Chapter 1486: The Clone Passes Away In Meditation

　　The peak 4-Essences cultivators outside of the fifth tribulation couldn’t help but be astonished by the intense energy buffeting them.

　　Everything shook violently, as though some invisible force were battering the lands.

　　At the same time, the blood mist continued to converge into a body.

　　The face wasn’t distinguishable, only the fact that it was a body. Furthermore, there were 108 Soul Lamps within that body, each of which resembled a divine being sitting there cross-legged in meditation.

　　The shape they formed burst with the aura of an Immortal, as if a true and authentic Immortal were now coming into the world!

　　The pressure in the area instantly attacked the Immortal aura, forcibly blasting it away, causing cracking sounds to emanate out, and tiny rifts to snake out in the air, as though… the air were about to be destroyed.

　　The two peak 4-Essences cultivators edged away. They could scarcely believe what was happening as the aura destabilized their minds and crushed down on their cultivation bases. They almost couldn’t even breathe.

　　Next, another astonishing, terrifying aura surged out from within Meng Hao.

　　This time, it wasn’t from the 108 Soul Lamps. Instead, there were nine sealing marks, which shone as radiantly as the sun as they swirled around, emanating a pressure that could shake Heaven and Earth.

　　The pressure caused blood to spray out of the mouths of the 4-Essences Dao Realm experts. They were sent tumbling backward as if by a powerful attack, and even as they screamed, their fleshly bodies were shredded to pieces.

　　Their bedraggled souls emerged, shrieking. They retreated by several thousand meters, shaking with unprecedented terror.

　　“What… what are those sealing marks?!?!”

　　“One look, one single look was enough to destroy our bodies!!” They wanted to flee, but the intense pressure crushing down on them made it impossible for them to retreat. From the look of things, they were about to be completely destroyed.

　　It was at this point that the nine sealing marks within Meng Hao began to emanate streams of light that connected to the 108 Soul Lamps. The radiant light seemed to burst with an Immortal aura, making them Immortal Threads that connected through all of the Soul Lamps, forming a circle, forming… an Immortal Root!

　　A spirit like an Immortal, and a foundation that reached as deep as the root of a tree. This was an Immortal Root!

　　“He’s definitely not in the Ancient Realm. That aura… it’s terrifying! It’s like a Paragon!”

　　“That’s… that’s an Immortal Root?” The 4-Essences Dao Realm experts were shaking violently, and their souls seemed to be fading away.

　　The Immortal Root was something legendary within the Vast Expanse School. Supposedly, all cultivators had Immortal Threads inside of their bodies, and when their cultivation base reached the pinnacle, or if their bloodline was powerful enough, those Immortal Threads would form together into an Immortal Root.

　　Only by possessing an Immortal Root could someone truly be considered… an Immortal!

　　When Meng Hao extinguished the last of his Soul Lamps and entered the Dao Realm, an Immortal Root appeared.

　　Because of that Immortal Root, something very strange happened.

　　His 108th Soul Lamp became the Immortal Root, which in turn created something like a huge tree. It had nine branches, which were connected to the nine sealing marks inside of him. They were like Immortal fruits growing on that tree!

　　Among those nine branches, the first began to shine with dazzling, multicolored light, and pulsed with colorful bursts of something that looked like lightning.

　　As for the other eight branches, they were dark, as though they lacked any life force whatsoever.

　　As the first branch of the Immortal Root pulsed with light, the first sealing mark began to shine, until it was blindingly bright!

　　As of this moment, the first sealing mark was complete!

　　A tremor ran through Meng Hao, a Heaven-sealing aura pulsed out from within him, causing everything to shake, and a huge wind to kick up. At the same time, the aura of the Dao Realm exploded out.

　　Then, his eyes opened.

　　Stepping into the Dao via Nirvana Fruit!

　　Meng Hao’s clone was actually formed from a Nirvana Fruit, not for the purpose of living a new life, but to utilize that bloodline power to be able to step into the Dao Realm more quickly than normal!

　　His eyes shone with light so radiant that a single glance from him seemed capable of completely absorbing the souls of the two 4-Essences Dao Realm experts!

　　Normally speaking, Dao Realm Tribulation should have descended. However, there was something special about the Transcendence Path that made it impossible for the Tribulation to find him. It couldn’t even sense the Dao Realm Aura on him, let alone come to him.

　　Meng Hao sat there silently. The sudden transformations which had occurred because of the extinguishing of his final Soul Lamp were surprising, and yet, actually served to confirm his previous speculation.

　　“In this life… I can’t complete the Ninth Hex. I can only complete one of the necessary sealing marks.” Meng Hao looked into the colorful light cast by the first branch of the Immortal Root, and saw multicolored sparks flickering about. He poured his consciousness into them, and as he did, his life flashed before his eyes.

