"Battle Weapon?" Meng Hao asked hesitantly.

"A weapon used in battle," the parrot replied slowly. "A treasure that can seize the Heavens without magical techniques!" The parrot looked very solemn as it spoke. However, its next sentence revealed its true feelings.

"Obviously, it's actually Lord Fifth that becomes a Battle Weapon. Hahaha! Keep working hard, Haowie. Lord Fifth hasn't had a chance to be a Battle Weapon for a long, long time. I really miss that feeling of being able to penetrate all holes that I can lay eyes on...." With that, its eyes began to glow, and it shivered with so much excitement that it forgot to flap its wings and promptly fell out of the air.

Meng Hao cleared his throat and ignored the arrogant parrot. He looked over at the meat jelly, which was standing there, eyes burning with passion. Considering how uncharacteristically reticent it was being, Meng Hao could help but ask what was going on.

"Ah, you finally asked," replied the meat jelly. "Seeing you as an Allheaven Immortal moments ago caused me to recall something from years ago. It happened long, long, long ago, so listen carefully as I explain.

"First, we need to start by clarifying some things that happened last year. Gradually, everything will become clear. Ahem... hey, no need to get anxious. We'll go over things very slowly. My estimation is that I can finish explaining within three days." It cleared its throat, tilted its jaw up, and began to speak.

A strange expression could now be seen on Meng Hao's face. He was well aware that the Meat Jelly could only count to three. Furthermore, to it, the number three... was essentially limitless.

Based on Meng Hao's analysis, the three days that the meat jelly referred to could be three days times a hundred, or times ten thousand, or even millions....

He coughed dryly and quickly sidled away. Turning toward the bare rock cliff, he waved his hand, using a magical technique to carve out a new Immortal's cave. It wasn't a residence like before, but there were still plenty of stone chambers inside, more than eight.

A flash could be seen as he flew inside. The meat jelly's lips twitched slightly. Looking pained, it turned to the Demonic cultivators, and Su Yan, and its eyes suddenly brightened. It then hopped over innocently and stared at Su Yan.

"Hey there Fellow Daoist, would you like to hear my story?"

"Huh?" Su Yan was still shaken by everything that had occurred just now with Meng Hao. Her mind was still reeling, so she didn't even think before responding to the meat jelly. The meat jelly was instantly very excited. A pop could be heard as it transformed into a tiny bell-shaped hair clip which flew up and attached itself to Su Yan, where it hung down next to her ear.

It sighed, and then began to speak. "Let's start with that huge rainstorm from last year. Lord Third happens to remember being very curious about the rain that day. He really wanted to know exactly how many raindrops were falling. So, Lord Third started counting. One, two, three, one, two, three...."

Gradually, Su Yan began to tremble, and her facial expression slowly changed. Soon, blue veins popped out on her forehead as the meat jelly continued to count, saying the words "one, two, three" over and over again.

"Dammit, get off of me!" she growled, grabbing the meat jelly and throwing it onto the ground. Unfortunately for her, her cultivation base was sealed, so she was no match whatsoever for the meat jelly.... As for the meat jelly, it wasn't afraid of being spoken to, regardless of what was being said; it only feared being ignored. Seeing that Su Yan was suddenly engaging it in conversation, it got very excited. It quickly picked a new position and continued speaking.

The parrot rolled its eyes. In its opinion, the meat jelly didn't set its ambitions high enough. The parrot flew up into the air and began circling around the Demonic cultivators as it went back to teaching them to sing.

A moment later, the sound of music filled the entire valley.

"I was a bad kid when I was young, I'm a little seafood dish, lalalalala, little seafood dish, dobedobedoooo, little seafood dish...."

The parrot and meat jelly were both very happy. Seven days went by. Meng Hao had now been in the Nine Seas God World for more than two months. The appointed date to enter the Windswept Realm was now only about twenty days away.

Four days earlier, two jade slips had arrived in quick succession. They were obviously imbued with incredible power, as they passed directly through the walls of his Immortal's cave to stop in front of him, hovering and flickering with brilliant light.

After they floated down onto his palm, he glanced at them and then simply continued to meditate, ignoring the jade slips. He did not duplicate Paragon's blood, but rather, spent the time getting accustomed to his new cultivation base, and how it affected his various divine abilities and magical techniques.

At the same time, he sent numerous Ghost Eye Beetles into the surrounding stone chambers and waited for them to transform into the blackpod imps.

By the time the seven days were up, he had eight new blackpod imps, putting the total number that he had under his control at ten.

"If I transform all of the black beetles, I should have about fifty black pods.... It's kind of a small number, but it still qualifies as a small army." He put the black pods away, then quickly carved out some more stone chambers, into which he threw more black beetles to begin their transmogrification. Finally, he ended his seven days of secluded meditation.

"I'm much more comfortable with the Immortal Emperor Realm," he thought. "I just need to have a bit of practice with some of my magical techniques and divine abilities, and I'll be good to go." The rise in his cultivation base had been significant. Although it wasn't quite the same as going from the Spirit Realm into the Immortal Realm, it was still a massive leap upward. A mere seven days wasn't enough time to get completely familiar with his new state. He needed experience in battle to fully appreciate all the differences.

Finally, his gaze came to fall on the jade slips that had arrived a few days before. He picked them up and scanned them with divine sense, after which his eyes glowed with a cold light, and he started to chuckle.

