Chapter 323: Goddess Duo Lan1

　　Meng Hao took a deep breath. The glow in his hand lasted for a long time before he finally put away the ultra high-grade Spirit Stone. After that, a silver-colored magical symbol appeared above his palm. It began to emit a silver glow, as well as a faint aura that floated up into the air and transformed into more magical symbols. It gave Meng Hao a feeling very similar to that given off by the Celestial soil.

　　The magical symbols emanated powerful ripples which immediately caused Meng Hao to feel a sense of danger; he examined everything closely before sending the symbol away.

　　“Exactly as I anticipated. To kill a son of the Ji Clan, one must not get involved in a prolonged battle. Exterminate like lightning, giving him no chance to use any magical items…. If I hadn’t been so decisive in my use of the blood-colored mask, then I’m afraid….” Fear filled him as he thought back to the fight; had he hesitated in the slightest, there might have been a much different outcome.

　　The Ji Clan was truly fearsome; Meng Hao just couldn’t believe that they wouldn’t have some powerful tricks up their sleeves. The main reason he had achieved victory was because he had attacked like a clap of thunder, giving his opponent little time to react.

　　Looking at the silver magical symbol, Meng Hao could tell that it required preparation time to use.

　　“At its very weakest, this thing is more powerful than my Cultivation base; I’m just not sure exactly how to use it.” After thinking for a moment, his hand flickered again; this time, a translucent pill bottle appeared.

　　Clearly visible inside was a medicinal pill the size of a longan fruit 2. The pill was branded with the image of a hand. Meng Hao’s eyes glittered as he opened the pill bottle; after sniffing the aroma of the pill, he was visibly moved.

　　“This is not an ordinary medicinal pill! This is… a one hundred percent consummate pill!” He took a deep breath as he closely examined the pill. A long moment later, a look of amazement filled his eyes.

　　“Soul Procurement Pill! One of the three great ancient medicinal pills! A consummate Soul Procurement Pill!” Breathing deeply, he examined it once again to confirm he was correct. He was. There was no mistake. His expression filled with wonder.

　　Of the three great ancient medicinal pills, Meng Hao already possessed a Primordial Heavenly Replenishing Pill. Therefore, he would be able to compensate for longevity he had squandered. Also, his Master had given him three Outlander Pills, which he could use to suppress the Resurrection Lily, as well as add to his longevity.

　　“The Nascent Soul of a Nascent Soul Cultivator is based on the five elements, and is divided into five colors. A Four Color Nascent Soul is actually considered the ultimate. With a Flawless Foundation and a Violet Core, along with a One Color Soul Procurement Pill, then it’s possible to add one more element!

　　“If I had four elements, then this pill could increase it to five. But, if I already had five elements, then… would it be able to become a Six Color Nascent Soul? Too bad it doesn’t matter how many times you consume this pill, it will only be effective once.” He held the One Color Soul Procurement Pill and stared at it, his eyes glittering. Finally, he carefully put it away.

　　He had the strong feeling that this pill would be extremely important to him in the future!

　　Next, he looked down at the bag of holding as he pulled out a fishing rod.

　　It was long and slender, and completely emerald in color. He hefted it in his hand, not quite sure exactly what function it served. It was glittering and translucent, and also appeared to be very sharp; the hook at its end shone with a cold light.

　　“This thing….” After a moment’s pause, he flicked the rod; immediately an illusory pool of water appeared in front of him. The fish hook flew down into the pool of water, and as it did, a tremor ran through Meng Hao’s body. He heard the sound of infants wailing, the gasping breath of old people just before death, the laughter of able-bodied men, the stubborn oaths uttered by teenagers. He heard the voices of all living things.

　　The sounds entered his mind and heart, shaking them. He felt as if he would be torn apart. He immediately loosened his hand; the fishing pole fell to the ground, and everything else vanished.

　　It had only taken that brief moment for Meng Hao’s entire body to be covered with sweat. His breath came in ragged gasps.

　　“What is this thing?” he thought, looking down at the fishing pole. It didn’t look like anything particularly extraordinary at first, but now, it seemed vastly mysterious.

　　This was especially so when he thought about how terrifying the Ji Clan was; clearly, this fishing pole must surely be some type of important item.

　　Some time passed, after which Meng Hao put the fishing pole away. He looked back at the bag of holding. Other than a collection of ordinary Spirit Stones, there seemed to be only one other noteworthy item.

　　It was a box.

　　The box was square, seemingly crafted from jade, and yet not. It was pitch black, and on the right corner was a mark, a character.

　　Fang (方).

　　The box seemed ancient, permeated with an archaic aura. Meng Hao’s eyes glittered as he slowly opened it. Inside was a single glove. It was as soft as the wing of a cicada as he picked it up.

　　He used Spiritual Sense to examine it carefully for a moment before placing it on his right hand. The instant he put it on, he sensed an incredible power exploding out from within it, flowing into his right hand.

　　He took a deep breath and looked at his hand. There was no glove visible; however, when he made a fist, cracking sounds could be heard, as if the air itself was being pulled toward it. Everything in the Immortal’s cave trembled, then flew into the air toward Meng Hao’s closing fist. Even the air seemed to be reduced, by at least half, sucked into the fist.

　　“What power….?” Suddenly, an image in his mind appeared of the young woman of the Fang Clan, and her terrifying fist.

　　“Fang…. This item must be related to the Fang Clan. If it is, though, why is it in the bag of holding of a member of the Ji Clan? Furthermore, why wouldn’t he use it?” After much pondering of the matter, he remained puzzled. All of the other items, the ultra-high-grade Spirit Stones, the fishing pole, even the silver-colored magical symbol, were things that required time to use. Ji Hongdong had no time to use any of them.

