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Imagine a situation in which an empire has no emperor for many years. The regional government officials throughout the country have their own military forces, and occupy their positions for countless years.

Each one of those government officials will eventually come to view the area they control as their own kingdom, and themselves as kings!

That was the situation in the Mountain and Sea Realm, with the Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas being nine kings!

The future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm was the Emperor!

None of those various kings would want to be ordered around after such a long time. After having a taste of freedom, they would balk at the thought of someone above them telling them what to do, nor would they accept the fate of being perpetually manipulated by another!

When such circ.u.mstances arose in an empire, then... the simplest and most effective way to deal with the situation, and also the method that would benefit most of the parties involved... would be to kill the Emperor before he had a chance to return to power!

That would be the best solution for all of those kings!

Meng Hao knew that, and because he understood it... he could tell how much danger he was in, and knew that he had to be completely on guard!

Under no circ.u.mstances could he reveal his ident.i.ty. If he did... then the only thing that would await him would be destruction. And he would no doubt drag the Fang Clan down with him.

It was at this point that the parrot and meat jelly began to holler.

“Dammit, Meng Hao! Hurry up and absorb it! We can’t hold on much longer!!”

Almost in that same moment, Meng Hao unhesitatingly reached out and grabbed the Paragon's blood. Then he took a deep breath and shoved the drop of blood into the palm of his hand.

Instantly, the drop of blood merged into his hand, fusing into his body. At the same time, ma.s.sive rumbling filled his mind. He could immediately sense the boundless, mighty power contained within the Paragon's blood.

Simultaneously, the aura of the League of Demon Sealers erupted wildly. Trembling, Meng Hao quickly pulled out a Nirvana Fruit and then pushed it down onto his forehead.

Rumbling echoed out as the Nirvana Fruit fused into him, and he began to shake. The Paragon's blood and the aura of the League of Demon Sealers merged together, causing its Paragon nature to be hidden away.

It was in this moment that a terrifyingly powerful stream of divine sense spread out from the Ninth Mountain. It covered the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, reaching out to any and all locations, leaving no stone unturned.

That included the Nine Seas G.o.d World. The divine sense swept over it, apparently willing to pay any price in its search, even offending the Three Great Daoist Societies.

However, the Nine Seas G.o.d World was uncharacteristically silent, and did nothing to prevent it from happening.

The divine sense covered over everything, swept through all regions. It even pa.s.sed over Meng Hao, and yet, it did not seem to find the aura it was looking for. Meng Hao sat there cross-legged, all traces of the aura covered up. Of course, it was not his own power that was doing the covering up, but rather, the parrot and meat jelly, as well as the combination of the League of Demon Sealers’ aura with the Paragon's blood.

Because of that, Meng Hao was not revealed underneath the powerful divine sense.

After some time pa.s.sed, the divine sense faded away to search in other areas.

In addition to that powerful divine sense, the Dao Realm experts in other areas of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were also making searches in their respective areas.

Everyone wanted to know... the ident.i.ty of the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

It wasn’t that n.o.body considered that it could be Meng Hao. After all, he was in the Echelon, and was the most famous cultivator of his generation. However... the position of Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm was far beyond his current level, so anyone who might suspect him would have only given it a moment of thought. The true object of most people's suspicion... were the people who were already in the Dao Realm.

The Lords of the other Mountains and Seas especially suspected Lord Ji. From the look of things, a ma.s.sive storm was brewing!

Meng Hao remained in secluded meditation the entire time. After successfully fusing with the Paragon's blood, he used the power of the blood to absorb the Nirvana Fruit. At the same time, Paragon Nine Seals’ blood caused his Demon Sealing magic to grow more exquisite. It was as if he had been the subject of... Righteous Bestowal!

He was the subject of Paragon Nine Seals’ Righteous Bestowal!

It was like a form of approval, formally initiating him as the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer!

From this moment on, his Hexing magic would be even more powerful. Because of the amplification of the Paragon's blood, the pressure he could emit would be shockingly greater. Furthermore, his understanding regarding the League of Demon Sealers was now completely different than before.

For example, when it came to the Fifth Demon Sealing Hex, the Inside Outside Hex, he had only been able to open a tiny rift before. Now, however, he could open a rift that was hundreds of times larger!

Everything... was because of Paragon Nine Seals’ blood!

Meng Hao was trembling. He could clearly sense that something was different about him. Absorbing the Paragon's blood was like a tempering or a baptism, causing his fleshly body to become more powerful, to exceed the limits of the Immortal Realm. He was now extremely close... to having an Ancient Realm body!

All he needed was the right set of circ.u.mstances, the right opportunity, and he would be able to break through. At that point, his fleshly body would break into the Ancient Realm. Furthermore, he knew exactly where that opportunity lay; it was in the ninth golden gate stone stele of the Nine Seas G.o.d World!

Meng Hao could almost see what it would be like to withstand that old body cultivator’s third fist strike. At that time... he would step into the Ancient Realm of the fleshly body!

“I'm GOING to get more powerful!” he thought, his eyes gleaming. He continued to sit there meditating, his Immortal meridians thrumming as the Paragon's blood seeped out into every corner of his body. Strands of golden thread quickly flew out to merge into his qi pa.s.sageways.

