As soon as Xuan Daozi saw Meng Hao's walking technique, his own Essence of time suddenly began to boil with thirst. It was a feeling that he had never, ever experienced before!

“This....” it took only a moment for the reaction of the Essence to grow stronger, and cause him to begin to tremble with excitement!

“My Essence is moving, thirsting... this... this... this matter is something which is mentioned in the histories!!

“Heavens! I... I can’t believe I’ve encountered something that exists only in legends. Where did this Meng Hao’s walking technique come from? It can actually stir my Essence up, and cause it to exhibit a powerful thirst!!

“My Essence wishes to absorb the Dao of Time in that walking technique!

“If I can gain enlightenment of it, then my own Essence of time could potentially... progress another step and form a sliver of the Daosource! According to the legends, Essence stirs only for the Daosource!

“The Daosource... is something so mysterious that only almighty Dao Sovereigns can possibly grope for understanding of it.... Only the legendary Paragons could actually aspire to such supreme heights!” Xuan Daozi’s eyes were wide, and his heart was pounding in excitement.

To Dao Realm experts, Essence was only the beginning! It was the destination of their journey, and yet, it was another starting point!

That starting point was actually where the vast majority of Dao Realm cultivators would be stuck for the rest of their lives. They searched for more enlightenment in order to possess more Essences, and thus reach the absolute pinnacle!

The first pinnacle was a 3-Essences Dao Lord, above which was the Dao Sovereign. And anyone who possessed seven Essences could rightly be termed a Paragon!

In truth, though, there was even something that not all Dao Realm cultivators understood. Only certain Dao Lords and Dao Sovereigns had heard that... becoming a Paragon was not the absolute peak of cultivation. For example, Paragon Nine Seals had nine great Essences, and yet, as strong as he was, he eventually died.

Beyond the 9-Essences Paragon, there was the Daosource Realm!

Actually... no one even knew whether the Daosource Realm was real or not. After all, from ancient times until now, be it in the times of the Paragon Immortal Realm or the current Mountain and Sea Realm, the entire Immortal World... had never produced a single Daosource Realm cultivator!

There were only stories and legends which said that the key to the Daosource Realm was that... Essence stirs merely for the Daosource!

“The Daosource! This is definitely the legendary Daosource! This is the first time since stepping into the Dao Realm that one of my Essences has moved!!” Xuan Daozi looked at Meng Hao for a moment and then suddenly shot after him. His action was not taken on behalf of his sect, which had been recruited by Patriarch Blacksoul. Rather... he was doing this for himself!

When he thought about the fact that not even the legendary Paragons could touch the Daosource, Xuan Daozi went wild with joy.

However, there was someone else who reacted even faster. In almost the exact same moment that Meng Hao used the special time-traveling walking technique, Hong Chen laughed, a hoa.r.s.e, grating laugh. Suddenly, she waved her finger, causing seven of the pustules on her face to pop. Seven milky-white centipedes then shot toward Meng Hao.

“Dragon G.o.d, your presence is requested!” Hong Chen’s eyes glittered coldly, and as soon as the words left her mouth, the seven centipedes swirled around each other, as if they were forming some bizarre spell formation. A shocking aura began to radiate off of them, and at the same time, an enormous illusory figure appeared, surrounding the centipedes.

That figure was not a dragon but, rather, a huge centipede that was fully 3,000 meters long. As soon as it appeared, the starry sky shattered. The Dragon G.o.d roared and then lunged toward Meng Hao.

Meng Hao’s heart was pounding. The Dragon G.o.d was bearing down on him, and Xuan Daozi was closing in rapidly. At this critical moment, Meng Hao was incapable of dodging. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the Paragon Bridge to appear. As he proceeded along using his time-walking technique, Immortal mountains descended, around which swirled a sun and a moon. The full power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal also exploded out.

The meat jelly appeared, forming a suit of armor. The copper mirror materialized into the Battle Weapon. The mastiff transformed into a cape. The fourth Nirvana Fruit appeared, which Meng Hao pushed into his forehead.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, causing Meng Hao’s energy to spike dramatically. He waved his hand viciously, causing the starry sky to tremble. Even the Meng Clan’s s.h.i.+p began to vibrate, and its protective s.h.i.+eld shattered. Numerous disciples of the Meng Clan coughed up blood.

The Dragon G.o.d let out a miserable howl as it collapsed into pieces. Xuan Daozi stopped his frenzied pursuit and waved his sleeve, causing his cultivation base to erupt with a powerful attack. Patriarch Blacksoul also roared as he went on the offensive.

Blood sprayed out of Meng Hao’s mouth as the Paragon Bridge was sent spinning away. The mountains collapsed and the sun and moon shattered. The meat jelly armor fell to pieces, the Battle weapon faded away, and the cape reverted back into the mastiff, which spewed out blood.

Meng Hao’s fourth Nirvana Fruit was forced out of him, and Meng Hao was rapidly enveloped by a mist of his own blood. He appeared to have been seriously injured, and as he continued to flee, it was even possible to see shattered bones in the mangled ma.s.s of flesh that was his chest.

“DIE!” cried Hong Chen, killing intent flickering in her eyes as she advanced directly toward Meng Hao. Patriarch Blacksoul unleashed his most powerful Essence magic as he attacked Meng Hao gleefully.

Xuan Daozi’s face suddenly flickered.

“Don’t kill him!” he barked, stepping forward to intervene. Rumbling filled the air as he blocked the attacks of both Hong Chen and Patriarch Blacksoul, who then glared at him angrily.

“Xuan Daozi, what are you doing?”