The first jade slip came from the Nine Seas God World's Department of Tasks and Missions. The God World Department of Tasks and Missions was a part of the sect specifically devoted to giving various assignments to disciples. The assignments were arranged into grades, with the highest grade assignments being the type that you couldn't refuse to accept.

Of course, most such assignments were essentially given out as trials by fire. Although they were often dangerous, they would never exceed the capabilities of the disciples they were assigned to. Disciples needed to have a chance to go out and participate in real, live battles. On the other hand, safety was also a priority.

The first jade slip was exactly that type of assignment, something that could not be refused.

"A bloodthirsty cultivator has appeared on Seajacket Island," Meng Hao murmured as he studied the information. "He has murdered other cultivators and slaughtered numerous sea beasts.... According to the investigation, his cultivation base is not in the Ancient Realm, but rather, at the peak of the Immortal Realm. However, his specific whereabouts are unknown, as he is difficult to track. They only know that his general location is Seajacket Island." With that, his smile grew cold.

Naturally, he hadn't forgotten about his agreement with the nine Sea Realm Demons.

Essentially, Meng Hao was in an invincible position in terms of the stakes of the bet. If he lost, it didn't really matter. Even if he wanted to give them his place in the Echelon, it was impossible. The only way to get his spot would be to kill him two times. If they wanted to do that, then it would have to be done outside of the sect. There, it could feasibly happen. The Demonic Cultivator Horde seemed to regard themselves as having a great understanding of the Echelon. However, the truth of the matter was that they didn't know much at all. A place in the Echelon was not something that could be given away as the stakes of a bet. It was something that existed as part of a cycle of death.

Unfortunately for the Demonic Cultivator Horde, they didn't know about things like that. After all... after countless years, Meng Hao was only the second person in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to join the Echelon!

He would naturally agree to a bet that he essentially couldn't lose. The only reason he had said he would give his final answer in a month was to make the situation seem more realistic.

The appointed time passed, and he never responded, then all of a sudden, this jade slip arrived.... It seemed obvious that it was a tactic being employed by the Demonic Cultivator Horde.

The other jade slip was from Ling Yunzi, who informed Meng Hao that the assignment had been pushed by the Demonic Cultivator Horde. Opening the Windswept Realm required their cooperation, and as such, it had been impossible to refuse.

As a disciple of the sect, Meng Hao had to carry out assignments for the sect. That was the honorable thing to do, and furthermore, there was no reasonable grounds upon which to refuse.

Even though it was obvious the Demonic Cultivator Horde had arranged the assignment, Ling Yunzi was able to ensure that no Dao Realm experts would be involved, nor peak Ancient Realm cultivators. His request of Meng Hao was that he not really leave the sect. Instead, he should take a single step outside and immediately turn back, then report that he had failed in the assignment.

If a punishment was involved because of that, Granny Nine and the others would handle it.

If Meng Hao wasn't comfortable accepting the assignment, he could refuse, and they would try to find another way to resolve the issue. However, if that happened, it would cause an indeterminate delay in opening the Windswept Realm.

Meng Hao's expression was the same as ever. After a moment of thought he decided that he wouldn't actually complete the mission. He would step out of the sect, but then come back almost immediately and try to come up with some excuse to explain the matter.

What he really wanted to do was challenge the ninth golden gate stone stele again and see whether his current cultivation base could handle... that body cultivator's third fist strike!

"Although, the Demonic Cultivator Horde has most likely thought up some way to force me to accept the mission. I wonder what they'll do... Well, in any case, if I don't feel like going, they can't control me."

With that, he left the Immortal's cave, flying up through the water to appear in midair. He didn't stop for a moment, but instead, shot directly towards the main gate of the Nine Seas God World.

As he sped through the air at top speed, numerous cultivators saw him. Strange expressions could be seen on their faces, especially the Demonic cultivators, who clearly despised him and wanted to see him dead.

News about Meng Hao's bet with the nine Sea Realm Demons had long since spread throughout the sect. Furthermore, the fact that he had said that he would provide an answer within a month, and yet hadn't sent word, caused the nine Sea Realm Demons to be furious. As a result, they had spread all sorts of nasty rumors, which many of the disciples had caught wind of.

An hour later, Meng Hao reached the main gate of the Nine Seas God World, beyond which was a pitch black world of seawater. As soon as he passed through the gate, he would be in the waters of the Ninth Sea.

He didn't pause for a moment. He shot out of the gate and into the water, which instantly caused his entire person to be covered with icy coldness.

The instant he stepped out of the main gate, he prepared to go back into the sect. However, it was in that moment that he stopped in his tracks and looked up ahead of him.

There in the dark sea water was a familiar figure. It was... Chen Fan!

Meng Hao's Elder Brother, Chen Fan!

A moment later, his appearance changed, and now, it was Fatty. After another moment passed, it was Chu Yuyan!

A quick succession of three people he knew all appeared in front of him. Then, the figure changed again, and now he was facing the leader of the nine Sea Realm Demons, Long Tianhai!

He stood there, smiling at Meng Hao. Then he opened his mouth and spoke. Although no words could be heard, Meng Hao could read his lips quite clearly.

"I can track down all three of them."

They were only eight words, but they formed a mighty threat!