Kapitel 20: Entering the Black Mountain

In a split second, everyone in the entire square suddenly began to stare at Fatty, making him feel as if a cold wind were creeping down his back. His body quivered, and he looked pitifully at Meng Hao, a weak smile on his face.

"Meng Hao, save me…" He wanted to throw the pill away, but for some reason it wouldn't leave his hand. He was so frightened that as people began to surround them, his teeth chattered.

As the lights faded, he trembled violently. Then the lights were gone, and the restrictive spell released. Before Fatty could say anything, Meng Hao sent out a booming flash of his fourth level Cultivation base, then grabbed Fatty by his robe and charged away.

"Give me the pill," Meng Hao said in a low voice. "You go back to the Immortal's Cave and hide!" Without hesitation, Meng Hao tossed him the cave's jade slip. Fatty threw him the Dry Spirit Pill as if it were a hot potato.

Meng Hao's body flashed as he sped forward with Fatty in tow. Behind him, howling and roaring sounds arose as ten or more people raced in hot pursuit.

"Dammit, it's Meng Hao. You can't escape!"

"Hand over the Dry Spirit Pill. As a fellow disciple, I'll show some mercy and not kill you. Otherwise, you'll have a tough time escaping death!"

Meng Hao didn't stop for even a second. After emerging from the edge of the Outer Sect, he tossed Fatty away from him. Fatty was a matter-of-fact kind of person, but he wasn't stupid. As soon as he landed on his feet, he let out a miserable shriek.

"Pill thief!" he screamed, clutching the jade slip close to him as he ran off, trying not to look suspicious. He dashed toward the Immortal's Cave at top speed.

Hearing this, the pursuers ignored him and continued after Meng Hao.

"Flee to the ends of the earth if you want, you won't survive the next 24 hours!"

"You're of the fourth level, and you still don't give me the pill!?" Among the ten or more pursuers, most were of the fourth level of Qi Condensation, and only two were of the fifth level. The rest were of the third level, obviously hoping to be able to take advantage of the situation.

Cold sword auras whistled behind Meng Hao as over ten flying swords descended toward him like rain. But he was determined to keep the Dry Spirit Pill, and refused to toss it away.

"I just have to endure for twenty-four hours, then the pill will be mine," he said, determination shining in his eyes. "Then, I will finally be able to break through to the fifth level of Qi Condensation." He increased his speed. After spending so much time hunting for demonic beasts in the wild mountains, his top speed was not inferior. And he was much more familiar with the mountainous regions than most other fellow disciples. Thus, upon leaving the Outer Sect, he raced towards mountains.

Glancing behind at the approaching sword auras, Meng Hao slapped his bag of holding to produce a medicinal pill which he immediately swallowed. Then he sent his own flying swords shooting backwards.

Bang, bang, bang. Several trees were hit by the powerful flying swords and exploded into pieces, which flew about everywhere. Some smacked painfully into Meng Hao. Absorbing momentum from the explosion, he shot away several meters.

Before he could land on the ground, four Flame Serpents and three Water Globes shot toward him. Two of the Flame Serpents were almost eighteen meters long and as thick as a person, and emitted an intense heat which caused some of the nearby trees to catch fire. Those would be the work of the fifth level disciples, who were also the fastest of the bunch. Their feet didn't even touch the ground as they flew toward him like the wind. Savage looks filled their faces. Actually, they didn't hold the slightest bit of compassion even for each other. As far as they were concerned, the only competition involved were the two of them. Meng Hao didn't count for anything.

Without hesitation, Meng Hao slapped his bag of holding again. Two flying swords appeared and rotated around him, then came to rest beneath his feet. Then they shot forward, carrying him nearly thirty meters before he lost his balance and fell off. The short movement enabled him to evade the Flame Serpents and gain some distance. Furious howls reverberated in the air behind him.

This was a technique Meng Hao had come up with himself. It wouldn't work for long, only a few seconds, but at least it helped him to gain a bit of advantage on the two fifth-level Cultivators.

