Meng Hao’s eyes were filled with obsession and madness. He had opened 122 meridians and had walked a path no one had trod before, even in ancient times. Not even the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Kṣitigarbha, had done something like Meng Hao had when he became a true Immortal.
Meng Hao hovered there in the starry sky, the center of all attention. And yet, he still wasn’t ready to give up. Flames danced in his eyes, a reflection of the Essence of Divine Flame in his palm. It was as if the Divine Flame had become the ambition within Meng Hao’s eyes.
“My final meridian… the Essence of Divine Flame!” Meng Hao’s heart was pounding. He knew that the Essence of Divine Flame was terrifying, but he couldn’t hold back his excitement at the idea of it becoming his final meridian!
“If I can succeed in making this my 123rd meridian, then I won’t have any regrets!
“It’s a gamble, but if I succeed, I’ll have one more meridian. If I fail….” Meng Hao’s heart thumped, but his eyes quickly gleamed with obsession.
“Who cares if I fail?!” His hair and clothing whipped about as his energy began to rise up. The starry sky trembled and rumbling sounds echoed out.
“Before the world appeared, before the beginning of Heaven and Earth, before time could even be calculated, perhaps… there were no such things as Immortals. Therefore… how did the first Immortal come to be?!
“That first Immortal definitely walked his own path. He must have tried many things, and must have suffered many defeats before he finally found the correct path. The first person to succeed called himself Immortal, and that is how Immortals came to be!
“It must have occurred in that way. Therefore, I can do the same thing. I, Meng Hao, will become an Immortal in MY way!”
The majestic Door of Immortality, the boundless Immortal light, the unobstructed Immortal qi, the swirling Immortal dragons. These things served as foils to Meng Hao.
If this bit of Divine Flame were much larger, then it wouldn’t matter how determined Meng Hao was, he would be incapable of absorbing much of it. However… there wasn’t much of the flame present!
There was only a tiny bit in that bronze lamp!
“Rewards come only with risk. In life, there are many times… when the only way to acquire something is to make either a sacrifice or a huge gamble!” Meng Hao gripped the bronze lamp tightly, staring wildly at the Essence of Divine Flame therein.
As of this moment, the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea was all watching the cultivator named Meng Hao, and everyone could see the bronze lamp he held in his hand. Everyone could also see the flame that flickered inside of it.
However, even the Dao Realm experts were unable to see the bizarre properties of the bronze lamp. But they could sense that the flame inside of it contained… the power of Essence!
“Essence!! That flame in his hand is rippling with Essence!”
“Unfortunately, it’s miniscule. If there were more of the Essence, then we might be able to gain enlightenment from it.”
“In any case, whatever destiny that kid ran into before allowed him to get that Essence-containing object. Situations like this are extremely rare! Perhaps we might find some clues as to the origins of that Flame Essence on his person?” The almighty Dao Realm experts from the various sects and clans looked at the flame with brightly shining eyes.
However, it was at this point that the Dao Realm Patriarch of the Kunlun Society suddenly spoke, his voice ringing out in the ears of all his contemporaries in the Dao Realm.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this kid… comes from Planet South Heaven.”
When everyone heard that one sentence, their eyes widened, and many of them quashed whatever plans they had been making just now, and their expressions quickly turned into looks of regret. For people in the Dao Realm, Planet South Heaven was actually…
Completely taboo!
However, when the four old men from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite saw the bronze lamp, their expressions… flickered with astonishment!
They gasped, then exchanged glances. Their eyes were filled with absolute disbelief.
“I can’t believe it…. That thing actually exists!!”
“I always thought it was just a legend. But, there it is! There can’t be any mistake… the patterns on that bronze lamp mean that there can be no doubt….”
“Somebody was actually able to touch it…. This… this….” The four old men felt their minds spinning, and great waves of astonishment battered their hearts.
As of that moment, all cultivators were staring at Meng Hao.
Everyone watched as Meng Hao, without any further hesitation, held the bronze lamp aloft. His expression was one of determination as he gritted his teeth for a moment, then opened his mouth and inhaled deeply.
In that instant, the flame in the bronze lamp flickered, then flew out of the bronze lamp. In the blink of an eye, it was sucked into Meng Hao’s mouth.
He consumed the Divine Flame!
When Meng Hao sucked in the Essence of Divine Flame, his mind filled with a roaring sound. At the same time, indescribable heat exploded within his throat.
Intense flames almost immediately scorched Meng Hao’s blood dry. Before he could even blink, his body was being burned into ash. No longer was it merely blue veins popping out on his face, instead… numerous fissures spread out across his body.
The fissures were red, and when they opened, it seemed almost as if lava were about to explode out from inside of him.
He let out a protracted howl, and he shook violently. His eyes filled with madness. It was as if swallowing the Divine Flame was the same as swallowing an entire volcano!
Or perhaps… he was actually becoming a volcano!
