Chapter 193: The Flower Blooms at Dawn!

　　Above the sea and the enormous tree, was the endlessly roiling cloud vortex. Above the cloud vortex was the banquet set by the Song Clan in search of a son-in-law.

　　Currently the Song Clan Patriarch’s voice was ringing out across the sea, and the invisible woman had vanished. Deep within the recesses of the Song Clan mountains was where their Dao Reserves were located.

　　The corpse, composed of half a body, emitted a mysterious glow from its eyes. Hesitation flickered within the glow.

　　“Just… just who was she? She seems to have the spirit of an Immortal, but yet is not qualified to be one…. She was looking toward that young man Meng Hao with deep love and affection. However, the object of her gaze was not Meng Hao, but… that Resurrection Lily inside of him!

　　“She said that he would come before them, and would understand everything. Why did those simple words cause my hair to stand on end….” The old man’s eyes emanated an archaic light, and he sank into thoughtfulness. “She said that if he failed, she would wait for him to be reincarnated in the yellow springs of the underworld. How very logical. It seems she’s accustomed to such things…. This is not something a Cultivator can do. There is no reincarnation in Cultivation. For a Cultivator to attempt to reincarnate is useless. Otherwise, why would the Rebirth Cave have appeared?

　　“Rebirth is possible, which means the ability to live another life. However, there is no such thing as reincarnation. In terms of reincarnation, this is only possible for… the legendary Resurrection Lily! The Resurrection Lily merges with a person as a form of reincarnation. This is why it’s called a Resurrection Lily! Once the flower merges with a person, the person disappears, but the flower remains. However, things are never so absolute in this world. If the Resurrection Lily were to be tamed and consumed, Seven Colored Immortal Ascension is possible!”

　　This Song Clan Patriarch who had just recently revealed himself to the rest of the Song Clan suddenly flew up into the air. His eyes glittered as the indistinct image of the lower half of his body appeared. His hair whipped around his head as he kneeled atop the pillar.

　　“Immortal, your origin is full of mystery. The Song Clan has watched over the Southern Domain for generation after generation. Immortal, I beg you to clear up my confusion!” He bit down on his tongue and spit up some blood from his heart. The blood flew out and instantly disappeared. However, the Sun-Moon treasure in the sky above the Song Clan suddenly flickered, and a glow appeared that no outsider would be able to notice. It shot down through the mountains until it was directly in front of the old man.

　　It transformed into a partially transparent figure. It was impossible to tell whether it was male or female. It was blurry as if it were both there, and not there….

　　When the old corpse caught sight of the figure, an expression of veneration appeared on his face. He knew that this was the Spirit of the Clan treasure. This Spirit… was also an ancient Patriarch of the Song Clan. According to legend, after achieving Immortality, he had left behind a fragment of his Spirit here.

　　The figure lifted its hand and gently tapped the top of the old man’s head.

　　The man’s body trembled, and suddenly his eyes shone with disbelief. He looked up and watched as the illusory figure slowly disappeared. It was as if it had never been there.

　　The old corpse took a deep breath. “The flower blooms at dawn, and achieves Immortality on the day of vicissitude. The mother of the Resurrection Lily… the Dawn Immortal…. 1 This Meng Hao is too dangerous….” He was silent in thought for a moment. However, he gave no orders, nor did he do anything to reverse the words he had been forced to transmit earlier by the woman.

　　Meanwhile, in the roaring ocean beneath the cloud vortex, the wind screamed. The Cultivators who had entered this place numbered in the dozens. They circled the region of the enormous tree.

　　Whoever could break through the massive winds and actually reach the tree itself, would snatch the first place position in the race.

　　To be able to earn a place within the Song Clan would earn the right to practice Cultivation within the profound Clan regions. Almost all of the Cultivators present thirsted for such an opportunity. That was why they were here, and that was what they were fighting for.

　　Meng Hao, on the other hand, was not here for any supposed chance to marry into the Song Clan. Although this place was incredibly suitable for Cultivation, he wasn’t the type to be inclined to depend on others. Unless he had an important purpose, he preferred to be like the sea and the sky, free to roam as he wished, alone.

　　For a man to roam under the heavens, enjoy the scenery, observe the beauty of the earth and the animals… that was what life meant to Meng Hao. His eyes glittered as he looked up at the massive tree in the distance. At its vast top existed a pearl.

　　The others didn’t value the pearl itself, but rather, what it represented. Only Meng Hao cared about the former! Were it not for the pearl, Meng Hao wouldn’t even be here.

　　“I hope that pearl can dispel my poison. If it can, I won’t have to go through all the trouble of infiltrating the Violet Fate Sect.”

　　Meng Hao’s eyes flickered, and his heart trembled as he shot forward. He narrowed his eyes and stopped flying for a moment.

　　“So, I can absorb spiritual energy in this place too. Furthermore, it’s even more dense here than outside. What big secret does the Song Clan have? How come the spiritual energy here is like that in the Blood Immortal Legacy zone? Why can I absorb it?” His eyes filled with thought, he once again shot forward at high speed. At the same time, he rotated his Cultivation base. His four Perfect Dao Pillars hummed, and his body became like a black hole. Immediately, the spiritual energy in the area began to rush toward him.

　　Meng Hao didn’t suck it in with unbridled speed, but cautiously, gradually.

