Of course, the stone stele was a fake. He’d known that the instant it had appeared, a year ago. Exercising caution, he slowly walked forward, avoiding the other Cultivators. He wasn’t sure of the exact location where Patriarch Reliance sat in secluded meditation. But he knew that he couldn’t leave this place until the Patriarch helped him dispel the poison from his body.
Also, there was the reward that the Patriarch had spoken of.
Shortly afterwards, Meng Hao stopped and looked around. Booms filled the air and explosions shook the ground. Off in the distance, he could see the dignified old woman, her hair flying about in disarray as she used one magical art after another to batter a glowing shield in front of her.
Within the glow of the shield was one of the stone stele fragments.
The old woman was of the Core Formation stage. Her attacks caused everything around her to shake wildly. Her magical arts shot out one after another like a silver river, sending out bone-piercing coldness which caused everything around her to freeze into pieces of ice. Within the river, there could be heard what sounded like the shrieks of countless wailing souls from the yellow springs of the underworld. It was as if the river itself had sprung from the nine hells.
She flicked her sleeve, and the murky image of a mountain appeared, bearing down toward the glowing shield. The mountain, which seemed to be composed of stars, solidified into a burning point, which then became black. Despite being black in color, it radiated a bright light.
In a spectacular display, the river and mountain began to interlock with each other.
Meng Hao took a deep breath. The silver strands which surrounded the old woman made it seem as if she had the power to destroy heaven and earth. She could definitely slay him as easily as stepping on an ant. There wouldn’t even be a need for her to use the river from hell or mountain made from stars.
“So this is Core Formation….” Meng Hao watched closely, at the same time moving a bit further away. He didn’t dare to get any closer.
The woman let out a howl, and an explosion reverberated out. Despite being some distance away, Meng Hao’s body was shaken, and he spit up some blood. He moved back further, watching as the woman spit out a round pill from her mouth. The pill was composed of three intertwined colors. As soon as it appeared, Meng Hao felt a sensation as if everything in the world was about to crumble to pieces. In his eyes, this multicolored pill was the beginning and end of everything.
Shining brightly, the pill shot toward the shield, whereupon a massive explosion rang out. Meng Hao continued to retreat backward, his face pale.
“A Core Formation Cultivator could wipe me from existence in the blink of an eye!” As he moved backwards, he thought back to the Dao Protector Wang Xifan 2 from the Wang Clan.