His 122 Immortal meridians rotated at full power, and boundless Immortal power surged through him. However, all it could do was keep Meng Hao alive, and couldn’t assimilate the Divine Flame.
Indescribable pain filled him as the flames roared, and he was rapidly reaching the point where he couldn’t take it any more.
Popping sounds echoed out, and more fissures tore through Meng Hao’s body. They spread out across his face and neck, and soon afterwards his entire body was covered.
Within those fissures was crimson light that seemed to indicate his body was about to explode.
Nobody could help him, not even the Dao Realm experts. This was his tribulation, his meridians, and his choice!
The only person who could help him was himself. And only by weathering this trial, only by successfully fusing with the Essence of Divine Flame, could he save himself.
“I absolutely must succeed!” The glow of fire seeped out of Meng Hao’s eyes, and he could clearly sense the wild and intense power flowing through him that was the Divine Flame!
If he didn’t already possess 122 Immortal meridians, then he would already have been completely transformed into ash. However, regardless of how unprecedented his previous gains were, he was still… approaching the point of collapse.
Right now, all of the Dao Realm Patriarchs were watching closely. The Fang Clan Earth Patriarch looked nervous, and his eyes were wide with anger.
“Bastard! Moron! Y-y-you… you seemed so smart, kid! How could you do something as rash as this? Dammit! 122 meridians is amazing. Why did you have to be so stubborn and try to open more?!” After cursing up a storm, the Earth Patriarch finally sighed and soon looked over at Meng Hao, his eyes glowing with praise.
From the perspective of the Fang Clan, he didn’t want Meng Hao to be facing any serious peril. However, from the perspective of a cultivator, he had to admit that he approved of Meng Hao’s wildness. When practicing cultivation, only by having an obsession with power that bordered on madness could one… truly become powerful.
He wasn’t the only person thinking such thoughts. The Dao Realm Patriarchs from the various sects and clans were all watching Meng Hao, and suddenly, they looked at him differently than before. They could sense his madness, and his obsession with becoming powerful.
To make such a wild bet, to risk everything in the way he was, left them moved.
The experts from the Three Great Daoist Societies felt the same way.
Fang Wei hovered in midair, mind shaking as he watched what was happening. As for his father Fang Xiushan, he was starting to look extremely excited, even joyful.
“He’s just looking to die!” he thought. “Well, the little son of a bitch is going to kill himself. Hahaha! I hope he blows up!”
The true Immortal Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea saw Meng Hao’s manifestation of obsession, and various expressions could be seen on their faces.
Rumbling sounds could be heard as the fissures spread out to cover Meng Hao completely, causing him to seem like he was cobbled together from a patchwork of pieces.
There were even some places on his face where the fissures merged together, causing pieces of his skin to begin to flake off and transform into dust. Finger-nail sized wounds could be seen, within which were not flesh and blood, but rather, a sea of flames.
As more and more of his skin began to fall off, Meng Hao’s 122 Immortal meridians transformed into 122 Immortal dragons, and yet, even their 122 streams of power was not enough to stop what was happening.
Everyone watching began to pant, and their minds trembled.
Meng Hao roared, and his body shook. His vision was growing dim, and yet, the obsession in his eyes was growing more intense.
“I’m not going to fail! 122 Immortal meridians, and their more than 100 streams of power, seems incredible. However, since they’re separated, it’s naturally not enough….
“However, if those 122 Immortal meridians could all become Eternal Immortal meridians, then… my Eternal stratum would be 122 times more powerful!
“And then, I could definitely succeed!” Even as his mind spun, he considered his current predicament, and quickly came up with a solution. He suddenly trembled as all of his Immortal meridians began to change, transforming into…. Eternal Dragons!
122 Eternal Dragons exploded out, and the Eternal stratums they formed instantly shook everything.
RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!
Meng Hao threw his head back and howled. The fissures covering his body began to shrink, and the flames inside of him rapidly began to condense, gradually forming a Divine Flame Immortal meridian.
At the same time, the Door of Immortality erupted with billowing Immortal qi, which fused into his body, solidifying the Divine Flame Immortal meridian. Simultaneously, the terrifying injuries he had just sustained began to heal.
After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, his body was completely restored. When that happened, his eyes shone with an intense light of confidence. Furthermore, there was an energy inside him that rose up, making him even more powerful!
“Open the Divine Flame Immortal meridian!” he murmured, waving his hand as another Immortal meridian opened up inside his body.
123 meridians!
This was… Meng Hao’s final meridian!
Another Immortal dragon began to fly around the Door of Immortality!
The 123rd dragon!
The final dragon!
The great circle!
In that moment, Heaven and Earth filled with rumbling. They sky changed colors, and the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea was shaken!
Meng Hao had accomplished what no other person had ever accomplished, and perhaps… never would! He had opened 123 meridians, and had reached the great circle of the Immortal Realm!