[/expand]

Outside of the Mountain and Sea Realm was an endless black void, within which the Windswept Realm was now rising up at an indescribable speed. The void twisted and distorted, sending ripples out in all directions.

Gradually, it was possible to detect that far up above in the void, there was some sort of invisible barrier. Normally, it couldn’t be seen, but now that the Windswept Realm was approaching it, ripples began to spread out over the barrier. The barrier looked like a huge net, and currently, a slight depression was visible in it that stretched out in all directions.

The giant net was just faintly visible, and it was covered by a mult.i.tude of lightning bolts, dancing back and forth amidst cras.h.i.+ng thunder.

On the other side of the huge net were glittering lights, chaos, and apparently, other worlds.

The huge net covered the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, ensuring that it... was clamped down and sealed tightly.

Meanwhile, outside of the Windswept Realm were two globes of splendorous light that were constantly battering back and forth against each other. As they did, the void would shatter, then rapidly reform.

Suddenly, an ancient voice spoke out from one of the globes of light, and it sounded exhausted: “Sea Dream, you still haven’t recovered from your injuries. I might not be able to beat you, but I can definitely keep you pinned down for a while. Why are you making things hard for me?”

The exhaustion was not that which came as a result of the rigors of magical battle. Rather, this person had lived for a very, very long time, and his life force was growing dim.

“You are the one making things hard for me, Windswept!” Paragon Sea Dream said, her voice cold.

“I became the Lord of the Windswept Realm first. Only after that did I become one of the Immortal World’s Imperial Lords. After all these years, I'm finally leading my world into freedom. Is that so wrong?”

“That's exactly what the 3,000 rebel Realms said back then!”

Booms echoed out as they continued to fight. Although it only seemed as if the two globes of light were slamming into each other repeatedly, if you looked closely, you would see that every time they connected, it was with power capable of shattering Heaven and Earth. Even the void was damaged. If any Dao Realm experts came too close, they would have been seriously injured by those ripples, or perhaps even killed.

As they fought bitterly, the net up above grew closer and closer to the Windswept Realm. The depression in it also became more obvious. Furthermore, it was just possible to make out the image of various enormous figures waiting behind the huge net.

One figure looked like a giant, with eyes of lightning. Another was some type of beast, with the body of a snake and the head of a dragon, and it exhaled clouds with every breath. One of the figures appeared to be wearing a suit of golden armor, as if it were a celestial warrior. It held a greatsword in one hand as it observed the battle taking place on the other side of the huge net.

There was another figure, barely visible. It was an old man mounted atop a White Ox. He appeared to be sighing.

Further off in the distance was a three-headed six-armed giant, pitch-black in color, with a shocking, murderous aura.

These were all powerful experts from the 33 Heavens, and had come here to observe the approach of the Windswept Realm, as well as the battle between Sea Dream and Windswept.

No one pa.s.sed through the net to a.s.sist. They only watched. It was as if they were trying to decide whether or not the Windswept Imperial Lord, who in the past had unleashed virtually endless destruction upon the 33 Heavens, was actually... turning traitor!!

If he was, then they would allow the Windswept Realm to leave the Mountain and Sea Realm, and become the 34th Heaven!

In addition to observing the battle between the Windswept Imperial Lord and Paragon Sea Dream, they were watched as the lands of the Windswept Realm approached. As such, they could clearly see everything that was happening there, including the enlightenment regarding natural law and Essences being undertaken by Meng Hao and the others.

One of those enormous figures, the one with three heads and six arms, had an especially cold and murderous look in his eyes, and seemed to be paying especially close attention to... Meng Hao! [1. I'm not going to confirm or deny this connection, but I'm sure this three-headed figure will remind some people of the events in chapter 1023]

The Emperor’s words were still echoing out through the temple in the Windswept lands. Dao-Heaven and the others experienced enlightenment even more quickly, especially Dao-Heaven. He couldn't bear to be defeated by Meng Hao, and his eyes were bright red. Although he knew he shouldn't dare take too much Windswept qi flow from the Emperor, he gritted his teeth.

“Qi flow!” he yelled. The Emperor laughed and waved his hand. Dao-Heaven began to glow more brightly, as if he had become a source of boundless light. It was even hard to tell the difference between Dao-Heaven himself, and the beam of light around him. The light poured through him, making it seem as if his body itself were made of light.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and Dao-Heaven threw his head back and roared. His divine sense surged out madly, ten times greater than before. In the blink of an eye, he reached 2,000 Essences.

That number increased with incredible speed!

2,400!

2,600!

2,800 Essences!

Dao-Heaven had gone mad. His energy was different than everyone else's, and a powerful tempest surrounded him. His eyes shone with a strange gleam, and he shook violently, as if he had found his own path, his own direction to the Dao.

