[/expand]

“YOU!!” The Outsider Dao Sovereign’s face fell immediately. He had no idea where he was, but he could sense that the aura of death in this place was indescribably powerful.

He could also tell that within the aura of death was a type of powerful sealing. And yet, even that wasn’t the most frightening thing. Most frightening of all was that he could sense dozens of auras in this place that were terrifying even to him!

Each and every one of them was equivalent to a Paragon’s!!

Furthermore, those auras were filled with chaos, with greed, with a hunger for anything living, as if they were lying in wait for his qi, blood, and cultivation base.

Suddenly, he realized what this place was, and his heart was battered by waves of intense shock. “The 33 h.e.l.ls!!”

He knew what the 33 h.e.l.ls were; a place where Paragon Nine Seals had sealed other Paragons long ago. In fact, the 33 Heavens had long since carried out detailed investigations regarding the 33 h.e.l.ls, and had come to the conclusion that... to the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, it was a place where good fortune or great catastrophe were equally possible. However, to anyone not from the Mountain and Sea Realm, it was a place of certain death!

As of this moment, he felt as if he had become food to be devoured by these 33 h.e.l.ls!

“NO!!” he roared in rage. He shot forward in an attempt to fly out of the opening. But how could Meng Hao be willing to let him do so? He had set this entire situation up to trap this Outsider, and had gone to great lengths to lure him inside. How could he possibly let him emerge?

“With the exception of the successor of Paragon Nine Seals,” said Meng Hao, “or someone else with his approval, no one can use this place to increase their cultivation base. This Outsider Dao Sovereign... is definitely going to die in there!” His eyes glittered as Greed’s life force Essence exploded out within him. The 33 h.e.l.ls suddenly trembled. A dense mist poured out, and the sound of clanking iron chains could be heard, along with angry roars.

Meng Hao waved his right hand, summoning the Paragon Bridge. As it crushed down, Greed's life force Essence exploded out. Not only did the mist within the rift grow thicker, but the ground at the base of the stone stele therein also split and cracked, and an enormous gravitational force sprang up.

The Outsider Dao Sovereign’s face flickered with astonishment, and he let out a roar of fury. He was now shaking, going all out with every bit of power he could summon to try to escape. However, an iron chain whipped through the air, wrapping around him. Then, the mists churned, as if a giant were approaching, and simultaneously the Outsider was dragged in.

The shocking gravitational force pulled on the Outsider, making it impossible for him to flee. He stared with wide eyes as the rift slowly began to close. Madness flickered in his gaze, as well as a towering, venomous hatred.

“NO!!”

Even as he roared, rumbling sounds echoed out as a blood-colored light sprang up. It was a s.h.i.+eld that emanated the aura of a Paragon. With that protection, he was able to break free from the giant’s iron chains and shoot up into the sky.

However, even as he neared the rift... it closed up!

RUMBLE!

The Outsider Dao Sovereign roared, and his eyes shone with fear as he looked back down into the mists below him. Apparently, the mists themselves weren’t affected by the gravitational force. As he looked, he suddenly realized that a pair of greedy-looking eyes had appeared therein.

What caused him to tremble even more than before was that he could sense that after this world had been closed off from the outside... it was as if the entire place had awoken. A voice suddenly spoke out as if from far beneath the ground, accompanied by laughter that filled with hope and yearning.

“Flesh and blood... a soul... a cultivation base....

“If I consume him, I can extend my life for another 10,000 years....

“It's been a long, long time since I tasted a Dao Sovereign....”

Ma.s.sive rumbling could be heard as the trembling Outsider Dao Sovereign roared, pouring all of the power he could, even his life force, into the blood-colored Paragon s.h.i.+eld.

His eyes were bright red as he battered the Heavens he saw above him, hoping to break open an exit and flee before he was consumed.

Outside of the 33 h.e.l.ls, Meng Hao’s face was pale. He wiped the blood from his mouth, then flickered into motion. After leaving the 33 h.e.l.ls, he looked back at the pitch black region, and his eyes flashed coldly.

“Hopefully the Outsider Dao Sovereign will be killed by this place and become nothing more than fertilizer for it. Then, when I come back later, I can absorb that power to help me to get stronger.... If he isn't killed, at least he’ll be trapped for a while.” When he thought about the blood-colored s.h.i.+eld the Outsider Dao Sovereign had used, and the intense aura it had emitted, it was clear that it was a protective item gifted by a Paragon.

“Even if he can figure out a way to escape, it won’t happen any time soon. By that time, I should be prepared to cut down a Dao Sovereign in battle.” Meng Hao’s eyes glowed brightly as he turned away from the 33 h.e.l.ls. Now that his divine sense was no longer being suppressed, he sent it out to fill the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea.

What he saw were cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm fighting fiercely with the Outsiders from the 1st Heaven. Because of the previous war between the Seventh and Eighth Mountains and Seas, the cultivators were familiar with battle, and had concentrated their attacks on two fronts.

Other than those two fronts, the other main battle was being fought... on the Eighth Mountain itself!

The Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea and one of the five incarnations of the Outsider Dao Sovereign were fighting back and forth, shaking the entire Eighth Mountain. As the ripples of magical techniques spread out, Meng Hao almost immediately caught sight of his Grandpa Meng beating back the Dao Sovereign clone over and over.

