Chapter 573: Her Name is Xu Qing

　　Cultivators could cultivate this so-called Demon magic. In fact, any living thing could. However, the end result was that one would become a Greater Demon.

　　Meng Hao was especially shaken after seeing the Mountain Consuming Incantation. It was a technique imbued with a spirit that could conquer mountains and rivers. It was no mere embellishment, but rather, a technique that could actually consume mountains and rivers! Success could lead to one’s own path to Immortality, and becoming a Human Immortal!

　　Many of the techniques relied on Qi of Heaven and Earth that was actually Demonic Qi. There was one technique in which refining Demonic Qi into the body allowed one to create a personal Heavenly Demon Transformation. There were nineteen levels of such transformations, each one resulted in becoming a Greater Demon that could shake Heaven and Earth.

　　Meng Hao studied the information, and soon, an entire night had passed. Dawn was breaking, but he was not even aware that so much time had passed by. The Daoist magics had left him completely shaken. He suddenly realized that within his world, his life, his everything… a door had suddenly been opened. Beyond that door, was the true Heaven and Earth.

　　Such good fortune was something that, in the tens of thousands of years that the Primordial Demon Immortal Plan had opened, no one else had acquired. He was the only one… and it was all because of his special identity. In this world of limitless possibilities, he was the first person to ever use such a technique to gain access to three hundred Daoist magics.

　　From ancient times until now, from now into the future, he was the first and the last!

　　If the others who had come with him to the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane found out that he had three hundred Daoist magics, they would surely go crazy. That would even be true for people who had come in past times.

　　Even a single one of these three hundred Daoist magics would be something most Cultivators from the great lands of South Heaven could only dream about. Even with the most incredible luck, most would have trouble acquiring one. And yet… Meng Hao had three hundred. Furthermore, he could tell that these were no ordinary techniques…. These techniques were definitely from the top 1,000 Daoist Magics out of the total of 3,000!

　　There were some that surely were in the top 500. As for the Mountain Consuming Incantation and the Heavenly Demon Transformation, they were definitely within the top 200.

　　Such divine abilities and Daoist magics would send anyone mad with jealousy. Legacies and good fortune like this were unheard throughout the past tens of thousands of years.

　　Others might acquire random techniques in this place, but even after exerting incredible power, they still might not be able to gain enlightenment. If that happened, then when they left, all memory of the technique would be wiped out, much as if it had just been a dream. After awakening, they would only be able to remember that the technique existed, but not the details.

　　It was the same with Daoist magics. Only by gaining full enlightenment could one truly possess them, and remember them after leaving.

　　Therefore, if one had no way to gain enlightenment, then any effort spent would be wasted. The only thing to be done would be to work hard to find an additional Daoist magic to study.

　　Of course, that would be incredibly difficult.

　　However, Meng Hao… didn’t have to worry about any of those problems. He had three hundred Daoist magics. If he couldn’t gain enlightenment with one, he could simply move on to the next. Within the three hundred, there were definitely magics that suited him, ones that he could master and gain enlightenment of.

　　It was afternoon before he finally looked up. Gripping the jade slip tightly, his eyes filled with a strange glow. He took a deep breath and rose to his feet.

　　“I’m going to try out this Mountain Consuming Incantation. The first step in the incantation is to observe a mountain!” With that, his body flickered and he sped out from within the Immortal’s cave. By this point, he had lost interest in seeking out the other South Heaven Cultivators. As of now, killing them was his last priority. The most important thing was to focus on his own good fortune.

　　Although, if he could find Patriarch Huyan, well, he wouldn’t violate Sect rules. He would instead seek out Ke Yunhai to have him eliminated.

　　“By this point, there should be a lot of people who are awake…” he thought. As he made his way through the paths of the Fourth Peak, all of the disciples he encountered smiled and nodded at him. He smiled back as he sped toward his destination. It didn’t take long before he finally just flew up to float in mid-air and look back at the Fourth Peak.

　　“Observe the mountain…. Observe the shape of the mountain. Feel its will. The mountain exists in the eyes, and is concealed in the heart. Therefore, the body can be incarnated into a mountain.

　　“That is the only way to reach the second stage, in which I am the mountain, and the mountain is me!”

　　A strange glow appeared in Meng Hao’s eyes as he looked at the Fourth Peak. The Mountain Consuming Incantation floated within his mind’s eye.

　　“After the second stage, the third stage can be reached and the mountain… can be consumed. The will of the mountain can shape my spirit, and the mountain can refine my body!

　　“A spirit that conquers mountains and rivers! When I turn away, the mountain may no longer be within my eye, but whether or not it exists in the eyes of others, has nothing to do with me!

　　“That much would be just a small achievement!” Meng Hao sat cross-legged in mid-air looking at the Fourth Peak. Several hours passed. He looked at the mountain, and the disciples there looked back at him.

　　More and more disciples of the Fourth Peak noticed him, this Little Patriarch of their mountain peak.

　　There were quite a few female disciples who would occasionally look over at him with flirty smiles.

　　“The Little Patriarch is actually practicing cultivation!”

　　“Oh, that only happens once every few years….”

　　“Don’t tell me that the Little Patriarch’s temperament has actually changed?”

　　All of the disciples found the scene quite odd. In fact, many continued to stop their own cultivation to glance over at him hovering there in mid-air.

　　It was evening at the moment, and there were currently a dozen or so Fourth Peak Outer Sect disciples making their way up a set of stone stairs that wound up the Fourth Peak. It was an arduous task for them, and they were obviously participating in an examination for promotion into the Inner Sect.

