Chapter 481: An Old Enemy

　　The battle lasted for several long hours. The Eternal Universe Tribe Greatfather perished and the High Priest was destroyed. Of the remaining five Nascent Soul Cultivators, three died and two attempted to flee.

　　They didn’t get very far before Meng Hao caught up with them and exterminated them.

　　He had no other choice. The only chance they had to live was to surrender, change totems, and exercize faith in Meng Hao by becoming a slave member of the Crow Divinity Tribes. Meng Hao could well imagine that if he didn’t kill those who chose instead to flee, news of the matter of the Demon Spirit would quickly travel far and wide.

　　They were in a bad enough situation as it was, if news spread even farther, then it would be even more difficult to successfully migrate.

　　Only about two thousand members of the Eternal Universe Tribe remained from the original force of seven or eight thousand. These members chose to surrender and pay allegiance to Meng Hao, becoming slave members of the Crow Divinity Tribes.

　　Of the 60,000 neo-demons, 50,000 survived the battle. They blotted out the sky as they surrounded Meng Hao, who stood there, hair whipping about, his faced filled with killing intent. He truly looked bizarre in these circumstances.

　　Several days later, the Crow Divinity Tribes, now four thousand members strong, arrived at the city formerly controlled by the Eternal Universe Tribe. They stripped the city of anything useful and then proceeded on their way.

　　They headed south, following a path that would eventually lead them out of the Western Desert North region.

　　The violet rain only continued to fall harder and harder…. The corrosive properties of the rain, its ability to exterminate life force, also increased. More and more lakes could be seen covering the land. From the look of it, it wouldn’t be long before the lakes joined together to become a sea.

　　Time flashed by. Two years passed. During the two years, the Crow Divinity Tribes continued on relentlessly toward the south. They crossed huge lakes and made their way through mountain ranges. During the journey, they faced battle seven times.

　　These seven battles caused the Crow Divinity Tribes to completely rise to prominence. Their numbers grew from four thousand to over 10,000. Only a thousand of those were original members of the five Crow Divinity Tribes. The other Cultivators were captured in battle and then chose to pledge allegiance to the Crow Divinity, to exercise faith in Meng Hao, and to become slaves.

　　Their totems were forcibly changed. Prostrating in worship to Meng Hao, they received either a Metal, Wood, Fire or Earth totem, and called Meng Hao Sacred Ancient.

　　Through the successive battles, Meng Hao’s neo-demon horde gradually increased in size. It now numbered 80,000.

　　As far as Nascent Soul Cultivators went, before they had only three. Now, there were seven, an increase of four. They were Cultivators from other Tribes who had chosen to surrender. To these Cultivators who chose to join the Crow Divinity Tribes, it was actually a chance to survive through the Apocalypse.

　　If the Crow Divinity Tribes managed to make it to the Black Lands, then they too would be able to enter and survive.

　　The shocking sight of the neo-demon horde soaring through the sky made it so that the glory of the Crow Divinity Tribes had now been restored to the level it had been back in the days of the Five Tribes. Now that more people were joining, and resources were more plentiful, Meng Hao began to concoct medicinal pills. Because his medicinal pills could restore spiritual energy, they became an essential part of life in the Crow Divinity Tribes.

　　It was also the reason that the more than 10,000 Cultivators could continue to endure the violet rain. After all… despite their abundance of resources, they still had not been able to acquire a flying machine.

　　Large-scale flying magical items were considerably expensive, and not something that mid-sized Tribes would possess. Only great Tribes would have such magical items.

　　Meng Hao was hopeful of being able to acquire a flying machine. However, during the two years, his face only continued to grow grimmer and grimmer. He was well aware that because of the Apocalypse, many Tribes in the Western Desert North were in the process of migrating. That was why they had run into the seven other Tribes that they battled with.

　　However, as they continued to travel, they would eventually leave the North region. When that happened, they would be facing up against even more Tribes, many of whom would have Feng Shui compasses. Once the Demon Spirit showed up on a Feng Shui compass, it would give rise to shocking violence.

　　The only way to resolve situations like that was by killing!

　　Meng Hao’s eyes shone with a cold light. During the two years, he had become completely accustomed to carrying out massacres.

　　“If the Crow Divinity Tribes cannot make it all the way to the Black Lands, it will be because I have done everything in my power, but failed. At that point, my debt to the Golden Crow will be paid. I will prove myself worthy of the blessings I have received from the Crow Divinity Tribes.” Meng Hao was already doing everything he could to fulfill his moral obligations. Regardless of whether or not he was able to achieve the pinnacle of his goal, there was now little more that he could do.

　　During the two years in which Meng Hao observed the violet rain falling, he was slowly beginning to attain bits of enlightenment. He was able to use the Everburning Flame to give birth to his Fire-type totem, and the framework of the Frost soil to create his Earth-type totem. As for his Water-type totem… perhaps he really could use the violet rain to acquire it!

　　After all, the violet rain contained the power of an Apocalypse. Such Water-type power could exterminate life and cut off spiritual energy. It was extraordinary to the extreme. If he could control that power and use it to create a Water-type totem tattoo, then Meng Hao would not only have completed the great circle of the five elements, but would have done so with five elements that could shake Heaven and Earth!

　　Metal came from the Golden Crow, a medicinal pill from ancient times that became a Demon, something exceedingly rare in Heaven and Earth!

　　Wood came from a powerful expert from the Ninth Sea, who collapsed upon reaching South Heaven. Its consciousness was reborn in the form of a tree, the Greenwood Tree!

　　Fire came from the East Pill Everburning Flame. It was a fire that could never be extinguished, that would exist eternally. Its origin was a mystery, such that even Meng Hao wasn’t sure where it came from!

