"Shut the hell up!" roared Hai Dongqing, looking extremely irritated. As an Echelon cultivator, the fact that he had ended up becoming Dao-Heaven's follower was actually a very painful matter to him. Few people would ever dare to bring up the matter in his presence, not unless there was a blood feud between them. Even other Echelon cultivators wouldn't provoke him in such a way.

Only Yuwen Jian dared to do so. Both of them started out in the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and had numerous conflicts going back throughout the years. They had long since reached the point where neither could tolerate the other being alive. The venomous words uttered just now by Yuwen Jian caused Hai Dongqing to give a cold harrumph and then step forward. The wave of his hand instantly caused an illusory sword to shoot forward.

It was an azure-colored sword that emanating blinding sword light. As soon as it appeared, it split apart into 100,000 separate swords, which soared through the air toward Yuwen Jian on the National Aura Mountain.

"Why the hell should I shut up, fool?" Yuwen Jian cursed. "You're Dao-Heaven's lackey! What, you're afraid of people saying it out loud? I won't shut up, and furthermore, I'll say it again. You're a lackey, a dog! Come on, dog, try to bite me!" He stuck his chin up into the air as if to say, what are you gonna do about it?

Rumbling filled the air as the 100,000 swords slashed toward the mountain, slamming into the protective shield and causing it to distort. At the same time, the two cultivators off to the side laughed coldly, waving their hands to cause two streams of qi to swirl out, one black and one white. They merged together in midair to form a gigantic spike, which stabbed down toward the mountain.

Booms rang out as the shield twisted. However, Yuwen Jian's curses continued to echo through the air.

"Come on, bite me, fool!" he raged. "Motherfudging Hai Dongqing, you bitch slut! If you have the skill, come and bite me! If you dare to come at me, then I'll screw you!"

Meng Hao remained off to the side, looking on with a strange expression. He suddenly realized that during their fight, Yuwen Jian had actually spoken to him quite respectfully. They hadn't been fighting to the death, but had they been, Meng Hao had the feeling that the harshness of Yuwen Jian's cursing could only be matched by the parrot.

Outside the shield, Hai Dongqing looked more furious than ever. Staring coldly at Yuwen Jian, he waved his hand, causing the number of illusory swords spinning around him to increase to 500,000, radiating brilliant light as they slammed into the shield.

The shield was weakening, and obviously these three cultivators were fully prepared to fight, even in the battles near the central temple.

"Slut! Charlatan!" roared Yuwen Jian. "You don't have any balls at all, you fruitcake! Why don't you use the same skills you use when you service Dao-Heaven! Come on!

"Hai Dongqing, considering we're both from the Seventh Mountain, you can tell me the truth, right? Between you and Dao-Heaven, who gives it and who takes it? I'm really curious!" As Yuwen Jian let off a constant stream of curses, he took moments here and there to lower his voice and speak to Meng Hao.

"Whenever I see this slut I can't help but curse him. Sorry for getting you involved in this, brother. If your enlightenment comes quickly, then get out of here before you get killed. Just forget about me. After all, if you stick around and I get killed, then your death won't come too long after.

"But… we might stand a better chance if we stand together. AND we'll probably die if we split up!

"Plus, if you leave, then you won't be able to take this World Seal with you. Without someone to distract them, you'd never get away.

"Besides, since you have the Seventh Nation's World Seal, if you leave with it, they'll definitely chase you down."

"Anything else you want to say?" Meng Hao said coldly.

Yuwen Jian cleared his throat. He turned to let out another string of curses at Hai Dongqing, then turned back and smiled wryly at Meng Hao.

"Of course there's more, but there's not enough time to explain it clearly. Anyway, go ahead and leave, brother! I'll hold them off for as long as I can!"

Even as he spoke, a huge crack opened up in the shield. Tearing sounds could be heard as the rip expanded, causing the entire shield to ripple. Clearly, it would only be able to hold out for a little bit longer. Hai Dongqing's bone-deep hatred for Yuwen Jian caused him to attack with increased fervor.

The male and female cultivator had profound cultivation bases. Although they weren't in the Echelon, and the feeling they gave off couldn't compare exactly, it was similar. They made another attack, causing two huge spikes to stab down toward the shield.

Murderous gleams could be seen in their eyes. They weren't here to interfere with the matter between Yuwen Jian and Hai Dongqing. They were here for Meng Hao, and would surely receive an incredible reward if they killed him.

The man and the woman were both staring at him with clear killing intent, and even a gleam of avarice. They obviously wanted to take advantage of his inability to attack... to cut him down.

It was at this point that Meng Hao suddenly rose to his feet. He clenched his right hand into a fist, causing the Seventh Nation's World Seal to fuse into his hand.

Next, he performed an incantation gesture, then waved his finger toward the shield. Immediately, numerous mountain ranges appeared outside, which smashed down toward Hai Dongqing and the other two cultivators.

"Finished with your enlightenment?" Yuwen Jian asked, eyes glittering brightly.

Meng Hao snorted coldly. Ignoring Yuwen Jian completely, he shot up into the air toward the shield. As he appeared outside, he waved his hand, summoning the Paragon Bridge.

As the Paragon Bridge descended, Hai Dongqing's face flickered. He quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing a sword to appear that radiated an ancient aura.

