Chapter 1212: Eighth Mountain and Sea

　　In terms of overall size, it was similar to the Ninth Mountain and Sea. It also had a sea, the major difference being that it wasn’t called the Ninth Sea, but rather, the Eighth Sea….

　　There were also four planets which orbited the Eighth Mountain, although their names were different than the planets in the Ninth Mountain. And yet, when it came to the overall system of cultivation, and the way the place was set up, it was very similar.

　　After all, the Eighth Mountain and Sea and the Ninth Mountain and Sea were both parts of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

　　However, there was a barrier between each of the various Mountains and Seas, a barrier which was extremely difficult to pierce a hole through. That made it so that the cultivators from the different Mountains and Seas couldn’t easily pass through. Unless… there was a war, and the power of countless cultivators could be converged to break through the barrier and enter the neighboring Mountains and Seas.

　　Another method would be to rely on an incredibly powerful cultivation base to rip open a tear that could be stepped through. However, to do such a thing required paying a heavy price, so unless some momentous situation had developed, few people would ever use that method. Besides, only Dao Realm cultivators could do so.

　　As for Patriarch Reliance, he had his own special methods. Even still, he had to pay a certain price to be able to break through from the Ninth Mountain and Sea and into the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

　　When the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite built their bridge, they converged power from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite that had accumulated for many years. It created a passageway that could ignore the barrier, and could allow someone to pass between the two mountains without any hindrance. However… it would only last for a brief period of time.

　　In the western region of the Eighth Mountain and Sea was a stretch of the pitch-black void in which a white fissure had suddenly opened up. Brilliant, blinding light shone out in all directions, making the fissure completely conspicuous in the pitch-black darkness.

　　Gradually, boundless Immortal qi began to emanate out from the fissure, the type that would cause anyone who saw it to assume that there was some sort of precious treasure located inside.

　　The fissure was not motionless, but rather, was shrinking; apparently, it would vanish in a relatively short period of time.

　　In the area around that fissure… fierce fighting was currently underway!

　　Booms rang out, along with bloodcurdling screams. The glow of magical techniques could be seen, sending multicolored light flashing in all directions.

　　Shockingly, two groups of cultivators, over a thousand in total, were currently engaged in a bloody battle. One of the groups wore yellow robes with Gold Dragons embroidered on the sleeves, whereas the other group wore white Daoist robes. Both groups attacked viciously, as if they each couldn’t stand to even live under the same sky as the other.

　　Occasionally, someone would even self-detonate, ensuring that the battle was a bitter one, filled with the reek of blood and gore, and of mangled corpses….

　　All of the cultivators had bloodshot eyes. The weakest among them were stage 3 Immortals, and each one fought without holding anything back. Above the main battlefield a smaller fight was going on between four people. Three were men and one was a woman, and all of them were in the mid Ancient Realm. The ripples caused by the magical techniques they unleashed far exceeded that of the group below.

　　Above them was yet another fight, between only two people!

　　Both were old men in the late Ancient Realm, just half a step away from the great circle. They sat cross-legged across from each other, a game board placed between them, upon which they were playing Go. However, the game they were playing was one that brimmed with a feeling of battle. Every time they placed a piece down onto the board, it would cause rumbling sounds to fill the void.

　　“Eccentric Watercloud,” said the old man in the yellow robe. “The entrance to this Arcane Pocket Realm was discovered by my Woodflame Society. It has nothing to do with your Watercloud Sect!” Eyes flickering coldly, he picked up a black game piece and put it down onto the board.

　　As soon as the piece touched down, rumbling filled the air, and an indescribably explosive force shook the starry sky.

　　“You spoke incorrectly, Daoist Woodflame. The Arcane Pocket Realms of the Eighth Mountain and Sea have always gone by right to whoever discovered them. As for this particular Arcane Pocket Realm… the Patriarch of our Watercloud Sect discovered it three hundred years ago. However, at that time, he didn’t have an appropriate physical body. He was forced to make a notation of its location, and wait for the next time it opened.

　　“Now that it has opened, the Watercloud Sect has come to claim it. You are the ones who are forcefully interfering!” The old man in the white Daoist robe snorted coldly, picked up a white game piece, and put it down. Immediately, rumbling sounds could be heard.

　　“Look, you old geezer,” the yellow-robed man roared angrily, “if you want to go that far, then let me tell you this, the Arcane Pocket Realm was discovered seven hundred years ago by the Woodflame Society!”

　　“Listen, you old coot,” the white robed man said with a cold harrumph. “I just accidentally left out the word thousand! Actually, our Watercloud Sect Patriarch discovered this place one thousand three hundred years ago!”

　　“Like hell! The Watercloud Sect didn’t even exist a thousand three hundred years ago!”

　　As the two men argued, their eyes glowed coldly. They continued to place game pieces, causing booms to ring out, shaking the entire starry sky. Below them, the fierce fighting grew even more intense.

　　However, it was at this point that the light shining out from the fissure grew more intense than before, covering the entire battlefield. The fighting cultivators subconsciously gasped as their cultivation bases leaped abnormally. Some of them even made significant progress, and signs of a breakthrough appeared in some of them. Interestingly, of those who now hovered on the verge of cultivation base breakthroughs, all of them cultivated flame magic!

