Dongluo City’s three Nascent Soul Elders stood there fuming, gnas.h.i.+ng their teeth. The hundreds of Cultivators outside of the fog still hadn’t left, and were able to clearly see what was happening. Strange expressions covered their faces. Without any sort of consultation, they had all come to think the same thing: Meng Hao was someone to be intensely feared.

After a long moment, First Elder let out a long sigh and said, “Let all of our Clan members free and you can have the city, okay?!”

The dozens of Meng Haos all smiled. None of them spoke or moved; they simply looked at the three Nascent Soul Elders.

Not an ounce of respect for the Nascent Soul Cultivators could be seen in their gazes. Meng Hao didn’t need to respect them. During his battle outside the Rebirth Cave, he had fought against more than ten Nascent Soul experts. There was nothing about them that he found awe-inspiring.

Even more importantly, Meng Hao was supremely confident that if he put on the blood-colored mask, although he would still not match up to them completely, he would definitely be able to fight back.

The First Elder said nothing for a while, but then let out a bitter laugh. He lifted his hand up and then smacked it down hard onto his chest. His body trembled as he spit up three consecutive mouthfuls of blood. With each mouthful, his aura grew weaker. By the end of the process, his Cultivation base was reduced by half.

Even though he was still of the Nascent Soul stage, his actual battle prowess was now at almost exactly the same level as the great circle of Core Formation. It would take him months to recover fully from such a state.

After a moment’s silence, Second Elder sighed. He knew there was only one thing he could do; there were no other options available. He also delivered a palm strike to his own chest. After coughing up some blood, his face grew listless.

Third Elder glared venomously at Meng Hao for a moment, then took a deep breath. He also inflicted self-injuries. As he coughed up blood, his Cultivation base sank.

“Now do you trust us?” said First Elder coldly, wiping the blood from his mouth.

One of the dozens of Meng Haos gave a shy smile. Nodding, he tapped his bag of holding. Even as he did so, the First Elder’s eyes filled with a gleaming light; he suddenly opened his mouth and spit out a beam of light.

This was Nascent Soul Aura, similar to Core Qi. However, in terms of level, it was the Heavens and Core Qi was the Earth. This Nascent Soul Aura was red in color and was vastly more intense than any naturally occurring red glow in Heaven and Earth. It wasn’t very dense, but carried a brilliant l.u.s.ter. In an instant, it appeared in front of Meng Hao, then spread out to cover everything.

The glow disappeared in the blink of an eye. As it did, the Meng Hao who had been tapping his bag of holding, as well as all of the other Meng Haos in the area, were destroyed. However, what fell to the ground was not blood and flesh, but fog.

The sight caused the Nascent Soul Cultivators’ faces to grow even more unsightly. They had used every method at their disposal, but the prudence and deviousness of Patriarch Golden Light defeated them at every turn.

“Of course the one tapping the bag of holding wasn’t really me,” came a voice from the fog. The fog churned, and Meng Hao strode out. “Seniors, I know that my clones look transparent to your eyes. The fact that you mistook the clone for the real me is my fault, I guess. Oops.”

He waved his hand, causing hundreds of streams of medicinal elixir to fly out. They shot directly toward the bound Dongluo Clan members, fusing into their bodies through their foreheads.

“This poison is really harmless,” said Meng Hao with a smile. “It’s not fatal, nor will it affect the Cultivation base. Let’s just say it’s there as… insurance.” He stepped to the side, and a path opened up in the fog which led to the outside. The fog unwrapped from the hundreds of Dongluo Clan Cultivators, releasing them.

The three Nascent Soul Elders stood there with angry expressions on their faces, glaring at the single Meng Hao, unable to tell whether he was a clone or not.

After a long moment’s silence, they started walking. When they pa.s.sed him, Meng Hao continued to smile just as before. Suddenly, they stopped and turned their heads to look at him.

“Don’t worry. The city is yours,” said the First Elder, his tone sincere. “The Dongluo Clan doesn’t want it anymore. The chaos of war grips the land, and the Dongluo Clan is now too weak to put up a fight. We will go into hiding. However, if any of our Clan members are harmed by your poison, then the three of us will exterminate you, even if we die in the process!” Having finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve and walked off.

Meng Hao continued to smile the entire time. He watched everyone leave, then suddenly lifted up his right hand. There in his palm was the Li Clan Patriarch. Almost at the exact same time that the Li Clan Patriarch appeared, a lightning bolt suddenly appeared in the blue sky above. It shot down, slamming onto the Li Clan Patriarch’s soul.

“Curse you, you G.o.dd.a.m.ned….” Before the old man could continue with his cursing, Meng Hao put him back into the blood-colored mask.

Meng Hao’s movements just now had been as smooth as floating clouds and flowing water; he was quite proficient now.

The three Nascent Soul Elders looked back. When they saw the lightning fall, and then Meng Hao’s actions, their faces sank and they sighed inwardly.

It was now obvious that the Meng Hao they had just walked past was the real one.

The entire Dongluo Clan left, hundreds of people. They departed what had once been their Dongluo City, leaving it completely and thoroughly empty.

No one knew where they left to. It was only known that several days later, they issued a proclamation in the Black Lands announcing their secession from the United Nine.

