He silently watched the boat. Meng Hao stood in the lake, clasping his hands and bowing deeply.
It seemed that at the same moment Meng Hao was bowing, a bell-like laugh echoed from the bottom of the silent lake. The laughter swirled all around, making it impossible to discern its origin. Meng Hao's eyes suddenly constricted, and he looked towards the bottom of the lake.
He followed the echoing laughter, and then arms began to emerge from the silver sand. These arms were like white jade, and as they appeared, countless maiden corpses floated up from the silver sand.
Black hair covered their faces. More than ten female corpses floated in the depths of the lake. Their eyes were all slowly closed, their faces extremely delicate, but their complexions were pale, rising and falling in the water. Seeing this, Meng Hao's eyes revealed a look of horror, because he discovered that the bodies of these girls were identical, and their ages were also the same.
Just as Meng Hao was startled, a little girl walked out from the boat. She stood there, smiling at Meng Hao. Her smile was a little shy, appearing very innocent and pure, but as Meng Hao looked at her, his head suddenly boomed.
He immediately realized that the little girl's face was very similar to that of the maiden corpses from before; it was clearly what she would look like when she grew up.
"Big Brother, do you want to stay here with me forever?"
The little girl said with a smile, her voice tender. As soon as her words came out, the more than ten female corpses simultaneously raised their heads. Their eyes were still closed, but they were all facing Meng Hao.
Meng Hao was terrified, his mind booming even louder. In his shock, his vision suddenly blurred, and the scene shattered into fragments.
Meng Hao opened his eyes. He was still sinking in the lake, far from the bottom, and it was not the lake bottom he had seen before. It seemed that everything before was just a dream; there was no boat, no female corpses, and no little girl with her words and laughter.
Meng Hao was stunned. He immediately felt as if his body had been completely restored. He lowered his head, looking towards the distant lake bottom, but could not see anything.
But Meng Hao knew that the illusory scene from before was not false.
He silently raised his hands, clasped them towards the bottom of the lake, and bowed deeply.
"Two great favors, Meng Hao will never forget. I only surmise that Senior wishes to transform into a sea. To be favored by Senior, I, Meng, vow that one day, when my cultivation reaches the heavens, I will surely come to assist. If Senior needs anything else from me, Meng, please let me know." Meng Hao bowed for more than ten minutes. The surroundings remained completely silent as before. Meng Hao straightened up, looked behind him, and then turned to head straight for the surface of the lake.
At the same time, as Meng Hao quickly ascended to the surface of the lake, two wooden swords from the North Sea vibrated powerfully, immediately moving straight towards Meng Hao.
While the two wooden swords were vibrating simultaneously, Ding Xin had already arrived at this place. Seeing the wooden swords, his eyes lit up. He raised his hand, intending to retrieve the swords, but the wooden swords suddenly moved vigorously. At this moment, the sea suddenly rippled, and in an instant, they drifted away.
This scene stunned Ding Xin. A strange light flashed in his eyes, and he immediately gave chase without hesitation.
"This treasure actually has sentience!" Ding Xin was now terrified in his heart, wishing he could move faster to block the wooden swords.
Meng Hao shot forward like an arrow, his speed increasing rapidly. His Dan Sea was full, and soon he vaguely saw the vast sky. In an instant, his entire body let out a loud roar, stirring up a huge wave as he directly charged out of the North Sea.
It seemed that just as Meng Hao burst out, two streaks of sword light also shrieked, flying out from the surface of the North Sea in unison, heading straight for Meng Hao and circling him. One sword landed at his feet, while the other floated in mid-air.
At the same time, the lake water vibrated again, and Ding Xin suddenly flew out. In an instant, Ding Xin caught sight of Meng Hao, his expression changing dramatically. He could not imagine that Meng Hao was still alive.
"That's impossible! Without reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, no one can withstand me after I've sacrificed my lifespan and cultivation as a great price to unleash the sect's ultimate technique, Purple Qi from the East!" Ding Xin stared at Meng Hao, taking a few steps back, refusing to believe that Meng Hao was still alive.
Or perhaps he didn't want to believe it. But at this moment, he was no longer at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, not even the eighth level. Coupled with his difficult-to-heal injuries and dissipating spiritual energy, he would likely weaken significantly after a while, becoming a seventh-level Qi Condensation cultivator.
Ding Xin's face was pale, but he was not like the cultivators of the Heavenly Water Silver sect. He looked at Meng Hao in shock, his eyes darting around as if he were no longer rational. Then, without hesitation, he spun around sharply and walked away step by step. In a flash, large leaves appeared beneath his feet, carrying his body far away. He was not fighting, but fleeing.
He absolutely had to escape. He had clearly seen that Meng Hao's injuries had recovered, and his cultivation was even stronger than before, while he himself was now riddled with injuries. How could he not escape?
Meng Hao coldly watched Ding Xin flee, not immediately giving chase. Instead, he bowed his head towards the North Sea, once again clasping his hands and bowing deeply.
"This great kindness, I will never forget for the rest of my life!" Meng Hao's voice was resolute. After speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and the flying sword beneath his feet immediately transformed into a rainbow, heading in the direction Ding Xin had fled to give chase.
"From now on, you are Meng's prey." Meng Hao's eyes were filled with murderous intent. After leaving the Reliance Sect, besides Shangguan Xiu, this Ding Xin was the person Meng Hao most wanted to kill. His hatred transformed into a sharp glint in his eyes. Since he began cultivating, he had never been so severely injured; it could no longer even be called an injury. He had, in effect, died once!
At this moment, his eyes sparkled with light. Meng Hao was very fast, leaving the North Sea in a flash. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he saw Ding Xin ahead, whose speed had slowed due to his reduced cultivation, and who was currently swallowing elixirs.
Meng Hao said nothing. He suddenly raised his right hand and pointed forward. Immediately, the wooden sword flew out, heading straight for Ding Xin. Ding Xin's face changed dramatically. He quickly turned around, knowing full well the strangeness of Meng Hao's wooden sword. Without hesitation, he slapped his storage bag, and a black longbow immediately appeared. He quickly drew it taut, and despite his dissipating spiritual energy, he shot an arrow.
With a thunderous explosion, the sharp arrow collided with the wooden sword in mid-air. As the resounding explosion spread, the small arrow shattered, also deeply impacting Meng Hao's wooden sword and stopping it.
Meng Hao's expression remained unchanged. As he gave chase, he raised his hand and pointed again, and the wooden sword immediately shot out once more. Ding Xin's face was pale, and he had to shoot another arrow.
With another thunderous explosion, the wooden sword charged forward again.
Bloodshot veins appeared in Ding Xin's eyes. How could he not understand? Meng Hao was taking revenge on him. At this moment, Meng Hao's goal was to deplete his cultivation, to exhaust him to death.