After quite some time pa.s.sed, Meng Hao’s figure gradually disappeared, transforming into a pulsing aura which disappeared into nothing.

Back in the Immortal’s cave, he slowly opened his eyes. They were filled with an expression of blankness, as well as a somewhat embarra.s.sing feeling of fear.

His breathing was a bit heavy. Everything the old man had said, every word, every sentence, continued to echo in Meng Hao’s mind like thunder.

Various memories began to flicker through his mind, and his eyes began to glow.

“The boundless Ninth Mountain…. Choumen Tai is from the Seventh Mountain's Planet Tiger Cage, and partic.i.p.ated in what he called the great war of the Ninth Mountain…. That must be the great war among the Stars that the old man talked about! [1. Choumen Tai was the “Immortal’s corpse” who Meng Hao met in chapter 301]

“Also, I remember that the Eighth Generation Demon Sealer said that he came across the legacy of the Seventh Generation Demon Sealer in the Sixth Mountain, which was how he joined the League of Demon Sealers. He said he refined half of the Sea of the Sixth Mountain to form his Demon Sealing Jade!” [2. The Eighth Demon Sealer’s recollections were mused upon in chapter 102]

Various clues that used to be scattered about in his mind were now being drawn together by the old man’s words. Now, he was getting a much clearer image of everything.

“The vastness beyond this world includes Nine Mountains and Seas of indescribable size. Each Mountain has its own respective sun and moon…. Each Mountain even has four planets! According to what Choumen Tai said, I’m on one of the four planets of the Ninth Mountain, Planet South Heaven!” In this instant, the world that Meng Hao used to know was torn to pieces. Everything was vastly larger than he had ever imagined. Currently, his mind was filled with knowledge of the Heavens that… only Immortals understood.

“The Ji Clan is powerful not just here on Planet South Heaven, but the other three planets as well. This is because Ancestor Ji seized the Essence of the Ninth Mountain and Sea and became the most powerful of all, eventually changing the Heavens of the Ninth Mountain! Ancestor Ji (季) covered the name Li (李) with the Heavens (天)! How audacious of him!” Meng Hao took a deep breath; he suddenly felt a great pressure upon him. Could he ever have truly imagined how powerful the Ji Clan was? It was unimaginably terrifying.

Furthermore, what he was up against was merely a minor branch of the Ji Clan here on Planet South Heaven.

“Karma thread….” he thought. “That must be the invisible thread that attached to me after I killed Ji Hongdong. With that thread stuck to me, I won’t be able to flee anywhere in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Hmm… I wonder what position the Fang Clan occupies?” He frowned, having no way to answer the question.

“The Essence of the Ninth Mountain and Sea…. Could that be the Demonic Qi I’m able to sense using the art of Righteous Bestowal? Is the Essence of the Ninth Mountain a Demon?” Meng Hao frowned. Considering his Cultivation base and experience, these were things that he had difficulty comprehending.

“Choumen Tai is from the Seventh Mountain. The Eighth Demon Sealer was from the Sixth Mountain. The Seventh Demon Sealer’s legacy was in the Sixth Mountain…. I'm the Ninth Demon Sealer from… the Reliance Sect.” Meng Hao’s mind was in complete disorder. It was as if some vast, mysterious scroll was slowly spreading out in front of him. The more he wished to see, the more of the scroll he needed to spread out.

“And then there’s that woman from the Solitary Sword Sect, Shan Ling. The Demon Sealing Jade said that she was a stone from the Ninth Mountain who fell to here and became a spirit….” Meng Hao rubbed the bridge of his nose. He felt like his entire mind was in a shambles. [3. Shan Ling was introduced in chapter 180]

“What kind of people were the previous eight generations of Demon Sealers? By cultivating their magic, I can sense the Essence of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. How powerful were they, exactly? And why didn’t Ancestor Ji approve of the League of Demon Sealers….” He frowned again. He liked thinking, but no matter how he thought about everything he knew, he couldn’t put all the pieces together. He was just missing too much information.

Using a tiny bit of information to try to understand a huge picture will of course lead to frustration.

“Demon Sealers, Demon Sealers…. If the Qi Essence of the Ninth Mountain and Sea is Demonic Qi, then wouldn’t the League of Demon Sealers be in a position above the Ninth Mountain and Sea? If that is the case, then I….” His heart began to pound at the enormity of the question. However, he quickly decided to dispel the notion.

“Impossible. If that were true, then how could the previous eight generations of Demon Sealers have perished? And why would I, the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, be in such dire straits? My only Dao Protector is an old turtle who has long since fled.” Meng Hao laughed bitterly. No matter how he tried to get rid of the idea, it seemed impossible; and yet, it had taken root in his mind.

“The Eighth Demon Sealer had to experience Dao Tribulation in the Nine Mountains and Seas…. He didn’t say Ninth Mountain, he said Nine Mountains. He meant all of the Nine Mountains and Seas….” Meng Hao thought for a while, and then decided to stop a.n.a.lyzing everything. He let out a soft sigh. He knew that speculating would do him no good; he was nothing more than a Core Formation Cultivator.

“Who knows, I might never leave Planet South Heaven. The only way to do so is to reach Immortal Ascension .” He shook his head to clear his mind.

Immortal Ascension was just a vague concept to him; what was of more immediate concern was the path of the Perfect Gold Core.

