Chapter 354: Hanxue Shan
Being unfamiliar with the term, Meng Hao asked, “What’s a Grand Dragoneer?” He walked up to the Western Desert Cultivator, who was currently trembling as he stared with reverence and fear at Meng Hao.
The person to respond to Meng Hao’s question was not the shivering Western Desert Cultivator, but rather the white-robed young woman, Hanxue Shan. “Grand Dragoneer is the highest title achievable by Western Desert Dragoneers, similar to Totem God. Both are titles which represent extreme levels of power. One breeds rare creatures that are even more powerful than Earthly neo-demons. The other controls five or more totems. The battle prowess of the former is similar to that of the Spirit Severing stage, the latter, almost the same.”
The glowing shield surrounding the young woman had already dissipated, and she had put away the listless larva.
Meng Hao turned to look at her, whereupon she clasped hands and bowed.
“I am Hanxue Shan of the Frigid Snow Clan. I offer many thanks for your kindness in saving me, Senior.” The exhausted Cultivators next to her gave Meng Hao looks of gratitude. However, vigilance could still be seen in their eyes.
After all, the power he had manifested just now had frightened even the Western Desert Cultivator, let alone them.
With the wave of a sleeve, Meng Hao had killed countless wolves, transformed their blood into a mist which caused a rain to fall that desolated everything within a three hundred meter radius. Nothing alive was left in the entire area.
Such methods left them in complete shock. Furthermore, they couldn’t see Meng Hao’s Cultivation base; he emanated a mysterious force which left all of them incapable of showing him anything but respect.
“I’m not a Grand Dragoneer,” said Meng Hao, shaking his head. “However, you do owe me some thanks.” He pointed a finger toward the ground and at the same time, pressed down on the forehead of the Western Desert Cultivator.
The man’s body instantly began to tremble, and his eyes filled with blankness, as if he had suddenly lost his thinking ability.
“His Cultivation base is only at the early Core Formation stage,” thought Meng Hao, “and yet he can control so many beasts. So this… is a Western Desert Dragoneer?” Meng Hao now understood the situation, but he was still very curious regarding Dragoneers, so he looked back at the white-robed young woman. “I didn’t save you for no reason,” he said.
The eyes of the two Cultivators standing at her side glittered with even more intense vigilance. This was especially so after they saw Meng Hao press down on the forehead of the Western Desert Cultivator. Whatever method he had used to make the man suddenly look so blank was clearly some frightening technique and caused them to become even more nervous.
“Please do not hesitate to state what you desire, Senior,” said Hanxue Shan, her voice light.
“I want a Frigid Snow Larva,” he replied immediately.
The two Cultivators standing next to her frowned. At the same time, they tried to conceal the irritation toward Meng Hao that appeared in their eyes.
Hanxue Shan hesitated for a moment.
“Senior, Frigid Snow Larvae bond with a master when they are very young. According to everything I’ve been told, the Frigid Snow Clan currently does not possess any such young larvae. Of course, I might not be privy to all the information. If you come back with me to Holy Snow City, I can check into the matter thoroughly, and do my best to repay your kindness.” She looked at Meng Hao with her exceedingly beautiful eyes. They didn’t seem to contain any duplicity. She was thankful to Meng Hao for saving her life, however, she also feared him. Everything she had witnessed just now left her with a feeling of profound dread.
Her words did not sound forced, but they were. She had the feeling that if she didn’t provide the correct response, this man’s kindness would very likely turn into enmity.
Furthermore, she couldn’t be certain if his appearance here and now was coincidental, or if he had prepared for this situation all along. In any case, he had definitely saved her life. After returning to Holy Snow City, she would try to repay him.
Meng Hao thought for a moment as he looked at the young woman, his eyes filled with abstruseness. Then, he gave a slight smile and nodded.
The white-robed young woman gave an inward sigh of relief. With a forced smile, she backed up a few steps. The other two Cultivators continued to observe Meng Hao with even more vigilance as they left the woods.
The Western Desert Dragoneer followed Meng Hao with a blank look on his face. He seemed to have lost control of himself, which, of course, filled Hanxue Shan and the others with even more shock.
Holy Snow City was in the northern part of the Black Lands. Although it was some distance from the Western Desert, it couldn’t be considered extremely far. The land in the area was blanketed with ice and snow year round, making everything look white.
It was quite a distance from the location Meng Hao had recently occupied, the former Dongluo City. Despite the fact that both had been members of the United Nine, they actually had few dealings. After all, both Clans’ position in the United Nine had been waning in recent years. Despite the recent decline in power of the Frigid Snow Clan, which had once been the leader of the alliance, they still maintained their pride and dignity.
Furthermore, there were still rumors of their Spirit Severing Patriarch, who continued to remain in secluded meditation. He hadn’t appeared for several hundred years, but no one was completely sure whether he was alive or dead.
Even the possibility of him being alive ensured that Holy Snow City would not suffer any sort of disaster.
Therefore, although Holy Snow City did not possess the glory it once had, it still shone with splendor.
