Chapter 373: How Could It Be Him!?

　　No one in Holy Snow City understood what Meng Hao was talking about. They could tell that he must have some sort of history with the Black Lands Palace Dao Child, but they didn’t understand any of the details.

　　However, as soon as the words entered Luo Chong’s ears, his mind instantly began to reel. Beneath his mask, his face filled with a look of complete disbelief. There were two people he feared most in life, one was Fang Mu of the Southern Domain, the other was the Demon Lord of the Black Lands.

　　When he heard Meng Hao’s words, he instantly understood their meaning. His pupils constricted immediately.

　　“It’s him! It’s definitely him! He’s the only one who knows about that incident. Dammit, how could it be him!?” Luo Chong began to pant, and his eyes grew wide as he recalled the scene from that day. His heart trembled as he remembered the nightmare his life had become after he went back to the Black Lands Palace to try to dispel the poison.

　　Every month, there was a period of a few days in which his entire body felt like it was being stabbed all over. The pain was difficult to bear, and the only thing he could do was wail constantly in terror. Even his Master was powerless to help him, and all the Eastern Lands alchemist could do was sigh. All of that exploded out in Luo Chong’s mind, overwhelming him.

　　His mind buzzed, and went blank. Fear filled his eyes. Never could he possibly have imagined that after all his efforts to avoid the Demon Lord, the first time he went out to some remote location, he would run into that very nightmarish figure.

　　He stood there blankly, his heart filling with indescribable remorse. He wanted to roar out that he was innocent, he really didn’t know that the Demon Lord was here. Had he known, he wouldn’t have come even under the threat of being beaten to death.

　　Then he thought about all the things he had just said, as well as the instructions not to come within three hundred kilometers of the Demon Lord, and his entire body began to shake. An unspeakable dread rose up from his heart like a tempest.

　　He thought about the fearsomeness of the Demon Lord, the feeling the man gave off like that of the underworld, and how he could kill him with a thought. All of these things smashed down onto Luo Chong like endless gigantic mountains.

　　Black Lands Palace Dao Child? Honor and glory? Face? All of these things vanished from Luo Chong. The most important thing was his life. Because of that, Luo Chong felt the ultimate level of fear.

　　“Dammit, how could he be here?!”

　　As Luo Chong’s mind spun, and the fear submerged him, he stood there with a blank look on his face.

　　The Cultivators next to him were astonished. Meng Hao’s words were filled with an overbearing tone which caused some of the surrounding Cultivators to feel somewhat anxious. Suddenly, someone strode forward and said, “What gall! This is a Dao Child of the Black Lands Palace! The only people to flee three hundred kilometers are the people running away from him, you paltry alchemist! Do you truly dare to rave in such a manner?!”

　　The words hit Luo Chong like a lightning bolt. His body trembled, and he suddenly recovered his senses. His heart was still filled with terror, as well as an unspeakable fury. However, before he could give vent to his fury….

　　Another Cultivator hurried forward, exuding a loyal and devoted aura. Angrily, he said, “Just who the hell do you think you are? Dao Children occupy positions of incredible respect. Your words just now earn you the right to die!”

　　Their statements entered Luo Chong’s ears, causing him to tremble even more violently. His fury was now billowing to the heavens, and a feeling of infinite fear had completely overwhelmed him. That was because he could see the cold gleam in Meng Hao’s eyes.

　　His mind felt as if it were about to explode.

　　Another Cultivator stepped forward. “You….” Before he could finish speaking, Luo Chong raised his head to the sky and let out a shocking roar of fury.

　　“Shut up! Dammit, are you trying to get a Dao Child killed!!” He shot forward and unhesitatingly slapped the Cultivator who had been about to speak.

　　A boom rang out, and the Cultivator tumbled back like a kite with a broken string, blood spraying from his mouth and a confused look in his eyes. Fury written across his face beneath the mask, Luo Chong next spun and flashed an incantation gesture. Immediately the glow of starlight appeared, enveloping one of the other Cultivators who had just spoken up.

　　A miserable shriek could be heard. It was as if this man was Luo Chong’s enemy, and that he would do anything possible to kill him!

　　“You damned flunky!” roared Luo Chong. “You dare to plot against a Dao Child?! You’re dead!” Another boom filled the air as the Cultivator exploded into pieces, exterminated directly by Luo Chong.

　　“If you want to disrespect me, then fine. But to disrespect the great Demon Lord is the most heinous of crimes! You all deserve to die!! You can be disrespectful to anyone in the whole world except for the Demon Lord!!” With a roar, he charged toward the first person who had spoken. The man stared in shock, his face pale. He was about to try to explain himself, but, would Luo Chong really listen? All he wanted to do was kill the man in the hopes of avoiding any misunderstanding with Meng Hao.

　　He had quickly reached the decision to vent his hatred on the three. He hoped that the fearsome Demon Lord would understand that he took the words of the three as spoken with the intention of getting Luo Chong killed.

　　The sounds of explosions echoed out in the air as Luo Chong attacked with unprecedented might. He moved like lightning, instantly slaying the Cultivator who had been about to speak. His hair was in disarray, and his eyes red as he trembled and turned toward Meng Hao. He clasped hands and bowed deeply.

　　“Junior extends greetings, great Demon Lord,” he said, shaking. “Those flunkies just now were merely blabbering, junior has already exterminated them. Demon Lord I beg of you… please forgive me, Demon Lord.” He spoke quickly, but his voice was tremulous and filled with fear. Everyone in the area could hear it.

　　Complete silence filled the region both inside and outside the city.

　　The four Grand Elders stared in shock, as did Hanxue Shan and all of the other Cultivators in the city.

　　Outside, the Cultivators surrounding Luo Chong watched on blankly. Off in the distance, the Black Lands Palace Cultivators had strange expressions on their faces. They clearly weren’t sure how to react to the strange turn of events just now.

　　The five Nascent Soul Cultivators’ eyes were wide. Luo Chong was now acting in exactly the opposite way that he should have….

　　“Junior really did not know that you were in this place, great Demon Lord. Really, I really didn’t know. I… I….” Luo Chong trembled as a feeling of imminent death washed through him. He knew that no one could save him, not his Master, not the Eastern Lands alchemist, not even the five Nascent Soul Cultivators.

　　His heart filled with regret, complete and utter regret. He should never have left the Black Lands Palace….