Chapter 599: Sword Tip!

　　The locations he had selected were all remote corners of the Demon Immortal Sect, places he had noticed in the First Plane, which he was sure would survive.

　　As he neared the first location, he began to grow more nervous. Moments later, he arrived. He looked over the ruins in the area, and then took a deep breath and descended downward.

　　After looking around for a while, he looked down at the ground beneath him. He lifted a foot up into the air and then stamped down, again and again. Booming could be heard as the surface of the ground was destroyed. Countless bits of dirt and rock exploded up into the air as a huge crater appeared beneath Meng Hao.

　　Unfortunately, nothing could be seen within the crater….

　　Meng Hao’s face was unsightly as he turned and began to search the entire area. It didn’t take long before he had turned virtually everything upside down, and yet still hadn’t found a single thing.

　　It appeared as if from the very beginning there had not been any sort of Wooden Time Sword buried here.

　　“I failed…?” he thought, his eyes flashing with an unyielding glint. He flew up into the air and shot toward the second location where he had buried one of the other swords.

　　After arriving, he searched the area thoroughly, but the result was the same. No matter how he searched, he could not find any trace of a Wooden Time Sword.

　　Next he went to the third area, but the result was the same.

　　His heart had now sunk down into his chest, and a bitter smile could be seen on his face. He was now very much certain that the idea he had come up with in the ancient illusory world, had failed.

　　Sighing, he headed to the last of the areas where he had buried a sword. It was an area relatively close to the Seventh Peak. Back in the illusory world, the path to this place had been easy to follow, but now things were different. Danger lurked in all directions, even for Meng Hao. It took him several days to reach the Seventh Peak and the place where he had buried the fourth Wooden Time Sword.

　　At one time, it had been a mountainous forest. However, the forest had long since been burned into ash. After searching the ruined remnants of the forest for some time, Meng Hao finally found the place where he had hidden the sword.

　　After overturning the area, he found nothing but an empty pit. He let out a long sigh, and finally gave up all hope. He knew that this time, he had thoroughly failed.

　　He suddenly frowned. “Well, if I failed, then where are my Wooden Time Swords?” He opened his bag of holding and, sure enough, there were only six Wooden Time Swords inside. The four swords that he had buried were definitely gone.

　　There was something very strange about the whole matter, something that exceeded his imagination. There were many possible explanations, but the one that made the most sense was that although he had succeeded in burying the four Wooden Time Swords, someone else had come along and taken them before him.

　　He shook his head and was about to leave when suddenly, his gaze was drawn to the very edge of the deep pit he had just made. He saw something there that instantly caused a tremor to run through his body. He immediately began to breathe heavily as he stared at what appeared to be an ordinary, finger-nail sized fragment of wood sticking out of the mud.

　　That fragment of wood appeared to be rotten from the passage of time. It looked completely ordinary, stabbed as it was into the mud….

　　“That’s….” Meng Hao panted as he suppressed the excitement in his heart. Exercising great caution, he picked up the wood fragment. It was irregularly shaped, but the tip was actually sharp.

　　It was almost like a sword tip!!

　　“This is a Spring and Autumn tree! This is the tip of a wooden sword!” His breathing grew more ragged, and his mind roared chaotically. Although he desired nothing more than to succeed, he wasn’t even sure how to tell if he had.

　　Right now, his mind was spinning as he closely examined the sword tip resting there on his palm.

　　“Eee? No… it looks like… this isn’t the wooden sword I originally buried here?” As he examined the sword tip, he realized that shockingly, it contained 30,000 years of Time power.

　　However, the wooden fragment was too small, making the power of Time unstable. Meng Hao could tell that if he tried to wield it, it would gradually fade away.

　　“If I had succeeded with my wooden swords, they would have been buried here for almost 100,000 years. However, this wooden fragment only has 30,000 years. Also, the physical appearance seems a bit different.” Meng Hao wasn’t quite able to determine exactly what was going on. Now he suddenly wasn’t as certain that he had failed in his attempt.

