Chapter 577: Silkpants Demon Entente

　　Time passed by. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had gone by. The Fourth Peak disciples gradually came to notice that their Little Patriarch, the number one silkpants bully, had experienced a change of temperament recently. Unexpectedly, he hadn’t stepped foot out of the Fourth Peak at all recently.

　　He would spend all day gaining enlightenment of Daoist magic, or would temper his fleshly body in the Underworld Cave. It was actually so unusual that the Fourth Peak disciples were alarmed. Even Ke Yunhai could scarcely believe it. After observing Ke Jiusi a few times, a contented smile could be seen on Ke Yunhai’s face.

　　Meng Hao was thoroughly immersed in practicing cultivation. He completely ignored all outside matters, even the awakening of all the other South Heaven Cultivators.

　　The fleshly body tempering caused him to grow much stronger with each passing day. At the moment, he maintained his place in the First Anima, and yet, the strength of his fleshly body was equivalent to that when he entered the Second Anima.

　　Such an increase caused Meng Hao to realize which direction his path lay!

　　“If I could reach the point where my fleshly body in the First Anima was as strong as it normally is in the Seventh Anima, then even if I have no change in Cultivation base, my fleshly body might be able to reach the point of… Spirit Severing!” His heart beat rapidly. As of this point, he truly felt that the fleshly body cultivation of the Second Plane was just as important as mastering techniques.

　　It was an incredible opportunity available only to him. In the past, there had never been a Cultivator who could acquire such good fortune in the Second Plane.

　　Meng Hao took a deep breath, and a bright glow appeared in his eyes.

　　Recently, he and Xu Qing had been spending time gaining enlightenment of the three hundred Daoist magics. Of course, they each focused on different specific types of Daoist magic. When Meng Hao came to the conclusion that he couldn’t gain enlightenment with one, then he would immediately switch to a another.

　　During the ten days, he managed to look through all three hundred. In the end, there were three that he chose to intially focus his attention on. One was the Mountain Consuming Incantation, the second was the Heavenly Demon Transformation, and the last was…

　　None other than Ke Jiusi’s Soul Divergence Incantation!

　　“The Mountain Consuming Incantation is both an internal and external cultivation technique. However, the main focus is cultivation of the fleshly body. By practicing such cultivation to the pinnacle, one could become a Human Immortal!

　　“As for the Heavenly Demon Transformation, it is ranked 96…. It’s terrifying, a magical technique that requires a Demon Soul. By fusing the Demon Soul into one’s body, one can incarnate into a Greater Demon. There are nineteen levels, each of which can incarnate a different Greater Demon of Heaven and Earth!

　　“Regarding the Soul Divergence Incantation… it is an undying Dao!” Meng Hao’s eyes glowed with a strange light. Of these three Daoist magics, the Soul Divergence Incantation was the most mysterious. It was actually not one of the Demon Immortal Sect’s three thousand Daoist magics, but rather, something Ke Yunhai had acquired on his own by chance. Based on his own Cultivation base and knowledge, he knew that it could be considered a precious treasure. However, it was not suitable for him in terms of cultivation, which was why he had recommended it to Ke Jiusi.

　　The Soul Divergence Incantation enabled one to cultivate an undying soul. The reincarnation of Heaven and Earth could do nothing to destroy such a soul. Even when one died, in a matter of years, a flesh and blood body would be reborn.

　　This art… defied Heaven!

　　The more Meng Hao understood these various techniques, the more he realized how magnificently shocking the Demon Immortal Sect was. During the ten days that passed, he took time to observe some of the other disciples of the Demon Immortal Sect as they practiced their cultivation. During that time, he was actually able to sense a totemic aura.

　　In fact, there were some of the three hundred Daoist magics that, when he examined them more closely, obviously required totem tattoos once a certain level of cultivation was reached.

　　This discovery validated some of Meng Hao speculations from years ago. It seemed that the totemic neo-demons of the Western Desert likely originated somehow from the Immortal Demon Sect.

