I Shall Seal the Heavens - Volume 1 - Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Chapter 90: The Great Path of Demon Sealing, a Concept Like a Scripture

The old man put down the oar and looked back at Meng Hao . Laughing, he walked over, poured himself some alcohol, and then took a drink .

“Clear up what confusion?”

Meng Hao held his cup of alcohol and then softly said, “I’m confused about something I read . It said, ‘An ancient path, persist in attempting to seal the Heavens… . ’” Shock suddenly covered the face of the old man . The blood drained from the face of the young girl . Waves suddenly surged across the North Sea, causing the boat to rock back and forth violently .

“Stop!” cried the old man . The cup of alcohol in his hand suddenly disappeared into a dark mist and he stared at Meng Hao .

Meng Hao gaped .

“Don’t say that again . I can’t explain those words to you . Neither can anyone else in heaven or earth . If you truly seek enlightenment, then enter the heart of the sea . ” He closed his mouth and looked at the young girl . Some time passed, and finally her countenance returned to normal . She gave a slight nod .

Meng Hao was silent for a while, before asking, “What do you mean by the heart of the sea?”

In a tone of voice which carried deep profundity, the old man said, “There are things which have been concealed at the bottom of the sea for a thousand years . That is the heart of the sea . If you seek an answer to your questions, perhaps you should also examine your own heart . ”

Meng Hao found himself lost in thought for a long time . When he finally looked up, his eyes widened in shock . There was no trace of the old man or the young girl . He was alone on the lake . In fact, the boat had disappeared too .

He stared blankly for a while, until his vision came to focus on a spot some distance away . There, on the far bank, a group of people was lowering a brand new boat into the water . It slowly entered the lake, and then laughter rang out . The sounds of the peoples’ celebratory cheers surrounded the boat .

The boat slowly approached the center of the lake . Rowing it was a middle-aged man, accompanied by a woman and a child . Meng Hao watched as, day after day, year after year, he rowed back and forth across the lake . Many years passed, and the man grew old . The man’s son grew up, and took over rowing the boat . Years and years passed . Generations and generations .

The boat, once brand new, slowly began to crack and grow old . It began to age .

Eventually it grew so dilapidated that it couldn’t be repaired . Like a life that has reached its limit, it couldn’t be forced to go on any further . It slowly sank to the bottom of the lake .

It had lived its life on the surface, and died at the bottom . Its existence had been on the waters of the lake, accompanying generation after generation of mortals who had created it . Other than them, the lake was its entire life .

In its life, the lake was its companion . No one could hear the voice of the lake, but it could . When it sank to the bottom, it died, but was also reborn .

At that moment, it awoke .

The moment it awoke, it saw a young girl standing at the bottom of the lake, smiling at him .

“Will you… accompany me forever?”

“I don’t know how long forever is, but in my past life, I could hear your voice . Now that I’ve died… I want to accompany you . I want you to be part of my next life . ” At this moment it came to understand that… it was the spirit of the boat . Listening to the voice of the lake over the countless years had caused the boat’s spirit to come into being .

Before dying, its life had been the waters of the lake . After death, its spirit would protect the lake forever, into eternity .

It was then that a boat once again appeared on the surface of the lake . Inside the boat was a young girl warming a bottle of alcohol . Together, they floated to and fro across the lake .

Meng Hao’s mind shook as he saw all of this transpire in front of him . Everything grew blurry for a moment, and then came back into focus . He was once again in the boat . The old man was there in front of him, grinning at him and holding his cup of alcohol . The girl looked up at him, smiling, her chin resting in her hands .

The old man took a drink . “This is my heart . Do you understand… successor of the Demon Sealing Sect?”

Meng Hao was silent for a moment . Frustration shined in his eyes . He… did not understand .

“Don’t search too hard for an answer . If you do, the answer you find might be false . At some point in your life, perhaps you will be able to find the answer . Don’t give up . ” The old man looked at Meng Hao solemnly .

“Big Brother,” said the young girl, “its Qi … is beneath your feet . Don’t provoke it . Remember… the great path of Demon Sealing…” Waves once again surged across the lake in all directions, great, tall waves that seemed to touch the sky . Everything turned dark amidst the thunderous roar . The boat sank into the water .

Meng Hao didn’t leap out of the boat . Instead, he closed his eyes . After some time passed, he opened them, and found himself sitting cross-legged on the lakeshore . The lake was still . There were no waves and no boat . What that had just happened had been an illusion .

The girl had not appeared, nor had the old man . Everything had occurred in a dream .

“Its Qi is beneath my feet… . ” Meng Hao’s eyes shone with confusion . He looked down at his feet . He saw nothing but his shoes .

“The great path of Demon Sealing, a concept like a scripture . ” Meng Hao frowned, still unable to comprehend the meaning of the words . He slowly got to his feet, then clasped his hands and bowed a third time to the lake .

He looked out at the waters . “I don’t understand today,” he said softly, “but I will achieve enlightenment one day . ”

Waves suddenly rippled out upon the lake, seemingly in response to Meng Hao . Meng Hao was just about to leave, when suddenly his eyes flickered . Turning his head, he saw that off in the distance, several beams of light were flying toward him .

“Meng Hao!”

