Chapter 718: Give Me This Lake!

　　RUMBLE!

　　Several days later, the Ancient Dao Lakes once again began to erupt. It was an enormous eruption in which glowing pillars of light shot up into the sky from roughly eighty percent of the Dao Lakes and Geysers.

　　It was the same in the inner region as the outer.

　　When the Dao Lakes erupted, countless Dao Shadows appeared. In the inner region, there were even three hundred or so Dao Lakes that erupted with magical items and other treasures. As far as the 3,000-meter Dao Lakes, there were two that erupted with Dao Shadows and eight that spit out magical items.

　　All of the magical items were different, there were intact ones and ones that were broken apart or missing parts; some were ancient and dilapidated, others were brand new. Even more numerous than these were fragments of magical items. Lastly, there were broken bits of rocks and dirt from ancient ruins.

　　Of the Blood Demon Sect’s three Dao Lakes, two spit out magical items. As for the lake Meng Hao occupied, a Dao Shadow appeared above it.

　　The other Dao Shadow appeared from within the 3,000-meter lake belonging to the Golden Frost Sect, the one Fatty was seated next to.

　　That particular Dao Shadow depicted a plump fellow cultivating some sort of formidable magical technique. When Fatty saw it, his eyes went wide, and he immediately began to seek enlightenment.

　　Because of the eruption, the previous quietude was instantly shattered. However, there was no descent into chaos. The Dao Lakes had been divided up, so unless some incredibly shocking item appeared, there would be no frenzied fighting like that which occurred in the outer region.

　　Whoever occupied a given lake had rights to whatever it spit out.

　　Immediately, countless cultivators flew up into the air toward their various Dao Lakes. Rumbling filled the air. The six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs began to collect the various objects that had been spit out.

　　All of this takes some time to describe, but it actually only took the space of about ten breaths of time for all of the items from the 3,000-meter Dao Lakes to be collected up by the various sects. It was then that attention was turned to the 300-meter lakes.

　　That was especially true of the more than four hundred 300-meter lakes that belonged to Meng Hao. More than a hundred of them had spit out magical items, which floated there in mid-air. There were also some that had Dao Shadows and other miscellaneous objects. The sight was shocking, and would naturally cause anyone who saw it to be moved.

　　Despite that, not a single fight broke out. Meng Hao’s actions earlier had clearly shown how powerful he was, as well as the unbridled manner in which he tended to act. Any cultivator who coveted an item protected by one of the Blood Prince’s standards would first think long and hard before doing anything.

　　The Blood Demon Sect disciples were tired but happy. They bustled about for nearly two hours collecting up the various objects spit up by the Dao Lakes. The cultivators from the other sects and clans looked on enviously.

　　Just when they were about to deliver all the objects up to Meng Hao, one of the 300-meter lakes that had spit out a Dao Shadow, suddenly began to rumble.

　　Immediately, large numbers of cultivators rose to their feet, their eyes burning with passion.

　　“A second eruption!”

　　“It’s common for Dao Geysers to erupt twice. For a 30-meter Dao Lake to do so is uncommon. For a 300-meter Dao Lake to erupt a second time… is rare!”

　　“A second eruption almost certainly means a precious item will appear!”

　　Up to this point, Meng Hao had been sitting there meditating, but now that one of the Dao Lakes was erupting a second time, he opened his eyes.

　　RUMBLE!

　　Bright light blasted out from the Dao Lake as a corpse was spit out from within!

　　“A corpse!!”

　　“The corpse of a cultivator from ancient times?!”

　　“Wow… I have to get that!”

　　Corpses were incredibly rare, and in the instant that it appeared, the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect, the Violet Fate Sect, the Song Clan, and even the Li Clan off in the distance, were shaken. However… the Dao Lake that was erupting for the second time happened to have a blood-colored flag flying next to it. That instantly made quite a few people suddenly calm down.

　　Not everyone calmed down, though. Three of the Spirit Severing experts from the Golden Frost Sect flew out with glittering eyes. In their minds, Meng Hao had refrained from taking action against the Golden Frost Sect earlier because he was apprehensive; a fact they could take advantage of to keep him in check.

　　The three cultivators flew up into the air and then shot directly toward the 300-meter Dao Lake.

　　The six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs instantly moved to intercept.

　　“How dare you, Golden Frost Sect!!”

　　“What gall!”

　　When Meng Hao saw what was happening, a cold smile turned up the corners of his mouth. He then slapped his hand onto the ground, causing everything to tremble. At the same time, his body transforming into an afterimage, which then completely vanished.

　　His incredible speed far exceeded both the three Golden Frost Sect cultivators and the Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs. He appeared next to the Dao Lake in the blink of an eye, then waved his right hand to collect up the corpse. Finally, he turned to stare coldly at the three men from the Golden Frost Sect.

　　“It seems you three are looking to die.”

　　The three cultivators’ faces flickered. Shocked by Meng Hao’s display of speed, they unhesitatingly retreated.

　　At the same time, the armored man from the Golden Frost Sect flew out, followed by the other experts from the Golden Frost Sect.

　　Meng Hao snorted coldly, then raised his right hand into the air and made a grasping motion. The Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared. A huge vortex surrounded the three cultivators, and a bloody hand appeared. Immediately, the three old men started to be consumed.

　　Miserable shrieks could be heard as the three cultivators exerted every scrap of power they could muster to try to free themselves, all to no avail.

　　“Stay your hand!” roared the man in the golden armor. He sped through the air with explosive speed. The five cultivators behind him began performing double-handed incantations, after which they pointed forward. Shockingly, the illusory images of puppets encapsulated them.

