Chapter 1174: Dismemberment by Five Dragons! (1/2)

Chapter 1174: Dismemberment by Five Dragons! [1. This is a play on words. The real expression is dismemberment by five horses, a type of punishment in ancient times]

The last time Meng Hao had come here, cultivators had been gathering in a search for good fortune. Occasionally, Dao Lakes would erupt. If Dao projections appeared, they offered a chance at enlightenment. Or if the surrounding cultivators were lucky, magical items might shoot out, which would be true good fortune.

Just as at that time, there were cultivators present at the lakes, searching for opportunities for good fortune. It was at this point that Meng Hao shot down from the sky like a meteor.

“What’s... what’s that?”

“A shooting star?”

“No, it’s a person. A cultivator! What’s... what’s he doing?” As people caught sight of what first appeared to be a shooting star, their eyes went wide and their jaws dropped. They had never even heard of someone using such a method to try to reach the central Dao lake.

After all, the pressure that weighed down on the region got more intense the closer one got to the center. Even Dao Seeking cultivators had to be careful. Furthermore, if you attempted to just fly down from up above, the effects would be even more severe; to the people present, it actually seemed like an impossibility.

And yet, that is exactly what they were seeing happen in front of their very eyes, causing everyone to gasp.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Meng Hao shot down like a meteor toward the largest Dao lake, which was in the center of them all. He moved with incredible speed, and nothing could impede his passage. It almost seemed like there was no pressure in the area at all, although the truth of the matter was that the pressure which did exist was completely insignificant as far as he was concerned.

Meng Hao shot into the central lake, and the surface of the water virtually exploded up into the air. He shot down, and within the blink of an eye, was at the bottom of the lake where he spread his right hand out into a palm and pushed down onto the lake floor.

The sludge at the bottom of the lake writhed, and was then shoved away from Meng Hao’s location, revealing a teleportation portal. Meng Hao stood on top of it, then stamped his right foot down, causing the portal to shine with scintillating light that even people beyond the surface of the lake could see.

In the blink of an eye, Meng Hao had vanished. When he reappeared, he was in the first level of the world down below, surrounded by mountains of magical items, and countless beasts who were in the process of carrying the treasures toward a huge door that hung in the middle of the air. The door itself was flanked by several huge beasts, which lay there dozing. A moment later though, they trembled as if with excitement, and opened their eyes.

When they saw Meng Hao, several of the beasts roared, but almost immediately, went as quiet as if someone had gripped their throats and covered their mouths. Their eyes went wide, and they didn’t dare to make any more noise. They just lay there, staring at Meng Hao in terror and disbelief.

What they saw was azure light radiating off of Meng Hao, a light which next caused all of them to suddenly fly forward and prostrate themselves in front of him.

It wasn’t just them. All of the beasts in sight dropped down in worship as soon as they saw Meng Hao. Their eyes shone with fear and shock, and they trembled in place. Meng Hao’s aura filled with them with terror, as did the azure light.

Not even Meng Hao had imagined that such a thing would happen. As he glanced around thoughtfully at the Allheaven Dao Immortal light which surrounded him, the beasts joined their voices together and called out, “We offer greetings, Dao Immortal!!”

Eyes glittering, Meng Hao nodded slightly. Without saying a word, he shot past the prostrating beasts, entering the door and appearing in the second level beyond.

That was the level with a huge altar that resembled a huge mountain. There was also a beast there at the top of the mountain who was enormous, and emanated an ancient aura. After catching sight of Meng Hao, its eyes went wide with disbelief. It examined him for a few seconds, then took a deep breath.

“So, it’s you again. You... have become an Allheaven Dao Immortal!!”

Meng Hao flew up to the top of the mountain and looked around. There was no sign of the Northern Reaches cultivator with whom he had challenged this trial by fire years before.

Seeing Meng Hao look around, the beast said, “He left.”

Then it clasped hands and bowed.

“Greetings, exalted Dao Immortal!”

“I want to go to the next level!” Meng Hao replied calmly. This time, the beast said nothing to dissuade him. It immediately backed up, leaving the way open for Meng Hao to enter the passageway to the Divine Flame world.

Meng Hao took a deep breath, and his eyes flashed with determination. He shot forward, vanishing into the world of Divine Flame. The ancient beast remained behind, just as astonished as it had been moments before. When Meng Hao first came here, it could never have imagined that he would end up amazing it so much.

“The first time he came, he could barely get through the second level.

“The second time he came, he was strong enough to take a bit of Divine Flame....

“I never thought that the third time he came, he would do so as an Allheaven Dao Immortal. In fact, his aura leaves me trembling and filled with fear. If he wanted to kill me... all it would take on his part would be a simple thought.” The beast took a deep breath and looked fearfully at the passageway leading to the Divine Flame world.