Meng Hao was in the lead, followed by well over a hundred Cultivators. They whistled through the sky in formation; the sight of it was very imposing.

Meng Hao could clearly make out the three fleeing Patriarchs with his Spiritual Sense. They had chosen to flee in different directions. However, their speeds were all different; obviously they were using various secret techniques to go as fast as possible.

“Three directions….” Meng Hao gave a cold snort and then extended his hand to point down at the ground. Immediately a buzzing sound could be heard. No one else could see anything happen, but Meng Hao saw ghost images spring up everywhere, after which vast quant.i.ties of Demonic Qi appeared. It swirled up and rapidly began to coalesce in front of Meng Hao.

In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into two figures. They were indistinct, blurry. The only thing visible was the aura, gradually spreading out. As for everyone else, they saw nothing at all.

Meng Hao’s eyes glittered as he waved his right hand, causing two Blood Clones to materialize in front of him. They moved forward to merge with the Demonic Qi, which was a shocking sight.

This was a technique Meng Hao had come up with earlier. By merging a Blood Clone with Demonic Qi, it would make it both easier to control his Etheric Incarnation as well as simpler to recall it if necessary.

The two Blood Clones’ battle prowess was not equal to that of his true self, but the Blood Clone Demonic Qi combination could explode with incredible power.

If the Patriarchs of the three great Sects were at the peak of their power, they could easily defeat these Blood Clones. However, Meng Hao could see that, with the exception of Patriarch Big-head, they had all sustained internal injuries as well as Cultivation base reduction. Even more importantly, their minds had been shaken. Combine this with their lowered Cultivation base, and they couldn’t be in a weaker position.

Meng Hao was confident that his Incarnations could definitely exterminate them!

Considering the level of his Spiritual Sense he could definitely control both of these Incarnations; if anything unexpected happened, there were other options he could employ to handle the situation. He sent his will into the two Blood Clone Demonic Qi Incarnations and then sent them shooting off in two different directions.

He also split the more than one hundred Cultivators into three groups, two of whom he sent to follow the Blood Clones off into the distance.

Then, he raised his head and locked his Spiritual Sense onto the only of the three great Sect Patriarchs who had a bag of holding: Patriarch Big-head. Followed by around fifty Cultivators, he headed directly in the man’s direction.

“You followed me for days with murderous intent. You destroyed the spell formation of my Immortal’s cave! Do you really think I would let you get away with that!?” Meng Hao’s eyes flashed with killing intent. These people had been courting death, and Meng Hao wouldn’t be softhearted with them.

Most importantly, they had seen something they shouldn’t have! The consequences for them would be death!

Filled with killing intent, Meng Hao shot along at top speed.

Meanwhile, in another location, Patriarch Rubicund was zooming along, his face pale. Currently, he was only able to wield about forty to fifty percent of the power of his Cultivation base. Furthermore, his bag of holding was empty; he had no medicinal pills, no magical items, nothing which he could use to recover.

A feeling of desolation rose up in his heart, which then transformed into intense regret. And yet, how could he ever have imagined that the situation would have turned out so opposite to expectations?

“I have to get out of here. I need to go into secluded meditation and cultivate. After my Cultivation base is recovered, I’ll recruit some more Fellow Daoists to go kill that guy!” His eyes radiated vicious hatred. All he had to do was spread the word about a man who could concoct golden medicinal pills, and there would be plenty of Black Lands Cultivators willing to go after him.

In fact, there may even be some Nascent Soul eccentrics. If that were the case, it wouldn’t matter what superhuman powers the guy had, he would be dead without a doubt.

Suddenly the reflection of a b.l.o.o.d.y glow could be seen in the old man’s eyes. His heart lurched and an intense sensation of imminent crisis filled his mind and heart. He veered off to the side without hesitation.

The instant he s.h.i.+fted his momentum, a b.l.o.o.d.y beam of light whistled past him at high speed. Ripples emanated out through the air as it pa.s.sed, causing Patriarch Rubicund’s face to flicker. His heart pounded; he knew that if he hadn’t evaded at the right time just now, his head would have exploded!

An intense, grim sound filled the air as the rippling pa.s.sed the old man. As the sound emanated out, the red glow in the air exploded.

“SMAs.h.!.+”

The ripples transformed into an intense attack. Booms filled the air as the old man, even in the middle of dodging and retreating, coughed up a mouthful of blood. His face pale, he turned around.

The first thing he saw was a blood-red figure. Its hair was red, its robe, even its skin. It approached slowly, and as it did, the old man could sense an invisible but powerful aura. It was bizarre, but as it emanated out, it transformed into an intense dread.

He couldn’t see this thing’s Cultivation base!

The b.l.o.o.d.y phantom’s eyes seemed to be completely blank, and even more strange, the closer the old man looked, the more he realized it was impossible to tell whether it had cultivated some heretical technique, or was a puppet.

