"Mad Saint, you live up to your reputation.

"

Jia Tu spat out a mouthful of blood that sizzled upon hitting the ground.

Hao Xuan glanced at Guo Bao who was kneeling a few feet away from him. His body was covered in wounds, some of which were leaking a yellow puss like substance.

Guo Bao met his eyes while trying to catch his breath,

"You're late. A few more minutes and I might not have been so lucky.

"

Hao Xuan scoffed,

"Just be glad I came at all. If you have the energy to talk then expel that poison first, we'll take care of these guys,

" he said looking at the yellow substance.

Guo Bao quickly closed his eyes and sat down right then and there. Wisps of reddish Qi came out of the tattoo on his back and swirled around his body a few times before entering the infected wounds.

A few seconds later a yellow Qi was started to be expelled out from the open wounds.

Hao Xuan nodded and turned around to face Jia Tu who was looking at them with an amusing expression.

"You can't possibly be thinking of protecting him against the both of us, right?

" he spoke referring to Lu Qiu who was hiding somewhere nearby in the chaotic battlefield.

Hao Xuan smiled and looked behind Jia Tu,

"You won't be fighting me, but them.

"

Jia Tu thought he was trying to distract him at first but when he felt the two auras closing in on him, his expression quickly changed.

"Help me!

" he shouted loudly as Lu Qiu suddenly appeared out of nowhere and shot towards Hao Xuan like a bullet.

Jia Tu took this opportunity and turned around to see two hooded figures standing not too far away from him.

They were completely covered from top to bottom and the only things that showed were their hands.

One of them was holding onto two serrated axes that gave off a bloodthirsty aura and the other's fists were covered in some sort of a metallic sheet that was wound around his hands.

Jia Tu's expression hardened when he tried to detect their cultivation levels because...he couldn't. The only explanation was that either they were higher than him or were 'different' somehow. Either way, it spelled trouble.

Without saying anything else he lifted up the four hammers and bent his knees.

"Come!

"

*BOOOM*

His Qi exploded outwards like a volcano, sending dust and other particles flying away. But when the Qi ripple reached the two figures, it couldn't even move their clothing.

In response, they raised their weapons and lunged at him like tigers pouncing on their prey.

****

That night after Hao Xuan returned from talking to Mr. Khan, a few things were set in motion because of his actions, the consequences of which would be dire and long-lasting.

The man he brought back from the pit had still not woken up. After asking someone to take a look at his conditions he found out that his soul was damaged beyond repair.

Right now he was just an empty shell with a few remnants of his soul still remaining in the body. He asked Jin Wang what to do and he told him how to take out the Altar which was residing in the man's Mind Palace.

But he suggested not to do this unless there was no other option. Simply keeping the man as is was the best possible solution at least for now, so Hao Xuan did just that.

He recalled the man back to his own Mind Palace and kept him there.

The next day he left the city of Fortuna with the Mad Saints to meet with First who was waiting for him a few thousand miles away.

This time he left Jin Wang back at home to take care of things in his absence and took Red and Green with him along with the others because he didn't know what he would be facing.

The place First had chosen as his unit's camp constituted of a series of complex underground tunnels on the side of a giant mountain peak.

This 'mountain' gave Hao Xuan a weird vibe as soon as he stepped on it. It felt like the ground was alive as if it was 'looking' at him somehow.

And he wasn't the only one that got this feeling. Several dozen other people had the same reactions.

All the beasts that came with them refused to take one step further. Their owners had to recall them and they had to walk on foot.

The lizard beast Hao Xuan had picked up from the beast hall had the same reaction. It wasn't anything special, just one of the thousands they had bred for the military.

It looked like a giant salamander but with snake-like skin. It was extremely fast but had no other redeeming qualities.

It rolled up into a ball, refusing to move no matter how hard Hao Xuan tried. In the end all of them had to trek the 20,000 meters tall mountain on foot which took them two extra days.

Hao Xuan was brought to the innermost chamber where First was waiting for him. He looked the same as usual, only much more worn out and exhausted.

They talked for a while and Hao Xuan explained everything that was happening back at the city and what he found and about Fifth.

And as Hao Xuan had expected, First didn't have the reaction he was hoping for when he told him that Fifth was replaced.

"You knew?

"

"I wasn't certain. And not about her. I didn't think they would go after her of all people.

"

"Why didn't you try and stop them? Or tell someone else?

"

First shook his head and gave out a hollow laugh.

"I don't know who I can trust anyone out there anymore. Other than you and Sixth, I can't be sure about any of the others. Not even the great general.

"

Hao Xuan understood where he was coming from so he didn't ask anything else, nor did First tell him.

After dropping off the storage ring Hao Xuan left the same day. He didn't even stop to rest for the night.

Four more days of traveling later he finally arrived at the periphery of the area that was set aside for this 'competition' of sorts.

It was a 100,000 km square landmass. Half of it was inside Mei and the other half inside Jia.

A myriad of different terrains were artificially created for the sole purpose of entertaining and inciting battles between the participants as sometimes they held treasures, rare beasts, and resources within.

And speaking of participants, including Hao Xuan there were more than 20 from Mei's side, while the Jia had brought in about 50 of them.

Each participant led a small army of their own.

Although the area was huge, they were still all cultivators. It wouldn't take them too long to move from one side to another so there were daily skirmishes.

This was going to be Hao Xuan's next battleground.