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The black-robed man’s face flickered as he was once again sent falling back. The intense level of power Meng Hao now wielded had struck fear even in Dao-Heaven’s heart. The black-robed man might have a powerful fleshly body and bizarre Daoist magic, but fighting with Meng Hao in his current state caused him to feel immense pressure.

Rumbling filled the air, and blood sprayed out of the man’s mouth. Even as he fell back, Meng Hao closed in for another fist strike.

The man’s eyes went wide, and he performed a double-handed incantation gesture.

“True Dao!” he barked. A blinding sea of violet light erupted in front of him, which became a gigantic violet hand that flew toward Meng Hao.

“Smash all magics? Dispel all Daos?” Meng Hao said with a cold harrumph. He performed an incantation gesture, and the Essence of Divine Flame appeared. Backed by the power of the Allheaven Immortal Realm, the Essence of Divine Flame spread out in all directions with terrifying power. Rumbling sounds could be heard as it slammed into the enormous violet hand.

This time, no Dao dispelling effect occurred. The violet hand was incapable of banis.h.i.+ng the Divine Flame, and could only resist it. Rumbling could be heard as the Divine Flame began to fade. At the same time, the violet hand collapsed.

The remaining Divine Flame continued on toward the black-robed old man, instantly engulfing him. The man’s face fell, and he rapidly fell back in retreat. However, the blood-colored cultivators and other black-robed old men behind him were not so fast.

In the blink of an eye, the divine flame swept over and enveloped them. Miserable shrieks rang out. Despite possessing undying bodies, the blood-colored cultivators were destroyed nonetheless.

As for the black-robed men, they let out bloodcurdling screams as they were transformed into ash.

The leader of the black-robed men was completely shocked as he fell back. He performed another incantation gesture, causing boundless violet light to appear. It transformed into a series of Daoist magics and divines abilities, which then strung together to form a huge net which shot toward Meng Hao.

Meng Hao waved his hand, letting loose another divine ability which shattered the huge net. The black-robed man’s face fell. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and he fell back again. Meng Hao was just about to go on the offensive again, when all of a sudden, his entire body spasmed beyond his control. Intense pain radiated from his forehead as the Nirvana Fruit emerged and fell down. He caught it, but as he did, an intense wave of weakness swept through him.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered back a bit. He now had no offensive power left whatsoever. He felt empty, and he immediately began to simply float down toward the ground.

Seeing this, the black-robed old man quickly shot toward Meng Hao; he was on him in the blink of an eye. Shockingly, the attack he used was yet again the G.o.d-Slaying Fist.

Meng Hao smiled bitterly. He had no more energy left, and his vision dimmed. Exhaustion filled him, and despite the deadly situation, there was nothing he could do to stimulate himself.

As the black-robed man closed in, a roar of rage suddenly echoed out from within the blood-colored ice block. The ice suddenly shattered, sending chunks flying in all directions. A blood-red streak shot through the air, instantly covering Meng Hao to protect him from the old man’s fist strike.

A boom rang out, and the old man was visibly rocked. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and the backlash sent him flying backward. At the same time, a m.u.f.fled grunt could be heard from within the blood-red light. Next, the blood-colored light turned into a mist, within which could suddenly be seen the mastiff’s enormous head. Scowling viciously, it lunged toward the black-robed man with gaping maw, as if to consume him.

The man's face fell, and he retreated further, avoiding the attack. However, more blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth.

“Possession!” the old man cried. “You... you were using this beast to possess the Blood Bat?!?!”

Meng Hao panted as the awakened mastiff swirled around him, pouring life force energy into him, reviving him. When he saw the red mist around him, and the mastiff’s head, a familiar sensation filled him, and he couldn't help but smile.

“It interrupted the fusion process to save you,” said the parrot. “It will take some luck to find another opportunity like it.”

The parrot and meat jelly looked exhausted. After glancing at Meng Hao for a moment, they streaked back into his bag of holding.

The mastiff now emanated powerful fluctuations of the Ancient Realm; it was clearly on par with a human cultivator with ten extinguished Soul Lamps.

It could have been even more powerful; opportunities to possess renegade spirits were extremely rare in the universe. However, Meng Hao was its master, its family. The only reason it wanted to get more powerful was to protect him. Therefore... if Meng Hao fell into a deadly crisis, then it would not choose to continue to power up. After all, if it lost its master, its life would have no meaning.

It was a loyal dog, and it was entirely correct to say that it lived for Meng Hao!

A gentle light could be seen in Meng Hao’s eyes as he looked at the mastiff, which threw its head back and roared. Cracking sounds could be heard from inside the mist, which then coalesced to form the mastiff's body. Fierce bone spurs stuck out all over it, and its teeth were razor sharp. It was blood-red, like a gigantic and terrifying wild beast. Furthermore, it now sported two enormous, blood-colored wings!

