Chapter 961: Necropolis

　　Above the Ninth Sea, the Door of Immortality opened, and boundless Immortal light emanated out, completely bathing Fan Dong’er. At the same time, enormous quantities of Immortal qi exploded out from the door and bored into her body.

　　When the Door of Immortality opens, so do Immortal meridians. Every person is different, so the number of Immortal meridians that can be opened depends on a variety of aspects.

　　Take Pill Demon for example. Although the moment of his true Immortal Ascension did not come with any display of Immortal meridians, that was because he was the first true Immortal of the era. Therefore, he had gained the approval of all the Nine Mountains and Seas, and his name was engraved upon the Immortal scroll.

　　Those who used Immortality Illumination Vines to become true Immortals were also approved by the Nine Mountains and Seas, and their names were also recorded on the Immortal scroll, although they were viewed as lacking some of the destiny of Heaven and Earth that Pill Demon had.

　　However, at its root, cultivation is about defying the Heavens and contending for control of fate. The path to Immortality is one of ascension through defiance of the Heavens.

　　As far as Meng Hao was concerned, if he succeeded in becoming a true Immortal without using an Immortality Illumination Vine, and without acquiring the Immortal destiny to gain the approval to become a true Immortal, then his true Immortality would be completely domineering!

　　He would be an overbearing true Immortal who everyone had to acknowledge, whether they wanted to or not!

　　Currently, Immortal qi raged above the Ninth Sea. Everyone watched as Fan Dong’er’s body emitted scintillating light, and her aura exploded with power.

　　10 meridians. 20 meridians. 30 meridians…. The light which emanated out from her grew more intense, and shocking images like that of dragons or phoenixes swirled around her!

　　40 meridians. 60 meridians. 80 meridians…. Rumbling filled the air and shook the hearts of all onlookers as she reached 90 meridians! She was now the complete center of attention, and yet, wasn’t done yet!

　　91 meridians. 93 meridians. In the end… she opened 96 meridians!

　　The entire Ninth Sea was completely astonished!

　　As the Door of Immortality faded away, Fan Dong’er hovered there in midair, her 96 Immortal meridians emanating Immortal power. She could sense that she had been thoroughly remolded, and was now vastly more powerful than before.

　　She looked out into the starry sky in the direction of Planet East Victory.

　　“Meng Hao…. I’m a true Immortal now, and when I utilize the Ninth Sea Immortality Incantation, I can double my power. There is still a fight to be had between us, so I hope you’re able to keep up with the current generation.”

　　At almost the same moment that Fan Dong’er opened 96 Immortal meridians, back in the Fang Clan ancestral land on Planet East Victory, within the mist, Meng Hao was holding the bronze lamp aloft as he stepped into the open door of the necropolis.

　　He was now entering a place… that no one had ever entered from the moment the first generation Patriarch passed away in meditation until now! The necropolis!

　　As he entered, he looked up and saw a field of twinkling stars. There was also a huge mountain, which was surrounded by four planets. Next to the mountain was a starry sea.

　　It was the Ninth Mountain, the Ninth Sea, and the four planets.

　　That was the ceiling of the enormous hall in which he found himself. Starlight glittered down onto a middle-aged man who sat atop a woven rush mat. His face was calm, without the slightest hint that he might be dead. And yet, his entire person emanated an aura of rot.

　　He was almost like a statue that had been sitting there motionless for countless years.

　　He wore a simple robe and a scholar’s hat. He sat there cross-legged, his lips turned up in a slight smile. In his hand he held a scroll of bamboo slips, and a glowing sphere of starlight hovered around him, flickering.

　　In addition to this, there was a pill furnace, without any cover. Inside of the furnace was a swirling mass of seven-colored mist, making it impossible to see clearly whatever was inside. Above the pill furnace, occupying Meng Hao’s entire field of view, was… a dragon.

　　It was… a dragon cast from bronze, its long body twisted around the columns that supported the roof. Cracks spread out from the areas where the dragon’s claws sank into the column, and its tail disappeared into the darkness. Its head hung down directly above the pill furnace, into which it was gazing with an expression of greed. Its mouth was open as if it were about to consume whatever was inside the pill furnace.

　　The bronze dragon was incredibly realistic, even down to the scales, making it almost look alive. Meng Hao even noticed several areas on the dragon’s body where the scales were severely damaged, as if they were scars earned from hundreds of battles.

　　As he looked at everything around him, Meng Hao began to pant. He almost couldn’t believe that this was merely a bronze casting of a dragon; to him, it almost felt as if it were a real, flesh-and-blood dragon.

　　One of the reasons for that sensation was that when he looked at it, the Immortal meridian inside of him began to pulse violently and emit an aura of longing, as if it wanted to completely absorb it!

　　Meng Hao hesitated for a moment. In a situation like this, he would not act rashly. He scanned the huge temple hall, and then decided to skirt the pill furnace and head over to the man sitting on the rush mat. He looked at him sitting there meditating, and realized that he looked exactly like the statue outside.

　　“First generation Patriarch….” murmured Meng Hao. As he looked at the man, his blood began to thrum, as if it were a resonance between the two of them.

　　After a long moment, Meng Hao knelt down and kowtowed to the man.

　　“Fang Hao of the Junior generation offers greetings, Patriarch,” he said, his voice sincere. Although he might have a bit of enmity toward the Fang Clan, he only had feelings of respect for the first generation Patriarch who had founded the clan.

　　After kowtowing, Meng Hao got to his feet and looked at the sphere of starlight hovering around of the first generation Patriarch. Deep inside the light, he could just barely make out a fingernail-sized asteroid.

