Fang Wei's gaze immediately fell onto Meng Hao. His expression was the same as ever, although his pupils constricted. He wasn't surprised to see that Meng Hao had shown up. Back in their initial meeting in the main temple, the moment they looked at each other, Fang Wei could tell that Meng Hao was not a pushover. However, he hadn't paid much attention to him, and had in fact disregarded him. It wasn't until Meng Hao rose to prominence in the Dao of Alchemy Division that he had been forced to take him seriously.

That was especially true now, when he was suddenly acting so aggressively. Fang Wei snorted coldly.

A moment later, his expression was seemingly as placid as ever, without any hint of disturbance.

Wang Mu was also there in the East Ascension Pavilion. When he saw Meng Hao, his eyes shone with a sharp light, and his desire to do battle increased.

Fang Yunyi stood there as well, looking venomously in Meng Hao's direction, a cold smile twisting the corners of his lips.

The crowds surrounding Brightmoon Lake were in an uproar. They made way for Meng Hao as he strode slowly forward, Fang Xi in tow, who was both excited and nervous. The Blackmoon Guards were one of the nine guard corps of the Fang Clan, and were responsible for maintaining peace. They would most certainly not respond kindly to Meng Hao provoking them.

"Coz…." he whispered. Suddenly, whistling sounds could be heard as more than thirty figures closed in on Meng Hao from all directions.

These were more Blackmoon Guards, the keepers of the peace! As they flew toward Meng Hao, their cultivation bases roared with power; shockingly, all of these cultivators were in the Immortal Realm!

Two of them were even stage 5 Immortals, and as they all closed in at high speed, they unleashed divine abilities and magical techniques. Brilliant light shot out in all directions, exerting intense pressure.

"How brazen!"

"You dare to attack the Blackmoon Guard? You dare to sow public chaos!? It doesn't matter who you are, kneel now and prepare to be sent to the dungeon to be tortured!"

As the shouts echoed out, Fang Xi started to look anxious.

However, Meng Hao's expression didn't change at all. Instead, he smiled coldly.

"It seems that even random nobodies dare to squawk in front of me," he said. "Could it be because I haven't used force often enough in the clan?" With that, he stepped forward. As soon as his foot touched the ground, he transformed into a bright beam of light.

The beam of light was gold-colored, and inside, Meng Hao took the form of a golden roc. A droning could be heard as he shot toward the incoming Blackmoon Guards at high speed.

In the blink of an eye, he slammed into three of them. The roc's talons slashed, ripping the air and causing cracking sounds to ring out. The three Blackmoon Guards' faces fell and blood sprayed from their mouths and their bodies twisted before they could even fight back. They were instantly sent flying backward by Meng Hao's talons, powerless to resist.

Even as they flew backward, coughing up blood, they looked back at Meng Hao with expressions of shock.

"How… how could he be so strong!?!?"

Meng Hao didn't pause for even a moment; he instantly swept towards the other guards. The roc flapped its wings, and in the blink of an eye, five more Blackmoon Guards let out muffled grunts. Blood sprayed from their mouths as they were thrown into the air, and looks of shock covered their faces as they looked at roc-form Meng Hao.

"What cultivation base does he have? Even the combined power of all five of us can't stop him!"

To describe all of these actions takes quite a few sentences, but these eight people were injured and sent tumbling hundreds of meters away in a brief flash. Eight people had been injured and flung over 300 meters away. Now, there were seven Blackmoon Guards left in front of Meng Hao.

Among those seven were the two stage 5 Immortals, who were now panting. Their expressions that of astonishment, they gritted their teeth and joined voices to call out, "Blackmoon Formation!"

Immediately, the other five of their number joined with the first two, combining together to form the shape of a moon!

Because their clothing was black, that moon… was also black!

A black moon!

As soon as the moon appeared, a monstrous energy surged out that weighed down on everyone in the area. The Chosen in the East Ascension Pavilion all looked on with strange gleams in their eyes.

"The Blackmoon Guards' first fusion art!" said Taiyang Zi, his eyes flickering.

"Rumor has it," said Sun Hai, eyeing the black moon, "that with this art, seven people make the formation, seven formations make a magic spell, seven spells make a divine ability, seven divine abilities make a Dao!"

Others had similar reactions, although Li Ling'er simply watched with coldly flickering eyes.

The crowds surrounding Brightmoon Lake were also in a commotion.

Fang Xi's face fell, and Fang Yunyi smiled an overtly sinister smile.

In that moment….

Meng Hao, in golden roc form, didn't hesitate for a moment. He charged toward the black moon, and as he did, the roc turned blurry and transformed into numerous mountains. The mountains linked together to form a chain of mountains that then crushed down onto the black moon!

This was none other than the Mountain Consuming Incantation!

From a distance, it looked like massive mountain peaks suppressing the very moon in the Heavens. Boundless, enormous mountains filled the sky, and as for that black moon, it was visibly shrinking.

Everyone watching was astonished, especially the Chosen in the East Ascension Pavilion who had previously crossed swords with Meng Hao. When they saw the mountains, they were reminded of that year in the lands of South Heaven, when Meng Hao had single-handedly swept over all of the Chosen. Despite being chased by over a thousand opponents, he had been as valiant as ever.

Booms echoed out in all directions.

The black moon only lasted for the space of a few breaths under the crushing pressure of the mountains. Subsequently, it shattered into pieces, and the seven people inside coughed up blood and tumbled backward, their faces filled with terror.

