Chapter 997: Fang Xiushan… DIE!

　　Meng Hao’s 123 Immortal meridians exploded with power, condensing the power of 33 Heavens into the majestic Paragon Bridge to block Fang Wei and Fang Xiushan.

　　Even as he retreated at full speed, his eyes flickered with a freezing light. He was looking at Fang Wei and Fang Xiushan almost as if they were dead.

　　Rumbling sounds could be heard, and Heaven and Earth shook violently. The Nirvana Fruit in Meng Hao’s hand radiated scintillating light.

　　This was the first generation Patriarch’s Nirvana Fruit!

　　It emanated an ancient aura that seemed to indicate that it had existed for countless years, and as soon as it appeared, the sensation of time inside the fruit seemed to influence everything in the area, making the region around Meng Hao look as if it were in a different era.

　　Fang Xiushan’s gaze met Meng Hao’s, and his heart trembled. He looked at the Nirvana Fruit for a moment, whereupon a sinister look appeared in his eyes, and his lips twisted into a cruel smile. “That’s….

　　“Absorb that, and I won’t even need to attack. You’ll be dead without a doubt!”

　　Fang Wei’s energy soared, but when he looked at Meng Hao, his heart began to pound. His gaze shifted to the Nirvana Fruit, and all of a sudden, an intense feeling of crisis exploded up in his heart.

　　He wasn’t actually Fang Wei; he was the doppelgänger of the Sixth Patriarch. Due to this, he recognized that fruit, and as soon as he saw it, he realized that it… was completely different from the Nirvana Fruit that he remembered!

　　As soon as Meng Hao pulled it out, the Grand Elder, who was battling with Fang Heshan, looked over. When he saw what was happening, his face fell.

　　“Hao’er, you can’t absorb that thing!!” he cried out urgently. Even as his voice echoed out, he felt deep regret in his heart for the decisions he had made.

　　In the same moment that the Grand Elder called out, Fang Wei’s eyes widened, and the sense of crisis within him exploded to a peak. His heart was pounding in a way that suggested that if Meng Hao absorbed that Nirvana Fruit, a momentous and shocking event would occur. He suddenly roared, “STOP HIM!”

　　Fang Wei took a step forward and waved his hand. 33 Heavens and 330 Immortal meridians transformed into the power of the Yellow Springs, exploding out to shake the Paragon Bridge.

　　At the same time, Fang Xiushan, despite his sudden, momentary hesitation, still went on the attack, exploding out with the power of an Ancient Realm cultivation base with two extinguished Soul Lamps. A shocking attack materialized, which consisted of an enormous illusory hand that slashed toward the Paragon Bridge.

　　The Paragon Bridge shook, and then and then began to collapse layer by layer. It was a Daoist magic that was as powerful as a Paragon, but… with Meng Hao’s cultivation base, he could only force it to materialize. Considering the fact that Fang Wei and Fang Xiushan had combined forces, it only took a moment before the bridge couldn’t hold out any longer, and began to collapse completely.

　　Once it was gone, there would be nothing to stand in the way of Fang Wei and Fang Xiushan, who would then instantly level deadly attacks against Meng Hao.

　　Meng Hao sped backward at top speed, his eyes cold. Even as Fang Wei and Fang Xiushan bashed against the Paragon Bridge, Meng Hao lifted the Nirvana Fruit and pushed it up against his forehead.

　　The fruit melted and sank down into his forehead, causing warmth to flow through him. His body shook and his mind trembled. He felt like was about to be torn into pieces, and blue veins popped out on his face. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

　　As Fang Wei and Fang Xiushan blasted the Paragon Bridge, Fang Wei’s heart was pounding violently. He went all out with his most powerful divine abilities, roaring as he… finally destroyed the bridge completely, the fragments of which scattered out in all directions.

　　Instantly, Fang Wei shot toward Meng Hao like a shooting star.

　　“DIE!” Fang Wei was getting a very bad feeling about what was happening with Meng Hao, so he pushed faster, his killing intent raging.

　　Fang Xiushan’s killing intent also surged, and his desire to kill Meng Hao was stronger than ever. His cultivation base exploded with power, causing the enormous hand to smash toward Meng Hao, to crush him and obliterate him to wipe away the hatred in his heart.

　　As Fang Wei and Fang Xiushan closed in, Meng Hao was trembling, and his eyes were bright red. A wild and domineering aura suddenly erupted out from within him.

　　The aura caused Fang Wei to stare in shock, and Fang Xiushan’s face to fall.

　　Next, Meng Hao let out a shocking roar. His body suddenly began to grow larger, and at the same time, his Immortal meridians… suddenly… increased rapidly!!!

　　He no longer had 123 meridians. The number of meridians increased with rapid speed, as did the Immortal dragons around him. They roared as 139, 152, 171, 196 dragons appeared….

　　Wild colors flashed in the sky, the wind screamed, and the heavenly bodies trembled!

　　In the blink of an eye, he had 200 meridians!

　　Meng Hao’s aura also climbed wildly, almost as if he… would exceed the Immortal Realm!

　　RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

　　200 meridians was not the limit. The growth continued! 213. 235… all the way to 246 meridians!

　　That was fully double his previous limit!!

　　If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. However, in the moment that his Immortal meridians doubled, Meng Hao’s 33 Heavens exceeded that which was Immortal. They surpassed the great circle, erupting in such a way that all onlookers were dumbfounded to look up what appeared to be… 66 Heavens!

