Sea Dream’s divine sense spread out further and further. Everything from her waist down had transformed into motes of light. It was then that, shockingly, she noticed... a vortex, spinning somewhere far, far away.

It was a vortex larger and grander than the s.p.a.ce once occupied by the Paragon Immortal Realm, and within it could be sensed an intense, terrifying pressure that was no less powerful than that exerted by the Immortal G.o.d Continent.

There was indescribable danger inside, and within the cracks and crevices that riddled the swirling vortex, it was just possible to discern that in the centermost region... was a coffin!!

The coffin was green, and inside of it was the corpse of a woman who almost appeared to be sleeping.

Next to the coffin was a stone stele, upon which was a line of script that Paragon Sea Dream could just barely read.

“The entire starry sky owes me a debt, and likewise... I owe you a debt. You could awaken from slumber if you wished, but you do not. Well then... I will use this starry sky, transformed into the Vast Expanse, to accompany you in death.”

That vortex was a place that had nothing whatsoever to do with the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Immortal G.o.d Continent, or the Devil Realm. It was another world, a world that had seen the pa.s.sing of countless ages. Apparently, it had even existed back in the days when there was no Immortal G.o.d Continent or Devil Realm!

Apparently, the reason why the Vast Expanse existed to begin with... was because of that world!

Sea Dream had never seen this woman before, but as soon as she laid eyes on her, her mind reeled. Somehow, she was filled with the sensation... that this was the place where the Mountain and Sea Realm could find its chance at survival!

The vortex itself was bizarre in appearance; it consisted only of the colors black and white, and also contained some sort of times.h.i.+fting magic, which made it so that Paragon Sea Dream couldn’t examine it for very long. A moment later, her divine sense was on the verge of running out, so she retracted it. By now, everything below her neck had transformed into light.

“That’s the place. That... is where the Mountain and Sea Realm has a chance to survive!!” She seemed excited as she pulled back her divine sense, and yet, it was in that same moment that the Vast Expanse churned as the Immortal G.o.d Continent appeared not too far away in the distance.

However, Paragon Sea Dream continued to smile as her head transformed into motes of light. Those motes of light then propelled the b.u.t.terfly ahead with incredible speed, and with it all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Rumbling could be heard as the b.u.t.terfly shot away from the Immortal G.o.d Continent, which continued to pursue relentlessly, despite the distance between them.

The motes of light were all that remained of Paragon Sea Dream, and they were about to fade away. She quickly pushed the b.u.t.terfly toward the vortex she had discovered with her divine sense, and pa.s.sed on the information about it to Fang Xiufeng and Meng Li.

“Go there.... That is where... hope exists!”

The b.u.t.terfly changed its course, speeding rapidly in the direction indicated by Paragon Sea Dream.

At this point, the motes of light that were Sea Dream began to fade away. She watched as the b.u.t.terfly disappeared off in the distance; smiling, she offered it all of her well wishes.

She was Sea Dream, who had stood guard over the Mountain and Sea Realm ever since the final battle of the Paragon Immortal Realm. Now, she was dying.

Shui Dongliu gave the last bit of his life force to buy hope for the Mountain and Sea Realm, and now Sea Dream did the same thing. She gave her life to point the Realm in the right direction.

“Big bro Nine Seals, I’m coming to join you....

“I'm the most useless of everyone. I was useless back then, and now... I’m just as useless.... I didn’t even kill an Imperial Lord, let alone a Paragon. Completely useless.

“To all you children of the Mountain and Sea Realm, I truly hope... that you can live quiet and safe lives.” Smiling, Paragon Sea Dream faded away into the Vast Expanse... for all eternity.

Of all the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm on the b.u.t.terfly, the only one to witness her pa.s.sing was Ksitigarbha. When she was gone, a look of deep sadness appeared in his eyes.

As for Meng Hao, he was currently in that other world in his mind. Because of the sea of his cultivation base, he was growing more powerful. Of the Soul Lamps which surrounded him, a total of 20 were extinguished!

Of the Hex marks on his forehead, the one which represented the First Hex was more than half complete!

Essence was growing rapidly within the eight marks. The Demonic qi and Immortal qi within him, as well as all other types of energy, were rapidly fusing together, transforming into... a completely bizarre aura.

His heart was now beginning to pound. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump....

With every beat of his heart, it felt as if lightning were cras.h.i.+ng in his brain. Gradually, the effect spread outside of his body, causing bursts of lightning to appear in the Vast Expanse beyond the b.u.t.terfly.

Time pa.s.sed, although it was hard to say exactly how much. The b.u.t.terfly shot through the Vast Expanse in the direction Paragon Sea Dream had indicated, drawing ever closer to the vortex she had discovered....

One day, the murkiness of the Vast Expanse lessened. Ahead of the b.u.t.terfly, a huge vortex had become visible. It was so large that, although it was a vast distance away, it looked very close.

This was none other than... the location Paragon Sea Dream had seen with her divine sense!

In the same moment that the vortex became visible, the Vast Expanse filled with rumbling sounds as the Immortal G.o.d Continent... appeared once again!

The starry sky of the Vast Expanse was so vastly large that no one could truly say how large it was. Or perhaps it would be more correct to say that people who did know the answer to that question were incredibly rare.

