I Shall Seal the Heavens (Web Novel)

“Stop acting like a little kid,” said Ke Yunhai, the love in his eyes growing even deeper. “Concentrate wholeheartedly on your cultivation. It’s a good thing! I just wish… that you had started acting like this a bit sooner.

“Alright, go. The Demon Immortal Pagoda opens in three days. If you can get some of what you want, then it won’t have been in vain that I got them to open it for you.” He gave Meng Hao a deep look.

Meng Hao bowed his head, then clasped his hands. Clutching the beastskin bag in his hand, he left, taking his melancholy and other complex emotions with him.

As he watched Meng Hao leave, Ke Yunhai’s face was no longer ruddy, but pale white. More wrinkles appeared, and the death aura surrounding him grew stronger. It seemed as if his flame of life could be snuffed out at any moment.

“Jiusi, your father can’t be with you forever. Soon… you’ll have only yourself to rely on…. I hope that you can learn to be a bit more sensible….” Ke Yunhai only continued to grow older. Originally, his Cultivation base had nearly limitless longevity. However, Lord Li had returned the Heavenly mandate to the masses. In the end, life would wither and die. As for Ke Yunhai, he had existed for a very, very long time. Currently, he was running out of energy to continue existing.

Actually, he should have withered up and died many years ago. However, because of his concern for Ke Jiusi, he continued to endure. Eventually, though he found that, no matter how much he wanted to continue on, he wouldn’t be able to do so for much longer.

“Lord Li, I will respect your decision. However… are you sure it is the correct one? If we powerful experts do not have limitless life, then what we are cultivating is not longevity. In that case, what is the end purpose of it all?” Ke Yunhai sighed and closed his eyes. However, only a moment passed before they opened again. Exhaustion could be seen within, but also, a bright glow, like the last flickering of a bright fire before it went out.

“Now is not the time for me to close my eyes. Before returning to the dust, I need to finish refining that true lifesaving treasure for Jiusi. I’ve been working on it for years, and only have a bit more work left…. Once it’s complete, then even if he hasn’t successfully refined the Soul Divergence Incantation, even nine Tribulations couldn’t kill him. In fact, it might even help him to finish cultivating the Soul Divergence Incantation!”

After returning to his own Immortal’s cave, Meng Hao saw that Xu Qing was still sitting there meditating, silently focusing on cultivating enlightenment. Meng Hao sat down and glanced around at the extravagant decorations on the walls of the Immortal’s cave.

After a long time passed, he looked down at the beastskin bag. It actually wasn’t very heavy, but for some reason, in Meng Hao’s hands, it felt very heavy indeed. What truly filled the bag wasn’t actually magical items, but rather, a father’s love for his son.

It contained his very life, and the truest of his feelings.

Finally, Meng Hao sighed. He closed his eyes and thought once again about his own father and mother, and the vague images of them that still existed within his memories.

Time passed. Three days were gone in the blink of an eye.

The echoing of bell tolls could be heard throughout the entire Demon Immortal Sect. Countless disciples, awoken from their sleep, flew out of their residences. All of them were astonished, and wanted to know what was going on. What they found was that in mid-air above the Demon Immortal Sect, pulsating, multicolored lights had suddenly appeared.

Rays of light spread out in all directions, covering the sky. The light made the three inverted mountains which hung up above to be even clearer.

As the light grew more intense, innumerable Cultivators appeared on the seven peaks of the Demon Immortal Sect. All of them were shaken inwardly. Some were old veterans of the Sect, whose expressions slowly began to change, as if they had suddenly recalled something. Their eyes filled with disbelief.

The bright glow lasted for a full quarter of an hour. Then, in the very center of the glow appeared an enormous fissure. It looked like a huge mouth with no beginning or end. The instant it appeared, a shocking rumbling sound echoed out as a glowing, bronze pagoda slowly emerged from within the fissure.

Each level of the pagoda had four iron chains stretching out into the air. There were a total of 99 levels, and therefore, nearly four hundred iron chains. Anyone who laid eyes on such a shocking scene would definitely be left astonished.