　　Everyone was shocked by this, and their eyes began to shine with bright light.

　　Even the four mid Ancient Realm cultivators and the two old men playing Go all gasped, and their faces flickered with shock.

　　“That’s… a Dao-level Arcane Pocket Realm!!”

　　“It’s definitely Dao-level, otherwise, the Immortal qi emanating out wouldn’t have Essence in it! It can lead to cultivation base breakthroughs!!”

　　“That flame Essence indicates that whichever cultivator was put to rest in the Arcane Pocket Realm in the past was a Dao Realm expert with flame Essence!!”

　　The two old men began to murmur and eye each other murderously.

　　“A Dao-level Arcane Pocket Realm is a rarity in the Eighth Mountain and Sea….”

　　Although they had only been engaged in a battle of words before, and had held back from actually attacking, now that they realized how precious this Arcane Pocket Realm was, their cultivation base power exploded out. The game board between them shattered, sending the black and white game pieces flying out in all directions as attacks were unleashed.

　　The fighting intensified, and booms rang out, shaking the starry sky. Both sides were relatively evenly matched, making it difficult for either one to secure victory quickly. Furthermore… the white light emanating out from the fissure suddenly began to retract, as if it were about to vanish.

　　“Not good! The Dao-level Arcane Pocket Realm is about to close! Dammit! Why is it happening so fast? Could it be that all Dao-level Arcane Pocket Realms are like this?”

　　“It must not be allowed to close! The Dao soul hasn’t been extracted yet!!” The faces of the two old men fell as they fought. Suddenly, they looked into each other’s eyes.

　　“Let’s stop fighting for the moment, and send forth the bodies we’ve prepared. Let the Dao soul in the Arcane Pocket Realm make its own decision about who it belongs to!”

　　“Agreed!” The two old men gritted their teeth. Having no other option, and seeing that the fissure was about to fade away, the best option they had was to fight for a 50/50 chance.

　　They flicked their sleeves, causing their cultivation bases to erupt, using their power to separate the two groups of fighting cultivators. Then, they transformed into beams of light that shot howling toward the fissure. As they neared it, both old men cried out.

　　“Tong’er! Shanbin!”

　　“Shanshan! Muyi!”

　　In response to their words, four people flew out from the crowds, two men and two women. The men were handsome and the woman was beautiful. They nervously faced the old men, clasped hands and bowed.

　　“Greetings, Patriarch!”

　　“Attempt to absorb the Dao soul into your bodies, and assimilate it. Use it to awaken the power within you. Whether or not you succeed will depend on your luck!” The four cultivators gritted their teeth, then flew toward the fissure. As they closed in, they bit down on their tongues, spitting out mouthfuls of blood that flew toward the opening.

　　Everyone in the area gazed fixedly at the scene which was playing out. When the four cultivators spit out their blood, a massive force exploded out from within the shrinking fissure. The opening suddenly expanded, causing brilliant light to explode out. It was so blinding that nobody could see what was inside the fissure other than light.

　　“It’s coming out!” the two old men cried excitedly.

　　RUMBLE!

　　As the fissure expanded, the massive force exploded out, and suddenly, a hand appeared from within the light… slowly stretching out from deep inside!

　　It grabbed onto the edge of the fissure, after which, a person began to emerge.

　　As soon as the figure appeared, Immortal power erupted out, joined by Essence, striking fear into the hearts of the other cultivators, who began to edge backward. The two old men fought back against the power, but it was almost too much for them. Their expressions were those of complete delight.

　　“This feeling, this aura… it’s the Dao soul!!”

　　“It’s coming out, it’s coming out….”

　　The two men and two women outside of the fissure were backing up, faces pale. They could sense that whatever was coming out of the fissure was some sort of supreme existence, something that filled them with terror.

　　RUMBLE!

　　The figure emerged fully from the fissure, a young man wearing a long white robe. He had long black hair, and looked like a handsome scholar. Almost as soon as he emerged, the fissure closed up behind him and vanished.

　　At the same time, the blinding light that had filled the area faded away.

　　The two old men stared with wide eyes at this young man, and they weren’t the only ones. The two men and two women stared in shock; this was definitely not what they had imagined a Dao soul would look like.

　　“Could it be that Dao Realm Souls really look like this?” That was what both old men were thinking in their confusion. The two of them had never seen a Dao-level Arcane Pocket Realm before, and therefore, weren’t really certain as to whether or not the young man standing in front of them was what a Dao soul was supposed to look like.

　　“Is this the Eighth Mountain and Sea?” the young man asked. Of course, he was none other than Meng Hao.

　　The fact that so many people were there to receive him was quite a shock, especially when he saw that the group up front was comprised of two handsome men and two beautiful women.

　　One of those beautiful women immediately dropped to her knees before Meng Hao and threw both hands up into the air. “Senior, please accept me as an offering!”

　　The other three quickly followed suit, kneeling down and raising their hands.

　　“Senior, please accept me as an offering!”

　　Meng Hao had a strange expression on his face as he looked around. When he looked over at the two old men with the highest cultivation bases, they began to tremble and back away.

　　“S-Senior, the offerings are all prepared,” said the old man in the yellow robe. “Those four in front of you. S-sir, whichever one you like, you can have. W-we’re too old, and not really suitable….”