Shocking sword qi billowed out as the Immortal's sword flew up from the bottom of the sea, moving with indescribable speed.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's face fell, and an intense sense of deadly crisis filled him. He was about to dodge to the side when Meng Hao's left hand suddenly stretched out and grabbed down onto the Wang Clan Patriarch's arm.

Meng Hao's eyes were shot with blood, and his expression was one of utmost ferocity, as if he were a devil or a fiend. He glared at the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, his hand filled with the power of his life force, his stubborness, and his madness.

"You…." said the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, his face flickering as he sent the power of his cultivation base bursting out in all directions. His mind trembled with the sense of impending doom. He knew that he could not make any mistakes, but because the sword aura completely filled the entire area, he could not tell where exactly the Immortal's sword was coming from.

What he could do, though, was completely lock down the entire area.

RUMBLE!!

The Immortal's sword did not fly up out of the sea to attack the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch! That would slow it down a bit, and right now… at this juncture, each moment counted for everything!

In his madness, Meng Hao had been waiting for this very moment. In the end, he used the Immortal qi and the Immortal's sword to…

Stab himself!

The sword pierced into his back to appear directly in front of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch!

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch had locked down all other avenues of approach, but he had forgotten about… Meng Hao's body.

There was no way he could ever have imagined that Meng Hao would possibly be so ruthless. This was not a ruthlessness toward enemies, but a ruthlessness toward himself. The Immortal's sword stabbed through his body with lightning-like speed, then shot out from his chest toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's mind spun. His first mistake was not realizing that Meng Hao would actually wait until the very last possible moment to unleash his desire to kill. The second mistake was not realizing that Meng Hao would use his own body as the vessel with which to deliver the blow of the Immortal's sword.

He wanted to defend himself, but could not! He wanted to ward off the blow, but was unable!

"If I can't live, then we will perish together!" said Meng Hao. "What's to fear in death? Mortals can live for a hundred years at most. I, Meng Hao, have already lived more than two hundred years. What's the harm in dying?!?!

"From the moment I stepped onto the path of cultivation, I was prepared. I don't care about dying, but what I do care about… is living a life of freedom and independence!

"The Resurrection Lily turned into fetters that held me back. And as for you, 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, you want to do the same? Well then, I'll just have to sever you!"

Meng Hao's level of determination and decisiveness could shake Heaven and Earth!

BAM!

The Immortal's sword and its shocking sword qi stabbed directly into the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. He let out a bloodcurdling scream, then jerked his right arm to shake off Meng Hao's hand. Meng Hao's body lurched up as vast quantities of red, Perfect Dao foundation strands were wrenched out of him. They transformed into a resplendent red cloud that hovered up above.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch immediately pulled the brightly shining red strands of Perfection into his body. It was a moment in which he should have been extremely smug.

Instead, he screamed in miserable and shocking fashion.

The Immortal's sword pierced through his chest, exploding his heart and sending blood spraying about in all directions. He retreated, his mind filled with astonishment and terror. The wound to his body was secondary to the unbridled Immortal qi which tore through his body.

But all of that was actually not even worth mentioning when compared to the trembling of his soul.

That was the most terrifying thing to him; his soul shook to the point where it felt as if it were going to be torn to shreds.

"NOOOO!!!"

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch howled as he sensed that the three spiritual aspects and seven physical aspects of his soul, which formerly had been fused harmoniously, were now being ripped apart by the stabbing of the Immortal's sword. In fact, all aspects of his soul were rapidly beginning to fade.

"Meng Hao! DIIEEEEE!!" Unprecedented madness filled the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. He lifted his head up and howled as his entire body filled with rumbling sounds. Blood and gore oozed out from his mutilated chest. Suddenly, his withered body expanded as the red strands of the Perfect Dao foundation fused into his arm and the rest of his body. Suddenly, a trace of his own Immortal qi bloomed inside of him.

Unfortunately, it didn't matter that Immortal qi had appeared, he was unable to prevent the collapse of his soul.

"Immortal!! I will become Immortal!!" he raved. Shouting, he flew toward Meng Hao, his expression vicious. He raised his right hand into the air; everything shook, Immortal qi rose up into the sky, and the seawater vibrated.

Meng Hao had lost his Dao foundation, and his cultivation base had fallen. He no longer looked like a young man. He was old now, withered, with only a single breath of life left.

And yet, he smiled, a smile filled with contentment, freedom, and viciousness.

"If you want to take away my Dao foundation, you have to pay the price."

As the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's massive palm strike descended, the sky grew dim. Just as the power of the attack was about to envelop him, suddenly, a sigh could be heard coming from within the sea. Black fog roiled out, covering over Meng Hao. In the blink of an eye, the fog ebbed and he vanished from beneath the Wang Clan Patriarch's palm.