In the following months of practice with the art of Righteous Bestowal, Meng Hao never again sensed the old man in the rubble field. However, he consistently had the feeling that he was being watched.

Through the months, the number of outside Cultivators who joined the force surrounding his Immortal’s cave surpa.s.sed one hundred. It was now the most powerful force in the entire region.

More than one hundred people surrounded the small mountain. The medicinal cistern was the second of the holy locations, the first being Meng Hao’s Immortal’s cave.

Every day, they were all required to recite the words regarding faith in the Lord Fifth bringing eternal life. Because of the sheer force of numbers, when they shouted their rallying cry, it sounded like thunder.

The increase in numbers did benefit Meng Hao. Whenever he needed something, a large group of Cultivators would appear at a single word to handle whatever matter it was. The parrot and the meat jelly seemed extremely interested in commanding all of the Cultivators. Therefore, Meng Hao didn’t need to pay them much attention, and instead left them to their devices.

On one particular day, Meng Hao sat cross-legged meditating, when suddenly his eyes snapped open. He could sense that the magical symbol on Ji Hongdong’s bag of holding had finally completely dissipated.

“I wonder what will be inside the bag of holding of a member of the Ji Clan…. It’s hard to say, considering that Ji Hongdong was just a member of the junior generation.” Now that he understood more of the fearsome power of the Ji Clan, his antic.i.p.ation was even greater. He took out the bag of holding and scanned it with Spiritual Sense.

His face immediately changed, and he gasped.

“He was definitely worthy of being a Ji Clansman….” he murmured. “I made out big this time!” He had long antic.i.p.ated that the contents of the bag of holding would by no means disappoint. However, regardless of the vast power and resources of the Clan, Ji Hongdong was a tiny member of the junior generation. As such, Meng Hao had a.s.sumed he wouldn’t be disappointed, but also didn’t expect too much.

However, it seemed he had underestimated the resources of a member of the Ji Clan Quasi-Array….

“Ultra high-grade quality Spirit Stones….” A glow shone over Meng Hao’s right hand as a Spirit Stone appeared. The interior of the Spirit Stone was turbid, not translucent. It looked ordinary, and was something most people had never even seen. However, Meng Hao was familiar with it.

This was the exact same type of ultra high-grade Spirit Stone he had used to duplicate the wooden sword all those years ago!

Such Spirit Stones were incredibly useful. Meng Hao had long since run out of them. When he thought back to how he had squandered them that time, his heart hurt. In fact, considering that he felt that particular wooden sword to be only moderately powerful, it really felt like a waste.

He really regretted his ignorance at that time. Having practiced cultivation down to now, he truly understood the value of ultra high-grade Spirit Stones. In all of the Southern Domain, high-grade Spirit Stones could be found, but the ultra high-grade variety were exceedingly rare.

As he looked at the Spirit Stone in his hand, power suddenly surged from his Cultivation base. The Spirit Stone began to glow with a resplendent light. At the same time, an immense amount of spiritual energy emanated out, filling the entire Immortal’s cave.

It permeated the cave, spilling outside as well. The more than hundred Cultivators outside all opened their eyes wide with shock as they sensed the spiritual energy.

“Fifty ultra high-grade Spirit Stones!” thought Meng Hao. He suppressed his excitement; to him, such a collection of Spirit Stones would be incredibly useful. They could serve as the nucleus of certain magical treasures or spell formations.

Furthermore, he could also try to duplicate the Primordial Heavenly Replenis.h.i.+ng Pill, which he needed to help recover his longevity. Then, he would be able to use the Blood Immortal mask again, and wield its shocking power.

He began to put the Spirit Stone back. “Alright, so there’s Spirit Stones. What else is… oh!?” Suddenly, his body began to tremble, and he rose to his feet, a look of disbelief on his face.

“This… this….” He began to pant, astonishment written on his face. Just now, something had happened which he hadn’t sensed in a long time… spiritual energy had flowed into his body!

This place was neither the Blood Immortal Legacy zone, nor the Song Clan. But suddenly, he was able to absorb the spiritual energy in the area. It poured directly into his body, seeping in through his pores, filling him.

The sensation of being able to once again absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth caused Meng Hao to close his eyes. Ever since he had formed the Perfect Foundation, he had been unable to absorb spiritual energy in any place other than the Blood Immortal Legacy zone and the Song Clan.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, and they glowed with an intense light. He had already absorbed all of the spiritual energy in the entire area, including that outside the Immortal’s cave.

This in itself completely changed his impression of this bag of holding. His mind was spinning even more intensely than it had when he heard the words of the old man in the field of rubble.

“Ultra high-grade Spirit Stones….” He once again looked at the Spirit Stone he held in his hand. He rotated his Cultivation base, and felt boundless spiritual energy surging into him. This proved his a.s.sumption; it was not an illusion.

“It must have something to do with my Cultivation base. In any case, it seems that once I form the Perfect Gold Core, I can still use ultra high-grade Spirit Stones to absorb spiritual energy. I couldn’t do that during Foundation Establishment. With these Spirit Stones, I won’t have to only rely on medicinal pills and the Violet Pupil Transformation to heal myself.” He looked back down at the fifty ultra high-grade Spirit Stones in the bag of holding. As of this moment, they were even more valuable to Meng Hao than they had been before.