"If I were of the fifth level of Qi Condensation," Meng Hao thought to himself, "I would have the Wind Walking technique. Then I could stay on the flying sword for a lot longer, and I could get away more easily. Sadly, this isn't really flying…" Even more than ever, he desired to reach the fifth level of Qi Condensation. Not looking back, he sped along. Actually, the path he chose was not random. The instant the Dry Spirit Pill had landed in Fatty's hands, his mind had been racing at top speed.

He had picked the wild mountains because his destination was none other than the black mountain inhabited by Demonic beasts. After thinking about it for some time, he had decided that his best advantage was the copper mirror. With the mirror, he would still have a good chance of surviving the area even though it was dangerous, and contained that ominous roaring beast. This was especially true if people followed him in.

"If these guys chase me into the black mountain, then I'll be forced to kill them." A harsh expression appeared on his face. He had been a part of the Reliance Sect for over a year now and was no longer the weak scholar he had once been. He didn't appear to have changed much on the outside. He was a bit taller, and his skin was as swarthy as ever. But his heart was filled with decisiveness.

This was especially so after the matter with Wang Tengfei. He knew that he could only rely on himself. The only true path was to become stronger. In the world of Cultivation, the law of the jungle prevails. One must conduct oneself with caution and decisiveness.

They pursued him relentlessly. Sword auras glittered. Before long, the two fifth-level Cultivators had almost caught up with him, their eyes filled with murder. Just now, Meng Hao had evaded their attack using a single special move. Other than Wang Tengfei and Han Zong, they were were like high lords in the Outer Sect, so they found this particularly humiliating.

They had attacked at the same time, and yet Meng Hao had still managed to evade, which they both found hard to accept. Now, they wanted even more than ever to slay him. As far as his sword-riding technique, they didn't give it a second thought. Any Cultivator of the fourth level could do that. But considering their Cultivation base, doing so would be would be a waste of spiritual energy, even if it gave some extra speed. Seeing Meng Hao use the technique, they sneered. Using such tactics would sap his spiritual energy sooner rather than later.

"Let's see you escape this time!" they shouted, glancing at each other. One of them suddenly shot forward like a huge bird. In mid-air, he waved his hand, and two massive, roaring Flame Serpents shot down toward Meng Hao.

The other man continued to pursue Meng Hao. The two of them created a pincer attack, one in the air and one on the ground, ready to seal Meng Hao's fate in death.

"You still won't accept death!" grinned one of them hideously, his murderous intent filling the air.

Meng Hao's expression didn't change. He gave a cold snort. He'd dared to snatch the Dry Spirit Pill, so of course he had some special techniques prepared. He slapped his bag of hold, and flicked his sleeve. Six flying swords appeared. Their sword auras interlocked and then whizzed outward, away from Meng Hao.

"BOOM!"

Meng Hao let out a small shout of pain which reverberated into the mountains. When the two pursuing Cultivators heard the explosion, they gasped with astonishment, unsure of what had happened to produce such a sound.

Amidst the thunderous roar, Meng Hao spat out a mouthful of blood. And yet, his body shot away into the distance. Behind him, the effects of the attack dissipated, and the Flame Serpents collapsed with blood-curdling shrieks. The fifth-level Cultivators had no choice but to retreat a few paces, covered in dirt, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Dammit. What ruthlessness! He detonated six flying swords at once!"

"No wonder he opened up a shop! How many flying swords does he actually have?"

The two of them each sucked in a breath, but didn't hesitate. Using the full speed of their Wind Walking technique, they raced in pursuit again, unwilling to let Meng Hao intimidate them. According to their estimations, Meng Hao could not have that many flying swords left. Even if he had opened a shop in the Low Level Public Zone, he couldn't possibly have so many magical items.

"This time, you will die for sure!" The two pursuers increased their speed, entering the wild mountains. At this point, the pursuing fourth-level disciples caught up. One of them was Wang Tengfei's friend Shangguan Song. His Cultivation base was at the peak of the fourth level of Qi Condensation. His face was grim. He secretly feared Meng Hao's speed. And yet, he continued to pursue.

Time gradually passed by, and soon an hour had passed. Meng Hao continued forward, maintaining the distance from his pursuers. A few times he came into danger, but each time he produced a flying sword, detonated it, and escaped.

This left the pursuing fifth-level Cultivator's dumbstruck. They moaned to themselves, never having imagined that Meng Hao would have so many flying swords. At this point, he had detonated nearly twelve of them.

