“Taiyang Zi! You owe me money! Time to pay up!!”
“... You owe me money! Time to pay up!!”
“... Time to pay up!!”
The world in which Mount Sun existed seemed to be filled with countless Meng Haos, all of them shouting out at the same time. The mountains shook and the lands quaked. Countless cultivators were completely shocked.
Most surprising of all were the actual words he spoke....
Almost immediately, hundreds of furious cultivators flew out from one particular mountain deep within the world of Mount Sun.
“Collecting debt?”
“Who dares to cause a ruckus in Mount Sun!?”
“Such audaciousness!”
All of the disciples headed in Meng Hao’s direction. However, before they were even halfway to his location, one cultivator after another recognized who he was, and their faces fell.
“Meng Hao.... Dammit, I can't believe it’s him! Greedy, miserly Meng Hao!”
“Meng Hao was able to cut down Guru Heavencloud in battle, and also has a despicable Daoist magic that gets people to owe him money. It would be better to die than provoke him!”
“Ahem, well if it isn’t my bro Meng Hao. Ah, misunderstanding, misunderstanding....” Without the slightest hesitation, the group instantly turned on their heels and left.
They recognized him and knew what kind of person he was. He was such a terrifying figure that none of them were willing to stand up for Taiyang Zi.
Actually, not even Meng Hao himself was aware of how famous he had become in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Virtually all of the cultivators knew him and did their best to avoid him. It was common knowledge that anyone who tangled with him... would end up completely dest.i.tute.
Meng Hao’s cries continued to echo back and forth in the Holy Land of Mount Sun. Soon, in some of the most ancient volcanoes of Mount Sun, cultivators with the status of Elders, and even Patriarchs, opened their eyes to reveal cold, displeased gazes. These people had extremely high statuses, and had lived for many years. As such, they held no approval for a youngster like Meng Hao.
Meanwhile.... At the bottom of an enormous volcano deep within Mount Sun, a young man sat cross-legged in meditation. He was naked from the waist up, and every inch of his skin glowed bright red. Clearly it contained terrifying power. Bulging blue veins snaked across his skin like dragons, and it seemed like there was some sort of explosive force building up inside him.
On the young man’s forehead, a mark could be seen that resembled a sun.
This was none other than... Taiyang Zi!
He was just one of the many Chosen that had emerged in the long history of the Holy Land of Mount Sun. Yet his latent talent was stunning, even more so than all the cultivators who had inherited the name Taiyang Zi before him. In terms of cultivation, he had long since broken through the traditional limitations for cultivators. He was now at the peak of the Immortal Realm, but in truth, he could easily battle the mid Ancient Realm!
Immortals like that were definitely rare in the Ninth Mountain and Sea!
As Taiyang Zi sat there cross-legged doing breathing exercises, Meng Hao’s voice echoed about like thunder, reaching the depths of the world of Mount Sun. The volcanoes all trembled, erupting with lava and belching out smoke. The sky of Mount Sun quickly turned black.
Taiyang Zi’s eyes snapped open as his volcano had a similar reaction.
“Meng Hao!” He gritted his teeth in fury. He would never have imagined that Meng Hao would actually come to Mount Sun and say something like he just had.
To show up in Taiyang Zi’s home and openly demand money left him with no face whatsoever. This was especially the case considering that he didn't believe that he actually owed Meng Hao anything. The whole situation had been forced on him. Of course, he couldn't beat Meng Hao in a fight, so he was forced to simply endure the situation. But now, shockingly, Meng Hao had actually come to Mount Sun to settle up.
Taiyang Zi threw his head back and roared. His cultivation base surged with power, and he flew out of the volcano up into the sky, roaring out in an equally thunderous voice, “Meng Hao, you push people too far!!”
From his position just outside the teleportation portal, Meng Hao could hear Taiyang Zi, and his face lit up with delight. What he feared the most was going to collect debts, only to find the person not at home. Now that he knew Taiyang Zi was home, he realized that he was in luck.
Laughing heartily, he took a step forward and transformed into a bright beam of light that shot dazzlingly through the air toward Taiyang Zi. However, even as he closed in, a cold snort echoed out from a nearby volcano, and an enormous hand appeared, which grabbed toward Meng Hao.
“Cease this outburst, child! Get down here!” The sound of the snort echoed about, and the enormous hand blotted out the sky as it crushed down toward Meng Hao. The hand even seemed to influence the natural laws in the area, causing everything to twist and distort.
Meng Hao’s eyes flickered coldly. Instead of falling back, he slammed directly into the hand, causing ma.s.sive rumbling sounds to echo out. The hand collapsed, and Meng Hao remained hovering in midair, completely unharmed.
“Me get down there? How about you come up here!” He extended his right hand and made a grasping motion toward the volcano down below.
