Chapter 804: Debts Must Be Repaid!

　　The Ji Clan members glared furiously at Meng Hao, their eyes brimming with killing intent. For years on end, no one had ever dared to crash through the Ji Clan’s gate. Well… except for a certain husband and wife.

　　Now, Meng Hao was the third person to do so.

　　“What a pack of lies!” a voice said from among the Ji Clan members. As the same time, a surge of energy burst out, accompanied by three older clan members. They moved with incredible speed, and were in front of Meng Hao in the space of one breath. Their cultivation bases emanated the shocking power of Dao Seeking, and even as they arrived in front of Meng Hao, they snorted and launched attacks.

　　They knew Meng Hao was extraordinary, which was why they joined forces to attack in unison. Everything trembled violently, even the sun and moon. The illusory image of an altar appeared which rumbled toward Meng Hao, exuding incredible pressure.

　　“For the sake of your parents, we won’t kill you today, but that doesn’t mean we’ll let you off without teaching you a lesson!” The ground quaked as the altar descended toward Meng Hao.

　　Meng Hao’s expression was calm. He smiled and glanced at the incoming altar, then suddenly clenched his fist. Even as his punch sailed through the air, the Ninth Mountain materialized, which then slammed into the altar.

　　A huge boom rattled out and the altar was sent spinning backward. The Ninth Mountain floated there, emanating shocking pressure, and most shocking of all, surrounded by swirling Immortal qi. The three Ji clan members staggered backward, blood oozing out of their mouths, their faces filled with shock.

　　In the same moment that they fell into retreat, seven more older clan members flew up into the air. They also joined forces, shoving their hands down from above to summon an enormous lake. There were fish swimming to and fro within the lake, one of which leapt out and transformed into a red dragon that roared and headed toward Meng Hao.

　　Meng Hao lifted his foot up and took a step forward. The ground quaked as a massive force rippled out in all directions. The three Dao Seeking experts coughed up blood and fell back once more, astonishment written on their faces.

　　As for the seven old clan members who had summoned the red dragon, blood sprayed from their mouths and they tumbled back through the air like kites with their strings cut.

　　Then there were the ordinary clan members, whose faces fell as they felt themselves being shoved back violently, their bodies completely beyond their own control. They looked over in shock at Meng Hao, who stood there, towering above everyone.

　　The people on the outside continued to watch with wide eyes and gaping mouths. To them, Meng Hao looked like a Paragon, standing there unmatched and invincible!

　　“Debts must be repaid!” Meng Hao said, walking forward again. “It’s a law of Heaven and a principle of Earth! If you renege on your debt, then I’ll just have to come take it myself.” As he advanced, the Ji Clan members were forced to fall back. It was almost like they couldn’t even control their own bodies, and were literally being forced back by an incredible power.

　　One of their number was a young man who suddenly felt an incredible force wrapping around his body. He was suddenly hauled out from the other Ji Clan members and pulled directly in front of Meng Hao.

　　It was Ji Xuelin.

　　“Meng Hao, you’re pushing things way too far!” he cried shrilly, glaring furiously at Meng Hao. He looked like he was about to fly into a rage, but inwardly, he was trembling. Even as the words left his mouth, he braced himself for something horrible to happen. However, he had no choice but to speak such words; after all, this was the Ji Clan, and if he didn’t say something, how could he possibly hold his head up in front of his fellow clan members?

　　“You owe me money, and I’m here to collect! How is that pushing things too far?”

　　In the face of all the nearby Ji Clan members, Meng Hao grabbed Ji Xuelin’s bag of holding and opened it up. He frowned.

　　“You barely have more than 1,000,000 spirit stones? How could that be!?” Meng Hao’s tone turned stern. “Ji Xuelin, that’s simply not enough. Okay, let me see…. you owe me 7,650,000 spirit stones….” He reached out, stuck his hand into Ji Xuelin’s robe and started to loosen it.

　　“Meng Hao! Y-y-you….” Ji Xuelin let out a roar. Meng Hao had just snatched away his bag of holding, and then taken away some of his other personal belongings. After that, shockingly, Meng Hao began to disrobe him! This caused Ji Xuelin to be frightened out of his wits, filled with unprecedented terror and astonishment.

　　“Y-y-you… what are you DOING!?!?”

　　He wasn’t the only frightened one. The other Ji Clan members looked on with wide, disbelieving eyes as Meng Hao pulled Ji Xuelin’s robes off.

　　“You owe me money! These clothes are pretty nice. I bet I could sell them for a few spirit stones.” Meng Hao put the robes away and then looked at the shivering Ji Xuelin. Finally, he heaved a sigh of pity.

　　“If I had known things would turn out this way,” Meng Hao said, shaking his head sympathetically, “I would have done things differently back then. Ah, young people. You shouldn’t write promissory notes so easily, you know? I hope that in the future, you keep that in mind. Turn over a new leaf!

　　“Although, don’t forget that you still have to pay me back what you owe me. This little bit today can just be considered interest.”

　　Ji Xuelin let out a mighty roar, and then coughed up a mouthful of blood. He was so enraged that he then passed out and flopped over onto the ground, although it was hard to say whether it was real or an act….

　　It was at this point that a cold snort echoed through the air. A shadow passed over the mansion, and an incredibly cold aura spread out. Boundless killing intent roiled through the air as an enormous black hand appeared up above. Rumbling pressure weighed down in all directions, transforming into the power of peak Dao Seeking. As Meng Hao looked up, the hand descended toward him.

