Chapter 1469: Conflicts
As soon as the entire group appeared in the necropolis, everyone turned to look at Meng Hao, with the exception of Immortal Bai Wuchen.
The Sect Leader clasped hands and bowed to him.
Meng Hao nodded, his eyes flickering. His purpose in coming to the necropolis this time was clear. He wanted to get to the third land ma.s.s and find the copper mirror shard. As for what everyone else did, he didn’t really care. In fact, he planned to leave everyone behind as soon as possible.
The ideal outcome would be to handle all matters within one month. That way he wouldn’t have to try to weather out the apocalypse with the rest of the group. Suddenly his third eye opened, and he looked out as the ruins around him completely changed.
Without any hesitation, he shot forward. Everyone else began to follow, clearly able to sense the increased coldness in the area. That meant that they were surrounded by countless ghosts, and yet, Meng Hao’s own calm demeanor allowed them to remain completely calm.
Immortal Bai Wuchen had a slightly different reaction; a strange gleam appeared in her eyes as she took everything in. In the end, she looked thoughtfully at Meng Hao.
Time pa.s.sed. Previously, it had taken them two days to get through the perimeter region of the necropolis, but this time, it only took two hours to reach the bridge leading to the first land ma.s.s.
Being familiar with the bridge as well, they were able to make it across much more quickly. After only about another two hours, they were on the first land ma.s.s.
People were starting to get excited to be on the land ma.s.s again. As for Meng Hao, he didn’t even stop. He proceeded along quickly, heading toward where the first land ma.s.s connected to the second.
The Sect Leader could see how anxious he was, but after a moment of hesitation, he said, “Fellow Daoist Ninth Paragon, please wait a moment. There’s no hurry to get to the second land ma.s.s. Let’s give Fellow Daoist Bai some time on the altar to seek enlightenment. There will be plenty of time afterward.”
Meng Hao frowned, then nodded and changed directions, heading directly toward the center of the land ma.s.s. After half a day of speeding along, Bai Wuchen stepped onto the Transcendence Dais. Meng Hao looked off in the direction of the third land ma.s.s, the gleam in his eyes growing more intense.
After seven days pa.s.sed, Immortal Bai Wuchen was still in the midst of seeking enlightenment. That caught Meng Hao’s attention, and yet all he did was glance at her. Eight days pa.s.sed. On the ninth day, Bai Wuchen trembled, and then slowly rose to her feet, a strange look gleaming in her eyes. She glanced over at Meng Hao briefly before looking away.
By the time Bai Wuchen had finished her enlightenment, even the Sect Leader was starting to get a bit anxious. They traveled on for another half day until they were on the border of the first land ma.s.s, where it connected to the second.
In this location, there was no bridge, but instead, a staircase floating in the starry sky.
Beneath the staircase was nothing but a swath of pitch black darkness, from within which echoing roars could be heard.
The Sect Leader looked cautiously at the staircase. “These stairs are even more dangerous than the bridge. We need to--” Even as the words left his mouth, though, Meng Hao opened his third eye.
They had already wasted enough time because of Bai Wuchen, leaving less time for Meng Hao to accomplish his goals, and he had no desire to try to stay in this place to weather the catastrophe. As his third eye opened, he threw his arms up into the air, and then sent divine will out in all directions.
In almost immediate response, countless ghosts on the first land ma.s.s let out shocking howls that the living couldn"t detect. They flew up into the air and then began to rush toward Meng Hao from all directions. Even the ghosts outside of the first land ma.s.s joined in.
Soon, the coldness around them intensified, and cracking sounds could be heard as the ground began to ice over. Endless numbers of ghosts began to swirl around Meng Hao, forming a vortex. Everyone was shocked, especially Jin Yunshan, who s.h.i.+vered and pulled out a bracelet of holding.
Immortal Bai Wuchen’s eyes flickered with a strange light as she looked over at Meng Hao.
“Follow me, Fellow Daoists!” Meng Hao said, pointing forward. His divine will caused the surrounding ghosts to howl as they surrounded Meng Hao and the others and then shot toward the staircase.
Anyone who could actually see the ghosts would have seen what appeared to be a ma.s.sive sea, howling and roaring as it carried the group up the stairs. Because of those innumerable ghosts, even the most dangerous ent.i.ties couldn’t even get close. It was a truly domineering way to cross the land ma.s.s.
It only took a short period of time to fly all the way up the staircase and then land onto the surface of the second land ma.s.s.
As soon as they landed, and before the Sect Leader and the others could even get excited, Meng Hao flew up into the air and looked out at the second land ma.s.s with his third eye. Then he began to issue a calling with his divine will.
The bronze lamp inside of him flickered brightly, and within the endless ruins on the second land ma.s.s, countless ghosts s.h.i.+vered and began to look up. The sensation of the calling coming from Meng Hao caused them to tremble.
