Meanwhile in the Golden frost Sect, one of the five great Sects of the Southern Domain, hundreds of beams of light shot whistling up into the sky. These were Sect members who didn't need the aid of magical flight items. Up ahead of them, the person in the lead ripped open a hole in the air, into which the others entered.

Zhao Shanling [1. Zhao Shanling, Zhou Yanyun, Chen Fan and Xu Qing, are mentioned in Chapter 41: A Sensation in the State of Zhao! and Chapter 42: Who Dares to Touch Him!?] was amongst them, carrying a gold greatsword, clad in a set of armor. He moved with incredible speed.

The Legacy of the Blood Immortal had sent the great Sects and Clans into a frenzy. In addition to the w.a.n.g Clan and the Golden frost Sect, there was the Song Clan, another of the three great Clans. Several hundred Cultivators emerged, all of them outstanding talents. Amongst them was Eccentric Song, whose treasures Meng Hao had stolen in the State of Zhao.

The most powerful Sect in the Southern Domain was the Solitary Sword Sect. Hundreds of sword auras shot up. It was a shocking sight. Every Cultivator amongst them stood on a sword. The hundreds of sword auras seemed as if they could split open the sky. At the front of the group were seven people with stern looks on their faces. One of the seven was none other than Chen Fan!

Chen Fan's face was filled with righteousness. He wore a long white robe and stood on a dark green sword. His Cultivation base billowed out; he was at the early Foundation Establishment stage!

In front of the seven was a middle-aged man with a cold expression and a fierce killing intent. This was none other than Chen Fan's master, Zhou Yanyun.

Wind whipped the clouds into turmoil above the Southern Domain as Wu Dingqiu [2. Wu Dingqiu and Eccentric song are mentioned in Chapter 48: Eccentric Song and Wu Dingqiu and the few chapters after that] of the Violet Fate Sect shot through the air along with hundreds of Violet Fate disciples. As they flew through the sky, Wu Dingqiu's brow was furrowed, and he seemed to be thinking about something very important. This, in turn, caused the others from the Violet Fate Sect to be incredibly quiet.

"Yuyan is missing," he thought. "She was seen chasing after some Cultivator. Then that roc flew through, kicking up a whirlwind. She... where is she...? Her life slip is still intact, which means that she's safe." He sighed. Chu Yuyan was very important to the Violet Fate Sect. In fact, she was so important that many people in the Sect had opposed her engagement to w.a.n.g Tengfei.

Beams of prismatic light could be seen in the sky all over the Southern Domain, flying toward the seven Blood Immortal Legacy zones.

Amongst the great Sects and Clans, the Li clan was the most secretive. They rarely sent Clan members out into the world, and when they did, few people were aware of it. In fact, when the Blood Immortal Legacy zones opened, they only sent out five people!

Of those five people, two were old Dao Protectors of the Nascent Soul stage. The rest were at the Foundation Establishment stage, two men and one woman. These three were Chosen of the Li Clan, whom few outsiders had even heard of.

"Years ago the Patriarch revealed the secret that the eight Blood Immortal Legacy tournament would fall into the hands of the Li Clan," said one of the old men. He wore a long black robe, and was tall and emaciated. He looked back at the three behind him. "The eighth tournament has arrived. Daoyi, the Legacy belongs to you, this is certain. As for you two, just observe, and take the opportunity to learn something.”

The most mysterious of the five great Sects was the Blood Demon Sect. They sent even fewer people than the Li Clan, only two.

One was old, one was young. The young man wore a scarlet robe, and appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen. He emanated a fierce killing aura. Located between his eyebrows was a mark of blood, which would occasionally let out a glow that covered half of his face. Beneath his feet was a mist of blood, within which could be seen countless fierce faces that appeared to be howling. This young man looked anything but ordinary.

If Meng Hao were there, or perhaps Fatty or Little Tiger, they would instantly recognize him. The young man looked exactly like w.a.n.g Youcai [3. For w.a.n.g Youcai, check out Chapter 1: Scholar Meng Hao, Chapter 19: The Wind Stirs Again , and Chapter 72: A True Man (the relevant part in this chapter is only one line in the middle, but relatively important...], from six or seven years ago. If it really was him, then it would mean he hadn't changed at all over the years. Very strange!

Of the five great Sects of the Southern Domain, four sprang into action. Only the Black Sieve Sect did not. In the main hall of the Sect, six people sat cross-legged, their bodies concealed in shadows. Within the hall, everything was silent.

An archaic, sinister voice suddenly rang out. "So, the time has come for the Blood Immortal Legacy tournament... Should we dispatch some people?"

"The Legacy of the Blood Immortal might be powerful, but no one has acquired it even after tens of thousands of years. Comparatively speaking, the ancient map we discovered is much more important!"

"We can't conceal the matter, though, so we won’t. That will cause more chaos, which will serve to our advantage.”

"If we succeed in our endeavor, the entire structure of the Southern Domain will be changed. As for the item, the Dao of the Black Sieve Sect will be refined, which is luck for the Sect!”

“I agree that we should not dispatch anyone to the Blood Immortal Legacy tournament. We’ve studied this ancient map for a long time. Even the Patriarchs view it with high importance and have studied it several times. We can take advantage of the suspicion which will arise from our lack of partic.i.p.ation in the Blood Immortal Legacy tournament. We can guide more people here, whereupon their curiosity will increase. Then, we can begin the next phase of our plan.”

Outside of the Black Sieve Sect's main temple hall, several hundred solemn-faced disciples had gathered. They had been called here to wait to for orders from the Sect Elders.

