Chapter 582 and 583: Twelve Words

　　Amidst the deathly silence, a complaining voice suddenly cried out. It was from none other than the Cultivator from the Northern Reaches: “Who is he? Don’t tell me he’s one of those Elite Apprentices? But, even if he is an Elite Apprentice, he… he still shouldn’t be able to squander magical items like that.

　　“Just… just how many magical items has he actually used? Cheater! He’s cheating!”

　　What happened next caused everyone to watch on in a daze. The glowing dot on the 15th level, surrounded by a powerful glow of magical items, flickered up to the 16th level.

　　Next was the 17th level, the 18th level, the 19th level. Incredible amounts of jealousy filled the hearts of the onlookers as the glowing dot finally reached the 20th level before finally stopping. Apparently this level was incredibly hard.

　　Seeing this, the audience finally breathed sighs of relief. All of them had very conflicting emotions as the sounds of their discussion began to spread out.

　　“Hey, I said it, didn’t I? There’s nobody that could last like that for too long. Even if that guy has more magical items, he won’t be able to break past the 20th level!”

　　“Thank goodness he finally stopped. Otherwise how could any of the rest of us measure up to him?!”

　　Han Bei and Wang Lihai also secretly sighed in relief. The scene they had just witnessed caused them to be jumpy with fear. It wasn’t just them; the others from the lands of South Heaven felt the same.

　　And yet, even as everyone was still in the midst of discussing the matter, before they could get to the third sentence in their conversations, a booming sound could be heard from the 20th level. It was so powerful that it echoed outside of the pagoda.

　　As the roaring sound echoed out, nearly thirty percent of the 20th level was covered with a magical glow that surrounded Meng Hao’s dot of light. From a distance, the glow seemed boundless!

　　The scene instantly caused everyone in the area to gasp as a roaring sound filled their minds. All of them seemed to be wondering about the exact same thing.

　　Just exactly… how many magical items had been detonated to create a glow that encompassed thirty percent of the entire level?

　　Fang Yu’s eyes were wide and her expression was one of complete envy. “It’s only because of that awesome dad of his!!” she thought.

　　Ke Yunhai sat cross-legged in mid-air, a complacent smile on his face as he completely ignored the strange looks on the faces of the other six Paragons.

　　“Attaboy, Jiusi! Force your way up to the top. Get to the 90th level for your old man!” Ke Yunhai almost shouted this out. Even if everyone else knew that cheating was involved, as a father, he couldn’t help but be happy as he watched the scene playing out.

　　In the 20th level, Meng Hao, tattered and bedraggled, shot backward at high speed. He was surrounded by an enormous shield that glowed with incredible brightness. A host of vicious Heavenly dragons charged him constantly, any one of which was enough to shock Meng Hao to the core. All of them, though, were blocked by the huge shield.

　　Unfortunately, the shield was rapidly fading. Meng Hao’s left hand clutched a bag that happened to be filled with Demon Stones. They were similar to Spirit Stones, and were what Meng Hao was using to sustain the magical treasures and talismans that he was wielding.

　　Just now he had slipped up, which caused him to almost be buried in a divine ability. Currently, he was in full retreat, at the same time pulling out vast quantities of talismans that he was slapping onto his body.

　　Boom!

　　The fading shield once again surged with strength. Immediately, hundreds of layers burst out, then superimposed over each other to block all of the divine abilities that were shooting against him.

　　Meng Hao let out a sigh. This shield was the main reason he had been able to charge into this place. Furthermore, of all the magical items and talismans that Ke Yunhai had refined, this type of shield was what he had created the most of. He has used his own life force to refine such shields; they contained his Qi, blood, and aura. It was as if he himself were here, protecting Meng Hao with his magical arts.

　　Because of this shield, Meng Hao was able to proceed from one level to next as easily as walking down a level path.

　　This really was just as the people on the outside has said; cheating. And it was not a small cheat either, but rather, major cheating.

　　Meng Hao looked around at the Cultivation bases of the figures around him, and was shocked. He immediately produced a vast quantity of talismans from another bag, which he then tossed forward.

　　Booming sounds rolled out, and thousands of huge hands appeared in the air, each one of which was thoroughly shocking. They instantly descended downward, sweeping across everything.

　　The glow of magical items spread out to fill nearly half of the entire 20th level.

　　As Meng Hao shoved aside everything, the glowing light of the 21st level began to spread out. At the same time, the magical symbols of the three thousand Daoist magics once again appeared. They swirled around Meng Hao, after which, a red symbol shot toward Meng Hao.

