Chapter 297: Still Somewhat Pleased With Himself

　　Wu Dingqiu, who sat there cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes. After he caught sight of Meng Hao, his face filled with a smile and he nodded. Considering the level of his Cultivation base, and his status within the Violet Qi Division, for him to treat a Foundation Establishment Cultivator in such a fashion was enough to see what position Meng Hao occupied in the Violet Fate Sect.

　　You could say that Meng Hao even exceeded Wu Dingqiu. If Meng Hao’s Cultivation base was any higher, Wu Dingqiu would have been required to rise to his feet.

　　Meng Hao had been a part of the Cultivation world for years now, and knew that the best way to conduct oneself was without arrogance. He immediately clasped hands and bowed to Wu Dingqiu, which of course caused the man’s smile to grow even wider.

　　Meng Hao’s Cultivation base was weak, but his position was high. Because of his lack of arrogance, it caused Wu Dingqiu’s favorable impression of him to grow even stronger. Smiling, he said, “Grandmaster Fang, allow me to introduce you to these two Patriarchs.” This was a situation of giving a plum in exchange for a peach.

　　Meng Hao also smiled. Having been introduced by Wu Dingqiu, Meng Hao clasped hands and bowed deeply to the two ancient-looking Patriarchs within the violet pillar of light.

　　“Junior Fang Mu of the East Pill Division pays respects to the two Patriarchs.”

　　Sitting there cross-legged within the violet pillar of light, their faces covered with wrinkles, they seemed the very picture of intense power. As Meng Hao bowed to them, they opened their eyes slowly, looking him over, their vision filled with abstruseness. They seemed to be committing Meng Hao’s aura to memory.

　　“Your Cultivation base isn’t sufficient,” said one of them coolly, his eyes closed. “To the greatest extent possible, do not venture outside. Stay here, and you’ll be fine.” The other Patriarch smiled at Meng Hao, eyes filled with praise.

　　Meng Hao knew that their good will was all because of his Master.

　　After Meng Hao payed his respects to the Patriarchs, Wu Dingqiu led him to greet more Cultivators from the Violet Qi Division. All of them treated Meng Hao with utmost politeness. Be it with their words, or the way they carried themselves, they showed complete respect.

　　Even the Core Formation Cultivators were very respectful to him.

　　Wu Dingqiu introduced Meng Hao to the Violet Qi Division Cultivators, but as for the East Pill Division disciples, no introductions were needed. One by one, they approached Meng Hao to offer him their respects.

　　When Meng Hao approached Lin Hailong, An Zaihai and the others, it was noticed by the forces from other Sects in the area. Many gazes fell upon them, most of which lingered on Meng Hao. The expressions of the onlookers instantly changed into shock; clearly most of them had guessed who Meng Hao was.

　　Meng Hao greeted Lin Hailong, An Zaihai and the others with clasped hands. He looked toward Chu Yuyan and nodded, smiling. He also gave Ye Feimu a glance, then sat down cross-legged.

　　He was also a Violet Furnace Lord, but he was Grandmaster Pill Demon’s Legacy Apprentice, which was a very high position. According to Sect rules, he was actually higher than a Violet Furnace Lord.

　　However, Meng Hao knew that his Cultivation base wasn’t very high, so he didn’t want to show off. Therefore, he sat next to An Zaihai, subtly placing Lin Hailong in the center position. Old Lin Hailong was an astute person, so how could he possibly not understand what Meng Hao was doing? He smiled and shook his head, not saying anything to break the facade.

　　An Zaihai chuckled. Looking at Meng Hao, he lowered his voice and said, “Elder Brother Lin is just another Violet Furnace Lord. He only cares about the Dao of alchemy….” Before finishing, he stopped, giving Meng Hao a look. He knew that Meng Hao was a smart person, and would be able to ascertain the meaning of his words.

