Meng Hao looked at Xu Pingping for a moment, then retracted his energy. The second floor returned to normal. However, the pressure just now had caused sweat to begin to stream down her back. The feeling she got was the same as that you might feel when facing some ancient beast.

However, the only one to feel the pressure had been Xu Pingping, and no one else. Neither Ji Xiaoxiao nor the Chosen from the three Sects had felt anything. The only thing they had noticed was the change in Xu Pingping's expression.

"Name a price," said Meng Hao coolly. To hear himself saying such words caused Meng Hao's heart to surge. In his hundreds of years of practicing cultivation, his money purse had always been empty. Even when he occasionally fell into some profit, it would inevitably be sucked away by the copper mirror.

But now, he finally had the confidence derived from achieving the dream he had kept in his heart since childhood….

I'm rich, fools!

Next to him, Wei Li's eyes shone brightly. She continued to have the strong feeling that Meng Hao was almost glowing, emanating an indescribable aura that battered against her face.

Xu Pingping, feeling somewhat intimidated by Meng Hao's display, nervously said, "It really isn't an issue of the price…."

"6,000 low-grade Demon hearts," said Meng Hao, lifting his chin up proudly.

"That's…."

"Not enough? How about 8,000?" Meng Hao's expression was the same as ever, but inwardly, that surging feeling grew more intense. To suddenly go from being broke to rolling in wealth gave Meng Hao the feeling that he could buy the entire shop if he felt like it.

This was a confidence that had nothing to do with Cultivation base. The more confident he felt, the more powerful his words became.

I'm REALLY rich, fools!

Even Xu Pingping, who was so experienced and knowledgeable, was shocked by the confidence and power in his words. Her eyes went wide, and she sucked in a deep breath. 8,000 low-grade Demon hearts was an extremely high price!

Wei Li stared blankly at Meng Hao with wide eyes. Mentally, she was calculating how much 8,000 low-grade Demon hearts were worth in Spirit Stones.

As for the Chosen of the three Sects, and Ji Xiaoxiao, when they heard Meng Hao's words, their jaws dropped and they stared in shock. As of now, they suddenly realized that he really did exude the air of a rich person….

The eyes of a few of the female disciples began to shine brightly as they looked at Meng Hao. Although they hadn't noticed before, they could see now… this guy was incredibly handsome and had an extraordinary air. He was elegant and dashing, clearly different from the average person.

Although Meng Hao's tried to keep his expression the same as usual, anyone who looked at it would feel as if the following characters were clearly written there:

I'm Mr. Moneybags!

Xu Pingping's eyes were wide, and her heart was pounding. "I think…."

"Still not enough?" said Meng Hao. Waving his hand in imitation of the rich folk he remembered from Yunjie County, he cleared his throat and said. "No problem. 10,000 low-grade Demon hearts works for me."

When he saw the shock on the faces of the bystanders when they heard this, Meng Hao felt quite pleased inwardly, even more so than if he had just experienced an increase in Cultivation base.

Xu Pingping gasped. Ji Xiaoxiao's eyes were fixed on Meng Hao. As for the Junior Leader of the Flying Immortal Sect, and the Chosen from the three Sects, all of them gaped with wide eyes and slack jaws.

Xu Pingping struggled visibly for a moment before replying, "Senior, this war chariot was delivered to us only recently. Apparently, it appeared on the border between the Second and Third Rings. I haven't even notified the Sect about it yet."

Meng Hao's expression was calm, but his eyes flickered. He definitely did not mind being addressed as Senior.

"If my speculations are correct, Senior, you have come to the Milky Way Sea because of the Sea Devils in the Second Ring, as well as… the legendary ancient battleship!

"This bronze war chariot is filled with ancientness, and is obviously an object from ancient times. For it to appear here indicates that there is a high possibility it originated from the ancient battleship.

"I only have one request, Senior. When you go searching for the ancient battleship, can you take Junior with you? You don't have to provide me with any assistance. As long as I step foot onto it, all obligations will have been fulfilled.

"In return, I will sell the item to you for 5,000 Demon hearts."

Meng Hao's eyes glittered.

"And what if I don't go looking for the ancient battleship?" he asked coolly.

Without hesitation, Xu Pingping replied, "If that is your wish, Senior, then I will have to resign myself to such an outcome." She quickly performed an incantation with her right hand and then pointed toward the incense burner. Instantly, the smoke inside parted, and the bronze war chariot flew out, almost as if it were trying to escape the pavilion.

Meng Hao waved his right hand, causing the war chariot to immediately stop in midair. It was irresistibly pulled down, shrinking down to the size of the hand of an infant as it landed on Meng Hao's palm. He immediately put it into his bag of holding.

He stood up, completely ignoring Xu Pingping. Accompanied by Wei Li, and beneath the burning gazes of the Chosen of the three Sects, he walked in the same manner as the number one moneybags of Yunjie County, Steward Zhou. He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled toward the stairs.1

It was when he stepped foot onto the first stair that Meng Hao finally looked back at Xu Pingping.

"Give me a voice transmission talisman," he said.

Xu Pingping instantly went wild with joy. Panting, she took out a voice transmission talisman and respectfully handed it over.

Meng Hao put the talisman away and, escorted by Xu Pingping, walked down the stairs and left the Cloudburst Pavilion.

