faster than annoying mongrels

In a split second, everyone in the square suddenly began to stare at Fatty, making him feel as if a cold wind was rushing up his back. His body shuddered and he looked pityingly at Meng Hao, a faint smile on his face.

"Meng Hao, save me…" He wanted to throw the pill away, but for some reason it wouldn't leave his hand. He was so scared that when people started to surround them, his teeth chattered.

As the lights went out, he shook violently. Then the lights went out and the restrictive spell was released. Before Fatty could say anything, Meng Hao sent out a thunderous flash from his fourth level cultivation base, then grabbed Fatty by the cloak and charged forward.

"Give me the pill," said Meng Hao in a low voice. "Go back to the Immortal's Cave and hide!" Without hesitation, Meng Hao tossed him the jade slip from the cave. Fatty threw him the Dry Spirit Pill like a hot potato.

Meng Hao's body glowed as he charged forward with Fatty in tow. Behind him, sounds of howling and roaring arose as ten or more people ran in pursuit.

"Damn, it's Meng Hao. You can't escape!

"Hand over the Dry Spirit Pill. As a fellow disciple, I will show some mercy and not kill you. Otherwise, you will have a hard time escaping death!"

Meng Hao did not stop for even a second. After emerging from the edge of the Outer Sect, he threw Fatty away from him. Fatty was a prosaic person, but he was not stupid. As soon as he landed on his feet, he let out a miserable scream.

"Pill thief!" he shouted, holding the jade slip close to him as he ran, trying not to look suspicious. He rushed towards the Immortal's Cave at high speed.

Upon hearing this, the pursuers ignored him and continued after Meng Hao.

"Escape to the ends of the earth if you want, you won't survive the next 24 hours!"

"You're fourth level and you still haven't given me the pill!?" Among the ten or so pursuers, the majority were of the fourth level of Qi Condensation and only two were of the fifth level. The rest were third level, obviously hoping to take advantage of the situation.

Cold sword auras whistled behind Meng Hao as more than ten flying swords descended toward him like rain. But he was determined to reach the black mountain! There was his true treasure. He increased his speed. After spending so much time hunting demonic beasts in the wild mountains, his top speed was not inferior. And he was much more familiar with mountainous regions than most of the other disciples. Thus, upon leaving the Outer Sect, he ran towards the mountains. Looking back at the approaching sword auras, Meng Hao slapped his bag of holding to produce a medicinal pill that he immediately swallowed. Then he sent his own swords flying back.

Bang, bang, bang. Several trees were hit by the powerful flying swords and exploded into pieces, which flew everywhere. Some painfully beat Meng Hao. Absorbing the momentum of the explosion, he shot several meters away.

Before he could land on the ground, four Flame Serpents and three Water Globes shot towards him. Two of the Flame Serpents were nearly sixty feet long and as thick as a person, and they emitted an intense heat that caused some of the nearby trees to catch fire. This would be the job of the fifth level disciples, who were also the fastest in the group. His feet didn't even touch the ground as they flew towards him like the wind. Wild looks filled his faces. In fact, they didn't have the slightest compassion for each other. For them, the only competition involved was the two of them. Meng Hao didn't count for anything.

Without hesitation, Meng Hao tapped his bag of holding again. Two flying swords appeared and spun around him, then stopped beneath his feet. Then they dashed forward, carrying him nearly a hundred feet before he lost his balance and fell. The short movement allowed him to escape the Flame Serpents and gain some distance. Furious howls reverberated in the air behind him.

This was a technique that Meng Hao invented. It wouldn't work for long, just a few seconds, but at least it helped him gain a bit of an advantage over the two fifth level cultivators.

"If I were of the fifth level of Qi Condensation," thought Meng Hao, "I would have the Wind Walking Technique. Then I could stay on the flying sword much longer and I could escape more easily. Unfortunately, this is not true flying…" Even more than ever, he desired to reach the fifth level of Qi Condensation. Without looking back, he sped up. In fact, the path he chose was not random. The instant the Dry Spirit Pill landed in Fatty's hands,his mind was racing at high speed. Antony didn't understand why but he rigidly followed the original path as if he was following a map, Antony just felt scared. An ancient fear coming from his most primitive instincts, he couldn't go wrong!

Meng Hao activated his spiritual energy and charged through the mountains like an arrow, his body becoming blurred and even releasing remnants of afterimages like bits of afterimages. At that moment, Meng Hao's speed surpassed his cultivation and broke through yet another barrier. He even thought about killing those cultivators but the prize in those areas was too fat to lose to mere cultivators.

The chase ran its course but without the need for Meng Hao to spoil his countless magical swords and medicinal pills as a way of delaying his pursuers. When the sixth hour arrived, the dark, black mountain appeared in front of Meng Hao. Hidden among the other wild mountains, it exuded a cold and ghastly air. It seemed like it was filled with an ominous darkness.

When he saw the mountain, his eyes lit up. He expended a lot of energy along the way and felt a bit of joy and further stimulated his spiritual energy and thus the white sphere within him that pumped more and more spiritual energy into the dantian. Without hesitation, he shot towards the black mountain.