　　He saw himself floating down the river, and then saw the scholar carrying him away. He saw the old man playing with him, and then saw his Seventh Year Tribulation. After that, he awoke and joined the Ninth Sect.

　　He rose from mortal to Immortal, took Yan’er as his apprentice, and then stepped onto the Transcendence Path…. Those were the things he saw.

　　They were the complete memories of a lifetime, from beginning to end.

　　“So… that’s how it is,” he murmured.

　　“The path I’ve picked is correct. The Ninth Hex is far too shocking, and shouldn’t even exist. Therefore, in my clone’s single life, I can only form one part out of nine.

　　“Well, that’s fine. As long as I’m on the right track, everything will be worth it!”

　　He sensed the 108 Soul Lamps which formed the Immortal Root, something that his true self had never experienced in all of his cultivation. That Immortal Root was feeding and nourishing the sealing marks of the Ninth Hex. After a moment, his eyes shone with understanding.

　　“The Immortal Root is the focus of the complete Ninth Hex. With that Immortal Root, the nine sealing marks can be completed.

　　“As for this body, it has walked to the end of its path. If I want to form the second sealing mark, I’ll have to do it another way….

　　“Even if my clone ended up becoming a Paragon, I would end up being stuck with only this first branch. What I need now… is that second branch.

　　“Each branch requires simply the memories of a lifetime. In that case, it seems this clone of mine truly must become independent. To my true self, this clone is my fourth life. But now that this Immortal Root has appeared, this clone… has experienced a first life!

　　“Nine branches. Nine lives…. When the memories of all those lives are combined, and come back from reincarnation, that is when the Ninth Hex, the Seal the Heavens Hex, can be completed!” The more he reached enlightenment regarding the matter, the more he realized that the Immortal Root and the nine branches truly confirmed his speculations from before.

　　“Reincarnation…. I need to live nine different lives, and save the memories of those lives, regardless of what they are.

　　“The best thing to do… is seal the memories away. In the end, after the ninth life concludes, I’ll reawaken.” After a bit of hesitation, he sat there quietly, and finally, sighed.

　　In some ways, he didn’t wish to part with his current life. He turned his head, and although he wasn’t really sure of what direction he was facing, he had the feeling… that he was looking at Planet Vast Expanse.

　　That was where the Ninth Sect was, and that was where his apprentice Yan’er was.

　　What he worried about most in this particular life was Yan’er.

　　“Seal my memories, sever my thoughts, enter reincarnation….” He sighed, waving his sleeve. The blood mist was gone, and he stood just inside the fifth tribulation, eyes shining with increasing determination.

　　“Enough hesitation,” he thought. He pushed his hand out in front of him, causing the air to shatter and a vortex to appear. Apparently, this rumbling vortex was the doorway into reincarnation.

　　As it opened, Meng Hao stretched his hand out toward the souls of the two 4-Essences Dao Realm experts who had been plotting against him. Before they could plead for mercy, he crushed them.

　　Rumbling sounds echoed out as their souls transformed into motes of light, something like fuel for the vortex. The aura of reincarnation grew stronger.

　　“Yan’er,” he said softly, “our relationship of Master and apprentice in this life… is now over.” He closed his eyes, seemingly recalling past memories. After a long moment passed, he opened them again, and they were bright and clear. Then, he sat down cross-legged, as he… chose to pass away in meditation!

　　His body gradually began to shine, but at the same time it withered up. In the end, when he was nothing more than a shriveled corpse, his forehead opened up and a soul appeared, shining with Immortal light.

　　Within that soul was an Immortal Root, and nine sealing marks. That was everything which Meng Hao’s clone had cultivated in his life. The eyes of the soul were bright, like that of an innocent infant. That was because all of the memories of the life he had just lived were severed and sealed away deep inside.

　　The soul of Meng Hao’s clone stepped into the reincarnation vortex, and vanished. He was leaving… to begin the clone’s second life.

　　Everything grew silent. Meng Hao’s body remained there, seated cross-legged, motionless….

　　Meanwhile, back in the Ninth Sect of the Vast Expanse School, Yan’er was in the middle of meditating when suddenly, she shivered. Her eyes opened. It felt as if a cord connecting her to something had just been broken.

　　Trembling, she rushed over to her Master’s secluded meditation facilities. When she pushed the door open and looked over to where her Master’s soul fire was, she felt like she had been struck by lightning. She stood there quietly, tears running down her face that seemed as if they would never stop.

　　After a very long moment passed, she coughed up a mouthful of blood. From the look in her eyes, it was as if her entire world… had collapsed.

　　“Master….”

　　Meng Hao’s soul fire, which had rested there for so long… had been extinguished.