“He still hasn't reached his true limit yet...?”

“116 meridians. Does that make him Chosen? I’ve been stuck in the Immortal Realm for years now. I may just be a false Immortal, but I opened 70 meridians. He... has nearly 50 more than me....”

“As he continues to grow, the Ninth Mountain and Sea most likely won’t be his limit. He’ll probably advance even further!” As everyone watched Meng Hao, various thoughts ran through their heads, some frustrated, some emotional, some grudging, some jealous.

Fang Wei’s eyes were closed, and he refused to watch. As for the Chosen of the various other sects and clans, most of them were acting similarly. Only Li Ling’er continued to observe.

Meng Hao hovered in the starry sky, quietly probing his meridians.

116 Immortal meridians!

100 of them represented the limits of his own body. 8 were Immortal qi meridians arising from the bronze Soul Lamp.

2 had been gifted by outer forces, materializing power buried within him.

Another 2 had been formed from his own divine abilities and cultivation base, becoming meridians of Immortal magic!

The final 4 were different. They were meridians formed because of the Demon Sealers, and were not true Immortal meridians, but rather... Demon Sealer meridians!

This was his current limit. He hovered there outside of the Door of Immortality, looking at the 116 Immortal dragons swirling gracefully in the starry sky. He had never imagined that his opening the Door of Immortality would be accompanied by such splendorous glory.

“Preparation is the key to success....” he murmured. As he said the words, he realized that upon opening the Door of Immortality, he had unleashed all of the acc.u.mulations of good fortune and destiny in his life.

He was like a flower that had bloomed at the perfect time.

“Dad, mom,” he said, looking off in the direction of Planet South Heaven, “you’re on Planet South Heaven, but can you see what I’m doing here...?

“Your son hasn't lost any face for you. I’m right here... a blazing sun, the center of all attention.”

Meng Hao could well imagine how his current actions were shaking all of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. That would be especially true of the true Immortal Chosen, who would be stabbed to the heart by the number of Immortal meridians he had opened.

However, he didn't care. His goal had never been to catch up to any other person. His only goal was to exceed himself.

“I think.... I can probably open one more meridian!” His eyes were bloodshot, but they shone with brilliant light as he stood there tall and straight beneath the Door of Immortality, like a sharp, unsheathed sword.

Almost as soon as his eyes began to s.h.i.+ne, something happened in a sect on the Ninth Mountain.

Within that sect were countless buildings, divided into ten areas. Each area was filled with crowds of cultivators, all of them in the midst of practicing cultivation.

The entire sect seemed to form a gigantic city, which exerted suffocating pressure even from a distance. It was a sect that, from the look of it, had existed for ages.

All of the buildings seemed to exude the feeling of time, as if they had existed for years upon years. If you traced the origin of these buildings, you would find... that apparently, they were older than the era of Lord Ji or even Lord Li. They had existed for virtually as long as the Nine Mountains and Seas themselves.

This was none other than the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite!

This was the foremost of the Three Great Daoist Societies of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

This was the only sect that could cause the Ji Clan to stand down, the most paramount sect, which existed on the Ninth Mountain itself.

In the middle of those ten areas of the sect was a huge public square paved with green stones. It emanated a primordial aura that spread out in all directions.

Currently, four old men sat cross-legged in the middle of that square. Shockingly, all of them radiated the power of the Dao Realm. Any one of these old men could completely shake the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

“This kid is connected by destiny to the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite,” said one of them, his voice ancient. “According to our Dao rules, if he can open 117 meridians, then we will unleash the power of the Daoist Rite and help him to create an Immortal Ancient Daoist meridian.”

The other three men nodded.

“Let’s just watch and see the extent of his good fortune. He currently has 116 meridians. Will he get that 117th meridian, and then ours, to make two more meridians...?”

“Legend has it that Kṣitigarbha of the Fourth Mountain and Sea opened 120 Immortal meridians!”

“If he opens one more, and then gets ours, that would put him at 118. It’s impossible to judge what his future will be like. Yet, it would be extremely difficult to exceed Kṣitigarbha. The kid has already reached his limit. Even if we help him by adding another, he most likely won't be able to do so.”

“Let’s see what his destiny holds, and how much good fortune he has acc.u.mulated.... If his destiny is sufficient, it might not be impossible!”

At the same time that the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite was deciding what to do with Meng Hao, he hovered there outside of Planet East Victory, beneath the Door of Immortality, his eyes s.h.i.+ning intensely. Veins of blood shot through his eyes, which radiated intense determination.

“I used four great Demon Sealing Hexes to form Immortal meridians. Well then, looking at all my other divine abilities and magical techniques, I wonder if I can do the same thing with One Thought Stellar Transformation?” Starlight began to s.h.i.+ne in Meng Hao’s left eye, but no matter what method he attempted, he couldn’t get it to form into a meridian.

However, that didn't stop him from trying to do the same thing with all the other powerful divine abilities he had mastered. He gave it a shot with all of them but, regrettably, none of them allowed him to form Immortal meridians.

All fell short, even One Thought Stellar Transformation.

“There is still one more divine ability....” he thought, slowly raising his head.

“The Paragon Bridge! I can use the projection of the Paragon Bridge to form a Paragon Immortal meridian!” Without any further hesitation, Meng Hao unleashed the power of the Paragon Bridge. In the instant the power surged out, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The fact that he used it repeatedly in such a short amount of time caused the backlash power to increase by multiple times.

