Chapter 713: Dao Lake Eruption

　　The rumbling of the sky echoed out in all directions, and the land quaked violently. It seemed almost like a giant was buried under the ground, roaring, the power of its voice exploding out through the Dao Geysers and Lakes.

　　From a distance, it almost looked like volcanos erupting, except what was exploding out was not lava, but numerous colorful Dao Projections. These Dao Projections were images of cultivators wearing ancient attire. Some were engaged in magical combat, others were practicing cultivation or gaining enlightenment regarding Heaven and Earth.

　　A variety of cultivation bases could be seen, the lowest being Foundation Establishment and the highest being Nascent Soul.

　　Looking at the scene as a whole, there were quite a few Dao Projections.

　　It was in this moment of eruption that Meng Hao and the force from the Blood Demon Sect entered the region of the Dao Lakes. At the same time, cries of shock spread out.

　　“That’s….”

　　“A Spirit Severing Dao Projection!”

　　“It’s actually a Spirit Severing Dao Proj… wait, no! That’s a Dao Projection of a great circle Nascent Soul Cultivator in the moment of his First Severing!”

　　Great numbers of cultivators swarmed at top speed toward the Spirit Severing Dao Projection.

　　Meng Hao stopped for a moment and looked back. Off in the distance, he saw a Dao Geyser erupting with shocking blue light. Inside the light was a Dao Projection of a tall, slender cultivator performing Spirit Severing.

　　Hundreds of thousands of cultivators in the area were spurred into action. Many among the tens of thousands who were with Meng Hao were also visibly moved.

　　Meng Hao did nothing to stop them. “Why don’t you try to gain enlightenment here?” he said. Immediately, 20,000 cultivators clasped hands and bowed to him, then flew off. Not all were of the Nascent Soul stage; there were other items in the area that were of interest to other stages as well.

　　Rumbling, as well as intense ripples, echoed out from the area up ahead of Meng Hao. Numerous 30-meter Dao Lakes, as well as countless Dao Geysers, were erupting with intense booms.

　　“Dao Treasure! It’s a Dao Treasure!”

　　“Look at that sword! It’s fragmented, but the sword aura is still incredibly sharp!!”

　　A black sword flew up out of one of the 30-meter Dao Lakes at incredible speed, and the sword qi it emanated was monstrous. Further off, other Dao Treasures erupted up into the air.

　　All of the 30-meter Dao Lakes were being defended by various small sects. When the eruption began, everyone became incredibly excited and began to fight. In the blink of an eye, the entire area dissolved into chaos.

　　The remaining 20,000 disciples of the Blood Demon Sect wore expressions of hope on their face as they looked at Meng Hao.

　　“Do as you wish among these Dao Lakes,” he said. “If you run into danger, remember to call for help from fellow sect members.” In response to his words, the majority of the 20,000 or so cultivators sped off, some rushing towards the inner regions, and others toward the various 30-meter Dao Lakes to join the fighting.

　　Still following Meng Hao were the six Spirit Severing Patriarchs as well as several thousand disciples. These were people who couldn’t care less about the 30-meter Dao Lakes, and they joined Meng Hao as he sped onward. All of them transformed into streaks of colorful light that shot forward.

　　Although they appeared to be moving quickly, Meng Hao had plenty of time to send his divine sense up ahead. What he saw was cultivators flying back and forth, some of them letting out bloodcurdling screams as their bodies were slashed by the rifts. The lucky ones lost arms or legs, and unlucky ones were completely ripped apart.

　　Everything was in chaos, and without exception, deadly battles were taking place next to the Dao Lakes and Geysers.

　　RUMBLE!

　　Up ahead, the air started to rumble. Seven or eight cultivators neared the area, and suddenly seemed to be swallowed up into nothing. They vanished, leaving behind only the echoes of miserable shrieks.

　　Rivers of blood flowed down below, especially in the areas where Dao Treasures appeared. Massacres were being carried out in all directions.

　　“Kill them!” Cries such as this echoed out constantly.

　　Meng Hao ignored all of that and proceeded forward. After advancing about 3,000 meters, he suddenly stopped in place and raised his right hand to signal those behind him to do the same.

　　As they ground to a halt, they saw a 30-meter Dao Lake up ahead, above which floated a Dao Treasure that looked like a bottle-gourd. Several hundred cultivators could be seen near it, locked in heavy combat. However, it was at this point that the ground in the area suddenly began to glitter with light. Magical symbols appeared, which flickered for a moment and then caused a shocking power of teleportation to surge out.

　　At the same time, a dozen or so corpses suddenly appeared out of thin air.

　　There was no time for anyone to react. The moment in which the corpses appeared, the power of teleportation rumbled out. The several hundred cultivators who were fighting next to the Dao Lake, as well as the corpses that had just appeared, all vanished in the blink of an eye.

　　Even Meng Hao couldn’t prevent his eyes from going wide. The six Spirit Severing Patriarchs behind him had serious expressions on their faces, and the other disciples gasped.

　　“Was that a teleportation trap?”

　　“That sort of thing happens all the time in the Ancient Dao Lakes. The fearsome teleportation traps can appear randomly, without any warning….”

　　“When the teleportation trap appeared just now, I could swear I saw more than ten desiccated corpses inside!”

　　After the teleportation trap disappeared along with the cultivators that it snagged, the bottle gourd floating above the Dao Lake glittered as resplendently as ever, attracting even more attention. More cultivators surged toward it. However, Meng Hao was already on the move. In the blink of an eye, he was above the 30-meter Dao Lake, where he flicked his right sleeve to collect up the bottle gourd.

　　His actions immediately caused all of the cultivators who had been rushing over to stop and turn to fly off towards other areas.

