A single Mountain and Sea Realm cultivator turned out to be insufficient to completely restore Dao-Heaven's arm. Without pausing, he appeared in front of another cultivator; this time, his right hand shot out instead of his left, and the mass of mangled flesh and blood that was his right arm stabbed forcefully into the cultivator's chest. A miserable shriek echoed out as the man's body was almost instantly withered up. All of the power of his life force was then absorbed hungrily by Dao-Heaven's right arm.

As that was happening, Meng Hao flashed through the air toward Dao-Heaven, closing in on him rapidly. Dao-Heaven's face twisted with ferocity as he flailed his right arm, sending the shriveled cultivator flying toward Meng Hao.

As for Dao-Heaven, he immediately fell back, this time heading toward Fan Dong'er.

Meng Hao immediately frowned. Regardless of the history between himself and Fan Dong'er, she was from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, just like he was. He extended his right hand, within which appeared the Lightning Cauldron. Rumbling could be heard as he suddenly switched places with her.

Dao-Heaven's face flickered in response, and his right hand rose up. As black flames roared to life, he slapped his bag of holding, causing a black tree branch to appear.

He waved the branch through the black flames, and in response, the branch grew with terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, it became countless vines that whistled through the air toward Meng Hao.

As soon as Meng Hao appeared in Fan Dong'er's place, he snorted, performed an incantation gesture, and pointed out. Numerous azure-colored mountains suddenly began to descend, crushing down onto Dao-Heaven, causing blood to spurt out of his mouth. He fell back, and Meng Hao followed, making a grasping motion with his hand to summon the bone-tip spear, which he sent stabbing forward.

Booms rang out as the spear pierced through the air, shredding the vines to bits and rapidly appearing in front of Dao-Heaven himself. In this critical moment Dao-Heaven bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. Astonishingly, that blood first transformed into a sea of blood, then roared and became a Blood Dragon, which opened its mouth wide and lunged toward Meng Hao.

Meng Hao's expression was the same as ever as he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, then waved his finger. A Blood Demon head appeared, which shot toward the Blood Dragon. All the while, Meng Hao's bone-tip spear never stopped moving, continuing on to stab toward Dao-Heaven's chest.

Dao-Heaven let out a ferocious roar and used both hands to strike at the spear. Before the blow even landed, Meng Hao loosened his grip. An afterimage was all he left behind as he suddenly appeared right next to Dao-Heaven. His right hand clenched and then punched out with the God-Slaying Fist.

Dao-Heaven didn't even have time to turn. He tried to dodge to the side, but Meng Hao's eyes flashed with light as his Allheaven Immortal might crushed down.

"Dao-Heaven!" Meng Hao roared, his voice echoing like lightning. Backed by the energy of an Allheaven Immortal, his voice became a massive pressure that smashed into Dao-Heaven. Dao-Heaven's mind instantly began to spin, and his speed was reduced significantly.

By that time, Meng Hao's fist arrived, slamming into Dao-Heaven's side, causing his entire body to tremble on the point of explosion. In the next instant, he extended his index finger and pointed down onto Dao-Heaven's forehead.

A boom rang out as a massive, bloody hole appeared in the middle of Dao-Heaven's head, piercing through from front to back. He shivered, and his eyes went dark. As his corpse began to fall toward the ground, Meng Hao prepared to kill him a second time when, all of a sudden, Dao-Heaven's corpse dissolved itself into a haze of blood that rapidly spread out in all directions.

It transformed into a single blood-colored magical symbol that began to shine with scintillating red light. The light rapidly transformed into a crimson tempest that shot away with indescribable speed. In the blink of an eye, it was 3,000 meters away, whereupon it reformed into Dao-Heaven, who coughed up a mouthful of blood and stared hatefully at Meng Hao.

Dao-Heaven's heart trembled. He had been defeated in this fight, and had even been forced to waste a life.

Meng Hao stared coldly at Dao-Heaven off in the distance. Declining to give chase, he hovered in midair for a moment before spinning and waving his sleeve as he turned to face Han Qinglei. Han Qinglei immediately stopped in place, and began to tremble and back up. Considering that Meng Hao was staring right at him, he didn't dare to get any closer.

His heart was filled with intense fear. Without Dao-Heaven pinning Meng Hao down, he knew that he was no match whatsoever. Although he knew he had one life left to spare, if he did die, considering Meng Hao's shocking desire to kill, he would likely have little chance to escape with his final life.

In fact, if Dao-Heaven hadn't been there to attack Meng Hao just now, Han Qinglei would already have been killed multiple times. He would be truly dead, with no lives left to save him. Now, he had no other choice than to flee at top speed.

As far as Lin Cong was concerned, his blood-colored Underworld Realm was in the middle of rumbling down toward Meng Hao. Meng Hao snorted coldly, then quickly took seven steps forward. His energy surged, and he waved his finger toward the Underworld Realm.

The Yellow Springs instantly collapsed, and the Fengdu Ghost City was destroyed. The entire magical technique dissipated, and Lin Cong coughed up a mouthful of blood. Body withering rapidly, he fell into retreat.

In the exact moment that he fled, the space he had just occupied collapsed with a boom. If he hadn't fled when he had, he would have died.

Furthermore... he had already been killed once by Meng Hao in the first battle. Couple that with another life he had wasted on previous occasion, if he died here... then he would be truly dead.

Meng Hao's eyes flashed as he prepared to give chase.

