Chapter 885: Revisiting Old Haunts
Meng Hao spent an entire wonderful year with his family. The laughter and happiness they shared would exist forever in his heart.
Some days after that year ended, Fang Yu left. She did not return to the Fang Clan on Planet East Victory. Fang Xiufeng made different arrangements. An Elder from the Church of the Immortal Emperor came to Planet South Heaven to personally take Fang Yu away.
Fang Xiufeng had decided long ago that Fang Yu should join the Church of the Immortal Emperor. Her latent talent conformed with the their cultivation requirements. Furthermore, in the past, Fang Xiufeng and the current Pontifex of the Church of the Immortal Emperor had experienced harrowing adventures together.
With the Pontifex watching out for Fang Yu, and the threat of Fang Xiufeng himself, it was assured that no one would cause problems for her, despite the fact that Fang Xiufeng couldn’t leave South Heaven.
Fang Xiufeng was very protective of his daughter, but when it came to his son, his line of thinking was different.
Before leaving, Fang Yu hugged Meng Hao tightly, and then gave him a long look. The affection in her eyes caused Meng Hao’s heart to fill with a deep reluctance to part ways with her.
“Little brother, we’ll meet again out in the stars,” said Fang Yu, tousling his hair. In this moment, there was nothing violent about her at all. She was just a gentle older sister.
Fang Yu bade farewell to her parents, then took a deep breath and followed the respectful Elder from the Church of the Immortal Emperor as he stepped into the teleportation portal. Bright light flashed, and they vanished.
Fang Xiufeng and Meng Li were also reluctant to part with their daughter, especially Meng Li, whose eyes were filled with tears. Being unable to leave Planet South Heaven, she was very worried about Fang Yu, and currently clutched Fang Xiufeng’s hand tightly.
Fang Xiufeng patted his wife gently on the shoulder and watched as his daughter left. His eyes were filled with both sadness and hope. Then he turned to look at Meng Hao.
He knew that it wouldn’t be long before Meng Hao also left Planet South Heaven.
“Hao’er, your path doesn’t lie in becoming a true part of the Fang Clan,” he said. “I’ve already arranged for you to join the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, although, if you’re not happy with that, you don’t have to go there.
“Whatever choice you make, there is one thing that you absolutely must do before anything else.
“You must first go back to the Fang Clan on Planet East Victory. I left an Immortality Illumination Vine there for you, so that you can achieve true Immortal Ascension!
“Even more importantly… your two Nirvana Fruits are also waiting for you there!
“Those two Nirvana Fruits belong to you. Now that you’ve transcended your tribulation, you can assimilate them, and they will help you reach the peak of the Immortal Realm in a very short period of time. In the future, you must not fall behind the other Chosen, but instead, must surpass them! Leave them behind you for all eternity!”
Next to speak was Meng Li.
“If you have the chance,” she said softly, “you can go to the Eighth Mountain and Sea. That… is mother’s home.”
Meng Hao nodded his head solemnly. He understood the deeper meaning in his father’s words, the meaning that was left unspoken. His father wanted him to return to the Fang Clan and rise to prominence there. He wanted to makes sure everyone knew that Fang Xiufeng’s son was no cripple, but rather, a blazing sun!
Therefore, Meng Hao vowed to himself that not only would he rise to prominence in the Fang Clan of Planet East Victory, in the future… he would definitely go to search for his Grandpa Fang and Grandpa Meng.
“You can leave the lands of South Heaven any time you want,” Fang Xiufeng continued. “When you’re ready, just let me know. I’ll arrange for someone from Planet East Victory to come and escort you there. Remember, your path is that of true Immortality. On Planet East Victory… you can become a true Immortal. Force all the people in the Fang Clan to tilt their heads back to look up at you; make them acknowledge that you are my son.” Fang Xiufeng looked deeply at Meng Hao, his son, and his pride in life.
Meng Hao took a deep breath and then nodded deeply.
A few days later, Meng Hao left the Eastern Lands. There were a few more matters he needed to attend to, after which he planned to leave Planet South Heaven.
“My path to true Immortality is different from that of others,” he murmured to himself as he flew through the air. “When the Immortal meridian inside of me is completely solidified, then I will become a true Immortal.
“I actually gained a lot from the trial by fire in the Ruins of Immortality, both in terms of the creation of divine abilities and in progress with my Immortal meridian….”
Meng Hao was able to sense when he cultivated via breathing techniques that his Immortal meridian was continuing to naturally solidify. However, the process was very slow, and unfortunately, things like the stone steles from the Ruins of Immortality were things that could only be encountered serendipitously.
“Back when master opened the Door of Immortality, the power that emerged from within the door was probably similar to the power in those stone steles. Both of them can be used to become a true Immortal.
“The fastest way to achieve true Immortal Ascension is via the Door of Immortality….
“Could it really be true that it’s now impossible to achieve true Immortal Ascension here in the lands of South Heaven?” Meng Hao sped through the air, lost in thought. He passed over the Milky Way Sea and then reached the Southern Domain.
He flew down into the Violet Fate Sect, although nobody noticed him. He stood on a tall mountain, looking out over the sect. The statue of Reverend Violet East was no longer there, but this particular mountain that he stood on was one that Pill Demon had frequented.
As he stood there, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He rotated his cultivation base, and the Immortal meridian inside of him, at full power. The Immortal meridian was eighty percent solid, and shone with glittering light. Dense Immortal qi emanated out from Meng Hao, and eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal merged into the surrounding lands.