The two pursuing cultivators followed.

Some more time passed and more pursuers appeared, one by one. Upon seeing the black mountain, they gasped and entered.

The black mountain was not bare, but rather covered in a lush forest of trees that stretched towards the sky. The reason why this place was called the black mountain was because all the trees were completely black and seemed to be filled with swirling demonic energy.

It was completely unlike any other mountain as far as the eye could see.

Upon entering the mountain, Meng Hao heard a deep roar, and two demonic beasts of the third level of Qi Condensation charged toward him. They had wolf-like bodies with long snake-like tails and were covered in fine hair. They looked at him with hatred.

As they approached, Meng Hao stopped, raised the copper mirror, and shone it down on them. Instantly, one of the demonic beast's right eyes shot out a geyser of blood. He let out a miserable scream, scaring his companion. Meng Hao's eyes glittered. This time, the mirror exploded the demonic beast's eye, not its buttocks. Something similar occurred when he fought some demonic beasts the last time he visited the black mountain but its surroundings were just a little bit away from the outer region where he collected third level demon cores. He didn't have time to think about it anymore. Even as they moved to avoid him, he passed by them.

As for the two fifth level cultivators, they rushed in pursuit, enraged. Their flying swords shot out, instantly killing the two demonic beasts that appeared with the miserable scream of the beast Meng Hao had killed. They didn't even stop to collect the Demonic Cores. Their bodies seemed to turn into rainbows as they ran in search of Meng Hao.

"This is a demonic mountain. I heard that a Demon King lives at the peak. Meng Hao, fleeing to this place is just a way of seeking one's own death."

"There is no need to run away. Come back and we can discuss things, maybe make a trade." The two Cultivators called out to him as they chased him, their voices seemingly sincere but their hearts filled with murderous intent.

Meng Hao did not look back or respond to his calls, instead speeding toward the mountain peak. Before long, he encountered a group of seven or eight demonic beasts. Most of them seemed to be at the third level of Qi Condensation. After intimidating them with the copper mirror, he escaped. Of course, the two fifth level cultivators didn't have such an ability, so they had to slaughter their way through. Then, covered in blood—demonic blood, of course, not their own—they continued to pursue them. They were starting to get exhausted. During the battle, they used even more medicinal pills. But as the saying goes, if you ride a tiger, it's hard to get off. Gritting their teeth, they continued the chase.

"They are still after me…" Meng Hao, his face grim, had already reached the furthest point he had ever traveled on the black mountain. If he went any further, it would be difficult to avoid demonic beasts of the fifth level of Qi Condensation. A hard expression appeared on his face and, with his jaw clenched, he continued towards the top of the mountain. He wanted to solve that problem alone but with the insistence of these two cultivators hindering his future plunder, a difficult mission became impossible, he thought that the order of heaven in this world was too strong. He has a killer treasure up there and capturing that treasure is of paramount importance and not to mention the rewards he will have for obtaining that treasure.

After enough time had passed to burn half an incense stick, a loud roar suddenly sounded, seeming to cover half of the mountain. Like a dark wind, a multicolored giant wolf came towards him, howling. The wolf had six meter long legs and bright red eyes that glowed with killing intent. The fifth level Qi Condensation Suppressing Spirit fluttered away from him. If he had been alone, he wouldn't have said much. But behind him followed a group of five smaller multicolored wolves with cultivation bases at the peak of the fourth level, as well as another wolf of the fifth level. Its ferocious howl filled the air.

Meng Hao's eyes glittered, and without hesitation, he lifted the copper mirror and pointed it at the wolves. A miserable scream came out of one of the wolves' mouth and blood gushed from his chest as if he had been stabbed. The other wolves looked on in shock, unconsciously retreating.

Moments later, unsure of exactly what was happening and full of assumptions, he gritted his teeth and continued forward. Two flying swords appeared beneath his feet, carrying him forward more than thirty meters in an instant. Further back appeared the two fifth level cultivators. When they saw the demonic wolf pack, their expressions fell. Even though they pursued Meng Hao together, they still had to protect themselves from each other. This area was still under the jurisdiction of the Reliance Sect, but once outside the sect's gates, it would not be a violation of the rules for one of them to kill the other. In the midst of persecution, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but now they faced a crisis. The two fifth level demon wolves looked at them menacingly. This, not to mention the rest of the lesser demon wolves, caused the two to quickly come up with a plan. Immediately they separated, one running to the left and the other to the right.

They moved quickly, but the demon wolves moved even faster. They were sentient demonic beasts, and they already felt a surprising fear of the copper mirror, as well as Meng Hao. Amidst their furious roars, however, he escaped, and two fifth level Qi Condensation cultivators invaded his territory.

The Cultivators had no time to consider their fury. They ran, chased by the howling demonic wolves. In moments they fled far away.

Meng Hao let out a sigh. Looking up toward the top of the mountain and then back at the fleeing Cultivators, his eyes sparkled.

"These demonic beasts will cause you some trouble and keep you away from me for a while. I have to be faster than these annoying dogs"