As for the Nirvana Fruit which he had absorbed into his forehead, it rapidly melted, and when it touched the golden threads of the Paragon's blood, it fused with them, becoming part of Meng Hao.

Suddenly, Meng Hao’s cultivation base shot upward. He was already the Immortal Realm Paragon, but it went higher than that, taking him... into the direction of the Immortal Emperor!

Every step forward he took, he made incredible advancements. He would now be permanently in the Immortal Emperor Realm, unlike before, when he could only be there for a short time by temporarily absorbing a Nirvana Fruit.

“Once I finish absorbing the Nirvana Fruit, I will eternally be within the Immortal Emperor Realm!” His eyes shone with determination. He had been waiting for this day for a very long time, and had spent countless amounts of spirit stones and Immortal jade to get here. He couldn't even speak aloud the tally of how much he had spent; anyone who heard the number would be unable to accept it, not even someone in the Dao Realm.

Because of that ma.s.sive consumption, the path that Meng Hao traveled... was completely different from that of other cultivators!

He was treading the ancient path of the Paragon Immortal Realm. Because of that... his future was limitless!

Time pa.s.sed. Days. Meng Hao sat there cross-legged the entire time. Eventually, about half of the Nirvana Fruit was absorbed, placing him beyond the level of the Immortal Realm Paragon and closer to that of the Immortal Emperor.

He was getting more and more powerful!

His fleshly body reached new heights of perfection, breaking through barrier after barrier.

Similarly, his powers from the League of Demon Sealers grew stronger.

You could say that the single drop of Paragon's blood led to an explosive growth in all aspects for Meng Hao, making him vastly more powerful!

Another two weeks pa.s.sed. Meng Hao had now been in the Nine Seas G.o.d World for well over a month. Outside in the Mountain and Sea Realm, the fervent search for the future Realm Lord was still underway. There were even powerful experts from the other Mountains and Seas who made appearances.

Thankfully, everyone kept control of themselves, and no major issues arose. However... the sense of an impending storm continued to grow more intense.

During the half month that pa.s.sed, Meng Hao felt divine sense sweep over his location four times. Fortunately, the meat jelly and parrot knew that Meng Hao was at a critical juncture, and did everything they could to keep him concealed. Also, from the moment that he had absorbed the blood, its aura had dissipated within him. Eventually, people stopped paying attention to him. Although he remained an object of suspicion, in truth there were over a hundred such people under suspect.

Actually, he would have been suspected no matter what the truth was.

Another half a month pa.s.sed, and Meng Hao still wasn't finished absorbing the Nirvana Fruit. There was still about twenty percent left. However, the difference between his current cultivation base, and his cultivation base before, was like the difference between Heaven and Earth.

Currently, he sat in place, cross-legged, completely motionless. Countless sparks of electricity danced around him, and although his eyes were closed, streams of white mist seeped out from between his eyelids, making him appear extremely mysterious.

His skin was whiter, and his aura explosive. Terrifying ripples rolled off of him. The Demonic cultivators in the pool of the water were in a state of shock, and when they looked at Meng Hao, terror filled their hearts.

As for Su Yan, she was also astonished by the changes she had seen Meng Hao undergoing. It left her terrified. To her, it felt as if some mysterious will were currently awakening inside of him.

“He has a terrifying aura,” she thought anxiously. “But what exactly is it...?” As far as she was concerned, Meng Hao was completely enigmatic.

Another half month pa.s.sed. Meng Hao had now been in the Nine Seas G.o.d World for more than two months. Eventually, the day came... when he finally absorbed the last bit of the Nirvana Fruit. The last trace of it faded away into Meng Hao, and a tremor ran through him.

Along with the tremor were cracking sounds, and a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering energy. In that moment, his cultivation base rocketed up to new heights of power. A ma.s.sive wind sprung up around him, causing the Demonic cultivators to shake. Su Yan’s eyes went wide with disbelief.

Meng Hao’s energy caused his hair to whip around his head, and his robes to flap. Gradually something formed inside of him, which was... an Imperial will!

It was domineering to the maximum, towering. This was the Imperial will of an Immortal Emperor Realm!

His eyes opened, and the Demonic cultivators could hear something like peals of thunder. There were eight thunderclaps in total, each one shocking to the extreme, causing strange colors to flash about, and making everything shake!

Blood sprayed out of the Demonic cultivators’ mouths, and some of them simply pa.s.sed out. Su Yan found blood oozing out of the corners of her mouth, and her face fell completely.

“Eight illusory thunderclaps, shaking the Heavens!!” she said.

“This... you... you actually reached THAT Realm. This is impossible....

“Those peals of thunder are a terrifying sign that will appear when someone reaches the absolute pinnacle of the Immortal Realm. Eight illusory thunderclaps, shaking the Heavens!”

Meng Hao took a deep breath and slowly stood up. As he did, the aura of the Immortal Emperor suddenly erupted out of him, causing the entire Immortal’s cave to shake. Even the Ninth Sea was trembling.

“The limit of the Immortal Realm?” Meng Hao said coolly. “Apparently, you don’t understand... the meaning of being Immortal! The limit is far, far beyond this!” His voice was calm and filled with a threatening pressure that far exceeded anything that had existed there before!