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.
Meng Hao’s face was calm. The good fortune of this place lay in the spiritual energy; as far as he was concerned, it didn’t matter who was in first place. Suddenly, Wang Tengfei roared. Employing some unknown magical technique, his body began to glow, and he shot up with incredible, explosive speed. In the space of a few breaths, he had progressed more than thirty meters. This caused him to pass Meng Hao by nearly ten meters.
However, before he even had a chance to rejoice, an enormous force caused his body to tremble. The pressure caused him to cough up blood as it enveloped his body. Just then, Meng Hao passed him, sucking the spiritual energy of the area into his body. The pressure began to subside. If it hadn’t, Wang Tengfei felt as if he might have been crushed down into the tree by a giant, invisible hand.
Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever as he proceeded onward, ignoring Wang Tengfei. He passed the area that was covered with the blood Wang Tengfei had coughed up, continuing to absorb the spiritual energy. After absorbing all of it, he moved onto the next layer.
Clearly, anyone who wanted to try to pass Meng Hao could do so by merely charging forward.
However, seeing what happened to Wang Tengfei shook the hearts of all the Cultivators below. They stared at Meng Hao with strange expressions. As for Fatty, he took a deep breath, and looked completely disbelieving.
As of this moment, none of the pursuing Cultivators dared to pass Meng Hao….
Meng Hao continued on slowly, which gave them no other option than to do the same. Looking embarrassed and helpless, they followed Meng Hao. Clearly, many of them had various plans in mind. They would wait until the very top of the tree, whereupon various techniques would explode out as they attempted to pass him!