Chapter 862: Provocation! (1/2)

Chapter 862: Provocation!

Meng Hao took several more deep breaths, but he was unable to calm himself. Even he had to admit that deep down, his main weakness was… his love of money.

But that wasn’t his fault! He had been poor since he was little, and even though lots of people owed him money, those debts hadn’t been repaid. Things really weren’t easy for him!

When he was young, he had been so poor that he developed a fear of lacking money. After he grew up, he entered the world of cultivation, and still had never really been rich. There was that short period of time in the Milky Way Sea, and his unexpected windfall. However, when he thought about it, the only reason he had been able to save up the money he had now was because he hadn’t used the copper mirror in a long time. When he thought about how voraciously the copper mirror consumed wealth, it made Meng Hao feel completely impoverished.

1,000 Immortal jades made him excited. 10,000 sent his blood boiling. The value of the Immortality Illumination Vine made his eyes go bloodshot. Now, there was the drop of Paragon blood, which caused Meng Hao’s eyes to go green.

When Ling Yunzi saw that green glow, he stared in shock for a moment. He had never before seen a light like that shining in someone’s eyes. This was the first time.

However, it only took a moment for more heavy breathing to be heard. Many of the other participants were much like Meng Hao, and didn’t originally understand the value of a drop of Paragon’s blood. When they heard Ling Yunzi’s second sentence, their minds filled with roaring.

They weren’t the only ones. The Patriarchs in the starry sky temple were also panting; to them, a drop of Paragon’s blood was like a precious treasure.

They were well aware that an item like that was something that only the Three Great Daoist Societies could possess. They would most certainly not have very many either. It was a precious treasure, the likes of which was not common in this age. And yet, unthinkably, the Three Great Daoist Societies were offering it up as a prize in this trial by fire.

The Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies smiled slightly, but did not speak. Obviously, there was some profound meaning behind offering the Paragon’s blood as a prize. Actually, it didn’t really matter who it was specifically that acquired it. The point was to let everyone know that they had Paragon’s blood!

The crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were seething with excitement. Even the Chosen out in the various sects who were preparing to participate in the fighting began to pant. The disciples from the Three Great Daoist Societies were much the same. Although they were members of the Daoist Societies, it would normally be impossible to acquire the things that were being offered as prizes unless they performed some incredible service to the sect.

But now… all they had to do was win first place, and it would be theirs!

Zhao Yifan rose to his feet, bursting with the desire to fight. “Paragon’s blood…. It’s impossible to say which Paragon, but if I fuse it into my Dao of swords, it will definitely make my Dao even more incisive!”

Fan Dong’er’s eyes went wide, and she began to pant.

“With that blood, perhaps I can finally free myself from this corpse!”

Li Ling’er, Taiyang Zi and Sun Hai, as well as the other Chosen, all had similar reactions. There were even some Chosen who had elected not to participate in the fighting, such as Song Luodan and some others, who immediately regretted their decision.

“The arena matches will take place inside the Ruins of Immortality,” continued Ling Yunzi. “However, the location will not be here on the three Ancient Roads, but rather, on an ancient Dao Tree located further within!

“All of you will be given three days of rest, after which, I will personally take you to the ancient Dao Tree!

“During those three days, if any of you wish to leave, you may do so freely.” With that, Ling Yunzi turned to leave.

“Patriarch, please wait a moment!” Meng Hao hurriedly cried out.

Ling Yunzi stopped in place, then turned back to look at Meng Hao. His eyes were filled with approval, and a smile could be seen on his face.

“What’s the matter?”

A bashful smile could be seen on Meng Hao’s face as he somewhat embarrassedly said, “Patriarch, er… earlier you mentioned that I could ask for anything I want, and you would give it to me. Well… I think that a drop of Paragon’s blood would do nicely.”

When Ling Yunzi heard this, his eyes went as wide as saucers. He was just about to rebuke Meng Hao, when he noticed Meng Hao’s expression. Then he thought about how stirring all of Meng Hao’s actions had been, and his anger cooled.

“That is not something I can personally decide,” he said, shaking his head. “How about this: once you get to the sect, we will continue this discussion.” With that, he left.

“I knew all along they wouldn’t keep their promise,” Meng Hao thought. “I should have plucked off the pointer needle on the Feng Shui compass too.”

Time passed. None of the thousand participants on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking chose to leave. They all sat down in meditation, taking every moment of opportunity to practice cultivation, hoping to put themselves in top fighting condition.

Most of them felt quite drained from the previous ten stages of the trial by fire. They had expended much, were mentally exhausted, and their cultivation bases were running low. This was especially the case after the final two stages, and their near collapse into complete despair.

The torment they had experienced was severely draining mentally. However, the remaining 1,000 people were naturally outstanding individuals, so they took advantage of every moment to restore their energy.

Meng Hao had his Eternal stratum, so he was the only person who didn’t need to spend any time recovering.

“So, there are three more days until the arena matches,” he thought. “Why do I have the feeling that I’ve really lost out on a lot during my time here? I wasn’t able to take the floor slabs and decorative tiles from the Warrior Pavilion, not to mention the shelving. There wasn’t any time….

“The Three Great Daoist Societies took the Feng Shui compass as well.” He turned to look over at the trial by fire contestants on the other altars, then suddenly felt a flash of inspiration. He stood up and flew to the edge of the altar, and as he neared, sensed an intense pressure. A faint rumbling sound could also be heard.

The rumbling immediately attracted the attention of the other thousand participants. They looked over with wide eyes to see what Meng Hao was doing, and instantly, their faces began to flicker. Even the people in the outside world noticed and were shocked.

“What’s he doing?”

“He needs to calm down! Why is he trying to move off of the altar?”

In the palace in the starry sky, the Patriarchs of the various clans looked on with shock. Ling Yunzi suddenly appeared as well, and he looked on in astonishment.

Meng Hao had once again succeeded in drawing all attention onto himself. As he moved out into the gap between his altar and the one behind it, the pressure grew even more intense. Finally, massive rumbling filled the air, and great beads of sweat broke out on Meng Hao’s forehead. He began to tremble, and yet, his eyes shone with a brilliant light.