Hidden beneath the domineering air, however, was something others could never detect... the con!

For example, Lin Cong's promissory note. Even Lin Cong knew nothing about that. He had unwittingly fallen for Meng Hao's scheme. That promissory note had come during their first battle, when Meng Hao utilized the Seven God Steps. When Lin Cong's attention had been fully preoccupied by the surging energy created by it, he secretly went about creating the promissory note.

He did it that way intentionally, just in case he didn't manage to kill Lin Cong, or if he escaped. That way, he wouldn't come out completely empty-handed. At the very least, he would have a promissory note. Then, the next time they met, he could loudly declare that Lin Cong owed him money!

He would never have imagined that his promissory note habit would end up providing proof that Lin Cong wasn't dead.

As for exactly why he wasn't dead, the answer came to him on the way back to Mount Whiteseal.

"Echelon cultivators can be killed twice without their soul being exterminated!" he murmured, thinking back to what Paragon Sea Dream had told him all those years ago. It was a special ability unique to the Echelon.

The only way for an Echelon cultivator to truly be exterminated, was to kill that person twice, and THEN... a third time. That last kill would be their final death. In turn, whoever killed them would be half a step into the Echelon.

The rest of that half step was to travel to the Ruins of Immortality in their Mountain and Sea, and find Paragon Sea Dream. Then they could get the other half of the mark, and truly become a new member of the Echelon.

As he sped through the air, Meng Hao reached up and touched the place on his forehead where the Echelon mark was concealed.

At about the same time that Meng Hao returned to the Ninth Nation, something happened back in the Fourth Nation. During Lin Cong's flight, he had spit up a glob of blood, which had long since soaked into the ground. Now, that patch of ground suddenly trembled, and a hand stretched up.

The hand was as flawless as white jade, like that of a newborn baby. It trembled, and the earth shook for a moment before exploding out as a figure stood up.

It was... Lin Cong!

His face was pale, but his cultivation base was different than it had been earlier. Apparently... it was completely restored to its original peak. However, his body was trembling. After taking a few breaths, he roared:

"Meng Hao!" His face twisted with intense rage and hatred. "In the Fourth Mountain and Sea, in all the deadly situations I encountered, I never used up one of my lives! I never imagined that you would actually push me into a corner and kill me!

"The enmity between us is irreconcilable!" He gnashed his teeth, and he even thought about retaliating against Xu Qing after he got back to the Fourth Mountain, to use her to get revenge against Meng Hao. However, when he considered that Xu Qing was the Princess of the 49th Cavern, he realized that despite the fact that she was Meng Hao's weak spot, it was actually impossible for him to do anything to her.

The realization filled him with bitterness. He suddenly realized that, even though he was still alive, Meng Hao had become his inner Devil.

He stamped his foot down onto the ground, and then flew into the air toward the National Aura Mountain. There was no way to vent his overflowing hatred. Even if he felt that he couldn't exist under the same sky as Meng Hao, the next time they met, all he would do was flee. He did not dare to go up against him.

Currently, he was even wondering if Meng Hao knew that he wasn't dead.

Naturally, Meng Hao was completely aware of that fact. Currently, he was landing on Mount Whiteseal, where he sat down cross legged and flicked his sleeve to produce two tongues of flame.

These were none other than the World Seals from the Fourth Nation and the Eighth Nation.

The two flames flickered up into the hand of the statue, where they lined up with the Ninth Nation's World Seal. The three flames made the Essences and natural laws even more majestic.

Meng Hao took a deep breath. Not wasting any time, he focused on contemplation. He had long since realized that, after taking the World Seal of the Fourth Nation, he no longer possessed twenty percent of the Windswept Realm's qi flow, but rather, thirty percent.

As he contemplated enlightenment, time passed. The overall structure of the Windswept Realm changed due to the defeats of Lin Cong and Han Qinglei. The Fourth Nation and the Eighth Nation were routed, and were eliminated from the central battlefield.

The other six nations continued to fight their bloody battles. However, the Ninth Nation had risen to prominence in the war, causing the cultivators from the other nations to join forces against it in resistance.

Before long, the intense fighting led to a chaotic battle situation.

Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu began switching off with other cultivators from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, so that there were some of them constantly fighting, almost as if they were unwilling to return from the battlefield.

It was as if they could find peace in the fighting, and would not be influenced by their desires.

Half a month flashed by. The speed with which he was gaining enlightenment of the three World Seals was rapidly increased because of the blessing of thirty percent of the qi flow of the Windswept Realm. By this point, he had gained enlightenment of nearly 500 Essences.

And he wasn't finished.

During the half month, the fighting in the central region changed as more Echelon cultivators gained enlightenment of their respective World Seals. The battles grew even more chaotic.

