Chapter 126: Out of Nowhere (1/2)
Chapter 126: Out of Nowhere
On the opposite shore is a flower; it blooms with seven colors; its name means Immortal Ascension. [1. The name of the Resurrection Lily in Chinese contains a reference to a Buddhist concept called Pāramitā, which literally translates as ”the other shore”]
Every Resurrection Lily in the world feeds on the life of someone powerful, is watered with that person’s blood. As a result of the countless condensations of mystical will, it lives, going from one color to another, seven in all.
Meng Hao had been infected with a three-colored Resurrection Lily. In front of him, was a four-colored Resurrection Lily. Complicated feelings arose inside him. He could clearly sense that this flower had once been just like him, a Cultivator.
As soon as he caught sight of the Resurrection Lily, a three-colored mist emerged from the top of his head and congealed into a beautiful three-colored Resurrection Lily. It swayed back and forth. The petals formed a demonic face that seemed to wish to cry, but didn’t. It was as if recalling its life made it wish to weep, but at the same time, it was unwilling to.
Gradually, the four-colored Resurrection Lily in front of Meng Hao also began to sway back and forth. Eventually, Meng Hao realized that standing on top of the flower was the dim image of a man in a white robe. He stood there silently, and though his figure was indistinct, he was looking directly at Meng Hao.
They seemed to be gazing at each other through time, from opposite shores of a river. A long moment passed, and finally the white-robed man sighed. He lifted his right hand and waved it; next to him in the sand appeared a glowing door.
People who share the same fate have no need to make things difficult for each other. The glowing door led out; stepping through it meant leaving the fourth matrix.
As soon as the glowing door appeared, the white-robed man vanished. The only thing left behind was the Resurrection Lily, swaying back and forth slowly. It looked like it wanted to cry, and yet at the same time, didn’t want to.
Meng Hao was silent for a moment. Then, he clasped his hands and bowed deeply. With that, he lifted his head and walked through the glowing door, his mood mixed and complex. The world around him fragmented, then came back together. He was on a large platform filled with dense spiritual energy that immediately enveloped him and the mastiff.
Ahead of him was the fifth matrix and Li Daoyi. Everyone else was stuck behind Meng Hao in the fourth matrix. To emerge from the fourth matrix in fewer than ten days was something that had never happened during all the Legacy tournaments since ancient times. Meng Hao had charged through the fourth matrix faster than anyone else in history!
Outside in the Southern Domain, Meng Hao’s appearance caused an uproar. Everyone watching the blood screens outside the Blood Immortal Legacy zones stared at Meng Hao’s indistinct figure, shocked. They simply couldn’t believe it.
“Seven days! This person charged through the fourth matrix in seven day! How did he do it? In the history of the Blood Immortal Legacy tournament, something like this has never happened!”
“Based on his performance in the fourth matrix, he’s now superseded all those others! Now, the only person in front of him is Li Daoyi! If he can do as well in the fifth matrix, then even if he doesn’t acquire the Legacy of the Blood Immortal, he’ll still be famous in all the Southern Domain.”
“Where is this guy from? I can’t believe that he has no history…. Unless… unless he’s from the Black Sieve Sect. After all, when the seven previous Blood Immortal Legacy zones opened, the Black Sieve Sect never showed up!”
Amidst the continuous uproar, Eccentric Song stared at the indistinct form of Meng Hao as he sat meditating. It wasn’t just him. Wu Dingqiu of the Violet Fate Sect, Zhao Shanling from the Golden Frost Sect and even Zhou Yanyun of the Solitary Sword sect as well as Chen Fan, were all paying very close attention to Meng Hao.
Of course, none of them had any way to know that each and every one of them had met him before.
Wang Tengfei glanced at Meng Hao, his hands clasped together tightly. He had no way to recognize him either, and in any case, was paying more attention to his brother Wang Lihai.
In the Li Clan, frowns had appeared on the faces of the two old Nascent Soul Cultivators. They were now feeling a bit threatened by Meng Hao.
While the outside world buzzed about Meng Hao getting through the fourth matrix in seven days, he sat meditating, absorbing the boundless spiritual energy of heaven and earth as quickly as possible. The outline of his second Dao Pillar was becoming more and more distinct. His mastiff was also absorbing spiritual energy rapidly. Soon it was as large as a person. Standing next to Meng Hao, who was sitting cross-legged, it looked quite fear-inspiring.
It had a thick, luxurious coat of blood-red fur covering his body, and even his face. Visible through the fur covering its head were two blood-red eyes that shone with a cold, blood-thirsty light. Its claws were as sharp as flying swords, and seemed capable of ripping apart heaven and earth. When it opened its mouth, the first thing you saw were long, sharp teeth, seemingly capable of ripping apart any living thing.
Meng Hao continued to meditate for eight days after leaving the fourth matrix. Eventually, the air rippled, and Wang Lihai emerged. When he did, he looked at Meng Hao with surprise. He had assumed that he would be the first person after Li Daoyi to emerge from the fourth matrix. Having passed through the matrix in half a month should have caused quite a stir outside. However… any stir he might have caused was already stolen by Meng Hao.
He looked closely at Meng Hao for a moment, and then sat down cross-legged to meditate. Three more days passed before Song Jia came out. She staggered a bit, blood oozing out of her mouth, before sitting down cross-legged to begin breathing exercises.
Meng Hao opened his eyes. The spiritual energy in this place was dissipating. He muttered to himself for a moment. The outline of his second Dao Pillar was almost completely formed. If the surrounding spiritual energy remained as thick as it had at the outset, then he would only need half a month to completely solidify the Dao Pillar.
But the spiritual energy was thin now, and would require time to replenish.
“Perfect Foundation….” Again, Meng Hao’s desire for the Perfect Foundation grew.
Suddenly, his mastiff raised its head toward the heavens and let out an astonishing roar. Meng Hao, as well as the others on the platform, instantly looked over.