To most cultivators and even other life forms, the starry sky that was the Vast Expanse... was essentially unending. After all, most beings wouldn’t be able to travel to the ends of the Vast Expanse, not even the Immortal G.o.d Continent.

In the end... it was too large.

Nor could anyone clearly explain how many vortexes or floating land ma.s.ses existed. However, everyone knew that wherever vortexes existed in the Vast Expanse, civilizations could be found!

Even if they were extinct, evidence would remain of their existence, remnants that could give a glimpse into their former glory.

As for the land ma.s.ses that floated about, they were always places of great danger, locations of either powerful experts, or the shades of the dead.

However, the Vast Expanse was so large that the s.p.a.ce between such land ma.s.ses was incredible. It was even possible to travel for tens upon tens of thousands of years and never run into a single one. As for the Immortal G.o.d Continent and the Devil Realm, they had traveled far and wide within the Vast Expanse. Although they had never traveled far enough to grasp the overall shape of the Vast Expanse, whenever they encountered other forces, they always came out on top!

In fact, they knew much more about this newly appeared vortex than most others would.

Almost as soon as the Immortal G.o.d Continent appeared, the voice of a woman echoed out from the land ma.s.s, pa.s.sing through the Vast Expanse into the ears of the people standing on the back of the b.u.t.terfly.

“There are three restricted areas within the Vast Expanse, mysterious locations within which lurk profound secrets relating to the creation of the Vast Expanse itself. The place you are traveling toward is one of those three. It is called... the Green Coffin Vortex!”

Ksitigarbha’s expression was one of vigilance. Standing next to him was the Paragon puppet, which had been reduced to a very simple state of consciousness due to Meng Hao being in a coma. w.a.n.g Youcai was also present, as were Ji Yin and others, such as the Mountain and Sea Lords and Ke Jiusi.

These people were the most powerful experts in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

They were guarding Meng Hao, and as such, their faces were grim as they stared out at the Immortal G.o.d Continent.

The woman’s voice echoed out once more: “Choosing to go to a place like that is essentially choosing... to die!”

Even as she spoke, certain cultivators from the Immortal G.o.d Continent were flying out into the Vast Expanse.

Some of those cultivators were like suns, and emanated shocking fluctuations. In the rear position was the same cold woman who had appeared back in the Mountain and Sea Realm, whose cultivation base fluctuations were those of the 9-Essences level.

She was the one who had just spoken.

“According to the legends,” she continued, “the black and white vortex which spins there outside the Green Coffin Vortex contains a Dao of Time. It is a great Dao that did not just appear randomly. It was forcibly acquired and left there to feed the woman inside the coffin.

“As for who exactly that woman is, n.o.body knows. Years ago, my husband came here and observed this place for a long time, and in the end, said only one thing.

“He said that the person in that coffin is the origin of the starry sky that became the Vast Expanse!” Eventually, the 9-Essences woman’s eyes came to rest on Meng Hao, who was unconscious on the back of the b.u.t.terfly.

“We have reached the point where the hostilities should cease. There is no need for you to proceed any further. Our entire purpose for starting this war was, first, to prevent the rise of the Immortal, and second, to acquire a mirror.”

The woman looked at the b.u.t.terfly, her expression cold as she said, “The funny thing is that both of those reasons were originally unconnected. But now, they are inexorably intertwined. Just hand that man over, and allow yourselves to be sealed. Then... you can be on your way.

“In the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, 9-Essences Paragons... are the most powerful of beings. If you want to stay alive in the Vast Expanse, then no matter where you go, you will need a 9-Essences Paragon.”

Her words cause incredible pressure to weigh down on the Vast Expanse, and left the b.u.t.terfly trembling and incapable of moving.

“Do you people disagree?” A moment later, the woman waved her right hand, causing an incredible force to surge down. Just when she was about to take a step forward, her heart suddenly thumped as she realized that Meng Hao had just twitched.

“Is he waking up?” she thought, smiling, her eyes glittering coldly. “How amusing. I'm also curious to see... the true strength of this Immortal who became the Demon.”

She pointed out at the b.u.t.terfly.

“Don’t leave a single one alive!”

As the words left her mouth, the surrounding cultivators of the Immortal G.o.d Continent charged in attack. The four suns radiated boundless light as they shot toward the b.u.t.terfly, closing in almost instantly.

Sadness appeared on Ksitigarbha’s face, and everyone else had bloodshot eyes. As the cultivators of the Immortal G.o.d Continent closed in, a beam of light shot out from the b.u.t.terfly, a divine ability which transformed into a s.h.i.+eld.

However, it could only protect them for a moment before it began to crumble and collapse. At that point, Ksitigarbha launched himself forward to attack, along with w.a.n.g Youcai, the Paragon puppet, and everyone else.

Sappy note from Deathblade: Maybe it was my mood when I was translating the past couple chapters, or something else, but for some reason I was unusually upset by Sea Dream's death. I couldn't help but feel how tragic it was that someone so powerful, someone who had lived so long, seen so many things, could have such negative feelings, even when sacrificing herself to save the day. I kind of wished I could reach out to her in her final moment and say, "No, you're not useless!" She might not have killed anyone in the fighting, or concocted some super complex plan. But she worked hard, she endured, and in the end, she actually saved the day. At a certain point in life, all of us find ourselves in the situation where we feel inadequate or lacking, but we should never let that get the best of us. Poor Sea Dream. R.I.P.