“Fellow Daoist Xuan Daozi, you’re blocking me? What is the meaning of this!?” Hong Chen and Patriarch Blacksoul both stared at Xuan Daozi, eyes aflame with rage.

“I need him!” Xuan Daozi explained immediately. “Keep him alive, and after I’m done with him, then you can kill him. I’ll even owe the both of you a big favor!” His words immediately caused the faces of Patriarch Blacksoul and Hong Chen to soften.

Meng Hao took advantage of their brief moment of interaction to fall back even further. His face was pale, and his cultivation base had plummeted. In fact, the extent of the injuries were far greater than the ones he sustained when he had attacked the Blacksoul Society.

He was only a single person facing three Dao Lords, and he wasn’t even truly in the Dao Realm himself. He wasn’t their match to begin with, and now he didn't even have time to flee into the 33 glowing rifts.

Off in the distance, everyone on the Meng Clan s.h.i.+p had been injured. As for the Young Lord, he wiped the blood off of his mouth, and his eyes flickered with greed.

“I want his place in the Echelon!” the young man roared. “Go! All of you get out there and kill him!!” Although none of the other Meng Clan disciples actually did anything... strange gleams could be seen in their eyes as they stared at Meng Hao, as if they were a pack of wolves staring at an injured tiger.

It was only the scar-faced young man who was apparently unable to conceal the concern he felt, and looked somewhat anxious.

Currently, Meng Hao was in full retreat. Xuan Daozi and the other two Dao Realm Experts had come to an agreement, and looked over at him, killing intent swirling. They closed in, completely ignoring how distasteful it was for the powerful to bully the weak, or for people to gang up on others.

Meng Hao chuckled bitterly. He had no Daoist magics which could block their attacks. He even tried to use the Paragon's blood inside of him to summon the light of the Mountain and Sea Realm’s sun and moon, to no avail.

“I guess I was a bit too reckless after all....” he murmured. “However, I don’t regret anything. Although, it’s a real pity that I won’t be able to get Qing’er back, or save Chu Yuyan....” Meng Hao sighed as the three Dao Realm experts bore down on him. However, it was at this point that a tremor ran through him, and his eyes suddenly began to s.h.i.+ne with a bright light.

“Wait, I actually do have one more Daoist magic!” He suddenly looked up and gritted his teeth. Then, he bent his legs into a circle and lifted his right arm in front of his face.

“The Dao is in My Heart!” he roared. Instantly, the starry sky went completely silent, as if all noise had been consumed. In fact, any noise that was emitted was completely wiped away!

Within that stifling silence, an incredible pressure suddenly weighed down. Xuan Daozi’s face fell, Hong Chen's eyes went wide, and Patriarch Blacksoul gaped in shock. All three of them were Dao Lords, and were keenly in tune with Heaven, Earth, and the starry sky. All of a sudden, they could sense a will descending, something that caused their hearts to tremble with intense fear.

Meng Hao was also shaking. As he roared the words, his divine sense spread out. Although he had practiced this magical technique with the Daoist priest over and over again, nothing like this had ever happened. Suddenly, hope flared up within him, burning strong and bright.

Deep in his heart, obsession and faith melded together. As of this moment, he firmly believed that the Seal the Heavens Incantation would definitely catalyze the Mountain and Sea Realm into motion!

He couldn’t sense the pressure in the area, as he was completely immersed in a bizarre state. It was as if... he had become the world. As if... he was the Eighth Mountain and Sea. As if... he was the will of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!

When it came to the words ‘The Dao is in My Heart,’ Meng Hao viewed that Dao to be the entire Mountain and Sea Realm! The Mountain and Sea Realm was in his heart!

“The Will is in My Eyes!” His left arm rose up to a horizontal position, and together with his right arm, it formed the character 十, covering his eyes and making it impossible for him to see the world in front of him. However, what it could not cover over... was his heart and his will!

The truth is that on many occasions, it is only when you close your eyes, when you completely cover your field of vision, when you can see absolutely nothing... that you can truly feel the world!

That was exactly what Meng Hao was experiencing right now. He could feel the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas within the starry sky, and he could also sense the sun and the moon.

He began to tremble as his perception completely filled the entire Mountain and Sea Realm without hindrance of any kind. His will was now the will of the Mountains and Seas, and his mind became the mind of the Mountains and Seas!

Even the Daoist priest could never have predicted that Meng Hao would be able to so easily unleash the Seal the Heavens Incantation. In fact, it was so easy... that it was almost as if it were a Heavenly magic that had been prepared specifically for him!

Believe yourself to be the Lord of the Mountains and Seas, and seal the 33 Heavens!

However, if you actually were the Lord of the Mountains and Seas, then the magic... would be unimaginably powerful!

Meng Hao was shaking as he s.h.i.+fted his legs to form the shape of a mountain. Then he stretched his hands wide, as if to embrace the entire world.

“I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas! Seal... the Heavens... Incantation!!” he roared. [1. As I mentioned before, the previous use of the word “exhaust” was incorrect. The Chinese characters involved are confusing because they can be interpreted in several different ways. In the end, the structure of this part is based on an old Chinese poem, which makes the correct interpretation clear when you understand that poem. I’ll go back to change the previous instances later]

In that instant, the starry sky trembled, and the world shook. The Mountain and Sea Realm’s Nine Seas roared, and the Nine Mountains shook violently. The sun and moon vibrated. Everything was s.h.i.+ning dazzlingly!

The Mountains and Seas were completely rocked!

It was only in this place, and only Meng Hao who could... begin the initial sealing of the Heavens!