Chapter 1038: I Promise Not to Kill You!

In the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, surrounded by a crowd of Demonic cultivators, he killed his opponent with precision and determination!

The surrounding cultivators of the Nine Seas God World looked on with shock, and the Demonic cultivators’ eyes narrowed. Everyone was astonished by Meng Hao’s lightning-like attack.

For countless years, it was extremely rare for a Nine Seas God World disciple to have been attacked and killed within the Nine Seas God World itself. Even during the insurrection caused when the Ji Clan sleeper cells revealed themselves among the forces of the Three Great Daoist Societies, all they did was sow chaos.

As for Meng Hao, although he was technically a disciple of the Nine Seas God World, the other cultivators hadn’t approved of him yet, and essentially viewed him as an outsider.

His methods were vicious, and he attacked to kill. Then he simply waved away the resulting cloud of blood, leaving the cultivators of the Nine Seas God World completely stunned.

When Meng Hao turned and spoke, his words echoed out into the ears of everyone present. All disciples, both Demonic cultivators and regular disciples, could clearly hear them, and could sense the domineering arrogance within them.

They sounded like words intended to defy laws and principles, even those of the Heavens. As of that moment, everyone was left with a deep impression of Meng Hao.

At the same time, a bellow of rage echoed out from off in the distance. Meng Hao’s eyes were cold as he watched a black-robed old man approaching. He strode through the air, bristling with rage, cultivation base surging. Shockingly, an enormous illusory image could be seen behind him.

The image was that of a Sea Dragon, pitch black with four sets of razor-sharp talons. Its whiskers were long, and floated around its head, making it look especially vicious as it glared at Meng Hao with cold eyes. A wild wind kicked up, disturbing the energy of Heaven and Earth in the area.

As for the old man, at first glance he looked like a cultivator, except that on his forehead there was a black fish scale. Furthermore, two black, coiled horns grew out of the top of his head, which radiated a flickering glow that made him seem terrifyingly powerful.

“You ruthless rascal! How dare you act presumptuously in the Nine Seas God World!” he said, his voice ancient and thunderous. The sound of his voice turned into massive pressure which crushed down toward Meng Hao.

Even more shocking, Soul Lamps began to swirl around him, five of which were extinguished.

“That’s Elder Hai Sheng!”

“Greetings, Elder Hai Sheng!” The old man’s appearance on the scene immediately energized the Demonic cultivators, all of whom offered greetings. The old man ignored them, and focused completely on Meng Hao. As he approached, killing intent swirled around him, a will of hatred that seemed to ooze out from his bones, as if he couldn’t bear to live under the same sky as Meng Hao.

As he closed in on Meng Hao, he didn’t hesitate for even a moment. Ignoring the surrounding Demonic cultivators, he stretched his right hand out and made a clawing motion. The Sea Dragon behind him roared, then shot past him, flying gracefully toward Meng Hao and then slashing at him with its claws.

It was a vicious attack filled with killing intent, clearly designed to rip him to pieces.

The claws even seemed to embody natural law, as if they could borrow from the power of the Ninth Sea itself. It transformed into a sealing mark which caused everything in the area to shake. The seafloor quaked, and boundless ripples spread out.

Meng Hao’s eyes glittered coldly as a sense of crisis filled him. Shockingly, he transformed into a golden roc, which let out a piercing cry as it shot toward the Sea Dragon.

Moments later, the roc and the dragon collided, and a huge boom echoed out.

That one interchange caused Meng Hao in golden roc-form to spit out a mouthful of blood, increasing his speed rapidly to evade the first slash of the Sea Dragon’s claws.

As he retreated, the Sea Dragon swept its mighty tail toward Meng Hao, ripping the air violently as it neared him.

If that tail strike landed on Meng Hao, it wouldn’t matter that he had a true Immortal fleshly body. If he wasn’t killed, then at the least, he would be seriously injured. After all, this was the attack of an Ancient Realm cultivator with five extinguished soul lamps.

All of this takes some time to describe, but occurred in only a brief moment. The tail, filled with bursting power, was just about to slam into Meng Hao. Meng Hao, face grim, transformed back from a golden roc into human-form, then waved his right hand. Instantly, buzzing filled the air as 500 black beetles appeared in front of him, using their backs to form a huge shield.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The tail smacked into the black beetle shield, which trembled violently and then collapsed into 500 parts. However, despite being dispersed by the blow... the force of the blow had been split amongst the black beetles such that not a single one was killed.

With the help of the black beetles, Meng Hao retreated roughly 3,000 meters. Waving his right hand, he caused the 500 black beetles to swirl around him as the illusory Sea Dragon prepared a second slashing attack.

The speed of the attack caused the surrounding disciples of the Nine Seas God World to gasp. They could never have imagined that Meng Hao, who had an Immortal Realm cultivation base, could fight back against the attack of an Ancient Realm Elder.

The black-robed old man frowned, and his killing intent grew more intense as he advanced again.

Meng Hao took a deep breath as he glared at the old man. His Ancient Realm cultivation base was not ordinary. However, they were still at the bottom of the sea. If they were outside, he would be even more powerful.

Meng Hao had his speculations that if he successfully absorbed his own Nirvana Fruits, the explosive power of his Immortal Realm cultivation base might be strong enough to fight back. However... that would only be if the Ninth Sea wasn’t suppressing his cultivation base.

His eyes glittered, and as the pressure from the old man crushed down on him, he snorted coldly. However, he did not retreat. Instead, he took a step forward, then spoke out, his voice booming, “Presumptuous!?

