There were already more than ten Chosen who came to a stop when they saw Meng Hao. They had come to the conclusion that someone might have come to this place before them. But when they caught sight of Meng Hao, their thought process was turned on end.
“He’s….”
“He looks young, but from the feeling he gives off, he seems have existed from ancient times all the way until now! Who is he?!”
“Look at his robes! They’ve obviously passed through countless years of time. Just look at them! He obviously didn’t just put on some random tattered robes as a disguise. Those clothes rotted away while he was wearing them!”
“Could it be… could it be that he’s the Dao Protector of this Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple!?”
“That archaic air about him is something you can’t fake. It’s definitely real!”
It really was true that the feeling Meng Hao gave off was not that of a cultivator belonging to their current age. By now, the elder members of the various sects and clans from the Ninth Mountain and Sea were arriving. When they saw Meng Hao sitting cross-legged in front of the ancient temple they couldn’t help but gasp.
“This man’s ancient aura is exactly the same as that of the ancient temple! Could it be… that he really is a Dao Protector?!”
“I once heard a story that in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, when those four other Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temples were unsealed, there were always strange aspects to them. In one, a person like a Dao Protector appeared!”
“But he… looks too young! What if he got here before us and is just trying to pull a fast one on us!?”
Various comments could be heard. Some people were shaken and some were suspicious. As for the Chosen, they were very intelligent people, adept in the arts of scheming. After all, one could not rely on latent talent alone to become an outstanding Chosen.
Although they had received a bit of a shock, they quickly began to look closely at Meng Hao, and strange gleams could be seen in their eyes.
Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever, but inwardly he was shocked. When he heard their discussions, his heart began to thump with eagerness, and then a bit of a bashful expression appeared deep in his eyes. After a moment, though, it turned serious, and his dispassionate gaze swept over the crowds.
His tattered robes rippled despite the lack of a breeze, and the ancient aura grew stronger. As he intentionally caused the music of the great Dao to grow stronger, Meng Hao slowly began to speak in a very ancient-sounding voice.
“The Immortal Ancient has been unsealed and the great Dao has descended. In this place of legacies, you must decide which path is the correct one…. Cultivators of the junior generation, step forward…. I… have been waiting for you for quite some time….” He lifted his right arm and then flicked his sleeve. However, the flicking of his sleeve caused nothing to happen.
The crowds looked around cautiously, eyes flickering. Seeing that nothing untoward was occurring, Taiyang Zi snorted.
“You’re an impostor!” he said, striding forward. “A deceitful mischief-maker!” However, he only made it three steps before he suddenly stopped in place and stared with unprecedented shock at something up ahead of him.
When the crowds saw this happen, their eyes flickered. Fang Xiangshan took a step forward, as did Fang Yunyi and Fang Donghan. After three steps, all of them trembled and stopped in place, then began to pant as they stared at something up ahead.
A strange gleam could be seen in the eyes of Zhao Yifan from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. He, along with Wang Mu and Song Luodan from the Song Clan, all stepped forward. They also stopped after only three steps.
Li Ling’er’s eyes flickered as she stepped forward, along with Ji Yin, around whose body swirled Ji Clan Karma. They were followed by Fan Dong’er from the Ninth Sea Godworld.
Eventually, all of the Chosen stepped forward, as well as their Dao Protectors. Only Zhixiang remained behind as she stared in shock at Meng Hao sitting there cross-legged in front of the temple. She blinked a few times in disbelief and then… almost laughed. 1
By now, just about everyone had stepped forward. As soon as they passed into the three hundred meter area surrounding the temple, they experienced the same shocking vision Meng Hao had seen when he first visited this place.