Chapter 74

"Nine layers of Qi Condensation!" Shangguan Xiu looked at Meng Hao, took a deep breath, and had been setting up formations here for two months. Even the people of the天河坊 (Heavenly River Market) did not know the specific reason, and he had never let the strong of the Heavenly River Market come, all for the sake of Meng Hao.

After these days of guessing and calculations, he was 60% certain that Meng Hao must possess a heaven-defying treasure that could infinitely replicate items.

Otherwise, where would the other party get so many pills, and so many flying swords? Even Meng Hao himself had overlooked the flying swords scattered after his battle with Wang Tengfei, losing over ten of them.

These ten flying swords appeared to be shattered, but in reality, they had been secretly taken by Shangguan Xiu. After careful study, he discovered that these flying swords were actually the same in material!

Although the standard flying swords were mostly the same, there were still subtle differences in the details during the refining process. These differences were left over from the refining process, but Meng Hao's flying swords were identical even in these details, making Shangguan Xiu immediately hesitate.

However, he still wasn't sure at that time, as this matter was too unbelievable. But now he was 60% certain, and seeing that Meng Hao's cultivation had reached the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, his certainty increased to 80%.

"Even if you have reached the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, you have just entered it. If you try to escape today, I will immediately crush the blood ball under the mountain. At that time, the people of the three counties under Great Green Mountain will instantly be reduced to ashes!" Shangguan Xiu's gaze was cold as he stared at Meng Hao, slowly speaking. He was truly afraid of Meng Hao's escape, so he immediately used this to cut off Meng Hao's path.

"Today, I will not escape." Meng Hao looked at Shangguan Xiu, and the memories of the past five years flashed through his mind. The disputes within the sect, the chases outside the sect, all these scenes surfaced, and a killing intent flashed in Meng Hao's eyes. As he raised his right hand, a massive fire python, nearly ten zhang long, suddenly appeared. This fire python was different from when Meng Hao was at the eighth layer of Qi Condensation; not only was it larger, but it also had a single horn on its head. As it rushed out, flames spread, carrying high temperatures straight toward Shangguan Xiu.

Before it even approached, the heads around Shangguan Xiu burst open, emitting a strong burnt smell. Some of them rolled toward Shangguan Xiu, who sneered and raised his right hand, waving it. Immediately, a five-colored banner flew out of his storage bag. The banner grew larger in the wind, and as the fabric fluttered, five-colored mist rolled out, forming five ghostly spirits, each several zhang in size, which fiercely rushed toward the fire python.

The thunderous sound echoed, the shock waves swirled, and the impact spread, raising a large amount of debris. The trees and vines on Great Green Mountain were shattered and swept up, making the scene look blurry.

In this blur, Meng Hao took a step forward, moving so fast that he instantly disappeared into the front, the wind lifting the heads that had not yet melted, rolling them closer to Shangguan Xiu. Shangguan Xiu's eyes flashed, and he formed a seal with both hands, pushing forward.

"Five-colored kill!" As Shangguan Xiu spoke, a sharp roar echoed. Meng Hao slapped his storage bag, and a scroll appeared in his hand. With a shake, the spirit beasts inside roared, and six of them flew out.

At this moment, a loud boom echoed throughout the surroundings, and Meng Hao's body had already approached Shangguan Xiu. The cold light in Shangguan Xiu's eyes shone, and as Meng Hao approached, he took a step forward. Just one step away, a head was rapidly melting into flesh and blood.

"Do you know what the Mountain Support Sect was called before the Mountain Support Ancestor? It was called the Demon Sealing Sect!" Shangguan Xiu spoke calmly, and as he spoke, he lifted his right foot and stomped on Great Green Mountain.

With this stomp, Great Green Mountain shook, and an indescribable aura suddenly burst out from within, despite only a thread of it being released. This thread of aura was chaotic but possessed an indescribable power of heaven and earth, like a wave without consciousness. In this instant, it seemed to be summoned by Shangguan Xiu, surging out from under Meng Hao's feet.

At this moment, Shangguan Xiu's appearance rapidly aged, as if he had aged several decades in an instant, looking as if he had just crawled out of a grave.

Clearly, this technique was extremely difficult for him to use, requiring a sacrifice of his lifespan. Originally, he would not have used it, but after seeing Meng Hao's cultivation, he decisively used it, aiming for a quick victory. He knew that all the cultivators in the entire Zhao Kingdom were searching for Meng Hao.

This battle would certainly attract attention, and if it did not end quickly, he would not obtain the treasure he wanted.

"The Demon Sealing Sect, seeking all great demons of heaven and earth, unsealing demons, releasing demon spirits, borrowing demon power, and stepping into the heavens! You have just entered the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, what do you have to fight with me? If I wanted to, I could have reached the Foundation Establishment stage fifty years ago!" As Shangguan Xiu spoke, Meng Hao waved the scroll in his right hand to resist the aura bursting from under his feet.