　　Just barely visible behind the huge hand was an old man wearing a black robe. He was thin and emaciated, and emanated an aura of decay and rot, as if he had just climbed up from a grave.

　　“You don’t qualify to run amok in the Ji Clan!”

　　Rumbling filled Heaven and Earth, and astonishing killing intent filled the air. It seemed evil to the extreme, and caused the bright spring day to suddenly became as cold as dead winter. Black snowflakes began to flutter down, and the entire place appeared to have turned into… a midwinter battlefield.

　　Suddenly, countless corpses appeared on the battlefield, as well as innumerable cultivators locked in deadly combat. All of was incredibly realistic! It was… a Dao Seeking Region!

　　It was a peak Dao Seeking Region!

　　As Meng Hao stood there in the middle of the Region, his face grew dark and grim. Anyone who saw the expression found their hearts suddenly thumping. This version of Meng Hao seemed completely different, a vicious version which had been hiding inside him all along!

　　“Killing intent? You can’t have more than I do,” he said coolly. Suddenly, the shadow beneath his feet rippled, and his second true self emerged. At first, his eyes were closed, but as he stepped out, they opened, and blood-colored light spilled out. A killing intent radiated out that was exponentially stronger than the previous killing intent. It caused the sky to change color and the clouds to seethe. The sun and moon trembled as the intensity of the killing intent caused everything in the area to shake.

　　The emaciated man up in midair gasped, and his face filled with disbelief. The surrounding Ji Clan members were all shaking in astonishment, and many of them were coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

　　Everyone on the outside felt as if they were frozen in place by icy coldness, and were shivering violently.

　　This was Meng Hao’s second true self, who had absorbed his boundless Devilish will!

　　The Devilish will was shocking; a black aura exploded out from Meng Hao’s second true self, transforming into roiling black clouds that then formed into the image of an enormous face. The face was matchlessly savage, and seemed to contain a madness that wished to exterminate all forms of life.

　　The intense killing intent immediately exerted incredible pressure on the emaciated old man, who felt his scalp go completely numb.

　　“This… this….” His mind was reeling. This ferocious spirit, this killing intent, this madness… were something rarely seen in life.

　　Meng Hao’s mood had turned sour. His voice level, he said, “As for this battlefield illusion, let me ask you… have you ever seen a real battlefield before?”

　　His second true self’s body distorted, causing what looked like beams of light to shoot out in all directions, causing… a different battlefield to appear!

　　It was a battlefield of complete carnage, with rivers of blood flowing everywhere. A mountain-like giant roared, and a woman was hidden in ball of mist. Fierce fighting raged as people chose to self-detonate rather than see their home be overrun. The ground was stained bright red, and up above in the sky, peak Dao Seeking experts fought at close quarters. One of them laughed uproariously and self-detonated.

　　The scene was incredibly realistic, because… these were images of things that had actually occurred in the war between the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches!

　　“Have you ever been on a battlefield like that?” asked Meng Hao. His second true self’s eyes flickered and he took a step forward. His ferocious spirit merged with the energy of the battlefield, which then rose up into the air to meet the descending pitch-black hand, and the emaciated old man.

　　A huge boom rang out as the black hand collapsed into pieces. The emaciated man coughed up blood and was flung backward. As he flew through the air, he coughed up three more mouthfuls of blood. His cultivation base dropped, and cracking sounds rang out as a life-protecting jade slip was destroyed. Without that jade slip, he would most certainly have been dead.

　　Everything was dead silent. The Ji Clan members were completely shaken as they stared at Meng Hao. It was the same with the cultivators on the outside.

　　“Now that… is Meng Hao!”

　　“He is a Chosen who rose to fame during the war between the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches. He’s the number one figure of this generation in the lands of South Heaven….”

　　“That battlefield just now must have been images from the war….”

　　A sharp inhalation could be heard, followed by the image of Meng Hao shaking his head. “Couldn’t control it fully,” he said.

　　With that, he made a beckoning motion, and his second true self vanished, once again turning into his shadow. From what everyone watching could see, it appeared as if Meng Hao was once again calm and tranquil.

　　“That’s enough, you little punk!”

　　The next voice that echoed out was ancient and archaic. It came from deep within the Ji Clan ancestral mansion, from a location that looked very different from the beautifully decorated buildings around it. It was a thatched cottage that seemed completely ordinary in every respect. Suddenly, the cottage’s door opened, and a teenager stepped out.

　　He appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen, but had a full head of white hair. His expression was the type you would see on an old man; clearly, he cultivated some technique that allowed the body to reverse the effects of aging.

　　As soon as he stepped out, everything in front of him trembled. Shockingly, an enormous Dharma Idol appeared behind him.

　　The Dharma Idol was not humanoid, but rather, was an enormous bottle gourd which was a swirl of red, blue and yellow colors. As soon as it appeared, shocking light spread out to cover over the entire fortress.

　　As soon as the Ji Clan cultivators saw the bottle gourd and heard the ancient voice, their spirits were lifted. Regardless of age, they all turned toward the gourd, clasped hands and bowed.

　　“Greetings, Patriarch Nine!”

　　“It’s Patriarch Nine! Greetings, Patriarch Nine!”

　　Simultaneously, the teenager strode forward a single step. It was as if the entire Ji Clan fortress shrunk; in the blink of an eye, he was directly in front of the crowd of Ji Clan cultivators. His hands were clasped behind his back, and his white hair floated around him as he stared icily at Meng Hao.

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Michael Harrison