What he saw was a gigantic black tentacle, smooth and glossy, almost whip-like in appearance…. Furthermore, at the very end of the tentacle were a few black leaves.
This was not the tentacle of some beast! It was the branch of a plant!!
Anyone else probably would not realize it, but because of his own situation, as soon as Meng Hao saw it, he knew that this… was…
A Resurrection Lily branch!!
From this single branch, Meng Hao had no problem reaching the conclusion that deep in the black, dark depths of the sea was… an incomparably enormous Resurrection Lily!!
What he was seeing was simply a branch, but it was able to stretch up from deep within the sea; he could only imagine how large and terrifying its main trunk was. The frightening speed with which it moved caused Meng Hao to pant. It could even match up to his war chariot!
Furthermore, Meng Hao knew that the only reason he could get away was that his original position was actually not very far away from the surface of the water. Although it seemed he and the branch had emerged from the water at the same time, the war chariot would have actually been no match for the Lily’s frightful speed.
“How many colors does it have…?” thought Meng Hao, panting. By now, the war chariot had left the black area of the sea. The waters below looked normal, and up ahead, he saw storm winds. Meng Hao knew that he was now near the edge of the Third Ring, and was not far from Seahold.
He took a deep breath and thought for a moment. The sky up above was turning light as he put the war chariot away into his bag of holding. Then his body flashed as he headed toward Seahold at the fasted speed he could muster.
He arrived back at his residence before the sky was completely lit. He sat down cross-legged, his expression dark and unstable. The events of the night had left him quite shaken.
“That flood dragon called itself a Devil. It must have been one of those so-called Sea Devils.
“A black sea. That must be the Second Ring of the Milky Way Sea…. I never imagined that that… a terrifying Resurrection Lily would be hiding at the bottom of the Second Ring!
“Was that… the Dawn Immortal?
“No wonder the Resurrection Lily inside of me was going crazy!
“How exactly are the Third Ring and the Second Ring connected? The Third Ring has Demons with Whitebone Lily seals on them. The Second Ring has Devils that can turn into people, and venerate the Dawn Immortal!
“And then, there’s that Reverend Silverlamp. Where exactly is he…? There are so many mysteries in the Milky Way Sea. First, there was the Underworld s.h.i.+p and then that ancient battles.h.i.+p. And now, the Dawn Immortal has made an appearance!” He continued to think, and a complex expression appeared on his face. However, soon his eyes began glittering brightly.
“Things just keep getting more complicated and dangerous. I need to be even more careful regarding the matter of the 10th w.a.n.g Clan Patriarch. I wonder who is more powerful, the Dawn Immortal or the 10th w.a.n.g Clan Patriarch?” As soon as the question appeared in his mind, he knew the answer.
“Of course it’s the Dawn Immortal!” Although he had no proof, Meng Hao was sure he was right.
He sighed inwardly, then closed his eyes. He ceased focusing on the frustrating matters, and began to meditate.
It was now early morning, and sunlight flickered down onto the sea. The crystalline, s.h.i.+mmering waters surrounded Seahold, which looked like a giant, slumbering beast that was opening its eyes and awakening. Gradually, the city began to bustle with noise and excitement.
Many people came and went, most of whom were not residents of the city. Some came to recuperate or resupply, some came to sell Demon hearts, others left the city to go hunting. People were everywhere.
When Wei Li came to pay respects, Meng Hao opened his eyes. After tidying up a bit, he had Wei Li take him to a shop that specialized in clothing.
He was finally able to put aside the worrisome events of the previous night. The feeling of being a rich person once again conquered all. He even considered purchasing a set of clothing for Wei Li.
Although the quality of the clothing was good, when he saw how it didn’t match her mask, he decided to save some Spirit Stones and not buy it after all.
Wei Li felt a bit wronged, but she didn’t dare to say anything directly to Meng Hao. She could only follow along irritated as Meng Hao flaunted his superiority.
Everyone in the shop was in awe of Meng Hao and his domineering att.i.tude. He walked around with a trail of people following. If he saw something he liked he would simply point, and someone would rush to package it up for him.
“It feels really good to be rich,” he thought. He left the store looking completely different than before. He wore a long robe that was as blue as the sky and emanated ripples of magical force. When the sun fell on it, it looked even more beautiful and delicate.
The sleeves were embroidered with silver dragons, and the materials of the entire garment were harvested from an impressive Sea Demon. It had a variety of built-in functions, and overall, made Meng Hao quite pleased.
He also purchased a gold belt trimmed with violet decorations, as well as some jade pendants. Each and every item was quite expensive. When he walked down the street, the people he pa.s.sed couldn’t help but look at him. Meng Hao let out a long, emotional sigh.
Wei Li walked along behind him, pouting and glaring at his back.
“Alright, let’s go buy a bag of holding!” he said, swis.h.i.+ng his sleeve. Internally, Wei Li gave a cold harrumph. Now that she was more familiar with Meng Hao, little remained of the awe she had felt for him before. Instead, her deepest impression towards him was that he was a haughty moneybags.
When Meng Hao stepped foot into the shop specializing in holding items, his clothing, coupled with his handsome features, plus the obvious domineering air of a rich person, caused everyone in the shop to immediately look over at him with glowing eyes. They knew that a big spender had arrived, and they immediately greeted him.
Meng Hao looked around and then immediately voiced his desire to buy ten bags of holding.
After they left the shop, a bit of hope flickered in Wei Li’s eyes, and she couldn’t hold back from asking, “Senior, why did you buy so many?”
“For fun!” replied Meng Hao earnestly.
Wei Li gaped. She suddenly had the feeling that the person in front of her was not the person who had saved her. He seemed… a different person completely. If he wasn’t a different person, how could there be such a disparity?