　　“Let’s go!” he said. He and his followers transformed into beams of light that shot onward.

　　As they proceeded onward, they saw more than ten teleportation traps and more than a hundred instances in which the rifts appeared. On one occasion, a single rift slashed through over one hundred people at once.

　　At one point, Meng Hao noticed that the teleportation traps contained living people inside of them, and he grew even more cautious. The people stuck inside were madly trying to break free, but as they only materialized for a split second, they were powerless to escape and were helpless to do anything but be continuously teleported around.

　　For the lucky ones, the power of the teleportation traps might dissipate after three or four activations. The unlucky ones… ended up being stuck in the cycle until they died.

　　As they proceeded deeper into the Dao Lakes region, there were fewer people, but the fighting was far more intense. Soon, 300-meter Dao Lakes appeared, all of which were forcibly occupied by mid-scale sects and clans.

　　For the most part, it was great circle Nascent Soul cultivators who stood guard.

　　Such cultivators were locked in combat as Meng Hao and the Blood Demon Sect forces approached. These cultivators were instantly shaken, and at the same time, there were thousands of Blood Demon Sect disciples whose eyes began to shine with a strange light. After asking for permission from Meng Hao, they shot forward to join the fray.

　　The sounds of intense fighting caused everything to shake, and as Meng Hao looked over the chaotic scene, the ruthlessness in his eyes grew even stronger. He continued onward, refraining from joining the fighting. After all, the Dao Projections and Treasures here were of no interest to him.

　　They proceeded onward, and soon, only 300-meter Dao Lakes were visible. Suddenly, Meng Hao turned his head to look at one such lake not too far off, above which was a Dao Projection of a cross-legged figure in meditation.

　　It appeared to be a Nascent Soul cultivator in the midst of gaining enlightenment regarding Heaven and Earth. A Dao Projection like that was actually a common sight both outside, and in this area.

　　Surrounding the Dao Projection were seven or eight early Nascent Soul stage cultivators, all fighting over the chance to gain enlightenment. Any time one of them got close to the Dao Projection, the others would join forces to prevent that person from seizing the opportunity.

　　The methods being used were ruthless, the attacks deadly. Furthermore, the surrounding area was littered with corpses.

　　Meng Hao looked the scene over, and his eyes glittered slightly. He moved forward toward the Dao Projection, which caused the six Spirit Severing Patriarchs and the other Blood Demon Sect disciples to stare in shock.

　　Seeing Meng Hao nearing at high speed caused the seven or eight early Nascent Soul stage cultivators’ faces to fall.

　　“The Blood Demon Sect!”

　　“He’s… don’t tell me that’s the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect!”

　　It appeared as if their hearts were trembling in fear, and they were just about to approach as if to cover something up, when Meng Hao stretched his hand out and made a grasping motion. He then jerked his hand up.

　　RIIIPPP!

　　It was like the surface of a painting had just been peeled away. Ripples spread out, revealing another world. There was still a Dao Lake, but instead of a Dao Projection, floating above it was a 30-meter tall mountain peak. Also visible were three old cultivators fighting each other.

　　The air around the mountains twisted and distorted, as pulsating ripples were sent out. The mountain seemed to contain some sort of magnetic force that caused the magical items of the three old men to be gradually sucked toward it.

　　As soon as Meng Hao appeared, the faces of the three old men flickered.

　　“Who’s there?!” said one of them. All three looked toward Meng Hao, and when they saw his clothing, as well as the six experts behind him, they gasped.

　　Earlier, they had used a deception spell to prevent outsiders from seeing what was really happening in the area. That way the three of them could focus on their own fight. Of course, they had never imagined that someone like Meng Hao would appear.

　　“Hmm,” thought Meng Hao, looking over the mountain peak with glittering eyes. It was obvious that the mountains were not ordinary items, and he could even sense a bit of Spirit Severing aura on them.

　　“Spirit Severing level magical item!” he murmured. With that, he stretched his arm out toward the mountain and made a grasping motion. The three old cultivators were simply too slow to react and were incapable of doing anything to block him. The mountain peak rumbled, then transformed into a huge hand that flew down into Meng Hao’s palm.

　　After putting it away, his entire person flickered as he proceeded onward.

　　The forces of the Blood Demon Sect followed. As for the three old men, they stamped their feet, but were not truly angry. After all, the items that appeared in the Ancient Dao Lakes had no owner; they belonged to anyone who had the power to take them.

　　“Dammit, what a waste of time! Fine, let’s stick with the old plan and go rob some things from somebody else!”

　　“Hurry up! If we wait any longer this eruption is going to end!”

　　Just as the three old men were about to head to another Dao Lake, an unprecedentedly loud rumbling sound could be heard coming from deeper within the region. At the same time, a 3,000 meter pillar of light shot up into the air off in the distance. Shockingly, a black hammer could be seen floating inside of it, surrounded by crackling lightning. The incredible sound echoing out caught the attention of quite a few onlookers.

　　“3,000…. Is that a 3,000-meter Dao Lake erupting!?!?”

　　“A 3,000-meter Dao Lake! They don’t erupt very often, usually it’s only the 300-meter Dao Lakes. But look, it’s erupting now!”

　　“This is the first time a 3,000-meter Dao Lake has erupted during this flare-up of the Ancient Dao Lakes!”

　　“It’s too bad only the great sects and clans can survive over there. We can’t win against them!”

　　Meng Hao’s eyes glittered as he looked in the direction of the 3,000 meter beam of light. The six Spirit Severing Patriarchs behind him also had looks of fervor in their eyes. Along with the few thousand disciples who remained in the group, they sped forward at top speed.

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Joshua Acker, Peter Manolov, Theodoros Sfyris, and Colin Ding