Chapter 1109: The Echelon War Truly Begins!

　　As the Nirvana Fruit sank down, the shield surrounding Mount Whiteseal faded away, but the light shining off of Meng Hao grew stronger. He took a deep breath and then stepped off of the mountain and into the air.

　　The wind battered him, and although his hair whipped about, not a bit of his aura could be blown away. It was as if the energy belonging to Meng Hao couldn’t be touched at all by the wind, but rather, influenced the entire world around him.

　　“I’ve already gained complete enlightenment of three World Seals. If I want to completely absorb the Nirvana Fruit… I’ll need more sealing marks!” Meng Hao’s energy rocketed up, and he overflowed with the desire to fight. His eyes flashed like lightning as he shot off into the distance.

　　As he left the Ninth Nation, his goal was to slaughter his way into other nations… to defeat their Echelon cultivators and steal their sealing marks!

　　He would take advantage of this opportunity in the Windswept Realm to seize… his greatest available good fortune, which was to become an…

　　Allheaven Immortal!

　　He would become number one in the Echelon!

　　BOOM!

　　He turned into a streak of bright light that sped through the sky for less time than it takes half an incense stick to burn. Then, he suddenly stopped and looked down toward the ground.

　　He was still in the Ninth Nation, and far below, he had just noticed a vein of Immortal jade deep under the ground. The human cultivator from the Mountain and Sea Realm was still there, and although he couldn’t see Meng Hao, Meng Hao could see him.

　　The man appeared to be mired in madness, completely lost. When Meng Hao saw the Immortal jade, a feeling of desire suddenly rose up in his heart, but he immediately quashed it.

　　“I love money, but I’m my own master. I’ll never let material things control me!” he said coolly. As he crushed the invisible fetters, a shattering sound seemed to echo about in his mind. He turned away and ignored everything down below as he sped off into the distance.

　　In the final seven days in which Meng Hao had gained enlightenment of the World Seal, the Echelon cultivators in other parts of the Windswept Realm were all thrown into a state of chaos by the shocking events which occurred.

　　The First Nation’s Echelon cultivator attacked the Second Nation, completely defeating the Echelon cultivator there. Only by sacrificing one of his lives was he able to flee. Of course, the Second Nation’s World Seal was then completely undefended, and was taken away by the First Nation’s Echelon cultivator, who completely leveled the entire National Aura Mountain to get to it.

　　After that, the Echelon cultivators from the Fifth and Sixth Nations fought each other. The shocking battle shook Heaven and Earth, and resulted in both sides sustaining heavy injuries. In a critical moment, the First Nation’s Echelon cultivator appeared. He ignored the Third Nation’s mountain, passing directly through to the two fighting Echelon cultivators, whom he took on himself.

　　That battle was shocking to the extreme, and in the end, the entire Fifth Nation was destroyed. Their National Aura Mountain toppled, and in the end, both Echelon cultivators from the Fifth and Sixth Nations were defeated, and the Fifth Nation’s World Seal was taken.

　　No one knew whether or not the Fifth Nation’s Echelon cultivator was killed, but in either case, nobody could find him after the battle. The Sixth Nation’s Echelon cultivator returned to his National Aura Mountain, severely injured.

　　After these things happened, the First Nation’s Echelon cultivator seemed to be invincible, capable of sweeping over all of Heaven and Earth, leaving everyone astonished.

　　Of the Windswept Realm’s nine World Seals, the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain and Meng Hao each had three. The others remained in the Third, Sixth and Seventh Nations respectively.

　　The war had spread out from the central region to the Echelon members themselves. It was about that time that Meng Hao reached the Eighth Nation.

　　He didn’t pause for even a moment, speeding through the air like a meteor, passing over the Eighth Nation as he headed toward the Seventh Nation. His aura surged mightily, growing ever-stronger.

　　Before long, he reached the Seventh Nation, and when he entered it, intense pressure roiled out from its National Aura Mountain.

　　The source was none other than the Echelon cultivator of the Seventh Nation, Yuwen Jian, the young man with the incredibly murderous aura. He currently stood on the mountain peak, hand curled around the haft of a long spear, looking up into the sky with a gleam of anticipation in his eyes. 1

　　“It’s not my custom to sit around waiting for people to come fight me,” he said coolly. He took a step forward, abandoning the defenses of the National Aura Mountain as he flew directly in Meng Hao’s direction.

　　The entire Seventh Nation trembled as Meng Hao and Yuwen Jian sped toward each other through the sky!

　　When Meng Hao caught sight of Yuwen Jian, he didn’t slow down in the least bit. Instead, he sped up and prepared to attack.

　　When Yuwen Jian saw Meng Hao, he let out a cold snort. His murderous aura exploded to the sky, and just like Meng Hao, he didn’t hold back, but instead, pushed himself faster.

　　In the blink of an eye, the two of them collided in midair above the Seventh Nation.

　　A huge boom rang out, and everything shook. A massive fissure ripped open in the sky between them, and a huge shockwave exploded out.

　　“Meng Hao!” cried Yuwen Jian, flying backward. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, after which he threw his head back and laughed. His entire person exploded with the desire to do battle. He hefted his long spear, which thrummed as countless slain souls suddenly appeared, looking incredibly ferocious.

　　“Listen up, fool, I’m Yuwen Jian, Echelon cultivator from the Seventh Mountain! Meng Hao, do you dare to make a bet with me? If you win, I won’t just hand over the Seventh Nation’s World Seal, but I’ll trade it with you! The prerequisite is that you qualify to fight me! If you lose, then you have to give one of your three World Seals to me!” Yuwen Jian’s voice echoed about, and he took a step forward, a domineering air swirling around him continuously.