　　Earth came from the power of the Frost soil and the Frost Soil Demon Emperor, a legendary soil which, according to the legends in the Ninth Mountain, was magically birthed from a patch of dirt, and eventually became unique and unmatched.

　　“Water…. The violet rain Apocalypse exterminates life and cuts off spiritual energy, leaving everything desolate!” Meng Hao’s eyes shone with a strange light.

　　10,000 Cultivators of the Tribe followed him in this Apocalyptic migration. The speed with which they traveled was significantly faster than two years before. After all, all of the people who surrendered and offered allegiance were Cultivators, not ordinary Tribe members. As for the original group of one thousand Crow Divinity Tribe members, the few hundred ordinary Tribe members were assisted by others, and didn’t influence the general speed of the migration.

　　Not many people noticed the rise of the Crow Divinity Tribes. After all, everyone was anxious to carry out their own migrations, and didn’t pay too much attention to what was happening elsewhere. Furthermore, because of the chaos of the Apocalypse, all Tribes were very vigilant when it came to dealing with outsiders.

　　However, there was one Tribe that did notice the five Crow Divinity Tribes. That Tribe was none other than the old enemy of the Crow Divinity Tribes, the Five Poisons Tribe!

　　On the border of the Western Desert North region, the Five Poisons Tribe had set up temporary shelters. In the central pavilion sat the Tribe’s Priests, who numbered thirteen in total. In the center position were two old men.

　　The first was the Greatfather of the Five Poisons Tribe. The other… was the man who had led the great army in an attempt to exterminate the five Crow Divinity Tribes. The High Priest.

　　He broke the silence in the tent with his raspy voice: “We are certain that the Crow Divinity Tribes have a Demon Spirit.”

　　Conversations immediately broke out within the central pavilion.

　　“We have already contacted the great Cloud Sky Tribe. They have a Spirit Severing Patriarch, which qualifies them to enter the Black Lands. If we choose to join them, then… from now on, we will lose the right to govern ourselves, and will become an auxiliary branch of their Tribe. The exalted Sacred Ancients are reluctant to agree to such an arrangement.”

　　“If we choose not to join the great Cloud Sky Tribe, then the only hope we have to survive is to exterminate the Crow Divinity Tribes and seize their Demon Spirit. Furthermore, our only chance is to do so… before news of this Demon Spirit spreads to other areas outside the Western Desert North region!”

　　“That’s right. Once the words spreads out, it will reach the Central region, where large quantities of Tribes are congregating. The further south one goes, the more Tribes there are to be found. Once the Crow Divinity Tribes enter the Central region, the fact that they have a Demon Spirit will be impossible to hide.”

　　“If we acquire the Demon Spirit, we could use it to make a deal with the great Cloud Sky Tribe. We could offer it to them in exchange for the chance of autonomy if we join them.”

　　As the conversations continued, the Greatfather sat there taciturnly.

　　“In accord with our previous agreement, the emissary from the Cloud Sky Tribe will be here in two months.”

　　“However, according to our secret inquiries, the Crow Divinity Tribes are now over 10,000 in number. They also have tens of thousands of neo-demons. Furthermore, their Grand Dragoneer Meng Hao is worth a thousand regular Cultivators! Such a war will be no simple thing.”

　　“They’re nothing but a disorderly mob. If we attack with all our might, we can definitely wipe out the Crow Divinity Tribes within three days, and seize the Demon Spirit before anyone else can!”

　　Finally, the Greatfather cleared his throat, instantly causing the pavilion to grow quiet. All gazes shifted to fall upon him.

　　“The Sacred Ancients are not willing to join another great Tribe. Neither are we…. Therefore, prepare for war! We will fight the Crow Divinity Tribes and seize their Demon Spirit. That Demon Spirit is the key to our future survival!” His eyes filled with determination as he spoke. Afterwards, all of the Priests kowtowed deeply to him.

　　“As for that Grand Dragoneer Meng Hao… the Tribe still has a drop of Heavenly Blood. Use the blood to fuse the spirits of the tens of thousands of Tribe members, and slay Meng Hao!”

　　The High Priest stared in shock and said, “Heavenly Blood. That’s….”

　　“I’ve already made up my mind. The Crow Divinity Tribes’ Grand Dragoneer Meng Hao will die as soon as we make our assault!” The Greatfather’s voice was resolute. The others sat there silently for a moment, then began to nod.

　　Soon thereafter, the Five Poisons Tribe’s temporary residence area buzzed as 50,000 Tribe members prostrated themselves around five statues. If you could look at the scene from up above, the Five Poisons Tribe looked like a giant petal with five flowers. In the very center were the Greatfather and the others. Suddenly, a drop of blood appeared in the hand of the Greatfather, which he flung up into the sky.

　　At the same time, the tens of thousands of prostrating Tribe Members began to chant an incantation. The sound of it was extremely bizarre as it floated up into the air. The sky dimmed, and the violet rain in the area seemed to begin to undulate.

　　“Spirit Fusion!” cried the Greatfather. Immediately, 50,000 Cultivators bit their tongues and spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood immediately shot up into the air to fuse together with the violet drop of blood which had been thrown up earlier. The mass of blood grew larger and larger; in the blink of an eye it was a few dozen meters wide. Then it began to shrink down until it was barely two meters tall, and bore the semblance of a human.

　　Soon a face appeared. Its eyes opened, and a bloody glow rose up into the sky. It looked around and, seemingly sensing the will of the surrounding 50,000 Cultivators, turned its head and then shot off into the distance.

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Toni Kirsch, Christophe Salemi and Carter B