The sword was broken, with only a finger-length segment of the tip remaining. However, it radiated a frigid aura that caused a huge wind to whip up as soon as it appeared. At the same time, the aura of a Paragon spread out.

This was Hai Dongqing's Paragon magic. With a roar, he shoved both hands out in front of him, causing the broken sword tip to fly toward the Paragon Bridge.

As soon as these two grand Paragon magics appeared, Meng Hao extended his right hand, within which appeared the Lightning Cauldron. His eyes glittered, and electricity danced around him. Suddenly, he switched places with the female cultivator.

In the blink of an eye, and before anyone could react, Meng Hao performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and then waved his hand toward the male cultivator.

The Essence of Divine Flame erupted out explosively, causing the man's face to fall. He tried to retreat, but before he could get very far, Meng Hao transformed into a golden roc, attacking in unison with the flames to slash violently at the man's chest.

Flames engulfed the man, and he screamed miserably. At the same time, brilliant light flickered around him, and he performing an incantation gesture, causing a suit of armor to cover him. Although it provided some bit of protection, the Divine Flame still bored in, inflicting intense pain. He gritted his teeth, forcing his mind into clarity, then began to fall back. However, how could Meng Hao possibly let him flee? The golden roc flickered as he returned to human form, then clenched his right hand into a fist and unleashed the Bedevilment Fist.

A boom rang out as he struck the man's chest. The armor exploded, and blood sprayed out. A look of shock covered the man's ashen face; he quickly crushed a pearl between his teeth, and as Meng Hao's second punch closed in, his body turned illusory, and the fist struck nothing but air.

The man fell back anxiously, screaming,

"Save me!"

That pearl was a life-saving magical item, something he hadn't used for a very long time, and normally kept concealed inside of his tongue. However, it only took a few moments of battle with Meng Hao before he was forced to unleash its power.

Everything that was happening takes some time to describe, but in truth, from the time Meng Hao unleashed the Paragon Bridge to the moment he attacked the man, only enough time passed for a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. It was so quick that no one had any time to react.

Hai Dongqing unleashed his Paragon magic a bit too slowly, making it difficult to come to the man's aid. As for the woman, she was now quite some distance away. She was about to use a minor teleportation, but apparently Meng Hao had predicted that would happen. He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waved his finger at the woman.

The Eighth Demon Sealing Hex transformed into invisible ripples that caused a tremor to run through the woman; she was now incapable of teleporting, or of doing anything else to interfere.

Killing intent flickered in Meng Hao's eyes. Without speaking a word, he shot toward the man like lightning. With the wave of his hand, 123 Immortal meridians exploded with power, and 33 Heavens descended. They transformed into the paw of a beast, which slashed at the retreating cultivator.

A boom could be heard, and the man let out a miserable shriek. His chest burst into a cloud of blood and gore, and a look of complete and utter panic filled his face, as if he could sense death closing in on him. How could he ever have imagined that he would collapse like a brittle branch under the attacks of his opponent, without even the chance to fight back?

He couldn't help but think back to the fight between Meng Hao and Lin Cong, and now he knew how Lin Cong felt. He was denied any chance to do anything, and only continued to descend into further danger.

Hai Dongqing was in a rage. His body flashed as he performing an incantation gesture, causing 1,000,000 streams of sword qi to burst out, slashing toward Meng Hao to block his path to the male cultivator.

The woman's face was filled with a murderous look, and she looked incredibly anxious. She and the man were beloved partners, so at the moment, her heart was tearing apart. She even burned her life force to extricate herself from the Eighth Hex. Blood sprayed from her mouth as she charged toward Meng Hao.

"Stay your hand!" she screamed shrilly.

The man, who had just been on the receiving end of a series of successful attacks on the part of Meng Hao, gritted his teeth and fell back again. As long as he could hold off long enough for his partner to arrive, he would be saved. Only a few breaths of time would be sufficient.

However, it was in this moment that Meng Hao suddenly burst into action. He took a few steps, and his energy surged dramatically. The air around him distorted, causing Hai Dongqing and the female cultivator's minds to reel.

Heavy injuries were instantly inflicted upon the male cultivator. He let out a bloodcurdling scream as Meng Hao closed in and unleashed another fist strike onto his chest.

The man's body instantly exploded into pieces. However, he wasn't dead yet. His Immortal soul shot out intact, and quickly made to flee. However, Meng Hao let out a harrumph.

The sound contained the power of his Dao Divinity Scripture, an intense divine sense attack that caused the man's Immortal soul to tremble. In the same moment, Meng Hao's right hand made a grasping motion, and the bone-tip spear appeared, which he then hurled toward the Immortal soul. Before even waiting to see the result, Meng Hao turned and let out a punch toward the shrieking female cultivator.

Booms echoed out as blow landed. Blood sprayed out of the woman's mouth, and she was sent tumbling backward. The shockwave from the impact spread out and slammed into the incoming beams of sword qi from Hai Dongqing, causing them to stall in midair.

It was in that moment that the bone-tip spear stabbed into the forehead of the Immortal soul. It trembled, and a look of disbelief appeared on its face as the soul shattered into pieces, completely destroyed!

"NO!!" screamed the woman, trembling, her eyes filling with a look of disbelief and madness.