　　The puppets were dozens of meters tall, and as they flew forward, the armored man suddenly performed another incantation. Blue veins popped up on his forehead as another puppet image appeared above him!!

　　Cracking sounds could be heard as all of the puppets quickly merged together. Shockingly, they transformed into an enormous golden puppet, three hundred meters tall and carrying a golden greatsword. It emanated a shocking pressure, which caused everything to tremble.

　　A similarly shocking voice rumbled out from the mouth of the puppet. “Stay your hand!”

　　The voice turned into powerful sound waves that spread out in all directions.

　　“Too late,” replied Meng Hao, his voice cold. He clenched his hand into a fist, and a boom resonated out. The three Golden Frost Sect Spirit Severing cultivators let out bloodcurdling screams as they were crushed into a bloody pulp. Their qi and blood streamed toward Meng Hao, merging into his body, where it transformed into a shocking power that raged inside of him.

　　As the three Nascent Divinities frenziedly tried to escape, the six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs shot in pursuit.

　　“Dammit!” cried the man in the golden armor. “Do you really think the Golden Frost Sect is afraid of you!?” He and the five cultivators behind him began to perform incantation gestures in unison. In response, the resplendent puppet began to emit… a shocking aura that bordered on Dao Seeking.

　　The instant the aura appeared, the faces of the members of the surrounding sects and clans flickered.

　　“That aura is borderline Dao Seeking!!”

　　“That’s the supreme magic of the Golden Frost Sect, the Golden Frost Marionette!”

　　The golden puppet raised its greatsword and slashed down. A ripping sound could be heard as a 30-meter rift appeared. An aura close to Dao Seeking exploded out, transforming into a pressure that could weigh down on anyone in the Spirit Severing stage.

　　“DIE!” cried the six Golden Frost Sect cultivators, their voices joining together into a shout that caused everything to tremble.

　　“Dao Seeking aura, huh?” said Meng Hao, eyes glittering. “I have that too!” The power of the Qi and blood of the three Spirit Severing Cultivators combined with the dissipating remainder of what he had absorbed from the Third Severing Patriarch of the Black Sieve Sect, fused together inside of him and then exploded out.

　　He clenched his hand into a fist and then punched directly toward the incoming sword.

　　RUMBLE!

　　The air shattered under the power of the fist. A black hole appeared that was not 30 meters, but rather, 90 meters wide, raging with a Dao Seeking aura.

　　Dao Seeking was an embodiment of natural law, a stage in which such laws were fused with the body.

　　The natural laws were based on the enlightenment of the Dao that accompanied the Third Severing. Dao Seeking was the time to see whether or not the Daos of the three Severings conflicted with each other. It was an introspection regarding the heart, and could not be interfered with nor influenced in any way.

　　If one had been correct in one’s Dao, then that was that. If they had erred, there was nothing to be done. If correct… one entered Dao Seeking. If incorrect… the Dao vanished.

　　Therefore, this so-called aura, was a Dao aura.

　　As the aura spread out, the surrounding cultivators gasped. Sir Jian, Reverend Withered-Dao, and the Spirit Severing Patriarch leader from the Song Clan were especially shocked. They watched on in shock as the power from Meng Hao’s fist connected with that of the greatsword.

　　BOOOMMMMMM!

　　The golden greatsword shattered into pieces that swirled about like flower blossoms. The puppet shook violently, and numerous cracks appeared on its surface. As they spread out, a look of shock appeared on the puppet’s face, and then it exploded.

　　As the puppet blew up, the six cultivators inside, including the man in the golden armor, spit up blood. Their bodies sagged, and their expressions were that of astonishment as they retreated at full speed.

　　As for Meng Hao’s fist, it lost its Dao aura.

　　After all, the power came from the strength he had gained by using the Blood Demon Grand Magic, and not from within himself. Now that the energy had been released by his first blow, he was incapable of making a second similar strike.

　　“The more I fight with the Blood Demon Grand Magic, the more ferocious it becomes!” Eyes glittering, he shot after the six retreating figures.

　　The three Nascent Divinities being chased by the six Blood Demon Patriarchs were incapable of escaping; at this point they had already been sealed up and collected. The Golden Frost Sect’s power base in the area was now significantly weakened.

　　Seeing Meng Hao flying toward him, the man in the golden armor suddenly felt his heart tighten with anxiety. Gritting his teeth, he called out: “The Golden Frost Sect will give you a 3,000-meter Dao Lake!!”

　　“One won’t do!” shot back one of the six Patriarchs. “Give us two!”

　　“Dammit….” The cultivators of the Golden Frost Sect grumbled, and the man in the gold armor’s face fell. He had been in fear of Meng Hao’s strength earlier, and actually didn’t want to end up fighting him. He was just about to agree when….

　　Meng Hao’s eyes fell onto Fatty, who was sitting next to the Dao Lake staring at the Dao Shadow.

　　He then looked at the other lake and pointed at it. “Give me that lake.”

　　The man in the golden armor gaped for a moment, then quickly nodded his head. He looked at Fatty, and then finally put the pieces of the puzzle together. At this point, he realized that the reason Meng Hao hadn’t made a move against them earlier wasn’t because of any apprehension regarding the Golden Frost Sect, but rather, because of Li Fugui.

　　The Golden Frost Sect retreated to the Dao Lake with the Dao Shadow, and the Blood Demon Sect occupied another 3,000-meter Dao Lake. As of now, they had a total of four!

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Anonymous, Daniel Rodriguez, Bee Vang, and Count Grey