“The Emperor is calling to us....”
“The Emperor summons us....”
“That’s the aura of the Emperor....” No one could hear the murmured calls, but rumbling echoed out as the ghosts roared and flew into the air toward Meng Hao.
Meng Hao didn"t slow down at all. Allowing himself to be swept up by all of the ghosts from the perimeter, the first land ma.s.s, and the second land ma.s.s, he began to speed away. As he did, his voice echoed out within the ears of the other members of the party.
“Fellow Daoists, I won’t be partic.i.p.ating in the efforts with the Transcendence Dais. I have a personal matter to attend to on the third land ma.s.s. After you’re finished with your enlightenment, I can return to escort you there.” With that, he began to pick up speed. However, it was in that exact moment that Immortal Bai Wuchen’s body flickered, and she suddenly vanished. When she reappeared, she was in front of him, her hand held up, causing a field of mist to spring up, blocking his way.
“Fellow Daoist Ninth Paragon,” she asked, “the third land ma.s.s is extremely important. No matter what personal matter you have to attend to, it would be best to avoid entering it alone. Why don’t you wait for us to finish our enlightenment, and we can all go together?”
Meng Hao stopped in place and looked at her coldly, his brow furrowing. He had never had any dealings with Immortal Bai Wuchen, and had no grudges with her. And yet here she was, suddenly acting hostile.
He then thought back to how Jin Yunshan had taken action against him in the past, and his eyes flickered thoughtfully.
Feeling a bit irritated, he said, “I don’t care what sensation or perception you’ve experienced. Please don"t forget what kind of person I am. If you don’t provoke me, I won’t provoke you. “
Before anyone else could even respond, Jin Yunshan chuckled coldly in his mind. He truly wanted to ask Meng Hao who had provoked whom last time they came back from the necropolis, and if Meng Hao was currently in a bad mood.
From what Jin Yunshan could tell, Immortal Bai Wuchen must have felt the same thing he had felt last time, something like the will of Patriarch Vast Expanse, which made her decide to try to kill Meng Hao.
The Sect Leader frowned, and was just about to offer an explanation. However, Meng Hao was not feeling very tolerant at the moment, and took a step forward. Immortal Bai Wuchen smiled coldly, performing an incantation gesture with her right hand, causing her cultivation base to erupt into a windstorm that blocked Meng Hao’s path.
“Screw off!” growled Meng Hao, flicking his sleeve. The surrounding ghosts emitted piercing howls as they charged forward, blasting at Bai Wuchen like a tempest. Booms rang out, and Bai Wuchen"s face went pale. She had no choice but to fall back.
As she did, Meng Hao pa.s.sed by, and began to speed off into the distance.
“Sect Leader. Fellow Daoists,” said Immortal Bai Wuchen. “The third land ma.s.s is very important to us being able to endure the catastrophe. Clearly he has his reasons for going there alone. If I don’t go to personally investigate, my heart can’t rest at ease.” Ignoring the rest of the group, she flew in pursuit of Meng Hao.
Her eyes glittered with strange light; as it turned out, Jin Yunshan had guessed wrong. She hadn’t blocked Meng Hao’s path after sensing the will of Patriarch Vast Expanse. The truth was that her real reason for coming into the necropolis was that she was after a certain object located in the third land ma.s.s.
It was something very important to her, and in fact, because of that item, something else in her bag of holding was beginning to emit pulsing fluctuations.
No one knew it, but even if the Sect Leader hadn"t asked for her help, she still would have come into the necropolis. Based on information she had gleaned from others regarding the previous trip, the gains made by the group were significantly greater than in previous attempts.
That meant that she had a much greater likelihood of acquiring that item she wanted. That was also why she had encouraged the group to try to weather the apocalypse on the third land ma.s.s. It was only after arriving in the necropolis itself that she suddenly got a strange feeling regarding Meng Hao.
She somehow had the sensation that his goal was similar to hers, or even the same.
Thus, she took action right away, and even began to chase after him. The Sect Leader’s eyes glittered, as if he had suddenly realized something. Immortal Bai Wuchen was acting completely differently than her usual cool self. Perhaps it had something to do with the Transcendence Dais, although that didn"t seem likely.
After a moment of thought, he flew into the air after her. Next, Jin Yunshan and Sha Jiudong exchanged a glance. They also could sense that something fishy was going on. Instead of worrying about the Transcendence Dais, they flew into the air as well.
As for the other 9-Essences Paragons, including the Second Paragon, they got the feeling that there was something very odd about the third land ma.s.s. However, considering that the most powerful peak 9-Essences experts were going there right now, it was likely that they themselves wouldn"t be able to benefit from anything there. Almost in unison, they began to head toward the second Transcendence Dais in the middle of the second land ma.s.s.