　　As soon as it touched his forehead, his mind filled with a roaring sound. An ancient voice filled his mind.

　　“Daylight Incantation!”

　　The voice didn’t just echo in Meng Hao’s mind, but rather spread out from within the 20th level of the Demon Immortal Pagoda to fill the entire Sect. The sound echoed out so that all disciples could hear, filling their minds with shock. Quite a few people began to pant, and their eyes filled with avarice and greed.

　　“Daylight… Daylight Incantation!!”

　　“Dammit! DAMMIT! He actually got the Daylight Incantation in the 20th level!!”

　　“In the rankings of the 3,000 Daoist magics, the Daylight Incantation is number 31! It’s said that if you gain enlightenment, that when you use it, all you have to do is turn your hand over, and the sky will turn dark. Flip your hand back, and it becomes day! He actually got the Daylight Incantation. I can’t accept this!”

　　All of the disciples of the Demon Immortal Sect were completely in a frenzy. Most crazy were those who had arrived from South Heaven. Han Bei, Wang Lihai, the Cultivators from the Eastern Lands, the Southern Domain, and the Northern Reaches, all of them were filled with intense longing. None of them were willing to wait any longer. Their bodies flickered as they shot toward the Demon Immortal Pagoda.

　　The Ji Clan, the Fang Clan, including Fang Yu, all of them shot up into the air.

　　It wasn’t just them. Many other disciples of the Demon Immortal Sect were no longer willing to just observe. They charged forward, clearly unable to take the intense stimulation caused by Meng Hao’s acquisition.

　　In the blink of an eye, more than 100,000 people rushed into the Demon Immortal Pagoda. At the same time, Meng Hao sat there in the 20th level. Suddenly, a tremor ran through his body, and his eyes opened. The Daylight Incantation was now there in his mind. However, despite being an excellent incantation, it wasn’t the Daoist magic that he really wanted.

　　After a moment of considering, he gave up trying to gain enlightenment. His body flickered as he shot toward the 21st level.

　　22nd level. 23rd level…. In the amount of time it takes an incense stick to burn, Meng Hao shot with incredible speed all the way to the 29th level. Everyone watched, hearts burning, hands clenched tightly into fists. Their fury continued to rise, and cries of disbelief began to join together to form an uproar.

　　“This is definitely cheating!”

　　“How could he have so many magical items!? How could he move so quickly!? It’s almost like he has an endless supply of treasures for each level!!”

　　“This isn’t fair!!” By now, almost all of the disciples were shouting out. Even more began to charge toward the pagoda. However, people continued to be ejected out from within. There were at least ten empty levels between Meng Hao and his nearest competition.

　　One of the Cultivators from the Eastern Lands, who had met with failure on the 7th level, was filled with frustration and shouted, “Let’s go break open the pagoda and drag that guy out! The Demon Immortal Pagoda is for everyone! We demand fairness!”

　　However, even as the fury of the crowd raged, the light of magical items completely covered the 29th level, where Meng Hao was currently. Most outrageous was that the glow of treasures directly reappeared on the 30th level.

　　Then, after the space of only seven or eight breaths. The 30th level… was passed!

　　The sky in the 30th level suddenly took on a bizarre appearance. Seven enormous statues appeared, each of which had three heads and six arms. They were completely ferocious in appearance. A voice that seemed to echo out from the netherworld with Heavenly might suddenly filled the entire land.

　　“Our Daoist magic, Dao of Seven Bodhisattvas!”

　　As soon as the voice echoed out, the eyes of the disciples outside of the Demon Immortal Pagoda went completely red as their madness increased. The Dao of Seven Bodhisattvas was a divine ability ranked number 67 in the 3,000 Daoist magics of the Demon Immortal Sect.

　　It was an art completely and thoroughly shocking. Anyone who gained enlightenment could advance by leaps and bounds and move beyond the bounds of mortality.

　　“This isn’t fair!!” cried the Cultivator from the Northern Reaches. More and more people were becoming enraged.

　　“This is incredibly unfair!!”

　　“The Demon Immortal Sect is fair and upright! Kick that guy out!!”

　　However, even as their voices rose up, Ke Yunhai looked coolly down at them and gave a light snort. The sound descended, turning into what sounded like Heavenly Thunder. Blood sprayed from the mouths of everyone present, especially that Cultivator from the Northern Reaches. His soul shuddered on the verge of collapse, and his face filled with astonishment. He suddenly looked up toward the seven Paragons in mid-air.

