As the black streak beneath the scorpion neared, it became clear that it was not a black sea. Instead, it was a group of roughly five thousand Cultivators, all of them wearing long black robes, organized in formation. An army of blackness.

They blotted out the sky as they arrived, accompanied by the sound of war bugles, which drifted out in all directions. In addition, the Cultivators shouted out intense roars, the sound of which caused the gigantic illusory scorpion above them to suddenly let out an incredible shriek.

As it shrieked, it suddenly shot through the air with incredible speed toward where the Holy Spider and totemic Sacred Ancients were battling it out, the area that was distorted and impossible for anyone to see into.

Booms filled Heaven and Earth. The scorpion was of the same level as the Holy Spider, which meant that the battle with the Sacred Ancients was instantly thrown out of balance.

In years past, the totems of the Five Tribes had also been of the same level as the scorpion and the Holy Spider. But after the passage of time, the Crow Divinity began to fade and the Tribes grew smaller. Thus, they were now much weaker, which was why it took five of them just to fight the Holy Spider.

And now, things were even more different than before!

No one could see them battling. The only thing outsiders could see was the scorpion charging into the area of distortion up in the air. After the space of about ten breaths passed, before the Cultivators of the Scorpion Branch could even arrive, a deep sigh could be heard from up above. Then, an enormous Stone Golem suddenly shot out from within the distortion.

Its body began to collapse, and black strands could be seen emanating off of it. There was a gigantic hole in the middle of its chest. This was the Crow Fighter Tribe's totemic Sacred Ancient. And as of this moment… its body was surrounded by an intense aura of death.

With a sigh, it shot out from within the distortion. Before it could get very far, the shocked members of the Five Tribes watched as a black shadow emerged after it from within the distortion. It transformed into a scorpion tail which then slammed into the Stone Golem. Poison shot into the Stone Golem's body, and an explosion could be heard as cracks spread out over its entire body, from within which an earthy yellow glow could be seen. The glow transformed into an earth-colored totem, which then filled with cracks and then exploded with a bang.

"The Crow Fighter Tribe's totemic Sacred Ancient!"

"It… perished…." The blow this dealt to the members of the Five Tribes was no less than what they had experienced when forced to watch their fellow Tribe Members slaughtered beneath the power of the Exotic Heartdevil Flower. This was because the totems of the Tribe were legacies from the totemic Sacred Ancient. The connection between the two was deep and profound!!

Right now, the members of the Crow Fighter Tribe were all trembling. They felt as if their faith was crumbling. Blood sprayed from their mouths as their Stone Golem totem tattoos from the Sacred Ancient began to fade away.

As the totem tattoos faded, their Cultivation bases immediately dropped an entire stage. Nascent Soul became Core Formation. Core Formation became Foundation Establishment. Foundation Establishment… dropped directly to Qi Condensation.

The entire Crow Fighter Tribe dropped, which of course immediately affected the entire battle!

It was at this moment that disconsolate howl could be heard. At the same time, clouds of vapor suddenly could be seen expanding out from the area of distortion up above, which then dissipated into the surroundings.

At the same time, every member of the Crow Gloom Tribe began to cough up blood. Their bodies sagged as their Water-type totem tattoos faded. All of them experienced an immediate Cultivation base drop of a full level.

The Crow Gloom Priest's face was pale as he coughed up blood and staggered backward. A sad smile could be seen on his face as he felt his Nascent Soul power rapidly vanishing and weakness spread throughout his body.

All of the members of the Five Tribes knew what this meant as soon as they saw it…. The Crow Gloom totemic Sacred Ancient… had perished!

All of this takes quite a bit of time to explain, but actually happened in the space of a few dozen breaths. As the events occurred, the Scorpion Branch Cultivators whistled through the air, growing closer and closer. Meng Hao looked toward the five thousand incoming Cultivators and noticed that one of their number was a young man wearing a red robe.

The young man's clothes and bearing made him seem completely different from the other Cultivators. Meng Hao suddenly sensed something about him that seemed very much like Zhao Youlan.

"He's the Holy Son of the Five Poison Tribe's Scorpion Branch?" Meng Hao's eyes glittered. He knew that Zhao Youlan was a Holy Daughter, so it was easy for him to come to the determination who this handsome, extraordinary, and somewhat sinister-looking young man must be.

As the Scorpion Branch neared, the Holy Son waved his right hand, immediately causing four thousand of the Cultivators to shoot toward the battlefield. Meng Hao's eyes flickered, and in response to his will, the neo-demon horde began to roar.

As the roaring shook Heaven and Earth, the Scorpion Branch Holy Son ignored the bitter fighting and approached Zhao Youlan, a slight smile on his face.

As he neared her, he said, "The Tribe gave the honor of this trial by fire to the most talented Holy Daughter, Zhao Youlan. In the end, all you got was a lost arm. Soon everyone in the Tribe will know about it. Zhao Youlan, I actually feel sorry for you. I'm afraid that even after we take this trifling five Crow Divinity Tribe's spot in the Realm of the Bridge Ruins, there still won't be space for you."

Zhao Youlan's expression was cold as she looked over the Holy Son.

"Who was it that cut your arm off?" he continued with a smile. "You even requested the use of the Exotic Heartdevil Flower, and yet still failed. Such a pity, such a pity."

