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

“Three circles to the left, three circles to the right! Shake those b.u.t.ts…. Gaze upon the Immortal Execution spell formation!”

A sound like the rumble of thunder slowly grew louder and louder. Off in the distance, a billowing fog could be seen that covered Heaven and Earth. Within the roiling fog were thousands of huge figures running back and forth, their bodies twisting into strange postures. The sound of it echoed about, and as they ran, it emanated out an indescribable power, such that anyone who laid eyes on the whole sight would be struck speechless.

More than five thousand people were running, causing everything to tremble and shake. The roiling fog seemed to affect everything around it, as if the sky and the land would be sundered. In front of the five thousand running men was a multicolored parrot. It bl.u.s.tered haughtily, its squawks ringing out into the air.

“Come come! Shout out a little louder for Lord Fifth!”

This whole scene completely shook the one thousand Western Desert Cultivators. The eight Nascent Soul experts stared in shock at the bizarre-looking men, and the bird.

As for the white-robed Cultivator from the Constellation Tribe, the bowl in front of him suddenly started to tremble. The turbid waters within began to spill as he stared up at the sight.

As for the Frigid Snow Clan members within the Thorn Rampart, the light from the spell beneath them continued to grow brighter. However, the more than two hundred Cultivators couldn’t help but gasp. Their scalps began to go numb at the shocking scene, and all they could do was stare numbly.

The four Grand Elders gaped, as did Hanxue Bao. Hanxue Shan stared with mouth wide opened, her face filled with disbelief.

Outside of the Thorn Rampart, some of the Black Lands Cultivators within the force from the Western Desert began to cry out in quavering voices.

“That’s… the spell formation of Lord Fifth from the Church of the Golden Light!!”

Immediately, this caused people to understand what exactly this bizarre scene was.

“The Church of the Golden Light!! Patriarch Golden Light!”

Within the Thorn Rampart, the Frigid Snow Clan members were breathing heavily as the voices from outside drifted into their ears. It didn’t take long for them to react. Suddenly, some of the Cultivators began to speak.

“They’re from the Church of the Golden Light?”

The name of the Church of the Golden Light had risen to thorough prominence in the Black Lands recently, and the stories told about Patriarch Golden Light were completely mysterious and fascinating. To see what they were seeing now caused their minds to fill with shock.

None of the Cultivators present were sure exactly why they were here. Meng Hao coughed lightly as he thought about the fame earned recently by the Church of the Golden Light. He looked at the approaching group of more than five thousand Cultivators, all of whom were said to be his own followers.

“Church of the Golden Light!” he cried out. “Hear my orders. Surround the enemy Cultivators outside the Thorn Rampart!” Suddenly, a blinding golden glow erupted out from him, which was none other than light from his Gold Core. It circulated around his body, bathing everything around him with golden light. Anyone who was nearby couldn’t help but see clearly.

As his voice echoed out, and the golden light began to s.h.i.+ne, the Cultivators around him turned to stare at him.

The four Grand Elders’ eyes were wide, and even Hanxue Bao was looking at him with a deep expression.

Even as they stared at him, the five thousand Cultivators flew whistling closer. They heard Meng Hao’s voice, and saw the golden light, whereupon their voices combined with shocking power to cry:

“We shall follow the Patriarch’s commands to the death!!” Five thousand voices roared the words, which reverberated out. The roiling fog followed the five thousand Cultivators as they ran to surround the area. Shocking booming sounds accompanied their running; the sky above grew gray, and the earth quaked. Layers upon layers of fog rose up, within which could be seen towering, phantom figures that bore the appearance of Celestial warriors.

However… their postures were bizarre, and their rear ends shook in an odd fas.h.i.+on. It gave the whole image a very bizarre tone….

The sight of it thoroughly shocked the surrounding Western Desert Cultivators, as well as the Frigid Snow Clan cultivators. They stared in amazement at Meng Hao, their minds reeling. If by this point they didn’t realize who Meng Hao was, then they truly didn’t deserve to even be alive.

“You’re… you’re Patriarch Golden Light!” exclaimed First Elder with a gasp, his face filled with disbelief.

One by one, the Frigid Snow Clan Cultivators began to breathe heavily and utter hushed exclamations.

“Patriarch… Golden Light?!”

“Patriarch Golden Light!”

They knew that the Church of the Golden Light had surged up in recent days amidst the chaos of the Black Lands. It had occupied Dongluo City, and caused quite a headache for the Black Lands Palace. Patriarch Golden Light was a figure of complete mystery; his congregation numbered five thousand, and they could form a thoroughly shocking spell formation.

There was n.o.body in the Black Lands right now who hadn’t heard of the name of Patriarch Golden Light; he was completely famous.

To suddenly find out that Meng Hao was actually Patriarch Golden Light filled them with disbelief.

Hanxue Shan’s eyes were wide; just how many secrets did Meng Hao have? Whether it was his abilities as a Grandmaster of the Dao of alchemy, his power in catalyzing the Thorn Rampart, or his ident.i.ty as Patriarch Golden Light, at the moment, he continued to reveal layer after layer of astonishment.