　　As the starlight entered his eyes, Meng Hao’s breathing sped up a bit. From what he could tell, this object… was probably a manifestation of the One Thought Stellar Transformation.

　　He tried to reach out and grab the starlight, but no matter how he attempted to take ahold of it, it did no good, as if the sphere were completely ignoring him. It just continued to orbit the first generation Patriarch.

　　Meng Hao thought for a moment, then abandoned any attempts to force the matter. After all, the sphere of starlight was hovering around the first generation Patriarch, so any attempt to forcibly take it away would probably involve making contact with the Patriarch’s corpse, a level of disrespect that Meng Hao wouldn’t show.

　　He took a few steps back, looking around and then floating up into the air to take a closer look at the places where the bronze dragon’s claws sank into the column. After a moment, he took in a deep breath, and his expression was one of complete disbelief.

　　He then sank back down to the ground and glanced around vigilantly, his heart pounding.

　　Moments ago, he had been able to determine that the cracks had not been carved there, but had occurred naturally, as if… on some day in the past, a real dragon had actually latched onto the column with its claws.

　　As he continued to gaze at the bronze dragon, images began to appear in his mind. In the vision, he saw the hall, empty and peaceful. Then a dragon charged in, swirling through hall and then wrapping around one column after another. Its claws pierced into the columns as it lowered its head, eyes flickering with greed as it attempted to consume the pill furnace. It was in that moment that a powerful force rippled out, and the dragon died instantly, transforming into nothing more than a bronze statue.

　　As soon as Meng Hao experienced this vision, he was filled with shock.

　　“This necropolis sure is full of strange things….” he thought, blinking. He looked back at the first generation Patriarch, then was struck by a sudden impulse. Meng Hao walked past him, then sat down across from him, back facing the Patriarch, looking out into the hall.

　　His scalp instantly went numb as he realized that from this position, he could directly see the dragon’s chin, and the lower part of its body. Furthermore, it appeared that… if he were powerful enough, he could use a single finger to cause the entire bronze dragon to explode.

　　He raised his hand and pointed in that very manner, then stood up and followed the line that his finger had pointed at. When he arrived at the place where that path intersected with the dragon’s chin, and examined it more closely, he could sense something that caused his mind to tremble.

　　He was almost frightened out of his senses when that specific spot on the dragon’s chin rippled as if with magic; apparently there was still the residue of some sort of magical technique, left behind in this spot.

　　That indicated… that this was the point of impact that had led to the bronze dragon being turned into a statue!

　　Meng Hao slowly turned around to face the first generation Patriarch. Mouth parched and dry, he forced a smile onto his face and then clasped hands and bowed.

　　“Patriarch,” he began carefully, “I am a member of the Fang Clan, the sole descendant of the direct bloodline. I’m the only heir. Do you get what that means, sir?! Basically, if I die, then the direct bloodline will be gone!!

　　“Sir, you are an exalted and magnanimous person, so, um… well, I’m here, not to disturb you, sir, but rather, to acquire a legacy so that I can perform meritorious services for the clan!”

　　Meng Hao’s speech was met with silence, so after a moment, he backed up, thought for a moment, then looked over at the pill furnace in hesitation.

　　“Whatever it was that caused this incredibly powerful dragon to feel such greed must definitely be a precious treasure…. Who knows how this dragon managed to charge its way in here, but it shows that it’s definitely not weak. Most likely, it actually came here before the Misty Heaven Vault was created, and before the first generation Patriarch perished. The fact that the first generation Patriarch caused the dragon to remain in the necropolis shows just how powerful it was.

　　“And the item it desired….” Meng Hao’s heart thumped as he hesitated, torn about what to do. Finally, he looked up and yet again clasped hands to the first generation Patriarch.

　　“Patriarch, my Bloodline Gatebeam rose up 30,000 meters, making me fit to be called the number one figure of the Fang bloodline right now. That indicates… that you and I have a very close connection, grandfather.” He blinked.

　　“Considering our close relationship, if you were still alive, sir, well, I think you would be very happy to see me. I have a pretty good personality, and an even temper. I’m very obedient, and always follow instructions. Pretty much everyone likes me.” Meng Hao slapped his chest proudly as he described himself.

　　“Patriarch, you’re a member of the Elder generation, so to see someone of the Junior generation after so many years, especially someone as outstanding as myself, must surely make you very happy. You definitely would want a member of the Junior generation like me to be handsomely rewarded.

　　“I actually want nothing else than the contents of that pill furnace. Why don’t you give it to me, okay? Oh, and the One Thought Stellar Transformation? I’d love to continue to develop it. Right, about that dragon, I’ll clear it out for you, how about that!?” Meng Hao, feeling emboldened, and yet also gritting his teeth, slowly approached the pill furnace and looked at the seven-colored mist inside. He then gently blew on the mist.

　　As soon as his breath touched the mist, Meng Hao saw that inside of the pill furnace was a jade plate, upon which was a blob of seven-colored liquid.

　　The moment he saw the seven-colored liquid, all of the hair on his body stood on end. As a Grandmaster of the Dao of alchemy, it didn’t matter that he had never seen a liquid like this before, his intuition instantly informed him that this was something that could not be consumed by cultivators.

　　It contained a shocking, violent aura which indicated that any cultivator who consumed it would be killed instantly.

　　It was at this moment that a thrumming sound could suddenly be heard from within his bag of holding. The jade box inside shattered, and the two Nirvana Fruits that had been given to him by the Grand Elder, the ones that belonged to the first generation Patriarch, suddenly flew out of their own volition. Seemingly striving to outdo each other, they shot toward the seven-colored liquid inside the pill furnace.

　　It was as if the first fruit to touch the liquid would be completely restored!