In the blink of an eye, the enormous pagoda had emerged. Rumbling echoed out in all directions and the ground quaked. The bronze pagoda slowly lowered down from the sky, growing larger and larger, until it seemed to blot out the sky above. Even though it was early morning, it almost seemed like the dead of night.

Finally, the enormous pagoda descended toward a spot between the Fourth and Third Peaks, directly above… the deep pit, which according to legend, housed the great Demon Divinity that protected the entire Sect.

It did not touch down onto the land, but rather, hovered up above. A huge shadow filled the sky above the Demon Immortal Sect. The pagoda appeared to be above the deep pit, but that was actually only the center location. In reality… if you looked at it from a distance, the pagoda seemed to cover the entire Demon Immortal Sect.

Beneath the darkness of the pagoda was not just the deep pit, but all seven peaks and the lands around them!

All of the Demon Immortal Sect disciples were panting and staring numbly.

Shockingly, on the 1st level of the pagoda was a huge bronze door covered with carvings of countless auspicious beasts, which emanated an archaic and primordial will.

The gigantic pagoda was shocking to the extreme. Compared to its huge size, the Cultivators below were nothing more than ants. Even the seven peaks looked like children in comparison.

It was at this point that seven suns, each one a different color, flew out from the seven peaks. As they slowly flew up into the air, the disciples in the Demon Immortal Sect all dropped to their knees to kowtow.

Within these seven suns sat seven cross-legged figures. They… were the seven Paragons of the seven peaks!

Within the fourth sun was none other than Ke Yunhai.

As the seven Paragons flew up into the sky, each one raised a hand and pointed toward the bronze pagoda. Instantly, a roaring sound could be heard as the huge bronze door on the 1st level suddenly… opened slightly!

Although the door only opened a crack, this pagoda was enormous. What appeared to be only a tiny sliver was actually three hundred meters wide!

The deep voice of the Seventh Peak Paragon suddenly rang out, “The Demon Immortal Pagoda has opened. In total, there are 99 levels. There is a chance on every level to acquire one of the 3,000 Daoist magics. Every ten levels, there is a chance to get one of the top 100. In the higher levels, there is even a chance to acquire Daoist magics from the top 10! The 70th, 80th, and 90th levels all provide that chance!

“If you pass the 99th level… you may select any of the top 10 Daoist magics, with the exception of the Mountain and Sea Scripture!

“Every time the pagoda is opened, it requires a vast consumption of Sect resources. Today, all of you will have a chance. Whichever of you has good luck, will be able to acquire good fortune.” The voice echoed throughout the entire Demon Immortal Sect. As it faded away, a deathly silence spread out among the million disciples of the Demon Immortal Sect.

It only took a moment, though, before an incredible commotion exploded out.

“The Demon Immortal Pagoda…. Is that the Demon Immortal Pagoda? Heavens! It’s… it’s huge!”

“That’s the most important pagoda in the First Heaven of the Demon Immortal Sect. It’s a precious treasure of the same level as the Mountain and Sea Scripture!”

Amidst the rise and fall of conversation, there was a female Cultivator who stood on the Fifth Peak, her fists clenched tightly. It was none other than Fang Yu, her eyes shining with determination and wild joy.

“I never thought that there would be such good fortune this time!” she thought. “The Demon Immortal Pagoda has actually appeared in this period of time!” Her eyes glowed with stubbornness.

At the same time, a middle-aged man stood at the foot of the Seventh Peak. He was an Inner Sect disciple honor guard in charge of Outer Sect disciples. He stood, looking up at the enormous Demon Immortal Pagoda up in the sky, his hands clasped behind his back and a strange light gleaming in his eyes.

“I thought my good fortune would be restricted to the gains in the Seventh Peak, and that it would be difficult to acquire at that. But now that the Demon Immortal Pagoda has appeared, my chances have improved quite a bit!” This middle-aged man was the same person Meng Hao had been looking for: Patriarch Huyan.

