The Withering Character Incantation had absorbed eighty percent of the h.e.l.lwither Nineruins’ curse power. It was the most powerful magical symbol he possessed, and when its power erupted with the curse, it could slay the peak of Dao Seeking.

Meng Hao was well aware of this fact.

However, it would only work once, after which, the magical symbol would grow dark. Meng Hao had decided to use that one sure kill on the red-robed boy.

Grayness filled the world, and the red-robed boy screamed miserably. Everyone could hear it, and they were completely shaken and astonished.

It was just possible to see the red-robed boy within the grayness of the curse. His robes were in tatters; his hair was white and falling out of his head. His skin dried up; his flesh, blood, bones, organs and soul were all withering away.

Seeing the boy screaming miserably, Meng Hao calmly asked, “Does it hurt? Qing’er didn’t want me to see her pain over these past few days. She endured it.

“Can you imagine how a fragile girl like her was able to endure such shocking pain?”

Everyone on the battlefield could hear his words, and it caused an intense coldness to well up in their hearts.

“I’ve also experienced such pain,” Meng Hao continued slowly. “Now, it’s your turn.”

The boy’s horrible shrieks grew even more intense. His entire body shook, and he even tried to detonate his Nascent Divinity, but was incapable. His Nascent Divinity had already become withered, just like his soul.

During that short moment, he experienced indescribable pain. His teeth fell out, and soon he didn’t even have the energy to scream…. Eventually, he was nothing more than a pool of yellowish liquid.

He had been withered to death!

After he died, the gray curse power up in the sky flew back to Meng Hao’s palm. It transformed once again into the ‘withering’ character. However, the magical symbol was not as resplendent as before. It was now dimmer by half.

Half of the curse power remained after killing the red-robed boy. From this, the terrifying power of the curse could be seen.

By this point, the battlefield was utterly silent. Even the battle between Patriarch Song and the other peak Dao Seeking experts had stopped, and they were looking on, dumbfounded.

After a brief moment of silence, the Northern Reaches cultivators burst out into an uproar.

“The Patriarch of the Coffin Altar Sect… just died?”

“The Patriarch of the Coffin Altar Sect was at the peak of Dao Seeking! He… he just perished!!”

At the same time, the Southern Domain cultivators were enlivened, and seemed to have been rejuvenated, resuming their furious attacks with increased strength!

Once again, the fighting broke out down below. As for the Northern Reaches’ peak Dao Seeking experts, they were inwardly shaken. This was the first time since the invasion had begun that a peak Dao Seeking cultivator had died.

The old man in the animal-hide clothing had eyes shot with blood. The red-robed boy had been one of his closest friends. With an enraged roar, he shot toward Meng Hao.

Off to the side were the two old men who looked completely identical except for their contrasting black and white robes. They joined the old man in charging Meng Hao.

The second true self’s eyes glittered as he moved to intercept them. Booms rang out as he began a tremendous fight with the black and white twins.

The old man in the animal hide clothing was going berserk. He spit blood out of his mouth and performed a double-handed incantation, causing all of his skin to suddenly change color. It rapidly became blue, and his speed increased dramatically. He skirted the second true self to head directly toward Meng Hao, toward whom he extended a powerful punch.

“DIE!!”

Meng Hao was quite close. His face was pale, and blood was oozing out of his mouth. This was the first time he had used only his own power, and not that of his second true self, to attack and kill a peak Dao Seeking cultivator.

As the man in the animal hide clothing closed in, Meng Hao extended his right hand down toward the ground. Immediately a huge vortex appeared within the Northern Reaches army.

The vortex was no longer golden, but black. It looked like a huge mouth, ready to consume everything. Immediately, miserable screams could be heard from the Northern Reaches cultivators caught inside. They rapidly withered, and their cultivation bases flowed out through their mouths and noses. Even their souls were shaken, and appeared to be on the verge of being sucked out.

RUUMMBLLLE!!

Shockingly, seven such vortexes appeared all over the battlefield!

Seven huge vortexes enveloped nearly thirty thousand Northern Reaches cultivators, extracting power from their blood and flesh, which shot up toward Meng Hao and fused into his body.

It was the same with their cultivation base power!

Meng Hao closed his eyes, and when he did, his cultivation base shot up. Suddenly, he transformed into what looked like a shooting star that sped directly toward the attacking old man.

As he flew through the air, his eyes snapped open. The black mist face above him suddenly formed into the shocking shape of an enormous palm that slammed into the old man.

A shocking boom filled the air!

The old man tumbled backward in shock, blood spurting out of his mouth. At the same time, the miserable screams continued to echo out from down below. Quite a few within the vortexes had already withered and died.

Meng Hao shot backward, biting the tip of his tongue and spitting some blood out. As soon as the blood emerged, it expanded, transforming into a lake of blood!

That blood contained, not just the power of Meng Hao’s qi and blood, but the power of the qi and blood of the thirty thousand cultivators stuck in the vortexes. All that power transformed into a lake that rumbled toward the old man in animal hide clothing.

