I Shall Seal the Heavens - Volume 1 - Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Chapter 44: The North Sea Reveals the Dao

In the entire expansive Reliance Sect, only Meng Hao remained, standing alone on the East Mountain . He watched the red light fade away, then lowered his head . The formerly bustling Outer Sect was now empty .

Elder Sister Xu had been taken away . Elder Brother Chen had gone to the Southern Domain . Even Fatty was gone . He had no idea when he would see them again . Would it be months? Years?

His status as an Inner Sect disciple, his three years in the Reliance Sect, they all became memories . The twisting autumn wind hit his face and lifted up his hair, blowing away the dust that had settled there .

He quietly sat down on the boulder . A long time passed, and eventually the stars peeked out one by one . Then dawn came . Meng Hao sighed and lifted his head .

“They’re all gone… and here I am, still in the State of Zhao . ” Suddenly, Meng Hao missed home . Even though he had gotten rid of his old ancestral house in Yunjie County, he still missed his old bed and dilapidated bowls . Even more so, he missed Mount Daqing . He missed… he missed his kind, smiling mother, and his father, who had always seemed afraid of his mother .

It was all somewhat vague . Meng Hao shook his head, and as the rays of dawn crept out, he stood up . There was no need to search the Reliance Sect . Everything worth taking was long gone, pillaged by the experts from the State of Zhao . It was all was empty .

Meng Hao patted the dust off his clothes, then changed out of his Inner Sect silver robe, back into the scholar’s gown he had worn all those years ago . It was a spacious robe, but as he put it on, it felt a bit small . He stared at the rising sun and let out a sigh . Deep within him, his golden Core Lake seemed to bubble, and within it, the Demonic Core emitted spiritual power that filled and replenished his body .

“I’m not too far from the seventh level of Qi Condensation . I can feel the bottleneck . ” He walked forward, slapping his bag of holding . Two flying swords emerged and floated down to his feet . He glided down the mountain and left the Reliance Sect .

Using this technique with the flying swords granted him the ability of flight . But similar to Elder Sister Xu with her Wind Pennant, it was only temporary flight, nothing long term .

Meng Hao moved ever more swiftly, speeding along throughout the mountain forests . Finally, he was able to leave the Reliance Sect region, a place he hadn’t left for three years . He flew throughout the seemingly endless wild mountains, eventually disappearing over the horizon .

Time passed, and maintaining his original speed, Meng Hao eventually emerged from the mountainous region after two days .

“I’m not sure how long it took Elder Sister Xu to bring me to the Sect,” he muttered to himself, looking back at the mountains . “It was a few days, but I was unconscious . In any case, I think her speed at that time would have been similar to my own now . ”

To Cultivators, the State of Zhao is not very large . But to mortals, it is actually quite a vast region . In his studies, he had read about its geography, and though he had never personally travelled about in it, he was nevertheless somewhat familiar with the area .

“As of now I’m in the north of the State of Zhao . I shouldn’t be too far from Yunjie County . ” Off in the distance, he could see what looked almost like a mirror laying on the flat land . That would be what was referred to as the North Sea .

“Now that I think about it, with a Wind Pennant, and being at the seventh level of Qi Condensation, Elder Sister Xu could fly temporarily, but it would drain her spiritual power relatively quickly . She couldn’t have flown very far away . ” Meng Hao’s eyes flickered with longing . He had been away from Yunjie County for three years, and his desire to return was growing stronger . He knew that after crossing the North Sea, he would be about a half-day’s walk from Mount Daqing .

Breathing in deeply, he proceeded onward, eventually arriving at the shore of the North Sea . He looked down, and on the surface of the calm lake, he could see his reflection in the water . He was no longer a youth . He looked to be about 20 years of age . His face appeared steadfast and resolute, completely different from the ignorant, immature Meng Hao of the past .

Amidst the silence, a warm, hearty laugh rang out, breaking Meng Hao’s train of thought .

