They were utterly exhausted on this journey. On Black Mountain, they had endured numerous battles, their group of over ten dwindling until only four remained. They had gritted their teeth, persistently following the pill's glow to this location, only to encounter these demon bears and engage in fierce combat.
Upon seeing Meng Hao, their eyes immediately reddened with desperation, and they instinctively raised their swords, charging towards him.
"Senior brothers, I've brought those demon apes here as you instructed! Hurry and strike!"
As Meng Hao drew near, he didn't even spare a glance for the flying swords. Instead, he shouted loudly with an anxious expression, as if afraid the intelligent demon apes behind him wouldn't hear his words.
Almost simultaneously with Meng Hao's shout, a roar erupted behind him, echoing through the heavens and earth. Seven or eight powerful demon apes swept through the mountains and forests, their eyes red as they charged forward.
"Meng Hao, you shameless wretch!"
"Damn it, you're truly despicable!"
This scene caused the four men's expressions to change drastically, and they cursed Meng Hao incessantly. The four wanted to retreat, but the demon bears wouldn't allow it. Entangled by the bears, Meng Hao had already slipped past them, appearing behind them, which made the red-eyed demon apes charge wildly.
Meng Hao turned his head to glance at the four, a murderous glint in his eyes. He slapped his storage bag, and flying swords immediately shot out. With a soft, pained cry, Meng Hao commanded, "Explode!"
The explosion shook the space as the flying swords detonated. Meng Hao then continuously threw out two Fire Snakes, and immediately, the explosions spread, shattering the surrounding trees. Enduring the impact force, Meng Hao suppressed a mouthful of fresh blood, his body flipping as he changed direction and fled into the distance. Behind him, the cultivators, reeling from the impact, found it difficult to escape and were held back by the enraged demon apes. The apes couldn't see Meng Hao, but upon seeing the four cultivators, they immediately began to slaughter them.
Screams of agony rang out, but Meng Hao didn't look back, speeding away.
"This method isn't bad, but it's too dangerous!"
Along the way, it wasn't until he was certain no demon beasts were chasing him that he finally panted, looked around, and murmured softly.
"It's truly difficult to swallow a spirit pill!"
Meng Hao lowered his head, looked at his storage bag, sighed, and felt an even deeper pang of heartache.
"Thirty-one flying swords are already ruined! Those were all spirit stones... And all those pills I've swallowed, those were also spirit stones, yet it hasn't even been ten hours..."
Meng Hao gave a bitter laugh, his heart extremely conflicted and aching to the extreme.
"But if I ultimately succeed in swallowing the Dry Spirit Pill and breaking through my cultivation... it will all be worth it!"
Meng Hao's eyes were streaked with blood, very much like a desperate gambler. At this moment, he had already paid a huge price, and naturally, he wouldn't regret paying more, driven mad by the desire for success.
"Those four fourth-level Qi Condensation senior brothers, even if they don't die, they'll be crippled. The remaining pursuers aren't many; at this moment, there are only those two fifth-level Qi Condensation cultivators left!"
Meng Hao thought grimly. His opponents' cultivation bases were higher than his, and there were two of them, making them very difficult to resist. Moreover, for Meng Hao, killing people was highly unprofitable, as it would only waste too many spirit stones.
Meng Hao rested for a moment, then looked up at the mountain peak. Gritting his teeth, he dashed upward. Time flew by, and it was soon the fifth double-hour. The glow of the pill inside Meng Hao's storage bag suddenly burst with a dazzling light. Instantly, shouts rang out from both the east and the west.
"Meng Hao, you won't escape!"
"Hand over the Hanling Pill obediently, and I can leave your corpse intact! If you refuse, you will end up in the bellies of beasts, your bones scattered!"
The shouts came from two fifth-level Foundation Establishment cultivators lurking in the distance. Immediately after, two streaks of lightning shot toward Meng Hao. Meng Hao's expression hardened, and he swiftly charged toward the aura of a spirit beast.
Not long after, the entire Black Mountain seemed to boil. The roars of spirit beasts shook heaven and earth, wave after wave, accompanied by even more mournful, tragic cries. This caused the dozen or so cultivators at the foot of the mountain, who had not dared to pursue, to show expressions of terror, and they certainly did not dare to ascend now.
"What's happening? Why does it feel like all the spirit beasts on the mountain have gone mad?!"
"How can this be? Even if Senior Brother Yin Tianlong and Senior Brother Zhou Kai are both at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment, it would still be difficult for them to make all the spirit beasts roar in such fury. Did they do something special?!"
At the foot of the mountain, everyone had their own conjectures. The furious roars echoing in their ears were deafening...
Compared to their discussions, at this very moment, Yin Tianlong and Zhou Kai were practically driven mad by Meng Hao's torturous methods. They watched helplessly as Meng Hao and a horde of spirit beasts departed. If the hatred in their eyes could kill, Meng Hao would have died countless times over.
But within that hatred also lay weariness and helplessness, something only Yin and Zhou truly understood. Ever since they started their pursuit, Meng Hao had been constantly provoking all sorts of spirit beasts. They didn't know what demonic art he was using; with a mere wave of his hand, a spirit beast would explode, blood gushing forth.
Such a large number of spirit beasts made the two of them tremble. Moreover, these maddened spirit beasts weren't just chasing Meng Hao; when they saw Yin and Zhou, they attacked them simultaneously, forcing the two into a desperate escape. They could only watch Meng Hao disappear into the distance. That fellow was like a slippery loach, impossible to catch.
"Damn it, I curse him to die in the belly of a wild beast!"
Zhou Kai roared, while Yin Tianlong sighed in exasperation, his expression weary.
Time passed, and another hour went by. In the darkness, a dazzling pill light once again appeared, pointing toward Meng Hao's location. Yin and Zhou gritted their teeth and gave chase again, but the result was the same as before: during the pursuit, Meng Hao once again used some unknown demonic art to provoke a horde of spirit beasts. In the end, Yin and Zhou roared in frustration, only able to watch him and the spirit beasts flee one after another.
"Why hasn't that bastard died in a spirit beast's belly yet!"
Zhou and Yin were utterly exhausted. In contrast, Meng Hao was in high spirits. Seeing the two of them gnashing their teeth in hatred yet utterly powerless to do anything to him brought him immense satisfaction.
In truth, Meng Hao was also exhausted. Every time the pill light flashed, he had to lure the spirit beasts. If not for the bronze mirror, which slowed the swift beasts to a crawl and allowed him to slip away time and again, he would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.
By now, he had unwittingly reached the summit of Black Mountain. The ground here was fractured with numerous narrow crevices, many of which were wide enough for a person to squeeze through. Meng Hao sat cross-legged on a boulder, looking down at the bronze mirror in his hand. It was burning hot, as if the day's events had left it incredibly excited. With a wry smile, Meng Hao looked around. He could vaguely make out the peak of Black Mountain, where thick plumes of black smoke billowed from massive fissures.
Just then, a sudden, ferocious roar shook the entirety of Black Mountain. The roar erupted from a fissure at the summit, shaking heaven and earth like a clap of thunder. In an instant, the cries of the spirit beasts in all directions fell silent. The entire mountain was left with nothing but the echoes of this single, solitary roar.