But the moment the scroll touched the aura, a thunderous sound echoed, and the scroll immediately cracked, as if forcibly torn away, flying backward, allowing the aura to rush toward Meng Hao.

With a loud bang, Meng Hao spat out blood. In front of him, the feathered fan blocked the aura, and the feathers shattered, but it gave Meng Hao a moment to avoid. The cost of this moment was that his body was thrown back, and he spat out three mouthfuls of blood.

Just one exchange, and Meng Hao was injured, showing the depth of Shangguan Xiu's abilities. Shangguan Xiu sneered, and this attack had cost him his lifespan. Although it did not directly kill Meng Hao, he was determined to succeed today. He took a step forward, crossing the area where the head had melted into a bloody mess, about to approach.

But at this moment, Meng Hao's mouth was stained with blood, and his expression showed a fierce look. Almost the moment Shangguan Xiu took a step, Meng Hao suddenly raised his right hand and pointed at the bloody mess Shangguan Xiu was about to cross.

With this point, a black gas suddenly appeared in the bloody mess, and in an instant, it transformed into a black scorpion. The speed was so fast that Shangguan Xiu had no time to retract his step or dodge, and the scorpion's tail stinger pierced into the sole of his raised foot.

As it pierced in, the scorpion turned into black threads, which immediately penetrated inside.

Shangguan Xiu's face suddenly changed. This sudden event caught him off guard. It was a Dharma Pill, a rare Dharma Pill he had exchanged with the two people from the Purple Fortune Sect, containing a highly toxic scorpion!

The black gas penetrated through Shangguan Xiu's foot, directly seeping into his meridians, spreading throughout his body in an instant, making his face turn black, and he spat out a mouthful of black, foul-smelling blood.

"What kind of poison is this!" Shangguan Xiu's face changed drastically, and he quickly retreated, feeling a wave of weakness. He had no time to think and immediately slapped his storage bag, taking out a pill to swallow.

But Meng Hao had been planning for a long time, and he had paid the price of three mouthfuls of blood. He would not let Shangguan Xiu get his way. Almost the moment Shangguan Xiu retreated to take the pill, Meng Hao suddenly rushed forward, slapped his storage bag, and a large black net instantly flew out, heading straight for Shangguan Xiu.

In the blink of an eye, Shangguan Xiu's face changed repeatedly. He swallowed the pill with his right hand and formed a seal with his left hand. The large net immediately covered him, and Meng Hao did not stop, taking a step forward and drawing a large black bow. As he drew the bowstring, an arrow whistled toward Shangguan Xiu.

Shangguan Xiu quickly retreated, but facing the pill, the seal, the net, and the arrow, he could only choose two!

With a loud boom, Shangguan Xiu, who had swallowed the pill, abandoned the seal and avoided the black net, but could not avoid Meng Hao's arrow. The arrow pierced through his right shoulder, shattering bone and spewing black blood.

Severe pain appeared, and Shangguan Xiu grunted, but Meng Hao's attack did not stop. A second arrow whistled out, followed by a third, a fourth, and so on. Meng Hao continued to advance, quickly drawing the bow and shooting an arrow with each step, taking seven steps and shooting seven arrows!

The seven arrows startled Great Green Mountain, whistling and booming, each carrying a killing intent!

Shangguan Xiu, retreating step by step, had to suppress the black threads in his body, but he also had to avoid the arrows. However, he was only at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, and even at the peak of the ninth layer, just one step away from Foundation Establishment, he was not yet at the Foundation Establishment stage!

Not being at the Foundation Establishment stage meant he was not a cultivator with a vast difference from Qi Condensation. He and Meng Hao were both at the Qi Condensation stage.

Thus, he could not achieve perfection. The thunderous sound echoed, and all seven arrows pierced through his body, shattering his right hand. This was the only resistance Shangguan Xiu could manage, sacrificing his right hand to suppress the toxins in his body.

But this suppression was only temporary and could not last long. Seeing Meng Hao's eighth, ninth, and tenth arrows coming one after another, Shangguan Xiu let out a roar.

From the day he started cultivation until today, he had never been so embarrassed and fierce, losing an arm. This cost, this pain, this feeling, made Shangguan Xiu's desire to kill Meng Hao extremely intense.

"Heavenly River Sea!" Shangguan Xiu's eyes turned red. Although the toxins in his body were suppressed, this poison was not easily resolved. He could feel that the more he suppressed it, the stronger the rebound. This poison could not be refined at the Qi Condensation stage; only at the Foundation Establishment stage could it be resolved.

Almost the moment he spoke, Shangguan Xiu's hair was disheveled, and he bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood. From the blood, a purple bead suddenly flew out. The bead was chaotic, and as it appeared, a strong wind immediately howled, causing Meng Hao's three arrows to be swept away and shattered.