Chapter 164: That Bird’s Aura…
The spot between Han Bei’s eyebrows glowed with a violet light. Panting, she shot into the air after one of the pages. Meng Hao also leaped into the air, moving with as much speed as he could muster after the other page.
They flew up simultaneously and in different directions, dodging in and out of the lightning in pursuit of the jade pages. Just as each person was about to lay hands on their respective pages, the meat jelly, which had been observing them this whole time, suddenly sprang into action.
It’s movement caused Meng Hao’s expression to flicker and Han Bei’s face to fall. Both of them were filled with fear.
The object itself wasn’t dangerous, but it seemed to enjoy jumping onto peoples’ heads, and then consuming lightning. In other words, its arrival heralded the onslaught of a sea of lightning!
“Dammit!” said Meng Hao, his eyes narrowing when he saw the meat jelly heading toward him. Han Bei, who was moving in a different direction, breathed a sigh of relief.
Keeping his eye on the meat jelly, Meng Hao grabbed the jade page and then shot backward as fast as possible. He caused the lightning mist to withdraw; it might be an effective tool to threaten others in this place, but would only serve to attract the meat jelly, and thus, more lightning. Unfortunately, it seemed he had acted too slowly.
He shot backward as fast as possible, but the meat jelly was clearly very persistent. In a flash, it was in front of Meng Hao. It shot downward, and appeared to be just about to land on Meng Hao’s head.
Before it did, and before Meng Hao could even do anything, the meat jelly suddenly trembled. The face of the old man appeared on its surface once again. His eyes were wide open, and his expression was one of both disbelief and disgust. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and spoke.
“Dammit! Dammit! How come you have that d.a.m.n bird’s aura on you?!” It hopped backward through the air as if it was completely disgusted with Meng Hao and wouldn’t even come near him. It flew back up and then suddenly vomited, as if it had just seen something so disgusting it was painful.
If that were all, then it wouldn’t be a big deal. But then a flash of light could be seen as the meat jelly suddenly appeared in front of Han Bei. She watched in shock as it gulped down the jade paper in a single bite.
It started to chew, and when she saw this, Han Bei’s scalp grew numb. She could do nothing but move backward.
“Gross, gross, gross….” said the face on the meat jelly, its expression twisted as it looked over at Meng Hao. It looked as if it was scared to even get close to him.
Meng Hao had a strange expression on his face as he looked at the retreating meat jelly. He glanced at horrified Han Bei.
She was silent for a moment, and then said, “Congratulations on acquiring the Time refining technique of the Han Clan, Fellow Daoist Meng. There are three jade pieces in total, but each page has a technique that can be used by itself.” A complicated look appeared in her eye. Suddenly, the lightning in the area began to roar.
It rapidly increased in intensity, each and every bolt br.i.m.m.i.n.g with the fierce intensity it had at the beginning. The hour time period had pa.s.sed. As of now, a lack of lightning-repelling objects equated to certain death and transformation into flying ash.
The sheets of lightning made Meng Hao’s expression fall. Han Bei also looked shocked.
“You acquired the object, so it’s yours, Brother Meng,” said Han Bei hurriedly. “I will lay no claim to it. But I must ask you to take care for it well. Please do not lose it. Next time we meet, you must give me a copy. That was our agreement.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she slapped her bag of holding. A violet Feng Shui compa.s.s appeared in her hands. It flashed, and then her body disappeared as she was teleported away. In that same instant, however, the meat jelly shot forward, borrowing some of the teleportation power to also leave the world of the cauldron.
Meng Hao looked around at the vast fields of lightning, and then immediately pulled out the violet Feng Shui compa.s.s, which he had examined closely earlier. He poured Spiritual Sense into it, activating its teleportation power. In an instant, he was teleported away from the world of lightning.
When he reappeared, the sky above was dark, and the earth was trembling. Booms echoed out everywhere, and his Dao Pillars were instantly unstable. He immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered forward a few paces. He looked around.
He was in the wide plain, not far from the place where he had met up with Han Bei initially. He took a deep breath. Han Bei hadn’t been lying; the Feng Shui compa.s.s did what she said it would.
He lifted his hand, within which was the good luck charm. He was just about to pour some Spiritual Sense into it and leave this bizarre Blessed Land, when suddenly a ma.s.sive tower began to rise up from the earth off in the distance. Everything shook, and roaring filled the air.
He could see that this pillar was like a tower, and it emanated an aura. The aura was not that of Core Formation or the Nascent Soul stage, but of Foundation Establishment!
This was the the Hundred Spirits Tower, constructed with the Dao Pillars of over two hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators!
