Chapter 778: Decisive Battle with the Dawn Immortal!

　　“Reverend Violet East….” Having seen everything that had happened, Patriarch Song’s expression was a complex one.

　　“A powerful expert from 10,000 years ago,” he murmured. “At one time… you were the number one Chosen in the entire Southern Domain. Reverend Violet East. You founded the Violet Fate Sect, and were its first generation Patriarch!

　　“You were at the peak of Dao Seeking 10,000 years ago, but weren’t willing to become a false Immortal. You vowed to tread the path of true Immortal Ascension. Before transcending the tribulation, however, you realized that you were on the incorrect path. You personally concocted a medicinal pill that contained a strand of your own soul. That pill became your vessel, with which you reestablished your cultivation!

　　“Now in our time you have once again reached the peak of Dao Seeking as Pill Demon. When all of the magical symbols are destroyed, the true Immortal Tribulation that you have been suppressing… will finally be unleashed!

　　“Unfortunately, throughout the years, far too many people have died during true Immortal Tribulation. Few have ever succeeded. Pill Demon… can you succeed?” Patriarch Song sighed.

　　Pill Demon didn’t reply. Violet qi swirled around him as he advanced forward. His aura was completely different than it had been before. Shockingly, he was now powerful enough to single-handedly fight two of the most powerful Northern Reaches peak Dao Seeking experts, and apparently, even suppress them.

　　Booms echoed out as Pill Demon’s intense power caused everyone to be filled with shock. Even the mother of the Resurrection Lily, the Dawn Immortal, looked over and raised an eyebrow.

　　Patriarch Song shook his head and sighed, then once again began to fight the other peak Dao Seeking experts, along with Meng Hao’s second true self and the severely-wounded Patriarch Golden Frost.

　　Down on the ground, the Northern Reaches cultivators were shocked to the core to have seen such a succession of defeats just now. After adding in the losses that had occurred earlier, the tide of battle between the Northern Reaches and the Southern Domain had completely reversed. The Southern Domain cultivators’ eyes were red as they closed ranks and then screamed through the air in attack, more than 100,000 strong.

　　Blood flowed in rivers, and the sky darkened. The sounds of slaughter immediately caused everything to shake.

　　Up above, Meng Hao and the Dawn Immortal were fighting fiercely. The forces unleashed by their attacks seemed capable of collapsing the sky and the land. The Dawn Immortal’s cultivation base was mysterious and enigmatic. Although this was nothing more than a clone, it was still incredibly powerful. In the short time she had been battling Meng Hao, they had exchanged more than a thousand moves. Massive rumbling caused many of the nearby mountains crumble. Now, only Mount Blood Demon stood strong and tall.

　　However, Patriarch Blood Demon remained inside, his eyes closed in deep sleep. His body seemed to lack even the slightest scrap of life force. Despite the violent trembling in the world around him, he did not awaken.

　　The ground cracked, and rifts appeared in the sky. Meng Hao and the Dawn Immortal’s combat was like the collision of two storm fronts. The Ninth Mountain appeared, then shattered. The Black White Pearls appeared, then were suppressed. The Resurrection Lily writhed, transforming into a whip which the Dawn Immortal used to slash holes into the air itself.

　　The difficulty of this battle far exceeded what the Northern Reaches cultivators could ever have imagined or predicted. Meng Hao’s appearance on the battlefield had completely turned the battle around.

　　First was the death of the red-robed boy, and then the old man in animal hide clothing perished. The pinnacle of the Northern Reaches’ fighting forces had been reduced by thirty percent. That… was something that could determine victory or defeat in a battle!

　　Then the Dawn Immortal appeared, and she seemed to be capable of getting control of the situation. But, contrary to what everyone would have expected, Meng Hao… pulled out a false Immortal puppet.

　　With the body of a false Immortal puppet, he was now engaged in a duel with the Dawn Immortal that cast the sky and land into complete shadow.