In order to snatch the World Seals from other nations, it was first necessary to weaken them, which could only be done by gaining an advantage in the central region. Under the control of the Echelon cultivators, the armies in the central region fought with increased intensity.

Occasionally, certain countries would suffer defeats, and the red beams of light coming from their pagodas would grow dim. At that point, other Echelon cultivators would enter that nation to begin fighting.

During the half month, fierce fighting went on in virtually all of the National Aura Mountains of the various nations. There were both victories and defeats, but through it all there were only two mountains that no one dared to enter!

One was the First Nation's Mountain of National Fate, which was controlled by the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain. No one dared to encroach on his territory.

The second nation was Meng Hao's Mount Whiteseal, in the Ninth Nation. Although all the other Echelon cultivators were aware of how many World Seals he had, after his battle with Han Qinglei, and then his defeat of Lin Cong, he had settled his position. None of the other Echelon cultivators were confident enough to take him on.

It was in this fashion that seven more days passed. Suddenly, a boundless light rose up from Mount Whiteseal, within which Meng Hao opened his eyes. He slowly stood up and made a grasping motion with his right hand, causing the three flames to fly over into his palm, where they vanished.

Three World Seals, 900 great Daos. 900 Essences. All of that information was burned into his heart. Although he wasn't able to actually wield any of them, the sense of accomplishment he felt caused his aura to be completely different than before.

He looked more elegant than before, and as he stood there, it seemed as if he were connected with the whole world. The light began to fade away, and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again moments later, he suddenly produced his second Nirvana Fruit. His eyes glittered as he pushed the fruit into his forehead.

In the instant the Nirvana Fruit contacted his forehead, a familiar sensation filled him. A massive tempestuous roar filled his mind, causing him to feel as though his head were about to explode.

He began to grow taller. 15 meters. 24 meters. 30 meters. 39 meters....

His fleshly body was ripped and torn, and intense pain rushed through him that was nothing like the last time he had temporarily absorbed the second Nirvana Fruit. This time, his fleshly body was not in the Immortal Realm, but rather, in the Ancient Realm!

His Ancient Realm fleshly body rumbled as it grew. Of his nine Soul Lamps, two had previously been lit. Now, the third and fourth began to burn, and a tiny spark appeared in the fifth.

His fleshly body power was increasing explosively!

His heart began to pound loudly, and then, thunder began to boom around him, as if it were cheering him on!

A power more terrifying than his Ancient Realm fleshly body began to flourish within him.

Soon, he was 60 meters tall, and he looked like a giant, his head raised, surging energy giving rise to madly whipping winds.

ROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!

He trembled as a tempest raged inside of him, tearing him apart. It was almost as if his qi passageways were going to be completely destroyed.

The Nirvana Fruit was like a key that unlocked terrifying power within his blood. Once again, shocking fluctuations began to flow through his veins!

Meng Hao could clearly sense that his 123 Immortal meridians were now ripping apart and then forming back together into a single Immortal meridian!

Although it was only one Immortal meridian, it formed something like a painting, a painting which showed the outline of a perfect circle!

His cultivation base rose up rapidly, and his every breath seemed to cause peals of thunder to echo out as he sucked in all of the energy of Heaven and Earth that existed in the area.

Power like this was something that far exceeded the Immortal Emperor Realm.

The mountain shook, and the lands quaked. All of the living things in the Ninth Nation could suddenly sense the shocking and domineering power that now existed on Mount Whiteseal.

The people who could sense it most clearly were the disciples of the various sects in the Ninth Nation, especially Jian Daozi. His face fell as he and all the other cultivators of the Ninth Nation looked off into the distance with expressions of shock.

As of this moment, Meng Hao was surrounded by the color azure.

Azure represented the Allheaven! The Allheaven represented the infinite!

Radiant azure light radiated off of Meng Hao as he threw his head back and roared. The sky shook, and massive winds blew.

This time, Meng Hao was able to endure for twenty breaths of time before his body trembled, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He staggered backward as the Nirvana Fruit emerged and fell down into his hand.

Although he now looked quite disheveled, his eyes gleamed with obsession and excitement.

"Gaining enlightenment of the Essences really will help me absorb the second Nirvana Fruit!

"I now understand 900 Essences, which lets me stay in that terrifying state for twenty breaths of time, which is much longer than before. According to my calculations, if I can gain enlightenment of 3,000 Essences, then I should be able to... permanently remain in the Allheaven Immortal Realm!" This hope caused him to throw his head back and laugh loudly.

"Besides, the first time I tried to absorb my second Nirvana Fruit, it wasted much of the energy in my body, so much so that I couldn't even stand up. But now... it only took thirty percent of my energy!"