Currently, all of the Nascent Soul eccentrics up in the clouds watched on with shining eyes. If they weren't in the Song Clan, they would have long since taken action. They were frightened, but had already made preparations. In their opinion, Meng Hao was like a turtle in a jar. He couldn't escape even if he sprouted wings.

The only thing they needed to worry about was the Song Clan. The importance of the Qi Condensation Manual of the Sublime Spirit Scripture was hard to describe. Actually, many of them couldn't understand how it was possible that their various Sects had permitted the scripture to remain in the Reliance Sect, and had chosen not to go take it….

Their eyes flickered as they watched on. They were simply waiting for Meng Hao to come out, and for backup from their Sects to arrive.

However… the Nascent Soul Eccentric from the Black Sieve Sect's eyes flickered with something else, undetectable to the others. The jade slip which he had crushed contained details different from that of the others. Not only had he passed on the information about the Sublime Spirit Scripture, but also news that he had tracked down Meng Hao.

Orders had already been issued by the Patriarchs of the Black Sieve Sect to search for the person who had snatched away Ultimate Vexation. The news hadn't been broadcast on the outside, of course, and their search could only be conducted secretly. Therefore, the appearance of the Sublime Spirit Scripture was not a good development for the Black Sieve Sect.

"All of the Sects are now paying attention to him," thought the Black Sieve Sect Nascent Soul Cultivator, his eyes flickering. "I need to grab him first, before all his secrets are revealed!" A cold smile appeared on his face. "Ancient Blessed Lands cannot contain this guy. He has a good luck charm from the ancient Good Luck Sect. He can go anywhere in the world." He was the only one among the Nascent Soul Cultivators who knew that this phantom fragment of the World Tree was incapable of keeping Meng Hao trapped within it. He wasn't worried, though. Once the Black Sieve Sect learned that Meng Hao had the good luck charm, they had instituted a slew of contingency plans.

Down beneath the cloud vortex, in the glowing, golden world, Meng Hao took a deep breath. He stared at the old man, who stood only a few hundred meters away on the treetop.

They were separated by nine paths, all of which glowed with golden light. Three of the paths actually seemed to glow a bit brighter than the others.

"How do I pick…?" Meng Hao stood there thoughtfully for a brief moment. Then, a cold light gleamed within his eyes. He had made two choices before and had failed both times. This was his third chance. If he failed again, he knew that he would never get a fourth chance.

In actuality, Meng Hao had already guessed which path was the correct one to take. It was the same path he had walked before. If a person truly wishes to practice Cultivation, they must have persistence, and not easily change their mind. This was the key to treading the nine paths in front of him.

"But that choice… is not a choice born of my will…." Meng Hao's eyes shone with coldness. He moved forward, and as he did, all of the Nascent Soul Cultivators above watched on. Even though the entire world was filled with the blinding golden light, their vision could pierce through it to observe the proceedings.

The instant Meng Hao shot forward, his five Perfect Dao Pillars exploded with power invincible to the rest of the Foundation Establishment stage. The golden glow grew thicker, and his speed increased.

However… he did not pick any of the nine leafy paths. Instead, he flew up into the air and… shot directly toward the gray-robed old man. All of this takes some time to describe, but actually happened in the blink of an eye. Meng Hao completely bypassed the nine paths to appear directly in front of the old man. He lifted his hand, and his Cultivation base rippled out. Instantly, a six hundred meter long Flame Dragon appeared and then slammed down onto the old man.

Meng Hao lowered his hand, causing the Cubic Pearl to fly out of the old man's hand and into his own. The old man didn't do anything whatsoever to stop him. As the Flame Dragon engulfed him and the pearl was snatched away, a mysterious light appeared in his eyes, and a slight smile touched the corners of his mouth.

The old man's archaic voice filled the air. "You obviously realized which path was the correct one to take. Why make this choice?" As the voice echoed out, the golden glow that filled the world was suddenly suppressed. Now, all of the Chosen from the various Sects and Clans could clearly see what was happening on top of the tree.

The sight filled them with shock. Expressions of disbelief covered their faces as they saw the gray-robed old man being engulfed in flames. Meng Hao floated in mid-air. It was impossible for them to miss the fact that he had not picked any of the paths on the treetop, but had instead chosen to kill the old man.

"He dared to attack?!"

"This… this… this Meng Hao chose not to walk one of the paths. He chose to attack?! How could this be?"

"That old man is completely unfathomable…. You can tell from a single glance that he's beyond ordinary. This place is just too bizzarre. I can't believe Meng Hao dared to attack! Dammit… how come I didn't think of that!?!?"