　　Ke Yunhai’s archaic voice echoed coldly throughout the Sect: “If anyone else talks crap, they’ll be kicked out of the Sect.”

　　Everything went completely silent. When a Paragon spoke, no one would dare to offer retort. However, everyone was still suspicious as to why Ke Yunhai, who usually paid little attention to outside matters, would suddenly open his mouth now.

　　Time passed. The 10th level of the Demon Immortal Pagoda seemed to be a line of demarcation that ninety percent of participants couldn’t pass. Of the few who were actually able to pass it, the 20th level was the second line of demarcation. Only 15 people had managed to force their way past that point.

　　As for the 30th level, currently… only Meng Hao had made it that far.

　　As time passed, the majority of the Cultivators from South Heaven experienced defeat. Wang Lihai was stopped at the 9th level, after which he emerged, pale faced and wounded.

　　In his attempt to pass the 9th level, he had employed all of the hidden techniques he possessed, and yet had still failed. Now, he could only grudgingly admit the vast difference between himself and the Cultivators from ancient times.

　　As for Zhao Fang, he wasn’t even able to get past the 5th level.

　　Han Bei was one of the few who made it to the 10th level before meeting defeat, unable to acquire the good fortune of one of the top 100 Daoist magics.

　　Among the group from South Heaven, including those from the Ji and Fang Clans, only three people were able to make it past the 10th level.

　　One was Fang Yu, the second was Patriarch Huyan and the third was the young man from the Imperial Bloodline Clan of the Northern Reaches. These three managed to make it past the 10th level, but were stopped at the 11th.

　　Unable to proceed, they were forced to accept defeat and leave.

　　At the moment, Meng Hao’s dot of light went onward, surrounded by the glow of magical treasures, all the way to the 40th level.

　　When he reached the 40th level, an archaic voice could be heard. The crowds outside of the Demon Immortal Pagoda were now jealous to the extreme and filled with incredible discontent. However, none of them dared to give voice to vent their feelings.

　　If looks could kill, though, then the 40th level would have long since been reduced to nothing but wreckage.

　　By this point, all of them could hardly wait to find out who this person was, this damnable cheater who had relied on an inexhaustible supply of magical items to get to the 40th level. It wasn’t just the disciples of the Demon Immortal Sect who wondered about this; all of the South Heaven Cultivators were also dying to find out.

　　Although some people had already guessed that it was Ke Jiusi, there was no way to confirm that. In addition, they didn’t dare to give voice to their suspicions.

　　Right now, regardless of whether the crowds admitted it or were willing to accept it, and despite how many people had entered the Demon Immortal Pagoda this time, it was now the battlefield of a single individual.

　　That person’s existence caused their gums to itch. On the one hand, they hated him down to their bones, but on the other hand, they envied him to death.

　　If things went on like this, then perhaps in the end, when they found out that the glowing light was Meng Hao, there might be an “unforeseen occurrence.” Although, at the moment, Meng Hao had already run into an unforeseen situation on the 40th level.

　　1,000,000 Demon Stones was gradually proving to be insufficient. After all, Meng Hao wasn’t really Ke Jiusi. These Demon Stones were only here for him to borrow; he couldn’t absorb them. Therefore, he had no qualms about wasting them.

　　“This isn’t gonna work,” he thought anxiously. “I’m going to need a few more Demon Stones….”

　　Currently, his supply was down to only about thirty percent. After reducing the 40th level to ruins, Meng Hao thought about it from a hundred different directions, and yet couldn’t come up with any ideas except for one. He decided to give it a shot. Employing the power of his Cultivation base, he tossed out vast quantities of magical items. Using their glow, he arranged them all to form a string of words.

　　Close up, you wouldn’t be able to make out much. However, from outside the pagoda, the glow of the magical items filled nearly half of the 40th level. Gradually, a string of twelve words became visible.

　　“Dad, I don’t have enough Demon Stones. Please send a few more.”

　　As soon as the words became visible, the disciples outside of the Demon Immortal Pagoda gaped in astonishment, especially the Cultivators from South Heaven.

　　In the blink of an eye, the entire world was filled with deathly silence.

　　When everyone finally realized the meaning of the words, they were filled with complete astonishment.

　　“This is beyond belief! Ridiculous!!”