Meng Hao sucked in a deep breath when he saw the Hundred Spirits Tower. Surrounding the tower were phantom figures of hundreds of Cultivators. They emitted shrill howls which merged together into a powerful sound of grievance. The sound rose up into the heavens, causing everything to be dark.
From various directions, ten or so freshly acquired Dao Pillars flew through the air toward the tower and melded into it. The power spreading from the tower grew even more intense.
“I suppose the rest of the rogue Foundation Establishment Cultivators who came here are all dead….” He was silent, struck by the extent of the Black Sieve Sect’s plotting. His Dao Pillars trembled inside of him. Were they not Perfect Dao Pillars, he wouldn’t be able to keep them under control.
“I can’t stay here any longer….” he thought. However, it was at this time that he c.o.c.ked his head and stared off into the distance. His eyes glittered slightly, and he decided not to leave. Instead, he flew up and off into the distance.
He flew for the s.p.a.ce of about ten breaths before stopping. There below him in the plain, he saw a group of four Cultivators sitting cross-legged in meditation. Around them circled a protective spell which seemed to be resisting the power of the Hundred Spirits Tower.
One of them, was none other than Lu Tao!
Meng Hao watched on as one of the four people coughed up some blood. His body suddenly exploded, and an illusory Dao Pillar flew out of him off into the sky.
After that, another Cultivator began to tremble. His eyes snapped open and he stared at Lu Tao. He laughed bitterly. “You despicable….” Before he could finish, his body was torn to pieces as his Dao Pillar flew out. The third person’s face grew pale as his body also was torn to shreds. His Dao Pillar flew off into the distance.
However, the death of these three people made the protective spell many times stronger than it had been just now. Lu Tao sat inside pale-face, gritting his teeth with dogged will. The power of this spell was the only thing resisting the gravitational force outside.
Meng Hao looked down. He could see clearly that the three Cultivators had been under Lu Tao’s control. In reality, their Dao Pillars had been blood sacrifices to protect Lu Tao. Their deaths had simply bolstered his spell.
Meng Hao, his face placid, descended toward Lu Tao. He landed next to the spell, looked down at Lu Tao, and gave a dry cough.
Lu Tao began to tremble. When he opened his eyes and gaze upon Meng Hao, a look of shock covered his face.
“So, it’s… Fellow Daoist Meng….” His face was pale, his voice anxious as he looked at Meng Hao.
“Nice spell,” said Meng Hao coolly. He spoke neither quickly nor slowly, but his words caused Lu Tao to feel extremely alarmed. From his perspective, it seemed that Meng Hao wasn’t being affected at all by the gravitational force.
“Fellow Daoist Meng, what… what do you want?” His heart was filled with deep anxiety. If Meng Hao interfered with the spell, then it would be broken. He could imagine what the gravitational force would do to him after that; his body would shatter and his Dao Pillars would fly into the sky to join all the others in the enormous tower.
“Tell me what the Thunderclap Leaf really does,” he said calmly, looking at Lu Tao within the spell.
“I already told you, Fellow Daoist Meng,” he blurted, growing even more nervous. “The Thunderclap Leaf….” Before he could continue, Meng Hao reached out and pushed down on the spell circulating around Lu Tao.
As he did, the spell trembled, and a small crack appeared on its surface. Terror flashed onto Lu Tao’s face.
“Stop, Fellow Daoist Meng, please… I’m not deceiving you. The Thunderclap Leaf really can…”
Meng Hao gave a cold snort and then pushed down again. A boom sounded out, and seven or eight more cracks appeared within the spell. Lu Tao could suddenly feel even more of the gravitational force that existed in the outside world seeping inside. His Dao Pillar trembled unstably. His scalp went numb; he was currently scared out of his wits.
“Thunderclap Leaves are rare in the Southern Domain,” he gushed, talking as fast as he possibly could. “Special techniques exist which can imbue them into magical items to increase their lightning power! Fellow Daoist Meng, listen to me, I have a jade slip here as evidence. Just read the technique in the jade slip and you’ll receive enlightenment!!” He produced a jade slip which he showed to Meng Hao. His entire body trembled, and a look of entreaty appeared on his face. His words sounded sincere, as if he weren’t concealing anything.
“Still trying to fool me?” A cold light gleamed in Meng Hao’s eye. His right index finger stabbed into the spell. A boom rippled out as more cracks filled the spell. There was even a wide hole in one place. The gravitational force poured in. Lu Tao’s face twisted and he coughed up some blood. It looked as if his body would explode at any moment.
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This chapter was sponsored by William Porter