Chapter 1019: The Hunting of Li Linger! (1/2)
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“Meng Hao, give me my treasured dagger back!” howled Patriarch Reliance. Before losing the flying dagger, he actually hadn’t cared about it very much. But now that it wasn't his anymore, countless memories about it suddenly flooded into his mind.
Every memory that surfaced filled his heart with pain.
Meng Hao pretended not to hear as he lifted his hand and waved his finger a few more times, employing the Seventh Hex. Patriarch Reliance’s scalp went numb as Meng Hao then switched to the Sixth Hex.
Glittering light could be seen as numerous magical symbols appeared on Patriarch Reliance’s body. Next, another magical symbol appeared on his forehead, a symbol which was different than Meng Hao’s own Sixth Hex.
When Meng Hao saw it, he suddenly understood everything.
“Aha! Somebody else already used the Sixth Hex on you!
“Well then, I guess I’ll try out the Fifth Hex!” Looking very excited, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand; shockingly, a tiny rift appeared in his palm. When Patriarch Reliance saw it, he was nearly scared out of his mind.
“MENG HAO!!!” he howled miserably.
“What are you planning?” howled Patriarch Reliance. “Just what do you think you’re going to do!? You’re pushing things TOO FAR!!” His body trembled violently, and he seemed to be on the verge of going mad.
“I swear there’s nobody who bullies people worse than you! Unlucky? I've got enough bad luck for eight lifetimes! I was bullied by the League of Demon Sealers back in the day, and now I’m getting bullied by you!
“I ran all the way to Planet East Victory to hide from you, you know!? You think that was easy, huh? You think it was a walk in the park!?!?
“Hey, what are you doing!? You already stole my treasured dagger! W-what!? What are you doing? Come on, tell me! Do you know how old I am?! I'm your Patriarch, remember!?”
Meng Hao scratched his head, starting to feel a bit awkward.
“Alright, how about this,” he said, clearing his throat. “If you take me to the Nine Seas God World, I’ll let you go for the time being. Then you’ll have another chance to hide from me.” He still happened to have the jade slip given to him during the Three Great Daoist Societies’ trial by fire, the one that was supposed to take him to the Nine Seas God World. Unfortunately, Fang Shoudao had somehow found out about that, and had managed to negate the jade slip, making it useless.
Patriarch Reliance suddenly quieted down. After a moment of thought, he bitterly nodded his head. Of course, inwardly, he felt quite pleased, and was even laughing coldly.
“This little bastard is still a bit inexperienced. I’m adept at scheming and have deep foresight, so how could I possibly acquiesce to him!”
Outwardly, he sighed and allowed Meng Hao to stand on him as he headed toward the Ninth Sea. After flying for a short time, however, Meng Hao lifted his right hand and caused a Fifth Hex rift to appear in his palm.
“Patriarch,” he asked with an enigmatic smile, “are you trying to take me into the Ruins of Immortality?”
Patriarch Reliance suddenly trembled, and his heart filled with rage. However, when he thought about Meng Hao’s restrictive spells, he once again began to bemoan his plight to himself as he immediately changed directions to skirt the Ruins of Immortality.
Based on his current speed, it wouldn't take very long for him to get Meng Hao to the Ninth Sea.
Meng Hao beamed at Patriarch Reliance as he slapped his bag of holding, causing the parrot to fly out. The meat jelly was attached to its foot as usual, and the jingling of a bell could be heard when the two of them appeared.
As soon as the parrot flew out, it looked Patriarch Reliance up and down, then blinked and squawked, “Eee? What a big turtle! So strange! How come he seems so familiar?
“Hey, it's you! I remember now! You're that big ol’ turtle from the Milky Way Sea!!” The parrot was now very excited. It flew out next to Patriarch Reliance’s head and said, “You know, I was always very curious about what you ate to get so big! You’re huge! Come come, tell Lord Fifth, and you’ll get a reward!”
Not wanting to be outdone, the meat jelly bellowed, “Hey, Lord Third has rewards too!”
Meng Hao stood on Patriarch Reliance’s head, completely ignoring the parrot and the meat jelly as they harassed Patriarch Reliance. With the two of them dogging the turtle, Meng Hao wasn’t the least bit worried about any tricks he might attempt to pull.
It was at this point that he turned back to look at the State of Zhao. A look of reminiscence appeared on his face as he took a step forward and then vanished. When he reappeared, he was on a mountain peak somewhere in the State of Zhao.
The mountain looked different than the way he remembered it. It had been moved and been transformed throughout the years, but it was still the same mountain that he remembered... Mount Daqing.
He stood there, recalling the past. He was currently standing in the same location he had been when he first stepped into the cultivation world, when he had met Xu Qing.
“Mount Daqing....” he whispered with a sigh. As he looked down the mountain, he noticed that the river that had been there once was now nowhere to be seen. He turned his head again and saw that Yunjie County had also disappeared; it would never again exist.
The only thing left was this mountain, and the memories of Meng Hao's that it contained.
After standing there quietly for a long, long time, he stepped out off the mountain. As he floated there, he could see that same cave from long ago, which still existed on the side of the mountain.
After another long moment, he sighed and turned. Instead of leaving the State of Zhao, he went to the North Sea. Despite the vast changes to the lands, which left the entire State of Zhao different than before, this lake was still here, just as it had been.
The water was calm and mirror-like, and when Meng Hao looked at it, he recalled all the events which had occurred in connection with the lake. Eventually, he caught sight of an actual boat out on the water. It was an old vessel, and an old man could be seen at the till, who looked at Meng Hao as he steered the boat toward the shore.
A pot of alcohol was being warmed inside the boat, and a moment later, a beautiful young woman stuck her head out of the cabin and looked over at Meng Hao.
“Do you remember my name?” she asked with a grin.
“Guyiding Tri-Rain,” he replied, smiling. As he stepped forward onto the boat, the old man smiled and bowed at the waist, then continued to steer the boat out across the water. The young woman sat across from Meng Hao, lifted up the pot of alcohol, and poured a cup. [1. The North Sea lake and Guyiding Tri-rain were introduced in book 1. Meng Hao was helped by the lake in his advancement through the Qi Condensation level, which happened in chapter 44. It brought him back to life after he was defeated in battle by Ding Xin of the Violet Fate. That battle started in chapter 65. He eventually met Guyiding Tri-rain in chapter 89, and it was what she told him that helped him deal with Patriarch Reliance in chapter 95.]
“Do you remember what you promised me?” she asked, her eyes glistening as brightly as the waters of the lake.
“I promised that one day, I would help you become a sea,” he said. Smiling, he raised his cup and then drained it.
The young woman smiled radiantly.