"Are you done, Zhao Chunmu?" said Zhao Youlan coolly. "My victory or defeat is no concern of yours. If you can subjugate these five Crow Divinity Tribes, then I will offer you my congratulations." [1]

"The two of us look at things very differently," said Holy Son Zhao Chunmu. "If this battle had been led by me and the Scorpion Branch, then we would have long since secured victory. I wouldn't even have to use a precious Exotic Heartdevil Flower. Just destroy their totems, and everything will be over! Why go to the trouble of doing anything else? Zhao Youlan, your soft-heartedness is your biggest weakness!" He gave a sinister laugh.

The sound of bitter fighting rose up into the air as the four thousand Scorpion Branch Cultivators dove into battle. They had hideous grins and sinister looks in their eyes. Totemic light shone out from their bodies, and they attacked with even more viciousness and cruelty than the Spider Branch.

Were it not for the resistance provided by Meng Hao's neo-demons, the members of the Five Tribes would have instantly sustained heavy casualties. Meng Hao looked around to see that despite the fact that only two Sacred Ancients had died, causing two Tribes to be weakened, the members of the other three Tribes had ashen faces filled with despair. If things went on the way they were, their defeat was inevitable.

Suddenly, Meng Hao spoke, his voice as powerful as thunder.

"You don't need to fight for the Crow Divinity!" As soon as they heard his words, the members of the Five Tribes looked over at Meng Hao.

"Look down at the blood and corpses that litter the land. Those are your friends and your fellow Tribe members. Fight for them!

"Look back at the elderly and the young behind that shield! They are your family and blood. Fight for them!

"Hold your heads high as you look at those Five Poisons Cultivators. Fight for your friends! Fight for your family! You are the last line of defense. If you give up, then your families will be completely exterminated!

"The time has come to go all out! We might not win, but if you don't take the risk, then your defeat is assured. Fight for them…. All of you, will you really hold back now!?!?" Meng Hao lifted his head up and roared, a roar that entered into the ears of the Five Tribes and shook their hearts and minds.

Madness once again burned in their eyes. Their exhaustion, their hopelessness, and all of their negative emotions did not disappear. Instead it transformed into an explosive, mortiferous despair!

"TO BATTLE!!"

"KILL THEM!!"

The remaining two thousand members of the Five Tribes roared. Their madness blazing to the point that they no longer feared death, they charged toward the Scorpion Branch.

Meng Hao led the charge, surrounded by his neo-demons. Roaring filled the air and the intent to slaughter spread out everywhere. You could definitely say that without Meng Hao, the Five Tribes would have long since been defeated!

Without Meng Hao, they would have been ruthlessly slaughtered on a mass scale. The only ones who would have survived would have been the ones enslaved by the Five Poisons Tribe.

By this point, Zhao Chunmu had taken notice of Meng Hao. He looked at him for a moment and then began to chuckle.

"Ah, so he's a Dragoneer," said Zhao Chunmu. "You, of course, would hesitate about whether or not to kill him. That's why he's still alive. As for me, there is only one course of action that I would take. Strike like lightning and exterminate him immediately!" Killing intent glittered in Zhao Chunmu's eyes as he lifted his right hand and pointed toward Meng Hao out on the battlefield.

"18 Stealth Guards, you have the space of ten breaths to kill that man!"

Zhao Youlan's face was the same as ever, but she backed up a bit nonetheless, seemingly wanting to put some space between herself and Zhao Chunmu. The two Nascent Soul Elders standing next to her hesitated for a moment. However, after looking at her, they didn't say anything.

When Zhao Chunmu pointed his finger out, Meng Hao sensed something, and looked over with cold eyes. He waved his right hand, and a Blood Qi emanated out, enveloping two Scorpion Branch Cultivators. Immediately, they began to scream as their bodies withered up.

"I let Zhao Youlan scurry away, but I can't believe that this newly arrived Holy Son will be able to do the same!" Killing intent flickered in Meng Hao's eyes as he came up with a plan for how to kill Zhao Chunmu. Suddenly, his pupils constricted, and his body disappeared as he used the Bloodburst Flash. When he reappeared, he was about ten meters away.

The moment he appeared, the place he had just been standing was suddenly filled with sixteen glowing bands of light that looked like needles. If he had been standing there just now, the sixteen black needles would definitely have pierced through him.

Meng Hao's eyes glowed coldly as he lifted his right hand to punch out into the air. Surprisingly, the air in front him seemed to sink inward as the figure of one of the assassins was forced to appear. It was at this point that Meng Hao's fist landed. The figure was actually that of a woman, her appearance sweet and charming. Surprise filled her eyes as his fist slammed into her and her body exploded into pieces.

Meng Hao's expression was the same as always. After making the kill, he shot backward to avoid another black needle which whistled through the air. He gave a cold snort and lifted his left hand, which was surrounded by a bloody glow. He shoved his hand out in front of him, whereupon another miserable shriek could be heard. Another woman appeared, whose head Meng Hao now held in his hand. Suddenly, Meng Hao moved forward, rapidly lifting his leg to slam his knee into her head.

There was a bang, and another person was dead.

"Here to assassinate me, eh?" said Meng Hao, a cold smile twisting his lips.

Zhao Chunmu's name in Chinese is 趙春木 zhào chūn mù - Zhao is a surname, the same surname as Zhao Youlan's. Chun means "spring." Mu means "wood."