Chapter 737: A Leaf!

　　A shocking boom rumbled out. Even Patriarch Blood Demon and his opponents couldn’t help but notice the detonation of the Demonic Incarnation.

　　The force of the explosion actually helped the 30,000 Blood Demon Sect in their retreat. However, to others in the immediate vicinity of the blast, it was like a devastating attack.

　　The shocked Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword Sect shot forward, determined to block the force of the explosion, as did the puppet from the Golden Frost Sect. Even the 5th Li Clan Patriarch did the same.

　　If they did not do so, then the losses their various sects and clans would experience would be far too critical.

　　Even so, there were still many cultivators who simply couldn’t avoid the blast, and were incinerated.

　　In the blink of an eye, the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect and the Li Clan, as well as the rogue cultivators, all sustained heavy losses. Thanks to the Solitary Sword Sect’s Dao Seeking expert, the Golden Frost Sect’s puppet, and the 5th Li Clan patriarch, the losses were reduced by about half. Were it not for them, even more would have died.

　　Unfortunately for the nearby rogue cultivators, no one was around to assist them. The ripples from the explosion completely wiped them out, along with the remaining silver snakes. Afterwards, not a trace remained of them.

　　Fundamentally speaking, this battle was not something they were qualified to participate in. They had believed that, with the assistance of the four great powers, exterminating the Blood Demon Sect would be a simple task. They had never imagined that the Blood Demon Sect would be so fearsome.

　　And this… was only the first spell formation!

　　When the Demonic Incarnation collapsed, the air distorted, and the five mountain peaks of the Blood Demon Sect suddenly became visible!

　　The five mountain peaks were actually located in an enormous basin in the ground. They were surrounded by a five-layered shield which emanated brilliant, blinding light. It was something that could not be bypassed save by battering it into nonexistence, one layer at a time.

　　That was actually exactly what the Blood Demon Sect wanted. The four great powers would have to smash against the shields and withstand counterattacks. That meant that in order to break the shield, they would have to pay a price.

　　Borrowing momentum from the explosion of the Demonic Incarnation, Meng Hao led the 30,000 Blood Demon Sect disciples back into the sect. As soon as they passed the second layer of the shield, other Blood Demon Sect disciples arrived to give aid to them, helping them along and also giving them medicinal pills to consume.

　　As for Meng Hao, his face was pale white. He had significantly depleted himself in the course of the battle, but now was not the time for rest. He stood there, surveying the scene outside of the spell formation shield.

　　The two Ironblood Patriarchs sat cross-legged off to the side, surrounded by more than 20,000 disciples. The forces of Mount Ironblood were the ones responsible for maintaining the first layer of the shield created by the second formation.

　　Behind Meng Hao, the cultivators on the other various mountain peaks were all in the process of maintaining the other four shield layers of the second spell formation.

　　Outside the shield, the cultivators of the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect and the Li Clan were all shaken by the events of moments ago. However, after they saw the five mountain peaks of the Blood Demon Sect, their killing intent soared.

　　Immediately, a clamor arose as the cultivators of the four great powers began to call out.

　　“Kill them! Don’t leave a single one alive!”

　　“The time has come to eradicate the Blood Demon Sect!”

　　“From now on, there will be no Blood Demon Sect in the Southern Domain!”

　　Even as their voices echoed out, the remaining several hundred thousand cultivators charged toward the Blood Demon Sect.

　　There were so many enemy cultivators that it was essentially impossible to see the end of their ranks. They seemed infinite. Earlier, when Meng Hao had been fused with the enormous Demonic Incarnation, he had been able to see the extent of their forces clearly. Now that the Demonic Incarnation had been destroyed and he had retreated to this position, all he could see was cultivators, stretching out in all directions.

　　The sheer numbers involved caused his scalp to go numb.

　　The cultivators whistled through the air toward the enormous five-layered shield formed by the Blood Demon Sect’s second spell formation.

　　Even though the shield was in place, the Blood Demon Sect disciples had not lost their fighting spirit, and were just waiting for the enemy forces to slam into the shield.

　　However, it was at this point that a bright beam of light suddenly streaked toward the battlefield from high in the sky. It sliced through the air, moving at an incredible, indescribable speed. It almost looked like the Heavens were being split apart in shocking fashion.

　　What was now visible was a leaf!

　　It was a flying, burning leaf, emitting an astonishing aura!

　　Its target was no single person, but rather, the Blood Demon Sect’s second spell formation!

　　“What gall!” roared Patriarch Blood Demon furiously, who was still in the midst of battling with the other Patriarchs. Immediately, he waved his hand, and a glittering, bloody light shot toward the incoming leaf.

　　Rumbling could be heard as the leaf decayed by more than half. However, there was still a streak of green that made it through the blood-colored light. The streak continued on, slamming into the shield of the second spell formation, piercing through the fifth layer, the fourth, and the third, before finally stopping at the second.

　　The fifth, fourth, and third layers all shook and trembled. Although they did not collapse, they now had holes punched in them!

　　Patriarch Blood Demon let out a furious shout, but the other Patriarchs went all out to prevent him from doing anything.

　　When the gaps in the shield appeared, the faces of the Blood Demon Sect disciples fell.

　　At the same time, killing intent could be seen in the eyes of the hundreds of thousand of cultivators on the outside. They immediately changed directions and headed toward the places where the gaps had been opened.

　　The holes were not large, but were something that the spell formation was incapable of closing up.

　　Facing such a situation, and such enemies, looks of dour hopelessness appeared on the faces of the Blood Demon Sect disciples.

