“Four poison pills,” said Meng Hao, his voice grim and his expression unsightly. “I of the younger generation am worried that if I consume this pill, I won’t be able to lead you forward. If the poison takes effect, I will die. If it doesn’t take effect, then how will the elder generation ensure that I can dispel the poison later? Or have you not even considered that?!”

“Of course there is a poison dispelling technique,” said the red-faced old man from the Cold Wind Sect, his face expressionless. “Whether or not you chose to believe is up to you.” In this, he used Meng Hao’s own tactic against him. The complete resolution of all the various matters now rested on Meng Hao.

He stood silently for a moment. As the man had said, the choice to believe lay in him alone. Unfortunately, if he chose not to believe, then the current situation would never be resolved.

Meng Hao’s eyes glanced over the four pills. Three of them he recognized. “This is… a Centipede Dragon Pill. This one is a Frigid Corpse Pill and this is a Blood Withering Pill. As for this one….” The three-colored pill from Lord Revelation was something he had never heard of before. There had been no information about it in the ancient jade slip.

“Patriarch Reliance’s Cultivation base is as high as the Heavens,” Meng Hao muttered to himself. “He should be able to figure it out.” He clenched his jaw, then lifted his hands and put one of the pills into his mouth. It appeared to contain something alive within it, and sure enough, Men Hao felt a searing pain as it slid down his throat. And yet, the pain didn’t cause him to hesitate. His eyes bloodshot, he forced down all of the pills. As he swallowed the pill given to him by Lord Revelation, he looked the man in the eyes.

Lord Revelation smiled the entire time. Meng Hao didn’t hesitate at all. He knew that he had to swallow the pills to allay everyones’ suspicious.

The instant Lord Revelation’s pill entered his mouth, it dissolved into an aura which seeped into his flesh and blood. Seeing Meng Hao swallow the four pills in succession left Liu Daoyun feeling quite pleased.

The ten or more Foundation Establishment Cultivators watched Meng Hao with strange expressions in their eyes. Seeing his resoluteness left them feeling the need to be more vigilant.

Meng Hao took a deep breath. His expression grim, he looked up at the Eccentrics. He said nothing.

“Let’s go,” said the old woman with a nod. She waved a finger toward Meng Hao, then turned into a prismatic rainbow and shot away. The other Cultivators present followed, one by one. Her wave of a finger caused the bag of holding that lay on the ground at Meng Hao’s feet to suddenly transform into a hideous mist spirit. Its body flickered as it wrapped around Meng Hao and then shot into the sky.

Liu Daoyun followed along, looking at Meng Hao with a cold smile.

“You’re dead!” he said grimly.

Meng Hao didn’t reply. He just looked coldly at Liu Daoyun’s twisted face.

“After you take the Patriarchs into the Immortal’s cave, just wait until you come back out. You’re dead for sure. Even if you dispel the poison, I won’t let you go. There’s nowhere you can run to in the State of Zhao. By the way, you're a Reliance Inner Sect disciple, yet you have no choice but to lead people to kill your own Sect’s Patriarch. How does that feel? Liu Daoyun’s malicious words were filled with ridicule.

“You killed Sun Hua over a silver spear. How does that feel?” said Meng Hao coolly, looking down at Liu Daoyun below him. The earth sped past beneath him. This was a speed Meng Hao had never achieved before.

As far as Liu Daoyun went, Meng Hao didn’t care about him at all. But Meng Hao’s words. .h.i.t him like a stick jabbed into a fresh wound. His eyes were red through and through, and he looked at Meng Hao with a matchless hatred; he wished to rip him into pieces. The incident with Sun Hua was the most humiliating thing that had ever happened in his life. In fact, it had ruined any future prospects within his Sect. He had basically been cast aside. Right now, his eyes seemed as if they would shoot flames. He clenched his fists tightly as he glared murderously at Meng Hao.

Seeing Meng Hao’s lack of expression arose a hard-to-describe feeling that threatened to drive him mad. He punched the air with his fist.

Panting, he gritted his teeth for a long moment before saying, “You swallowed four poison pills. I’ll just wait until the poison takes effect. Your body will rot and your heart will be torn apart.”

“Today, you will die beneath my sword,” said Meng Hao coolly, sounding neither happy nor angry. He looked down at the barren mountains whizzing by beneath him, and then at the four mountain peaks of the Reliance Sect off in the distance.

“You sure can talk big,” said Liu Daoyun with a cold laugh and a sinister expression. It seemed he didn’t take Meng Hao’s words seriously at all. “You’ll do that all by yourself? I can’t wait to see the poison kick in!”

After he finished speaking, a booming sound rang out. The group of people had arrived at the Reliance Sect main square. It was deserted, occupied only by fallen leaves, bird droppings and a few animals which scattered in fright.

A fierce wind accompanied the group’s arrival, sweeping clean the Outer Sect square. Seeing the place, Meng Hao’s face flickered with a variety of expressions.

“What does it feel like to see your Sect become like this, Meng Hao?” said Liu Daoyun with a sneer. As he spoke, Meng Hao turned and looked at him, killing intent springing from his eyes. He had already begun moving. He lifted his hand, and fifty flying swords appeared, flying straight toward Liu Daoyun.

“I think this place is the perfect location to bury you in.”

There had been no indication whatsoever that Meng Hao would attack. Even as his words echoed out, the swords were upon Liu Daoyun. His expression changed; he had never imagined that Meng Hao would dare to attack him in the presence of all the Patriarchs.