　　And yet he didn’t wear the glove, which was clearly extraordinary. Had he put it on, it would not have been so easy to kill him.

　　“I still have his blood,” thought Meng Hao. “When I’m able to create a Blood Spirit, then its consciousness will be linked to me, and I will be able to see his memories. Perhaps then I can find out the answer.” He took some time to feel the power of his right hand, then slowly opened it. He looked once again at the bag of holding. Inside were some miscellaneous items. As for the ordinary Spirit Stones, there were about twenty or thirty thousand, not enough to duplicate any of the medicinal pills he needed to copy.

　　Eyes glittering, he put the bag of holding away.

　　With these objects, he now had even more ability to rise to power outside of the Southern Domain. He could truly roam free now.

　　“Except, I can’t at the moment,” he thought, shaking his head. He retrieved Ji Hongdong’s bell, then spit out a mouthful of Qi from his Core and melded the two together. He then studied it for a while, trying to figure out how to use it. Like the other objects, it seemed that learning how to use it would require a bit of research.

　　“There’s no hurry. My wounds are healed, and the time to emerge is almost here. First, though, I need to duplicate the Primordial Heavenly Replenishing Pill!” At first he was a bit hesitant; he knew that the One Color Soul Procurement Pill could only be used once. Unfortunately, there was no way to test whether the Primordial Heavenly Replenishing Pill had a similar restriction.

　　If it did, then duplicating it would be a waste. However, if he didn’t duplicate it, but could use it more than once, it would be a huge loss.

　　He had a decisive disposition. Therefore, eyes glittering, he pulled out the copper mirror and the Primordial Heavenly Replenishing Pill. He took a deep breath, and then began to duplicate it with an ultra high-grade Spirit Stone.

　　The three great ancient medicinal pills were rare in the modern world, and he wasn’t sure at first if duplicating it would even work. It pained him a bit to have to spend five of the ultra high-grade Spirit Stones to duplicate one pill.

　　He immediately put the duplicate into his mouth.

　　Time passed by. Several days later, his hair slowly began to change. It was no longer white, but black; his face began to show signs of color, and soon shone with life. His entire person glowed, and in fact, his Cultivation base had even grown. It wouldn’t be long before he would be able to break into the mid Core Formation stage.

　　Meng Hao held back though. His primary goal was the Perfect Gold Core; he could not turn back once Core Qi appeared and he entered the mid Core Formation stage.

　　A few more days passed before he opened his eyes. They glowed with a bright and piercing light. His longevity was completely restored. He cast his Spiritual Sense outside, where it was currently early morning. Beneath the dawn sun, the parrot was flying in circles in the sky, continuously calling out orders to the more than one hundred people below.

　　“Lord Fifth is going to teach you a Celestial spell formation. This Celestial spell formation uses people as its base! I guarantee that if you master the formation, then you will be invincible! Now, cry out the words with me!”

　　“Have faith in the Lord Fifth, gain eternal life! When the Lord Fifth appears, who dares to cause strife!” The roaring of the more than one hundred Cultivators was like thunder….

　　The meat jelly sat off to the side, face filled with disdain. However, it couldn’t conceal the envy and jealousy it felt inside.

　　Meng Hao had watched similar scenes on multiple occasions recently. He had merely smiled wryly and ignored it. He was just about to retract his Spiritual Sense, when suddenly he frowned. He pushed two fingers down against the ground and invoked the art of Righteous Bestowal. The Qi in the area poured into him, focusing in his eyes. Combining his vision with his Spiritual Sense, his swept the region with his gaze. There, several hundred kilometers away, was a procession of Cultivators, flying in this direction.

　　In the lead was a man and a woman. The man wore a gold mask, and Meng Hao recognized his aura. It was Black Lands Dao Child Luo Chong! 3

　　The woman next to him wore a fine gauze veil; her beautiful features were just barely visible behind the hazy fabric. She seemed to embody all of the beauty in Heaven and Earth.

　　She had long, slender legs, and a full chest. This, coupled with the somewhat provocative gown she wore, made her emanate a fatal attractiveness.

　　The garment hugged her slender waist, accenting her curvaceous rear end. On her forehead was a totemic tattoo of a butterfly, which made her appearance even more arousing.

　　Her arms seemed as if they were carved from jade, and were also decorated with glittering totem tattoos. Behind these two people were four more. Two were masked Black Lands Cultivators of the mid Core Formation stage.

　　The other two were large-framed; at a glance, it was obvious that these were powerful Western Desert experts. The four of them were obviously the followers of Luo Chong and the woman.

　　“This is one of the most infertile regions within the Black Lands,” said Luo Chong. “The only people who live here are lowbred Rogue Cultivators, not decent enough even for you to look at. Goddess Duo Lan, why exactly does your visit from the Western Desert bring you here?” Luo Chong’s face was hidden behind his mask, but a warm smile could be heard as he spoke. His eyes sparkled with intense adoration as he looked at the woman.

　　She gave him a graceful smile that looked like a blooming lily. She was without a doubt a natural born beauty. Her smile caused Luo Chong to breathe a bit more heavily. She was just about to respond to him, when suddenly, her phoenix-like eyes flickered. The butterfly totem on her forehead flickered as if it were about to fly out.

　　“Who are you?!”

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Abdulla Albader, Brad Maxted, and Chi Yip

　　1. Duo Lan’s name in Chinese is 朵兰 duǒ lán – Duo is a surname, which also means “flower.” Lan means “orchid”

　　2. Longan literally means “dragon’s eye,” and is a common fruit in China, similar to lychee.

　　3. Luo Chong is the guy Meng Hao sliced with the Wooden Time Sword in Chapter 269, defeating him handily