Chapter 823: Ambush!

　　Although Meng Hao had experienced a lifetime of volatile situations, to see Sun Hai from the Church of the Immortal Emperor so quickly change his tone, to put on such a flattering air and to speak such fawning words, caused him to first gape and then sigh emotionally. He suddenly missed the shameful and degenerate meat jelly and parrot.

　　After Sun Hai finished talking, Meng Hao cleared his throat. Although he was actually inwardly pleased, he glared solemnly at Sun Hai and said, “Well aren’t we glib!? Do you really think I’m the type of person who likes to be flattered!?”

　　Sun Hai’s heart began to pound, and he muttered to himself that things were not looking good. In his entire life, he had only met a few people with personalities as strong as this, and he knew that they were the most difficult of all to deal with. He hesitated for a moment, and then Meng Hao suddenly sighed.

　　“However,” Meng Hao said, “considering that everything you said is completely true, I’ll forgive you just this once.” With that, he grabbed Sun Hai by the hair and made to toss him back into his bag of holding.

　　Sun Hai was inwardly outraged. It seemed to him that his hair was on the verge of falling out completely. However, he didn’t dare to struggle, and actually put on a thankful expression.

　　Inside, he was cursing with grief and indignation.

　　After putting Sun Hai away, Meng Hao coughed lightly.

　　“Gratitude etched upon the very heart, filling its every nook and cranny. Every bit of the soul filled with respect. Well said.” Meng Hao looked up into the sky, then flickered into a blur as he headed deeper into the mountains. His expression was the same, but his eyes gleamed coldly as he proceeded along, completely soundless.

　　“Considering the level of dad’s cultivation base, he could have prevented these people from even coming here. This is a trial by fire for me…. Therefore, it won’t exceed the limits of what I can handle.

　　“All those old bastards are actually Immortals. Their cultivation bases definitely exceed the Spirit Realm, but they’ve obviously sealed themselves….” Meng Hao’s eyes glittered as he considered the speculations he could put together with the clues he had.

　　“They don’t dare to unseal themselves… otherwise they would face a complete catastrophe!”

　　One by one, several days passed.

　　Meng Hao would alternate between resting and traveling. When he would encounter pursuers every so often, he would often flee after a bit of fighting. Sometimes he would intentionally show up in order to baffle them and throw off their predictions of where he would be.

　　More days passed. Eventually, all of the injuries he had sustained during his battle with Li Ling’er were healed. The bronze lamp floating above his head continued to burn. By this point, he was able to vaguely sense traces of Immortal might swirling around inside of it!

　　That got him very excited, and fueled his determination to endure for the entire 49 days.

　　“The end is in sight!” he thought. Taking a deep breath, he once again sped off into the distance.

　　Three more days passed. It was evening, and Meng Hao was moving along as usual, when suddenly, he stopped in place, then dashed backward. A ghostly figure was closing in on him, seemingly heading directly toward his forehead.

　　At the same time, a person approached from off in the distance. Every step he took caused the ground to quake, as if he weren’t a person, but rather, some ancient wild beast.

　　He had no hair, and was incredibly well-built. His body emanated incredible pressure, and his eyes seemed to be filled with glittering stars. Blinding, brilliant light swirled around him.

　　These were signs that his fleshly body had been cultivated to the peak. This person… was Fang Yunyi from the Fang Clan!

　　“Sure enough, I find you here,” he said with a proud smile.

　　“Sure enough?” replied Meng Hao, his eyes glittering like swords. The words “sure enough” carried a lot of meaning, and this Fang Yunyi was not unfamiliar to Meng Hao. He was one of the three members of the Fang Clan that Meng Hao had taken special notice of back outside the temple.

　　Meng Hao had complicated feelings regarding the Fang Clan.

　　“I don’t care about your good fortune. What I’m interested in is you yourself!” As he spoke, he rushed forward like the wind, rapidly closing the gap between him and Meng Hao.

　　“Join my entourage… or die!” As he spoke, the heavenly bodies in his eyes grew more apparent, and his energy surged up to the pinnacle.

　　The last word he spoke echoed out like thunder in all directions, causing everything to ripple. Amorphous rifts were torn into the air, and in the blink of an eye, Meng Hao turned into a tiny rowboat in a raging sea. The intense pressure weighing down seemed as if it would crush him at any moment.

　　“Screw off!” said Meng Hao, looking coldly at Fang Yunyi. His simple words rang out as shocking as massive peals of thunder, creating a sound wave that shattered the pressure formed by Fang Yunyi’s invisible energy

　　“Looking to die?!” Fang Yunyi said with a cold laugh. He took a step forward, clenched his right hand into a fist, and then punched out with the energy of a fleshly body that exceeded peak Dao Seeking. Massive power exploded out. Furthermore, a huge, illusory Dharma Idol appeared behind him. It was blurry, making it difficult to clearly make out what exactly it was, but it was clearly humanoid.

　　Meng Hao’s eyes grew colder, and he said nothing further. He strode forward, and the power of his own fleshly body exploded out as he punched out with his right fist, meeting Fang Yunyi’s attack directly.

　　A rumbling boom echoed out as Meng Hao transformed into a roc. The Mountain Consuming Incantation became numerous mountains that linked together into a mountain range that swept across the area. Fang Yunyi’s face flickered, and in the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred exchanges had occurred.

　　Booms rang out, and the air was ripped to pieces. Finally, they both separated. Fang Yunyi’s face was pale, and he was unable to prevent the blood from oozing out of the corners of this mouth.

　　Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever as he prepared to leave.