Meng Hao cleared his throat, quite pleased at Wei Li’s shock. He patted his bag of holding, then waved his hand and lifted his chin in much the way that Steward Zhou used to.
“Okay, let’s go buy some magic rings!”
In the magic ring shop, Meng Hao’s domineering air once again shocked everyone present, both customers and employees alike. They gaped in astonishment as, in a single breath, he bought three hundred magic rings.
All of the magic rings had a single function; they could self-detonate.
All you had to do was throw one of the rings out, and it would explode. Furthermore, the c.u.mulative force of three hundred explosions would be incredibly terrifying. Such rings were expensive, and the shop didn’t have very many. However, Meng Hao decided to buy however many they did have.
In the end, he could only sigh and leave, shaking his head the entire time. He glanced around Seahold, thinking about how there was nothing here that he couldn’t buy.
It was in such a manner that Meng Hao spent the entire day, with Wei Li leading him around. Soon, word began to spread. Many people were talking about how an incredibly rich fellow had appeared in Seahold.
Soon, evening was falling. Having accompanied Meng Hao all day, Wei Li was a bit tired. However, from Meng Hao’s expression, he didn’t seem to be any more tired than he had been at the beginning of the day. Wei Li could only smile wryly.
“Senior, NOW where do you want to go?”
“Let’s go to the Sun Soul Society’s Demon heart exchange shop,” he said. The day had pa.s.sed in a very fulfilling fas.h.i.+on for him, and he had finally fulfilled his desire to live like a rich person.
He hoped that he could continue to live such a life in the coming days, and it was with completely high spirits that he continued to walk along.
“Senior, you’re going the wrong way, it’s this way,” said Wei Li, looking at Meng Hao a bit grudgingly.
Meng Hao stopped in place and then turned around.
It was evening, and the two of them walked through the city under the light of the setting sun. Meng Hao wore his blue robe, and all ten of his fingers were adorned with rings. He stood straight and tall, looking incredibly impressive; obviously he was rich and respectable.
However, it also was also fairly obvious that he had just recently stumbled into his wealth.
The Sun Soul Society’s Demon heart exchange shop was located in the city center of Seahold. The structure itself was very strange. It was pure white and looked like a skull. Quite a crowd was gathered inside.
Despite the late hour, people continued to go in and out of the shop to exchange their Demon hearts for Spirit Stones to be used in cultivation.
When Meng Hao entered, his heavily bejeweled figure immediately attracted a lot of attention.
Instantly, everyone began to talk about it.
“That guy is….”
“I saw him earlier today. He’s the super rich guy I was just telling you about. He went to the Magic Ring Pavilion and purchased more than three hundred magic rings in a single breath!”
“So, that’s him! I heard that a lot of the shops in Seahold were completely sold out today!”
“Who is he? How could he possibly have so many Demon hearts?!”
Meng Hao’s expression was the same as usual. He entered the shop and looked around, eventually catching sight of a Sun Soul Society disciple. When the man saw Meng Hao looking at him, he quickly approached, clasped hands, and bowed.
“Greetings, Senior. How many Demon hearts would you like to exchange? If it’s a small quant.i.ty, I would be happy to help you. If it’s a large quant.i.ty… well, in that case, I can take you to the second floor, where a Sect Elder will receive you.”
“Second floor, then,” said Meng Hao placidly.
The Sun Soul Society disciple’s eyes began to s.h.i.+ne brightly when he heard this. He quickly transmitted a message to the Elder, at the same time leading Meng Hao toward the staircase.
Everyone watched on enviously as Meng Hao and Wei Li walked up to the second floor. As soon as they arrived, a smiling, white-haired old man walked out.
“I am Sun Yunliang. Greetings, Fellow Daoist.” When he saw Meng Hao’s clothing, and the rings on his fingers, he knew exactly what kind of person he was dealing with. His smile grew even more resplendent, and he said. “Come come, please, follow me.” He led Meng Hao to a chair, after which two maidservants appeared with teapots to serve him tea.
“This is a local specialty, Skysea Tea,” explained Sun Yunliang, smiling. “It grows only in the Second Ring, and there are only seven parent trees that produce it. Please give it a try, Fellow Daoist. What do you think?”
Meng Hao smiled and then lifted the cup up to examine the tea. He took a sip, after which his eyes misted up, and his expression grew radiant. His scholar’s aura suddenly became especially prominent. Despite his current state of luxury, it was impossible to completely block. It was almost like he suddenly became a different person. After a long moment, he put the teacup down. The mistiness in his eyes faded away, and they then began to glow with admiration.
“Ah, the cleansing of disquiets both past and present, the livening of the spirit that can only come from… excellent tea!” said Meng Hao.
Sun Yunliang smiled broadly, and a strange gleam flickered in his eyes. At first glance, he could tell that Meng Hao was newly rich. However, when he spoke of the tea, his entire person emanated a light and pleasant air. The air that Meng Hao now emanated caused the old man to suddenly question his previous judgement.
Wei Li stared in shock at Meng Hao. What had occurred just now yet again caused her to think that she was yet again dealing with a completely different person.
At this point, Sun Yunliang directly asked, “Fellow Daoist, how many Demon hearts did you come here to exchange? The exchange rate today is one low-grade Demon heart for six hundred low-grade Spirit Stones.”
Meng Hao was just about to reply when suddenly, footsteps and voices could be heard coming up the stairs from the first floor.
“Don’t worry, gentlemen. When I, Zhou, make a promise, the results are never disappointing. I can get you seven hundred Spirit stones for one low-grade Demon heart.”
When Meng Hao heard this, he had to bite his tongue to hold back from speaking. He lifted the teacup and took a sip.
Sun Yunliang’s face twitched, and glared toward the staircase.
-----
This chapter was sponsored by Metalduck, Chi Yip, and Harrison Terry