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.