From their current position, the 3,000-meter Dao Lake didn't seem to be very far away from Meng Hao and his group. However, considering the dangers that lurked in the Ancient Dao Lakes, it was not a distance that they could traverse rapidly.

Furthermore, the other sects and clans had arrived earlier than the Blood Demon Sect, and had already reached the innermost ring of the Ancient Dao Lakes. There, the ten 3,000-meter Dao Lakes had already been divided up, as had the 300-meter Dao Lakes in that area.

One might think that the fighting in the area would be intense, but in reality this was not the case.

Once a great sect or clan occupied a Dao Lake, others would not take the initiative to try to fight with them over it - unless, of course, the item spit out by the lake was incredibly valuable.

Otherwise, all parties would abide by customs and rules; a Dao Lake belonged to... whoever occupied it!

In reality, the battles over the treasured items were really battles for the Dao Lakes themselves.

In fact, what the sects and clans really came to this area to fight over was… something located in the central-most position of the recesses of the Ancient Dao Lakes. That was… the 30,000-meter Dao Lake!

The eruption of the Dao Lakes was shocking in the extreme. As Meng Hao and the others sped onward, the air in front of them suddenly began to distort. Meng Hao's eyes flashed, and he waved his right hand behind him. The group immediately dodged to the side as a huge rift suddenly slashed through the air.

It was in such a fashion that they slowly made their way forward. More and more rifts appeared, and many of the Blood Demon Disciples eventually gave up on going onward, deciding instead to stay behind and search for good fortune on their own.

Eventually, only the six Spirit Severing Patriarchs and less than a hundred of the most powerful Blood Demon Sect disciples were able to keep up with Meng Hao as he continued further into the inner ring of the Ancient Dao Lakes.

Soon, it was possible to see that there were less than 3,000 meters between them and the Dao Lakes. By this point, the other sects and clans had caught sight of their group.

There were many familiar faces there. However, as soon as their gazes fell upon Meng Hao… all of a sudden, countless magical teleportation symbols appeared all around him.

The moment the magical symbols appeared, the faces of Meng Hao and the other Blood Demon Sect disciples flickered. As for Meng Hao, although he was at the edge of the teleportation trap, he was still fully inside its borders. As for the other Blood Demon Sect disciples, there were only a few that were trapped inside with him, including Patriarch Darkheaven, the two Ironblood Patriarchs, as well as the most senior member of the three Demonfire Patriarchs.

Off in the distance, there were quite a few members of the Violet Fate Sect who suddenly shot to their feet. The faces of Fatty of the Golden Frost Sect and Chen Fan of the Solitary Sword Sect fell as the power of teleportation rose up around Meng Hao.

The teleportation happened too quickly. In the blink of an eye, Meng Hao and the other Patriarchs began to vanish.

Before disappearing, Meng Hao had only enough time to bark out: "Go to the central zone and wait for me there!"

When he vanished, a look of wild joy appeared on the face of the Black Sieve Sect Third Severing Patriarch, who was occupying one of the 3,000-meter Dao Lakes. "Die!! I hope that jinx dies in there!"

For the most part, the members of the Solitary Sword Sect and the Golden Frost Sect, as well as the Li Clan, were all gloating at Meng Hao's misfortune. Only Chen Fan, Fatty, and many of the Violet Fate Sect cultivators looked worried. That was especially true of Chu Yuyan, whose face was deathly pale.

The members of the Song Clan were silent and pensive, and as for Song Jia, a complex expression could be seen on her face. The middle-aged man next to her watched as Meng Hao vanished, then closed his eyes mutely.

When the teleportation trap vanished, it took only a few moments for the remaining two Demonfire Patriarchs to conceal their anxiety and lead the rest of the disciples to the central zone of the Ancient Dao Lakes.

Without Meng Hao there to protect them, the journey was even more fraught with danger, and they ended up losing several dozen disciples in the process. By this point, there were only about thirty survivors.