　　In addition, Pill Demon awakened, unleashing peak Dao Seeking power. Now, the Northern Reaches cultivators were getting quite anxious. At the moment, it seemed that securing victory… was no easy task!

　　Rumbling echoed out and Meng Hao spit up blood. Popping sounds could be heard as cracks spread out through his puppet body. Up ahead, the Dawn Immortal was frowning. The false Immortal puppet was forcing her to use all the power she could muster.

　　Even more shocking was Meng Hao’s Blood Demon Grand Magic, which continuously popped up around the Dawn Immortal. The more he used it in battle, the stronger he got. It was extremely difficult to deal with.

　　The Dawn Immortal’s true self was in the Milky Way Sea and could not leave, which meant that the battle was now in a deadlock!

　　Of course, the fact that there was a deadlock was a good thing for the Northern Reaches cultivators!

　　This group here was the main force of the second wave of invaders. Currently, there were four other armies in other parts of the Southern Domain, stabbing toward the Blood Demon Sect like sharp arrows. It would only be a matter of time before they arrived.

　　Although those armies did not contain any peak Dao Seeking experts, only Spirit Severing leaders, their combined forces numbered over 100,000. Once they arrived, they would be a critical factor in ending the deadlock.

　　Most important of all… the hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators were only the second wave of the Northern Reaches’ expeditionary army. Currently, the third wave of 1,000,000 cultivators was making its way across the Resurrection Lily bridge.

　　The third wave was en route, in battle formation, and once they arrived in the Southern Domain, they would add four peak Dao Seeking experts to the battle!

　　Furthermore, they were not just any peak Dao Seeking experts, they were the four most powerful Patriarchs in the entire Northern Reaches!

　　Among their number was the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, whose cultivation base was monstrous; he was capable of battling false Immortals!

　　Once they reached the Southern Domain, victory would be assured!

　　This was something all the Northern Reaches cultivators were aware of, and the Southern Domain cultivators could conclude via speculation. All of the peak Dao Seeking cultivators in midair were also aware of these facts.

　　There was nothing the Southern Domain could do about it. If things went on too much longer, great tribulation would fall upon the Southern Domain!

　　Unless… they could quickly overcome this second wave of Northern Reaches cultivators before the third wave arrived. Perhaps that would buy them enough time to set up some spell formations, as well as get some much-needed rest.

　　If that didn’t happen, and the ferocity they had experienced so far continued with wave after wave of opponents, then the Southern Domain forces would continue to sink further into exhaustion, and would have no time for vital preparations.

　　Meng Hao’s eyes shone with a cold light as he fought back and forth with the Dawn Immortal. He, too, was aware of the overall situation, and it caused his eyes to flicker with killing intent. He took a deep breath, and even as he moved in for another attack, an expression of determination filled his face.

　　Without the slightest hesitation, he performed an incantation, causing a divine ability to appear. Using all the power of the false Immortal puppet that he could muster, he suddenly caused a blinding light to shine out.

　　Beams of light appeared, making Meng Hao’s puppet look like a sun above the battlefield, casting bright light in all directions.

　　A powerful destructive force then began to surge out from the puppet.

　　This was a sign of self-detonation, which would unleash an unthinkably destructive force. After all… this was a false Immortal puppet. The power released by its self-detonation would turn into a petrifyingly powerful attack.

　　The terrifying aura that appeared immediately caused the minds of everyone on the battlefield to spin. As for the peak Dao Seeking experts of the Northern Reaches, their faces fell.

　　“He’s going to self-detonate!!”

　　“The self detonation of that puppet will unleash an incredible shockwave that would cause even a false Immortal to perish!!”

　　“Meng Hao….”

　　The Dawn Immortal’s pupils constricted, and her heart filled with a sense of grave crisis. As she prepared to retreat, she twirled the Resurrection Lily whip into circles, creating a defensive shield.

