er 824: Wrecking the Ambush

　　It was a deadly ambush. Meng Hao didn’t even have the time to try and take Li Ling’er and the others out of his bag of holding to use as hostages. Power bore down on him from all sides, and in any case, Fan Dong’er and Zhao Yifan wouldn’t withhold from attacking him because of hostages.

　　In the time it takes a spark to fly up from a piece of flint, a threatening, cold gleam appeared in Meng Hao’s eyes, and he stopped in place. He took a deep breath and then extended his right hand, within which was the sunstone he had acquired. Boundless blinding heat waves instantly exploded out in all directions.

　　Rumbling could be heard, and everything distorted as ripples spread out. The two old Dao Protectors stopped in their tracks, and Zhao Yifan’s eyes exuded a penetrating glow. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into the shape of a greatsword that slashed down toward Meng Hao.

　　At the same time, starlight from Fan Dong’er’s starstone shot out to resist Meng Hao’s sunstone.

　　A mere sunstone was in no way capable of doing anything to stop the combined attack of four experts. All it could do was make them pause for a moment. However, Meng Hao used that moment of time to spin around and transform into a prismatic beam of light that shot toward Fan Dong’er.

　　He moved with incredible speed, and as he closed in, his Dharma Idol appeared and attacked. In the blink of an eye, he exchanged several moves with Fan Dong’er. Meng Hao was shaken, and blood even spilled out of his mouth, but he did not back up. A vicious gleam appeared in his eyes, and he suddenly swung his leg in a kick that screamed through the air like a cyclone. A series of booms echoed out, and Fan Dong’er’s face fell. Meng Hao felt completely different to her than he had before; now he attacked relentlessly, consumed with boundless, bloody fiendishness.

　　Fan Dong’er performed a double-handed incantation, and an enormous conch shell appeared behind her. As the susurrating droning sound of the conch filled the air, Meng Hao produced his beast claw. The image of a black cat materialized, and a piercing screech filled the air as it slashed toward Fan Dong’er.

　　A snapping sound could be heard as the image of the black cat was destroyed. However, the conch also trembled and then exploded. Fan Dong’er gave a cold snort, performed another double handed incantation gesture, and pushed forward. The shattered pieces of the conch then swirled together into a cyclone that shot toward Meng Hao.

　　Fan Dong’er herself backed up rapidly, then faced off against Meng Hao’s second true self.

　　Meng Hao’s expression became even more vicious. Behind him was Zhao Yifan’s monstrous sword Qi. The two old Dao Protector’s killing intent was even more intense than before as they sped toward him. The ripples of power from Meng Hao’s sunstone were now incapable of restraining them in any way.

　　Meng Hao shouted as he relied on the strength of his extraordinary fleshly body to slam head first into the incoming cyclone of conch shell fragments. He became a golden roc that moved with lightning-like speed as he smashed through the cyclone. He came out the other side slashed and bleeding, and before Zhao Yifan or the two Dao Protectors could get near, was speeding in pursuit of Fan Dong’er!

　　Fan Dong’er’s face fell. She had never imagined that Meng Hao could be so vicious. In their previous encounter, she had taken him to be shameless, and nothing more. But in this fight, she could sense an unprecedented level of savagery on his person.

　　Such savagery wasn’t something most people could possess. It was something earned from events that ordinary people couldn’t experience, and that gave rise to incredible power.

　　Meng Hao’s eyes flickered with killing intent. The golden roc’s wings spread as it swept toward Fan Dong’er. Rumbling filled the air as she hastily made a counterattack. A boom rattled out, and blood sprayed from Fan Dong’er’s mouth. She instantly fell into retreat, her eyes filled with hatred as she crushed the starstone she held in her hand!

　　The stone shattered, causing boundless starlight to spread out and envelop Meng Hao. In the blink of an eye, Meng Hao was rendered motionless.

　　Because of that pause, the incoming sword qi from Zhao Yifan… slashed down onto Meng Hao.

　　He trembled as the attack slashed a huge bloody gash down his back, revealing the bones within. Were it not for his powerful fleshly body, and the ripples of the sunstone causing everything in the area to be weakened, that sword would have completely cut Meng Hao in half!

　　Blood sprayed out of Meng Hao’s mouth. In the same moment in which he was slashed by the sword, the two old Dao Protectors closed in from either side. Divine abilities and magical techniques slammed directly into Meng Hao.

　　A huge boom filled the air, and more blood sprayed out of Meng Hao’s mouth. Thankfully, he was well prepared; a mountain range materialized around him, along with the Black White Pearls. The sunstone was weakened, but Meng Hao was not dead. However, he was sent spinning like a kite with its string cut. He flew through the air and then slammed into the ground some distance off. He struggled to his feet, coughing up more blood.

　　“DIE!” cried Fan Dong’er, flickering as she charged toward him. A divine sea appeared around her, within which were countless roaring sea dragons that sped toward Meng Hao.

　　Zhao Yifan’s expression was calm, albeit slightly disappointed. As for the two old Dao Protectors, they approached Meng Hao with cold smiles, clearly intent on cutting him down.

　　Meng Hao’s vision was swimming, and the bronze lamp over his head was dim, and seemed to be on the verge of being extinguished. When he saw that, Meng Hao suddenly smiled coldly.

　　“Second true self…. Devilish will, return!” When his words rang out, the sky and the land began to rumble. The air twisted as his second true self closed his eyes. Immediately, black mist began to pour out of his nose, ears and mouth.

　　Shockingly, it transformed into an enormous head which radiated an indescribable murderous desire as it shot forward. This was Meng Hao’s Devil Construct, formed from the murderous desire that had led him to kill countless enemies.