　　Off in the distance, Wang Tengfei’s face was grim, his heart filled with bitterness and even a bit of insanity. Ever since he was young, he had been Chosen. Because of the blood of the Flying Rain Dragon which had fallen from the heavens, his path had been set as he grew up. It seemed he always had the same type of good fortune.

　　However… thanks to his brother Wang Lihai, he hadn’t been able to become a Dao Child of the Wang Clan. All the focus gradually drifted further and further away from him. In fact, for his entire childhood, he had lived within the shadow of his brother.

　　He wanted to resist, to fight back. He wanted to exceed his brother. He wanted to prove that he was worthy to be Dao Child of the Wang Clan. Because of that, he had left the Clan and gone to the State of Zhao in search of the Flawless Foundation.

　　He knew that if he stayed in the Wang Clan, it would be difficult to rise to prominence.

　　Filled with idealism and aspiration, he went to the State of Zhao to find the Flawless Foundation and the legacy of the Flying Rain-Dragon. His plan was to return from the State of Zhao and then challenge his brother to battle.

　　However, everything had been ruined by Meng Hao. He had been defeated. Utterly and thoroughly. But he refused to give up. Thanks to Wang Xifan’s encouragement, and the support of Chu Yuyan, he had emerged from the shadows with his poison finger.

　　In fact, it was only with the help of Chu Yuyan that he had achieved the Cracked Foundation that he had. When he had witnessed his brother die in the Blood Immortal Legacy tournament, it had suddenly felt as if the future were wide open. His extreme misfortune would finally give birth to a meteoric rise.

　　At that time, he believed that Wang Tengfei’s life would finally be restored.

　　Except… subsequent events caught him completely unawares. To his astonishment, he found that Wang Lihai was not dead. The Wang Lihai that died in the Blood Immortal Legacy tournament was in fact a Dao Clone created by a Wang Clan patriarch.

　　Subsequently, the rumours of Chu Yuyan and the strange man spread like wildfire. It was something he simply could not tolerate. Yet even more unbelievable was how when he asked Chu Yuyan about it, she wouldn’t respond.

　　It would be bad enough if that were all that he suffered. He could grit his teeth and endure. However, it was here in the Song Clan that he discovered the man who had been seen with Chu Yuyan was actually Meng Hao!

　　That had driven him crazy. He had gone all out in order to kill Meng Hao. However, that battle became the straw that broke the camel’s back. That straw, that crushing defeat at the hands of Meng Hao, caused Wang Tengfei to laugh bitterly. His thinking, his temperament, his everything, all twisted and changed in that moment.

　　It pushed him toward the edge of insanity.

　　“I can do without the Wang Clan,” he thought, his eyes filled with veins of blood, “and I can also cut off Chu Yuyan. I, Wang Tengfei, will tread my own path. I will take everything away from Meng Hao. I will snatch it all back!!” His body trembled with crazed fervor as he shot through the wind toward the tree.

　　Fatty plugged his nose against the wind as he floated in mid-air. Seven or eight Golden Frost Sect disciples formed a protective ring around him.

　　“The Sect Lord prohibited me from marrying into the Song Clan. But, I figured I would give it a shot anyway,” he said. He popped a Spirit Stone into his mouth and crunched it to pieces.

　　The surrounding Golden Frost Sect disciples could only smile bitterly.

　　“Little Patriarch, you really shouldn’t be doing this. Senior, what if you go berserk and then somehow become a son-in-law of the Song Clan? When we returned to the Sect, our punishment would be horrific….”

　　“That’s right, Little Patriarch, think things over again… Think things over again….”

　　Fatty stared at them with wide-eyed, his expression one of disbelief. “But I’m already here,” he said.

　　“Little Patriarch,” said Zhou Daya hurriedly, “don’t you know about all those Junior Sisters back in the Sect who have eyes for you? Plus, you have several official beloved assigned to you by the Sect Leader. They’re all waiting for you….” He understood Fatty the most, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Fatty took a deep breath.

　　“Alright, forget it. Let’s just go along to watch the fun.”

　　At the same time as the Golden Frost Sect disciples were trying to dissuade Fatty from participating, off in the distance, Wang Youcai floated in mid-air looking thoughtful. A strange aura circulated around his body. He appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, but also emanated an extremely anti-social air. He gazed toward the enormous tree, lost in thought.

　　He looked at Fatty, and then Meng Hao. Whenever Meng Hao looked back at him, however, he would avert his eyes.

　　Whatever had happened between him and Dong Hu, it seemed would remain a secret that only the two of them could understand. 2

　　The mournful, screaming wind whipped the sea into madness. The dark shadows which swam back and forth in its depths made this whole place seem incredibly awe-inspiring. Amidst the howling wind, everyone surged forward. The wind blasted against their faces as they shot toward the enormous tree.

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Jeremy Holovacs, Daniel Pennell, Ross Hilton, and Daniel Dean

　　1. The Dawn Immortal was mentioned before in multiple previous chapters: Chapter 83: Patriarch, What About Disciple’s Poison…?, Chapter 88: Lord Revelation’s True Self, Chapter 94: You Really Want Me To Come Out?, Chapter 95: A Rain Shower, a Cold Spell, and Chapter 117: A Tiny Little Punishment

　　2. The relationship between Dong Hu and Wang Youcai is mentioned most recently in Chapter 71: Dong Hu and Chapter 72: A True Man