Chapter 479: Seeking to Perish

　　Within the memories of the black-robed old man, Meng Hao saw many complicated things. They were his recollections of his life. Even as the man screamed and trembled, a death aura slowly spreading out from him, Meng Hao found what he was looking for.

　　The Feng Shui compass was one of many distributed throughout the Western Desert by the Heavenly Court Alliance. Because the Crow Divinity Tribes had not left their mountains during the Apocalypse, they were not up to date on everything that was happening in the outside world, and were unaware of this aspect.

　　Actually, more than half of the Tribes in the Western Desert had such a Feng Shui compass.

　　It served only one purpose; it would reveal the location of any Demon Spirits within the area.

　　Because Meng Hao had two Demon Spirits in his bag of holding, his position was visible on the compass.

　　Having detected a Demon Spirit, the Grand Fusion Tribe came with killing intent, hoping to slaughter them and take the Demon Spirit.

　　Meng Hao’s face was grim. He flicked his sleeve, and the Lotus Sword Formation rotated. A shrill scream could be heard as the old man’s body grew ancient. He wanted to evade, but after the Soul Searching, his mind had been severely damaged. Even his Nascent Soul was weak and on the verge of collapse.

　　As Meng Hao turned to walk off, a banging sound could be heard as the man’s body turned directly into ash. Body and spirit were destroyed underneath the Time power of the Lotus Sword Formation.

　　The battle didn’t last for very long. With Meng Hao’s powerful Cultivation base, it didn’t matter that the Grand Fusion Tribe had Spirit Stones to counter the effects of the waning spiritual energy. Their three thousand Tribe members quickly turned the ground into a river of blood.

　　Meng Hao felt no sympathy for them whatsoever. He knew that if his own Cultivation base were not strong enough, then the members of the Crow Divinity Tribes, including himself, would be the ones to form a river of blood.

　　The bags of holding and other resources of the Grand Fusion Tribe became fuel to keep the Crow Divinity Tribes going for longer. As for the thousands of neo-demons, thanks to Meng Hao’s Demonic Qi, they capitulated and became part of his neo-demon horde.

　　After assigning more than a thousand of the neo-demons to be mounts for the Tribe members, they crossed the huge lake and once again continued with their migration.

　　However, dark clouds filled Meng Hao’s heart. Because of the matter of the Feng Shui compasses, he knew that their migration would now be even more difficult. No matter how he tried to hide or seal the Demon Spirits, he was incapable of preventing the compass from detecting them.

　　Thankfully, the memories of the black-robed old man had revealed to Meng Hao the various announcements made by the Black Lands Heavenly Court Alliance during the time that he was in the Realm of the Bridge Ruins.

　　For example, he knew that as for the great Tribes with Spirit Severing experts, they were welcomed into the Black Lands with no stipulations whatsoever.

　　Because of that, most great Tribes naturally didn’t care too much about Demon Spirits. Even those that did care somewhat, did not care so much that they would spare no price to get one.

　　“The Tribes that need the Demon Spirits the most are the mid-sized Tribes. Or Tribes like the Five Poisons Tribe, who don’t have a Spirit Severing expert.” Meng Hao was lost in thought regarding these matters as they crossed the lake and then continued onward.

　　Time flowed by. Three months later, the Crow Divinity Tribes were now far from the mountains that had been their home. Meng Hao’s neo-demon horde once again numbered 20,000.

　　In Meng Hao’s estimation, the neo-demon horde was one of the biggest factors in his ability to protect the Crow Divinity Tribes. Right now, the Crow Divinity Tribes were not capable of engaging in battle with the powerful mid-sized Tribes on their own. When it came to dealing with the great Tribes, their biggest advantage was that Meng Hao was a Demon Sealer, a status which placed him above even a Grand Dragoneer.

　　Demonic Qi allowed him to attract and control more neo-demons; this often made his ability to change the course of a battle even stronger.

　　The three months of travel were anything but peaceful. After the Grand Fusion Tribe, they encountered three more mid-sized Tribes. Without exception, all of those tribes came after them with bloodshot eyes and killing intent, determined to seize a Demon Spirit.

　　After three battles, three Tribes were exterminated.

　　Meng Hao’s neo-demon horde reached 20,000 in number, and the Crow Divinity Tribes did not lose a single member. In each of the three battles, it was Meng Hao and the neo-demons who did the fighting.

　　“Grow strong through battle,” said Meng Hao, looking back at the mountains far behind.

　　They were now in a wide plain.

　　“By continuous battle, we acquire more resources and more neo-demons. If one day I can build my horde up to 100,000 neo-demons, then we would be able to shake even great Tribes.” His eyes glittered with determination.

　　The Crow Soldier Tribe Greatfather, the Crow Gloom Grand Elder, Gu La, and the others all saw Meng Hao’s decisiveness, and it caused them to sigh with relief.

　　To them, Meng Hao was not just a Sacred Ancient, but also, the sole hope of the Crow Divinity Tribes.

　　“Esteemed Sacred Ancient,” said the Crow Soldier Tribe Greatfather with an anxious frown, “if we continue on this path, it will only be a few months before we reach the lands of the mid-sized Eternal Universe Tribe. Their totem is a blue-faced Ghoul, and their Tribe members are cruel and savage. There is no way to know if they are still there. If we want to avoid them, we can make a detour, but that will take us into the lands of the Five Poisons Tribe.”

