Chapter 610: Injured Lord Fifth

　　Apparently, the three-eyed crow knew the parrot….

　　Otherwise, it wouldn’t have flown out it in such an overbearing fashion, only to, upon hearing the voice of the parrot, begin shaking, the feathers on its body standing on end. Apparently something had gotten it quite worked up. It let out a miserable shriek, then suddenly turned around in mid-air and then fled in the opposite direction.

　　At the same time, the parrot flew out from inside of Meng Hao’s bag of holding. It seemed to be in high spirits, as arrogant as ever to once again be on the scene.

　　Its eyes glittered with an excited glow as it raised its head up and squawked a few times. Then it shot forward toward the three-eyed crow.

　　“Long time no see! What are you running away for? If you keep running, Lord Fifth is going to screw you!!

　　“Beloved concubine, don’t run away!” it continued excitedly, “Husband and wife for a day means mutual benefactors for endless days to come! Although we couldn’t remain as husband and wife for a long time back then, that doesn’t mean you need to flee! Every time I think of you, I can’t help but wallow in my memories!”

　　The parrot seemed to be on the verge of overtaking the crow. Suddenly, though, tears appeared in the crow’s eyes. It seemed ready to die rather than be violated. In this instant, it used some unknown magical technique to cause all of its black feathers to suddenly fall off of its body….

　　In the blink of an eye, there was no longer a black crow in front of Lord Fifth and Meng Hao. Instead, it was a… flesh-colored, completely bald bird.

　　The sight of the completely featherless bird was appalling and almost too horrible to look at.

　　However, the miserable shriek which rang through the air next did not come from the three-eyed crow, but rather the parrot. The bloodcurdling scream seemed to emanate from a deep, deep pain. The parrot stopped in mid air, staring at the feathers that were fluttering down to the ground, and then let out another miserable cry.

　　“Wh-wh-wh… why did you do that!?!?” The parrot didn’t seem to be able to accept it. One breath of time before, the crow had been its true love, completely in line with his sense of beauty. The next breath, everything was turned completely around in a completely upsetting fashion.

　　Its entire body was shaking, even its nerves. What had happened just now was something too intensely upsetting.

　　Taking advantage of the parrot’s sudden loss of spirit, the three-eyed crow used some other method to disappear into mid-air. It vanished without a trace.

　　The parrot seemed on the verge of going insane. It raised its head up to the sky and let out a roar.

　　“DAMNATION! Lord Fifth will not let you off the hook!”

　　Meng Hao suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for the parrot, especially considering how it had just changed its use of bad words. Clearly, the parrot was not just a little bit upset at the moment.

　　A face suddenly appeared on the bell attached to the parrot’s foot. The meat jelly’s voice could be heard, filled with a bit of a wicked tone. “Happy? According to Lord Third, that crow is actually quite honest and sincere. For example, what if it had used that move just now when you were in the middle of screwing it? What would you do then?”

　　Upon hearing this, Meng Hao could only stare blankly. The parrot trembled a few more times before a look of intense alarm appeared on its face.

　　Meng Hao had long since gotten used to the antics of the meat jelly and parrot. He had also put some thought into the matter of why the two of them hadn’t made an appearance in the First or Second Planes. He had assumed that there was something special about the Demon Immortal Sect that made it impossible for them to reveal themselves.

　　Based on the voice of the parrot just now, it seemed to Meng Hao that it had just woken up. However, even after trying, he couldn’t cause the mastiff to appear. Then he thought back to what Patriarch Huyan had said before, and realized that the origin of the meat jelly and the parrot really was unfathomable.

　　As for Ji Xiaoxiao, this was her first time seeing the parrot. Her eyes were wide, especially after she heard what the meat jelly said. Although she had always been a brazen person, she was still a young woman, and couldn’t help but flush a bit and make a reprimanding “pei” sound.

　　Yet, she continued to look down on Lord Fifth….

　　The instant she made the “pei” sound, the parrot turned its head to stare at Ji Xiaoxiao. A deadly gleam appeared in its eyes, as if it desired to vent its frustration and pain on her.

