The incense stick burned out!

An intense rumbling could be heard from within the Reincarnation Mountain, seemingly in approval of Meng Hao. The sound of it echoed about in all directions, causing Heaven and Earth to shake. The black smoke churned, and the flames within swept about in all directions. The light in the sky grew brighter to a shocking degree.

One and a half portions of light were added.

The sky had room for ten portions of light. As of now, the three Greater Demon Mountains were illuminated by nine portions.

The Heavens were filled with brightness, as if it were high noon. The two Holy Lands of the Third Heaven were now fully illuminated. The vegetation and buildings there were clearly distinguishable.

In fact, it was also possible to see that in one of the Holy Lands, an enormous pagoda rose up, upon which was carved a huge character.

Ji!

The character seemed ancient, although that was something that mortals would not be able to see. Even most Cultivators, unless they were sensitive to the power of Time, would have difficulty picking up any clues. However, to Meng Hao, that sensation was secondary to that of the Holy Lands themselves.

The Holy Lands had existed for tens upon tens of thousands of years before the Ji Character came to be.

That made sense according to the legends regarding Lord Ji. The Ji Clan originally did not have that surname. It was only after seizing Lordship of the Ninth Mountain and Sea that the name was changed, and the Heavens were placed onto top of the Li Clan.

An ancient voice spoke out from the Reincarnation Mountain. Although the voice was cold, it seemed to be filled with sentiment as it slowly reverberated out.

"The Dao is a direction…. The words of an innocent child.

"I will remember this answer." Even as the voice spoke, the power of Heaven and Earth contained in the aura of the Reincarnation Mountain erupted out from the mouth of the volcano. It was so thick that it seemed as if it would take on corporeal form, as if it were actually a waterfall. The sheer amount exceeded that of the previous occasion exponentially as it shot toward Meng Hao.

It neared and then surrounded him, rumbling as it formed into a huge vortex with Meng Hao in the very middle. He took a deep breath, like a dragon inhaling, and the power of Heaven and Earth poured into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, as well as all the pores in his body. It shot in and then began to accumulate in his dantian region.

It fused into the Dao Pillars, causing a surging power that pushed Meng Hao's Cultivation base up. The Dao Pillars began to shine with endless light. At the same time, the Nascent Souls inside of him suddenly flew out one by one to float around him.

When the Eighth Nascent Soul appeared, it made a thoroughly astonishing scene.

As the eight Nascent Souls rotated around Meng Hao, shockingly, they too began to absorb the power of Heaven and Earth that contained the aura of the Reincarnation Mountain. It poured into Meng Hao's body and continued the transformation process that would end with… a ninth Nascent Soul!

Boom!

The endless light from the Dao Pillars exploded into pieces, which then began to form together into a glittering core the size of a grain of rice!

Early Core Formation!

As soon as the core appeared, the speed with which Meng Hao absorbed the power of Heaven and Earth increased by more than ten times. By adding in the eight Nascent Souls, it only took the space of a few dozen breaths for the boundless vortex surrounding him to rapidly shrink.

After it disappeared, Meng Hao's face flickered. He suddenly looked up, his eyes glowing. There in his dantian region was a core roughly the size of an infant's fist!

The Cultivation base of the core instantly shot upward. Mid Core Formation. Late Core Formation. All the way to… the great circle of Core Formation.

The core emanated colorful lights, and appeared to be a Mottled Core. However, inside of it was a unique aura…. As soon as Meng Hao sensed the aura, he recognized it.

It was… Demonic Qi!!

This was a… Demon Core!

The Reincarnation Mountain was the essence of a Greater Demon. One of the withered slaves on the mountain achieved his Dao, then became one of the three Greater Demons who could rebuke the Heavens. From this it could be seen how shocking the Reincarnation Mountain was.

As of now, Meng Hao could see that the power of Heaven and Earth that contained the aura of the Reincarnation Mountain, was actually Demonic Qi. Since he had absorbed Demonic Qi for this cultivation, then naturally, he had produced a Demon Core.

That meant that his ninth Nascent Soul would obviously be… a Demon Nascent Soul.

Ninth Nascent Soul, Demon Nascent Soul!

"With one more round of this power of Heaven and Earth, I can cause my Demon Nascent Soul to appear." His eyes shone with a bizarre light, and he looked up at the Reincarnation Mountain with a look of anticipation.

He could sense the Demon Core within him, at the great circle of Core Formation. He was just one step away from forming a Nascent Soul.

The rumbling from the Reincarnation Mountain gradually faded away, and the mountain returned to normal. Black smoke surged out and flames rose up into the sky. The ancient, cold voice once again sounded out.

"No more questions are required of you.

"As you said, your current realm and Cultivation base do not permit you to know what the Dao is….

"Asking you the third question would result in nothing more but empty talk. You would neither move my heart, nor yours.

"Therefore, not asking the question is the most appropriate course of action.

"However, I am very curious. If your Dao is a direction, and you are still searching, then… have you found any traces of it?" The last question asked by the ancient voice echoed out in all directions.

Meng Hao was silent for a moment. His eyes glowed with reminiscence, but after a long time, he clasped hands toward the Reincarnation Mountain and bowed. When he straightened up, his voice was soft as he began to speak. "Many years ago," he murmured, "on a night when snow filled the world, I sat together with someone in a horse-drawn carriage.

"It was bitterly cold outside, but there was an oven inside the carriage, making it very warm. It was as if there were two different worlds, separated from each other. At that time, I had just stepped foot into the Cultivation world. I was no longer a mortal, but a Cultivator. When I looked outside at the snow, I felt that I was looking at myself.

