The boom which sounded out could be heard for fifty kilometers in every direction. The tens of thousands of Southern Domain Cultivators looked on in shock. Even the screen above the Dao Geyser flickered.

As the boom reverberated through the air, popping sounds could be heard as cracks filled the s.h.i.+eld surrounding Meng Hao. Finally, it collapsed into countless pieces which then drifted away.

A bit of blood seeped out of the corner of the azure-masked Cultivator’s mouth. In the process of destroying Meng Hao’s Nascent Soul blood s.h.i.+eld, he had lost six life swords. This had cost him his Core Qi; it would not be able to recover for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn.

However, the azure-masked Cultivator didn’t care. From what he could tell, as long as this Fang Mu didn’t have the protection of the Nascent Soul blood, then he could be killed with little difficulty.

His Core Qi would recover in the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. After all, it was produced as a product of his cultivation, and belonged solely to him. In his opinion, if this Fang Mu hadn’t possessed the Nascent Soul blood the previous year, it would have been simple to capture him.

“Let’s find out how long you can last against me without that blood!” laughed the azure-masked Cultivator. He slapped his bag of holding to produce what appeared to be a ball made of intertwined hair. He flung it out with his left hand.

“Distilled Fiends!” As the man’s gruff voice rang out, the hair suddenly expanded into a ma.s.sive black net, fifty meters wide. It emanated an intense killing aura that shot up into the sky; in the middle of the net could be seen multiple phantom souls. Their faces were filled with agony, and they emitted soundless wails.

A buzz of conversation immediately arose among the tens of thousands of Southern Domain Cultivators. It seemed many of them recognized the treasured item which the azure-masked Cultivator had produced.

“Black Lands Distilled Fiends Net!! That’s one of the three great treasures of Black Lands Cultivators! Any Black Lands Cultivator can create it, but each one will be different, based on the personality of who created it. The power of each treasure will also be different.”

“It’s definitely a Black Lands Distilled Fiends Net, created from living souls. Living people are distilled down into souls, which are then sealed into hair and then weaved into a net. It’s a shocking, sordid treasure which is so sinister that it is impervious to all poisons under Heaven.”

“I can’t believe that Black Lands Cultivators really are all so cruel and merciless! That net must have over a thousand souls in it….”

Meng Hao’s eyes narrowed. The killing aura of this Distilled Fiends Net rose into the sky, and the silent screams of the souls filled the air. Looking at it, Meng Hao felt as if his own soul were about to be torn from his body.

“So,” he thought, “he’s using this treasure to counter my Dao of poison!” He lifted his right hand and waved it in front of him. The pill bottles in front of him flew out and then exploded in mid-air. Ma.s.sive quant.i.ties of colorful mist poured out, filling the surroundings. Anyone who looked at it would be immediately shocked; it clearly contained multiple types of poisons.

As the mist roiled out, the Distilled Fiends Net flew through the air. As soon as the two ran into each other, hissing sounds emanated from the poison mist. In the blink of an eye, the souls within the Distilled Fiends Net began to consume the mist.

At the same time, the net began to spread out, surrounding Meng Hao.

The azure-masked Cultivator’s hands flashed with relentless incantation gestures, and he would occasionally gesture with a finger. The souls within the Distilled Fiends Net shrieked and consumed the poison mist. At the same time, the net drew closer to Meng Hao, threatening to envelop him completely.

The azure-masked Cultivator’s eyes were cold. There were many magics that he could use, but he had opted for the Distilled Fiends Net. This was not only because he feared Meng Hao’s poisons, but even more so because he wanted him to die screaming. The more miserable and shrill his cries, the more his own anger could be sated.

The mist was rapidly diminis.h.i.+ng and the Distilled Fiends Net was shrinking. It was now less than fifty meters away from Meng Hao. Meng Hao’s eyes flickered. He could sense the Cultivation base breakthrough Qi inside of him growing larger as he battled against Core Formation. It circulated rapidly, and seemed that at any moment, his ninth Dao Pillar would appear.

“Just a little bit more!” he thought, his eyes glittering coldly. He lifted his right hand to produce one of several poison pills that he had concocted after becoming a Furnace Lord in the East Pill Division….

Poison Flame Pill. Meng Hao crushed the pill between between his fingers and then waved his hand. A green Flame Sea immediately roared up.

At the same time, he flung out his left hand, sending more pills soaring into the air. When they hit the green flames, they melted. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into a blue Water Screen. This was Sourceless Alchemy Water!

Water and flame cannot coexist. However, the Water Screen and the Flame Sea both seemed to be working in unison. They spread out with a roar, making a beeline for the Distilled Fiends Net.

“Sourceless Water sets spirits adrift!” Meng Hao’s eyes glittered as the Sourceless Alchemy Water reached the Distilled Fiends Net. It gently pa.s.sed through the net, covering the souls within. They seemed to stick to it as if it were glue, seemingly about to be pulled completely away from the net.