　　Panting, it looked her over.

　　“No fur or feathers! Dammit! Absolutely no fur or feathers! Dear Heavens, why do you punish me this way!!” The parrot howled and then clenched its jaw. Even the mere thought of the crow shedding its feathers caused it to feel profound pain.

　　Although Ji Xiaoxiao didn’t have the fur or feathers that the parrot liked, as far as she was concerned, the damnable things gaze was far too penetrating.

　　Meng Hao ignored the parrot. His right hand made a grasping motion, causing Ji Mingfeng’s two bags of holding to fly up out from within the well and into his hands. He glanced them over, opting not to open then at the moment. Instead, he put them away.

　　Then, eyes glittering, he snatched the wailing parrot and ignoring whether it wanted to or not, shoved it back into his bag of holding. Then he looked at Ji Xiaoxiao.

　　“It’s time for me to go collect some treasures,” he said. “If you have nothing else to do, you can come with me. My destination just so happens to be the entrance to the Fourth Plane.”

　　Ji Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She didn’t seem to be surprised at all to hear about the Fourth Plane, as if she had known about it all along.

　　As he gazed at her, Meng Hao thought about the resources of her Clan, and how information about the Fourth Plane wouldn’t be hard to come by. The two of them left, Meng Hao taking the lead as they shot toward the pit, which lay between the Third and Fourth Peaks. It wasn’t very far away. About two hours later, they arrived.

　　There were quite a few people already gathered together. There were a handful from the Ji Clan, one of whom was Ji Mingkong, who looked at Meng Hao with a strange glow in his eyes. Li Shiqi and Han Bei sat cross-legged not too far off, as did Wang Lihai. As soon as Meng Hao neared, their expressions flickered.

　　Meng Hao was all smiles as he waved to everyone in greeting.

　　“Hahaha! What a small world, huh! We meet again, Fellow Daoists. So, tell me, how did things go for you in the Third Plane? What did you acquire?” Behind him, Ji Xiaoxiao’s cheek twitched a little as she realized that Meng Hao… was about to con some more people.

　　“Meng Hao offers his most sincere well wishes to all of you Fellow Daoists,” he continued. “I hope that you can really profit well in the Third Plane. That way, I can also bask a bit in your glory, right? Thank you, Fellow Daoists. You are all truly good people.” Meng Hao seemed a bit emotional and even somewhat embarrassed. A bashful expression appeared as he looked over the increasingly grim-faced crowd, then clasped hands and bowed.

　　As for the group from the Southern Domain, their eyes flickered. That was especially true of Han Bei. When she saw Meng Hao’s smile, a tremor ran through her body and she quickly lowered her head.

　　She knew all too well what Meng Hao’s smile meant. It must be stated that it was quite well known in the Southern Domain that Meng Hao had conned many people with that bashful grin….

　　Although Wang Lihai had never seen Meng Hao’s bashful side, he had heard of his conman’s personality. When he saw the smile, and Han Bei’s reaction, he instantly went on guard.

　　Li Shiqi put on a forced smile. She looked at Meng Hao but didn’t say anything.

　　Song Jia was also there. She looked at Meng Hao with a complex expression. It didn’t matter how Meng Hao smiled, to her, it was all the same.

　　As for the Dao Child from the Li Clan, Li Tiandao, he was the only Southern Domain Cultivator who didn’t notice anything special about Meng Hao’s smile. He frowned, and killing intent suddenly sprang up in his eyes.

　　In contrast, the members of the Ji Clan seemed to have received news about what happened earlier. Although all of them wore completely ordinary expressions, deep in their eyes, vigilance could be seen.

　　Meng Hao looked around at everyone, then suddenly seemed a bit discouraged. He was just thinking that it seemed his extortion attempt had failed when he noticed the look in the eye of the Li Clan Dao Child, Li Tiandao. Suddenly, he seemed a bit livened.

　　“Fellow Daoist,” he said, “I don’t think I recognize you.” He quickly walked toward Li Tiandao, a smile on his face. “Tell me, did you acquire much in the Third Plane? Come, come, open your bag of holding so that Brother can select his share.”

