Meng Hao sat cross-legged in the Immortal’s cave, thinking about what the parrot had said about the Soul of Lightning. A strange expression appeared on his face, and after a while, he slapped his bag of holding. The blood-colored mask appeared in his hand. He sent his Spiritual Sense inside to find the Li Clan Patriarch, who had been forgotten by the meat jelly after the appearance of the parrot.
The Li Clan Patriarch was no longer listless like before. However, as soon as he caught sight of Meng Hao, his entire body began to tremble. Clearly, his fear of the meat jelly had reached the ultimate level.
Meng Hao circled around the Li Clan Patriarch, examining his soul embodiment. After a while, his eyes began to shine.
The glow in his eyes struck terror into the heart of the Li Clan Patriarch.
“What… what are you planning?!” he asked cautiously. He had a bad feeling, as if something miserable were about to happen to his soul embodiment. After his time spent being tormented by the meat jelly, without even the option of seeking death, he was no longer as proud and haughty as he used to be.
Meng Hao didn’t say anything. After examining the Li Clan Patriarch for a moment, he did something with his Spiritual Sense, and a lightning bolt appeared within the blood-colored mask. It crackled down toward the Li Clan Patriarch, slamming directly onto his soul embodiment.
“Dammit! What the hell are you doing?!?!” He trembled, and his soul embodiment flickered as if it were about to dissipate.
Meng Hao nodded, then used his Spiritual Sense again to summon another lightning bolt, and then another. Rumbling booms sounded out as they fell down onto the Li Clan Patriarch, who emitted constant miserable shrieks.
This process went on for about two hours, until the Li Clan Patriarch’s soul embodiment was growing dim.
“You psycho!” cried the Li Clan Patriarch, gnashing his teeth. “You’re a damned lunatic! And that meat jelly is nothing but a nightmare! One of these days I’ll get my revenge!” He continued to curse, but inside actually felt quite pathetic, and was heaving constant sighs.
In the Immortal’s cave, Meng Hao opened his eyes.
“The Li Clan Patriarch has an extraordinary Cultivation base. He meets all the requirements to become a Soul of Lightning. From now on, I’ll need to use all methods at my disposal to get him accustomed to lightning. I also need an Eyeless Larva. Before that, though, I should head out and collect the last medicinal plant ingredient I need for the Perfect Gold Core.” Having made up his mind, Meng Hao sent his Spiritual Sense out to find Huang Daxian.
He was currently looking on complacently as the parrot flew around above a group of people who were all running around in various patterns. Huang Daxian’s body trembled as Meng Hao’s voice suddenly echoed out in his head. Then, his mind was branded with an image of the plant Meng Hao needed.
Half a month later, Meng Hao was looking down at a jade slip, inside of which was information regarding the medicinal plant he needed, a clue uncovered during the investigation carried out by his group of over a hundred Cultivators. Meng Hao stood and left the Immortal’s cave.
“Dongluo City, member of the United Nine Cities.” Inside the jade slip was also a map of the Black Lands, marked with the location of Dongluo City, which wasn’t very far away. 2
By now, Meng Hao was familiar with the power structure of the Black Lands, thanks to his more than one hundred followers. Other than the Black Lands Palace and the United Nine, the Black Lands were inhabited completely by Rogue Cultivators. In some cases, groups banded together to form small-scale powers. Some were strong, some were weak, but regardless, they existed in a state of disunity.
As far as the United Nine, it was made up of nine of the Black Lands’ most powerful Cultivator Clans, and the cities that had grown up around them. They had banded together and formed an alliance to stand up against the power of the Black Lands Palace.
The ingredient Meng Hao needed was a Spirit Orchid Leaf, a medicinal plant that wasn’t particularly rare. That having been said, it wasn’t something that the small-scale powers would have. It would only be available in one of the nine major cities.
According to the information he’d received, Dongluo City would be holding an auction soon. Medicinal pills would be up for sale, as well as medicinal plants. As for the Spirit Orchid Leaf, it could actually be consumed directly to treat injuries, so of course people would be willing to purchase it.
Meng Hao flicked his sleeve as he left the region of his Immortal’s cave for the first time in more than a year. Transforming into a beam of prismatic light, he shot like lightning off into the distance.