Chapter 332: The Great Con

　　Meng Hao sped through the air. The parrot gripped his shoulder tightly with its claws, flapping its wings and looking extremely pleased.

　　“Steal, steal, steal!” it squawked. “That’s the way to do it! Steal what you feel like, screw whatever you want. That’s the way to live! Have faith in the Lord Fifth, gain eternal life! When the Lord Fifth appears, who dares to cause strife!”

　　Meng Hao ignored the parrot. His face felt a bit red. This was the first time he had openly stolen something, and it felt strange. Back when he was a scholar, he would never have been able to brazenly rob in the way he had just now.

　　Actually, without the urgings of the parrot, he still would never have done so. Even with all the egging on, he had still hesitated. Actually, if he had been able to, he would have tried to sell some medicinal pills first. In the end, though, that didn’t seem possible.

　　Therefore, for whatever reason, he had listened to the parrot, and performed the robbery in the auction….

　　Such brazen theft made him feel quite nervous inside, but also a bit excited.

　　He shook his head, laughing bitterly as he moved along at top speed. He suddenly realized that he had been unconsciously influenced a lot by the parrot since it woke up.

　　“Damned parrot,” he thought with an inward sigh. Suddenly, the Cultivators speeding through the air at top speed could be heard from behind him, along with roars of rage.

　　“You little bastard! You stole my stuff! Are you looking to die?!” The voice echoed and rolled about like thunder. Meng Hao sent out his Spiritual Sense, and immediately saw the dozen or so pursuing Cultivators, whistling along through the air just behind him. He wasn’t sure what technique they were using, but their bodies were surrounded by a red glow, seemingly connecting them all together and lending them greater speed as they pursued.

　　“I’m not gonna do something like this again,” thought Meng Hao. “Stealing doesn’t really suit me. Yeah, next time I’d rather let the old guy buy the item, then find him later and take it from him. That way I can avoid this kind of attention.” Meng Hao was good at problem solving, so he thought for a moment and then sent his Spiritual Sense out again. One of the three Core Formation Cultivators, an old man with a face full of pockmarks was the only one Meng Hao was paying attention to. He had a Cultivation base at the late Core Formation stage; everyone else Meng Hao ignored.

　　The pock faced old man hadn’t said a word the entire time. Instead, he had observed everything with cold eyes; this made Meng Hao feel a bit of pressure.

　　Unless he put on the Blood Immortal mask, it would be difficult to defeat him.

　　He looked over and gave the parrot a look. “This whole disaster is your fault!”

　　“What are you scared of?” said the parrot, looking back at him with an intense look of pride. “Screw them to death!” Suddenly, its claw lifted up toward its face, placing a black band around its head, covering one eye. After that, it flew off of Meng Hao’s shoulder.

　　It squawked, and suddenly a black fire appeared around its body, which began to grow rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it was now twenty or thirty meters tall. It lowered its head, looking every bit like the member of some sort of elite death squad. With a cry, it made its attack.

　　Meng Hao’s eyes went wide. He saw the parrot advancing bravely; it only took an instant for it to slam into the dozen or so pursuing Cultivators. A boom rang out, and the red glow which surrounded the Cultivators instantly collapsed. Some of them coughed up blood; the three Core Formation Cultivators scattered.

　　Meng Hao’s eyes glittered. Without hesitation, he shot forward. In an instant, he was in front of the early Core Formation Cultivator. He lifted his fist and struck out.

　　The man’s mouth twisted into a vicious smile. He made an incantation sign with both hands, and immediately a spinning vortex shot out. It was black, and lightning crackled within. Furthermore, terrifying shrieks could be heard, along with a multitude of spirit faces, which shot toward Meng Hao, apparently intent on consuming him.

　　Meng Hao gave a cold snort. Without hesitation, he landed his punch. A boom filled the air. The faces twisted and screamed, and then collapsed into pieces. The lightning disintegrated, and the vortex broke up into pieces. This magical technique couldn’t stand up in the least to Meng Hao’s fist. Before the middle-aged Cultivator could react, Meng Hao’s fist passed through them all and slammed into his chest.

　　Boom!

　　The man toppled backward, blood spraying from his mouth and out from his back. His body shook as a massive hole appeared in his chest. He only had time to look down at it before his entire body exploded.

　　Meng Hao didn’t pause for a moment. His right hand immediately began to form an incantation.

　　In front of him was the old mid Core Formation Cultivator, who brimmed with killing intent. He waved his sleeve, and nine pagodas appeared around him, upon the surfaces of which were carved the images of bizarre creatures. Suddenly, countless phantom creatures sprang into being around the pagodas, filling the sky. They immediately charged toward Meng Hao.

　　However, it was at this moment that Meng Hao cried, “Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!” His finger fell, and immediately, ghost images sprung up everywhere, from everything. It was as if a second phantom world existed on top of the current one. They folded in onto the old Core Formation Cultivator; causing his expression to flicker. His Cultivation base was immediately locked down, as if he had been removed from the world, shoved alive out of Heaven and Earth.

　　“What magic is this….” His mind spun as the cold-faced Meng Hao approached. His fist descended, then another, then a third!

　　By the time the third punch fell, the nine pagodas had been smashed into smithereens. In the blink of an eye, Meng Hao’s fist was speeding toward the old man’s forehead.

