Chapter 1176: Great Circle: Fleshly body!!

　　Meng Hao’s eyes were bright red, and his clothes were burning away, revealing his powerful body. He was undergoing a baptism of Divine Flame, and was surrounded by an endless sea of fire.

　　The sea of flames roared toward him, pouring into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. A fierce expression appeared on his face as he rotated his cultivation base, closing off all of his orifices, even the pores on his skin.

　　“The Divine Flame might be powerful, but it’s not invincible. I’ll use this flame to refine my body, to take myself to the next level!” He waved both hands, causing his Ancient Realm fleshly body Soul Lamps to suddenly appear.

　　He had nine in total, but only two were currently lit. The other seven were dark.

　　An Ancient Realm fleshly body like Meng Hao’s was a rare thing, and was in fact in the anti-Ancient Realm. His Ancient Realm fleshly body Soul Lamps started out dark, and were then lit aflame!

　　As his fleshly body became more powerful, and as he practiced cultivation, he would light those Ancient Realm fleshly body Soul Lamps, one by one!

　　“Refine!!” he roared, causing the flames to begin to spin around him. They were incapable of entering his body, but instead, began to roast it from the outside.

　　He trembled, and quickly performed some double-handed incantation gestures. He wasn’t using some sort of body-refinement magic, but rather… a pill concocting technique!

　　Meng Hao’s Dao of alchemy was one in which he could use Heaven and Earth as his pill furnace, and his body as the medicinal pill! In that way, pill concocting techniques could be used to refine his body. However, what he was doing in this case, he was not using Heaven and Earth as the pill furnace, but instead… his own body! His body was both the pill furnace and the medical pill, as he attempted to use the power of the surrounding flames to make himself even stronger!

　　Shocking rumbling sounds echoed out. Meng Hao’s eyes were closed, and his body was bright red as he continuously performed double-handed incantation seals. His hands moved so fast they blurred, casting enchantments not on his surroundings, but on himself.

　　Even the guardian of the place, who still remained hidden, was shocked. However, he quickly began to laugh coldly.

　　“No one can succeed. With the curse of the exalted Dao Fang in place, there is no one in the Mountain and Sea Realm who can fuse with the flame spark of the renegade Huoyan Zi!”

　　Meng Hao’s eyes suddenly snapped open, and they shone with bright red light. Staring up into the empty sky, he said, “Say that again after I absorb it!”

　　Although he couldn’t see the person who was speaking, that guardian was as shocked as before at the energy which was rising up from Meng Hao.

　　He threw his head back and roared as his fleshly body underwent continuous refinement. As the flame sea around him raged, as the Essence battered him… his third Soul Lamp suddenly lit up!

　　When that happened, rumbling booms echoed out from inside him. His body became mightier than before, his fleshly body power having broken through from the previous level. He was now far stronger than before!!

　　As his fleshly body grew stronger, he became increasingly capable of withstanding the sea of flames! However, as long as he had the flame spark within him, the surrounding fire would eternally burn him. Either he would be transformed into ashes, or… he would eventually completely absorb the sea of flames.

　　“Refining my body was the first step. Only by getting my body to the proper level can I successfully absorb the Divine Flame. My body is like a pill furnace; if it takes too much heat, it will explode!” He gritted his teeth, and his expression twisted. He rotated his cultivation base fully, fighting back against the sea of flames which sought to bore into him, and building up Immortal power within his flesh and blood to once again refine himself!

　　Booms echoed out as the sea of flames engulfed him. It was almost as if it really wished to melt him into a medicinal pill!

　　The mastiff howled anxiously, but couldn’t get near. Meng Hao had already transmitted strict orders to it that it must not get too close to him.

　　Meng Hao was rapidly withering, and just when it seemed like he couldn’t take it any more, his eyes snapped open yet again. He threw his head back and bellowed as a fourth Soul Lamp flickered to life.

　　The lighting of that Soul Lamp gave him a bit of breathing room. His body was now almost doubly as powerful as before. His eyes glittered as he performed more double-handed incantation gestures with even greater speed, producing even more sealing marks.

　　“Bring it on!” he cried, waving both arms, allowing the sea of flames to once again engulf him….

　　Soon, his fifth Soul Lamp was burning!!

　　His energy soared to a terrifying degree, and that wasn’t because of his cultivation base. Instead… it came from the terrifying qi and blood of his fleshly body!

　　The power on display caused the hidden guardian’s face to fall. Suddenly, he appeared out in the open, a middle-aged man wearing golden armor. He looked like a celestial warrior, and currently, his expression was one of complete astonishment.

　　He could never have imagined that Meng Hao would actually be able to last this long. In the past, nobody had ever been able to last more than ten or so breaths of time before being killed.

　　“The flame spark is eternal,” the guardian said coldly, looking at Meng Hao as if he were a dead man. “The Divine Flame is boundless. Even if you hold on for longer, all it means is that the pain that you endure will increase.”

　　Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Meng Hao’s eyes opened again. He looked through the sea of flames at the guardian and smiled slightly. Because of the pain he was enduring, the smile seemed especially ferocious.

