Immediately, countless violet-colored humanoid beasts surrounded him with flapping wings. All he could see was a mass of violet.

Of the 3,000 meters to the flame portal, the first 1,500 meters were firmly occupied by the violet-colored beasts. Only after passing through that region would they stand down. The silver-colored beasts made their move at the 1,000-meter mark, which was where Gu Tianxiang of the Solitary Sword Sect had been defeated.

If one could pass the silver-colored beasts, the next challenge was a gold-colored beast.

Meng Hao's eyes glittered. He didn't have time to waste here, so he immediately went on the offensive. The Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain rumbled out. As the Ninth Mountain descended, with the Black White Pearls circulating around it, everything trembled. The air vibrated, and multiple layers of ripples expanded out, transforming into an astonishing pressure that weighed down on everything.

The intense pressure was like a wall that crashed into the violet-colored beasts. As Meng Hao charged forward, they tumbled back, howling. Even the most outstanding of the violet-colored beasts were incapable of even getting close to Meng Hao before being smashed backward.

250 meters. 500 meters. 750 meters. 1,000 meters….

Within in the space of only a few breaths of time, Meng Hao proceeded forward as if he were walking along a paved path. He quickly reached the 1,500 meter mark, with the violet-colored beasts left behind in the dust. They glared at him, but didn't pursue or attack him any further.

Up ahead was a glittering, silver glow, which was a silver-colored beast. It shot forward with a ferocious expression and incredible speed. Its power seemed equivalent to the Second Severing.

Meng Hao gave a cold snort as he waved his right hand. The Ninth Mountain arrived, crushing the silver-colored beast. It let out a miserable howl as its body began to fall apart. However, the flames leaped out and quickly restored it.

Meng Hao quickly advanced by about 250 meters, putting him only 1,250 meters away from the flame portal.

It was then that six more silver-colored beasts joined the beast from earlier. Seven total, five with Second Severing cultivation bases, and two with Third Severing cultivation bases, charged toward Meng Hao.

"Crushing time!" Meng Hao advanced, waving his right finger. The Ninth Mountain grew in size, rumbling as it crushed down onto the seven silver-colored beasts.

Meng Hao charged onward. He was now only 500 meters away from the flame portal.

At this point, more than ten silver-colored beasts attacked him furiously. Booms rang out from the Ninth Mountain as the seven silver-colored beasts being suppressed burst out from within, their bodies wreathed in flames. They joined in to completely surround Meng Hao.

The five men from the Golden Frost Sect were watching intently as all of this happened. Off to the side, Gu Tianxiang's eyes glittered. Meng Hao was now in the same position he had been when in when he suffered defeat. "That Lu Bai is inhuman!" he thought. "Meng Hao might be powerful, but if he thinks he can get any farther, well, that's impossible!"

The deep-gold overseer up in mid-air was also watching the proceedings closely, and thought, "He's definitely going to be defeated."

However, it was then that Meng Hao's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he waved his sleeve.

"Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

Rumbling could be heard as a gigantic vortex formed, enveloping the roughly twenty silver-colored beasts. At the same time, an enormous blood-colored hand appeared, which firmly grasped the beasts.

"Qi and Blood stratum!" roared Meng Hao. The more than twenty silver-colored beasts began to tremble, and expressions of astonishment could be seen on their faces. Their bodies began to wither rapidly as vast quantities of qi and blood shot toward Meng Hao.

A tremor ran through him. The qi and blood was incredibly powerful, and in an instant his body had already reached the limit that Spirit Severing could accommodate.

The more than twenty silver-colored beasts struggled violently, to the point that the vortex seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. Apparently, the limit of the second level of Meng Hao's Blood Demon Grand Magic had been reached.

Gu Tianxiang's eyes glittered. "He's going to be defeated!"

The five members of the Golden Frost Sect sighed. If Meng Hao couldn't get past the first level, then there was no hope at all for them.

Up in mid-air, the deep-gold overseer eyed Meng Hao's Blood Demon Grand Magic, and its expression flickered, but then quickly returned to normal.

Currently, the more than twenty silver-colored beasts were struggling and roaring so violently that the vortex couldn't handle it. Cracking sounds could be heard, and rifts spread out. However, Meng Hao then pointed his finger and cried, "Wither!"

The 'withering' character from the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao caused the silver-colored beasts' bodies to tremble. Their fleshly bodies began to wither even more rapidly, and their cultivation bases were instantly suppressed. Even their life forces showed signs of withering.

Because of their weakening, the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex was no longer under the strain it had been. It once again rumbled into motion. From a distance, the vortex was incredibly huge and shocking.

Boom!

Even denser streams of qi and blood poured from the vortex to be absorbed by Meng Hao. He trembled violently as his fleshly body suddenly burst out of the Spirit Severing stage and into Dao Seeking.

The more than twenty silver-colored beasts were withering rapidly, and seemed to be just on the verge of death. Flames appeared to restore their bodies, but their power was sucked away by Meng Hao even as the restoration occurred.

It was a cycle that became like a wellspring of power for Meng Hao. It was almost as if he could continue to grow stronger… forever!

Early Dao Seeking. Mid Dao Seeking….

