"Although my body is no longer withered, and this strange black mist is no longer spreading, my current state is too eye-catching." Meng Hao accelerated, flying straight ahead, muttering to himself about finding a deep mountain range to hide in, waiting for the black mist to dissipate before reappearing.
After a long while, Meng Hao angrily left the deep cliff. He discovered that no matter how deep he hid in a cave, the mist could still penetrate everything and slowly spread.
"Damn it, how long will this mist last?" Meng Hao gritted his teeth, not daring to stay in one place for too long. He found that the longer he rested, the denser the mist became. Anyone who didn't know better, looking from afar, would surely think some treasure had appeared.
Meng Hao frowned and entered the deep mountains, continuously accelerating. If his spiritual energy ran out, he would immediately take elixirs. Only then could the black smoke disperse everywhere instead of gathering in one place, no longer a high-flying mist covering the sky and attracting attention as before.
For seven days straight, he remained in the deep mountains without rest. Meng Hao's entire body was exhausted. During the day, the strange mist was black, but when night fell, it turned a dazzling white, which terrified Meng Hao.
Fortunately, after seven days, Meng Hao noticed that the mist had thinned out. Judging by the situation, Meng Hao estimated that it would completely disappear in about a month.
He dared not stay in any mountain range for too long, fearing to attract attention. After all, he didn't know if the cultivators from the Ziyun Sect had truly left, so he could only move continuously between the mountain ranges.
That day, as Meng Hao sat cross-legged on his flying fan, swiftly gliding through the forest, his eyes suddenly narrowed. He immediately looked up and saw four figures rapidly approaching from a distance.
Meng Hao frowned in thought and simultaneously descended, no longer flying. He raised his right hand and patted his storage bag. Immediately, his flying sword shot out, directly into an ancient tree, carving out a cave entrance, and Meng Hao quickly slipped inside.
He had tried this method before. Although the mist would still spread, it took time. Roughly, it could last for a period, after which the ancient tree would wither.
By using this method, Meng Hao had avoided many cultivators who came to investigate the mist hovering around him during these seven days.
Currently, he sat cross-legged, hidden in the tree hollow, waiting for the four people to leave. However, these four did not leave immediately. They eventually stood nearby, constantly scanning their surroundings. The cold-faced young man in purple among them leaped onto a tree, holding a white pearl in his hand. His cultivation base radiated, transforming into waves of spiritual power that spread out.
Currently, waves of black qi spread out before Meng Hao, immediately absorbed by the pearl. In no time, more than half of the pearl had turned black.
Seeing this scene, Meng Hao's heart trembled.
"It's quite strange. I heard that recently in this area, every mountain has a lot of dense death qi, but it's a pity that the source cannot be found." The four people consisted of three men and one woman. The one who just spoke was the woman. She wore a long dress and was quite beautiful, but her slanted eyes made her look somewhat alluring and demonic.
The two people beside her also scanned their surroundings, all of them frowning.
“No matter the reason, once we’ve collected the death qi, we should leave quickly. This death qi has an unusual origin, and finding its source might not be a good thing,” one person said hesitantly.
“What’s there to be afraid of? With Senior Brother Yan here, no matter how dangerous it is, with Senior Brother Yan’s status as an inner disciple and his eighth-level Qi Condensation cultivation, we will definitely be able to turn danger into safety, and perhaps even gain great fortune.” The woman immediately laughed, her eyes revealing a seductive look as she gazed at the purple-robed young man.
Among these four people, apart from the young man holding the bead who was at the eighth level of Qi Condensation, the others were all at the sixth level of Qi Condensation. Naturally, the young man was the leader of the four.
Before long, all the black qi in the area had been absorbed by the bead. The bead was now completely black, as if it could absorb no more. From his hiding spot, Meng Hao saw this scene and couldn't help but ponder.
“Let’s go.”
The man surnamed Yan said indifferently, flicking his sleeve. As the four were about to leave, Meng Hao’s brows furrowed. These people were too slow, and he didn’t have much time. Now, a wisp of black smoke was spreading outwards from the tree trunk.
As soon as the black smoke appeared, the eyes of the man surnamed Yan immediately lit up, and he turned to look back.
Meng Hao sighed inwardly, then shot out from the tree trunk without hesitation, flicking his sleeve, intending to leave immediately.
Instantly, his appearance startled all four people, especially after Meng Hao appeared, the black smoke on his body also spread, causing the eyes of the man surnamed Yan to narrow.
“Fellow Daoist, please stop.” His decisive voice rang out, and at the same time, he formed a hand seal and chanted a spell, pointing straight ahead. Immediately, a black wind arose, and amidst the gale, a skull materialized, grinning silently, aiming directly at Meng Hao.
At first glance, it seemed to only intend to block Meng Hao’s path, but in reality, the skull was conjured by the man surnamed Yan, who was at the eighth level of Qi Condensation. Its form was malevolent, and it spread with lightning speed.
At the same time, the eyes of the other three people—two men and one woman—also flashed, and they simultaneously made their moves. Immediately, two flying swords and a string of jade beads transformed into three streams of precious light, heading straight for Meng Hao. Especially the woman’s string of jade beads, which, as it flew, made a “whoosh” sound and rapidly grew larger, aiming to capture Meng Hao.
Meng Hao frowned. His mood was already bad, and the black smoke had irritated him to the extreme. Now, seeing these people deliberately make malicious moves, he couldn’t help but let out a cold snort.
