Meng Hao was not so full of himself that he would think that, considering the current level of his cultivation base, he would be able to force this terrifying painting into retreat.

Of all the magical techniques Meng Hao had seen in his entire life, this scroll painting was by far the absolutely most terrifying. That was especially true of the figure inside the painting, who abounded with a murderous aura, almost as if he... were the source of all the murderous auras in Heaven and Earth.

Meng Hao wasn't sure how many people would need to be slaughtered, nor how many years it would take, to build up a murderous aura like that. Furthermore, it was merely an image in a painting, not the actual person it depicted. And yet, it seemed as if by simply unleas.h.i.+ng that murderous aura, he could annihilate the entire Mountain and Sea Realm with little difficulty.

Perhaps the only type of person who could actually battle the person in this painting... would be an almighty figure like a Paragon.

In other words, the black-robed man in the painting... was also a Paragon!

At least, that was Meng Hao’s conclusion. Furthermore, whoever it was that painted this Paragon was obviously a powerful person who wasn’t to be trifled with either. That was especially true when Meng Hao remembered how the man inside the painting had murmured something about the Paragon Bridge being incomplete. That caused the hairs on Meng Hao's neck to stand up straight.

From the very first moment he had laid eyes on this painting, Meng Hao had begun to covet it. Unfortunately... it was not some mere magical item. It was the manifestation of Paragon magic. Therefore, even if Meng Hao wanted to steal it, it would be impossible to do so.

The only way it might be possible would be to figure out where Dao-Heaven acquired it, then gain similar enlightenment and somehow make the Paragon magic his own.

Without performing a Soulsearch, though, that would be impossible. Dao-Heaven was the former most powerful Echelon cultivator, and it wouldn’t be an easy thing to perform a Soulsearch on him.

Therefore, Meng Hao would have to attempt some other method. As his fist descended, Heaven and Earth rumbled, and an intense power exploded out. It was a power backed by both his fleshly body and his Allheaven Immortal strength. Dao-Heaven’s face fell, and he was incapable of doing anything as the power slammed into him. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and he was sent flying backward, completely out of control.

Almost in the same moment that he began to fly backward, Meng Hao extended his index finger, unleas.h.i.+ng Demon Sealing Hexing magic toward the Paragon Painting.

The Seventh Hex, Karmic Hexing!

Shockingly, he was using this Hexing magic to look for Karma Threads connected to the scroll painting, in an attempt to discover where it came from.

As his finger descended through the air, rumbling sounds could be heard. The black-robed statue inside the painting suddenly looked up, eyes cold and completely emotionless as he stared dead at Meng Hao.

That look caused Meng Hao’s mind to reel and his body to tremble. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and he was forced backward. At the same time, his Karmic Hexing landed on the painting, and immediately, countless Karma Threads appeared.

Strangely, as soon as the Karma Threads appeared, they all turned gray in color. Each and every one of them turned into dust, without a single one being left intact.

“Impossible!” thought Meng Hao, his eyes going wide. What was happening clearly indicated that everyone this so-called Paragon had ever met, or had ever known... was already dead! Either that, or every person he had ever met or known thought that HE was dead!

Because of that, the Karma Threads were all destroyed!

Furthermore, a person with absolutely all of their Karma Threads destroyed would find it impossible to stay alive. If everyone in the world, and especially everyone who knew that person, believed them to be dead, then it would influence natural laws in such a way... that it would actually kill them.

“How could someone like this even exist? Could it be that this painting depicts a dead person!?!?” Meng Hao’s heart was trembling, and he almost couldn’t accept the situation. His eyes then glowed with determination, and he gritted his teeth. Finally, he bit the tip of his tongue and performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Ripples of the League of Demon Sealers instantly erupted out of him.

He was using the power of an Allheaven Immortal to stimulate the drop of Paragon Nine Seals’ blood, the same one he had used to completely absorb his first Nirvana Fruit. By doing so, he could use his Demon Sealer's aura to connect with Heaven and Earth, to communicate with the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Rumbling could be heard as the distant Mountain and Sea Realm began to shake. The Mountains and Seas trembled, and the sun and the moon began to emit brilliant light. It was almost as if precious treasures existed inside of them that were now forming a resonance with Meng Hao.

The sensation of the legacy of the Demon Sealers fluctuating inside of him caused Meng Hao to tremble. All of his Demon Sealing Hexing magics began to vibrate as he extended his finger toward the black-robed man in the painting.

Demon Sealing, Seventh Hex!

Ignoring the incredible cost he had to pay, he relied on his future status to call upon the a.s.sistance of the Mountain and Sea Realm to unleash his most powerful Hexing magic. As soon as it appeared, ma.s.sive rumbling sounds emanated out from him. His finger descended, and all of a sudden, Karma Threads once again appeared on the man in the painting.

This time, the Karma Threads were very dim, and instantly collapsed into nothing. It almost seemed the same as what had happened last time, causing Meng Hao’s mind to reel. However, in the next moment, his eyes went wide.

What he saw was that the destroyed Karma Threads hadn't dissipated. Instead, they grouped together behind the man. Astonis.h.i.+ngly... they formed the outline of a person.

The person flickered a few times, and then stabilized into an image. It was the image of a man, facing in the opposite direction. He had a long head of flowing, white hair.

