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Meng Hao was already having trouble standing. The Outsiders were on the verge of killing his family, his friends, and all the other cultivators on South Heaven. He clenched his jaw and drew upon all the energy in his body to unleash a deadly attack, all to defend the people he cared about.

Everyone began to cry out.

“Hao’er!!”

“Meng Hao!!”

“Crown Prince!!”

Xu Qing wept, and walked up to Meng Hao to help support him. However, Meng Hao pushed her to the side and reached out to grab an Outsider who had been sneaking up to attack her from behind. He grabbed the Outsider by the throat, and then cracking sounds echoed out as its neck was crushed.

“Get behind me!” he said, panting. Then his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture as he once again unleashed destruction upon the Outsider army.

And yet, there only seemed to be more and more Outsiders, and Meng Hao was getting weaker and weaker.

Off in the distance, the Paragon puppet’s eyes flickered, and energy erupted off of it as it tried to head in Meng Hao’s direction, only to be blocked by the other 8-Essences Paragon. Paragon Sea Dream was also locked down, and couldn’t get close to Planet South Heaven.

Shui Dongliu sighed, and a conflicted expression appeared on his face for a moment before fading away.

“Everything is for the Mountain and Sea Realm,” he murmured in a voice that only he could hear. He sighed inwardly. “The seal on Planet South Heaven cannot be unraveled by a Mountain and Sea cultivator, only the Outsiders. Plus, the right propelling souls are still required.... It’s almost time. Almost time....” Even as he waved a hand to unleash another attack upon Dao Fang, he looked up at the very end of the starry sky up above.

A miserable cry rang out on Planet South Heaven. Meng Hao was trembling, and his cultivation base was dropping rapidly. The 8-Essences female Paragon had paid an incredible price to unleash a divine ability that he could scarcely defend against. The power of that divine ability was relentlessly attempting to corrupt his blood and defile his body.

Everything began to go blurry, and countless voices were crying out in his ears. There were angry roars, boastful taunts, miserable shrieks, and bitter weeping.

“Die....” he said softly. He once again burst out toward the surrounding Outsiders, leaving behind a trail of blood and death. Outsider corpses were piling up everywhere.

His left arm was broken, but he had his right!

He gritted his teeth as his cultivation base continued to drop. Waving his right hand, he summoned numerous mountains. With each step he took, gale-force winds swept about, and the attacking Outsiders were destroyed.

He was protecting the people he cared for and loved. He didn’t want to see his friends and family hurt. His mind was empty, devoid of any thoughts except... that determination.

Countless Outsiders roared as they attacked, and even though he was slipping closer toward unconsciousness, his desire to kill was no less. His right arm was broken, but he merely gritted his teeth in response. His legs were crushed, but he ignored the pain. Defiant, shocking roars echoed out in all directions.

The Fang Clan cultivators, Fatty, Meng Hao’s parents, and all the other Mountain and Sea cultivators unleashed attacks in all directions. Thanks to the protection being offered by Meng Hao, some of them were wounded, but none were in danger of losing their lives.

However, the price paid by Meng Hao was that his cultivation base continued to drop dangerously.

The large-headed cultivator hovered there silently. Next to him was the female Paragon, brow furrowed in concentration as she directed her divine ability. Meng Hao was burning his life force. Exhaustion engulfed him like floodwaters. His vision was now not just growing blurry, it was also darkening.

He wasn’t sure how many Outsiders he had killed, but it seemed like no matter how many he cut down, more appeared in their place. He was weak beyond belief. He attempted to summon his Soul Lamps, to extinguish them as a way to recover. However, because of the corruption of his blood, his Soul Lamps were defiled, and he could not summon them!

He began to headb.u.t.t the Outsiders, causing black blood to spray out of his mouth. His cultivation base continued to fall.

Behind him, all those he was protecting were injured, maddened, and begrieved. Tears streamed down their faces as they looked at Meng Hao there in front of them, as solid as a mountain.

An endless field of Outsider corpses stretched out in front of him, beyond which was the seemingly infinite army. They looked at Meng Hao with fear and shock. He was no longer equivalent to a Paragon; his cultivation base had dropped, and he was teetering on the verge of collapse. However, the intense murderous aura which radiated out of him could shake Heaven and Earth.

As he stood there surrounded by death, energy surging, the Outsiders were so frightened that they didn't dare to advance any further. Conflicted expressions could be seen as they looked at Meng Hao. Cultivators like him were rare in the 33 Heavens, but after invading the Mountain and Sea Realm, they had seen one after another.

And now, they were facing Meng Hao.

For the moment, the battlefield went silent, and although Meng Hao’s eyes were somewhat blank, he managed to quietly say, “Qing’er, bind my wounds.”

Xu Qing approached, tears streaming down her ashen face. She ripped a strip of cloth off of her garment, and as all of the nearby Outsiders and Fang Clan cultivators watched, she wrapped it tightly around his broken right arm.

Seeing her tears, he murmured, “Don’t cry. Tighter now, otherwise it might slip.”

Xu Qing bit her lip and quietly bound the other arm, making sure the bandages were tight.

Even as the Outsiders stood there, terrified and unwilling to advance, the female Paragon's eyes opened and she cried out shrilly, “Kill them all!!”