He lifted his head up and roared as he felt an unprecedented level of power coursing through him. Along with this incredible fleshly body power came an increased self-confidence.

This was the Heaven-defying might of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

This intense, unprecedented strength also caused Meng Hao to be wracked with severe pain; it felt as if his body might be ripped apart. When Gu Tianxiang saw what was happening, he gasped. The five cultivators from the Golden Frost Sect watched with wide eyes.

The deep-gold overseer up in midair was even more astonished. He gasped and thought, "What divine ability is that!? It's so shocking!! It's completely different than the River of Time, and, in fact, far more terrifying!"

Furthermore, the regeneration of the more than twenty silver-colored beasts was actually not able to keep up with the absorbing power of the vortex. Looks of despair could even be seen on some of the beasts' faces.

Meng Hao seemed as if he had become the vortex itself as he gobbled up all the incoming power of blood and qi.

The deep-gold overseer's face fell. "Dammit! If this goes on, he might really be able to wither my clan members to death!!"

Meng Hao's eyes flashed as his fleshly body exploded with power. It burst through the mid Dao Seeking stage and then stepped into the late Dao Seeking stage!

In that moment, the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex suddenly changed color, turning from red to gold!

When it became gold-colored, intense rumbling sounds filled the air and an incredible pressure weighed down on everything. The five Golden Frost Sect cultivators' faces were filled with shock, and their hearts trembled. They could clearly sense the fearsomeness of the golden vortex, and they knew that even if they combined into the puppet, they would be incapable of fazing Meng Hao in the least bit.

Gu Tianxiang of the Solitary Sword Sect was even more shocked. His pupils constricted as he realized that Meng Hao was actually just as inhuman as Lu Bai!

The golden vortex seemed to have transformed on a fundamental level. The pressure exploded out tenfold, and Meng Hao trembled inwardly as he sensed the terrifying nature of the golden vortex.

"No wonder I wasn't ever able to cultivate the third level. The blood-colored vortex… isn't the final limit of the second level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic! Only by turning the vortex golden can I reach the great circle of the Qi and Blood stratum!"

Enlightened, Meng Hao was now confident that he could easily suck the silver-colored beasts out of existence. However, that was not the course of action he chose.

After all, the deep-gold overseer was in control of this entire place, so it was best not to go overboard.

"Dammit!" thought the deep-gold overseer. "One inhuman is bad enough. How could a second one have appeared! And this new one is even more shocking than the previous one!!"

Lu Bai had passed through the first level by using his River of Time to avoid the silver-colored beasts. Meng Hao, on the other hand, was relying on the power of his magic to crush everything in his path. It was easy to see which of the two was superior!

The deep-gold overseer was getting anxious, but because of the ancient treaty there was nothing he could to interfere. Just when he was at the peak of anxiety, Meng Hao waved his hand, causing a boom to rattle out. The golden vortex faded away, and the more than twenty silver-colored beasts were sent spinning away, blood spraying from their mouths. They were listless and dispirited, and they looked at Meng Hao with expressions of unprecedented fear and awe.

They had not feared Lu Bai; were Lu Bai to be even stronger than he was, he still wouldn't be able to kill them.

Meng Hao was quite different, though. He was qualified to utterly exterminate them!

Even as rumbling sounds continued to echo out, and the more than twenty silver-colored beasts retreated, Meng Hao proceeded onward. He had absorbed a virtually inexhaustible amount of qi and blood. Although it didn't truly belong to him, he was temporarily incredibly powerful, and could explode out with fleshly body power that was almost completely equivalent to the peak of Dao Seeking.

He proceeded forward, and natural law spread out around him. The world rumbled, the air distorted, and shocking energy filled him. As he charged forward, the deep-gold overseer's eyes flickered. It had a certain amount of control based on the treaty, so it quickly called upon a gold-colored clan member that was more powerful than the one that had attacked Lu Bai. It roared and charged toward Meng Hao, its Dao Seeking cultivation base surging. Its body was surrounded by flames, and it streaked toward Meng Hao like a shooting star.

Meng Hao could instantly see the difference between this beast and the one that had attacked Lu Bai. He snorted coldly and then clenched his fist.

"SCREW OFF!" he roared, punching with all the strength his fleshly body could muster. Everything dimmed as an insane, earth-shattering wave of power rocketed forth which seemed capable of covering the sky and burying the earth.

The incoming gold-colored beast looked shocked, and was instantly filled with an intense sensation of deadly crisis. Without hesitation, it attempted to dodge. However, the wave of power generated by Meng Hao's fleshly body was far too shocking. In the blink of an eye, it completely inundated the gold-colored beast.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed out. Flames completely covered it, but they were incapable of preventing the creature's body from beginning to fall apart completely.

Seeing that its fellow clan member was about to die, the deep-gold overseer shot down in a flash of light. It grabbed the gold-colored beast, then slapped out to disperse the wave of power generated by Meng Hao. It managed to save its fellow clan member in the nick of time.

The gold-colored beast was panting for breath and staring at Meng Hao with intense fear. It wasn't just this particular gold-colored beast. All of the others were watching on with intense shock.

"You have passed the first level!" said the deep-gold overseer, staring at Meng Hao with a deep look.