The eight Demonic cultivators raged inwardly, and their hearts trembled.
“Could it be that he was hiding his true power before? Dammit!!”
“This Meng Hao is too treacherous! He has a cultivation base like this but didn’t reveal it back at the golden gate stone stele! He did it all to draw us out!”
“Despicable! Shameless!!”
Even though Meng Hao hadn’t even made an attack yet, they could see that he was strong enough to overwhelm the pressure of the Ninth Sea. What caused their scalps to tingle most was the sense that without the spell formation focusing the pressure of the Ninth Sea, Meng Hao… it would be even easier for Meng Hao to fight them!
“Just what level is his cultivation base at? There’s no way someone in the Immortal Realm could be this strong!!”
The eight Demonic cultivators trembled as he took his fifth step. Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky, and yet peals of thunder shook everything as the Paragon Bridge clashed with the pressure of the Ninth Sea!
The brunt of the force was taken by Meng Hao. However, he was eternally within the Immortal Emperor Realm, and his strength, both in terms of his fleshly body and his cultivation base, enabled him to endure it. Besides, he also had his Eternal stratum working to restore him constantly.
However… the eight Demonic cultivators couldn’t endure. They might be Chosen from the Demonic Cultivator Horde, powerful Ancient Realm cultivators, but they simply couldn’t compare to Meng Hao at all!
Therefore, Meng Hao could take his fifth step, whereas the eight Demonic cultivators… coughed up more blood and were further injured.
Meng Hao’s steps had been taken too quickly, and each one was like a massive stomp that severely injured the eight Demonic Cultivators five times in a row!
Three of them simply couldn’t withstand it. They screamed as their bodies withered and began to collapse.
You could say that before, Meng Hao had only been able to use a small bit of the Paragon Bridge’s power. Now, he was able to unleash far more of that power. Because he had entered the Immortal Emperor Realm, every step he took caused the Paragon Bridge to reveal more and more of its true, supreme power!!
The eight Demonic cultivators were reeling in shock as Meng Hao threw his head back and roared, then took a sixth step. Then a seventh!
Two quick steps in succession caused thunder to rumble. Blood oozed out of the corners of Meng Hao’s mouth, the price he had to pay to unleash this power. At the same time, the island was beginning to shatter, its edges crumbling and collapsing into the sea, which was also churning, almost as if it were roaring in rage!
The pressure of the Ninth Sea twisted and distorted. It was almost as if… the incredible pressure exerted by Meng Hao was going to shatter the Ninth Sea’s pressure!
To the eight Demonic cultivators, this was a huge catastrophe!
The three of their group who had already reached their limit let out bloodcurdling screams!
“NO!!” The rumbling pressure exuded by the collision of the Ninth Sea and the Paragon Bridge caused their bodies to literally explode. They… were killed in body and soul!
Of the eight Demonic cultivators, three were dead. Of the five that remained after that, three more coughed up blood and began to shake violently. Apparently they couldn’t hold on any longer; looks of astonishment and terror flickered across their faces. All of a sudden they were filled with regret. They regretted provoking Meng Hao, and could never have possibly imagined that… he was this powerful!
They were so shocked and terrified that they began to back up and get ready to run for their lives.
“He’s definitely not in the Immortal Realm! There’s no way someone in the Immortal Realm could be so powerful. He’s in the Ancient Realm! Definitely the Ancient Realm! He must have extinguished at least five Soul Lamps, maybe more!!” The remaining Demonic cultivators were all flabbergasted.
“Horde Uncle, save us!!” they called out, their voices echoing out around the island.
Currently, a middle-aged man sat cross-legged in the center of the island. He looked very much like a cultivator, except that he had a single horn growing out of his head.
The horn was pure white, as was the color of his skin!
He glared over at the battle taking place, and at Meng Hao walking on the Paragon Bridge, crushing the pressure of the Ninth Sea. He watched as only a few steps either injured or killed the eight other Demonic cultivators.
What he was seeing caused him to pant, and even gasp.
“Dammit! We misjudged his cultivation base! He can actually overwhelm the pressure of the Ninth Sea!! At this point, me stepping in won’t do any good!
“I have to wait until his power fades. If his final step shatters the pressure of the Ninth Sea, then I’ll have to flee. There’s no way I could fight him at that point. However, if the pressure is still there after he takes his final step, then… he will have reached his limit. His power will be used up, and it will be the perfect time to attack!”
The middle-aged Demonic cultivator ignored the cries for help and stared anxiously at Meng Hao.
Seeing that no Senior member of their Horde was making an appearance, the remaining Demonic cultivators felt despair rising up within them.
Even the strongest of their number, the female Demonic cultivator, and the next strongest member, the seventh Sea Realm Demon, were barely able to hold on. They watched Meng Hao’s energy rising up madly as he walked across the Paragon Bridge; the pressure of the Ninth Sea was losing its grip on him, and the island was collapsing around them. The female Demonic cultivator gritted her teeth and screamed. Her four extinguished Soul Lamps suddenly swirled into motion, and she charged forward toward Meng Hao.
Meng Hao heard the cries of the Demonic cultivators. Licking the blood off of his lips, he coldly said, “You people… just don’t understand what it means to be Immortal!”
Continuing to ignore his opponents, including the female Demonic cultivator, he took another step….
Eight steps!
