“Meng Hao, what are you doing!?!?” he roared. Meng Hao’s incarnation suddenly collapsed into pieces, transforming into nothing more than ash. It wasn’t something done intentionally; rather, the incarnation had reached its limit, and the surge of Meng Hao’s cultivation base had caused any remaining life force it had to vanish.
The young man stared in shock for a moment, and then his face darkened. He looked in the direction of Mount Whiteseal and snorted coldly before floating back down to the ground.
Back on Mount Whiteseal, Meng Hao was seated cross-legged next to the statue. Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his face went pale. He opened his eyes, and a shocked expression could be seen on his face.
He immediately performed a double-handed incantation gesture to ensure that his contemplation of enlightenment was not interrupted. If a backlash during the process of contemplating enlightenment of Essence did not destroy him in body and soul, it would still shatter his cultivation base.
Enlightenment like this could not be interrupted; complete focus was required.
“It’s like I wasn’t under control of myself!!” he thought, shaken. “As soon as I saw that Immortal jade, the impulse I felt was too strong. It was… indescribable. Most terrifying of all was that in that moment, I didn’t even have the inclination to fight back against it.” He took a deep breath, suddenly aware of how truly mysterious the Windswept Realm was. Furthermore, he had the feeling that he was probably being influenced in certain ways that he wasn’t even aware of, perhaps from the moment he had arrived in the Windswept Realm.
His heart had grown colder than it usually was, and the thought of that… caused him to tremble.
“Desires are amplified…. Thankfully, that was an incarnation, and it ended up self-destructing. If it had been my true form….” He could only imagine what would have happened in that case.
After a moment of silence, he once again immersed himself in contemplation. However, the vigilance in his heart remained at a peak.
Back on the mortal battlefield in the central district, the three Demonic cultivators had joined the fray, easing some of the tension. However, it didn’t take long before cultivators from the other nations arrived, and the fighting grew more chaotic. The Ninth Nation was having trouble mustering its National Aura, causing them to suffer more defeats. In fact, of all the blood-colored beams, theirs was the lowest.
It was at this point… that the gaunt youth in the Eighth Nation, the one surrounded by bones, suddenly stood up. He was the first one to gain complete enlightenment of 100 Essences.
Furthermore, he ceased any continued efforts at gaining enlightenment, and turned toward the Ninth Nation, his killing intent rising high.
“Meng Hao. Surnamed Meng…. That’s the family name I hate more than any other!” With that, a flash could be seen as he shot toward the Ninth Nation, killing intent seething.
“Either way, you’ll be the first to die. I’ll take your sealing mark, and cut you down! I, Han Qinglei, will get the glory for slaughtering someone else in the Echelon!” 1