After they floated down onto his palm, he glanced at them and then simply continued to meditate, ignoring the jade slips. He did not duplicate Paragon’s blood, but rather, spent the time getting accustomed to his new cultivation base, and how it affected his various divine abilities and magical techniques.
At the same time, he sent numerous Ghost Eye Beetles into the surrounding stone chambers and waited for them to transform into the blackpod imps.
By the time the seven days were up, he had eight new blackpod imps, putting the total number that he had under his control at ten.
“If I transform all of the black beetles, I should have about fifty black pods…. It’s kind of a small number, but it still qualifies as a small army.” He put the black pods away, then quickly carved out some more stone chambers, into which he threw more black beetles to begin their transmogrification. Finally, he ended his seven days of secluded meditation.
“I’m much more comfortable with the Immortal Emperor Realm,” he thought. “I just need to have a bit of practice with some of my magical techniques and divine abilities, and I’ll be good to go.” The rise in his cultivation base had been significant. Although it wasn’t quite the same as going from the Spirit Realm into the Immortal Realm, it was still a massive leap upward. A mere seven days wasn’t enough time to get completely familiar with his new state. He needed experience in battle to fully appreciate all the differences.
Finally, his gaze came to fall on the jade slips that had arrived a few days before. He picked them up and scanned them with divine sense, after which his eyes glowed with a cold light, and he started to chuckle.
The first jade slip came from the Nine Seas God World’s Department of Tasks and Missions. The God World Department of Tasks and Missions was a part of the sect specifically devoted to giving various assignments to disciples. The assignments were arranged into grades, with the highest grade assignments being the type that you couldn’t refuse to accept.
Of course, most such assignments were essentially given out as trials by fire. Although they were often dangerous, they would never exceed the capabilities of the disciples they were assigned to. Disciples needed to have a chance to go out and participate in real, live battles. On the other hand, safety was also a priority.
The first jade slip was exactly that type of assignment, something that could not be refused.
“A bloodthirsty cultivator has appeared on Seajacket Island,” Meng Hao murmured as he studied the information. “He has murdered other cultivators and slaughtered numerous sea beasts…. According to the investigation, his cultivation base is not in the Ancient Realm, but rather, at the peak of the Immortal Realm. However, his specific whereabouts are unknown, as he is difficult to track. They only know that his general location is Seajacket Island.” With that, his smile grew cold.
Naturally, he hadn’t forgotten about his agreement with the nine Sea Realm Demons.
Essentially, Meng Hao was in an invincible position in terms of the stakes of the bet. If he lost, it didn’t really matter. Even if he wanted to give them his place in the Echelon, it was impossible. The only way to get his spot would be to kill him two times. If they wanted to do that, then it would have to be done outside of the sect. There, it could feasibly happen. The Demonic Cultivator Horde seemed to regard themselves as having a great understanding of the Echelon. However, the truth of the matter was that they didn’t know much at all. A place in the Echelon was not something that could be given away as the stakes of a bet. It was something that existed as part of a cycle of death.
Unfortunately for the Demonic Cultivator Horde, they didn’t know about things like that. After all… after countless years, Meng Hao was only the second person in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to join the Echelon!
He would naturally agree to a bet that he essentially couldn’t lose. The only reason he had said he would give his final answer in a month was to make the situation seem more realistic.
The appointed time passed, and he never responded, then all of a sudden, this jade slip arrived…. It seemed obvious that it was a tactic being employed by the Demonic Cultivator Horde.
The other jade slip was from Ling Yunzi, who informed Meng Hao that the assignment had been pushed by the Demonic Cultivator Horde. Opening the Windswept Realm required their cooperation, and as such, it had been impossible to refuse.
As a disciple of the sect, Meng Hao had to carry out assignments for the sect. That was the honorable thing to do, and furthermore, there was no reasonable grounds upon which to refuse.
Even though it was obvious the Demonic Cultivator Horde had arranged the assignment, Ling Yunzi was able to ensure that no Dao Realm experts would be involved, nor peak Ancient Realm cultivators. His request of Meng Hao