He shot backward quickly, biting down on his tongue and spitting out some blood, along with a pearl. This pearl was different than the treasures he had used before. As soon as it flew out of his mouth, it began to radiate an intense killing aura. It transformed into a hideous, black demonic face, which then slammed into Meng Hao’s fifty flying swords.

An explosion reverberated out as the demonic face blocked most of the flying swords. However, one flying sword pierced through and continued on toward Liu Daoyun.

Liu Daoyun’s face twisted; he knew that he was in a dangerous life-or-death situation, a critical juncture. He let out a howl, throwing up his arm to defend against the sword. The sword stabbed through his right shoulder, sending blood spraying about. A horrified shriek rang out throughout the deserted Reliance Sect.

Even as the sword stabbed into his shoulder, it suddenly exploded, causing Liu Daoyun’s right arm to disappear into a cloud of blood. Blood also sprayed from his mouth, and he retreated backward, face pale and eyes s.h.i.+ning with fear and astonishment.

Everything happened too quickly, in the s.p.a.ce of time it takes for a spark to fly up. His right arm was destroyed, and his horrified screams still echoed through the air. The Eccentrics from the three great Sects looked back one by one, their eyes cold. This was especially so of the people from the Cold Wind Sect.

Liu Daoyun retreated, shrieking and howling.

“Patriarchs, this guy….”

His expression cold, Meng Hao stepped forward. Even as Liu Daoyun was in the middle of speaking, Meng Hao waved his right hand, and one hundred flying swords appeared, covering the entire square in a ma.s.sive sword rain. It descended upon Liu Daoyun. Liu Daoyun might have been at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, but so was Meng Hao. Furthermore, Meng Hao’s Cultivation was based on the Sublime Spirit Scripture, and he had a golden Core sea. He even has a sliver of Spiritual Sense in his mind. This was more than enough to crush Liu Daoyun. The sword rain whistled through the air. Liu Daoyun had no more time for speaking.

There was a boom, and Liu Daoyun spit up more blood. A glittering light shone in front of him as his crystalline sword defied the might of Meng Hao’s one hundred flying swords. And yet, this in itself caused more injury to Liu Daoyun, who retreated further, howling.

“Patriarchs, save me!”

“Meng Hao, hold your hand!” came a voice from among the four Formation Establishment experts from the Cold Wind Sect. They frowned, obviously unwilling to allow Meng Hao to slay Liu Daoyun in front of all these people. Their bodies turned into beams of light as they sped forward.

“This is between me and him,” said Meng Hao, not even looking at the four Foundation Establishment experts. “Even if the poison takes effect on me right now, I will kill this man!” His expression was filled with murder and resolve.

The person he wanted to kill was Liu Daoyun of the Cold Wind Sect. But there were others present from the three great Sects other than the Cold Wind Sect. They, of course, would not stand by idly and watch Meng Hao be poisoned to death before opening the Immortal’s Cave. They would not allow small matters from other Sects to interfere with their interests.

The others flew forward, blocking the path of the Cold Wind Sect Foundation Establishment experts.

“Fellow Daoist Zhang, there’s no need to pay attention to the trifling matters of Qi Condensation Cultivators. Come, come, we haven’t seen each other for years. Why don’t we chat a bit about the old days?”

“Correct. Brother Chen, we haven’t seen each other for three years. I have a few questions about Cultivation that I was hoping to discuss with you.” The four Cold Wind Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s faces grew livid when they heard all of these words. They were about to speak when suddenly Liu Daoyun let out another horrified scream.

Meng Hao’s fingers flickered in incantation patterns, and two hundred flying swords filled the sky. They descended upon Liu Daoyun with ear-piercing whistling sounds. Meng Hao took another step forward, and flashed an incantation pattern. A Flame Python emerged, several dozen meters long. Its roars reverberated out across the square. Blood sprayed from Liu Daoyun’s mouth as his crystalline sword shattered into pieces. He retreated backward constantly, desperation filling his eyes.

On the other hand, Meng Hao’s eyes shone with killing intent and determination. He flew forward, and a sword appeared in his right hand. It was the wooden sword, and it sped toward Liu Daoyun with unstoppable force.

“Get out of my way!” The faces of the four Foundation Establishment experts changed. They howled and attempted to force their way through to block Meng Hao.

“This man tried to kill me many times. This is a personal grudge. If anyone gets in my way, I’ll kill myself before opening the Patriarch’s Immortal’s Cave!” As his voice rang out, he completely ignored the four Foundation Establishment experts. Without a shred of hesitation, he shot toward Liu Daoyun, the wooden sword outstretched, clearly intending to slay him.

“Patriarchs, save me!!” screamed Liu Daoyun shrilly. It seemed the Foundation Establishment experts were about to attack, when a dry cough could be heard. It came from the old woman. Shock filled the hearts of the four experts, and they instantly stood stock still, their faces pale. The dry cough had slammed into their hearts like a lightning bolt from the Heavens, sending their minds spinning.

“This is too much!” said the red-faced old man from the Cold Wind Sect. He snorted, and a cold look appeared in his eye, which shot out toward Meng Hao. Even as this happen, Lord Revelation let out a hearty laugh. He flicked his sleeve; the cold look that had been shooting toward Meng Hao instantly fell apart.

“You!” said the red-faced old man, his eyes filled with rage.

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This chapter was sponsored by Krystle Rivas