　　“Screw off!” said Li Tiandao coldly.

　　A moment ago, Meng Hao had worn a sincere smile and a bashful expression. A moment later, his face completely changed. The instant Li Tiandao spoke, a ruthless expression appeared on Meng Hao’s face. His right palm instantly shot out toward Li Tiandao.

　　A cold light of derision flickered in Li Tiandao’s eyes. His Cultivation base was extraordinary. If you looked at the Southern Domain as a whole, it didn’t matter if you were talking about members of his current generation, or even Li Daoyi who had already passed away, Li Tiandao’s Cultivation base was extraordinary. He gave a cold snort and then made a grasping motion with his right hand. Instantly, a blade of white light appeared in his hand.

　　However, before he could even unleash the power of the blade, Meng Hao’s palm, moving with indescribable speed, slapped onto his face, letting out a huge bang.

　　One slap sent Li Tiandao completely senseless. He was furious, and wanted to struggle back. However, his fate was the same as the Cultivator earlier from the Northern Reaches. Meng Hao directly slammed him down onto the ground.

　　Punches and kicks rained down onto him, the sound of which echoed out in every direction. Li Tiandao let out miserable shrieks. He tried to fight back, and even tried to wield his blade against Meng Hao. However, all it took was a slap from Meng Hao to cause the Heavenly blade to shatter into pieces.

　　The sudden violence caused the eyes of all the spectators to grow wide.

　　“You actually dare to cuss at me!” cried Meng Hao, emphasizing his words with kicks. “I was sincerely wishing you well, and you respond with curses!? Ridiculous!” His expression grew more vicious and intense, causing all the onlookers to grow increasingly shaky with fear.

　　Li Tiandao was livid, but gradually, that lividity was replaced by terror. Soon, it turned into despair. Blood spouted from his mouth as the shadow of death loomed over him.

　　Finally, Han Bei blinked, cleared her throat and offered up a quick reminder. That finally provoked a reaction from Li Tiandao who, despite feeling wronged to the extreme, shouted out that he would pay a higher price.

　　After the matter was resolved, Meng Hao once again smiled sincerely and then took two of the total of three magical items that Li Tiandao had acquired.

　　Furthermore… those two items were the very best of all of them. Even as Li Tiandao felt pain in his heart, Meng Hao clasped his shoulder, then sighed and bashfully expressed his deep thanks.

　　After that, Meng Hao looked around at everyone else. Considering what had just happened to Li Tiandao, everyone else had no choice but to suppress their curses inwardly, open their bags of holding and produce the items that they had acquired. With their oaths in place, there was no way to go back on their words, and no way to hide things in violation of the agreement.

　　Despite their pain, they could only watch on in fear as Meng Hao carefully selected one incredible magic item after another.

　　“Wow, this looks amazing!

　　“Eee? It’s actually a scale shield! Excellent, excellent!

　　“This flower vase is incredible! With one glance you can tell it’s a precious treasure!

　　“Ooh, look at this clay figure! It’s missing an arm and a head, but I’ll just have to suck it up and take it. Yep.”

　　Meng Hao circled around, making acquisitions that would cause anyone to be shocked. Every person from whom he took treasures had faces filled with unsightly looks. If it weren’t for the fact that none of them felt capable of taking him on, they would surely attempt to attack him. The hatred they felt rose up to the Heavens, and their hearts dripped with blood.

　　To them, Meng Hao wasn’t just taking away magical items, but their most prized possessions….

　　Eventually he came to stand in front of Song Jia. He looked at the jade pendant she held out, as well as the complicated, cold look in her eyes. He stood there thoughtfully for a moment, then took out one of the magical items he had acquired and put it in her hand.

　　Song Jia frowned, and was about to say something when, all of a sudden, three prismatic beams of light whistled through the air toward them from off in the distance. The person in the lead position was none other than Fang Yu. Behind her were the two other men from the Fang Clan.

　　The two men wore excited expressions; clearly, whatever objects they had just acquired left them very happy.

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Suadicani, James Krejci, Sebaki, and Andy L.