Chapter 85

"Ancestor, I went through great lengths to bring them here. You can refuse to reward me, but this poison..."

Meng Hao’s face showed anger, but before he could finish his words, the ground’s fissures all healed, leaving no trace. Ancestor Backmountain had already vanished, leaving Meng Hao’s voice to echo without any response. Only the seven oil lamps continued to burn, emitting a dim light. As the oil lamps burned, a thread of spiritual energy emanated from the six Core Formation cultivators and one Nascent Soul cultivator, but it didn’t spread out. Instead, it immediately rushed into the ground.

"Ancestor Backmountain, I was poisoned for your sake. As an elder and a powerful cultivator, you should have the demeanor of a powerful cultivator. How can you act like this!"

"Ancestor, I’m not a powerful cultivator, and I don’t have the demeanor. I’ve been like this since I was young. Besides, those aren’t ordinary spirit stones. Your cultivation is too low to see their value. Once you reach the Soul Severing stage, you’ll understand how good the treasure Ancestor gave you is." Ancestor Backmountain coughed and his voice echoed out.

"You... Ancestor, I went through great lengths to help you, and you treat me like this!" Meng Hao was furious, but the surroundings were silent. Ancestor Backmountain, who was within the ground, did not respond, as if he had ignored Meng Hao.

"Ancestor, I don’t ask for any other reward, I only hope to be cured of the poison."

"Ancestor, I’ve been thinking of ways to bring people here to help you recover your cultivation. How can you treat me like this!"

Meng Hao shouted several times, but seeing no response, even as a scholar, he was extremely angry. The feeling of being cheated made him curse.

"Ancestor Backmountain, you bastard!"

For him, to say such words meant he was extremely angry.

"Brat, who are you cursing? You dare to curse Ancestor? I’ll crush you!" Ancestor Backmountain’s voice immediately echoed from the ground.

"I’m cursing you. If you dare, crush me. I’m already poisoned and won’t live long. Come out!" Meng Hao shouted angrily.

"Cough, cough, forget it, forget it. Ancestor has a good temper. You’re the only seed of Backmountain Sect. It’s just the two of us now. Ancestor won’t be angry with you. Besides, many people curse me, it’s nothing, nothing." Ancestor Backmountain coughed a few times and his voice echoed out.

"Besides, it’s not Ancestor’s fault. Look, I can’t even get out now. This seclusion place is sealed again. Unless you bring more people, it can’t be opened. Even if I wanted to help you, I can’t." Ancestor Backmountain spoke again, and to make it more convincing, he actually resealed the place. However, because the seal had been broken before, he could open it himself in a few months.

"You old bastard!" Meng Hao couldn’t fail to see through this. He gritted his teeth and spoke again, but no matter how he cursed, Ancestor Backmountain didn’t respond. Eventually, Ancestor Backmountain even hummed a little tune, which echoed from the ground, filled with joy, leaving Meng Hao with no options. He had never seen such a shameless person.

His face was filled with anger, and his eyes were dark. Meng Hao looked around and didn’t see any of the storage bags of the Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators. Clearly, Ancestor Backmountain, with his stinginess and means, had already taken them when he killed them. When Meng Hao’s gaze fell on the seven demon lamps, he gritted his teeth and slapped his storage bag. Immediately, dozens of flying swords flew out, heading straight for the seven demon lamps.

But before they could get close, the flying swords began to tremble, and a blinding light appeared on them. They all shattered in unison.

Meng Hao’s face turned ashen as he watched the thick spiritual energy released by the burning oil lamps continuously flow into the ground. He slapped his storage bag again, and the two wooden swords flew out, heading straight for the seven demon lamps. This time, there was no obstruction, but even as the wooden swords passed through, the seven demon lamps seemed to exist but not exist, showing no reaction at all.

"A Nascent Soul cultivator and six Core Formation juniors, their spiritual energy is so thick, how can these broken swords withstand it? These seven demon lamps isolate all magical treasures; only those with spiritual awareness can absorb them. If you have the ability, come and absorb some. It’s very beneficial, but you can’t compete with Ancestor." Ancestor Backmountain’s voice, filled with joy, echoed out, and he hummed a little tune again. At this moment, he was sitting cross-legged underground, with a palm-sized compass in front of him. The spiritual energy from the oil lamps, when it penetrated the ground, turned red and seeped into the compass.

Meng Hao’s face grew even darker. He never thought that Ancestor Backmountain, with his cultivation and seniority, would act so shamelessly towards a Qi Condensation cultivator. Especially the reward, which was just a low-grade spirit stone, and the shameless claim that it was extraordinary.

But no matter how Meng Hao looked at it, the low-grade spirit stone was just a common one.

Meng Hao had always thought he was very concerned about spirit stones and was very meticulous about them, but now he realized that Ancestor Backmountain was like a miser, extremely stingy!

"A low-grade spirit stone, you old bastard, you have the nerve to give this!"

Meng Hao clenched his fists tightly, almost going mad. His words had long lost respect, and his former admiration for Ancestor Backmountain had completely vanished.

