Chapter 45

In the vast expanse of the Koshan Sect, Meng Hao stood alone on the eastern peak, gazing at the red light screens around him gradually dissipating. When he looked down, the outer sect, which had been bustling with activity, was now empty and desolate.

Xu Senior Sister had been taken away, Chen Senior Brother had gone to the Southern Domain, and even Little Fatty had left. He didn’t know when they would meet again, or in what year or month.

The identity of an inner sect disciple, the three years at the Koshan Sect, all of this now formed a mountain of memories, mingled with the slight chill of autumn, rushing towards him, lifting his long hair, and blowing away the dust from his hair, never to return.

Meng Hao sat silently on a large rock for a long time, until the stars dotted the sky, until dawn appeared. Meng Hao sighed lightly and lifted his head.

"They’re all gone... but I’m still in the Zhao Kingdom." Meng Hao suddenly felt homesick, even though the ancestral house in Yunjie County had been sold, he still missed the bed at home, the pots and pans, the Great Green Mountain, and most of all, his mother, who always smiled kindly, and his father, who seemed to be afraid of his mother.

The memories became a bit blurry, and Meng Hao shook his head. In the morning sunlight, he stood up. There was no need to search the Koshan Sect anymore; anything that could be taken had already been taken by the Zhao Kingdom cultivators during their previous search, leaving it empty.

Meng Hao patted his clothes, changed out of the silver robe of an inner sect disciple, and took out the scholar’s long robe from years ago. The robe was quite loose, and even now, Meng Hao didn’t feel it was too small. Facing the rising sun, he took a deep breath. The golden lake of qi in his body emitted a series of loud thuds, the demon core inside undulating continuously, releasing a vast amount of spiritual energy that filled his entire body.

"I’m not far from the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, and I can already feel the bottleneck." Meng Hao took a step forward, and two flying swords flashed out from his storage bag, landing at his feet. Carrying his body, they slid down the mountain. After leaving the Koshan Sect, Meng Hao walked out.

Although the technique of sliding on a sword can make one fly, it is similar to what Xu Senior Sister used to do. Even with her wind banner, she could only fly for a short time and not for long.

Meng Hao’s figure gradually disappeared into the horizon, his steps quick, his body darting through the mountains and forests, entering the area of the Koshan Sect that he had never left in three years. He occasionally flew on his sword, looking down at the endless wilderness below, which seemed to have no boundaries.

Days passed, and maintaining this speed, Meng Hao used two days to leave the continuous mountain range.

"I wonder how many days it took Xu Senior Sister to bring me to the sect. Unfortunately, I was unconscious at the time, but she must have been much faster than me." Meng Hao looked back at the mountains and muttered to himself.

To cultivators, the Zhao Kingdom was not large, but to ordinary people, it was a vast and sparsely populated land. Meng Hao was well-versed in books and had a mental map of the Zhao Kingdom, even though he had not personally traveled through it.

"This should be the northern part of the Zhao Kingdom. It seems the Koshan Sect is not far from Yunjie County." Meng Hao looked at a lake in the distance, which was called the Northern Sea, reflecting like a mirror on the ground.

"Indeed, even with the wind banner, Xu Senior Sister was only at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. She could only slide for a short time, and her spiritual energy could not last long, so she couldn’t fly too far." A hint of longing appeared in Meng Hao’s eyes. It had been three years since he left Yunjie County, and his desire to return and take a look grew stronger. He knew that after crossing the Northern Sea, it would take only half a day to see the Great Green Mountain.

Taking a deep breath, Meng Hao took large steps forward. When he reached the Northern Sea, he looked at the calm lake surface and saw his reflection in the water. The person in the water was no longer a young boy but a man of about twenty, with a more resolute face, different from the naive and inexperienced look of years ago.

His thoughts were interrupted by a hearty and warm laugh.

"Is this young scholar going to cross the sea?" A boat approached on the lake, and an old man in a straw raincoat, with a weathered face, rowed the boat, looking at Meng Hao and smiling.

"Thank you, old sir." Meng Hao was taken aback; he hadn’t heard the term "young scholar" for three years.

"Not at all. I’ve been ferrying people across the Northern Sea for years, and I admire people like you who are well-read and capable." The old man said, bringing the boat close to Meng Hao, extending a plank, and Meng Hao quickly thanked him and stepped onto the boat.

Inside the boat, there was a girl of about seven or eight years old, with two small braids, squatting by a small stove, fanning the fire, making the water on the stove emit a steady stream of heat. In the water, a pot of wine was warming.

"This is my granddaughter. Unfortunately, she’s a girl. If she were a boy, I would have made her study. Where are you from, young scholar?" The old man rowed the boat, and as it moved into the center of the lake, he sat by the stove and smiled.

The little girl also looked up, her big eyes gazing at Meng Hao with a look of innocence and cuteness.

"I’m from the foot of the Great Green Mountain, Yunjie County." Meng Hao smiled, and the life of the mortal world brought back memories from three years ago.

"Yunjie County, that’s a good place, with talented people and a blessed land. It once had auspicious signs, which even caught the attention of the officials. The weather is getting colder, and my body can’t handle it, so I need to drink some wine to keep warm. Do you drink, young scholar?" The old man smiled, picked up the wine pot, and asked Meng Hao.

Meng Hao knew about the auspicious signs, which occurred over ten years ago, just a few days before his parents disappeared. Thinking about this, Meng Hao felt a bit melancholic. He hesitated for a moment, looking at the wine pot. He had never drunk wine before; his family was too poor to buy it in Yunjie County, and he didn’t have it at the Koshan Sect. Now, he picked up a wine cup, which the old man filled, and drank it in one gulp.

