After experiencing the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm, Meng Hao had become more hateful and vindictive. His heart festered with rancor, and the thirst for revenge burned in his blood. Much of that was because he had been defiled, transformed from Immortal into Demon, and had become somewhat extreme and even paranoid.

The current Meng Hao was a completely different person than the young scholar who had stood atop Mount Daqing in the State of Zhao.

His bashfulness was nowhere to be seen now; there was only viciousness. He smiled less frequently, and was filled with icy coldness. His was a world that had long since been overtaken by a murderous aura.

That was not his wish, nor his fundamental nature. But fate had taken hold, and the things he had experienced were like a merciless blade that slashed away at him, completely transforming him.

Sealing the Sixth Paragon was only the beginning. He planned to put an end to all of those who had shown hostility to him. As such, he would not let the Eighth Paragon off the hook. Even though the man had only attacked him once, to Meng Hao, once was enough. He would not give him a second opportunity to do so.

Another person on Meng Hao’s list of people to kill was the golden-robed young man, Jin Yunshan. Although Meng Hao wasn’t completely certain that he qualified to attack someone of such a level right now, that didn’t matter.

He wasn’t of a mind to investigate why things had happened the way they did. To him, only one thing was important: If you don’t mess with me, I won’t mess with you. But if you do mess with me, then I will wipe you out of existence!

Meng Hao’s face was grim as he sped through the air in a beam of bright light. He moved so fast that the only sound heard was something like the crack of thunder; he was actually not visible within the beam, which resembled an arrow as it shot forward.

He split the sky, moving faster and faster, the sound of his pa.s.sage echoing back and forth. Invisible shockwaves spread out, causing the land to shake and the air to distort.

It was a grand and amazing sight!

As he chased down the Eighth Paragon, he was able to determine that the man was most definitely heading in the same direction Meng Hao wished to head... toward the center of this first land ma.s.s of the necropolis!

As time went on, Meng Hao moved faster and faster, and the evidence of his pa.s.sage was detectable far and wide.

The Eighth Paragon was up ahead, shaking in his boots. He was completely terrified, and was using all the power at his disposal to flee at top speed. He continued to unleash secret magics, causing his body to wither up, but propelling himself forward at maddening speed.

“Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT...!” he cursed inwardly. He couldn't be more regretful of what had happened, how he had provoked Meng Hao. He could never have imagined that Meng Hao would actually possess a bit of the aura of the Daosource. Although it was only a sliver, to someone in the 9-Essences level, that was a profoundly threatening force.

“He’s going to kill me!!” That was the thought which continued to run through the man’s head. Meng Hao wanted to kill him so much that there was no other option for him other than to flee. He didn't even dare to turn around and try to launch a preemptive counterstrike. He had to rely on the burning of his life force to gain greater speed. His only hope was to reach the location of the Sect Leader and Jin Yunshan, the place where everyone was to meet back up. If Meng Hao tried to kill him in a location such as that, it would be extremely difficult considering how many people would be there to interfere.

Rumbling could be heard as the Eighth Paragon bit his tongue, spit out some blood, and accelerated once more.

Behind him was Meng Hao, his expression icy, pursuing him relentlessly.

It wasn’t that the Eighth Paragon had forgotten to try to send distress signals via jade slip. He had. However, he quickly realized that sending such messages was like throwing a stone statue of a bull into the sea. Not a single reply ever came back.

His heart was filled with bitterness, and also dread.

A moment later, lightning crashed down around him. Howling, he pa.s.sed through the lightning, coming out on the other side coughing up blood. Without even looking back, he pushed onward.

Meng Hao appeared moments later. He collected the lightning up, a cold smile on his face as he continued to chase down his prey.

Time pa.s.sed slowly. Hunter and quarry slowly drew closer and closer to the central region.

In the middle of the first land ma.s.s was an ancient altar, fully 30,000 meters in height. The four corners were decorated with fierce dragon carvings, and it almost looked like a paG.o.da, stretching high up into the sky.

It was pitch black in color, and emanated a sensation of an ancient era. It was almost as if it had existed within the stream of time for countless years. Ripples pulsed out from the altar, merging into Heaven and Earth, making it seem as if it were part of the entire land ma.s.s upon which it stood, and yet somehow in sync with the necropolis itself.

The people from the Vast Expanse School were located in various locations surrounding the black altar, looking at it excitedly. There on the altar itself, three people sat cross-legged. One of those people was the young man in the golden robe, Jin Yunshan!

Another was gaunt and sallow, surrounded by a layer of swirling sand which made it difficult to see him clearly. It was none other than Sha Jiudong!

The last person was the Sect Leader himself.

The three of them sat at the highest point on the altar, various expressions flas.h.i.+ng across their faces. Occasionally they appeared to be wild with joy, while at other times they looked confused. Sometimes they would even tremble. Gradually, all of them were beginning to form tiny bits of... Daosource aura!!

The other cultivators from the Vast Expanse School were discussing the goings-on.

“According to the ancient records, the necropolis has nine land ma.s.ses, each one of which has a Transcendence Dais. Any cultivator who seeks enlightenment on that altar can begin to grasp the path to Transcendence!”

“Those records were absolutely correct!”

“The Sect Leader, along with Fellow Daoists Sha and Jin, were the first to step onto the altar. They’ve already been seeking enlightenment for far longer than five days!”

“During that time, the Daosource aura on them has gradually grown stronger. This place... definitely contains the method for Transcending!!”

“In the ancient records, it says that the altars in each of the nine land ma.s.ses of the necropolis can add ten percent to one’s chances of Transcending. If you add the altars from all the different land ma.s.ses together... then doesn’t that mean that if you gained enlightenment in all nine, then... you would have a ninety percent chance of Transcending successfully, and entering the Daosource Realm!?!?” Everyone from the Vast Expanse School stood outside the altar, eyes glittering with fervor. This was the entire reason they had come to this place: Transcendence.

To be more accurate, the method for Transcendence was by means of the nine altars within the necropolis!

It was at this point, when the Sect Leader and the other two peak 9-Essences experts were in the process of seeking enlightenment, and their Daosource aura was growing clearer and stronger, that a beam of light appeared off in the distance, closing in on the area with maddening speed. At the same time, a desperate voice echoed out.

“Help me!! Fellow Daoists, please help me!!!” The voice sounded desperate and weak. Upon closer examination, the Eighth Paragon could clearly be seen, hair in disarray, body gaunt and withered. His eyes were bloodshot, and his aura unstable as he screamed for help.

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Important note: This chapter marks the beginning of a special "seven chapters in one day" marathon that Er Gen did. All of the chapters are shorter than usual, which was how he accomplished that. Expect the next few chapters to be short.