After a long while, he gritted his teeth and turned around, intending to throw away the low-grade spirit stone, but in the end, he put it back into his storage bag and walked away in anger.

"Ah, you’re leaving? Good, good, good. Remember to visit Ancestor when you have time. You’re the only seed of Backmountain Sect. It’s just the two of us now. This place is your home. You can come anytime. Ancestor is lonely, remember to come and keep me company." Ancestor Backmountian immediately sensed that Meng Hao was leaving and stopped humming, his voice echoing out.

Meng Hao said nothing and walked forward, still hearing Ancestor Backmountain’s seemingly happy voice.

"Alas, Ancestor’s seal is closed again. Otherwise, I would have personally seen you off. Meng Hao, you’re a good boy, but you’re too honest. Ancestor hopes you learn from me in the future." Ancestor Backmountain’s voice was very happy, and he smiled as he watched Meng Hao’s back.

"Do you really can’t get out?" Meng Hao, still angry, paused as he walked through a gray restriction.

"Of course, Ancestor never lies. If I say I can’t get out, I really can’t. It’s not that Ancestor doesn’t want to help you, Meng Hao. ... Ah, what are you doing?" Ancestor Backmountain, who was speaking proudly, suddenly paused and opened his eyes wide.

Meng Hao had turned around and was looking at the gray restriction. Due to the battle between Ancestor Backmountain and Elder Heavenly Mechanism, the restrictions in the entire cave were damaged and were slowly healing. There were still some cracks, especially a small hole that had formed. However, at the rate it was healing, it would be completely sealed soon.

Inside the gray restriction barrier was a mountain of spirit stones, which Ancestor Backmountain had accumulated over his lifetime. Besides a large number of low-grade spirit stones, there were also many mid-grade spirit stones, of great value.

Without a word, Meng Hao slapped his storage bag, and the wooden sword flew out, piercing the small hole. The wooden sword’s ability to absorb spiritual energy was revealed, causing the restriction to vibrate and preventing it from healing quickly. Meng Hao took out the second wooden sword and pierced the hole again, using the two swords to widen it to the size of a baby’s fist.

Under normal circumstances, Meng Hao couldn’t do this, but the restriction’s damage gave him the opportunity.

"What are you doing?" Ancestor Backmountain was stunned, his voice echoing from the ground. He was stingy but liked to display his treasures and spirit stones, enjoying the envy of others who couldn’t take them. He was very confident in his restrictions, which were linked to his life. Unless he died, no one could open them.

However, due to the strange nature of Elder Heavenly Mechanism, Ancestor Backmountain had some issues when absorbing, causing the restriction’s cracks to heal more slowly, creating a loophole.

"Meng Hao, even with this small hole, you can’t take the spirit stones. There are so many, your storage bag can’t hold them. Forget it, forget it. Ancestor is generous. Take as much as you can, and Ancestor won’t frown." Ancestor Backmountain’s laughter echoed out.

Meng Hao coldly snorted and, while the two wooden swords were widening the hole, reached into his robe and took out the spatial bag, aiming it at the hole without hesitation.

In that instant, Meng Hao’s cultivation was instantly absorbed by the spatial bag, and at the same time, the mountain of spirit stones within the gray restriction trembled, and the spirit stones flew towards the hole, being sucked into the spatial bag.

In a flash, the mountain of spirit stones trembled, and countless spirit stones flew, as if the spatial bag was a black hole that could swallow everything, drawing the spirit stones into it. This scene was dazzling, and Ancestor Backmountain, after being stunned, let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Spatial bag... Damn it, how do you have a spatial bag? This thing can bypass divine senses and swallow mountains and rivers. You, you, you... My spirit stones, the spirit stones I’ve worked hard for all my life, Meng Hao, leave me some."

Ancestor Backmountain’s scream echoed, and the ground rumbled, indicating he was going mad, trying to break out, but the seal he had just closed...

Meng Hao always smiled coldly, listening to Ancestor Backmountian’s screams, watching the mountain of spirit stones shrink into a small hill, feeling very satisfied.

"You dared to cheat me, today Meng Hao will cheat you big time. I will take all your treasures!" Meng Hao gritted his teeth, thinking to himself.

"Meng Hao, you ungrateful brat, you’ve gone too far!" Ancestor Backmountain was almost tearing his hair out, trying to break the seal, but it had just been closed, and even he needed a few months to open it.

He never imagined that Meng Hao would have a spatial bag, which could absorb all the spirit stones he had accumulated with great effort. For Ancestor Backmountian, it felt as if an invisible knife was rapidly circling around him, each missing spirit stone like a cut.

The feeling of being cut into a thousand pieces made Ancestor Backmountian extremely heartbroken.

His character was like this. Compared to his peers, he was a rarity in the cultivation world, loving wealth and being stingy. As his cultivation increased and his age grew, his stinginess only increased. There was no trace of a powerful cultivator’s demeanor in him, and he had no bottom line.

Even his first Soul Severing enlightenment, which he achieved hundreds of years ago, was related to his love for wealth. It was as if this enlightenment was imprinted in his soul, becoming part of his cultivation.