Something else appeared at the same time as the fog. A ship.

Its aura was ancient, and it was filled with the vestiges of the passage of time. The deck was dilapidated, and the entire ship seemed completely ancient. This was none other than… the ancient Underworld Ship!

At the prow of the ship, a man sat cross-legged, wearing a dilapidated suit of armor. Next to him lay Meng Hao; his eyes were closed, and it was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.

The Wang Clan Patriarch's palm strike slammed into the sea, sending water splashing everywhere as a huge depression appeared. The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was screaming and going crazy. Although the aura of an Immortal grew more clear on his body, his expression was one of madness. His soul was on the verge of dissipating. He had already lost one physical aspect of his soul, leaving him with only three spiritual and six physical aspects.

"I won't accept this!!" he roared. His hatred toward Meng Hao had reaching the pinnacle. His mind and thinking were no longer clear, and the only thing on his mind was that before he died, he needed to kill Meng Hao.

He charged forward, but at the same time, the Underworld Ship began to drift away. No matter how the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch pursued it, he couldn't catch up. He could only watch as the Underworld Ship disappeared off into the sea.

"DIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!" roared the Wang Clan Patriarch. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He violently slammed his palm onto the top of his head, causing blood to spray out. However, in that moment, he suddenly regained some of his clarity.

"I will reach Immortal Ascension! My soul must remain complete! I can't die! I haven't reached Immortal Ascension yet! I'm just on the verge!!" His eyes bloodshot, he opened up a rift in the air and then vanished.

Shockingly, when he reappeared, he was back in the Southern Domain, in the Wang Clan.

"I will reach Immortal Ascension! I will become Immortal!

"I cannot die! I will not die!

"I have the Perfect Dao foundation, and am destined to be Immortal! Immortal qi has already appeared!

"How could I possibly die!?!?" As he raved, his mind was thrown into complete chaos. Right now the only thing he could think about was reaching Immortal Ascension. His eyes were completely bloodshot as he flew down toward one of the cities of the Wang Clan.

The city was populated completely by members of the Wang Clan. There were mortals and cultivators, elderly people and children. As he shot toward the city, several hundred cultivators flew out. When they saw the appearance of the 10th Patriarch, their faces fell.

"Patriarch!"

"Patriarch, you… AAIIEEEEE!!" Even as the people opened their mouths to greet him, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch grabbed one of the Wang Clan members and then crushed his fingers down. The cultivator's head exploded, and his soul flew out to be inhaled by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

The other Wang Clan members were shocked, but before they could react, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch turned into a black wind that whistled toward them. Miserable shrieks began to echo out in all directions as hundreds of people were all eradicated, their souls absorbed by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

"I will reach Immortal Ascension!" he raved. "I will not die!" His eyes red, he shot down toward the city. Everywhere he passed, bloodcurdling screams rang out. Countless souls flew toward him, which he absorbed. In the space of only about ten breaths, the entire city was deathly silent. Everyone in the city… was dead!

Only the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch remained. He flew up into the air, howling.

"Return to me, my soul!" he howled.

There were a total of three such cities within the Wang Clan. The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch suddenly vanished, to reappear outside the second city.

The scene that played out was exactly the same as before. Miserable shrieks could be heard as countless lives met heartrending ends. A black cloud covered the entire city as all members of the Wang bloodline had their souls consumed by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

And yet, the spiritual and physical aspects of his soul were still dispersing; of the original ten total, one spiritual aspect and two physical aspects had already vanished.

"NOOOO!!!!" he howled, shooting toward the third city. This city was the location of the Wang Clan's ancestral mansion in South Heaven. As he neared, thousands of cultivators shot out from within, including two Spirit Severing experts. Their faces were filled with shock.

"The Patriarch has gone mad!!"

"He massacred two cities full of clan members! He's insane!!"

BOOM!

Within the the territory of the Wang Clan were the mountains in which successive generations of Patriarchs were buried. Seven mountain ranges in particular suddenly emanated shocking roars. In the blink of an eye, seven coffins appeared, from out of which exploded seven emaciated old men. Each and every one was in a rage.

"10th Patriarch, what are you doing!?"

"10th Patriarch, stay your hand!!"

Their shocking roars rose up like thunder, causing a bit of lucidity to suddenly appear in the eyes of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. In that moment, he realized everything that he had done, and his body began to tremble. In his heart, he felt pain from having slaughtered countless members of his own clan.

Intense pain filled him, but only for a moment. Then, his eyes shone with determination.

"I'll kill you and consume your souls too! Then, I will achieve Immortal Ascension! The whole clan can die, as long as I remain alive!"