　　“Don’t worry, Elder Brother An, I understand.” Meng Hao could tell that An Zaihai was trying to make sure that he didn’t brood over the events from the day that Meng Hao was raised to Violet Furnace Lord. Meng Hao smiled, then looked around the area, his eyes eventually coming to rest on the flag with the Ji character on it.

　　No one knew it, but when he first laid eyes on the flag, his heart was shaken by great waves. Of course, he had covered it up well, not letting the tiniest shred of a reaction be seen.

　　However, deep in his heart, the character Ji was surrounded by many unfathomable mysteries.

　　The flag of three streamers was sealed with the surname Ji!

　　The lifelong wish of the Blood Immortal of Ancient Doom was to refine the blood of the Ji clan into instruments of blood slaughtering!

　　Furthermore, in the ancient Blessed Land where the Heavens were round and the Earth was square, when he had stood next to the square cauldron that wished to reverse the order of the Cosmos, Meng Hao had experienced a vision in which the cauldron refused to exist under the same sky as the name Ji!

　　There was also the legend of the ancient World Tree, which had destroyed itself and dissipated into the stars.

　　All of these things seemed to have connection to the name Ji. There were countless ties that caused Meng Hao to tremble uncontrollably. This was especially true now, after seeing the name with his own eyes, branded onto that flag.

　　Having noticed what Meng Hao was looking at, An Zaihai was silent for a moment, then quietly said, “That’s the Ji Clan from the Eastern Lands!” It seemed almost as if he was worried others might hear, and thus lowered his voice in caution. He seemed to be jumpy when talking about the name, even filled with dread, as if he were an ant discussing an elephant.

　　Meng Hao’s eyes glittered imperceptibly. When he heard the fear in An Zaihai’s voice, he looked over at him.

　　“I don’t know much about their Clan,” continued An Zaihai, his voice still low. “Everything I know is what I’ve heard from Master. The Ji Clan from the Eastern Lands is the number one clan in the Nanshan Continent…. Their base, of course, is in the Eastern Lands, and no one knows exactly how deep their power runs. However, you must absolutely, positively never forget that the Ji Clan is by no means, under any circumstances, to be provoked!”

　　His voice was so low that only Meng Hao could hear his words. “There actually aren’t very many Clan members, but any one of them should be considered beyond provocation. This is especially true of any Quasi-Array Sons of Ji. Every one is inestimably highly ranked. The one you saw just now…

　　“If my guess is correct, he is definitely one of the Sons of Ji, of the Quasi-Array of the Ji Clan. If he were not, he wouldn’t be of the Core Formation stage, considering how young he is. Ji Clan members, especially those of the Quasi-Array, are all Chosen. Every generation must undergo a variety of intense training regimens to prepare to fight for one of the one hundred spots available for true Array Clan members. I only know this much, which Master happened to casually mention once.”

　　Meng Hao sat there thoughtfully. He, too, only had a very basic understanding of the Ji Clan. Based on all of his experiences related to Ji, he was sure that they possessed fearsomely deep resources, perhaps infinitely beyond what anyone understood.

　　His voice low, An Zaihai glanced over at the green pillar of light, and the three people sitting cross-legged therein, and continued, “You must not provoke those three any more than you should the people from the Ji Clan. They are another of the most powerful Clans in the Nanshan Continent. Fearsome! You came to the scene a bit late, so you don’t know all the details of everything that’s happened. I personally witnessed one of the Ji Clan Cultivators address that girl as a member of the Fang Clan, and he looked scared 1. Think about it! What sort of profound background must those three have in order to inspire fear into the Ji Clan? They must also be from the Eastern Lands.”

　　Thanks to An Zaihai’s explanation, Meng Hao now had a general understanding of the various forces in the area. He continued to look around, and as he did, his eyes suddenly locked with Xu Qing’s.

　　Neither said a word; everything was spoken through the look they exchanged. Their gazes quickly separated, but not before both understood everything that needed to be understood.