Standing off to the side in the crowd was Xu Qing. She wore a standard white robe. Her face seemed thinner than before, and her frame somewhat frail. Although she had always been a cold person, she didn't seem to be very happy in the Black Sieve Sect.

Her Cultivation base was only at the ninth level of Qi Condensation.

A charming young woman appeared next to Xu Qing. Her voice low, she said, ”Junior Sister Xu, Elder Brother Chen said to give you one last chance. If you agree to what he wants, he’ll fight to get you a Foundation Establishment Pill. Come on, don’t be stupid. If you provoke Elder Brother Chen, then….” Even in the midst of giving her advice. Xu Qing raised her head and looked at her coldly.

“You don’t need to bring up this matter again, Elder Sister Xue. Please, have some self-respect!”

The girl surnamed Xue sneered. “You’re just an uncivilized biddy from a backwater nation. You try to act high and mighty, but you’re really an idiot. Elder Brother Chen taking a liking to you is good luck for you. This matter is beyond your control!”

Xu Qing didn’t say anything. However, her delicate hands clenched tightly within her sleeves, until they turned pale white.

The Xue girl laughed coldly and continued to deride her. “And as for that Cosmetic Enhancement Pill, concocted in some crude, tiny Sect on some c.r.a.ppy mountain. Elder Sister Han wanted to trade you for it to give to her servant girl, but you refused. You really have a one-track mind. What a waste of your good looks.”

Xu Qing’s face was pale white, and she gnawed on her lower lip, but she said nothing.

Eventually, an old man wearing a dark green robe emerged from the main temple hall. He flicked his sleeve, and mist began to billow out. An enormous Feng Shui compa.s.s flew down from the sky. The Xue girl stopped her ridicule and hopped up onto it, along with the surrounding disciples, including Xu Qing. Under the control of the old man, the Feng Shui compa.s.s carried them off into the distance.

Wind and clouds roiled above the Southern Domain. Because the Black Sieve Sect didn’t partic.i.p.ate, the seven Blood Immortal Legacy zones were each occupied by one of the other four Sects, or one of the three Clans. Other could only yield to their approach. However, despite their high position, the great Clans and Sects could not force outsiders to leave. That would have raised public indignation. They simply cleared a way through to wait for the glow of blood to appear and the Legacy tournament to begin.

Time pa.s.sed by. A few days later, the Blood Immortal’s sacrificial altars began to thrum. Everything began to shake, and finally, a b.l.o.o.d.y screen appeared. Within the blood screen, a gateway slowly came to be visible. In this instant, all the Foundation Establishment Cultivators at the seven Blood Immortal sacrificial altars felt the desire to surge forward.

However… the gateway would only permit one person to enter. That right went to the first person who made it through. Only if that person died, or intentionally emerged to rest, could a second person enter.

- - - - -

It was a vast world, with blue skies and white clouds. There was a feeling of purity, difficult to describe, which appeared in the hearts of everyone who entered.

Looking up, the sky was filled with an enormous sacrificial altar, dark green in color. At the top of the altar, sitting on an enormous stone throne, was a person.

It was a corpse, clothed in a blood-colored robe. On its face was a featureless silver mask. It sat there, unmoving.

The altar seemed to fill nearly half the sky of this world. All of the people who entered were able to see the person on top.

The Legacy of the Blood Immortal! There was no need to say it…. this person was the deceased Blood Immortal!

Beneath the dark green sacrificial altar were nine enormous spell matrixes. Each spell matrix seemed to be filled with a whirlpool of slowly rotating stars. The nine spell matrixes were like nine gigantic steps, leading up through the white clouds to the sacrificial altar.

Anyone who could pa.s.s through the ninth spell matrix, would then be able to step foot onto the dark green sacrificial altar.

However, since ancient times, no one had ever been able to do so!

At the moment, Meng Hao stood silently outside the first spell matrix, his eyes glittering. Suddenly, seven indistinct figures appeared around him.

He couldn’t tell whether these people were men or women, nor could he determine their age. Even their clothes were unclear; their entire forms were indistinct blurs. However, Meng Hao was able to see that all of them were looking around at each other.

Suddenly, an archaic, emotionless voice rang out. “The Legacy of the Blood Immortal, the Nine Matrixes are opened. Eight Legacy compet.i.tors have arrived, but only one can acquire the Legacy of the Blood Immortal.

“The eight of you will not be able to hear each other speak, nor will you be able to see the magic each other uses. You will be unable to attack each other. You will only be able to see these indistinct blurs. This is because… the eight of you are all in different locations. However, there is one thing in common about your locations; they all contain the same dark green sacrificial altar, and the same spiritual energy.

“The Legacy tournament will be open for nine months. At every matrix, you will have the option to depart. Any time during the nine months, you may choose to continue on to the next matrix. You may use any method you which, including trickery or special Sect or Clan powers. The first person to break into the ninth matrix, will be the second generation Blood Immortal!

“There are no rules here. Now, each of you must produce a drop of blood filled with your essence. It will magically transform into a Blood Divinity. There are countless types of Blood Divinity. As for which one your blood will create… that will be dependent on luck and fate.

“Do not forget, absorbing spiritual energy will cause your Blood Divinity to grow more powerful. This is because your Blood Divinity… is a key factor in whether or not you acquire the Legacy. And now, let the Eighth Blood Immortal Legacy tournament… begin!”

As soon as the voice finished speaking, eight dark green beams of light shot out from the altar and flew down toward Meng Hao and the others.

This chapter was sponsored by Kok Yan Leong, Ko-chun w.a.n.g and Jonathan Aloof