Chapter 835: Pill Demon’s Tribulation
For the following several days, the meat jelly spoke nonstop of all the bad things the parrot had done. From the Milky Way Sea, all the way down to their bandit days in the Eastern Lands, it revealed everything, complete with highly embellished details. It even voluntarily handed over three bags of holding that contained all of its portion of the spoils they had taken.
Meng Hao had constantly smashed it into the ground over and over during the past few days, and it feared further reprisals. Furthermore, Meng Hao’s cultivation base was now incredibly high, and if he felt like it, he could use a strand of Immortal qi to seal its mouth and prevent it from speaking even a single word. To the meat jelly, that was the most terrifying thing that could happen.
As far as the parrot was concerned, Meng Hao didn’t ask it any questions at all. He kept it sealed inside the copper mirror, with no chance whatsoever to even see anything that had fur or feathers. That was the greatest punishment which could possibly be inflicted on it.
After studying the black feather for a while, Meng Hao was shocked. The feather brimmed with transformative power, which was why the parrot had been able to release such an astonishing aura. It was all thanks to the feather.
According to the meat jelly, the feather had simply fallen from the sky when the two of them were on their way from the Milky Way Sea to the Eastern Lands….
Meng Hao wasn’t quite sure that he believed this, but after putting the feather away, he returned to the Fang Clan. By this time, the members of the sects and clans from the Ninth Mountain and Sea had long since departed. The lands of the Southern Domain had now quieted down. Unfortunately, Meng Hao’s older sister still hadn’t emerged from secluded meditation.
An entire month had soon passed by.
During that time, word of Meng Hao began to spread in the world outside of South Heaven, in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Of course, the stories told about him were always accompanied by gnashing teeth. Soon, many people in the Ninth Mountain and Sea knew that on Planet South Heaven, there was a shameless fellow who went by the name of Meng Hao.
He had monopolized the good fortune of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple, had caused the corpse of a woman to become attached to Fan Dong’er, had captured numerous Chosen, had defeated Ji Yin in one move, and most excessive of all was his unusual habit of forcing people to write promissory notes.
No one could figure out that last matter, or guess why Meng Hao had such a strange hobby….
There was another matter that shook the Ninth Mountain and Sea during that month, and caused a huge stir among countless cultivators. Many clans took special note of the event.
The Three Great Daoist Societies, which consisted of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, and the Ninth Sea God World, were holding a disciple recruitment event open to all cultivators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea!
Anyone of the Nascent Soul stage or higher, but below the Immortal Realm, could participate.
Furthermore, members of the Five Great Holy Lands, the Three Churches, and Six Sects would all participate, so that this disciple recruitment event would be as grand as possible. Any rogue cultivator from the four planets and all over the 9th Mountain and Sea would be able to participate regardless of their age or heritage as long as their cultivation base met the requirements.
To most cultivators, it represented a chance to make great advancements in a single leap. This was especially true of the cultivators who normally had no way of leaving their respective planets. It was a chance they had to seize, a once in a lifetime opportunity that would change their fate if they were successful.
A disciple recruitment event such as this was something that might happen only once in a period of tens of thousands of years. Now that the event was underway, it was impossible to say when it would happen again. In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the four great planets contained many cultivators of the appropriate cultivation base to participate. There were even more such cultivators who actually resided on the Ninth Mountain itself.
Then there were the various meteor-like islands in the Ninth Sea, which were also inhabited by numerous cultivators, as well as various other smaller worlds attached to and dependent on the Ninth Mountain and Sea. It was easy to see that an enormous number of people would be participating.
There were to be three levels of recruitment during the event. Nascent Soul. Spirit Severing. Dao Seeking. The participants from these three different stages would all compete in different areas, and would have no contact with each other.
Even more shocking was the news that anyone who got first place in any of the three stages would not only just be able to join one of the Three Great Daoist Societies, but they would immediately become a Conclave disciple, and would be rewarded with precious treasures.
That even caused the Chosen of the various great clans to be excited. Clan cultivators were not required to remain within their respective clans, but often went out to join other sects. The clans generally did not force their members to stay.
When it came to the Three Great Daoist Societies, they had existed for countless years, and apparently had histories that stretched further back than the current era.
That was one of the reasons why the Three Great Daoist Societies were so aloof, and rarely involved themselves in any sort of conflict. Actually, the only enemies the Three Great Daoist Societies had were themselves. Most important of all, they never participated in various clan struggles.
For instance, in the year Lord Ji altered the Heavens, the Three Great Daoist Societies did not interfere in any way, seemingly because they had already seen far too many changes occur throughout the long years of their existence.
In this particular disciple recruitment event, the Three Great Daoist Societies were each looking to recruit only one disciple.
From all the vast crowds of cultivators from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, they would be the only three who were formally recruited. From this, it could be seen that whoever those three people were, their lives and destinies would soon be completely changed.
As for those who didn’t end up being recruited by the Three Great Daoist Socities, it was still possible that the Five Great Holy Lands or perhaps the Three Churches and Six Sects would select them from within the competition.
News of the matter spread like wildfire throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea, via the mouths of innumerable cultivators. Even the four great planets, including Planet South Heaven, were informed.
In fact, Lord Ji issued a Dharmic decree to Planet South Heaven, which the Ji Clan there sent throughout all the lands. In the blink of an eye, all of the cultivators on Planet South Heaven who were of the Nascent Soul stage or higher, were filled with excitement.
There were many among them who hadn’t even been aware that other worlds existed outside in the starry sky. When they found out, their hearts trembled. As for those who already knew about these other worlds, they were filled with even more intense anticipation.
