“The Black Lands in great chaos?” said Dongluo Han, gaping at the Clan Chief.

Dongluo Ling also gaped for a moment. For as long as she could remember, the law of the jungle in the Black Lands made it appear on the surface as if there were no rules. However, because of the Black Lands Palace and the United Nine, there was a bit of stability. Superficially, the Black Lands seemed chaotic, but the powers beneath the surface made things much less chaotic than they seemed.

The Dongluo Clan Chief was quiet for a moment before looking up at the stars in the sky and saying, “Four days ago in Saturn City, Elder Tumou was killed by Patriarch Death Spirit from the Western Lands….”

His words caused Dongluo Han’s face to flicker. The surrounding Cultivators all looked shocked and doubtful.

Breathing heavily, Dongluo Han said, “Elder Tumou was an almighty Spirit Severing Cultivator…. He….” The nine Clans that made up the United Nine were all very different. Furthermore, various Clans had come and gone throughout the years. However, the main reason the United Nine was able to stand up to the Black Lands Palace was because of their four great mountains.

These four mountains housed four Spirit Severing Patriarchs. The Clans of these four were naturally the leaders in the alliance. With the presence of the four Patriarchs, they had been able to oppose the Black Lands Palace down to this day.

The Dongluo Clan Chief slowly continued, “After Elder Tumou perished, the Black Lands Palace immediately invaded his Saturn Clan. In a single day, all the Clan members were slaughtered, and their city was taken over by the Black Lands Palace.”

Dongluo Han gasped. “The Black Lands Palace…. The Western Desert….” After a moment’s thought, his heart and mind trembled. This news caused him to completely forget about the matter of the Scarlet Peac.o.c.k.

“This matter must be kept a secret….” said Dongluo Ling, looking at the other surrounding Cultivators.

The Clan Chief shook his head.“It won’t take long before news of the incident spreads throughout all the Black Lands, even if the United Nine tries to cover it up, the news will spread.” He looked tired and very anxious.

Dongluo Ling was about to say something else, when suddenly, a miserable shriek could be heard coming from the top level of the city, where the Scarlet Peac.o.c.k was. The cry was one of ultimate misery, as if it were experiencing indescribable pain.

Dongluo Ling’s face immediately flashed. Next to her, Dongluo Han gaped in shock. All of the Cultivators immediately looked upward.

As for Meng Hao, he was sitting cross-legged inside of his room. After the Dongluo Clan members left, the staff of the inn returned, giving Meng Hao a wide, respectful berth. The owner of the inn waited on him nervously, allowing him to change rooms and even giving him some Spirit Stones before making an excuse to leave.

“At first I thought I was going to have to fight my way out and come back in disguise,” thought Meng Hao, looking down at the black command medallion. “Who would have thought that the Dongluo Clan would back down?” A puzzled look appeared on his face. “Has something happened I don’t know about?”

It was at this point that he heard the miserable shrieks coming from outside. He immediately stood, opened a window, and looked out, a strange expression on his face.

Another scream rose up into the air. This time, it was obvious that it was a different Scarlet Peac.o.c.k than the one from before. Even as looks of shock filled the faces of everyone in the city, a third shriek echoed out.

At the same time, three figures, blazing like fire, shot out from the second level of the city. It was three more Scarlet Peac.o.c.ks. The largest was nearly a hundred meters long, the smallest only about thirty. They were letting out shrill shrieks; anyone who heard them could almost feel their pain.

A boom rattled out, and for some inexplicable reason, a ma.s.sive force seemed to rip through one of the huge trees that made up the second level of the city. It shot in and out several times, until it had cut out a character.

5!

A bang rang out as a tall, strapping man appeared in mid-air, surrounded by a multicolored glow. His features were indistinct, but he gave on an eminently conceited air as he floated there in mid-air looking down on the ground.

The three peac.o.c.ks trembled. Beneath them, the ma.s.sive character 5 that had been cut into the tree, was extremely clear.

“You all listen carefully to what Lord Fifth has to say. When I was born, I was the most revered in Heaven and Earth. If I want people to wear clothes, they wear clothes. If I want animals to have fur or feathers, then they grow it immediately!”

The echoing voice immediately evoked the wrath of the Dongluo Clan. Furious shouts could be heard from within the Dongluo Clan. A ruddy-faced old man suddenly charged out, emanating the power of the Nascent Soul stage. He shot toward the parrot, who was currently utilizing the meat jelly’s transforming ability.

“You dare to defame the residence of the Dongluo Clan!? Get back here!”

“You old fart!” screeched the man-form parrot. “Lord Fifth is gonna screw you to death!” His body flickered as he shot toward the old man. He radiated a savage potency, as if he were a member of an elite death squad [1. The way he is described here is a reference to the movie series the Expendables], the most powerful and esteemed person in all the Heavens.

This powerful vigor radiated thickly off of him, as if there were no orifice in the world that he couldn’t conquer!

The parrot, in the form of a virulent, muscular man, suddenly appeared next to the old Nascent Soul Cultivator. The speed of his movement left the man shocked, and before he could do anything, they slammed into each other.

As the boom rattled out, the Nascent Soul Cultivator’s face twisted. Cold sweat burst out from his forehead as he realized that his opponent had been shooting straight toward the area roughly a handsbreadth below his navel. If he hadn’t moved quickly enough….

