Chapter 258: Grand Matriarch Phoenix
“Three Heaven Pearl leaves. Dust Wind root, nine stalks. Sixty-year old Spirit Flow sap….” Meng Hao slowly listed off nearly a hundred different varieties of medicinal plants. Next to him, Zhou Dekun immediately retrieved them from the bag of holding and handed them over.
The earthly fire crystal blazed explosively, and the floating pill furnace immediately turned bright red. A strong medicinal aroma wafted out from the Ten Thousand Refinements furnace. Meng Hao fed the medicinal plants into it according to the proper interactions. He put them in carefully, making sure not to waste anything. Then he sliced a cut onto his finger and placed a drop of his blood into the pill furnace.
He exercised utmost control over the concoction process, which ended up taking three days.
After three days passed, a bright red medicinal pill emerged. Without hesitation, Meng Hao placed it into the mouth of the young man.
As soon as the pill entered his mouth, the young man’s body began to spasm. He did not scream, but as his body shook, a blank look filled his eyes. The struggling became more intense. It lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Finally, his body vibrated, and then suddenly went still.
He lowered his head, and didn’t move. The space of ten breaths passed, after which a gruesome Qi began to spread out from his body. Finally, he lifted his head up. The blank look was no longer there in his eyes, but instead, somberness.
“Many thanks, Grandmaster,” said the young man slowly. His words were those of thanks, but they were spoken with an incredible arrogance, as if saying the words were similar to giving alms to a beggar. He rose to his feet, ignoring Meng Hao, then turned and strode out of the building.
Zhou Dekun frowned with displeasure.
Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever, but inside, he laughed coldly. It seemed that balance had been restored between the young man’s body and the discarnate soul inside. However, because of the drop of Meng Hao’s blood, he now had the ultimate power; if necessary he could directly destroy the discarnate soul.
A single drop of the blood of a Demon Sealer can thoroughly exterminate a discarnate soul!
Patriarch Violet Sieve, the beautiful woman, and the ruddy-faced old man were waiting for the young man at the bottom of Black Welcoming Peak. When they saw him approaching, they began to breathe heavily. They quickly clasped hands and greeted him with a bow.
“Congratulations on your recovery, Minor Patriarch!”
Of course, they didn’t let anyone see what was happening. They had long since sealed off the area they were in.
The young man glanced at the Nascent Soul Cultivators. “That otherworldly corpse which fell from the sky has really caused some problems. In fact, our lord is once again in deep slumber because of it. We’re back in the world of men, but we still haven’t accomplished the task ordered by our lord…. However, you three did well to make use of that person. After all, he was able to facilitate my recovery. Now, we still have a chance.
“Arrange for the discarnate souls of the other Patriarchs to come. As for the one who contains… Grand Matriarch Phoenix, well, no mistakes can be made with her. If there are no problems with the others, send her as well.” Having finished speaking, the young man’s body flickered, transforming into a black smoke which then disappeared, melting back into the earth.
Patriarch Violet Sieve and the others reverently saluted him as he departed. Then they stood an exchanged bitter glances. With that, they left, arranging for the other twelve people to be sent to Meng Hao, one at a time.
Time passed slowly. Meng Hao treated one after another of the so-called Minor Patriarchs. As of now, Black Welcoming Peak had become a very important place in the Black Sieve Sect.
Whatever requests Meng Hao made were met immediately. Of course, how could he not make use of this opportunity? All he had to do was say the name of a medicinal plant, and it would be delivered to him. Many of the ingredients he needed for the Perfect Gold Core gradually began to fill his bag of holding. Seeing what was happening, Zhou Dekun began to grow a bit envious, and also began to request some medicinal plants.
As they concocted pills, they both slowly began to reap rewards.
In this way, Meng Hao was also able to collect quite a few sets of three generations of blood. They had nothing to do with the pills he was concocting; they were required to create blood clones, and he would naturally not lose out on an opportunity for that.
If blood was not available from a given ancestor, Meng Hao wouldn’t press the issue. He would just extend the time spent concocting the pill.
Finally one day, the pale faced Zhou Jie entered the building. This was the first time Meng Hao had seen him since that incident when he first arrived at the Black Sieve Sect. Zhou Jie sat down cross-legged. Meng Hao said nothing for a moment, then began to concoct the pill.
After Zhou Jie left, Han Bei arrived. She had a cautious look on her face. When she sat down in front of him, Meng Hao looked at her and then chuckled.
“Grandmaster Fang….” she said with a smile. Suddenly, she felt very nervous. The voice of the Han Clan Patriarch suddenly rang out in her mind.
“Be careful of this person! He is complicated, and most likely is able to sense my presence!!” This was not the first time she had heard something like this from the ancestor. The reason she had been nervous the first day she met Fang Mu outside of the Black Sieve Sect, was because of the voice of the Han Clan Patriarch.
Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever. He smiled, then began to concoct. When the pill came out, Meng Hao looked over at Han Bei. Her expression was also the same as usual. However, her heart was trembling. Inside her mind, the trembling voice of the Han Clan Patriarch could be heard.
“That pill… you must not consume it!! This person… he….”
“Grandmaster Fang,” she said softly, rising to her feet calmly. “I’ll take the pill away and consume it later.”
