“This temple is something that the average person can’t get close to. Our location here outside of the perimeter is the closest one can get. With the exception of some of the Patriarchs, anyone who gets any closer is dead for sure!”
“That guy doesn’t look very familiar, what sect is he from?”
As the crowd discussed what was happening, Meng Hao reached the staircase and then began to climb up one step at a time. The other cultivators looked on with wide eyes, panting. Expressions of disbelief and astonishment could be seen.
“He’s… he’s actually going up the stairs!”
“What cultivation base does he have? This is impossible!”
“How come… he looks somewhat familiar…?”
As the cultivators looked on in shock, Meng Hao finished climbing the stairs and now stood directly in front of the towering temple. The doors had long since been broken completely open, and as Meng Hao stood there, he could clearly see all of the deity statues inside.
Each and every one depicted a powerful expert from the Ancient Doom Clan.
“They fought with Ji Tian…” murmured Meng Hao, “and were defeated. Before their clan was exterminated, they built this temple, the Will of which shall eternally resist the Heavens of Ji….” As he stood there, he felt as if he were looking at a former mighty clan, displaying all the brilliance of their long history.
After a long moment passed, he clasped hands and bowed deeply to the temple.
The entire Ancient Temple of Doom trembled in response to his show of respect. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and all of the cultivators further out felt their minds trembling, and backed up in astonishment.
That astonishment came from the fact that they were witnessing Meng Hao bowing to the temple, and in response, more than half of the statues inside the temple bowed in return, as if they had come to life.
Furthermore, a brilliant light rose up from the temple, which spread out in all directions to cover everything.
“Heavens! What’s going on? How can this be happening!”
“The statues in the Ancient Temple of Doom, they’re… they’re actually alive!!”
“Who is that cultivator?! Can it really be that the temple cannot bear to accept his show of respect without returning the salute?” Even as the crowds were in an uproar, Meng Hao looked up and saw that roughly sixty percent of the statues were bowing to him. The other forty percent were looking at him with faint smiles.
At the very back of the temple stood three majestic statues who remained completely unmoving. However, they looked at Meng Hao without any ill will whatsoever.
“That’s… that’s his excellency Meng Hao!!”
“It’s Meng Hao!! That’s Blood Prince Meng Hao!” As more and more people recognized him, a buzz of conversation instantly rose up.
As Meng Hao looked into the temple, he gradually became aware of numerous ancient voices murmuring in his ears. The voices were obscure, but they seemed to contain anticipation, hope that one day they would be able to leave the temple and carry out a slaughter in the Heavens.
After a long moment, Meng Hao bowed again, then turned to leave. As he flew into the air, the light shining up from the Ancient Temple of Doom slowly faded, and the temple returned to its original condition.
After leaving the Ancient Temple of Doom, Meng Hao did not depart from the lands of the Southern Domain, but instead, headed toward the Ancient Dao Lakes.
“I wonder if Lu Bai and those others are still trapped under there,” he thought. He proceeded onward, passing the various locations where he had experienced such dangerous situations that year, and eventually came to a stop above the enormous Dao Lake in the middle of the region.
As he hovered there in midair, looking at the lake, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. Were he to pick one place in the Southern Domain that was the most dangerous place of all, the Ancient Dao Lakes would definitely be his choice.
That was especially true due to the third level of the trial by fire therein. When Meng Hao thought back to that incident, he was still unsure as to whether or not he could succeed if he went back. But then his eyes glittered, and he patted his bag of holding to produce a white crystal that emanated pulsing coldness.
The coldness seemed faint, but according to Meng Hao’s speculations, there was something about this object that was completely extraordinary. This item… was the crystal he had acquired from the Feng Shui compass in the Warrior Pavilion in the Ruins of Immortality.