The black mountain was not bare, but rather covered with a lush forest of trees that stretched up toward the heavens. The reason this place was called a black mountain was because all the trees were completely black, and it seemed to be filled with swirling Demonic energy.
It was completely different from any of the other mountains as far as the eye could see.
Upon entering the mountain, Meng Hao heard a deep roar, and two Demonic beasts of the third level of Qi Condensation charged toward him. They had the bodies of wolves with long snake-like tails and were covered with thin fur. They glared at him hatefully.
As soon as they approached, Meng Hao stopped, then lifted up the copper mirror and shined it upon them. Instantly, one of the Demonic beast's right eye shot out a geyser of blood. It let out a miserable shriek, frightening its companion. Meng Hao's eyes flashed. This time, the mirror had exploded the Demonic beast's eye, not its buttocks. A similar thing had occurred when he fought Zhao Wugang. He didn't have any more time to think about it. Even as they moved to evade him, he hurtled past them.
As for the two fifth-level Cultivators, they raced in pursuit, infuriated. Their flying swords shot out, instantly slaying the two Demonic beasts. They didn't even stop to collect the Demonic Cores. Their bodies seemed to become rainbows as they raced in pursuit of Meng Hao.
"This is a Demonic mountain. I've heard that a Demon King lives on the peak. Meng Hao, fleeing to this place is just a way of seeking your own death."
"There's no need to flee. Come back and we can discuss things, maybe make a trade." The two Cultivators called after him as they pursued, their voices seemingly sincere, but their hearts filled with murderous intentions.
Meng Hao neither looked back nor responded to their calls, instead speeding along in the direction of the peak of the mountain. Before long, he ran into a group of seven or eight Demonic beasts. Most of them seemed to be at the third level of Qi Condensation. After cowing them with the copper mirror, he made his escape. Of course, the two fifth-level Cultivators had no such ability, so they had to massacre their way through. Then, covered with blood—demonic blood, of course, not their own—they continued in pursuit. They were starting to grow exhausted. During the battle, they had used up even more medicinal pills. But as the saying goes, if you ride a tiger, it's hard to get off. Gritting their teeth, they continued their pursuit.
"They're still after me…" Meng Hao, his face grim, had already reached the farthest point he had ever travelled on the black mountain. If he went any further, it would be difficult to avoid Demonic beasts of the fifth level of Qi Condensation. A hard look appeared on his face, and with clenched jaw, he proceeded onward toward the mountaintop.
After time passed enough for half an incense stick to burn, a low roar suddenly sounded out, seeming to cover half of the mountain. Like a dark wind, a multi-colored giant wolf came toward him, howling. The wolf had legs six meters long, and bright red eyes which shone with killing intent. Suppressive fifth-level Qi Condensation spirit roiled away from it.
If it had been alone, it would not have counted for much. But behind it followed a group of five smaller multi-colored wolves with Cultivation bases at the peak of the fourth level, as well as another fifth level wolf. Their fierce howling filled the air.
Meng Hao's eyes glittered, and without hesitation, he lifted the copper mirror and shone it toward the wolves. A miserable shriek poured out from the mouth of one of the wolves and blood poured out from its chest as if it had been stabbed. The other wolves looked on in shock, retreating unconsciously.
Moments later, unsure of what exactly was happening, and full of guesses, he gritted his teeth and proceeded forward. Two flying swords appeared beneath his feet, carrying him forward over thirty meters in an instant. Further behind appeared the two fifth-level Cultivators. When they saw the pack of Demonic wolves, their expressions dropped. Even though they pursued Meng Hao together, they still had to guard against each other. This area was still in the jurisdiction of the Reliance Sect, but once outside the gates of the sect, it would not be a rules violation for one of them to kill the other.
Amidst pursuit, it would have been no big deal, but now they were facing a crisis. The two fifth-level Demonic wolves looked at them threateningly. That, not to mention the rest of the smaller Demonic wolves, caused the two to quickly come up with a plan. Immediately, they split, one running off to the left and the other to the right.
They moved quickly, but the Demonic wolves moved even faster. They were sentient Demonic beasts, and already felt an astonishing fear of the copper mirror, as well as, Meng Hao. Amidst their furious roars, however, he had made his escape, whereupon two Qi Condensation fifth-level Cultivators invaded their territory.
The Cultivators had no time to consider their fury. They ran, pursued by the howling Demonic wolves. In moments they had fled far away.
Meng Hao let out a sigh. Look up toward the mountaintop, and then back toward the fleeing Cultivators, his eyes flashed.
"Those Demonic beasts will cause them a bit of trouble, and will keep them off my tail for a while. But the fourth two-hour period is almost here. The pill beacon will shine again, and then they'll be able to find me." Meng Hao looked again toward the mountain top. He clenched his jaw and ran forward.
Shortly after that, a beacon of light burst out of his bag of holding, shooting up into the sky. Even someone a great distance away would be able to see it clearly.
Every two hours, the beacon would appear, as it had already a few times today. This was the fourth time.
Meng Hao proceeded carefully, trying to avoid as many Demonic beasts as possible. Most of the ones he saw were of the fifth level of Qi cultivation, so of course he feared them. It seemed they preferred to move about in groups, not alone, so even though the copper mirror provided some protection, he did his best to move around them. As such, his speed was reduced, and he could not run.