During this time, the Immortal light began to fade, as if it had sensed that Meng Hao was unable to open up any new Immortal meridians.

Soon it was completely gone. The starry sky was pitch black, and the Door of Immortality began to slowly fade away and shut. No more Immortal qi emanated out, and it looked like it would disappear into the starry sky at any moment.

“Not enough destiny.” The four old men in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite sighed. Their Immortal Ancient Daoist meridian was not something that they would bestow lightly. They would only give it to someone who had opened 117 meridians; that was a Dao rule of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite that had to be followed.

It was at this point that many audience members out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea let out long sighs. Meng Hao was completely inhuman, and terrifying, but now that everything was over, people began to recover from all the shock.

“116 is more than enough!”

“A collection of Immortal meridians like that is enough to scare anyone.”

“What a pity. I was really hoping to see if he could actually open... huh? Wh-what is he doing?” Even in the midst of all the discussions, cries of shock suddenly rang out in various regions.

Gasps could also be heard as everyone looked over at Meng Hao. In the exact moment in which the Door of Immortality was about to close and fade away permanently, Meng Hao suddenly raised both hands into the air.

Simultaneously, the 116 Immortal dragons that soared around him let out roars that shook everything. The starry sky trembled as the 116 dragons shot toward Meng Hao.

Rumbling echoed out as they slammed into him and then disappeared. Meng Hao’s aura then began to explode up as the power of 116 Immortal meridians was unleashed.

“Paragon Bridge, appear!” Meng Hao's eyes were bright red as he went all-out with every sc.r.a.p of power he could muster. He threw his head back and roared. His body trembled, and thumping sounds could be heard. Patches of skin exploded, and a haze of blood and gore could be seen as the Paragon Bridge materialized inside of him.

At the same time that the Paragon Bridge appeared, the indistinct Door of Immortality paused, then suddenly rematerialized. Immortal light poured out, and strong Immortal qi surged toward Meng Hao.

Boundless Immortal qi poured into his body, causing the Paragon Bridge to turn into an Immortal meridian. Everyone who was watching was astonished, and the four old men in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite watched very closely.

Ma.s.sive rumbling filled the air as Meng Hao’s mangled body was wracked by waves of intense pain. As the pain inundated him, he gritted his teeth and forced the Paragon Immortal meridian to rapidly solidify.

Ten percent. Twenty percent. Thirty percent...

Blood oozed out of Meng Hao’s mouth, and his vision grew blurry. However, he clenched his jaw and forced his 116 Immortal meridians to explode with power.

Forty percent. Fifty percent. Sixty percent. Seventy percent....

“OPEN UP!” he roared. Shocking rumbling sounds could be heard as gradually, he reached eighty percent, then ninety percent.... Finally, the Immortal meridian reached one hundred percent completion!

Heaven and Earth shook, and countless onlookers were left in a state of shock. Many people who had been sitting there cross-legged suddenly rose to their feet, their eyes wide with intense astonishment.

Amidst the cras.h.i.+ng roars, Immortal light swirled, and a 117th Immortal meridian formed inside of Meng Hao. At the same time, a 117th Immortal dragon appeared outside of the Door of Immortality, shocking to the extreme.

Furthermore, this most recent Immortal dragon emanated the aura of a Paragon. This was none other than a Paragon Immortal dragon!

Inside the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, the four old men looked on with strange gleams in their eyes. After exchanging glances, they began to smile with antic.i.p.ation.

“Unleash the power of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. Merge the wills of the Daoist Rite cultivators to call upon the Immortal Divinity of the ancient Daoist Rite....”

“Bestow the meridian!”

The four men immediately began to perform incantations. Intense rumbling could be heard as four streams of shocking qi shot out into the starry sky. At the same time, a primordial will erupted out from all of the structures in the sect.

Cracking sounds could be heard as the ground between the four men tore apart to form the character ‘mouth’ 口.

All of the cultivators in the Daoist Rite went into a trance as they heard voices speaking into their ears. They settled down cross-legged and began to chant Daoist scriptures, the sound of which echoed out in all directions.

The ground quaked as a gigantic square cauldron flew up into the sky. Inside of that cauldron was a scroll painting that was yellowed with age, as if it had existed for countless years. The painting depicted three people.

A woman, a middle-aged man, and an old man.

The woman was incredibly beautiful, with a smile like a flower. The middle-aged man wore a light smile, and had surging energy. The light in his eyes seemed to contain all living things. As for the old man, his bearing was lofty and dignified, like that of a transcendent being, and yet, he wore a frown. If you looked closely at his brow, you would be shocked to notice... the furrowed wrinkles formed the character ‘Immortal’ 仙!

If Meng Hao were present, his mind would definitely be reeling with shock. That was because... the woman in the painting... was none other than the white-robed Paragon from the Ruins of Immortality!

Gentle light radiated out of the painting, spreading out to fill the entire area. The sky above the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite transformed into an illusory world.

Within that world were countless life forms sitting cross-legged in meditation, listening to a sermon being given regarding the Dao, delivered by an old man who sat cross-legged at their fore.

That old man was the same old man depicted in the scroll painting. He nonchalantly waved his hand, causing an enormous Immortal 仙 character to appear.

It was virtually impossible to describe the shocking energy that emanated from this character, which seemed capable of suppressing all Heaven and Earth.

It glittered for a moment before suddenly shooting out into the starry sky, creating a beam of glistening light as it sped toward Planet East Victory and Meng Hao!