　　“There’s no need for detours,” said Meng Hao coolly. His eyes shone with killing intent. “If the Eternal Universe Tribe is still there and has malicious intentions, well, I still need more neo-demons, and can use them to bolster my horde.”

　　On this road of migration, Meng Hao had long since grown used to killing.

　　“So….” said the Crow Gloom Grand Elder, his eyes shining with a fierce glow.

　　“Proceed onward!” replied Meng Hao calmly. His decisions were the decisions of the Tribe. Originally, there had been more than a thousand members of the five Crow Divinity Tribes. However, during recent battles, hundreds of enemies had surrendered, opting to become slaves in order to save their own lives. The Tribe, which now numbered nearly two thousand members, continued onward in formation.

　　Time passed. Two months later, they faced a river of violet rainwater. Further off in what had once been a flat plain was a crudely constructed city.

　　The city wasn’t extremely large, but seemed capable of housing over 10,000 people. It was made from rocks and dirt which were covered with fading magical symbols. In the very middle of the city were nine enormous statues. The statues, all clustered together, had vicious-looking faces, like Ghouls.

　　This was none other than the Eternal Universe Tribe. They were a mid-sized Tribe, but this was the Western Desert North region. The Tribe had experienced quite a few internal conflicts as they tried to decide whether or not to migrate. In the end, they had chosen to send a vanguard up ahead, leaving some members of the Tribe behind to decide later whether or not to migrate.

　　At the moment, the Eternal Universe Tribe’s Greatfather, High Priest, Grand Elder, and other important members were standing on the city wall, staring excitedly off into the distance.

　　“Are you sure?” growled the Greatfather.

　　“Absolutely sure,” replied the High Priest, who held a Feng Shui compass in his hand. A bright dot could be seen on its surface. “They’re very close. This migrating Tribe is most likely the Crow Divinity Tribe, and they have a Demon Spirit!”

　　“According to the scouts, they are about two thousand strong. Some of that number includes ordinary Tribe members. They also have about one thousand neo-demons.

　　“They have one mid Nascent Soul Cultivator and two of the early Nascent Soul stage. The rest are Core Formation or lower. According to the intelligence we gathered regarding their war with the Five Poisons Tribe, they lost all of their totemic Sacred Ancients, which is why they are in such a state of deep decline.

　　“Considering that the spiritual energy has become so scarce, their road will end here in death!”

　　The Greatfather’s eyes shone with a bright light. “Heaven will not exterminate our Eternal Universe Tribe! Such a fine gift has been delivered right up to us. Notify the rest of the Tribe. We attack in full force. After we get that Demon Spirit, we will leave this place no matter the cost. We will meet up with the vanguard force and go to the Black Lands!” The Priest and the others around him all looked very excited.

　　The nearly 10,000 members of the Eternal Universe Tribe emerged out onto the plain, filled with the desire to slay Meng Hao and the Crow Divinity Tribes and take their Demon Spirit.

　　Meanwhile, across the plain was a bleak area which at one time had been filled with poison. These were the lands of the Five Poisons Tribe, a place where outsiders never entered.

　　The Five Poisons Tribe had long since chosen to migrate. However, it was not the entire Tribe that did so. Only four of the branches of the Tribe had left; the Scorpion Branch had chosen to stay behind.

　　At this moment, the Scorpion Branch’s High Priest held a Feng Shui compass in his hand. For a long moment, he silently looked at the dot representing a Demon Spirit.

　　“We need to think of a way to notify the migrating branches that a Demon Spirit has appeared. If they can come up with a way to rob it, excellent. Unfortunately, our Scorpion Branch….” He shook his head. “So, the Crow Divinity Tribes left their mountains after the war, and even managed to get a Demon Spirit…. It doesn’t matter who choses to tangle with them. Our Scorpion Branch has already decided to die here in their ancestral land. There’s no need to step into turbid waters.”

　　Meng Hao and the Crow Divinity Tribes traveled on for seven days. Suddenly, Meng Hao’s eyes glittered. His expression was calm as he slapped his bag of holding. Immediately, the vine trunk appeared and burrowed down into the ground. Moments later, thorns shot up from the soil, completely encircling the two thousand members of the Crow Divinity Tribes. They spread out to connect up above, forming a dome.

　　It was like an upside down bowl, completely protecting the Tribe inside.

　　All of it took only a moment to accomplish as, up ahead, a black cloud mass could be seen. Within the cloud were tens of thousands of neo-demons. Bright beams of light were thousands of Cultivators. The ground shook as thousands of Cultivators rode neo-demons to follow.

　　Everything trembled and the sky grew dark. The whole time, the violet rain continued to fall!

　　No words were exchanged. The incoming eight thousand Cultivators whistled through the air. The tens of thousands of neo-demons let out roars that spread out in all directions.

　　“He thinks he alone can hinder our army of tens of thousands? He overestimates his power! Eternal Universe Tribe Cultivators, hear my command. Slaughter all of these people! Do not leave a single one alive!”

　　Roaring filled the sky as the army charged into battle. Four Nascent Soul Cultivators shot toward Meng Hao at top speed, filled with killing intent.

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Abel Nunez, Ng Shan and Jerry Bartlet