　　Suddenly, an intense feeling of danger filled Meng Hao’s head. Without a moment’s hesitation, he transformed the fist into a claw and snatched the mid Core Formation old man. Meng Hao shoved the man in front of himself and then pushed, using the immobilized old man to propel himself backward.

　　As he lifted his head, he saw an orange light shining out from the face of the pock marked old Cultivator. It flew through the air to the spot he had just been in, which was now occupied by the mid Core Formation Cultivator. Suddenly, the glowing light stopped.

　　That orange light was what had just caused the sense of crisis to appear in Meng Hao’s mind.

　　He laughed coldly as he fell back. The parrot shot over like lightning, and together, they flew off into the distance.

　　“I’m the Patriarch of the Han River Sect!” said the pock faced old man, his face grim. “Let’s see how you try to escape me!” The mid Core Formation Cultivator’s Cultivation base was now recovering, but his face was pale white and he looked at Meng Hao with fear. His killing intent, though, was stronger than ever.

　　The group of Cultivators once again began to pursue Meng Hao, this time, with the pock faced old man in the lead.

　　Meng Hao’s expression was calm. He had the good luck charm in his hand still. It was full of cracks, and he wasn’t sure how many times he could use it before it completely disintegrated. Unfortunately, he had discovered long ago that he could not duplicate the good luck charm. However, he would still use it without hesitating if the situation demanded.

　　“Hold on,” said the parrot. “Don’t use that thing. I know what it is. Why waste the excellent opportunity we have right now?”

　　As Meng Hao sped along, he looked at the parrot, who was clutching tightly to his shoulder.

　　“What are you talking about?”

　　The parrot’s eyes gleamed as it said, “Don’t you want to get rich? Don’t you want to get a bunch of treasures? Don’t you want to become the wealthiest person under the Heavens?”

　　Meng Hao blinked a few times. Ever since he was young, he had dreamed of being rich. For the parrot to mention such a thing at this moment left him feeling a little bit suspicious.

　　He sent out his Spiritual Sense to glance at the people pursuing him. Given his own current speed, he guessed that it wouldn’t be long before the Han River Sect Cultivators caught up with him.

　　“Lord Fifth doesn’t care too much about riches. Lord Fifth loves fur and feathers. Okay, how about this…. You can keep everything, but you have to promise that in the future, you’ll find more beautiful furred and feathered creatures for Lord Fifth. Ones similar to that Scarlet Peacock would do nicely.” Without waiting for an an answer from Meng Hao, it lifted up one of its claws and shook it.

　　“Ultimate Vexation, get the hell out here!”

　　A face appeared on the small bell that was attached to the Parrot’s claw. It looked incensed. “I know what you’re planning. This time, I won’t do it. I have principles! I won’t do it. I won’t! Never!”

　　The parrot yawned and said, “Remember the fatso who attacked you that year? I’ll tell you where he is.” Its expression was one of complete disdain, as if the meat jelly’s consent was a foregone conclusion.

　　As soon as it heard the parrot’s words, the meat jelly’s face appeared to twist with indecision.

　　“That damned fatso. I hate him! It was with complete good will that I spent ten thousand years converting him. Then, he repaid my kindness with enmity. I… I… Fine! I need to finish converting him. For that reason, I’ll help you one more time. But only this once! And this is the last time… Really….” As the meat jelly chattered, an impatient look appeared on the parrot’s face. It kicked its claw one more time, and the meat jelly flew off.

　　“Bitch! Will you ever shut up!? Alright, turn into some Spirit Stones for Lord Fifth. I want one million, okay?” When the parrot finished speaking, the meat jelly let out a growl, and then, to Meng Hao’s shock, suddenly exploded.

　　The sound of the explosion immediately caught the guarded attention of the Han River Sect Cultivators. Even the pock faced old man suddenly stopped moving.

　　However, a moment later, vast amounts of shining, glittering Spirit Stones appeared. They looked like rain as they descended from the sky all over the place.

　　They were dazzlingly bright in the sunlight, and a thick spiritual energy emanated out from them, completely shocking. The amazing, brilliant sight of it caused all of the nearby Cultivators to begin to pant.

　　One million Spirit Stones, and the quality of each one was beyond average; these were not low-grade Spirit Stones! To see them slowly floating down in mid-air caused the Black Lands Cultivators to instantly charge forward with reckless abandon.

　　Even the pock faced old man’s eyes went wide. To him, one million Spirit Stones was a vast number. Behind him were the members of the other two great Sects, and behind them were nearly hundreds of other Cultivators. All of them, rushed forward with wide eyes.

　　Meng Hao’s eyes glittered, and he immediately transformed into a beam of light that shot off at high speed, like a shooting star. He left behind all the people who were suddenly enthralled with the idea of getting rich.

　　It was as if they had lost their minds, and didn’t even stop to think why Meng Hao would suddenly have so many Spirit Stones. If he did, why would he need to perform robbery at the auction? Actually, Meng Hao was feeling a bit torn; he couldn’t believe he had never thought to have the meat jelly turn into Spirit Stones.

　　“Heh heh,” chuckled the parrot with an arrogant, sinister smile. “Steal away. The more you steal the better. Years ago I forced Ultimate Vexation to use this method on the eight Taiping Dao Patriarchs to rob them blind!”