Chapter 48: Eccentric Song and Wu Dingqiu 1
Thunder rolled out in the evening sky. Rosy clouds drifted about, and the autumn wind rustled, picking up the fallen leaves and sending them floating. It should have been a beautiful, rainy autumn evening, but the peacefulness was interrupted by two figures who occasionally dropped to the ground, but then immediately shot back up into the air. They soared along, engaged in a life-and-death pursuit.
Meng Hao was in front, his eyes glistening. After reaching the seventh level of Qi Condensation, he could maintain top speed on his flying sword for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. At that rate, he could not shake off Shangguan Xiu.
After some time passed, he was forced to drop to the ground, run as fast as possible for a while, and then resume gliding.
Shangguan Xiu pursued him doggedly. He knew that he couldn’t let him escape; if he did, Meng Hao could easily hide somewhere in the massive State of Zhao, and that would be very troublesome.
At the moment, he was extremely confident. A critical juncture had arrived. He knew that Meng Hao possessed some treasured item. He wasn’t exactly sure what it did, but he was determined to acquire it.
“Meng Hao, you can’t escape me! My aim has always been the Southern Domain. The only reason I haven’t ascended to the Foundation Establishment stage yet is because I didn’t want to. You’re like an ant to me! You will be my stepping stone into Foundation Establishment!” Shangguan Xiu was of the ninth level of Qi Condensation. Even though he was very close to breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, his level of power was still far from that level. That having been said, even though Meng Hao was in the same stage as him, their Cultivation bases were still two levels apart. This meant that not only was Shangguan Xiu faster, but because of his status as an Elder in the Reliance Sect, he’d had access to higher level magical items.
The talisman whistled through the air, propelling him forward with extraordinary power. He flicked his wide sleeve, snapping a jade slip. A green mist shot out, which coagulated into a green bottle, about half the height of an average person. It shot toward Meng Hao.
Meng Hao’s eyes flickered and he slapped his bag of holding. Ten flying swords appeared, shooting toward the magical bottle. As soon as they collided, the ten flying swords exploded into pieces, which mushroomed out in all directions. The bottle shattered, but Shangguan Xiu simply increased his speed and leaped over the cloud, intent on decreasing the distance between him and Meng Hao.
At that moment, Meng Hao suddenly turned, his hands flickering in incantation patterns. Wind Blades appeared, three of them. However, they didn’t shoot toward Shangguan Xiu, but instead flew in circular patterns, faster and faster, creating a gravitational force which pulled in the shattered remnants of his flying swords. Soon, they had formed a spinning vortex.
A booming sound rang out, but Meng Hao didn’t look back. The vortex behind Shangguan Xiu suddenly exploded, sending shrapnel shooting out. Shangguan Xiu was knocked forward, shredding much of his clothing. His eyes burned with fury.
“So you’ve reached the seventh level of Qi Condensation!” Shangguan Xiu glared as Meng Hao sped off into the distance. He continued his pursuit, albeit more cautiously. He knew that Meng Hao was incredibly crafty, and could not be underestimated. He must use all his power.
When he thought about the technique Meng Hao had just used, gathering the fragmented pieces of the swords together, Shangguan Xiu was a bit taken aback. If Meng Hao’s Cultivation base were higher, then the attack just now, while it might not have killed him, would have seriously injured him.
“He’s so young, yet so sinister. Exploding the swords was just a diversion. Dammit!” He increased his speed, turning into a ray of light as he pursued Meng Hao.
Two people shot through the evening as the sky grew dark. The bright moon looked down, its gaze illuminating them.
Meng Hao’s face was grim. He consumed some Demonic Cores. Even though the North Sea had shown him the Dao, and he had broken through to the next level, his current situation did not bode well. He was at the seventh level of Qi Condensation, but had no way to lose his pursuer. He was in somewhat of a crisis.
“There will come a day when I will slay this man!” thought Meng Hao. As he considered the inexplicable enmity between them, he came to the realisation that it was all because of his opponent’s greed. Over and over again. It was extremely annoying.
Looking back at Shangguan Xiu, Meng Hao gritted his teeth. As his flying sword sputtered out of power, he leaped to the ground, racing toward the wild mountains. He was heading, not toward the Reliance Sect, but rather the east of Mount Daqing, where a chain of mountains rose and fell off toward the flatlands and the capital city of the State of Zhao.
The mounta