The Windswept Realm had nine regions, which were occupied by the Nine Nations. All of them together formed a huge ring shape.

In the center of the ring created by the Nine Nations was... the temple!

Between each of the nations was a massive windstorm that stretched from the sky down to the land, keeping all of the Nine Nations separated, and making passage between them very difficult.

Because of the windstorm barrier, the Nine Nations were essentially sealed. Only the Cauldron Seeking cultivators could pierce through, and even then, it required a steep price.

The barriers acted like a protection, allowing the Nine Nations to slowly grow and become more powerful.

But now that the cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm had arrived, the barriers separating the Nine Nations were trembling, and the eternal winds were showing signs of dissipating.

Currently, Meng Hao stood on the altar in the desert of the Ninth Nation, heart thumping. He watched as the young man was executed for simply looking up, and then saw the old man sever his own arm. The old man acted with complete decisiveness, such that blood was still spurting out of the wound as he dropped to his knees in worship.

Apparently... unless one of the Grand Immortals spoke, the man would not stop the blood from flowing.

Fan Dong'er was inwardly shaken, as was Bei Yu. The other ordinary cultivators and Demonic cultivators had similar reactions. They... could count as nothing more than the Junior generation in the cultivation world, and had not seen or experienced all the trials and tribulations that the old-timers had. The shocking scene left Fan Dong'er and the others mentally shaken.

Meng Hao stood there silently for a moment before waving his right finger. A medicinal pill flew out and landed on the stump of the old man's severed arm. In the blink of an eye, the wound healed, and the missing arm gradually began to grow back.

The old man trembled as he looked appreciatively at Meng Hao. Inwardly, he sighed with relief, and then once again bowed deeply.

"Many thanks, Grand Immortal!"

The oldest man among all of the Windswept Realm's cultivators was Jian Daozi. Wisdom flickered deep within his eyes as he casually turned to look over at Meng Hao. Then he clasped hands and said, "Grand Immortals, we invite you to enter the temporary Imperial residences we have set up here in the Ninth Nation. Grand Immortals... do you plan to reside together, or... live separately?"

As he finished speaking, he waved his hand, causing glittering light to rise up from the ground in front of him. Shockingly, a map of the entire Ninth Nation suddenly appeared.

The various areas on the map were clearly labeled to indicate which ones had spiritual energy, and which ones had abundant cultivation resources. All locations that were suitable for habitation by cultivators were clearly marked.

Furthermore, the various advantages and disadvantages of each location were explained clearly.

In the very center of the Ninth Nation, not too far from its capital city, was a mountain, half of which was covered with snow, and at the foot of which could be seen a lake. Furthermore, it was possible to see that much of the vital energy of the Ninth Nation at a whole was gathered there.

In addition to that mountain, there were two other locations which could be considered superb. As for the others, most were ordinary in nature.

After glancing over the map, Meng Hao's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, and he looked back at Jian Daozi. Once again, he was able to perceive the wisdom and foresight which the old man possessed.

To Jian Daozi and the other cultivators, Meng Hao and his companions were all Grand Immortals. Although they venerated all of them, it was impossible for them to determine which of the nine... maintained the most superior position.

Not only did they have no way of ascertaining such matters on their own, they could not afford to make any mistakes. If there were any misunderstandings about the seniority of the visitors from the Mountain and Sea Realm, it could lead to dire consequences. This map, and the process by which the Immortals dealt with it, would be one way to get some instant clues.

Fan Dong'er looked over the map, then glanced at Meng Hao. Afterward, she extended her right hand and pointed at one of the two lesser areas, opting not to take the most optimal location, the mountain with the National Fate.

Bei Yu hesitated for a moment, then subconsciously looked over at Meng Hao. Her eyes glowed for a moment, and she didn't immediately make a decision.

The other three ordinary cultivators with Fan Dong'er were well-aware of their place, and picked other locations. However, with the exception of the burly body cultivator, the other Demonic cultivators looked at the map with glittering eyes. They edged slowly over to Bei Yu's side, then looked over coldly at Meng Hao, as if they were itching for a fight.

This scene immediately revealed how much friction existed between them, something that Jian Daozi and the others instantly picked up on.

Fan Dong'er said nothing. She backed up a few paces, unwilling to get involved. The other three ordinary cultivators hesitated for a moment before also backing up, apparently maintaining neutrality as they tried to ignore the increasing tension building up between Meng Hao and the Demonic cultivators.

The burly Demonic body cultivator seemed to be inwardly conflicted. He gritted his teeth hard before giving an angry glance at the other Demonic cultivators and then backing off. He, too, chose not to get involved. He was already... incredibly frightened of Meng Hao.

Among the nine new arrivals, five chose to remain neutral. Three Demonic cultivators remained behind, including Bei Yu, all of whom glared murderously at Meng Hao.

Meng Hao's expression was the same as ever, although inwardly, he maintained vigilance. These three Demonic cultivators obviously knew exactly how powerful he was, and yet they still were brave enough to bare their teeth. That indicated... that they were confident enough to go up against him, and were obviously... completely prepared.

Jian Daozi and the others watched what was happening with calm expressions. However, inwardly, they already had an answer to their original questions, causing their eyes to flicker toward Meng Hao.

