Chapter 76: Beyond Flawlessness
The two wooden swords circled around, emitting a shocking sword aura. They sped toward Shangguan Xiu’s head, one from the left, one from the right, carrying Meng Hao’s killing intent with them. This time, it was clear that Shangguan Xiu would not be able to evade.
“There is something more precious than a Flawless Foundation,” shrieked Shangguan Xiu in a piercing voice. “It’s something that in the Southern Domain, in fact in all the four continents, is a hundred thousand times more rare than your tenth level of Qi Condensation. I’m talking about a Perfect Foundation!! Meng Hao, you….” Then Meng Hao’s two swords stabbed into his head, sending fountains of blood in all directions.
Shangguan Xiu died instantly. He had not lived past one hundred years, but rather, had died feeling infinite grievance.
His non-reconciliation to death was due to his great plans, and due to the fact that he was in the middle of establishing his Foundation. But then his head exploded, and his body dropped down off of Mount Daqing and splashed into the river below. His aspirations, and his body, floated away into the distance.
Meng Hao snatched his dark green bag of holding as he fell. He didn’t look at it, but instead tucked it into his robe.
He panted. Despite having reached the tenth level of Qi Condensation, he had just wielded the two wooden swords to slay someone who was on the verge of reaching Foundation Establishment. He now felt extremely drained.
He watched Shangguan Xiu’s body disappear in the distance, and then turned and hopped onto a wooden sword. His body transformed into a beam of light, and he shot down the mountain to where Little Tiger lay unconscious.
The boy’s face was as pale as death, and his eyes were tightly shut. His aura was like gossamer threads, and his life force flickered like a tiny flame that could be extinguished at any moment.
Meng Hao looked at Little Tiger thoughtfully, and then glanced at the pearl which floated in the air next to him. The power of the pearl was shocking to the extreme, and was truly a treasure. Its power could even be compared to that of the copper mirror.
“To duplicate it would cost an astronomical amount of Spirit Stones… what a pity.” Meng Hao sighed and looked up into the sky.
He’d known from the beginning that the pearl was linked to Little Tiger’s life force. If he stole it, then Little Tiger would die.
“You entrusted me with your life. How could I, Meng Hao, act the villain? If I did, it would plague my conscience for the rest of my days. I would never be able to think clearly, and my days of Cultivating would come to an end.” His eyes glittering, he flicked his sleeve, and tapped Little Tiger’s forehead.
Little Tiger’s body spasmed, then his eyes snapped open. He was instantly on guard, getting to his feet and retreating backward several paces. He glanced at the pearl in Meng Hao’s hands, and his body began to shiver slightly. A look of despair crept into his eyes.
Meng Hao lifted the pearl with a finger, causing it to shoot straight toward Little Tiger, who snatched it out of the air. A complex expression filled his face, and he stared at Meng Hao blankly.
“Many thanks for your assistance. This treasure is astonishing. You need to be cautious and take care of yourself.” As soon as the pearl left his hand, Meng Hao’s body began to grow weaker. The telltale signs of the tenth level of Qi Condensation began to disappear. As his Cultivation base dropped, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth which had just been cut off from him, slowly began to return.
The unbridled gravitational force within his body slowly vanished.
Meng Hao didn’t regret his decision. There were some things that he just couldn’t do. He refused to defy his own conscience in such a way.
The Blood Globe that Shangguan Xiu had used to threaten the lives of the people of the three counties was instantly smashed between Meng Hao’s fingers. It transformed into a vast amount of Blood Qi, which floated back toward the three counties.
As far as the common people went, all they knew was that for the past two months, they had felt somewhat dizzy, and now were much more clear headed. They also felt a bit weak. This was because, unbeknownst to them, their longevity had been damaged, and close to five years had been taken from the life spans.
Meng Hao could see this, but there was nothing he could do except sigh to himself. He flicked his sleeve and made to leave.
“Elder Brother Meng,” said Little Tiger, “Shangguan Xiu….”
“There is no such person in the world anymore.” He didn’t look back, just continued off into the distance. The battle here would definitely attract the attention of the three great Sects. And Meng Hao could guess why they had permitted Shangguan Xiu to cast this massive spell here; it was because of Meng Hao. Shangguan Xiu wanted his bag of holding, and the three Great Sects wanted him. At the moment, he had no way to deal with the situation. Th