Chapter 1266: Not Strong Enough (2/2)

“It’s not because of any Daoist magic. Actually... the grand protective spell formation is allowing her to control it.” Meng Hao looked thoughtfully at the Meng Clan ancestral mansion, and the tallest structure therein... the enormous statue!

That was not only where the Dao Realm Patriarchs stayed in secluded meditation, it was also the nucleus of the grand protective spell formation.

There were now no more members of the seventh bloodline in the main hall below. They had all fled.

Meng Hao remained in a position behind his grandmother, watching everything play out silently and not interfering. He would comply with his grandmother’s wishes in everything. Truth be told, he only cared about his grandmother’s bloodline; as for the rest of the Meng Clan, they didn’t matter much to him at all.

Grandma Meng turned to Meng Hao, a kind smile on her face as she said, “Hao’er, this is where your mother used to live, and today, I'm bequeathing it to you.” Then she turned, looking coldly in the direction of where the first bloodline lay, in the shadow of the enormous statue.

“That is where we used to live,” she said, proceeding forward. The other members of the Meng Clan who were in her way hesitated for a moment, then fell back to make way, the fear in their eyes clear.

Meng Hao’s grandmother could control the spell formation and the Sin Blade, plus had a bloodline sealing mark. All of that ensured that none of the other bloodlines were willing to attack. After all... they were confident that the tenth bloodline wasn’t out to exterminate all of the other clan members.

However, as Grandma Meng and the others neared the district where the first bloodline was located, a growling voice echoed out from within the enormous statue.

“Enough. We’re all part of the Meng Clan after all. There will be no more internecine strife within the clan. The tenth bloodline has returned, and the whole Meng Clan should be celebrating that. There’s no need for fighting.”

In response to his words, all of the surrounding members of the Meng Clan began to bow their heads. Grandma Meng was the only one who simply looked up at the statue, a complex look in her eyes. After a long moment, she spoke in a raspy voice, “Is that you, Patriarch Meng Yan? I’m fine with holding back from killing, but the place occupied by the first bloodline belongs to us. Tell them to clear out, and we can call an end to the matter immediately!” [1. Meng Hao’s granduncle is named 孟衍 mèng yǎn, whereas this Patriarch is 孟炎 mèng yán. As you can see, there are two different “Yan” characters, and if you look at the tone marks you can see that their pronunciation is slightly different]

“Impossible!” said a cold, grim voice from within the district occupied by the first bloodline. “Your cultivation base is in the piddling great circle of the Ancient Realm. If it weren’t for that Junior generation expert behind you, it wouldn’t matter that you can control the spell formation and the Sin Blade, you still wouldn’t be qualified to cause a ruckus!”

The owner of the voice emerged, a white-haired young boy.

His face was distorted in rage, and he emanated the aura of the Quasi-Dao Realm. However, that aura was filled with a sensation of decay, as if his longevity within the Quasi-Dao Realm was almost completely expended.

That just made him seem more maddened, and as he emerged, killing intent surged. He flicked his sleeve and was just about to continue speaking, when Meng Hao interrupted.

“Pipe down!” he said, his voice cool and calm. His words transformed into a powerful, invisible force which instantly stopped the white-haired boy in his tracks. “When the adults are talking, pipsqueaks like you should keep their traps shut. If you don’t, however many hundreds of years of longevity you have left, I can end them now.” As Meng Hao’s cold voice echoed about, the white-haired boy stood there trembling, eyes bright red as he glared at Meng Hao.

Grandma Meng stood there silently, as did Meng Hao’s granduncles, uncles, and aunts. They had to admit that all of this was happening because of Meng Hao, and if it weren’t for his help, their comeback would have been impossible.

Meng Hao sighed. How could he not have come to realize the same thing himself? It became especially apparent to him when he realized that his grandmother had injured herself in the attack. Finally, he turned, clasped hands and bowed deeply to his grandmother.

“Grandma Meng, may I please take care of the situation?”

His grandmother looked back at him for a moment, then finally smiled.

“I guess there’s no need to hold you back. Alright, go ahead and take care of things.”

Meng Hao smiled, then turned, gaze calm as he looked at the white-haired boy. “Scram!”

“YOU!!” the boy cried, eyes widening, body trembling. It didn’t matter that he wasn't a match for Meng Hao. Considering he was in front of the entire clan, he couldn’t help but yell at Meng Hao in such a way. After all, his life would be ending soon anyway, so how could he fear death?

Before he could say anything else, Meng Hao snorted coldly. Then, he flickered into motion, suddenly appeared directly in front of the young boy. There, he waved his hand, causing a massive tempest to spring up, with the boy at the center. It rapidly became a tornado, which spread out in the blink of an eye to cover the entire district occupied by the first bloodline, picking up their cultivators and spinning them around, causing bloodcurdling shrieks to ring out.

The white-haired boy was at the center of it all. Meng Hao burned with hatred because of the insulting words he had spoken to his grandmother moments ago, so he waved his hand, causing the boy to let out a miserable scream. His body trembled and then began to disappear into a haze of blood and gore. His already reduced longevity was now forcibly being scraped away. Within the space of a few breaths of time, he transformed into ash which then faded away.

Everything was deathly silent; all eyes came to rest on Meng Hao, and they were filled with fear.

That was the exact result Meng Hao had been aiming for. He couldn’t stay in the Eighth Mountain and Sea for long, and if Grandma Meng wasn’t willing to go to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, then he had to ensure that they had a strong position within the Meng Clan.

If their position was strong enough, then when he left, the bloodline would be safe. Anyone who dared to think about provoking them would definitely consider the ramifications first.

“Unfortunately, their position.... isn't strong enough yet,” he thought. Then he looked up at the statue, eyes flashing like lightning as his gaze pierced inside to stare at the five Dao Realm experts sitting there.