“Elder Brother Zhou, save me!” cried one of the Black Sieve Sect disciples. His right arm had been severed, and a horrified expression covered his face. Despite his all-out push to escape, the words were barely out of his mouth when a meter-long phantom hand shot out from the mist. It moved at incredible speed, catching up to the escaping Cultivator in the blink of an eye.
It slammed into him, and a deafening explosion filled the air. The Cultivator’s body began to tremble, and he opened his mouth to say something. Before he could, his body exploded.
By this time, the mist surrounding Meng Hao was beginning to dissipate. Meng Hao walked out. From the look of his robe and long hair, he seemed like a weak scholar. But the coldness in his eyes caused Zhou Jie to tremble.
More than ten Cultivators of the late Foundation Establishment stage… and only Meng Hao had emerged alive from the mist.
“Your excellency’s methods are a bit too ruthless,” said Zhou Jie, slowly lowering his hand. He knew that he had run out of time, and wouldn’t be able to continue his work with the incense burner.
The Black Sieve Sect had completely misjudged Meng Hao’s Cultivation base.
Actually, Patriarch Violet Sieve had received information regarding Meng Hao’s Cultivation base from the their Sect Elder who was currently in the Song Clan. He knew that his power exceeded that of the mid Foundation Establishment stage, and was more akin to the late Foundation Establishment stage.
However, Zhou Jie was now well aware that Meng Hao’s battle power was not comparable to the late Foundation Establishment stage. In fact, it could exhibit terrifying pressure that exceeded such power.
After close observation just now, Zhou Jie got the powerful sense that his opponent’s spiritual power was completely different from that of others. It looked like spiritual power, but it seemed to somehow be branded specifically to Meng Hao.
Logically speaking, the spiritual power of magical techniques with which Meng Hao attacked, should eventually dissipate back into Heaven and Earth. However, the power left over by Meng Hao’s attacks did not dissolve away. Instead, they seemed to be rejected by Heaven and Earth. They just floated there like oil on water.
It seemed that the explosiveness of this rejected power was one of the reasons Meng Hao was so powerful. Zhou Jie reached these conclusions quickly, but couldn’t figure out any solution to the problem. Fear filled his heart.
Because of this explosiveness, Meng Hao might be only at the mid Foundation Establishment stage, but decimating the late Foundation Establishment stage was as easy for him as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. That… was obvious!
Meng Hao’s spiritual power was different. It belonged only to him. The spiritual energy of others belonged to Heaven and Earth. By practicing breathing techniques, Cultivators could borrow it. Based on the various stages of Cultivation, the amount of time it could be borrowed varied. However, regardless of anything, all of the spiritual energy would once again return to Heaven and Earth upon death.
It was a cycle. Just like the nine paths in front of the gray-robed old man atop the world tree, it was a rule of Heaven and Earth.
“I’m actually not ruthless,” said Meng Hao indifferently, “you people are. Actually, I’m pretty softhearted. However, your presence here is a bit of a problem.” He waved his hand, causing the mist behind him to disperse fully. The rain descended onto the two of them, seemingly dividing them inseparably. However, their gazes locked, and their expressions grew fiercer.
“I am Zhou Jie, Dao Child of the Black Sieve Sect!” Zhou Jie suddenly lifted his hand. In it appeared a one foot long, blue-colored joss stick. The joss stick was lit, and smoke curled up from its end to form the shape of a sword that glowed mysteriously. This was clearly no ordinary joss stick.
“I am Meng Hao from the State of Zhao,” said Meng Hao coolly. His right hand flashed an incantation gesture, and the two wooden swords appeared and rotated around him slowly. They emanated glowing sword auras, and emitted a droning buzz that made seem as if they thirsted for blood.
This was not the first time Meng Hao had faced a Dao Child in battle. The first time was when he had fought Li Daoyi, and had forced him to flee, severing his arm in the process. Then he had encountered Li Shiqi, and had competed against her in demonstrations of strength. Now he was up against Zhou Jie.
“I had three Dao Pillars when I fought Li Daoyi,” Meng Hao thought. “I had four when I faced Li Shiqi. Now I have five. I will now prove that the power of my five Perfect Dao Pillars is invincible in the Foundation Establishment stage!” An exuberant gleam appeared in his eyes. The two wooden swords seemed as if they could sense Meng Hao’s desire for battle. Their droning grew even louder, and their sword auras gleamed even more brightly.
“You look just like a woman I met while traveling