"The snow can only exist during the dead of winter. It may yearn for summer days, and for warmth, but if it nears them, it will melt. I am much the same. After striding forward into the Cultivation world, I could not turn my head back, nor could I ever experience the peace and tranquility I once had." Of course, Meng Hao was thinking back to that year in the State of Zhao, when he had spent some time in the carriage with scholar Zheng Yong.1

"I was once a mere scholar…. I remember how when I finally left my hometown. It was raining….1

"My life is like snow. I can only exist within winter. I may wish to return to the sunny days of the mortal world, but that is no longer me….

"Life is like a journey, filled with countless different experiences. Perhaps it is best to say that different experience create different scenery on that journey. If you experience bitterly cold wind, you will become snow. If you experience the blazing sun, then you become rain….

"The type of life you experience determines what type of person you will be. That is what makes life wonderful."

Ke Jiusi looked at Meng Hao, and many thoughts floated up in his mind. He thought of Ke Yunhai, and thought of his own life. What he saw was everything that had happened to him, and this world.

"I've already been here for a long time, filled with nostalgia…."

True spirit Night sighed. Meng Hao's words did not contain some great Dao. However, the words had touched it nonetheless. Before this moment, it would never have believed that some tiny Cultivator who could not stand up to a single blow from it, would be qualified to move it emotionally.

Zhixiang looked at Meng Hao, once again experiencing how extraordinary Meng Hao was. It made her think back to all her own experiences in life.

"To me, the Dao is a direction," continued Meng Hao. "I think… that such a belief sprouted during that time in the snow. It led me... led me to a place far away.

"Many years later," he murmured, thinking back to Pill Demon, "I kowtowed to my Master in a world of illusory reincarnation. During that life, I kowtowed three times. The kowtow of Innocence, the kowtow of the Roaming, and the kowtow of Sunset Gazing. At that time, I was enlightened.1

"In that moment, I understood that life is a journey. Every turn in the path leads to new scenery. My footprints exist on that path, and as to whether they are deep or shallow, it doesn't matter. All the decisions were mine to make.

"Heaven and Earth are just resting places for the myriads of living creatures. Time represents the passage of hundreds of generations of passing travelers."1

Having spoken up to this point, Meng Hao's eyes suddenly shone with a bright light. It seemed that as of this moment, there was something clearly different about him than before.

"That is the direction I chose. Although the way is a bit unclear, there are traces visible.

"Whether you speak of our time on earth, or reincarnation, life is a journey. The sea of bitterness is only one bit of scenery, that's all. The most important thing is to leave our mark on the path that we have walked and experienced.

"As for me, I want to keep walking even further off into the distance!" With that, Meng Hao took a deep breath, clasped hands, and once again bowed deeply to the Reincarnation Mountain.

Laughter echoed out from within Reincarnation Mountain. The echoing laughter caused the black smoke to disperse, and the flames to die out, and the sky to be filled with ripples.

"The resting place for myriads of living creatures? Excellent. Hundreds of generations of passing travelers? Wonderful! And you want to walk further off into the distance? Well said!

"Well, you have answered my three questions. Allow me to provide you some assistance to walk further off into the distance!" As the voice faded away, the Reincarnation Mountain once again began to rumble. This time, the power of Heaven and Earth that exploded out of it was dozens of times stronger than before. It shot out from the mouth of the volcano, shooting through the air toward Meng Hao. It circulated around him and then transformed into a magnificent vortex.

The vortex spun rapidly and then began to pour into Meng Hao.

His mind rumbled, and the multi-colored Demon Core inside his dantian region instantly began to fill with cracks. They spread out, multiplying for the space of a handful of breaths. Finally, the core collapsed, and a tiny, illusory person appeared from within!

The person looked exactly the same as Meng Hao in every way. The only difference was that the Demonic air about it was more obvious. This was Meng Hao's ninth Nascent Soul, the Demon Nascent Soul.

As soon as it appeared, it appeared weak. Its eyes were closed and incapable of being opened, and overall it was completely incapable of even comparing with Meng Hao's eight other Nascent Souls. However, as more of the power of Heaven and Earth poured into it, it began to mature.

Peak of the early Nascent Soul stage!

Mid Nascent Soul stage!

Peak mid Nascent Soul stage!

Late Nascent Soul stage!

Meng Hao's hair whipped about his head and he began to float up into the air. His eight Nascent Souls rotated around him, while the Demon Nascent Soul remained inside, the vortex surrounding it rapidly shrinking. Soon, all of the power of Heaven and Earth was pouring into Meng Hao's body.

The Demon Nascent Soul sucked it all in. Suddenly, the aura of the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage radiated out. At the same time, the ninth Nascent Soul flew out from his dantian region to fly around him.

It joined the other Nascent Souls to float in a circle around Meng Hao. Finally, its eyes, which had been closed the entire time, suddenly opened.

Its pupils were green and completely demonic.

Ninth Nascent Soul… Demon Nascent Soul!

Meng Hao's Cultivation base experienced an unprecedented explosion in power.

The wind whipped around him, and Heaven and Earth flashed with a riot of colors. As of this moment, Meng Hao was the focus of attention of the entire Demon Immortal Sect.

Meng Hao shared the carriage with scholar Zheng Yong in chapter 58When Meng Hao left for the Southern Domain in chapter 95, the last chapter of Book 1, it was rainingThe three kowtows were in the illusory life he lived during the Violet Furnace Lord trial by fire. That part began in chapter 289, and continued for several chapters afterIn this part, he is quoting and referencing what he said in chapter 291 in the illusory world of the Violet Furnace Lord trial by fire