“I, Meng Hao, am a conclave disciple of the Nine Seas God World! After returning to my own sect, I was inexplicably attacked! You, an Elder, didn’t even stop to inquire about who was in the wrong, but instead attacked with deadly force. And you say that I’m presumptuous!?

“The person I killed was the presumptuous one! I’m a member of the Fang Clan, a disciple of all of the Three Great Daoist Societies! He wanted to kill me? I bet he was actually an agent of the Ji Clan!

“I heard that not too long ago, the Ji Clan had sleeper cells in the Three Great Daoist Societies that sowed a lot of chaos. That man must have been a cultivator of the Ji Clan!

“He attacked me impulsively, and then even called on a bunch of accessories to aid in his treason! Killing me would earn him a lot of credit in the Ji Clan! Killing me would destroy the reputation of the Daoist Societies! Killing me would accomplish his mission!” Meng Hao’s words were as sharp as daggers. With each sentence he spoke, he took a step forward, taking every opportunity to embellish his words, trumping up the gravity of the situation.

When the surrounding Demonic cultivators heard his words ring out, they were instantly enraged, and began to shout out angrily.

“YOU!!”

“You’re shameless! SLANDERER!!”

“He wasn’t a Ji Clan agent, and we definitely aren’t accessories to treason!” Their killing intent grew even stronger, as if they wanted to chomp Meng Hao up and swallow him. Some of the more irascible ones clenched their fists and began to walk forward.

As for the ordinary cultivators, they looked hesitant. Quite a few had already pressed down on jade slips to notify Elders within the sect. The disturbance was also attracting the attention of disciples from other areas in the sect, who were now flying over to watch the events play out.

Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever, but inwardly, he was laughing coldly. When it came to battles of oratorical wit, he had never been defeated. Not in the Violet Fate Sect, not on Planet South Heaven as large, and not in the Fang Clan. It would be impossible to say how many people would grudgingly describe him as sharp-tongued.

“If you’re not from the Ji Clan, then why would attack me as soon as you saw me?!” he retorted, glancing around coldly at all the infuriated Demonic cultivators. Then he turned to the black-robed old man and coolly said, “And now, you even have an Elder joining you! It’s a classic case of the big bullying the small! Elder Hai Sheng, could it be that you want to start your own version of the torture chamber right here!? You want to use the greater power of your Ancient Realm cultivation base to kill me?

“That’s because you--” The Demonic cultivators’ eyes went bright red, but before they could finish responding, Elder Hai Sheng gave a cold harrumph, and his expression became incredibly dark. Meng Hao was speaking very loudly, causing his voice to boom out in all directions and attract a lot of attention. Elder Hai Sheng wanted to attack him, but didn’t dare to be so obvious. Therefore he could only secretly wallow in his fury that Meng Hao had blocked his previous two attacks.

When he spoke, his voice was like thunder, pushing down oppressively on everyone in the area:

“It doesn’t matter what happened. Killing people here cannot be tolerated. Men, arrest him and take him to the sect court to be held accountable!” Elder Hai Sheng could see that the crowd was only growing larger, making it impossible for him to attack Meng Hao again. He knew that, as of now, it would be impossible to kill him. Inwardly, however, he was sneering coldly.

He looked at Meng Hao, flicked his sleeve, and thought, “I might not be able to kill you this day, but I will most certainly humiliate you! Your reputation among the disciples of the Three Great Daoist Societies will be ruined! Furthermore, this will ensure that all other powers in the Nine Seas God World know that our Demonic Cultivator Horde and YOU... are irreconcilable enemies! With the Demonic cultivators taking the initiative, more and more people will be unable to suppress their ill feelings, causing more trouble for you!

“That way, you will only find yourself facing more and more enemies in the Nine Seas God World! Even if the Grand Elders and Patriarchs approve of you, they are not your Dao protectors. Eventually, sooner or later, it will reach a point where... you’ll definitely die here!

“That is the only way to give vent to the blood enmity that exists between us! That is the only way that we Nine Seas God World Demonic cultivators can ease the stench of your vile aura!

“And if you want to know the reason why... well, too bad! I’m not going to tell you!” Elder Hai Sheng’s face was as cold as ice, and his eyes were shot with blood, causing Meng Hao’s heart to sink.

Meng Hao was still trying to figure out why all of this was happening, but he couldn’t be certain. What exactly was it that had caused such deep-seated enmity between him and the Demonic cultivators?

“Is it the spirit-immortal stones? Or perhaps me being part of the League of Demon Sealers? Or maybe me showing up here threatens the interest of some unknown party? An old foe of the Fang Clan?” Meng Hao felt a headache coming on. Even after pondering the matter from every angle, he was still perplexed about the situation. After Elder Hai Sheng finished speaking, seven or eight disciples flew through the air toward Meng Hao, killing intent seething.

Meng Hao’s eyes glittered coldly. He had already started killing people, so he didn’t mind killing a few more. Although... if he could get some more promissory notes, that would be even better!

“Since they’re not going to provide any explanation,” he thought, “I’ll just force them to owe me more money than they’ll ever be able to pay back!

“Furthermore, I can’t believe that this disturbance has gone unnoticed by those old fogies of the Nine Seas God World. They have to know what’s happening!” He was irritated, and seeing how much the Demonic cultivators wanted to kill him, he found the whole situation to be very annoying.

“Don’t you worry. As long as you do what I say, I won’t beat you to death!” he said coolly. Lifting his left hand, he caused tens of thousands of mountains to crush down from above.