Combined with his sword-riding technique, his speed of evasion was quite high.

"Dammit! Even if he has more flying swords, I can't believe that he'll produce many more. In any case, at the speed he's been maintaining, plus detonating all those flying sword, he has used a huge amount of spiritual energy!"

"Correct! His Cultivation base is at the fourth level of Qi Condensation, not nearly as deep as mine. Using spiritual energy to ride flying swords wastes so much, it can kill you!" The two pursuing fifth-level Cultivators were now getting pumped up. And yet just as they finished talking, they caught sight of Meng Hao up ahead, and they saw something that left them feeling anything but reassured.

Even as he ran, Meng Hao pulled out a second bag of holding, from which he produced a handful of medicinal pills which he swallowed. This he did with casual ease, leaving the onlookers with the feeling that he had countless medicinal pills at his disposal.

Actually, that was true. In the following four hours, the two pursuers discovered that he had an enormous amount of flying swords and medicinal pills. They were already deeply shaken.

"Opening a store is this profitable?" they thought. They were Cultivators of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, and could not possibly be without medicinal pills. Furthermore, after having spent so much effort in their pursuit, they couldn't bear to give up. Reluctantly, they produced some pills and consumed them, then continued their pursuit, their hearts filled with the desire to slay Meng Hao.

By the time the sixth hour had arrived, the dark, black mountain had appeared in front of Meng Hao. Lying concealed among the other wild mountains, it gave off a ghastly, cold air. It seemed as if it were filled with sinister gloom.

When he caught sight of the mountain, his eyes gleamed. He had expended a lot of energy along the way, and felt a bit of painful regret. To him, every flying sword and every medicinal pill cost Spirit Stones. But he couldn't worry too much about that right now. Without hesitation, he shot into the black mountain.

The two pursuing Cultivators followed him in.

Some more time passed and more pursuers appeared, one by one. Upon seeing the black mountain, they gaped in astonishment, then entered.

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Kapitel 21: Meng Hao, You’re Shameless!

The black mountain was not bare, but rather covered with a lush forest of trees that stretched up toward the heavens. The reason this place was called a black mountain was because all the trees were completely black, and it seemed to be filled with swirling Demonic energy.

It was completely different from any of the other mountains as far as the eye could see.

Upon entering the mountain, Meng Hao heard a deep roar, and two Demonic beasts of the third level of Qi Condensation charged toward him. They had the bodies of wolves with long snake-like tails and were covered with thin fur. They glared at him hatefully.

As soon as they approached, Meng Hao stopped, then lifted up the copper mirror and shined it upon them. Instantly, one of the Demonic beast's right eye shot out a geyser of blood. It let out a miserable shriek, frightening its companion. Meng Hao's eyes flashed. This time, the mirror had exploded the Demonic beast's eye, not its buttocks. A similar thing had occurred when he fought Zhao Wugang. He didn't have any more time to think about it. Even as they moved to evade him, he hurtled past them.

As for the two fifth-level Cultivators, they raced in pursuit, infuriated. Their flying swords shot out, instantly slaying the two Demonic beasts. They didn't even stop to collect the Demonic Cores. Their bodies seemed to become rainbows as they raced in pursuit of Meng Hao.

"This is a Demonic mountain. I've heard that a Demon King lives on the peak. Meng Hao, fleeing to this place is just a way of seeking your own death."

"There's no need to flee. Come back and we can discuss things, maybe make a trade." The two Cultivators called after him as they pursued, their voices seemingly sincere, but their hearts filled with murderous intentions.

Meng Hao neither looked back nor responded to their calls, instead speeding along in the direction of the peak of the mountain. Before long, he ran into a group of seven or eight Demonic beasts. Most of them seemed to be at the third level of Qi Condensation. After cowing them with the copper mirror, he made his escape. Of course, the two fifth-level Cultivators had no such ability, so they had to massacre their way through. Then, covered with blood—demonic blood, of course, not their own—they continued in pursuit. They were starting to grow exhausted. During the battle, they had used up even more medicinal pills. But as the saying goes, if you ride a tiger, it's hard to get off. Gritting their teeth, they continued their pursuit.

