Chapter 558: In One Thousand Years, One Person Can Reach Immortal Ascension (2/2)

“By the way,” continued Meng Hao, “contact with the Demon Spirit makes the teleportation power activate faster.”

Patriarch Huyan breathed in deeply, his expression calm as he stared deeply at Meng Hao. Without another word, his body flickered as more power of teleportation surged. Then, in the blink of an eye, he activated the teleportation, transforming into a beam of light that shot upward and then disappeared amidst a surge of teleportation ripples that spread out in all directions.

The look he gave Meng Hao before disappearing caused Meng Hao’s brow to furrow.

It was at this point that a voice transmitted by Divine Will could be heard in Meng Hao’s mind. It came from the direction of the streams of Spirit Severing Divine Sense, and belonged to none other than the red-robed boy from the great Cloud Sky Tribe.

“Fellow Daoist Meng, please proceed without worry. I will watch over the Golden Crow Tribe for the time being.”

By this point, Meng Hao’s body was more than half faded. He was unable to control the speed with which he moved upward, so he was forced to look down toward the collection of Spirit Severing Divine Sense streams.

“I’ve grown old,” said the voice, “and I’ve long since given up on the thought of performing my Second Severing. I just hope that the great Cloud Sky Tribe will continue on as long as I live, and that I will have the chance to see someone else reach the Second Severing.

“I’ll help you by taking care of the Golden Crow Tribe. With me around, no one will dare to provoke them. However, you must promise me that while you are in the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane, you will take care of my… Holy Son Zhao Fang!

Meng Hao was silent for a moment. Then, just before rocketing up into the Heavens, he responded via Divine Will: “I will take no responsibility for his death if the situation exceeds my capabilities!”

“Just take care of him as best you can,” responded the red-robed boy, his tone casual. “I trust that you will keep your word.”

Meng Hao didn’t respond. He would by no means refuse such an offer. A rumbling sound could be heard as he was propelled up at high speed into the boundless sky. In the last moment before he disappeared, he looked back down at the lands beneath.

He could see the Black Lands, including the area occupied by the Golden Crow Tribe. At the same time, he could also see four bright beams of light shooting up into the air at high speed.

One of those beams of light contained Zhao Fang of the great Cloud Sky Tribe. Another was Duo Lan of the Demon Butterfly Tribe, with whom Meng Hao was somewhat familiar. The third was an old man.

There didn’t seem to be anything special about the old man, but, shockingly, he was of the Spirit Severing stage. Strangest of all, he was not flying up from the Black Lands, but rather, a position in the Southern Domain where it bordered the Black Lands!

The fourth beam of light came up from some distance away in the Western Desert Violet Sea. Meng Hao couldn’t see who was inside, but in his estimation, it was most likely Zhixiang.

He looked away. It was at this moment, just before he disappeared, that a tremor ran through his mind as he looked toward the Southern Domain.

From that direction, Meng Hao could see a fifth beam of light. However, it was so far away, that he was unable to see clearly who was inside.

However, he had the faint sense that there was not just one beam of teleportation light rising up from the Southern Domain. There were more.

“I wonder who from the Southern Domain will be going to the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane….” Meng Hao was curious, even excited at the prospect of encountering some of his old friends. It was at this moment that he completely vanished.

Although Meng Hao couldn’t sense it, people were teleporting from more regions than just the Southern Domain and the Black Lands. In the vast Eastern Lands, beams of light were also visible, shooting up into the sky.

Three came from… the Fang Clan!

In the beams of light shooting up from the Fang Clan were two men and one woman. The woman was none other than the one who had left a deep impression on Meng Hao. It was violent-tempered, overbearing… Fang Yu! [1. Meng Hao met Fang Yu in the events surrounding the Immortal’s corpse in chapter 309. She reappeared in chapter 425 and 426, after Meng Hao’s Karma was almost severed by Ji Nineteen]

In the Ji Clan ancestral mansion, an illusory youth stood atop the highest point of the main temple, looking down at a group of nine people, five men and four women, all of whom wore expressions of deep respect. A sparkling Demon Spirit glow was currently beginning to surround them. The power of teleportation rumbled loudly, but the gaze of the illusory youth prevented them from moving upward even a bit.

“The Primordial Demon Immortal Plane opens once every thousand years,” he said. “Because of the Western Desert Violet Sea, only Cultivators from the lands of South Heaven can participate, not anyone from the other three planets. The opening of this ancient plane also indicates that the millennial struggle for Immortality has begun.

“According to the rules of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, on each planet, every one thousand years, one person is permitted to achieve Immortal Ascension!

“When the struggle for Immortality begins, the Immortality Bestowal Dais will slowly awaken. It will automatically suppress the various Dao Seeking experts, using the threat of death to prevent them from engaging in battle for the path to Immortality. Of course, there are always bound to be fish who slip through the net, people who risk their lives to fight for their goal.

“Although the path to Immortality exists in front of all of you, you will face opponents. Those opponents are not just fellow Cultivators of your own generation. There will also be members of the older generation, Spirit Severing and Dao Seeking experts. All of them wished to tread the path of Immortal Ascension during these thousand years.

“The coming millennium will be very interesting. Many people will fight. All will fail except for one. That one person will achieve Immortal Ascension!

“Those who gain fortune in the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane will be a step ahead of the others on the path to Immortality. It is my hope that during this thousand years, the person to achieve Immortal Ascension will be from the Ji Clan!” With that, the youth waved his hands. The bodies of the nine others trembled as power of teleportation exploded out, and they surged up into the sky.

All of the members of the Ji Clan who were on their way to the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane were Chosen. However, these were not Clan members like the one Meng Hao had killed that year, of the Quasi-Array. Rather, these were full Array Chosen.

Teleportation beams could also be seen above the Northern Reaches.

Obviously, the opening of the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane was not exclusive to the Western Desert. It was a matter of extreme importance to all the lands of South Heaven. It was a grand gathering of Chosen from the Southern Domain, Western Desert, Eastern Lands, and Northern Reaches! [1. Before this chapter, the Northern Reaches was actually called the Northern Desert. As of this chapter, it was changed to Northern Reaches. I've since gone back to all previous chapters to change Northern Desert to Northern Reaches.]

This indicated that as of this moment, the path to Immortality had opened!