Chapter 1116: A Meeting in the Sixth Nation! (1/2)

Chapter 1116: A Meeting in the Sixth Nation!

“Dao Fang....” he thought. “Once I leave the Windswept Realm and get back home, I’m definitely going to go back to the Ancient Dao Lakes!” Meng Hao’s eyes glittered thoughtfully, and then the intimidating gleam in his eyes vanished. He looked back down at Yuwen Jian and smiled enigmatically.

How could he not have realized that Yuwen Jian could have reached enlightenment much earlier, and had intentionally dragged things out? Clearly, he had been planning something. Although Meng Hao’s use of the ax had seemed completely spontaneous, it was actually designed as a warning for Yuwen Jian.

Seeing Meng Hao’s smile, Yuwen Jian felt even guiltier. Clearing his throat, he smacked his chest heroically and said, “Brother Meng Hao, you are truly courageous and extraordinary. Hahaha. Dao-Heaven's three hired thugs were all incredibly powerful. But in front of you, they were like hired clowns. You crushed them like weeds! You’re definitely destined to be number one in the Mountain and Sea Realm Echelon!” Although Yuwen Jian’s words were blatantly ingratiating, his expression was very sincere, as if every word were spoken from the depths of his heart. [1. There is some word play in this passage that doesn't quite translate well. Literally he says, ”those three dog-legs (hired thugs/henchmen) of Dao-Heaven were all powerful, but to you they were like dirt-dogs (stray dogs/mole crickets)”]

“Well said, well said,” replied Meng Hao, chuckling. Then he stared evenly at Yuwen Jian. “However, Fellow Daoist Yuwen Jian, you still need to return the World Seal I loaned to you.”

Yuwen Jian’s smile stiffened, and his mind spun with hundreds of ideas. However, when he saw the look in Meng Hao’s eyes, his heart began to pound, and he once again thought about the implications of Meng Hao being rewarded for killing an Echelon cultivator.

“Dammit!” he thought. “The rewards of the Windswept Realm this time are encouraging us to slaughter each other.... I can’t provoke this jinx, otherwise I’ll find myself in a deadly crisis!” Having reached this point in his train of thought, Yuwen Jian unhesitatingly produced the World Seal and sent it back to Meng Hao.

Meng Hao grabbed it and put it away. Smiling just as broadly as ever, he didn't say a single word about the Seventh Nation’s World Seal. Yuwen Jian had intentionally sat out of the fight, and had been plotting the whole time. Had he instead joined in to fight Hai Qingdong and the others, then Meng Hao would naturally have refrained from greedily keeping the World Seal.

However, since Yuwen Jian had clearly been up to something, then Meng Hao didn’t feel guilty at all about turning the tables on him.

Yuwen Jian smiled wryly. Although he was a body cultivator, the fact that he was not only a member of the Echelon, but had also managed to keep his place in it for so long, and at the same time managed to reach such a high level of body cultivation, showed that he was no fool. He might not be considered a genius, he was quite adept at scheming.

It was obvious to even him that Meng Hao had seen through his plan, and had used the ax as a warning. Not returning the Seventh Nation’s World Seal was an additional punishment.

“Well, that’s fine,” he thought. “Since the Windswept Realm seems to be encouraging us Echelon cultivators to wipe each other out, then those World Seals are like signal flares. The more you have, the more likely you’ll be to get killed and have them stolen away. Since I have no World Seal, as long as I’m careful, I’ll actually be much safer.”

Yuwen Jian was now feeling a lot more confident, so he clasped hands and bowed to Meng Hao. Backing up a few steps at the same time, he smiled and said, “Brother Meng Hao, it’s getting late. My place is kind of a mess right now, so I won’t keep you any longer. Take care of yourself on your way back, brother, and when you get a chance come visit again.”

Meng Hao looked at him, and Yuwen Jian instantly braced himself for something bad to happen. After a moment, though, Meng Hao merely smiled, swished his sleeve, and turned to depart.

It was in this moment, however, that a beam of light suddenly rose up from the central temple. It was rapidly expanding, spreading out to fill the entire Windswept Realm.

Shockingly, this light was just like the light from moments before... it was 30,000 meters wide!!

The massive pillar of light shot up into the Heavens, causing non-stop rumbling sounds to echo out. The sky shook, and countless ripples expanded out, filling the entire sky. Meng Hao’s eyes went wide, and Yuwen Jian’s face fell.

As the beam of light burst up into the world of mountains and statues, the tallest of the mountains, the one which was now a statue of Meng Hao, suddenly blurred as a ghost image appeared next to it. The image then solidified into a second statue!

That second statue depicted a young man with swirling killing intent. He emanated incredible pressure that caused Meng Hao to pant. Shockingly, that statue was holding a head in its hand!

That head radiated icy coldness, despite being dead.

“Dao-Heaven!!” Yuwen Jian exclaimed. “That’s the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain!! The head in his hand... is the head of the Echelon cultivator from the Second Mountain!!” His face drained of blood. He well knew that Dao-Heaven had long since taken the Second Nation’s World Seal from that cultivator, who had then managed to flee.

He had previously reached the conclusion that lacking a World Seal would place him in much less danger. He had never imagined that after only a few breaths of time passed, his entire line of reasoning would be overturned. The Echelon cultivator from the Second Mountain was now dead, heralding the beginning of what would no doubt be a series of bloody and chaotic battles!

It didn't matter whether or not he had a World Seal, he was still in incredible danger!

Next, that cold and ruthless voice echoed out through the Windswept Realm.

“The reward... is an Ancient treasure! Lofty Mountain Immortal Flail!”

All of the Echelon cultivators were instantly shaken. Events were unfolding too quickly. First Hai Qingdong was killed, and then moments later, Dao-Heaven hunted down and killed someone else!

Furthermore, the reward was another Ancient treasure!

Meng Hao stared at the world up above, and Dao-Heaven’s statue. His eyes then began to gleam with an intimidating light. Even though he wasn’t sure how strong this Dao-Heaven was compared to Hai Qingdong, from what he could sense, he was incredibly powerful.

“Dao-Heaven....” he thought, eyes glittering.