In the blink of an eye, winds began to sweep about, and the lands rumbled and quaked. All of the cultivators in the Southern Domain trembled inwardly. Soon, it wasn’t just the Southern Domain that was affected. The Western Desert, the Northern Reaches, and even the Eastern Lands were all experiencing bizarre transformations.
Gradually, a vortex formed above the mountain peak where Meng Hao sat. However, almost as soon as the vortex appeared, some sort of incredible restraining power exploded out from Heaven and Earth, destroying the vortex.
It faded away, and everything returned to normal. The lands were quiet, and the cultivators of Planet South Heaven were left wondering what astonishing event had just occurred.
Meng Hao opened his eyes and sat there quietly for a long moment before shaking his head.
“Sure enough, it didn’t work…. I can sense the path of true Immortality, but am not able to summon the Door of Immortality. In each of the Mountains and Seas, Immortal destiny will appear on one of the planets, every 10,000 years. The rule cannot be broken.
“What if I used the Immortality Illumination Vine…?” Eyes glittering, he produced an Immortality Illumination Vine from within his bag of holding, the one he had acquired in the medicinal plant garden in the Ruins of Immortality.
After a bit of muttering, he shook his head.
“The Immortality Illumination Vine can definitely lead to true Immortal Ascension. However, it also cuts off the Spirit Realm, and all the advancement made therein. It’s a forced breakthrough.
“The Chosen of the other sects build themselves up for years, restrict their cultivation bases until the critical moment, and then use Immortality Illumination Vines to instantly break through.
“As for me, I’m currently at eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal. If I used the Immortality Illumination Vine to break through, I would become a true Immortal, but I would be stuck at eighty percent. That eighty percent would then become my one hundred percent.
“Apparently, my path of true Immortality really can’t be tread here on Planet South Heaven. Perhaps going to Planet East Victory like my father said is really the best choice.” Meng Hao’s eyes flickered as he gave up on the thought of using a vine to make his breakthrough, and then he took a deep breath and turned to leave.
No one detected his arrival or his departure from the Violet Fate Sect. He next went to the Blood Demon Sect, where he stood outside of Patriarch Blood Demon’s Immortal’s cave. The only thing he could sense was an aura of death; there didn’t seem to be even the slightest bit of life force inside.
Patriarch Blood Demon did not emerge.
After standing there quietly for a long time, Meng Hao went to Blood Prince Gorge. It was maintained by Blood Demon Sect disciples on a daily basis, who kept the entire valley neat and clean. Meng Hao looked at the log cabin, and all the other familiar sights in the valley, and suddenly he seemed to go into a bit of a trance. He saw the outline of a woman, smiling sweetly at him.
“Xu Qing….” he murmured. He would never forget the agreement that he and Xu Qing had made.
“Wait for me…. I WILL find you!” A warm look could be seen on his face as he recalled the times he had spent with Xu Qing in Blood Prince Gorge. After a while, he left the valley and walked over to the place where he and Xu Qing had held their wedding.
A few days later, Meng Hao left. This would be the final time he visited these places, where memories of Xu Qing abounded, before leaving Planet South Heaven.
After visiting the Blood Demon Sect, he traveled about in the Southern Domain. He stopped outside the Song Clan and swept it with divine sense. He could see Patriarch Song, who was incapable of detecting Meng Hao’s presence.
Meng Hao also saw a familiar woman, Song Jia. She sat there cross-legged, meditating. Although she was beautiful, it was possible to see the signs of aging on her.
“She didn’t go to the trial by fire to join a sect among the stars. Does she really want to stay behind on Planet South Heaven…?”
Images from the past flitted through Meng Hao’s mind. After a long moment, he turned and left, leaving Song Jia undisturbed.
He went to the Rebirth Cave, walking through the pressure that had been so difficult to deal with all those years ago. Back then, it had been difficult to take each step, but now, it was as easy as walking down a paved road. The surrounding cultivators in the region of the Rebirth Cave looked at Meng Hao casually walking toward the Rebirth Cave itself, and their faces flickered with astonishment.
“Who is that?”
“He… he’s actually walking right into the depths of the Rebirth Cave region! The pressure here is difficult even for Spirit Severing experts.”
“Why does he look so familiar…?” As he neared the Rebirth Cave itself, more people saw him, and all of them were astonished.
He calmly proceeded deeper into the region, and was soon near the cave mouth itself.
About 1,500 meters from the cave, he saw two old men with Spirit Severing cultivation bases. They sat there cross-legged, resisting the pressure and staring at each other as if they had some enmity between the two of them. Their life forces burned low, and, they clearly hoped to find some good fortune within the Rebirth Cave.
As soon as Meng Hao approached, the two stared at him in shock.
“Who are you?” one of them growled. Then Meng Hao simply walked past them.
This left them in complete shock, and they watched wide-eyed as Meng Hao casually walked past the 1,500-meter mark and then entered the cave itself.
Panting, they exchanged glances, and could see the disbelief in each others’ eyes.
“He looks familiar….”
“Is… hey! That was Meng Hao! Heavens! He’s the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect! He sealed the Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches, and turned a hundred thousand Northern Reaches cultivators into felon citizens! That was Meng Hao!!”
When the two old men realized it was Meng Hao, their minds filled with a roaring like that of thunder.