Chapter 1091: The Scheming of Jian Daozi (2/2)
Meng Hao flew along at the front, silent and taciturn. Jian Daozi followed off to the side. The old man’s cultivation base was not in the Immortal Realm, so it took some effort for him to keep up with Meng Hao. Meng Hao looked over at him and waved his hand, causing a bright light to appear beneath the old man’s feet, which instantly increased his speed so that he could follow along closely.
“Many thanks, Grand Immortal!” Jian Daozi said, clasping his hands in appreciation.
“You can stop it with the false show of respect,” Meng Hao said slowly. “It pisses me off. Furthermore... I'm Meng Hao. My surname is not ‘Grand’ and my given name is not ‘Immortal.’” He spoke the words without the slightest bit of courtesy.
A strange expression appeared on the old man’s face. He clasped his hands and respectfully said, “I shall comply with your orders, Exalted Immortal.”
Meng Hao proceeded to ignore him. Perhaps because of how they were raised, all of the others from the Mountain and Sea Realm were probably not used to paying close attention to the people they deemed weaker, but Meng Hao, despite having such a high status, and even being the Crown Prince of the Fang Clan, had struggled up to that point from a weak and pitiful standing on Planet South Heaven. He had experienced numerous deadly circumstances, and had eventually developed extremely keen eyes. Therefore, he was easily able to detect that Jian Daozi had been scheming all along.
He could clearly see the various things the old man had done. He had never believed that the people of this world would willingly choose to be inferiors. In fact... the people of the Windswept Realm couldn’t even be called inferiors; they were more like slaves who didn't even have control over their own lives or deaths. Their fate was completely under the control of the Mountain and Sea Realm.
The entire world was destined to flow with rivers of blood every thousand years, and the inhabitants were like nothing more than crops to be harvested. Their thousand years of rest was merely preparation... for another harvest!
“The natural laws did not change by chance!” thought Meng Hao, his eyes glittering. He would not be careless in his activities here. Furthermore, he knew many details of certain matters that Fan Dong’er and the others were unaware of.
“Exalted Immortal Meng,” Jian Daozi said ingratiatingly, “Mount Whiteseal is the Ninth Nation's Mountain of National Aura, the source of our nation’s natural law and Daoist magic. It supports our entire world, and even has Heavenly power!
“Exalted Immortal, by selecting that mountain, you can receive the added support of the National Aura, and will definitely experience cultivation base growth to a level that you can’t even imagine.
“The legends say that the National Aura Mountain was refined from a precious treasure. Perhaps with the abilities and resources at hand as a Chosen, Exalted Immortal Meng, you will be able to acquire even greater good fortune.” The wind buffeted their faces as they flew onward, and Jian Daozi's words were carried backward so that Fan Dong’er and the others could hear.
Meng Hao suddenly stopped in place, turned, and looked deeply into Jian Daozi’s eyes. Then, an enigmatic smile appeared on his face, and his eyes gradually shone with an intense gleam.
The look in Meng Hao's eyes caused thumping sounds to pound inside of Jian Daozi. However, he maintained the same smile as ever, and ducked his head respectfully.
“You know,” Meng Hao said coolly. “I’ve killed a lot of people. Many of them were schemers, and when I discovered their plots against me, I removed their heads.
“For example, you used a simple map to quickly divide nine Exalted Immortals without lifting a finger. You benefited from the misfortune of others, and also gained some profound insights. Truly an excellent scheme.
“Later, when the lightning and thunder struck us, you looked surprised, but deep in your eyes, you were actually mocking us. Don’t think that nobody noticed your act. How did you come to be aware that the natural laws had changed?”
With each of Meng Hao’s successive statements, Jian Daozi looked more surprised. He started to look anxious, as if he felt there were some misunderstanding. Terrified, he was about to offer an explanation when Meng Hao continued.
“One map unleashed internal chaos,” he said coolly. “One natural law caused a deadly crisis.
“I honestly don’t care much about those things. However, just now, you tried to use that mountain to gain the upper hand again. Did you really think that you could borrow the strength of my hands to slay the others, just because I was stronger than them?” His words caused Jian Daozi’s face to grow deathly pale, and he began to tremble in terror.
“Exalted Immortal, please calm yourself. Everything was just a misunderstanding! It... it wasn’t like that at all! I....” Sweat poured down Jian Daozi’s face, and he seemed horrified, as if he were being wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit.
“Let me guess,” continued Meng Hao, his voice growing colder by the moment. “If I were you, I wouldn’t devise a plan which relied on only one person, even if you did end up convincing me about the mountain. After all, none of them would be likely to try to provoke me directly. What you want to do is throw out some other seeds to attract their interest.
“Those seeds of interest... will eventually give birth to a struggle over the mountain.
“Their obsession over the mountain is like a hidden weapon that would not be easily noticed. In addition to all of that, if I were you, I would definitely prepare some other knives to stick into the backs of us Immortals. That would also provide a warning that... we should not act presumptuously here!! My guess is that one of those knives will be making an appearance quite soon.”
Jian Daozi smiled wryly, as if he had valid protestations which were merely falling on deaf ears. He seemed to be on the verge of trying to concoct some explanation when, all of a sudden, something became visible off in the distance. There, a waterfall could be seen, at the base of which was a pond. Next to that pond sat a white fox.
A piece of white jade could be seen on the fox's head, which looked completely beyond ordinary. As the fox practiced breathing techniques, it caused all of the light in the area to converge on the fox’s head.
Suddenly, one of the middle-aged Demonic cultivators from the Nine Seas God World caught sight of the white fox. His eyes went wide, and he shouted, “Divine Demon jade!!”
A look of greed and wild joy instantly appeared on the Demonic cultivator’s face. There was a flash as he flew off of the ship he had been riding and headed directly toward the fox.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t do that,” Meng Hao said, stopping in place. In response, Jian Daozi’s face flickered. The middle-aged Demonic cultivator stared in shock for a moment, then gave a cold harrumph.
He was well aware of what kind of place the Windswept Realm was, that there was nothing here that exceeded the Immortal Realm. It was a place without laws or rules, and therefore, nobody could stop him from taking something he wanted!
He sent out his divine sense and, sensing nothing abnormal, completely ignored Meng Hao and closed in on the white fox, reaching his hand out to grab to the piece of white jade.