　　“Dammit…. how do we fight back now?!?!”

　　“They punched holes in the shields! Those are biggest areas of weakness now! How do we fight?!”

　　“Our Blood Prince killed so many of them, yet there’s still more of them, as far as the eye can see… do we have any hope left at all?” Facing hordes of attacking enemies and holes punched through to the second shield, the Blood Demon Sect disciples fell into a mute despair.

　　Xu Qing had long since emerged from Blood Prince Gorge, where she had stood the entire time, nervously watching Meng Hao. When he finally returned safely, she had breathed a sigh of relief. The new developments, however, caused her face to go pale.

　　Meng Hao looked up into the sky, and began to pant nervously for a moment before calming himself down. He looked around at the despairing Blood Demon Sect disciples and did nothing to try to rouse their spirits. He wasn’t willing to do so. He already felt guilty because of the war; how could he directly ask them to go put their lives on the line?

　　He couldn’t.

　　Suddenly, a sigh could be heard echoing amongst the crowds. The hunchbacked old man from the fifth mountain peak slowly walked out. Clearly, he intended to head toward the gap in the fifth shield layer.

　　Behind him was the pretty girl, his apprentice. “Master….” she said, her eyes filled with anxiety; clearly she had guessed her master’s plan.

　　“I’ve lived for too long and seen too many things,” he said with a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” He was just about to step out when suddenly Meng Hao strode forward.

　　He couldn’t ask the Blood Demon Sect to fight, but there was one thing he could do. He walked out, and as he did, he looked back toward Xu Qing and gave her a slight smile. Then, coldness filled his eyes and he advanced onward.

　　Next, he appeared outside of the shield, directly in front of the only weak space, that one gaping hole.

　　“Blood Prince!” said the hunchbacked old man, gaping.

　　“I will hold this gap!” said Meng Hao coolly. He obviously planned to use himself as the stopper to prevent anything from entering.

　　“My right arm already has Dao Seeking power,” he thought, “and the Blood Demon Grand Magic is perfect for fighting against groups! If I can hold out for only ten more days, then my second true self will awaken! It’s time to fight!”

　　When Meng Hao appeared on the outside of the shield, the Blood Demon Sect disciples behind him were shocked.

　　“Blood Prince!”

　　“Blood Prince, you….”

　　Meng Hao did not look back. He took a deep breath and rotated his cultivation base. He was tired, but he ignored the feeling, and pushed himself to the peak of his power.

　　His Spirit Severing aura exploded out, and his right arm gradually began to exude the pressure of Dao Seeking. He waved his hand through the air, and the Ninth Mountain magically appeared around him, as well as the Black White Pearls.

　　Next, he retrieved the Blood Immortal Mask from his bag of holding and slipped it onto his face.

　　Rumbling filled the air as hundreds of thousands of cultivators closed in on him.

　　It was at this point that a roar suddenly echoed out from within the mask. A beam of red light shot out to appear next to Meng Hao. It was none other than… the fully reformed Blood Mastiff!

　　It had died before, but now that it had reappeared, it was even more ferocious than before. Its Spirit Severing aura roiled out, and its energy surged.

　　Meng Hao waved his hand again, and Time Sword tips appeared. They were objects that were useless against the peak Dao Seeking powers. However, they were still incisive to the extreme. Shockingly, ten Time Sword tips flew out!

　　Meng Hao had specially prepared them just for this battle, using the copper mirror.

　　The ten Time Sword tips swirled about in the air, transforming into a sword formation. As it rotated, a bloody glow appeared in Meng Hao’s eyes.

　　“My Eternal stratum makes my stamina… almost limitless!

　　“My Resurrection Lily, my Spirit Severing Treasure, has been hibernating for too long… the time has come for it to appear!” Meng Hao’s life force surged up, and at the same time, a shocking, illusory Resurrection Lily suddenly appeared.

　　It had five colors, but shockingly, a sixth color could just barely be made out on one of the petals.

　　The sixth color faded in and out. Meng Hao was convinced that it wouldn’t take long before the sixth color would appear in full. When that sixth color became stable, it would only need to bloom with one more color to achieve Immortal Ascension!

　　The sight of the ferocious Resurrection Lily caused the faces of many of the incoming hundreds of thousands of cultivators to flicker.

　　However, they did not cease their approach. The scene from the inside of the shield was that of Meng Hao, alone, facing hundreds of thousands of enemies. It was an image that would be indelibly burned into the minds of each and every Blood Demon Sect disciple, a memory that would remain for an eternity.

　　“DIE!” shouted Meng Hao. Killing intent blazed in his eyes as he performed a double handed incantation, then suddenly pointed out. The Blood Mastiff charged, and the the Time Sword Formation shot out. The Resurrection Lily behind him writhed as its tentacles shot out like whips toward the incoming waves of enemies.

　　The slaughter… had begun.

　　The power of Meng Hao’s right arm was incredible. A single punch could cause Heaven and Earth to shake.

　　A glow of blood emanated out from the Blood Immortal Mask; this was the Blood Immortal divine ability. Without a face, a single word, flames of war unify!

　　Ceaseless rumbling filled the air as the Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared.

　　Despite all of this, he was still facing hundreds of thousands of cultivators. It was like a single praying mantis standing up to an army. The initial onslaught sent blood spraying from his mouth, and his fleshly body instantly began to explode.

　　However, in the very instant that the signs of collapse appeared, his fleshly body fused back together under the power of the Eternal stratum. Meng Hao could almost be considered unkillable. He remained there in front of the gap, carrying out slaughter just as before.