Chapter 643: Plundering

　　Patriarch Reliance hesitated for a moment. Had Meng Hao not directly stated his intentions, he would never have allowed him to enter the city. However, Patriarch Reliance couldn’t help but glance at the sea, and then back at the city.

　　Finally, he violently clenched his teeth.

　　“This is the last time,” he said decisively. If Meng Hao tried to pull any more tricks after this, then he would go for broke and run away with the land on his back.

　　Meng Hao headed toward the city at top speed. Inside, the shops had all closed their doors, which left the Cultivators quite confused. Soon, quite a commotion could be heard.

　　Meng Hao’s arrival didn’t attract much attention. He picked a relatively open area where he then sat down cross-legged. Waving his sleeve, he caused a vast quantity of magical items to suddenly appear in front of him. They flew out into the surrounding area, causing a bright glow of light to spread out in all directions.

　　When thousands of magical items suddenly appeared all at once, glowing and shining resplendently, it instantly caught the attention of quite a few bystanders. When they saw the magical items, gasps could be heard.

　　The sounds of discussions soon filled the air.

　　“So many magical items!”

　　“How can that guy have so many magical items!? He has things from the Qi Condensation stage all the way to the Nascent Soul stage! He has everything!”

　　“Don’t tell me he sacked a shop somewhere?! All of those magical items are clearly new! Not a single one is used!”

　　Soon, people began to approach to examine the magical items that floated in the air around Meng Hao.

　　Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever as he quickly listed prices for each item, which were based on the original amount he had purchased them for, multiplied several times over. Then he closed his eyes and sat there silently.

　　More and more people crowded around, their eyes glittering as they occasionally glanced over at Meng Hao. Some people wanted to buy things, but the prices were clearly quite high. There were even some magical items whose price was several times greater than normal. Because of this, many people began to curse inwardly.

　　Time passed by, and soon quite a crowd had built up. Right now, all of the shops in the city were closed, so Meng Hao’s flagrant display quickly attracted the attention of the vast majority of Cultivators in the city.

　　Unfortunately, although there were a lot of people, few people were willing to buy at the exorbitant prices Meng Hao had listed.

　　Meng Hao didn’t feel anxious at all. In fact, he wanted to stretch time out as long as possible. Patriarch Reliance, on the other hand, was getting very nervous back in his palace as he watched the scene unfold. Soon, evening was falling. Of the thousands of magical items Meng Hao had for sale, he had only managed to get rid of a few. Patriarch Reliance was now incredibly worried.

　　“Well, this is the last time!” said Patriarch Reliance, stamping his foot. He sent his Divine Sense out into several people in the city.

　　Before long, seven or eight Cultivators approached Meng Hao’s vendor stall. They moved at top speed, causing quite a disturbance as they arrived in front of Meng Hao.

　　“I want 500 of these magical items!” said one of their number, an old man. He tossed out a bag of holding. Meng Hao’s eyes instantly opened. He looked at the man, then slowly opened the bag of holding. He then removed all of the Spirit Stones from inside and began to count them one by one. After checking the number thoroughly, he waved his sleeve, causing five hundred magical items to fly toward the old man.

　　The old man’s face twitched as he gathered up the items, then turned and walked off. After he left, another person approached, and, in exactly the same fashion as the man before, began to purchase magical items.

　　“That was the manager of the Auspicious Pavilion. He has a considerable social standing, and a close relationship with the Footloose Sect…. Why is he here buying magical items from this guy?”

　　“I’ve seen that guy before. That’s the shopkeeper from Chen Manor! He’s here too….”

　　The surrounding crowds watched on in astonishment as the seven or eight Cultivators wasted nearly two hours purchasing various items. Soon, all of Meng Hao’s magical items were gone.

　　Of course, the reason it took so long was that Meng Hao fastidiously counted every single Spirit Stone. Otherwise, he could have taken care of selling all the items in the space of a few breaths.

　　Considering how many Spirit Stones Meng Hao ended up taking, it was no surprise that the crowds eyed him greedily, like hungry wolves.

　　Meng Hao calmly secured all of the Spirit Stones into his bag of holding. In total, he had acquired several hundred thousand, making his trip to Saint’s Island somewhat profitable after all.

　　Finally, he rose slowly to his feet and sighed. Back in the palace, Patriarch Reliance’s patience could stretch no longer as Meng Hao transformed into a beam of light that shot up into the air.

　　As soon as that happened, four or five Cultivators down in the city took out jade slips that they then used to send voice transmissions.

　　Moments later, three Core Formation Cultivators flew out from a secret location. At the same time, an old man in a red robe sat cross-legged on a ship near the seashore. Suddenly, his eyes opened and began to glow with a brilliant light. The ripples of an early Nascent Soul Cultivation base emanated out from him.

　　He was the type of person who was threatening without showing anger. As soon as his eyes opened, he produced a brightly glowing jade slip. When he sent his Divine Sense into the slip, his eye narrowed.

　　“A Cultivator flying around with hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones?” said the man coolly, rising to his feet.

　　“On Saint’s Island, only Core Formation Cultivators are permitted to fly….

　　“He sold a lot of items, most of them suitable for Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment. However, his Cultivation base clearly wasn’t Nascent Soul. He must be a Core Formation Cultivator.

　　“Most likely, he’s at the great circle of Core Formation. In my hands, though, someone like that is a mere insect.” A slight smile appeared on the man’s lips.

