Meng Hao’s eyes were filled with obsession and madness. He had opened 122 meridians and had walked a path no one had trod before, even in ancient times. Not even the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Kṣitigarbha, had done something like Meng Hao had when he became a true Immortal.
Meng Hao hovered there in the starry sky, the center of all attention. And yet, he still wasn’t ready to give up. Flames danced in his eyes, a reflection of the Essence of Divine Flame in his palm. It was as if the Divine Flame had become the ambition within Meng Hao’s eyes.
“My final meridian… the Essence of Divine Flame!” Meng Hao’s heart was pounding. He knew that the Essence of Divine Flame was terrifying, but he couldn’t hold back his excitement at the idea of it becoming his final meridian!
“If I can succeed in making this my 123rd meridian, then I won’t have any regrets!
“It’s a gamble, but if I succeed, I’ll have one more meridian. If I fail….” Meng Hao’s heart thumped, but his eyes quickly gleamed with obsession.
“Who cares if I fail?!” His hair and clothing whipped about as his energy began to rise up. The starry sky trembled and rumbling sounds echoed out.
“Before the world appeared, before the beginning of Heaven and Earth, before time could even be calculated, perhaps… there were no such things as Immortals. Therefore… how did the first Immortal come to be?!
“That first Immortal definitely walked his own path. He must have tried many things, and must have suffered many defeats before he finally found the correct path. The first person to succeed called himself Immortal, and that is how Immortals came to be!
“It must have occurred in that way. Therefore, I can do the same thing. I, Meng Hao, will become an Immortal in MY way!”
The majestic Door of Immortality, the boundless Immortal light, the unobstructed Immortal qi, the swirling Immortal dragons. These things served as foils to Meng Hao.
If this bit of Divine Flame were much larger, then it wouldn’t matter how determined Meng Hao was, he would be incapable of absorbing much of it. However… there wasn’t much of the flame present!
There was only a tiny bit in that bronze lamp!
“Rewards come only with risk. In life, there are many times… when the only way to acquire something is to make either a sacrifice or a huge gamble!” Meng Hao gripped the bronze lamp tightly, staring wildly at the Essence of Divine Flame therein.
As of this moment, the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea was all watching the cultivator named Meng Hao, and everyone could see the bronze lamp he held in his hand. Everyone could also see the flame that flickered inside of it.
However, even the Dao Realm experts were unable to see the bizarre properties of the bronze lamp. But they could sense that the flame inside of it contained… the power of Essence!
“Essence!! That flame in his hand is rippling with Essence!”
“Unfortunately, it’s miniscule. If there were more of the Essence, then we might be able to gain enlightenment from it.”
“In any case, whatever destiny that kid ran into before allowed him to get that Essence-containing object. Situations like this are extremely rare! Perhaps we might find some clues as to the origins of that Flame Essence on his person?” The almighty Dao Realm experts from the various sects and clans looked at the flame with brightly shining eyes.
However, it was at this point that the Dao Realm Patriarch of the Kunlun Society suddenly spoke, his voice ringing out in the ears of all his contemporaries in the Dao Realm.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this kid… comes from Planet South Heaven.”
When everyone heard that one sentence, their eyes widened, and many of them quashed whatever plans they had been making just now, and their expressions quickly turned into looks of regret. For people in the Dao Realm, Planet South Heaven was actually…
Completely taboo!
However, when the four old men from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite saw the bronze lamp, their expressions… flickered with astonishment!
They gasped, then exchanged glances. Their eyes were filled with absolute disbelief.
“I can’t believe it…. That thing actually exists!!”
“I always thought it was just a legend. But, there it is! There can’t be any mistake… the patterns on that bronze lamp mean that there can be no doubt….”
“Somebody was actually able to touch it…. This… this….” The four old men felt their minds spinning, and great waves of astonishment battered their hearts.