"They're still after me…" Meng Hao, his face grim, had already reached the farthest point he had ever travelled on the black mountain. If he went any further, it would be difficult to avoid Demonic beasts of the fifth level of Qi Condensation. A hard look appeared on his face, and with clenched jaw, he proceeded onward toward the mountaintop.

After time passed enough for half an incense stick to burn, a low roar suddenly sounded out, seeming to cover half of the mountain. Like a dark wind, a multi-colored giant wolf came toward him, howling. The wolf had legs six meters long, and bright red eyes which shone with killing intent. Suppressive fifth-level Qi Condensation spirit roiled away from it.

If it had been alone, it would not have counted for much. But behind it followed a group of five smaller multi-colored wolves with Cultivation bases at the peak of the fourth level, as well as another fifth level wolf. Their fierce howling filled the air.

Meng Hao's eyes glittered, and without hesitation, he lifted the copper mirror and shone it toward the wolves. A miserable shriek poured out from the mouth of one of the wolves and blood poured out from its chest as if it had been stabbed. The other wolves looked on in shock, retreating unconsciously.

Moments later, unsure of what exactly was happening, and full of guesses, he gritted his teeth and proceeded forward. Two flying swords appeared beneath his feet, carrying him forward over thirty meters in an instant. Further behind appeared the two fifth-level Cultivators. When they saw the pack of Demonic wolves, their expressions dropped. Even though they pursued Meng Hao together, they still had to guard against each other. This area was still in the jurisdiction of the Reliance Sect, but once outside the gates of the sect, it would not be a rules violation for one of them to kill the other.

Amidst pursuit, it would have been no big deal, but now they were facing a crisis. The two fifth-level Demonic wolves looked at them threateningly. That, not to mention the rest of the smaller Demonic wolves, caused the two to quickly come up with a plan. Immediately, they split, one running off to the left and the other to the right.

They moved quickly, but the Demonic wolves moved even faster. They were sentient Demonic beasts, and already felt an astonishing fear of the copper mirror, as well as, Meng Hao. Amidst their furious roars, however, he had made his escape, whereupon two Qi Condensation fifth-level Cultivators invaded their territory.

The Cultivators had no time to consider their fury. They ran, pursued by the howling Demonic wolves. In moments they had fled far away.

Meng Hao let out a sigh. Look up toward the mountaintop, and then back toward the fleeing Cultivators, his eyes flashed.

"Those Demonic beasts will cause them a bit of trouble, and will keep them off my tail for a while. But the fourth two-hour period is almost here. The pill beacon will shine again, and then they'll be able to find me." Meng Hao looked again toward the mountain top. He clenched his jaw and ran forward.

Shortly after that, a beacon of light burst out of his bag of holding, shooting up into the sky. Even someone a great distance away would be able to see it clearly.

Every two hours, the beacon would appear, as it had already a few times today. This was the fourth time.

Meng Hao proceeded carefully, trying to avoid as many Demonic beasts as possible. Most of the ones he saw were of the fifth level of Qi cultivation, so of course he feared them. It seemed they preferred to move about in groups, not alone, so even though the copper mirror provided some protection, he did his best to move around them. As such, his speed was reduced, and he could not run.

Time slowly passed, nearly an hour. Suddenly, a massive, furious roar sounded out throughout the whole mountain. At the same time, Meng Hao burst out from the thick forest, a worried expression on his face. Chasing him were seven or eight psychic Demonic apes. They were furious, and extremely fast, pursuing Meng Hao with unbridled fury.

Three of them were of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, and this made Meng Hao groan inwardly. He had been very careful so far, and hadn't imagined that even as he carefully made his way around the troupe of Demonic apes, the mirror would of its own volition suddenly attack them, exploding one of the apes whose fur was so long it dragged on the ground. This of course raised the fury of the rest of the Demonic apes.

"Even if it is a Demonic ape with super long fur, it doesn't mean you have to act like this," said Meng Hao bitterly, looking at the copper mirror in his hands. He realized that he still didn't fully understand all the mysteries of the mirror. Now, though, he didn't have time to think about it. He ran down the mountain away from the Demonic apes. Looking back, he saw that the apes were closing in on him, so he waved the copper mirror, and another miserable shriek rang out. At that exact moment, Meng Hao saw that ahead of him, which was about the half-way point down or up the mountain, glittered the aura of flying swords.

