Chapter 1013: Planning to Escape the Marriage! (1/2)
Chapter 1013: Planning to Escape the Marriage!
“I look forward to the day when he becomes the person who controls that hand!” The sprout swayed back and forth, and faint laughter could be heard echoing out into the darkness of the void.
The option of becoming the plant or the hand seemed like a choice, but it was actually a trick question. Although there appeared to be two answers to pick from, in reality, those two answers were one and the same.
That was especially true after one's mind was reeling after experiencing the shocking visions. Before that feeling even faded away, when one had not had a chance to digest the experience, and the heart was still unstable, whatever decision was made would clearly reveal the nature of one’s Dao, and the focus of one’s heart.
It was not a time in which random or careless things could be said. If one responded in an absurd way that did not correspond to the object of their obsession, it would be like a betrayal of oneself and result in the collapse of their Dao will.
Therefore, for someone to escape the trap and to respond that they wanted to become the person who controlled the hand was something completely remarkable. Any person who entered the ninth level of the Medicine Pavilion and faced that middle-aged man’s divine ability, and who had a cultivation base lower than him, would be incapable of speaking lies. The only thing they would be capable of doing was speaking the truth from the bottom of their heart. That was the only way to pass the ninth level!
It required not only utter self-confidence, but also total clarity of self. Furthermore, it required those who answered the question to have an unshakable belief in their own Dao!
That middle-aged man had not seen a member of the Fang Clan like that in a long time. Therefore, he decided to provide some enlightenment regarding the Dao of Essence!
“Essence IS the Dao!” thought Meng Hao. His mind rumbled as he stepped out of the door. In the blink of an eye, he was outside of the medicine Pavilion, surrounded by tens of thousands of clan members, all of whom were looking at Meng Hao, their faces filled with excitement.
The toll of the Dao bell could be heard, filling the minds of all members of the Fang Clan.
Behind Meng Hao, brilliant light shot up from the Medicine Pavilion to illuminate everything. All of the alchemists on Planet East Victory clasped hands and bowed toward Meng Hao. The sky went dark.
That was the first time that anyone had perfectly passed through the entire Medicine Pavilion. It would definitely become a legend in the Dao of Alchemy Division, part of the mythos of the Fang Clan’s Dao of alchemy.
Meng Hao's name was now listed in the very first position on the stone stele outside of the Medicine Pavilion!
However, all of the cheering barely registered in his ears. The words he had just heard filled his ears and continued to crash around in his mind like thunder.
“Essence... is the Dao....” he murmured.
“Comprehend Essence, and you can step into the Dao Realm!” It was as if Meng Hao’s mind had been opened further, making his understanding of cultivation clearer than ever.
“Use the Nirvana Fruits to enter the Ancient Realm. Use Essence to form the Dao Realm!” Meng Hao’s eyes shone with brilliant light as the ancient voice slowly echoed away into silence. Outside of the Medicine Pavilion, the cries of the clan members gradually grew stronger in Meng Hao’s ears.
“Congratulations, on charging through the whole Medicine Pavilion, Crown Prince!”
“Congratulations, Crown Prince!”
As the cries echoed out, Meng Hao gradually recovered his senses. Soon, he was staring around in shock. Something seemed... off. There didn't seem to be enough people in the area. There were tens of thousands, and no more....
From what he could remember, when he entered the Medicine Pavilion, there had been hundreds of thousands, perhaps even more, spread about in all directins. Feeling suspicious, Meng Hao smiled at the crowds, clasped hands, and bowed. Then he gave Fang Xi a meaningful look, and sped off into the distance.
Fang Xi followed nervously. The two of them flew out of the Dao of Alchemy Division, and before Meng Hao could even ask him any questions, Fang Xi sighed.
“Coz, something happened. After you entered the Medicine Pavilion, the clan suddenly announced a bunch of important missions. Almost all of the clan members who came to watch immediately had to go back to the clan....” Smiling wryly, Fang Xi produced a bag of holding which he handed over to Meng Hao.
Face unsightly, Meng Hao grabbed the bag of holding and scanned it. There were quite a few spirit stones inside, but it was a lot less than he had expected. It didn’t take much thought to come to the conclusion that this was definitely a counterstrike from that old fox Fang Shoudao. He turned to stare angrily at the ancestral mansion.
“That old hoodlum!” Meng Hao growled, gnashing his teeth. “That wily old fox!!”
Obviously, the old fogey had figured out that he was being conned by Meng Hao, and had devised an ingenious counterattack.
“Well, it doesn’t matter,” said Meng Hao, forcing a smile onto his face as he clapped Fang Xi on the shoulder. “You head back now, and I’ll start working on another plan.”
Fang Xi nodded. After bowing to Meng Hao, he transformed into a colorful beam of light that shot off into the distance.
Meng Hao hovered in midair, eyes flickering, jaw clenched.
“Since you want to force my hand so badly, you old fox,” he thought, “don’t blame the Young Master for flipping over the game board!” Musing about how the first generation Patriarch had stared down Ji Tian, he turned into a prismatic beam that shot back toward the ancestral mansion.
Back in his residence, he sat down cross-legged.
After a few days passed, in the dead of night, he flickered and disappeared from within his residence and materialized outside of the ancestral mansion, where he transformed into a beam of light that shot soundlessly up into the sky.
Just when he seemed to be on the verge of bursting out into the starry sky, a powerful force bore down on him. It was like a sealing power, which spread out in all directions, forcing him to come to a stop. All he could do now was look out at the starry sky, his expression unsightly.
“So, the old fox already prepared for the possibility of me fleeing before the wedding day. From the look of things, the old fogey intentionally asked the Three Great Daoist Societies to wait for three months before coming back for me. It was all a setup!” He gritted his teeth as put all the pieces of the puzzle together. He was not happy to have been conned multiple times by Fang Shoudao. It was the feeling of being defeated by someone else in the field which you considered yourself to be most skilled at.
Meng Hao snorted coldly, and his eyes glittered. Deep inside, he was actually laughing as he turned and headed back to the clan. He settled down in the ancestral mansion, and made no further attempts to escape the marriage. Nor did he go to concoct medicinal pills. Instead, he spent all of his time poring through the clan’s ancient records, and reading through its history.
Fang Shoudao was puzzled by this behavior. During recent days, he had been constantly observing Meng Hao with divine sense. He even saw him attempt to fly away, the result of which left him feeling very pleased.
But now, he couldn't figure him out.
“I can’t underestimate this fox cub,” he thought. “If I overlook the tiniest thing, I could end up falling into his con.” Fang Shoudao wore a very serious expression. He attempted to study the same ancient records that Meng Hao had looked at. However, he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, which only served to increase his caution.