He suddenly caught sight of a woman wearing a blue-green garment, floating down a path on Solitary Dao Mountain.
The appearance of this woman made the haziness of the surroundings suddenly seem clear. The sound of people dropping to their knees and prostrating themselves to her could be heard.
“It’s Elder Sister Shan Ling.” 1
“It’s really Elder Sister Shan Ling. I’ve heard that on the ninth day of every month, at dusk, she descends the mountain to collect dewdrops…”
“Greetings, Elder Sister Shan Ling.”
The sound of voices drifted down to Meng Hao. He watched as the woman slowly floated down the mountain, and his heart trembled as suddenly, the voice of the Demon Sealing Jade sounded out in his head.
“A stone of the Ninth Mountain descended and became a new mountain (山.) The mountain (山) has a spirit (灵,) and the spirit (灵) is demonic. Its will is not of this world. If you encounter it… allow it to transform magically if it is good. Seal and exterminate it if it is violent. Make your choice after careful consideration.”
The sound echoed out in Meng Hao’s mind. He stood there silently for a moment recovering his composure. He was used to the bizarreness of the Demon Sealing Jade. He looked at the woman, and his eyes shone with a strange light.
Quite a large group of Cultivators had flown over and were bowing to the woman and offering respectful words. One of them was none other than the middle-aged man named Li, who bowed toward her politely.
The moment that Meng Hao’s gaze fell upon the woman, she looked down at him and seemed to pause in mid-air. A sharp look filled her eyes as she looked at him.
Their gazes locked for the space of a few breaths. The woman’s brow furrowed slightly, and then she looked away and continued off into the distance. She left, but the man named Li seemed to have taken notice of the look that had passed between the two of them.
He had also noticed Shan Ling’s furrowed brow. He gave a cold harrumph, and then his body flashed, and he shot down toward Meng Hao.
This aroused the attention of the surrounding Solitary Sword Sect disciples. In the blink of an eye, the man named Li arrived to float above the courtyard where Meng Hao stood. He looked down, a cold gleam in his eyes.
“You again!” he said coldly. “First you overestimate your strength, and then you dare to be disrespectful to the Solitary Sword Sect’s Elder Sister Shan Ling! Just what is your purpose in coming here?!” This caused many of the surrounding disciples to look at Meng Hao.
“Who is this guy?”
“He looks a bit familiar, but I don’t think I’ve seen him before….”
“I remember him. That’s the guest who Elder Brother Chen brought with him earlier this afternoon. I wonder what Elder Brother Li wants with him?”
Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever as he looked up at the haughty Li character.
“What exactly do you mean, your excellency?” said Meng Hao coolly.
“Whatever your purpose here, you’re in the Solitary Sword Sect. Considering your actions here, I think I need to take your Elder Brother’s place in teaching you a lesson.” He obviously wasn’t interested in providing any sort of education to Meng Hao. Meng Hao had left him with a bad impression originally, and when combined with the Shan Ling’s frown, caused him to be filled with ill feelings. He lifted his right hand, whereupon the power of the great circle of Foundation Establishment exploded out.
“Ridiculous,” said Meng Hao coolly. The Li man’s hand descended, and the illusory image of a large sword appeared. It descended toward Meng Hao, bursting with the power of the great circle of Foundation Establishment.
Meng Hao’s eyes flashed coldly, and he lifted his own hand. He didn’t have any good feelings toward this person, after all. However, before he could actually do anything, a small black dagger shot toward them and slammed into the Li man’s phantom sword.
A boom rattled out, and the phantom sword disintegrated. The Li man’s face flashed as Chen Fan shot toward them in a beam of colorful light.
“Elder Brother Li, you continue to harass my Junior Brother. With a Cultivation base at the Pseudo Core stage, must you really cause me to lose so much face? I’m one of the Seven Solitary Sword Sons. Just who the hell do you think you are?”