“Hello, young sir, do you wish to cross the sea?” A small boat slid across the water, guided toward Meng Hao by an old man wearing a woven rush raincoat . His face was covered with the evidence of a life of hardship, but he spoke with a smile .

“I do not wish to trouble you, old sir,” said Meng Hao, looking surprised . He hadn’t been called ‘young sir’ for three years now .

“It’s no trouble,” said the old man . “I’ve been ferrying people across the ocean for many years . I really admire young, talented scholars like yourself . ” He pushed the boat up next to Meng Hao, who leaped easily onto the deck, offering his thanks .

There was a young girl inside the boat, seven or eight years old, her hair done up in two pigtails . She squatted in front of a little oven, tannings its flames as she boiled water . Steam wafted up .

Inside the pot of water was a bottle of alcohol .

“This is my granddaughter,” said the old man as he turned the boat around . “Too bad she’s a girl . If she were a boy, I would have sent her off to be a scholar . Young sir,” he said with a smile, “where are you from?” The boat headed out toward the center of the lake . As the wind sprang up, the old man sat down next to the oven .

The little girl looked up at Meng Hao, her wide eyes innocent and charming .

“I am a young scholar from Yunjie County,” Meng Hao said with a smile . “Below Mount Daqing . ” This type of mortal life caused him to think of his life from before, three years ago .

“Yunjie County, that’s a good place! Great men lend their glory to a location . Many years ago, an auspicious sign appeared there . It even arose the notice of the officials . ” The old man picked up the bottle of alcohol . “This weather is turning cold and my body can’t take it . Here, have a drink . ” He extended the bottle toward Meng Hao . “Can you drink?”

Meng Hao knew the auspicious sign to which he referred . It had been ten years before, the day before his parents went missing . When he thought of this, his heart grew a bit melancholy . He hesitated for a moment, looking at the bottle . He had never drank alcohol before . Back in Yunjie County, he had lived in poverty, and there had been no alcohol in the Reliance Sect . He lifted up a glass and allowed the man to fill it, then took a drink .

A spicy warmth suddenly filled his heart, then slowly spread out through his body .

“Old sir, your conversation topics are somewhat out of the ordinary . Have you been running a ferry here for a long time?” Meng Hao gazed at the rippling green waves, then took another drink of alcohol . The alcohol burned its way down, and he thought of the Reliance Sect, of Elder Sister Xu, Elder Brother Chen and Fatty .

“Twenty years,” replied the old man with a laugh . “In my life, I’ve ferried many, many people across this North Sea . I’ve seen a lot of things, and of course, I’ve learned a lot about how people tend to have conversations . Please, don’t laugh at me . Who knows how many years this lake has been here? It’s seen a lot of people too . People remember it, and it remembers the people . ” The old man lifted his glass and took a drink .

Meng Hao stared at him for a moment . This was the first time he had ever heard someone speak in such a fashion . He looked back at the lake, muttering to himself, seemingly lost in thought .

“This is obviously a lake,” he said suddenly . “Why do people call it the North Sea?”

The old man thought for a moment, then smiled . “Lakes can dry up, grow quiet, and become still . If that happened, no living things would remain . But seas last forever, and can contain the water of countless rivers and lakes . Maybe people just didn’t want the lake to ever go away, so they named it that way . When all is said and done, if you believe it’s a lake, then it’s a lake . If you believe it’s a sea, then it’s a sea . ”

When he heard the old man’s words, Meng Hao’s mind suddenly trembled . The hand holding the glass of alcohol began to quiver, and he stared out at the lake water, almost in a trance . He seemed to lose track of time .

Time passed, and the boat reached the shore . Meng Hao pulled out some silver that he had acquired from one of the disciples back at the Reliance sect and paid the fare . He gave the old man a deep bow of respect, then watched as the boat drifted off . His eyes shined with a strange light .

He didn’t leave, but instead sat down cross-legged on the lakeshore, looking out at the waters, and the lone boat disappearing into the distance . He could hear the old man laughing .

