meridians.
That was something he was sure of based on his experiences with the slow and difficult process of opening his first Immortal meridian.
“However, it seems like 108 meridians really is my limit....” he thought, looking up at the 108 Immortal dragons flying about, which were the manifestations of his Immortal meridians.
Among those Immortal dragons, there was one that was azure in color. It looked especially graceful, and was much larger than all the other dragons. It emanated an ancient air that seemed to make it contemptuous of all Heaven and Earth. It was almost as if this dragon could make all the Heavens submit, and could force the Earth to bow in wors.h.i.+p!
It was as if all the other dragons were following that azure-colored dragon, their roars filling all the Heavens.
The azure Immortal dragon was formed by none other than the very first of Meng Hao"s Immortal meridians, which was actually the last one to be opened!
As Meng Hao stood there silently, the Immortal light coming from the Door of Immortality faded even more, and was soon incapable of covering his entire body. The Immortal qi lessened, and the even Door of Immortality itself began to fade.
“Is it over?”
“So, his limit was 108 meridians, huh...?”
“Those extra eight meridians were his limit. Although he can"t open any more, his name is still going to rock the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea!”
As the discussions raged in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Fang Wei stood there on Planet East Victory, and he gave an inward sigh of relief.
He wasn"t the only one. The other true Immortal Chosen all sighed deep in their hearts.
The intimidation they felt from Meng Hao only continued to grow more intense. Now that they saw the Door of Immortality dissipating, their sighs led to a stirring of their fighting spirit. All of them knew that they weren’t his match, and yet they still wanted to fight him!
The Door of Immortality grew more indistinct, and the Immortal light grew darker. The immortal qi... was virtually gone.
The starry sky was no longer bright, and as Meng Hao stood there, he looked at the 108 flying Immortal dragons, and his eyes glimmered with regret.
“It"s over.... 108 meridians.” Meng Hao sighed and turned to head back to Planet East Victory, when suddenly, a tremor ran through his body. He stopped in place and turned his head to look out into the starry sky.
He was looking... in the direction of Planet South Heaven!
In that moment... a voice suddenly echoed out in his heart. It was extremely weak, and vastly ancient. It was like the voice of an old man who was about to die, a departed spirit who had forced itself to remain in the world of the living, never allowing that last gasp to escape. Even if the flame of his life was snuffed out, he would leave behind an ember that clung on by a thread. It was as if that final remaining spark had been waiting for this moment!
“Meng Hao... I only have one breath left, and it has been waiting for this day.... Allow me to use my fading life force to gift you with one last bit of good fortune!”
When Meng Hao heard that voice echoing in his mind, he recognized it instantly. It was... the voice of Patriarch Blood Demon from Planet South Heaven!
Patriarch Blood Demon’s origins had not been made clear. However, Meng Hao knew that his terrifying fleshly body was buried under the surface of the lands of South Heaven. And in truth, in his heart, Meng Hao had already come to know the answer to the question of who he really was.
Patriarch Blood Demon... was one of the three Archdemon generals of Lord Li, a figure referred to as a consummate expert!
“You are from the League of Demon Sealers,” continued Patriarch Blood Demon in his ancient voice. “Furthermore, you are the Ninth Generation. I can speculate... about some of what will happen to you in the future, and therefore, I will tell you now what I can of the benevolent possibilities in your future. You don’t understand right now... however, if you are able to combine the Nine Hexes in the future.... you will know how to repay me. Right now, I will do something that I hope will make you consider the question of... what Immortal meridians really are.”
When Patriarch Blood Demon finished speaking, a stream of blood-colored Demonic qi exploded out from Mount Blood Demon on Planet South Heaven. At the same time, Patriarch Blood Demon’s fleshly body, which rested under the surface of the land, dissolved, and became part of the stream of Demonic qi.
As the Demonic qi surged up into the Heavens, it transformed into a blood-colored magical symbol.
The magical symbol flickered nine times, then vanished.
In the moment that it vanished, Patriarch Blood Demon met his complete and utter end!
As he died, the magical symbol vanished, and simultaneously, Meng Hao felt the Blood Demon Grand Magic inside of him begin to rotate on its own. Rumbling sounds could be heard as a b.l.o.o.d.y light surrounded him, spreading out and... forming a 109th Immortal meridian!
It was... a Blood Demon meridian!
The previously fading Door of Immortality suddenly shook, and in the blink of an eye, was back to its previous state. The fading Immortal light suddenly exploded with intensity, covering Heaven and Earth, filling the starry sky. The Immortal qi grew stronger, descending onto Meng Hao’s body and pouring into him.
The Blood Demon Grand Magic rotated inside of him, transforming into a magical symbol, which was exactly the same magical symbol that had appeared in the moment of Patriarch Blood Demon’s death on Planet South Heaven.
It was the color of blood, and after flas.h.i.+ng nine times inside of Meng Hao, it began to melt, transforming into a shadowy Immortal meridian.
As the Immortal qi poured into him, the Immortal meridian grew more solid, and before long, it was complete! Meng Hao trembled as... a 109th Immortal dragon appeared!
The roaring Immortal dragon was the color of blood, and completely shocking in appearance. Endless ripples spread out from it in all directions, causing the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain to be completely stunned.
However, in the moment that the 109th Immortal meridian appeared, another tremor ran through Meng Hao, as he felt a different aura rising up inside of him, forming a powerful resonance!
That resonance was coming from... the same planet that Patriarch Blood Demon had just died on!
Meng Hao looked up, and his eyes flickered as he looked at what he considered to be his true home, Planet South Heaven.
Just vaguely, he could see the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple. There in the former location of the temple hall, he saw... what appeared to be a flower.
It was... a Resurrection Lily!
When the Resurrection Lily blooms with seven colors, petals fall, Immortal Ascension, one thousand years!
Meng Hao had been plagued with a Resurrection Lily for hundreds of years. In the end, he had severed it away. However, vestiges of it still remained, like memories that were very difficult to get rid of.
It was another type of Karma, or... a type of rest.i.tution!
On Planet South Heaven, in the vast Eastern Lands, in a wild stretch of mountains, was a deep crater that was all that remained of the temple hall of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple. An old man stood there, and next to him was a Resurrection Lily.
“My power is useless to the living....” he murmured vaguely, “but you... were bequeathed with the legacy of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. You took master’s Soul Lamp, and changed your destiny.... The Resurrection Lilies sowed Karma with you, and now that you"ve reached Immortal Ascension, I will represent them to pay you back what they owe.
“If you can reach enlightenment regarding Immortal meridians, then it will be good fortune for you. Whether or not you understand is all up to you.”
The man’s words were muttered somewhat incomprehensibly, as if the arrangements of the words themselves had been thrown into chaos. The old man waved his right hand, causing the Resurrection Lily next to him to transform into ash.
As the ash swirled through the air, a violent tremor ran through Meng Hao. He gasped, and for some reason, he suddenly recalled all of his struggles with the Resurrection Lily.
The memories flowed like water, and as they did, the Karma that had built up from the years of struggle transformed into an aura, into a Resurrection Lily, into... a Resurrection Lily Immortal meridian!
As soon the Immortal meridian formed, Meng Hao’s hair whipped about, and his body seemed to turn into a black hole that madly sucked in Immortal qi. Intense rumbling sounds filled the air as another Immortal meridian formed!
This was... his 110th meridian!
In the moment that the meridian appeared, a 110th Immortal dragon roared into being next to the Door of Immortality.
Chapter 975: Blood Demon and Resurrection Lily!