Her voice, and her status, ensured that the Outsiders only hesitated for a moment before erupting with powerful roars. Then, the army surged like floodwaters toward Meng Hao.

Planet South Heaven trembled, and crevices opened up all over its surface. Apparently, it was on the very brink of collapsing.

As Meng Hao stood there, fighting to clear his vision, the mastiff flew out from his bag of holding, roaring as it charged into the Outsiders.

The Blood Demon ripped open a rift and emerged, and Meng Hao’s Blood Spirit appeared, both of whom attacked the Outsiders viciously. Meng Hao’s legs were shattered, making it impossible to walk, but he stood there like a mountain, allowing the virtual sea of Outsiders to bash into him. And yet, he didn't fall!

His right hand shot out to lock around the neck of one Outsider, while his left fist slammed into the chest of another. Outsiders were launching divine abilities at him from all directions, but even as they slammed into him, he head-b.u.t.ted another Outsider.

This disturbing scene left the Outsiders completely shocked. The mastiff was fighting like mad, a streak of red light flying about. Soon, there were simply too many Outsiders, so the mastiff grabbed Meng Hao with its teeth, sustaining severe injuries as it dragged him back toward the Fang Clan cultivators.

Blood oozed out of the corners of Meng Hao’s mouth. His cultivation base had already dropped below the Immortal Realm. His fellow clan members, his family, and his friends were all weeping from the tragedy of what was happening.

“I....” Meng Hao struggled to rise to his feet, when all of a sudden a hand clasped softly onto his shoulder.

It was Fang Xiufeng. He had sustained serious injuries, and yet his hand still radiated intense pressure as he looked down at Meng Hao.

“Hao’er, allow father to step in. If you survive this, make sure to take care of yourself in the future....”

With that, Fang Xiufeng took a deep breath and, without giving Meng Hao a chance to say or do anything, strode forward toward the Outsiders. He was Meng Hao's father, and he wouldn’t sit idly by while his own son fought for him. He was Fang Xiufeng!

He had been the greatest Chosen of the Fang Clan! He was the Clan Chief! But what he was most proud of was that he... was Meng Hao's father!

“Today is the day that the Mountain and Sea Realm dies, and the Fang Clan dies. You want to wipe us out to end a blood feud. Well, if even a drop of Fang Clan blood survives, then no matter how many years pa.s.s, we will get revenge!” As Fang Xiufeng strode out, vast numbers of Fang Clan cultivators joined him to attack the Outsiders!

Earlier, Meng Hao had been protecting them. But now, they would protect Meng Hao!

Rumbling echoed out as the slaughter began. By this point, the cultivators of the Fang Clan had reached a state of madness that exceeded that of any of the other Mountain and Sea cultivators in the fight so far. The boom of self-detonations began to ring out.

Blood oozed out of the corners of Meng Hao’s mouth, and his vision faded even more. He heard the countless miserable shrieks echoing in his ears. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. He saw fellow clan members self-detonating. He saw... his father there in the middle of the Outsider army, slaughtering the enemy. However, he was already wounded, and suddenly, an Outsider landed a heavy blow on his chest.

He fell back, killing the Outsider, but unable to avoid a flying sword which stabbed into his heart!

The sword stabbed through him, causing a spray of blood to erupt out of him like a fountain....

Meng Hao was shaking, and his eyes were wide. As he watched everything happen, he wanted to make everything stop, but was unable to change anything.

As the sword stabbed through Fang Xiufeng, he let out an indomitable roar, and then... he looked back at his wife.

He looked at his daughter, and he looked at his son. In the past, he had intentionally looked at his son with awe and reverence, something that a father normally wouldn’t do. But he was willing to do just that. He was willing to set the example for others. He knew that Meng Hao was actually soft-hearted, and that he needed to learn about the bitterness of war. He needed to grow up in a way that could only be done in the most bitter of battles.

He had come to the realization long ago that he... wouldn’t be able to stand by Meng Hao’s side forever. Eventually, the day would come when he wouldn’t be there, and when that happened... he hoped that his son could be strong.

His love for Meng Hao was just like Ke Yunhai’s love for Ke Jiusi. It was profound, and filled with hope.

Today, he stepped out to fight knowing that he would die. He knew that considering the level of Meng Hao’s cultivation base, he shouldn't be in such danger right now. Fang Xiufeng knew that it was only because of himself, and the other clan members. He didn’t want to be a hindrance to Meng Hao, and because of that, because of the incredible danger Meng Hao was facing, Fang Xiufeng chose to ensure that no such hindrance existed.

“Your path still stretches far out into the future....”

As father and son gazed into each other’s eyes, Meng Hao’s heart felt like it was tearing apart. He felt confusion gnawing at him, and fear.

“Dad....” he mouthed, unable to give voice to the word.

Fang Xiufeng smiled, then closed his eyes.

Farewell, my Hao’er....

When he opened his eyes, they shone with a bright light as he chose to... self-detonate!

His injuries were severe, so he knew that even if he didn't self-detonate, he would die in the fighting. Instead, he would tell everyone: I am Fang Xiufeng! Live and die for the Mountains and Seas!

The boom that echoed out was not an unusual sound on the battlefield. But to Meng Hao, it was as if all Heaven and Earth were shaking!!

It was a sound that reaved the Heavens and sundered the Earth. Meng Hao's entire world was completely shattered.