　　Han Bei, Wang Youcai, Li Shiqi, Li Daoyi, Zhou Jie, Wang Lihai, Han Shandao, Chen Fan as well as Song Yunshu from the Song Clan, along with beautiful, bitter Song Jia, were all familiar to Meng Hao. All were present among the forces of their various Sects and Clans. Scanning over everyone, Meng Hao didn’t see Fatty anywhere.

　　Time passed by. Meng Hao wasn’t sure what everyone was waiting for, but he didn’t see anyone leave the area of the pillar of light.

　　Eventually, the black fog up above grew even darker. It was at this moment that Chu Yuyan approached Meng Hao and sat down next to him. She looked at him intently.

　　Meng Hao had always felt that her intuition was far too keen. However, he kept his expression the same as ever as he looked back at her.

　　When their gazes met, Chu Yuyan didn’t look away.

　　“From the year you arrived in the East Pill Division,” she said softly, “I felt annoyed every time I looked at you. I’ve never been able to figure it out. However, perhaps… it’s possible that I saw you somewhere before in the past!”

　　Meng Hao’s expression looked the same as it always did. However, inside, his heart pounded with shock. He sighed again inwardly because of Chu Yuyan’s frightening thinking ability.

　　“Where exactly did we see each other before?” she said suddenly, staring into Meng Hao’s eyes as if looking for some clues.

　　After a long moment, she could tell that Meng Hao was not going to reply.

　　She looked at him intently. “I don’t care if you’re Pill Cauldron or Fang Mu,” she said, one word at a time. “I know that you have another identity. You’re not willing to talk about it, so I won’t ask. But one of these days I’m going to find out. I’m going to find out… who you are!” There was a trace of radiance within her stubbornness. It was faint, but Meng Hao could see it clearly. It was a glow that sprang up when she first talked about Grandmaster Pill Cauldron.

　　“Impossible….” he said to himself. Although he had never experienced the type of relationship that could exist between a man and a woman, he was no longer an ignorant youth, and was capable of picking up on much of such interactions.

　　That glow in her eyes was very similar to the glow that had been in Xu Qing’s eyes when they had parted outside the Black Sieve Sect.

　　Meng Hao felt a little bit guilty, but also a bit proud. Chu Yuyan had been pestering him for years, even when she was engaged to Wang Tengfei. For her to change in this way, actually made him feel somewhat pleased with himself.

　　He cleared his throat, deciding that it was time to prove whether or not his speculations were correct. He lifted his right hand. Chu Yuyan watched, stupefied, as he reached out to place his hand onto her beautiful face.

　　Immediately, her face turned crimson and her eyes went wide. Clearly she had never imagined that Fang Mu would possibly be so rude.

　　Before he could actually touch her, he pulled his hand back, then looked at her and sighed.

　　As he sighed, Chu Yuyan’s face grew even redder. Fury blossomed in her phoenix-like eyes. She glared at Meng Hao, clearly on the verge of flying into a rage from shame.

　　It was at this moment that, suddenly, a shocking roar filled the entire area surrounding the basin. Immediately, the two Violet Fate Sect Patriarchs opened their eyes. The Patriarchs in the other nearby beams of light similarly opened their eyes.

　　In almost the same instant, all of them, nearly twenty people, flew out toward the basin. Wu Dingqiu’s eyes began to glow and he spoke to the surrounding Violet Fate Sect disciples.

　　“It’s starting again. The Patriarchs from the various Sects will suppress the area surrounding the Rebirth Cave. We must move as quickly as possible. Remember, the Violet Qi Division will cooperate with the East Pill Division. We must acquire a sample of blood from the corpse!”

　　—–

　　This chapter was sponsored by Brett Flowers, Dewi Suryono, Newton Nganda, Eugene Leong, Sunny Goela, Mhd Syimir, and Caleb Gleason

　　1. This character Fang is a common surname, the same Fang as in Meng Hao’s assumed name, Fang Mu. 方