Even as they hurried along, the two Demonfire Patriarchs noticed that all of the ten 3,000-meter Dao Lakes were occupied. Many of the people among those forces glared at them as they passed, which caused the Demonfire Patriarchs to frown.

Furthermore, the surrounding sects and clans suddenly erupted with Spirit Severing auras. There were multiple Spirit Severing auras near each and every lake. The sect with the fewest Spirit Severing cultivators was the Black Sieve Sect, although their Patriarch was in the Third Severing.

"Blood Demon Sect, you came late! There's no place for you here now!"

"Your luck is bad, you only have two Spirit Severing experts! Do you really think we're going to share with you!?"

"Why don't you just scram!"

"There aren't any extra Dao Lakes here! However, considering your strength, you could always go occupy some of the 300-meter lakes. There are more than enough to spare."

"Your fellow Blood Demon Sect disciples who fell into the teleportation trap just got unlucky. About half of the Spirit Severing cultivators who fall into them never make it out alive."

Of the ten 3,000-meter lakes, the Solitary Sword Sect had occupied three, the Golden Frost Sect two, the Black Sieve Sect one, and the Violet Fate Sect two. As for the Li and Song Clans, they each had one.

Surrounding each of the 3,000-meter lakes were ten 300-meter lakes, all of which were also occupied by the sects and clans.

The two Demonfire Patriarchs' eyes filled with anger. The words of ridicule from the other sects and clans caused their pupils to glow with the color of blood. They exchanged a frustrated glance. If Meng Hao were here, they wouldn't be afraid at all. But he wasn't. If the other four Spirit Severing Patriarchs were there, they would be a force that could contend with anyone. But they weren't.

Unfortunately… they simply weren't capable of contending for any of the 3,000 meter Dao Lakes.

"Why don't you hurry up and beat it?" said an old man from the Solitary Sword Sect. He wore a gray Daoist robe, and sat cross-legged with a wooden sword resting on his legs. His words echoed out like thunder.

The sound rumbled in all directions, causing the two Demonfire Patriarchs' faces to flicker.

"Sir Jian!"1

There had always been serious grievances between Blood Demon Sect and the Solitary Sword Sect, and it seemed that now, they were on the verge of exploding out.1

It was at this point that the emaciated old man from the Violet Fate Sect suddenly rose up from his cross-legged position.

"Fellow Daoists from the Blood Demon Sect," he said coolly, "this Dao Lake is yours!" Instantly, the Violet Fate Sect disciples backed away from the 3,000-meter Dao Lake that he pointed to.

The eyes of the cultivators from the other sects flickered. As for Sir Jian from the Solitary Sword Sect, he turned his head to look coldly in the direction of the Violet Fate Sect. "Reverend Withered-Dao!"

Reverend Withered-Dao of the Violet Fate Sect calmly looked back at him.

Their gazes met, and then Sir Jian looked away and gave a cold snort. He did nothing to interfere with what was happening.

The two Demonfire Patriarchs were shocked, but then seemed to remember something. Clasping hands, they bowed politely and then led their group over to the Dao Lake.

The Blood Demon Sect disciples thanked the Violet Fate Sect, but their inward frustration didn't lessen. They had arrived late, losing any advantage, and then their most powerful experts had been teleported away. The once domineering Blood Demon Sect was suddenly in an incredibly weak position in the Ancient Dao Lakes.

They were in such a bad position that they couldn't even compare to the severely weakened Black Sieve Sect.

Furthermore, the Solitary Sword Sect was clearly in the position of greatest power; they had three 3,000-meter Dao Lakes, and would obviously be difficult to contend with.

The two Demonfire Patriarchs exchanged a glance. Enduring the frustration, and ignoring the words of ridicule from the other sects, they closed their eyes and began to meditate.

As for the other Blood Demon Sect disciples, they couldn't hold back from commenting.

"Blood Prince, when are you going to return?!"