The Paragon Bridge shook; gradually, it was becoming more corporeal, and was also emanating an air of extreme ancientness. The surrounding waters of the Ninth Sea seethed, and more portions of the island collapsed.
The three Demonic cultivators who had reached their limit earlier let out miserable shrieks as Meng Hao took his eighth step. Then the pressure ripped them to shreds, and they were killed in body and spirit.
Nothing remained behind!
At the same time, the female Demonic cultivator coughed up a mouthful of blood, and her body began to wither up. She was incapable of advancing any further. The seventh Sea Realm Demon laughed bitterly, and his eyes gleamed with ferocity. Then, he slammed his palm down onto his own chest, detonating his entire body. Flesh and blood sprayed out, but then transformed into life force power that shot into the female Demonic cultivator.
“RUN!” That was the final thing he said before he died.
Of the eight Demonic cultivators from moments ago, seven were already dead. Only the woman was left, trembling with fear as she received her companion’s life force. As it poured into her, her fifth Soul Lamp suddenly winked out, and her cultivation base began to rise.
And yet, an increase in cultivation base at this moment… was too little, too late!
She gritted her teeth, using the additional life force and cultivation base power to back up and flee.
However, Meng Hao’s killing intent had been building up from the moment he left the Nine Seas God World. He would not allow any living enemy to escape.
In the same moment that the female Demonic cultivator turned to flee, he took his ninth step, his last step. As his foot stepped down, he shuddered and coughed up a mouthful of blood. At the same time, his body withered rapidly.
However, the explosive power unleashed by that final step caused massive quaking on the island, more than thirty percent of which had now collapsed into the sea. One chunk after another splashed into the water and sank down. The water in the area was shoved away, as if by some massive attack, causing a huge depression to appear on the surface of the sea.
The powerful female Demonic cultivator couldn’t prevent herself from letting out a miserable shriek from her position 300 meters away. Then she exploded in a haze of bone fragments and blood.
Meng Hao staggered a bit, as if he were about to fall over. The Paragon Bridge turned illusory again, and the pressure of the Ninth Sea was still there, shoving down on him explosively. It wanted to bury Meng Hao, whose body emitted cracking sounds. He was clearly in a very sorry state, so tattered that his appearance was appalling.
Just when he was about to fall over, just when the pressure of the Ninth Sea was about to inundate him, a long peal of laughter rang out from the center of the island. A figure shot out as fast as lightning to appear directly in front of Meng Hao. An explosive Ancient Realm aura of six extinguished Soul Lamps filled the area.
“DIE!” It was none other than the middle-aged Demonic cultivator, who had been waiting this whole time for this one chance. He could almost visualize himself striking Meng Hao, turning him into a cloud of blood. However, destroying his body would not kill his soul, which he would need to use special magic to extract and condense the mark of the Echelon from. However, it was still no different than a fatal blow.
The thought of being able to personally fell someone in the Echelon caused the middle-aged man to feel extremely excited.
It was at this point that Meng Hao suddenly looked up, and his eyes flickered coldly. In the blink of an eye, he was no longer withered, and in fact, a derisive smile twisted his lips.
He had been waiting for this man to show up. Although he could sense his aura before, he couldn’t see him, making it impossible to use the Lightning Cauldron to force him out. The man had remained hidden the entire time, and so Meng Hao had allowed himself to grow weaker and weaker, certain that the man would eventually show his face. The Demonic Cultivator Horde wanted his place in the Echelon. If he was killed in body and spirit by the pressure of the Ninth Sea, that would not fit with the designs of the Demonic Cultivator Horde, despite their lack of understanding regarding the details of the Echelon. They surely would not permit that to happen.
Therefore, the man had waited until he appeared to be completely weak and on the verge of being overwhelmed by the pressure of the Ninth Sea…. Then he made his move!
When he saw the cold light in Meng Hao’s eyes, and the derisive smile on his face, the middle-aged Demonic cultivator’s scalp went numb, and his heart began to pound.
“You’ll be the one dying today!” said Meng Hao, lifting his right hand up and shoving it forward. As soon as it made contact with the Demonic cultivator’s double-palmed attack, flesh and blood cultivation base power suddenly flowed into Meng Hao, causing his face to flush slightly.
Blood Demon Grand Magic!
The Demonic cultivator gasped hoarsely, and his face filled with astonishment as he backed up. Moments ago, he had felt ten percent of his life force and cultivation base being sucked away.
A moment later he stabilized himself, and killing intent flickered in his eyes. Meng Hao’s Paragon Bridge was beginning to fade away, causing the man to laugh coldly.
“Who cares if you have some trick moves,” he said. “You’re no match for me under the pressure of the Ninth Sea!”
“Pressure of the Ninth Sea?” asked Meng Hao, looking up into the sky. “The Heavens can’t eclipse me and the Earth can’t cover me up! The pressure of the Ninth Sea might as well stop dreaming about trying to suppress me!”
As he spoke, his energy spiked. Beneath him, the Paragon Bridge grew clear once again. He took a deep breath and then… stepped forward for the tenth time!
That tenth step caused the pressure of the Ninth Sea of shatter. The spell formation was completely destroyed, and the island quaked as… it shattered into pieces that began to crumble apart in all directions!
At the same time, Meng Hao’s energy was now no longer restricted by anything, and rocketed up. Wild colors flashed and the wind screamed around him, violent enough to slash the Heavens!
He was like… a dragon breaking free of its cage!