　　Without being able to look at the entirety of the sword, there would be no way to make a final determination. However, he did know that there was absolutely no sensation of the brand he left on his own wooden swords.

　　He carefully put the tiny wooden fragment away. It was impossible to determine if the fragment was part of the sword he had left here to pass through the years. However, considering that there were 30,000 years of Time power collected inside the tiny fragment, it could still be regarded as a precious treasure.

　　“If I truly failed, then all I lost were four Wooden Time Swords. By spending a few Spirit Stones, I can make more copies. If I succeed, though, then even if someone else took the swords away before I could, they were still personally created by me. If I ever run into them again, I’ll know, no matter how many times other people try to refine them.

　　“The heart of the swords contains my Time power. I will always be the original master of those swords.” Meng Hao’s eyes flickered. Although he still didn’t understand exactly what had happened, he didn’t want to spend any more time thinking about it. Looking up, he saw the Seventh Peak, and a sentimental look appeared in his eyes.

　　“That’s where Father Ke’s tomb is.” With that, he transformed into a beam of colorful light that shot off toward the burial location of the powerful experts of the various generations of the Demon Immortal Sect.

　　Along the way, he heard the sounds of explosions coming from various districts within the Demon Immortal Sect, as well as the occasional din of battle.

　　To the South Heaven Cultivators, the Third Plane was like a storehouse of treasures. There was good fortune to be acquired everywhere. However, that good fortune was not the same for everyone. It depended on how well prepared each individual was in the Second Plane, who had the greater understanding, and who had mastered more techniques to open restrictive spells.

　　Those were the keys to success. However, considering treasures were involved, it would be difficult to avoid friction and fighting. Therefore, fierce battles were to be expected.

　　Meng Hao ignored all of that. He didn’t actually need to do anything. Thanks to the oath-enforced agreement, whatever the others acquired in here, he would acquire far, far more.

　　As he proceeded forward, the sky gradually began to grow dark. Outside of the Seventh Peak was the Demon Immortal Sect’s graveyard. As he neared, a bright beam of light shot out from the middle of the Seventh Peak. At first, it wasn’t heading toward Meng Hao. However, at some point it seemed to realize who he was, then changed directions and headed toward him.

　　Meng Hao stopped in mid-air, his expression normal as he coldly watched on.

　　The beam of light moved with incredible speed, and emanated a potent aura. It screamed through the air toward him, and as it neared, a young man became visible inside. It was none other than the Cultivator from the Imperial Bloodline Clan of the Northern Reaches.

　　His eyes flashed like lightning, and his face was filled with an expression of ferocity and coldness. He shot toward Meng Hao and was upon him in the blink of an eye. He flashed an incantation gesture, causing six illusory black dragons to suddenly shoot forth. Their shocking roars filled the air as they intertwined with each other. A terrifying pressure emanated out, slamming down toward Meng Hao.

　　Each of these six black dragons exceeded the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage. When they merged together, the pressure they emanated was similar to a Cultivation base half a step into Spirit Severing. This young Imperial Bloodline Clan Cultivator clearly had an incredible Cultivation base.

　　In the blink of an eye, the six dragons neared, filling up the entire world in front of Meng Hao. Each of the dragons was hundreds of meters long. Rumbling filled the air as their combined power shot toward him.

　　He gave a cold snort, and did nothing to dodge them or retreat. Instead, he strode forward and lifted his right hand up. His fleshly body seemed ordinary, but suddenly it exploded with a power equivalent to the Fifth Anima. Such strength was also the same as being a half step into Spirit Severing.

　　A fist descended, and a thunderous boom filled the air. The roaring of the six black dragons suddenly ceased as the shocking explosion rolled over them. Meng Hao’s fist seemed to have kicked up a tempest capable of ripping them into shreds.