Hanxue Bao looked thoughtful as he stared deeply at Meng Hao, then clasped hands and bowed.

Seeing him bow, the four Grand Elders and the rest of the Frigid Snow Clan all immediately followed suit, bowing deeply to Meng Hao.

“Senior,” said Meng Hao, “there’s no need for that.” He understood the meaning of the bow; it was a means of thanking him for saving the Frigid Snow Clan.

Booms sounded out continuously from the roiling fog outside. The glow from the spell below continued to grow brighter. It seemed that they would be teleported away at any moment.

“The Frigid Snow Clan will forever remember your great kindness, Fellow Daoist,” said Hanxue Bao. “Neither myself nor the successive generations after me will ever forget you.” Gazing at Meng Hao, he lifted his right hand, whereupon a Thorn Rampart seed flew out. “There is really nothing the Frigid Snow Clan can do to repay you. When we reach the Violet Fate Sect, this seed will be of little use to us. However, on the perilous path which you tread, it might be able to provide you with a bit more protection.”

Meng Hao didn’t refuse. As far as he was concerned, this seed was very important. He was quite sure that he would be able to have his vines consume the seed, or perhaps use some other transformation technique on it. He nodded as he accepted it.

“Senior, and all other Fellow Daoists of the Frigid Snow Clan. Your spell is ready to activate. I will stay here to protect you as you leave. Once everyone has departed, I will destroy what remains of the spell portal. I sincerely wish that you all… have a safe journey!” He had been with the Frigid Snow Clan for around half a year and had experienced quite a bit with them. He had achieved his goals in coming here, so now he would do one last thing in repayment.

Explosions could be heard in the outside world. Countless figures could be seen within the fog, and the blood-curdling screams of the Western Desert Cultivators echoed about. All of this merged together to form into a sort of song of departure. Meng Hao looked over the Frigid Snow Clan members as the spell activated. As the Clan members disappeared, they looked back at Meng Hao, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

These people were no strangers; he recognized the faces of each and every one. Of course, he did not know all their names. But considering how he had defended the city together with them over these months, and had saved them on multiple occasions, it had given birth to a certain camaraderie.

“I will forever remember your kindness, Grandmaster Meng!”

“Grandmaster Meng, I hope that a day comes in the future when we can meet again!”

“Grandmaster Meng, please take care of yourself!”

One by one, the Frigid Snow Clan members disappeared into the teleportation spell. The four Grand Elders gazed at Meng Hao, giving him deep bows. Their expressions were somewhat wistful as they disappeared into the spell.

Hanxue Shan stood there; she did not bow, nor did she speak. She couldn’t prevent the tears from flowing down as she looked at him, and he looked back at her.

They stood looking at each other, separated by the spell, their figures slowly glowing blurry to each other’s eyes.

In the moment before the entire world faded into a blur, Hanxue Shan mustered her courage and spoke out to Meng Hao’s disappearing figure. “Every time it snows, you must think of me.”

Meng Hao knew that she couldn’t see him, but he smiled and nodded nonetheless.

A sigh welled up within Hanxue Bao’s heart, and he shook his head. He was now the only Frigid Snow Clan member left who hadn’t entered the teleportation spell. He looked around at the ruins around him, and then at the churning fog, from within which could be heard both howls of rage and shrieks of misery. All of it suddenly seemed very far away.

“Are you sure you won’t come with us to the Southern Domain?” he projected to Meng Hao.

“I can’t. Thank you for your kindness, senior. I wish you a safe journey.” With a slight smile, he clasped hands and bowed to the disappearing Hanxue Bao.

Hanxue Bao didn’t reply. He closed his eyes as he disappeared. Blinding lights of teleportation shot up into the air, transforming into ripples that emanated out and then vanished.

Meng Hao watched them as they disappeared. After a thoughtful moment, he waved his right hand toward the spell portal. A boom filled the air and the ground shook as the portal shattered, transforming into ash that would never be reformed.

He turned to look at the surrounding fog. Suddenly, a multicolored streak of light appeared. It was the parrot, which flew over to perch on Meng Hao’s shoulder. It was followed by the meat jelly, which was in the form of a hat.

The ground quaked as vines erupted up to surround them. At the moment, Meng Hao’s figure was thoroughly Demonic.

It was at this moment that cracking sounds could suddenly be heard from within his bag of holding. He slapped his right hand, whereupon the coc.o.o.n flew out. The cracks covering its surface suddenly collapsed, and a white larva emerged!

This larva was as white as winter snow. It was the size of a pinky finger, and its entire body was as translucent as crystal. It was not cold, but instead, emanated a strange, shocking power that seemed capable of shaking Heaven and Earth.

The Eyeless Larva!

Its empty eyes emanated a cold light, and as it crashed out from within the coc.o.o.n, it emitted a cry which caused everything to vibrate!

Larvae make no sound. But this Eyeless Larva did!

This was a sound which it would emit only once in its life!

As the Eyeless Larva cried out, shockingly, everything trembled. The Black Lands. The Southern Domain. The Western Desert. Even the Eastern Lands shook.