The mountains faded away, and Meng Hao stepped out from within them. He once again transformed into a beam of light that shot forward.

"Fang Xi, keep up!" he said loftily. "I'm taking you to the pavilion on the lake!" To everyone who heard his booming voice, it was as if Meng Hao was the only person in existence.

There were many clan members who suddenly felt as if they were meeting Meng Hao for the first time. Their hearts trembled with shock, and even Fang Xi was panting. Gritting his teeth, he flew to follow Meng Hao.

The two of them proceeded onward toward Brightmoon Lake, Meng Hao in the lead, Fang Xi following.

In the East Ascension Pavilion in the middle of Brightmoon Lake, the various Chosen were all looking at Meng Hao. Regardless of whatever conflicts they had with him, as of this moment all of them had no choice but to admit that Meng Hao… was a blazing sun!

Fang Wei stood there quietly, his eyes icy. Fang Yunyi, on the other hand, had an expression filled with incredible venom.

Fang Hong was already in awe of Meng Hao, and subconsciously stepped backward, as did Fang Xiangshan. Fang Donghan was secretly excited; this outcome was exactly what he wanted, a fight between Meng Hao and Fang Wei.

As everyone watched Meng Hao nearing the edge of Brightmoon Lake, all of a sudden, a person appeared on the shore.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a black robe embroidered with two moons. He had the flourishing cultivation base of a stage 6 Immortal.

"You ignominious fool!" the man said coldly. "Back down!" This stage 6 Immortal was the leader of the Blackmoon Guards in this area. He stood there, brow furrowed, doing nothing to conceal his loathing of Meng Hao. Even as he spoke, he pushed his hand out in front of him, causing shocking pressure to roil out. At the same time, an enormous, illusory hand appeared that shot toward Meng Hao.

"I'm from the direct bloodline of the Fang Clan," Meng Hao replied, "I'm the eldest grandson of this generation, with a supreme status in the clan. You're the one who'll be backing down!" Instead of slowing down, he sped up. At the same time, he clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out into the air nine times.

Nine Heavens Destruction!

RUMMMBLLLLE!

Massive roaring filled the air as his Dharma Idol suddenly materialized behind him. 15,000 meters tall, shocking to the extreme, it also punched out. Nine blows descended toward the middle-aged man, seemingly capable of shattering Heaven and Earth.

When Meng Hao's attacks slammed into the palm strike, the hand shattered. The man's face fell as Meng Hao's fist continued onward the man himself.

Dozens of blows were exchanged in the blink of an eye. Each exchange caused the man's face to flicker; his expression was now being taken over by fear as he realized that his cultivation base was being weakened, as was his life force. It was being absorbed by Meng Hao!

In the end, blood sprayed from his mouth, and he was forced to retreat.

In that moment, Meng Hao grabbed Fang Xi. As everyone watched, he flew up into the air… directly out over Brightmoon Lake!

As soon as Meng Hao was airborne, all of the dozens of Blackmoon Guards in the crowd urgently took flight and sped toward Meng Hao. It didn't matter if he was a fellow clan member, his flagrant challenge of the Blackmoon Guards was something that could not go unanswered.

However, Meng Hao completely ignored them. He dragged the astonished Fang Xi through the air, transforming into a long beam of light that shot over Brightmoon Lake toward the East Ascension Pavilion.

Inside the pavilion, the Chosen were all shocked. Li Ling'er clenched her jaw, and a cold light could be seen in Fan Dong'er's eyes. Wang Mu was itching to fight, and Song Luodan's face was icy. As for Sun Hai, he was getting nervous. Taiyang Zi and the others felt their energy surging as Meng Hao sped toward them.

Fang Wei frowned. Fang Yunyi was panting; seeing Meng Hao's powerful momentum caused him to subconsciously step backward.

Everyone watched as Meng Hao carried Fang Xi across the water. In the blink of an eye, he was almost at East Ascension Pavilion. Just when he was about to set foot inside….

"You don't qualify to be here," Fang Wei said calmly.

He took a step forward and then struck out with his palm!

The palm strike unexpectedly… caused everyone to feel as if the land were quaking and the mountains were trembling. The surface of Brightmoon Lake churned, as if some ancient being were awakening underneath and was now emitting a terrifying aura.

The palm strike looked ordinary, and yet as soon as it was delivered, a golden magical symbol appeared outside of the East Ascension Pavilion. The symbol was like the sun, instantly causing everything outside to turn golden.

In response to the palm strike, all of the Chosen in the pavilion, even Fan Dong'er and Zhou Xin from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, narrowed their eyes in concentration. Various expressions could be seen; the explosive energy of Fang Wei's attack left everyone shocked.

This was even more the case when people realized that Fang Wei's attack contained an aura of reincarnation. It was almost like a natural law, as if… anyone who opposed Fang Wei was actually an enemy of the Heavens!

A sense of crisis rose up in Meng Hao, and his eyes widened. He released Fang Xi, simultaneously causing the Black White Pearls to swirl out. Furthermore, a Blood qi rose up, transforming into the head of a Blood Demon. All of it coalesced onto Meng Hao's hand, after which he also… struck out with his palm.

Rumbling filled the air in the space between Meng Hao and Fang Wei in the East Ascension Pavilion.

This was the first time that Meng Hao and Fang Wei exchanged blows!