　　“Stop annoying me!” he said.

　　Fang Yunyi’s eyes were bloodshot, and blue veins bulged on his neck and face.

　　“Heaven Sundering!” he suddenly roared. Rumbling filled the air as the blurry image of the Dharma Idol behind him suddenly became clear. Shockingly, it was a two-headed giant!

　　The giant emanated an archaic aura, as if the Dharma Idol itself had originated in ancient times, and had traveled through time to appear here. The two heads tilted back and a shocking, soundless roar filled the air. At the same time, Fang Yunyi’s energy shifted and became completely different than before.

　　It now possessed a shocking savagery!

　　He roared again as he shot forward, aiming another punch directly at Meng Hao.

　　Meng Hao’s pupils constricted from the sense of grave crisis he felt from Fang Yunyi. His expression was solemn as his own Dharma Idol appeared, an equally shocking giant whose appearance caused everything to tremble. Meng Hao clenched his hand into a fist as he moved to intercept Fang Yunyi.

　　Even as the two of them closed in on each other, the sound of wailing filled the air as a figure appeared, shooting like lightning toward Meng Hao.

　　In addition to the wails of grief, the figure howled shrilly, “Meng Hao!!”

　　The voice was filled with boundless hatred, and its owner was a woman. It was none other than Fan Dong’er, and the wailing did not come from her, but rather… Inky, who was only a few inches behind her.

　　At the same time, two more figures neared. They were older cultivators, one from Mount Sun and the other from the Li Clan. From the method of their arrival, it seemed as if they knew Meng Hao would appear here.

　　Rumble!

　　As the three newcomers neared, Fang Yunyi’s mouth twisted into a derisive smile. Although he looked crude and impetuous, he was actually very capable of crafty scheming. His right fist opened up into a palm that moved to grab hold of Meng Hao’s fist. He was convinced that all he had to do was delay Meng Hao for a few breaths of time, and he would be defeated.

　　At this critical juncture, Meng Hao’s eyes flickered. His right index finger pointed out as the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex was unleashed. Demonic qi swept about, and Fang Yunyi trembled. His face fell as he realized he was suddenly completely locked in place.

　　Next, Meng Hao touched the tips of his five fingers together to form the shape of a mountain. A vicious expression could be seen on his face as his hand stabbed directly into Fang Yunyi’s palm.

　　At the same time, his Dharma Idol roared as it slammed into Fang Yunyi’s Dharma Idol up in midair.

　　Rumbling filled the air as mountains crumbled. Blood sprayed out of Fang Yunyi’s mouth. Shock filled his face, but before he could retreat, Meng Hao turned into a roc that slammed into his chest. A cracking sound could be heard, and Fang Yunyi’s face fell. It felt like a star was slamming into him. Even as his breastbone shattered, Meng Hao unleashed the Blood Demon Grand Magic, which began to suck away at Fang Yunyi. At the same time, his second true self emerged and shot toward Fan Dong’er.

　　Meng Hao was now borrowing the strength of Fang Yunyi’s fleshly body to replenish himself. At the same time, he endured the powerful incoming attacks from the two old cultivators.

　　A shocking boom could be heard, and Meng Hao coughed up a mouthful of blood. Fang Yunyi let out a miserable shriek as his body withered up. He was just on the verge of passing into death when Meng Hao tossed him into his bag of holding and then began to speed off into the distance.

　　The Lightning Cauldron appeared, crackling with electricity. He was just on the verge of using its powers when suddenly, a beam of starlight appeared. The electricity was snuffed out, and Meng Hao’s Form Displacement Transposition failed!

　　Shockingly, Fan Dong’er held a chunk of starstone in her hand, which radiated glittering starlight.

　　It was in that moment that a shocking beam of sword qi shot down from up ahead, heading directly toward Meng Hao. That was none other than Zhao Yifan.

　　“So, somebody figured out that I would pass by this way, and… they set up an ambush!” Were Meng Hao unable to put the pieces of this puzzle together, he would never have been able to rise to prominence in the lands of South Heaven.

　　The flame in the bronze lamp above his head was still burning, but was much weaker than before. It looked like it might wink out at any moment. Furthermore, Meng Hao was in a very difficult position. Not only was everyone attacking him all at once, but at this time he was also the more seriously injured than he had been this entire time.

　　There was sword qi blocking his path forward, which came from Zhao Yifan, who stood there looking like a sword Immortal. Behind him was Fan Dong’er, who was tangling with his second true self. Her eyes radiated killing intent, and the sea of stars surrounding her surged toward Meng Hao to smash him.

　　On the left and right respectively were the two old cultivators. Their faces were cold and grim, and their sealed cultivation bases gave them power similar to false immortals.

　　Meng Hao was surrounded on all sides, and was the target of a deadly attack that would surely kill him!

　　Starlight filled the area, restricting the airspace completely and sealing his surroundings.

　　At the same time, Ji Yin from the Ji Clan sat cross-legged on a nearby mountaintop, surrounded by boundless, swirling Karma that made it difficult to make out his appearance.

　　However, his eyes obviously glowed with merciless coldness, piercing out through the layers of Karma to look… at the bronze oil lamp hanging over Meng Hao’s head.

　　“That lamp… does not exist within Karma,” he murmured. An unprecedented burning fervor gradually appeared within the coldness of his eyes.

　　“The main reason I came to the lands of South Heaven was because I could sense through Karma that there was an object here clearly connected to me by destiny!

　　“This Meng Hao is extraordinary, but that destiny… belongs to me!”