He had most assuredly visited all the grounds of the Demon Immortal Sect. He had seen all the corpses, including those belonging to his relatives and friends, the people he had hated and the people he had liked. All of those people had become corpses, and their thoughts were nothing more than wisps on the wind.
After returning to the Fourth Peak and looking out at everything, he had realized that he was the only protector of this world.
Perhaps the most correct thing to say was not that he was the protector of the Demon Immortal Sect, but rather, the protector of his beautiful memories, especially the memories of his father.
As of this moment, Meng Hao understood. He understood Ke Jiusi’s heart, and what he was thinking.
“You’re definitely next to me,” thought Meng Hao, “or perhaps within my soul. You’re watching me live this version of your life, treading a different path than you. Every time I look at father, you are most assuredly using my eyes to look at him too.”
Meng Hao glanced up again at the evening sky for a moment, then closed his eyes again.
Two days later, it was the appointed time to meet Zhixiang. Meng Hao left the Fourth Peak and traveled with her toward the Seventh Peak!
This was the final peak in the First Heaven, and also the most important one.
Behind the Seventh Peak was a vast, hazy forbidden zone. Disciples without the proper authorization were not permitted to step even half a pace inside. In fact, few people actually knew what lay inside the haziness.
After entering it, nothing would be visible. One could only use a command medallion to find one’s way through the mists to the destination.
Zhixiang had such a command medallion, but Meng Hao didn’t.
When the two of them reached the indistinctness, they caught sight of two enormous stone statues that looked like Demons. They had eight arms and four heads, and were fully three hundred meters tall. They glared out fiercely in all directions.
Each of the two statues held a gigantic stone greatsword in hand. They were criss-crossed, stabbed down into the earth to form a door of swords.
The enormous door didn’t seem to offer any hindrance to any who wished to pass through it. However, if anyone attempted to do so without the proper qualifications, they would be instantly killed.
Zhixiang’s face was covered with an expression of piety and awe. She kneeled in front of the statues and used both hands to hold aloft a purple-black jade slip. It was a command medallion that emanated a warm glow as it floated up into the air toward the right-hand statue. As it landed in one of the statue’s hands, the statue’s eyes suddenly flickered and opened. It slowly pulled its sword up out of the ground, revealing a path.
A powerful, rumbling voice filled the air. “Third class qualifications. Where do you intend to go?”
“The Demon Immortal Cistern!” replied Zhixiang immediately.
“According to the regulations,” said the awe-inspiring voice, “you may travel thirty percent of the paths in this place, and may stay for no more than 38 hours.”
Zhixiang took a deep breath as she tried to stifle her excitement. It had taken quite a bit of power from the Sect, plus a special technique as well as a hefty price, to be able to bring this command medallion with her into the Second Plane.
It was a command medallion which provided third class qualifications. Even that was something rare, and was one of the reasons she was convinced she would be able to acquire great rewards in this place.
As she stood up, the command medallion flew back to her. She carefully reached out to take it; after all, it represented third class qualifications, which made it incredibly valuable. After putting it away, she bowed deeply to the two statues. Then she walked forward to step onto the path between the two swords. She looked back at Meng Hao with a bit of a snide look. As far as she was concerned, the Ke Jiusi from this time period would most likely only be able to acquire fourth class qualifications.
Meng Hao looked up silently at the statues for a long moment before walking forward. As he neared the door of swords, the sword belonging to the right-hand statue suddenly began to rumble.
A blinding light shot out from the eyes of the statue as it looked down at Meng Hao, its gaze filled with seeming intelligence.
After only a glance, it seemed to be able to examine him inside and out. It slowly lifted up the stone sword to reveal a path.
“Paragon’s qualifications. You may go anywhere you wish, and stay inside indefinitely.”
Zhixiang’s eyes went wide, and her brain filled with a roaring sound. She stared blankly at Meng Hao, madness rising up in her heart.