　　Meng Hao’s shock only continued to grow as he learned more about the Demon Immortal Sect. He focused on cultivating the Mountain Consuming Incantation and the Heavenly Demon Transformation, although he placed the most emphasis on the former. As for the Heavenly Demon Transformation, he didn’t intend to thoroughly gain enlightenment of it, although he had noticed some similarities between it and his Seven Animas Soul Transformation.

　　As far as the Soul Divergence Incantation went, it was a shocking art, but something that he would be incapable of success when it came to enlightenment.

　　Time passed quickly. Soon, Meng Hao had been in the Second Plane for a whole month. During that time, Xu Qing did not leave the Immortal’s cave. She was fully immersed in gaining enlightenment of Daoist magic. Eventually, Meng Hao completely gave up on the Soul Divergence Incantation and the Heavenly Demon Transformation, and instead focused complete attention on cultivating the Mountain Consuming Incantation.

　　He would also take time to visit the Underworld Cave, where he continued to temper his fleshly body. By now, he could stay inside the Underworld Cave for a full thirty breaths of time. The strength of his fleshly body was now quite obvious.

　　In fact, when the other silk-pants who had been punished with Meng Hao came to visit him on the Fourth Peak, they were astonished by the huge change that had occurred in the past month.

　　“After getting punished, I thought of something,” said Meng Hao. “If my fleshly body was strong enough, then maybe that punishment wouldn’t have hurt so much.” When he saw the strange expressions of the faces of the other silkpants, he cleared his throat and then continued on honestly, “I have the feeling that one of these days, I might experience five lashes, maybe even six or more. If I don’t temper my fleshly body enough before that happens, I’ll have no choice but to be lashed into a pulp.” Hearing this, the other silkpants seemed lost in thought. Apparently, what Meng Hao was saying made sense to them.

　　A while after that, Meng Hao called Xu Qing. Together with the other silkpants, they left the Fourth Peak for the first time in a month. As soon as they appeared outside, a rumbling sound could be heard, and a white lotus appeared up in the air.

　　When other disciples on the various peaks saw the lotus, they lowered their heads vigilantly. They all knew that the Sect ruffians who had been quiet for the past month, were now going to make another appearance.

　　Meng Hao stood in the crowd, exchanging greetings with the various friends who approached. It didn’t take long before he was surrounded by over a hundred people. Together, they flew wildly through the Demon Immortal Sect, the sound of their talking and laughing drifting out with the wind. When the others saw that Xu Qing was with Meng Hao, they exchanged understanding smiles, and did their best to pay special attention to her.

　　Soon, the group neared a squat mountain that was part of the Seventh Peak of the Demon Immortal Sect. This mountain was an unofficial restricted area within the Sect.

　　It was not officially a restricted area; it was actually a location that the Sect silkpants had taken over to serve as their headquarters. Afterwards, it became a restricted area as far as other disciples of the Demon Immortal Sect were concerned.

　　On top of the squat mountain was a luxurious temple. Meng Hao sat in the seat of honor, surrounded by a crowd of people. Some arranged themselves in places according to the ranking of their various Clan ancestors. Soon, there were roughly seventy or eighty people seated about. They laugh and chatted about gossip from within the Sect, or their interesting experiences on the outside.

　　Next to Meng Hao sat a handsome young man with black wings who was embracing a smiling female disciple. “Jiusi,” he said, “my kid brother knows a few Inner Sect disciples who want to join our Demon Entente. I told him to bring them here today for us to have a look at. If there aren’t any problems, we might as well let them in.”

　　Meng Hao was not unfamiliar with the Demon Entente. He knew from Ke Jiusi’s memories that it was nothing more than an alliance formed by the silkpants. All members who joined would enjoy the protection offered by other silkpants.

　　Of course, a price needed to be paid, considering that the operation was privately run by the silkpants.

　　The Demon Immortal Sect turned a blind eye to the matter, and would ignore them, unless they caused too much of a ruckus. After all, the Elders of this Demon Entente were all silkpants who had deep roots within the Sect. Although they might do a lot of absurd things, when it came to loyalty, theirs was far greater than that of the ordinary disciples.