“Grandpa....” he thought, vanis.h.i.+ng. When he reappeared, he was on a battlefield filled with cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and Outsiders from the 1st Heaven. As soon as he appeared, his cultivation base surged, and his divine sense swept out. Fully half of the nearby Outsiders let out miserable screams as their heads exploded.

Meng Hao snorted coldly, then vanished again. This time, he appeared on a battlefield with cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Again, his divine sense swept out, provoking miserable shrieks as one Outsider after another exploded.

Such a vast number of deaths instantly filled the Outsiders’ hearts with shock and fear. However, Meng Hao didn’t even pause. He vanished again, reappearing at the peak of the Eighth Mountain.

The moment he appeared, his grandfather was unleas.h.i.+ng an attack backed by the power of the Mountains and Seas. The Outsider Dao Sovereign’s clone coughed up some blood and fell back. However, Meng Hao appeared just behind him, eyes flickering with killing intent as he clenched his fist and punched out with the G.o.d-Slaying Fist.

Rumbling booms echoed out as the clone’s face flickered. He had no time to evade, and the fist strike struck him directly on the back. Half of his body instantly shattered, and he let out a miserable shriek. He shot away from Meng Hao, his body healing, but his aura severely weakened.

When he turned back and saw Meng Hao, his face fell.

“If you’re not dead, then what happened to Long Linzi?”

“Oh, so his name was Long Linzi?” Meng Hao replied coolly. He took a step forward, and as he did, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Meng Hao’s grandfather, approached. After seeing it was Meng Hao, he breathed a sigh of relief, and his eyes shone with love and reminiscence.

Years had pa.s.sed, but he had never imagined that his young grandson would grow up to be like this.

The Outsider Dao Sovereign’s face fell again, and a gleam of disbelief flickered in his eyes. He was well aware of Long Linzi’s true battle prowess, and although it was somewhat weaker than his own, he was now split into five parts. On the other hand, Long Linzi had attempted to kill this very same person without splitting himself apart. Therefore, Long Linzi had been able to use all of his battle prowess.

And yet, he had been defeated!!

By this point he could sense that Long Linzi’s aura had vanished. This caused the clone to gasp, and without the slightest bit of hesitation, he began to flee. Too many miscalculations had been made in this attack.

He had underestimated this Mountain and Sea Lord.... In fact, his clones were suffering setbacks all over the Mountain and Sea Realm. Worst of all was this Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, who had successively defeated him again and again.

As for the cultivator who had just appeared, the actual level of his cultivation base seemed low. However, he had defended himself against the attack of a Paragon, and not even Long Linzi had been a match for him. The Outsider Dao Sovereign clone could think of only one thing to do, and that was to flee.

“Did I say you could leave?” growled Grandpa Meng. He stamped down with his right foot, causing the starry sky around the Outsider Dao Sovereign to distort as a huge sealing mark appeared.

At the same time, Meng Hao extended his right hand, performed an incantation gesture and pointed out with his finger. It was the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex! Although Meng Hao had not been a match for Long Linzi, this was merely a Dao Sovereign’s clone, and killing him would be as easy as flipping over his hand!

As soon as Meng Hao waved his finger, the clone stopped in place, a shocked look on his face. Simultaneously, Grandpa Meng looked over in surprise at Meng Hao and said, “Eee?”

Meng Hao waved his finger again.

It was the Seventh Demon Sealing Hex, Karmic Hexing!

Rumbling could be heard as blood sprayed from the Outsider's mouth. His Karma was thrown into chaos, prompting a miserable scream. Next was the Sixth Hex, which caused a gray sealing mark to appear on his forehead. Then a boom rang out as the mark shattered, disintegrating his head. However, he wasn’t dead yet. He quickly recovered, but was even weaker than before.

After that came the Fifth Hex, the Inside-Outside Hex. Cracks spread out all over his body, and a bloodcurdling scream rang out as the clone collapsed into pieces.

Things weren’t over yet, though. Even as he collapsed, Meng Hao unleashed... the Second Hex!

Real-Unreal Hexing!

Even as his collapsing body began to re-form, and he fled off into the distance, all of the shattered remnants of his body were transformed from being real... into something unreal!

A wretched shriek rang out in the moment before he died. Everything about him transformed into ash; this Outsider Dao Sovereign clone was absolutely no match for Meng Hao!

Meng Hao’s battle prowess might not be on par with Ksitigarbha’s, but he could still be considered a peak expert in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

“Well done!” Grandpa Meng said, laughed heartily. The love in his eyes was clear as he looked at Meng Hao .

Meng Hao turned excitedly, clasping hands and bowing as he said, “Hao’er offers greetings, Grandfather!”

Grandfather and grandson looked at each other, and their hearts filled with emotions and memories that would be difficult to describe without using many, many words. Eventually, Meng Hao asked about his Grandpa Fang.

After a moment of silence, Grandpa Meng sighed and said, “He... is not in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

“I complied with the instructions given by Senior Outsider, and successfully became the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Unfortunately, I've been asleep ever since then. However, your Grandpa Fang is a born warrior, with latent talent exceeding even your father’s. Senior Outsider took a liking to him, and gave him some very important responsibilities....”

After a moment of silence, Meng Hao looked at his grandfather and asked, “Who is this Outsider you refer to?”