<strong>Chapter 633: Honored Guest</strong>


    In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.


    Meng Hao spent the entire time with eyes closed in meditation, treating his injuries. During the seven days, the injures gradually healed by about thirty percent. Unfortunately, his fleshly body still couldn’t hold together without the help of the meat jelly. It still needed time to grow stable. However, the wounds were gradually fusing shut.


    Every day, he would eat three meals of fruit, personally delivered by the young woman. She was always very respectful.


    She even offered up some Spirit Stones. Whatever Meng Hao requested was provided in full, and all his questions about the Milky Way Sea were answered in detail.


    In addition to healing himself, Meng Hao was able to gain quite an understanding about the area.


    During the seven days, the surface of the Milky Way Sea was calm and quiet. The Zhang ship from the Outer Sea bravely proceeded onward as it had from the beginning. Of course, now that Meng Hao was on board, everyone was a bit more nervous than before. However, nothing untoward urred.


    As time passed and Meng Hao continued to stay in secluded meditation, the young woman gradually felt more at ease. Her previous cheerful and yful attitude returned. asionally, herughter rang out, filled with a bit of childish naivety.


    The other three Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the boat were as nervous as ever. They understood what the n Leader was thinking, but in their opinion, what she was doing was like asking a tiger for its own skin, expecting a bad person to act against his own interest. In their opinion, young people like her didn’t understand the ruthlessness of the Cultivation world. On the other hand, the three of them, having practiced cultivation up to the level of Foundation Establishment, and having maintained the position of the n on their ind in the Outer Sea, had experienced many situations of deadly crisis.


    They well knew that in the Cultivation world, thew of the jungle prevailed, and danger was the norm. One bad thing could lead toplete destruction, and could even affect an entire n.


    Meng Hao had randomly appeared out of a bizarre ck hole. Although he was weak and severely injured, the look he had given them seven days ago had caused them to feel as if they were frozen dead in the middle of winter.


    They had the intense sensation that if Meng Hao wanted to kill them, then it wouldn’t matter if he was even more severely injured, they would all be destroyed.


    Currently, all of three of them stood at the stern of the ship, frowning and giving voice to the same concerns.


    “This matter with the n Leader... it’s not wise!”


    “That man was severely injured, and arrived via teleportation. From the look of things, he must but the subject of pursuit. If his pursuers catch up with him, it could bring about the destruction of all of us!”


    “Ai! I know what the n Leader is thinking. This journey to Saint’s Ind is ourst shot. If we seed, we can strike some fear into the Liu n so that they don’t dare to act recklessly.”


    “We can only hope that Nan’er will fight to excel. Hopefully he can stick out in the Footloose Sect’spetition for new disciples.”


    The three of them exchanged nces and then sighed lightly.


    The Patriarch of the Zhang n had founded their ind in the Outer Sea. However, after he passed away in meditation, they had been forced to tread as carefully as if walking on thin ice. Another Core Formation Cultivator hadn’t appeared in the n, which meant that the ind they upied soon came to be eyed greedily by surrounding neighbors.


    Were it not for the spell formation left in ce by the Patriarch before he passed away, as well as the magical items and social connections he had made, then they would have long since lost their ind and be an auxiliary n.


    They had managed to hold on for a while, until finally a crisis loomed. The Liu n, who upied a nearby ind, had long since begun to re at them like a tiger eyeing its prey. ughter had been on the verge of breaking out.


    During that moment of critical danger, the Zhang n Leader, which was none other than the beautiful young woman, had made a difficult decision. She took all of her people and left the ind in secret to deliver her son to the Footloose Sect.


    If he became a disciple of the Footloose Sect, then his identity would be enough to intimidate anyone in the Outer Sea. It would protect the Zhang n for at least around a hundred years.


    The three Foundation Establishment Cultivators continued to discuss matters.


    “This whole thing is going to be very difficult.... There’s no need to even mention that after arriving at Saint’s Ind, it’s impossible to know if Nan’er will be able to distinguish himself amongst the crowd and enter the Footloose Sect. Regardless of anything, our path is going to be one of extreme danger.”


    “That’s right. Rumors will have spread, and the news leaked. The Liu n won’t be willing to ept this.... We can only hope that they react too slowly. Hopefully we left early enough to seize a superior position and evade their pursuit.”


    “In addition to the Liu n, there are also the numerous sea beasts that roam between the Outer Sea and the Fourth Ring, not to mention the cruel rogue Cultivators. How could our path possibly be one of peace and security?”


    “However, this really is our only chance....” The three once more sighed and thenpsed into silence. They understood what the n Leader was trying to do, and since she had already made her decision, there was no need to spend time worrying.


    Who knew? Perhaps... inviting the wounded expert to stay with them might have some extraordinary oue.


    At the same time that the three of them were having their discussion, the Zhang n Leader, the young woman, stood at the prow of the boat, sping her son’s hand. She looked off into the sky up above, unable to conceal her expression of anxiety and unease.


    “Our voyage will continue for three more days before we reach the Fourth Ring,” she murmured. “After leaving the Outer Sea behind, then we really will have evaded the Liu n....” Although the Liu n was not weak, that was only when speaking in terms of the Outer Sea. In the Fourth Ring, they could be considered bugs. In the analysis of the young woman, once they entered the Fourth Ring, the Liu n would most likely give up any pursuit and not dare to follow.


    After all, she and her n were at the end of their rope, whereas the Liu n wouldn’t dare to rashly put themselves in danger.


    She looked down at her son and patted his head. “Nan’er, you need to remember, the Footloose Sect pays a lot of attention to seniority. After we arrive, you must not make any breaches of etiquette.”


