Chapter 525: Heavenly Tribulation, I Haven’t Seen You For Ages!

　　The moment in which the five elements combined, Meng Hao’s Cultivation base did not change, but his battle prowess instantly doubled again. At first, he started with power equivalent to one peak late Nascent Soul. Now, he had power equivalent to sixteen!

　　Such terrifying battle prowess far exceeded the scope of the late Nascent Soul stage. Even someone of the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage would crumble like dried weeds before Meng Hao’s power of sixteen peak late Nascent Souls.

　　That was the fearsomeness and incredible power of the realm of Perfection!

　　However, for Meng Hao, such terrifying power came at the price of longevity. To maintain his grip on such power meant that his longevity was no longer one hundred years, but rather, six!

　　After all, he was not truly in possession of a Perfect Nascent Soul. He had acquired it by alternative methods…. But actually, not even a true Perfect Nascent Soul could come close to this unbelievably fearsome power.

　　On this new path of the Nascent Soul that Meng Hao had forged, he possessed Perfect battle prowess that far exceeded even the extraordinary power of the Perfect Nascent Soul. Because he had been operating only on speculation and not research, he hadn’t been clear about what the end result would be. But having sensed the battle prowess that existed within him, he now realized that his path was incredibly astonishing.

　　Battle power erupted out and his aura was swift and fierce as he fought back against the five-petaled Resurrection Lily. His body was the battlefield upon which the two forces slammed into each other.

　　As soon as they collided, the Resurrection Lily let out a miserable howl. It didn’t matter that it had suddenly sprouted a fifth petal. Under the power of Meng Hao’s fearsome battle prowess, it was… incapable of withstanding even a single blow.

　　Intangible explosions rippled out as the Resurrection Lily collapsed under Meng Hao’s attack. It had been beaten back repeatedly, and had retreated completely from its former position of superiority. Now, all it could do was hide in Meng Hao’s extremities, give up any notions of rising up, and hope Meng Hao did not attack any further.

　　Meng Hao took a deep breath as he looked up at the sixth Nascent Soul hovering near his head, the Wind Nascent Soul.

　　After a moment, his eyes gleamed with determination.

　　“Since I decided to be powerful, I might as well acquire the pinnacle of power!” Without hesitation, he lifted his right hand up and pointed at the Wind Nascent Soul. Instantly, it flickered and moved with incredible speed. It wasn’t minor teleportation; it actually exceeded that. It immediately appeared inside of Meng Hao where it fused with the other Nascent Souls.

　　BOOMMMM!!!

　　The great circle of six elements! Six-Colored Nascent Soul!

　　Incredible battle prowess rocketed up, once again double. A fearsome aura equivalent to thirty-two peak late Nascent Souls emanated out, causing the Violet Sea to tremble. Everything shook. This was… Six-Colored Paragon!

　　Meng Hao could sweep across all Nascent Soul Cultivators. He was only a short way away from the Spirit Severing stage, and yet in all the lands of South Heaven, he was definitely… the number one person under the Spirit Severing stage!

　　If his Cultivation base could break through the late Nascent Soul stage to the great circle, then with his battle prowess of thirty-two times normal, then facing up against Spirit Severing Cultivators… he would not be so weak. He could be considered powerful enough to defend himself.

　　That might seem of little note, but Spirit Severing… was a stage of Cultivation that could be considered a major area of demarcation. Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul. These stages were actually still called the stages of… mortals!

　　By using incredible power, momentum was built up… all for the purpose of breaking through to a new type of life. Spirit Severing!

　　Spirit Severing, Dao Seeking, and Immortal Ascension were three stages that were called the stages of… Immortals!

　　The difference between mortals and Immortals was such that for someone in the mortal realm to actually be able to fight back against an almighty member of the Immortal realm would cause an incredible commotion in the entirety of South Heaven if word of it were to spread.

　　Normally something like that would only be possible with the aid of precious treasures. Only relying on one’s body would make it impossible!

　　As of this moment, it was possible for Meng Hao.

　　When he reached the Six-Colored great circle, the Resurrection Lily inside of him began to tremble. Before it could tremble for too long, though, Meng Hao battered at it with all of the battle prowess of his Cultivation base.

　　Indescribable, shocking booming filled Meng Hao, like towers of thunder. The Resurrection Lily let out an unprecedented scream. All its defenses crumbled, incapable of standing up against Meng Hao’s battle prowess and Divine Sense, which bore down into its very core.

　　It screamed and trembled, terrified. It possessed consciousness of its own, and in its memory, it couldn’t recall ever feeling this hopeless. Originally, it should have been in a position above all other living things. Meng Hao was nothing but a host body for it. As of now, though, it was actually being possessed. It… was becoming a part of Meng Hao.

　　There was nothing it could do. Meng Hao’s battle prowess of thirty-two peak late Nascent Souls made it so that the Resurrection Lily could only watch in shock as Divine Sense was driven into its core. At this moment, its life or death was completely in Meng Hao’s hands.

　　Meng Hao did not exterminate the Resurrection Lily, though. Instead, he branded its consciousness with a seal of his own.

　　“This seal is not indelible. A hundred years from now, if I can’t figure out a way to make a sixth petal appear, then I’ll exterminate you.