His eyes shone and he raced forward. In an instant he was almost upon a group of four Cultivators of the fourth level of Qi Condensation. One of them was Shangguan Song. They were in close combat with several Demonic bears. Blood filled the air, and it appeared that they had the upper hand, as the corpses of two Demonic bears lay at their feet.

"Meng Hao!" They caught sight of him almost as soon as he caught sight of them, and their eyes filled with murderous intent, especially Shangguan Song's.

They appeared to be exhausted. Their journey in the black mountain had been wrought with battle. Originally, they had been ten strong, but most of them had already given up. The four remaining had exercised control over their Cultivation bases with gritted teeth and followed after the pill beacon until they found themselves in this brave fight against the Demonic bears.

When they caught sight of Meng Hao, their eyes grew red, and they subconsciously wanted to switch the target of their flying swords' attacks.

"Dear Brothers, I received your orders to attract the attention of this troupe of Demonic apes. Quick, make your move!" As Meng Hao approached, he ignored the flying swords and shouted his words loudly so that the pursuing psychic apes would be sure to hear.

Even as the words were out of his mouth, shockingly furious roars reverberated from behind him as the seven or eight psychic apes burst out from the trees, their red eyes glowing.

"Meng Hao, you're shameless!!!"

"Dammit, you're too despicable!"

The four men's faces fell, and they tried to fall back, cursing Meng Hao. But the fight with the Demonic bears wouldn't permit it. Meng Hao, who was still worried about the whole situation, had already passed them, and the red-eyed Demonic apes charged forward furiously.

Meng Hao looked back at the four of them, killing intent appearing in his eyes. He slapped his bag of holding, and some flying swords shot out with a low hum.

"BOOM!"

The explosion thundered out, as the flying swords exploded. Meng Hao instantly sent two Flame Serpents to follow them, and several nearby trees exploded into bits. Borrowing some of the momentum from the explosion, Meng Hao swallowed a mouthful of blood and shot away. Behind him, the four Cultivators were impeded by the explosions. As for the Demonic apes, they had lost sight of Meng Hao. But the Cultivators were right there in front of them, so they attacked instantly.

Miserable screams rang out, and Meng Hao continued onward without a backward glance.

"This place isn't too bad… it's just a bit dangerous." Meng Hao ran along, until he was sure the Demonic apes weren't following him, then stopped, panting. He looked around.

"It's not easy to keep hold of a Dry Spirit Pill," he murmured. He looked down at his bag of holding and let out a sigh, feeling somewhat distressed.

"I've already wasted thirty-one flying swords, and each one of those is basically a Spirit Stone. I've also consumed several medicinal pills, each of which is also equivalent to a Spirit Stone. And it isn't even the fifth two-hour period yet…" Meng Hao laughed bitterly, feeling twisted at heart.

"In the end, if I can consume the Dry Spirit Pill and make a breakthrough in my Cultivation base, then it will all be worth it!" Veins of blood had appeared in his eyes. He was like a gambler who intended to win at any cost, and had gone all in.

"If those four fourth-level disciples don't get killed, they'll definitely be exhausted, and I doubt they'll be willing to continue their pursuit. Now, all I have left to worry about are the two fifth-level Cultivators." His expression grew somber. His opponents had higher Cultivation bases than him, and there were two of them. It would be difficult to stand up to them, and as far as he was concerned, it wasn't worth it to kill them. The cost in Spirit Stones would be too great.

He rested for a bit, looking up at the mountaintop. Then he gritted his teeth and began to run. The fifth two-hour period arrived quickly, and almost as soon as the pill beacon shot up into the sky from his bag of holding, he heard the sinister voices of his two opponents coming from either side of him.

"Meng Hao, you can't escape!"

"Hand over the Dry Spirit Pill to me. I can let you die with your corpse intact. Otherwise I'll leave you here for the beasts, and nothing will remain of you."

Even as their voices echoed off into the distance, the two Cultivators' bodies flashed like rainbows as they charged towards Meng Hao. Determination filled Meng Hao's eyes and he fled onward. It appeared that up ahead was the resting place of some Demonic beasts.

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