　　“If I’m not mistaken, you can’t do anything to me while I’m in the middle of absorbing the flame spark,” he said. “In that case… why don’t you just sit back and enjoy the show? Watch… how this flame spark is supposed to be used. Watch… how to absorb all of the flame sea in this place. I’ll suck it all in. After that…. Watch as I cut you down!”

　　The decisiveness in Meng Hao’s voice caused the guardian’s face to flicker. What Meng Hao had said was correct; he couldn’t interfere with the absorption process. The Divine Flame was in its most wild state, and regardless of what Meng Hao was doing, if he got too close, the flame would go even crazier.

　　After all, the flame spark contained the will of Huoyan Zi. Normally, that will was kept in a state of suppression. However, when it came time to pass the legacy on to an Immortal, it would erupt wildly.

　　Indeed, the guardian… didn’t dare to get too close. He could only wait until Meng Hao died amidst accepting the legacy.

　　His face flickered as rumbling sounds echoed out from Meng Hao, who was now withering even more; his qi and blood having almost completely burned away. However, it was at this point that his sixth Soul Lamp lit up!!

　　When that happened, Meng Hao began panting raggedly. Adding a sixth Soul Lamp only meant that the time that he could endure the Divine Flame had been extended. However, he was still forced to use it for purposes of exterior refinement; he still didn’t dare to absorb it internally. If the flame raged on both the inside and outside simultaneously in his current state, he would die beyond the shadow of a doubt.

　　“I need to be stronger. REFINE!!” The speed of his incantation gestures increased. In order to refine his fleshly body to increased heights of power, he even went as far as to stimulate the flame spark inside of him. That in turn caused the sea of flames around him to grow more intense. Boundless fire raged around him, causing both the mastiff and the guardian to back up.

　　Meng Hao looked like little more than a sack of bones. However, his eyes shone brightly as his seventh Soul Lamp suddenly lit up.

　　In the instant that the seventh Soul Lamp came to life, Meng Hao’s fleshly body experienced an unprecedented increase in power. The sound of his heartbeat pounded like thunder. He was now several times stronger than before, so much so that if he were to now encounter the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, Dao-Heaven, a single punch is all it would take to cause him to cough up blood…

　　His fleshly body was now powerful to an incredible degree, and was continuing to grow even stronger. To Meng Hao, this world of Divine Flame was a location of incredible good fortune when it came to his fleshly body!

　　Of course, that came with the assumption that Meng Hao would be able to fully absorb the Essence of Divine Flame afterward. If he couldn’t… it wouldn’t matter how strong his fleshly body got, it would all be in vain!

　　“I can light another!” he said. He was on the verge of being completely withered up, and was panting. Although his fleshly body was at a state of incredible power, the flame of his life force was weak. The sea of flames continued to refine his fleshly body, and yet it was simultaneously consuming his life force.

　　The continuous increases in fleshly body power were insufficient to replenish the life force that had been exhausted. Not even the recovery power of his Eternal stratum could match the destruction wreaked by the Essence of Divine Flame. Just as Meng Hao’s vision began to swim, he smacked his chest with his hand, stimulating his heart, which surged with power, causing the qi and blood flow within him to speed up. That in turn caused his fleshly body to burst with power.

　　RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

　　In that critical moment, his eighth fleshly body Soul Lamp lit up!!

　　In that instant, his fleshly body power reaching a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering level. It had achieved the peak of the Ancient Realm, and was just a step away from being equivalent to the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

　　“Useless,” the guardian said, staring at Meng Hao. “What you’re doing is like drinking poison when you’re thirsty. The sea of flames is boundless, and moments from now, I can watch as you burn away into nothing more than specks of ash.” Although the man was actually inwardly shocked, he still believed that it was impossible for anyone to overcome the curse of the exalted Dao Fang.

　　Meng Hao looked up through the flames at the man.

　　“Well then, watch carefully,” he said, voice hoarse. He suddenly caused his cultivation base to cease any sort of resistance against the sea of flames. He opened his pores and orifices, allowing the sea of flames to suddenly wash through him with wild abandon!

　　Pain filled him, and he trembled violently, gritting his teeth. This type of pain far exceeded the type he had felt during the body refinement. Thankfully, his body was much stronger than before, otherwise, the sudden onslaught would have transformed him into ash within a few breaths of time.

　　The flame spark inside of him seemed to be calling the Divine Flame, causing it to seethe. Meng Hao was the center of it all, and it was as if the flames had suddenly found the place they had been seeking to go all along.

　　As they simultaneously poured into him, his cultivation base erupted with the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal. Azure light shone out, and his third Nirvana Fruit was more fully absorbed!

　　When that happened, he went from being sixty to seventy percent of an Allheaven Dao Immortal to even higher. The sea of flames around him roiled as it poured into his body.

　　Shockingly, he was now using the flame spark to further refine his third Nirvana Fruit!

　　First he refined his body, and then he refined his Nirvana Fruit. This was the idea that Meng Hao had come up with, to borrow the power of the Essence of Divine Flame to grow more and more powerful, all for the purpose of fully absorbing the Nirvana Fruit!

　　“That azure light… it’s….” The middle-aged guardian’s eyes went wide. Although he had seen the same thing earlier, he hadn’t been paying very close attention. Now, the azure light glittered resplendently within the sea of flames, forcing him to pay it full heed. His face fell.