　　“If a sixth petal does appear, the seal will dissipate, and then you’ll have another chance to try to possess me. Then, you will be qualified… to try to fight me again!” Meng Hao’s cold words echoed out within the seal that he had placed on the Resurrection Lily’s consciousness. It trembled, in awe of Meng Hao but also filled with fierceness and lack of reconciliation. Suppressing its wild heart, it slowly calmed down.

　　Actually, what Meng Hao wanted was just that: the Resurrection Lily’s wild heart.

　　Having suppressed the Resurrection Lily, Meng Hao sat down cross-legged to study his expanding Cultivation base. As of now, he could clearly sense that his longevity, if it remained as it was now, would only last for three more years, perhaps a bit more.

　　“It’s too bad I don’t have a seventh Nascent Soul. It would leave me with only one year of longevity, but with a seventh Nascent Soul, I wonder… if I would be able to battle the Spirit Severing stage?” A bright gleam appeared in his eyes.

　　Suddenly, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a wooden box.

　　Looking at the box made him think of his Master, Pill Demon. The box had been given to him by Pill Demon, and it contained a medicinal pill which could not only suppress the the Resurrection Lily, but also help him achieve Cultivation base breakthroughs. It could also add to his longevity.

　　Throughout all the years, Meng Hao had never consumed even one. Now, however, he unhesitatingly took the pill out, made some copies, and put one in his mouth. He sat there cross-legged, meditating as the medicinal pill dissolved. His Cultivation base grew more stable, and his life force more vigorous. The power of growth appeared, fusing into his Six-Colored Nascent Soul, causing his longevity to instantly be replenished.

　　Moments later, after the pill had been fully absorbed, he made some more copies and then began to consume them. Several days passed, after which, he opened his eyes from meditation. They glowed with a shocking brightness; his life force was now restored to what appeared to be roughly half of a sixty-year cycle.

　　His bag of holding was now devoid of Spirit Stones, and he had consumed many medicinal pills. However, he had actually managed to add almost one thousand years to his longevity. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the medicinal pills was growing continuously weaker. In the end, they stopped working at all. That was generally how such longevity-increasing medicinal pills worked.

　　After all, life could not go past one thousand years. That rule could never be changed, and mortal power could never fight against it!

　　“It might seem like thirty years, but if I keep the six Nascent Souls dispersed under normal situations and only combine them under special circumstances, then my problem with the longevity will be resolved.” Now that Meng Hao didn’t have to worry about the longevity, he gave a long sigh. If only he had a seventh Nascent Soul… that would be far better.

　　Meng Hao stood up. As he did, popping sounds could be heard coming from within his body. He was now a full three heads taller than before. His shoulders were wider, but his body was even more slender.

　　His muscles hadn’t grown, but he was now clearly stronger and tougher. All of his blood and flesh was filled with shocking power. Blue veins bulged out, and every beat of his heart sent hot blood pumping throughout his body.

　　His physical body had also experienced an unprecedented increase in its toughness.

　　At the moment, he looked strange and bizarre, radiating an indescribably imposing bearing and force of attraction. He looked like something beyond the mortal world, something unprecedentedly mighty.

　　Suddenly, cracking sounds could be heard coming from his right hand. Meng Hao looked down to see the diaphanous Fang Clan glove exploding into tiny pieces.

　　The power of Meng Hao’s own fist now exceeded that of the glove.

　　He quickly gathered up the pieces of the glove and put them into his bag of holding.

　　“Well then, this will now count as one my Divine Abilities. Six Animas Soul Transformations! Under normal circumstances, I will only reveal the power of the First Anima!” His eyes glittered, and the Six-Colored Nascent Soul within him trembled. Ghost images appeared; within the space of a few breaths, they broke apart, transforming once again into six different Nascent Souls. They sat cross-legged in Meng Hao’s dantian region, meditating and cultivating.

　　Meng Hao’s aura suddenly dropped down. His Cultivation base was once again at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage. His body also changed. He was no longer so tall and mighty. He returned to his previous height, and the power in his flesh and blood returned to normal. His entire person now emanated the scholarly aura that it usually did.

　　After studying his Cultivation base for a moment to ensure that his method was correct and that the problem with the longevity had been solved, he looked up at the Violet Sea. There was no need for him to send out Divine Sense; the entire Violet Sea was his eyes. He could see the tempest growing in the sky above the Violet Sea. Lightning danced and Tribulation clouds surged.

　　His body flickered. Sounds like explosions could be heard in all directions as the Violet Sea around him turned into a huge vortex around. His body transformed into a beam of light that shot up from the depths of the Violet Sea toward the surface.

　　As he moved up, the vortex grew larger, causing the surface of the sea to roll with massive waves. It was as if the entire Violet Sea were letting out a cry that rose to the Heavens, welcoming Meng Hao as he rose up!

　　This was the first time in the more than one hundred years since Meng Hao descended to the depths of the seafloor… that he finally emerged in the outside world!

　　BOOM!

　　The Violet Sea roared as massive waves rolled out in all directions. Meng Hao stood there on the surface of the water, looking up at the Tribulation clouds up in the sky.

　　Boundless lightning crackled and boomed. It was as if upon finding Meng Hao, the Heavenly Tribulation was roaring at him.

　　Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever as he coolly said, “Heavenly Tribulation… I haven’t seen you for ages!”

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Torsten Beckmann, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, and Lasse Vandrup