Before he could continue along with this train of thought, he suddenly felt a cold air on his back.

The man-form parrot was off to the side, raising his head up and giving out a piercing howl.

“You’re far too wicked!” said a voice. “Doing this kind of thing is very immoral! Very, very immoral. You shouldn’t….”

“Shut the h.e.l.l up, b*tch! Lord Fifth is gonna screw this guy to death!” The man-parrot’s eyes grew green as he glared at the Nascent Soul Cultivator, let out a wild shout, and then charged forward.

The old man’s scalp went numb as he saw the strange man approaching him. This was the first time he had ever felt such fear in his heart. However, it was at this exact moment that a cold snort suddenly sounded out from within the Dongluo Clan. Two prismatic beams of light flew out, emanating the power of Nascent Soul Cultivation bases. One of these men was even of the late Nascent Soul stage.

A boom echoed out, and the man-parrot tumbled backward. His eyes grew even more green, and its body began to tremble with rage.

“I’m gonna screw you to death! All of you….”

“No need to get so excited,” said the meat jelly. “Don’t be so impulsive….”

“Asura Fire!” cried the man-parrot as it floated there in the air. Suddenly, black flames leapt into being.

“Sky Walker Slaying!” it cried again. The flames roared up into the sky. In the middle of all the black flames was the man-parrot, its body trembling. Suddenly, a black band of cloth appeared in its hand, which it wrapped around the top of its head, covering one eye. It was really a bizarre sight. Suddenly, it shot down toward the Nascent Soul Cultivators.

It moved with incredible speed. As it did, a black mist emanated out from its body, as well as fire. It gradually transformed into an enormous one-eyed raven, hundreds of meters long. It emanated a shocking power as it charged in a frenzy toward the three Nascent Soul Cultivators.

Everyone who saw this was astonished. Even Meng Hao’s eyes were wide.

The three Nascent Soul Cultivators were pale faced. They all began to perform incantations. Above them, the intensely shocking flames descended down. The faces of the Nascent Soul Cultivators fell, and they retreated. A ma.s.sive boom shook everything as a huge crater appeared in the ground.

This crater was located in the very center of the city, causing the plants which composed the floor to begin to sway and sag. The entire second level of the city was virtually destroyed. The ground quaked, and all of the Cultivators currently in the city flew up into the air, faces pale with astonishment.

There was nothing alive within the crater, and the enormous black raven had disappeared without a trace.

The only thing left behind was a wildly arrogant voice which broke the silence.

“Have faith in the Lord Fifth, gain eternal life. When the Lord Fifth appears, who dares to cause strife!”

This was the only sound that echoed out into the quiet. Dongluo Ling’s eyes were filled with fear, and off to the side, Dongluo Han was panting. The Dongluo Clan Chief had a serious expression on his face as he shot off toward the crater. His solemn voice called out, “Remember this: never, ever provoke that Cultivator. A person like him has a lot of helpers. We’ve reached a moment of truth. Make friends, not enemies!”

The ground eventually ceased quaking. Meng Hao stood at the window, his expression strange. Everything that had happened just now made him suddenly think that the parrot was actually kind of funny.

A multicolored light suddenly flashed in the room. The parrot appeared, looking exhausted. It flopped down onto the table and looked at Meng Hao out of the corner of its eye. It was huffing and puffing, but its expression was as haughty and proud as ever.

“b.i.t.c.hes. If Lord Fifth hadn’t just recently awoken from slumber, then he would be much more powerful. I could have screwed the entire city! Then they would know how bada.s.s Lord Fifth is! As for you, kid, feel free to express your thanks by offering me some wors.h.i.+p. Come, come. Say it with me: Have faith….”

Meng Hao turned, ignoring the parrot and instead looking once again out the window, his eyes s.h.i.+ning with vigilance. He had long since pulled out the good luck charm to see if he could use it.

“It’s too bad I haven’t been able to harness the power of the roc. If I had, then even a Nascent Soul Cultivator wouldn’t be able to keep up with me.” He continued to look out in the direction of the Dongluo Clan.

As time pa.s.sed, however, it seemed that the commotion had died down. No one came to cause trouble, and the Dongluo Clan didn’t seem to be furious. Everything was smoothing over.

This, however, made Meng Hao even more nervous, although what he was worried about wasn’t the Dongluo Clan, but whatever momentous event had led to the current circ.u.mstances.

If something major hadn’t happened, the Dongluo Clan definitely wouldn’t be acting like this.

Three days later, Meng Hao finally understood everything. One of the cities of the United Nine had been taken over after its Spirit Severing Patriarch perished. The Western Desert was controlling the Black Lands Palace; it seemed their goal was to devour all of the Black Lands.

This news swept over the Black Lands like storm winds over the following days. Soon, everyone knew about it….

When the day of the auction arrived, Meng Hao left his room. A cold wind blew outside, and the sky above was filled with dark clouds. It seemed a thunderstorm was approaching.

“The Black Lands are heading towards an upheaval,” said Meng Hao to himself. He looked around to see Cultivators all around him hurrying in the direction of the auction.

The parrot was perched on Meng Hao’s shoulder, looking around proudly as if it knew that one day it would take care of this place once and for all.

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This chapter was sponsored by Matthieu Emery