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When the fifth vortex collapsed, its attack power blasted out in all directions. Within the blood that sprayed out of Meng Hao’s mouth were chunks of internal organs, and he was yet again sent tumbling backward toward the Paragon battlefield. By now, he was only about 30,000 meters away!

“Today, I’ll kill you as a sacrifice to the 1st Heaven!” roared the Outsider Imperial Lord. His eyes were bright red as he strode forward, sending the sixth and final vortex rumbling forward!

From the fact that Meng Hao could withstand the attack of the fifth vortex, it was possible to see how powerful he was. He was already far beyond the level of a 6-Essences Dao Sovereign. However, when facing an Imperial Lord who was halfway into the Paragon level, he didn’t quite seem to be able to match up.

The sixth vortex was the most majestic of them all, and it was currently causing the starry sky to twist and distort. All laws of nature and magic were ripped to shreds as the vortex shot toward Meng Hao. As it bore down on him, his eyes were bright red. He lifted his hand, summoning the Battle Weapon. The meat jelly appeared, forming a suit of armor, and the mastiff became a cape. Meng Hao threw his head back and roared, rapidly growing to a height of 3,000 meters. At the same time, the Battle Weapon grew longer, and its appearance more fearsome.

Meng Hao didn't fall back. He knew that there was no avoiding this attack. Therefore, he hefted the Battle Weapon and then slashed it out toward the sixth vortex!

“Cleave!” he bellowed. The Battle Weapon shone with brilliant light, becoming a dazzling beam that slashed down into the sixth vortex. Ma.s.sive rumbling sounds echoed out as the entire vortex was completely cleaved in two!

However, Meng Hao paid a steep and bitter price as a result. The Battle Weapon vanished, the armor shattered, and the meat jelly let out a miserable scream. The Blood Mastiff howled in anguish, and the parrot was left s.h.i.+vering in pain. As for Meng Hao, his body shook violently as most of his bones were shattered. At the same time, nearly half of his flesh exploded into a cloud of gore and blood.

His consciousness went dim, and he almost looked like a skeleton. In addition to all that, he was sent spinning backward toward where the Paragons were fighting, until he was less than 3,000 meters away!

The Outsider Imperial Lord stilled his cultivation base and then looked up with a vicious smile.

“Now, you're dead for sure!” The words spoken did not come out of the mouth of the Imperial Lord, but rather, came from behind Meng Hao. The speaker was none other than... Outsider Paragon Eegoo!

His booming voice was laced with rage as he suddenly broke away from Sea Dream and shot toward Meng Hao. Sea Dream could only keep him locked down to a certain extent, and 3,000 meters was within that area!

Meng Hao was now within that 3,000 meter distance. However, it was at this point that a slight smile suddenly appeared on his face, as if... he had been waiting for just this moment!

Ksitigarbha’s face drained of blood, and Sea Dream frowned, as if she found the situation very strange. However, there was no way to change what was happening, and definitely no way to stop it. The Outsider Paragon and Imperial Lord were joining forces to try to kill Meng Hao!

Obviously, not even the Imperial Lord was confident in being able to slay Meng Hao on his own. Therefore, he chose the most simple and direct way to deal with the situation, which was... force Meng Hao close enough to the Paragons, force him into that 3,000-meter range in which the Paragon would have a chance to make a move!

Meng Hao appeared to have completely lost the initiative in the fight, having been forced back step by step until he was in a position of extreme danger. In fact, the Outsider Imperial Lord, fearful of Meng Hao’s Lightning Cauldron, had even prepared a special technique just to counteract it.

Therefore, he couldn’t help but wonder why it was that Meng Hao still hadn’t attempted Form Displacement Transposition.

And then the Imperial Lord saw the slight smile on Meng Hao's face, and suddenly felt his heart thump. His face flickered as a sense of deep foreboding suddenly welled up from the depths of his heart.

However, he couldn’t think of where the problem lay. Why would Meng Hao be smiling in the middle of such a deadly, critical situation?

“Is it his Essence of s.p.a.ce? Impossible! Not even Essence could be used to defend against the attack of a Paragon!

“Then what could it be...? What is making this kid smile!? He even seems like he's been waiting. Just now, it seemed like I was forcing him to get closer to the Paragon battlefield, but now, it seems almost like... he was heading there on purpose!!

“Something’s wrong. Something’s definitely wrong!!” The Outsider Imperial Lord’s face flickered, but no matter how he considered the problem, no answer revealed itself.

Although the Outsider Paragon couldn’t see Meng Hao’s smile, as a Paragon, he had lived for countless years. How could he not have noticed the indications that Meng Hao had done this on purpose? However, even he wasn't sure exactly why Meng Hao was confident enough to do that.

“Well it doesn't matter what trick you’re trying to pull, n.o.body can get this close to a Paragon... and survive!” Paragon Eegoo snorted coldly. He was completely confident, a confidence born from the mere fact that he was a Paragon.

He strode forward, clenching his right hand into a fist and then slamming it down toward Meng Hao!

Paragon power exploded out; this fist strike was strong enough to destroy, not just Meng Hao, but the void itself. It was as if it would destroy the starry sky and completely obliterate the entire area in which Meng Hao existed!

The power of a Paragon could suppress Essence, could dominate anything and everything. Paragon Eegoo was completely confident that, with the exception of an 8-Essences Paragon, no one could possibly have a hope of saving Meng Hao.