The mastiff looked more fierce than ever, like some sort of fiendish blood G.o.d. Its eyes radiated a seemingly infinite coldness and ferocity toward the world. It was as if, to the mastiff, there was no such thing as good or evil, right or wrong. There was only... its master!

It looked fierce, brutal, and cold. Any person who lacked courage would instantly be terrified just by looking at it.

Even many of the most ferocious creatures in existence would tremble in fear at a single glance.

There was only one person who this terrifying mastiff would allow to sit on its back, who it would wag its tail for. That person was... the person who had raised it from the time it was small. Meng Hao.

He was the one and only person who could do such things!

Meng Hao sat down on the mastiff's back, and it roared. It flapped its wings, then flew up toward the surface of the land above. Everything trembled around it, collapsing, leaving behind an enormous crater as it emerged into the sky.

As it flew out, it apparently broke through some type of seal which had been in place over the area. At the same time, it grew even larger. Soon it was 300 meters long, and as it flew, it let out an astonis.h.i.+ng roar that caused everything to shake, and caused a huge wind to spring up.

It was at this point that an enraged cry could be heard rising up into the sky. The sound came from none other than the top of the Third Nation’s National Aura Mountain.

“Kill him!” roared the man in the imperial robes. “Get that blood crystal back!”

In the moment that the mastiff flew up into the air, he was able to sense that the blood-colored ice block had shattered. He also sensed that the blood-colored bat had been consumed, and that as a result... the mastiff had taken its place!

As his roar echoed out, numerous incredibly powerful black-robed cultivators appeared around him. They almost instantly transformed into beams of light that shot toward Meng Hao.

The strongest were the three black-robed men in the lead position, especially the center-most of that group. He wore the same black robe as the others, but his face was not covered. He was a middle-aged man with no hair, and a tranquil expression that seemed to embody wisdom.

As soon as they took to flight, they emanated incredible pressure. When Meng Hao felt it, his face flickered. Patting the mastiff, he said, “Come on, let’s go!”

Immediately, the mastiff threw its head back and roared again. Then it transformed into a beam of blood-colored light that shot off into the distance.

As time pa.s.sed, more black-robed cultivators converged on the area. At the same time, the black-robed man that Meng Hao had fought underground emerged from within the rubble of the crater. Instead of joining the groups of other black-robed men, he flew up toward the bald cultivator with the expression of wisdom. Shockingly... he merged into that man!

In the blink of an eye, the two became one. The middle-aged man’s appearance then changed. He looked older, and yet, a Quasi-Dao aura suddenly erupted from him!!

Although he wasn’t truly in that Realm, he was close enough to be considered a Quasi-Dao expert!

“Meng Hao,” the man murmured. “Ninth Mountain. Ninth Sea....” His eyes flickered with reminiscence, and he sighed lightly. Then he shot through the air in pursuit, followed by all the other black-robed men.

The incredible speed with which he moved ensured that he quickly left the other black-robed cultivators behind. He was like an arrow that pierced through the sky with unbelievable speed.

As for the mastiff, it was moving so fast that it left afterimages behind as it shot through the Third Nation toward the central temple region.

Meng Hao sat on its back, consuming medicinal pills, focusing all his efforts on recovery. His Eternal stratum was hard at work as he took advantage of every moment to try to reach the highest level of power possible. Without being at that peak of his power, there were simply too many dangers within the Windswept Realm.

He could also sense the intense killing aura that was approaching him from behind.

Thanks to the mastiff’s incredible speed, they quickly left the Third Nation and entered the region of the central temple.

That was also the location of the grand War of Nine Nations, and the cultivators from the various Nine Mountains and Seas. Although there weren’t many people left, everyone had chosen to remain in this area. They knew that this was the area that, although it seemed dangerous, was actually the safest place to be.

Anyone who returned to the Nation from whence they came could be dragged into the fierce fighting of the Echelon cultivators, which was definitely the most dangerous possible situation to be in.

Furthermore, all of the cultivators had come to the realization that the central temple region was the most suitable location in which to control their desires.

As soon as Meng Hao entered the area, the cultivators and mortals engaged in deadly fighting all looked up at the enormous mastiff, and gasped in shock.

“What is that?!?!”

“Heavens! How could a blood-colored beast like that show up in the Windswept Realm!?!?”

Soon, the shocked mortals and cultivators realized that someone was sitting atop the mastiff.

“Look, on it’s back... it’s a person!!”

“It’s Meng Hao!” Fan Dong’er and Bei Yu were in the central temple region, and they almost immediately caught sight of the mastiff, and Meng Hao on its back.

It was at this point that the bald Quasi-Dao cultivator let out a slight sigh as he left the Third Nation and entered the central temple region.

“It's been a long time... since I was here,” he murmured softly.