As soon as he stepped foot inside, he found that he was not in a land of flames. Everything around him was quiet. He saw a blood-colored field that was surrounded by enormous structures. They were pagodas that looked like spikes driven into the earth.
The grass in the world was completely white.
There was no wind, and yet the grass swayed back and forth.
Meng Hao’s eyes flickered as he surveyed his surroundings, and he muttered to himself for a moment before sending his divine sense out.
It quickly covered an enormous area.
“99,000 pagodas!
“Countless bleached bones!
“The 99,000 pagodas seem to form a colossal spell formation!
“There’s a city!”
Meng Hao’s divine sense detected the 99,000 densely packed pagodas, which were arranged around a gigantic city.
The city was pitch black and covered with white vines. A spark of flame hovered in mid-air, seemingly an endlessly burning fire that sent resplendent light out into the entire world.
Almost in the same instant that Meng Hao sent his divine sense out to the limit, he suddenly heard a roar.
“Dao Fang, you must die!!
“You killed me, Dao Fang, and if I’m reincarnated, I’ll definitely kill you!
“The world of Immortals is doomed to experience tribulation! The Immortal lands will grow old, and the Immortals will perish! But I refuse to give in!!
“I know the truth! No matter how long you suppress me, I won’t admit defeat!
“Damned monkey! If I can get free, I’ll have your hide!
“If I’m transmigrated, I will slaughter myself out of this place! If my transmigration fails, I will fall into oblivion like all other living things, with virtually no hope of reawakening even after countless cycles of reincarnation. Therefore, I will leave a Heavenly command for this place!
“My decree contains the essence of my Dao flame, a remnant of the existence of my flame. I hope that countless years later, that vestige will still exist!”
Meng Hao’s mind was reeling; it felt as if a sharp sword was stabbing into his brain, preparing to split apart his body and shred his soul. Blood oozed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He staggered backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
A rumbling filled him, and he felt as if his body might explode. Thankfully, his Eternal stratum immediately pulled everything back together. However, that omnipresent divine sense and resentful will raged as madly as ever. The sensation of grave danger that he felt grew even stronger.
He looked around in shock at the world around him, backing up at top speed all the while. The divine sense filling this world closed in on him again, and he immediately leaped out of the third level.
When he emerged, he was back in the second level coughing up blood, his face pale and breath ragged. From what he had heard, he could tell that what he had encountered was a shred of will.
However, despite the fact that it was only a shred of will, it was still able to injure him instantly. This was terrifying to a degree that thoroughly astonished him.
“Failure,” said the white-colored overseer, its voice cool. “No one has ever successfully passed the third level.”
“What is that place…?” asked Meng Hao, looking over at the overseer.
“Only those who pass the third level are qualified to know the answer to that question. You may leave now.
“Remember, if you speak to anyone of the things that occurred in this place, you will meet with great calamity.” The white-robed overseer gave him a meaningful look.
Meng Hao didn’t respond. He looked back down at the altar, and Lu Bai on the third level. Without another word, he clasped hands and bowed to the white-colored overseer, then stepped into the exit vortex.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
The white-colored overseer hovered in mid-air looking at the spot where Meng Hao had left through the vortex, a profound, ancient look in its eyes.
In the lands of South Heaven, not too far way from the region of the Ancient Dao Lakes, was a valley in the mountains. A brilliant, glittering light rose up in the valley, a teleportation spell. Suddenly, Meng Hao appeared within the light.
As soon as he appeared, the teleportation spell vanished.
“I snatched the true Immortal’s soul, and a lot of people saw,” he thought. “Word will spread…. I need to get back to the Blood Demon Sect as quickly as possible!” His eyes glittered as he flew into the air, slapping his bag of holding to produce the war chariot.
Once in the war chariot, rumbling could be heard as it sped off into the distance.
Meanwhile, at almost the exact moment that Meng Hao reappeared, an old man sat cross-legged in a restricted area of Mount Solitary Sword in the Solitary Sword Sect. In front of him, nine pearls circulated in the air, apparently rotating in accord with some natural law. Suddenly, one of the pearls began to glow brightly.
The old man’s eyes opened and he looked at the pearl. There were many images within the pearl, but one of them was Meng Hao teleporting out into the region near the Dao