Simultaneously, Lin Cong threw caution to the wind and called for more qi flow. The Emperor’s laughter echoed out as he waved his hand, causing more light to descend on Lin Cong. Lin Cong was shaking, and blue veins popped out on his forehead. He then unleashed his Paragon magic, and the Heavens trembled. His speed of enlightenment was second only to Dao-Heaven’s. He quickly rose from 2,000 Essences all the way to 2,500.

After him was Han Qinglei, who quickly reached 2,000 Essences.

The Echelon cultivator from the Fifth Mountain gritted his teeth and also called for more qi flow. The Emperor’s laughter rang out continuously; more light descended, and the young man’s enlightenment speed erupted, causing him to quickly break through to 2,000 Essences.

The only one who was still hesitating was... Yuwen Jian. He could see that Meng Hao was not calling upon the qi flow, and was in fact rejecting it with his divine sense. Considering how familiar he was with Meng Hao, he had the feeling that such a decision must have been made for a good reason.

Still feeling conflicted, he gritted his teeth. His eyes then shone with determination as he refused to ask for more qi flow, instead relying only on what he already had to contemplate enlightenment.

More than ten breaths of time pa.s.sed. Suddenly, Meng Hao trembled, and his eyes filled with an unprecedentedly bright light. He took in a deep breath, and everything trembled. Lightning crashed, as the aura of the entire world seemed to be sucked into him.

Rumbling could be heard as he grew higher. He was now more than 210 meters tall and growing! Incredible energy surged up from him.

3,000 Essences!

As of this moment, Meng Hao had achieved thorough enlightenment of... 3,000 Essences!!

Not one more, not one less!

In that moment, it was as if 3,000 Dao Flames were burning in his heart, lighting his path, filling his heart, blowing away all of his confusion.

His entire body radiated bright, azure light, light which represented the utmost level of respect. It represented... an Allheaven Immortal!

Ma.s.sive transformations occurred within him. The second Nirvana Fruit was now completely and thoroughly a part of his bones, his blood, his soul, his everything! It was completely absorbed!

It was no longer a separate thing from him, and would never again emerge from within his forehead. Now, he was eternally an Allheaven Immortal, free from limitations. At any time or place, he could unleash... the full power of a mighty Allheaven Immortal!

Meng Hao threw his head back and roared as his body grew even larger. Soon, he was 300 meters tall, a huge giant. But then, he suddenly began to shrink back down.

Perhaps it was not a shrinking, but a compression!

That compression caused cracking sounds to emanate out from inside of him. Resplendent azure light flickered out, and his energy continued to rise, as did his cultivation base!

His 123 Immortal meridians fused together, forming a single meridian inside of him. At first glance, he looked no different from an ordinary cultivator. He appeared to be just his ordinary self. However, that was actually a sign of a complete transformation!

He looked the same, but fundamentally, he was completely different.

You could even say that, as of this moment, Meng Hao had reached a crucial milestone on his path of Immortality.

Immortal!

Allheaven Immortal!

He let out a long cry that echoed about, causing the whole world to shake. Fan Dong’er, Bei Yu, and the other non-Echelon cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm, were all shaking. When they looked at Meng Hao, it was as if they were looking at a holy saint, an Immortal Divinity. It would be impossible for them to look down on him, and they even felt the urge to wors.h.i.+p him.

It was hard to say who did it first, but soon everyone, including Fan Dong’er and the cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm, dropped to their knees and kowtowed.

As of this moment, Meng Hao was surrounded by a pillar of azure light that shot up into the clouds. Despite all of the drastic upheavals, Meng Hao was now the complete center of attention.

Even the Echelon cultivators were affected. A strange light appeared in Zong Wuya's eyes, and he was trembling. The Emperor gasped, and despite the fact that he had no eyes, and should only be able to see darkness, he suddenly caught sight of the azure light, and the figure therein!

Meanwhile, outside of the Windswept Realm, in the area beyond the depression in the huge net, the figures in the chaotic clouds were letting out exclamations of shock.

“That azure light....”

“An Allheaven Immortal!”

“I can't believe there’s actually... an Allheaven Immortal in the Mountain and Sea Realm!!”

“This is impossible! The bloodlines of the Allheaven Immortals have long-since been eradicated. How could another one have appeared!?”

“Who is this person…?” Various cries of shock and disbelief could be heard beyond the huge net. All eyes were now focused on Meng Hao standing there in the Windswept Realm.

The pitch-black, three-headed six-armed figure looked on, eyes blazing with flames of hatred.

Even Windswept and Sea Dream couldn’t help but look over in the middle of their battling, to gaze upon the azure light s.h.i.+ning up through the clouds.

That azure light seemed to be an announcement to everyone that... an Allheaven Immortal had appeared once again in the Mountain and Sea Realm, in the Immortal World!!

“Not bad,” the Windswept Imperial Lord said thoughtfully, retracting his gaze.

“He's not just an Allheaven Immortal,” Paragon Sea Dream said coolly. Then she waved her hand, causing a ma.s.sive wind to spring up as she dove back into battle.