“Who are you, your excellency?” said the old man, sounding frustrated. Were his Cultivation base at the peak of its power, he wouldn’t care, but at the moment, he was seriously injured, with an empty bag of holding. The circ.u.mstances couldn’t be more inauspicious.

The Blood Clone’s eyes suddenly flickered and seemed to come to life. The look in its eyes suddenly resembled that of Meng Hao’s. “Did you really forget me so quickly?” it said. “Didn’t you say you would chase me to the ends of the earth to kill me?”

Great waves of emotion suddenly flickered across Patriarch Rubicund’s face. Without thinking about it, he backed up, his heart racing.

“It’s him…. But… but how could he be using a puppet like this? Is it a puppet, or… could it be… an Etheric Incarnation?” When his thoughts reached this point, his mind began to spin, and the blood completely drained from his face. The technique to form Etheric Incarnations was not something Core Formation Cultivators could master. It was a divine ability that only Nascent Soul Cultivators could employ!

As the old man began to flee, he suddenly heard the sound of running. A black mist appeared as the fifty or more Cultivators arrived, running together according to the parrot’s spell formation.

“Just who is this guy…?” Patriarch Rubicund’s scalp went numb, and his eyes filled with despair and frenzy.

Meanwhile, in another location and a different direction, Patriarch Pockmarks of the Han River Sect was speaking similar words, his face filled with bitterness.

He was surrounded by a red mist, outside of which were fifty Cultivators running in formation. In front of him was a figure dressed in a red robe, with indistinct facial features. The only thing he could make out were two blood-red eyes.

The eyes seemed to contain no emotions at all; they were completely merciless.

Patriarch Pockmark’s face was pale; his Cultivation base was actually the weakest of the three; he was of the late Core Formation stage, but his injuries were severe. Cracks covered his Core, and he could only wield roughly thirty percent of his power.

He hesitated for a moment then said, “Look, all of this is just a misunderstanding. Sir….” Suddenly, a boom filled the air, and the entire area was covered in mist.

Off in another direction, Meng Hao’s face was calm as he shot through mid-air in a band of light. Up ahead of him, Patriarch Big-head’s scalp was numb as he used everything he could muster to fly forward.

Occasionally he would spit up some blood; Meng Hao wasn’t sure what secret technique he was using, but it continued to rapidly boost his speed. Meng Hao followed, frowning. At the moment, he was pus.h.i.+ng forward with all the speed he could muster, but was still unable to catch up. He could only maintain the current distance.

“Just what technique is he using to achieve such speed?” thought Meng Hao, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng. He suddenly waved his right hand out and pointed with his index finger. “Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!” His finger descended, and ghost images sprang up everywhere as a bizarre power shot toward Patriarch Big-head.

As it descended, the man’s expression changed dramatically. However, just a moment later, to Meng Hao’s shock, he spit up a mouthful of blood and used some method to seemingly unfetter his body and shoot forward in a flash.

Meng Hao was visibly shocked.

Patriarch Big-head’s heart trembled. “Dammit! This guy just recently broke into mid Core Formation. He just cultivated Core Qi! How could he be so inhuman? And what technique was it that he just used? It forced me to use a forbidden legacy technique to get away!” His escape had seemed nonchalant to Meng Hao, but in truth, the forbidden legacy technique was self-destructive; his injuries were now even worse.

“I can’t keep doing this,” he thought. “At this rate, he won’t even have to make a move. I’ll eventually just die from my injuries!” Grinding his teeth, he suddenly stopped in mid-air and slapped his bag of holding to produce a grain of pure white rice. He threw it out in front of him.

Flas.h.i.+ng incantations with both hands, he then pointed toward the grain of rice and said, “Luminous rice, transform into a Heavenly army!” His voice was accompanied by a roaring sound which echoed out. The grain of rice transformed into a raging torrent of blackness. Popping sounds filled the air as more than a hundred evil spirits appeared.

Patriarch Big-head’s neck was purple, and his extremely large head was covered with cold sweat. His breathing was ragged as he utilized the technique. His injuries had apparently worsened even further; blood sprayed from his mouth and his eyes filled with viciousness.

At this point, he didn’t hope to slay his opponent, but just to delay him.

Unfortunately, as soon as the hundred or so evil spirits appeared and shot screaming toward Meng Hao, Meng Hao calmly said: “Amateur!”

Suddenly, Core Qi exploded out above his head. The golden Qi transformed into a starscape filled with golden, glowing stars. The light from the stars shot out toward the incoming evil spirits.

A booming explosion echoed out; the evil spirits could do nothing to block Meng Hao. They dissipated along with miserable screams. Patriarch Big-head’s face went pale as he continued to retreat. However, Meng Hao had already lifted up his hand.

Mania poured from the eyes of Patriarch Big-head. Seemingly risking everything, he performed an incantation with his left hand, simultaneously slapping his bag of holding with the other hand to produce a magical item. His heart filled with bitterness, but he knew that he would have to risk it all in this battle in order to have even the slightest chance of making it out alive.