　　In addition, within Meng Hao’s fist could be seen an illusory mountain. This was none other than manifested power of the first level of the Mountain Consuming Incantation that Meng Hao had gained enlightenment of. The fist shot out, a tempest raged, and a mountain descended.

　　BOOOOMMMMM!

　　The six black dragons were ripped into pieces. The face of the Imperial Bloodline Clan Cultivator from the Northern Reaches instantly fell. His eyes glowed with astonishment. He obviously had never even considered that Meng Hao could possibly be so powerful.

　　His original plan had been to kill Meng Hao in one decisive attack. If he failed, at least he would be able to feel Meng Hao out. Currently, though, when he saw Meng Hao’s Cultivation base, his heart sank.

　　He immediately fell back in retreat.

　　“Elder Brother Meng, this was just a misunderstanding….” he said, his eyes flickering.

　　“First Anima,” said Meng Hao coolly. His body roared as it exploded with the fearsome power of the First Anima. His fleshly body was now similar to the Sixth Anima. In the blink of an eye, Meng Hao’s battle prowess exploded by double.

　　He took a step forward, then transformed into a green mist, within which was a black moon. He appeared directly in front of the young man, who he then punched without hesitation.

　　A boom could be heard. The young man from the Northern Reaches tried to block with both hands, and a black glow appeared around him. However, the black glow immediately collapsed, and he was sent tumbling backward, blood spraying from his mouth and a look of astonishment filling his face.

　　“You doubled your power in an instant!?!?” This young man from the Imperial Bloodline Clan of the Northern Reaches was named Liu Zichuan. Normally, he was wildly haughty, but at the moment, he was shocked to the core. Not a scrap of arrogance could be found in him. 1

　　Coughing up more blood, he forced himself to a halt. His eyes filled with ferocity as he wiped the blood from his mouth and glared at Meng Hao.

　　“Whatever,” he said. “You’re most likely already at your limit. To explode with double battle power is pretty incredible. You qualify to be my opponent. Well then, allow me to introduce you to something that’s called the Imperial Body….” Before Liu Zichuan could finish his lofty speech, Meng Hao coolly interrupted him.

　　“Second Anima!”

　　BOOM!

　　Meng Hao’s body instantly became even more shocking. His fleshly body was now equivalent to the fearsomeness of the Seventh Anima. His explosive battle prowess caused the sky to dim, and a fierce wind to spring up.

　　Liu Zichuan’s eyebrows shot up, and a roaring filled his heart. His mouth went dry, his mind spun, and his eyes went wide. He looked at Meng Hao with complete disbelief, his scalp completely numb.

　　“Dammit, dammit, this guy’s Cultivation base is freakish! This is definitely some Daoist magic from the Second Plane. It might even be one of the top 10!” Shocked, Liu Zichuan retreated without hesitation.

　　He fell back quickly, but Meng Hao was even quicker. He took a step forward and then waved a finger. Instantly the image of a mountain appeared, to shoot rumbling toward Liu Zichuan.

　　Liu Zichuan coughed up some blood, and his body nearly exploded. A profound sense of deadly crisis filled him. He was scared witless. He pushed his hand viciously down onto his chest, causing a pearl to be vomited up. The pearl transformed into a wide net that quickly enveloped Liu Zichuan. There almost seemed to be some power of the underworld fueling the net as it wrapped around him and shot off into the distance.

　　Because of that, Meng Hao’s illusory mountain only grazed past, and didn’t completely smash into him. Even still, Liu Zichuan coughed up some more blood. His heart was in chaos, and filled with terror as he shot away.

　　Meng Hao didn’t pursue him. Instead he stood where he was and coolly said, “You now owe me eighty percent of your gains. If you disagree, I’ll kill you….”

　　1. Liu Zichuan’s name in Chinese is 柳子川 liǔ zǐ chuān – Liu means “willow.” Zi means “child” or “son.” Chuan means “river”