Chapter 53

He could endure it once, twice, thrice, four times, and even five times, but this sixth time, he was already furious and could not bear it any longer. The Luo Tian Net was a cherished item more precious to him than the scroll, capable of trapping the opponent once used. It was a treasure he was proud of in his early years, with its power increasing as his cultivation grew. To showcase the glory of his treasure mountain, he placed it there, considering it the safest spot, where others could only envy but not take it. However, he never imagined that someone could actually climb the mountain and take it away. At this moment, he was almost driven mad, wishing to beat Meng Hao to death and retrieve the scroll and the Luo Tian Net.

Just then, Wu Dingqiu’s laughter echoed, and he waved his sleeve to block Song Laoguai.

"Song Daoist, as a renowned cultivator in the Southern Domain, what are you doing? You said earlier that anyone could come here within seven days and take any treasure from the entire mountain. Are you going to break your word?" Wu Dingqiu said, his tone filled with satisfaction, clearly not letting Song Laoguai leave.

Song Laoguai’s face turned extremely pale, and he was at a loss for words. His previous words now felt like slaps in the face, making his expression change repeatedly. After a while, he slapped his storage bag and swallowed a handful of Spirit Concentration Pills, taking a deep breath.

But then his eyes flashed, and for the first time, he used his divine sense to probe Meng Hao, wanting to see the secrets of the iron spear. Initially, he hadn’t paid much attention to Meng Hao, but then his gaze was drawn to the iron spear. Just as he released his divine sense, Wu Dingqiu’s laughter echoed again, and he waved his sleeve, instantly forming a light barrier on the flat-topped mountain, blocking Song Laoguai’s divine sense.

"Using divine sense to probe a young Qi Condensation cultivator, Song Laoguai, aren’t you ashamed?" Wu Dingqiu wouldn’t let Song Laoguai have his way. His laughter echoed, and Song Laoguai’s face turned extremely ugly. He also waved his sleeve, adding another light barrier outside the existing one.

"This boy’s iron spear is no ordinary item, but since you won’t let Song this one use divine sense, neither will you."

Two hours later, Meng Hao had already reached the mountain top. He held the iron spear and walked along, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He immediately saw a large flag planted on the mountain top, and beneath it was a colorful bag. The bag was so vibrant that just looking at it seemed to captivate one’s heart, even making the surrounding world appear blurry with ripples. Meng Hao’s heart raced, and his breathing quickened as he grabbed the colorful bag. As he lifted the bag, the flag fell.

In the demon forest below, the crowd buzzed. They had clearly seen Meng Hao ascend the mountain as if walking on flat ground, taking a large amount of spirit stones and pills. With the flag falling, the crowd buzzed again.

Their gazes on Meng Hao were filled with intense shock and envy. As they buzzed, they watched Meng Hao disappear from the mountain top, clearly descending from the other side.

Shangguan Xiu stared intently at Meng Hao’s disappearing figure but didn’t dare to continue pursuing him. He had too many secrets and didn’t dare to expose himself. Despite his intense desire to kill Meng Hao, he realized that the time for the medicinal herb was running out. He gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and quickly left, his appearance disheveled, the frustration suppressed within him. If looks could kill, he would have killed Meng Hao countless times already.

Seeing Meng Hao’s figure disappear behind the mountain, Wu Dingqiu’s laughter echoed on the flat-topped mountain. Song Laoguai’s eyes widened, and he stared blankly at the Bagua Bag being taken away by Meng Hao, his face pale, heartbroken, and deeply regretful for leaving the Bagua Bag there. Unable to bear it any longer, he waved his sleeve and was about to step out to chase the “thousand times damned” Meng Hao, but Wu Dingqiu blocked him again.

"Wu Dingqiu, are you still blocking me? The flag has fallen, and this bet is over. Neither of us has won or lost. The trial is over, and if you block me again, don’t blame me for taking action!" Song Laoguai shouted, his heart aching.

"Song Daoist, we agreed that no one could leave until the game was finished. You are a renowned cultivator in the Southern Domain. Are you going to break your word? When I tried to leave earlier, you didn’t let me. How can you leave now without finishing the game?" Wu Dingqiu laughed, repeating Song Laoguai’s previous words, his face full of wrinkles and a look of satisfaction, clearly not letting Song Laoguai leave. He had seen the Bagua Bag being taken away but was even more delighted, remembering how the Bagua Bag had been flaunted in front of him for hundreds of years. Now, seeing Song Laoguai’s own actions backfire, he was extremely pleased.

"You...!" Song Laoguai stared at Wu Dingqiu, unable to speak for a while. He gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, making the mountain peak rumble as if it were about to collapse. But at his status, his reputation was even more important, so he had to sit down again and quickly pick up a chess piece.

But how could Wu Dingqiu let him have his way? He stroked his beard, smiling, occasionally looking at Song Laoguai’s ugly face, and slowly picked up a chess piece, pretending to think for a long time before placing it, as if he intended to play the game for months.