　　“This is bald-faced cheating! He’s not even trying to hide it any more! It’s infuriating!!”

　　“So someone’s going to send more Demon Stones in?! Damned bastard! Who does he think he is? Does he really think that that this instance of the Demon Immortal Pagoda is entirely for him!?”

　　The Demon Immortal Sect disciples were panting, and their fury had reached a boiling point.

　　Most furious of all were the Cultivators from the lands of South Heaven. Their rage was filled with frustration and vexation. However, they had to admit that they had obviously lost to the people of this long dead, illusory world.

　　Furthermore, they had lost in a fashion that was virtually impossible to accept.

　　Fang Yu was the exception. She stood off in the distance covering her mouth to conceal her chuckles. She was almost shaking from laughter, and her eyes had turned into beautiful crescent moons that glowed with beauty.

　　As for the other six Paragons, they appeared to be a bit embarrassed as they looked over at Ke Yunhai, wry smiles on their faces.

　　Ke Yunhai sat cross-legged in mid-air, staring blankly at the string of words. His expression flickered a few times, and he muttered to himself. Then his body flickered. Under the shocked gaze of hundreds of thousands of Demon Immortal Sect disciples, he flew toward the pagoda.

　　“Paragon Yunhai, what are you….” said one of the other Paragons.

　　“He’s definitely going to punish that guy!” said someone in the crowd. “For someone to cheat so brazenly is something that he can’t accept!”

　　“I’m not sure. All of a sudden I started thinking about Ke Jiusi….”

　　As the crowds of disciples hesitated, Ke Yunhai neared the Demon Immortal Pagoda. He stopped outside the 40th level, then calmly pulled a bag of holding out from within his robe. Everyone gaped in astonishment as he pushed the bag up against the surface of the pagoda. Then he pulled out his Paragon’s medallion.

　　Instantly, the bag of holding sank into the pagoda.

　　“Keep it up, son,” he said with a laugh. “Force your way up to the 90th level for your old man!” With that, he returned to sit cross-legged up in mid-air, completely ignoring all the crowds who were watching him.

　　After a moment of silence, a huge commotion exploded out.

　　“It’s Ke Jiusi! Dammit! I knew there was something going on behind the scenes!”

　　“Not fair! This is brazen cheating! I can’t accept this!!”

　　“So, it was Ke Jiusi all along!” said a First Peak Conclave disciple, gnashing his teeth. “That guy!!”

　　“Only he could have so many magic items,” said a Second Peak Inner Sect disciple, his heart filled with madness and jealousy. “He forced his way to the 40th level. This is… it’s just….”

　　“Cheating is one thing,” said another disciple. “But how could you be so unabashed about it? He’s actually refilling Demon Stones in the middle? Ridiculous!!”

　　The disciples were in an uproar. As for the South Heaven Cultivators, their hearts were pounding. Quite a few of them had gotten the feeling recently that something fishy was going on with Ke Jiusi.

　　That was especially true of those who knew Meng Hao. Most of those people could tell at a glance that something strange was happening. After all, the matter of Meng Hao becoming Ke Jiusi was not a secret among the group from South Heaven.

　　Even the people from the Ji Clan knew. However, for some reason, perhaps because of Ji Xiaoxiao, the people from the Ji Clan did not have any excessive amount of killing intent toward Meng Hao.

　　Han Bei could only smile wryly and try to control her ragged breathing. She couldn’t think of anything to say. However, her admiration for Meng Hao had reached the pinnacle.

　　Wang Lihai’s face twisted, filled once with frustration, then fury, and finally, helplessness.

　　Patriarch Huyan’s pupils constricted. He had long since found out that Meng Hao was Ke Jiusi, and had intentionally avoided him. Although his own identity hadn’t been revealed, his jealousy toward Meng Hao had reached a pinnacle, and transformed into flames of rage.

　　As for Fang Yu, she had a strange expression on her face as she looked at the 40th level. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

　　The feeling which prevailed in the hearts of the Cultivators from the Eastern Lands, Northern Reaches, Southern Domain, and Black Lands was… helplessness. Facing up against a cheater like this, there was really nothing else that they could feel.

　　Although many of the Demon Immortal Sect disciples were furious, there were quite a few who spoke out for Meng Hao. These were the Sect silkpants, and the members of the Demon Entente. Their support for Meng Hao caused the uproar to grow even more tumultuous.