The news spread through the Black Lands like storm winds. Furthermore, the name of Patriarch Golden Light rose to complete prominence thanks to their battle.

The Dongluo Clan having been replaced, Dongluo City was renamed Peac.o.c.k s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g City. This rocked the Black Lands, after which many parties made various investigations and inquiries. In the end, it didn’t matter; the Church of the Golden Light was now firmly established as a power.

Local Cultivators rushed to live in Peac.o.c.k s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g City. Soon, the Church of the Golden Light was over 1,500 men strong. By now, they were more powerful than the Dongluo Clan had been, with the exception of the three Nascent Soul Cultivators.

The city itself was fully repaired. The style was different from what Dongluo City’s had been, though. The renovated Peac.o.c.k s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g City radiated the style of the parrot; it was now bright and colorful!

Meng Hao handed everything over to the parrot as he prepared to go into secluded meditation. All aspects, the city walls, the protective spell formation, all began to resemble the gaudy colors of the parrot.

In regard to the burrowing vines, Meng Hao planted some here, whereupon they became one aspect of the city’s defense system.

Anyone who joined the Church of the Golden Light was allowed to live in the city. Of course, the Church of the Golden Light was not a Sect, so as more people arrived, the city was no longer truly a city, but rather, a temple!

Meng Hao channeled a spring from a local river, which he then transformed into a cistern. After adding some medicinal pills, it turned into another medicinal elixir cistern. This became the root of the entire Church.

The green leaf spell formation had been defiled by the parrot. After becoming the master of the city, the parrot didn’t get rid of it, though, but rather, came up with some methods to repair and upgrade it. Now the spell formation could emit crus.h.i.+ng pressure.

Also, it was now… multicolored.

The interior of the city was arranged as before, into three levels. There was only one residence on the third level. That was where Meng Hao currently sat cross-legged in meditation. In front of him was the small black jar which he had acquired from Big-head, the legacy item from the League of h.e.l.lfire from the Fourth Mountain.

He had been studying the item for several days. He very much wanted to be able to use it with the same seemingly miraculous speed that Big-head had. The idea was very intriguing.

He rubbed the surface of the jar and then suddenly, information regarding a divine ability popped into his mind. “Bloodburst Flash…?” he said lightly. “Use the power of flowing blood to achieve dramatic speed increase.”

Meng Hao’s eyes glittered as he lifted his hand to rub the roc scale on his forehead. No matter how he tried, he had been unable to employ its power a second time.

Several days later, just as Meng Hao had finished cultivating the art of the Bloodburst Flash, Big-head solemnly delivered a jade slip to him. He scanned it with Spiritual Sense, whereupon his eyes began to gleam.

Meng Hao had sent Big-head to make some inquiries throughout the Black Lands to find out where Frigid Snow Larvae existed. Such larvae were rare, but not mythical. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Big-head to acquire the necessary information.

“Holy Snow City….” said Meng Hao with a soft sigh, gazing at the jade slip. A slight smile spread across his face.

There was only one place in all of the Black Lands where Frigid Snow Larvae could be found. It was none other than one of the cities of the United Nine, Holy Snow City!

The city belonged to the Frigid Snow Clan, a Clan that was much more powerful than the Dongluo Clan. Their Spirit Severing Patriarchs had ensured their continued existence for many years. In fact, in the past, they had even occupied the most prominent position within the United Nine, with three Spirit Severing Patriarchs!

Unfortunately, recent years had seen quite a decline in their power. They now only had one Spirit Severing Patriarch. According to rumor, this final Patriarch was reaching the end of his life, and rarely appeared. He was now the Dao Reserve of the Frigid Snow Clan.

Apparently, only direct blood descendants of the Clan could acquire a Frigid Snow Larva along with the method to raise it. Most importantly, the moment after coming to life, the Frigid Snow Larva would bond a master. That bond could never be altered. When the master died, the larva would also die.

Meng Hao put away the jade slip. The Frigid Snow Larva was related to his ability to transcend tribulation, and he definitely needed one. After some mental deliberation, he rose to his feet and left his residence. As he looked out at the riotously colorful city, he felt a bit dizzy.

The parrot soared excitedly through the air, followed by three listless Scarlet Peac.o.c.ks. From below drifted up chanting regarding having faith in the Lord Fifth to gain eternal life.

As for the meat jelly, it was finally able to begin preaching to the thousands of members of the church. Currently, it was looking solemnly at a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, ignoring the trembling look of despair on his face as it enthusiastically described the beauty of a sunset from many years in the past.

Meng Hao watched on for a bit and then sighed. It looked to him like the Cultivators in the city were very different than they used to, thanks to the parrot and the meat jelly. After a moment’s thought, he turned, transforming into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

When the parrot saw him leaving, it suddenly got very excited.

“Taking off, eh? Hahaha! Lord Fifth will now enact a plan that has been a long time in the making. Come come, children. Lord Fifth will now teach you a second Celestial spell formation. This one is called the Immortal Execution Formation!” The parrot slapped its chest with its wing, its voice roaring out with excitement. “This formation can shake the Heavens and rock the Earth. Employing it isn’t dangerous at all, and won’t hurt you in the least bit. Lord Fifth was definitely not screwed over by my own spell formation nine times in the past! Therefore, you all have nothing to worry about!”

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This chapter was sponsored by Hein Haugeberg