As the army from the Seventh Mountain and Sea was picking up speed, Meng Hao was back in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. He was also being tracked by shadowy figures who occasionally materialized and then vanished. Apparently, they were watching him and keeping track of his location.

There had not been any wars between the Mountains and Seas for many years, but it seemed one was about to break out now. There were even various entities above in the 33 Heavens who were using special techniques to observe the Mountain and Sea Realm without being detected. They were looking down at the Eighth Mountain and Sea, their eyes gleaming with anticipation....

Meanwhile, outside of the 33 Heavens, out in the boundless expanse, two forces were approaching from different directions, and they were growing inexorably closer.

Apparently, war... was nigh!

Meng Hao and Meng Ru were speeding along through midair when all of a sudden, an intense feeling of alarm rose up inside Meng Hao, causing his face to flicker. Before he could react, the parrot's shrill voice could suddenly be heard in his mind.

"They're coming. Coming, I tell you! They're close, I can sense them. Dammit, they're moving a lot faster than I anticipated.... Meng Hao, they're almost here!!" The parrot sounded anxious, even terrified.

Meng Hao's eyes flickered. He knew exactly who the parrot was talking about, and it caused him to slowly lift his head up to look up into the sky. It was almost as if he could see out into the vast expanse beyond the 33 Heavens.

"Well then, I guess I need to hurry up," he said softly.

Off to the side, Meng Ru gaped in shock. "Big bro Meng Chen, what did you say?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied, shaking his head as he continued to lead Meng Ru through the starry sky toward the Meng Clan's central continent.

He passed through the protective spell formations without triggering any of them, and proceeded directly toward the ancestral mansion.

"The two sisters we're going after are big sis Qiu'er and big sis Meng Fei," Meng Ru said quietly. "Their latent talent is better than mine, and their cultivation bases are higher.... I managed to meet them and pass the news about what was happening, but I was prevented from taking them away. If it weren't for big bro mastiff, I might have been detained as well.

"They're both in the hands of cultivators from the first bloodline...." When she looked at Meng Hao, it was almost worshipfully. In her mind, once Meng Chen arrived on the scene, all their problems would be solved.

Meanwhile, in the East District of the Meng Clan's ancestral mansion, there was a huge temple surrounded by nine pillars. Beneath each of those pillars was a furnace.

Those burning furnaces were causing the nine pillars to slowly heat up.

Bound to the pillars were nine young women, all of whom had ashen faces and were trembling. They looked terrified and were pleading for their lives, except for two who, although they were not spectacularly beautiful, were charming and pretty. Those two had their jaws clenched; despite the increasing temperature of the pillars they were tied to, they refused to utter any pleading words.

Sitting in the middle of the pillars and furnaces was an old man, who was currently performing double-handed incantation gestures and sending sealing marks out toward the furnaces, which were causing the furnaces to burn even more fiercely.

Surrounding the entire area was an audience of young men. The audience was clearly split into two groups, one of which clustered around a young man in a green robes, and the second group around another young man in a yellow robe. Clearly, the two of them had very high statuses, and currently, their eyes were fixed upon the old man in the middle of all the columns. They were also turning deaf ears to the pleading cries of the young women.

After a moment passed, the young man in the green robe suddenly asked, "What are we betting on this time?!"

"I bet that this time, Grandmaster Song's pill refining will result in... her, her and her all becoming Young Beauty Pills!" As the young man in the yellow robe spoke, his eyes glittered as he singled out three young women among the nine. Two of those young women were those who refused to plead for their lives.

After a moment of thought, the young man in the green robe replied, "You made your choice pretty quickly. Well, in that case, I say that those three will fail to become pills!"

Then the two young men exchanged an icy glance.

It was at about this time that rumbling sounds could be heard as Grandmaster Song's eyes suddenly flared with light. He waved both hands forcefully out into the air, causing the nine furnaces to blaze with fire. The pillars instantly grew hotter, and in the blink of an eye, nine flaming threads shot out of the fires toward the nine young women.

Terrified screams of desperation rang out from the mouths of seven of the young women. As for the other two, they were trembling, and clearly terrified, but still refused to make even a single sound. However, their hearts were clearly filled with regret.

When Meng Ru had told them about what was happening back in their bloodline mansion, they had instantly wanted to return, but now, it seemed that would be impossible.

Sighing inwardly, they exchanged glances, then slowly closed their eyes as the flaming threads closed in on them.

"Become pills!" Grandmaster Song threw his head back and roared, rising to his feet and throwing his hands into the air. Strange light shone out from his eyes, and yet, even as the words left his mouth, an enraged snort suddenly echoed through the air like thunder.

Cold words also rang out. "You're the one who should become a pill!"

As the icy words reverberated back and forth, cracking sounds could be heard as the ground froze over. The nine furnaces trembled, and their flames winked out. Next, the furnaces actually exploded, and cracks began to spread out across the pillars, which then shattered.

The nine young women could now move. As soon as their feet touched the ground, they began to flee, except for the two who had refused to beg for their lives, who looked up into the air, excited expressions on their faces.

The crimson threads attached to the columns almost seemed to be self-aware, and were trying to flee in fear. However, before they could get very far, a powerful force sucked them back, twisting them together into what looked like a white medicinal pill, which came to rest in the hand of a young man who had suddenly appeared in the air up above.

He waved his arm, sending the white medicinal pill flying toward Grandmaster Song's forehead. As it flew through the air, it crumbled, then fused into Grandmaster Song, who trembled and let out a miserable shriek. His body instantly burst into flames, and was burned into ash, all the way to the bone. What was left behind was a red medicinal pill.

The young man who had just arrived was none other than Meng Hao, followed by Meng Ru. Meng Ru was staring at the two steadfast young women, tears pouring down her cheeks. She quickly flew over and stood in front of them protectively.

This sudden development left all the bystanders completely shocked. As they edged backward, the two young men's faces darkened.

"What gall! How dare you kill Grandmaster Song! Men, kill these people!"

"Bring me his head!" In response to their orders, the crowd of cultivators surrounding them flew into the air toward Meng Hao.

"What kind of clan are you?" Meng Hao said quietly, his eyes blazing with icy killing intent. "Refining people into pills for pleasure? You completely lack any humanity whatsoever. What is the point... of leaving any of you behind?!"

Note from Er Gen: I wrote this chapter in the car, and ended up getting carsick. I feel horrible, but did my best and can't write any more. Please forgive me, this chapter is only 2,000 Chinese characters instead of 3,000.

Note from Deathblade: This chapter is indeed much shorter, coming in at about 1,300 English words instead of the usual 2,000+.