The rain appeared not because the clouds layered top of each other, building up to a critical pressure. Rather, it was the passage of people forcibly tunneling through the cloudy sky that caused them to collapse in on themselves and shed rain prematurely.

At the moment, three peak Dao Seeking eccentrics were shooting toward Meng Hao's location. Their speed was such that they appeared near the Ancient Dao Lakes shortly after Meng Hao stepped foot into the war chariot.

They did not reveal their physical appearances, but their aura was clear. It only took a moment for them to pick up traces of Meng Hao's passing, after which they shot after him in pursuit.

Of course, they had never imagined that Meng Hao would actually be equipped with something that could achieve the terrifying speed of the war chariot.

Meng Hao pushed as fast as possible. In the blink of an eye, he was far away from the Ancient Dao Lakes, and was nearing the border of Blood Demon Sect territory. At this point, he took a deep breath and went even faster. Behind him, a rumbling like thunder could be heard as a pair of emaciated hands ripped a massive hole in the air. From within emerged a red-haired old man.

He was big and tall, and sparks of electricity arced around his body. Rumbling filled the air as soon as he appeared, as if he were a god.

Off to his right, a sword aura appeared, seemingly capable of splitting Heaven and Earth. A black-robed old man stepped out from within the sword aura.

Further off in the distance, the peak Dao Seeking cultivator from the Li Clan, their 3rd Patriarch, proceeded along, accompanied by booms like thunder. The full power of his cultivation base was on display. As he flew, orbs of ghostly flame twinkled around him, blazing up into the sky.

When these three people appeared, Meng Hao's face fell. Each of them were comparable in power to the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch when they fought years ago. The instant the three appeared, the war chariot rumbled, and countless fierce beasts appeared. Everything trembled, and Meng Hao shot off into the distance.

He moved with such speed that he disappeared in the blink of an eye. The three Dao Seeking cultivators began to pursue him.

Suddenly, from another direction, a deranged old man flew beneath the clouds, laughing maniacally as the rain soaked him.

"Hahaha! Immortal Ascension…. Immortal Ascension…." His foolish laughter seemed to contain a hint of lucidity. His body flickered, and he vanished.

Meng Hao's war chariot moved with incredible speed, but his three pursuers moved as fast as lightning. As they got closer and closer, the sense of danger in Meng Hao's mind grew more intense.

However, killing intent could also be seen in his eyes, along with ruthlessness and fury.

And yet, he did not slow down or stop. His cultivation base was no match for a peak Dao Seeking opponent, and he did not want to risk losing his Eternal Dao foundation! Nevertheless, the distance between him and his pursuers continued to shrink!!

"Faster! Must go faster!" he thought with an internal roar. Behind him, the three Dao Seeking experts raised their hands and pointed in Meng Hao's direction. All of a sudden, a cold snort echoed out from up above.

"SCREW OFF!!" said a voice that was ancient and yet also filled with boundless aggressiveness. As soon as the voice rang out, the sky turned crimson, and the land transformed into a sea of blood. Patriarch Blood Demon suddenly appeared between Meng Hao and the Dao Seeking experts.

His words caused rumbling to echo throughout the heavens, and groaning creaks to issue forth from the land itself as everything to turn the color of blood. A roar rose up from the ground that transformed into a shockwave which sped toward the incoming three cultivators.

The three men all used various methods. The red-haired old man lifted his hand up then dropped it down in a palm strike. 10,000 bolts of red lightning smashed down, yet the old man was forced to stop in place, his face flickering.

The black-robed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect had a gaze that was like a sword. The air around him rumbled and then shattered as he suddenly stopped in place.

As for the 3rd Li Clan Patriarch, who wore a brocaded garment and had flowing white hair, his body emanated a powerful energy, and an illusory sun and moon circulated around him. He fought back against Patriarch Blood Demon's attack, too, but issued a muffled grunt as he was also stopped in place.

Meng Hao let loose a sigh of relief, then put away the war chariot. He stood next to Patriarch Blood Demon, staring coldly at his three pursuers.

The three old men's gazes were just as cold as they looked at Patriarch Blood Demon and then began to speak.

"Blood Demon, hand over the soul of the true Immortal!"

"Hand over the true Immortal's soul! Let the matter drop! You can't fight back against the entire Southern Domain!"

"Take it out and we'll decide here and now who it belongs to. In fact, we can even take turns sharing it. Blood Demon, give us your answer, or else…."

Of course, inwardly, all three feared Patriarch Blood Demon, especially after the battle at the Black Sieve Sect.

"Or else what…?" replied Patriarch Blood Demon.

"Or else you're instigating war with the entire Southern Domain!"

"The Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect, the Li Clan… and especially the Black Sieve Sect will all be happy to join forces to invade you. If that happens, you'd better prepare your Blood Demon Sect to be exterminated!"

"Four great powers of the Southern Domain can easily destroy the very foundation of the Blood Demon Sect. Blood Demon, don't do anything to bring ruin down on yourself!"

Having heard all of this, Meng Hao's heart was trembling. Although he had made his own appraisal of the value of the true Immortal's soul, he had never imagined that it was so valuable that it could instigate a great war in the Southern Domain.

Meng Hao looked at Patriarch Blood Demon. He didn't want the soul of the true Immortal that he had snatched to draw everyone into a war. "Patriarch," he began, "I don't mind…."

"There's no need to say anything," said Patriarch Blood Demon, his voice placid. "You took it, so it belongs to you. That true Immortal's soul will be of great use. How can you even think of giving it away?" His gaze then swept over the three other cultivators, and he laughed coldly.

"As for the rest of you… SCREW OFF!"

"Blood Demon!" they shouted. Their faces flickered with various emotions, and they stared fixedly at Patriarch Blood Demon. Finally, eyes flickering, they turned and vanished.

"Patriarch," said Meng Hao, "if you need this true Immortal's soul, it's yours…." His heart was still trembling a bit. Suddenly he realized that Patriarch Blood Demon seemed somewhat different than he had been before.

"Don't worry," said Patriarch Blood Demon, shaking his head. "I'll handle everything. As for the soul of the true Immortal…. It wouldn't be of much use to me. I'm afraid it wouldn't be of much help to your master, Pill Demon, either. In the future, let him study it for a bit, and that will do."

"My master?" said Meng Hao, gaping. Of course, he was unaware of the matter of Pill Demon's Spirit Severing and Dao Seeking.

"You'll understand the details later." With that, Patriarch Blood Demon flicked his sleeve, sweeping up Meng Hao and vanishing into thin air. When they reappeared, they were back in the Blood Demon Sect.

As soon as the disciples of the Blood Demon Sect saw him, they began to speak excitedly.

"Blood Prince!"

"The Blood Prince is back!"

"Greetings, Blood Prince!"

Patriarch Darkheaven and the five other Patriarchs all flew down from their mountain peaks to greet Meng Hao with excited expressions.

"Congratulations on your return, Blood Prince!"

On the fifth mountain peak, the hunchbacked old man smiled and then bowed toward Meng Hao with clasped hands.

Wang Youcai rose to his feet from his place at the mouth of the valley and looked over at Meng Hao. Xu Qing was his Elder Sister, and he had grown up with Meng Hao. Although Wang Youcai had become grimmer because of his violent surroundings, there were some fundamental aspects to his personality that would never change.

When Meng Hao wasn't present, he would protect the valley with his life. What he was protecting were his memories, and the last vestiges of a once wonderful life that existed inside of him.

Xu Qing walked out from the valley and smiled up at Meng Hao, who hovered overhead.

When her gaze met his, it became a memory that would last for an eternity.