The old man’s face fell. He pulled his hand back, and it increased in size and sprouted spikes of bone. Then he punched out, and a shocking boom rattled out. The lake of blood collapsed into pieces.

In that moment, the black mist which surrounded Meng Hao once again shot forward in attack. In a short period of time, constant booms rang out as hundreds of exchanges occurred between Meng Hao and the old man.

The black mist surrounding Meng Hao continued to increase. The qi, blood, and cultivation base power from the cultivators down below was like a huge river pouring into his body, giving him shocking battle prowess.

“Dammit! BREAK!” roared the old man. He was leery of Meng Hao’s ‘withering’ character magical symbol. However, he never imagined that Meng Hao, without even using the magical symbol, would be so difficult to deal with. Finally, he slapped his chest and began to burn life force as he made a double handed attack.

Two fists punched out, shattering the air, causing the sky to dim. Meng Hao’s eyes shone with a cold light. He said nothing, nor did he evade. Instead, he shot forward, relying on his cultivation base, his fleshly body, the Ninth Mountain, everything. It was an explosive attacked that contained his mad, Devilish will, combined with the qi, blood and cultivation bases absorbed by the vortexes, all merged into one palm strike.

Another direct showdown!

“Still not dead?!?!” thought the old man, even as he retreated, coughing up blood.

Meng Hao was also sent tumbling back, and his body exploded. However, the Eternal stratum kicked in. Unfortunately, only a sliver of Eternal power remained in him. It had been severely drained during his battle with the curse power. Currently, there wasn’t enough power left to completely heal him.

Seeing this caused killing intent to glitter in the old man’s eyes.

“DIE!” he cried, extending his hands out in front of him, not in fists, but stretched out like claws. As he leaped out, the air distorted around him, and shockingly, he transformed into an enormous bird-like creature!

It looked like a roc, with a beak that emitted a cold glow and talons that could rend Heaven and Earth. He shot toward Meng Hao with such incredible speed that he was nothing more than a streak flas.h.i.+ng through the air.

A fiendish wind buffeted Meng Hao’s face as he lifted his right hand up to reveal the Lightning Cauldron.

The cauldron began to flicker, and Meng Hao looked down at a Northern Reaches Nascent Soul cultivator down below. Suddenly, Meng Hao vanished. The savage Nascent Soul cultivator then appeared in the spot Meng Hao had just occupied, and Meng Hao was now where he had been down below.

Form Displacement Transposition!

The Nascent Soul cultivator saw bright colors flash across his eyes, and then suddenly, he was up in midair. He couldn’t help but be shocked. Moments ago, he had been preparing to plunge his hand through the chest of a Southern Domain cultivator. Now, he was floating up in the air.

Suddenly, an intense sense of deadly crises surged through him as he saw a vicious roc flying toward him at indescribable speed. It was impossible for him to dodge, and even his nascent soul was scared so witless that it seemed as if it would crumble to pieces.

Boom!

The roc smashed into him, sending blood spattering out in all directions. A roar of rage filled the sky as the roc turned blurry and the old man reappeared. He glared down at the ground, his eyes flaring with killing intent.

“Meng Hao!” he raged. Once again, he transformed into a roc that shot toward the ground amidst a gale force wind.

Down below, Meng Hao stood in the midst of a huge force of shocked Northern Reaches cultivators, among whom he had seemed to just randomly appear. Before any of them could react, he gestured down toward the ground.

Blood Demon Grand Magic!

Rumble!

An enormous vortex appeared, with Meng Hao in the center. It instantly enveloped several thousand people. As for the Southern Domain cultivators it caught up, they felt a gentle force pick them up and eject them from the vortex.

Meng Hao remained within the vortex, his white hair swirling around. Once again he gestured downward, and his eyes were filled with calm coldness.

“Qi and Blood.”

Rumbling could be heard as the Northern Reaches cultivators within the vortex began to shriek miserably, and visibly wither at a rapid rate, regardless of the level of their cultivation bases.

Huge quant.i.ties of qi and blood power poured into Meng Hao. His body grew stronger, and his internal injuries were healed significantly because of the borrowed power.

“Spirit Meridians!” he said.

Rumble!

More miserable shrieks could be heard from the thousands stuck in the vortex. They were little more than skin and bones now that their qi and blood had been removed. The only thing they had left, their cultivation bases, transformed into white smoke that began to ooze out of their eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Their eyes bulged and their faces began to grow blank. They were completely paralyzed, and the only thing they were capable of doing was trembling and screaming.

Their cultivation bases flew out to be absorbed by Meng Hao, causing his own cultivation base to rise. His wounds were also healed even further.

By this time, the old man in the shape of a roc was now bearing down on him, roaring with killing intent.

“Soul!” said Meng Hao, yelling out the final word.

He WOULD break through to the fifth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

Once he did, he would be able to control something that even his second true self couldn’t control, something special that had been created for him by Patriarch Blood Demon… a false Immortal puppet!!