Meng Hao turned to Zhou Dekun, clasped hands and said, “Elder Brother Zhou, I have a small personal matter I wish to discuss alone with Fellow Daoist Han.”
Zhou Dekun laughed. He had long since sensed that something was amiss. However, having been able to collect so many medicinal plants in the past days, he paid it no heed, and immediately left the building.
Seeing Zhou Dekun leave, Han Bei’s heart trembled. “Grandmaster Fang….” she said, keeping her expression the same as always, like a flower. She was about to continue speaking when Meng Hao interrupted her.
“If you don’t want to consume the pill, very well. In that case, however, you will owe me a favor that must be repaid at some point in the future.” He looked at Han Bei with a profound look that seemed to penetrate deep into her mind.
Han Bei looked back at him and gritted her teeth. She was full of schemes, but right now, couldn’t think of any way out. A blank look appeared in her eyes.
“Grandmaster Fang,” she said, “I don’t quite understand what you mean. But, I suppose I can agree to this favor.”
“I don’t need a favor from you,” replied Meng Hao coolly, “but rather the third soul that exists within your body!”
The words entered Han Bei’s ears like a thunderbolt. Her expression immediately changed completely.
She was about to say something when, suddenly, a blue Qi emerged from the top of her head. It congealed above her into the shape of a man. He stared at Meng Hao for some time before finally nodding.
“The Han Clan owes you a favor,” he said in an archaic voice.
Meng Hao clasped hands and saluted. The figure disappeared, and Han Bei stared at Meng Hao, an expression of shock and fear on her face. After a long moment passed, she turned and left as quickly as possible. Before leaving the building, she collected herself, then caused a cold, somber look to shine in her eyes. As far as any outsider could see, there was nothing unusual about her. Soon, she disappeared off into the distance.
A month of pill concocting went by until finally, the Black Sieve Sect sent the last person to Meng Hao. It was none other than… Xu Qing.
Based on all of Meng Hao’s experiences, the fact that she was the last to be sent was very telling. The discarnate soul inside of her must be someone not to be trifled with in the Black Sieve Sect, someone of utmost seniority.
Just as Meng Hao had suspected, as soon as she arrived, things immediately changed around Black Welcoming Peak. The protective shield protecting the mountain grew stronger, and countless discarnate souls circled around up in the air. All of them seemed to be looking down toward Black Welcoming Peak.
Seeing all of this, Meng Hao’s heart sank a bit. However, the feeling didn’t show on his face. He watched Xu Qing slowly enter the building and sit down cross-legged in front of him. She looked calm, and there was much less blankness in her eyes.
Meng Hao looked at her, glanced at the wound on her forehead, then activated his Furnace Lord shield. His face was the same as usual, but as he concocted the pill, he put in, not a normal drop of blood, but a drop of blood from his Cultivation base!
Such blood contained the essence of his life force, including his identity as the Ninth Demon Sealer, and the persistence of his will.
It entered the pill and joined the various interactions; furthermore, Meng Hao used some of the power of the meat jelly to ensure that no clues would spill out. When the concocting was done, he held the pill out to Xu Qing. She picked it up with her delicate hands, but didn’t consume it.
“So, this is the pill which helped everyone to recover?” she said, her voice cold as she looked at Meng Hao. Without waiting for his response, she rose to her feet and strode out of the building.
Meng Hao watched her leave, then sat there thinking silently. He was certain that although she didn’t consume the pill in his presence, she would soon.
This was because although she appeared to be in the process of self-recovery, it was actually just a front. The problems with the discarnate soul in her body far exceeded those of the others he had seen, by at least two or three times. In fact, her situation was the most grave he had seen so far. This was evident by the fact that the wound on her forehead was much worse than when he’d seen it the first time.
The next day at evening, within the seventh mountain of the Black Sieve Sect, Xu Qing sat cross legged within her immortal’s cave. Her face was pale white, and her eyes filled with both struggle and blankness. Her body trembled.
She continued in this way for several hours before finally lifting up her hand from her bag of holding. Inside was the medicinal pill concocted by Meng Hao. The process of lifting it up to place into her mouth took nearly ten breaths.
If Meng Hao were here, he would be able to see multiple discarnate souls drifting around her body. All of them were staring nervously at Xu Qing as they flew to and fro.
In fact, outside, all of the Black Sieve Sect disciples who Meng Hao had saved, including Zhou Jie and Han Bei, kneeled before the Immortal’s cave, bowing respectfully. It seemed as if they were waiting for a summons to enter.
Xu Qing still held the pill in her hand. After a long moment passed, the gruesome coldness in her eyes overcame the blankness and struggle. The discarnate soul inside of her sighed. She knew that because of the injury to the soul, balance couldn’t be restored in this body. She was fading, and the original soul of the body was also fading. The body’s life force was disappearing, and the wound on her forehead was growing worse. She knew that if she put things off any longer, the body would begin to decay.
Originally, she had never believed that consuming medicinal pills created in this world could lead to recovery. However, seeing the recovery of all the other discarnate souls caused her to question her view. After studying the pill for some time, she was unable to unlock its mysteries. Therefore, she decided that she had no other choice than to consume it. She placed the pill into her mouth.
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This chapter was sponsored by Dante Madut, Michelle Blanco, Hong Ly, Gonzalo Sebastian Carnebale Cabrera, Andris Baumanis