　　Back when he stepped into Dao Seeking, he had severed it, then fused it into his second true self, having believed that he would never need it again. The Devilish will could make him even more powerful, although the consequences would be immense!

　　It was even possible that it might influence him on a psychological level. In this critical moment, though, it was without hesitation that he took a deep breath, causing the boundless black mist to shoot toward him.

　　It moved with incredible speed, merging into him in the blink of an eye. Instantly, black veins appeared all over his skin. At the same time, an unprecedented murderous aura exploded out from him.

　　This was the aura of a Devil!

　　This was an aura of murder!

　　This was Meng Hao’s previous pinnacle!

　　Countless evil spirits suddenly surrounded Meng Hao, ferocious and savage as they emitted soundless howls. These were the ghosts of all the people Meng Hao had slaughtered.

　　The entire area suddenly became incredibly cold, and filled with fluttering black snowflakes.

　　Meng Hao’s hair whipped around him as his energy rocketed up. A cold mercilessness appeared in his eyes, and he suddenly gave off the feeling that he was a god of death!

　　Fan Dong’er started trembling, and her eyes went wide with disbelief.

　　“Who is this guy?” she thought. “For such a murderous aura to appear all of a sudden, means… just how many people has he killed? Only a powerful expert who has climbed mountains of corpses and swam through seas of blood could have a Devilish, murderous aura like that!”

　　Zhao Yifan’s eyes once again began to shine brightly.

　　The two old Dao Protectors stared in shock, but it was without hesitation that they charged toward Meng Hao, their killing intent even stronger than before.

　　As they closed in, Meng Hao suddenly looked up. Then, he started laughing. A Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex appeared, causing the vegetation and trees in the area to wither. Even the ground began to crack and split.

　　Meng Hao’s energy was still soaring upward, and as his four enemies closed in on him, he rose to his feet and took a step forward. He extended his right hand and used the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex at full power.

　　RUMBLE!

　　The Eighth Hex coalesced all of the murderous aura and Devilish will inside of him. Explosive power caused everything to shake as invisible Demonic qi caused the four other cultivators to instantly stop in place.

　　Meng Hao took another step, and was then standing in front of Fan Dong’er. He raised his right hand and punched Fan Dong’er in the stomach, causing blood to spray from her mouth. Cracking sounds could be heard as three separate jade slips on her person were shattered, as if they took her place in passing away into death.

　　Meng Hao’s face was cold and merciless as his right hand suddenly snaked out to latch onto Fan Dong’er’s arm. He violently wrenched down, and a ripping sound could be heard as Fan Dong’er, her eyes filled with determination, allowed her arm to be ripped off as she herself shot backward at top speed. Meng Hao looked at her coldly, but didn’t pursue. Instead, his body flickered, and he appeared in front of Zhao Yifan. Another punch was sent out, and Zhao Yifan was sent tumbling backward, blood spraying from his mouth.

　　At that moment, Meng Hao raised his hand, holding the sunstone aloft.

　　“Shatter!” he said, his voice raspy. The sunstone shuddered and then exploded, causing a wave of intense heat to billow out in all directions, instantly enveloping Zhao Yifan.

　　Zhao Yifan’s entire body burst into flames, and he let out a muffled grunt, then sped backward at top speed, blood spraying from his mouth.

　　At the same time, Meng Hao delivered a third punch. This punch landed on Li Ling’er’s Dao Protector. Backed by the full power of the Devilish will, his blow caused the old man to cough up blood. He instantly sagged weakly, his expression one of astonishment.

　　As of this moment, it appeared as if Meng Hao had borrowed the power of the Devil Construct to temporarily break past the peak power of the Spirit Realm.

　　He did not land a fourth blow, as his vision had begun to swim. He could recall his Devilish will, but if too much time passed, the effects would be irreversible. It was at this moment that, all of a sudden, a figure appeared off in the distance.

　　“Stay away!!” cried Fan Dong’er, her facial expression flickering. The most important aspect of their ambush had been to restrict Meng Hao’s ability to use his Lightning Cauldron. In addition to using the starstone to suppress it, it was also important that there be nobody in the area that he could switch places with.

　　This was something that everyone understood, and also why only four people were attacking him, while everyone else waited off in the distance, out of Meng Hao’s field of view.

　　As soon as the approaching figure heard Fan Dong’er’s words, it sped backward at top speed. However, Meng Hao’s eyes flickered as he looked at the figure off in the distance; suddenly, the Lightning Cauldron appeared in his hand. Electricity danced, and Meng Hao used Form Displacement Transposition on the distant figure.

　　The instant they switched places, Meng Hao heard a voice speaking in his ear.

　　“Elder Brother Meng, Ji Yin is the one who figured out that you would pass by here.”

　　Meng Hao ignored the voice, almost as if he hadn’t even heard the words being spoken. His eyes were dark, and he almost didn’t seem to be conscious. However, an almost undetectable flicker could be seen in his eyes when he realized that the person he had switched locations with was none other than Fang Donghan!

　　After switching places with him, Meng Hao was free of the ambush. Electricity danced around him as he looked toward the crowds of shocked people off in the distance.

　　He quickly found another target to switch places with. As long as he could see someone, he could switch places, and would not find himself locked down in an ambush like he had been.

　　Because of the repeated use of Form Displacement Transposition, his body was on the verge of collapse, and his Eternal stratum was hard at work. However, because it was still recovering from its earlier depletion, it was unable to provide its previous high-speed regeneration until it had fully been restored. And that, would require time.