Although Meng Hao didn't look like anything particularly special when compared with the others in his group, everyone's actions clearly showed his position and status.

"My Demonic Cultivator Horde has taken a liking to that mountain," Bei Yu suddenly said. She pointed at the mountain with the collection of vital qi.

Anyone could look at that mountain and tell that it possessed National Aura. Furthermore, that was obviously the best place to practice cultivation, and most likely the optimal location to gain enlightenment regarding the Windswept Realm.

"What a coincidence," replied Meng Hao, smiling. "I happened to take a liking to the same mountain." Although he was smiling, it was a cold smile. He had done nothing to cause any problems with the Demonic cultivators; they took the initiative to provoke him. Although they might have their trump cards, Meng Hao didn't mind showing them that no matter how powerful their secret weapons were, he could still sweep over them.

If he was willing to make a huge scene in the Nine Seas God World, then here, in a place like the Windswept Realm, with no rules or limitations, he would act even more flamboyantly!

Killing intent flickered in Bei Yu's eyes, and the two Demonic cultivators flanking her smiled coldly. They were just about to step forward when all of a sudden... Meng Hao's expression flickered. He backed up a few steps and looked up into the sky, apparently too busy to pay any attention to Bei Yu and the others. Fan Dong'er and all the other cultivators also seemed to sense something, and also looked up. The two Demonic cultivators' faces flickered with confusion, and they ceased any attacks as they looked up into the sky.

In almost the exact same moment that they looked up, an indescribable pressure suddenly exploded downward, crushing down onto everything with destructive force. The entire land quivered, as if the whole Realm were trembling.

The aura seemed to be weighing down from the sky, but in fact, that was not the case. It was actually coming... from the very center of the Windswept Realm, from... the Windswept Realm's temple!

That temple contained the World Essence of the Windswept Realm, and as of this moment, the arrival of all of these people was causing an eruption of that very aura. That eruption was weakening the barriers between the Nine Nations to the point of collapse, and at the same time, was causing a very strange aura to fill the entire world.

The wind was growing stronger, and the sun in the sky was changing color. The plants were swaying back and forth, and the animals of the Windswept Realm were howling into the sky.

Numerous fissures snaked across the sky, only to rapidly close again. Apparently, a natural law that was originally difficult to detect... was suddenly awakened by the arrival of Meng Hao and the others.

"That's... Essence!!"

"I can sense Essence aura!!"

"This is the true Windswept Realm! I was wondering earlier why I didn't sense much of anything different after arriving here!"

Meng Hao took a deep breath as he sensed the natural law of the world. He closed his eyes, and felt as if he could feel Essence itself.

That feeling was completely unprecedented. It almost seemed like all he had to do was reach his hand out to acquire the Essence. It was like the single move of a hand could cause ripples in the natural laws. If you likened the Mountain and Sea Realm to a solid wall, blocking everything, then the Windswept Realm... was like a net, full of holes. Because of all of those holes, the natural laws and Essence were easily visible to everyone present.

Of course, anyone whose cultivation base was not in the Immortal Realm... would be unable to detect these things!

At the same time that the World Essence of the Windswept Realm erupted, intense pressure swept out over the entire world. The pressure weighed down almost as if the entire world had been submerged at the bottom of the sea.

Thankfully, all of the people who came here from the Nine Seas God World were used to such pressure. Despite its intensity, it didn't affect them very much, Meng Hao included.

However, Meng Hao was also aware that were it not for the three months he had spent acclimating himself to the Nine Seas God World, then he would only be able to utilize a small portion of his cultivation base.

As the pressure rose, and the vast power of natural law and Essence revealed itself, the Immortal's caves that were the temporary Imperial residences in the Ninth Nation, all began to change.

That was especially true of the mountain which possessed National Aura. As of this moment, it seemed to transform into a Golden Dragon. Apparently... that mountain was the center of all of the natural law and Essence of the Ninth Nation!

Gradually, a windstorm began to build up around the mountain. Thunder boomed as the winds swept about. Anyone could sense that this mountain was extraordinary, and that if you practiced cultivation there, the benefits would be extreme.

Earlier, Meng Hao hadn't been dead set on acquiring that mountain. But now, it was something he had to have. Eyes flickering, he looked over at Jian Daozi, and noticed that a very faint smile could be seen on his face.

"What a cunning old fox!" he thought. Meng Hao didn't mind. Without sufficient intelligence and wisdom, the weak could never survive for long in the cultivation world.

Many times, the ability to scheme was the greatest type of power.

"There's something else fishy going on," he thought. "It would be far too simplistic if Jian Daozi's scheming were limited to this." As Meng Hao stood there thinking, Bei Yu and the other two Demonic cultivators exploded with killing intent, and began to close in on Meng Hao.

However, it was in that exact moment that, all of a sudden, a clap of thunder could be heard. The sky exploded, and Meng Hao's face flickered as he suddenly sensed Chu Yuyan, Su Yan, and all of the Demonic cultivators in his bag of holding, spit up blood!

"NINE!! Nine is the limit!" a voice rang out. "Every Sea can send nine people into the Windswept Realm!!

"Anyone who exceeds that number cannot stay in the Windswept Realm, and will be wiped out!!"

Instantly, Meng Hao understood.