　　There were nine stages to the examination, and this particular stage, I Shall Climb to Soar in the Heavens, was the last of them all! Whether or not they ended up being promoted to be a Fourth Peak Inner Sect disciples was based on how long it took them to reach the very top of the mountain, as well as their performance in the previous stages.

　　One of the participants was a young woman wearing the long robe of an Outer Sect disciple. Her face was pale white, but she gritted her teeth, and despite her incredible exhaustion, pushed forward with unswerving determination. Her vision swam and her body trembled, but she continued on, one stone step at a time.

　　The exam might seem easy, but anyone who participated would understand the incredible pressure and difficulty.

　　There were Inner Sect Disciples overseeing the situation to ensure safety. If anyone gave up, they would quickly be escorted away.

　　The young woman with the pale face stepped up onto another stone step and then happened to look up into the air toward Meng Hao, who sat there cross-legged meditating.

　　Not too far away from her was an Inner Sect disciple charged with the safety of the Outer Sect disciples. Having noticed who she was looking at, he coolly said, “That’s the Little Patriarch of our Fourth Peak.”

　　“Little Patriarch….” replied the woman, staring. She hadn’t been a member of the Sect for very long, but how could she not have heard of the Little Patriarch? The difference between her status and his was incredible, like that between Heaven and Earth. She glanced at him for only a moment before lowering her head in exhaustion to continue on the path toward promotion.

　　This was the only path she could tread. To get this chance for promotion, she had pawned a precious family heirloom, a magical item. She had also borrowed a lot of Demon Stones to practice cultivation. If she failed now, it would take many years to pay everything back.

　　In fact, if she failed, those vicious and greedy Outer Sect disciples who had been pestering her would make her life a living hell. The only option she had was to pass the competition examination and become an Inner Sect disciple.

　　She took a deep breath and was about to continue climbing when suddenly, Meng Hao’s gaze… fell on her.

　　The young woman didn’t notice, and she wasn’t even looking up into the sky anymore.

　　However, Meng Hao’s eyes were fixed squarely on her. The instant he had noticed her, his heart had trembled.

　　He was no longer observing the mountain; his full attention was focused on her.

　　She wore the robe of an Outer Sect disciple, and had eyes filled with determination. Although she was pretty, she was not unmatchably beautiful. However, there was something about her that caused Meng Hao to be deeply drawn to her.

　　It was as if this young woman had a soul on her, a soul from a previous life that hadn’t awakened yet.

　　In that previous life, there were ties of Karma that affected the whole world.

　　Meng Hao didn’t need to examine it closely to know that he was looking… at Xu Qing.

　　Within Meng Hao’s heart was a teardrop. When he was transmigrating into the Violet Sea, that teardrop sank to the seafloor and then into his mouth. Then, Xu Qing’s teardrop had fused into his heart.

　　She was a simple young woman, who had a simple type of love. There was nothing about such love that could shake Heaven and Earth. There was no raging fire. Instead, it was like water, calm and tranquil as it passed through the years.

　　Meng Hao looked at the young woman there on the mountain, and it felt as if tidewaters were surging up within his heart. It was as if this woman’s appearance caused a huge stone to splash onto the surface of a calm lake. Ripples spread out, causing the calmness to be broken. At the moment, there was nothing he could do except to feel incredible shock.

　　That huge stone was like a catalyst that caused Meng Hao’s thoughts and mind to spin. Within his memory, an image appeared. He saw a woman standing on an island above the Violet Sea. As she looked off into the distance, a tear welled up in the corner of her eye and then fell down.

　　That one tear sent the entire Violet Sea boiling.

　　The teardrop contained pain, confusion, longing, recollection, as well as an unprecedented, unspoken, profound feeling of attachment.

　　It was the unforgettable look she gave him on Mount Daqing. It was when she suddenly caught sight of him from within the crowd of Black Sieve Sect disciples. It was the pain felt outside the Rebirth Cave, when they looked at each other and didn’t know when they would see each other again.

　　In the end, all of that transformed into a teardrop, which then turned into massive waves.

　　It was as if everything between them had been ordinary, and yet that ordinariness had at some point turned into a fundamental part of their lives. It was as if, without even realizing it, both of them had suddenly come to exist permanently as a part of each other’s hearts.

　　“It’s Xu Qing,” murmured Meng Hao. A smile broke out on his face. It was the smile caused by an imminent reunion after having been parted for more than a hundred years. His body suddenly flickered, and he disappeared from the sight of all the disciples present. When he reappeared, shockingly, he was standing on the stone step directly in front of the female Outer Sect disciple.

　　She almost bumped directly into him. His sudden appearance caused her to subconsciously edge backward a few steps.

　　The nearby Inner Sect disciple’s eyes went wide. His voice hoarse, he said, “Little Patriarch… you….”

　　He was so close to her that Meng Hao could feel his heart thumping. He looked at the yet still sleeping Xu Qing, and softly said, “From now on, you are a Conclave disciple of the Fourth Peak!”

　　The woman stared in shock, confusion, and panic. She was nervous, disbelieving, and frightened. She glanced at the Inner Sect disciple as if to ask for help.

　　The Inner Sect disciple took a deep breath and then immediately bowed his head in compliance. He immediately produced a jade slip and asked,

　　“What’s your name?”

　　Before the woman could respond, Meng Hao’s voice could be heard.

　　“Her name is Xu Qing. She’ll be practicing cultivation in my Immortal’s cave from now on.”

　　“Huh?” said the girl, her eyes wide. “My… my name is….”

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Shayne Luangvisa, Norris Gilmore, Adam Rosen, Monty St John, Tu Ha, Alexander Rickford, Brandon Crowley, and William Tan