　　“If I can get my hands on a few hundred thousand Spirit Stones, then this trip will have been no waste.” The man used minor teleportation to instantly vanish. When he reappeared, he was in mid-air above Saint’s Island. After confirming his exact position, he picked a direction and started flying.

　　Meng Hao frowned as he flew through mid-air. He really couldn’t think of another reason to stay behind, and it almost felt like he was being banished. It didn’t make him happy.

　　After all, the person doing the banishing was supposed to be his Dao Protector.

　　“If I’d known this was going to happen, I would have thrashed that little turtle a bit more back in the Demon Immortal Pagoda!” murmured Meng Hao angrily. He proceeded onward, watching the seashore get closer and closer.

　　By now, Patriarch Reliance was getting incredibly excited. Anticipation filled his eyes as he watched Meng Hao get further and further away.

　　“He’s leaving! The little bastard is finally leaving! Hahaha! What an excellent feeling!” The more Patriarch Reliance thought about it, the happier he felt. He even started to hum a little tune.

　　If Meng Hao were there, he would instantly recognize that tune. It was the very same tune Patriarch Reliance had hummed back in the Reliance Sect. 1

　　Currently, Meng Hao’s face was unsightly. The sea was clearly visible off in the distance, but he still couldn’t think of a reason to stay behind. Even as he was beginning to hesitate, a whistling sound could be heard from behind him.

　　When Meng Hao heard the sound, he was instantly both surprised and very happy. He quickly looked back to see three beams of light shooting toward him. An expression of joy appeared on his face.

　　In the same moment that Meng Hao turned to look back, a cold voice could be heard coming from one of the three pursuers. “Fellow Daoist, please slow down for a moment!”

　　The three pursuers were middle-aged men, one of whom was in the mid Core Formation stage, the other two were in the early Core Formation stage. They flew through the air very quickly, and arrived in the blink of an eye.

　　Back in his palace, Patriarch Reliance watched on in shock.

　　“What are you people doing!?” Meng Hao shouted, shrinking back.

　　The eyes of the three men glittered with killing intent. The mid Core Formation Cultivator looked Meng Hao over closely. Earlier, he had been somewhat hesitant because of not being able to clearly see Meng Hao’s Cultivation base. Now, though, it was obvious to him that it was at the early Core Formation stage.

　　Furthermore, Meng Hao’s words and expression seemed to be filled with alarm, which left the man feeling even more calm.

　　“The three of us would like to borrow something from you, Fellow Daoist,” said the man with a false smile. “Hopefully you can help us achieve our aim.” With that, the other two moved to surround Meng Hao.

　　The eyes of all three radiated ill intentions as they coldly stared at Meng Hao. The greed in their eyes couldn’t be more apparent.

　　“What… what do you want to borrow?” Meng Hao replied hurriedly.

　　“Just some Spirit Stones, that’s all,” said the man with a smile. “Fellow Daoist, you have several hundred thousand Spirit Stones in your bag of holding. Do you mind loaning them to us?” As he spoke, killing intent glittered in his eyes. Just when he was reaching out to attack….

　　“Okay! I agree!” said Meng Hao. He slapped his bag of holding and instantly caused hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones to fly out. The sight of so many Spirit Stones instantly caused the three Cultivators to stare, panting.

　　For the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, a sound almost like the gurgling of water could be heard as the Spirit Stones poured out onto the ground. Soon, they had formed together into something like a small mountain.

　　Even though it was evening, the Spirit Stones glittered and shone, causing the eyes of the three men to shine brightly.

　　However, as Meng Hao was backed up, the tip of one of the magical items from the Demon Immortal Sect suddenly appeared. Meng Hao’s face fell, and he quickly covered it up.

　　“Hahaha!” said the middle-aged man, his eyes flashing. He was all smiles as he spoke, although he was working hard to control the excitement inside of him. “Fellow Daoist, you seem to be in such a good mood, so I hate to tell you that in addition to Spirit Stones, I also happen to need some magical items. I noticed just now that you have some inside your bag of holding. Hand it over now for me to take a look.”

　　The other two were palpating with eagerness at how rich they were about to become.

　　Meanwhile, back in the palace, Patriarch Reliance was panting, his eyes filling with rage as he clenched his fists tightly. He wanted nothing more than for Meng Hao to leave as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, these blind fools dared to intercept Meng Hao and delay him. This was enough to cause Patriarch Reliance to explode like lightning.

　　“Are they looking to die?!” roared Patriarch Reliance, waving his hand out. At the same time, the three people surrounding Meng Hao, in the very midst of their most ultimate excitement, suddenly began to tremble. The sound of someone roaring exploded out in their minds.

　　Then, in the blink of an eye, their eyes went wide and their bodies burst into pieces. A haze and blood and gore filled the air, which rapidly vanished into nothing.

　　Meng Hao smiled bitterly, then moved to collect up the Spirit Stones on the ground. However, it was at this point that he suddenly smiled excitedly once again. Off in the distance, a beam of light approached him at top speed from the direction of the ocean.

　　It was the early Nascent Soul stage old man.

　　“Take out your Spirit Stones and… huh?” Even as the old man’s cold voice rang out, he suddenly gasped. He had just seen the huge Spirit Stone mountain laying there on the ground.

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Damayne Hyatt

　　1. Both Patriarch Reliance and Meng Hao hummed the same tune back in chapters 84 and 85