　　Meng Hao’s determination left her completely shocked. She knew that this was a false Immortal puppet, something that would put Meng Hao in a superior position virtually anywhere he went in the lands of South Heaven.

　　Any powerful group would attach incredible value to a false Immortal puppet. It was a precious treasure that could certainly lead to violent conflicts.

　　And yet, Meng Hao was now going to blow the thing up!!

　　The shocked Dawn Immortal had just finished forming her shield when Meng Hao, utilizing the intense surge of power that came just before the detonation, increased his speed and suddenly appeared directly in front of her. He did nothing to prevent her from unleashing various divine abilities; instead, he stretched out his hands, coughed up blood… and then wrapped his arms around her.

　　He held tight to the Dawn Immortal, after which the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex suddenly caused her body to momentarily lurch, frozen in place. Under Meng Hao’s control, the puppet shot high up into the sky.

　　“You’re looking to die!” she said coldly, her face flickering. For the first time, she appeared to be truly angry. The illusory Resurrection Lily whipped about, unleashing wild attacks.

　　Instantly, more cracks spread out across the puppet. Inside, Meng Hao coughed up blood and trembled. Each of the attacks being slammed against him could have injured someone at the peak of Dao Seeking.

　　As the puppet continued to disintegrate, innumerable beams of light shot out, and the ground quaked. All of the cultivators looked up in astonishment.

　　What they saw looked exactly like a sun!

　　Pill Demon’s heart was racing; he knew of Meng Hao’s Eternal recovery abilities, as well as the Blood Demon Grand Magic. However, this was the self-detonation of an Immortal’s soul. Pill Demon had no idea whether Meng Hao could survive such a blast.

　　Patriarch Song was also incredibly nervous.

　　Most nervous of all were the four remaining peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches.

　　They hearts were pounding as they realized that… if the Dawn Immortal was destroyed in the detonation, and Meng Hao survived… then there would be no way for them to continue fighting this battle. Unless the third wave of the army showed up, they would be forced to either flee or be killed.

　　Up in the air, the Dawn Immortal was struggling wildly. Meng Hao’s face was twisted ferociously, and a vicious air surrounded him. He had been pestered for years because of the Dawn Immortal, and was completely fed up with her.

　　“The one that’s going to die… is you!” he said through clenched teeth, shooting higher up into the sky.

　　Self-detonating down below wasn’t an option; too many people would be killed, both friend and foe alike. His only option was to self detonate high up in the air, and focus all the power on destroying the Dawn Immortal.

　　When he reached the apex of his flight, fear appeared on the face of the Dawn Immortal for the first time. By now, she realized that no matter what she did, she could not free herself. A strange light began to gleam in her eyes, and suddenly, countless leaves began to sprout out from her skin. The enormous whip transformed into an huge Resurrection Lily that began to wrap around her.

　　At this very moment, the light emanating from Meng Hao’s puppet had reached its brightest point. The air was shattered and the sky flashed with colors. An explosive boom and an indescribably powerful destructive force exploded out, sweeping across the entirety of the Southern Domain.

　　Everything was shaken violently!

　　The gigantic flower which surrounded the Dawn Immortal was ripped into pieces, destroyed like a dried weed, exposing from within a face filled with complete terror!

　　In the next instant, the Dawn Immortal’s figure was been enveloped by the wave of destructive power.

　　Inside the puppet, Meng Hao’s flesh was slashed into pieces, and he began to burn. Some of his skin even began to melt. At that moment, when he was just about to be enveloped… the Lightning Cauldron appeared in his hand. Coldness gleamed in his eyes. He might be in a deadly and critical situation, wracked with intense pain, but he was not flustered in the slightest.

　　His eyes shifted… to look down toward the battlefield… at one of the peak Dao Seeking experts of the Northern Domain. It was a middle-aged Patriarch with a long violet robe, surrounding by a swirling, illusory flood dragon.

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Jake Ridgeway