Furthermore, the man was surrounded by... Karma Threads! These Karma Thread were strange and almost beyond imagination, something Meng Hao couldn't even think of words to describe.

They seemed numerous, almost infinite, to the point where Meng Hao was left in complete astonishment. He had never seen anyone who had shocking Karma Threads like this.

As the Karma Threads spread out, most disappeared out into the void. Only a few spread back down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm!

“Who is this guy?!” thought Meng Hao, panting. It was in this moment that the black-robed man in the painting suddenly s.h.i.+vered. He lifted his head and waved his hand, causing the image of the white-haired man behind him to vanish. The Karma Threads also disappeared.

In fact... the painting itself spontaneously shredded into bits, completely disappearing. However... the black-robed man did not disappear with the scroll painting. Instead, he walked out, muttering.

“I shouldn’t be here.... Who is it? Who awakened me? Who... requested me to come from my world to this place!?!?” His voice was filled with a strange and bizarre power, filled with matchless dignity. As it echoed out, the entire Windswept Realm shook. The sky faded, and winds screamed.

Apparently, the previous time he had appeared, he could make the decision as to whether or not people in the outside world could sense him, and had chosen to remain silent. This time, however, he chose to ask this question, causing his aura to spread out everywhere, to echo even through Karma.

Despite the fact that this was Dao-Heaven’s own Paragon magic, he let out a miserable scream. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and he rapidly shot backward, an expression of shock on his face.

Blood spurted out of wounds all over Lin Cong’s body, and he let out a miserable shriek as his body withered. Han Qinglei, Yuwen Jian, and even the Echelon cultivator from the Fifth Mountain and all of the other cultivators in the surrounding area were affected similarly.

Meng Hao also coughed up a mouthful of blood, and immediately fell back, a look of astonishment on his face.

It was the same with Zong Wuya, who coughed up a mouthful of blood and looked on with shock.

The eyeless Emperor was now shaking violently. He couldn’t see the black-robed man; the only thing he could see was a murderous aura that formed a vortex in the spot where the man was standing. That vortex was filled with innumerable faces and countless lives, all of them screaming, as if they wished to break out from inside.

“Sir... who are you!?!?” the shocked Emperor asked respectfully, not daring to address the man as anything other than ‘sir.’

The people in the immediate vicinity weren’t the only shocked ones. Near the Ninth Mountain, on one of the four planets, was the w.a.n.g Clan. In that moment, the blood of every member of the w.a.n.g Clan began to thrum. Their minds spun, and they coughed up mouthfuls of blood. Furthermore, in one of the w.a.n.g Clan’s restricted areas, in a grove of bamboo, there was a skinny, decrepit old man, sitting there cross-legged, admonis.h.i.+ng several Elders who, to him, were members of the Junior generation. Suddenly, that old man began to tremble violently.

“That aura....” He suddenly vanished, reappearing out in the starry sky. Trembling, he looked off in the direction of the Windswept Realm, his expression one of shock and disbelief. [1. The old man in the w.a.n.g Clan appeared previously in chapters 802 and 964]

At the same time, not far outside of the Windswept Realm, Paragon Sea Dream’s face was extremely calm, and the Windswept Imperial Lord suddenly stopped in place and turned his head. The Windswept Imperial Lord’s expression was one of shock, and his heart filled with pounding waves of astonishment.

“Sea Dream, you knew about this, didn't you.... Are you crazy? Why didn't you intervene!?!?” he murmured, ashen-faced. Clearly, he... knew who this black-robed man was!!

“Crazy?” Sea Dream responded coolly, a slight smile on her face. “Perhaps. The only thing left of my home are nine mountains. All the people I was ever close to are buried underneath those mountains, and yet I remain alive....

“I have nothing left to lose. If there’s going to be disorder, then... let there be disorder in all worlds, be they the Mountain and Sea Realm or the 33 Heavens, or even the Outside world.” Buried within the smile on her face was deep grief, and even madness.

The depression in the huge net above the Windswept Realm only continued to deepen. The figures that waited in the chaos beyond were all staring at the black-robed figure, completely shaken. They appeared to be shocked, flabbergasted. Gasping, they all began to edge backward.

“It’s... it’s him!!”

“No, it doesn't look like him....”

“Impossible. This is bizarre. What exactly is going on?!?!”

“Report this matter immediately! This is a major development!!!”

Rumbling filled Heaven and Earth, and the Windswept Realm shook violently. The black-robed man closed his eyes and began to make his way off, taking his murderous aura with him. It was as if he were a lonely soul floating off into the distance, with no place to call home. Further and further away.

Dao-Heaven wiped the blood off of his mouth and urgently cried out: “Master!!”

The black-robed man proceeded on, murmuring to himself words that were impossible to hear. He began to vanish into the void.

Dao-Heaven once again tried to unleash his Paragon magic, the result being that his eyes went wide, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. A look of despair appeared in his eyes as he realized that he couldn't use his Paragon magic! Apparently... it had been completely wiped away!

Dao-Heaven spun and glared at Meng Hao.

“Meng Hao!!” he roared. “Give me back my Paragon magic!! Give me back my Master!!” Then he charged in attack.

Meng Hao had never imagined that his Karmic Hexing would cause such a thing to happen. He began to pant as the Black-robed man got further and further away. Heart trembling, he was suddenly able to sense that in his short interaction with the black-robed man, he had apparently created some strange Karmic connection to him.