Time slowly passed, nearly an hour. Suddenly, a massive, furious roar sounded out throughout the whole mountain. At the same time, Meng Hao burst out from the thick forest, a worried expression on his face. Chasing him were seven or eight psychic Demonic apes. They were furious, and extremely fast, pursuing Meng Hao with unbridled fury.
Three of them were of the fifth level of Qi Condensation, and this made Meng Hao groan inwardly. He had been very careful so far, and hadn't imagined that even as he carefully made his way around the troupe of Demonic apes, the mirror would of its own volition suddenly attack them, exploding one of the apes whose fur was so long it dragged on the ground. This of course raised the fury of the rest of the Demonic apes.
"Even if it is a Demonic ape with super long fur, it doesn't mean you have to act like this," said Meng Hao bitterly, looking at the copper mirror in his hands. He realized that he still didn't fully understand all the mysteries of the mirror. Now, though, he didn't have time to think about it. He ran down the mountain away from the Demonic apes. Looking back, he saw that the apes were closing in on him, so he waved the copper mirror, and another miserable shriek rang out. At that exact moment, Meng Hao saw that ahead of him, which was about the half-way point down or up the mountain, glittered the aura of flying swords.
His eyes shone and he raced forward. In an instant he was almost upon a group of four Cultivators of the fourth level of Qi Condensation. One of them was Shangguan Song. They were in close combat with several Demonic bears. Blood filled the air, and it appeared that they had the upper hand, as the corpses of two Demonic bears lay at their feet.
"Meng Hao!" They caught sight of him almost as soon as he caught sight of them, and their eyes filled with murderous intent, especially Shangguan Song's.
They appeared to be exhausted. Their journey in the black mountain had been wrought with battle. Originally, they had been ten strong, but most of them had already given up. The four remaining had exercised control over their Cultivation bases with gritted teeth and followed after the pill beacon until they found themselves in this brave fight against the Demonic bears.
When they caught sight of Meng Hao, their eyes grew red, and they subconsciously wanted to switch the target of their flying swords' attacks.
"Dear Brothers, I received your orders to attract the attention of this troupe of Demonic apes. Quick, make your move!" As Meng Hao approached, he ignored the flying swords and shouted his words loudly so that the pursuing psychic apes would be sure to hear.
Even as the words were out of his mouth, shockingly furious roars reverberated from behind him as the seven or eight psychic apes burst out from the trees, their red eyes glowing.
"Meng Hao, you're shameless!!!"
"Dammit, you're too despicable!"
The four men's faces fell, and they tried to fall back, cursing Meng Hao. But the fight with the Demonic bears wouldn't permit it. Meng Hao, who was still worried about the whole situation, had already passed them, and the red-eyed Demonic apes charged forward furiously.
Meng Hao looked back at the four of them, killing intent appearing in his eyes. He slapped his bag of holding, and some flying swords shot out with a low hum.
"BOOM!"
The explosion thundered out, as the flying swords exploded. Meng Hao instantly sent two Flame Serpents to follow them, and several nearby trees exploded into bits. Borrowing some of the momentum from the explosion, Meng Hao swallowed a mouthful of blood and shot away. Behind him, the four Cultivators were impeded by the explosions. As for the Demonic apes, they had lost sight of Meng Hao. But the Cultivators were right there in front of them, so they attacked instantly.
Miserable screams rang out, and Meng Hao continued onward without a backward glance.
"This place isn't too bad… it's just a bit dangerous." Meng Hao ran along, until he was sure the Demonic apes weren't following him, then stopped, panting. He looked around.
"It's not easy to keep hold of a Dry Spirit Pill," he murmured. He looked down at his bag of holding and let out a sigh, feeling somewhat distressed.
"I've already wasted thirty-one flying swords, and each one of those is basically a Spirit Stone. I've also consumed several medicinal pills, each of which is also equivalent to a Spirit Stone. And it isn't even the fifth two-hour period yet…" Meng Hao laughed bitterly, feeling twisted at heart.
"In the end, if I can consume the Dry Spirit Pill and make a breakthrough in my Cultivation base, then it will all be worth it!" Veins of blood had appeared in his eyes. He was like a gambler who intended to win at any cost, and had gone all in.
"If those four fourth-level disciples don't get killed, they'll definitely be exhausted, and I doubt they'll be willing to continue their pursuit. Now, all I have left to worry about are the two fifth-level Cultivators." His expression grew somber. His opponents had higher Cultivation bases than him, and there were two of them. It would be difficult to stand up to them, and as far as he was concerned, it wasn't worth it to kill them. The cost in Spirit Stones would be too great.
He rested for a bit, looking up at the mountaintop. Then he gritted his teeth and began to run. The fifth two-hour period arrived quickly, and almost as soon as the pill beacon shot up into the sky from his bag of holding, he heard the sinister voices of his two opponents coming from either side of him.
"Meng Hao, you can't escape!"
"Hand over the Dry Spirit Pill to me. I can let you die with your corpse intact. Otherwise I'll leave you here for the beasts, and nothing will remain of you."
Even as their voices echoed off into the distance, the two Cultivators' bodies flashed like rainbows as they charged towards Meng Hao. Determination filled Meng Hao's eyes and he fled onward. It appeared that up ahead was the resting place of some Demonic beasts.