"Wait outside the mountain. Once I finish this game, I will take you back to the sect. As for the person you saw on the mountain top, I like his treasure spear. This is your trial task. Whoever brings me this treasure spear will become an inner sect disciple!" Wu Dingqiu laughed, his voice reaching the ears of the white-robed disciples below, making them all excited.

"Is the prestigious Ziyun Sect of the Southern Domain going to resort to murder and theft?" Song Laoguai, already extremely frustrated, was tied down by his words and couldn’t leave. Though he hated Meng Hao, he also wanted to make things difficult for Wu Dingqiu.

"Listen carefully. You must not harm that person. You can only trade, not steal. If you violate this, you will be expelled from the sect!" Wu Dingqiu glared and immediately said, but his pace in playing chess became even slower.

The white-robed disciples of Ziyun Sect immediately agreed and quickly dispersed. Some tried to bypass the treasure mountain to catch up with Meng Hao, while others sped away to intercept him at the other end of the mountain. They had all failed in this trial, feeling quite frustrated, but they had no resentment towards Meng Hao, rather admiring him for the bloody scenes they had witnessed.

However, they were all determined to trade for the iron spear in Meng Hao’s possession. If the other party refused, they would have to take some measures. After all, Elder Wu’s words implied that they must trade, not steal, but did not say they couldn’t force the issue.

As the white-robed disciples dispersed, Meng Hao hurriedly descended the treasure mountain, picking up more spirit stones and pills along the way. Though he hadn’t seen Song Laoguai and Wu Dingqiu, he had already guessed that this was likely a trial ground for a sect.

But now that he had intruded, they wouldn’t let it go. Though Shangguan Xiu hadn’t continued to pursue him, Meng Hao’s speed was still extremely fast, his heart pounding with excitement.

All his storage bags were filled to the brim. This time, his harvest was the largest since he began cultivation, second only to the Yinglong Rift. The spirit stones and pills were just lying there, like freebies.

The greater the harvest, the faster Meng Hao’s speed. He continuously swallowed demon cores, running for three days straight before leaving the mountain range. When he emerged, despite his fatigue, his spirit remained high. He had no time to count his treasures during the seven days, and now he was thinking of finding a place to check his gains. As he moved forward, he saw a city in the distance.

This place was near the eastern border of the Zhao Kingdom. The city looked grand and extraordinary, with a gentle light barrier surrounding it, visible only to cultivators.

"Is this not an ordinary city, but a city for cultivators?" Meng Hao was taken aback. He recalled the map of the Zhao Kingdom and was certain that there was no city marked on the map. Seeing many people entering and exiting the city, most of whom were Qi Condensation cultivators, he confirmed his guess.

He didn’t immediately enter the city. Instead, he found a mountain crack nearby, hid inside, took a deep breath, and immediately took out all his storage bags, lowering his head and counting with excitement.

"What are these pills? They emit a strong medicinal aroma, even more intense than the Drought Spirit Pill... And these three pills in this bottle, each one is crystal clear, surely a treasure pill." He licked his lips, taking out two storage bags and counting the pills inside. There were seventy-eight pills of various types, each one feeling more potent than the Drought Spirit Pill, making Meng Hao’s hands tremble as he counted.

After a while, he calmed down, suppressing his excitement, and took out dozens more storage bags.

"The spirit stones on that treasure mountain were too many. I just walked through without searching carefully and picked up so many spirit stones..." Meng Hao’s breathing quickened again as he looked at the spirit stones in the storage bags. In total, there were 8,764 spirit stones!

"Rich, rich..." Meng Hao muttered, taking out another storage bag and pulling out flying swords, beads, two banners, a scroll, and a black net, all of which were magical treasures.

Meng Hao took them out one by one, his face beaming with joy, especially the scroll and the black net, which emitted a strong spiritual aura, making his heart race. He took out the scroll and slowly unfolded it, and immediately, a brilliant light spread, illuminating the cave and his face.

The unfolded scroll revealed a landscape painting, and within it, there were numerous strange and varied demon beasts. They seemed to be painted there, but they were vivid and lifelike. As the scroll opened, Meng Hao could faintly hear the roars of ten thousand beasts, making his heart tremble. The scroll fell to the ground.

After a while, Meng Hao recovered, his eyes shining with intense light. He calmed himself and picked up the scroll for another look before carefully putting it away, his heart beating faster.

"These are treasures, treasures!" Meng Hao took a deep breath and then took out the black net, pondering for a moment before stepping out of the cave. He infused the black net with spiritual energy and waved it outward.

The black net immediately expanded, growing larger and larger, floating into the sky, seemingly about to cover the entire mountain peak, like a black cloud pressing down. The mountain trembled, cracks appeared, and a powerful spiritual pressure emerged, making Meng Hao’s heart tremble in shock. He quickly raised his hand, and his spiritual energy surged out, gradually shrinking the black cloud until it returned to a small black net.

Holding the net, Meng Hao’s mouth was dry, and it took a while for his breathing to calm down, but his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"The better the treasures and pills should be, the closer to the mountain top." Meng Hao’s heart stirred, and he took out the last item from his pocket, the colorful bag.

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