　　Meng Hao also began to stride forward, eyes glittering. From their initial contact moments ago, Meng Hao could instantly tell that Yuwen Jian’s fleshly body was at roughly the same level as his own.

　　“A body cultivator!” he thought, his eyes gleaming brightly. He had an Ancient Realm fleshly body, yet didn’t come close to being an authentic body cultivator. In fact, the only true body cultivator he had ever met was the burly Demonic cultivator. However, that man was an amateur, and couldn’t be considered truly powerful in terms of body cultivation.

　　But now… Meng Hao could sense that Yuwen Jian was a true body cultivator!

　　Looking him over, he could see a faintly red glow coming off of Yuwen Jian. “He must have bathed in the blood of a God!” he thought.

　　“Well, do you dare?” asked Yuwen Jian, his voice booming. He swept his spear out in front of him, causing a massive rumbling sound to ring out. The air vibrated, and even seemed to be on the verge of shattering, as a massive energy surged off of Yuwen Jian,

　　He stood there like a celestial warrior, bursting with the mad desire to fight.

　　“I could fart better proposals than that bet of yours,” Meng Hao said coolly. “But as for your challenge to a duel… how could I not accept!?” He clenched his right hand into a fist and then unleashed a punch.

　　His fist and Yuwen Jian’s spear almost instantly slammed into each other, and an ear-splitting boom rang out. The flexible spear absorbed the backlash and was deflected away, and Yuwen Jian fell back again. Blood poured out of his mouth, and when he looked up, his expression was even more maddened than before. He tossed the spear aside, licked the blood off of his lips, and stared at Meng Hao with bloodshot eyes.

　　“That runt Han Qinglei wasn’t a match for you, and you also defeated the sissypants Lin Cong. You’re strong, Meng Hao. But… I’m even stronger!

　　“Did you really think that Lin Cong was actually the second most powerful after the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, Dao-Heaven?” 2

　　“That list was made thirty years ago, and besides, being in the Echelon requires finding your own correct path. The difference in power between us members was once vast. Back then, I might not have been a match for Lin Cong. But now… I could defeat him easily!

　　“Even Dao-Heaven’s title of number one most powerful Echelon cultivator… is just that, a title! He isn’t necessarily the most powerful!” Yuwen Jian laughed, and his desire to do battle surged. He then charged toward Meng Hao in a blur, unleashing a vicious palm strike.

　　As the palm ripped through the air, sonic booms echoed out. The air around Meng Hao distorted, as if power from all directions were being sucked in by Yuwen Jian’s palm strike.

　　Meng Hao didn’t flinch back. He strode forward, unleashing the Seven God Steps. However, in that moment, Yuwen Jian smiled ferociously, threw his head back and roared.

　　“Sealing Magic!” he cried, causing the sky to tremble. The power of a sealing mark descended not toward Meng Hao, but the area around him.

　　It transformed into a cage, with Meng Hao and Yuwen Jian being locked inside. However, because of the cage, Meng Hao was unable to utilize the Seven God Steps to borrow energy from the surroundings.

　　“I was ready for that Daoist magic!” laughed Yuwen Jian, advancing forward again.

　　He roared, and his body suddenly began to grow larger. In the blink of an eye, he was fully twice as large as before, and from the look of it, half of the power of his fleshly body was now converged in his right arm. He was clearly vastly different than moments ago, and as he swung his right arm, shocking power erupted.

　　His qi and blood rumbled, and anyone who was sensitive to auras, even if they were some distance away, would be able to sense the towering bloody glow that rose off of him. It was like a bright lamp in the middle of the night!

　　“DIE!” he roared as his fist rocketed out with power seemingly capable of shaking Heaven and Earth!

　　Meng Hao’s face was calm. Freeing himself from the cage wouldn’t be difficult. However, now that he had encountered a true body cultivator like Yuwen Jian, his desire to fight boiled hotter than ever.

　　As Yuwen Jian closed in, Meng Hao clenched his hand into a fist and leaped forward. Instantly, an aura was unleashed that seemed capable of destroying the Heavens, and exterminating all life.

　　That power of extermination converged in Meng Hao’s fist, creating a true… power of Life-Extermination!

　　The Life-Extermination Fist!

　　The air around them shattered as two streaks of light could be seen speeding through the air toward each other. Then, Meng Hao’s punch collided with the power of Yuwen Jian’s fleshly body, and a huge boom echoed out.

　　RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

　　Heaven was rent and the Earth collapsed. Everything quaked violently. Vibrations ran through Meng Hao as he fell back several dozen paces. The shocking power from body cultivator Yuwen Jian left him shaken and visibly moved. And yet, his desire to fight grew stronger.

　　Blood sprayed out of Yuwen Jian’s mouth as he staggered backward several hundred meters. When he looked up, an invincible will to fight could be seen in his eyes. He threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

　　“Exhilarating! Alright Meng Hao, let’s see if you can handle another punch. If you survive, then I’ll happily loan you my World Seal to contemplate!”

　　1. Yuwen Jian’s name in Chinese is 宇文坚 yǔwén jiān. Yuwen is an uncommon two-character surname. Jian means “strong” or “unyielding

　　2. Unfortunately, this is a point where because of the nature of Chinese, a minor spoiler is necessitated. Essentially, “Dao-Heaven” is a Daoist name, not this guy’s actual name. However, in Chinese, you wouldn’t necessarily know that. The two characters are 道天, which are “Dao” and “Heaven” respectively. However, “Dao” could also be a surname, so at first sight you wouldn’t know it was a Daoist name