    The boy didn’t seem to understand what she meant, but he nodded his head obediently. Her eyes filled with a doting expression, and she was just about to lean over to pick him up when her expression flickered and she suddenly looked behind her.


    At the same time, the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the stern also looked back.


    What they saw was a pitch-ck ship speeding toward them at top speed. The g flying on the ship was clearly emzoned with a huge character.


    Liu 刘!


    This was a ship from the Outer Seas Liu n. They had been in full pursuit for days, and had finally caught up. On the prow of the ship stood four people, three of whom wore extremely respectful expressions. The other was clearly different than them.


    He was an old man with an aloof expression. His eyes shed like lightning, and he held his hands sped behind his back. His voluminous robe pped in the wind, and his long, white hair made him lookpletely extraordinary.


    His Cultivation base emanated the ripples of the early Core Formation stage. It was for this reason that the Liu n ship had been able to pursue at top speed for so many days.


    As soon as the young woman caught sight of the old man, the blood drained from her face. She began to pant, and her hands sped down tightly onto her son.


    The other three Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Zhang n also felt their hearts beginning to pound. Their faces paled, and their eyes filled with despair.


    “Liu n... Patriarch!”


    As the Liu n ship neared, the appearances of the old man and the other three who apanied him grew clearer. Behind them appeared seven or eight Qi Condensation n members, all of whom wore expressions of disdain.


    Standing next to the Liu n Patriarch was a middle-aged man. He smiled and said, “Zhang Wenfang, what’s your hurry? Now that you’ve abandoned your Zhang n ind, where exactly do you think you’re going?”


    [1. Zhang Wenfang’s name in Chinese is 张文芳 zhāng wén fāng - Zhang is a family name. Wen can mean “culture,nguage, gentle.” Fang means “fragrant”]


    Zhang Wenfang walked to the stern of the ship, took a deep breath and then said, “Junior offers greetings, senior Liu. Senior, we’ve abandoned our ind, and would simply like to get as far away as possible. Our two ns were friends in the past. Don’t tell me you won’t even give us a chance to survive?” The other Zhang n Cultivators gathered around her, their faces filled with extreme grief and indignation.


    The young woman’s words were directed, not toward the man who had spoken, but toward the Liu n Patriarch. Despite matters having reached their current state, she still addressed him respectfully.


    The Liu n Patriarch said nothing; he merely looked on with a proud expression. The n member standing next to him was the one to respond, his tone of voice filled with ridicule. “What a joke! Do you really take us to be three-year-old children? Do you really think we don’t know of your n, Zhang Wenfang? You’re obviously journeying to the Footloose n!”


    “Junior can abandon everything, even deliver our ind to you, senior. I can also swear that we have no intention to encroach on what is not ours. I just beg of you to be a bit lenient....” Zhang Wenfang’s face was pale, but before she could finish speaking, the Liu n Patriarch frowned.


    “Pipe down!” he said coolly, his voice echoing about like thunder in all directions. The seawater roiled, and the minds of the Zhang Wenfang and the other n members filled with a droning sound.


    One sentence, two words. All of the Qi Condensation n members coughed up blood. Only Zhang Wenfang and the other Foundation Establishment Cultivators got by with only pale faces. Their expressions were filled with increasing hopelessness.


    “Where do youe up with so much nonsense?” said the Liu n Patriarch, his voice cool. “Kill them all! Old people, children, don’t leave a single one alive!” With that, he waved his sleeve, and the surrounding Liu n members flew up into the air, vicious expressions on their faces.


    Zhang Wenfang clenched her teeth and looked back at the ship’s quarterdeck. “Senior Liu!” she suddenly cried. “If you have a quarrel with the Zhang n, you can kill us, but do you really dare to trifle with our honored guest?!”


    “Still making things up?” said the Liu n Patriarch with a cold snort. “You expect me to believe that the Zhang n has a Nascent Soul guest aboard? Or is it a Spirit Severing expert? Wouldn’t that be a bit more threatening?” He had already swept the ship with Spiritual Sense, and had detected only the Zhang n Cultivators and mortals on the ship, no one else.


    By this point, the Liu n Cultivators were closing in. A glowing shield sprang up from the Zhang n ship, blocking their progress. However, it couldn’t do anything to stop the Liu n Patriarch. With a single palm strike, he caused a deafening boom to ring out. The ship sank down by more than half into the water, and the shield shattered into fragments.


    The Liu n Cultivators proceeded onward with vicious grins. As soon as they reached the boat, Zhang Wenfang and the other three Foundation Establishment Cultivators unleashed magical items and shed incantations to summon magical techniques. Booms instantly rang out.


    The massacre had begun.


    “The Patriarch has issued the orders! Eliminate thempletely, root and branch. They can only me their own name of Zhang.”


    Some of the Liu n Qi Condensation Cultivators, with hideous grins on their faces, headed toward the pale-faced and terrified youngsters. Zhang Wenfang’s eyes turned red, and the n members next to her were on the verge of going crazy and risking everything.


    The Liu n Patriarch hovered in mid-air, staring superciliously out of the corner of his eyes. To him, all of these people were clearly insects.


    However, it was at this moment, a calm voice suddenly echoed out from within the Zhang n’s ship.


    “Pipe down!”


    It was only two words, but as the sound expanded out, it instantly suppressed all other sounds. It was louder than thunder, and gave rise to three echoes. It was also filled with intense pressure that weighed down on everything.


    At the same time, within his cabin, Meng Hao’s eyes opened. His gaze seemed to pass through the ship, making everything outside visible.


    -----


    <i>This chapter was sponsored by Ancient Godly Monarch, Hoang Nguyen, Dustin Sutphin, Dang Quang Tran, Annsofie Jacobsen, Brendan Halse, and QD BUI</i>