“How could I possibly lose to him!?!?” he raged inwardly. “I am a Wang Clan Chosen! He stole my legacy and my beloved! Today, I shall wrest away his good fortune. Why are you always so unfair to Wang Tengfei, Heavens?! I refuse! I will not give in!!” Setting his teeth, he shot upward. The wild wind buffeted him, but he held doggedly onto the tree. It felt as if his arms were about to rip off.
To his astonishment, Wang Tengfei suddenly realized that the unabsorbable spiritual energy of this place, which exhibited such strong pressure, was actually lessening around Meng Hao. The closer he got to Meng Hao, the easier it was to progress.
Behind him, Wang Youcai, Qian Shuihen, Lu Song as well as Fatty and the others, had all reached the tree, and were relentlessly pursuing.
All of them noticed Meng Hao’s significant increase in speed.
Meng Hao had already sensed that although the spiritual energy in this place seemed thick and abundant, actually, the entire place was divided into different areas. The spiritual energy of the area he was currently in was almost sucked dry. Because of that, Wang Tengfei and the others were able to move more quickly.
However, although the spiritual energy below him was decreasing, he continued moving upward. Soon, he encountered more dense spiritual energy, which he began to absorb immediately. His fifth Dao Pillar was already about forty percent complete.
“The spiritual energy here is organized in layers,” he thought, his eyes shining brilliantly. “Each layer can be completely absorbed into my body. Although it looks incredibly dense, there’s actually not very much of it. However, if I absorb all of it, I should be able to complete my fifth Dao Pillar.” He continued onward, and the spiritual energy continued to pour into him. Whenever it began to grow thin, he would continue on upward to a new layer.
Behind him, Wang Tengfei and the others were continuing to increase their speed. The spiritual energy having dried up, the resisting pressure was gone. The only thing they had to deal with was the raging wind. Their progress now was much easier, so the gap between Meng Hao and them was slowly lessening.
The enormous tree was many dozens of meters in diameter, and from a distance, didn’t seem very far away from the cloud layer above, where the Nascent Soul Cultivators watched the proceedings. Seeing what was happening caused them to sit there quietly in contemplation. The Wang Clan Cultivator let out a cold harrumph. “Eccentric Song, let’s make another bet. This time, the stakes are two Soul Fruits!”
Eccentric Song hesitated for a moment, his brow furrowed.
The Black Sieve Sect Nascent Soul Cultivator coughed lightly. “I’m in,” he said.
The Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Li Clan chimed in. “So, another bet,” he said coolly. “Eccentric Song, why don’t we all join in? Two Soul Fruits per person. Winner takes all.” His words made Eccentric Song even more hesitant.
After a long moment passed, he gritted his teeth. He actually had incredible faith in Meng Hao’s ability to perform, so he flicked his sleeve.
“We’re on!” he said.
Subsequently, all of the Nascent Soul eccentrics produced Soul Fruits. Seeing so many in one placed caused all of the Cultivators to palpitate with eagerness. The stakes of this wager were significantly greater than the previous bet.
At the same time as all the eccentrics made their bets, Meng Hao shot up at top speed. He had passed through three layers of the enormous tree, and had now progressed roughly thirty percent up. By now, Wang Tengfei and the others were a mere thirty meters behind him. It seemed they might soon pass him.