The whole Ninth Mountain and Sea was in a spectacular stir. The recruitment event was the subject of almost every conversation in every location.
It was at just about this time that Meng Hao received a jade slip from Grandmaster Pill Demon.
“Return to the Violet Fate Sect immediately!”
The message was short, but Meng Hao could sense Immortal will within its words!
Fang Xiufeng stood next to Meng Hao. He wasn’t looking at the jade slip, but rather, up into the sky, as he said, “Your master is about to attempt to transcend his Immortal Tribulation.”
Meng Hao’s heart trembled. He was well aware that true Immortal Ascension was a very difficult matter. Furthermore, he knew that when the true Immortal destiny appeared on Planet South Heaven, it would not be his. The true Immortal destiny came once every ten thousand years, and as to which of the four great planets it would appear on, that only became detectable in the few hundred years before it appeared.
Furthermore, only people born on that planet would be qualified to acquire the destiny. Since Meng Hao wasn’t born on planet South Heaven, the true Immortal destiny did not belong to him.
“True Immortal destiny,” said his father said calmly. “Immortal Tribulation approaches…. Your master will be competing with people who intentionally arranged for their male heirs to be born on Planet South Heaven. They will come to try to seize the Immortal destiny!
“There will also be other peak Dao Seeking experts from South Heaven who will choose that moment to strike!
“Your master showed great kindness to you, and that kindness will be paid back. I will act as his Dharma Protector during the true Immortal Tribulation. I will not allow anyone from the outside to enter Planet South Heaven. As for the lands of South Heaven themselves… I will leave that to you!”
Meng Hao took a deep breath, then stood and faced his father.
Fang Xiufeng flicked his sleeve, and the air around them began to distort. Ghost images sprang up in front of them, which then formed into the image of a map of the lands of South Heaven.
Fang Xiufeng stepped forward, followed by Meng Hao, and the two of them stepped into the illusory map. Meng Hao’s eyes swam, and when his vision grew clear again, he could sense the aura of the Southern Domain.
In one instant, they traveled from the Fang Clan in the Eastern Lands, to the Violet Fate Sect in the Southern Domain.
The Violet Fate Sect’s grand protective spell formation had long since been activated. A soft glow spread out in all directions, and the enormous statue of Reverend Violet East emanated a bright glow as well. If you looked closely, you would be able to see that Immortal qi swirled around it.
Shockingly, a person could be seen sitting cross-legged on the very top of Reverend Violet East’s head. It was Pill Demon.
He opened his eyes from meditation and turned his head to look at Meng Hao and Fang Xiufeng. A kind smile broke out on his face, and he waved his hand, causing an opening to appear in the grand spell formation. A beam of light extended out toward Meng Hao.
“You go,” said Fang Xiufeng. “Father will wait here for the Immortal Tribulation to start, and then act as Dharma Protector.” He nodded to Meng Hao, and before Meng Hao could even enter the spell formation, sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
Meng Hao took a deep breath and then stepped onto the flowing light. In a flash, he appeared directly in front of the statue of Reverend Violet East, and Pill Demon.
“Master….” said Meng Hao softly, his heart filled with nervousness and worry. He already had a cultivation base with eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal. His path was different from Pill Demon’s, but he could still faintly sense that when he reached one hundred percent of the power of a true Immortal, his own Tribulation would descend. That tribulation would be even more terrifying than Pill Demon’s true Immortal Tribulation.
In true Immortal Tribulation, the chances of making it through alive were small.
“You should be happy for your master,” said Pill Demon, smiling kindly. He looked at the disciple who had kowtowed to him three times, binding their destiny as master and apprentice. Now, his own apprentice was already stronger than him, and that made Pill Demon happy.
“Your master has prepared for true Immortal destiny for two lives…. In my last life, I was Reverend Violet East. At the peak of Dao Seeking, I refused to become a false Immortal. I desired true Immortality, so I reincarnated to reestablish my cultivation!
“In this life, I started out as a medicinal pill, which refined a strand of consciousness and then formed a body. Finally, I have reached this day…. Regardless of whatever destiny or tribulation there is, the next step… must be taken!
“Even if my Dao vanishes and my body dies, I will have no regrets!” Pill Demon sighed softly, then looked up into the Heavens. His eyes gleamed with stubbornness and determination, as well as anticipation.
It was anticipation regarding the Dao, and the determination to become Immortal.
“I had thought of giving up before. Not because I didn’t dare to make the attempt, but because of you. When Immortal destiny descended, how could I possibly fight over it with my own apprentice? But now, everything is clear. This Immortal destiny… belongs to your master!” As Pill Demon spoke, his energy surged, and Immortal qi flourished.
“Immortality 仙. One man 人 and one mountain 山!
“In Immortal Ascension, a Dao Corroboration Mountain is required. The mountain statue from my first life is that Dao Corroboration. It represents my Dao Heart. I shall stand atop my first life, to search for Immortality in my second!
Pill Demon turned to look at Meng Hao and carefully said, “Whether I succeed or fail, the next few days will be an interesting experience for you.
“Pay close attention. What you see happening will be extremely important to you in your coming true Immortal Tribulation!
“I have your father to act as Dharma Protector, which is good. As for the other old-timers from the lands of South Heaven, they have the same mind-set as me. You don’t need to interfere with them. If master isn’t confident enough to contend with them, then how could I become a true Immortal!
“You stay here and just watch as your master… transcends true Immortal Tribulation to become a true Immortal!” Pill Demon’s voice rang out, and Meng Hao took a deep breath. He looked at his master, and could sense the determination he had to corroborate his Dao, and pay any price to achieve his goal.
He did not fear death. He only feared… not achieving true Immortal Ascension!