　　If you looked closely, though, you would see that they weren’t in fact 66 Heavens. There were two extremes; one was the 33 Heavens up above, the other was the 33 Earths down below. In the middle of the two was Meng Hao!

　　His energy soared, and a terrifying aura exploded out. Fang Wei and Fang Xiushan’s faces fell completely. Even Fang Xiushan suddenly felt a sensation of deadly crisis.

　　It was a type of crisis… that would lead to his complete and utter death!

　　Fang Xiushan’s mind spun as he hoarsely said, “Impossible! Even if his power increases, he’s still just an Immortal. I’m in the Ancient Realm! How could I possibly be experiencing such fear!?!?”

　　Fang Wei’s face was ashen, and his eyes widened as he gasped.

　　“There’s a kind of Immortal that can kill someone in the Ancient Realm…. In fact, according to legend, true Immortality is not the limit of the Immortal Realm. In ancient times, before the other Heavens and Earths in the starry sky collapsed, it was an age unlike the current age of Nine Mountains….

　　“Above true Immortality was another level. That was the level of… the Immortal Emperor!!

　　“If they look up, and wave a hand, 33 Heavens are destroyed! If they look down, and point, 33 Earths are crushed… an Immortal Emperor!” Fang Wei’s scalp went numb and his mind filled with roaring. If he were here as his true self, then even if Meng Hao became an Emperor among Immortals, the Ancient Realm was still superior to 33 Heavens and 33 Earths. It would be as easy to slay Meng Hao as lifting his hand. But now… this was just a doppelgänger, and was merely a fleshly body that was limited by the constraints of Immortal power. He… was simply no match for Meng Hao.

　　His mind spun, and without any hesitation, Fang Wei turned to flee.

　　Fang Xiushan didn’t understand things as well as the possessed Fang Wei, who was actually the Sixth Patriarch. He hesitated, and thus, took a bit longer to begin to fall back. It was exactly within those few breaths of time that Meng Hao… made a move!

　　He looked up, and rumbling sounds filled the air. The sensation of being ripped apart caused his eyes to be completely red, filled with veins of blood. His body grew larger and, at the moment, he seemed to be in possession of a vast, intense power. He wasn’t sure whether it was just a hallucination, but that power all of a sudden caused him to be filled with… a certain sensation.

　　It was as if he had reached a state in which he was the ultimate representation of every possible meaning of the word Immortal.

　　In that moment, the Nine Mountains and Seas trembled slightly, and ripples appeared that no cultivator could sense. These ripples massed outside of the Nine Mountains and Seas, encircling them, causing the sun and moon to pause in their eternal orbit.

　　If the Nine Mountains and Seas had a will, then as of this moment, it was as if that will was looking at Meng Hao and causing these ripples to emanate out, and the sun and moon to stop moving for a breath of time, as if to welcome…. something that was appearing for the first time since the formation of the Nine Mountains and Seas… the Immortal Emperor!

　　In the Immortal’s cave in the Ruins of Immortality in Ninth Mountain and Sea, the white-robed woman rose to her feet. She looked toward Planet East Victory, and her perpetually unchanging expression suddenly flickered.

　　“With destiny like this, with good fortune like this… he is worthy of being in the League of Demon Sealers of the Nine Mountains and Seas….” she murmured. When she spoke the words Demon Sealers, her eyes flickered with pain and reminiscence.

　　“Immortal Ancient. Nine Seals. Are you two still around? I’m… the only one left. The only one….” She sounded pained, and in fact, a tear rolled down her cheek. Finally, she waved her hand; the sun and moon once again began to rotate, and the Nine Mountains and Seas went back to normal.

　　At the same time, the teardrop flew off into the distance, to some unknown land. Perhaps it became part of a violet sea, or perhaps, a tear among a rainstorm.

　　If it had a spirit, perhaps the teardrop would awaken, and would possess a yearning and a determination to transform into a sea.

　　Meanwhile, on Planet East Victory, on the back of Patriarch Reliance, was a young woman. She suddenly looked up, and a blank look could be seen in her eyes, as if she had just thought of something.

　　Meng Hao was unaware of the things happening in the Nine Mountains and Seas. At the moment, he was just barely able to endure the tearing pain caused by the terrifying power that filled him. He knew that he could only remain in this state for a short period of time, so he quickly raised his hand and pointed toward Fang Xiushan.

　　In that instant, his Divine Flame Immortal meridian erupted, causing a sea of flames to appear. It covered everything, wreathing the 33 Heavens and 33 Earths with endless flames of extermination.

　　A massive world of flames instantly shot toward Fang Xiushan.

　　Fang Xiushan’s face fell, and the sense of crisis within him reached a pinnacle, causing his mind to thrum. He fell back at top speed, performing a double-handed incantation gesture. Innumerable divine abilities appeared, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. His Soul Lamps appeared, spinning around him, as did countless magical items, all of which fought back against Meng Hao.

　　In the instant that his divine abilities and magical items shot out, the sea of flames transformed into a huge hand which, in the blink of an eye, had completely inundated Fang Xiushan.

　　All of his divine abilities collapsed, and all of his magical items melted. Even his Soul Lamps burst into flames!

　　When the extinguished Soul Lamps were suddenly ignited, Fang Xiushan let out a miserable shriek, and his eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment. His Soul Lamps melted, and Fang Xiushan let out a howl as… he was completely covered in fire.

　　Moments later, the only thing that remained of him was drifting ash.

　　He was killed in body and soul!