Even as the Chosen beneath the treetop expressed their shock, the Nascent Soul eccentrics up above instantly shot to their feet, their eyes fixed upon Meng Hao.

This was especially true of Patriarch Song Tian. He gasped, and a glow of disbelief radiated from his eyes. A serious expression filled his face.

It wasn't just him. Eccentric Song, Han Bei, Li Shiqi, Li Daoyi, as well as Song Clan Dao Child Song Yunshu all stared with completely disbelief.

Panting, Song Yunshu stared fixedly at Meng Hao. He had participated in this test and had succeeded on the second try after picking the same path as the first time. However, he had never imagined that you could actually raise a hand against the gray-robed old man.

"How could he do such a thing?" said Song Yunshu said hoarsely. "That's the Spirit of the tree…."

It was at this moment that everyone heard the old man's question echoing out from within the flames. It was the exact same question that was running through the heads of all the observers.

Why had he chosen such a path?

"Conforming to convention is emptiness," replied Meng Hao. "Yielding to and complying with the Heavens is well and good. Unending persistence is fine, too. However, I cannot choose either of those." Having said this, he shot up into the air!

He would not comply with rules of this place, but would instead create his own path. He was like the Perfect Foundation, not permitted by Heaven and Earth, and the target of extermination by Tribulation Lightning. However, he would continue onward. That was how he differentiated himself from others; his path was not one of inflexible adherence to the rules. As such, why would he follow the rules of this place? Why would he pick the correct path out of the nine?

He had chosen to break through and take the pearl by force, by slaughtering! He knew that he could succeed by persisting in treading the path from before. However, this so-called persistence was actually just a method of following the rules; it was not true persistence!

The old man's laughter rang out from within the flames. His ancient smile was filled with happiness, as well as anticipation. He gave Meng Hao a deep look, allowing the flames to consume him. Soon, his body was gone.

As the old man disappeared and Meng Hao shot up into the air, the Chosen down below in the tree looked up mutely. They stared at Meng Hao in shock, their hearts in turmoil, incapable of calming down. Meng Hao's choice had been simple, but not many people were capable of simplicity such as this.

They lived lives of compliance, lives in which rules must be followed. Perhaps the subconscious desire existed within them to break out of the rules, but they would never be able to imagine how to do so.

Meng Hao, however, was different!

Wang Tengfei's face was pale white, and Wang Youcai was speechless. Fatty's face slowly filled with even deeper admiration. Meng Hao's words just now had left a permanent impression on all of their hearts.

When they heard his words, the Nascent Soul Cultivators in the clouds above all gasped. As they looked at Meng Hao, the same thought filled each and every one of them.

"If this kid lives, he will definitely achieve a high position within the Southern Domain!"

Such a personality, such mentality, such tactics… all of it led the Nascent Soul Cultivators to the same conclusion. Meng Hao might have the Sublime Spirit Scripture, but as of now, they didn't want to capture him and use Soulsearch to retrieve it. That would lead to his death.

If they could get Meng Hao to join their Sect, they could help him grow into a truly powerful expert of the Sect!

Li Daoyi's eyes glowed with a powerful light; an intense desire to do battle fermented within him. Li Shiqi's eyes also glowed brightly; looking at Meng Hao down beneath the cloud vortex, she also suddenly desired to have a rematch.

Han Bei looked at Meng Hao thoughtfully. Deep within her eyes flickered a sense of admiration and praise. She couldn't help but think that if she had been in Meng Hao's place, she would have picked to follow the original path. She would never have had the resolve of Meng Hao. In retrospect, it seemed like an easy decision, but in reality, it was something almost no one would ever think of doing.

Song Yunshu sat in thought. Next to him, Song Jia gazed at Meng Hao. Everything that was happening was being burned deeply into her mind.

"Conforming to convention is emptiness," said Patriarch Song Tian. "Well said!" His voice echoed out as he stood up.

The surrounding Nascent Soul Cultivator's hearts began to thump; the situation was not unfolding well for them.

"This kid has managed to take the Cubic Pearl. Whoever he is, whoever he has offended in the past, this daughter of the Song Clan is now his! Who here dares to touch him!?" Hearing his words caused everyone to sit there thoughtfully. And yet, none of them seemed to notice the meaning within Patriarch Song Tian's words. What he had said was strange; he never mentioned anything about marrying into the family. He words seemed to have a deeper meaning.

At this exact moment, the bright glow of multiple spells filled the air outside of the Sun and Moon mountains of the Song Clan. Powerful Qi suddenly appeared, as figure after figure emerged.

The five Sects and two Clans had arrived to investigate!