As the souls were torn away, the green Flame Sea landed, its heat radiating out in all directions.

All of this takes some time to say, but the azure-masked Cultivator reacted in the blink of an eye. Eyes narrowing, he immediately made an incantation gesture with his right hand and then lifted his finger. At the same time as it descended, Meng Hao produced ten black medicinal pills from his bag of holding.

These medicinal pills emitted no medicinal aroma, and in fact emitted a shocking aura. The original pill had not been concocted by Meng Hao, but rather, won from Chen Jiaxi. Furthermore, they had not been concocted by a scarlet-robed alchemist of the World Pill Division, but rather a rank higher than that, a golden-robed alchemist who could concoct magic pills. The name of the pill was Magical Thunder Peal!

Chen Jiaxi had only possessed one, which had been gifted to him by his Master to study. After winning the pill, Meng Hao had realized how incredible it was and thus made a few copies.

His eyes shone with a cold light as he waved his arm, sending the Magic Thunder Peal pills flying out.

“Thunder, detonate!” he cried suddenly. As his voice echoed out, the ten Magic Thunder Peal pills suddenly exploded. A ma.s.sive roar filled the air, which transformed into a shocking attack. The Distilled Fiends Net began to tremble, and the souls began to emit miserable shrieks.

Thunder magic can restrain all types of apparitions. Therefore, the Magic Thunder Peal pill was not very useful against Cultivators, but was incredibly powerful when used on souls.

“Fang Mu, how dare you!!!” The azure-masked Cultivator’s heart dripped; he had spent many years refining the Distilled Fiends Net. It was only one step away from turning from a net into a flag, whereupon it would be even more powerful. The net contained a thousand souls, and normally couldn’t be damaged by a Magic Thunder Peal. However… Meng Hao had led with a poison mist, then poison water, then poison flames, and finally the thunder magic. Because of all of these reasons, the souls in the Distilled Fiends Net were being destroyed.

The azure-masked Cultivator’s eyes were filled with veins of blood. A vicious aura blazed from his eyes. He lowered into a half horse stance, then stretched his arms down. He lifted his head, and then stretched his arms out as if he were grasping something. Then he suddenly straightened up.

“Shade Horses, charge!”

Everything grew dark, and gasps could be heard from the tens of thousands of surrounding spectators. Suddenly, in front of the azure-masked Cultivator, nine black horses appeared. A pulsating aura of death emanated off of them.

The nine horses’ flesh was decomposing. They were clad in armor, and emanated a damp coldness. They raised their heads to the sky and neighed as they charged toward Meng Hao.

There were only nine horses, but as they charged, it seemed more like an army of ten thousand horses. In fact, it seemed that riding atop the Shade Horses were intangible spectres. A cold wind screamed out, blasting across Meng Hao.

His eyes flickered. Even as the Distilled Fiends Net dissipated around him, he squinted his eyes. He was filled with a sense of imminent danger, but at the same time, he could also sense the Qi strand within him becoming even more active. It rotated furiuosly, and he sensed that soon he would be able to achieve a breakthrough in his Cultivation base.

From what he could tell, he was only half a step away from the breakthrough!

He knew that the only way to take that half step was… to fight!!

Without hesitation, he advanced forward. As the nine Shade Horses approached, he lifted his hands, five fingers splayed, and struck forward. Coldness radiated out of his eyes.

“Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!” Meng Hao could suddenly see ghost images springing up everywhere. Everything was overlapping, as if the entire world were filled with duplicates of itself. The ghost images folded in toward the approaching Shade Horses, pus.h.i.+ng down onto them.

The Shade Horses suddenly stopped moving and began to tremble. Previously, their eyes had been red and blank, but now they filled with fear. They trembled so hard that it seemed they might disintegrate at any moment.

The sight of it struck fear into the heart of the azure-masked Cultivator.

“d.a.m.ned Foundation Establishment pup. It’s time to end this fight!” The azure-masked Cultivator’s mind filled with fury. No matter how he attacked, he couldn’t kill his opponent. The battle was being witnessed by the tens of thousands of Cultivators, making the whole thing incredibly embarra.s.sing. His killing intent grew more intense, and he suddenly raised his right hand and pushed down onto his forehead. His eyes began to glow with a crimson light.

“Core Soul Emergence Slaying!” he said suddenly. The indistinct image of an Orange Core began to coalesce out of the top of his head.

“Soul Emergence Sword, Slay the Lone Star!” The azure-masked Cultivator’s body trembled, and he closed his eyes. The instant he did, a fissure appeared on the Orange Core, from which emerged a golden glow. It coalesced into a flying dagger which shot toward Meng Hao.

Atop the dagger was the faint image of a soul, which had the appearance of none other than the azure-faced Cultivator.

This sword disdained all defenses. It looked down on all magical techniques. Its power came from shocking killing intent. Once it emerged, it demanded a slaying!

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This chapter was sponsored by Allan Tam