Chapter 1256: Make a Name! (1/2)

Chapter 1256: Make a Name!

Meng Hao silently turned and headed back to the clan residence. When he arrived, he handed over the unconscious youth he had just rescued, then straightened his clothes and headed toward his grandmother’s room.

He didn’t immediately enter, but instead clasped hands and bowed deeply, then stood there with his head lowered.

After a long moment, the door opened, and the three middle-aged women filed out, glancing at him with curious expressions as they walked past. Then, an ancient voice spoke from within the room.

“Come.”

Meng Hao bowed once more, then entered, closing the door behind him.

When he looked up, he saw his Grandma Meng sitting in a chair, her complexion much improved. She seemed weaker than a mortal, but at the same time, solemn and filled with an indescribable dignity. Her eyes were dim, but when her gaze settled on someone it seemed to be filled with a certain might.

On either side of her sat the two old men, who were also much improved. They were staring at Meng Hao without the slightest expressions on their faces.

The first person to speak was his grandmother. She looked at him and slowly asked, “Who are you?!”

Her voice was not backed by the power of her cultivation base, but seemed to inherently contain something that caused the natural laws in the area to fluctuate. Anyone who heard her voice would be affected by the mysterious pressure it contained.

“Greetings, Grandma Meng. Greetings, granduncles, I am Meng Hao....” Meng Hao then dropped to his knees and began to kowtow.

The oldtimers were visibly moved when they realized that he had used the forms of address for maternal relatives....

“You...” Meng Hao’s grandmother gaped in shock. Something clicked in her mind, and an expression of disbelief could then be seen. Meng Hao rose to his feet, and as he did, his facial features transformed from Meng Chen’s into his own.

Then he produced a jade slip from his bag of holding, which he respectfully handed over to his grandmother. Next, he sent some cultivation base power into the jade slip, which then projected a screen into the air. On that screen was the face of a woman, none other than... Meng Hao’s mother.

Then, as the three oldtimers looked on, he bit the tip of his finger and dropped a bit of blood onto the jade slip. The jade slip absorbed it, turning blood-red in the process.

This jade slip had been given to Meng Hao before parting ways with his mother. She had told him that if he ever encountered any relatives from her side of the family, he could use it to prove his identity.

Meng Hao’s grandmother began shaking, and the two old men on either side of her looked incredibly excited. In fact, there had been few times in their entire lives in which they had been this excited.

“Li’er... you’re... you’re Li’er’s son. Fang-Meng Hao....” His grandmother stared at him, breath coming in ragged pants. Suddenly, a tremor ran through her, as if something had just occurred to her. “Is your mother well...?”

Meng Hao immediately stepped forward and offered his arm to his grandmother to support her. “Grandma Meng, my mother is in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, safe and healthy.”

“As long as she's safe and healthy, that’s what’s important....” his grandmother murmured, tears rolling down her cheeks. She raised a trembling hand to stroke Meng Hao’s cheek, her eyes shining with kindness. “You’re such a good kid. Why are you here? Where’s Meng Chen?”

Meng Hao sighed and then gave a simple recounting of how he had come to the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and then the circumstances in which he met Meng Chen.

When his grandmother and grand-uncles heard about how he had exterminated the Blacksoul Society and then slaughtered Dao Lords and other such powerful experts, their eyes went wide.

Then they heard about Meng Chen’s final words, and their eyes dimmed.

“Chen’er was also such a good kid....”

After a moment of silence, Meng Hao looked at the oldtimers and asked, “Grandma Meng, granduncles, I very much want to know what happened here? Why is our bloodline in such decline. What are those black spikes inside of you? And also... who poisoned you? Where is everyone else of the Senior generation?”

They exchanged silent glances for a moment, and then one of Meng Hao’s granduncles sighed and began to explain.

“After your Grandpa Meng went to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, he never returned. All the news we got was that it had to do with you, and that he went missing along with your Grandpa Fang.

“Your grandfather’s disappearance affected the clan a bit, but not fatally. Back then, there were seven of us brothers including your grandfather, plus many sons and grandsons. Although none of us were in the Dao Realm, there were many in the Ancient Realm. We decided not to contend for the place of Clan Chief, assuming that doing so would prevent conflict within the clan. How could we have ever imagined that everything would change overnight?

“Although news about what happened in the clan that night never spread, that was the moment the Meng Clan fell from the height of their power....

“Mysterious cultivators invaded, and were joined by traitors within the clan. A huge battle was fought, and two of our Dao Realm Patriarchs were killed. Two others were seriously injured and still haven’t recovered.

“Vast numbers of Ancient Realm cultivators died, and virtually all of the Immortal Realm clan members were slaughtered....

“Our bloodline narrowly managed to escape to this place. However, when we got here, there were nine mysterious experts waiting, apparently specifically for us. All of our other brothers died, and most of your uncles were killed. The only people left were the women and children....