Chapter 1095: Loathing Meng Hao! (2/2)
“My desires are unique,” the man said, “and unusually strong. Because of that, they are hard to fulfill.” After a moment of thought, the man tossed the huge blade into his bag of holding, grinned at Meng Hao, and then walked out of the shop.
For some reason, the man’s style seemed to be very different from before, causing Meng Hao to stare at him for a moment.
“I hope you stay this way,” he said suddenly.
“That’s the plan,” was the reply. The burly man laughed loudly, then flew into the air. He quickly disappeared over the horizon. Meng Hao's eyes glittered, then he turned and vanished, to reappear directly in front of the man.
Although it had seemed that the man flew off toward the central battlefield, he actually ended up fleeing in the opposite direction. As soon as he saw Meng Hao blocking his way, he laughed heartily.
“Oops, I took a wrong turn! My mistake!” he said. Then he turned and headed toward the central battlefield.
Meng Hao watched him disappear. After a moment of thought, he looked back at the blacksmith shop for a moment, then left. He didn't force anyone else to fight. Instead, he merely inspected the Immortal’s caves of the other cultivators in the Ninth Nation.
His incarnation was slowly fading away, and perhaps because of that, it was becoming more and more difficult for anyone to detect him.
He saw Bei Yu, surrounded by a sea of flowers. There were also countless cultivators and mortals who were tending to the flowers like gardeners, while Bei Yu practiced cultivation in the middle. Although the entire scene seemed harmless at first, Meng Hao was able to see that the seeds of desire were slowly taking root within her.
He found Fan Dong’er, whose situation was quite unique. Not a single person could be found in her vicinity, and in fact, she had placed herself in secluded meditation, choosing to have no contact whatsoever with the outside world.
He stood outside her Immortal’s cave for quite some time, watching thoughtfully. Eventually he left.
Just before his incarnation faded away, he found the only other human cultivator besides Fan Dong’er, the young man from the Nine Seas God World. In general, he appeared to be refined and even scholarly, and yet the world he had created was like a scene from hell.
The mortals there trembled, and the cultivators were in terror as they excavated Immortal Jade out of an enormous mine!
When Meng Hao saw the Immortal jade, his mind trembled slightly, and he began to pant. It was as if some enormous power had surfaced in his mind, urging him to instantly slaughter the young cultivator and take all of the Immortal jade for himself.
The impulse rose up without any warning, and was so strong that Meng Hao’s eyes were instantly shot with blood. His cultivation base surged, and he waved his hand, causing incredible pressure to weigh down on all life forms in the area. Their minds reeled, and a bellow of rage could be heard as the young cultivator suddenly flew up into the air.
“Meng Hao, what are you doing!?!?” he roared. Meng Hao’s incarnation suddenly collapsed into pieces, transforming into nothing more than ash. It wasn’t something done intentionally; rather, the incarnation had reached its limit, and the surge of Meng Hao’s cultivation base had caused any remaining life force it had to vanish.
The young man stared in shock for a moment, and then his face darkened. He looked in the direction of Mount Whiteseal and snorted coldly before floating back down to the ground.
Back on Mount Whiteseal, Meng Hao was seated cross-legged next to the statue. Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his face went pale. He opened his eyes, and a shocked expression could be seen on his face.
He immediately performed a double-handed incantation gesture to ensure that his contemplation of enlightenment was not interrupted. If a backlash during the process of contemplating enlightenment of Essence did not destroy him in body and soul, it would still shatter his cultivation base.
Enlightenment like this could not be interrupted; complete focus was required.
“It’s like I wasn’t under control of myself!!” he thought, shaken. “As soon as I saw that Immortal jade, the impulse I felt was too strong. It was... indescribable. Most terrifying of all was that in that moment, I didn’t even have the inclination to fight back against it.” He took a deep breath, suddenly aware of how truly mysterious the Windswept Realm was. Furthermore, he had the feeling that he was probably being influenced in certain ways that he wasn't even aware of, perhaps from the moment he had arrived in the Windswept Realm.
His heart had grown colder than it usually was, and the thought of that... caused him to tremble.
“Desires are amplified.... Thankfully, that was an incarnation, and it ended up self-destructing. If it had been my true form....” He could only imagine what would have happened in that case.
After a moment of silence, he once again immersed himself in contemplation. However, the vigilance in his heart remained at a peak.
Back on the mortal battlefield in the central district, the three Demonic cultivators had joined the fray, easing some of the tension. However, it didn't take long before cultivators from the other nations arrived, and the fighting grew more chaotic. The Ninth Nation was having trouble mustering its National Aura, causing them to suffer more defeats. In fact, of all the blood-colored beams, theirs was the lowest.
It was at this point... that the gaunt youth in the Eighth Nation, the one surrounded by bones, suddenly stood up. He was the first one to gain complete enlightenment of 100 Essences.
Furthermore, he ceased any continued efforts at gaining enlightenment, and turned toward the Ninth Nation, his killing intent rising high.
“Meng Hao. Surnamed Meng.... That’s the family name I hate more than any other!” With that, a flash could be seen as he shot toward the Ninth Nation, killing intent seething.
“Either way, you’ll be the first to die. I’ll take your sealing mark, and cut you down! I, Han Qinglei, will get the glory for slaughtering someone else in the Echelon!” [1. Han Qinglei’s name in Chinese is 韩青雷 hán qīng léi. Han is a common surname. Qing is a color, which could be blue, green, cyan, azure or even black. Lei means ”thunder” or ”lightning”]