In fact, even if there were an 8-Essences Paragon, that person would have to be in the immediate vicinity to have the time to do anything.

He was sure that on this very day, Meng Hao... would die!

It took only the blink of an eye for the power of the Paragon’s fist to cause blood to spurt out all over Meng Hao’s body. The starry sky around him shattered as an indescribably shocking power rumbled toward him.

The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were crying out in alarm. In contrast, the Outsiders were overjoyed. They hated Meng Hao for destroying their homeland, and yet they feared him. Therefore, to see what was happening now left them elated.

The Mountain and Sea Lords were all stunned, and had various expressions on their faces. Grandpa Meng was trembling, and it seemed as if tears of blood were about to pour down his cheeks. In the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Xu Qing’s face was ashen, as if everything had lost meaning to her.

Ksitigarbha stood there, taciturn, and back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, all of the Chosen were gaping in shock. They simply couldn’t imagine a situation in which Meng Hao actually died!!

Fang Xiufeng threw his head back and howled. All of the members of the Fang Clan were crying out in grief and rage. And yet, none of them could do anything.

Sea Dream was the only one who reacted differently. The same frown could be seen on her face, but she made no move to interfere. In fact, when she looked at Meng Hao, a thoughtful expression appeared.

The power of a Paragon was crus.h.i.+ng down toward Meng Hao, and the void around him was shattering. An unprecedented sensation of deadly crisis rose up within him, and even as the Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering power bore down on him, he turned to face the enormous form of Outsider Paragon Eegoo.

He almost seemed to be studying his opponent.

The Outsider Imperial Lord’s heart was now filled with anxiety, as though there were a voice inside of him screaming that something was very wrong!!

However, having thought everything through, he sent his divine sense out, and couldn't detect anything suspicious in the area.

It was in that very moment, when Meng Hao seemed to be on the verge of completely collapsing, that he laughed. Despite his shattering body, he laughed in a way that seemed to defy Heaven and Earth.

Within his laughter was a power that few people would be able to comprehend, but as soon as Paragon Eegoo heard it, his face filled with disbelief. In fact, the astonishment and terror visible in his expression... exceeded what had appeared there when the 1st Heaven had collapsed!!

“You....” he said hoa.r.s.ely. He suddenly raised his right hand in front of him and fell back at top speed.

This scene caused all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm to gape in shock. The Outsiders were stunned. Ksitigarbha’s eyes went wide, and Paragon Sea Dream was panting, as though she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Clearly, what she found unbelievable wasn’t the fact that the Outsider Paragon was fleeing, but rather, something else!!

In almost the same moment that the Outsider Paragon began to flee in alarm and frustration, Meng Hao’s hoa.r.s.e voice floated out.

“You can’t escape, Paragon Eegoo.”

When the Outsider Imperial Lord heard those words, his mind reeled, he stared in complete incredulity, and even began to shake.

The idea of a Paragon fleeing like this was simply unimaginable. Paragon Eegoo even seemed terrified, an expression that the Imperial Lord had never seen on the face of a Paragon.

“This... this....” he thought, trembling. Without even thinking about it, he began to edge backward. All of a sudden, he realized that Meng Hao was wrapped up in far too many secrets; terrifying, incomprehensible secrets.

Even as Meng Hao spoke, Paragon Eegoo let out a miserable shriek. This was the first time he had ever lost his composure in this way, and the first time he had ever been completely terrified. In fact, this was the first time since becoming a Paragon that he had truly feared for his own soul.

“Who are you!?!? You’re not a cultivator from the Mountain and Sea Realm! Who are you!?!?!?

“I, Eegoo, a Paragon, refuse to surrender!!

“You... just who are you exactly!?!?” Paragon Eegoo’s shrill voice echoed out, backed by the cultivation base of a Paragon, to fill the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. The starry sky trembled, and the Mountains and Seas shook. Countless cultivators and Outsiders all coughed up blood.

No one could see clearly what was happening except for Paragon Eegoo, Sea Dream, and Meng Hao. What was visible to them was a shadowy, misty form in front of Meng Hao. It was impossible to see what exactly was inside that mist, but it radiated a sensation of indescribable terror.

Then, gray threads began to spread out from the mist toward Paragon Eegoo, moving at incredible speed as they began to wrap him up!

Then they started boring into him, transforming into magical symbols that flickered on his skin, although they were invisible to virtually everyone.

No voice emanated out from the mist in reaction to the screams of Paragon Eegoo, only more gray threads. It was almost as if they were locking down his Karma, making it impossible for him to escape. At the same time, an increasing number of flickering magical symbols appeared on him!

“Come to me,” Meng Hao said with a faint smile, his voice somehow completely awe-inspiring. “Henceforth, I am your master, for all eternity....” His body was rapidly healing thanks to the Green Emperor’s Eternal Incantation, and a strange light could be seen in his eyes.

As the words left his mouth, Paragon Eegoo s.h.i.+vered, and then slowly plodded back toward Meng Hao.

To everyone watching, it was a completely bizarre sight!!

The Outsider Imperial Lord’s mind was spinning, and his face was as pale as death. Without the slightest hesitation, he began to retreat. He was filled with complete and utter terror of Meng Hao, and wanted nothing more than to get as far away from him as possible!