Chapter 343: Rent by Lightning! (2/2)

The lightning didn’t stop at three bolts, however. After a few breaths’ time, a fourth lightning bolt descended. Before it could fall, Meng Hao, his face expressionless, tossed up the Li Clan Patriarch.

The lightning slammed into him, causing the Li Clan Patriarch to let out a miserable cry. Thankfully, his soul embodiment was vigorous. After being subjected to the torment of the meat jelly, it was actually quite resilient, despite its weak appearance.

After the boom echoed out, the Li Clan Patriarch grew almost completely illusory. And yet, before he could even catch his breath, a fifth lightning bolt fell, and another miserable shriek echoed out. Big-head watched all of this with gaping eyes.

For the first time while standing in front of Meng Hao, he couldn’t hide the fear in his eyes. He sympathized with this soul embodiment. As far as he was concerned, Meng Hao was absolutely the most savage Cultivator in existence. It seemed he would shrink from no evil, and did not shirk from outraging men and gods alike.

“This soul embodiment is already in a wretched state, and yet he does this to it,” thought Big-head. “I wonder what great enmity exists between them…. That soul embodiment seems on the verge of dispersing completely.” He sighed inwardly, his mind spinning because of Meng Hao’s viciousness. His impression was now thoroughly settled.

“That guy must have just been too attached to life, and wasn’t decisive enough. His soul got snatched up by this vicious Cultivator. I, however, have steady resolve. I won’t end up like that. If he stole my soul, I would end up like this, tormented into dissolution.” Having psyched himself up to this point, Big-head lifted his hand to strike his forehead, when suddenly his body began to shake, and his resolve shattered.

His eyes opened wide, filled with disbelief and intense dread. This was because just as the soul embodiment seemed about to be shattered by the lightning, a violet glow flickered in Meng Hao’s eyes. He spit out a mouthful of golden Qi, which was filled with his own life force. There wasn’t much, but after it merged with the Li Clan Patriarch’s soul embodiment, all of his wounds began to recover.

Just when he was almost completely recovered, a sixth lightning bolt fell. A thunderclap rang out, accompanied by a miserable cry. Grief filled the eyes of the Li Clan Patriarch, along with despair. It was a hopelessness in which the desire for death exceeded the desire to live.

The sight caused Big-head’s scalp to go numb and his face to turn pale white. He began to quiver. He had been preparing to say some grand words just now, but now he could only swallow with a gulp. The hand that had been moving toward his forehead fell to his side. The pride in his eyes had been replaced by hopelessness.

He suddenly realized that even if he managed to deliver a deadly blow to himself, he was a Cultivator. In the moments after his death, there were a variety of methods that could be used to extract his soul.

He could attempt to self detonate, but seeing how adept Meng Hao was with inflicting torment, Big-head could see that dying was not necessarily a way of escaping.

He didn’t fear death, but what he did fear, was living a life worse than death.

Meng Hao was currently ignoring Big-head, and was instead focusing completely on the lightning, as well as the Li Clan Patriarch’s soul.

What he noticed was that even as the soul embodiment was on the verge of collapsing, sparking remnants of the lightning were fusing into the soul. Thanks to the healing provided by Meng Hao’s life force, the recovery of the Li Clan Patriarch’s soul embodiment resulted in much more lightning residing within him.

“Refine a Soul of Lightning, huh…? It seems it requires a bit of a sacrifice to refine such a thing!” Meng Hao’s eyes glittered as he looked around for more lightning. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, a final bolt of lightning appeared. After the Li Clan Patriarch absorbed it, Meng Hao put him back into the blood-colored mask. He cursed Meng Hao vigorously the entire time. [1. The Soul of Lightning was originally explained in chapter 326]

Finally, Meng Hao looked thoughtfully back at Big-head. He lifted his hand up and was about to kill him and then let the vines consume him and pull out his special techniques.

After all, Big-head’s attitude just now had been one of firm resolution, even willingness to die. No matter how much Meng Hao tormented him, there would be no way to know of if he was telling the truth about this techniques.

However, even as Meng Hao lifted his hand up, Big-head began to quiver and his face filled with intense dread.

“Fellow Daoist…. Fellow Daoist, listen to me,” he gushed. “I happen to know the location of the secret Treasure Pavilions of all the three great Sects. There’s lots of stuff hidden there! I’ll give all the treasures of my Talisman Sect to you as a gift. I’ll do anything you ask, I’ll even face mountains of swords and seas of flames. I, Big-head, won’t even frown!” Meng Hao’s methods just now had left him trembling; he had no desire to have his soul tormented after he died.

Meng Hao gaped at Patriarch Big-head for a moment. This caused the man to begin to pant and get more nervous. He could hear the sound of his own heart pounding. However, a look of resolve appeared in his eyes. He swore a poison oath, and, gritting his teeth, even extracted some soul blood from his forehead which he offered to Meng Hao. With that, Meng Hao would be able to kill him at any time.

Big-head believed that it was only with such a resolution that he could truly evade calamity.

Meng Hao thought about it for a moment; it didn’t take him long to figure out what Big-head was thinking. He looked at the man for a moment and then a faint smile touching his face. Finally he reached out and accepted the soul blood.

“Now,” said Meng Hao coolly, “explain to me that bizarre legacy of yours.”

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This chapter was sponsored by Yann Perio