Off in the distance, the Emperor performed a double-handed incantation gesture and waved a finger toward Lin Cong. Immediately, Windswept Realm qi flow descended, enveloping Lin Cong, upon whose face a look of shock appeared. However, without any hesitation, he accepted the gift, then clenched his jaw and unleashed crackling lightning to block Meng Hao.

Meng Hao eyed the Emperor coldly. He could sense the qi flow bolstering Lin Cong, and as such, decided not to attack him. Instead, he turned and waved his hand toward the temple.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE....

More cracks spread out across the surface of the temple, and it began to teeter on the verge of collapse. From the look of it, the supreme World Essence hidden inside was now on the verge of breaking out.

At the moment, Lin Cong didn't dare to continue fighting Meng Hao. Han Qinglei had long since lost his nerve. As for Dao-Heaven, he had regained clarity from the state of grief he had experienced after losing his Paragon magic. Now he knew that he... was now no match for Meng Hao.

Unless he had help from some outside force, he would only end up losing a second life.

Outside the central temple, Meng Hao continued to attack, emanating an aura of supreme power.

The temple was on the verge of collapse, as if it might explode at any moment. The Emperor's face flickered; despite having lost both eyes, he was still able to see the current state of the temple.

"We're not in position yet! We still need a bit of time. Zong Wuya, stop Meng Hao! Buy us one hundred breaths of time, that's all we need!!"

Zong Wuya sighed softly, then suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was outside the temple, very close to Meng Hao. His hand clenched into a fist, and the power of his cultivation base erupted as he unleashed a blow to interfere with Meng Hao.

"Zong Wuya!" said Meng Hao, turning to look at him with a complex expression. He actually had no desire to fight with the man.

"Fight me. There's no avoiding it," Zong Wuya replied coolly. He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, and his aura exploded out. Even stronger was the sensation of qi and blood which emanated out from him. Everyone present could feel the power, even Dao-Heaven, whose face fell.

Zong Wuya began to stride forward, right hand unleashing the Life-Extermination Fist, then the Self-Immolation Fist, and then the God-Slaying Fist!

RUUUUMMMMBLE! He only took three steps, but the energy unleashed by the three fist strikes that came with those steps was enough to shock any Echelon cultivator. In fact, from the perspective of Dao-Heaven and the others, Zong Wuya was not a bit weaker than Meng Hao!

"He's at the peak of the Ancient Realm.... A single step and he could step into the Dao!!"

"After stepping into the Dao, success would place him in the Dao Realm. Failure... would make him Quasi-Dao!!"

Everyone was shaken. As for Meng Hao, his expression was a complex one. He suddenly attacked, also unleashing three fist strikes, the exact same ones as Zong Wuya. Life-Extermination! Self-Immolation! God-Slaying!!

Shocking booms echoed out as the two of them fought in the air above the temple.

Moments ago….

"Meng Hao, you asked me before what I would do if the true Dao I believe in is false...." Zong Wuya said. As the first fist strike was exchanged between them, a huge boom rang out, and they both fell back, faces ashen. Without stopping, they attacked again.

"I'm a cultivator, and I seek truth. I seek the Heavens that exists outside of the Heavens, and what I seek is simply an explanation for everything!" Zong Wuya laughed, but Meng Hao remained silent. The second fist strike, Self-Immolation, caused blood to ooze out of their mouths, and rumbling to echo out. Once again, they both fell back, only to charge forward again.

"I am Zong Wuya from the Ninth Mountain and Sea. I did not become lost in the riches, or the power, or any of the other desires of the Windswept Realm. It's just that... when it came to the true Dao... I couldn't refuse the chance to know the truth!

"I want to see... what exactly this true Dao is. On this path that I pursue, what I fear is not defeat. What I fear is not getting an answer!" Zong Wuya was laughing as their God-Slaying Fists slammed into each other. Booms filled the air and everything shook violently. Blood sprayed out of Meng Hao's mouth as he was shoved backward.

Zong Wuya also coughed up blood and was forced back. His laughter grew clearer and brighter, filled with all of his obsession.

"I, Zong Wuya, have lived a quiet and unassuming life. However, the Heavens can bear witness that I have sought after the Dao. To those who search for the Dao, who live in the morning and die in the evening, death means nothing. I shall search for the Dao!1

"If I am right in the end, then I will have no regrets in this life. If I am wrong, I will equally be without regret. However, there is one thing that I can't give up on, and I must ask for your assistance to accomplish it." He laughed loudly, lifting up his right hand and looking piercingly at Meng Hao.

"Meng Hao, since you are my Junior Brother, one who has mastered all three fists just as I have, then I shall now pass on my fourth fist strike to you!

"I am Zong Wuya, and this fourth fist was invented by me. It is my... Fist of Dao Searching!" As Zong Wuya spoke, his aura changed again. The air around him twisted, and he suddenly seemed to grow larger, so big that he could shake Heaven and Earth.

An invisible wind sprang up that swept across everything, causing the whole world to tremble.

Fan Dong'er and the other cultivators from the Ninth Sea were shocked. As soon as they heard Meng Hao say 'Zong Wuya,' and then heard what Zong Wuya said to Meng Hao, they immediately recalled the name they had heard about in the sect.

"That's... the famous and resplendent Elder Brother Zong Wuya!!" Fan Dong'er muttered, staring with wide eyes.

This passage about living in the morning and dying in the evening comes from actual Daoist philosophy. Similar things were mentioned by Ke Yunhai in chapter 597 and the parrot in chapter 631