Outside, the sky was already dark, and the sea breeze blew against his face. Wei Li was sweating, and a bit in a daze as she glanced back and forth between Meng Hao and the Cloudburst Pavilion.

Considering how late it was, Meng Hao chose not to go to any more shops, but instead relied on Wei Li's assistance to find a place to stay. In the end, he rented a private residence with its own main gate.

The residence was actually an Immortal's cave, and the most expensive type available in Seahold. It had a defensive spell formation, as well as a passageway connecting it to the seafloor, where there was a special chamber designed for secluded meditation. Despite being on the seafloor, the meditation chamber still fell under the general defensive spell formations of Seahold, which meant that no sea beasts would come near it.

At first, Meng Hao planned to actually purchase the residence, but after further thought, he couldn't bear to spend so many Spirit Stones, and decided instead to rent it.

The residence had many rooms, which meant that Wei Li had her own private room. As the night wore on, she thought back to everything that had happened during the day, and also about how Meng Hao had saved her. Subconsciously, she had allowed Meng Hao's visage to be deeply imprinted into her mind. However, she knew that there was a vast gap between them in terms of status and identity, and after considering the matter for a while, she sighed and then closed her eyes to meditate.

As for Meng Hao, he sat cross-legged in his own room, surrounded by quiet. Around the time of the third watch, he suddenly opened his eyes.

"I'm finally rich," he murmured. "It's too bad that Steward Zhou has long since passed away. If I have a chance in the future, I'll find some of his descendants and pay back those three pieces of silver that I owe.

"Or… nah, I'm rich now! I'll pay back a little bit extra." He smiled and patted his bag of holding.

Then he lifted up his hand, upon which appeared the bronze war chariot.

It was impossible to tell how many springs and autumns the bronze chariot had passed through, but it was covered with flecks of rust, and filled with an air of ancientness, as if it had been buried in the darkness for countless years.

Looking at it caused a strange feeling to well up in Meng Hao. It almost seemed as if the bronze war chariot were currently retelling the stories of the bloodbaths it had witnessed, as if it were describing an explosive, bloodthirsty bellicosity of some long forgotten age.

The beasts carved on its surface looked like dead things, but in Meng Hao's eyes, they were alive. It was as if they had been sleeping for tens upon tens of thousands of years, waiting for the day in which they would awaken and then roam carefree in Heaven and Earth.

Meng Hao's eyes glittered as he sent out some Cultivation base power through his right hand into the bronze war chariot. Immediately, faint ripples emanated out, and the war chariot began to expand in size.

Meng Hao was prepared for this, and quickly stepped out into the courtyard. Then he raised up his right hand. With a rumbling sound, the war chariot flew up into the air, continuing to expand until it was roughly nine meters large.

Ripples spread out, and the war chariot glowed with light. The ripples, however, seemed to be filled with decay, and the glow was somewhat dim.

Meng Hao's body flickered to reappear inside of the war chariot. His right hand touched its side, and he sent out more Cultivation base power. The war chariot trembled and then began to speed up into the air.

It moved with such incredible speed that Seahold quickly became a tiny dot below him. Although the war chariot screamed through the night air, it didn't vibrate or shake even the least bit.

In exactly this same moment, Saint Sun Soul sat cross-legged meditating in the tall tower in the middle of Seahold. Next to him was the elegant and poised Madam Lin, who gripped a huge feather in both hands, which she was using to perform a conjuring. The feather emanated an aura of rot and decay. At the same time, swirling white lights wafted through the air, to be breathed in by Saint Sun Soul, who currently wore a black robe.

Even in the middle of the cultivation, Saint Sun Soul's eyes suddenly opened, and he looked off into the distance.

"What's wrong?" asked Madam Lin, looking over at him.

"Nothing," he replied. "That troublesome fellow from before is testing out a magical item. Hmph. The both of them are equally mediocre." His face grew dark, and it was hard to tell exactly what he was going on in his mind.

"Didn't he give you a flagon of alcohol as a gift?"

As soon as Saint Sun Soul heard the word 'alcohol,' his face twitched.

"He was actually threatening me," he said.

Madam Lin stared in shock, but didn't respond. As for Saint Sun Soul, he didn't bring up the matter of the alcohol again.

Meanwhile, Meng Hao was up in mid-air, frowning. He stood there in the war chariot, examining it with a puzzled expression.

"This thing is about as fast as a First Severing Cultivator. However, it expends a lot of Cultivation base power. Too bad I can actually move much faster without it.

"Furthermore…." His eyes flickered as he looked at the rust marks on the chariot, which were actually slowly growing larger. "The more I use it, the more the damage spreads. Soon, the rust will fill the whole thing, and it will be useless." With that, Meng Hao lifted up his right hand and then slapped it down onto the chariot.

A boom could be heard, and the chariot trembled. Low-pitched roaring sounds emanated out from within, and illusory figures began to surge out.

They were the images of fierce beasts, each one unique. There was a giant ape, a horned lion, even a two-headed giant bear. The various fierce beasts all lifted their heads up and roared.

However… they all were restrained by amorphous chains which connected them to the war chariot. Also… all of their eyes were closed!

Not a single one had opened its eyes.

As soon as they appeared, an intense pressure appeared in the area. Even still, the frown on Meng Hao's face deepened. He had just noticed that the rust was spreading through the war chariot even faster than before.

Steward Zhou was first mentioned in chapter 1 as well as a few subsequent chapters. Meng Hao owed him three pieces of silver.