While Meng Hao was in the middle of transcending the tribulation, something else was happening in the starry sky not too far away from the Meng Clan, although nobody could detect it, not even Meng Hao. Numerous black willow leaves could be seen floating there, each one fully 3,000 meters long. The veins of the pitch-black leaves were clearly visible on their surfaces, and it almost looked like there was blood flowing through them, giving the leaves a completely bizarre appearance.

There were dozens upon dozens of them, and on the surface of each were dozens upon dozens of cross-legged cultivators, altogether, about a thousand in total.

Each one of them was very calm, with coldly flickering eyes. They wore long black robes, and had extremely cold auras. Furthermore, closer examination revealed that the cultivation bases of these thousand cultivators was unexpectedly... in the Ancient Realm!

Some were in the early Ancient Realm, others in the great circle. If Meng Hao could see them, he would definitely find them familiar. That was because their auras were exactly the same as the people who had attacked Meng Hao and Meng De on their way back to the Meng Clan!

More shocking was that on some of the willow leaves were cultivators who radiated Essence aura. There were a total of seven, all of them Dao Realm experts!

Among those seven people were men and women, young and old. However, none of them were weak. As for the three strongest, two were Dao Lords, and one, a young boy, had a cultivation base... that could even suppress transformations in the starry sky. He... was a 5-Essences Dao Sovereign!!

4-Essences Dao Realm cultivators could be called Dao Sovereigns, but that was only the threshold of that realm. 5-Essences was a true Dao Sovereign, and 6-Essences counted as the peak. In all of the Mountain and Sea Realm, 5-Essences Dao Sovereigns and above were considered the most powerful of all experts, people who were so domineering they could vie for the position of a Mountain and Sea Lord. People like that had statuses which ensured that wherever they went in the Mountain and Sea Realm, they could cause a huge sensation.

Right now, just such a person had appeared outside the Meng Clan.

"So someone is transcending tribulation..." the boy said, "and a very bizarre Ancient Tribulation at that....

"There is something about his aura which I find completely unsettling.... Well, notify the sects in the area which come from the Seventh Mountain and Sea to make the first move. Have them ascertain the current situation.

"Our Mountain and Sea Lord has instructed that we be very careful. There are to be no slipups. After this mission is accomplished... not a single person from the bloodlines of the Meng Clan will remain!" The boy then closed his eyes.

As his voice echoed out, orders were distributed, passed out into the starry sky to numerous asteroids and floating continents in the Eighth Mountain and Sea that didn't belong to the Heavengod Alliance. Within those sects, figures appeared who accepted the orders from the young boy.

When the orders were received, the first result was silence. But then, sighs could be heard. Next, the Patriarchs of those sects issued further orders, causing their sects to mobilize and then transform into beams of light... that flew out toward... the Meng Clan!

There were dozens of such sects, each one of which dispatched no less than a thousand cultivators. Soon, tens of thousands of cultivators were flying from different directions toward the Meng Clan, drawing closer and closer by the minute.

Storm clouds were gathering!

This was the first war to ever break out between the Seventh Mountain and Sea and the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and apparently... the first battleground would be the Meng Clan. However it ended, it would surely cause a huge sensation in the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Furthermore, considering the army was led by a Dao Sovereign, their first target in the war wouldn't be selected lightly. It would either be picked because of its strategic value or its overall importance in the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

In any case, Meng Hao was in the middle of transcending tribulation, and all the cultivators of the Meng Clan were completely mesmerized by it. However, anyone who was watching closely would notice that as soon as that boy issued orders... there were people in the crowd on the Meng Clan continent whose eyes suddenly flickered with nearly imperceptible light.

It was as if a wind were blowing down from the heavens, sweeping across the world... filling it.

**

RUMBLE!

Within the clouds out in the starry sky, Meng Hao was performing a double-handed incantation gesture as he faced off with the four 2-Essences faceless men. He unleashed the Mountain Consuming Incantation, causing numerous mountains to descend, emanating boundless pressure, crushing everything, sending the four faceless men into retreat.

Meng Hao's eyes flickered with killing intent, but instead of taking the time to kill them, he transformed into an azure roc and shot onward. He didn't have time for this humanoid tribulation.

However, in the same moment that Meng Hao began to move, his eyes widened as he realized that up ahead in the clouds... was a swing!

Sitting on the swing with her back to him was a young girl, swinging back and forth. Her laughter rang out like the tinkle of bells, and yet when it reached Meng Hao's ears, it caused his mind to reel.

He then craned his neck to examine the situation closer, only to find that the girl had vanished. Only the swing was left behind, gently swaying back and forth.

Meng Hao's eyes flickered but he didn't stop moving. Suddenly, as he was continuing forward, he sent the power of the Paragon Bridge exploding out behind him. In almost the same instant that it appeared, he suddenly heard hissing sounds coming from that same direction.

He looked back coldly and caught sight of the girl he had just seen, heading in the opposite direction, her head bowed. The hissing sounds were coming from that very girl.