Throughout the Demon Immortal Sect, Wang Lihai, Han Bei, and the other South Heaven Cultivators were all shaken. It didn’t matter if they were from the Eastern Lands, the Northern Reaches, the Southern Domain, or the Black Lands. All of them were astonished.

Amongst their number was an Inner Sect disciple from the Third Peak. He was a young man who up until this moment had spent his time bowing obsequiously to everyone around him. However, in the blink of an eye, he suddenly stood ramrod straight. Within his eyes flickered a bright glow, and an aura that almost seemed to contain the will of a monarch flickered out from his body.

This young man was from the Northern Reaches, and was of the Imperial Bloodline Clan!

He was not the only such blazing sun within the Demon Immortal Sect. There were others, all of whom suddenly rose up with lofty wills.

One of them was on the Sixth Peak. It was a young woman who shockingly wore the robes of a Conclave disciple. Other than Meng Hao, she had a higher position than anyone else from the Southern Domain.

She blinked a few times as she looked over toward the Fourth Peak and the Demon Immortal Pagoda. Then she smiled.

“Meng Hao really does have some pretty good luck. He found the corpse of one of the Elite Disciples, and in the few months before Ke Yunhai passed away in meditation at that.

“For the Demon Immortal Pagoda to appear in this Second Plane of limitless possibilities is nothing strange. It’s just like the real world. After all, with the Night Demon in existence, Heaven and Earth can create something from nothing. Even the traitorous Lord Ji was rather frightened.”

Naturally, this woman was Zhixiang.

“The Demon Immortal Pagoda has been opened!” As the archaic voice of the Seventh Peak Paragon sounded out, thousands of figures instantly flew up into the air toward the pagoda.

Meng Hao and Xu Qing walked out of the Immortal Cave and looked up at the towering pagoda. Xu Qing’s eyes filled with a glow of determination. She looked down at the jade slip in her hand and chuckled silently.

“I won’t be going,” she said. “These three hundred Daoist magics are good enough.”

Meng Hao nodded. He knew Xu Qing’s disposition, so he did nothing to try to persuade her to change her mind. He took a deep breath and looked up toward Ke Yunhai’s sun up in the sky. He could see the silhouette of the ancient man he had spoken with only three days before. After a moment of silent contemplation, his eyes flickered with decisiveness.

“Whether it’s for me or for Ke Yunhai, I’m going to go absolutely all out!” His body flickered as he flew up into the air toward the Demon Immortal Pagoda that had been opened especially for him. Up above, the figures in the seven suns, the seven Paragons, all looked at Meng Hao.

Within Ke Yunhai’s eyes could be seen hope as he watched Meng Hao disappear into the pagoda.

At the same time, more and more figures flew up and entered. In a very short period of time, more than 100,000 people had entered the 1st level of the Demon Immortal Pagoda.

Down below were even more people who chose just to watch. Since they only had this one chance, they decided to first observe for a while to see if they could derive any benefits.

“Back in the Sect, there’s a detailed description of the Demon Immortal Pagoda,” thought Zhixiang. “The pagoda doesn’t test the level of one’s Cultivation base, nor the quality of one’s latent talent. What it tests is a person’s overall battle prowess.

“The level of difficulty is the same for every person, regardless of the level of their Cultivation base. A Cultivator in the Qi Condensation stage and an Immortal would both have the same chance. Each participant will face different opponents, based on their own strength.

“I’m curious how far that brat Meng Hao will get. What level will he reach?” Zhixiang didn’t immediately enter the pagoda. As far as she was concerned, while it was shocking enough to shake Heaven and Earth, at the same time, it wasn’t something very important to her.

Her main purpose here was not to seek out Daoist magic. No, she was here… for the number one battle body of the Demon Immortal Sect, that which could shake the Ninth Mountain and Sea… the Demon Immortal Body!

Regardless of past times or present, the Demon Immortal Body was incredible and illustrious. In fact, Lord Li possessed such a body in the past. According to hearsay, if one wished to acquire the Mountain and Sea Scripture, one had to possess the Demon Immortal Body!

Zhixiang made her decision. “When the matter with the pagoda is over, I’ll go find that brat!”

—–