Instantly, a spicy sensation spread through his heart, gradually turning into a warm feeling.

"How long have you been ferrying people across the Northern Sea, old sir?" Meng Hao looked at the green waves of the lake and took another sip of wine. The spiciness of the wine reminded him of the Koshan Sect, Xu Senior Sister, Chen Fan, and Little Fatty.

"Twenty years. I’ve met so many people, and I’ve learned a lot from them. I hope you don’t mind my talking." The old man smiled.

"Like this lake, it has existed for countless years, seeing so many people pass by. People remember it, and it remembers them." The old man raised his wine cup and took a sip.

Meng Hao was taken aback by this statement, pondering it deeply as he looked at the lake.

"Why is this lake called the Northern Sea?" Meng Hao suddenly asked.

"A lake can dry up, be calm and still, and naturally cannot contain all things. The sea, however, is always present and can embrace a hundred rivers and a thousand streams. Perhaps people don’t want it to disappear, so they call it the Northern Sea. After all, if you think it’s a lake, it’s a lake; if you think it’s a sea, it’s a sea." The old man thought for a moment and smiled.

These words struck Meng Hao, and his hand holding the wine cup trembled. He stared at the lake, as if lost in thought.

After an unknown amount of time, the boat reached the shore. Meng Hao took out some silver coins he had obtained from other disciples at the Koshan Sect, paid the old man, and bowed deeply. As the boat sailed away, Meng Hao’s eyes showed a strange light.

He didn’t leave immediately but sat cross-legged by the lake, watching the boat sail away, and hearing the old man’s laughter.

"You think it’s a lake, it’s a lake; you think it’s a sea, it’s a sea..." The old man’s voice echoed and gradually faded, as if... not sailing into the distance, but merging into the Northern Sea, diving into the lake bottom...

Meng Hao sat there, lost in thought, for three days.

For three days, Meng Hao remained motionless, silently watching the lake, his mind echoing with the old man’s words.

"A lake can dry up, be calm and still, and naturally cannot contain all things. The sea, however, is always present and can embrace a hundred rivers and a thousand streams..." Meng Hao’s eyes grew brighter, and the golden lake of qi in his body seemed boundless, like the lake he was looking at.

"I think it’s a lake, it’s a lake; I think it’s a sea, then from now on... it’s a sea!" Meng Hao’s mind resonated, and in that instant, the lake of qi in his body violently churned, expanding dramatically without any medicinal pills.

Meng Hao was unaware of this, closing his eyes and immersing himself in a certain state. His mind was filled with the old man’s words, and he didn’t notice the vast amount of heaven and earth qi surging towards him, surrounding him, and continuously flowing into his body. This even caused the calm Northern Sea to rise in waves, with a large amount of qi overflowing from the Northern Sea and merging into Meng Hao’s surroundings.

The Northern Sea Enlightenment!

At this moment, if a Core Formation cultivator saw this, they would be shocked, because enlightenment was a realm that only Spirit Severing cultivators could reach, requiring great fortune and opportunity. Now, Meng Hao had clearly touched the threshold!

The reason for his success was closely related to the demon core in his body, the core of the Yinglong, an ancient beast capable of becoming a demon. In fact, when Meng Hao had the dream of the Yinglong years ago, he had already achieved enlightenment.

Three days later, when Meng Hao opened his eyes, a golden light flashed in his eyes. The lake of qi in his body had doubled in size, looking like a lake but, in Meng Hao’s mind, it was no longer a lake but his lake of qi!

Because he believed it was a sea, then it... was a sea!

The sea roared, the waves surged, carrying the demon core inside, undulating continuously, releasing a vast amount of spiritual energy that permeated Meng Hao’s entire body, following the circulation method of the Great Spirit Scripture’s Qi Condensation section. Instantly, Meng Hao’s body was bathed in golden light, and his mind resonated as if a barrier in his body had been broken. In an instant, the golden light spread three feet around him.

The rumbling echoed, and Meng Hao’s cultivation instantly soared, breaking through the bottleneck of the sixth layer of Qi Condensation and directly reaching the seventh layer of Qi Condensation!

One could even say that his seventh layer of Qi Condensation was almost at its peak, because in his dantian, it was not a lake of qi but a sea of qi!

In the previous moment, the vast amount of qi accumulated in the Northern Sea for countless years seemed to help him, surging towards him, aiding his breakthrough.

After a long time, the heaven and earth qi around him gradually dissipated, the qi of the Northern Sea disappeared, and the golden light around Meng Hao slowly faded, returning him to his original state. He sat cross-legged, his eyes no longer showing the golden light but a bright and clear spirit.

Meng Hao slowly stood up, looked at the Northern Sea, and bowed deeply. In his mind, he recalled the descriptions in the Koshan Sect’s library of the Southern Continent, where life was called a demon, and any demon could be a mountain, a river, a tree, or an animal.

"Today, I have achieved enlightenment at the Northern Sea. When my cultivation reaches a certain level, I will return to this place and help you become a sea!" Meng Hao gazed at the Northern Sea, unsure if this lake, which wanted to become a sea, had a life, a demon.

But, regardless, this place had helped him break through his cultivation and transform his lake of qi into a sea of qi. This favor must be repaid, and the way to repay it was to help this lake become a sea!

After a while, Meng Hao turned and walked towards the Great Green Mountain.

In this book, there will be demons, but not in the form of birds or beasts turning into humans, nor cultivators becoming demons. These are great demons of heaven and earth, such as mountains, rivers, the earth, and even a starry sky. They will be few in number, and each demon will be described in great detail, with great care. In this chapter, the second demon appears, named the Northern Sea, a lake that aspires to become a sea!