"Wait until the Blood Prince returns, he'll take care of them!"

"That teleportation trap might be strong, but considering the Blood Prince's cultivation base, he'll definitely get out of it soon!"

Meanwhile, in another location in the Ancient Dao Lakes, Meng Hao was frowning. Next to him were Patriarch Darkheaven, the two Ironblood Patriarchs, and the First Demonfire Patriarch, their faces flickering with various emotions. There were also seven or eight other Blood Demon Sect disciples, all of whom were sitting cross-legged in meditation, although it seemed like they wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.

The teleportation continued on without stop. Just now, it had paused, but before anyone could do anything, another teleportation commenced.

Plop!

One of the disciples coughed up blood, and then his entire body withered up into a desiccated corpse. More sounds rang out as others suffered the same fate.

In a relatively short period of time, they had already teleported thirteen times.

The world in front of Meng Hao changed over and over. Every time they teleported, an intense force would slam into their bodies, causing their souls to shudder. Apparently there was some sort of power inside the teleportation trap that was consuming their energy.

"Blood Prince, we can't keep going on like this!!" said the First Demonfire Patriarch, his voice gloomy. "Blood Prince, what do we do?!"

RUMBLE!

The teleportation ceased, and they found themselves in a grassy area. Then they vanished again.

Meng Hao stood there the entire time. Finally, he raised his hand, and the Black White Pearls appeared, swirling around the Ninth Mountain. His eyes were fixed ahead of him, and he waited for a few more teleportation cycles, until they reached the thirtieth teleportation. Up ahead, he saw some Dao Lakes. It was at this point that his eyes glittered.

Without hesitation, he sent the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain out ahead. Rumbling filled the air, and the teleportation trap once again began the teleportation process.

"Expand!" said Meng Hao, his voice echoing out. Inside the teleportation trap, the Ninth Mountain suddenly began to grow. It expanded to a thousand meters in height, ten thousand, until it appeared as if an enormous mountain peak were growing up out of the land.

As soon as the mountain appeared within the Ancient Dao Lakes, it was noticed by quite a few other cultivators. As for the Blood Demon Sect disciples by the 3,000-meter Dao Lake, as soon as they saw it, their expressions brightened.

There were even cultivators in the region with the 30-meter Dao Lakes who saw it and stared with gaping mouths.

"It's… it's someone trying to break out of a teleportation trap!"

"Once you get into one of the teleportation traps, it's impossible to get out!"

RUMBLE!

In order to attempt to move the enormous mountain, the teleportation trap had to condense huge amounts of power, and it began to shudder.

In that instant of pause, Meng Hao shouted, "Go!"

Immediately, Patriarch Darkheaven flew out, taking advantage of the pause to break out of the teleportation trap.

Meng Hao was right behind him.

However, even as they neared the border, the teleportation trap surged with more power in its attempt to block their way.

"Suppress!" said Meng Hao, his brow furrowed.

Intense rumbling filled the air as the Ninth Mountain began to expand once again. The teleportation trap was forced to a standstill. In that moment, Patriarch Darkheaven and the other Spirit Severing Patriarchs burst out. However, at the same time, the teleportation trap began a shocking teleportation, the likes of which were rarely seen in the Ancient Dao Lakes. A pillar of light rose up into the air that closely resembled the eruption of a 3,000-meter Dao Lake. Amidst the rumbling, Meng Hao and the Ninth Mountain vanished.

"Blood Prince!"

"Considering the Blood Prince's strength, he should be able to free himself within a few teleportation cycles. We should head to the central zone and seize a Dao Lake as soon as possible!"

"That's right, let's go!"

The four Patriarchs had the utmost faith in Meng Hao. After exchanging glances, their eyes filled with determination, and they transformed into colorful beams that shot toward the central zone.

Jian is a surname, but also same character as 'sword'The problems between the Blood Demon Sect and the Solitary Sword Sect were first mentioned in chapter 167 and again in 176