“So here you are . The Priest sent us searching for you!”

“Grab him, and then everything will be made clear!”

There were three flashing beams, and three Cultivators . One of them was at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, the others were at the eighth . All three of them rode massive jade flutes . The two eighth-level Cultivators were known to Meng Hao . They were Zhou and Tu of the Winding Stream Sect, who had attempted to chase and kill Meng Hao before .

The person of the ninth level of Qi Condensation was a young man of about thirty years of age . A cold, indifferent look covered his face as he stared at Meng Hao .

They were being followed by five more people who sped along on foot .

Meng Hao’s expression was calm . He gave the people a glance, then ignored them, bowing once again to the North Sea . As he did, the eyes of Zhou and Tu flashed . Their hands flickered with incantation signs, and dark clouds began to accumulate in the sky, accompanied by the rumble of thunder .

The young man of the ninth level slapped his bag of holding, and an enormous drum appeared . He beat the drum once . It emitted a thunderous boom which caused surrounding rocks and dirt to leap up into the air and fly toward Meng Hao .

At the same time, a lightning bolt shot toward Meng Hao . As it approached, he calmly made a fist and punched the lightning .

A boom echoed out as the it shattered, transforming into a multitude of sparks which then dissipated into the air . Meng Hao’s eyes flashed .

“Are you looking to die?!” he shouted . He leaped forward, and a whistling flying sword appeared beneath his feet . He transformed into a multicolored beam of light as he shot toward the three people flying above him . At this moment, the mass of flying dirt and rocks was almost upon him . He punched a fist toward it .

The power of the thirteenth level of Qi Condensation, the Great Circle of Qi Condensation, erupted within Meng Hao’s body . He was now cut off from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth . However, the approaching cloud of sand and stones was smashed into nothing by the power of his fist . A massive wind rose up . His three opponent’s faces filled with shock as they felt a force like that of a mountain pushing against them .

They spat up blood, especially Zhou and Tu . Their jade flutes shattered, and they retreated, their faces filled with astonishment . Even as they moved backwards, two sword auras shot past them . Their heads flew into the sky, showering blood everywhere . Two Cultivators of the eighth level of Qi Condensation, dead in an instant .

Meng Hao turned and looked at the ninth-level Winding Stream Sect disciple . His face was pale and his body trembled as he retreated . The people on the ground had stopped moving, astonished expressions on their faces .

“What… what is the level of your Cultivation base!?” said the ninth-level Winding Stream Sect disciple, his heart trembling, disbelief covering his face . In his mind, someone of the ninth level of Qi Condensation couldn’t simply kill two eighth-level Cultivators in one instant . Perhaps he was… Foundation Establishment?

However, although Meng Hao emanated an enigmatic air, it was not the power of Foundation Establishment . Therefore, the Winding Stream Sect disciple was incredibly surprised and bewildered .

Even as the words came out of the man’s mouth, Meng Hao moved forward, his face tranquil . Seeing this, the Winding Stream Sect disciple’s heart began to race . He turned and fled .

Unfortunately for him, he was only of the ninth level of Qi Condensation . Even if he could go a bit faster, his speed could never come close to matching Meng Hao, who was of the Great Circle of Qi Condensation . He had barely begun to flee before Meng Hao was next to him . Meng Hao’s fist descended .

The ninth-level disciple’s pupils constricted, and a profound sense of life-and-death danger encompassed him . With a low shout, he slapped his bag of holding . Several flying swords appeared, as well as a drum and a jade slip covered with mystical carvings .

Meng Hao’s expression did not change in the least bit . His fist continued to descend . The flying swords shattered into pieces . The drum made a crashing sound as it exploded . Next was… the jade slip .

This jade slip could withstand an attack from someone of the ninth level of Qi Condensation . But Meng Hao was of the Great Circle of Qi Condensation . The jade slip was incapable of blocking him . It was shattered into tiny pieces .

None of these things were even slightly capable of providing a defense . The Winding Stream Sect disciple was now out of magical items . He watched wide-eyed as Meng Hao’s fist came closer and closer, until it landed onto his chest .

A bang rang out . This Winding Stream Sect disciple was famous in his Sect, and was even known throughout the State of Zhao . But now, his chest sank in, and a fountain of blood shot out of his mouth . Like a kite whose string has been severed, he tumbled backwards twenty or thirty meters, dead .

From beginning to end, it took the space of a few breaths for Meng Hao to kill three people!

The rest of the Winding Stream Sect disciples on the ground had looks of profound fear written on their pale faces . It was hard to tell who fled first, because they scattered almost immediately . The only thought in their minds was: run!

Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever, but inside he sighed . Because of the incident with Yan Ziguo, Meng Hao had learned the importance of leaving behind no witnesses . He knew that killing must be done resolutely . Even though he didn’t want to, attacking… was a necessity .

The old Meng Hao would never have made a move against the fleeing people . But today was different . Meng Hao’s eyes flashed . Ten flying swords flew out, infused with the power of the Great Circle of Qi Condensation . The quality of the swords was poor, and incapable of containing such power, so they exploded, transforming into countless fragments, which continued to fly forward .

Blood-curdling screams rang out one after another . Each and every one of the fleeing Winding Stream Sect disciples dropped dead .