He raised his right hand and flicked it. Immediately, a fire python about seven or eight zhang long appeared in the air, roaring and exhaling terrifying heat as it lunged directly at the magical treasures of the four people.
Amidst the rumbling explosions, the jade beads shattered instantly, and the two flying swords melted. Only the skull of the cultivator surnamed Yan, though it dissipated after colliding with the fire python, also caused Meng Hao’s fire python to hiss, its flames gradually dying down.
“Eighth-level Qi Condensation!”
The woman and the two people beside her were startled and chilled, their expressions turning grave. Only the cultivator surnamed Yan stepped forward, staring intently at Meng Hao.
"I am Yan Ziguo, an inner disciple of the Feng Han Sect. Daoist friend, please do not rush off. I respectfully ask for an explanation as to why you carry such a strong aura of death." His gaze was like lightning, his voice calm. Meng Hao was at the eighth level of Qi Condensation, but Yan Ziguo was also at the eighth level of Qi Condensation, so his voice remained cold.
Meng Hao glanced coldly at Yan Ziguo, saying nothing. He merely patted his storage bag, and his treasured fan flew out, flashing with light, stopping beneath Meng Hao's feet, carrying him away swiftly and far. Yan Ziguo looked at the treasured fan beneath Meng Hao's feet, immediately revealing a look of surprise.
"He has a flying magic treasure! His cultivation hasn't reached Foundation Establishment, so he can only glide, not maintain it for long. He'll have to land eventually!" Yan Ziguo's heart surged. He had been in the Feng Han Sect for many years and had not yet obtained such a magic treasure. This was a valuable treasure that only ninth-level Qi Condensation disciples were granted by the sect. He let out a cold snort, and in a flash, his body shot up, chasing after Meng Hao. Meanwhile, the other three hesitated for a moment before immediately following.
"You seek death!" Meng Hao's eyes grew colder. The other party had seen through his cultivation, so he should unleash his spell arts. All of this was merely a warning, yet the other party refused to give up, relentlessly pursuing him, which annoyed Meng Hao.
He paused slightly, raising his right hand to form a hand seal and chant an incantation. He pointed towards the four individuals, and immediately, the treasured fan beneath Meng Hao's feet hummed, simultaneously releasing four streaks of light. These were four feathers, which tore through space as they shot forth, like four flying swords, instantly closing in on the four individuals.
Yan Ziguo's eyes quickly narrowed. He raised his right hand and patted his storage bag, and immediately a small shield appeared in his hand. It absorbed wind and grew larger, transforming into a skull in an instant, shooting out to collide with the feathers, emitting a fierce clang.
Meanwhile, the other three were terrified, pulling out their magic treasures. Explosions echoed around them, and all three coughed up fresh blood, their bodies simultaneously retreating, their eyes filled with fear.
The three feathers, completely undamaged, circled back in the direction of Meng Hao's finger, attacking Yan Ziguo.
Yan Ziguo's expression changed. He suddenly let out a loud shout, and instantly his entire body was covered in green mist. This mist quickly gathered, transforming into a giant green skull, which charged towards the three feathers.
Booming sounds exploded in all directions. The skull shattered into pieces, but the three feathers also lost their light, flying back to Meng Hao, distorted.
"This is a warning. If you bother me again..." Meng Hao's eyes flashed as he spoke coldly, his words unfinished, before he turned and transformed into a rainbow, disappearing from sight.
Yan Ziguo did not pursue. He stared in the direction Meng Hao had left, his right hand trembling slightly in his sleeve. Meng Hao's face was unfamiliar to him, yet this stranger had just casually made a move that forced him to use a life-saving spell.
"That fan is not only a valuable flying treasure, but also a powerful weapon!" Yan Ziguo thought to himself, but he became even more tempted.
"Have any of you ever heard of someone in the cultivation world of Zhao State possessing such a treasured fan?" Yan Ziguo turned his head to look at his three rather disheveled fellow disciples behind him.
"His cultivation has reached the eighth level of Qi Condensation, and he's so young. He must be a famous figure in Zhao State, but I've checked all three major sects, and there's no one like him." Seeing Yan Ziguo's expectant gaze, a disciple of the Feng Han Sect quickly spoke.
"Who is this person? Or is he not a cultivator from Zhao State?" Yan Ziguo frowned, his heart growing even more envious of Meng Hao's treasured fan.
"Senior Brother Yan, a few months ago, I heard about a fan similar to this one. Senior Brother Sun Hua from the Qu Shui Sect once mentioned it. It seems a disciple from the Southern Domain's Zi Yun Sect traded with an inner sect disciple of the Kao Shan Sect named Meng Hao, and took out a feather fan." She hesitated, looking at Yan Ziguo.
Yan Ziguo was startled. His right hand immediately reached out and patted his storage bag. Instantly, a jade slip appeared in his hand. This was an item given by the sect to inner sect disciples. It contained a portrait of Meng Hao of the Kao Shan Sect, and also ordered that anyone who encountered him must find a way to investigate the true power of his supreme treasure.
Several months had passed, and Yan Ziguo hadn't paid much attention, but now he focused on scanning the jade slip. A drawing immediately appeared in his mind, and the image in the drawing was precisely the Meng Hao from earlier.
"So it was him!" Yan Ziguo's gloomy eyes suddenly lit up, and the corners of his lips curled into a faint smile. He was about to say something when suddenly, the ground shook violently, and the blue sky turned red. An earth-shshattering change, in just an instant, spread in all eight directions, covering the entire Southern Domain, including its most distant lands.