Seemingly able to detect Meng Hao's gaze upon her, the girl suddenly looked up. When that happened, Meng Hao's eyes went wide as he realized that the girl's mouth and eyes had both been sewn shut, and that black blood was slowly oozing out from their edges....

The strange sounds coming from her suddenly caused Meng Hao's body to shiver. Then, he realized that he was being dragged along with her, his body completely out of his control.

The things that were happening were completely shocking. In his practice of cultivation down to this day, he had experienced many things. However, it was only in these clouds surrounding the Door of the Ancient Realm that he felt such shock rising up from his heart.

He tried to rotate his cultivation base, but it almost felt as if it were separated from his body. Not even the Paragon Bridge could be summoned, nor could any of his other techniques or magical items.

The only things he could operate were his Nirvana Fruits. Suddenly, wild power poured out of them as he fought back against the girl, and those seemingly unending hissing sounds.

Even as she dragged him off into the distance, the power of his four Nirvana Fruits surged out, causing rumbling sounds to echo about as some sort of connection to the girl was severed. A tremor ran through Meng Hao, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. The girl screamed, but didn't stop moving, and soon vanished into the clouds.

Meng Hao took a deep breath. His face was pale, and despite the level of his cultivation base he still felt a sense of powerlessness in this situation. Both the white-robed woman and the girl filled him with an entirely creepy sensation. It was almost as if... his current self wasn't actually at a level that could deal with such things.

"So this is the Ancient Tribulation of an Allheaven Dao Immortal....

"In the Ancient Realm, one must seek the path of the ancestors, search for the Essence of one's techniques.... Well I guess that means that my version of the Ancient Realm involves searching for the source of the Allheaven Dao Immortal bloodline!

"I refuse to believe that other people see such strange things when they deal with the Door of the Ancient Realm. I have the feeling that both the white-robed woman and that girl have something to do with the secrets of the Allheaven Dao Immortal bloodline!" Meng Hao's face was unsightly, but in his eyes persistence still shone as ever. His body flickered as he once again shot through the clouds in the direction of the Door of the Ancient Realm.

"The bizarre phenomena only happened in the clouds, after I encountered the faceless men. First were the 1-Essence Dao Realm enemies, and then the white-robed woman appeared. Next were the 2-Essences enemies, and then the girl appeared.... In that case, the next thing I face... should be 3-Essences Dao Lords!" Meng Hao shot forward like lightning, drawing ever closer to the Door of the Ancient Realm. Suddenly, the clouds up ahead seethed, and four figures emerged.

Just as Meng Hao had guessed, these four faceless men were emanating cultivation base fluctuations of... 3-Essences Dao Lords!

If Meng Hao hadn't fully absorbed his fourth Nirvana Fruit, then when fighting any one of these faceless men, he would have only been able to fight to a draw, and would have been seriously injured at that. But things were different now. Meng Hao's eyes glittered as he proceeded onward.

Rumbling could be heard as the Paragon Bridge appeared. The power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal exploded out, and then Meng Hao appeared directly in front of one of the faceless men. He reached out and touched the man's forehead with his finger, and the man exploded.

However, in the moment that the man exploded, Meng Hao's face flickered and shot backward. The exploding faceless man became a mist which, instead of returning into the clouds, transformed into a mist rope that shot toward Meng Hao. At the same time, the other three faceless men collapsed into pieces and also transformed into ropes, which then snaked toward Meng Hao.

Even as Meng Hao dodged to the side, a cold voice suddenly rang out from the clouds up ahead. It was the voice of a man, and the words it spoke were simple.

"Cease all movement!"

Meanwhile, outside of the clouds that surrounded the Door of the Ancient Realm, even as the members of the Meng Clan were riveted on the Ancient Tribulation, tens of thousands of beams of light were closing in on the Meng Clan.

None of them paused for even a brief moment; the cultivators had their jaws clenched, and radiated killing intent. Soon, they were actually within the territory of the Meng Clan, which suddenly caused a red light to spread out from the huge statue in the ancestral mansion.

When the Meng Clan cultivators saw that red light, their faces filled with shock. The five Patriarchs' faces also flickered with astonishment.

"That red light means... foreigners are invading!!"

"Foreign invaders are here!!"

As the voices rang out, rumbling sounds could be heard from the nine auxiliary continents as the clan's protective spell formation automatically activated. It rapidly spread out to cover the entire clan, and fight back against the tens of thousands of attacking cultivators.

In the blink of an eye, countless cold voices could be heard echoing out.

"Meng Clan, blood calls for blood. The debt you owe to the House of Heaven and Earth... will be repaid today!"

"The Meng Clan is already weak. There is no place for you in the Eighth Mountain and Sea anymore. We have risen up this day to exterminate you, to put an end to that old legend that the Meng Clan will exist for all eternity!"

"The Cloudlands Sect is here to eradicate the Meng Clan!"

"The Water-Dao School is here to put an end to our grudge!"

"Even the fierce lion will grow old one day. That day has arrived, and on this day... funeral bells will toll for the Meng Clan!"