　　Meng Hao nodded his head in response to the young man’s word. He lifted up a glass of alcohol and took a drink. Sitting next to him was Xu Qing, who was looking around curiously at the crowds. She still almost couldn’t believe the identity Meng Hao had acquired.

　　Not too much time passed before the disciples who wished to join the Demon Entente arrived. They entered the temple trembling, looking nervously at the silkpants around them. After quickly handing over the gifts of entry they had brought, they clasped hands and bowed to everyone.

　　One group after another entered. After a bit of time past, Meng Hao caught sight of a group of three Cultivators, two men and a woman, all of whom seemed very nervous. However, from what Meng Hao could tell, the nervousness was an act. Deep in their eyes, it was possible to sense that they actually despised everyone they were looking at, and Meng Hao could see that.

　　As soon as he saw them, Meng Hao started laughing. It was at this point that the three people saw that sitting in the seat of highest authority among the silkpants was none other than Meng Hao.

　　When they saw him, the three Inner Sect disciples began to shake, and their eyes filled with disbelief.

　　They recognized Meng Hao, and Meng Hao recognized the aura of their souls.

　　The woman in the group of three was none other than Ji Xiaoxiao. One of them was a stranger to Meng Hao, but he gave of a similar feeling as Ji Mingfeng had. Meng Hao was certain that he was a member of the Ji Clan.

　　Meng Hao was a bit surprised to see the last person. He had to think for a moment before he realized who it was. Song Yunshu! 1

　　He was none other than the Dao Child of the Song Clan of the Southern Domain. During the Song Clan search for a son-in-law, Meng Hao had come in first place, and had actually become the husband of the beloved daughter of the Song Clan, Song Jia. Although he had never thought about the matter much, after seeing Song Yunshu here today, he recalled who the man was.

　　“Interesting,” said Meng Hao, his eyes shining coldly. “Who would have thought that I would meet the three of you here?!”

　　Next to Meng Hao, Xu Qing smiled as she looked at the group of three.

　　These three could never have imagined that they would run into Meng Hao in this place. Their faces instantly fell. Meng Hao’s identity also caused them to be thoroughly astonished. They were well aware of what it meant that Meng Hao was sitting in such a position as he was.

　　However, the more shocked they were, the more difficult they found it to believe. They also were completely astonished when they realized that Meng Hao’s appearance hadn’t changed.

　　“He… he actually acquired the identity of an Elite Apprentice!” thought Ji Xiaoxiao, her eyes widening. “Ke Jiusi! To get Ke Jiusi as a host body, that’s… that’s impossible! Elite Apprentice! That’s the kind of host body that exists only in legend!” She began to pant as her mind reeled.

　　Next to her was the other member of the Ji Clan. He didn’t know Meng Hao, but he knew that the person sitting in that position could only be the legendary number one bully of the Sect, Ke Jiusi. His heart trembled as he realized that Meng Hao was just like him, an outsider.

　　That in itself was enough to leave him flabbergasted. However, even more shocking was that he suddenly recalled that Ke Jiusi had killed a Conclave disciple of the First Peak nearly a month ago.

　　Instantly, he began to put the pieces of the puzzle together….

　　“He killed Ji Mingfeng!” he cried inwardly. “This is bad! If he knows that I know, he’ll kill me to shut me up!!” The Ji Clan member’s face fell. In actuality, he had wanted Ji Mingfeng dead more than anybody else, but nobody knew that.

　　Song Yunshu stood there in a daze. Although Meng Hao’s appearance hadn’t changed, he instantly began to suspect if what he was seeing was true. But then Meng Hao laughed. That expression caused Song Yunshu to recall the image from that year of the person who had become his brother-in-law, Meng Hao.

　　“Elite Apprentice…. He’s actually… an Elite Apprentice!!”

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Noah Lee

　　1. Song Yunshu was introduced when Meng Hao visited the Song Clan. He appeared first in chapter 192, as well as several subsequent chapters. He was also present during the events of the Primordial Dao Geyser, starting in chapter 264 as well as a handful of chapters after that