“If you believe it’s a lake, then it’s a lake . If you believe it’s a sea, then it’s a sea…” The old man’s voice echoed across the distance . It seemed as if… he were not disappearing into the distance, but rather… merging into it… .

Meng Hao sat there in a trance, taking it all in . He sat for three days straight .

He didn’t move at all during that time, instead staring silently at the lake, the old man’s words echoing in his mind .

“Lakes can dry up, grow quiet, become still . If that happened, no living things would remain . But seas last forever, and can contain the water of countless rivers and lakes…” Meng Hao’s eyes suddenly lit up . The golden Core Lake within him seemed boundless, but in his eyes it was still a lake .

“If I believe it’s a lake, then it’s a lake . If I believe it’s a sea, then from now on… let it be a sea!” A thunderous sound filled him, and the Core Lake began to seethe and churn . Without the aid of any medicinal pills whatsoever, it suddenly expanded .

Meng Hao wasn’t aware of any of this . His eyes were closed tightly; he had entered a strange state . The old man’s words filled his mind . He didn’t notice it, but around him, the boundless Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth had begun to gurgle up, surrounding his body and then entering it . Waves broke out across the North Sea, and within its churning arose a massive amount of Spiritual Energy, which rushed forth and surrounded Meng Hao .

The North Sea was revealing the Dao!

If, at this moment, a Core Formation Cultivator could see what was happening, he would be thoroughly shocked . This type of Dao enlightenment was only possible for someone at the Spirit Severing stage . In addition, it required a huge amount of fortune and luck . Yet here was Meng Hao, already reaching out to the threshold!

The reason he could succeed in this was in large part due to the Demonic Core within him . It was the Core of a Flying Rain-Dragon, an ancient beast whose tail could transform into a Demon . Actually, that year in which he had dreamed of the Flying Rain-Dragon, Meng Hao had already reached Dao enlightenment .

Three days passed, and finally Meng Hao opened his eyes . They glowed with a golden light . Within him, his Core Lake had increased by a shocking double . As he examined it, Meng Hao realized that this was no lake . This was a Core sea!

He believed it to be a sea, therefore… it was a sea!

The seawater roared, and waves whipped about . The Demonic Core, as stable as ever in the depths, emitted Spiritual Energy which filled Meng Hao’s entire body . Using the techniques he had learned from the Sublime Spirit Scripture, he circulated the energy . His body began to glow with a golden light, as if something had suddenly broken out within him . The golden light emanated around him for nine meters in every direction .

Amidst the roaring, Meng Hao’s Cultivation base suddenly climbed upwards, breaking through the sixth level bottleneck directly into the seventh layer of Qi Condensation .

Even though he had just broken through to the seventh layer, his power was the same as if he had already reached its peak . This was because in his dantian region was not a Core Lake, but a Core sea!

Earlier, the Spiritual Energy which had built up in the North Sea for countless years had suddenly surged forth as if to help Meng Hao make his breakthrough .

Gradually, the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth which surrounded him began to dissipate, as did the North Sea’s Spiritual Energy . Slowly, the golden glow which emanated from Meng Hao also began to fade, and slowly he returned to his usual appearance . He sat there cross-legged . The golden light eventually left his eyes, although they continued to sparkle brightly .

He slowly stood up and looked out at the North Sea . With clasped hands, he saluted the sea deeply . His mind was filled with descriptions he had read about in the Reliance Sect’s Magic Pavilion, of the various Demonic creatures of the Nanshan Continent . Wherever demons existed, there would be demons that appeared as mountains, demons that appeared as rivers, and demons that appeared as plants and animals .

“Today, the North Sea revealed the Dao . One day when my Cultivation base is high enough, I will return here and help you become a sea!” He gazed out at the North Sea . He wasn’t sure whether or not this lake, which desired to be a sea, might be like the descriptions he had read about, something with life, a demonic life .

Regardless, it had helped him make a breakthrough in his Cultivation base, helped him turn his Core Lake into a Core sea . He must repay the kindness . There was only one way: to help this lake become a sea!

After some time passed, Meng Hao turned and strode toward Mount Daqing .