Right now, though, everyone in Holy Snow City was filled with a certain somberness. A pressure weighed down on them, as if dark clouds filled the sky and pushed down onto the land. The ice-like, crystalline city walls were covered with Holy Snow City Cultivators, all of whom stared out vigilantly into the outside world.
The region outside of the city trembled. Currently, the sky was filled with countless pitch-black, winged Flood Dragons. They twisted about in the air, their crimson eyes glowing with viciousness. They emitted fierce howls that caused the hearts of the observing Cultivators to tremble.
At first glance, the winged Flood Dragons seemed innumerable, but actually, there were only fifty of them circling around Holy Snow City. Down on the ground could be seen seventy or eighty gigantic blue lions, each one twenty meters or so long. Wherever they walked, the ground beneath their feet turned into blue ice.
In addition to these beasts, there were approximately one thousand Cultivators, who stood behind the creatures, staring at Holy Snow City. They wore black clothing, and their faces were covered with masks. Most of them had Cultivation bases at the Foundation Establishment stage and wore white masks. Among the thousand Cultivators, only about thirty wore azure masks.
In the lead position was an old man with flowing white hair and a silver mask. Based on the aura of his Cultivation base, he was at the Nascent Soul stage.
Further off was a snow-covered mountain where several hundred tall men stood. Their faces were expressionless, and totem tattoos could be seen on their bodies, some more than others. Their auras were different from that of the other Cultivators, a bit more wild and bizarre.
These were Western Desert Cultivators.
Between the armies of Holy Snow City and the Black Lands Palace stretched a vast field filled with wind and snow, separating the two of them.
Even further back were tens of thousands of Black Lands Palace disciples, spread out to form a huge barrier around Holy Snow City, completely encircling it.
It seemed that a great battle was about to take place.
It was at this very moment that Meng Hao and the others appeared off in the distance and saw the scene spread out in front of them. Meng Hao’s expression remained the same as ever, but the faces of Hanxue Shan and the two other Cultivators fell immediately.
They had been traveling for over a day, and during the entire time, Meng Hao had never asked her why she had left Holy Snow City. Nor had Hanxue Shan taken the initiative to provide any details.
However, based on some of the discussions he had heard between the other two Cultivators, he came to the realization that their party had set out with over thirty members. As of now, they were the only two guards left.
“It seems we won’t be able to get into the city,” said Meng Hao coolly. The forces of the Black Lands Palace were arrayed in such a fashion as to completely lock down Holy Snow City. At the moment, no military offensive had begun. Some people might not be able to tell, but considering that the strongest combatant present was of the Nascent Soul stage, it was clear that this was not intended to be a decisive battle, but rather an exploratory attack.
Hanxue Shan was about to say something when, suddenly, the sound of war bugles filled the air. The winged Flood Dragons shot toward Holy Snow City. The gigantic blue lions also sped forward, their bodies glowing with light such that they seemed like gigantic blue arrows.
As the bugles sounded out, the Black Lands Palace Cultivators flew up into the air in succession. Behind them, the ground shook as two giants appeared, each one roughly ninety meters tall. It wasn’t clear exactly where they had come from, but they strode forward accompanied by thunderous rumbling. Slung over the shoulder of each giant was a greatsword nearly three hundred meters long.
The swords seemed old, even ancient, but the power they emanated was astonishing.
If that was all there was to it, it would not be a big deal. But as the bugles sounded out, a black sea appeared. This black sea was comprised of several tens of thousands of black wolves which spread out across the land as they charged toward Holy Snow City.
The shield surrounding Holy Snow City sparkled as nearly a thousand Cultivators flew up from within the city. They employed a variety of magical techniques and magical items, the power of which shot through the shield to slice into the approaching beasts and Cultivators.
In addition, a massive beam of white, shining light shot up from within the city. Up above the city, five blinding, shining lights that looked like planets appeared, rotating about. With each rotation, they emanated a curving white light which swept out past the city walls.
Booming sounds shook Heaven and Earth, and everything trembled. Meng Hao had never witnessed a battle such as this between Cultivators.
As the battle began, Meng Hao also noticed a group of several dozen people fly out from within the city toward the glittering shield. The instant they passed through it, five flying planets appeared above them. They rotated, emanating an arcing white light which shot through the shrieking beasts in front of them, ripping them to pieces. Up above, the Flood Dragons dodged away, unable to get near them.
It wasn’t one such squad that appeared. More than ten groups charged out from within the city to engage in the battle with the Black Lands Palace forces outside the city walls. Explosions filled the air, along with miserable shrieks, and the fighting continued.
It was not that Meng Hao had never witnessed a large scale combat between Cultivators. However, this type of battle was something he had never seen before. The sight of it caused his heart to start pounding. He was no newcomer to the Cultivation world, though, so he quickly calmed himself down.
What drew his attention most were the two massive giants that strode across the battlefield. Their movements were slow, but every step they took caused the ground to shake. The enormous swords they wielded emanated thoroughly shocking swords auras.
Suddenly, one of the squads of Cultivators from the city changed directions to head toward Meng Hao and his group. He might have taken it to be coincidence, but when he saw the look of happiness glittering in the eyes of Hanxue Shan, he knew that these people were coming to take her back to the city.
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This chapter was sponsored by Mee Tse