　　Amidst the clamor, the Paragon of the Seventh Peak, the old man with the transcendent demeanor, slowly cracked open an eye, let out a cold snort, and then said, “PIPE DOWN!”

　　The shocking sound caused everything to shake.

　　Immediately, the disciples of the Sect closed their mouths. Their minds trembled violently.

　　“The Demon Immortal Pagoda shouldn’t even be opened in this age,” continued the old man. “It was arranged today especially for Ke Jiusi.”

　　There was no further explanation, only this direct statement of fact. However, the minds of everyone present were sent spinning. At the same time, they all were thinking of the same question.

　　Why did no Elders or even Elite Apprentices appear to enter the pagoda?

　　Obviously, the pagoda had been opened specifically for Ke Jiusi. There were clearly people in the Sect who already knew that, and thus opted not to participate. Regardless of Elite Apprentice or Elder, if they participated, then they would owe a huge favor to the Fourth Peak.

　　Everyone watched on silently as the glow of magical items surrounded Meng Hao on the 40th level. Magical items and talismans were unleashed freely as Meng Hao shot out from the 40th level.

　　Another one of the top 100 Daoist magics appeared, causing the crowds outside to smile bitterly. They could only watch Meng Hao, unable to say anything.

　　They looked on as the glow of magical items within the Demon Immortal Sect went from the 40th level to the 41st. Then the 42nd, 43rd… it only took a brief moment for it to appear on the 50th level.

　　Then the 60th….

　　The entire way, the glow of magical items lit the sky. As everyone watched, they gradually began to grow numb. The exception was at every ten levels, when the Daoist magic was announced, and their hearts filled with madness and envy.

　　Cheating. And replenishing along the way. What could compare to chicanery like that…?

　　As for anger, once the Seventh Paragon openly said that the Demon Immortal Pagoda had been opened specifically for Ke Jiusi, then who present qualified to be angry…?

　　Moments later, though, people simply couldn’t control themselves, and began to discuss the matter amongst themselves.

　　“Humph. Even if the Paragons do help each other, cheating to obtain good fortune isn’t as good as making progress yourself one step at a time!”

　　“That’s right! Besides, who’s to say whether or not he’ll be able to get past the 70th level!”

　　The most frustrated of all were the Cultivators from South Heaven. They were by far the most jealous and also the most angry.

　　In truth, the South Heaven Cultivators were all cheating. They were like people who went to take a test, but knew what the questions would be ahead of time. But then, they entered the exam room only to discover that someone else had a teacher standing off to the side to help. Well… that sort of feeling was difficult to describe.

　　The young man from the Imperial Bloodline Clan of the Northern Reaches ground his teeth. “I curse you to die in there!” he thought.

　　Also in the group from South Heaven was a young woman. Her face was calm, but her eyes shone with a bright light as she looked at the Demon Immortal Pagoda.

　　“My Master told me there was something special about him….” she murmured to herself. “In fact, before coming here, he especially entrusted me to keep my eyes on him. Meng Hao, what is it about you that’s so special my Master would show so much interest in you?” This young woman was none other than the Dao Child of the Blood Demon Sect of South Heaven, Li Shiqi! 1

　　61st level. 68th level. 69th level!

　　Meng Hao was scared out of his mind the entire time. The opponents he faced now were no longer Cultivators, but rather, bizarrely shaped Greater Demons. Some of them were enormous, big enough to squash him to death with a single swipe.

　　Without his shield, Meng Hao would have been dead many times over. It was amidst massive roaring sounds that he finally stepped into the 70th level.

　　Starting with this level, he was guaranteed one of the top 10 Daoist magics if he passed!

　　The top 10 Daoist magics were shocking in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, even in ancient times. In the modern Cultivation world, they were legends among legends!

　　As soon as he entered the 70th level, Meng Hao, before his vision even became clear, he suddenly heard a proud, lofty voice.

　　As soon as he heard the voice, Meng Hao gaped. The reason was because this particular voice filled him with a sensation of incredible unreliability.

　　“Hello, child. You want to pass through here? My Daoist name is Patriarch Reliance. Come, come. Allow the Patriarch to bestow you with some good fortune….”

　　1. Meng Hao met Li Shiqi in chapter 175, just after he escaped the Black Sieve Sect with the meat jelly. She made various other appearances throughout the rest of the story, including the Song Clan search for a son-in-law, where she stood on Meng Hao’s side in chapter 189 when all his friends and enemies faced off. She was also present for many of the other major events in the Southern Domain