The land quaked and the volcano rumbled as a bedraggled figure was wrenched up into the air. It was an old man in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, who looked completely fl.u.s.tered as he glared at Meng Hao. More cold harrumphs could be heard from the surrounding volcanos as four more old men appeared, all of them in the great circle of the Ancient Realm. Their energy surged, creating a spectacular scene as they flew out to suppress Meng Hao.
“Ganging up on me?” Meng Hao said coolly, waving his right hand, which caused the terracotta soldier to emerge from his bag of holding. It instantly grew to a huge size, sweeping its greatsword through the air, destroying a volcano before stabbing into the ground, which then quaked violently.
When the Ancient Realm Mount Sun Elders felt how powerful the attack of the terracotta soldier was, their faces fell and they instantly backed up. Even still, blood sprayed out of their mouths, and shocked expressions appeared on their faces.
“Quasi-Dao!!”
“That’s the guardian of the Fang Clan’s Ancestral Land! It joined the battle when the Ji Clan invaded Planet East Victory!!”
As they backed up, the terracotta soldier looked around, and its energy soared. Rumbling filled the air, and a huge wind sprang up that filled all of Mount Sun with the Quasi-Dao aura of the terracotta soldier.
That aura caused all Mount Sun disciples’ faces to fall, and their bodies to tremble. The mad aura of a Quasi-Dao cultivation base was something they simply couldn’t fight against.
Any Quasi-Dao expert was to be feared. However, what was most terrifying was that even though the terracotta soldier could explode out with Quasi-Dao power... it had no longevity limitations.
Taiyang Zi gasped, and his heart began to thump. He looked at Meng Hao, then at the enormous terracotta soldier, and then he sighed. Finally, he began to back up, and yet, he wasn’t as fast as Meng Hao.
Meng Hao advanced, reaching out to grab ahold of Taiyang Zi.
“Taiyang Zi, you’re going to pay me what you owe, today!!”
“You’re shameless, Meng Hao! I never owed you any money!!” Roaring in fury, Taiyang Zi performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a divine ability to materialize and shoot toward Meng Hao.
“I have proof! Your promissory note is right here! How dare you deny the truth!” Enraged, Meng Hao punched out, sending Taiyang Zi flying back with blood spraying out of his mouth. Meng Hao was just about to follow up with another attack when the voice of an arrogant old man echoed out across the lands.
“Even if your father came here, he would treat me with respect and call me Senior. For you to come to Mount Sun and babble such nonsense might not be a capital offense, but you won’t escape severe punishment.
“I suppose I’ll just stand in for your father to administer some discipline. If we don’t correct that personality of yours, sooner or later you’re going to get yourself killed.” As the voice rang out, an ancient and primeval volcano off in the distance erupted, and countless flickering magical symbols spewed out. A middle-aged man flew out, standing on a stream of smoking lava and a cloud of ash.
When he emerged, the sky churned, and the air around him became a sea of flames which emanated an Essence aura.
This man was none other than one of the three Dao Realm experts of Mount Sun!!
As far as he was concerned, it didn't matter why Meng Hao was here, he should politely offer his respects and say some pleasantries. If that had been the case, Mount Sun wouldn’t necessarily refuse to hand over some spirit stones to resolve the issue with Taiyang Zi.
However, for Meng Hao to show up and act so tough was simply intolerable. In his mind, even if Meng Hao were stronger than he was, he couldn’t do anything to cultivators in the Dao Realm. Even the things which had happened on Planet South Heaven recently were only because of the South Heaven Death Formation.
After he finished speaking, the middle-aged man waved his finger in Meng Hao’s direction.
“I call upon my Dao to unleash the magic of the Heavens. Bind this child’s body and burn him in the flames!” In accompaniment with the man's coolly spoken words, the sea of flames behind him surged explosively toward Meng Hao, transforming into an enormous mouth that sought to consume him.
“Well aren’t you something, Mount Sun. I came to settle accounts, which is a right and proper thing to do. But in the end, the kids refuse to admit they owe money, and the adults refuse to discuss the matter reasonably?” Enraged, Meng Hao waved his hand, causing the Essence of Divine Flame to explode out in another sea of flames. This sea of flames also filled half of the sky, and shot menacingly toward the Dao Realm Patriarch.
Rumbling booms echoed out as the two seas of flame collided and then dissipated.
Meng Hao grunted, but then took a step forward, causing his energy to rise as he charged toward the Dao Realm Patriarch. The man’s face was pale, and his eyes were wide; Meng Hao’s power left him... completely astonished.
When the Mount Sun disciples saw what was happening, they gasped. Even Taiyang Zi’s eyes were wide, and his mind was spinning. This was their first time truly witnessing how powerful Meng Hao’s cultivation base was.
“Taiyang Zi... are you gonna pay back what you owe, or not!?!?” Meng Hao took a second step, and his energy rose, causing him to emanate what felt like the might of the Heavens throughout the world of Mount Sun.